Chapter 1342: No Sincerity
Chapter 1342 No Sincerity
In fact, Murong Huang's guess was correct. There was indeed a night attack that night, which was launched from the north city and involved a thousand Youzhou miscellaneous Hu people and a thousand Yulin Guard soldiers.
For Jicheng, this amount of troops was not enough, and the Liang people did not hold out much hope. However, they stood on the top of the city wall for a long time, but finally could not hold on and retreated, which made the palace soldiers who had taken advantage of the situation and came to reinforce them sigh with regret.
Muyu Gen woke up from his sleep and personally arrived at the North City to supervise the battle. After the battle, it was found that there were nearly a thousand casualties, which was estimated to be comparable to the casualties of the Liang people.
This is a fucking defense! When the two sides are equally strong, it is normal for one defender to exchange for five attackers, but the result is that the casualties are equal, which is shocking.
Later it turned out that there were too many casualties when driving the enemy off the city wall. Captain Zhang Meng led the charge and finally managed to cut the ladder and kill the last bandit soldier before the enemy reinforcements arrived.
Zhang Meng's armor was torn to pieces and his robe was stained with blood. He might not survive.
After Mu Yugen met Zhang Meng, he sighed silently.
His cousin Mu Yu Ni was shot in the eye socket a while ago, but unfortunately he did not survive like Sima Shi. He had gone to see Mu Yu Ni once, and his cousin was burning all over, with a high fever, and his mind was confused, and he eventually died.
Zhang Meng’s ending is probably the same. He tried too hard and was hurt too badly.
In fact, Muyu Gen was one of the Xianbei officials who were accused by the tribal nobles of standing with the scholars.
His family grew millet, sorghum and millet, and also raised a lot of livestock. He was a typical "new-style" nobleman.
He himself often trained and commanded infantry in combat and guarded many cities for the imperial court, which was very different from ordinary Xianbei people.
He also did not agree to retreat, so he was labeled a traitor by the tribal nobles, a traitor who stood with the Central Plains scholars.
He admitted that he could not go back to the mansion, where he lived, had many servants and maids to serve him, and had musicians and dancers. Whoever wanted to live in that crappy tent could live there. But he felt a little wronged. They had fought the hard battles to defend the city until today. Apart from occasionally sending cavalry out of the city to fight, what other contributions did you have? What qualifications did you have to make sarcastic remarks?
After descending from the city wall in anger and hatred, Muyu Gen went to the West City, which had suffered the most severe attack, for inspection.
Commandant Shi Cong saluted him at the foot of the city.
Muyu Gen smiled and chatted with Shi Cong for a few words.
They had once defended the ancient city of Pinggang and Lingzhi City together and fought against the Liang people's garrison troops, so naturally their friendship was special.
"How's the morale?" Muyugen asked, looking at the "Shi Family Army" standing all over the city gate.
The Shi family army has a total of seven or eight hundred people. At least half of them can wear a set of armor, whether it is leather armor or iron armor. They also have numb looks on their faces as if they are used to the wind and waves. It is obvious that they are an army that can fight.
"It's barely passable." Shi Cong said, "I wanted to go out of the city to harass them today, but the bandits kept asking for surrender, so I gave up."
"Lip is such a crazy person!" Muyugen cursed.
"Has Dali been affected?" Shi Cong asked.
"Mr. Li asked to resign, but the king did not agree," said Mu Yugen.
Shi Cong secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Everyone was watching how Murong Huang would deal with Li Hong. If he killed Li Hong, although no one would say anything, they would definitely be disappointed, after all, when the rabbit dies, the fox will mourn.
"Guard it well. There might be another attack in the second half of the night. Don't let your guard down." Mu Yugen said.
"Yes, sir." Shi Cong bowed and replied.
"Has Lord Du left the city?" Mu Yugen asked again.
"We sent someone to escort him down. He should be in Liang's camp now," said Shi Cong.
Muyu Gen nodded, then turned and left to continue his inspection.
Looking at the man's gradually receding back, Shi Cong's face became gloomy and uncertain.
The so-called struggle between heaven and man is nothing more than this.
On the one hand, he was grateful to Murong Wei for taking him in, but on the other hand, he was worried about the war situation.
He had burned the letter written by his cousin long ago, but he still remembered the content - he had almost forgotten it, but it had appeared in his mind more and more frequently in recent days.
He once laughed at himself, saying that he thought he was a gentleman, but he didn't expect to be so hesitant at the moment of life and death. He was really ashamed.
So far, he has only habitually led his troops to fight in the city and rest in the city, repeating this cycle over and over again. But what if this habit is broken one day? He doesn't know what to do. Maybe he will become the kind of person he once hated the most - without loyalty and without shame.
The "Mr. Du" they just mentioned was Du Qun, the Minister of the Court of Justice (equivalent to the Minister of the Chancellery) and the Prime Minister of Liaodong. He was born in the Jingzhao Du family. His ancestors had been officials in Pingzhou, so they moved here.
Because the King of Yan had dismissed the six ministers and other officials, Du Qun was sent as an envoy in the capacity of the Prime Minister of Liaodong, and he had indeed arrived at the Liang army camp...
******
As an envoy, Du Qun should have been as secretive as possible, but he actually brought seven or eight followers with him. They all looked very young. Upon further inquiry, it was found that they were basically nephews and nieces of the scholar families in Jicheng.
When Li Chong heard this, he knew what was going on. These young descendants probably would not go back, so as long as they could go, they should go, so as to preserve some bloodline for the family to avoid being wiped out when the city was breached.
He only gave them a brief reception, then arranged for guards to send them to Beiping to meet the emperor.
Li Zhong certainly had considerable power to accept surrender, and he flatly rejected Du Qun's conditions of paying tribute, submitting, and ceding Liucheng and other places, and even continued to arrange tomorrow's offensive in front of Du Qun.
Du Qun had no choice but to go south to Peking to meet Emperor Liang.
He was accompanied on the journey by Feng Chou, Wang Dan and others. They rode their horses day and night and on the morning of the 27th they saw the indigo-colored city walls of Peking from afar and then headed for a manor outside the city.
At the gate of the manor, Shao Xun was seeing Murong Han off.
"You should know that I have no intention of exterminating the Murong clan." Shao Xun said, "But the old land of Liaodong was owned by the emperors of Han and Wei. I cannot lose it. No matter what the price, I will definitely take the five counties of Pingzhou."
This is a rather "willful" statement.
The emperors of the Han, Wei and Jin dynasties all had Pingzhou. As the founder of the Daliang Dynasty, am I not worthy of owning the five counties of Pingzhou?
He felt that he had to have it, even if it was just for the sake of face, otherwise he would feel uncomfortable.
But everyone knows that compared with the Han and Wei dynasties, the price of owning Pingzhou has greatly increased. It is different from before. Murong Han recently talked with the ministers and learned about other things.
At the southernmost tip of Rinan County in Jiaozhou is Xianglin County, where Ma Yuan cast his pillars, 3,000 miles from the South China Sea. As Chinese culture spread, the locals were no longer so ignorant and became more civilized.
There was a local barbarian leader named Fan Zhi, who began to frequently travel to the South China Sea to do business. Fan Zhi also had a slave named Fan Wen. As a merchant, he traveled back and forth between the south and the north, saw more of the world, and had more ideas. So he fled to the Linyi Kingdom in the south, and taught the Linyi King Fan Yi how to build cities, palaces, and weapons. He was extremely favored and gradually gained power.
During this period, this person relied on the trust of the King of Linyi and made slanderous remarks many times, causing several of Fan Yi's sons to be demoted or flee. After Fan Yi's death, Fan Wen falsely claimed to welcome back Fan Yi's sons, and then poisoned them to death - uh, the local specialty coconut wine appeared, and the wine was poisonous.
After killing these people, Fan Wen proclaimed himself king and took a fancy to a number of mistresses - "he placed all his wives and concubines in a high tower, accepting those who obeyed him and refusing to feed those who did not."
Then he conquered many barbarian cave masters and chieftains, gathered an army of 40,000 to 50,000 people, and tentatively sent people to Rinnan County to inquire whether they could be enthroned.
The court officials argued endlessly, but Murong Han's focus was not on this. He only saw that during the Han Dynasty, Linyi could not be called a country at all, but was just a tribe under the rule of the vassal state, and was extremely ignorant.
But slowly, they become civilized and you can no longer control them.
Starting from the Sun Quan period, Linyi stopped paying tribute, and only occasionally paid tribute during the Jin Dynasty. It even invaded Jiaozhou and was very unruly.
The ignorant can be restrained, but once they become civilized, restraint is no longer so useful.
The same is true for the counties of Pingzhou. In the Han Dynasty, it was very easy to control a large area of land with very little force. Now, even if several times the force is invested, it may not be possible to control it. The difficulty of maintaining the territory has greatly increased. The fundamental reason is that the strength of the natives has increased.
So Murong Han felt that Emperor Liang was really willful. But he had this prestige and ability, what could you do? There were not many people in this world who could hold him back.
"Your Majesty, I will do my best to recruit my old subordinates." The thought flashed through his mind and Murong Han responded.
Shao Xun looked at Huan Wen again and said, "Yuan Zi, you lead the troops to escort General Yang Wu. You must ensure their safety and do not let the traitors take advantage of them."
Huan Wen understood and immediately responded, "I obey your order."
The emperor allocated 3,000 cavalrymen from the Luoyan Army to him, and recruited 3,000 Hu and Han men from Youzhou to serve as auxiliary troops. He took more than 10,000 horses and went east out of Linyu Mountain, along the coastal road, to pacify the scattered tribes that might be hiding in the swamps.
Huan Wen cherished this opportunity very much because it was so rare.
After seeing off Huan Wen and Murong Han, Shao Xun strolled outside the manor with his hands behind his back.
Not long after, Du Qun, Feng Chou, Wang Dan and others arrived.
Feng Chou paid homage with great ceremony, while Du Qun and Wang Dan bowed in obeisance.
Shao Xun didn't take it seriously, stepped forward and helped Feng Chu up, saying: "You are quite knowledgeable about current affairs, how can I be stingy with official titles? The governor of Changli is none other than you."
Feng Chu breathed a sigh of relief and thanked him again.
No matter what official position he was given, even if it was only a minor official of the seventh or eighth rank, it would be fine, as it meant that he would not be liquidated. Furthermore, by giving him the post of Changli governor, it meant that the emperor wanted to use him to stabilize the newly acquired territory, lest the surrendered people become uneasy and rebel again after surrendering.
"Now that Jicheng is under siege from three sides, does Lord Feng have any strategy?" Shao Xun seemed to pay no attention to Du Qun, Wang Dan and the others, and only looked at Feng Chu.
"There is only one strategy, hit and pull at the same time." Feng Chu said.
Shao Xun did not comment and listened quietly to what was said next.
Feng Chu observed the man's expression and said, "If Your Majesty promises to give them official titles and forgive past mistakes, many people in Ji City will be willing to surrender."
"Why?" Shao Xun asked casually.
"Your Majesty's words are as good as gold, and everyone trusts them." Feng Chu flattered him lightly.
"Oh?" Shao Xun smiled and said, "I didn't expect that the people of Pingzhou also know that I keep my word?"
"Your Majesty is a man who honors his promises. Even people living by the water have heard of it. Who doesn't know about it?" Feng Chu said solemnly.
"Who can be won over?" Shao Xun asked.
Feng Chu glanced at Wang Dan and Du Qun but didn't speak immediately.
Shao Xun didn't really care. He had no intention of letting the envoy go, but he still gave him face and said, "I will host a small banquet tonight to entertain you, Mr. Feng. You can tell me more."
"I obey your command." Feng Chu replied.
Shao Xun looked at Wang Dan and Du Qun and said, "At the end of the Jin Dynasty, the Central Plains was in chaos. You fled to Pingzhou to avoid the chaos and were forced to serve the Hu people. This is understandable. Now that the Central Plains is unified and a million troops are marching to attack Liao, why don't you abandon the dark and join the light?"
Wang Dan was silent.
Du Qun replied, "I have heard that the sage kings ruled the country and won over distant people. In the past, Duke Zhou went east to fight and kept the people of Shang and Yan, and Emperor Guangwu accepted their surrender and made them the king of the Xiongnu. Although the Murong clan now lives in Jicheng, they have cultivated Zhou rituals to comfort the people on the border, set up schools to teach the classics, and there is no dust from the Hu horses outside the beacon towers, and there are sounds of string music east of Jieshi. My family was originally common people from Guanyou, and we fled there to escape the chaos. We are not unaware of the magnificence of the palace in Luoyang, but we have seen the people in Liaodong. If the king's army can follow the example of Emperor Guangwu, Jibei can become a defensive bastion of Zhou and Zhao; if the power of heaven must do what happened to Wei and Huo, I am afraid that Yuyang will repeat the sigh of Li Guang. I would like to follow the wisdom of Zheng Qing, stop the war before it is raised, and save the people from the sword."
"Sweet words and flattering appearance." Shao Xun said: "Why do the people of Liaodong invade and rob so many times?"
"Your Majesty, when you ask me this, how dare I not speak my mind? Chao Cuo once said in his "On Guarding the Border" that 'the food and clothing of the Hu people are not available on the ground.' Now Pingzhou is a cold and barren place. In spring, you can see white grass all over the sky. In autumn, you can hear hungry owls crying at night. When Murong Pingbei followed Li Mu's example and bought rent to entertain his soldiers. However, there was no market in Youzhou, but the food for the three armies was still waiting to be cooked. In the past years, Goguryeo invaded the border several times and looted our granaries. The soldiers were hungry on the garrisons, so they had to go south to plunder. This was not our lord's original intention. If you treat them well, the Murong family will surely become a vassal of the great country." Du Qun replied.
Shao Xun laughed loudly and said, "Since they were robbed by Goguryeo, they came to Youzhou to rob. They lost in the north and made up in the south, right? Very good, very good, you are good at talking. Then--"
Shao Xun flicked his sleeves and asked, "Now that a million troops have arrived and surrounded us, what does Murong Huang say? Are you willing to come and see me?"
Du Qun thought for a moment and said, "My lord has been looking west day and night, and has prepared a grand feast in Jicheng. However, he still remembers the "Salt and Iron Theory" that 'the strategy for preparing for the fortress lies in selecting good generals'. If Your Majesty has the same generosity as Han Yuan did when he waited for Hu Hanye, then you can open up the Jin Tang fortress yourself. If you must follow the method of Wei Wu slaughtering Liucheng, even though the Liao River is turbid and flowing fast, you should still have the determination to cut the ropes with oars."
After listening to this, Shao Xun sneered and said, "What virtue does Murong Huang have to deserve my treatment of him as I did Huhanye? Forget it. I have sent envoys several times, but they always say the same nonsense. I have not seen any sincerity, but I can clearly see Murong Huang's fear. The envoys should stay in Youzhou for a while, and maybe I can see Murong Huang soon."
After saying this, he returned to the manor, where a group of recently surrendered Pingzhou tribal chieftains were waiting to meet him.
As of today, the number of tribesmen sent to Youzhou has reached no less than 30,000, most of whom are Xianbei and Wuhuan. Even if Jicheng has not been conquered, Murong Huang's foundation is also gradually crumbling.
See who can survive who.
(End of this chapter)