Chapter 3 2. Beitou and Southern Expedition

The first ten years of the sixth century AD was Gao Huan's childhood, and it was also a decade when the forces between the north and the south were locked in tension. We have said that in the last years of the Southern Qi Dynasty, Pei Shuye, the governor of Yuzhou, offered Shouyang to the Northern Wei Dynasty.Without giving up their efforts, the Xianbei army entered the Huainan area, which had been coveted for many years, and occupied Shouyang, Hefei and other places. At that time, the two Xiaos (Xiao Yan and Xiao Baojuan) were fighting fiercely in the Southern Dynasty. Yuanying, the general of Zhennan, and many frontier generals came forward one after another, demanding to take this opportunity to attack Qi on a large scale and unify the north and the south.Just imagine that if Emperor Xiaowen Yuan Hong was still alive at this time, he might swear to Luoyang and Chen Bing Jiangbei to observe the "destiny".It's a pity that Emperor Xuanwu had just secured his seat. He didn't launch any clear military action, but let Yuzhou Governor Tian Yizong carry out small-scale harassment on the border, and missed the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in vain.

Two years later, in the fourth year of Jingming in the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 503), Xiao Yan had replaced the Southern Qi Dynasty, established the Liang Dynasty, and secured the throne; but the Northern Emperor Xuanwu changed his mind and decided to attack Nanliang on a large scale.The main driving force here was not the princes and generals of the Northern Dynasty, but two people who had just surrendered to the Northern Wei Dynasty from the Southern Dynasty: one was Xiao Baokui, the younger brother of Donghunhou Xiao Baojuan, and the other was Jiangzhou Governor of Nanliang. Chen Bozhi. Xiao Baokui is the authentic Southern Qi clan, the sixth son of Qi Ming Emperor Xiao Luan.Back then when his elder brother Xiao Baojuan was in power, some people under his command tried several times to make him emperor, but the plans were unsuccessful.Although Xiao Baojuan was a tyrant, he was extraordinarily lenient towards him and would not pursue him.After Xiao Yan's army captured Jiankang, his prestige had not yet been established, and he did not dare to move him easily, so he was named King of Poyang.

Xiao Yan was appointed King of Liang, and decided to attack Xiao Baojuan's brothers. He first arranged for special personnel to guard the princes strictly, and then secretly killed Xiao Baojuan's brothers.Xiao Baokui's family obtained information in advance, dug out the courtyard wall overnight, and prepared a boat on the riverside for him to abscond.In the situation at that time, saving one's life was the most important thing, and there was no room for you, Xiao Baokui, to put on some princely airs.He changed into black cloth clothes, tied more than a thousand coins around his waist, wore straw sandals, and rushed to the riverside on foot.

The whole journey can be described as a desperate journey. When the sky was bright, the exhausted Xiao Baokui finally climbed onto the bow.The guards of the palace noticed that the prince was missing, and rushed to the riverside to search.Xiao Baokui was so quick and wise that he sat on a boat, pretended to be fishing, and drifted in the middle of the river.The guards were far away and couldn't see clearly. They just regarded it as an ordinary fisherman and didn't suspect anything.When the guards dispersed, Xiao Baokui crossed the Yangtze River and defected to Hua Wenrong, a wealthy family on the west bank.

Hua Wenrong saw that the person who came was a down-and-out prince, and understood that the matter was no small matter, so he privately took a few of his most trusted followers, abandoned his family, rented a few donkeys, and went northward with Xiao Baokui, lurking day and night, and arrived at Shouyang City newly occupied by the Northern Wei Dynasty. The person stationed in Shouyang is Yuan Cheng, a senior prince of the Northern Wei Dynasty and governor of Yangzhou.He heard that the clan of the Southern Qi Dynasty came to vote, and he knew that this was a very important pawn in politics, so he dared not neglect, and greeted him with chariots and horses, and treated each other with courtesy.Xiao Baokui trekked all the way, his face was haggard and embarrassed, but his demeanor remained undiminished, and he was highly valued by the nobles of the Northern Wei Dynasty.After staying in Shouyang for several months, Yuan Cheng sent his men to escort Xiao Baokui northward to Luoyang to meet Emperor Xuanwu of Wei. (This scene can't help but remind people of Liu Chang, the imperial family of Liu Song Dynasty who voted for the Northern Wei Dynasty at the beginning. Good luck tricks people, and thirty years is another cycle.)

Chen Bozhi's situation is completely different from Xiao Baokui's. He has no great hatred for Emperor Wu of Liang. In fact, Emperor Wu of Liang treated him well.During Emperor Liang Wu's rebellion against Qi, he was first appointed by Xiao Baojuan as the governor of Yuzhou to guard Xunyang (now Jiujiang, Jiangxi).Emperor Wu of Liang sent someone to persuade him to surrender, but he hesitated, and finally saw that the imperial army was in a favorable situation, so he offered the city to surrender, but he always had a wait-and-see intention in his heart, and he was at both ends of the scale.It wasn't until Jiankang's general situation was gone that he stopped thinking about turning back.When the Liang Dynasty was established, Emperor Wu of Liang entrusted him with important tasks, and made him the general who conquered the south and the governor of Jiangzhou.

Chen Bozhi was originally a scoundrel with a low level of education. Apart from being able to write his own name, he couldn't read a few big characters, let alone those concise and obscure official documents.He raised a group of old friends and fellow villagers in the mansion, and appointed them one by one as Biejia and joined the army to help him deal with these complicated official affairs. If the leader is uneducated and politically weak, the people below will naturally take the opportunity to do bad things that harm others and benefit themselves.If there are too many bad things, it will spread to the ears of Emperor Wu of Liang.Chen Bozhi was not his direct descendant, so Emperor Wu of Liang was somewhat worried. It happened that Chen Bozhi's son, Chen Huya, was in Jiankang, so he sent Chen Huya to Jiangzhou to persuade his father, and sent another person to replace Biejia Deng Shan, who was appointed by Chen Bozhi.

Chen Bozhi could still understand this action by the court. He pointed out on the table at that time: "The people under my command are all capable and have achievements. Don't worry about the one sent by the court. I ask him to be my governor. Zhong." During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Biejia and Zhizhong were the assistants of the governor.Don't drive, as the name suggests, when the governor goes on tour, he takes another post car to accompany him; Zhizhong, literally, is to manage internal affairs, and if he is replaced by the current position, he is a document and archivist.Both are subordinates, Bie Jia and the governor are much closer, and their real power is greater than that of Zhizhong.Chen Bozhi's handling in this way is to make it clear that he has made his own decisions and does not accept the arrangement arranged by the imperial court.

Deng Shan knew that there were many nights and dreams, and he whispered in Chen Bozhi's ear every day: "The imperial treasury is now empty, the military supplies are lacking, and there is a famine in the east. This is the time to replace it. Don't miss it!" Not only Deng Shan, but also other confidants around Chen Bozhi Chu Yu, Dai Yongzhong and others were also seriously dissatisfied with Jiankang's new court (it was so easy to find a confused boss to serve, your court wants to spoil my good deed, how can you do it?), and unanimously agreed with Deng Shan's opinion.

Chen Bozhi thought for a while, and said to Deng Shan: "I will write another letter to the court to protect you. If the emperor still doesn't listen to me, we will rebel together." Sure enough, Emperor Wu of Liang quickly issued a reply, ordering Chen Bozhi Find a county in Jiangzhou and arrange for Deng Shan to take up the post. Chen Bozhi saw that there was no room for bargaining, so he summoned the generals and officials in the mansion and said, "I have just received a secret order from King Jian'an (that is, Xiao Baokui, who was named King Jian'an in the Southern Qi Dynasty). Stationed in Liuhe, ask me to transport food eastward with Jiangzhou troops. I, Chen Bozhi, have received the kindness of Emperor Qiming, and I will repay it to the death!" He was afraid that everyone would not believe him, so he took out the letter of Xiao Baokui that Chu Xuan had forged in advance, and made it public.This trick really worked, and everyone was so passionate that they vowed to rebel against Liang and support Xiao Baokui.So Chen Bozhi built an altar in front of the mansion, swore blood as an alliance, and ordered all the counties in the prefecture to declare "raise troops against the evil government of Jiankang".

Jiankang had been prepared for a long time. Since Emperor Wu of Liang repeatedly rejected Chen Bozhi's request, he was of course prepared for Chen Bozhi's rebellion.The blood on Chen Bozhi's altar hadn't dried yet, while Emperor Wu of Liang had sent troops there.He ordered the leading general Wang Mao to be the general who conquered the south and the governor of Jiangzhou, and led the army to attack Chen Bozhi. At the same time, Zheng Bolun, the prefect of Yuzhang County (now Nanchang, Jiangxi Province) to which Jiangzhou belonged, did not want to follow Chen Bozhi in the rebellion, and led his soldiers to refuse to defend.Chen Bozhi decided to settle the Yuzhang in the south first, so as to avoid worries about the future, open up the grain road, and then move his troops northward. Chen Bozhi, who thought he was sure of winning, led his troops southward in person, but was unable to capture a small city of Yuzhang. During the stalemate, Wang Mao in the rear had already approached his old lair in Jiangzhou.Unwilling to fight, Chen Bozhi had no intention of fighting, so he had to take his son Chen Huya, Chu Juan and other cronies to cross the Yangtze River by detour and flee to the territory of the Northern Wei Dynasty. (In troubled times, generals like Chen Bozhi who have no political principles at all are very common. Famous ones include Lu Bu, Liu Laozhi, etc. It can be said to be a very interesting phenomenon. These people often have a common characteristic, they are very good at Fighting wars, but having no political acumen, and almost zero understanding of the situation, such people are competent enough to be a general in the army if they encounter peace and rule the world; Unnecessary trouble.) In the Northern Wei Dynasty, there is no doubt that Xiao Baokui and Chen Bozhi's enthusiasm for the Southern Expedition surpassed any Xianbei nobleman.Xiao Baozhi is an enmity between the country and his family, and he will never forget it. Chen Bozhi has just voted for the new master and is eager to make contributions.The two coincided with each other and handed in a letter of determination to send troops almost at the same time. Emperor Xuanwu quickly agreed to this request (so it is said that "foreign monks are good at chanting scriptures"). In April of the fourth year of Jingming, he first appointed Xiao Baoyu as the governor of the three states including Dongyangzhou, the general of Zhendong, and the governor of Yangzhou. , King Qi, gave him 10,000 soldiers and horses, stationed in the east city of Shouyang; he also named Chen Bozhi as the governor of Huainan military forces, Pingnan general, Jiangzhou governor, stationed in Yangshi (now southeast of Huoqiu, Anhui), and stationed at the frontier in advance superior. The fall of the Huai River water level in autumn is a season that is conducive to the northern army going south. In the Northern Wei Dynasty, Rencheng Wang Yuancheng, Xiao Baokui, and Chen Bozhi led an army of 50,000 (20,000 recruited from the six northern states of Ji, Ding, Ying, Xiang, Bing, and Ji plus Xiao Baokui. , Chen Bozhi's department of about 30,000 people), attacked Zhongli; and Zhennan General Yuan Yingdu supervised the military forces in Yiyang to attack Yiyang. Since the death of Emperor Wei Xiaowen, the army of the Southern Dynasty hadn't fought a decent battle with the Northern Wei Dynasty for several years except when Pei Shuye took the initiative to vote for Wei.In the direction of Zhongli on the East Road, Yuancheng divided its troops to the periphery, triumphant all the way, and won Dongguan (today's southwest of Hanshan, Anhui), Yingchuan (today's west of Shouxian, Anhui), Daxian (today's northeast of Hanshan, Anhui), and Jiaocheng (today's Zhongmu, Henan). Southwest), Huailing (now west of Xuyi, Jiangsu), and eight other cities, and then attacked Fuling City (now east of Quanjiao, Anhui).Yuanying on the West Road broke through the three lines of defense laid by Cai Daogong, the governor of Sizhou with the help of the terrain (the Sizhou government of Nanliang was in Yiyang at that time), and surrounded Yiyang. The Nanliang Dynasty, which had just been established, was in trouble for the first time on the battlefield.