Memoirs of the Heavenly Khan

Chapter 263 You'd better not have that thought.

Jingzhou.

The Nanyang region was divided between southern boats and northern horses. In addition, the Wei army was skilled in riding and archery, while the Liang army was strong in naval warfare. As a result, it was divided into two, controlled by the Northern and Southern Dynasties respectively.

Hebasheng was the governor of Jingzhou and garrisoned Rang County. His core fighting force consisted of the troops of the Heba clan and the soldiers of the Six Garrisons given by Erzhu Rong, totaling five thousand men.

Erzhu Rong gave Hebasheng the most capital because Jingzhou was on the front line, directly facing the Liang army.

"how?"

Hebasheng looked at Dugu Ruyuan, his deputy.

The Southern Liang Dynasty had frequent exchanges with Guanzhong, and recently a large amount of cloth and silk had been sent to Xiangyang by the Liang army to be transported to Guanzhong.

In times of chaos, cloth and grain are the most valuable commodities. In fact, cloth can be used directly as money.

On the Silk Road, a piece of fine silk was sold by the foot, and a foot of cloth was worth about the same amount of gold.

Hebasheng was from Wuchuan. When he was in Wuchuan, he often saw merchants traveling on the grasslands, so he naturally understood the value of these goods.

Therefore, Hebasheng dared not make a decision on his own and had to ask Erzhurong.

Dugu Ruyuan brought the latest news.

"General Tianzhu told us to protect these goods and deliver them safely to Guanzhong."

Hebasheng was somewhat taken aback when he heard the news.

If the person who brought this message wasn't Dugu Ruyuan, Hebasheng would almost certainly have thought that he had been bribed by Li Shuang to deliberately send false information.

At this time, Chen Qingzhi launched his northern expedition, and in the years of battles between the Liang and Wei armies, the Liang army was at its peak in terms of momentum.

Liang's army launched attacks from multiple directions, not only briefly recapturing Hanzhong, but also achieving remarkable victories in the Henan region, defeating the Wei army several times.

The Liang army had attempted to invade the Jingzhou region before, but Hebasheng, relying on the formidable fighting power of his core troops, defeated them and ensured the stability of Jingzhou.

Hebasheng's reputation grew, but compared to Hebayue and Yuwen Luosheng, he didn't gain much in substance.

Erzhu Rong gave Hebasheng the most capital, but the terrain of Jingzhou determined the limits of Hebasheng's expansion.

The Xiangfan defense line of the Liang Kingdom in the south could not be breached even by the Northern Wei's 100,000-strong army at its peak, let alone Hebasheng at this time, who did not even have a navy.

Hebasheng didn't need to consider Guanzhong in the northwest at all. He wanted to expand into Henan in the east, but the 300-mile land transport route made Hebasheng, who had very little resources, hesitate.

All that remains is the Luoyang region to the north.

This is Erzhu Rong's private property!

The limit of Hebasheng's control was only the Sanjing region of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

"Isn't General Tianzhu afraid that Da Yeshuang might collude with the Liang people to plot against him?"

Dugu Ruyuan thought more deeply than Hebasheng, and said:

"will not!"

"Why?"

"The Qin King issued an edict from Chang'an, ordering the establishment of sixty military commands in Hedong, Luozhou, Hongnong, Yuanzhou, Lianghan and other places. If they really wanted to target General Tianzhu, they would certainly not be making local reorganizations at this time."

Dugu Ruyuan's words made Hebasheng nod, but the doubts in his heart were still not resolved.

"So, why does General Tianzhu want us to escort these silks safely to Chang'an?"

"The Liang people have already broken off relations with Da Yeshuang in Hanzhong. The reason they are dragging things out now is to prevent Da Yeshuang from going to Luoyang. General Tianzhu probably has the same idea."

Hebasheng had an idea. He looked at Dugu Ruyuan and asked:
"Do you think that if the war goes badly, General Tianzhu will summon me to Luoyang?"

Dugu Ruyuan understood Hebasheng's thoughts. He was quite famous now, but his family fortune was too small. Only by going to Luoyang could he gain more benefits. "Po Hu, you'd better not have such thoughts."

"Why?"

"If even General Tianzhu can't do anything to Chen Qingzhi, what good will it do if you go?"

Upon hearing Dugu Ruyuan's words, Hebasheng was instantly jolted awake, yet at the same time, he felt a pang of regret:

"It's a pity that in this day and age, I'm afraid only Ono So would dare to provoke General Tianzhu."
-
Luoyang.

The Prince of Linhuai's Mansion.

Yuan Yu paced back and forth in the room when his son-in-law, Lu Rou, walked in.

Lu Rou, who came from the Lu family of Fanyang, had a stutter and was also a heavy drinker and dissolute, which made him the target of ridicule.

However, the Celestial Dragons' standards are different from those of ordinary people, so Yuan Yu still married his daughter to him.

Yuan Yu valued not only Lu Rou's background from the Lu family of Fanyang, which was certainly important, but even more important was Lu Rou's extraordinary talent.

"Erzhu Rong has led his army south. Do you think Chen Qingzhi can stop him?"

Lu Roudao:
"Is Your Majesty worried about this matter?"

Yuan Yu nodded and said:

"I don't understand Emperor Liang's actions. Why would he rather spend a huge sum of money to send troops to Guanzhong than send troops to Luoyang?"

Lu Rou smiled and said:

Emperor Liang did not care about winning or losing this war.

Lu Rou's words shocked Yuan Yu. He widened his eyes and asked:
"what for?"

Lu Rou cupped her hands and said:
“Since Emperor Xiaowen’s reforms, the people of the Central Plains have submitted to him. How could Emperor Liang not be wary of him? If Erzhu Rong does not win this battle, the Liang army will use Luoyang as a shield to gradually erode the lands of Yan, Yu, Qing, and Xu. If Erzhu Rong wins, he will surely purge the Yuan clan again. At that time, the people of the Central Plains will be scattered, which will be exactly what Emperor Liang wants.”

Upon hearing this, Yuan Yu's expression became extremely solemn. He found it difficult to reconcile the scheming emperor described by Lu Rou with the kind-faced monarch he had met in Jiangdong.

However, Yuan Yu was, after all, a member of the Northern Wei imperial family and a veteran minister who had traveled all over the country and experienced many ups and downs, so he had to think it over carefully.

"Are you saying that Emperor Liang supported Li Shuang in order to create another enemy for Erzhu Rong?"

Lu Rou nodded and said:

"Emperor Liang and Li Shuang have broken off relations, and Hanzhong has been gained and then lost again. However, as long as Jiange is in our hands, there is no need to worry about Shu. It will just be the same as before, without any major losses. To put it bluntly, at this moment, inside and outside Guanzhong, the teachings of the Prince of Qin are probably more effective than the orders of General Tianzhu and the decrees of the two emperors on both sides of the Yellow River. Once those sixty Zhechong Prefectures are established, the local powerful clans will be completely free from the control of the court, and of course they will no longer heed any orders from the Jinyang Bafu."

Yuan Yu understood, and cold sweat broke out on his back.

"Even if Erzhu Rong wins, a behemoth will appear to his west. At that time, our Great Wei will probably be divided into east and west."

Lu Rou nodded and said:

"If that's the case, Liang will have at least twenty years of peace!"

Yuan Yu said:
"Doesn't Erzhu Rong understand this?"

"Erzhu Rong was certainly aware of this, otherwise he wouldn't have assigned troops and generals, and ordered the Heba brothers and other northern generals to go to the prefectures and counties near Guanzhong to serve as governors. But now it seems that the power of the King of Qin is no longer something that Erzhu Rong can shake."

Yuan Yu sighed, his mood low, and said:
"Are we just going to sit and watch the country perish, and let Erzhu Rong and Li Shuang divide it up?"

Lu Rou looked at her father-in-law and said in a deep voice:
"If that is truly the case, what should Your Majesty do?"

Yuan Yu remained silent for a long time, then sighed:
"The only solution is to dedicate oneself wholeheartedly!"

……

(End of this chapter)