Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 423 The Emperor Runs Again
Ge Rong was also very hesitant.

When Liu Gui was sent to Yecheng, he actually brought a piece of news: "Erzhu Rong is going to fight a decisive battle with Ge Rong at Fukou."

Erzhu Rong's attitude was also very clear. He was not inviting Ge Rong to a decisive battle, but unilaterally notifying the other party that one month later, Erzhu Rong would personally lead his troops out of Fukou Pass to attack Jizhou.

This was Erzhu Rong's conspiracy. He informed Ge Rong that he would attack the enemy from here. As for whether to believe it or not, it was up to Ge Rong to decide.

Erzhu Rong might have deceived Ge Rong. There were several ways to attack Ge Rong's sphere of influence from Bingzhou, and even Fukouxing was not the best choice.

Among the eight passes in Taihang Mountains, Jingxing is the easiest to travel. It can accommodate large carts and is the main passage out of Bingzhou. Fukouxing is actually a detour and the mountain road is difficult to travel. The only advantage is that Fukouxing is the closest road to Yecheng.

Ge Rong finally chose to convene all the generals for discussion.

Ge Rong also specifically asked Yuwen Luosheng to bring his younger brother Yuwen Tai with him. During this period, Yuwen Tai also became famous in Ge Rong's army and was recognized as a brave and resourceful man.

During the military meeting, Ge Rong first told everyone the message from Erzhu Rong brought by Liu Gui, and then asked:

"Generals, do you think Erzhu Rong is telling the truth or a lie?"

The generals and soldiers were talking about it. Some said that Erzhu Rong was lying and wanted to move his troops to the exit of Fukou Xing and then leave Bingzhou from other roads.

There are also those who say that what Erzhu Rong said was half true and half false. Erzhu Rong did intend to leave Bingzhou from Fukou Pass, but not in a month. Instead, he would act in advance and catch his own side off guard.

In the end, the military meeting was no longer about analyzing Erzhu Rong's message, but all parties began to criticize each other with their own reasons, and it even escalated to the stage of personal attacks.

Ge Rong couldn't help but feel a headache, but this was also the bitter fruit he had sown.

It can be said that there are many factions within Ge Rong’s army.

One of the reasons is of course historical.

The personnel composition of the Second Six Garrisons Uprising was much more complicated than that of the First Six Garrisons Uprising.

During the first Six Garrisons Uprising, there were divisions within the uprising into the Woye Faction, the Wuchuan Faction, the Huaishuo Faction, and the Dongsan Garrisons Faction. During the second Six Garrisons Uprising, there were even more factions.

There is Ge Rong's direct faction, which includes the remnants of the Six Garrisons that Ge Rong gathered when he was the Beijia in Dingzhou, as well as the local forces that Ge Rong gathered in Dingzhou.

There were some of Xianyu Xiuli's old subordinates, some of whom followed Xianyu Ahu to Hengzhou, but some of them stayed and were annexed by Ge Rong.

There were Du Luozhou, Han Lou and others who revolted together with Ge Rong. These factions were semi-independent in the northern region.

People like Xing Gao were originally from Hebei noble families, but they rebelled after being exploited by other powerful families while living abroad.

Countless small factions were further divided based on their place of origin, identity and time of participation in the uprising.

There are so many factions in the military, and this was done intentionally by Ge Rong.

He came to power by fighting with Xian Yuxiuli. He attached great importance to checks and balances among internal factions and would even personally instigate conflicts among his subordinates.

For example, Ge Rong did the same to Gao Huan back then. After Gao Huan made meritorious services, Ge Rong kept Gao Huan by his side and did not let him return to Jizhou. He also tried to break up his power and support other younger brothers in his power to take power.

Ge Rong would also transfer two of his subordinates to each other and let them exchange territories.

Ge Rong would even award a city to two different forces and then mediate when the two sides started fighting.

The result of this mutual distrust was that although Ge Rong claimed to have an army of one million (actually around 200,000), it was divided into many fragmented factions, and there was no longer an independent number two group.

Yuwen Tai looked at everyone silently, and Ge Rong's eyes fell on his young face.

"Yuwen Tai, what do you think?"

Ge Rong had been silent from the beginning, but he pointed at the young man Yuwen Tai, and everyone's eyes fell on him.

Yuwen Tai could only stand up and say:

"Your Majesty, whether what Erzhu Rong said is true or false, Fukou Pass must be defended."

Ge Rong nodded quickly. Yuwen Tai was right. There would definitely be a battle between him and Erzhu Rong. Fukou Pass was an important pass for sending troops from Bingzhou and a passage that could threaten the safety of Yecheng. It was absolutely impossible not to defend it.

Yuwen Tai said again:

"Our dynasty is newly established, and our capital is in Yecheng. The palace and all the officials are in Yecheng, so Yecheng must be defended."

Ge Rong also nodded repeatedly. What Yuwen Tai said was right. He had just established Yecheng as the capital, and in order to control his subordinates, he required them to send their families to Yecheng. Therefore, Yecheng was the absolute core of Ge Rong's rule.

Yuwen Tai was right. Now that he was no longer a bandit, he had to defend Yecheng at all costs.

After saying these two sentences, Yuwen Tai stopped talking and returned to Yuwen Luosheng.

It was these two sentences that helped Ge Rong sort out his thoughts. He said to the soldiers:
"I am going to reply to Liu Gui and ask him to go back and tell Erzhu Rong that I will also raise a million troops to fight Erzhu Rong at Fukou."

All the soldiers stood up and said "Yes" to Ge Rong.

After returning to his residence in Yecheng, Yuwen Tai came to the secret room and said to his brother Yuwen Luosheng:

"Brother, you should make plans early."

"what?"

Yuwen Tai said: "Since ancient times, when the emperor led an army in person, victory was a small victory, while defeat was a disaster that destroyed the country. The lesson of Fu Jian of the Former Qin Dynasty is not far away!"

Yuwen Luosheng looked at his brother, not expecting him to be so pessimistic. He said:

"We have a million soldiers in our army, and the six garrisons are all brave warriors who have fought in the battlefield. How can we not defeat Erzhu Rong's army?"

"As long as we destroy Erzhu Rong's army and attack Bingzhou, Luoyang will be in our hands, and only a small corner of Guanzhong will be left." "Don't say such discouraging words."

Yuwen Tai advised again:

"As the Art of War says, plan for defeat before planning for victory. Brother, you should also plan for defeat."

"I heard that Liu Gui was an old friend of Huaishuo Gao Huan. After Gao Huan defected to Erzhu Rong, it was Liu Gui who repeatedly gave Erzhu Rong advice, and Erzhu Rong therefore made use of Gao Huan."

"We, the Yuwen family, have a history with Gao Huan. If we contact Liu Gui, we will have another way out in the future. Isn't that good?"

Yuwen Luosheng was a little angry. He stood up and said:

"If it weren't for Your Majesty taking us in when my father and brother went south, we wouldn't be where we are today."

"If I do something so disloyal and unrighteous, how can I face my father and brothers in the future?"

When Yuwen Tai heard Yuwen Luosheng mention his father and brother, he couldn't help but say:

"The death of my father and brother was also caused by the dispute between Xian Yu Xiuli and Your Majesty."

Yuwen Luosheng said:

"Stop talking! Death is a small matter, but losing one's integrity is a big matter. Your Majesty treats me like a national hero, and I will repay you with my death!"

Yuwen Tai sighed and said:
"Brother, I don't think that His Majesty will lose, but in this era of great strife, with dragons and snakes rising up, it's still unclear who the true dragon will be. We don't need to bet our entire family on this!"

Yuwen Luosheng said:

"If you want to join Erzhu Rong, just go ahead!"

Yuwen Tai couldn't persuade him any further and had to leave Yuwen Luosheng's secret room.

Yuwen Tai couldn't help but think that if his father Yuwen Gong was here, he probably wouldn't have hanged himself on Ge Rong's rope.

Just at this moment, a tall child came out of the yard, chasing a bird with a short bow in his hand.

"Ago!"

"uncle!"

This child is Yuwen Hu, the son of Yuwen Tai’s brother Yuwen Hao who died in battle. He is only fourteen years old and is at his most mischievous.

In fact, although Yuwen Tai and Yuwen Hu were of different generations, they were actually only five years apart.

In times of chaos, children tend to mature early, not to mention the men in the Six Garrisons.

"Ahu, do you know the guest house where His Majesty entertains envoys?"

Yuwen Hu was also held hostage in Yecheng. He often took other noble children to wander around Yecheng. He was a well-known child king and knew Yecheng like the back of his hand.

He nodded vigorously, and Yuwen Tai said:
"I have a letter. Go to the Li Hotel and give it to a nobleman named Liu Gui. He is the one most people want to see. Just give the letter to him."

Yuwen Hu nodded repeatedly and happily took on the task.
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The news of Chen Qianzhi's conquest of Xingyang and Hangu Pass reached Luoyang, causing another major earthquake in Luoyang.

Xi Yi, who was in charge of the government, saw Erzhu Shilon returning from his defeat. Seeing his miserable appearance with his weapons and armor abandoned, he wanted to scold him but couldn't speak.

Of course, Xi Yi was unable to punish Erzhu Shilon because his position in the Erzhu Rong group was rather awkward.

If Yuan Tianmu were here, he would probably have directly enforced the state and Erzhu family laws against Erzhu Shilon.

Erzhu Rong respected Yuan Tianmu very much and asked his sons, nephews and brothers to treat Yuan Tianmu the same way they would treat himself.

Yuan Tianmu's political ability and personal cultivation made the Erzhu family regard him as an elder of the clan, and they were willing to be punished by him.

But Xi Yi couldn't do that.

Although he was Erzhu Rong's cousin, Erzhu Rong's attitude towards him was average. He let him stay in Luoyang because he valued his connections and relationships in Luoyang.

Therefore, when Erzhu Shilon asked Xi Yi for forgiveness, he did not necessarily have the intention of admitting guilt.

If Xi Yi really punished Erzhu Shilong, how could a rebellious Erzhu family member like Erzhu Shilong accept the punishment obediently? If a quarrel really broke out, Xi Yi would definitely be embarrassed.

Therefore, Xi Yi could only symbolically punish Erzhu Shilon verbally, and then he had to rush into the palace to report the matter to the new emperor Yuan Ziyou.

When he saw Xi Yi coming, Yuan Ziyou was very enthusiastic. Since the Heyin Incident, all the ministers were afraid of Erzhu Rong's power and did not dare to ask to see Yuan Ziyou.

Only Xi Yi often sought to see the emperor and was very friendly to Yuan Ziyou.

Originally, Yuan Ziyou also wanted to win over Xi Yi, but he was frightened by Erzhu Rong during the Heyin Incident and did not dare to contact Xi Yi easily.

Who knew that Xi Yi would say something that shocked Yuan Ziyu.

"Your Majesty, Hulao Pass has been lost!"

But Yuan Ziyou quickly calmed down and realized that this was an opportunity, an opportunity to completely break away from Erzhu Rong's control.

He immediately stood up and said:

"I want to leave Luoyang!"

(End of this chapter)