Chapter 37 10. Tears of Heroes

Emperor Wu of Liang was trapped in Taicheng, and his life was worse than death. The phrase "life is better than death" could not be more appropriate for Emperor Wu of Liang at this time.As an old man who lived for more than 80 years in the troubled times of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Emperor Wu of Liang lived longer than Liu Song and Southern Qi, and even the combined lifespan of Song and Qi.His contemporaries, whether brothers, friends, or rivals, have long since left him.He is a veritable loner, a "landmark building" of the last era and even the last era, and it should be demolished.

However, Emperor Liang Wu might be willing to face the reality of death calmly, but how could he be willing to face the current predicament calmly?How could he be willing to face the possibility of a tragic and humiliating death?A generation of founding emperors who possessed outstanding martial arts and martial arts, now, is it really necessary to die sadly or even comically at the hands of a lame Jie man who looks like a jackal? Just when the desperate Emperor Wu of Liang was thinking seriously about his life for the last time, Hou Jing took the initiative to send envoys to make peace. Hou Jing couldn't attack Taicheng, and food and grass were in short supply. The Liang army from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River kept gathering outside Jiankang City, and the situation was not good.Wang Wei suggested to Hou Jing: "Taicheng is difficult to overcome for a while, reinforcements are increasing day by day, and our army's food and grass are cut off. It is better to pretend to sue for peace and suspend the situation; take advantage of the peace, and when the reinforcements dare not move around, we will use the stored grain in Dongfu City. Move into Stone City. Then rest the soldiers and horses, repair equipment, wait for the defenders to relax, and take Taicheng in one fell swoop."

Hou Jing agreed with this strategy of delaying troops, and sent generals Ren Yue and Yu Ziyue to the city to sue for peace.Prince Xiao Gang put two options in front of Emperor Wu of Liang, and Emperor Wu of Liang roared very arrogantly: "It's better to die!" Emperor Wu of Liang was really ruthless. He had lived enough and was not afraid of death. But other people don't think so.Xiao Gang tried his best to persuade him: "Hou Jing has been besieging the city for a long time, and the reinforcements are not going to fight. It is better to agree to peace talks first, and then make plans."

Emperor Wu of Liang bowed his head in silence, pondered for a long time, and threw a very thought-provoking sentence to Xiao Gang: "You can figure it out yourself, don't let future generations make fun of it!" Xiao Gang was so resolute in rejecting Fan Taobang's true offer at the beginning, but now he accepts Hou Jing's false offer with great enthusiasm, his mind is amused.He may have seen that Emperor Wu of Liang was about to die, and wanted to protect his own interests through peace negotiations. As long as Hou Jing could withdraw his troops, he would rather agree to any conditions.Because he is a prince, if Emperor Wudi of Liang died naturally, he would be the heir to the throne for granted; "The brothers and nephews will not let him have a good time.

Hou Jing didn't expect Xiao Gang to agree to the peace negotiation so readily. Feeling that he should suck a few more mouthfuls of blood, he simply opened his mouth and added two clauses: first, Liang Guo should cut off Nanyu (now Shouxian County, Anhui Province) west of the Yangtze River; The four prefectures of Yu (now Xixian County, Henan Province), He (now Hefei, Anhui Province), and Guang (now Guangshan, Henan Province) were fiefs for him. Second, Xiao Gang sent his eldest son (that is, the future prince) Xiao Daqi out of the city as a hostage. Xiao Gang had no major objections, he just replaced Xiao Daqi with his third son Shicheng Gong Xiao Dashi, and sent it outside the city.Representatives from each faction of the two sides formed an alliance in the west of Taicheng.After the alliance, Hou Jing continued to surround Taicheng on the grounds that the ships were not ready, and refused to leave.

Nankang King Xiao Huili, Xiangtan Hou Xiaotui and others led 30,000 troops to Mawangzhou on the river north of the city. Hou Jing was worried that they would go up the river, which would be bad for him, so he went to the court and demanded that the troops from the north be gathered on the south bank of the Qinhuai River. It cannot block his retreat to the north.Five days later, he went to the Shu and said that Gao Cheng had already acquired Shouyang and Zhongli in Huainan, and he could not go there for a while. He asked the imperial court to borrow Guangling and Qiaozhou in the north of the Yangtze River for a temporary rest. Jingkou crosses the river.Xiao Gang counted on Hou Jing to withdraw as soon as possible, and approved all the conditions without saying a word.

The reinforcements obeyed Taicheng's orders and all gathered on the south bank of the Qinhuai River.Xiao Lun's son Yong'an Hou Xiao really couldn't bear the anger, and Zhao Bochao's son Zhao Weifang jumped to the front of the barracks and shouted to Hou Jing: "The Son of Heaven has made an alliance with you, but I will arrest you sooner or later! " Hou Jing feared that Xiao Que was brave and good at fighting, so he asked the city to call Xiao Que and Zhao Weifang into the city, claiming that this was the last condition.Xiao Gang naturally agreed again, and ordered the two of them to enter the city to accept officials.Xiao really didn't want to enter the city, and said: "Hou Jing said he wanted to withdraw, but he didn't break out of the siege. His intention can be seen. Calling me into the city doesn't see any benefit!"

Others advised him that this was an imperial decree and should not be disobeyed, but Xiao did not listen.Father Xiao Lun got angry and said to Zhao Bochao: "You kill him, and take his head into the city!" (Xiao Lun is so ridiculous, it is rare to have such a sensible son.) Zhao Bochao drew his sword and threatened Xiao Que: "Zhao Bochao recognizes the king, but my sword doesn't." Xiao Que had no choice but to enter the city in tears. In this way, Hou Jing continued to increase the conditions, and the Changwei outside Taicheng was maintained for more than half a month.For more than half a month, the rebels successfully transported all the grain and grass in Dongfu City into Stone City.The strategy of delaying the army succeeded, Hou Jing turned his face at once, and made a statement to the city, announcing the top ten faults of Emperor Wu of Liang, and launched a new round of fierce attack on Taicheng.

Emperor Wu of Liang was ashamed and angry, scolded Hou Jingbeimeng, and ordered the whole city to fight back.However, Taicheng has been trapped for a long time, supplies are scarce, and plagues are prevalent.Even Emperor Wu of Liang was forced to break the ten-year-old meat precept, and ate eggs sent by Xiao Lun.There are less than 4,000 guards in the city, hunting rats and killing horses for food, more and more sick people, no power to fight back, the only hope is reinforcements outside the city. The armies outside the city made up their minds not to be the leader.Xiao Jun encouraged Xiao Lun to divide his troops into three ways to rescue him, but Xiao Lun ignored him.Since the princes and dukes had such an attitude, Liu Zhongli, the titular governor, knew better what to do, so he simply recruited young ladies, drank and had fun until he got drunk.

Liu Zhongli's father, Liu Jin, was in command of the city defense in Taicheng, and he had expected his son to come to rescue him.Seeing that there was no movement now, Liu Jin panicked, climbed up the tower, and shouted: "Your monarch and your father are in great trouble. If you don't try your best to save them, are you still human?" After calling for a long time, Liu Zhongli hid in the camp and did not answer. .Liu Jin went back and said to Emperor Wu of Liang: "Your Majesty has King Shaoling (Xiao Lun), and my minister has Zhongli. Both sons are disloyal and unfilial. How can we deal with Hou Jing?"

A few days later, a traitor appeared in the city.Xiao Lun's eldest son, Xiao Jian, was guarding the Taiyang Gate in the south of Taicheng. He only drank and gambled all day long when the enemy was in front of him.Shuzuo Dong Xun and Xiong Tanlang opened the city gate at night to welcome Hou Jingjun into the city and killed Xiao Jian.Xiao Que fought hard on the tower and fled into the palace through the small gate to report.After defending for 136 days, Taicheng was finally captured. Emperor Wu of Liang had just fallen asleep, and Xiao Que rushed in regardless of anything, shouting as he ran, "Taicheng has been captured!" Emperor Wu of Liang lay on the bed and asked motionlessly, "Can we fight again?" Xiao Que shook his head: "People's hearts are scattered, I can't fight anymore..." Emperor Wu of Liang sighed, and left the famous saying that has been passed down through the ages: "If you gain it, you lose it, so how can you hate it!" Emperor Wu of Liang must have thought of the scene of the winter night forty-eight years ago, when he, the governor of Yongzhou in the Southern Qi Dynasty, led his army to conquer Taicheng.The way of heaven is impermanent, and things are different.For this reason, Emperor Wu of Liang finally figured it out, and he finally saw the fundamental ills of Liang Guo.The so-called "Hou Jing Chaoliang" is just an appearance, and he himself is the chief culprit of the "chaos"! In his life, Emperor Wu of Liang had both great talent and boldness, but also laziness and mediocrity.He used Buddhism to cultivate himself, but he was not extreme; he used love to regulate his family, but he was not pampered; and when it came to governing the country, he couldn't understand the people and soldiers. At the same time, it has seriously damaged the interests of the country. Some people in later generations sympathized with Emperor Wu of Liang, and believed that the main responsibility for Hou Jing's rebellion was that Hou Jing was capricious and did not pay attention to etiquette, justice, integrity and shame, which failed to grasp the crux of the problem.The world is chaotic, the strong are kings, no one is born to be loyal to others, and no one is born to be a king or emperor. Didn't Emperor Wu of Liang himself take over the Southern Qi?Why did Hou Jing dare not rebel under Gao Huan?Why can't it be reversed under Gao Cheng?Why is it so full at Yuwentai's place?Why did Hou Jing dare to rebel when he came to Emperor Wu of Liang, and he became a rebel?Let's think about it from another angle. Even if there is no "Hou Jing Rebellion", who can guarantee that there will be no "Ma Jing Rebellion" and "Niu Jing Rebellion" given the decline of Liang State in the last years of Emperor Wu of Liang? Jiankang City is not a piece of paper, it cannot be conquered by Hou Jing's mob alone.Hou Jing attacked the outer city because of Xiao Zhengde; he attacked Taicheng because of Xiao Jian; Hou Jing was surrounded for several months until he conquered Taicheng because of the inaction of the reinforcements outside the city.It was Emperor Liang Wu's whole set of strategies of self-cultivation, family harmony, and state governance that led to the actions of the royal family members, and it was the actions of these dignitaries that led Hou Jing to conquer Taicheng and capture the former hero Liang Wudi . But Emperor Wu of Liang was Emperor Wu of Liang after all. When disaster struck, he did not blame others, but bravely admitted that he was responsible for all the consequences.Although this kind of after-the-fact responsibility cannot make up for past mistakes, nor can it restore the development of the situation, and even has a kind of shame and sorrow, it shows the courage and wisdom of Emperor Wu of Liang.For this alone, he can still be called a hero. After Hou Jing captured Taicheng, he sent Xiao Daqian to issue an edict outside the city to disband all reinforcements.The reinforcements who were no longer motivated to fight scattered, Xiao Lun, Xiao Dalian, Xiao Fang, Xiao Si, Xiao Tui and others returned to the town respectively, leaving behind Liu Zhongli, Yang Yaren, Wang Sengbian and Zhao Bochao. Waiting for the camp to surrender. Hou Jing coerced Emperor Wu of Liang and Prince Xiao Gang, and ordered Liu Zhongli and other generals, and his career was considered to have reached its peak.Hou Jing, as a famous general in the Northern Dynasties, has followed Gao Huan for a long time. Seeing Gao Huan achieve hegemony by "taking the emperor to command the princes", now he also plans to be a version of Gao Huan in the Southern Dynasties. When he first entered Taicheng, Hou Jing "accepted" the "summoning" of Emperor Wu of Liang.Describe the dialogue and expressions between the two vividly: Emperor Liang Wu's expression remained unchanged, and he asked Hou Jing first: "You have been in the army for a long time, it must have been hard work!" Hou Jing didn't dare to look up, his face was covered with sweat. Emperor Wu of Liang asked again: "Are you from Hezhou? Are your wife and children still in the north?" Hou Jing remained silent and didn't answer, looking very unnatural.General Ren Yue answered for him: "Hou Jing's wife and children were all killed by Gao Cheng, and now they are all alone with His Majesty." Emperor Wu of Liang asked again: "How many people were there when you crossed the river?" Hou Jing replied, "A thousand people." Emperor Wu of Liang asked again: "How many people were there when the city was besieged?" Hou Jing replied again: "One hundred thousand people." Emperor Wu of Liang finally asked: "How many people are there now?" Hou Jing finally replied: "All the people in the world belong to me." Emperor Wu of Liang bowed his head and remained silent. (Emperor Wu of Liang wanted to put on airs as a monarch when he came up, and he talked to Hou Jing in a questioning tone, but he failed to control the situation. Hatred. Hou Jing, on the other hand, was frightened by Tianwei when he first came up, and he dared not answer. His self-confidence almost fell to the freezing point, but when Emperor Wu of Liang asked him about his development after coming to Liang Kingdom, he followed the question step by step. Go on and regain your confidence. At the end of the conversation, Emperor Wu of Liang was downcast, and Hou Jing was invincible.) Hou Jing didn't want to see Emperor Wu of Liang again, so he put him under house arrest in the palace, and gradually neglected him.Emperor Wu of Liang became ill from worry and anger, and could not eat.In May of the third year of Taiqing (549 A.D.), Emperor Wu of Liang, who had not had any water or rice for many days, came to the last moment of his life in Jingju Hall.Because of the bitterness in his mouth, he called for honey, but the hall was empty, only echoes were heard, but no one answered.The poor old man yelled "Drink! Drink!" twice, abandoning the world of mortals that once made him so beautiful, but also filled him with sorrow and hatred, and went looking for his paradise.This year, Emperor Wu of Liang was eighty-six years old.