Chapter 299 Sowing discord
Murong Yang used drastic measures and ordered his trusted old subordinates to execute Lingzhi Wang, General Fuguo Duan Yihong, his son Right Tiger General Duan Wuchen, and General Chariot and Cavalry Lou Jushi at the palace gate. He then quickly arrested all the relatives of the Duan and Lou families and put them in prison.

Fortunately, both Lou Jushi and Duan Yihong had children living in other places, otherwise they would have been caught and their entire family would have been exterminated. The two were once in-laws. Duan Yihong's daughter Duan Jin had married Lou Jushi's son Lou Run, but before they got married, Lou Run died in battle. However, the two had led troops together for many years and fought side by side. They were both from Xianbei noble families and had common interests in many things, so they had a deep friendship. However, this time they died together in a "canon execution" that could be called "murder."

Murong Yang acted extremely decisively, so much so that after the person died, several prime ministers and ministers only found out about it after the imperial edict regarding the funeral arrangements was issued.

Murong Wuji, who was working in the Secretariat, and Wei Xiaoju at home were both shocked when they learned the news.

They had advised him yesterday, but they never expected Murong Yang to do it so decisively and so quickly. He had the idea yesterday, and he took action today. Isn't this too outrageous?
Even Wei Xiaoju himself felt cold all over because he married the granddaughter of Mr. Lou.

The reason why Wei Xiaoju knew about this was because people from the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple came to his house to arrest his wife, Lou. Wei Xiaoju simply took his family guards and beat them away.

Then he rode his horse straight to the palace and came to the emperor Murong Yang angrily, "If your majesty wants to implicate others, just kill me as well, why bother with my wife?"

When Murong Yang saw his cousin coming, he remembered that his wife was the granddaughter of Mr. Lou. He was about to advise him that a real man should have a wife, but when he thought about how his cousin and his wife had always been in harmony and treated each other as equals, he swallowed the words.

Instead, he tried to comfort her, saying that he had been careless and that the daughter who married out would not be in trouble.

However, Wei Xiaoju shook his head and said, "Your Majesty has killed the two veteran generals Duan and Lou, and is now going to implicate their relatives. Does Your Majesty think that the Li family is advancing too slowly?"

After saying this, Murong Yang was also stunned. These two men were veteran generals from Xianbei noble families, and their relatives and old friends were spread throughout the army and the court.

If they really carried out a large-scale collective punishment, the entire army and the court would be in panic, and the Western Army was already at the gates of the city.

At this time, the morale of the people and the army is very important. Once it is unstable, Luoyang will not be able to be defended.

So Murong Yang hurriedly ordered people to issue an edict, "only the main culprit should be executed, and the rest should not be questioned."

At the same time, Murong Yang also pulled his cousin Wei Xiaoju to ask sincerely: "My cousin is a talented general. Now the state affairs are difficult. I hope my cousin can lend me a helping hand. All the troops and horses in Luoyang City will be handed over to my cousin and King Zhou. Please don't refuse."

After hearing this, Wei Xiaoju also knew that the current situation was critical, so he cupped his hands and said, "I will do my best to help Your Majesty."

Afterwards, Murong Yang ordered the Secretariat to quickly draft an imperial edict, appointing Wei Xiaoju as the General of the Army, and making him the Commander-in-Chief of all military forces at home and abroad.

King Murong Fengxian of Zhou was appointed as the General of the Army, the Envoy with the Special Power, and the Commander-in-Chief of all military affairs at home and abroad.

He also followed Wei Xiaoju's recommendation and appointed Li Yaoshi as General of the Guard, Yin of Henan, and councilor of military affairs.

Wei Xiaoju was his cousin, and they had always had a deep friendship. Murong Fengxian, the Prince of Zhou, was Murong Yang's cousin, and was the only general left in the royal family who could lead troops after the capture of the Prince of Changsha, Murong Deyu, and the Prince of Jincheng, Murong Ling, by the Western Army and the death of the Prince of Xia. At this time, regardless of their past friendship, Murong Fengxian, as a general of the royal family and a close relative, was always more trustworthy than others.

Both of them are very young, no more than thirty years old, but they both have rich experience and have fought for a long time with several veterans.

This can be considered a promotion above one's rank, but it also means that the prestigious old generals in the court are dying out, and young people have to be recruited to support the overall situation.

After receiving the imperial edict, Murong Fengxian sighed deeply, and then went to the army without hesitation to take charge, in order to prevent a mutiny in the army after the two highly prestigious veterans were killed.

Fortunately, Murong Fengxian was strict in his military discipline and kind to others, and he was deeply loved by the soldiers. After an inspection, he used both comfort and strict orders, and finally calmed down all the generals.

After finishing this, the demoralized soldiers of Murong Fengxian's camp smiled bitterly and said, "If we can go back to Liaodong to herd horses, that would probably be the best outcome for a Murong like me, right?"

After accepting the position, Wei Xiaoju immediately met with Pharmacist Li.

Li Yaoshi was originally an official of the former prime minister Yang Su. He was over 40 and still had a bad career. If he had not been born in the Longxi Li family, he would have died in the purge after Yang Xun's rebellion. In recent years, he was recommended and appointed by Lou Jushi, and only then did he get the opportunity to display his talents. In the battle of Liang County, he led 20,000 new soldiers and defeated the 100,000-strong Wagang army in succession, gaining a lot of gains and becoming famous in one battle.

But unexpectedly, the situation took a turn for the worse soon after.

Li Yuanhui led his troops northward, and with great momentum, he conquered Runan in one breath and reached Yingchuan.

In the subsequent Battle of Yingchuan, he was of little use as a detachment.

Then they retreated all the way back to Luoyang.

Now that General Lou Jushi, who had done him a favor, had been executed, he felt that his future was uncertain and he couldn't help feeling some regret.

After all, Li Silang of the Li family had written a letter to persuade him to surrender, and the other sons of the Li family were all outstanding people, not to mention Li Yuan.

Not only does he have great talent and strategy, he also has the benevolence of an elder.

Now that Yuzhou has been pacified, Wagang has also surrendered to the Li family. In total, the Li family has occupied Yizhou, Liangzhou, Yongzhou, Yuzhou, Xuzhou, as well as part of Jingzhou, Yangzhou and the Sili Xiaowei Department. They already own half of the world.

The emperor of Luoyang, Murong Yang, had just executed Duan Yihong and Lou Jushi, who were both very prestigious in the army.

Just looking at these, the outcome of the Battle of Luoyang was actually already determined.

The brothers of the Li family were able to work closely together in the Battle of Yingchuan, and as long as they maintained this state, Luoyang would have no chance.

Unexpectedly, Wei Xiaoju directly recommended him and made him the General of the Guard.

This official position is very important, but he couldn't be happy at this time.

"Brother Yao, the situation is critical now. Please give me some advice. How should Luoyang be defended? I know about General Lou's affairs. You must have some grudges in your heart, but General Lou is also my wife's grandfather. Whether you believe it or not, I have no involvement in this matter at all."

Pharmacist Li sighed and said, "General, you are too arrogant. You think too highly of me. Let's not talk about General Lou. Just look at the situation in Luoyang and the Li brothers in the Western Army. The general is also a good commander. What are the chances of winning?"

Wei Xiaoju also shook his head when he heard this. As for the current situation, the people in Luoyang were in panic, while the morale of the Western Army outside Luoyang was high.

Just now, Yique was broken.

It wouldn't even take long, within three days, Hulao Pass would surely fall. The defense system around Luoyang, which was mainly composed of eight passes, would surely be gradually removed within the next month.

People's hearts are one thing, but the Li brothers' ability to use troops is also important.

Even a month is considered a long time.

Therefore, Wei Xiaoju also understood that this question of his was destined to not get any satisfactory answer.

But Pharmacist Li finally gave him some advice.

"Only if the Li brothers become disloyal and betray their moral principles, like Yuan Shao's sons, will Luoyang have a chance to turn defeat into victory."

(End of this chapter)