Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 380 Erzhu Recognizes His Father
"What I mean is, as long as the emperor does not underestimate the enemy." Yuwen Tai smiled and asked Dugu Xin: "Can it be done?"

"It's difficult." Dugu Xin shook his head. "Since the emperor proclaimed himself emperor, he no longer takes heroes seriously."

"Hasn't he been losing more than winning in the past six months?" Ren Yuan asked, "Where does he get his confidence from?"

"The emperor believes that it was because we had previously attacked everywhere and spread our forces too thinly that Erzhu Rong was able to take advantage of the situation." Yuwen Tai said in a deep voice: "Now that we have gathered our forces, our forces are several times greater than the enemy's, so we can naturally win the battle."

"So Ge Rong began to underestimate the enemy?" Chen Baxian asked.

"Yes." Yuwen Tai sighed, "My third brother said that during several military discussions, the atmosphere was too optimistic. From the emperor to the generals, everyone believed that Erzhu Rong had no chance of winning this battle. The emperor even said that Erzhu Rong was actually very easy to deal with. Everyone should prepare a long rope and just tie up the enemy when the time comes."

"Won't this encourage the entire army to be complacent?" Yang Zhong said in a deep voice.

"The emperor has defeated too many famous generals in the imperial army before, and he no longer takes them seriously." Dugu Xin smiled bitterly: "Although Erzhu Rong has won several battles in a row, it has not aroused the emperor's vigilance. Instead, he keeps saying things that belittle him all day long."

"It doesn't matter if you say it, but if you say it too much, the people below will really believe it. The soldiers are all impatient and want to eat Erzhu Rong in one bite." Yuwen Tai said with a complicated expression: "Gao Huan said that the current atmosphere in the army is false tension and really underestimates the enemy. The generals are training the soldiers for the emperor to see, and they are not training against Erzhu Rong at all. He said that since ancient times, arrogant soldiers will be defeated. There is no reason for us, who are arrogant without knowing it, to win."

"Gao Huan is always right about things." Ren Yuan suddenly said softly.

"Brother Ren, do you know him?" Yuwen Tai looked at Ren Yuan in surprise.

Ren Yuanxin said, "I know what he will be like in the future." But looking at Gao Huan's life, he never made a mistake in judging people. If he said someone was not good enough, then he probably really was not good enough.

"I heard from Liu Mazi that his judgment on Du Luozhou was absolutely correct." Ren Yuan then said, "After listening to Brother Yuwen's analysis, I think his judgment this time will not be wrong either."

"Yeah." Yuwen Tai nodded, picked up the wine bowl and took a sip, then lowered his voice and said:
"Actually, Gao Huan has something else to say, and it really moved me."

"He said that after the wars in the past few years, only one in ten of the imperial court's soldiers and generals are left. If we surrender early, we can fill this gap and will definitely be of great use."

"Isn't he dreaming too much?" Chen Baxian couldn't help but laugh: "Erzhu Rong can't even take care of his own people, how can he take care of us rebels?"

"Brother Chen may not know much about this dynasty," Dugu Xin explained:

"The Qihu people were civilized only a short time ago. Although the Erzhu family had been treated well by the imperial court since the founding of the country and were granted land and the title of chieftain, the Qihu people were often looked down upon and called 'rebels'. In the eyes of many people, they were an inferior race that could not be on the stage."

"They are like ugly and ignorant creatures, eating raw meat and drinking blood. They are not human beings, but lowly cattle and horses." Yuwen Tai continued, "A while ago, Erzhu Rong's army passed through Sizhou. Wei Qingbin, the governor of Sizhou, hated the Qihu, so he ordered the city gates to be closed and not allowed to enter the city. Seeing this, Erzhu Rong led his troops to attack Wei Qingbin and captured him in front of him."

Then he asked Ren Yuan and others, "Guess what he did next. If you guess it right, I will drink this jar of wine in one breath."

"Skinned him?"

"wrong."

"Force him to admit his fault?" "No, no." Seeing that no one could guess, he couldn't help laughing and said, "He actually forced Wei Qingbin to be his father!"

"What?!" Everyone was stunned. They didn't expect that even in terms of abstraction, the Southern Dynasty could not compare to the Northern Dynasty.

Even the anthropomorphic creatures of the Xiao family have not reached the level of Erzhu Rong.

"Because Wei Qingbin was born into the Wei family, one of the eight noble Xianbei clans, so even though he clearly hated Erzhu Rong, Erzhu Rong, in order to elevate his status, not only did he not kill him, but he went up to him to please him and even took the initiative to call him dad." Yuwen Tai smiled and said:
"Now you understand his mentality, right? I think what Gao Huan said makes sense. Erzhu Rong knows that he can't rely on his own people, so he will definitely use outsiders." Yuwen Tai laughed at himself and said, "But who would get involved with the Khitan? Only we, the rebels in the Six Garrisons, don't despise him."

"Yes, he already has many brothers from the Six Garrisons under his command. The three brothers of the Heba family have all been given important positions. There is no need to worry too much if you defect to him." Dugu Xin had no choice but to join the rebels, so naturally he had no loyalty to Ge Rong.

"So, if the emperor is doomed to fail, I have to advise my third brother to be more careful. Even if he doesn't follow Gao Huan, he must preserve his strength and not sacrifice his brothers in vain." Yuwen Tai concluded:
"Too much blood has been shed by our men of the Six Towns. It is time to find a way out for our brothers."

"That's right." Everyone agreed.

~~
Everyone drank from noon until dark, and Yuwen Tai took Yang Zhong to see his third brother.

Ren Yuan and the other two tactfully stayed behind and did not join in.

After they left, Chen Baxian exhaled a long breath of alcohol and said with a smile: "Today I finally saw the real Lao Er."

"As the best Baturu in Wuchuan, this is how it should be." Ren Yuan was not surprised.

"What is that?" Chen Baxian asked, "Is it Xianbei language?"

"That's about right." Ren Yuan smiled and said, "It means warrior."

"Hehe, the most courageous warrior in Wuchuan." Chen Baxian said with a smile, "But he has become a person living in Jiankang. Is this what they call 'a southern tangerine turns north'?"

"This is a true man who hides his abilities and moves when the time is right." Ren Yuan said, "If you don't have the right time, right place, and right people, you can only coil up if you are a dragon, and lie down if you are a tiger." He glanced at Chen Baxian and said, "Aren't you the same?"

"Is that what you said, 'A golden scale cannot stay in a pond. Once it encounters wind and clouds, it will turn into a dragon'?" Chen Baxian said with a blazing gaze, "Then you, brother, are the real dragon."

Ren Yuan wanted to say, "No, I am actually the living person." But he suddenly thought of the mighty Yinglong in his body, so he swallowed his words and said with a smile, "There are many real dragons in Xindu City."

"Haha, where do so many real dragons come from? Most of them are fake dragons like Jiao, Python, and Yellow eel." Chen Baxian laughed loudly, then stopped laughing and said, "But I think the black otter is really interesting."

"It's not just him." Ren Yuan sighed and said, "There are also people like Dugu Xin. The heroic spirit of the men in the Six Towns is far superior to the feminine spirit of Jinling."

Chen Baxian wanted to say that he should not encourage others, but he had to nod his head in agreement and said, "It is indeed eye-opening. No wonder General Chen is in a hurry to march north. If they can finally catch their breath, the Northern Dynasty will probably overwhelm the Southern Dynasty again."

(End of this chapter)