Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 420: The brave one wins when we meet on a narrow road
Xingyang, Hulao Pass is located in Xingyang, which has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times.

Erzhu Shilon brought with him a thousand elite soldiers of the Erzhu clan, plus the garrison of Hulao Pass itself, a total of almost five thousand people.

Although there are only 5,000 people, these are not the ragtag troops in Kaocheng, but a real elite army.

Not to mention the 1,000 elite soldiers of the Erzhu family under Erzhu Shillong, the official troops guarding Hulao Pass were also the elite troops of the Northern Wei Dynasty guarding the gate of Luoyang. After Erzhu Rong took control of Luoyang, they pledged allegiance to Erzhu Rong and were reorganized and controlled by Erzhu Shillong.

Erzhu Shilon was Erzhu Rong's cousin, although Erzhu Rong described him as "cowardly" and believed that he was not capable of commanding thousands of troops.

But this was because there were few talented people that Erzhu Rong valued, and those who he considered to be "average" were actually already excellent generals.

Erzhu Shilon also felt that his 5,000 men were more than enough to guard Xingyang and Hulao Pass.

But Erzhu Shilon also had difficulties.

The one thousand elite soldiers of the Erzhu family were certainly loyal, but it was hard to say whether the four thousand Northern Wei defenders at Hulao Pass were so loyal.

There was no way out. Erzhu Rong held the Heyin "diving competition" in Luoyang and allowed the army to rob Luoyang. It can be said that he had completely lost the support of the people.

Although suppression by force can provide temporary relief, no one, whether the rulers or the ruled, can maintain high pressure forever.

Erzhu Shilon faced this problem. He was not confident about the 4,000 defenders, but he had to rely on them.

Living in the same city with these 4,000 people, Erzhu Shilon was worried that he would be beheaded one night.

He was a man who was afraid of death, and it was precisely because of his fear of death and caution that he was kept in Hulao Pass by Erzhu Rong.

Erzhu Shilon was so worried that he could not sleep or eat, and finally he came up with a "very clever" idea.

He ordered these 4,000 garrisons to guard Xingyang, and he himself stayed at Hulao Pass with 1,000 men.

Hulao Pass is strategically located and can be defended by a thousand men. These thousand men are all soldiers of the Erzhu family, so he can sleep well as well.

Erzhu Shilon also brought the families of the defenders of Xingyang to Hulao Pass, so that he could keep an eye on the defenders of Xingyang and order them to hold the city, while he himself waited for an opportunity to act at Hulao Pass.

Erzhu Shilon felt that this was a foolproof plan.

Before Chen Qianzhi's army arrived in Xingyang, they already knew the situation in Xingyang.

The Zheng family of Xingyang was listed as a noble family with the Jia surname when Emperor Xiaowen was investigating surnames. They were the most prominent aristocratic families in the world during the Northern Qi, Sui and Tang dynasties, and are one of the most prominent families today.

However, the Zheng family was on the verge of collapse at this time. The reason was very simple. Zheng Yan, the male favorite of Empress Dowager Hu who was executed, was from the Zheng family of Xingyang.

Although Zheng Yan was executed in the coup initiated by Yuan Yong, Erzhu Rong raised an army to purge the court because of the Empress Dowager Hu's unjust behavior. Although Zheng Yan was dead, many sons of the Zheng family of Xingyang who were officials in Luoyang were taken to Heyin by Erzhu Rong to participate in the diving competition.

The original political ecology of the Northern Wei Dynasty was to only execute the main culprits and exile the family members who participated, without implicated other members.

However, Erzhu Rong killed all the Zheng family members who were officials in Luoyang. Those who were officials in Luoyang were naturally the most outstanding children in the family. The slaughter of these children was a fatal blow to the Zheng family in Xingyang.

After Erzhu Shilon arrived in Xingyang, he continued to blackmail Zheng family in Xingyang and robbed Zheng family of their property, which caused strong dissatisfaction among the Zheng family.

So when Chen Qianzhi had not yet arrived in Xingyang, Zheng's envoy arrived.

Zheng Zhongming, the envoy of the Zheng family, is also a cousin of Zheng Yan. He was an official in Luoyang, but he escaped the disaster because he returned home to observe mourning for his father. He is now the highest-ranking official in the Zheng family.

The "Emperor" Yuan Hao personally met with Zheng Zhongming. He not only announced the rehabilitating of the Zheng family's relatives who died in the Battle of Heyin, but also promised to confer official titles on the Zheng family of Xingyang, and gave them out free of charge.

Originally, these official positions didn’t cost money.

Zheng Zhongming was so moved that he asked to see Chen Qingzhi and presented him with the defense map of Xingyang.

When Chen Qingzhi heard that Erzhu Shilong only held the families of the Xingyang defenders as hostages at Hulao Pass, and that his own troops were only in Hulao Pass, Chen Qingzhi immediately said to Yuan Hao:

"Your Majesty, Xingyang can be conquered."

Yuan Hao was overjoyed. Chen Qianzhi had given him so many surprises along the way.

The seven thousand white-robed soldiers captured cities and were invincible along the way. Even though some of the battles were affected by some off-field factors, it was thanks to the bravery of Chen Qianzhi's white-robed soldiers that these factors were brought into play to the maximum.

In military terms, Yuan Hao knew that he was an amateur in fighting, and did not interfere with Chen Qianzhi's decision-making.

Chen Qianzhi was a steady person and seldom spoke nonsense. When he said that Xingyang could be captured, it meant that it was really possible to capture Xingyang.

Once Xingyang is captured, is Luoyang far away?

Yuan Hao was excited, Luoyang!

When he had no way to escape from Southern Liang, Yuan Hao only wanted to live in wealth and peace. Who could have thought that he, a distant relative of the royal family, could actually lay his hands on the throne?

It turns out that human struggle depends not only on personal efforts, but also on the historical process.

Chen Qingzhi asked Zheng Zhongming in detail about the defense situation of Xingyang City, and then asked:

"Has Lord Zheng contacted the commander of Xingyang?"

Zheng Zhongming nodded and said:
"We, the Zheng family of Xingyang, have deep roots in Xingyang City and have contacts with the Xingyang garrison commanders. However, their families are in Erzhu Shilon's hands, so it may not be easy to get them to open the city and surrender."

This is also the vicious part of Erzhu Shilon's plan. If your families are detained, you will not dare to surrender at will. As long as Xingyang City is here, the enemy will not dare to bypass Xingyang and attack Hulao.

In this way, Chen Qingzhi could only fight to the death in Xingyang, and Erzhu Shilong only needed to wait for Yuan Tianmu to finish the war in Ji County before he could come to support Hulao. By then, Chen Qingzhi's 7,000 white-robed soldiers would never be able to enter Luoyang.

Chen Qingzhi said:
"I'm not asking the Xingyang defenders to open the city and surrender, but I'm asking them to put on a show with me."

"acting?"

After listening to Chen Qingzhi's plan, Zheng Zhongming couldn't help but admire it greatly.

Zheng Zhongming returned to Xingyang City overnight, mobilized the power of the Xingyang Zheng family, and lobbied the defenders in Xingyang City. Finally, the defenders in Xingyang City all agreed to Chen Qianzhi's plan.

The next day, Chen Qingzhi arrived outside the city of Xingyang, and Erzhu Shilon also sent scouts to the mountains outside the city of Xingyang to observe the battle situation.

Everyone knew that Xingyang was a fortified city, and the soldiers were also afraid, so today Chen Qianzhi personally came to the front to boost morale.

Thanks to his merit in being the first to reach Kaocheng, Yang Zhong had been promoted to cavalry captain. When all the soldiers were a little afraid of fighting, Yang Zhong said to Chen Qingzhi:

"General! I am willing to go first!"

Chen Qingzhi looked at Yang Zhong approvingly, but did not order him to go first. Instead, he selected several other generals and asked them to lead the troops to besiege Xingyang City.

Chen Qingzhi then said to Yang Zhong:

"Captain Yang, you are my cavalry captain, and you have another mission."

Although Yang Zhong was somewhat puzzled, he still obeyed Chen Qianzhi's military order.

As the marching drums sounded, the White Robe Army began to attack the city.

At Hulao Pass, not far from Xingyang, Erzhu Shilon also assembled his troops and kept a close eye on the battle situation in Xingyang.

"Report! General! The first warriors of Nanliang have already climbed the city!"

Erzhu Shilong's face showed a ferocious look, he waved his whip and said:
"Useless! The defenders of Xingyang must have colluded with Chen Qianzhi! They want to attack the city at the first drum beat? You think this general is a fool!"

"Come here, escort a group of hostages to the front line!"

Erzhu Shilon was known to be cruel and did not treat the hostages as human beings at all. He immediately prepared to kill a group of hostages to intimidate the defenders of Xingyang.

Another scout reported:
"Report! General, the Xingyang garrison has driven the first batch of soldiers off the city wall!"

Erzhu Shilong nodded with satisfaction and said:
"The hostages are still at Hulao Pass."

The White Robe Army attacked for a whole day and suffered the heaviest casualties since the expedition, with a large number of corpses left under the city of Xingyang, but they still failed to break through this fortified city.

Taking advantage of nightfall, the messenger was lowered into a hanging basket outside Xingyang City and headed straight for Hulao Pass under the cover of darkness.

The White Robe Army's night patrol scouts naturally chased and killed them all the way, but a few messengers still escaped into Hulao Pass.

"Will you ask me to attack the southern bandit army when we attack the city tomorrow?"

The messenger's body was covered with wounds. He endured the severe pain and said:

"General, the southern bandits are already showing signs of fatigue today. They are fighting deep into the enemy's territory, relying on their morale to hold on. If they can't defeat the enemy after a long attack, General, you can lead your troops to attack us again, and the southern bandits will surely be defeated!"

Erzhu Shilon also thought this plan was feasible.

He had always been resentful of the evaluation of his cousin Erzhu Rong, and believed that he was also a talent capable of commanding thousands of troops.

He also didn't want to guard Hulao Pass, and wanted to enjoy himself in Luoyang.

If he could defeat Chen Qianzhi's army, then he would have made such a great contribution that he would definitely be transferred back to Luoyang and would no longer have to guard this dilapidated Hulao Pass.

But Erzhu Shilon still had some doubts. He just asked someone to take the messenger away and wait and see the situation during the battle tomorrow.

The next day, Chen Qianzhi ordered his soldiers to attack the city again. Today's battle was even more brutal than yesterday, with many casualties on both sides.

This time, Erzhu Shilon finally believed the words of the letter messenger. He also decided that now was the best time to go to war, and immediately began to gather troops and prepare to support Xingyang.

The army of the Erzhu family was indeed elite. They had assembled in less than a moment and, under the leadership of Erzhu Shilon, they galloped towards Xingyang!

After Chen Qingzhi heard the report from the ambush scouts and knew that Erzhu Shilong had sent out troops, he said to Yang Zhong beside him:

"Captain Yang, now is the time for you to make achievements. The three thousand soldiers and horses around this general are now handed over to you."

Chen Qianzhi was not good at fighting on horseback, and his physique was only slightly better than Wei Rui's. It was rumored that when Wei Rui was commanding the Battle of Zhongli, the soldiers had to carry him to the front line in a sedan chair.

Yang Zhong immediately clasped his fists and said, "General, if you trust me, I will repay you with my death!"

After saying this, Yang Zhong immediately mounted his horse and led the 3,000 reserve troops that Chen Qingzhi had been holding back to meet Erzhu Shilon's army.

When Erzhu Shilon was halfway through his journey, he heard that Yang Zhong was leading his troops to attack, and he realized that he had fallen into an ambush.

But it was impossible to turn around now, so he could only encourage his soldiers:

"When two meet in a narrow road, the brave one wins! Kill!"

(End of this chapter)