Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 429 Two Envoys

Li Ruiniang showed a worried expression and said:
"If the Duke of the County really wants to form an alliance, I don't know whether it will be a blessing or a curse."

The marriage between a founding hero and the royal family was inevitable. Yu Jin's qualifications and merits were suitable, and his daughter was of the same age as Su Ze's eldest son.

However, marrying into the royal family has its pros and cons. The biggest disadvantage is naturally being involved in the vortex of succession to the throne in the future.

However, before he had the time to think about these things, after giving instructions to his wife, Yu Jin quickly went to Hongnong to take up his post.
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Youzhou, Ji County.

Gao Guiyi held the wrapped ceremonial staff in his bag, while Wanqi Chounu led a hundred elite cavalrymen to clear the way. After Su Ze defeated Xianyu Ahu, the group rode non-stop to Youzhou.

Gao Guiyi did not rush into the city, but camped outside Jixian County. When Chen Chong, who had gone into the city to gather information, returned, the delegation gathered under the campfire to discuss.

Chen Chong unloaded Qiao Zhuang and said, "Han Lou has probably tens of thousands of troops under his command. He has taken over the Youzhou arsenal and has a full range of armor."

This result was also expected by everyone.

The greatest reliance of Youzhou is armor and war horses, which, together with the heroic and tragic people of Yan and Zhao, created the world-famous Youzhou cavalry.

However, Youzhou is an unlucky place. It is too close to the Central Plains, so it is often impossible for them to become true dragons. In the end, they can only become local princes who serve as pioneers for the king.

This was true for Gongsun Zan during the Three Kingdoms period, as well as Luo Yi at the end of the Sui Dynasty. Han Lou, who now controls Youzhou, also has this vague feeling.

Chen Chong added:
"In addition to Han Lou's own troops, he also has a 2,000-man armored cavalry under his command. The cavalry commander is named Peng Le, who was originally a general under Du Luozhou. Later, he felt that Du Luozhou could not accomplish anything, so he turned to Han Lou."

"It is said that this group of armored cavalry are the veterans of the Six Garrisons who followed Po Liu and Han Baling in their uprising. Peng Le is also said to be a fierce general and should not be underestimated."

Wanqi Chounu, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said:

"Is this Peng Le a military commander with curly hair and long beard, who is good at riding and shooting?"

Chen Chong nodded, and Wanqi Chounu said:

"That's right. I also said it sounded familiar. Peng Le should be from Gaoping. He used to serve under Hu Chen with me. Later, after Yu Jun captured Hu Chen, Peng Le went north to join Po Liu Han Baling. I didn't expect that he is now in Youzhou."

Everyone can only sigh at the miraculous fate of people in troubled times.

Among the people present, Gao Guiyi was a descendant of the Bohai Gao family's branch in Hezhou. He followed his father Gao Hui to join Su Ze's army and served as an envoy to various places.

Wanqi Chounu was originally a subordinate of Hu Chen, a rebel general in Gaoping County. He finally surrendered to Su Ze, made military achievements and became a cavalry captain. He then followed Dugu Xin to Wuyuan City as a close follower, and later followed Su Ze to attack Hengzhou.

Chen Chong was originally from Wuchuan. He followed Dugu Xin all the way to Yongle City and joined Su Ze.

The three of them can be said to be from different places, and now they are all serving under Su Ze.

However, Peng Le from Gaoping County became a general under the Youzhou warlord Han Lou.

Gao Guiyi said:
"Captain Wanqi, can you convince Peng Le to surrender to the Duke?"

Wanqi Chounu thought for a moment and said:
"Peng Le and I do have a past, but it's been so long, and I don't know what his stance is now."

Gao Guiyi said optimistically: "What the Duke needs is for Youzhou to remain neutral. As long as Han Lou is willing to serve Your Majesty, the Duke will not hesitate to reward him with an official position. The rest will be decided after the Duke resolves Dingzhou."

Gao Guiyi then said to Wanqi Chounu:
"Peng Le is an old subordinate of Du Luozhou. He is definitely the one who is most reluctant to see Han Lou and Du Luozhou join forces. You and he are both from Gaoping Township. Just explain the interests to him. Peng Le will consider the rest himself."

Wanqi Chounu nodded and said, "This is easy."

Gao Guiyi said:
"We will show our flags tomorrow. As long as Youzhou can remain neutral when the Duke of the County attacks Dingzhou, we will have accomplished our mission."

Everyone agreed. After resting for a night, Gao Guiyi rode on his horse, holding the flag high, and entered Ji County under the protection of everyone.

Han Lou attached great importance to Gao Guiyi and his entourage, and even allowed his hundred cavalrymen to enter the city. He also placed Gao Guiyi and his entourage in an office next to the Youzhou Governor's Mansion and sent his confidants to accompany Gao Guiyi.

But strangely, Han Lou did not negotiate with Gao Guiyi and never summoned Gao Guiyi and his party.

After staying in the office for a day, Gao Guiyi realized that the situation had changed a little, so he sent Chen Chong and Wanqi Chounu to inquire about the situation again.

Han Lou did not restrict the activities of Gao Guiyi's delegation. Soon Chen Chong brought back news that not only Su Ze sent an envoy to Youzhou, but Erzhu Rong also sent his cousin Erzhu Zhongyuan as an envoy, who had arrived in Ji County a few days ago.
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After the great victory at Fukou, Erzhu Rong also faced a problem, that is, his own troops were too small.

This is also the reason why after defeating Ge Rong, Erzhu Rong did not immediately accept the surrender of Ge Rong's remnants, but let them flee separately and then sent generals to pursue them.

Of course, in times of chaos, the last thing lacking is qualified soldiers. Ji, Ding and Ying states were originally the most densely populated areas in the Northern Wei Dynasty. With the addition of the remnants of the Six Garrisons, the local source of soldiers in Hebei was not too few but too many.

In the military camp outside Yecheng, Erzhu Rong repeatedly raised the standards for joining the army, but a large number of able-bodied men still signed up to join the army. Another thorny problem was that the military generals under Erzhu Rong were not much different from Su Ze, but there was a shortage of talents who could govern civil affairs.

The only all-round talent in both civil and military affairs who could stand on his own was Yuan Tianmu, who was also left in Luoyang by Erzhu Rong.

This was actually the bitter fruit that Erzhu Rong had brought upon himself.

After the Heyin Incident, the officials in Luoyang fled one after another. Even those who stayed in Luoyang were forced by Erzhu Rong to become officials, and they were extremely reluctant.

The Erzhu family accumulated a large amount of wealth and warriors in Xiurong, but they did not have any talents to handle government affairs.

Even the local gentry in Bingzhou were unwilling to support Erzhu Rong.

For example, the brothers Wang Zunye who were killed by Erzhu Rong in Heyin were the signature figures of the Taiyuan Wang family in Luoyang. After the killing of Wang Zunye and his brothers, although the Taiyuan Wang family forced some of their sons to serve as officials under the coercion of Erzhu Rong, in fact they did not contribute much.

Erzhu Rong had no other way to deal with these things. He couldn't just hold a knife and force these nobles to work for him, right?

Local affairs are easier to handle. If that doesn't work, just keep the status quo and let the local governments govern themselves.

But when it came to the top management of the Erzhu Rong Group, there was really no manpower available.

Now, the only people who can be considered civil officials under Erzhu Rong are Liu Gui and a few others.

Otherwise, Erzhu Rong would not have sent his cousin Erzhu Zhongyuan as an envoy to Youzhou.

Although Erzhu Zhongyuan was good at fighting, he was cruel and brutal by nature. When he was in Luoyang, he was punished with a whip by Erzhu Rong himself for harming the people and committing lawless acts. However, when it came to recruiting people, Erzhu Rong could only send this cousin to feel at ease.

Defeating Ge Rong was a glorious victory, but after the victory, Erzhu Rong faced more things.

First of all, there was the issue of Jizhou. Erzhu Rong led his troops into Yecheng, and all parties in Jizhou surrendered, but it would take time to take over the entire Jizhou.

In addition, the rebels in Yingzhou and Xiangzhou also needed to be eliminated, the officials and gentry in Qizhou and Qingzhou needed to be appeased, and the lands occupied by Southern Liang in Yanzhou and Xuzhou needed to be fought for.

Erzhu Rong wanted to go north to compete with Su Ze for Youzhou and Dingzhou, but the various affairs in Hebei made him unable to cope with it. He could only send envoys to Du Luozhou and Han Lou's troops, trying to persuade them to surrender with gentle means.
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In Ji County, Han Lou was considered a very low-key figure among the rebels in the Six Garrisons.

When Ge Rong and Xianyu Xiuli were fighting, he remained neutral. After Ge Rong came to power, he fled to Youzhou and seized power in Youzhou.

After Ge Rong proclaimed himself emperor, Han Lou also submitted his pledge of allegiance and was named King of Yan by Ge Rong.

Faced with the two groups of envoys sent by Su Ze and Erzhu Rong, Han Lou didn't know what to do.

Erzhu Rong defeated a million with seven thousand troops, and Su Ze defeated a hundred thousand with only five thousand troops. Han Lou didn't know where he got the blessing to have these two killer gods serving him, one in the west and the other in the south.

Han Lou called Peng Le, a general whom he trusted, to discuss the matter.

When Peng Le saw Han Lou, he said straight to the point: "King of Yan, after Erzhu Zhongyuan came to Ji County, he openly asked for money and women from you, and acted tyrannically in the city. On the other hand, the envoy of Su Gong from Guanzhong behaved himself in Ji County and never caused any trouble."

Han Lou nodded. What Peng Le said was the truth. The children of the Erzhu family had always been domineering. When they were with Erzhu Rong, they were still restricted by Erzhu Rong's military law and did not dare to be too arrogant.

This time, Erzhu Rong won a great victory in Jizhou, and the children of the Erzhu family became even more arrogant. When Erzhu Zhongyuan was on a diplomatic mission, he openly humiliated Han Lou, demanded that he lead a sheep out of the city to surrender, and threatened Han Lou that if he did not surrender, he would end up like Ge Rong.

Han Lou added, "But the Erzhu clan is at the peak of their power. I, Han Lou, am not afraid of personal loss, but what if I bring trouble to my brothers?"

Peng Le actually probably understood Han Lou's thoughts.

He was more inclined to surrender to Su Ze, but was afraid of being retaliated by Erzhu Rong.

You should know that there is only Yingzhou between Youzhou and Jizhou, and most of Yingzhou has fallen into the hands of Erzhu Rong.

However, there was Dingzhou between Hengzhou, which was controlled by Su Ze, and Youzhou, so it was too late for Su Ze to support himself.

If he angered Erzhu Rong, and was really attacked by Erzhu Rong as Erzhu Zhongyuan said, Han Lou did not think that he was more powerful than Ge Rong's million-strong army.

Peng Le understood Han Lou's intentions, and he struck while the iron was hot:

"Prince of Yan, Erzhu Rong is powerful, but the whole country is in turmoil, and Youzhou is just a small and isolated place. How could he lead a large army to conquer us?"

"I also heard that the various tribes on the grassland have already respected Lord Nasu as the Heavenly Khan. Although we are separated from Hengzhou by Dingzhou, they can still support us from the Six Towns."

"Lord Su has never killed surrendered generals indiscriminately, and has never been stingy with rewards for meritorious service. He also has the emperor on his side. Isn't this better than joining the Erzhu family, a murderous clan?"

(End of this chapter)