Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 451 Obliteration
This damn heavy rain finally stopped.

General Yang Zhong was riding on a horse. He was sent by Emperor Yuan Hao to go to Chen Qingzhi's military camp in Hanoi to read out Emperor Yuan Hao's new decree.

"General, the pontoon bridge has been washed away!"

Not long after leaving Luoyang, Yang Zhong heard bad news that the floating bridge connecting Luoyang and Beizhong City was washed away.

To go from Luoyang north of the Yellow River to Hanoi south of the Yellow River, one needs to cross the Yellow River. As soon as Yang Zhong left the city, the Beizhongcheng floating bridge, which had been washed away by continuous heavy rains, finally collapsed. Yang Zhong called it bad luck.

Looking at Beizhong City on the other side of the Yellow River, Yang Zhong had no choice but to say:
"detour!"

Yang Zhong could only look for a ferry to cross the river, but he only looked at Beizhong City on the other side of the Yellow River. Given the current situation in Luoyang, he didn't know when the floating bridge would be repaired.

The only thing that made the emperor and officials in Luoyang City feel at ease was that the rainstorm also delayed Erzhu Rong's progress. Luoyang should be safe for at least two months.

Two months later, it was almost winter. Erzhu Rong had fought for a year and it was unknown whether he could continue to attack Luoyang.

At least I survived for these two months!
Yang Zhong finally found a ferry on the Yellow River that could be used to cross the river. He also captured nearby fishermen to serve as boatmen. After much difficulty, he crossed the Yellow River and arrived in the Hanoi area north of the Yellow River.

When Yang Zhong finally arrived at Chen Qianzhi's camp after much haste, he found that the atmosphere in the army was very tense. He quickly asked his personal guards to pass the message, and soon he saw Chen Qianzhi, who had lost a lot of weight.

"General!"

When Chen Qingzhi saw Yang Zhong, he knew that he was here to read out the Emperor Yuan Hao's order, so he said:

"Governor Yang Zhi, please read out His Majesty's order first."

Hearing the distant tone in Chen Qingzhi's words, Yang Zhong felt a little bitter. Although he was not Chen Qingzhi's old subordinate, he was originally from the north, so there was nothing wrong with him joining Yuan Hao.

However, when facing Chen Qianzhi, Yang Zhong still felt embarrassed and always felt that he owed him something.

If it weren't for Chen Qianzhi's repeated promotions, Yang Zhong would still be just an ordinary soldier.

At this point, it was impossible for Yang Zhong to betray Yuan Hao and join Chen Qingzhi, so he read out Yuan Hao's order.

The content was very simple. There was a food shortage in Luoyang City, and the officials were starving. So Chen Qianzhi in Henei was asked to transport a batch of food to Luoyang for rescue.

Chen Qingzhi took the imperial edict expressionlessly, but did not give any other orders. Yang Zhong quickly said:
"General, all the officials in the city are starving to death. Please allocate some food to Luoyang."

Chen Qingzhi said bitterly:

"Yun? It's raining heavily in Hanoi. We have only collected 20% of the food in the whole of Hanoi. Our army doesn't even have enough food. How can we support Luoyang?"

"Even if we collect grain regardless of the people, who will help Your Majesty transport it to Luoyang? Are you going to let my army transport the grain?"

Why do famous generals throughout history attach importance to the importance of public opinion, restrain their troops, and try not to oppress the people?

In addition to moral needs and the need for military discipline, what is more important is that fighting a war is not just the business of the regular soldiers.

Marching and fighting is an extremely large organizational project that requires generals to fight hard on the front lines, as well as civilians to transport food and build fortifications in the rear.

Whether the local forces support you or not can make a huge difference in the results.

If the local people support you, the people will risk their lives to help you transport food and fodder using wheelbarrows, so that you can fight without any worries.

If the locals hate you, you may be shot as soon as you leave the watchtower. The food delivered to you may be short in weight and you may be robbed by "bandits" who come and go like the wind. The fortifications built by the people under the order of war are shoddy projects, making it difficult to move forward.

The people’s hearts are illusory, but they will also focus on these practical matters.

Chen Qingzhi is a famous general. The Henei area has suffered severely from the disaster. At this time, instead of reducing taxes and providing disaster relief, the court in Luoyang also requires the people of Henei to take out their food rations and send them to Luoyang?
Why? Is it because your last name is Yuan?
Yang Zhong also knew that this order was an unreasonable one, but he could only smile helplessly.

But Chen Qianzhi also knew that he could not ignore the mess in Luoyang.

Without the mess in Luoyang, he, a southerner, would have no way of gaining a foothold in Hanoi. This is how things are in politics. It is impossible to only enjoy the benefits, but also accept the political negative assets.

In Chen Qingzhi's view, the biggest liability was Yuan Hao himself.

No one could have imagined that Yuan Hao, who had been so dignified and ambitious in front of Xiao Yan, would degenerate so quickly after arriving in Luoyang, and so quickly destroyed the remaining public support in the Northern Wei court.

Chen Qingzhi asked again:

"Why don't you ask for food from Pengcheng, Suiyang?"

The reason why Luoyang became the capital was because the mother river, the Yellow River, flowed past Luoyang, and the water level in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River from Sanmenxia was relatively stable, allowing ships to sail against the current.

Luoyang can connect cities in the lower reaches of the Yellow River with rich tributaries through the Yellow River water transport. Junyi (Kaifeng), Suiyang, Pengcheng, Huaiyin, Shouchun, and Qiao are all near these waterways and can be transported to Luoyang by ship.

After the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal was dug and dredged, the Yellow River was connected to the Yangtze River, and cities in the south of the Yangtze River could also transport supplies to Luoyang and Chang'an through this route, allowing these two cities to draw blood from the world.

When Chen Qianzhi launched the Northern Expedition, these cities had already fallen into the hands of Southern Liang. The situation in Luoyang was so urgent. Could it be that Yuan Hao was still unwilling to ask Southern Liang for help?

Yang Zhong said bitterly:
"Your Majesty has asked for help this time, but the Yellow River flood has destroyed the docks along the river, and there is a severe shortage of transport vessels now, so it is temporarily impossible to transport goods to Luoyang."

Chen Qingzhi sighed deeply and said:
"Go back and tell His Majesty that I will try to send some military rations to Luoyang, but ask His Majesty to send someone to Hanoi to pick them up yourself."

Yang Zhong could only nod his head. At least Chen Qianzhi had given in.

Just as Yang Zhong was about to leave, Chen Qingzhi suddenly said:
"Yang Zhige, when do you think Erzhu Rong will attack?"

Yang Zhong looked at Chen Qianzhi in confusion. Since the Northern Expedition, Chen Qianzhi has always been very opinionated. He was able to lead 7,000 white-robed soldiers all the way here. In addition to the elite white-robed soldiers themselves, Chen Qianzhi's strategic vision was also extremely accurate. He was very good at seizing the enemy's loopholes and defeating them in one fell swoop.

To a certain extent, Chen Qingzhi, Erzhu Rong, Su Ze and other famous generals of the time were the same. As long as the enemy showed the slightest flaw, they would be killed with one blow.

Yang Zhong also said uncertainly:
"If someone else led the army, they would definitely fight again after the New Year, but that is not certain for Erzhu Rong."

Chen Qingzhi nodded slightly. Erzhu Rong's fighting style was imaginative. Since he personally led the army here, it would not be like waiting until after the New Year to fight again.

This was also Chen Qianzhi's biggest headache. An epidemic had broken out in his army. Although measures had been taken, many soldiers still fell. If Erzhu Rong really launched an attack soon, he would really not be able to hold on in Hanoi.

But after looking at Yang Zhong, Chen Qianzhi swallowed his words and told Yang Zhong that it was useless and would only add to his troubles. What difference would it make even if the mess in Luoyang could be sustained until the new year?
Unconsciously, Chen Qianzhi did not realize that his ambitions had been almost wiped out.
-
Anyang City.

Yuan Tianmu and Gao Huan stood outside the city and saw dust flying in the distance and the ground began to shake slightly. The general had indeed arrived!
Just after Erzhu Rong pacified Qi and Lu and defeated Xing Gao, Emperor Yuan Ziyou was very obedient and took the initiative to promote Erzhu Rong to a higher position.

But Erzhu Rong had already been rewarded for everything he had done, and finally, at the suggestion of Gao Huan, Yuan Ziyou established the title of "General Tianzhu" above the general to specifically reward Erzhu Rong for his merits and commend him for being the pillar of the court!

Originally, Emperor Yuan Ziyou was also in Anyang City. He took the initiative to ask to go out of the city to welcome Erzhu Rong, but was dissuaded by Yuan Tianmu.

Yuan Tianmu instinctively felt that the emperor had recently shown signs of being out of his control. Although such a proactive political move was to reward Erzhu Rong, it also demonstrated the emperor's existence.

Yuan Tianmu was defeated several times, and after arriving in Anyang, some officials and gentry actually wanted to pay homage to the emperor.

Of course, these people were stopped by Yuan Tianmu.

Given Yuan Ziyou's personal charm, once these officials and gentry met him, they would inevitably become disloyal.

Yuan Tianmu himself felt a little regretful that he should not have chosen Yuan Ziyou when discussing the establishment of a new emperor.

Either choose a young one from the royal family, or choose a weak and incompetent one. Someone like Yuan Ziyou is too dangerous.

But the situation in the world is delicate now, and Erzhu Rong is not the only one who holds the emperor. The impact of deposing and enthroning him again will be too great.

Yuan Tianmu could only ask Xi Yi to isolate the emperor from meeting with foreign ministers, and prevent Yuan Ziyou from appearing in public. He kept Yuan Ziyou in the palace in Anyang City on the grounds that the emperor was frightened when he escaped and could not go out of the city to welcome General Tianzhu.

This also damages Yuan Ziyou's image.

The ground shook more and more violently, and Yuan Tianmu finally saw his long-lost brother Erzhu Rong.

Yuan Tianmu and Gao Huan immediately knelt down and apologized to Erzhu Rong on his horse.

"The guilty minister Yuan Tianmu (Gao Huan) lost Ji County. Please punish me, General Tianzhu!"

Erzhu Rong dismounted, helped Yuan Tianmu and Gao Huan up, and said with a smile:

"The defeat of Ji County was not caused by war. Enter the city, enter the city!"

Gao Huan then breathed a sigh of relief. He looked up and saw Heba Yue beside Erzhu Rong. The news of Heba Yue's failure in the expedition to Dingzhou had already reached Anyang. Unexpectedly, he was also forgiven by General Tianzhu.

Gao Huan pretended to be happy and nodded to Heba Yue, and Heba Yue smiled in return.

But in Gao Huan's heart, the open and secret struggles between Wuchuan and Huaishuo have become more and more serious over the years, and he no longer has much personal feelings for the Heba brothers.

After entering the city, Erzhu Rong first paid a visit to Yuan Ziyou, and then, according to his old habit, he turned the largest house in Anyang City into a military camp.

Gao Huan returned to his base after a busy day and heard a noise in the house.

(End of this chapter)