Chapter 1325 Reconciliation

Chapter 1325 Reconciliation

Chapter 1325 Reconciliation
In the dark night, a large group of people were passing through a quagmire.

"When we advance our troops in the future, we must fill this place up." Shao Yu said as he rode his horse and trudged to the other side of the stream with difficulty.

There is a lot of rainfall in the summer, and without riverbanks, the riverbed is unstable and often changes course, creating a large swamp area.

According to their observation, it would take a lot of effort to control this flooded swamp area. First, the river channel, which had long been silted up, needed to be deepened and widened, and the forked rivers needed to be restrained together. Then dams and gates needed to be built, and irrigation canals needed to be dug. Then the river water could be used for irrigation relatively safely.

But this area is full of fighting all year round, who would do such things? Only the Murong Xianbei were relatively strong, and the enemy dared not invade, so they could focus on agricultural planting. However, nothing lasts forever, and the Murong Xianbei would eventually decline, and then all these farmlands and cities would be destroyed - either destroyed by the enemy or abandoned by themselves.

It is not easy to farm in the border area. Even though the agricultural conditions here are not bad, safety is a big problem.

After more than 2,000 people crossed the swamp area one after another, they rested in a forest on the river bank.

Shao Yu glanced at Tuoba Sigong who was arranging security not far away and smiled slightly.

Yes, the number of people who followed him out for reconnaissance was more than 2,100. In addition to nearly 1,000 cavalrymen from the Prince of Yan's Palace, there were also 600 soldiers from the Left Cavalry Guard and their followers, nearly 1,200 people in total.

His proposal to go out for reconnaissance was strongly opposed by Tuoba Sigong, but Shao Yu was the vanguard commander, so his objection was ineffective. He had no choice but to select half of his troops and go forward with the army, ready to take back the Prince of Yan if anything went wrong, and never let him fall into the hands of the thieves.

In addition, he also sent someone on horseback to return to Beiping to inform the Recruiting Envoy Li Chong.

As they were feeling uneasy, they heard faint horse hoofbeats sounds from the darkness ahead. The faces of the people who were leaning against the tree drinking water were startled.

Shao Yu held down Dao Hua who had suddenly stood up and whispered, "The forest here is very dense, the enemy cavalry can't rush in, don't worry."

After saying that, he gestured to his servant Guo Shi.

Guo Shi nodded, and stood up to pass the message to a valley not far away. There were hundreds of cavalry stationed there, just to the side and rear of the forest. If anyone attacked, they could attack from both sides.

Shao Yu continued to eat the dry and hard meat jerky, drinking a sip of water from time to time, and looked calm.

Tuoba Sigong nodded secretly. This calmness must not be the first time he has entered deep into enemy territory.

The hoofbeats soon stopped.

Everyone waited patiently. After a long time, Guo Shi led a man over and reported, "Your Highness, we have captured a Xianbei messenger."

"I am not a Xianbei." the man said immediately.

Guo Shi glared at him, then moved closer to Shao Yu and whispered, "This man's name is Cui Zan, the younger brother of Cui Tao, the internal historian of Chengzhou, and the son of Cui Bi, the former governor of Pingzhou."

Shao Yu suddenly realized and a smile appeared on his face.

At the end of the Jin Dynasty, Cui Bi of the Qinghe Cui clan was appointed governor of Pingzhou. He joined forces with Goguryeo and Yuwen Xianbei to besiege Murong Xianbei. Murong clan eventually defeated the strong with the weak and defeated the many with the few, laying the foundation for dominating Pingzhou.

After the war, Cui Bi fled to Goguryeo, but now it is unknown whether he is still alive.

Cui Tao was in Murong Wei's camp as Cui Bi's envoy at the time, "congratulating" him on his victory and negotiating peace.

Murong Wei did not make things difficult for Cui Tao, but instead gave him an official position. At this time, Murong Huang even appointed Cui Tao as the Internal History of Chengzhou, managing some refugees from Henan and reclaiming wasteland in Liucheng County.

There is no doubt that this is an overseas county. It has been seen frequently since the end of the Jin Dynasty and is everywhere.

It was not uncommon to set up a county in a county, a county in a township, or even to set up an overseas county by allocating a portion of land from one or two townships. Anyway, there was no need to resettle many people, sometimes only a few hundred households.

There are now four counties in Liucheng County, namely Jiyang, Yingqiu, Chengzhou, and Tangguo, each with one to several counties under its jurisdiction. Qiaoxian has a county seat, and Qiaojun also has a county seat, both of which are small and not much different from a fortress.

Even Liucheng County was abolished during the Cao Wei period, and was not established during the Sima Jin period. It was only re-established during the Murong Wei period.

This people have been settling refugees from the Central Plains and reclaiming wasteland here for nearly thirty years.

"Let him come over." Shao Yu stood up and walked deep into the woods.

Tuoba Sigong ordered twenty palace soldiers to follow and spread out to the left and right.

Daohua took a look at the man and ordered thirty guards from the palace to follow him.

The fifty warriors, armed with swords and bows, frightened Cui Zan so much that he hesitated in his steps. Finally, he gritted his teeth and followed them.

After Shao Yu stood still, he turned to look at Cui Zan and asked, "Why is Mahakala running around outside? It's not your turn to spy on the military situation, right?"

After saying that, he looked around at Cui Zan. He thought, since he was not a warrior, how could he get close to spy on the enemy?
"General, I understand." Cui Zan said, "I received a letter of persuasion from an envoy some time ago. My brother thought about it for a long time and decided to return to the great country, so he sent me here to find the king's army."

"What kind of envoy? From Huangsha Prison or in the army?" Shao Yu asked.

"I don't know about that." Cui Zan said, "It's just that someone shot a letter up and left quickly."

"I'm afraid it's Li Zhaotao's envoy." Shao Yu said with a smile.

In order to persuade the people to surrender, envoys from Huangsha Prison and Peking Camp went out in all directions and vied with each other to make promises.

In comparison, Shao Yu personally felt that the envoys from Huangsha Prison were more reliable, after all, they specialized in this kind of work.

But it's hard to say. Huangshayu didn't know any officials of Murong Xianbei. In the end, didn't he rely on introductions or simply entrust Hebei scholars with relatives in Pingzhou to come? It's possible that he could end up in any way.

"Your Highness." Daohua looked excited when he heard this.

Shao Yu waved his hand and asked someone to take Cui Zan away first, then said: "In the past, when I was sitting and talking with Yang Gong in Jicheng, he said that when marching and fighting, 'treat surrender as you would treat the enemy', and it must not be taken lightly. This is indeed good advice."

"Then..." Daohua thought it made sense and began to hesitate.

"What if it's fake? What if it's real?" Tuoba Sigong said on the side: "The army will march over, order the guards to line up outside the city, and then select people and horses to enter the city, and the fake will become real."

Shao Yu thought for a while and said, "No. Now the army has not arrived yet, and the food and weapons are not complete. If we suddenly take over the cities, we may harm the people. A wise man would not do that."

After saying that, he gave a few instructions.

The first was to report to Li Zhong and ask him to send reinforcements as appropriate, and even to send troops now, without waiting for the food and grain to be fully stockpiled; the second was to send an envoy to the west to contact the people of Yuwen Xianbei through personal relationships, and to tell them not to take care of the livestock anymore, as spring was important, but meritorious service was more important;

The third was to order Lieutenant Sima Lu Han to select another group of infantrymen and wait for orders.

After finishing the three pieces, he no longer hesitated and decided to go east to find out some news.

******
On the night of the 16th, Cui Zan hurried back to Chengzhou County.

"How is it?" Cui Tao pulled his brother over and asked in a low voice.

There were also several big families in the county following him, most of whom were scholars from the Central Plains living in Pingzhou, and they all looked at him with burning eyes.

"I have met the King of Yan of Daliang." Cui Zan said, "But he only brought a vanguard, and the main army has not yet been dispatched. Therefore, the King of Yan has repeatedly warned us not to move rashly and to surrender the city when the royal army is gathered. In this way, those half-hearted people in the city will have nothing to say and will follow my brother to return to the right path."

After saying this, Cui Tao didn't say anything, but the children of the big families all breathed a sigh of relief.

Someone wiped away tears, and it was unclear whether it was true or false. He just choked and said, "I have lived in exile outside the Great Wall for 30 years. My father and brother have all passed away. I only vaguely remember the old house where I played when I was young, but I don't know if the pear tree in the courtyard has bloomed."

After this person finished speaking, someone looked towards the south in a daze and said, "When I went north in the past, I was still in my infancy. Before my father died, he insisted that I help him up the mountain, saying that he wanted to see every blade of grass and every tree in Dongping, but I could not see anything."

"Alas, Lord Murong was a good man, and he had nothing to say to us. I feel guilty for betraying the Murong family this time. If there is a chance in the future, maybe -"

"What are you talking about? Are these lands given for free?" Someone shouted, "When Murong Wei was alive, at least half of the grain and cloth were sent to Jicheng every year. What do you say? Well, that's still tolerable! But Murong Huang has been in power for three years, and he has seized a lot of land to make gardens. He always asks us to send troops to plunder the Han and Hu people in Youzhou, but he takes all the people he gets as his own farmhands and makes them farm in the gardens. Compared with Murong Wei, this guy is cruel and tyrannical. Why not abandon him?"

Compared to Murong Wei, the second generation Murong Huang was indeed a bit too much. Not only was he cruel and bloodthirsty, but he was also extremely greedy.

The people from Youzhou, Goguryeo and even other tribes were all placed in the Yan Wang's gardens to farm. If there were cows, the property would be divided into 70% and 30%, and if there were no cows, 80% and 20%. He was even more ruthless than Cao Cao.

The oppression of local clans was further intensified, especially after Murong Ren's rebellion, when the demands were excessive and unbearable. In addition, four consecutive years of cold winters made the situation even worse. Many elderly people in cities and tribes starved to death, and children became very thin. This made more and more people, both Han and Hu, dissatisfied with Murong's rule.

From this perspective, it is not surprising that Murong Huang suffered widespread betrayal.

"Forget it, let's not talk about it." Cui Tao sighed and said, "The late Lord Murong was indeed a gentleman, but he gave birth to an unfilial son, which led to this. At worst, I can find an opportunity to beg for mercy in the future, and protect Lord Murong's bloodline and continue the incense."

"Isn't that easy? Murong Han and his two sons live in the Central Plains, so this lineage will surely continue." Someone shouted.

"Will Emperor Liang settle accounts with the entire Murong clan later?"

"It shouldn't be the case. He has an excellent reputation and has never broken a promise in 30 years. He is a trustworthy person."

"Then there's nothing to worry about. I'm actually worried that Emperor Liang will punish us later, so since you keep your word, I'll surrender."

Seeing that everyone had reached a consensus, Cui Tao said, "Everyone needs to be careful with what you say and do, and don't let the news leak out."

"Yes, sir." Everyone responded in unison.

On the 17th, a group of people from Jiyang County hurriedly climbed up to the top of the city wall and looked at the surging Liang cavalry.

There were not many people, probably only a few hundred riders. The leader was wearing golden armor, holding a thick and long lance, looking very majestic.

A group of cavalry were being driven by them to gallop on horseback, trying to escape.

After chasing for a while, the general in golden armor stopped his horse and put his spear on the ground, then quickly drew his bow and drew his arrow. Two arrows flew through the air, hitting one man and another horse.

The knights behind him cheered and rushed forward, and with their swords they took back the heads of the two thieves.

Everyone on the city wall looked at each other, and saw the endless meanings contained in each other's eyes.

"Bang!" Governor Song Zhu slammed the battlements and said, "How can we allow the bandits to be so arrogant and destroy the morale of our army? Gao Chou, return to your manor quickly and send your best cavalry to attack the bandits."

Upon hearing this, Gao Chou immediately made an excuse, "My Lord, the grass has just turned green, and the horse is too thin. Let's fatten it up a bit."

"You!" Song Zhu turned and looked at the man with a dangerous look in his eyes, his hand even touching the hilt of the knife.

Gao Chou was not afraid of him and said, "My Lord, yesterday a herdsman from the south came running over and said that the Liaoxi Protector General Song Gong had surrendered, but I don't know if it's true or not."

Song Zhu's face became even uglier.

Song Huang, the Liaoxi Guard, was his cousin. His surrender had not yet been confirmed, but Song Zhu had already believed it deep in his heart, because this cousin was blinded by greed and would do anything to achieve his goal. He was also privately dissatisfied with Murong Huang. After drinking, he once boasted that as long as Murong Wei was around, he would be loyal to him, and if Wei was not around, he would not work with such a cruel person.

Song Zhu had advised him to be careful with his words and actions at that time. Unexpectedly, it came true today.

"You are making groundless accusations and destroying the morale of our army." Song Zhu said angrily, "I will execute you to enforce military law."

After saying this, he drew out his sword and pointed it at Gao Chou, who also drew out his sword to face him.

Everyone came forward to mediate, and after a lot of commotion, they finally separated the two people who were at loggerheads.

The cavalry outside the city were still galloping, and more of them were coming, numbering more than a thousand.

Is this to test Liu Cheng's strength?
Everyone looked outside the city with complicated expressions, their hearts were shaken, and they signaled with their eyes.

Over the next two days, undercurrents surged in Jiyang City, and even people of unknown origin openly entered the city and held secret meetings with a group of wealthy families.

On the night of the 19th, Gao Chou, a wealthy family from Jiyang, led dozens of soldiers to the county government.

The guards at the gate of the prefectural government scattered.

Gao Chou rushed into the palace and cut off the head of the prefect Song Zhu.

No one criticized his behavior. The nobles sent soldiers to the city and closed the four gates, prohibiting entry and exit.

And within the territory of Liucheng, there were more than just Chengzhou and Jiyang counties that wanted to surrender.
As bad news came back from all over the country, the situation in Murong Yan State was not optimistic. Who wouldn’t have some concerns?

(End of this chapter)