Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 456 Khitan
Facing Erzhu Rong's surrender, Yang Zhong whispered:
"A loyal minister does not serve two masters. Your Majesty has been kind to me. If you want to kill me or chop me up, don't say anything."

Erzhu Rong said with satisfaction:

"Yang Zhong, you are worthy of the name 'loyal'. This general will not kill you, but will lock him up instead."

At this time, Gao Huan hurriedly walked into Erzhu Rong's tent and reported to him that Chen Qingzhi had crossed the river and occupied Hulao Pass.

Erzhu Rong was silent for a moment and asked:

"How did Chen Qingzhi cross the river?"

Gao Huan said truthfully:

"It was General Fu Bo, Yang Yu, who transported them to the south bank of the Yellow River by boat."

Erzhu Rong said:
"Didn't Yang Yu flee to Hedong County after Luoyang was captured?"

Gao Huan could only tell the truth:

"Yes."

Erzhu Rong was not angry, nor did he look in the direction of Hulao Pass where Chen Qianzhi fled, but instead looked westward towards Hedong County.

"My sworn brother is really killing me with every move. He doesn't leave me any room for any chance."

Gao Huan also felt his scalp tingling.

He was one of the few generals under Erzhu Rong who had close contact with both Erzhu Rong and Su Ze and had a deep understanding of both of them.

Su Ze's soldiers may not be as elite as Erzhu Rong's, but his ability to plan is really strong.

Whether it was the capture of Youzhou and Dingzhou, or this divine move to help Chen Qianzhi, both put Erzhu Rong into a great strategic passive position.

With Chen Qianzhi in Henan, it would be meaningless for Erzhu Rong to occupy Luoyang if he could not take Hulao Pass and Xingyang.

But Gao Huan also knew that Erzhu Rong's army had reached its limit.

No matter how elite the soldiers are, they are still human beings. This army has fought all the way from Qingzhou to Luoyang, and Chen Qianzhi's army is no ordinary one. He occupied the Hulao Fortress, and it might not be possible to take it down by force.

Gao Huan was about to persuade Erzhu Rong when he heard Erzhu Rong say:

"The soldiers are exhausted. We can't fight this year."

"Order to gather craftsmen from Luoyang and Hanoi to rebuild the floating bridge leading to Beizhong City."

"In addition, Luoyang is short of food, Chen Qingzhi is in Hulao, and Su Ze of Hedong County is also eyeing us covetously. I am going to report to His Majesty and request to move the capital to Jinyang!"

After saying this, Gao Huan quickly said:

"General! Absolutely not!"

Erzhu Rong had been planning to move the capital to Jinyang for a long time.

Luoyang is a place surrounded by enemies on all sides, but the reason why it was able to serve as the capital is because of its geographical location which is like a treasure trove.

Through the tributaries of the Yellow River, the Northern Wei Dynasty was able to gather supplies from all over the country to Luoyang, and Luoyang could also use these convenient channels to suppress rebellions in other regions at any time.

However, with Su Ze occupying Hedong County and Chen Qianzhi controlling Hulao Pass, this situation was completely reversed.

Not only is Luoyang unable to serve as a "treasure pot", but it is leaking money everywhere.

Guanzhong could no longer support Luoyang, and the lower reaches of the Yellow River were also cut off by Chen Qianzhi.

If Erzhu Rong wanted to transport grain to Luoyang, he had to either cross the Taihang Mountains and transport grain to Luoyang from the Shangdang area via Taihang Xing.

Or you can use land transportation from Jizhou and Xiangzhou to support Luoyang.

Either way, it is costly and causes serious losses.

In addition, Erzhu Rong has always been worried about leaving Yuan Ziyou in Luoyang.

Luoyang is a paradise for ambitious people and a heaven for conspirators.

All forces have spies along the lines in Luoyang, and no one knows what kind of people are hiding in Luoyang.

Moreover, Luoyang was the capital. No matter how much the Northern Wei Dynasty was deserted by its people, there were still some die-hard followers in Luoyang.

Erzhu Rong had neither the energy nor the interest to fight these power-playing guys.

In Erzhu Rong's view, the smartest thing his brother did was to take the young emperor Yuan Xu away alone, but abandon the noble ministers in Luoyang.

Now that Erzhu Rong has taken over the mess, he understands that these noble ministers are the most accumulated historical burden of the Wei Dynasty. With them around, they are more likely to cause trouble than accomplish anything!
Moving the capital to Jinyang could also isolate Emperor Yuan Ziyou from these people.

In Erzhu Rong's view, moving the capital to Jinyang could be said to be a brilliant move with only benefits and no disadvantages.

But Gao Huan was the first to jump out and oppose.

Erzhu Rong frowned and asked, "Why not?"

Gao Huan said quickly:
"Luoyang is the capital of the country, and it is where the people look up to. If General Tianzhu moves the capital to Jinyang, then what is the difference between Your Majesty and the fake emperor?"

Erzhu Rong also started to have a headache.

What Gao Huan said was not wrong. After all, Yuan Xu was the legitimate emperor, and Erzhu Rong established Yuan Ziyou based on the will of Empress Dowager Hu and the sacredness of the throne in Luoyang.

If he left Luoyang, his legitimacy would be weakened. When he was in Heyin, Erzhu Rong massacred his ministers, and he naturally didn't care.

Because at that time he has the confidence to quickly pacify the world, and by then you aristocratic families will have no choice but to beg me to cooperate with you.

However, with the changes in the situation in the past six months, Erzhu Rong has conquered a lot of territory, but Su Ze has also occupied a lot.

When there were better options, Erzhu Rong also felt the pressure.

In particular, Chen Qianzhi's Northern Expedition disrupted Erzhu Rong's strategic planning.

It can be said that it was precisely because of Chen Qingzhi's existence that Erzhu Rong was afraid to go to war with Su Ze, so as to avoid being caught in the dilemma of fighting on two fronts.

Erzhu Rong said with a sullen face:
"Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital to Luoyang because of state affairs. Now I, the general, am moving the capital to Jinyang because of state affairs. What's wrong with that?"

Gao Huan was too tired to complain in his heart. Emperor Xiaowen was the orthodox emperor, and moving the capital to Luoyang was a continuation of the sinicization policy started by Empress Dowager Wenming. It might seem abrupt, but it was actually a natural outcome.

Moreover, many ministers were discussing Emperor Xiaowen's relocation of the capital, and if you, Erzhu Rong, did this, it would probably be even more unpopular.

Gao Huan still advised earnestly:
"General, the world is in chaos right now, it would be best if you could lend a helping hand. If you can't, you can't push the responsibility onto others, right?"

Erzhu Rong was silent for a moment. What Gao Huan said did make sense.

When the territory was still small, Erzhu Rong, Yuan Tianmu and Liu Gui were able to barely handle civil affairs.

However, as his territory expanded, even people like Xi Yi, whom Erzhu Rong did not think highly of, were entrusted with important tasks by him.

Even the family members of those ministers who were killed in the Heyin Incident who were willing to stay in office were promoted three levels by Erzhu Rong.

In the comprehensive contest with Su Ze, Erzhu Rong also understood the importance of civil affairs.

Erzhu Rong then asked the Heba brothers around him and sent a letter to Yuan Tianmu in Anyang. They all unanimously opposed moving the capital to Jinyang.

Erzhu Rong had no choice but to give up. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that entering Luoyang that day was Su Ze's conspiracy, forcing him to stay in Luoyang endlessly.

But the thing about open conspiracy is that even though you know there is a problem, you still have to step into it without hesitation.

Erzhu Rong also understood that Su Ze's outstanding governing ability was gradually narrowing the military gap between the two sides.

If we continue to let this go, the offensive and defensive situation will be difficult.

However, Erzhu Rong was not a man who would sit and wait for death. He had already prepared a backup plan to contain Su Ze.
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In December, a caravan led by merchants from the Western Regions arrived at the Rouran royal court.

As before, the caravan brought specialties from the Central Plains. In addition to comfortable clothes, this time the caravan leader Subai [a corrupt Western merchant] also brought a whole camel of fine liquor to Yujiulu Brahmin.

This is the last caravan heading to the Rouran royal court this year. The next time they come will have to wait until the spring when the ice and snow melt, so Subai's caravan brought a lot of goods.

The caravan would leave the Rouran royal court only after the ice and snow melted. After Subai delivered the goods, he would stay in the residence arranged by the Rouran royal court.

Subai, who has the [Corruption] attribute, has become friends with many Rouran nobles during his several trade trips to the grassland.

Winter on the grassland is quite boring. The livestock stay in the barns and people stay in tents.

The nobles would hold various banquets in winter, and Subai was a frequent guest on the invitation list for banquets at the Rouran royal court.

Today is the banquet of Yujiulu Brahmin. As the deputy Khan of Rouran, his banquet is naturally the largest in scale.

Subai was arranged to attack Yujiulü Brahmin. Looking at Yujiulü Brahmin who was drunk under Yuhushao's attack, he looked more haggard than the last time Subai came.

The grassland is a place that makes people age quickly, not to mention that Yujiulu Brahmin has been drained of his body by alcohol and sex.

It was precisely because of this that Yujiulü Brahmin lost his ambition, which allowed the Rouran to stand in the right position in several conflicts, and their lives became better than before.

At the banquet, the fine wine brought by Subai was also the favorite drink of these grassland nobles.

This kind of distilled strong liquor, whose production is strictly restricted in the Central Plains, is now an important commodity in the grassland trade. In order to be supplied exclusively to the grassland, these Yuhu Shao are even stronger.

As the banquet continued, more of the nobles became completely drunk.

At this moment, a warrior wearing a mink hat rushed into the banquet. He looked around and went straight to Yujiulu Brahmin and said:

"Deputy Brahman Khan, Kehe Dun summons you!"

The Brahmin Yujiulu was already drunk and unconscious, and the warriors had no choice but to look for several other nobles. In the end, they only found three guys who were still sober, and they had to take them to the king's tent to report.

Unexpectedly, Subai was also summoned and came to Princess Shouyang's tent.

Soon Subai met the young Khan of the grassland.

Like, it’s so similar!

As one of Su Ze's confidants who was able to meet him, Subai looked at the grassland Khan, who had seven points of resemblance to Su Ze, and his heart was as clear as a mirror.

After paying respect to the Khan, Princess Shouyang had the little Khan carried away, and then she said to everyone:

"The Khitan in the east accepted Erzhu Rong's title to the imperial court and will probably attack us next year."

Everyone present had sobered up a lot when they heard the word Khitan. Khitan was a nomadic people in the north that rose between the White Mountains and Black Waters. Rouran, Youzhou and Yanzhou were often invaded by them.

Their collusion with Erzhu Rong was both unexpected and reasonable.

(End of this chapter)