Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 483 Funeral and Joy
The next day, what Chen Qingzhi did not expect was that his emperor Xiao Yan actually held a grand ceremony outside the city to welcome him, the defeated general.

Chen Qingzhi's eyes immediately turned red.

Just like when he swore to go to war before, Xiao Yan sat high on the platform with civil and military officials standing on both sides, as if this was a ceremony to welcome the victorious general back.

Chen Qingzhi even wondered if he had made a mistake, or if Xiao Yan wanted to welcome another victorious general.

But I haven’t heard of any victory being won anywhere?
Moreover, last night, Chen Qingzhi learned that Emperor Xiao Yan had been practicing in the palace for a long time in preparation for the Wuzhe Conference to be held in the Tongtai Temple soon. Even when Crown Prince Xiao Tong asked for an audience, the emperor refused to meet him.

Today is the first time in recent months that the emperor has left the palace to participate in a major ceremony.

Such a grand scene brought tears to Chen Qingzhi's eyes.

Chen Qingzhi held the sword Xiao Yan had given him when he went to war, knelt in front of Xiao Yan and said:

"I failed in the Northern Expedition and failed to live up to your grace. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Xiao Yan sat high on the stage, looking at Chen Qingzhi below and said:

"You led the Northern Expedition and shocked the world. The people of Luoyang still sing it today: 'Famous teachers and generals should not be arrogant. Thousands of troops avoid white robes.' With such achievements, how can you be a defeated general?"

Xiao Yan then stood up, walked down the stage himself, helped Chen Qingzhi up and said:
"This Northern Expedition is not a crime of war! Next year, we will gather our best troops and hand them over to you, my dear Lord, to lead. We will surely be able to recover the Central Plains!"

Hearing what Xiao Yan said, the ministers below immediately understood what he meant.

This is a funeral as a celebration!

Zhu Yi had already understood Xiao Yan's intentions, and took the lead and said:

"General Chen led his army to the north, causing chaos in the north and recaptured Luoyang. Erzhu Rong only dared to secretly take Luoyang and attack Hulao with a treacherous plan. Today, I write "Ode to General Baima" to praise General Chen's great achievements!"

Another minister also stood up and said:
"General Chen's Northern Expedition this time has been extremely meritorious. Your Majesty, with the heart of a bodhisattva, wants to convert the north with benevolence, but you don't know that the northern barbarians are beasts and cannot understand your Majesty's intentions. In the future, General Chen will lead elite troops again and will surely conquer the north!"

All the ministers began to praise Chen Qingzhi, but in fact they were praising Xiao Yan in various ways.

Bian Ji, who was standing in the crowd, saw the loneliness in Chen Qingzhi's expression.

Chen Qingzhi is already forty years old.

Of course, this age is not considered too old among famous generals, but his White Robe Army was completely wiped out in this Northern Expedition, and it is impossible for him to start from scratch.

These civil officials spoke with ease, as if as long as they gathered enough troops and handed them over to Chen Qianzhi to lead the Northern Expedition, they could conquer the north.

In fact, the reason why Chen Qianzhi was able to march north and enter Luoyang, besides the fact that the north was already in a state of division at that time, was that these 7,000 white-robed soldiers were the elite troops that Chen Qianzhi had accumulated over the years.

This is what is called a group of trusted followers, and it is not something that can be accumulated overnight.

Chen Qianzhi simply does not have the body now, nor does he have enough time or money to accumulate another white robe army.

Xiao Yan couldn't even gather enough food to support Luoyang, so how could he possibly support Chen Qianzhi in training a new army?
Bian Ji looked at Xiao Yan and realized that this was just a propaganda trick of the Bodhisattva Emperor.

A new sermon was about to begin at Tongtai Temple. Over the past year, Southern Liang had not gained any benefit from the chaos in the north, and had also lost Yizhou and large areas of Luoyang and Henan for no reason.

It can be said that the territories of Luoyang and Henan were not the territories of Southern Liang. They were conferred by Xiao Yan on his child emperor Yuan Hao because Yuan Hao himself was not up to the expectations.

But the same cannot be said for Yizhou. Yizhou is related to the Yangtze River defense line and is an important economic region of Southern Liang. The loss of Yizhou dealt a huge blow to the Southern Liang court both economically and politically.

Logically speaking, the prestige of the imperial court had been damaged, so it shouldn't have held any unrestrained conference at this time.

Su Ze and Er Zhu Rong were still fighting in the north, and the Southern Liang court should also prepare for another northern expedition.

But for Xiao Yan, nothing was more important than the Wuzhe Conference that was about to be held in Tongtai Temple.

He exaggerated and praised Chen Qianzhi's achievements, in fact, he was also trying to build momentum and take credit for himself, indicating that Chen Qianzhi's Northern Expedition had achieved fruitful results.

In this case, Jiankang can continue to chant scriptures and dance, and Nanliang can continue to indulge in singing and dancing.

As for the north?

Xiao Yan couldn't think so much anymore.

As I said, Xiao Yan is already over sixty years old, who knows how many years he can live?

Although he had been practicing Buddhism for many years, Xiao Yan actually did not have much confidence in himself.

Since this life is already like this, the most important thing is the next life.

Xiao Yan set a goal for himself to accumulate merits in this life so that he could continue to be an emperor in the next life, or simply become a Buddha.

This is also the reason why he attached so much importance to merit, praised Bian Ji's Pure Land Sect, and often asked about Bian Ji's merits.

This Bodhisattva Emperor really wants to become a Buddha!
Following the same logic, any action that prevents Xiao Yan from becoming a Buddha would be unacceptable.

His son wanted to see him and asked him to rectify the administration and get rid of Zhu Yi who helped him get money for the meeting, but Xiao Yan refused to see his son. If the officials advised Xiao Yan not to hold the unobstructed meeting which was costly and laborious, Xiao Yan would angrily banish the officials from Jiankang.

Rewarding Chen Qingzhi was to affirm his own achievements and to build momentum for the upcoming Wuzhe Conference.

What's more, at this Wuzhe Conference, Xiao Yan has an even greater opportunity, a plan that can accumulate enormous merits!
That’s why there is a funeral celebration outside Jiankang city today.

Looking at the jubilant crowd in the city, Bian Ji became silent. When merit becomes a business, a business for enjoying happiness in the next life, then the meaning of Buddhism has been distorted.

And the person who distorted Buddhism is the supreme ruler of the entire empire. What kind of disaster will this cause?
Just at this time, the originally sunny weather suddenly started to rain.

The spring rain in the south is not annoying. Instead, it is like a veil of smoke, giving the distant scenery a hazy beauty.

The sound of bells could be heard from the distant temple, and melodious Buddhist chants could be heard from inside and outside the city.

Bian Ji suddenly thought of a poem written by Su Jungong, "Four hundred and eighty temples in the Southern Dynasties, many pavilions and towers are in the mist and rain."
-
In April, Erzhu Rong led his troops to the city of Yubi.

This time, Erzhu Rong was fully prepared. He not only brought his elite heavy cavalry, but also recruited craftsmen from all over the place and brought a professional siege team.

This was the lesson Erzhu Rong learned when he was in Ji County. No matter how powerful the armored cavalry was, it could not be used to attack cities. Professional matters should be left to professional soldiers.

However, after his siege experts carefully inspected the defenses of Yubi City, they told Erzhu Rong bad news.

"What? This city cannot be conquered?"

Erzhu Rong glared at the craftsmen. Although the craftsmen were frightened, they still reported the truth to Erzhu Rong.

"Replying to General Tianzhu, the walls of Yubi City are high and built on top of the platform city. It is almost impossible for the soldiers to climb up the walls."

This is the terrifying thing about the plateau, or "yuan" terrain.

These fortresses were built on terraces, and the steep edges of the terraces served as natural city walls. Yubi City was built on an entire terrace. It was very difficult for the attacking troops to just climb up the terrace, and then climb up the city wall, which was an almost impossible task.

Erzhu Rong asked again:

"What about attacking from the water?"

Yubi City is surrounded by terraces on three sides and is adjacent to the Fen River on one side.

The upper reaches of the Fen River are in Bingzhou. Erzhu Rong's military equipment and supplies were transported from the Fen River. Erzhu Rong naturally thought of attacking the city from the water.

The craftsmen still shook their heads and said:
"The mountain walls near the Fen River are steep, and crossbows have been built inside the city for defense, so ordinary boats cannot get close."

The craftsmen looked at Erzhu Rong cautiously, and when they saw that he was not angry, they hurriedly left.

He looked at the generals in the tent again.

The majority of people present were the "Erzhus".

In addition to Erzhu Zhao guarding Yanmen, the Erzhu family also had Erzhu Tianguang, Erzhu Shilon, and Erzhu Dulü.

Among them, Erzhu Tianguang's position was General of Cavalry, with the addition of Palace Attendant, and was renamed Duke of Guangzong County. His fief was increased by one thousand households, and he was also the General of the Left Guard in charge of the palace guards.

Erzhu Shilon was appointed General of Chariots and Cavalry and concurrently commander of the army, and was soon granted the title of Zuo Guanglu Dafu and concurrently Shangshu You Pushe.

This was the official position Erzhu Shilon held when he was defeated in Luoyang and punished by Erzhu Rong.

Erzhu Dulü's positions were Palace Attendant, Right Guard General, Left Guanglu Doctor, and Grand Commander of the Capital Region.

The Grand Commander of the Capital Region was in charge of the military power in the Capital Region and was also the core of the Erzhu family.

But these "Erzhus" looked at each other and could not come up with any good suggestions.

In addition to these Erzhus, Erzhu Rong also had the Shizhong, Zhu Rui, the founding duke of Leling County, under his command. However, he was an official in charge of logistics and basically did not participate in decision-making.

Chilie Yanqing was Erzhu Shilon's brother-in-law and also a relative of the Erzhu family. Chilie Yanqing's position was the governor of Hengzhou, but Hengzhou was in the hands of Su Ze at that time, so his position as governor of Hengzhou was a nominal position, and his main job was still the commander of Erzhu Rong's personal guards.

Next are the Heba brothers. Among the three brothers, Heba Sheng, who has the highest position, is now the founding duke of Zhending County, Palace Attendant, General of the Northern Expedition, Grand Master of Imperial Palace, and General of the Wuwei Army.

Among the Heba brothers, Heba Yue held the positions of General Anbei, Guanglu Dafu, and General Wuwei, and was granted the title of Marquis of Fancheng Township.

Heba Yue's title did not contain the words "founding a country" and was a nominal title, which was very different from the above-mentioned core members of the Erzhu clan who received actual titles.

It was such a pitiful title, and it was revoked by Erzhu Rong a while ago because of the failure of the expedition to Dingzhou.

From this personnel matter, we can see that the status of the "Erzhus" in the Erzhu Rong group is far beyond the reach of those who are not "Erzhus".

But at this time Erzhu Rong also felt the bitter fruit. Several powerful Erzhus could not put forward any effective opinions, and those who were not Erzhus either could not speak because of their low positions, or simply did not want to offer any suggestions. The whole tent was in an awkward situation.

(End of this chapter)