Chapter 36 15. The Destruction of the Two Evils

Once Pandora's box is opened, disasters and crimes will never end.Prince Liu Shao's patricide act opened such a Pandora's box, and the Song Kingdom has been declining day by day in constant internal friction since then until it died out.Liu Yu worked hard all his life and climbed from the bottom of the poor society to the ninety-five-year-old, but in exchange for his descendants to kill each other and their lives to die. After cleaning up the dissidents in the palace, Liu Shao put General Liu Yigong, Shang Shuling He Shangzhi and others under house arrest.Then he issued an enthronement edict, saying: "Xu Zhanzhi and Jiang Zhan killed the rebels. I led the troops into the palace. Unfortunately, I was one step too late. I was heartbroken. Now that the sinner has been punished, the world should be pardoned. Change the 30th year of Yuanjia to the first year of Taichu. All civil and military officials will be promoted to two levels."

There was another episode about changing the year name. Liu Shao wanted Xiao Bin to draft an edict at first, but Xiao Bin thought his writing skills were not good enough, so he pushed it to Wang Sengchuo, the servant.Liu Shao had already discussed the year name with the witch Yan Daoyu, using Taichu.Xiao Bin raised an objection, saying: "According to the rules, the yuan should be changed next year." Liu Shao asked Wang Sengchuo what his opinion was, and Wang Sengchuo said, "The yuan was changed when Emperor Hui of Jin came to the throne." Liu Shao was very happy and said, "Very Okay, let's do it like this!" (I didn't realize that Wang Sengchuo was hurting him, Liu Shao was probably really dizzy.)

Not long after, Liu Shao found out that Wang Sengchuo was also involved in the abolition of the establishment, so he stopped listening to him.Killing him was not enough, but Liu Shao deliberately made matters worse, accusing several princes in Jiankang of collaborating with Wang Sengchuo in rebellion, and arrested and executed brothers of Liu Yu's nephew and grandchildren.The next step is to deal with his biological brother. The biggest enemy is the third brother Wuling King Liu Jun who is sending troops to attack the Xiyangman (a kind of barbarian) in Jingzhou.At this time, Liu Jun stationed troops in Wuzhou (now southwest of Xishui, Hubei), and was with General Shen Qingzhi.

Someone ran out from Jiankang, bringing news that Emperor Wen had been murdered.Liu Jun was afraid and dared not take any action.Liu Shao ordered someone to send a letter to Shen Qingzhi, asking him to find a chance to kill Liu Jun.Shen Qingzhi found Liu Jun and showed him the letter. The master was full of pus. When he saw that his brother wanted him to die, his legs became weak and tears came down. He turned around and wanted to say goodbye to his mother. Shen Qingzhi had never seen any fierce enemies on the battlefield, and never expected that the royal family members he was going to assist were so worthless.He grabbed Liu Jun and said: "Your Majesty has received the kindness of the late Emperor, and today I can only do my best to eliminate the thieves. Why does Your Highness suspect that I want to kill you!"

Liu Jun heaved a sigh of relief, put back his airs, and said, "The safety of our family depends on you, General!" Liu Jun raised the banner of rebellion, set out from Xiyang (now east of Huanggang, Hubei Province) with the army in his hand, and appointed Shen Qingzhi as the Sima of the mansion. Zhu Xiuzhi (that is, the one who was captured by the Northern Wei Dynasty during the first Northern Expedition of Emperor Wen of the Song Dynasty, and later fled back to the Song Dynasty through Beiyan) was General Pingdong, who joined the army in the record room and joined the army led by Yan Jun. The army went to Xun Yang advances.

With a big banner, the other princes from all walks of life came to watch (it was also fortunate that Liu Jun was assisted by a veteran general like Shen Qingzhi, so he was the first to do a big thing).Liu Yixuan, the sixth younger brother of Emperor Wen of Song Dynasty, was in Jiangling, and together with Zang Zhi, governor of Yongzhou, and Lu Shuang, governor of Sizhou, raised troops to respond to Liu Jun.Xiao Sihua, governor of Yanzhou and Jizhou, also rushed to Pengcheng from Licheng, where he was stationed, and led troops to meet him in Jiangbei.Sui Wang Liu Dan was in Zhejiang area at this time, and Liu Shao divided the five counties in eastern Zhejiang into Huizhou and asked him to be the governor. He wanted to obey Liu Shao's order and take up the post.All the left and right advised him not to let the vicious rebels stir up trouble, but to spread the word for an uprising, so Liu Dan also turned his back on Liu Shao.

Liu Shao thinks that he has been familiar with military books since he was a child, and he knows a lot about military affairs, so he can take charge of it alone.However, when soldiers rose from all directions, he panicked, ordered martial law, and moved all the residents from the south bank of the Qinhuai River to the north bank, hoping to rely on the Qinhuai River to stick to it.In order to prevent the princes and ministers from fleeing, he gathered several younger brothers, Liu Yigong and his sons in Taicheng where he himself lived.When Liu Jun's appeal spread to Jiankang, he arrested Liu Jun and Liu Yixuan's sons and wanted to slaughter them all. Liu Yigong and He Shangzhi suggested that doing so would strengthen the enemy's determination to fight to the death.Liu Shao thought it was reasonable, so he only put the princes under house arrest, without questioning the crimes.

After Liu Jun's army arrived in Xunyang, they continued to march east along the river. Shen Qingzhi led the Chinese army, Liu Yuanjing led Xue Andu and other 12 armies to set off from Pankou (the mouth of the Panpu water into the Yangtze River), and Liu Yixuan's Sikong and Chinese soldiers joined the army. Bao led the people of Jingzhou to follow up.At that time, several of the most capable generals in the country of Song were gathered together. Although Liu Shao had some former courtiers under his command, most of them were not cronies, and they dared not appoint them at a critical moment.On the one hand, he spent a lot of money to appease several generals and ordered them to lead the military, on the other hand, he took Xiao Bin, the former general of the East Palace, as the mastermind and let him make suggestions.

Xiao Bin proposed to take the initiative to attack Liu Jun's army with the navy, but Liu Yigong believed that dealing with Liu Jun should be done with ease, abandoning the south bank of the Qinhuai River, and erecting fences outside the stone city to secure Taicheng.Xiao Bin objected, saying: "Liu Jun set up such a major event at a young age, so don't underestimate it! Shen Qingzhi, Liu Yuanjing, and Zong Que are all soldiers who have made many military exploits. When they have just raised their troops, we can fight to the death if we attack. If you can’t sit still, how can it be long?” Liu Shao didn’t listen, he didn’t go out to fight, and he didn’t go out to defend the stone city, but he just comforted the guards and supervised the repair of ships every day.

When Liu Jun's army arrived in Nanzhou (that is, Gushu, now Dangtu, Anhui), officials and soldiers came to surrender along the way, including Liu Shao's Taiwei Sima Pang Xiuzhi, who was in charge of the army, and the court was greatly shaken.Liu Yuanjing, Liu Jun's vanguard, knew that his ships were too small and unreliable to fight a big battle, so he led his troops to land in Jiangning and sneaked to Xinting (now south of Nanjing, Jiangsu) by the Yangtze River.But he was not in a hurry to attack Taicheng. Instead, he built a barrier against the mountain and confronted the imperial army in the south of Jiankang City.

Liu Shao saw it clearly in the city. He sent Xiao Bin to lead the infantry, Chu Zhanzhi to lead the water army, and led about 10,000 elite soldiers from each department to attack Liu Yuanjing's fortress. Liu Shao himself boarded the Suzaku Gate to supervise the battle.Liu Shao still had this bit of cleverness in the key battle that was related to the survival of the rule. He paid a lot of money to reward meritorious soldiers.Liu Yuanjing's army has newly built barriers, and its combat effectiveness is also very strong.Liu Shao's army was large, and he was about to win. For some reason, Lu Xiu (Lu Xiu wanted to defect to his elder brother Lu Shuang, probably on purpose. Liu Shao's failure was also arranged by providence.) Sound the retreat drum.The soldiers were fighting vigorously, when they heard the sound of drums, they were at a loss and froze for a moment.Liu Yuanjing took the opportunity to beat the charging drum, and the soldiers rushed out of the barrier. The imperial army was immediately defeated, and the soldiers drowned in the Qinhuai River one after another. Unwilling to fail, Liu Shao personally led the remaining soldiers to make a comeback.The strength of the two sides has become strong and weak, and Liu Shao is also powerless. He is defeated again and the casualties are even more serious.Liu Shao raised his saber and beheaded the retreating soldiers at the back of the formation, but he still couldn't stop.Liu Shao fled back to Taicheng alone, Xiao Bin was injured, and Liu Yigong, Lu Xiu, Chu Zhanzhi and others defected to Liu Jun in disorder.Liu Shao ordered the killing of Liu Yigong's twelve sons to vent his anger. As soon as Liu Yigong came out of the tiger's mouth, it was as if he had changed his face (about so many years under his elder brother, he also practiced a set of kung fu of seeing people's eyes and bearing humiliation), he met Liu Jun's army who had just arrived in Xinting , Immediately went to the table to persuade him to enter.Liu Jun was the emperor in the army, and this was Emperor Xiaowu of Song Dynasty. With Liu Jun's ascension to the throne, all rebels from all walks of life have been killed. Zang Zhi's 20,000 Yongzhou soldiers also marched to Xinting. Wang Liudan also sent troops to attack Jiankang from the southeast and defeated Liu Shao's army.Liu Shao's defensive tree fences on the banks of the Qinhuai River and inside the Taicheng Gate could not stop the chaotic people in the city.The civil and military officials in Taicheng jumped out of the city wall one after another and surrendered to Liu Jun.Xiao Bin also led the soldiers under his command and raised the white flag to surrender. Xiao Bin himself was beheaded. Knowing that the situation was over, Liu Shao burned his imperial chariot and hid everywhere. Finally, he was captured in the well of the arsenal by the small army officers who had invaded Taicheng and sent him to the front of the palace. Zang Zhi cried bitterly when he saw Liu Shao who was bound firmly.Liu Shao said, "The world won't tolerate me, so why are you crying?" Zang asked him why he killed his father to stand on his own feet. He said, "The late emperor wanted to abolish me, and he didn't want to be a prisoner." He then asked Zang Zhi, "Can you please help me to exile me to a remote area?" Zang Zhi replied: "The emperor is just south of Dahang (also known as Zhuque Bridge, south of Nanjing, Jiangsu, on the Qinhuai River today), and he will make a judgment on you." He was tied to a horse and sent to Liu Jun's barracks. Liu Jun took Nanping King Liu Shuo hostage and fled south, where he met Liu Yigong on the way.Liu Jun quickly dismounted and asked, "What is Liu Jun doing?" Liu Yigong said solemnly: "The emperor has come to all kingdoms." Only then did Liu Jun come to his senses, and hurriedly said, "Hutou (Liu Jun's nickname) isn't too late, is it?" Liu Yigong shook his head and said, "I'm afraid it's too late." Liu Jun also asked: "Can you spare me from dying?" Liu Yigong said: "You should go face to face with the emperor and plead guilty." Liu Jun felt that there was something interesting again, and said to himself: "I wonder if the emperor can give me an official position and let me work for him?" Liu Yigong laughed heartily at Liu Jun's stubbornness, and replied, "That's not sure." Probably because he thought it was unnecessary to take this kind of rubbish to see Liu Jun, Liu Yigong took Liu Jun and his three sons away halfway. To beheaded. Liu Shao and his four sons were taken to the barracks to be executed, and Liu Yigong and others went to visit them.Liu Yigong questioned Liu Shao: "I turned from the dark to the bright and went with the trend. What is my crime? You killed all my twelve sons?" Liu Shao replied calmly, "I really feel sorry for you, uncle." Jiang Zhan's wife scolded him nearby, and Pang Xiuzhi also came over to make fun of him. Liu Shao sternly scolded, "You people, don't bother me!" At the beginning of the execution, Liu Shao's four sons were killed first, one at a time.Liu Shao was terrified when he saw it, and said to Liu Shuo, king of Nanping, "How could such a thing happen?" There was nothing he could do.When it was his turn, Liu Shao looked up to the sky and sighed, "I don't want my Liu Song royal family to fight each other to such an extent!" Liu Jun ordered Liu Shao and Liu Jun's father and son to be shown to the public, and all their daughters, wives and concubines were imprisoned and sentenced to death, including the Yin family who had just been named queen by Liu Shao. Before she died, Mrs. Yin said to the Priest: "Your family is fratricide, why kill innocent people in vain?" Prison Cheng was puzzled: "You have been conferred the title of empress, how can you say that you are not guilty?" Yin said: "This is just Liu Shao's expedient measure. Later, he will change the king's parrot as queen!" Wang Parrot and the witch Yan Daoyu also did not end well, and were escorted to the street and whipped to death in public.As for Zhang Chaozhi who killed Emperor Wen of the Song Dynasty, he died in the rebellion army. After his death, his body was broken into thousands of pieces. After the slaughter was over, Liu Jun sent someone to throw the rotten and smelly corpse into the river, and then went down the river.Folks recited such a ballad, describing this tragic history of Jiankang City: