The demise of Nan Yan was expected, but Yang Anxuan did not expect that the young emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty was quite capable and quickly controlled the chaos.
On the day he came to the throne, Tuoba Si issued an order to welcome back the officials who had been demoted to their homes, and appointed eight highly respected ministers, including Nanping Gong Sun Song, Beixin Hou Andong, Shanyang Hou Xijin, and Baima Hou Cui Hong, as the "Eight Dukes" to jointly handle the government affairs. .
There were many thieves in the territory. Tuoba Si issued a decree to pardon the thieves and let them return home in peace. In addition, he sent Li Wei, the general of Hanoi Town, to lead 10,000 troops to wipe out the rebel thieves. The turbulent situation quickly stabilized.
After reading the spy report, Wang Zhen praised: "The Emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty is only eighteen years old, but he has such methods and can be called a wise master."
Yang Anxuan sighed with deep sympathy: "I would rather the Emperor of Wei still be Tuoba Gui. Tuoba Gui will eventually become a trouble for the Jin Kingdom."
Yang Anxuan received a letter from Kou Qianzhi from Pingcheng. He knew the situation in the Northern Wei Dynasty very well. Some important events in the court were difficult for the secret guards to touch. The information revealed in Kou Qianzhi's letter was supplementary.
In the letter, Kou Qian showed no fear. He had received advice from Yang Anxuan in advance to "make friends with the prince" and sent his disciples to serve Tuoba Si when he was on the run. After Tuoba Si came to the throne, not only did he not accuse him, but he also allowed him to He presided over the Immortal Workshop and allowed him to teach Taoism in the Northern Wei Dynasty.
The Northern Wei Dynasty could not take care of it for the time being, so Yang Anxuan said: "This time, the four counties of Beiqingzhou were conquered by Yan, and we benefited a lot..."
Wang Zhen'e interrupted Yang Anxuan's words and said enviously: "The imperial court was very generous this time and gave out many titles and rewards, and those who went to participate in the war were rewarded."
Yang Anxuan understood Wang Zhene's intentions. When he decided to conquer Yan, Wang Zhene asked him to fight more than once, just to get a title. Hu Fan, Yang Anyuan, and Liu Zhong in the Yongzhou army were granted the title of viscount in the county and granted 400 households in the city, which made Wang Zhene very jealous.
Yang Anxuan comforted him and said, "After defeating Nan Yan, Yu is going to rest for a year or two before starting to attack Qin. At that time, I will let you, Zhen evil, lead the army."
As the most important counselor around Yang Anxuan, Wang Zhene knew that this statement was true. After returning from Xintai City, Yang Anxuan ordered to strengthen the training of the garrison army, and began to recruit strong soldiers from the garrison army, obviously for the purpose of defeating Qin. prepare for.
Conquering Qin was much more difficult than conquering Yan, and of course the merit was greater. Wang Zhene was full of confidence in regaining the title of Chang'an.
"We must guard against Liu Yu launching an attack on Yong Yanqing after destroying Yan," Yang Anxuan said: "Let Zhang Feng and Shen Qing lead 16,000 troops to garrison Suiyang and be ready."
…………
Liu Yu finally entered the inner city of Guanggu, which he had besieged for nearly eight months. The city was full of broken walls smashed by stones, and stones and rubble were piled up in disorder on the streets. The Yan army and the people of Yan State lay prone on the ground. Most of them contracted soft foot disease and did not even have the strength to stand up.
Looking at these weak people, Liu Yu felt anger burning in his heart. He was in vain to claim to be brave. He was trapped outside the city for so long by these tired soldiers who would collapse in the wind. Moreover, it was Nanyan's Zhennan Chief Minister Yueshou. Open the city gate and let the troops in.
Yang Anxuan's mocking smile seemed to appear in front of Liu Yu. He galloped to the Dongyang Palace of the Imperial Palace and dismounted, asking: "Where is Murong Chao?"
When he learned that Murong Chao actually broke through the siege and escaped from the city with his bodyguards, Liu Yu said angrily: "The sheep who were put on trial could actually escape. It's really eye-opening for Yu."
Liu Muzhi noticed that Liu Yu was in an abnormal mood and advised him softly: "My lord, please go to the palace to rest first. General Liu and General Tan have already led their men to chase him. Murong Chao cannot escape."
Liu Yu strode into the hall, his eyes paused for a moment on the shining golden throne on the high steps, and then ordered: "Tear down the throne and send it to the capital."
There was a noise outside the hall, and Liu Daolian happily escorted Murong Chao and a group of officials from the Yan Kingdom to return. If you can catch the Emperor of Yan, the court will definitely give him a reward. Even if his title remains unchanged, the title of general will be moved forward.
Seeing Murong Chao, Liu Yu finally had an outlet for his pent-up anger, pointing at Murong Chao's nose and shouting curses. Murong Chao knew he was going to die, but he looked calm and didn't say a word.
When Liu Yu saw this, he was furious and ordered: "All the men in the city will be killed and the women will be rewarded to the meritorious soldiers."
Han Fan, a regular servant of Sanqi, advised: "My lord, the Jin Dynasty moved south, the Central Plains was in chaos, and the people had no help, so they had to rely on the powerful, but in their hearts they were looking forward to the king's army coming. If the people were killed in the Northern Expedition, the people in the northwest would not dare to look forward to the king's army. Rescued.”
Liu Yu was awakened, and he saluted Han Fan and said solemnly, "Thank you Mr. Han for your outspoken advice. His foolish anger almost led to a big mistake."
Even so, Liu Yu still ordered the killing of three thousand people from the Nanyan clan and Xianbei ministers, expropriated their family members as slaves, and rewarded them to the soldiers. m.
Those ministers all asked for help from Liu Jingxuan who was beside Liu Yu. They were old acquaintances of Liu Jingxuan and Sima Xiuzhi when they defected to Nanyan. Liu Jingxuan had no choice but to plead on his behalf, but Liu Yu refused coldly. Liu Jingxuan had no choice but to turn his back, out of sight, out of hearing, out of mind.
Murong Chao was standing next to Liu Jingxuan and shouted to him loudly: "Mr. Liu defected to me, Dayan, and the late emperor was kind to you. I know I will die, but I hope Gong Liu can save my mother's life."
Liu Jingxuan had no choice but to kneel down and ask Liu Yu for his title in exchange. Liu Yu then agreed to spare Murong Chao's mother Duan's death.
The secret guards who stayed in Linqu City learned that Guanggu City had been destroyed, and came to see Liu Yu with Yang Anxuan's handwriting, asking Liu Yu to abide by the agreement and let him choose 200 people to leave.
When he learned that Zhang Gang's mother and family had been picked away, Liu Yu said to Liu Muzhi: "It turns out that Yang Anxuan had a premeditated plan to give up Linqu City, which is really scary. Zhang Gang's family was rescued by him, and they must be determined to use it. "
Tan Shao said loudly: "My lord, Guanggu City has been conquered, why not take the opportunity to seize the land of Beiqingzhou and drive Yang Zijing away."
Liu Yu pondered in silence, and Yang Anxuan led his army back to Xiangyang. Yang Anyuan and the navy also returned to Luoyang. Yang Zijing and Hu Fan were left in Beiqingzhou. Although there were more than 30,000 people, most of them were garrison troops with low combat effectiveness.
Liu Yu has secretly discussed with Liu Muzhi, Liu Daolian, Liu Jingxuan and others more than once in the past few days. It is not difficult to seize Beiqingzhou in the name of the imperial court while the people of Beiqingzhou are not attached. What is difficult is how to explain to the imperial court and Yang Anxuan afterwards. .
For the imperial court, this was a blatant disobedience to the will, which would inevitably be criticized by the courtiers headed by Liu Yi, and also exposed Liu Yu's disobedience.
Especially Yang Anxuan, the Yongzhou Army did not show much combat power in the attack on Yan this time, but Yang Anxuan was full of tricks and divided half of the results of the attack on Yan, which made Liu Yu and others depressed.
Liu Muzhi believed that there were still voices of opposition in the court, Qiao Zong in Western Shu and Lu Xun in Guangdong were not in peace, and there were many hidden dangers. At this time, Fa Yan had already established his power in the world, and it was not appropriate to fight with Yang Anxuan anymore.
This time Liu Yu did not listen to Liu Muzhi's opinion. He believed that Yang Anxuan was a far greater threat to him than Qiao Shu and Lu Xun. Liu Yu has always regarded Yang Anxuan as his strong enemy, but he controlled the Beifu Army and subconsciously believed that there was no team in the world that could compete with him.
The Beifu Army was tortured by Wang Gong, Liu Laozhi and Huan Xuan, and its vitality was severely damaged. Liu Yu was confident that given three to five years, he would regain the glory of the Beifu Army. The combat effectiveness of the Yanbei Prefecture Army in this attack was not satisfactory. Although Yang Anxuan's Yongzhou Army was suspected of being cunning, Liu Yu was secretly frightened by the strength and combat power displayed. If the Yongzhou Army is allowed to develop, it will definitely be Yang Anxuan who will compete with him for the world in the future.
The army needed to rest for a few days, so Liu Yu began to deploy affairs in Northern Jizhou. Liu Daolian was appointed governor of Northern Jizhou by the imperial court, and Liu Yu could not help but give his half-brother a few words of advice.
Recruiting surrender and accepting rebels to stabilize the situation; complaining about the sufferings of the people, frivolous corvee and underpaying taxes; selecting talented people, clearing the administration of officials, etc. are all commonplaces. Different from Liu Yu, Liu Daolian was a student of the Imperial Academy. He was an official in history as Xie Yan, the governor of Xuzhou, and was versatile in both civil and military affairs.
Liu Yu looked at the brothers who were bowing and said emotionally: "You and Daogui are Yu's brothers and the people he trusts the most. You two are in charge of the north and the west. Only when Yu is in Jiankang can he rest easy."
Liu Yu's mother Zhao Anzong died after giving birth to Liu Yu. His father Liu Qiao married his wife Xiao Wenshou and gave birth to two sons, Liu Daolian and Liu Daogui. Liu Qiao died shortly after Xiao Wenshou gave birth to Liu Daogui. Xiao Wenshou lived a hard life with his three children. He took Liu Yu to farm and cut firewood during the day and weaved shoes at night. He treated Liu Yu as his own son. Liu Yu was very grateful to his stepmother for his upbringing. He was very filial to Xiao, and he and his two younger brothers also felt like brothers.
Liu Daolian said: "Brother, don't worry, Yu will guard Northern Jizhou for you."
Liu Yu pulled Liu Daolian to sit down beside him and revealed softly: "Brother, I am determined to attack Yang Anxuan and capture Xiangyang."
Liu Daolian was stunned and saw that Liu Yu was silent. During the day, Liu Muzhi and Liu Jingxuan persuaded him not to act rashly. It seemed that the eldest brother did not listen. Moreover, everyone thought that even if they sent troops, they would only attack Beiqingzhou. Unexpectedly, the eldest brother wanted to attack Xiangyang once and for all.
Liu Yu looked up into the air and murmured: "Yang Anxuan is too great a threat to Yu. If Yu wants to strike first and take advantage of it, you can't just sit back and watch it grow stronger. Dao Lian, you can defend Northern Jizhou for Yu, no?" It is expected that Yang Zijing will lead the army to rescue."
Liu Daolian responded in a deep voice: "Brother, don't worry."
Liu Yu smiled and said: "Yu will leave you 20,000 troops and horses, and the others will take them back to Xiapi. After resting for more than a month, they will go west from Pengcheng to Xiangyang. Yu will give way to Daogui, and Wuji will raise troops from Jing and Jiang to go north." Cooperate and eliminate hidden dangers first."
"Dao Lian, this time the Yongzhou navy went to sea to seize Donglai and other counties, which caught Yu off guard. You are in charge of Jizhou, and you must pay attention to the construction of the navy. Yuhui ordered the navy stationed in Xiapi to move to Liaocheng, Le'an County. You want We should tightly block the entrance of the Yellow River to the sea for Yu, and we must not allow the Yongzhou navy to enter and exit freely."
Liu Daolian said: "Since my brother has made up his mind, I should follow suit."
On February 12, Liu Yu led an army of 50,000 people south to Xiapi, and Liu Daolian, the governor of Northern Jizhou, guarded Guanggu City. According to the records, Liu Muzhi joined the army as a farewell, Sanqi often served Han Fan as Zhizhong, Feng Rong became the prefect of Qi County, Tan Shao was the prefect of Dongguan, Suomiao was the prefect of Le'an, and the prefect of Jinan County was still Xiang Jing.
On February 20th, Liu Yu led his troops to Xiapi City, ordered people to set up a mourning hall to worship Meng Huaiyu, rectified the troops and horses, counted the baggage, and secretly prepared to attack Xiangyang westward.
On February 26, the imperial edict to urgently summon the troops was issued. Guangzhou Lu Xun and Xu Daofu divided their troops into two groups to attack Jiankang City. After seeing the urgent report, Liu Yu didn't bother to attack Xiangyang and hurriedly led his army south to put out the fire.
When Liu Yu went south, he sent a message to Liu Muzhi in Guanggu City, asking him to settle in Northern Jizhou as soon as possible and return to Jiankang to make plans.
When Yang Anxuan learned about the news that Lu Xun and Xu Daofu had raised troops, he sighed: "God's will is unpredictable. If Lu Xun could raise his troops a few months earlier, maybe the Yan Kingdom would not be destroyed. God really favors Liu Yu."
Zhao Tian smiled and said: "If we talk about God's preference, no one in this world can be as good as my lord."
Yang Anxuan laughed loudly. It is true that if God has feelings, he will definitely love me.
Some people died, but not completely...
