Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 313 Meeting

"Luoyang has fallen?"

Liu Daogui frowned. Tuoba Gui was indeed a powerful ruler who had made the right choice.

With the capture of Luoyang, the Wei Kingdom's influence extended south of the Yellow River, and the gateway to the Central Plains was now wide open.

The city of Ye, which they had occupied, actually had little strategic value.

The surrounding strategic locations were mostly in the hands of the Wei Kingdom, and the city was simply too large, encompassing the Tongque, Jinfeng, and Bingjing platforms to the north, covering an area of ​​thirty to forty li in circumference.

The larger the city, the greater the defensive area, and the more troops and supplies need to be deployed.

In short, Liu Daogui currently has no power to control this place.

Tuoba Gui didn't even need to send troops to attack the city directly; he only needed to send cavalry to cut off the supply lines, and Liu Daogui would have no choice but to wait for his death.

This is why Fu Pi and Murong De both voluntarily abandoned Ye City back then.

These days, there's plenty of land; the problem lies in population and management.

The move of the capital from Wei to Pingcheng and the careful management of Dai County, instead of establishing the capital in Ye City, was a very wise choice.

Meng Gan said, "Prefect Xin has also been captured alive. It is said that Tuoba Gui offered him high-ranking positions and generous salaries, but he refused them all. However, Hulao Pass is still in our hands."

Liu Daogui sighed. Tuoba Gui had deployed over 100,000 troops in total, and it was already quite remarkable that Xin Gongjing had managed to hold out until now.

With Hulao Pass in hand, the Xingyang and Yingchuan areas can be defended for the time being.

"Report! Tuoba Gui has led 50,000 infantry and cavalry across Mengjin and is heading straight for Fangtou!" A scout arrived to report.

Liu Zun laughed loudly: "Only 50,000 troops? They've come here to die!"

Liu Daogui glanced at him sideways. Tuoba Gui had 50,000 troops, but he himself had even fewer soldiers capable of fighting. His soldiers were exhausted after continuous battles and the capture of Ye City.

This fatigue is not just physical.

"Send orders to take everything that can be taken from the city, and abandon anything that cannot be taken. I'm only giving you two days!" Liu Daogui made a decisive decision.

If Tuoba Gui captures Fangtou, his own retreat will be cut off.

"You just want Yecheng like that?" Liu Zun looked regretful.

The same was true for all the other generals.

Ye City was not a small city like Huatai or Liyang, but a capital city of the Hu people in the heart of Hebei.

The buildings and palaces in the city can be used after a little repair.

The grain, weapons, and money seized from the city are piled up like mountains, and the exact amount has not yet been tallied.

There were only a few prisoners. When Murong De retreated south, he took a large number of people with him, leaving only more than five thousand prisoners in the city, which was better than nothing.

"No, this is a military order, anyone who disobeys will be executed!" Liu Daogui hardened his heart.

The forces that established their capital here collapsed within a few years.

Murong De was willing to send over 100,000 troops south rather than abandon this place, which shows his foresight.

"Leader!"

Once the military order was given, no one dared to utter another word.

Liu Zun said, "Why don't we just burn this Hu capital city down? That would boost our prestige and let the northern Hu people know that we were here!"

This suggestion is very tempting.

Liu Daogui was also a martial artist, and killing and arson were almost second nature to him.

However, gazing at the magnificent palaces within the city, he ultimately suppressed the fury in his heart, thinking, "Keep these palaces; we can live here again when we come back to fight our way back."

"Haha, the Governor is right!"

"If we can break through once, we can break through a second time!"

The reluctance on everyone's faces immediately vanished.

Although Ye City was the capital city established by Shi Hu, it was originally built by Emperor Wu of Wei, the place where the elegance and romance of Cao Wei began.

Even if it were burned, it wouldn't necessarily be a big blow to Tuoba Gui.

The capital of the Wei Kingdom was Pingcheng...

Liu Daogui led 8,000 elite troops to Fangtou, and soon after, news of Wang Zhongde's defeat came back. His 1,000 cavalrymen were defeated by the combined forces of Wei generals Liu Ti and Li Li.

Tuoba Gui's advance was fierce, and Liu Daogui dared not underestimate him.

Fortunately, Shen Qingzhi had spent the last of his time building deep trenches and high walls, transforming Fangtou into a fortress.

The floating ice on the river had melted, Liu Zhong's three thousand naval troops were anchored in the Qi River, and Cao Ji's merchant ships came and went, urgently transporting money, grain and prisoners to Ye City.

With the boats able to pass, everything else became much easier, and Liu Daogui felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders.

"General, Huan Xuan has launched a northern expedition." Meng Ganzhi brought the latest news from Jiangzuo.

"He's going on a northern expedition? Who's leading the troops?" Liu Daogui found it utterly unbelievable.

Upon reflection, it became clear that he must have known about the victory at Fangtou and wanted to bask in the glory.

However, Meng Ganzhi's expression was somewhat strange. "Huan Xiu is the commander-in-chief, and General Jianwu has led a thousand troops as the vanguard. They have already entered Wancheng."

"Brother?"

Liu Daogui gave a strange smile.

It's unclear whether Huan Xuan drank too much or if the Five-Stone Powder had burned his heart.

A thousand men might not be of much use to others, but in Liu Yu's hands, they could turn the tide.

If I'm not mistaken, influenced by the Battle of Fangtou, the south should be about to take action this time.

Since Huan Xuan came to power, he has successfully aroused the dissatisfaction of all forces. The aristocratic families felt that they were not getting enough of the spoils, and the positions of several governors were all held by the Huan family.

Land annexation was more severe than before, and after he became emperor, he did not issue a single edict of favor, making life even harder for the people.

Needless to say, those from humble backgrounds were treated differently. In the past, the gentry ate meat, while those from poor families, even if they became corrupt officials, would only get soup.

With the arrival of the Huan family, the pot shrunk smaller and smaller, and a large number of poor families from Jiangzuo were dismissed, while old troops from Jingxiang were put back into service.

The northern prefecture suffered the most damage.

From Liu Laozhi onwards, all the veteran generals with any reputation either committed crimes and were executed or fled to other countries...

The Jiangzuo region hasn't descended into chaos yet, partly because Huan Xuan has some skill in keeping Liu Yu and several rising stars of the Northern Army under control, and partly because of the Northern Army's restraint. Now that he's let the tiger return to the mountain, it would be outrageous for the Northern Army not to seize this opportunity…

After waiting for two days, dust billowed from the west, and Tuoba Gui finally arrived.

Nearly ten thousand cavalrymen formed a long snake and slowly made their way forward.

It wasn't fast, but its overwhelming and domineering aura was palpable.

The capture of Luoyang covered up the Wei army's disastrous defeat at Fangtou, boosted the morale of the Wei army, and to some extent turned the tide of the battle.

Liu Daogui won in terms of tactics and winning people's hearts, while Tuoba Gui gained a strategic advantage.

With Luoyang gone, Ye City was surrounded by enemies on all sides, with only a waterway connecting the two cities, putting it in a very passive position.

Once the river freezes over, Yecheng and Fangtou will become dead zones.

"The barbarian cavalry are indeed quite formidable," Liu Zun couldn't help but praise.

Shen Qingzhi said, "Our army relies solely on waterways, making it difficult to contend with them in Hebei."

Waterways cover a limited territory, and the waterways are fixed, while cavalry can appear and disappear unpredictably and without restriction. When the Wei army established its capital at Pingcheng, overlooking Hebei, the cavalry, with their superior position, were invincible.

Liu Zun said, "Our cavalry is still too few, and the horses raised in our pastures are not as good as those of the barbarians."

As they spoke, over a thousand Wei cavalrymen slowly approached.

The leader, clad in red armor and riding a white horse, looked imposing. He stopped just short of where an arrow could be fired. "The Emperor of Wei is here. Commander Liu, please show yourself for a chat."

The sound came from afar, and Liu Daogui was startled, thinking he had misheard.

He made such a big fuss, but he didn't come here to fight.

"Liu Daogui of Pengcheng is here. What is your intention?" Liu Daogui opened the gate and led more than a thousand armored soldiers out of the fortress.

Tuoba Gui looked him up and down, his gaze intense. "I've marched all the way here and my mouth is parched. Do you have any fine wine?"

"We don't have fine wine, but we have plenty of strong liquor." Seeing how relaxed he was, Liu Daogui stopped being so tense and had Liu Huaijing bring over a jug of strong liquor.

The guard beside Tuoba Gui took it, tasted it, and then handed it to him.

"It's useless for you to conquer Ye City. You should withdraw your troops as soon as possible. From now on, let the river be the boundary, and let our two families keep to themselves." Tuoba Gui took a big gulp of wine, as if reminiscing with an old friend.

Dignity is earned through fighting.

After the Battle of Fangtou, Liu Daogui also became a force to be reckoned with, and was qualified to contend for the world.

"Who says it's useless? After a few years of management, I can use this as a base to sweep across Hebei!" Liu Daogui lied through his teeth.

Tuoba Gui laughed loudly, "You have Murong De in the east and Huan Xuan in the south, both mortal enemies. How can you possibly manage Ye City? I have one iron cavalry force heading out of Fukou and another out of Baijing, harassing you day and night. How long can you hold out? In my opinion, you should head south, take Jiankang first, destroy Huan Xuan, become emperor, and then you can truly challenge me!"

Liu Daogui remained calm, but Liu Zun, Liu Huaijing, and Meng Ganzhi beside him became agitated. "Why don't you withdraw from Luoyang and relinquish Huatai? In return, we will relinquish Yecheng and Liyang. What do you say?"

After Ye City was captured, it lost its significance and became a useless asset.

Luoyang is far more valuable than that.

Tuoba Gui said with a sneer, "You certainly know how to do business. I lost tens of thousands of soldiers just to capture Luoyang. How could I possibly hand it over so easily?"

"If you have nothing else to do, you may prepare your troops for battle." Liu Daogui had already known that the talks would not go well.

Tuoba Gui said, "Our soldiers have been fighting for a long time. You can't take it anymore, and neither can I. Let's call it a day and fight again another time. But you have taken so many of my soldiers. How about we exchange them?"

"Yes!" Liu Daogui was more than happy to agree.

When the Wei army captured Luoyang and Huatai, they also captured many people, including Liu Huaizhen.

Not long after, several men were brought out from the Wei army. The one in the lead was a man with white hair, who was Xin Gongjing, the governor of Henan. Standing next to him was Liu Huaizhen.

With a full beard and disheveled hair, he must have suffered a lot.

More than a thousand prisoners were driven out one after another.

Liu Daogui also ordered the escort of over a thousand Wei soldiers, including Yu Lidi.

This man surrendered only because of the circumstances and for the sake of his troops; he has no loyalty to the cause. Keeping him around would only cause trouble, so it's better to return him.

Without such an important figure as him, Tuoba Gui probably wouldn't have released Xin Gongjing and Liu Huaishen.

"From this day forward, I will strive to govern well, strengthen our military, sweep away the two Yan states, and conquer Guanzhong. You should take good care of yourself!" Tuoba Gui reined in his warhorse and returned to his own camp.

The Battle of Fangtou resulted in the annihilation of 40,000 elite troops, severely damaging the Wei Kingdom's strength.

This forced him to take a break and recuperate for a period of time.

On the contrary, Liu Daogui is now facing a more complex situation.

With Luoyang, the western barrier, gone, and Murong De, no less formidable in the east, who dared not attack Wei but had been eyeing the Huai and Si Rivers and the Jiangnan region, and Huan Xuan in the south, sooner or later they would clash.

The drawbacks of the Central Plains, a battlefield, were fully exposed.

"No need for you to worry. The outcome is still uncertain!" Liu Daogui said loudly, brimming with ambition.

Having risen from humble beginnings to become a powerful figure within a few years, he naturally had no fear of these crises.

Crisis, crisis, but there is opportunity within crisis.

I am not alone.

Tuoba Gui stopped his warhorse, turned back and gave Liu Daogui a meaningful look before slowly leaving.

The Wei cavalry turned and headed northwest.

Liu Daogui led Xin Gongjing, Liu Huaishen, and other prisoners back to the camp.

Originally, I thought Tuoba Gui was a tyrannical ruler, but after this meeting, I found that he was actually very shrewd and had an extremely generous personality.

Knowing when to advance and when to retreat, if the battle is going badly, immediately cease hostilities.

Often, starting a major battle is easy, but stopping it is extremely difficult.

Tuoba Gui's withdrawal at this time was a good thing for the State of Wei, which was also surrounded by enemies on all sides.

The Xianbei people have produced many heroes and outstanding figures over the past two hundred years. The Murong clan produced Murong Hui, Murong Huang, Murong Ke, and Murong Chui, while the Tuoba family produced Tuoba Liwei, Tuoba Yulu, and Tuoba Shiyijian.

Unfortunately, the Yuwen family was destroyed too early and remained unknown.

The rise of the Xianbei people was not a fluke.

(End of this chapter)