Chapter 287 Erzhu Rong Becomes Brothers Again
When Yuan Tianmu went to Pingcheng after the New Year, he passed by Xiurongchuan, but he was in a hurry at that time and did not stay in Xiurongchuan.
But Yuan Tianmu also saw the Erzhu family's pasture and the hills where they divided the grazing areas according to the color of the cow and wool.
At that time, Nan Xiurong's herdsmen rebelled, and Erzhu Rong, the head of the Erzhu family, led his troops to suppress the rebellion. Yuan Tianmu was unable to meet Erzhu Rong.
This time when Pingcheng was short of food, Yuan Tianmu thought of Erzhu Rong first. He came to Xiurongchuan again with the imperial seal in his hand.
When Yuan Tianmu arrived at Xiurongchuan, Erzhu Rong was hunting.
Yuan Tianmu entered Bingzhou from Hengzhou. When he entered the territory of Xiurong, the public security had obviously improved. In a trance, Yuan Tianmu seemed to have returned to the time when there was no unrest in the Northern Wei Dynasty.
But every once in a while, rangers would gallop past. Even if they saw Yuan Tianmu's team holding the imperial flag, there would still be knights coming up to check Yuan Tianmu's identity.
Yuan Tianmu sighed secretly. Everyone in Luoyang knew that Erzhu Rong of Xiurongchuan was strict in military discipline. It was indeed true.
After Yuan Tianmu waited in Erzhu Rong's mansion for a while, he saw Erzhu Rong in hunting clothes returning to his mansion surrounded by his men.
Erzhu Rong and Yuan Tianmu did not have any interaction when they were in Luoyang. He was originally planning to just give him some supplies to get rid of him, but when he saw that Yuan Tianmu had an outstanding appearance, different from the other Yuan clan relatives Erzhu Rong had met in Luoyang, Erzhu Rong decided to have a chat with Yuan Tianmu.
After some greetings, Erzhu Rong began by saying:
"Have you ever seen such a peaceful place as Xiurong in the north?"
Yuan Tianmu shook his head and said:
"The North is in chaos, Xiurong is the most peaceful place I have ever seen."
Erzhu Rong was very proud, but Yuan Tianmu said:
"Xiurong is stable because Hengzhou is still in the hands of the imperial court. The rebels in the north cannot harass Xiurong. If Hengzhou were to have problems, Xiurong's peace would be like a flower in the water or a moon in the mirror."
When Erzhu Rong heard this, he burst into laughter:
"If the rebels dare to harass Xiurong, I will lead the army to suppress them!"
Yuan Tianmu continued:
"I believe General Pingbei has the ability, but the court will not allow General Pingbei to send troops."
Hearing this, Erzhu Rong seemed to be deflated.
He bears too much of the mark of Yuan Yi's faction. Now that Empress Dowager Hu is back in power, although she dares not suppress the Erzhu family openly, she is secretly excluding Erzhu Rong.
Many of the ministers who had made friends with Erzhu Rong were also Yuan Yi's followers, and now they have all been punished or exiled.
In the early days of Empress Dowager Hu's reign, when Yu Zhong rebelled, Empress Dowager Hu spared Yu Zhong and even spared his family.
However, the loss of power this time made Empress Dowager Hu feel terrified, and she killed all of Yuan Yi's followers.
A while ago, Erzhu Rong used the same trick again and sent his men with fine horses into Luoyang to make friends with important officials. However, this time not only did no one accept his gift, but even important officials like Yuan Shen wrote a letter to Erzhu Rong, asking him to give up Nan Xiurong, whom he had just annexed.
Yuan Shen's letter really touched Erzhu Rong's sore spot.
In fact, Nan Xiurong's rebellion was simply directed and acted by Erzhu Rong himself.
Nan Xiurong is south of Bei Xiurong, and further south is Jinyang, the capital of Bingzhou. Who would be so stupid as to rebel in this place?
Less than three days after Nan Xiurong's rebellion, Erzhu Rong's cavalry marched south to quell the so-called "rebellion". After that, Erzhu Rong arbitrarily appointed officials and occupied Nan Xiurong's land.
However, Empress Dowager Hu was still afraid of Erzhu Rong's strength and finally did not take action.
However, this incident also made Erzhu Rong very distressed. After years of preparation, he finally waited for the opportunity, but the court just left him alone.
Yuan Tianmu looked at Erzhu Rong and suddenly said:
"General, can you please dismiss your subordinates?"
Erzhu Rong waved his hand, and the guards around him retreated in unison. Erzhu Rong governed his subordinates with military law and was extremely strict in his administration, which Yuan Tianmu admired very much.
After the people around him left, Yuan Tianmu said to Erzhu Rong:
"General, do you feel that the court didn't allow you to go to war, and you missed a great opportunity?"
Erzhu Rong looked at Yuan Tianmu. He thought for a while and decided to tell Yuan Tianmu his true feelings.
He nodded and said:
"Rong wants to serve his country, but there is no way to do so!"
Yuan Tianmu said:
"On the contrary, I think it is a good thing not to let General Pingbei go to war now."
Erzhu Rong raised his eyebrows, and Yuan Tianmu said:
"Hengzhou's army is the imperial army. The court will not let General Pingbei lead the army. If you are allowed to send troops, it will be as a special general. General Erzhu, is he willing to be driven by others?"
"And I heard that the court has appointed Prince Guangyang Shen as the commander-in-chief. Tianmu has also heard about the rift between Prince Guangyang and the general."
After listening to Yuan Tianmu's analysis, Erzhu Rong suddenly came to his senses.
Now is definitely not a good time to use our well-trained troops to fight against the rebels in the Six Garrisons.
Yuan Tianmu said this, and Erzhu Rong also opened his heart and said:
"Although the rebel army is powerful, it is just a mob. Prince Guangyang used to be the governor of Hengzhou and is familiar with the situation of the six towns. He may be able to pacify the six towns. How will our Erzhu family gain a foothold in the court when the time comes?"
Yuan Tianmu suddenly lowered his voice and said:
"General, you don't think that winning one battle will solve the problem of the six towns, right?"
"Is not it?"
Yuan Tianmu said:
"There are so many refugees in the Six Garrisons. They have been plundering for nearly a year since last year. The Six Garrisons have been completely desolate. Even if the court defeats the rebels, how will they be resettled?"
"Unless King Guangyang learns from Bai Qi and kills all the people in the six towns, but I don't think King Guangyang dares to do what Bai Qi did."
Erzhu Rong was silent. Yuan Tianmu continued:
"If these refugees are not properly resettled, there will be a big mess. However, General Pingbei knows the situation of the court best. Can the court solve these problems now?"
Erzhu Rong immediately shook his head.
He looked at Yuan Tianmu, his tone immediately became much more intimate, and he asked:
"Then according to Brother Tianmu's suggestion, should I continue to wait and see what happens in Xiurong? But wouldn't that be too passive?"
Yuan Tianmu took a breath and said:
"There's one thing the General can do."
"what's up?"
Yuan Tianmu clenched his hands and said:
"Please appoint me as the governor of Bingzhou."
The room fell into silence.
Bingzhou was a large province with its capital in Jinyang, and Erzhu Rong's Xiurong was also under the jurisdiction of Bingzhou.
Originally, the post of Bingzhou Governor was a lucrative position, and it was a good place for important officials to go out and make money.
But since the Six Towns War broke out, Bingzhou, which is close to Hengzhou, has become a place that people avoid.
The Inspector is a high-ranking official who is responsible for guarding the territory. If he fails to suppress the local people after becoming the Inspector, he will be held accountable by the court if he runs away. If he fails to suppress the rebellion, he may even lose his life.
Yuan Tianmu continued:
"I don't want General Erzhu Rong to submit a petition, I just want you to support me."
Erzhu Rong suddenly laughed.
Yuan Tianmu just analyzed the situation to him, and Erzhu Rong felt a sense of alienation in his heart.
As a member of the Yuan clan, you analyzed the situation with an outsider like me, and I always felt that something was wrong.
Now I understand that you, Yuan Tianmu, also want to make progress!
Once you know what the other party wants, everything makes sense.
Erzhu Rong was relieved, certain that Yuan Tianmu was not trying to trick him.
Erzhu Rong immediately said:
"This is easy to do, but since King Jiangyang was killed, our Erzhu family's old friends in Luoyang have declined, and we can only provide some money and property to Brother Tianmu."
Erzhu Rong’s meaning was very simple. Since I don’t have any connections, I can only be a low-key financial sponsor.
Yuan Tianmu was delighted after hearing this. He was of noble birth and had made friends with Gaoyang King Yuan Yong when his father was alive.
The only problem was that his father died early, and he had never held a lucrative position outside the capital, so he was unable to build relationships in Luoyang.
With the help of his financial sponsor Erzhu Rong, Yuan Tianmu was confident that he could secure the position of Governor of Bingzhou.
More importantly, the Bingzhou governor, who was considered dangerous by others, was in an extremely stable position with the support of Erzhu Rong, the number one warlord in Bingzhou.
Even if, as Yuan Tianmu imagined, the imperial court was revived due to the placement of the rebels in the Six Garrisons, he could still suppress the rebellion and make meritorious contributions, and continue to rise to prominence.
With common interests, Erzhu Rong and Yuan Tianmu had a very pleasant conversation, and they discovered that they had many common interests with each other.
Erzhu Rong was also a man of temperament. He immediately pulled Yuan Tianmu to become sworn brothers with him.
Erzhu Rong asked people to prepare the sacrifices for the sworn brotherhood, and said to Yuan Tianmu:
"Let me tell you, brother. When I was in Luoyang before, I became sworn brothers with General Su Ze of Pingxi. If Brother Su sees you, he will certainly worship you as his brother like Rong did. Let's become sworn brothers with Brother Su today."
Yuan Tianmu asked in surprise:
"But is it General Su Ze who led the troops to suppress the rebellion in the northwest?"
Erzhu Rong nodded and said:
"It's that brother Su."
Yuan Tianmu said happily:
"I didn't expect that Brother Erzhu and Su Pingxi were also sworn brothers. I have two virtuous brothers, and Tianmu is ashamed to be their elder brother!"
Erzhu Rong thought of Su Ze and sighed:
"When we became sworn brothers, Brother Su was only a lieutenant of the Imperial Guards. Today, he is already the General of Pingxi in the imperial court. In the future, this sworn brother will achieve more than me."
Yuan Tianmu said: "The troubled times are coming, and dragons and snakes will rise together. Brother Erzhu, don't be discouraged. As the saying goes, a dormant dragon will always rise one day."
The attendants brought the incense table, and Erzhu Rong and Yuan Tianmu killed a chicken to become sworn brothers, and then drank the sworn brotherhood wine together.
Erzhu Rong also sent someone to write the story of their sworn brotherhood in a letter and sent it to the northwest together with a wedding gift for Su Ze.
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In the first year of Xiaochang, on the eighth day of the fourth month, it was Buddha's Bathing Day.
After more than half a year of trekking, Monk Bodhidharma crossed the river and headed north, following Faxian's travel notes, towards Luoyang City, and finally arrived in Luoyang City.
Buddha's Bathing Festival is the most important festival for Buddhists. According to legend, when Sakyamuni was born on this day, nine dragons spewed perfume from their mouths and bathed the Buddha's body.
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, because people in both the north and the south believed in Buddhism, this festival had become an important festival second only to the Spring Festival.
At this time, the city of Luoyang was full of temples that were offering alms.
Empress Dowager Hu, who was a devout Buddhist, rarely left the palace today and personally prayed for the people at Yongning Temple.
(End of this chapter)