Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 464 Khitan and Goguryeo
Gao Huan shook his head and said:

"It will be difficult to achieve success if I stay in Luoyang."

Sima Ziru also nodded. Gao Huan was right. With Erzhu Rong stationed in Luoyang, he would have two options - to destroy Chen Qianzhi who was entrenched in Henan, or to fight against Su Ze in Guanzhong.

Chen Qingzhi must have been taken care of by Erzhu Rong himself. Gao Huan and Su Ze had a history of defecting to the enemy many times in battle, so Erzhu Rong would never let Gao Huan deal with Su Ze.

In this case, it would be better for me to take the initiative to go to the Northeast, at least I can still make a difference.

Dou Tai said unhappily:

"We finally made it south from the freezing cold of Liuzhen, and now we have to go to the even colder Youyan. If we had known this would happen, we would not have gone south that year!"

Sima Ziru said:

"When we went south from the Six Towns, it was because we were forced by the situation. Now we are going north on our own initiative. Maybe there will be a different world if we leave Luoyang?"

Gao Huan nodded slightly. This was actually what he thought.

Those who stayed with Erzhu Rong had not only those "Erzhus" under their heads, but also the Heba brothers and other Wuchuan people who had joined Erzhu Rong earlier and had cleaner identities and resumes.

The Huaishuo people were suppressed everywhere.

Gao Huan said:

"Tomorrow I will go and talk to Brother Agui (Liu Gui) and it would be best if General Tianzhu appointed me."

Sima Ziru nodded slightly. The treatment for volunteering and being appointed by Erzhu Rong would definitely be different.

Go there on your own initiative and don't talk about any conditions. You are taking the initiative to develop for the group and for your own merit.

But your leader sends you to work in a branch company in a remote area. You go to a place that others are unwilling to go to. This is to help your leader share his worries, so naturally you should be given some compensation.

Liu Gui was originally left in Yecheng by Erzhu Rong, but was called to Luoyang to report on his work during the New Year. This was a good opportunity for Liu Gui to give advice to Erzhu Rong.

Gao Huan sighed and said:

"It's a pity that Ao Cao is not around, otherwise this trip would be much more convenient."

Gao Aocao is a descendant of the Bohai Gao family. This photo of the Bohai Gao family is still very useful in Hebei, and even has appeal in the Youyan area.

If Gao Aocao had traveled with him, Gao Huan would have been able to get the support of soldiers from the northern states and counties.

In fact, Gao Huan also had the vague idea of ​​establishing a territory in the north as his base.

But the current Gao Huan is no longer a grassroots from the Six Garrisons. He knows the importance of support from the gentry.

Without the support of the gentry, it would be impossible to operate the local official system.

Erzhu Rong was able to be so carefree because his family had served as the governor of Bingzhou and he had many students and former officials in Bingzhou, and he also had talents like Yuan Tianmu and Liu Gui to help him manage civil affairs.

Not to mention Su Ze, he almost won the collective support of the Guanzhong gentry, and even began to cultivate his own talents, so he could suppress the local gentry.

When Gao Huan was under Ge Rong and controlled Jizhou, he failed to gain a firm foothold and quickly lost control of Jizhou after being transferred by Ge Rong.

Sima Ziru said:

"General, would you like to meet Gao Aocao? As long as Gao Aocao admits that you are a descendant of Bohai Gao family, the nobles in the northern counties will definitely support you."

Gao Huan's eyes lit up, he nodded and said:

"In that case, let's go meet Gao Aocao."

When Gao Huan saw Gao Aocao, he was playing a pair of bells and chimes.

Gao Aocao was seen shaving his hair and beard and dressed like a musician.

Many musicians and singers these days were eunuchs who had been castrated. Gao Huan was surprised. Didn't Xi Yi recruit warriors? How did Gao Aocao become an actor?
Gao Aocao saw Gao Huan's eyes and immediately said:
"I didn't castrate myself."

Gao Huan breathed a sigh of relief, but he still looked at Gao Aocao in confusion.

Gao Aocao explained:

"General Tianzhu likes the "Pozhen Music". I heard that Your Majesty also likes to listen to it. Lord Xi has been ordered to form a court band. I am practicing this piece of music now."

Gao Huan shrank his neck; he had heard something extraordinary again.

Gao Huan really didn't dare to imagine what Yuan Ziyou and Xi Yi were going to do.

But he had no intention of reporting it. He was the one who recommended Gao Aocao to Xi Yi, and forming a court band was not a rebellious act.

Since Xi Yi dared to do this, he must have a good excuse.

But letting a brave general like Gao Aocao join the band certainly doesn't mean they are really going to play music for General Tianzhu.

There are still undercurrents surging beneath Luoyang.

Gao Huan made up his mind that it would be better for his small sampan to leave the whirlpool of Luoyang as soon as possible.

Gao Huan directly explained his purpose. Gao Aocao raised his head and looked at Gao Huan and said:

"General Gao, do you want to become a citizen of our Bohai Gao family?" Become a citizen?

Gao Huan didn’t think so much about it at first, but when he heard about naturalization, his eyes lit up.

Naturalization means that the Bohai Gao family officially acknowledges Gao Huan as a member of their family. Compared with ambiguous rumors, this will be more favored by the Hebei gentry.

Unexpectedly, Gao Aocao said very generously:
"That's easy. My father and brother are both dead. I have the final say over the Bohai Gao family. It's not a bad idea to add General Gao to the family tree."

Gao Huan was really grateful this time. His poor background had always been his problem. If he had the status of Bohai Gao family, Gao Huan would be able to recruit some more talents.

Gao Aocao said:
"Buddhism has the theory of cause and effect. General Gao has entered the Bohai Gao family, so he must bear the cause and effect of the Bohai Gao family."

Gao Aocao suddenly said this and then stared at Gao Huan.

Gao Huan now understood why Gao Aocao was so generous.

The former head of the Bohai Gao family, Gao Aocao's father Gao Yi, had been killed by Erzhu Rong, and all the descendants of the Bohai Gao family had been expelled. If Gao Huan still wanted to acknowledge himself as a descendant of the Bohai Gao family at this time, it would be equivalent to standing on the side of the Gao family.

This was already a subtle provocation to Erzhu Rong.

And if he becomes a descendant of Bohai Gao family, and Gao Aocao really does something big in the future, he will never be able to escape.

Gao Huan was indeed a great hero. He quickly said:
"Brother Gao, please let me return to my roots."

Gao Aocao nodded and said:

"Then please choose an auspicious day. I will represent the Bohai Gao family and let Brother Gao return to his ancestral home."

After hearing this, Gao Huan could only bow to Gao Aocao.

He was plotting against Gao Aocao, but Gao Aocao was also plotting against him, Gao Huan.

The entire Luoyang is a big net. Even if I go to the north, can I escape from this big net?
Gao Huan expressed pessimism.

Vanity Fair is a big net. Once you participate in the game of power, you will never be able to escape from it.
-
"Yuwen Tai, you and Chen Chong go to Youzhou."

After the Chinese New Year, Su Ze in Zhongshan City announced the first order.

Han Lou has already surrendered. He doesn't even want to stay in Dingzhou and will set off for Guanzhong after the New Year.

After experiencing so many things, especially Erzhu Zhongyuan's 100-cavalryman forced the palace, Han Lou was frightened.

He finally realized that the game of Conquering the World was too difficult and really not suitable for him to participate in.

Su Ze was also very tolerant towards Han Lou. Not only did he reward him with a house in Yongle City, he also reserved a place for him in the newly built Chang'an City. He also allowed him to take his property and family to Guanzhong.

Peng Le miraculously survived the battlefield, and Su Ze could only sigh at the tenacity of life.

However, Peng Le still needed to continue recuperating in Zhongshan, so he handed over his elite cavalry from Youzhou to Su Ze, and Su Ze naturally handed over this cavalry to Chen Chong's leadership.

Chen Chong saved Peng Le single-handedly back then, and was like a god in the hearts of Peng Le's followers. Later, when they attacked Dingzhou, it was the cavalry led by Chen Chong that worked well together.

However, this time, Yuwen Tai is also traveling with them, as well as the surrendered elite cavalry of the Erzhu family. The two sides have changed from enemies to comrades-in-arms, and it is not known whether they can cooperate well.

Su Ze still followed Yuwen Tai's wishes and did not send him to the front line against Erzhu Rong, but instead sent him to Youyan on the flank.

Yuwen Tai was very grateful for this. This was Su Ze's attitude towards him. Yuwen Tai had a feeling that Su Ze had looked at him differently since the first time he met him.

Even when he learned that he had surrendered, Su Ze seemed very happy.

Chen Chong led two thousand cavalry, Yuwen Tai led a hundred cavalry as the vanguard, and Su Ze appointed Murong Shaozong to serve as the governor of Yanzhou, which was equivalent to entrusting Yanzhou to them.

Wanqi Chounu performed outstandingly in previous battles and was promoted by Su Ze to General Guoyi. He finally entered the ranks of generals with miscellaneous titles and now stays by Su Ze's side.

Dugu Xin and Wei Xiaokuan had returned to Wuyuan City. Just after the New Year, Su Ze had changed Wuyuan from a county to a state. The administrative area included all the areas of the original three western towns. Of course, this was just a land grab and a claim of sovereignty. In fact, Su Ze's officials had no control over these areas at all.

But this is enough. Su Ze needs a new six towns to serve as a buffer zone between himself and the grassland. This area can also be used to settle the surrendered grassland tribes.

As a result, Dugu Xin and Wei Xiaokuan became much busier.

Su Ze also appointed Gao Guiyi, who had made great contributions during his mission to the grassland, as the governor of Hengzhou, responsible for cooperating with Dugu Xin and Wei Xiaokuan to manage this grassland route.

In extraordinary times, promotions can happen very quickly.

There is no way. Even if Su Ze has recruited so many talents, there are still more places that need talents.

In particular, talents who can focus on one aspect are in great demand in any era.

The affairs of a state or a county can be described as vast and complex.

Even to become a qualified county magistrate, it takes a long time to train.

It was also thanks to the establishment of Chongwen Pavilion that the grassroots officials of Youyan were able to be replenished.

Now that he knew about Erzhu Rong's plan to ally with Khitan, Su Ze naturally had to take the initiative and dispatch so many elite soldiers to Youzhou in order to completely defeat them before the Khitan launched an attack!

Not only the Khitan, the Liaodong area was also a breeding ground for poisonous insects. Goguryeo, which would later cause headaches for the Sui and Tang dynasties, was in civil strife at this time, and Su Ze also wanted to solve this trouble at the same time.

(End of this chapter)