Chapter 542 Return soon
The Fancheng defenders' attack was so unexpected that many people couldn't believe it was true.
Li Tai suppressed the joy in his heart and asked Linghu Yanbao, who seemed to be relatively kind-hearted, to lead a team with only short soldiers to meet him from the front, and He Ruodun led a fully armed cavalry team to go around the front and attack from the side. Go and take over the city gate in front of Fancheng.
"The criminal Liu Fanggui was so stupid and ignorant that he disobeyed the general and stubbornly resisted. He was late in pursuing justice. I sincerely ask you to forgive me!"
The disgraced Liu Fanggui was led closer. He knelt on the ground a few feet away from Li Tai and walked forward on his knees. His posture could be described as humble and sincere.
When Li Tai saw this scene, he couldn't help but think of the previous scene of Du Youan's surrender. He couldn't help but sigh to himself. It didn't matter what kind of idiots these Southern Dynasty officials were, but the etiquette and gestures of the surrender were very thorough and correct. It seemed that It makes people feel that I am pitiful.
"Liu Sima, please come up quickly. The former has his own reasons for fighting, but I have no personal grudges with you. Now that I have abandoned my guard, I will treat you with due courtesy, so how can I add guilt."
Li Tai took off the robe outside his armor, and the soldiers came forward and put it on Liu Fanggui, who was only wearing single clothes when he came out, and said with a smile.
Just such a move made Liu Fanggui burst into tears, covering his face and saying in a sad voice: "You are a man of poor quality. He is not valued by his superiors in public, and he is not loved by the township party in private. Today, he abandoned Beitou, and actually did it for I am so merciful to you that I am willing to die without mercy to make you miserable!"
Li Tai was frightened by this guy's startled howling, and he comforted him with a few gentle words, and then ordered Liu Fanggui to send several subordinates who had followed him to cooperate with his troops to take over the defense of Fancheng. , and then Liu Fanggui was introduced into the camp's tent to interrogate him carefully about the reasons for his surrender.
When talking about this topic, Liu Fanggui looked bitter again and explained sadly. Although Li Tai had already guessed the basic story, it was nothing more than suppression from his superiors, exclusion from colleagues, etc., but telling it from the person involved enriched many details.
After listening to Liu Fanggui's story, Li Tai discovered that the reason why this guy surrendered was not because of his so-called alienation plan, but because of the evil that had been planted by the political system of Nanliang early on.
Liu Fanggui was a native of Xiangyang. Although he had little wealth and power, he could not be said to be very powerful. Compared with the deep-rooted powerful clans, he was even more difficult to match. He had been working in the state capital for many years, worked hard, and worked hard to get the position of sergeant in the state capital. This was because those children of truly wealthy families had more opportunities for promotion and were too lazy to work as subordinates in the state and counties, so he was given such a position. Chance.
Xiao Jin, the king of Yueyang, entered Xiangyang and led thousands of followers. These people want power and money, and they all need to get it from Xiangyang. As an old official in the state capital, Liu Fanggui is naturally the first to bear the brunt.
Whenever King Yueyang needed to place someone into the state capital, he hoped that Liu Fanggui and other elders of the state capital would arrange it. However, these positions were often occupied by disciples of wealthy families. It was natural for state officials like Liu Fanggui to be caught between the powerful and the clan. Became a thankless doormat on both ends.
The conflicts between these parties have been squeezed for a long time, otherwise Du Youan would not have proposed such a plan after surrendering. While pointing the finger at King Yueyang, he completely ignored the life and death of the Fancheng defenders.
It can be said that based on Liu Fanggui's background, even without this war, his political future in Nanliang has come to an end, unless he is involved in greater turmoil.
Opportunities like this don't come around often. They often occur at critical moments in the distribution of power within a regime, such as dynasty changes. Only one or two lucky people seize the opportunity and take advantage of the situation. For example, Zhang Jing'er of the Southern Qi Dynasty, who was affiliated with Qi Gaodi Xiao Daocheng, and Cao Jingzong, the founding father of the Southern Liang Dynasty, etc.
Any other person, who has worked conscientiously within the system for half his life, will only receive the treatment in the end. He will be blamed from both sides and take the blame at any time. When the crisis of life and death comes, he will not be willing to die generously. And Liu Fanggui said it was pitiful. After all, he was already the governor of the state. You can imagine the situation of people with lower social status.
Li Tai also had to lament that compared to the lifeless and lack of vitality of the Southern Liang regime, the political ecology of the two northern Wei Dynasties was indeed more dynamic.
Although the Eastern Wei Dynasty was stronger, it also inherited greater historical baggage. Although the Western Wei Dynasty was weaker, it also had greater room for reform. Especially with the implementation of the government military system, the so-called "Being a farmer in the morning and ascending to the emperor's hall in the evening" is not a dream. The threshold for entering the ruling class has been hit to an extremely low level, which is simply better than the discounts offered by the anchors of later generations. Even bigger.
When the Jingzhou troops entered Fancheng and hung the Wei army flag on the city, the Nanliang defenders on the river immediately noticed something unusual, and the speed of the fleet that was approaching here instantly slowed down.
Several warships were lowered from the side of the large ship and rushed toward the water boom on the south side of Fancheng. However, before they could get close, the shooting poles in the water boom had already been raised. Once these warships approached, they would shoot fiercely. Next, as long as the photo is taken, the boat will be destroyed and everyone will die!
Seeing this, several speedboats did not dare to get closer and could only return the same way. The fleet patrolling the river in Xiangyang City could still return directly, but Du's navy was embarrassed. They did not dare to anchor too close to Xiangyang, and it was also very inconvenient to swim upstream, so they could only stop on the river.
Soon, the news of Fancheng's surrender reached Xiangyang City, and King Yueyang became furious after learning the news: "How dare Liu Fang, your dog thief! Isn't he afraid that his whole family will die because of this?"
Now is not the time to dwell on this matter. The real danger lies in the Du family navy suspended on the river. If the resentment between them cannot be eliminated as soon as possible, the situation may further deteriorate.
So the King of Yueyang quickly wrote a letter in person, saying that he would never believe the enemy's plan to alienate each other, to appease the Du brothers and hope that they could coordinate their defense to prevent the war from further spreading to Xiangyang City.
However, the Du brothers were not blind listeners. Even the plan to expel King Yueyang had been discussed within their family. Now that it was exposed by the enemy, they naturally felt guilty and did not dare to believe King Yueyang's words.
But of course they did not dare to attack Xiangyang brazenly. The enemy made it clear that they were unwilling to cooperate with them by using this estrangement. Thousands of naval troops alone were not enough to shake Xiangyang's city defenses, let alone the surrender of Fancheng on the north bank. They were sandwiched between the two cities in the Han River. They were in danger, so how could they dare to use force.
Therefore, after receiving the letter of goodwill from King Yueyang, the brothers were secretly delighted and began to put forward various conditions, such as the need for a separate water and land camp to station the troops, and the need for the state government to provide them with troops for departure. Military resources and so on.
The two sides argued for a long time, but in the end Xiao Qing, the king of Yueyang, was more worried about the collapse of the situation in Xiangyang and took a step back. He basically agreed to the Du brothers' request and opened the downstream Xianshan Weir as a garrison for the Du family and allocated part of the military food and supplies.
With the internal personnel calmed down for the time being, King Yueyang had time to take care of other things.
He first led a group of armored soldiers and aggressively arrived at the courtyard where Li Tai's father, Li Xiao, was detained. When he saw Li Xiao coming out from the corridor to greet him, he became even more angry. He pointed at the opponent and angrily shouted: "Li Renlue, I thought that your old tribe in the north should know the etiquette and kindness, and you had the intention of repairing it by sending envoys to the north. However, you ignored this and still accepted me as a traitor. It is really hateful!"
Li Xiaogang met Li Quji, who had crossed the Yangtze River, and learned about his son's current situation. He was in a good mood. When he heard the question from King Yueyang, he bowed and replied: "The righteousness of our country has declined, so that our flesh and blood are separated. Fortunately, your Majesty." The favor is so great that father and son can hear each other. This kindness is unforgettable, how dare you forget it?
This debate between the two countries has different causes, and the person who started the fight is not the king. The young dog is greedy for merit and lacks stability. He rushes to lead the army to fight without fully understanding the situation in this village, which is really not comprehensive.
Xiao has been living in Xiangyang for a long time. I have received great support from your Majesty. Please go north as an envoy to persuade me to make peace. If this son is still stubborn and refuses to retreat and is unwilling to end the war and make amends, I will return here and fight with your Majesty! "
King Yueyang came here full of shame, anger and anger. Hearing Li Xiao's words, he felt a little embarrassed. He put away his aggressive posture and said: "You are not staying here to threaten the enemy generals, nor to threaten the enemy generals. It is not to force Li Jun and his son to turn against each other. You should know that when I didn’t know that your son Li Dadu was the governor, I had already invited him to be a guest in the house and treated him with courtesy..."
This is true. King Yueyang liked to recruit talented people. Soon after arriving in Xiangyang, he recruited Li Xiao as his disciple because of his family background and knowledge. Of course, he didn't know that Li Xiao had such a son at that time.
"Because of this, if Xiangyang is in trouble now, I should be the king and relieve the trouble. It is my duty to do so!"
The more generous Li Xiao expressed his stance, the more uncomfortable King Yueyang became, and he could no longer speak harshly. However, he did not readily agree to Li Xiao's request as an envoy. He just said, "Please stay here temporarily, Mr. Li. I really can't bear to see him." Because of this, your father and son are at odds with each other. Please choose someone else to send him as an envoy. When the matter is over, he will be sent out of the country to reunite you and your son."
After King Yueyang said goodbye and left, Li Quji, who had been standing aside, stepped forward and said: "No matter how the situation changes, my lord just wants to be kind to you, and don't fall out with the nobles in person. Although it is temporarily inconvenient, but There will be a time when he will return.”
Hearing Li Quji's comfort, Li Xiao sighed with relief: "In the past years, when we were apart, Quji and you were just ignorant young disciples, but now you have gained wisdom through experience and can handle yourself calmly even in the enemy's country. It is really disappointing." Glad!”
"My lord praises me so much, and I am really ashamed of myself. All my suggestions were given by Alang face to face before I left. If time passes, Alang is the real one with great intellect! The servants are worried that if Alang had not led the people, they would have been living in exile for a long time." Kansai has little vitality, but An has its great scenery now!”
When Li Quji heard his lord's praise for him, he hurriedly said again.
After Li Xiao heard this, he felt sour in his heart. He pulled Li Quji and said, "Tell me again about Apanxi's deeds, without missing any details. I want to hear how hard it was for my son after leaving." That’s how powerful it is today!”