Chapter 4: Severity
Starting from the first month of the eleventh year of Tiansheng, Emperor Murong Ying issued an edict to recruit soldiers from all over the world to gather in Zhuo County, and began to recruit civilians as brave soldiers, build cities and store military supplies.

In March, the emperor arrived in Liaodong. On April 27, he crossed the Liao River and appointed General Zhengdong and Prince Wei Murong Ding as the marching commander-in-chief and General Fuguo Duan Yihong as the deputy commander-in-chief to lead an army of 300,000 to Pyongyang.

He led his army to attack Liaodong City.

At this moment in Liaodong City, the Yan army attacking the city and the Goguryeo army defending the city were fighting fiercely.

The trenches had been filled up long ago, and the Yan army had now entered the stage of siege.

The Yan army set up hundreds of catapults, countless flying towers, battering rams, and ladders under the Liaodong city, and dug tunnels to coordinate. They had been attacking the city day and night for more than 20 days.

This is often the most brutal step in a siege. Tens of thousands of Yan army soldiers climbed up the city risking their lives, braving arrows, rolling stones, and battering rams.

On a high platform several miles away, Emperor Tiansheng Murong Ying, who was watching the battle in person, still felt somewhat dissatisfied as he watched the Yan army soldiers advance one after another.

too slow.

The Tiansheng Emperor Murong Ying, who was nearly forty years old, was tall, handsome and majestic. He wore a Mingguang armor inlaid with pearls, jade, gold and silk. The wind-wing helmet was decorated with pearls. He looked elegant and majestic.

It is already May since we set out from Luoyang in March.

Even Liaodong City has not been taken yet.

You know, Liaodong City is the birthplace of his Murong family. However, as the Murong family took control of the Central Plains, most of their clansmen and tribes moved south.

After all, although the Murong family has been assimilated to Chinese culture for a long time and has gained the support of the aristocratic families in the Central Plains, as a foreign race, they still trust their own people more in their hearts.

Therefore, this place where the dragon rose was also occupied by the border barbarians.

The first expedition two years ago ended in a disastrous defeat due to various reasons.

In Murong Ying's view, this was not his fault, but the result of his subordinates' stupidity and inflexibility.

In this expedition, in addition to mobilizing a million troops and twice as many civilians, he also rarely delegated power, allowing the chief commanders of each tribe to "act as they see fit."

However, they had been at the gates of Liaodong for almost a month, but still had not been able to capture the city.

This made Murong Ying very dissatisfied.

But because of the "various reasons" that happened the first time, he suppressed the urge to intervene this time.

After all, the first disastrous defeat had already damaged his prestige. If he personally led the battle and suffered another defeat, then the clan members of the Murong family and the aristocratic families in the Central Plains would be unable to control him.
Perhaps he noticed that the emperor's face was not looking good, and the Shangshu Ling Duan Shihuan at the side couldn't help but have some doubts about what he originally wanted to say.

As one of the prime ministers of the time, Duan Shihuan was born into the Duan clan of the Xianbei, which was also a branch of the Liaodong Xianbei. Although his ancestors had fought to the death with the Murong Xianbei, since the rise of Murong Yi, a tough guy sent from heaven, the Duan clan became the most steadfast ally and in-law of the Murong clan, following Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Murong Yi, in battles across the country and finally ruling the Central Plains.

After the founding of the Great Yan Dynasty, the Duan family naturally became prominent for generations.

Duan Shihuan's father, Duan Shizhou, was a founding hero and was named Grand Tutor, General of the Cavalry, and King of Lingzhi.

Murong Yi's queen was also from the Duan clan.

For the emperor, allies like the Duan family are sometimes even more trustworthy than their fellow clan members, the Murong family.

Duan Shihuan had served as Shangshu and Prime Minister since the previous emperor's period. He was a veteran of three dynasties and an important official of the country.

But this important official was naturally very clear about the temper of the current emperor. Because of this, some news at this time was like adding fuel to the fire.

Seeing that Duan Shihuan was slow to speak, the other person became a little anxious.

"His Majesty."

The emperor turned his head to take a look and saw that it was Murong Hui, Prince of Rencheng, who was from a royal family.

"I have something to report."

Prince of Rencheng Murong Hui is Murong Ying's cousin, and they are both from the same lineage as Emperor Wu. He now serves as Palace Attendant and Palace Attendant. He is in his thirties, with a handsome face and long flowing beard, but he looks a little thin, so that he looks a little out of place in the official robe.

"Li Yuan from Huaiyuan sent a report that the military rations for Liyang have been delayed again."

After hearing the news, Murong Ying thought for a moment and asked, "Does Yang Xun of Liyang have any memorial?"

"Your Majesty, Minister Yang has submitted a memorial saying that there are many bandits on the Grand Canal and they cannot be completely eliminated, and that the grain from the south of the Yangtze River cannot be transported to the Grand Canal in time."

At this moment, Murong Ying did not realize the seriousness of the matter, and just casually ordered: "Issue an imperial edict to urge King Chen of Huainan and Gao Zhixing, the governor of Jiangdu, to send troops to eliminate the bandits on the canal and clear the canal transportation as soon as possible. Instruct the counties of Youzhou and Jizhou to collect food and grass."

"Yes." Murong Ying was a little upset by the news. He had no intention of watching the battle and turned back to the camp.

The accompanying ministers were relieved to see the emperor leave. Duan Shihuan walked with Murong Hui.

"I am old after all, and not as upright as the prince."

Murong Hui couldn't help but shook his head when he heard the old man sighing. "Mr. Duan, you are so embarrassed. You are a thoughtful person. You must be worried that Your Majesty will learn that the army is short of food and will collect food from Youzhou and Jizhou again. The two states are poor. The food and grass collected by the army before came from Youzhou and Jizhou. Now that the food in the south is insufficient, we can only collect it from nearby. If the army is without food, it will be difficult."

Duan Shihuan shook his head and said, "What the prince said is indeed true, but we have already collected the grain from You and Ji for several years. If we collect more, I am afraid there will be chaos."

Murong Hui sighed and said, "Mr. Duan is right to worry, but we should choose the lesser of two evils."

"Light?"

Duan Shiheng shook his head and walked away with his hands behind his back.

Murong Hui was stunned as she looked at the old man's departing figure.

He was born into a royal family and did not inherit the bravery of Emperor Taizu Wu, but he was well-educated and good at calligraphy, so he was trusted by the emperor.

He is also the only member of the royal family who currently serves as prime minister in Dayan. He prides himself on his intelligence and always sets high standards for himself.

Although I respect old ministers like Duan Shihuan, I always feel that he is not decisive enough and has too many concerns.

Maybe this is what happens when you get old?
Is there any need to consider which is more important?
Huaiyuan Town, located in the easternmost part of Dayan, was the hub of the military food supply line in the Liaodong Campaign. It was the frontier of Dayan's border facing Goguryeo and was adjacent to Goguryeo, so it had an irreplaceable military garrison function.

In addition to its strategic significance as a garrison, as early as before the first eastern expedition in the seventh year of Tiansheng, Murong Ying used Huaiyuan Town as a node for storing and transporting grain for the army.

A cavalry team of dozens of men was patrolling the garrison camp and granary, carrying a banner with the words "Li, the Minister of Defense and Duke of Longxi" inscribed on it.

It was Li Yuan, the Duke of Longxi, who was stationed in Huaiyuan and was in charge of supervising the transportation of military supplies.

Li Yuan has a handsome appearance, with a beard under his chin that connects to his temples. He looks older than his actual age, with a sense of decadence and weariness, but his posture is upright, as if he will exude the awe-inspiring aura of a warrior once he is fully armed.

Wherever the patrol went, the soldiers all bowed down before their horses, showing great majesty.

Li Yuan, who should be very proud at this moment, had a solemn expression, without any pride on his face. Originally, he was guarding the grain route and the retreat route, and as long as nothing went wrong, it would be a great achievement.

The grain from Liyang has been overdue for a long time. Delaying the delivery of grain is a serious crime.

Fortunately, a lot of food had been stored in Huaiyuan before the Eastern Expedition, which was enough to last for more than a month.

But after all, it is an army of one million. Even if the actual number is not so exaggerated, but including the laborers who transport food, the number is definitely more than one million, and the daily consumption is an astronomical figure.

If the expedition failed due to lack of military rations, Li Yuan would definitely have to take the blame, but Yang Xun would have a hard time dying a good death given Murong Ying's temper.

Did Yang Xun really have the guts to do this? Or did the pirates on the canal really block the canal so that not even a grain could be transported?

In a trance, he was looking for a camp when he suddenly heard cheers. Li Yuan's face changed slightly.

Looking again, I saw several soldiers and a young man competing in archery outside the camp.

The young man was dressed in a white robe and rode his horse very fast. Although those who were competing with him in archery were all good archers in the army, he was not afraid at all, and every time he drew his bow and arrow, he hit the center of the bull.

All the soldiers in the camp cheered and applauded the handsome young man in white.

"Colorful, colorful, colorful."

“Good luck!”

"Well done, Li Erlang!"

Seeing this, Li Yuan's expression relaxed. It turned out to be his Erlang. A smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

The staff member beside him asked, "My Lord, do you know that Erlang has gained a nickname in the camp recently?"

Hearing this, Li Yuan asked curiously, "Oh? But I don't know what your name is?"

"Erfeng."

(End of this chapter)