Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 517 Old things
Erzhu Rong in Jinyang was also very annoyed.

Thinking back to when he was in Xiurong, Erzhu Rong would go hunting with his trusted confidants every day, and sometimes he would be out of the city for several days before returning. How free and easy that life was.

But since the uprising, there has been no day of rest.

Erzhu Rong also suffered many scars from the battles he fought in the south and the north over the years.

The most serious incident was that when he was chasing Ge Rong, Erzhu Rong accidentally fell off his horse. Although he still insisted on climbing back on the horse and completed the pursuit, he achieved a military miracle of seven thousand defeating one million.

But whenever it was rainy, his back would ache slightly from falling off his horse.

This time Erzhu Rong returned to Jinyang. The language and customs of Jinyang were similar to those of Xiurong, and there were also many old friends of Erzhu Rong before he started the rebellion.

Looking at the similar mountains and rivers in Bingzhou, Erzhu Rong suddenly relaxed.

It was like a bowstring that had been taut all the time suddenly relaxed, and it was not so easy to tighten it again. Erzhu Rong quickly became addicted to this comfort.

Erzhu Rong's wife, Princess Beixiang, also came to Jinyang with her two children. Looking at his five-year-old daughter Erzhu Ying'e, Erzhu Rong was stunned.

It is said that daughters look like their fathers. Erzhu Rong was handsome, and Erzhu Ying'e combined the advantages of Erzhu Rong and Princess Beixiang in appearance. She was a beauty at the age of five.

Erzhu Rong suddenly said to Princess Beixiang:

"When Su Ze and I became sworn brothers, we agreed to marry our children to each other. I heard that Su Ze's eldest son is already two years old, and is almost the same age as Ying'e."

Princess Beixiang also looked at Erzhu Rong in surprise. She didn't expect Erzhu Rong to talk about this matter.
Isn’t my husband competing with Su Ze for the world now?
Is it possible to marry Su Ze?

Erzhu Rong smiled and said:

"I don't want to marry Su Ze, but when I think about this, I feel that fate is playing tricks on me."

Princess Kitago did not respond, and the two fell into a long silence.

Erzhu Rong sang the pastoral song of Xiurongchuan again. When his daughter started humming along, Erzhu Rong hugged his daughter and closed his eyes.

The messenger from Jizhou did not dare to interrupt and waited until Erzhu Rong finished singing the pastoral song. Then Erzhu Rong said:

"come in."

The three messengers delivered letters from Yuan Tianmu, Erzhu Shilon and Heba Sheng respectively.

Erzhu Shilon's letter was full of words of shirking responsibility. He not only pushed all the responsibility onto Heba Sheng, but even Yuan Tianmu was not spared, saying that it was Yuan Tianmu's central army that failed to keep up in time that led to his defeat.

Heba Sheng narrated the course of events on the battlefield and accused Erzhu Shilon of underestimating the enemy and advancing rashly.

Only Yuan Tianmu's letter was relatively objective. He described the situation at that time in detail. He did not hold the two people responsible, but instead asked Erzhu Rong to come to Yecheng as soon as possible to take charge of the situation.

Erzhu Rong threw the three letters on the ground in annoyance.

As one of the top military strategists of the time, Erzhu Rong had restored the entire picture of the battlefield from the letters of the three people. The responsibility was indeed Erzhu Shilon's. If he had not underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, there would not have been such a great defeat.

But what can be done?

Will Erzhu Shilon be punished for this?
When he first started his rebellion, Erzhu Rong felt that he could conquer the world by himself.

However, as the war broke out, Erzhu Rong was able to win every battle he was on, but it is impossible that all the battles were fought by Erzhu Rong himself.

He needed his generals to fight in the war, and only then did he realize that there were too few capable people under his command.

Yuan Tianmu is actually not good at fighting, which can be seen from his battle record. Yuan Tianmu can't fight except those battles with a favorable wind, and can't fight those with a slight unfavorable wind.

This cannot be blamed on Yuan Tianmu, but his original talent lies in governance, managing the local area, dealing with the gentry and powerful, and developing agriculture. Yuan Tianmu is good at these things.

It can even be said that if Yuan Tianmu had not been farming in the rear, Erzhu Rong would have been unable to fight the war long ago.

However, Yuan Tianmu must be appointed as the chief general.

Heba Sheng and Erzhu Shilon were two men who would not submit to each other. No matter who became the commander, neither would listen to the other's opinions.

But what if he was left to command Erzhu Shilon and Heba Sheng alone?
In fact, Erzhu Rong also understood the level of these Erzhus. If he had given the army to Erzhu Shilon to command, he would have been defeated long ago.

Although Heba Sheng was capable, Erzhu Rong had some doubts about his loyalty. In addition, he was not a member of the Erzhu Group.

An elite army has its own pride. Erzhu Rong's most elite troops were all brought up by him, and they were all Xiurong's fellow villagers and even brothers from the same tribe.

This is just like Xiang Yu's 8,000 Jiangdong soldiers. These troops cannot be commanded by outsiders. At least they must be talented.

It can be said that in order to unleash the maximum strength of these elite cavalry, Erzhu Rong must command them personally.

This is also the embarrassment of Erzhu Rong. Under the current situation, he has to divide the army and hand it over to others, but the separated army will reduce its combat effectiveness.

When facing Su Ze, Erzhu Rong felt like he was punching on silk. Although he hit it, it seemed like he missed.

Should Jizhou be saved?
We must save him.

The autumn harvest is coming soon. If we lose Jizhou, the granary, at this time, it will seriously affect next year's operations.

But if Jizhou is saved, what if Su Ze attacks from other directions?
Su Ze's troops were watching Yanmen Pass in the north and Jingxing Pass in the east covetously.

Once Erzhu Rong leaves Jinyang, Su Ze will certainly not miss the opportunity to attack.

Erzhu Rong stood up and said to the messenger:
"Pass on my order, gather the troops in Jinyang and go to Jizhou."
-
When Murong Shaozong received the information from Xuan Jingsi, he sighed and said to Chen Chong and Peng Le:
"Erzhu Rong has come to Jizhou."

Chen Chong also sighed. Only Peng Le had just surrendered and did not understand the current situation.

Chen Chong said:

"Erzhu Rong is a master at using troops. If he comes to Jizhou to support us, we will switch from offense to defense. It will be a great achievement if we can hold Erzhu Rong back."

Murong Shaozong also had a headache. He knew best how capable his cousin Erzhu Rong was in fighting.

Jizhou has no strategic locations to defend and is the most suitable terrain for Erzhu Rong's cavalry to fight. Seeing that Wuyi, which he had conquered with great difficulty, was about to be lost again, Murong Shaozong felt heartbroken.

"Call back the troops that have been assigned to various places. If Erzhu Rong really comes in person, Wuyi will be undefendable. Have the rear guard reinforce Hejian City and prepare to fight under Hejian City."

Not long after, when Erzhu Rong's army really entered Busanxing, Dugu Xin at Yanmen Pass was ecstatic.

Dugu Xin has been feeling very depressed these days.

When Erzhu Rong was in Jinyang, Dugu Xin had been holding out in Yanmen Pass, not daring to attack rashly, for fear of being ambushed by Erzhu Rong and losing Yanmen Pass.

However, after hearing that Erzhu Rong had entered Busanxing, he immediately sent cavalry into Xiurong for reconnaissance and attacked the tribes near Xiurong.

However, the one who acted the fastest was Su Ze, who confronted Heba Yue at Jingxingkou.

When Su Ze received the information that Erzhu Rong had set out, he immediately intensified his offensive towards Jingxingkou.

Jizhou must be saved, this is almost an open conspiracy.

When Su Ze began his fierce attack, Heba Yue, who was guarding Jingxing, suddenly felt tremendous pressure.

The huge catapult threw huge stones into the air, and then dropped them heavily on the rammed earth wall. Sometimes a single stone could create a gap.

At this time, the laborers and craftsmen in the city must work together to repair the city wall as quickly as possible.

In order to repair the city wall as quickly as possible, Heba Yue also mobilized the people from nearby villages and towns to Jingxing Pass.

Guo Zhuang was also recruited into Jingxing Guanzhong and became a foreman.

These days, the civilians are not having a good time either.

Those powerful siege engines could cause huge damage every time they threw out huge rocks, and the splashing rocks could also cause casualties to people.

So far, three people have been crushed to death in the barracks where Guo Zhuang was stationed.

Their bodies were buried near the city wall, and the rest had to continue repairing the wall under the urging of the soldiers, working day and night.

As more siege weapons were erected, Heba Yue recruited more and more civilians, and the food became worse and worse.

Even some soldiers were driven to the vicinity of the city walls, and discontent in the city grew day by day.

(End of this chapter)