Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 257 Gift

Jinyang was captured by the Wei Kingdom, the western gate was opened, Xindu fell, and the northern barrier disappeared.

The capital of Yan, Zhongshan, faced hundreds of thousands of Wei infantry and cavalry.

When Murong Bao fled back to Zhongshan, the soldiers he brought back all froze to death on the road, and all the weapons, warhorses, and provisions were lost, causing panic in the city of Zhongshan.

Murong Bao had no choice but to sue for peace with Tuoba Gui, saying he would return Tuoba Gu, who had been imprisoned, and cede the land west of Changshan.

The State of Wei mobilized 400,000 troops and fought fiercely for half a year, but their food supplies were running low.

Although they captured Murong Bao's grain supplies, it was a drop in the ocean for an army of 400,000. Wei needed to digest the newly captured cities of Bingzhou and Youzhou.

Tuoba Gui agreed to Murong Bao's request for peace and prepared to return to Dai County.

But when Murong Bao saw that Tuoba Gui had agreed so readily, he thought that Tuoba Gui was definitely not going to make it and went back on his word. He then gathered troops from all over Hebei and prepared to hunt down and kill Tuoba Gui.

Tuoba Gui was furious and ordered his troops to stay in Xindu, refusing to leave.

At this moment, the Yan army still had the strength to fight, and a large number of troops rushed from western and eastern Liaoning.

The Wei army was indeed somewhat exhausted and lacked offensive power.

Just then, an internal strife broke out in Zhongshan. Minister Mu Yuhao wanted to get rid of Murong Bao and install Murong Lin as emperor. The plot was exposed, and Mu Yuhao stormed out of Zhongshan. Murong Lin coerced the Left Guard General and Prince of Beidi, Murong Jing, in an attempt to control the Imperial Guard and kill Murong Bao.

Murong Jing refused to submit even unto death, so Murong Lin killed him and fled to Dingling.

After a series of defeats and mutinies, Murong Bao dared not stay in Zhongshan. He left Murong Xiang, the Duke of Kaifeng, and Ku Ruguanji, the Duke of Xihe, to guard Zhongshan, while he himself fled to Jicheng, relying on Liaoxi to observe the changes in Jizhou.

However, Murong Bao suffered a series of defeats and lost all his prestige. A mutiny also broke out in Ji City, and Qiu Nigui, Mu Yusheng and others led assassins to launch a sneak attack on Murong Nong and Murong Long.

Murong Long was killed that night, and Murong Nong was seriously injured.

Two of the three pillars left by Murong Chui have fallen.

The internal strife in Yan did not end there. Duan Guyun and Song Chimei killed Sikong and King Murong Zhou of Lelang, and installed Murong Chong as emperor. Murong Bao fled to Longcheng alone on horseback and sought refuge with Crown Prince Murong Ce.

Meanwhile, Murong Xiang, who remained in Zhongshan, declared himself emperor, established a bureaucracy, and changed the era name.

Any member of the Yan royal family with any military force would invariably launch a cavalry uprising and vie for the throne.

All these unexpected events left Tuoba Gui, who was stationed in Xindu, dumbfounded. You must know that when Murong Chui led his troops to attack Shengle last year, the Wei Kingdom was still in a precarious state.

In the blink of an eye, Murong Chuixing fell at Canhe Slope. Murong Bao abandoned the fortified city of Zhongshan and went out to fight a decisive battle. The two armies faced each other. The Wei army, which had come from afar, was not afraid, but Murong Bao was terrified. He abandoned his army and turned to flee...

Then came a series of dazzling internal conflicts in the Yan state...

According to recent news from Zhongshan spies, the usurper Murong Xiang is no pushover. He has just ascended the throne and has already begun a massacre, slaughtering the entire Kuruguan clan. More than 500 people, from princes down, have been brutally murdered.

Famine struck the city, and Murong Xiang sealed off the entire city. The corpses of the starved lay strewn everywhere, and the people's hearts were lost.

After taking three pills of Wushi San, Tuoba Gui calmed himself down. This eastern expedition had gone incredibly smoothly, almost like a freebie, a case of a snake swallowing an elephant. This made Tuoba Gui a little uneasy.

Not only him, but other generals and officials of Wei also did not expect things to go so smoothly.

After swallowing three Wushi pills, a surge of heat rose in his body, and his mind cleared. "Murong Chui has given birth to several good sons."

After speaking, she looked lovingly at her two sons who had gone to war with her, her seven-year-old eldest son Tuoba Si and her five-year-old second son Tuoba Shao.

Although the State of Wei established its capital at Shengle and adopted the system of the Central Plains, its nomadic habits remained unchanged. Wherever the army was, that place became its temporary base, and supplies were plundered on the spot.

Wang Jian quickly advised, "Zhongshan is a fat sheep waiting for us to slaughter. To avoid any unforeseen complications, we should head south as soon as possible." Of the five major cities of Yan, Zhongshan, Yecheng, Longcheng, Xindu, and Jicheng, Xindu was just the beginning.

Tuoba Gui said, "All troops should assemble and attack Zhongshan in three days!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a scout outside the tent reported: "Your Majesty, Murong Lin has joined forces with the Dingling tribes to launch a counterattack on Zhongshan. The people inside the city cooperated from within and without, opened the city gates, and welcomed Murong Lin in. They killed Murong Xiang and more than three hundred of his remaining followers, and he declared himself emperor!"

Tuoba Gui sneered, "Zhongshan's supplies have run out. Murong Lin has walked right into our trap! Order Yu Lidi and Gongsun Lan to be the vanguard and attack the city tomorrow!"

Before the military order could be issued, another scout reported, "Your Majesty, Murong Lin launched a surprise attack on General Changsun outside the city, suffered a major defeat, abandoned Zhongshan, and fled to Murong De in Yecheng. Zhongshan is in chaos, and the city gates are wide open."

The Wei king and his ministers looked at each other in bewilderment. They had just prepared to attack Zhongshan when various unexpected events occurred, and an empty city lay before them...

However, Murong Lin was always like this. In the Battle of Canhebei, he was the first to flee when he led the army to cover the rear, which led to a great defeat for the Yan army.

Even if Murong Chui were to be resurrected, he could not hold Zhongshan now. It was one thing that there was no food in the city, since there were plenty of things to eat these days, but the real problem was the lack of military equipment.

"Throughout history, none has received the Mandate of Heaven more than I! Pack up the military tents, and we will enter Zhongshan today!" Tuoba Gui's face was radiant.

Hebei has opened its arms to him; if he takes Hebei, the territory of Wei will more than double.

At this point, Wang Jian advised, "If we march south now, we will arrive in Zhongshan at night, and the soldiers will surely take advantage of the darkness to steal valuables. It would be better to enter the city tomorrow."

In the Battle of Canhebei, it was Wang Jian's suggestion to massacre 50,000 surrendered Yan soldiers that led to a series of great victories for Tuoba Gui.

He listened to his advice without question and immediately ordered them to enter Zhongshan the next day.

The army marched south in a grand and joyful manner.

Tuoba Gui was ready to ascend the throne in Zhongshan, and the Yan Kingdom was fragmented, with the Murong family each ruling their own territory, which also spurred him on.

Only by ascending the throne can one become the ruler of the Northern Kingdom; the Yao Qin dynasty in the west is still merely a Heavenly King.

To their surprise, when they arrived in Zhongshan, the city gates were tightly closed, and the city walls were filled with the elderly, the weak, the young, and the strong, all holding all sorts of weapons, looking ready to die.

"What's going on?" Tuoba Gui had rarely encountered any significant resistance as he marched eastward, and the cities along the way surrendered without resistance.

Wang Jian said, "They are all old and weak; we can persuade them to surrender."

Tuoba Gui sent people to persuade them to surrender, but to his surprise, no one in the city was willing to surrender.

In the Battle of Canhebei, 50,000 surrendered soldiers were massacred. Most of them were relatives of the people in Zhongshan City. Surrender meant death, and resistance meant death, so the people in the city were naturally willing to fight to the death.

After learning the reason, Tuoba Gui's face turned pale and then red. If he had entered the city last night, none of this trouble would have happened.

"Your Majesty... Your subject is willing to lead the army to conquer this city!"

The idea came from Wang Jian, so naturally he has to clean up the mess.

"Pah!" Tuoba Gui spat a mouthful of phlegm in his face.

Wang Jian looked embarrassed, but dared not wipe it...

"Attack the city!" Tuoba Gui gave the order.

The mournful sound of bugles shook the heavens and earth, and countless troops charged toward Zhongshan City...

(End of this chapter)