Chapter 153 Chapter 152: Xiao Yuanming, Marquis of Zhenyang

Xiao Yuanming was born in an ominous year. He was the son of Xiao Yi, the elder brother of Xiao Yan, Emperor Wu of Liang. He was formerly the governor of Nanyu Prefecture and guarded Shouyang.In August of the first year of Taiqing (547 A.D.), he was appointed as the governor of Dadu, and he led his troops to the Northern Expedition to the Eastern Wei Dynasty.Xiao Yuanming didn't understand military affairs at all, he didn't know how to respond when the generals discussed military affairs with him, he could only talk about "temporary measures".He led his troops to garrison Hanshan near Pengcheng, and mobilized his troops to build an earthen weir to block Surabaya, but he refused to take advantage of the water to attack the city.When the famous Eastern Wei general Murong Shaozong led an army of 100,000 to rescue Pengcheng, Yang Kan persuaded him to take advantage of the enemy's early arrival and send troops to make a surprise attack.

Since then, he has been living in Jinyang for 8 years.The Later Liang Dynasty was in conflict, and the clan kings were proclaimed emperors one after another.Therefore, in 555 AD, King Gaoyang of Qi decided to send him back to Jiankang to become emperor, so that the Liang Dynasty could become a vassal of Qi. However, before Xiao Yuanming arrived in Jiankang, Wang Sengbian and others had supported Xiao Fangzhi in Jiankang.King Gaoyang of Qi decided to give courtesy first and then soldiers, so he revised a book and sent the Minister of the Palace, Xing Zicai, to gallop to Jiankang and deliver it to Wang Sengbian.Xiao Yuanming also wrote a letter asking Wang Sengbian to welcome him.Naturally, Wang Sengbian would not easily cede power to him.

Qi Zhu Gao Yang saw that softness was not enough, so he moved hard.With Lu Fahe as the governor, Jing Yong and other ten-state military forces, Taiwei, Dadu, and Daxingtai in the Southwest led their troops to the south.In March of this year, Xiao Yuanming arrived at Dongguan under the escort of the Qi army. Pei Zhiheng, the prefect of Liang Wuxing, led his troops to fight, but was defeated and killed.Seeing the ferocious approach of the Qi army, Wang Sengbian was very frightened. While leading the troops out of Tungushu to prepare for the battle, he began to consider accepting Xiao Yuanming.In May, Wang Sengbian agreed to accept Xiao Yuanming as emperor, sent envoys to him to confirm the status of emperor and minister, and at the same time sent envoys to Qi Fengbiao to proclaim his vassal.He also sent his son Wang Xian, Xian's mother Liu, and his nephew Wang Shizhen to Xiao Yuanming as hostages, and sent Zuo Min Shangshu Zhou Hongzheng to Liyang to meet Che Jia to show his sincerity.After everything was settled, Wang Sengbian sent a dragon boat guard of honor to the riverside to meet him.After Xiao Yuanming made an oath of alliance with Wang Gaohuan of the Qi Shangdang in Jiangbei, he crossed the river at Caishi, met Wang Sengbian in Jiangning, and then entered Jiankang together. Three days later, he officially ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, changing Yuan to Dacheng.Take Xiao Fangzhi, king of Jin'an, as the crown prince, Wang Sengbian as the great Sima, and Chen Baxian as the servant.

After Xiao Yuanming became emperor, he immediately began to repay the "grace" of the Northern Qi Dynasty, and ordered the lifting of the siege of the Qi army in Yingzhou (Zhixiakou, today's Wuchang).Lord Qi returned Yingzhou City to Liang because it was difficult to defend because it was located in the south of the Yangtze River.Because Liang had declared himself a vassal in Qi, he issued an edict to repatriate all captured Liang people to the south of the Yangtze River.The relationship between Qi and Liang seemed quite warm for a while. After more than three months, the situation changed suddenly.Wang Sengbian and Chen Baxian, who jointly fought against Hou Jing back then, were close comrades-in-arms. After the death of Yuan Emperor Xiao Yi, they jointly agreed to establish Jin'an King Xiao Fangzhi, but they had differences because of Xiao Yuanming.Chen Baxian sent people from Jingkou to Jiankang many times to oppose the acceptance of Xiao Yuanming, but Wang Sengbian insisted on arbitrarily and made Xiao Yuanming emperor.Chen Baxian has always had political ambitions, and seeing that this is a good excuse to fight for power, he began to prepare secretly.In August of this year, when he heard that the Qi masters gathered in Shouchun and were about to enter the Liang Dynasty, Wang Sengbian hurriedly sent someone to inform Chen Baxian to prepare for the battle.Chen Baxian took the opportunity to send troops into Jiankang in September under the pretext of joining the army. Wang Sengbian was unsuspecting, so he was captured alive and hanged.At the end of the month, Xiao Yuanming was forced to abdicate.In October, Chen Baxian made the 13-year-old Jin'an King Xiao Fangzhi the throne.With Xiao Yuanming as Situ and Jian'an Gong, Chen Baxian as Shang Shuling, the governor of Chinese and foreign military forces, the general of chariots, the governor of Yang and Nanxu, and the real power.

Since then, Liang Qi has fought many times, and Liang Jun has the upper hand.In May of the second year of Shaotai (AD 556), Gao Yang, the leader of Qi, stated that as long as the Liang Dynasty released Xiao Yuanming to Qi, Qi would withdraw its troops.Chen Baxian immediately agreed to send Yuanming to Beiqi by boat.But after this year's tossing, Xiao Yuanming was already physically and mentally exhausted, his back gangrene broke out, and he died before he could get ashore.