Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 339 Crazy

In Pingcheng, Tuoba Gui's headache flared up again. In recent years, he had taken too big a step in national affairs, with many complicated and numerous government affairs, and dared not relax his grip on military affairs.

With numerous ethnic groups vying for power within the country, rebellions broke out one after another. Although none of them were large in scale and were quickly suppressed, they still caused Tuoba Gui a great deal of trouble.

As things became more complicated, he took more and more Wushi San (a traditional Chinese medicine), which greatly affected his health and made him more irritable.

"Has Murong De not captured it yet? Liu Daogui and Liu Yu have already taken Jiankang and are about to sweep across Jingzhou and unify the southern kingdom!"

It's no wonder that Tuoba Gui was so angry. This spring, the Wei Kingdom dispatched generals such as Yu Yue, Da Xi Jin, He Di Gan, and Mona Lou Ti with 70,000 infantry and cavalry to attack the Southern Yan. Half a year has passed, and the situation is still deadlocked in Pingyuan County, with no progress made.

On the contrary, Murong De grew stronger with each battle, and the Yan army, united in their hatred of the enemy, defeated He Digan and Mona Louti with a mere 30,000 infantry and cavalry.

If it weren't for the ongoing reforms in the country, Tuoba Gui would have already led the entire nation's army to attack.

If we miss this opportunity, we will not be able to destroy Southern Yan. Once Liu Daogui and his brothers have pacified the Southern Kingdom, they will inevitably launch a northern expedition.

"Murong De has spent half his life fighting. Qingzhou is a fertile land with thousands of miles of land, and he also has Xuzhou. He is very powerful and cannot be conquered in a day or two. In my opinion, rather than exhausting the people and wasting resources, it would be better to stop the war, retreat to Jizhou, and wait for Your Majesty to complete the reforms and increase the country's strength. Then we can go out and conquer the world!"

Everyone else remained silent, but Changsun Fei alone dared to speak out for justice.

Cui Hong cupped his hands and said, "Since we cannot quickly destroy Southern Yan, it is better not to destroy it. Let it contend with Liu Daogui, and Your Majesty can simply sit back and watch the outcome!"

Southern Yan bordered the Huai and Si Rivers. Taking advantage of Liu Daogui's inattention, they invaded and occupied the three counties of Langya, Donghai, and Dongguan. If it weren't for Tuoba Gui's army pressing in, Murong De would have already sent troops to harass the Huai and Si Rivers.

As the State of Wei implemented reforms and institutional changes, its national strength became increasingly stable. Murong De's focus shifted southward, and the threat from Southern Yan diminished.

Tuoba Gui rubbed his forehead and, with the help of a maid, took two more pills of Five-Stone Powder. After a while, he felt much better. "Could it be that Minister Cui intends to use one tiger to devour another?"

Cui Hongdao said, "It's not about driving the tiger to devour the wolf, but about driving the wolf to exhaust the tiger. Liu Daogui and Liu Yu have already become a force to be reckoned with, while Murong De is at most a wolf. If Your Majesty doesn't attack him, he will naturally send troops to Huai and Si."

"Mumo, what do you think?" Tuoba Gui looked at his eldest son, Tuoba Si.

Although he was the eldest son of the legitimate wife, he was never made crown prince, but was instead given the titles of Prince of Qi, Chancellor, and General of Chariots and Cavalry.

At this time, Tuoba Si was already eleven years old, but because he had been taught by the Confucian scholar Yan Feng for a long time, he was extremely good at Confucianism. He was intelligent and wise from a young age, kind and resolute, and filial by nature.

"I don't know," Tuoba Si said, his face full of sorrow.

After becoming the King of Qi and the Chancellor, Tuoba Gui, following the old system that the mother of a son should die when he becomes noble, killed Liu Guiren, the mother of Tuoba Si.

Tuoba Si was deeply saddened and wept incessantly, wailing all day long.

Tuoba Gui, who had just calmed down, suddenly had veins popping on his forehead. In front of all the officials, he cursed, "Useless thing! In the past, Emperor Wu of Han killed the mother of his son before he was to establish him as emperor, so that women would not be involved in state affairs and would cause chaos in the maternal family. I am helping you by killing a woman. Why are you crying? If you are so cowardly, how will you inherit the throne in the future?"

Eleven years old is not considered a child in this era, but one's mind is not yet mature.

Being publicly reprimanded by Tuoba Gui, he was immediately filled with fear and panic, and didn't know what to do.

"Your Highness Prince Qi was just confused for a moment. He will surely understand His Majesty's good intentions in the future." Changsun Fei, a veteran official of three reigns, quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

However, once Tuoba Gui's temper flared, it wasn't so easy to calm him down. "Useless! All of you are useless! Issue an edict: Minister of Works Yu Yue has been guarding the eastern frontier for many years, raising bandits to enhance his own power, and his sons are arrogant and domineering. He shall be punished for all his crimes and shall commit suicide to atone for his sins!"

The court fell silent.

Like Changsun Fei, Yu Yue also devoted himself to assisting the Tuoba clan from the time of Tuoba Shiyijian.

However, he was a strategist and a well-disciplined general. He often defeated the enemy with fewer troops, and his soldiers admired his wisdom and courage. People from far and near were drawn to him, and his power in the Wei Kingdom grew stronger and stronger. Ji Province was almost becoming the private domain of the Yu family.

His younger brother, Yu Hechen, disobeyed the imperial decree and secretly converted the imperial pastures into private pastures, raising people and seizing land, which made him a target of Tuoba Gui's resentment.

Reform and restructuring are fraught with difficulties, the biggest challenge being the impact on the interests of these veterans and established figures.

"Your Majesty..." Changsun Fei was about to speak when he was frightened by a sharp look from Tuoba Gui.

Changsun Fei's reputation is also tarnished; over the years he has taken in nearly four thousand servants and retainers, and tens of thousands of livestock and valuables.

It had already been spotted by the Marquis.

Following the example of Emperor Wu of Wei, Tuoba Gui established the position of Marquis to inspect civil and military officials, which not only consolidated the imperial power of the Tuoba family but also forcefully promoted reforms.

Transforming a nomadic tribal alliance into a nation is not something that can be accomplished in a year or two; there will inevitably be many who oppose it and outwardly comply but inwardly resist.

These days, no one's hands are clean. The more things are uncovered, the more suspicious Tuoba Gui becomes, and he sees everyone as someone who is about to rebel.

These veteran officials, in particular, have military achievements, prestige, and connections.

Therefore, we must make an example of someone to warn others.

"It's settled then, no need to persuade me further!" Tuoba Gui stood up, and the court meeting ended.

However, the fear in Tuoba Si's eyes deepened...

The great river flows eastward, while the army marches westward.

Just as the fleet reached Gushu, news of a great victory arrived from the front: He Wuji had decisively defeated He Danzhi and Guo Changzhi, captured Pengkou, and taken Xunyang, a key town on the Yangtze River.

This also opened up a channel for Liu Daogui's online army.

He Danzhi suffered a major defeat in the south, and Guo Quan in the north could not hold his ground either. He was defeated by Lu Gui, a valiant general under Liu Yi. With nowhere else to turn, Guo Quan surrendered directly to Liu Yi.

He Wuji seized the opportunity to raise the banner of rescuing Emperor Sima Dezong, and the cities upstream surrendered one after another.

They proactively provided provisions, and even Shiyang, Dongchang, and Suixing each sent over a thousand local militia members to assist in the battle.

The Sima family's influence has not waned, and they remain the legitimate dynasty. "Just now, a spy reported that Liu Yi sent his military advisor Yang Sui across the river five days ago to have a secret conversation with He Wuji for an hour!" Meng Gan came to report.

Liu Daogui had spies everywhere in the Northern Army. Although he couldn't find out what they were talking about, it was enough that he knew Liu Yi and He Wuji were colluding.

He Wuji was extremely loyal to the Sima family, and Liu Yi considered himself a renowned scholar; both had ample reason to support the Sima clan.

“He Wuji…” Liu Daogui’s face was full of regret.

This great battle was originally a trap set by Liu Yu, luring those forces that supported the Jin dynasty to jump out on their own initiative.

He Wuji originally had a good relationship with Liu Daogui and Liu Yu, but they eventually had to part ways.

"Huan Chu's morale has collapsed. This humble general is willing to lead my troops as the vanguard and take advantage of Huan Xuan's wavering morale to rush straight to Jiangling!" Wang Zhen'e was eager to show off.

Although Pengkou was breached, there were still two fortresses upstream, Wuchang and Baling, each with more than 10,000 troops.

Huan Xuan of Jiangling still has tens of thousands of elite naval troops under his command.

Given this situation, they could have won by taking a slow and methodical approach, but the situation changed when He Wuji and Liu Yi joined forces.

The military merits of conquering Chu should not be taken away by them.

"Our army, both land and naval, numbers 35,000 and has over 400 warships. Morale is high. Order us to accelerate our westward advance and seize Jiangling!"

Liu Daogui acted swiftly and decisively, cutting through the mess.

Huan Xuan hadn't recovered from the battles of Xiangcheng and Fuzhoushan, and was like a frightened bird; there was no need to give him any more time.

"We obey!" The generals were all excited.

Along the way, Jiangzuo had long been rotten, and Jiankang was also empty, but Jiangling had been managed by the Huan family for decades and was full of wealth.

Wang Zhen'e was eager to make a name for himself, but had no opportunity to do so, and was somewhat disheartened.

It's not easy to get ahead these days, and he wasn't really valued under Huan Xuan.

Having switched allegiance to the Northern Army, lacking both connections and background, and not being a former subordinate of the Northern Army, he was naturally ostracized by other generals from the Northern Army.

Liu Daogui said, "Wang Zhen'e, listen to my command! You will lead your troops as the vanguard commander, and you shall kill any god or Buddha you encounter!"

"I obey!" Wang Zhen'e knelt down on one knee and performed a deep bow.

White sails rose one after another, and oars whirled and flew.

The warships, large and small, shot upstream like arrows released from a bow.

He Wuji and Liu Yi seemed to have received some news, so they quickened their pace and headed straight for Wuchang, one in the south and one in the north.

Wuchang has always been an important town in Jiangnan, guarded by Feng Gai. This time, the two of them met a tough nut to crack. Zhao Hui, the leader of the refugees under Liu Yi, was beheaded, and more than a thousand people were killed or wounded.

He Wuji also suffered heavy casualties, with 600 armored soldiers killed in action.

Feng was no match for Liu Yu, but dealing with Liu Yi and He Wuji was a piece of cake. Wuchang was a fortified city. Sun Quan built it purely for military purposes, and later Wang Dun and Huan Wen carefully managed it, making it even stronger than Jiangling.

"Report... Huan Chu's generals Fu Hong and Hu Fan have led 20,000 naval troops down the river and seized Sangluo Island!"

The scout maneuvered his small boat across the river like a flying fish.

"Good timing!" Liu Daogui's spirits lifted.

Sangluozhou was Zhou Yu's command post during the Three Kingdoms period. He built defensive fortifications there to defend against Cao Cao's army's eastward advance.

This platform was built by the water, facing Poyang Lake to the south, situated in the middle of the Yangtze River, and bordering Leichi Lake to the north.

Based on this, Zhou Yu set fire to the Red Cliffs, thus establishing the tripartite division of the empire.

Sangluozhou is a strategic location in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and the story of Yu Liang "daring not to cross the line" also took place in the area. Historically, most of the decisive naval battles between Jingzhou and Xiangyang and Jiangzuo took place in this area.

If Fu Hong occupies Sangluozhou, then Liu Yi and He Wuji, who are attacking Wuchang, will be cut off from their retreat.

Even at this point, there were still insightful individuals in the Western Army who saw the crux of the battle.

"Hehe, why don't we camp in Xunyang and watch them fight to the death!" Liu Zun had a wicked idea.

This is also a common tactic in internal power struggles.

"Foolish!" Liu Daogui cursed. "Huan Xuan's morale is low. It doesn't matter whether He Wuji and Liu Yi live or die, but if they are defeated, the morale of the Western Army will be restored, and then Jingzhou will be even more difficult to conquer!"

The Western Army was already quite strong, but its commander, Huan Xuan, was not very capable.

What Huan Xuan needs most now is a great victory.

Internal strife is one thing, but it's unacceptable to so recklessly harm teammates, even if both of them have ulterior motives.

If Liu Daogui stands by and does not help, it will discourage the others in the Northern Army.

Liu Zun muttered, "I was just saying a few words..."

Liu Daogui said in a deep voice: "Issue the order: the entire army shall meet the enemy and charge into battle. The first battle shall be the decisive one, and the outcome shall be decided in one battle!"

(End of this chapter)