My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 591 The Future Capital?
October 12th, the third year of the Tianping era (533 AD).

The cool autumn days are almost over, and we can already feel the approach of winter as temperatures begin to drop.

Who knows when it might snow heavily?

Gao Yu personally led his army from Wen County towards Beizhong City.

Riding on horseback, Gao Yu occasionally glanced at the surrounding scenery. All he could see was barren yellow earth...

Some of the small hills were also completely bare.

This is the norm.

Chai rice, oil, salt, sauce and vinegar tea.

Firewood, as the only energy source in this era, is in extremely high demand!

Manufacturing engineering equipment requires a lot of wood, and the army also needs a lot of wood to start fires and cook...

Any city that gathers a large population will inevitably have barren mountains surrounding it.

Gao Yu was momentarily dazed.

Is Luoyang still suitable to be a capital city?

Fifty or sixty years have passed since Emperor Xiaowen established his capital in Luoyang.

Although the Northern Wei Dynasty did not unify the south and ruled separately from the Southern Dynasties along the Yangtze River, it was still a unified dynasty in the north and a small golden age during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period. Otherwise, where would it have gotten so much wealth for Empress Dowager Hu to squander?
The capital of a prosperous dynasty must have a large population, and a large population will inevitably cause excessive damage to the surrounding environment.

Chang'an was overdeveloped before, and Luoyang was almost the same.

Moreover, both Chang'an and Luoyang have limited land carrying capacity.

Don't be fooled by the fact that Chang'an is located on the Guanzhong Plain; it's all for naught...

When Yang Jian was in power, Chang'an could no longer support so many people, forcing Yang Jian to come to Luoyang to seek food.

During the Tang Dynasty, emperors traveled to Luoyang (the eastern capital) for meals even more frequently.

Even though the Guangtong Canal was specially dug to transport grain to Guanzhong, it was of little use.

Luoyang isn't much better, really.

So when Zhao Da of the Northern Song Dynasty established his capital in Bianjing, it was partly because it was not appropriate to move the capital immediately after usurping the throne, and partly because Bianjing had a well-developed water network, making it convenient to transport grain, so there was no need to worry about the capital not being able to support so many people.

"Prime Minister, Prime Minister..."

Duan Shao's shouts from the side pulled Gao Yu back to reality.

It seems a bit too early to be thinking about these issues.

We haven't captured Luoyang or Guanzhong yet. The future capital is a matter for us to discuss after we've captured it.

"Xiaoxian, what is it?"

"Prime Minister, Beizhong City is less than twenty li away from here."

Gao Yu nodded, "Continue forward. Once we reach the designated location, the army will set up camp!"

"Here!"

"Xiaoxian, Ayang, Mingyueer and others led their elite troops to patrol the surrounding area to prevent the enemy from launching a surprise attack while our troops were still establishing a foothold."

"Here!"

This wasn't the first time they had attacked a city; Gao Yu had brought out battle-hardened elites, and everything was already going smoothly for them.

After arriving at the target area.

The soldiers at the front remained vigilant, maintaining their formation in case of any unforeseen circumstances.

Meanwhile, the auxiliary soldiers in the rear began to take out all sorts of tools and start preparing to set up camp on the spot.

Outside the city, the campsites were being set up in a bustling atmosphere.

The garrison inside the city could only watch from afar on the city walls.

"General! Let me take a small force out of the city to dampen the enemy's morale!" "Foolish!"

Hou Mochenyue angrily rebuked, "Can't you see that the enemy's front-line soldiers are still maintaining a fighting posture? Not to mention that there are elite cavalry patrolling the outer perimeter. I'm afraid you'll be able to lead your troops out of the city, but you won't be able to come back alive!"

After reprimanding them, he looked at them from afar and thought, "They are indeed rare elites. I imagine this defense of the city will be a fierce battle!"

Seeing the situation, Hou Mochenrui quickly spoke up, "General, why boost the enemy's morale and diminish our own? Reinforcements are on their way. When they arrive, I am willing to lead my elite cavalry out of the city to kill the enemy!"

"Tiger father has no dog son!"

"The young general has quite the bearing of the general in his prime."

"…………"

Hou Mochenyue remained unmoved, glanced at Hou Mochenrui, frowned slightly, and reprimanded, "With so many battle-hardened generals here, who gave you the right to show off? Step back!"

After observing for a while, he turned around and ordered, "I suppose the enemy won't attack the city anytime soon. Bring out all the fine wine and meat in the city to reward the soldiers!"

"Here!!"

………………

Gao Yu's command tent was the first to be set up.

He immediately summoned everyone to the tent.

"Beizhong City is a fortified city, and a direct assault would likely result in heavy casualties."

Gao Yu spoke up, "You may speak frankly about your thoughts."

Gao Yang spoke first, “Prime Minister… Beizhong City is the last gateway to Luoyang north of the Yellow River. The general guarding the city must be Erzhu Rong’s confidant. I’m afraid it will be difficult to persuade him to surrender. The only option is to attack the city!”

Duan Shao frowned and shook his head in rebuttal, "To conclude that the city's garrison has no intention of surrendering seems a bit arbitrary. In my opinion, it would be better to send an envoy as a persuader to enter the city and test the attitude of the city's garrison commander. It would not be too late to make a decision then. This is the most appropriate course of action."

Hulü Guang added, “Currently, all the counties in Hanoi are under our control. Beizhong City is now an isolated city. The morale of the garrison in the city is probably low. Even if the garrison commander is willing to hold the city, his soldiers may not be of one mind with him.”

"Send an envoy into the city as a persuader. Firstly, we can investigate the attitude of the defending general, and secondly, we can observe the attitude of the soldiers in the city. If their morale is low, we can declare that we will only punish the ringleaders. In this way, we can sow discord among the soldiers in the city, make them disloyal and demoralized, and reduce the losses of our army in attacking the city."

The three of them chimed in, each offering their own opinion.

Everyone was very thoughtful, which pleased Gao Yu greatly. It was worthwhile for him to keep these talented young men and women who would go down in history by his side and teach them carefully.

Despite their young age, they all possess the ability to lead an army independently.

Zhu Hunyuan looked around and immediately stepped forward, saying, "Prime Minister, what the three young generals said is all reasonable. Although I am not talented, I am willing to act as an envoy to enter the city and investigate the truth on behalf of the Prime Minister."

"Furthermore... the city's garrison commander, Hou Mochen Yue, fought alongside me in Guanzhong to quell the rebellion and kill bandits back then, so he might be a bit pretentious. I'm willing to use my silver tongue to persuade him to open the city gates and surrender to the Prime Minister!"

"If we can take Beizhong City without bloodshed, Luoyang will surely be shaken and the morale of the army will be shattered!"

"At that time, the Prime Minister may be able to take Luoyang in one fell swoop and force the Emperor to return to the old capital!"

Gao Yu thought for a moment, then stood up and said with a smile, "Since the general has volunteered, then we will trouble the general to make this mission. The general must consider his own safety. The generals and I will wait for the general's return in the camp!"

"I will certainly live up to the Prime Minister's expectations!!"

………………

The next day.

noon.

Hou Mochen Yue continued to inspect and guard the city.

But then the guards rushed over.

"Report! General!"

"What's the matter?"

“There’s someone outside the city claiming to be an old friend of the general and wants to see him!”

Hou Mochen was overjoyed. After waiting for several days, the person he wanted to see had finally arrived!

(End of this chapter)