Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 557: Death of Erzhu Rong

Erzhu Rong was forced onto a cliff, with only his last group of loyal guards left around him.

In this battle, Erzhu Rong used all his life's learning.

But his opponent was Su Ze, which gave Erzhu Rong no chance to break the deadlock.

Every time Erzhu Rong was about to make a breakthrough, Su Ze could telepathically enhance his strength on that side.

After three days of fighting, Erzhu Rong has exhausted all his means.

But his soldiers were too tired, and even their horses were killed in the battle. Compared with Su Ze's army, which had sufficient food and fodder, they were at a disadvantage in terms of both numbers and equipment.

Under such circumstances, Erzhu Rong was defeated by Su Ze eight times in one day, but was able to regroup and fight again. The battle lasted until dark on the first day, and Su Ze had to call off his troops, which proved the value of his subordinates.

But at the current situation, Erzhu Rong is already at the end of his strength.

He hadn't slept for three days, and the soldiers around him had to use their weapons to support themselves to stand.

The wealth accumulated by the Erzhu family and the elite soldiers selected by Erzhu Rong for more than ten years were also wiped out.

Erzhu Rong knew that he was defeated.

Did Xiang Yu commit suicide at the Wujiang River because he was too ashamed to face the people of Jiangdong?

The Overlord is naturally a strong-willed person, which is naturally one reason.

But another reason is that Xiang Yu also understood that after sending away all the Jiangdong soldiers, even if he fled to Jiangdong alone, he would never have the chance to make a comeback.

Now Erzhu Rong has even less room for retreat than Xiang Yu. His old nest, Xiurong, has been occupied by Dugu Xin's troops, and Erzhu Rong's base has been lost.

This desolate place is where I, Erzhu Rong, will be buried.

Erzhu Rong looked around, and as his identity was confirmed, more soldiers surrounded him. Su Ze had already promised that whoever could take Erzhu Rong's head would be directly granted a title of nobility.

This temptation is irresistible for both officers and soldiers.

The personal guards around Erzhu Rong killed and repelled several soldiers who were advancing rashly in the hope of gaining merit in the form of a title, but as more and more soldiers surrounded them, everyone knew that they were doomed.

Erzhu Rong's right arm was injured when he broke through the siege yesterday. He could no longer lift his weapon. He looked at the increasing number of besieged soldiers and said to his left and right:

"This place is beautiful with mountains and clear waters. It is exactly where I will be buried."

When the soldiers around heard Erzhu Rong's words, some of them lowered their heads and cried, while others clenched their fists. Those who had been able to follow Erzhu Rong until now were the most die-hard of the die-hards, and they were all willing to die for Erzhu Rong.

When Erzhu Rong faced his closest guards, he did not ask them to exchange their heads for military merits, but said sincerely:
"It is worthwhile for me, Erzhu Rong, to have trained the troops for twenty years to be able to fight to the death with you brothers."

"Today, let these rats see what the world's strongest army is like!"

After saying this, Erzhu Rong picked up the weapon with his left arm and took the lead in charging into the army that was besieging him.

The guards around him also charged forward, and the noise frightened the soldiers vying for military merit.

But Erzhu Rong was only a mortal after all, and his final charge only left an ending in history books that said "the general died in a hundred battles."
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When Su Ze received the news that Erzhu Rong was surrounded in Queshu Valley and died in a failed counterattack, he stood there in a daze for a long time.

Yu Jin knew the relationship between Su Ze and Er Zhu Rong, so he stepped forward and reminded them:

"County Lord, you deserve a reward for your great contribution."

Su Ze finally reacted and said to the soldier who presented Erzhu Rong's head:

"This duke always keeps his word. You will be granted a title of nobility, and all the soldiers who besieged Erzhu Rong will be given a promotion in honor. Those who died in the battle will receive special pensions." Upon hearing the news, the soldiers were naturally beaming with joy, but Su Ze turned his head away, unwilling to look at Erzhu Rong's head again.

Yu Jin was somewhat excited. With the great enemy Erzhu Rong gone, the only remaining force in the entire north would be Yuan Ziyou's forces entrenched in Luoyang.

Yu Jin, who once guarded Hedong, certainly knew that Yuan Ziyou in Luoyang was nothing more than a small fry. The reason he was kept before was simply because he was too weak and could not decide the direction of the world situation. That was why Su Ze kept him to be dealt with last.

The north has been settled, Yizhou and Jingzhou are in our hands, and Southern Liang is in civil strife. The dawn of unification after three hundred years of chaos is truly in sight!

By the time Yu Jin reached this position, his contribution to the founding of the country had reached its peak. If he wished, his own daughter could even become the crown prince's fiancée. In that case, his family would truly "live and die with the country."

During the turbulent times of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, so many regimes rose and fell. There were truly countless emperors and princes everywhere.

But only the one who unifies the north and the south can be considered a true emperor!

Coupled with Su Ze's reputation on the grassland, Yu Jin was excited all over. Perhaps what he witnessed was the birth of an emperor with the largest territory and the most people in history!

Thinking of this, Yu Jin became even more excited.

The eleven heroes of the Qilin Pavilion of Emperor Xuan of Han and the twenty-eight generals of the Yuntai of Emperor Guangwu of Han.

After Su Ze ascends the throne, he might also build a temple to honor his meritorious service, which would truly make him famous through the ages!

Compared to Yu Jin's excitement, Su Ze was much calmer.

He said to Yu Jin:

"Send someone to carry Erzhu Rong's banner to Jinyang to persuade him to surrender, and also strictly order all troops not to plunder Bingzhou."

Yu Jin immediately received Su Ze's order and personally took the captured military flag of General Tianzhu to Jinyang to persuade them to surrender.

Maybe Erzhu Rong had made arrangements in advance, and when he saw Erzhu Rong's military flag.

On March 5, Erzhu Rong's wife, Princess Beixiang of the Wei Dynasty, who was in Jinyang City, immediately took her children out of the city to surrender.

After Erzhu Rong's death and Jinyang opened its gates to surrender, the rest of the prefectures and counties in Bingzhou no longer had any need to resist and they opened their city gates to surrender to Su Ze.

Su Ze did exactly as Erzhu Rong had said. He did not make things difficult for his old subordinates and even collected Erzhu Rong's body and returned it to Princess Beixiang. He only removed his title of "General Tianzhu" and allowed him to be buried with general rites.

Princess Kitago was very grateful.

Su Ze also invited Princess Beixiang and her family to Yongle City in the name of his wife, Princess Chenliu, and Princess Beixiang naturally agreed.

At this point, the war in Bingzhou ended.

However, the area north of the Yellow River has not yet completely fallen under Su Ze's control.

The first was the Yuan Ziyou regime based in Luoyang, which controlled some prefectures and counties in Henan Province.

In addition, some prefectures and counties along the Yellow River, such as Yanzhou, were occupied by Xiao Yan during the civil unrest in the north.

But anyone with a discerning eye could see that Yuan Ziyou in Luoyang could not hold out for long.

Now the Southern Liang was in constant civil strife and the city of Jiankang was about to be destroyed. The prefectures and counties north of the Yellow River could not be defended at all and could only be conquered by issuing an edict.

At this time, good news came from Chang'an that the construction of the new city of Chang'an had been basically completed.

(End of this chapter)