The Emperor, who was embarrassed in front of many countries’ courtiers and people, was enraged. It was rare for him to make up his mind to fight Beirong. The Emperor was still very guarded against Xie Xuanchen, so it was naturally impossible for the Prince to have access to military power. Instead, he sent his confidant Tong Shao to lead the 100,000 soldiers of the garrison northbound to support Taiyuan.
The northern soldiers were divided into two groups and the west route was led by the 8th Prince Ye Luyan, who attacked Suicheng in a surprise attack. Then, they approached Taiyuan via Taihang Mountain. In the east, Ye Luji, the youngest son of Empress Dowager Xiao, who was also the younger brother of the Beirong Emperor, led the army as he sent troops from Hejian and Zhongshan to attack the east.
After the 16 States of Youyun were ceded, the Central Plains lost its barrier. The capital could only rely on the three important towns of Taiyuan, Zhongshan and Hejian to defend the nation. These three cities were related to the safety of the capital and they have always been highly valued. The troops and generals stationed there have experienced many battles and they were not flashy. Among them, Taiyuan was under the greatest pressure of siege, so the imperial court sent several teams to support it. Among them, the reinforcements for Taiyuan were the strongest— amounting to 100,000 troops.
Ye Luyan brought only 60,000 soldiers and horses. It was easier to defend the city than to attack it. The reinforcements also brought sufficient food, grass and armaments, so everyone was full of confidence in this defensive battle.
No one expected that Tong Shao, born as a literati, was greedy for life and afraid of death. Seeing the soldiers and horses of the Beirong people outside the city, he was so frightened when both sides fought. Military officers were inferior to civilian officials and all generals had to be dispatched by Tong Shao. As a result, the Supreme Commander Tong Shao not only did not organise the defence tactics for the city, but led his troops to flee first on the eve of the battle. The morale of the army in Taiyuan City was then drowned in turmoil as Ye Luyan took advantage of the vacancy and broke in several lines of defence with ease.
With the Supreme Commander escaping, there were less than 3,000 people left in Taiyuan City while there were 60,000 Beirong troops outside the city. The Taiyuan city guards resisted desperately, resisting Yeluyan’s fierce siege momentum and delayed Beirong’s southward march.
Taiyuan held its own for a long time, but it was just a cover-up. Taking advantage of all the eyes of the court that were attracted to Taiyuan, Ye Luji led the east route army to bypass the defence lines of Zhongshan and Hejian before turning back to attack Zhending. After the fall of Zhending, the chiefs of the cities along the road were all people of knowledge, so no one had the abilities or the bravery to fight with them. Ye Luji drove straight in and went straight to the border of the Yellow River, approaching the capital.
When the news reached the capital, the whole country was shocked. It was winter now and the water of the Yellow River had already frozen. They heard that Ye Luji had sent his men to the centre of the river to test the thickness of the ice layer. If things went well, they would cross the river in a few days.
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