Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 399: The Quality of a Divine General

The next morning, Yuan Tianmu crossed the river again to Luoyang and persuaded the princes in Luoyang to welcome Erzhu Rong into the city.

Erzhu Rong himself, with his generals and all the soldiers, lined up in front of Beizhong City.

Standing in front of Beizhong City, Erzhu Rong only glanced at the city wall and said to Heba Yue and Gao Huan beside him:
"Heba Yue, Gao Huan, you two lead all the troops in our camp and attack the city from the south and north. The first one to reach the city will be rewarded handsomely."

Heba Yue was shocked. This time when Erzhu Rong went south to Luoyang, he naturally brought the most elite troops of his camp. These were elite soldiers trained by Erzhu Rong himself. Erzhu Rong did not bring the troops from the Six Garrisons brought by the brothers Gao Huan and Heba.

Heba Yue was surprised that Erzhu Rong actually wanted the two of them to take all 3,000 people.

Normal wars require reserve forces.

On his way to Luoyang, Erzhu Rong encountered several battles. He always used Heba Yue or Gao Huan as the vanguard. He would first use a part of the army to test the enemy's strength. When the battle situation became tense, Erzhu Rong would personally lead the reserve troops to the battlefield to make the final decision.

This time, Erzhu Rong did not leave any reserve troops, but instead let Gao Huan and himself lead troops to attack Beizhong City separately.

However, Erzhu Rong's military orders were as firm as a mountain, so Heba Yue and Gao Huan took the orders and left.

After Heba Yue and Gao Huan left, Erzhu Rong's younger brother Erzhu Shilong asked:

"General, doesn't the art of war say that we should keep a reserve force?"

Erzhu Rong glanced at his younger brother and taught him with rare patience:

"I thought Li Shengui was a fool, but after seeing the city defense arrangements today, he seems to be quite capable."

This is Erzhu Rong's ability. Just by looking from a distance, he can estimate the enemy's strengths and weaknesses, and can see the flaws in the enemy's deployment at a glance.

Throughout history, those who can be called divine generals generally have talents that surpass those of ordinary people. This is a talent that cannot be learned no matter how hard one studies military books.

Being described by Erzhu Rong as "having some ability" meant that he was considered a first-rate general in that era. Erzhu Shilon did not expect that Erzhu Rong had such a high opinion of Li Shengui.

"But looking at the terrain of Beizhong City, although the city is backed by the Yellow River, it is still some distance away from the floating bridge. The floating bridge behind is related to the retreat of the defenders in the city. Even if there are sufficient supplies in the city, soldiers should be sent to guard the bridge to give the defenders in the city a chance to retreat."

"The east and west sides of this city are covered with sand, making it difficult for the army to deploy. The north and south sides are wide roads, making them suitable for deploying a siege formation."

"If there are defenders on the floating bridge, they can respond to the south gate, and our army can only attack the city from the north."

"Or maybe you can just be ruthless and learn from the Overlord to fight a desperate battle in order to stop our army from burning the pontoon bridge."

"But Li Shengui neither dared to send people out of the city to guard the bridge nor burn the pontoon bridge, which shows that his will to defend the city is not firm, and he does not have a deputy general who can take charge of the situation to send out."

"The Luoyang Imperial Guards are useless and can only rely on the city walls to resist our army."

"We don't have time to waste with him. We have no choice but to push all our men forward and break his spine first."

“If we send troops slowly and waste their energy, allowing Li Shengui to gain confidence, then this strong city will be difficult to attack.”

Erzhu Shilon still seemed to understand something, and Erzhu Rong was still a little disappointed.

My younger brother has the talent to be an officer. If I lead him, he can also accomplish tactical goals well, but he does not have the talent to be a commander and can only apply military tactics mechanically.

In Erzhu Rong's view, she was just an average person.

His nephews, such as Erzhu Zhao and Erzhu Tianguang, are basically of the same quality.

However, being evaluated as an average person by Erzhu Rong means that he is already a qualified and even rare general.

On the contrary, these people from the Six Garrisons, the Heba brothers, and Gao Huan, were considered promising talents that caught Erzhu Rong's eye.

Erzhu Rong also sighed. He could certainly easily control and drive the Heba brothers, Gao Huan and other powerful generals from the Six Garrisons, but he was afraid that he might not be able to do the same for other members of the Erzhu family.

He immediately relaxed again. He was in his prime and could still control them for a few decades, and slowly train promising young men in the family.

front.

Gao Huan, who was in charge of the troops, immediately understood Erzhu Rong's idea. He led his troops around to the south of the city and deployed his troops on the flat road.

Gao Huan put on the ghost mask, drew his sword, and said to the soldiers behind him:
"The general said that the first one to reach the summit will be rewarded handsomely. Follow me and charge!"

Wei Jing raised a large leather-wrapped shield, Dou Tai stood beside Gao Huan holding a spear, and the three of them took the lead and rushed out.

Generally speaking, if the troops are not your own, there will be barriers in commanding the operations.

The generals were worried that the middle-level military academies would not obey their orders, and the middle-level officers were worried that the generals would use them as cannon fodder.

However, this army was handed over to Gao Huan by Erzhu Rong. Since joining Erzhu Rong's group, Gao Huan knew Erzhu Rong's style of commanding the army. The four words "military orders are as heavy as mountains" were not a joke.

He was not worried at all that these military academies would hold him back. He only needed to show his abilities and let the soldiers charge with him.

The same was true for Heba Yue who was fighting at the north gate. He also personally charged forward with a spear and took the lead in attacking the weak points of the city wall.

On the city wall.

Erzhu Rong's judgment on the defenders was almost completely correct. The only mistake was not that Li Shengui did not have a trusted deputy general to go out of the city to guard the bridge, but that the deputy general Su Shouzheng was not confident in letting Li Shengui stay alone in Beizhong City to guard the city.

Li Shengui, who was standing on the city wall, was so frightened by the bravery of Erzhu Rong's army that his legs went weak. If Su Shouzheng had not dragged him tightly, Li Shengui would have been so scared that he would have run down the city wall.

The main force of the defenders were also the imperial guards. Although there were 300 troops arranged by Su Ze as the backbone, the morale on the city walls of Beizhong City was still very low.

Su Shouzheng grabbed Li Shengui's hand and drew out his sword. The sunlight shone on Li Shengui's golden armor, which finally gave the soldiers some confidence.

Su Shouzheng immediately shouted: "If the enemy comes, we will stop them! If the water comes, we will block it with earth! All the soldiers should do their job and defend the city according to the drill!"

Su Shouzheng's words calmed everyone down a little. Yes, they were the ones defending the city!

Defending a city has huge advantages, and Su Shouzheng had already made preparations for the city's defense when Erzhu Rong started his rebellion, and there was enough food in the city for the soldiers to eat for several months.

As the officers and soldiers returned to their posts, the city wall gradually became more organized. Su Shouzheng sighed slightly and stopped Li Shengui who wanted to go down the city wall.

"General, you can't leave."

Li Shengui was about to cry. Although he held a high military rank, all his previous military achievements were earned by following his father Li Chong.

The only time he led troops into battle alone was when he followed Li Chong to the northern border and was ordered to garrison Baidao City.

But at that time, Baidao City was not the front line, and his father was leading the troops in Pingcheng. It was not as dangerous as it is today.

Li Shengui said:
"General Su, I, the Lieutenant General, am useless on this city wall. Please let me go back."

"General Zhonglang will be useful on this city wall."

"How about having someone put on this set of armor and guard here for me, the Lieutenant General?"

"no!"

Hearing the murderous intent in Su Shouzheng's tone, Li Shengui immediately gave in and said:
"Then listen to General Su."

But the good times did not last long. When Gao Hua and Heba Yue launched attacks from the south and the north, chaos immediately broke out on the city wall.

Shouts of killing rang out to the sky, and the soldiers carrying various messages ran around like headless flies. After Su Shouzheng supervised and punished a few panicked messengers, the soldiers calmed down a little.

"What are you standing there for? Shoot!"

Su Shouzheng was tired, so the archer pulled the bowstring and shot arrows randomly at the ghost-faced general who was leading the charge under the city.

The crooked arrow failed to break Wei Jing's shield, and even failed to hinder Gao Huan's charge.

Su Shouzheng looked at the city wall pessimistically, thinking that as long as they could hold on for one day, they would win.
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"Prince Gaoyang is the elder of the royal family. You should step forward and take charge of the situation at this time."

Yuan Tianmu sat in Yuan Yong's magnificent mansion, looking at the old man in brocade robe in front of him, not sparing his compliments.

Yuan Yong said sternly: "The Yuan governor is also a great clan leader, why did he follow Erzhu Rong and do such evil things?"

Yuan Tianmu immediately said:
"The government is in decline now because of the evil queen's disorderly rule. General Erzhu has been unfaithful to the emperor for generations, and he raised the army in Jinyang just to purge the emperor's side. Once the evil is wiped out, he will naturally retreat to Jinyang and then clear the rebellion in Hedong for the court."

Yuan Yong narrowed his eyes and looked at Yuan Tianmu in front of him. He asked:

"Who is the traitor? Who is the loyal minister?"

Yuan Tianmu immediately said:
"The Evil Queen and her rebels are treacherous ministers, and a clan elder like you, Prince Gaoyang, is naturally a loyal minister."

"General Erzhu has been in Jinyang for a long time, and he is also a soldier, so he doesn't know much about what's going on in Luoyang."

"Then we'll have to ask you, King Gaoyang, to identify the traitors."

Yuan Yong's eyes immediately lit up after hearing this.

He thought to himself that Erzhu Rong was indeed a country bumpkin and a warrior who was not worthy of being in the limelight.

This time he started the rebellion impulsively and did not have much foundation in Luoyang. After overthrowing Empress Dowager Hu, he was unable to govern Luoyang.

When the time comes, won’t I still have to rely on myself, the head of the royal family?

Moreover, Yuan Tianmu's meaning was very clear. The power of political settlement afterwards was also handed over to Yuan Yong. By then, no matter whether they were on the side of the Queen Mother or not, as long as they were his political enemies, they could be killed with the butcher knife of the military man Erzhu Rong!

Yuan Tianmu said again:

"General Erzhu often lamented to me that he was lucky to have a man like you among his clan members."

Yuan Yong immediately said:

"Just that Suze?"

"Su Ze is nothing to worry about. General Erzhu is the sworn brother of the Duke of Gaoping. As long as he is in Luoyang, the Duke of Gaoping will have no choice but to return to Guanzhong."

Yuan Yong had no worries this time. He stood up immediately and didn't look sick at all.

"Someone, come here! Bring me my official robe. I will go to the north gate of Luoyang and ask the guards to clear the way and welcome General Erzhu into the city!"

But before the attendant had time to help Yuan Yong change into his official robe, a personal follower rushed in hurriedly.

"Your Majesty! Something happened in the palace!"

"what!"

Yuan Tianmu immediately asked:
"But the demon queen took action?"

The attendant stammered and said:
"It's unclear what happened, but we know that a group of soldiers rushed into the palace from Yongxiang Gate."

(End of this chapter)