Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 564 Zen

After Yang Zhong received Yuan Ziyou's last order, he sighed, opened the city gate and surrendered to Yu Jin.

Yu Jin was afraid that he could not enforce military discipline, so after taking over Beizhong City, he did not send any troops into the city.

On the one hand, he sent envoys to Chang'an to report the victory and asked Su Ze to ask the Government Affairs Hall and the Shogunate to send personnel to take over Luoyang.

This is where Yu Jin is cautious.

Luoyang is the old capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty. The internal situation is complicated and it is unknown how many secrets it hides.

His army must have become arrogant after winning the battle. If he wanted to enforce military discipline and prevent them from looting in Luoyang, he was afraid that this would hurt the morale of the soldiers.

Yu Jin did not have as high prestige as Su Ze, so he could not grant official titles and make wishes to the soldiers.

He simply didn't enter Luoyang City. If the soldiers went to Luoyang to rob, they could be punished for disobeying military law, and no one would be able to say anything.

There was no way. These days, except for the elite soldiers under Su Ze, the discipline of most armies was similar to that of bandits. If they were not allowed to plunder after taking over the city, these soldiers would rebel.

At the end of June, Murong Shaozong invaded Henan from south of the Yellow River. The local gentry in Henan killed Xi Yi and surrendered to Murong Shaozong.

In early July, Su Ze's top military advisor Su Liang personally led his troops to take over Luoyang City.

At this point, the area north of the Yellow River was unified again!
But at this time, the Southern Dynasty had already entered a state of disunity.

During the time when Su Ze unified the north, Xiao Gang and Heba Sheng of Jiankang were also not idle. He sent troops to Wu County and fought all the way to Qiantang, taking all of the later Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions into his possession.

Xiao Yi and Wang Sengbian in Shouchun occupied the Jianghuai and Anhui regions, forming a vassal power in the north of the Yangtze River.

Xiao Xu from the Guangzhou area attacked Guangdong and Guangxi, and established his own regime in Lingnan and Jiankang to fight against them.

Adding in numerous other small forces, the Southern Dynasty could be said to be in chaos.

Faced with such a situation, generals including Hou Jing advocated sending troops to the Southern Dynasty immediately to quickly complete the cause of unification.

Even the brothers Su Cho and Su Liang, who have always been mature and prudent, expressed their support, believing that now is a good time to complete the unification of the north and the south.

However, Su Ze, who had always dared to seize opportunities and was able to make steady and accurate moves when facing Erzhu Rong, did not adopt their suggestions, but instead began to focus on internal affairs.
-
Two years later, in the fourth year of Wutai, March 528 AD.
-
Since the unification of the north in the second year of Wutai, the King of Tang ordered the establishment of provincial schools in each state, and used the standards of Chongwen Pavilion to conduct imperial examinations in each state to select scholars at all levels.

The scholars who passed the provincial school examination were called Juren. Juren were eligible to go to Chang'an to take the examination and participate in the national tribute fair in March. Because it was held in late spring in March, it was also called Chunwei by the people.

This year was the first spring examination to be held since the start of the imperial examination, so the city of Chang'an was very lively.

After two years of construction, the speed of Chang'an New City's construction exceeded everyone's imagination.

The Lifang, which was once thought to be vacant for a long time, was quickly filled with the population pouring into Chang'an.

This is the attraction of a country's capital.

Yang Xingye was a juren who passed the imperial examination in Hanzhong, which was the provincial school of Liangzhou. He and twenty other Liangzhou scholars came to a large house in Xiudefang, which was the residence of his brother Yang Jia.

The scholars traveling with him all looked envious.

Yang Jia followed Hou Jing and made great military achievements in Yizhou and Jingzhou. He is now ranked as the fourth rank General Yingyang.

The title of general is not uncommon, but now there are rumors that Yang Jia has been credited with middle-to-upper merit after being commended by the shogunate, which is only one level lower than the "top-level" merit of a founding hero. According to popular saying, he will be granted a title of nobility.

Looking at the location and specifications of this mansion bestowed by the King of Tang, one can tell that the rumors are true.

Founding Meritorious Service!
Everyone looked at Yang Xingye. Such an opportunity only came when the country was founded. You have to know that a few years ago, the Yang family was still an ordinary tribesman in Qiuchi, with no food to eat.

It’s a pity that General Yang is still on the front line in Jingzhou and I have no chance to meet him.

Although Yang Jia was at the front line, the housekeeper in the mansion still welcomed Yang Xingye warmly and arranged a place for them to stay. Facing the envy of his companions, Yang Xingye could not smile.

When his brother Yang Jia first joined the army, a meritorious young man like him could be directly recommended into the Chongwen Pavilion.

In those days, there were several young men in the Yang family of Qiuchi who were admitted to the Chongwen Pavilion by imperial favor. However, those guys didn't study hard and were expelled and sent back to Liangzhou.

After his brother had made great achievements, Chongwen Pavilion no longer directly accepted students. He had to study hard and pass the provincial examination before he could take part in the spring examination.

Just a difference of one or two years can make a huge difference, but things in officialdom are always slow.

Yang Xingye can only adjust his mindset, but there are also benefits.

The reign title Wutai had been used for four years, which was enough to show the benevolence of the King of Tang.

The current emperor had already issued an edict to abdicate at the beginning of the year, and the King of Tang had already declined twice.

It is said that the emperor will soon issue another abdication edict, and the King of Tang may accept the throne before the spring examination!

According to regulations, the Spring Examination was presided over by the emperor, so the scholars who passed the examination were also called the emperor's disciples.

If he could pass this spring examination, he would become the first disciple of the emperor.

According to his elder brother, the unification of the north and the south is now just around the corner. The early days of the country were an era of civil servants. If one could become one of the first scholars to pass the imperial examination after the founding of the country, his future prospects would be limitless.

Yang Xingye was reviewing his lessons with peace of mind in his brother's house.

But young people still can't keep calm after all.

After just two days of studying in Yang Jia's mansion, he couldn't resist the temptation and was dragged out to the street by his classmates.

The group came to Zhuque Street, the main road that runs through Chang'an from north to south. Like Tongtuo Street in Luoyang, it is the busiest street in the entire Chang'an city.

Yang Xingye and his party were just about to leave the city for an outing when suddenly several elite cavalrymen rushed onto Suzaku Street and passers-by were driven to both sides of the road.

What elite cavalry!

Yang Xingye grew up in Qiuchi, and his brother was a soldier, so he could naturally recognize the elite.

After hearing the discussions of the people in Chang'an around him, he realized that these were indeed the elite troops under the command of Tang King Su Ze.

Someone shouted, "The King of Tang is going back to Chang'an!"

Everyone shouted "Long live the Tang king!" and Yang Xingye looked over. It turned out that the King of Tang was riding in a carriage with ceremonial guards, heading towards the Daming Palace in the center of Chang'an City.

Yang Xingye heard the specific news from the well-informed people of Chang'an around him.

The King of Tang was inspecting the spring ploughing outside the city of Chang'an. This time, the emperor once again issued an edict to abdicate, and even went on a hunger strike to force the King of Tang to inherit the throne in order to stabilize the country.

The King of Tang was "extremely helpless" and could only rush back to Chang'an to meet the emperor at the Daming Palace.

Yang Xingye saw the Jiuci ceremonial procession, with its majestic flags waving, it did not look like it was hastily prepared at all.

But when Su Ze appeared on horseback, the people knelt down on the roadside, and Yang Xingye also followed suit and shouted "Long live Su Ze".

Just as the people said, it was the popular expectation that King Tang accepted the abdication.

On March 528th of the fourth year of Wutai ( AD), the King of Tang ascended the throne in the Daming Palace.

The reign was changed to Qianyuan, and the troops were sworn to march south!
(End of this chapter)