Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 438 Agreed in principle

When news of the Heyin Incident reached Luoyang, everyone from royalty and their families to ordinary citizens was terrified and fled in panic. They feared that Erzhu Rong, that murderous fiend, would then slaughter Luoyang...

Overnight, Luoyang, the most prosperous city in the Northern Dynasties, was deserted, as if it had returned to the late Eastern Han Dynasty. The Northern Wei court was completely paralyzed, with its guards empty and its officials neglected, presenting a tragic scene of national subjugation.

News quickly reached the provinces, and members of the imperial family, including Yuan Yue, Prince of Runan; Yuan Yu, Prince of Linhuai; Yuan Shijun, Governor of Beiqingzhou; and Yuan Zhi, Governor of Nanjingzhou, surrendered their respective provinces to the Liang Dynasty in a panic. The Northern Wei not only lost vast territories, but its defenses against the Southern Dynasty were also on the verge of collapse!

Those members of the imperial family who were not on the front lines and could not join the Southern Dynasty also raised their banners directly to rebel against Erzhu Rong! Even Xiao Baoyin, who went to Guanzhong to ask for reinforcements, declared himself emperor in Chang'an and announced the restoration of his kingdom... Of course, he was restoring the Great Qi, not the Great Wei.

Ge Rong of Hebei also seized the opportunity, killed Du Luozhou, reunified the rebel army, and prepared to turn defense into offense and take the opportunity to seize the world.

However, he believed that Luoyang had been destroyed by Erzhu Rong and had lost its strategic value. The real decisive factor was Shanxi. As long as Erzhu Rong's stronghold was captured, this stray dog ​​that had angered the masses would be attacked by the crowd and would only have one way out: death.

Therefore, he ordered Du Luozhou's troops to abandon the Xingyang, Yecheng, and Yucheng line, and concentrate all their forces to prepare for an attack on Shanxi, boasting a million troops...

~~
When the news reached Luoyang, Erzhu Rong was completely panicked.

He finally realized the enormity of his crime, that he had become an enemy of the world, and he would never again dream of becoming emperor.

He personally held the enthronement ceremony for Yuan Ziyou and made a vow with him by killing a white horse, promising never to betray him, or else his entire clan would be wiped out!

He then left Erzhu Shilong and Yuan Tianmu in Luoyang to 'assist' the new emperor, while he led the main force back to Shanxi to prepare for the battle against Ge Rong.

Although he issued an imperial edict in the name of the emperor to the governors of various prefectures, ordering them to jointly send troops to suppress the bandits, how many would actually respond? Erzhu Rong had no confidence at all and could only rely on his own forces to fight Ge Rong to the death!
Suddenly, the situation seemed more dire than ever before...

~~
In the Southern Dynasties, it was a world of contrasts, one of ice and one of fire.

Since the first year of the Datong era, when the Liang army captured Xuzhou and Shouyang, they had been advancing triumphantly, conquering several prefectures in succession and finally achieving great success.

The following year, Erzhu Rong delivered the colossal gift of the Heyin Incident, effectively decapitating the giant that was the Northern Dynasty. The remaining torso was no longer a threat, merely waiting to be harvested as spoils…

As expected, princes and ministers of the Southern Dynasty flocked to surrender. Every day, newly arrived members of the Northern Wei imperial family knelt and wept outside the Grand Marshal's Gate of Taicheng, begging the Great Liang to send troops to avenge them.

Seeing this, the calls for a northern expedition resounded throughout the Southern Dynasty, reaching a point where the will of the people could no longer be ignored...

Therefore, in June, Xiao Yan summoned Chen Qingzhi back to the capital.

In the meditation hall of Hualin Garden.

"Haha, Ziyun, you've certainly made a name for yourself this past year." Xiao Yan looked at his trusted confidant, whom he hadn't seen for a year, and smiled with satisfaction. "I knew I hadn't misjudged you. Who says only military families know how to fight?"

"It is all thanks to His Majesty's support that I have been able to make some progress. Otherwise, I would have been unable to move an inch long ago," Chen Qingzhi said respectfully.

“Ah, I have many people backing me up, but those as promising as you are extremely rare.” Xiao Yan waved his hand and laughed, “Good, very good. You are like my child, and I am truly happy to see you succeed.”

"I am very happy to be able to share the Emperor's burdens." Chen Qingzhi knew that the Emperor's attempt to get close to him meant that he had some difficult matter to entrust to him.

He then asked, "I wonder what Your Majesty's purpose is in summoning me back this time?" "Hehe, being in the army for so long has made me impatient," Xiao Yan laughed. "Alright, let's get straight to the point—the Northern Expedition."

"Really? That's wonderful!" Chen Qingzhi's eyes lit up immediately, and he said excitedly, "Your Majesty is wise! With the right time, the right place, and the right people, the Northern Expedition is just right!"

"The timing and location are good, but the people are another matter," Xiao Yan said calmly. "So don't be too happy yet."

“Yes…” Chen Qingzhi understood immediately that the only one who could restrain the emperor was that one person, so he asked softly, “Does the Buddhist sect disagree?”

“Zhendi has returned after the New Year, continuing to be the leader of the Buddhist sect and the abbot of Tongtai Temple.” Xiao Yan said with a gloomy expression, “He even took the initiative to pay his respects to me and said some nonsense about ‘letting go of the past and starting over’.”

"Why do you say it's... bullshit?" Chen Qingzhi asked in a low voice.

"He also said that Buddha had already criticized him, and that only temples built with the sincere intentions of believers counted, and that from now on it would be entirely voluntary, and he would never force me again. Seeing that we were having a good conversation, I tentatively asked him if he could release the Eighth Prince, Wei Zheng, and the others, in return for which I could build many more temples." Xiao Yan said indignantly:

"In the end, he said that Buddhism neither forces people to believe in Buddhism nor forces people not to believe in Buddhism, so let them choose for themselves whether to stay or leave."

"Sigh, that's utter nonsense..." Chen Qingzhi sighed. "They've all been brainwashed by Buddha, how can they be voluntary?"

"Yes," Xiao Yan said with a dark face, "as expected, not a single one came back."

"Actually, they won't be coming back. It's said that in the past year, thousands of Imperial Guards have been used as fuel for the Jinling Grand Formation, and they've all been exhausted." He paused, then sighed:

"The Buddhist sect still claims to be compassionate, they are truly shameless."

"Yes." Chen Qingzhi nodded, deeply agreeing. When it comes to who is the most evil, there are always those stronger than the strongest in this era. But when it comes to who is the most shameless, the Floating Pagoda Sect undoubtedly deserves the title.

"But we can't not inform them about such a major event as the Northern Expedition," Xiao Yan said, frustrated.

“Yes, it will be very troublesome if the Buddhist sect does not support us,” Chen Qingzhi agreed.

"So last month, I went to Tongtai Temple to worship Buddha," Xiao Yan said, sullenly. "But that scoundrel Zhen Di deliberately made the captured imperial guards act as chanting monks, and even had Wei Zheng, Huangfu, and Tantai serve him, in order to humiliate me!"

"How hateful!" Chen Qingzhi gritted his teeth, feeling the same way.

“Yes, how can this be tolerated? But for the sake of the bigger picture, I will endure it.” Xiao Yan smiled bitterly and continued, “I told him about the Northern Expedition and explained the principles of ‘the will of the people cannot be defied’ and ‘if Heaven grants something and you do not take it, you will suffer the consequences.’”

"Did he object on the spot?" Chen Qingzhi asked.

“No, not at all.” Xiao Yan shook his head and said, “He said that this matter is of great importance and he cannot make the decision on his own. He must consult the Buddha.”

"The Buddha is sleeping, how can we give him instructions? Should we go to his dream?" Chen Qingzhi said in a deep voice.

"Who knows?" Xiao Yan exhaled a breath of turbid air and said, "Anyway, we waited for a month, and he only replied a few days ago, saying that Buddha agreed to the Northern Expedition, but the number of troops could not exceed 10,000."

(End of this chapter)