Chapter 17 Chapter 17 The "Hundreds of Forums" of Southern and Northern Dynasties Culture

The history of the Central and Southern Dynasties includes four dynasties: Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen.In the evaluation of these four dynasties, the generally accepted view is that Liu Song is the most powerful dynasty.During the Liu Song period, in the war with the northern dynasty, although there was a disastrous defeat of "Yuan Jia hastily, sealed the wolf and lived in the Xu, and won the hasty north", but generally speaking, the Southern Dynasty of the Liu Song period still maintained the determination to regain the north. As well as the vigorous offensive against the northern regime, Liu Song's land area was also the largest among the four dynasties of the Southern Dynasties.The "Government of Yuanjia" created by Liu Song was also the prosperous age with the most outstanding economic achievements in the history of the Southern and Northern Dynasties.The Chen Dynasty, the last dynasty of the Southern Dynasties, is generally recognized as the weakest dynasty. Although the founding emperor of the Chen Dynasty, Chen Baxian, quelled the rebellion and defeated the Northern Qi Dynasty with great martial arts skills, the national power of the late Chen Dynasty was greatly weakened, and it seemed that it was only a matter of time before the Chen Dynasty was unified by the North. question.In contrast, the Qi and Liang dynasties, as the middle of the southern dynasties, have had a lot of controversy for a long time.The Qi Dynasty existed for 24 years, and the Liang Dynasty existed for 55 years. During these 79 years, the Southern Dynasty evolved from the initial prosperity to the final weakness and war, and the territory shrunk step by step.There are still times of fratricide between the brothers, and the failure of foreign wars can be described as "negative news".For these 79 years, the historians of the past dynasties have different opinions. Some say that they are not enterprising and satisfied with partial security, which eventually leads to catastrophe, while others say that the economy is prosperous and the country is peaceful and the people are safe.But for this period of history, I believe there is no objection to one point of view: this is an era of cultural prosperity.

There is no doubt that the two dynasties of the Southern Dynasties, Qi and Liang, were another peak period of Chinese feudal society and culture. Modern historians are more fond of talking about the "decay" and "clear talk" of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. According to the two dynasties of Qi and Liang, the cultural achievements can be described as splendid.In terms of science, the most important scientific achievements of the great scientist Zu Chongzhi were completed in this era; in terms of culture, Shen Yue's name will go down in history.The achievements of poetry, poetry and prose during this period were also outstanding. A group of well-known works and outstanding literati appeared, and the two dynasties of Qi and Liang dynasties gave intellectuals a platform for free display and free discussion. power.And this platform is the various "cultural salons" organized by dignitaries in the Qi and Liang dynasties. The most famous ones are the "West Mansion" of King Jingling Xiao Ziliang of the Qi Dynasty and the "Banquet" of Prince Zhaoming of the Liang Dynasty. It must be admitted , these two platforms are representatives of the "free style of study" in the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

The "freedom" of the Qi and Liang dynasties has a lot to do with the founders of these two dynasties.The first one is Xiao Daocheng, the founder of the Qi Dynasty. The Song and Qi dynasties had many common scripts in the founding of the country. First, the founding emperors were relatively old when they ascended the throne. Second, they did not reign for a long time. The founding emperor Liu Yu of the Liu Song Dynasty ascended the throne at the age of 57 and died at the age of 59.Xiao Daocheng, the founding emperor of Xiao Qi, ascended the throne at the age of 52 and died at the age of 55.They are all from humble backgrounds and are warlords.The difference is that, compared to Liu Yu, the founding emperor of Liu Song Dynasty, who was vicious and vicious, Xiao Daocheng, the founding emperor of Xiao Qi, Qi Gaodi, was a well-known honest man from beginning to end.

During Xiao Daocheng's three years in power, he said more than once: "I am an ordinary citizen, and I never dreamed that I would be an emperor one day." He did not mean to be humble when he said this.For most of his life, he really didn't expect this.He was born as a small soldier. During the more than ten years of Emperor Song Ming's reign, he behaved carefully and fought wars seriously, and his official position rose step by step.In order to prevent the suspicion of the aristocratic family, he kept writing letters to the nobles at all levels at that time, expressing his humility, saying that he was just a rough man and absolutely had no ambitions.There were many tyrants in the late Liu Song Dynasty, and the last few emperors were either fatuous or brutal, killing countless people, not only killing their own brothers and sisters, but also killing ministers.Once Song Mingdi wanted to practice archery, so he found Xiao Daocheng's house. While he was sleeping, he bent his bow and set up an arrow and shot at him. An arrow hit his belly button and almost killed him.Even so, he could bear it, and kept showing his loyalty, and finally saved his life in the killings in the last years of Liu Song.Later, Liu Song's clan struggled for power, and he took the opportunity to intervene with a heavy army in his hand, deposing Liu Song and the emperor Liu Yu.At this time, he showed his courageous side, subdued the gentry by force, and took control of the Liu Song Dynasty. Two years later, he abolished Liu Song Shun Emperor, changed his Yuan to the throne, and established the second dynasty of the Southern Dynasty in 479 AD. ——Qi Dynasty.

Among the emperors of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, if you ask who has the most "unjust name and dislike" in winning the country, the answer is probably Xiao Daocheng.Although Liu Yu also came from a poor family, he had outstanding military exploits and a powerful army. In Xiao Daocheng's generation, his military strength was much worse than Liu Yu's.Moreover, after Liu Song's toss in the last years, the national power of the Southern Dynasty also suffered a shock, and it was far less powerful than Liu Song. This meant that although Xiao Daocheng won the country, he still had to behave with his tail between his legs.After Xiao Daocheng became the emperor, he still maintained his modest and low-key style.In the Southern Dynasties at that time, after several bloody massacres by the tyrants in the late Liu Song Dynasty, everyone was panicked. In order to stabilize the rule, Xiao Daocheng strictly implemented the policy of "tolerance", and he was very lenient to ministers and relatives. A person with ideals once said to the ministers, "If God can give me 20 years, I will definitely make the world rich and make gold as cheap as sand."He not only said so, but also did so. During his three years in power, he abolished many harsh laws in the Liu Song Dynasty, reduced and exempted taxes, especially in response to the increasingly violent corruption in the last years of the Liu Song Dynasty. Start by practicing diligence and thrift.He replaced the gold and copper utensils originally used in the palace with iron ones, and in order to set an example, he smashed all the jade utensils in the palace in front of the ministers.It's hard to say how much effect this will have, but it is an indisputable fact that during his reign, the Qi Dynasty was politically stable and the economy recovered.

Because of his "generous" influence, the entire Southern Dynasties formed a very relaxed political atmosphere, especially in terms of thought and speech, advocating free discussion.This trend did not end with Xiao Daocheng's death three years later.After Xiao Daocheng's death, it was Xiao Daocheng's son, Emperor Wu of Qi, Xiao Yu who came to the throne.Although this Xiao Yu has the word "Wu" in the title of emperor, he is a person who has inherited his father's "generous" style.Before Xiao Daocheng died, the most important thing he told him was to be kind to his brothers and relatives.This point was fully implemented by him. When the father and son of the Qi Dynasty were in power, the relationship between the royal family and the noble family seemed very harmonious.Although Xiao Yu is the son of Xiao Daocheng, in terms of age, Xiao Yu is only 13 years younger than Xiao Daocheng. When he came to the throne, he was already a stable middle-aged man. The Qi regime formed its "generous and free" governing method, especially in terms of ideology and culture.

Xiao Qi adopted the practice of the gifted nobles and the royal family.The most important point is to give the royal family a high status and use all means to bring the relationship between the royal family and the gentry closer.Let the Xiao family, who came from a humble background, get as much support as possible from the aristocratic family. Among them, "Xi Mansion" is one of the means for the Xiao family's royal family to win over the nobles. The so-called Xidi refers to the residence of Xiao Ziliang, the second son of Emperor Wu of Qi, Xiao Ziliang, a member of Xiao Qi's royal family.Xiao Ziliang is an unusual figure in Xiao Daocheng's family.Xiao Daocheng started his career as a military general, but he himself liked Confucianism very much. When he was a warlord, he was very polite and scholarly, which was inherited by Xiao Ziliang.When Xiao Ziliang was young, he liked poetry and songs.Later, after Xiao Daocheng conquered the world, because the Xiao family had a humble background and had no foundation in the court, they made great efforts to reuse members of the family, and Xiao Ziliang was therefore reused.After Xiao Daocheng ascended the throne, most of the aristocratic families were at odds with him. After all, it was difficult for a warlord with a humble background and limited achievements to be recognized at the time. Xiao Ziliang is the most suitable candidate for this measure.He himself has the reputation of "benevolent government". When he was a local official, he violated the order of Emperor Liu Song and opened a warehouse to help the victims without authorization. He also made a long history of Annan and experienced in the local area. People with administrative experience.After Xiao Daocheng ascended the throne, Xiao Ziliang was conferred the title of King Jingling and served as Situ. Then in 487 A.D., he began to hold various banquets in his mansion in the west of Jiankang. Once every three to five days, two types of people were invited, one was the hereditary aristocratic family, and the other was the influential literati and even scientists who were born in a humble background at the time.Such a choice is very meaningful, not only to win over the gentry, but also to form a united front with the poor.As for the content of the banquet, one is to drink and watch songs and dances, and the other is to chat with each other, and even sing poetry.This was originally a political act to promote "harmony" at the top, but unintentionally, it contributed to the prosperity of the culture of the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

In Xiao Ziliang's West Mansion, the content of the chats was literature and philosophy.Literary topics generally refer to the poems and songs at that time; philosophical topics refer to the most popular Buddhism at that time.The Southern Dynasties of this period was a period of great prosperity of Buddhism. Du Mu's poem "480 temples in the Southern Dynasties, how many buildings are in the mist and rain" is a portrayal of this period.In the process of literary harmony, there are 8 most outstanding figures in Xiao Ziliang's west residence, they are Fan Yun, Xiao Chen, Ren Fang, Wang Rong, Xiao Yan, Xie Tiao, Shen Yue, and Lu Ji. He was the eight most outstanding writers at that time, known as the "Eight Friends of Jingling". Among the 8 people, the most famous later was Xiao Yan who replaced the Qi Dynasty and established the Liang Dynasty. He was later Emperor Wu of Liang.Shen Yue was the author of the remaining 7 people, and the others were also outstanding cultural celebrities at that time, and most of them came from "poor families" who were not welcomed by aristocratic families.Scientists such as Zu Chongzhi also often participated in the gatherings of Xidi. Zu Chongzhi was also entrusted by Xiao Ziliang to help him make strange weapons for sacrifices.It is no exaggeration to say that the Xidi at this time was the greatest cultural feast in China at that time.

Among the historical allusions about Xidi, the most famous one is the "debate competition" of Xidi.During the banquet in the West Mansion, the guests often debated on a certain topic. This kind of topic was first a literary topic, then a philosophical topic, and then a political topic.For example, the well-known atheist Fan Zhen wrote his outstanding book "On the Extinction of Gods" here. At that time, Fan Zhen was invited to Xidi as a guest because of his achievements in local affairs.The first time he came to Xidi, he caught up with the discussion of "philosophical issues" here. Most of the guests at that time were Buddhists, and they began to discuss the karma of Buddhism. Arguments, refuted so that the dignitaries present have nothing to say.Then a big discussion about Buddhism started in the West Mansion, and during the more than ten times of banquets in the West Mansion, the dignitaries gathered in groups and took turns to debate with Fan Zhen.The war of words became lively, and Fan Zhen became more and more energetic in his debates, constantly enriching his thoughts, and finally completed the "God's Extinction Theory" that shocked the entire Chinese history.Under the prevailing situation of Buddhism at that time, Fan Zhen’s actions were obviously deviant. If it were placed in a highly authoritarian feudal dynasty, Fan Zhen would at least be in “literary prison”. The dignitaries agreed, but he still received the most basic respect. As the King of Jingling, Xiao Ziliang only asked someone to tactfully persuade Fan Zhen to change his thinking. After being rejected by Fan Zhen, he deeply loved him. Deep admiration, and did not embarrass him.Later, Xiao Qi died, and Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan ascended the throne. As a Buddhist, Xiao Yan hated Fan Zhen, but in the end he did not punish Fan Zhen, but transferred him to Guangdong as a peer.

In the Xidi at that time, the topic of Buddhism was not the only topic debated by the guests. The more important topic was the country's major policies.At that time, Xiao Qi, especially in the later period, was already facing a huge pressure: the Northern Wei Xianbei regime, which had always been regarded as a "barbarian" by the Southern Dynasties, was gradually carrying out various Sinicization reforms and actively integrated into the Han nationality. Such changes, Xiao Qi is also facing the threat of survival. If the "orthodox" status of the Northern Wei Dynasty is finally recognized, then the political advantages that the Southern Dynasty regime has had for a long time will no longer exist. Let alone the unification of the North, whether the Southern Dynasty regime can still Existence requires a big question mark.In such a situation, what kind of measures Xiao Qi needs to take has become a topic of discussion.As the powerful King of Jingling, Xiao Ziliang himself was a pacifist. Throughout his life, he opposed the hasty use of force, advocated cherishing the people's power, and belittled the corvee.The most important debate in the West Mansion was what kind of taxation policy the Southern Dynasty should adopt. Xiao Ziliang's proposal was to abolish the policy of contracting tax collection by merchants and oppose the use of money instead of tax in kind, which was indeed necessary at the time.For a long time, aristocratic families have obtained a lot of benefits through privileges such as tax packages. Therefore, many noble families also fiercely opposed this policy. In the West Mansion, such debates have continued.Xiao Ziliang finally persuaded the aristocratic family through the banquet in the West Mansion, and Xiao Qi's taxation reform was fully pushed out.

During the reign of Xiao Qi's second emperor Qi Wudi, Xiao Qi's political situation was relatively stable, but in the balance of power between the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Xiao Qi was an important turning point.Like his father, Emperor Wu of Qi advocated frugality and paid less for taxes, but Emperor Wu of Qi had always hoped to be able to conquer the Northern Wei Dynasty and unify the country.In the late period of his reign, Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty started the sinicization reform, and the ethnic boundaries between Xianbei and Han were increasingly smoothed.Regarding this point, Emperor Wu of Qi had a sense of crisis. In the last period of his life, he focused his energy on rectifying the army, and tried to launch the Northern Expedition to the north in his lifetime by continuously improving the power of generals and training the army. .At this time, Xidi had already formed a powerful political force. Emperor Wu of Qi had the idea of ​​the Northern Expedition twice in his later years. As a result, the politicians attending the meeting in Xidi reached an agreement and strongly opposed it, so the Northern Expedition was not carried out in the end.However, Xiao Qi's period of peace is only superficial prosperity after all.Emperor Wu of Qi worked hard to govern, but his eldest son Xiao Changmao, who had always placed high hopes on him, died earlier than him.At that time, Xiao Changmao was also known as "sage". Although compared with his father, he had the problem of extravagant living, but for many years, he had also served as a local official, both civilian and military generals, and he was very experienced in administration. , and he has also helped the poor many times, and he was a scholar of excellent etiquette. He was very prestigious at the time and was a satisfactory successor to Emperor Wu of Qi. But the sages of the Xiao family "do nothing more than three things". After Xiao Changmao's death, according to the order of ranking, the second son Xiao Ziliang should take over. However, out of the memory of the eldest son, Emperor Wu of Qi preferred Xiao Changmao's son Xiao Zhaoye.At that time, Emperor Wu of Qi also hesitated whether to establish his second son Xiao Ziliang or his grandson Xiao Zhaoye. Although the ministers were all inclined to Xiao Ziliang, Emperor Qi Wu decided to check it out by himself.After Xiao Changmao's death, he went to visit Xiao Changmao's home and found Xiao Changmao's son Xiao Zhaoye crying. On a dead end.After Xiao Zhaoye came to the throne, he killed countless people, and finally changed the once prosperous Xiao Qi to a new dynasty. In fact, Emperor Qi Wu didn't think about the possible problems of Xiao Zhaoye's accession to the throne before he died. He once ordered Xiao Ziliang to assist Xiao Zhaoye. What he didn't expect was that Xiao Ziliang himself was short-lived. Died at the age of 35.His untimely death caused the balance of the Qi Dynasty regime to become unbalanced.Xiao Zhaoye himself indulged in lust, and entrusted all the power to his cousin Xiao Luan.This Xiao Luan harbored evil intentions, not only monopolized the power, but also took the opportunity to kill Xiao Zhaoye and establish himself as emperor.Afterwards, he launched a big purge and massacred the clan. He killed almost all the descendants of the two generations of emperors, Xiao Daocheng and Xiao Yu, and not many ministers remained.The Southern Qi Dynasty actually repeated the tragedy of fratricide in the last years of the Liu Song Dynasty.As a result of the fratricide, it also made outsiders. Xiao Yan, the governor of Yongzhou, rebelled and finally broke into Jiankang, replacing the 24-year-old Southern Qi and establishing the Liang Dynasty regime.It is worth mentioning that although warlords have seized power many times in the Southern Dynasties, this is the first time that local warlords have truly defeated the central government. The Liang Dynasty replaced the Qi Dynasty. Politically speaking, it was a change of dynasty, but politically speaking, it was a continuation. Regarding this Emperor Liang Wu, the evaluation in history is not high. After all, his final demise was very tragic, and he brought a huge military disaster to the people in the south of the Yangtze River.Looking at what he has done in the 48 years of his reign, he has made great achievements. First of all, he continued Xiao Daocheng's "tolerance" policy in the Southern Qi Dynasty. Of course, in his hands, he was more tolerant of nobles. , but it is suffering for the people. Emperor Wu of Liang Xiao Yan was a Buddhist. He came from a poor family and used Buddhism as a tool to win over scholar-bureaucrats.Later generations said that he is a "monk emperor", because he not only attaches great importance to Buddhism and respects eminent monks, but more importantly, he has "example role" and has become a monk many times.This kind of behavior is not so much piety as a show off to the aristocratic family. After all, he is also from a poor family. To win the support of the aristocratic family, he must use some religious methods. Emperor Liang Wu actually had a lot of "good deeds". Compared with Xiao Dao, the founding emperor of the Qi Dynasty, he was the same in two points except for the surname Xiao: first, he was also very frugal. In addition, he wears all common clothes, the hat he wears has been washed until it turns white, and the cup is used for two years. When offering sacrifices, animals are not used, saying that it is to save money; second, he is also very hardworking, Among the emperors in Chinese history, he is a famous "workaholic".He should be the emperor who got up the earliest in the morning. He got up at five o'clock to review memorials. He was also a very hardworking emperor. Sometimes his hands were frozen and cracked and he was busy working.The food is also very simple, every meal is pickled porridge, and he is also an emperor with faith. Before becoming emperor, he believed in Buddhism devoutly. After becoming emperor, he vigorously developed Buddhism.Xiao Yan was not benevolent at all in his treatment of ordinary people. During the Liang Dynasty, many harsh criminal laws were restored, especially for tax evasion. In the Liang Dynasty, heavy penalties were imposed.At this time, in the Liang Dynasty, Buddhist activities were flourishing, the number of monks was increasing, the national income was decreasing, and the expenditure was increasing. It can be said that money was used like water. When people talked about Emperor Liang Wu's mistakes, they all said that in his later years, he believed in Hou Jing, a general from the north, which led to the Hou Jing rebellion that shook the entire Southern Dynasty.The turmoil at the end of the Liang Dynasty resulted in the death of at least 200,000 people in the south of the Yangtze River. The prosperous south of the Yangtze River was devastated for thousands of miles. If it weren't for Chen Baxian who lived in Guangdong, the Chinese civilization might be in danger of extinction.But how could a mere surrendered general have such destructive power?The real reason is that compared with Qi Dynasty’s recuperation, the 48 years when Emperor Wu of Liang ruled the Southern Dynasty was the 48 years when the national power of the Southern Dynasty was exhausted little by little. Because of his “tolerance” to the entire ruling class, the Liang Dynasty corrupted It has become a common practice, corruption is becoming more and more serious, and the people are becoming more and more alienated.Moreover, because he favored Buddhism, he had become a monk four times, and each time he was "redempted" by the government, which caused a strange event in Chinese history.As a result, not only was the country's wealth consumed in large quantities, but ordinary people in the Southern Dynasties were increasingly disappointed with the Han regime.In the early Liang Dynasty, there were still Han people from the north who migrated to the south one after another to escape the foreign rule in the north. However, in the late Liang Dynasty, a large number of southern people fled to the north, especially to the "Han" who was vigorously carrying out Sinicization reform The "Western Wei" regime, such a situation, also made the decline of the Liang Dynasty a doomed fact. In later people's minds, there is still such a view about the Liang Dynasty, which is the same as the demise of the Southern Qi Dynasty. If it was not because of the early death of Emperor Wudi's son, perhaps the future historical trend of the Liang Dynasty would not be like this.Compared with Emperor Wudi of Liang's low evaluation in history, his eldest son, Xiao Tong, Prince Zhaoming who was once made the crown prince by him, is a well-known sage.In fact, he was also an outstanding cultural figure during the Liang Dynasty.His contribution lies not only in his personal cultural contribution, but also in that he, like Xiao Ziliang, was the carrier of the "Hundred Schools Forum" in the Southern Dynasties. Xiao Tong, Prince Zhaoming, was born in 501 AD. Emperor Wu of Liang had a son relatively late, and he only had a son when he was nearly 40 years old.As soon as Xiao Tong was born, Xiao Yan usurped the throne and established the Liang Dynasty.When Xiao Tong was 1 year old, he was established as the prince. Compared with Liu Yu's son who often followed him to fight in the early years, Xiao Daocheng's son followed him through life and death. in the honeypot". When Xiao Tong was young, he was a well-known "sage" figure.Take his benevolence and filial piety as an example. When Xiao Tong was 16 years old, his mother was seriously ill. Xiao Tong moved to his mother's palace without letting the servants intervene. Not eating every day, this is not a "performance" by Xiao Zhaoye of the Southern Qi Dynasty, but from Xiao Tong's sincerity.Seeing such a scene, the officials and people at that time all shed tears. In the end, Emperor Wu of Liang personally ordered him to eat, so he barely ate a little, but he was already emaciated.In terms of "Bodhisattva heart", Xiao Tong is even worse than his father.Later generations talked about Xiao Yan's mercy of Emperor Wu of Liang, and most of them said he was "pseudo-mercy". Saying "you're having a good time" doesn't hold anything back.At that time, many scholars often criticized Xiao Yan's problems face to face. Once when he offered sacrifices to heaven, someone stopped him and said, "You are too lenient with the powerful and too strict with the common people. It would be great if it could be reversed." How could it be possible for Xiao Yan? And vice versa?Like Xiao Daocheng, he came from a poor family, and he also experienced the tyranny of the last years of the Southern Qi Dynasty. To stabilize the rule, the upper class must be harmonious, and to be harmonious, it must be tolerant. As Xiao Yan's son, Xiao Tong is very generous to the common people.Xiao Tong's more famous case is that the Liang Dynasty government wanted to punish more than 100 people who had not paid taxes. After Xiao Tong knew about it, he took the initiative to find Xiao Yan to intercede, and finally pardoned these people.For a while, in the Liang Dynasty, due to successive years of disasters and rising prices, Xiao Tong took the lead in frugality and used his private wealth to help the people. In one winter alone, he distributed more than 300 pieces of clothes to the people.If these are just "small favors and small benefits", Xiao Tong is also unambiguous in governing the country. He has repeatedly asked for tax adjustments to reduce taxes on the people.His most important achievement is cultural. When Xiao Tong was the prince, it was another period of cultural prosperity in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. In terms of literary creation, Xiao Yan himself was an outstanding writer in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The works, collectively referred to as "Yongming style", are a wonderful flower in the history of Chinese culture.As the son of Xiao Yan, Xiao Tong's cultural achievements are not bad. He is a very talented person. He is very simple and doesn't even like music. His daily life is reading and studying, plus discussing culture with others.At that time, a group of outstanding intellectuals gathered around him. They not only discussed knowledge together, but also collaborated in compiling books. Unlike Nan Qi’s Xidi who often discussed political issues, Xiao Tong and his scribes focused their energy on Culturally, Xiao Tong's most famous works include 20 volumes of "Collected Works", 30 volumes of "Selected Works", and 25 volumes of "Wenhua Collection". His personal achievements are also the pride of Chinese culture. Although the Liang Dynasty finally perished due to internal friction and wars, in the early days of the Liang Dynasty's establishment, it once maintained military pressure on the north.Objectively speaking, the early Liang Dynasty performed better than the Southern Qi and even Liu Song in the war between the North and the South.In 507 A.D., Emperor Wu of Liang Xiao Yan launched the Northern Expedition. General Xiao Jingzong defeated the Northern Wei Dynasty in Zhongli, annihilating more than 100,000 enemies and capturing more than 50,000 alive. This was the most glorious victory between the Southern Dynasty and the Northern Dynasty in the history of the Northern and Southern Dynasties.It is worth mentioning that the Northern Wei Dynasty at this time was in a period of rapid national power rise after the reform of Emperor Wei Xiaowen, and it was certainly not easy to defeat such a powerful enemy.Although this battle was commanded by Xiao Jingzong, Xiao Yan, who was a soldier, directly controlled the battle. At the most critical moment of the battle, it was Xiao Yan who personally planned and ordered the front line to execute the "fire attack" strategy that defeated the Northern Wei army.Xiao Yan's military talent was even respected by the Northern Wei regime. Emperor Wei Xiaowen, the British lord who presided over the famous "Emperor Wei Xiaowen's sinicization reform", told his subordinates before his death: "This old man Xiao Yan is very good at using soldiers. As long as he If you are alive, you don’t want to trouble Nan Chao.” If you take the quality of the emperor as a requirement, this Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, whom Emperor Wei Xiaowen respected, is actually "half a bottle of vinegar" in many aspects.For example, his benevolent government was limited to the nobility. For example, his cultural freedom, although he respected speech, Fan Zhen, who opposed his worship of Buddhism, was dispatched to Guangdong by him.Besides, he is good at using soldiers. He does have the ability to march and fight, but he often employs improper people. For example, in the Northern Expedition of the Liang Dynasty in 506 AD, because Xiao Yan reused the royal family Xiao Hong, but this Xiao Hong was an idiot, and he was beaten up when the war started. , Losing tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, even so, he was not punished by Xiao Yan.Such an emperor is naturally difficult to be called a British lord. The final downfall of the Liang Dynasty was actually destroyed by Xiao Yan's "half bottle of vinegar".The demise of the Liang Dynasty was attributed to the Hou Jing Rebellion. In fact, before the Hou Jing Rebellion, the Liang Dynasty was in a good military situation.In 526 A.D., the Northern Wei Dynasty fell into civil strife. Emperor Wu of Liang took the opportunity to expand northward. He ordered the general Chen Qingzhi to make a northern expedition. As a result, Chen Qingzhi won by surprise, and performed a miracle of 7,000 cavalry defeating hundreds of thousands of troops in the Northern Wei Dynasty.But at this critical moment, Xiao Yan was "half a bottle of vinegar" again. He hesitated before the battle and did not send troops to meet Chen Qingzhi's army. Under the "half bottle of vinegar", it fell short again. During Xiao Yan's reign, he actually faced great opportunities that Liu Song and Southern Qi did not have before. Compared with the strength of the north, it has an overwhelming advantage for the first time.On the issue of regaining the north, Xiao Yan's personal attitude is also positive. For example, when he visited the Buddha, he often asked for a lottery to ask when he could unify the north. Sometimes he even dreamed that the emperor and generals of the Northern Dynasty would all ask him Surrender.Not long after he had this dream, a heavyweight in the north really surrendered to him: Hou Jing, the trusted general of Gao Huan, the hero of the Eastern Wei Dynasty.Hou Jing is a member of the Jie tribe. He was originally a general beside Gao Huan. He followed Gao Huan in the South and North Wars all the year round.At that time, Hou Jing was ordered to guard Henan, an important town in the Eastern Wei Dynasty. After Gao Huan passed away, he was worried that he would be liquidated, so he took the initiative to join Yuwentai in the Western Wei Dynasty, but Yuwentai didn't want to see him, so not long after he surrendered to Yuwentai, he turned to Yuwentai again. Liang Chao threw out an olive branch.This person is a capricious and treacherous villain, so it is naturally not credible, but under the circumstances at the time, his surrender was indeed a great opportunity for the Liang Dynasty to unify the North and the South.Hou Jing's subordinates were the most elite cavalry corps in the Eastern Wei Dynasty at that time. If they could be obtained and controlled properly, they would definitely become a sharp weapon to unify the north.But meeting Xiao Yan, who is "half a bottle of vinegar", is almost a dream come true.In 547 A.D., Xiao Yan accepted Hou Jing's surrender, but he was attacked by the Eastern Wei Dynasty. Hou Jing resisted the Eastern Wei Dynasty and asked Xiao Yan for help. As a result, Hou Jing was defeated, and finally broke out desperately and came to the Liang Dynasty.Although the wish to use Hou Jing to unify the north has not been realized, in Xiao Yan's eyes, Hou Jing's "political significance" is still great, and he can use the method of preferential treatment to set an example to recruit northern generals.Xiao Yan not only thought so, but also did so. Hou Jing, who was defeated in the Liang Dynasty, was canonized as the shepherd of Nanyu Prefecture and gave a lot of material assistance, but the result of doing so was to lure wolves into the house. At that time, many people with insight had already sensed the danger. For example, when Hou Jing was appointed, Liu Jingrong, a famous scholar at the time, asserted: "This man is capricious, and he must be the source of disaster for the country." At this time in the Liang Dynasty, the originally very prestigious Prince Zhaoming Xiao Tong had passed away. Prince Zhaoming died in 531 AD at the age of 30. The country had a lot of financial resources, and the father and son had a quarrel for the first time. Soon after, Prince Zhaoming drowned while taking a boat, and died of his illness.Xiao Tong's death also freed Xiao Yan from acting in the future, and he developed in the wrong direction step by step. After Hou Jing surrendered, he began to ask Xiao Yan for food and soldiers, and Xiao Yan began to be satisfied with everything. , but as time goes by, I get tired of it.At this time, the relationship between the Liang Dynasty and the Northern Qi (Eastern Wei) began to ease, and the envoys of the two sides continued to communicate, and the "normalization of diplomatic relations" began. The Northern Qi requested that the Liang Dynasty send Hou Jing back.If it is a scheming politician, even if he has to sacrifice Hou Jing, he will do it impeccably, but Xiao Yan is a "half bottle of vinegar".At this time, Hou Jing also sensed the direction of the wind. He deliberately sent his subordinates to pretend to be envoys of the Northern Qi Dynasty, and asked Xiao Yan for Hou Jing, but he did not expect Xiao Yan to agree without hesitation. As a result, Hou Jing became angry and rebelled!In 549 A.D., the Hou Jing Rebellion broke out. The long-standing Liang Dynasty was unable to resist, and the contradictions under the false prosperity emerged. As a result, Hou Jing invaded Jiankang, and the 86-year-old Emperor Wu of Liang was trapped in Taicheng and died of starvation. up.This riot that lasted throughout Jiangnan resulted in the death of 200,000 people in Jiangnan. The prosperous culture and prosperous economy in Jiangnan ceased to exist for a long time afterwards.As a result, the Southern Dynasties lost the opportunity to unify China forever. The end of the Northern and Southern Dynasties will ultimately be accomplished by the North unifying the South.