Chapter 293 Going their separate ways
The first day of June, the first year of Xiaochang.
Northern border, Six Towns, Wuchuan.
Heba Duba attacked and killed Wei Kegu, and was then killed by the Tiele tribe. The heroes of Wuchuan became the targets of the rebels.
The Heba brothers didn't even get their father's body back, but escaped with Wei Kegu's head.
The three brothers were extremely brave, and with the Heba family's soldiers holding back their grief, they were the first to break through and arrive at the Baidao City.
The reputation of the assassination of Wei Kegu had already spread in the northern border. The defender of Baidao City, Li Shengui, immediately opened the city gate. After identifying Wei Kegu's head, Li Shengui immediately sent the three brothers to Pingcheng.
In any case, the assassination of Wei Kegu was also a rare good news for the imperial court in the northern border. Although this victory news had nothing to do with the official army in Pingcheng, as long as it was a victory news that could inspire the court, it could also win more support for the army to suppress the rebellion.
Moreover, the Heba brothers were well-known for their bravery in the Six Garrisons. Prince Yuan Shen of Guangyang was a man who knew military affairs and would definitely make use of them.
The Heba brothers settled down in Pingcheng, waiting for the new Northern Expedition Commander Yuan Shen to arrive in Pingcheng.
Some want to make progress and avenge their fathers, while others are tired of the war.
For example, Yuwen Gong's eldest son died in battle, and his old friend Heba Duba was also captured and killed by the Tiele people after attacking and killing Wei Kegu. Yuwen Gong, who had fought all his life, was unwilling to continue fighting in the meat grinder of Liujia.
He took his remaining three sons, Yuwen Lian, Yuwen Luosheng and Yuwen Tai, and hid their identities, pretending to be ordinary refugees from the six towns and entered Hengzhou.
Then, Yuwen Gong did not go to Pingcheng to wait for Yuan Shen like the Heba brothers, but continued to go south to Dingzhou to avoid disaster.
Dingzhou was the territory of Zhongshan State during the Warring States Period. It was called Zhongshan in ancient times and later became the area around Baoding, Hebei.
The reason why Yuwen Gong came to Dingzhou was to seek refuge with Ge Rong, another general of Dingzhou.
Ge Rong, the general of Dingzhou, also came from the Six Garrisons. He served in Wuchuan and Huaishuo successively, and was considered Yuwen Gong's old boss.
The surname Ge was also the surname that Emperor Xiaowen ordered the Xianbei people to change to. It was originally "He Ge". Ge Rong was not from a high-class family among the eight Xianbei surnames, but the Ge family was also listed as a second-class surname.
After Ge Rong left the Six Garrisons, his career was not going well. He wandered around in several border states and could only serve as a deputy driver in Dingzhou.
In Yuwen Gong's view, Dingzhou, Yingzhou and Jizhou were already the most important regions of Wei, and the Rebellion of the Six Garrisons would never be able to spread to Dingzhou.
The imperial court has lifted the restrictions on the military status of the Six Garrisons and allowed refugees from the Six Garrisons to migrate south to escape disaster.
After making up his mind to lead his sons to join Ge Rong, Yuwen Gong wanted to settle down in Dingzhou.
Dugu Xin made another choice.
Compared with Yuwen father and son and Heba brothers, Dugu Xin, who was alone with his troops, finally arrived in Pingcheng with great difficulty.
When Dugu Xin arrived in Pingcheng, he happened to meet the Houmochen Chong brothers who were arranged to the rear by Houmochen Shun.
Dugu Xin and Houmo Chenshun were also old acquaintances, so when they saw their old friends' younger brothers, they naturally took care of them.
At this time, news had come from the rear that Houmo Chenshun had fought a desperate battle with Poliu Han Baling in Wuyuan, but was finally defeated and jumped into the Yellow River.
After hearing the news, Hou Mochen Chong's brothers and sisters all cried bitterly, except for the ten-year-old Hou Mochen Chong, who had no tears in his eyes.
Dugu Xin asked in surprise:
"Ah Chong, don't you feel sad for your brother?"
Houmo Chenchong said firmly:
"When we left that day, my brother entrusted his younger brothers and sisters to me. Chong cannot cry until his younger brothers and sisters are well taken care of."
After hearing this, even Dugu Xin, who had always been very arrogant, praised Houmo Chenchong.
As a ten-year-old child, with younger brothers and sisters in the war, Dugu Xin felt it was a miracle that they could walk to Pingcheng alive.
Dugu Xin said:
"Your brother and I are old friends, so you should just follow me from now on."
Hou Mochen Chong nodded, but as a ten-year-old child he was also at a loss as to what to do next.
Their brother only asked them to leave the Six Garrisons. Now they have arrived in Pingcheng, but they have no idea where to go next or how to make a living.
Dugu Xin adjusted his hat and said:
"Go to Guanzhong."
"what?"
Dugu Xin said:
"I have inquired in Pingcheng. In addition to the Six Garrisons, Guanzhong is also in turmoil. The court ordered Danyang Duke Xiao Baoyin to stay in Chang'an and preside over the suppression of the rebellion in Guanzhong."
Houmo Chenchong asked:
"Brother Dugu wants us to seek refuge with Duke Danyang?"
Dugu Xin shook his head and said:
"Duke Danyang seems to be generous and kind, seeking talents, but in fact he only cares about family background when hiring people, which is not our master."
Xiao Baoyin was from the royal family of the Former Qi Dynasty, which attached more importance to one’s origin than the Northern Wei Dynasty.
There is no way. The south has always been like this. Even after Xiao Yan came to power, he surveyed the "Bai Jia Pu" and classified the families in the south.
In comparison, the power of the Han clans in the north was even weaker.
Dugu Xin said:
"We will go to General Pingxi Su Ze. In the past, Su Pingxi assisted General Li in resisting the Rouran people in the Six Garrisons. I once served under him."
"Su Pingxi was a master at using troops, and he won many battles in Guanxi."
Hou Mochen Chong nodded. When Su Ze was in Liuzhen, he brought some shock to the people of Liuzhen.
Even the people of Wuchuan and Huaishuo were unwilling to surrender to the rebels because the elite imperial guards led by Su Ze made them feel that the rebels could not win.
But I didn't expect that without Su Ze, the government troops would be in such a miserable state.
When Dugu Xin went alone to seek reinforcements, Su Ze had tried to recruit him.
Since Wuchuan had already fallen, Dugu Xin simply decided to surrender to Su Ze. Dugu Xin took Hou Mo, Chen Chong and his brothers and left Pingcheng and headed for Guanzhong.
In comparison, people in Wuchuan are still lucky.
Thanks to their merit in assassinating Wei Kegu, they could pass through Baidao City guarded by government troops and go directly to Pingcheng to escape disaster.
Although the Huaishuo people including Gao Huan, Sima Ziru and Dou Tai escaped earlier than the Wuchuan people, they had surrendered to the rebels and did not dare to go from Baidao City to Pingcheng.
So after Gao Huan and Sima Ziru discussed it, they decided to go east from Wuchuan Town, walk along the Great Wall to Huaihuang Town, and then flee north to Yanzhou.
The Great Wall near Huaihuang has been in disrepair for many years. The last time the Rouran people went south, one part of them harassed Baidao and attacked Hengzhou, while the other part entered Yanzhou from Huaihuang.
So after all the people of Wuchuan settled in Pingcheng, Gao Huan and others bypassed the Great Wall. They disguised themselves as a group of refugees and entered Yanzhou.
Gao Huan was accompanied by many residents of Huaihuang Town.
Relying on his natural charm, Gao Huan made friends with Du Luozhou, the leader of this group of townspeople. If it weren't for the guidance of these Huaihuang townspeople who were familiar with the terrain, Gao Huan and his companions would not have been able to enter Yanzhou so smoothly.
Du Luozhou invited Gao Huan to go to Shanggu County together.
Shanggu County was a large county in Yanzhou. Since the Warring States Period, it had been a fortress for the Yan State to defend against nomadic peoples from the north.
Du Luozhou was a resident of Huaihuang Town. He had some contact with the wealthy families in Shanggu County in the past and had done some business with them, so he planned to take his brothers with him to seek refuge.
Gao Huan did not agree immediately, but discussed it with Sima Ziru and Dou Tai.
Gao Huan said:
"Originally, we planned to go to Pingcheng after leaving the Six Towns and join my Yue family, but now we only have so few people left, and we are afraid that people will look down on us if we go to Pingcheng."
Compared to the people of Wuchuan who were prepared to surrender to Wei Kegu, the tribes of Wuchuan generals such as Heba Yuwen were organized into separate armies and they fled together.
Gao Huan and his Huaishuo people were broken up into an army. When Gao Huan and his men fled, they only gathered together dozens of their fellow villagers.
During the escape, many people died due to being chased or physically exhausted. Now there are only more than 30 riders left, including women and children like Lou Zhaojun.
The Lou family was a prominent family in Pingcheng. When Lou Zhaojun married Gao Huan, the Lou family looked down on Gao Huan.
Now that he is a rebel and has no soldiers under his command, Gao Huan is somewhat reluctant to join the Yue family.
Sima Ziru and Dou Tai had the same idea.
Gao Huan added:
“When I was in Luoyang, I made friends with Erzhu Rong, who was a great general, and Su Ze, who was suppressing the rebellion in Guanxi.”
Sima Ziru and Dou Tai's eyes lit up. Xiu Rong and Erzhu Rong had strong troops and horses, and Su Ze had also won many victories in Guanxi.
Moreover, both of them are capable of commanding troops. In today's chaotic world, these warriors also have the opportunity to be reused.
But Gao Huan said:
"But we don't have enough money, so let's go to Shanggu County to settle down temporarily, and then make plans."
Everyone nodded and agreed with Gao Huan's plan.
-
The third day of the sixth month in the first year of Xiaochang.
Yuan Shen, the newly appointed commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition, arrived in Pingcheng.
Li Chong, who had been ill for many days, finally dragged his sick body to greet Yuan Shen at the city gate.
Yuan Shen was surprised when he saw Li Chong.
Originally, everyone in Luoyang thought that Li Chong was pretending to be sick, but after seeing him today, Yuan Shen was sure that Li Chong was really sick.
Although Li Chong was old before going on the expedition, he could still ride a horse and speak with full energy.
But now Li Chong could only stand steadily with the support of both sides, and his body was as thin as paper.
When Yuan Shen saw Li Chong like this, he quickly stepped forward to support him and said:
"General! How can we trouble you to go out of the city to welcome us? Please get in the car quickly!"
Yuan Shen was knowledgeable about military affairs and knew that it was already a great achievement for Li Chong to lead the army back to Pingcheng under adverse circumstances.
A good cook cannot cook without rice. How can the court fight against the six rebellious towns with such limited troops?
Yuan Shen, who succeeded Li Chong to clean up the mess, also felt sympathy for the seriously ill Li Chong.
Yuan Shen thought of Huangfu Song who fought against the Yellow Turban Army in the late Han Dynasty, and the chaotic situation in the court today, and he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
Empress Dowager Hu returned to the throne, but Prince Qinghe Yuan Yi had already died.
Empress Dowager Hu quickly found two male favorites, Zheng Yan, a descendant of the Zheng family of Xingyang, and Xu He, a remnant of Jiangyang King Yuan Yi.
Empress Dowager Hu quickly appointed Zheng Yan as the Minister of the Central Secretariat, and appointed Xu He as the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, allowing them to enter and leave the palace freely, and even stay in the palace day and night.
Even Hu Sengjing, the nephew of Empress Dowager Hu's mother, advised Empress Dowager Hu when he entered the palace:
"Your Majesty is the mother of the whole nation. How can you take it lightly like this?"
Empress Dowager Hu was furious and banned her nephew from entering the palace from then on.
Zheng Yan and Xu He controlled the Zhongshu and then the Shangshutai, openly selling official positions and titles.
Even Prince Yuan Yong of Gaoyang, who assisted Empress Dowager Hu in the coup, had to temporarily avoid the spotlight and claimed to be ill and did not go to the Menxia Province to work.
After Li Chong handed over the seal of the Grand Commander, he immediately got on the carriage and returned to Luoyang. His son Li Shengui also resigned from the job of guarding Baidao City and escorted his father back to Luoyang.
Before Yuan Shen left Luoyang, he had already sent an envoy on horseback to the Rouran royal court.
When Yuan Shen arrived in Pingcheng, his envoys also came to the Rouran royal court.
(End of this chapter)