Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 457 The Decisive Battle of Heyang
As time went by, Erzhu Rong's army grew larger and larger, and he finally completed his training. Urged by Yuan Ziyou, he swore an oath to march south and prepare to recapture Luoyang.

Scouts immediately relayed the news of Erzhu Rong's troop deployment to the White-Robed Army camp. Meanwhile, the southern reinforcements Yuan Hao had promised Chen Qingzhi had yet to arrive.

"Damn it, I think Yuan Hao is deliberately trying to avoid giving it to them!" Hu Longya cursed, and the other generals also looked indignant.

In reality, Yuan Hao was just a scapegoat for them. What truly angered them was that the imperial court had broken its promise and refused to send reinforcements! This was practically a trap to kill them.

However, this matter must be kept secret, otherwise the morale of the army will surely collapse. But the generals who knew about it were inevitably filled with resentment, each one as if they had swallowed gunpowder.

"General Chen's northern expedition has been successful, and his name is renowned throughout the Central Plains. He has clearly become too powerful and has aroused the suspicion of Yuan Hao! Why not take advantage of his unpreparedness to kill him, occupy Luoyang, and establish ourselves as king! We are willing to fight to the death for him!" Ma Fonian's words were even more astonishing, causing Chen Qingzhi's pupils to shrink in surprise.

"What a joke." Chen Qingzhi looked at Ma Fonian and then at the generals. Seeing that they were not joking, he said seriously, "We have been in Luoyang for quite some time now. Haven't you noticed that in the north, whether they are Han or non-Han, they have already regarded the Wei Dynasty as their own country, but regard us as invaders."

“Of course, your actions are similar to those of the invaders.” Chen Qingzhi emphasized, “They only surrendered because they feared our military power, and they pledged allegiance to Yuan Hao, not us.”

He paused for a moment, then spread his hands and said, "Without the hearts of the people, do you think we, a mere six thousand or so, can stand on our own? Isn't that just wishful thinking?"

“It’s all up to human effort…” Ma Fonian and the others were still unwilling to give up and muttered under their breath, “Isn’t it easy to win people’s hearts? Open the granaries and distribute grain, rob the rich to help the poor, and make the common people our accomplices. They can only follow us to the bitter end.”

"Erzhu Rong's army is almost at our doorstep, and we're already having internal strife? Aren't we going to be defeated fast enough?" Chen Qingzhi frowned and shook his head repeatedly.

The generals now understood that Commander Chen would not betray the Great Liang. They looked dejected and said, "So, we're just going to stay here and wait to die with Yuan Hao?"

“Our original mission was to escort Yuan Hao back to Luoyang. Now that the mission has been successfully completed, why don’t we head back home?” At this moment, Ren Yuan, who had been silent all along, suggested, “I don’t think the Emperor would blame us.”

"Of course! We've already exceeded our mission expectations!" The generals nodded in unison. "The Emperor isn't sending any troops; we can't just sit here and wait to die, can we?!"

"If we leave, Yuan Hao will surely be finished. Luoyang and Henan will also fall back into the hands of the Northern Dynasty, and our Northern Expedition will become meaningless!" At this moment, Gongsun Lu reminded everyone, "Did we travel three thousand miles just to make a quick trip?"

"If you don't want to visit this place, then Your Majesty should send reinforcements!" Ma Fonian spat. "You want the horse to run fast, but you don't want it to eat grass? Dream on!"

"..." After listening to the generals' argument, Chen Qingzhi finally spoke up: "Don't blame the emperor. He originally wanted to personally lead the troops to the north to support us."

After a pause, he finally revealed the truth: "But during the abdication ceremony, the crown prince suddenly committed suicide, ruining all the arrangements."

"Huh?" The generals only knew that reinforcements wouldn't be arriving, and were unaware of such a shocking detail. They were all stunned upon hearing this. "Why would the Crown Prince do this?"

“He has been bewitched by the Dream God Wu Yang, and firmly believes that the Northern Expedition will not succeed. Only by submitting to the Dream God can he protect the Emperor and the Great Liang,” Chen Qingzhi replied in a deep voice.

Luoyang is far from the territory of the Dream God, so you don't have to be so careful with your words.

"And Wu Yang also has another identity: he is the Buddha of the Buddhist sect!"

"..." Most of the generals came from the Gouchen Division. Even if they hadn't experienced it firsthand, they had heard about the thrilling New Year's Day sacrificial ceremony two years ago.

That time, the entire 20,000 Imperial Guards were wiped out, and the two princes vanished from sight forever. The Gouchen Division also suffered heavy losses, losing three of its four chief guards… and that time, their opponent was none other than the Buddha. This time, the Crown Prince has also been lost…

Now they all understood the terrible price Xiao Yan had paid to fight against the gods.

"So it's not that His Majesty won't send reinforcements, but that he's powerless to do so." Seeing the resentment on everyone's faces gradually dissipate, Chen Qingzhi raised his voice and said:
"We are now the Emperor's last hope. As long as we can defeat Erzhu Rong and defend Luoyang, we can plunge the Northern Dynasty into a long-term division and preserve the hope of unification for the Great Liang."

"Is there still hope?" The generals looked at Chen Qingzhi.

"Who knows what the future holds?" Chen Qingzhi said in a deep voice, "I only know that our Northern Expedition will only be a success if we completely dismantle the Northern Wei!"

"Understood!" The generals finally reached a consensus.

~~
The following day, Yuan Hao convened a court assembly to discuss how to deal with Erzhu Rong's army.

Historically, the best strategy for defending against enemies north of Luoyang was to establish defenses in Shanxi, utilizing the towering mountains to keep the enemy outside the country's borders; the second best strategy was to establish defenses on the north bank of the Yellow River, preventing the enemy from crossing the river; and the worst strategy was to establish defenses on the south bank.

Because the Yellow River's role as a natural barrier is far less than that of the Yangtze River, and this was an era of extraordinary abilities, the enemy could cross the river in many places. Simply setting up defenses on the south bank would put us at a significant disadvantage.

However, they lacked the resources to establish defenses in Shanxi, so the middle option became the best option at the moment.

Knowing this, Chen Qingzhi took the initiative to propose that he lead his troops to defend Beizhongcheng on the opposite bank of the Yellow River, while Yuan Hao and his army would set up defenses on the south bank.

Yuan Hao was naturally delighted and immediately agreed.

After the court session ended, Chen Qingzhi led more than 6,000 white-robed soldiers out of Luoyang, crossed the Yellow River by boat, and garrisoned Beizhongcheng on the opposite bank.

As usual, Ren Yuan led his cavalry north to scout. After traveling less than forty li, they encountered the Qihu scouts, who were bald and had small braids!

With Ren Yuan and A Yao holding the line, the outcome was naturally a foregone conclusion...

Zu'an immediately interrogated the captured Qihu cavalrymen and learned from them that Erzhu Rong had led a large army to within forty miles, with a force of over one hundred thousand!

"Quickly report to Commander Chen," Ren Yuan ordered in a deep voice, "Erzhu Rong's 100,000-strong army has arrived 80 li to the north!"

"Yes!" Chen Baxian immediately turned the tiger's head and ran wildly towards Beizhong City.

Ren Yuanze and A Yao flew to a place forty miles away to scout, and sure enough, they saw Erzhu Rong's army arrive in a thunderous roar.

He was carefully identifying the enemy's troop strength and generals when a surge of overwhelming killing intent suddenly welled up in his chest!
Ren Yuan quickly drew a calming talisman and stuck it on his chest to calm his churning blood. He was about to turn around and talk to A Yao.

But then she saw her eyes turn bloodshot, and she thrust her flying sword at him!

(End of this chapter)