Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 431 Yang Zhong
In Jiankang City, Xiao Yan received an urgent report from Luoyang.

His son Emperor Yuan Hao reported the results of Chen Qingzhi's Northern Expedition in a respectful tone. In addition to expressing his gratitude to Xiao Yan, the "investor", Yuan Hao also tactfully stated that the people of Luoyang were loyal to him and that the northern rebel Erzhu Rong was not a concern.

In a nutshell, he can hold on and does not need Xiao Yan to send more troops.

As Xiao Yan's greatest military achievement for the Northern Dynasties in recent years, Xiao Yan, who rarely held grand court meetings, rarely visited Taicheng to discuss the Northern Expedition with his ministers.

It was called a discussion, but in fact, Xiao Yan was just showing off to his ministers.

After Zhu Yi read out Yuan Hao's memorial, the ministers flattered him again, making Xiao Yan feel extremely comfortable.

Over the years, there were basically only ministers like Zhu Yi left in the Southern Liang court. Amidst the praises, Xiao Yan's favorite minister Zhu Yi was the first to stand up.

As Xiao Yan's confidant, Zhu Yi could be said to be a worm in Xiao Yan's stomach.

Xiao Yan asked the eunuch to read Yuan Hao's memorial in public. In addition to showing off, it also explained Xiao Yan's intention, that is, he agreed with Yuan Hao's opinion and did not intend to continue to send reinforcements to Luoyang.

As the prime minister who controlled the government, Zhu Yi also did not want to increase the number of troops.

The last time Chen Qianzhi led 7,000 troops to the north, the Southern Liang court had already tried its best to raise enough food and fodder for Chen Qianzhi's expedition. To this day, the price of food in Jiankang remains high, and even the salaries of low-ranking officials are no longer enough to support their livelihood in Jiankang.

Of course, this situation is naturally a good thing for Zhu Yi.

Those grassroots officials from poor families requested to be transferred to other places because of the sharply rising cost of living in Jiankang, and these positions were left for Zhu Yi to promote his own people.

There is a saying that goes "Don't be an official if you have no one in the court", but now the saying in Jiankang City is "Don't be an official if you are short of money".

However, how these officials who were sent to other places colluded with local tyrants to exploit the people in order to return to Jiankang to enjoy a good life was not a problem that Zhu Yi needed to think about.

As for what the people thought, it didn't matter. Over the past five years, Emperor Xiao Yan had become more and more devout in Buddhism, and even meat dishes were banned in the palace. Naturally, Xiao Yan, the Bodhisattva Emperor, was also very generous to his officials.

When his officials were corrupt and committed lawlessness, Xiao Yan would sometimes just issue an imperial decree to reprimand them and get away with it. He would even rarely dismiss them from office, let alone execute them.

This also led to the corruption and degeneration of officials in Southern Liang at a faster rate.

Zhu Yi also did not want to send more troops. Once more troops were mobilized, the prosperous era that he had worked so hard to whitewash would be exposed. He did not want Xiao Yan to know that the Southern Liang court could not even gather enough food for thousands of people to go on the expedition.

Zhu Yi kowtowed and said:

"Your Majesty is wise and valiant. General Chen's northern expedition was so successful this time because of your blessing. This is what the people want. How can a foreigner like Erzhu Rong shake it?"

"Luoyang is an ancient strong city, and the Lord of Wei is popular among the people. Erzhu Rong will collapse without a fight!"

"Your Majesty, all you need to do is practice and pray in Jiankang, and the front lines will naturally be able to win victory after victory!"

Hearing this, Xiao Yan smiled even more comfortably. Zhu Yi's words touched his heart deeply. Originally, supporting Yuan Hao was just an idle piece on the chessboard, but he did not expect Chen Qianzhi to be so good at fighting.

However, all the lands that could be occupied by the Northern Wei had already been taken into its possession. The reason why they supported Yuan Hao was that the north had been the legitimate dynasty for a long time, and the people of Luoyang had no interest in the Southern Dynasty at all, and the Southern Liang court could not control it.

In Xiao Yan's opinion, using his own troops and food to help Yuan Hao fight was not a good deal.

On the contrary, it would be better for him if the situation in the north was more chaotic.

But at times like this, there are always people who sing the opposite tune.

A young official stepped out and said to Xiao Yan:

"Your Majesty, I think we should continue to send troops to Luoyang, otherwise General Chen's northern expedition may not be successful."

Xiao Yan and his ministers looked at the young man. Xiao Yan wanted to scold him, but when he saw the young man's identity, he suppressed his anger.

This young man is Tongzhilang Wei Can.

Tongzhilang was not a prominent official position, and it did not even have a proper job. It could only be regarded as a miscellaneous official in the cabinet.

However, when this young man stepped forward to speak, no one looked down on him. Even Xiao Yan looked at him and motioned for him to continue.

Because Wei Can is Wei Rui's grandson.

The Battle of Zhongli can be said to be the founding battle of Southern Liang. The contributions made by Wei Rui were enough to allow his descendants to be listed in the court.

Wei Rui's eldest son Wei Fang is now stationed in Shouyang, and Wei Can is Wei Fang's son.

The Wei family can be considered a family of scholars who are proficient in both civil and military affairs. Wei Can was a handsome man at a young age. Not only was he an outstanding writer, he was also proficient in the art of warfare. He was a rare all-rounder in the Southern Liang Dynasty.

Wei Can continued:

"Luoyang is surrounded by enemies and is difficult to defend. Su Ze'er and Zhu Rong are both fierce and fierce. Although General Chen's 7,000 white-robed soldiers are elite, they have traveled a long way and the local people are not loyal to them. If they keep winning, it will be ok. Once they lose, the army will be demoralized." "I think we should either send all the troops to the north, or ask General Chen to withdraw to Xingyang or Shouyang to preserve this elite white-robed army."

Now even Xiao Yan, who was always generous, was unhappy.

This Northern Expedition was a great achievement of his. But he let Chen Qianzhi retreat before he even had a firm foothold in Luoyang. Wasn't that a slap in his own face?

Xiao Yan's dissatisfaction was quickly seen by Zhu Yi, who immediately stood up and said:

"How can a simple man like you make irresponsible comments on important military and national affairs?"

"General Chen has traveled thousands of miles, and no one knows how to fight a war better than him. Your Majesty has already granted him the power to make decisions on the spot, so don't exaggerate!"

Wei Can was about to make another remonstrance, but Xiao Yan was getting impatient. The Bodhisattva Emperor said:

"I am going to donate tens of millions of dollars to Tongtai Temple to pray for the soldiers on the front line!"

Upon hearing this, all the ministers in the court were shocked. What order of magnitude is tens of millions of dollars?

Just when Wei Can was about to say that this money would be better used as a reward to the soldiers who went to the battlefield, the entire court of civil and military officials had already begun to cheer and sing praises to Xiao Yan's wisdom and bravery.

In such an atmosphere, Wei Can could only bow his head helplessly and join in the frenzy.

In June of the fourth year of the Common Era, Xiao Yan donated tens of millions of coins to the Tongtai Temple, and all the nobles, including the officials and the people of Jiankang, joined him.

A bronze bell was raised in Tongtai Temple, and it would be rung once for every donation of ten thousand coins. The sound of the bell from Tongtai Temple could be heard throughout the entire Jiankang City.
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Compared with the optimistic mood in Jiankang City, Chen Qianzhi in Luoyang has been a little worried recently.

First of all, he overestimated the influence of Yuan Hao, the puppet emperor.

Since Yuan Hao ascended the throne, those who have been attached to him are all those who have been frustrated in Luoyang City, basically all of them are useless royal family members who were unsuccessful in the previous dynasty, or some flatterers.

These people didn't have much real ability, but they were first-rate at flattery. Yuan Hao soon fell into their flattery and even alienated Chen Qianzhi.

In addition, the envoys sent by Yuan Hao to Henei were basically captured or killed, and not a single county in Henei responded or attached itself to him.

Chen Qingzhi had not expected that Yuan Hao's reputation would be so bad, and Yuan Hao and the officials he appointed were like a doomsday carnival, plundering the city of Luoyang day and night. Yuan Hao held three concubine selection sessions alone, and filled the harem in just one month. This was something that had never been done since Emperor Xuanwu, Yuan Xu, and Yuan Ziyou.

The people of Luoyang already hated Yuan Hao, the puppet emperor who ascended the throne with the help of southern soldiers. They hated him even more now, and fled once again.

Yuan Hao ordered the city gates to be closed and required the establishment of a new imperial guard force among the people of Luoyang. He forcibly conscripted 20,000 people in Luoyang.

When Chen Qianzhi went to see the 20,000 men, the military camp was filled with opportunistic ruffians and the elderly, the weak and the disabled who had been forcibly captured to make up the numbers. Chen Qianzhi didn't even dare to think whether these troops would collapse if they left the city.

However, Chen Qingzhi could no longer care about Luoyang City. According to reports from the front line, Gao Huan had led the support troops to meet up with Yuan Tianmu and fought a fierce battle with Xing Gao in Ji County. Xing Gao was defeated and his troops were routed. Xing Gao fled to Qingzhou alone.

After Ji County was conquered, Xiangzhou fell into the hands of Yuan Tianmu. Yuan Ziyou announced the establishment of an administrative office in Ji County, recruited soldiers and vowed to retake Luoyang.

This formed a sharp contrast with the unpopularity of Yuan Hao. The local nobles in Xiangzhou responded one after another and soon gathered more than 20,000 troops in Ji County. These nobles also provided food, which greatly emboldened Yuan Tianmu, who announced that he would send troops to retake Luoyang.

A new round of Luoyang competition is about to begin.

Yang Zhong came down from the palace and ended his duty for the day.

As the general in charge of the palace, Yang Zhong was highly regarded by Yuan Hao, who rewarded him with beauties in his mansion when he arrived in Luoyang.

Yuan Hao said to his attendants, "Only when General Yang is on duty can I sleep peacefully."

However, Yuan Hao slept soundly. Yang Zhong had not returned home to rest for two days. Moreover, the so-called mansion and beauty that Yuan Hao rewarded him with, the mansion belonged to the nobles who had fled Luoyang, and the beauty was an ordinary woman who was robbed from somewhere. There was no valuable gold, silver, jewelry or silk at all.

As for Yuan Hao's official position, no one cared about it. Even the imperial guards guarding the palace walls were murmuring, not knowing how long Yuan Hao could be emperor.

Yang Zhong felt a little regretful. He thought he was blind. He thought Yuan Hao was a wise leader, but he didn't expect him to be such a useless guy. It was a pity that he had made great contributions, but was alienated by Chen Qianzhi because he was wooed by Yuan Hao. He was afraid that it would be difficult for him to return to Chen Qianzhi's army.

Yang Zhong was feeling a little depressed. When he returned to the mansion, he heard from his servants that an old friend was visiting.

Yang Zhong was a little puzzled. He had no relatives or friends in Luoyang, so how could an old friend come to visit him?

The servant ushered the visitor into the mansion. Yang Zhong saw that this person looked ordinary at first glance, but his gestures were quite extraordinary. He put away his contempt and asked:
"Your Excellency said that Yang is an old friend. Yang has no relatives or friends in Luoyang, and has never met you. How can we be old friends?"

The man crossed his hands and said:

"I am Su Bai, and I am here to contact the general on the orders of Duke Su."

"A good bird chooses a tree to roost in, a good minister chooses a master to serve. General Yang should know exactly what to choose."

(End of this chapter)