Chapter 118 Erzhu Rong Enters Luoyang (4k)
"Erzhu Rong is coming to Luoyang?"
Su Ze was in the Tunqi Camp. When he heard the news from Yu Jin, he stood up in surprise.
Yu Jin sat opposite Su Ze, looked at him puzzledly and said:
"Xiu Rong ordered Chieftain Erzhu Rong to bring a large number of fine horses to Luoyang every autumn. After hearing about the military situation in the Six Garrisons, General Erzhu personally escorted a thousand war horses to support the imperial court's northern expedition."
A thousand war horses!
Su Ze took a breath of cold air. What a grand deal!
It turned out that what the history books said about the Erzhu family being wealthy was true. They donated a thousand war horses!
Su Ze sat down and said, "It is normal for the chieftains to donate horses and supplies when the court goes to war. I just think that General Erzhu came too quickly. The court only received the news of the Rouran invasion a few days ago, and General Erzhu came to Luoyang in person with war horses."
After Su Ze said this, Yu Jin nodded and said, "Brother Su, it is true. It may be that Xiurong is close to the northern border. General Erzhu heard the news and immediately escorted the war horses to set off. I heard from the general that General Erzhu will enter Luoyang in two days."
Erzhu Rong's current position is Xiurong's first chieftain and a guerrilla general. The so-called chieftain is an exclusive position for the chieftains of the miscellaneous Hu tribes who had joined the Northern Wei Dynasty in the early days, such as the Qihu tribe where Erzhu Rong was located. They failed to integrate into the top leadership of the Dai people group of the Northern Wei Dynasty, but had close ties with the top leadership and enjoyed some preferential treatment.
Erzhu Rong's ancestor, Erzhu Yujian, once followed Emperor Daowu of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Tuoba Gui, in his campaigns and conquered Jinyang and Zhongshan, the capital of the Later Yan Dynasty. To reward him for his meritorious service, Tuoba Gui granted him a 300-li area in the Beixiurongchuan area, and the Erzhu family began to prosper from then on.
Erzhu Yujian's grandson Erzhu Daiqin married his niece Helan to Emperor Taiwu Tuoba Tao. Helan later gave birth to the future emperor, and Erzhu became a relative by marriage.
Erzhu Daiqin followed Tuoba Tao in his campaigns, was awarded the title of General Liyi, and was exempted from taxes for a hundred years by Emperor Taiwu.
From then on, the Erzhu family became wealthy and became the overlord of the Xiurong area.
When Tuoba Jun, the grandson of Tuoba Tao, was in power, Erzhu Daiqin was granted the title of Governor of Sizhou by the court, a senior official at the level of Governor of a province, and the Erzhu family began to become local officials.
After Emperor Xiaowen Yuanhong came to power, Erzhu Daiqin was granted the title of Duke of Liang and obtained a title from the court.
Erzhu Daiqin played a huge role in the rise of the Erzhu family. Apart from being good at fighting and being in charge of civil affairs, Erzhu Daiqin had another huge advantage - he could survive!
Erzhu Daiqin lived from the period of Tuoba Tao until before Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital, and lived to be ninety-one years old!
Looking back at the Northern Wei royal family at this time, I am afraid that the founding emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Tuoba Gui, would never have imagined that at the age of 39 he had already become the second longest-lived emperor in the history of the Northern Wei Dynasty.
The later years of the Northern Wei emperor usually refer to the period after the age of 30.
Erzhu Rong's father, Erzhu Xinxing, was also a shrewd man.
After Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital to Luoyang, he reiterated the system of chieftains coming to Luoyang. These chieftains had to come to Luoyang in autumn and winter to study Confucianism, and then be released back to their territories in spring.
Erzhu Xinxing took advantage of this opportunity and would select the best horses from his territory and send them to Luoyang to make friends with the nobles and powerful officials.
Just a few years ago, Erzhu Xinxing suddenly submitted a petition to the court, saying that he was old and frail and wanted to pass all his positions to his 30-year-old son Erzhu Rong.
From then on, Erzhu Rong took over the baton passed down by his father and grandfather, succeeding Xiurong as the first chieftain of the people and adding the title of guerrilla general.
Now it is not yet the time for the wild geese to arrive in autumn, but Erzhu Rong heard the news about the situation on the northern border and immediately escorted a thousand war horses to Luoyang. This is also an old tradition of the Erzhu family to follow the footsteps of the court. The heads of the Erzhu family in all generations have attached great importance to the interactions with the royal family and important officials in the court. This is why the Erzhu family has always been favored by the court.
Su Ze didn't expect that he would meet Erzhu Rong so early.
However, Erzhu Rong was not yet the General Tianzhu who overpowered the Wei Dynasty, and he himself was already the Captain of the Yulin Army.
Yu Jin said, "Brother Su, General Erzhu sent war horses to Luoyang, and your Tunqi Battalion should be able to get the most."
After receiving the order, Li Chong immediately established a government office and recruited a group of subordinates. He then began to select imperial troops and prepare for the northern expedition.
The most troublesome thing among all these was the reorganization of the army. It was necessary to select 10,000 men from the imperial guards to lead them into battle. This made Li Chong, who had led soldiers all his life, feel desperate.
Li Chong complained to Yu Jin more than once that he had never led such a crappy army in his life!
Although in Su Ze's opinion, the Tunqiying had only a short training period and was a group of rabble, but in Li Chong's opinion, the Tunqiying was already one of the few combat-ready troops in the imperial army.
Seeing Su Ze's ability, Li Chong gave Su Ze power with a stroke of his pen, allowing him to select soldiers from the entire imperial army and increase the number of soldiers in the Tunqi Camp to 500.
Su Ze received the military order from Li Chong and took the opportunity to transfer his old subordinates such as Yang Zongjia into the Tunqi Camp. He also used various methods to recruit the Han Yulin knights whom he had made friends with during the military selection process and brought them into the Tunqi Camp.
Li Chong also ordered the Chief of Works to repair the armor of the Tunqi Battalion and compensated Su Ze for the previously overdue military pay, which finally boosted the morale of the Tunqi Battalion.
Su Ze also understood that Li Chong wanted to build the Tunqi Camp into a vanguard, so he was not stingy with his investment, and a portion of the military horses brought by Erzhu Rong would definitely be allocated to the Tunqi Camp.
Thinking of this, Su Ze looked forward to Erzhu Rong's arrival even more.
After talking about Erzhu Rong, Yu Jin turned his attention to the parade ground.
Looking at the heavily armored knight who was leading his soldiers in practicing lances, Yu Jin asked curiously:
"Where did Brother Su dig up this elite soldier seed?"
Su Ze glanced at the Calm Armored Cavalry. Isn't that an elite soldier seed? This is an orange follower recognized by the system.
"His name is Su Jing. He was a soldier in a prefecture. He is a distant relative who came to Luoyang to seek refuge with me. I asked the general to enlist him in the army."
Yu Jin suddenly realized that this kind of thing was very normal. The personal soldiers of a general were basically relatives of the general, otherwise they would not fight so hard on the battlefield.
Su Jing began to correct the soldiers' training movements. [Calm] was indeed an excellent positive term. Su Jing was very patient and corrected the soldiers' mistakes in holding the spears in a very strict manner. She was a more qualified instructor than Su Lin.
In contrast, while people were practicing long spears in an orderly manner over here, the horse racing field over there was much more noisy.
Su Mang, the reckless armored cavalryman in uniform, was whipping two soldiers with a whip.
“Why are you falling behind?”
"Team leader, we really can't keep up!"
"If you can't keep up, get out!" Su Mang yelled, scaring the surrounding soldiers into trembling with fear. He waited until he was tired of whipping, then put down the whip and said:
"Get on your horses! Practice the charge again! If there are any stragglers, kick them out of the team like those two!"
Yu Jin looked at the two teams' completely different training methods and said to Su Ze:
"Brother Su, these two captains are also interesting. One follows the path of a regular soldier, and the other follows the path of a proud soldier."
Yu Jin was well-versed in military books. He said, "The commander of the Su Jing Brigade is following the path of regular soldiers. If this type of soldiers is trained well, they can be driven like arms on the battlefield, like a sharp knife piercing the enemy's weakest point, and they will be an army that will win every battle."
"What about the soldiers that Su Mang trained?"
Yu Jin said: "That's arrogant soldiers. Although there is a saying that arrogant soldiers will be defeated, we also need arrogant soldiers on the battlefield."
"In cavalry combat, if there is no arrogant soldier who can charge forward and tear open a gap in the enemy's army, the soldiers will hesitate and their morale will be low."
"Use the arrogant soldiers as the vanguard and the regular soldiers as the reserve. Use the arrogant soldiers to break through the enemy's formation and expose their flaws. Then observe the situation and deploy the regular soldiers of the general reserve, and you can annihilate the enemy in one fell swoop."
"This is what Sun Tzu meant when he said, 'In every battle, the right tactics should be used to unite the forces and the unusual tactics should be used to win.'"
Su Ze listened carefully. In a sense, he and Yu Jin were both armchair warriors, but Yu Jin had also been in and out of military camps with his elders and had his own views on war.
Su Ze had the knowledge of later generations, but lacked experience in leading troops in battle at the micro level. The two of them communicated frequently and often felt that they benefited from each other, and their relationship became closer.
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Two days later, in the northern suburbs of Luoyang.
Large flags were erected in front of the northern suburbs, and standing under them were important officials who came to welcome Erzhu Rong to send his horses into Luoyang.
As Erzhu Rong's biggest backer in Luoyang, Jiangyang Prince Yuan Yi also needed Erzhu Rong to demonstrate his influence in military affairs, so he suggested to the Queen Mother to hold this grand welcoming ceremony.
All the important officials in the court attended the welcoming ceremony. The only one absent was Yuan Yi, Prince of Qinghe, the chief official in charge of the imperial court.
The reason for Qinghe Prince Yuan Yi's absence was that he was compiling "Xianzhonglu" in his residence.
Su Ze was also convinced. The reason why Prince Qinghe was able to live until now was entirely due to the favor of Empress Dowager Hu. Why was he still busy compiling a crappy book at this time?
As Li Chong was the one who was gifted the war horse, he naturally should be present. Under his banner, Su Ze, wearing the armor of the Yulin Army, stood beside him, looking at Jiangyang King Yuan Yi who was surrounded by everyone.
History books have spared no effort in criticizing this greatest traitor of the Northern Wei Dynasty, saying that he "controlled government affairs, acted recklessly, was arrogant and self-willed, and indulged in wine and sex." In short, he fit the template of a traitor in ancient times.
But in Su Ze's opinion, Qinghe Prince Yuan Yi, who was praised in history books for his great literary reputation and emphasis on talents, was actually a political idiot who only knew how to hide in the palace and compile books. He was in a high position but could do nothing.
However, Yuan Yi, a treacherous minister in history books, had great influence in the court. For example, in order to suppress the Yulin Rebellion, Yuan Yi borrowed private soldiers from the mansions of kings and ministers, and then handed them all over to Hou Gang to quell it.
For example, Erzhu Rong, who was about to enter Luoyang, had Yuan Yi as his old superior and also his backer in the court.
When Yuan Yi was alive, Erzhu Rong was the pillar of the Wei Dynasty, but when Yuan Yi died, Erzhu Rong became the Dong Zhuo of the Wei Dynasty.
In addition to Erzhu Rong, many famous ministers in the court at this time had joined Yuan Yi. Even ministers like Cui Guang and Li Daoyuan, even though they could not stand Yuan Yi's bad habits, still respected his position in the court.
This was the first time that Su Ze saw Yuan Yi up close. As expected, among the many handsome men and beautiful women in the Wei royal family, Yuan Yi had awakened some atavistic gene and his face was extremely ugly.
His eyes with three white dots on them are always moving around, and I don't know what conspiracy he is plotting.
This reminded Su Ze of the evil queen Jia Nanfeng in the history of the Western Jin Dynasty.
When Jia Nanfeng was in power, Emperor Hui of Jin was still able to live in the imperial palace and enjoy the treatment of an emperor. Although there were constant infighting within the royal family, the Jin Dynasty was still able to maintain its nominal rule.
After Jia Nanfeng's death, the Rebellion of the Eight Kings broke out, and then the country was in ruins and the Five Barbarians invaded China.
Looking at Luoyang City behind him, Su Ze sighed and said that for ordinary people, even the worst order is still order.
When the real troubled times come and Luoyang City suffers many military disasters, people will also miss this time then, right?
Just as Su Ze was daydreaming, the sound of horse hooves came from the front. The dust raised was about to block the sun. Two teams of riders with superb riding skills leaped out from the dust, led by a tall and upright middle-aged man with a white face like jade.
This middle-aged man is obviously Erzhu Rong!
The appearance of Erzhu Rong was described in history books as "fair and handsome". Su Ze really couldn't understand how a tribal chief who loved hunting could maintain his skin. The middle-aged man in front of him really stood out among the rough soldiers, and his skin was better than that of the officials in Luoyang.
Why did the Northern Wei Dynasty produce so many handsome men?
Gao Huan's kind of handsomeness has a bit of the hipster temperament of someone from the lower class.
Prince Qinghe is a melancholy handsome man.
Erzhu Rong was the kind of classical handsome man who embodied the kingly way. Su Ze really couldn't connect this middle-aged handsome man with the "contemporary Dong Zhuo" who was organizing the Heyin diving competition in Luoyang.
Erzhu Rong must have had good genes. His daughter Erzhu Ying'e was also a famous beauty in history books. She served as a concubine of Emperor Xiaoming of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Yuan Xu, the empress of Emperor Xiaozhuang of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Yuan Ziyou, and the favorite concubine of Emperor Shenwu of the Northern Qi Dynasty, Gao Huan. After Gao Huan's death, she was coveted by Gao Huan's son Gao Yang.
Erzhu Ying'e is probably just an adult now, right?
Su Ze looked at the rear of the team and felt that he was thinking too much. Erzhu Rong came to Luoyang this time to deliver horses, so how could he bring his daughter with him?
When Erzhu Rong saw Yuan Yi, Prince of Jiangyang, under the banner of the emperor, he immediately dismounted and bowed to Yuan Yi.
Yuan Yi quickly stepped forward, pulled Erzhu Rong up with a smile, and held his hand as they walked side by side to show his importance to Erzhu Rong.
The dust raised behind him gradually dissipated, and Su Ze saw a dense herd of horses at the rear. When Erzhu Rong said he wanted to offer military horses, he was really very clear about it!
These are all strong and tall horses, all of them are top-quality war horses. The Erzhu family is indeed generous to the court!
Even Li Chong had a smile on his face when he looked at these horses, and he was very satisfied with Erzhu Rong.
Erzhu Rong behaved properly among the ministers who came to welcome him and mingled with them.
Su Ze suddenly saw a pretty face wearing a felt hat in the crowd behind Erzhu Rong. Her feminine features could still be seen under the male riding clothes.
No, General Tianzhu, are you really taking care of your daughter?
Today is also 8k completed
(End of this chapter)