Hunting the Realm, Part 3: The Buddhist Temples of Luoyang

“Famed commanders, do not despair; a thousand armies and ten thousand horses flee before the White Robe.” Chen Qingzhi leads seven thousand Liang troops on a northern campaign. He captures thirty-two cities and wins forty-seven battles, overcoming every foe and taking the Northern Wei capital of Luoyang. His achievements rival those of Han Xin. The young general Yang Zhong, who gives him vital support, will one day have a son named Yang Jian, the Sui Emperor Wen. Chen Qingzhi, Marquis of Guanzhong in Southern Liang, is a legendary general in Chinese history. Chairman Mao read the “Biography of Chen Qingzhi” in the Book of Liang again and again, marking and underlining many passages. He annotated it with deep feeling: “Reading this biography again, I am utterly captivated.” In 528 CE, Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, enfeoffs Yuan Hao as Prince of Wei and appoints Chen Qingzhi as General of Dashing Valor. Yang Zhong and Ma Fonian serve as his deputies, helping Yuan Hao return north to Wei. The Northern Wei court is already contending with rebellions by Moqi Chounu west of Chang'an, Xing Gao in Shandong, and Han Lou, a remnant of Ge Rong's forces. Luoyang is undefended. Seizing his chance, Chen Qingzhi quickly advances north. Yuan Hao declares himself emperor at Suiyang, raises the banner of vengeance for the Heyin Incident, wins the people's support, and recruits defecting generals. The Liang army swiftly captures Xingyang and Hulao, sweeping all before it, and Luoyang changes hands. To avoid suspicion, Er Zhu Rong observes the elaborate Confucian marriage-selection rites at his ancestral shrine, and Er Zhu Ge stands out as the chosen candidate to become empress. Just as Mingyue is about to become a consort, she is implicated in Yuan Hao's ascension and thrown into the Imperial Oxen Bureau. There, she unexpectedly meets Gao Aocao, a great hero of Yan and Zhao and the man Er Zhu Rong fears most. She comes to realize that Yuan Ziyou cares only for the realm, and no one else.