The reason why Hou Jing was able to enter Shouyang City was due to the suggestion of Liu Shenmao, the leader of Huainan's Ma Tou garrison. Liu Shenmao's initiative to recruit Hou Jing, a defeated general, to enter was due to his personal conflict with Wei An, who was in charge of the state affairs at the time.
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Although Wei An was mediocre in talent, he came from the famous Jingzhao Wei family. He had an arrogant and strong temperament and was extremely harsh on his subordinates. To the point that Liu Shenmao, a general in his ministry, would rather attract Hou Jing to enter the country than submit to him again.
There is more than one similar personnel conflict in Huainan. There is also the governor Shi Xiahou Ru appointed by Hou Jing, who also has deep grudges with the former governor Zhenyang Marquis Xiao Yuanming. If Xiao Yuanming had not served as the Northern Expeditionary Army,
The commander-in-chief was defeated and captured by the Eastern Wei Dynasty. I am afraid that they will be incompatible with each other.
There are so many personal grievances here, of course, not because the people here have bad tempers, but there are quite profound reasons.
Since the Wuhu rebellion in China and Yiguan's migration to the south, the Huainan area has often been the center of war between the northern and southern regimes due to its geographical location. At the end of the Southern Qi Dynasty, Xiao Baojuan, the Marquis of Donghun, was jealous and harmed the ministers. Pei Shuye, who was guarding Shouyang in Huainan at that time, surrendered.
Northern Wei Dynasty.
A few years after the establishment of the Southern Liang Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty Xiao Yan led his army to the Northern Expedition with his younger brother Xiao Hong, King of Linchuan, intending to recover the lost territory in Huainan. As a result, Xiao Hong was defeated in the battle of Luokou and fled back. Instead of recovering the lost territory, he attracted
The Northern Wei army retaliated and attacked, but fortunately Wei Rui and other general Zhongli defeated the Northern Wei.
However, the loss of Shouyang made the defense of the entire Huainan region unstable. A few years later, Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty Xiao Yan decided to build Fushan Weir in the hope that Shouyang would be flooded to regain this strategic location. The result was a waste of people and money, and was in vain.
It was not until the mutiny broke out in the six towns of the Northern Wei Dynasty that Southern Liang recaptured the important town of Shouyang after several years of hard work by famous generals Pei Sui, Xiahou Quan and others. At the same time, Emperor Wu of Liang appointed Xiahou Quan as the governor of Yuzhou to guard Shouyang. Xiahou Quan died a few days ago.
Later in the year, his younger brother Xiahou Kui guarded Shouyang. The two brothers guarded Shouyang for nearly ten years.
When Xia Houkui was in the state, his family had as many as ten thousand people and more than two thousand horses, which for a time intimidated Huainan and was the most prosperous at that time.
Since Pei Shuye went to Beitou, Nanliang has paid a heavy price to regain Shouyang, an important town in Huainan. Of course, it was not for the purpose of allowing each family to use this powerful city to strengthen itself.
In particular, before Beitou, Pei Shuye wrote to Xiao Yan, who was the governor of Yongzhou at the time and was in Xiangyang.
The long committee is in the hands of powerful generals.
So after Xia Houkui died and the situation in Huainan gradually stabilized, Xiao Yan no longer used his clan as the head of the state, but instead delegated state affairs to the clan. Therefore, after Xiao Yuanming left office, he appointed the King of Poyang
Xiao Fan served as the governor of Southern Yuzhou and entered the town of Shouyang, but was preempted by Hou Jing.
In addition to Shouyang, the current Xiaoliang clan in Huainan has Xiao Fan, the king of Poyang, guarding Hefei as the governor of Hezhou, Xiao Huili, the king of Nankang, guarding Guangling as the governor of Yanzhou in the south, Xiao Zhengbiao, the Marquis of Fengshan, guarding Zhongli as the governor of Xuzhou in the north, and the governor of Nanqiaozhou.
Fengcheng Hou Xiaotai and others, almost all the famous cities in Dayi in the north and south of the Yangtze River fell into the hands of outsiders.
The governor of the prefecture, Shi Xiahou Ru, was the son of Xiahou Kui, the former governor of Yuzhou. After his father's death, he led his troops to live in the hometown and served as the prefecture's defense.
When Xiao Yuanming, Marquis of Zhenyang, came to the town of Shouyang, he was also appointed as the chief historian because of his powerful clan. However, there was a huge conflict of power and interest between the clan and these local powerful people when they entered the town, so Xiao Yuanming and Xiahou Ru also had a lot of grudges.
The discord has been deep and long-lasting.
These Xiao family clans live in different places, and their military and political talents may not be enough to defend them, but when it comes to corruption and wealth, they all have very creative ideas. It does not mean that their blood is mediocre or their tutors are despicable.
There is no moral integrity at all, but it is the result of the social atmosphere of the upper class in the Southern Dynasties.
The world of the Southern Dynasties was exaggerated and dissolute, and the upper-class people mostly loved extravagance and enjoyment. Their strong desires did not abate at all because of the Buddhist worship of Xuan.
Therefore, even if an official embezzles and accumulates hundreds of millions while in office, once he leaves office, he may not be able to spend several years as a slut. When the money is spent, it will not be as convenient as when he is in office to take advantage of it, so take advantage of it.
There is also the consensus among Nanliang official circles that it is also a consensus among Nanliang officials to risk their lives to make money.
The atmosphere in the officialdom is like this, and the similar atmosphere in the royal clan is doubled. Therefore, these clans often find ways to make money in towns and cities, and do not pay much attention to the real military and political affairs. No matter how much corruption there is, the old Bodhisattva will not blame it.
But if you really try to work hard and start a career, you might get trapped like the Marquis of Zhenyang, Xiao Yuanming.
Being too harsh on the local powerful forces in the border towns and being too indulgent towards the incompetent clan descendants has resulted in many local forces becoming disloyal, and the powerful clan officials have become increasingly arrogant and lawless. Of course, there are also local powerful people who work together with the clans in the towns and villages, making life difficult for the people within the territory.
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This is the truth about the so-called peaceful world of Nanliang that the old Bodhisattva has governed for half his life. No matter the clan nobles or civil and military officials, they all only value their own selfish interests and indulge their selfish desires. No one is responsible for this country anymore, except those who are pressed down by heavy mountains.
The working people at the bottom.
As long as their blood is not drained for a day, they will not be exempted from the obligation to support these moths! Of course, now we have to add a group of wolfish ambitions, cruel and cruel speculators and careerists.
Linhe Wang Xiao Zhengde's enthusiastic reply greatly encouraged Hou Jing and his subordinates. After Hou Jing discovered the fact that Liang Zhu had planned to betray him, Hou Jing had already decided to rise up and resist, and would never sit still and wait for death.
, and began to actively raise funds to form new forces.
But he still didn't have a clear idea of how to restart his new career in the Nanliang Kingdom. Now Xiao Zhengde's response undoubtedly pointed out a direction and provided him with a choice.
As one of the people who suggested that Hou Jing contact Xiao Zhengde, Xia Houzhen was particularly excited. He stood up from the banquet, danced into the wine and said: "My nephew congratulates the king! The king's strategy is unparalleled in his wisdom and plan, and all the people in the state have it."
Inspired to serve, all the soldiers in the army have no money or food, and now they are named Wang Neiying. Once he acts righteously, great things will be done for him!"
Xia Houjun was exploited and oppressed by Xiao Yuanming when he was in office. Now he is attached to Hou Jing and is entrusted with state affairs. He is very grateful in his heart. He even named himself a son of Hou Jing's clan and named himself Sheng.
After hearing this, Hou Jing also smiled and took the wine and drank it down. He said in deep thought: "When things have a breakthrough, you should be happy, but if you want to be happy, you still have to wait until the big thing is accomplished. Chang Shi has been working hard for me recently.
Military documents and supplies are on standby at any time, don’t slack off!”
After hearing this, Xia Houjun accepted the order and responded. At the same time, he asked curiously: "Now that we have received a reply from King Linhe, do we still have to wait?"
Without waiting for Hou Jing to answer, his confidant Wang Wei said at the banquet: "Since the general trend is the same, it cannot be changed overnight. Today, there are not enough armor and swords, and the food is not abundant. It is still considered hasty to take action rashly. In the middle of the year, the army will harvest the grain.
It’s never too late to use it again if you eat it for a long time!”
Liu Shenmao, the former commander of the Ma Tou garrison who recruited Hou Jing to occupy Shouyang, heard that raising troops would be delayed until the middle of the year. He couldn't help but frowned and said: "Since you are planning to do something dangerous, you should do it quickly and take things by surprise.
There is no perfect reason, and if we don’t take action early, we may be controlled by others.”
"Your Majesty has not governed the state according to Liang's laws for several months. The master of Liang has not acted. Naturally, he has concerns. Your Majesty has called the people to vote, and he has not betrayed the Lord of Liang. If the Lord of Liang rushes to kill, he will make fun of the world! What's more, even if he sends his disciples
Who do you want to attack? Hefei's rebellion has not subsided, and the Yiyang army is discouraged..."
As one of the most important counselors under Hou Jing, Wang Wei has assisted him in Henan for many years. His vision and knowledge are naturally broader than those of these powerful military leaders trapped in Shouyang. Although he has not been in Liang for a long time, he can see through many things at a glance.
The political laws of the Liang Dynasty.
Although Lord Liang is old and dim, he attaches great importance to his reputation. The defeat in the Battle of Hanshan has ruined half of his wisdom, and he may not be able to tolerate any flaws in his reputation in a short period of time.
Although his eagerness to negotiate peace with the Eastern Wei Dynasty exposed his fierce nature, it still made him hesitant to give up on Hou Jing completely.
Because this is tantamount to a complete admission of the failure of his previous series of decisions, which especially makes people think that he has gone back on his word and is capricious, so adopting an appeasing and conniving attitude towards Hou Jing may not mean that he wants to pursue Zheng Bo and Duan Yu Yan.
Moreover, even if the Liang Lord wanted to recapture Shouyang and punish Hou Jing, there might not be an army in the Huainan region that could do the job.
Yang Yaren abandoned the important town of Xuanhu and fled south, retreating to Yiyang. The Liang Lord was dissatisfied with him and used it to attack Hou Jing. Wasn't he worried that Yang Yaren would abandon Shouyang again or learn from the past?
Uncle Pei?
As for Xiao Fan, King of Poyang in Hefei, he was a rebellious member of the clan, and because of this he lost his position as commander of the Northern Expedition and was replaced by Zhenyang Marquis Xiao Yuanming. His attack on Hou Jing was probably a bit in the eyes of the Liang Lord.
It means chasing away wolves and devouring tigers, and it may not be possible to do it.
Just looking at the troops from all the tribes in Huainan, almost none of them is suitable and capable of attacking Shouyang. But if all the troops are called together to attack, then another justifiable reason is needed. At least in order to beg for peace with Eastern Wei and exchange for Xiao Yuanming.
In the eyes of the old Bodhisattva, he ordered all the armies to gather together to attack and kill Hou Jing after he was captured.
Therefore, as long as they don't show off their horses and horses, raise their troops with a clear flag, or the Fangzhen forces who can reassure the Liang Lord take the initiative to invite troops to attack Hou Jing, Shouyang will be safe for the time being.
After some deliberation, he decided to stay put for the time being and continue to build up strength. Hou Jing ordered everyone to go about their own affairs, but still left his confidants Wang Wei, Song Zixian and others to continue discussing the plan.
"When I came south, everyone saw that I was exhausted and had no way to go. Naturally, I had short ambitions and wanted to do whatever I wanted. The people in Huainan came here, and they just wanted to force me to use my life to earn wealth for them. They, the frontier soldiers and corporals, should get rid of me.
I'm afraid there won't be anyone who will take pity on me, so I don't have to worry about him for a while, I can still continue to squeeze people for my own use."
Speaking of this, Hou Jing then said: "Xiao Zhengde enjoyed all the glory in his country, but he was not satisfied with what he received at the moment. It can be seen that there must be more people in his country who have grievances. Yang Yaren retreated to Yiyang and has been here to this day.
I dare not forget about the sudden attack on the Huaihe River, and I will be worried even if I think about it. If I can attract colleagues, I will be able to advance and retreat more calmly!"
Even Xiao Zhengde, a close relative of the clan, was tempted to win over him. Hou Jing was full of confidence for a while, and then he set his sights on Yang Yaren. If he could win over this veteran general, he would not only lose a difficult enemy, but also become stronger.
Gaining your own strength can be said to be a double gain.
After having this idea, Hou Jing no longer wasted time and immediately sent someone to contact Yang Yaren.
At the same time, he did not relax for a moment in preparing for the war in Shouyang. The residents of Shouyang City organized themselves into the army, selected the strong men among them, gave them weapons, and practiced them diligently. At the same time, he begged soldiers from Jiankang City.
The craftsmen of Dongye were also ordered to work day and night to cast and forge armor for military use.
The effect of the reduction and exemption of market assessment and land rent is getting bigger and bigger, and even merchants from surrounding counties and counties are attracted to visit. The market is filled with more goods, and these merchants are also grateful to Hou Jing, and there are many wealthy merchants who directly
Subsidy money and food to boost its momentum.
In addition to being rich in wealth, some of these merchants who gathered here were also regional powerful men with good local influence. They were oppressed because they were not valued by the Jiankang court. They had no way to enter the officialdom and had difficulty keeping their businesses. Finally, they met Hou Jing.
Such a heroic and tolerant person is naturally eager to follow his orders.
Shouyang's momentum is getting bigger and bigger, and it has even far exceeded the formation required for the entire army to defend Huaihe, which naturally arouses the vigilance of the surrounding garrison forces.
Among them, Xiao Fan, the king of Poyang who was guarding Hefei, was the most vigilant. He sent several scouts to the north to take a look, and at the same time frequently reported to the court. After all, if Hou Jing made trouble, Hefei, south of Shouyang, would be the first to suffer.
However, Xiao Fan's reputation with Emperor Liang was not good in the first place, and now he looked extremely positive and worried about the country and the people, which seemed suspicious to Emperor Liang, so he did not pay attention to his performance.
What Yang Yaren did was beyond Hou Jing's expectation. He originally thought that this man from the south would be more dissatisfied with the imperial court, and it would be easier to instigate rebellion. But he didn't expect that Yang Yaren would send the envoy he sent directly to
Jiankang court, this naturally made Hou Jing feel guilty.
But something unexpected happened next for Hou Jing. His envoy was sent back to Shouyang by Emperor Liang, and he was not scolded. This made Hou Jing feel relieved and overjoyed at the same time.
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In his military experience for most of his life, he rarely had any understanding of magnanimity and benevolence. He only felt that since Emperor Liang indulged himself in this way, it must be because he was worried. If he didn't ask for a high price at this time, then what are you waiting for!
So he naturally seized the opportunity to frequently ask for gifts from the Jiankang court, and his words became more and more arrogant. The Jiankang court also responded to his requests and was so obedient that Hou Jing felt a little embarrassed.
But this also has its own negative effects. The envoys coming from Jiankang met each other on the way, and the personnel situation in Shouyang became increasingly difficult to conceal. Perhaps these envoys themselves were undertaking similar tasks.
Moreover, his frequent interactions with the Jiankang court also made his allies such as Linhe King Xiao Zhengde a little restless. We all made an appointment to achieve each other's success, so why are you still flirting with that old guy!
Finally, Hou Jing's fighting spirit was high and he was not easily dismantled by the old Bodhisattva's sugar-coated bullets. As the personnel in Shouyang had been gathered to an extreme, he finally took action after the new rice entered the warehouse in August, in the name of killing the leader Zhu Yi and others.
Raise troops and start an uprising.
The reason why he raised the army was of course based on the opinions of the people in Huainan who had taken refuge under his command. Hou Jing had no grievances with these people, and even except Zhu Yi, they didn't know each other very well, let alone hate them. But
These officials were in charge of trade and handicraft industries. They were representatives of the imperial court who exploited and plundered the Huainan people's financial and material resources. Naturally, they were deeply hated by the people in Huainan. Now that we have raised troops based on Shouyang, it is of course our duty to kill these officials.
After raising his troops, Hou Jing did not go straight to the river. Instead, he and his confidant Song Zixian divided their troops from east to west to pull out the wooden fences on both sides of Shouyang and garrison the horse's head. They not only stabilized the rear but also tested the morale of the troops.
Emperor Liang seemed to have been prepared for this. When he heard that Hou Jing had raised troops, he immediately appointed the four governors of Huainan in an orderly manner, and sent his son Xiao Lun, King of Shaoling, to go north from Jingkou to supervise the troops to attack Hou Jing.