Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 397 I beat Erzhu Rong?
There are two roads going south from Jinyang, one fast and one slow.

One is the route that Li Yuan took to start his army in later generations. He went south along the Fen River, entered Puzhou, and continued to go south along the Yellow River, and then entered Luoyang from Hedong County west of Luoyang.

The advantage of this route is that there are rivers along the way and the roads along the way are also very easy to walk.

Another route is to go south from Jinyang to Jinzhou (Linfen), then pass through Shangdang through the Taihang Mountains, so that you can reach the Heyang area north of Luoyang, and then cross the Yellow River from Beizhongcheng to enter Luoyang.

Needless to say, Erzhu Rong chose the latter path.

The reason, of course, is that this route is faster.

Erzhu Rong did not bring too many soldiers and horses with him. He personally led 3,000 elite troops and asked everyone to carry only ten days' worth of food. After gathering the troops the next day, they immediately headed south.

This is already a terrifying assembly speed, and it was also because Erzhu Rong used military law to govern the army on a daily basis that he was able to assemble the troops so quickly.

A comparison will make the point clear. Yuan Faseng was preparing for a rebellion in Pengcheng and sent people to secretly surrender to Xiao Yan. Even in such an urgent situation, it took the Southern Liang Dynasty a month to complete the assembly of its troops.
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As fast as Erzhu Rong is Su Ze.

The next day after receiving the news, Su Ze had completed the assembly of the army. He also did not lead many troops. He only selected 3,000 elite cavalry, plus the 1,000 [Cavalry Battalion] that Su Ze left in Huazhou, a total of 4,000 people.

Su Ze's route is the traditional route from Guanzhong to Luoyang. After leaving Tongguan, go east along the Yellow River and you will see Luoyang City.

This road was traveled countless times during the struggles for supremacy between the Eastern and Western Wei, the Northern Zhou and the Northern Qi in later generations. It was also traveled several times when Li Shimin left the Shanhai Pass, and several times by Guo Ziyi during the Anshi Rebellion.

The only obstacle along the way was Tongguan. The defender of Tongguan, Li Shen, had already been instigated by Su Ze. When Su Ze's cavalry arrived at Tongguan, Li Shen immediately ordered the gate of Tongguan to be opened, allowing Su Ze's army to enter Tongguan smoothly, and delivered the prepared food and supplies.

But when he opened the system map, Su Ze became depressed again.

Why is Erzhu Rong so fast!

Su Ze had left spies in important towns near Luoyang, and he knew Erzhu Rong's march very well.

The army started in Jinyang on December 17th, arrived in Jinzhou in less than three days, and entered Shangdang on December 23rd.

Su Ze did not arrive at Tongguan until December 25th, when Erzhu Rong had already left Taihang Mountains and entered the Heyang area.

This means that Erzhu Rong will be able to see Luoyang City in just two or three days!

Su Ze has always attached great importance to Erzhu Rong, and has made many arrangements around him and left many secret agents.

But Su Ze felt that he still underestimated Erzhu Rong!
It can only be said that the historical data of this period in the Northern Wei Dynasty is seriously missing, and Erzhu Rong was a loser who became a pioneer of the king on the historical timeline before Su Ze traveled through time.

Therefore, Erzhu Rong, like Xiang Yu, did not leave behind many historical records. Even the few words he left behind were often derogatory remarks embellished by civil officials.

Now that Erzhu Rong had launched the campaign, Su Ze finally got a glimpse of his extraordinary military capabilities. The army under Erzhu Rong's command was truly disciplined and well-behaved, like a sophisticated marching machine.

Su Ze sighed. Whether in terms of decisiveness in launching an uprising, control over his troops, or eliteness of the troops, Erzhu Rong was on par with himself, who was in a state of cheating. He was even stronger than himself in military affairs.

Su Ze looked towards Luoyang. He didn't know how the Northern Wei royal family had such good fortune to have two "loyal ministers" like him and his sworn brother!
The city of Luoyang was in chaos at this time.

Empress Dowager Hu never imagined that her wish for the emperor to adopt an heir would cause such a huge shock!

First it was the prince who started the trouble, but that was easily resolved.

Empress Dowager Hu also had some experience in dealing with the princes. She bribed the leader of the princes, Yuan Yong, with a large sum of money, and won over a group of princes, thus suppressing the opposition of the princes.

I thought the royal family was the biggest problem. After all, the succession to the throne was also the royal family's business. If we could deal with the royal family, everything would be fine.

Unexpectedly, Erzhu Rong in Jinyang suddenly raised an army, saying that he was coming to Luoyang to "clear the court"!
Empress Dowager Hu was naturally very clear about who Erzhu Rong wanted to eliminate, so she quickly issued an edict and sternly demanded that Erzhu Rong withdraw his troops.

However, Erzhu Rong ignored the order of the "Supreme One". He whipped the eunuch sent by Empress Dowager Hu to convey the order, and asked the eunuch to return to Luoyang to deliver the message. He believed that the emperor had been controlled by the "treacherous villains" around him, so he only recognized the emperor's order and not the order of the "Supreme One".

Empress Dowager Hu was also frightened. Erzhu Rong advanced rapidly along the way. Occasionally, there were a few generals loyal to the court, but Erzhu Rong defeated them easily.

At this time, Empress Dowager Hu finally became afraid, and she came to the Xuanguang Hall where the little emperor was imprisoned.

"Meet the Queen Mother."

Yuan Xu's eyes were filled with coldness. Their mother-son relationship had been tainted ever since Empress Dowager Hu asked him to adopt an heir, and it could never be restored.

When Empress Dowager Hu saw her son, she also shed two tears.

However, Yuan Xu felt nothing about Empress Dowager Hu's tears. He had begged her before, but all he got in return was imprisonment and surveillance. The little mother-son affection they had had had long since been worn out by the power struggle over the years.

Seeing that her emotional offensive was useless, Empress Dowager Hu changed her tactics and said:

"Xu'er, do you really think that Erzhu Rong will let you rule the country if he enters Luoyang?"

This sentence made Yuan Xu stunned for a moment. Although his beloved concubine Erzhu praised her father a lot, Yuan Xu remembered that Erzhu Rong was once Yuan Yi's old party member after Su Shun reminded him yesterday.

When Yuan Yi imprisoned himself in the Xuanguang Hall, didn't he see Erzhu Rong as a loyal minister?

Seeing the little emperor wavering, Empress Dowager Hu said quickly:
"Erzhu Rong is an outsider, and I am your biological mother. Are relatives inferior to outsiders?" "As long as Erzhu Rong withdraws his troops this time, I will immediately withdraw from power, become a nun in Yongning Temple, and never return to the palace."

After hearing what Empress Dowager Hu said, the little emperor became even more shaken.

Seeing that the young emperor was wavering, Empress Dowager Hu used some more tricks and finally persuaded the young emperor to write an edict ordering Erzhu Rong to withdraw his troops immediately.

When Empress Dowager Hu received the imperial edict, suddenly another eunuch rushed into the hall.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Duke Su Ze of Gaoping has also rebelled!"

"what!"

The imperial edict in Empress Dowager Hu's hand almost fell to the ground.

Unlike Erzhu Rong who was under close surveillance by the Luoyang court, the court had basically lost control of Guanzhong. So it was not until Su Ze arrived at Tongguan and received the secret decree sent by Su Suan from Luoyang that he announced his support for the king.

The eunuch glanced at the little emperor and said to Empress Dowager Hu:
"Su Ze claims to have an imperial decree from His Majesty, saying that Li Shen, the commander of Tongguan, has surrendered to the enemy!"

Empress Dowager Hu looked at the little emperor. Under the long-term intimidation of his mother, the little emperor finally couldn't resist and said honestly:

"Mother, I did give the Duke of Gaoping the imperial edict."

Empress Dowager Hu's eyes became sharp. She knew that the little emperor alone could not deliver the imperial edict to Guanzhong. She asked:
"Who was it? Who persuaded His Majesty to issue an edict?"

The little emperor said quickly:
"It's Prince Changle."

"Yuan Ziyou! I vindicated the King of Pengcheng, but the King of Changle treated me like this!"

Empress Dowager Hu clenched the imperial edict in her hand and said to the little emperor:
"Your Majesty, please write another edict asking Su Ze to withdraw his troops."

"I'll write it right away."

After the little emperor finished writing the edict, Empress Dowager Hu hurriedly took it away.

Although the two imperial edicts could not force the two warlords to withdraw their troops, they could at least make them give up the righteous cause.

Empress Dowager Hu's eyes flashed with resentment again, and she said to the eunuch beside her:
"Immediately surround the Prince Changle's palace and give the Prince Changle poisoned wine!"
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When Empress Dowager Hu's men surrounded the Changle Palace, they discovered that Changle Prince Yuan Ziyou had already left the palace.

From the moment he handed the secret decree to Su Suan, the deputy envoy of Gaoping County's Mansion, Yuan Ziyou had already packed his things and prepared to leave Luoyang.

It was because he knew the little emperor's character too well.

In terms of high emotional intelligence, the little emperor is good at listening to other people's opinions.

People with low emotional intelligence are easily influenced by others and have an unsteady stance.

So Yuan Ziyou knew very well that as long as Empress Dowager Hu used some tricks, the little emperor would sell himself out.

But Yuan Ziyou was not angry. He was really concerned about the overall situation of the court.

His idea at this time was very simple. As long as the evil Queen Hu could be eradicated, everything would be fine no matter whether Su Ze or Erzhu Rong was in power.

In Yuan Ziyou's view, the Mandate of Heaven for the Great Wei was still there, but it was just encountering some temporary difficulties.

After eliminating the Hu family, he would use these foreign ministers to destroy the rebels. With the assistance of his own princes, when the young emperor grew up, he would be able to restore the Yuan family's rule just like he expelled Gao Zhao and Yu Zhong.

However, Yuan Ziyou grew up in Luoyang and had no accurate judgment of the current situation.

Erzhu Rong and Su Ze are completely different from Gao Zhao and Yu Zhong who relied on imperial power to rise to their positions.

It can only be said that the nobles in Luoyang have been obsessed with conspiracies and intrigues for too long, and they have forgotten what real strength is.

After Yuan Ziyou took Su Shun away from Luoyang City, they hid outside the city, waiting for the situation to change.
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"What? I beat Erzhu Rong?"

In Beizhong City north of Luoyang, Li Shengui, the General of Beizhong, listened to the words of his deputy general with an expression of disbelief on his face.

The deputy general standing next to Li Shengui corrected him with a serious face:
"To be precise, we are not asking the General of Beizhong to defeat Erzhu Rong, but asking the general to defend Beizhong City for a while and delay Erzhu Rong's army."

Li Shengui said blankly:

"Does it make any difference?"

The deputy general said:

"If we go out of the city to fight, the Northern Army General will be defeated in an instant. If we defend the city, the Northern Army General can still hold out for a while."

Li Shengui looked at the poker-faced man beside him. This man was arranged by Su Ze to be by his side. Could it be that he was appointed as the General of Beizhong just for today?
(End of this chapter)