Outside Xiangyang City, Liang Wang Xiao Qing stood at the front with a solemn expression, and behind and on both sides of him were the civil and military officials of Xiangyang. Everyone had tense faces, making the atmosphere here extremely depressing.
A team came slowly from the south to the north. The sergeants were all walking in plain clothes. The carriage in the center of the team carried the coffin of King Shaoling. In front of the carriage, Xu Heng, the former official of King Shaoling, was also dressed in plain linen.
, holding a mahjong flag to summon souls, with loose hair and bare feet, singing songs to summon souls while walking.
This scene is particularly sad and makes people cry. Originally, the people holding flags and summoning souls should be the children and grandchildren of the deceased. However, the eldest son, Xiao Jian, the third son of Prince Shaoling, died when Jiankang Taicheng was attacked by Hou Jing. The second son, Xiao Que, because of his courage,
However, he was surrendered by Hou Jing. When he accompanied him on a hunt, he tried to use his bow to shoot Hou Jing but failed and was killed by thieves. His third son, Xiao Chu, was killed in the rebel army in the battle of Qichang.
Up to now, Prince Shaoling has died, and the power under his command has disappeared. After being poisoned, his body was abandoned in the wilderness. Only an old official was left to collect his body and send it to Xiangyang. Even if he is an ordinary commoner but has children to pass on, he can still
White banners summoned souls. However, Shaoling King summoned souls not only with hemp banners, but also with broken banners, which meant that he had become extinct and that he himself would not die well.
When the team carrying the coffin appeared in sight, Liang Wang Xiao Jin suddenly burst into tears, crying sadly and wailing: "God, how can the Liang family be singled out! The national thieves have not been eliminated, and the domestic thieves have appeared again.
It is unlucky for you, and all your relatives will suffer..."
Hearing the king's lamentation and wailing, the people in Xiangyang also burst into tears, and for a while a mournful sound echoed throughout the south of Xiangyang City.
After welcoming the body of King Shaoling into Xiangyang, the King of Liang did not order an immediate burial. Instead, he temporarily placed his coffin in the Xishan Buddhist Temple in Xiangyang and ordered the officials and people to go there to worship.
The reason for making this arrangement was certainly not because the King of Liang had a particularly deep affection for his uncle Xiao Lun, but because he wanted to make the fact that King Xiangdong poisoned his brother known to the public, so that the world would know the cruelty of his seventh uncle.
This went on for many days, and as the spring weather got warmer, Prince Shaoling's coffin could no longer hide the stench of decay from his body. Prince Liang still did not give any new instructions. Cai Dabao, his close confidant in the palace, had no choice but to enter the palace to ask for instructions.
.
"Qiguan killed his nephew two years ago and his brother this year. In order to monopolize power, he has gone crazy. After all, he and I can't be at odds with each other. If we can't get rid of him, I won't be able to last long!"
Upon hearing Cai Dabao's request, King Liang frowned and said bitterly: "Right now, his army is fighting with Hou Jing's rebellious army in Yingzhou, and he has no time to pay attention. If the military crisis in the east eases a little, he may have to turn around.
Attack me. In order to save myself, I want to take advantage of this opportunity to raise troops to the south and capture Jiangling. The remains of the six officials can be used to swear victory and boost morale."
As a close confidant of King Liang, Cai Dabao could naturally guess what he was thinking. After hearing this, he said: "Now the Yong Mansion is protected by General Li of the Western Dynasty, and no one in eastern Hunan dares to commit a minor offense. And now the marquis Jingguo is a traitor."
We have invaded and harassed Xiangdong and fought in eastern Hunan, but we have not lost any important points. If I attack suddenly now, no matter what evidence I use, I will inevitably be suspected of aiding the thieves! Moreover, the corpse of King Shaoling is rotting now. If he goes with the army, it will be even more ominous!
"
Hearing Cai Dabao's objection, King Liang sighed again and said: "I am also very doubtful about everything Cai Canjun said. Although Li Boshan has a close personal relationship with me, he is still a general of the Western Dynasty after all, and he has his own way of dealing with matters." The plan will not be based on my interests. Take the six officials sent to Jiangling this time, the intention is still to cause discord in our clan. If the Yong Mansion wants to last, it must not blindly rely on external forces! The six officials The corpse is gradually decaying, so I plan to bury it in Xishan for the time being, carve a wooden body, and march with the army. After Jiangling is captured, I will hold a grand funeral!"
King Liang only answered two of the three questions raised by Cai Dabao. As for sending troops at this time to avoid the suspicion of aiding thieves, he did not respond at all. This shows that he was eager to attack Jiangling and just wanted to preemptively kill the King of Eastern Hunan. As for whether it would create an opportunity for Hou Jing's rebels to take advantage of, he completely ignored it and didn't care.
When Cai Dabao heard this, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart. He still didn't want to sit back and watch the king insist on his own way, so he opened his mouth to advise again: "The main force fighting against the thieves in Yingzhou at the moment is the Ningzhou foreign army commanded by Xu Wensheng, not Jiangling's original force. The backbone of the army. Wang Sengbian, Hu Sengyou and other veteran generals are still in the town. Even if our army is dispatched, it will be difficult to shake the Jiangling city defense! What's more, such a big plan cannot be carried out by the Yongfu alone. Why don't you tell Mian North…”
"No, absolutely not! I just said it, and Li Boshan can't believe it! I know Cai Shenjun, you are very polite to him, but don't forget that Yong Mansion is where you work! This matter still needs planning, but it is You must not tell Li Boshan. I am only discussing with Cai Canjun now. If he knows, I am afraid that Canjun and I will no longer be able to work together!"
Before Cai Dabao could finish what he said, King Liang immediately turned down his face and firmly opposed letting Li Tai know about and participate in this matter.
In addition to trying to pre-emptively solve the problem, he also hoped to expand his power and reverse his situation as a puppet of the Western Wei Dynasty.
If Li Tai of Mianbei was informed, if he thought this plan was feasible, he would only use his own troops as the main force, while his Xiangyang troops would only be auxiliary, and would not have any say in sharing the final spoils.
Of course, the greater possibility is to directly stop the King of Liang from doing this. After all, Jiangling is the main force against Hou Jing's rebellious army at the moment. With the troops of the King of Eastern Hunan supporting him in the front, it will also help Li Tai consolidate the Han Dynasty he occupied. land, and continued to expand into Jiangbei and Huaihe.
Not to mention that King Liang was planning how to deal with King Xiangdong. Soon after King Shaoling's body was transported to Xiangyang, Li Tai also learned the news.
He couldn't help but sigh that Xiao Laoqi was really brave, and he seemed to be a little disrespectful of everyone's intelligence. If you really want to hide it, you should cover it up. If everyone wants to say that you didn't do this, they are not just pretending to be a deer. The moral issue is a fucking IQ issue!
Xiao Laoqi's operation was within his expectation. It was nothing more than an operation to break through the bottom line again. Li Tai had no intention of making a big impact for the time being. At the moment, his strategy against Jiangling was still like a spring breeze and drizzle. Infiltrate rather than make trouble in a big way.
As for the corpse of King Shaoling, which came to Xiangyang, it is also a good opportunity for Liang Wang Xiao Qi. If it can be run well, it can also increase the popularity and appeal of Liang Wang. His father, Prince Zhaoming, was originally the direct descendant of the Liang family.
Preface, and his reputation is not bad. Now that the country is in trouble and is in turmoil, there must be some people in the Southern Liang Dynasty who miss Prince Zhaoming even more, so they love the house and the bird and feel close to the king of Liang.
So Li Tai also sent people to Xiangyang to express condolences and wrote some of his opinions in a letter. Soon after this incident, it was their turn to have a feast in the Western Wei Dynasty. In recent years, they have been lingering on the sickbed.
Emperor Yuan Baoju, who was in poor health, finally died in March of Yangchun.
Although the emperor was just a puppet, his death was also a national event.
However, the battle between Jiangling troops and Hou Jing's rebellious army in Yingzhou is currently going on, and the battlefield is only one step away from the Handong area. In order to prevent the war from spreading to the Jingzhou General Mansion, Li Tai needs to stay in Mianbei and have no time to return home.
Go to funeral.
When he thought that his cousin Cui Qian had followed him to Jingzhou and never returned, Li Tai ordered Cui Qian to return home for the funeral on behalf of the General Manager's Office, and to go home to see his family while having a meal.
Regarding Yingzhou, after Xiao Yi, king of eastern Hunan, ordered Wang Sengbian to lead an army to drive away Xiao Lun, king of Shaoling, last year, he left his son Xiao Fangzhu as the governor of Yingzhou to stay in that territory. Soon after, Hou Jing sent his general
Ren Yue led his army into Xiyang and Wuchang in Kou Ying Prefecture.
At this time, Xu Wensheng, the governor of Ningzhou in Nanliang, summoned tens of thousands of horses from the territory to go north to Jiangling to join him. The King of Xiangdong appointed Xu Wensheng as the governor of Qinzhou and marched eastward to fight against Ren Yue.
There was a great battle between the two sides. Ren Yue was unfavorable and retreated to Xiyang. Hou Jing personally led troops to garrison Jin Xi in support of Jin Xi. As a result, the king of Nankang, Xiao Huili, and others attempted to launch a coup. However, they were defeated by Hou Jing's confidant Wang Wei.
Calm down.
In short, during this period, Hou Jing was internally unstable and unfavorable for external expansion. At the same time, millions of stones of grain and grass in Huainan were burned, so he sent an envoy to Mianbei and offered such high conditions to Li Tai, hoping to get his help.
When the time came this year, the King of Eastern Hunan sent another army to reinforce. Xu Wensheng and other armies conquered Wuchang and moved forward one step further. Ren Yue reported to Jiankang because of the unfavorable battle, and Hou Jing personally led the army to the west for reinforcements. In fact,
It was also because the grain and grass in Huainan had been robbed, and the land of Sanwu was deeply troubled, and the surrounding areas of Jiankang could no longer support Hou Jing's large rebel army, so they moved westward with the intention of supporting war with war.
After Hou Jing's army arrived in Xiyang, they confronted the Jiangling troops led by Xu Wensheng and set up forts along the river. Xu Wensheng led his troops to attack and won the first battle, forcing Hou Jing to retreat to the camp in defeat.
Because Xu Wensheng's army was strong and Hou Jing heard that the defense in Jiangxia city behind was empty, he sent his general Song Zixian to lead hundreds of fine cavalry around Jiangbei to attack Jiangxia in the rear.
The general of Jiangxia was the son of King Xiangdong. Xiao Fangzhu, the governor of Yingzhou, was only a fifteen-year-old boy who knew nothing about military affairs and spent all day playing in the palace. The general Bao Quan sent by King Xiangdong to assist his son
They just flattered and flattered, relying on the fact that Xu Wensheng's army was nearby and did not build city defenses. When Song Zixian and others attacked, they successfully captured Jiangxia City.
After Jiangxia City was defeated, Xu Wensheng and other troops suddenly lost their rear route, and the armies were in chaos. Hou Jing also took advantage of the situation to attack, defeated his army in one fell swoop, and directly occupied the entire territory of Yingzhou.
When the news that Yingzhou was conquered spread, various parties had different reactions after hearing the news. Xiao Jin, the king of Liang in Xiangyang, was overjoyed. Taking advantage of the fact that the king of eastern Hunan was in dire straits, he immediately issued a proclamation and announced that the king of eastern Hunan
He has been accused of killing family members and other crimes, so he summoned all the troops to kill this family traitor!