Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 447 Entering Luoyang
As dawn broke, Wang Bixin Zuan discovered that his commander had fled. Good heavens! How could they possibly defend the city now?

Now that Erzhu Shilong has fled, they have even less reason to die for the Erzhu family, so they simply opened the gates and surrendered.

In fact, Xin Zuan still wanted to hold out, but he was directly tied up by Wang Bi and given to Yuan Hao as a gift.

Thus, the White-Robed Army occupied Hulao Pass without losing a single soldier!
Moreover, Erzhu Shilong fled in such a hurry that he didn't even have time to say goodbye to his own people.

His two younger brothers, Erzhu Shicheng and Erzhu Xi, upon hearing of the fall of Xingyang, hurriedly led more than 10,000 troops to Hulao Pass to support their elder brother...

As a result, they were captured in one battle by the White-Robed Army, and neither of them escaped.

Erzhu Shicheng and Erzhu Xi were both ordered by Yuan Hao to be executed by slow slicing. As they were being tortured, they cursed Erzhu Shilong as a scoundrel until they died...

Erzhu Shilong's two younger brothers were not the only ones who were harmed. Even Emperor Yuan Ziyou of Luoyang was forced to flee.

Of course, some people advised Yuan Ziyou not to flee, but to lead the Imperial Guards to defend Luoyang.

But by this time, the White-Robed Army's fame had spread throughout Luoyang. If a child cried and wouldn't sleep at night, the adults would say, "The White-Robed Army is coming!" Even the naughtiest child would immediately freeze in fear...

Yuan Ziyou simply didn't have the courage to face the terrifying white-robed army. Besides, he was merely a puppet emperor, with no real control over his own fate.

As expected, Erzhu Dulu, who was appointed as the General of the Imperial Guard, soon followed Erzhu Rong's instructions and asked him to go on a hunting expedition in northern Shanxi.

That afternoon, Yuan Ziyou fled the Luoyang palace in a carriage, accompanied by Qihu cavalry, and crossed the Yellow River to seek refuge.

To prevent the White Robe Army from pursuing them, he ordered the river bridge to be burned down and all the boats to be hidden on the north bank, preventing the White Robe Army from using them.

~~
The next morning, Ren Yuan led more than a hundred cavalrymen across the Luo River and cautiously arrived at the city of Luoyang to conduct reconnaissance.

In the morning light, this sacred ancient capital of Chinese civilization gradually revealed its magnificent outline in exquisite detail before the eyes of these people from the Southern Dynasties.

Everyone couldn't help but show their admiration; this was the ancient capital they had longed for... Even after living in the Southern Dynasty for hundreds of years, Jiankang could not replace Luoyang in their hearts.

After a long while, the crowd recovered from their awe of the ancient capital and began to observe the defenses on the city walls.

They had expected the Wei army to be fully prepared, but to their surprise, a white flag was raised on the city wall...

"They surrendered just like that?" Chen Baxian rubbed his eyes hard. "The Northern Expedition, is it that simple?"

In every Northern Expedition launched by the Southern Dynasties, Luoyang was the final destination, and this time was no exception.

"Could it be a trap?" Yang Zhong asked cautiously. Moreover, deep down, he didn't want the Northern Dynasty to lose so humiliatingly.

“How could that be?” Ren Yuan shook his head and laughed, “This is Luoyang. The white flags hanging on the city walls are a heavy blow to the entire Northern Dynasty.”

“That makes sense.” Yang Zhong and Chen Baxian nodded in agreement.

"Let's go, let's go up and take a look." Ren Yuan stopped wasting words and led his companions to the top of Luoyang city.

It's unclear whether Luoyang lacks the same restrictions as the Jinling Grand Array, or whether those restrictions have been removed. In any case, he can teleport normally.

The soldiers guarding the city wall were startled by the unexpected guests, but upon seeing their white battle robes, they asked with awe, "Are you the White Robe Army?"

“Exactly.” Ren Yuan nodded, pointing to the white flag flying high, and asked, “Have you surrendered?”

"Yes," the garrison commander replied respectfully. "Before His Majesty went north to capture the emperor, he specifically decreed that there was no need to resist, so as to avoid unnecessary casualties in Luoyang."

Ren Yuan and his men initially thought this was just a pretext used by those who stayed behind to shift the blame for the surrender onto Yuan Ziyou. However, upon arriving in the capital, they found all the civil and military officials present, and the palace furnishings untouched. While the people were slightly uneasy, the markets were generally peaceful, and many shops were still open. Clearly, Yuan Ziyou had indeed issued an edict to appease the people…

This surprised everyone. They had thought Yuan Ziyou was a coward, but it turned out he had quite a broad perspective...

~~
Two days later, Yuan Hao, escorted by the White-Robed Army and Yuan Huiye, Qiu Daqian and others, entered the capital along the eastern route of Luoyang on the banks of the Yi River.

Prince Yuan Yu of Linhuai and Prince Yuan Yanming of Anfeng led civil and military officials twenty miles outside the city to welcome the emperor, seamlessly connecting with what belonged to them.

Since Yuan Hao's Northern Expedition, he had maintained a low profile. Now, however, he finally dropped the pretense and adopted the full demeanor of an emperor. He calmly accepted the kneeling homage of his ministers and delivered a speech that included phrases like, "I have been ordered by Heaven to punish the rebels. Wherever I go, officials and people welcome the royal army with food and drink," and "Thanks to the protection of our ancestors, we have finally restored our nation."

The courtiers naturally listened respectfully to the imperial instructions, and had to keep shouting, "Long live the Emperor! May Heaven bless the Great Wei!"

The white-robed generals watched coldly, but were secretly very unhappy.

"Damn it, they just brag about themselves and don't mention us at all," Hu Long spat.

"What should he say?" Song Jingxiu laughed. "Should he say that I recaptured Luoyang entirely with the help of seven thousand Southern Dynasty soldiers, and that my own troops didn't fight a single battle? Wouldn't that be too damaging to both sides?"

"Hehe, that makes sense, it did hurt him a bit." The generals nodded in agreement, no longer caring about such a small matter.

After the welcoming ceremony in the suburbs, Yuan Hao, carrying the imperial regalia brought by his ministers, continued his majestic march towards Luoyang.

The white-robed soldiers followed in silence.

Along the way, the civil and military officials of Northern Wei all turned their heads to look at the white-robed army, which now numbered less than seven thousand, and whispered among themselves about what made them so formidable...

In fact, Hu Longya had no reason to be resentful. Their terrifying battle record was there for all to see. They didn't need to show off their strength. Their pure white battle robes were the most dazzling thing about them.

At dusk, the procession arrived at the city of Luoyang.

The soldiers of the White-Robed Army couldn't help but echo the sentiments that Ren Yuan and the others had expressed the day before.

"This is the legendary Luoyang?"

"So, we've succeeded in our Northern Expedition?"

"Of course." Hu Longya became happy again and said proudly, "The Northern Expedition is about recapturing Luoyang. If Luoyang is recaptured, the Northern Expedition will be a success!"

"Wouldn't that make us famous for all time?" the soldiers couldn't help but laugh.

"Of course! A thousand years from now, people will remember our heroic deeds!" Chen Qingzhi said at this moment. "Cheer up, everyone, and follow me into Luoyang!"

"Yes!" The soldiers perked up, their spirits lifted, and they marched proudly across the Luoshui pontoon bridge, forming ranks as they entered the magnificent Xuanyang Gate.

The last time the Southern Dynasty's army entered this gate was 120 years ago, when Liu Yu's Northern Army launched a northern expedition.

For the next 120 years, no one could achieve this feat. Until Chen Qingzhi and his White-Robed Army appeared…

However, by this time, no one in Luoyang had witnessed the scene Liu Yu had once witnessed. The common people stood by the roadside, watching the swaggering white-robed army with fear; there was no scene of joyfully welcoming the royal army.

Even more so, one could sense a subtle hostility...

(End of this chapter)