Chapter 46 19. Chen Wang struggles for power

With the fall of Jiangling, almost all Liang Guo's strongholds in Jiangbei were lost. The great empire that used to be able to compete with the Xianbei in the north, withered and declined so quickly and was on the verge of collapse. I am afraid that even the most pessimistic prophets cannot imagine.The remaining remaining mountains and rivers in the south of the Yangtze River are also torn apart by the wind and rain. In the upper reaches, Wang Lin, the governor of Xiangzhou, received news of the death of Emperor Liang Yuan, and was promoted by the generals as the leader of the alliance. He stationed troops in Changsha, sent troops to attack the Houliang.In the middle reaches, Emperor Wenxuan of Qi Dynasty Gao Yang sent King Gao Yue of Qinghe to march north of the Yangtze River. Lu Fa and Juzhou, governor of Yingzhou, surrendered.In Lingnan, Xiao Bo took advantage of the power vacuum and occupied Guangzhou as an independent kingdom.In addition, eastern Zhejiang, Fujian, southern Jiangxi and other places were also occupied by local wealthy warlords.The burden of turning the tide fell on the shoulders of Wang Sengbian and Chen Baxian stationed in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

Is it to wait for the opportunity to survive, or to die generously?At this time, it is not a personal choice, but is related to the fate of a country and even a culture. In order to stabilize the situation, Wang Sengbian and Chen Baxian sent people to Xunyang (now Jiujiang, Jiangxi) to meet the nine sons of Emperor Liang Yuan, the governor of Jiangzhou, and King Xiao Fangzhi of Jin'an.Xiao Xie killed all the sons of Emperor Liang Yuan in Jiangling, and only the thirteen-year-old Xiao Fangzhi was spared when he left the town. In February of the fourth year of Chengsheng (555 AD), Xiao Fangzhi arrived in Jiankang.Wang Sengbian did not immediately embrace him as emperor, but regarded him as Taizai, the supreme ruler in name.Wang Sengbian served as the Supervisor of Zhongshu, Lu Shangshu, General Hushi, and the governor of Chinese and foreign military forces, and took charge of the real power; Chen Baxian was named General Zhengxi, responsible for the defense of Jingkou (now Zhenjiang, Jiangsu).

Wang Sengbian, like his superior Liang Yuandi, lacked political acumen.He has neither the vision to see the current situation clearly nor the courage to command the world.He supported Xiao Fangzhi, but he didn't make it in one step, it was like doing something halfway, and then stopped to wait and see.He wanted to wait and see the reaction of the separatist forces in various places and the strong neighbors in the north, and then determine the direction of the next move to ensure that he could effectively deal with various changes.However, this just shows his indecision and hesitation, which is a big taboo.

Sure enough, the Northern Qi failed to catch up with the Western Wei because of their land grabbing, and now they are unwilling to lag behind and want to share a piece of the pie.Only one day after Xiao Fangzhi came to power, Xing Zicai, one of the "Three Talents" of the Northern Qi Dynasty, came to Jiankang and handed Wang Sengbian a letter written by Gao Yang. Gao Yang said in the letter: "Liang Guo suffered from Hou Jing's calamity and lost Jiangling. The situation is critical. The new owner is too young, and I am afraid that he will be overwhelmed. Zhenyang Hou is the nephew of Emperor Wu of Liang. He is old and prestigious enough to defend Jinling. Therefore, our country enshrines him as the king of Liang, and please accept it in your country. General Wang can send boats to welcome him, and work together to help the country." Immediately afterwards, the Marquis of Zhenyang also sent a letter asking for his honor.

Zhenyanghou is Xiao Yuanming who was captured in the Battle of Hanshan.At that time, he was used by Gao Chengjie, and a letter became the key incentive to activate Hou Jing's rebellion; Gao Yang took a fancy to his identity, and pushed him out again. The emperor's nephew's reuse rate is really quite high . Gao Yang's letter is obviously interfering in Liang Guo's "internal affairs".If the selection of the emperor has to be arranged by your Northern Qi, what is the difference from the Western Wei Dynasty setting up Xiao Xie in Jiangling?What's more, in terms of royal family intimacy, Xiao Yuanming is only the son of Liang Wudi's elder brother, which is a collateral line, while Xiao Fangzhi is the grandson of Wu Emperor, the biological son of Yuan Emperor, and is a direct line. It doesn't make sense in terms of emotion and reason.

Of course Wang Sengbian did not agree. He wrote back to Xiao Yuanming: "Now the heir is the son of Emperor Yuan, and his status is beyond reproach. If Duke Ming enters the court to serve, he will entrust him with a great responsibility and assist the heir. If you have other ideas, please forgive me." Take orders." If you can't be soft, the Northern Qi will come to be tough, and send a large army to escort Xiao Yuanming to Dongguan in Jiangbei (now southeast of Chaohu Lake, Anhui).Liang general Pei Zhiheng led his troops to resist, but was defeated and killed.Dongguan is the main defense point in the upper reaches of Jiankang. The loss of Dongguan made Wang Sengbian terrified, and his attitude took a 180-degree turn.While he was out of town, he contacted Beiqi and expressed his willingness to welcome Xiao Yuanming into the court as emperor.

Xiao Yuanming made three promises to Wang Sengbian: the Northern Qi Dynasty will withdraw its troops and never invade the south; Although Wang Sengbian had concerns, he had no choice but to bow his head under the disadvantage; not to mention fulfilling the three promises, his own interests were basically guaranteed.He sent his son Wang Xian and nephew Wang Shizhen as hostages, and Zuo Min Shangshu Zhou Hongzheng as envoys to welcome Xiao Yuanming across the river.Xiao Yuanming made an alliance with Gao Huan, the Shangdang Wang of the Northern Qi Dynasty, and was escorted across the river by 1,000 stragglers.

Xiao Yuanming entered Jiankang City, ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, changed Yuan Tiancheng, appointed Wang Sengbian as Da Sima, led the prince Taifu, Yangzhou Mu, and monopolized the power; Chen Baxian was a servant.Xiao Yuanming was supported by Northern Qi, and his Liang country was deficient in calcium from the very beginning. Both Wang Sengbian and Xiao Yuanming made a mistake.Wang Sengbian thought that as long as he controlled the court, there would be no problem. Xiao Yuanming and Northern Qi even misjudged the situation and blindly promoted Wang and suppressed Chen.They made a common mistake, greatly underestimating Chen Baxian's strength.

After Chen Baxian killed Hou Jing, he spent most of his time stationed in Jingkou, downstream of Jiankang.Northern Qi occupied Jiangbei, and the people couldn't bear the heavy taxation. The powerful clan repeatedly asked Wang Sengbian to ask for troops.Wang Sengbian refused because Liang and Qi had a good relationship.The people were forced to help, and turned to Chen Baxian of Jingkou for help.Chen Baxian's response was very positive, and he sent troops to surround Guangling (now west of Yangzhou, Jiangsu) twice. Although he was forced to withdraw to Jingkou due to lack of friendly support, he effectively bought the hearts of the people in Jiangbei.The refugees near Jingkou joined him one after another, and many literati and military generals also joined Chen Baxian's banner, among which Wu Mingche was the most famous.

After more than three years of operation, Chen Baxian's total army strength in Jingkou has quietly increased from 30,000 during the Northern Expedition to more than 100,000.Wang Sengbian was completely unaware of Chen Baxian's threat. Instead of taking measures to appease and win over Chen Baxian, he relied on his power to suppress him and demoted him from the original Sikong to a servant. The relationship between Wang Sengbian and Chen Baxian used to be very good. During the Northern Expedition, the two made an oath. Seng Bian's mother died and was not yet married. Even so, the difference between the two is huge.Wang Sengbian is conservative and believes that "no fault is merit". This can be seen from his delay in sending troops when attacking Xiangzhou, his refusal to kill the king when he attacked Hou Jing, and his passive response to Jiangbei's invitation for troops; He has a strong enterprising spirit. When he was far away in Lingnan, there were many obstacles. He still broke through the siege and went north. In Jingkou, he also used offense as defense. Whenever he had the opportunity, he crossed the river to harass the Northern Qi.

Once this difference encounters a problem of principle, it will turn into a contradiction and explode.Wang Sengbian replaced Xiao Yuanming and declared himself a vassal to the Northern Qi Dynasty. Chen Baxian was the most resolute in his opposition.He sent envoys to Jiankang four times to persuade him, but Wang Seng refused to listen.Chen Baxian said angrily to his cronies: "Emperor Wu has many descendants, and only Emperor Yuan can avenge his shame. I am entrusted with the same trust as the prince. What crime does King Jin'an (Xiao Fangzhi) have? ), welcome Feici (referring to Xiao Yuanming), what exactly does the prince want to do?" He secretly prepared war robes, gold and silver as wartime rewards, and planned to attack Wang Sengbian with his generals. In September of the first year of Tiancheng, someone on the river sent a battle report, and there was movement in the Northern Qi army in Shouyang, showing signs of a large-scale invasion.Wang Sengbian notified Chen Baxian and ordered him to get ready. (Guessing from the progress of the situation, this battle report is likely to be false information intentionally spread by Chen Baxian.) Chen Baxian acted immediately, mobilizing nearly 100,000 troops, and divided the troops into two groups: Hou Andu and Xu Du led the water army, and Chen Baxian led the cavalry to march towards Stone City where Wang Sengbian was stationed.Outsiders don't know the details, but when they saw Chen Ba's huge army, they thought it was Jiankang's conscription to increase defense. The water army went to the stone city first, Hou Andu led the soldiers off the boat, and crept up to the north of the city.To the north of Stone City is a small cliff, and the city wall is built on the cliff, which is extremely steep.Hou Andu was light and scheming, he surrounded his men in a circle, held him in the middle, and threw him against the wall.After waiting for Hou An to settle down, he was already inside the city wall.The soldiers behind also used a similar method, one by one over the wall and entered the stone city. Wang Sengbian was unprepared and did not deploy guards in the north of the city, so Hou Andu rushed out of the bedroom.Wang Sengbian was dealing with official business in the room, and when he heard the shouts of killing, he knew that his feelings had changed, and rushed out of the bedroom with dozens of cronies, and fled to the south of the city.Chen Baxian's army rushed in from the south gate and blocked Wang Sengbian in the city. Wang Sengbian faced the enemy from both sides, and started a deadly battle with Chen Baxian.Wang Sengbian and his son Wang Wei retreated to the tower of the south gate and begged Chen Baxian for mercy. Chen Ba didn't give up, and took advantage of the wind to set fire to the building.Wang Sengbian was at the end of his rope, so he obediently went downstairs and tied his hands. Chen Ba first asked, "What is my crime? You want to attack me with the Qi army?" Regardless of whether there is evidence or not, let's scold you first.Wang Sengbian shook his head and was speechless. Chen Baxian asked again: "Why are you so defenseless?" Wang Seng asked rhetorically: "I handed over the entire north gate to you, how can you call it completely defenseless?" Chen Ba couldn't find any real evidence at first, so he strangled Wang Sengbian, Wang Wei and his son overnight. The next morning, it was spread at home and abroad: Wang Sengbian was punished for his conspiracy. . Xiao Yuanming ascended to the throne with the support of Wang Sengbian.Wang Sengbian was killed, and he was unable to support himself, so he announced his abdication very wisely.In October, Xiao Fangzhi ascended the throne under the persuasion of Chen Baxian and civil and military officials, and changed Yuan Shaotai to Liang Jingdi.Chen Baxian was granted the title of Shangshu Ling, the governor of Chinese and foreign military forces, the general of chariots, and the governor of Yang and Nanxu, replacing Wang Sengbian's seat. Chen Baxian wiped out the pro-Qi forces in Jiankang through a coup, and the foundation was quite unstable.He still declared himself a vassal to Northern Qi, and at the same time set out to settle the domestic opposition. Most of the governors and prefects of the prefectures and counties around Jiankang took orders from Wang Sengbian.Du Kan, the governor of Wuxing in the southeast, Wei Zai, the governor of Yixing, and Wang Sengzhi, the younger brother of Wang Sengbian, the governor of Wujun, took the lead in attacking Chen Baxian.Chen Ba first defeated each of them, asked Wei Zai's brother Wei Hui to write a book, recruited Wei Zai, and sent cavalry to raid Wu County, scaring Wang Sengzhi to abandon the city and flee to Wu Xing. As soon as the battle in the southeast took a breather, Qiao in the west, Xu Sihui, the governor of Qin Erzhou, and Ren Yue, the governor of Nanyu Prefecture, led 5,000 elite soldiers to attack and took Stone City.The most serious thing is that Xu Sihui surrendered to the Northern Qi Dynasty, which made it easy for the Qi army to cross the river and defend Gushu.Grain and horses flowed into Stone City continuously, and the situation in Jiankang was precarious.