Chapter 590 Wu Ji Tianxia

Chapter 590 Wu Ji Tianxia

In the third year of Taiqing, on the first day of the first lunar month, drums were thundering near Qingtang, and a large number of rebel troops poured out of the camp, joined forces in the direction of Qingtang and rushed to fight.

Qingtang is located between Stone City and Jiankang City. Wei Can was ordered by the alliance leader Liu Zhongli to lead his army to camp here. However, due to the heavy fog and mist last night, and the complicated rivers and roads on the outskirts of Jiankang City, Wei Can's troops were lost for a long time. , it was not far from dawn when we arrived at Qingtang.

This is an important passage connecting Stone City, so the rebel army naturally stationed soldiers here to guard the area. After Wei Can ordered his men to kill the guards, they immediately built a fort with various materials and components they brought for defense.

However, due to the time wasted on the lost road, the outer camp fence was not completed until dawn, and the strength of Wei Can's camp was also exposed to the enemy's eyes and ears.

Originally, although the rebel army knew that Qingtang had been lost, they did not dare to move lightly because they did not know the strength of the enemy's army. At this time, they saw that Wei Can's troops were not the majority of the reinforcements. Even though the drum order was sounded for the attack, Hou Jing personally led it. The elite troops came straight towards the fortress that had not yet been repaired.

"Hurry up and prepare for battle!"

Although Wei Can had been in charge of the guards for a long time and rarely led troops in battles, he was still a descendant of Jingzhao Weishi and the direct grandson of Wei Hu. He had a good family background and was calm about changes. He immediately deployed his troops in front of the camp to fight the rebels.

At the same time, he ordered his staff: "Quickly send an order to Liu Zhige to lead his fleet eastward and attack the rebels behind!"

Combining water and land was a common way of fighting for the southerners. Wei Can's army only had a few thousand men. Fearing that he would not be able to defend the important area of ​​Qingtang, Liu Zhongli sent Zhige General Liu Shuyin and his troops to follow and assist in the battle.

At this time, Liu Shuyin's naval force was still parked in the river, and the rebels on the opposite side were swarming in. If they could move east of Jishui River and launch an offensive from the rear, it would definitely cause the rebels to be in disarray, making it difficult to take care of both ends.

Soon the elite rebels led by Hou Jing arrived in front of the camp. The army leader Zheng Yizi, who was fighting in front of the camp, led his troops to shoot at the enemy with bows and crossbows. Taking advantage of the heavy casualties and chaos in the offensive, he rushed forward with a sword. , using flesh and blood to fill the gap in the camp fence that has not yet been closed. The two sides fought hand to hand, fighting fiercely, and soon the front of the camp was filled with corpses. Although the rebels were outnumbered, they were firmly blocked outside the camp.

"The son-in-law and the others fought bravely to kill the enemy, and after defeating the thief, we celebrated in public!"

Wearing fine armor, Wei Can personally beat drums in the camp to cheer up the soldiers. The soldiers in the camp also had high fighting spirit and were not afraid of the situation where the enemy was outnumbered and we were outnumbered.

However, the war lasted for a while, and Liu Shuyin's troops, who were supposed to be ordered to attack the rebels from behind, did not move at all. This caused more and more rebels to gather near Qingtang, and there was a tendency to surround the place.

While Wei Can's men were fighting fiercely with the rebels, Liu Zhongli's troops had also moved from Xinting to Dacheng. After arranging their troops overnight, Liu Zhongli was already quite tired.

While he was dining in the tent, he suddenly heard that the rebels were attacking Qingtang. Liu Zhongli suddenly changed his expression. He threw his chopsticks into the mat, stood up and put on his armor, and shouted sharply: "Sir, wait for me to attack the rebels. After the formation kills Hou Jing, come back." It’s not too late for dinner!”

Soon Liu Zhongli was lightly armored and holding a horse spear, and he led hundreds of fine cavalry to charge straight to the north of Dagang.

The southerners were not good at horse fighting, but Liu Zhongli was not included. He was a martial artist since he was a child. When he was young, he followed the prince Xiao Gang, who was named King of Jin'an, to sit in Xiangyang. At that time, He Ba was victorious across the northern Han Dynasty and no one could defeat him. Only Liu Zhongli was able to resist defeat.

From then on, Liu Zhongli became famous in Hanmi, and he stayed in Handong and Huainan for a long time. Even Hou Jing's intention to get involved in the old town of Henan was met with resistance and he could not make any progress. It can be said that he is the leading Fang Bo in Nanliang. general!

The rebels also set up a defense line north of Dacheng, but they were as fragile as paper under the charge of Liu Zhongli and his troops, and they were completely unable to stop the iron hoof from running. After crossing the gantry, Liu Zhongli directly led his troops to charge towards the majority of the rebels entrenched near Qingtang.

Although the rebel army was strong, a considerable part of it was just a mob with low combat effectiveness, and they were no match for Liu Zhongli's enemies. Therefore, under the leadership of Liu Zhongli, this elite group of cavalry was invincible, charging and killing among the rebel troops. As more and more rebels were stirred up, the elite of Hou Jingzhong's army, which still maintained order, stood out in the military formation.

"That's where Hou Jingzhong's army is. Follow me and take the leader of the thief!"

Before the official battle between the two sides, Liu Zhongli was quite uneasy. After all, Hou Jing had marched all the way from Shouyang, Huainan, to the Jiankang soldiers besieging Taicheng. However, after the battle, he found that although his troops were numerous but mixed, and their fighting spirit was not strong, they could not kill him. With his temper aroused, his fighting spirit became higher, and he wanted to complete his victory in one battle. He waved the horse in his hand and went straight to kill Hou Jingzhong's army.

Of course Hou Jing also noticed this cavalry team that had thrown his formation into chaos. Before, they were far apart, and the people from all walks of life were so frightened that they were completely ignored by it. Now when they saw the other party, they came straight towards him. , a sneer suddenly appeared on the corner of his mouth.

While ordering to maintain the offensive pressure on the camp and ensuring that the men and horses in the camp could not leave the camp to attack, he slowly retreated surrounded by his own soldiers, trying to attract this group of men and horses to the core of the military formation and then gather the generals. strangled.

However, Hou Jing also underestimated Liu Zhongli's combat effectiveness. Although the soldiers around him were also called elites, they were not the elite soldiers he led in Henan after all.

Liu Zhongli rushed into the battle, and his attack speed did not slow down much. He saw that he was already less than a few feet away from Hou Jing, and the troops around Hou Jing were already in danger of being defeated.

"The thief will never hurt my king!"

A loud shout came from the side, and Hou Jing's general Zhi Boren swung his sword and slashed down at Liu Zhongli.

Liu Zhongli was hit by this sword, and his horse was unstable, and he almost died in the battle. The enemy soldiers on the left surrounded him, but fortunately, the soldiers in the rear arrived in time and successfully rescued Liu Zhongli under the leadership of the cavalry general Guo Shanshi.

At this time, Liu Zhongli was seriously injured, his armor was stained with blood, and his consciousness was a little blurred. It was difficult for him to lead the crowd to attack and kill. Guo Shanshi and others had to fight and retreat, and retreat to the camp while the surrounding enemy troops had not yet recovered from the chaos.

After killing Liu Zhongli, the support army, there were no other disturbing factors on the battlefield, and Hou Jing was able to gather people to continue attacking the Qingtang enemy camp.

At this time, the Qingtang camp was surrounded by the chaotic army. Although the soldiers in the camp fought desperately, they could not stop the decline. Instead of attacking the enemy, Liu Shuyin's fleet sailed towards the river, obviously abandoning this unit.

"My lord, the enemy is fierce, please retreat to the river for now..."

Seeing the enemy's momentum becoming more and more turbulent, Wei Can's subordinates advised him to avoid the sharp edge for a while.

However, Wei Can's face was full of grief and indignation, and he drew his sword and shouted angrily: "The troops are seeking personal gain and have no justice. Can we gather people to fight again by retreating to the river? My Wei family is honored with the country. There are soldiers who die for the country, but no thieves who live for nothing! Kill, kill the thieves!"

Wei Can refused to retreat, and even went straight to the rebels who had broken through the camp fence. Seeing this, all his followers followed him. However, this stubborn lone army was destined to be a mantis trying to stop a chariot in the face of the swarming enemy troops, and was soon submerged in the chaotic army.

Liu Zhongli, who was rescued and brought back to the camp, woke up two days later. The first thing he did when he woke up was to ask about the situation in the Qingtang military camp. He learned that his cousin Wei Can and his relatives and their troops were completely wiped out, and the surrounding troops did not rescue them. Liu Zhongli was silent for a while, and then sneered: "Brother Changqian, you died a worthy death, but you put me in this destined position of sinner. Humph, all the troops are willing to compromise, why should I be in a hurry to die?"

At this time, someone reported that Shaoling King Xiao Lun, who had fled before, led his troops back to the south side of the big ridge again, and was seeking an audience outside the camp, and also regarded Liu Zhongli as the leader of the coalition.

"No!"

After hearing this, Liu Zhongli felt even worse and waved his hand and said coldly.

Shaoling King Xiao Lun was the sixth son of the current emperor. When Hou Jing raised his army, he was ordered to command the troops to quell Hou Jing's rebellion. Originally, Liu Zhongli was also under his supervision to encircle and annihilate Hou Jing in Huainan.

However, the King of Shaoling marched slowly and had a negative attitude. Hou Jing had been lingering in the same place for nearly two months, and the King of Shaoling did not make any move to gather the troops. Even Hou Jing had crossed the river from Caishi before the King of Shaoling's troops arrived in Zhongli.

It took more than a month for the King of Shaoling to lead his troops back to defend and arrive in Jiankang. As a result, he was defeated and fled in the battle with Hou Jing. He ignored the situation in the capital and returned to Jingkou to recuperate.

A month ago, the troops gathered here, and Wei Can proposed to make Liu Zhongli the leader of the coalition. As a result, Pei Zhigao, the governor of Xiyuzhou, refused to respond. Finally, they reached a consensus under the coercion of Wei Can. Liu Zhongli was also affected by his position at the time. He moved his troops to the front line of the battle with the rebel army with Wei Can. He thought that the generals would respond to each other, but they actually waited and watched the two troops fight to the death with Hou Jing's rebels. Wei Can's army was almost wiped out, and Liu Zhongli was also in danger of death.

This battle made Liu Zhongli realize what the so-called coalition army really looked like, and also realized that he, the so-called leader of the alliance, actually had no power to dispatch the troops, and was just a false name that was deeply burdened by it.

Shaoling Wang was originally unruly and disrespectful to the two palaces. As the king of the clan and the commander of the rebellion, he dared to openly delay the military opportunity, but now he was willing to take Liu Zhongli as the leader of the alliance and obey him. Liu Zhongli didn't need to think about what Shaoling Wang was thinking.

Now that the two palaces were trapped in the city, Shaoling Wang was the oldest person in the clan. If the two palaces were taken away in one wave, who would be in charge of the situation next? Liu Zhongli, the so-called leader of the alliance, has become the person who was tacitly blamed by the masses.

After thinking clearly about his situation, Liu Zhongli was naturally sad and angry, and gradually had extreme thoughts. Since the masses all followed him as their leader, he ordered his generals to inform the troops and extort money and goods from them in the name of preparing for war. If anyone dared not to provide, he would accuse them of wasting the opportunity and having no intention of serving the king.

After the New Year, reinforcements from all sides continued to arrive, but none of them dared to go to war rashly. If there were those who came to the camp to ask for an audience, Liu Zhongli was too lazy to summon them.

It lasted until the middle of the month, when a kite flew out of Taicheng with the imperial edict written on it, which boosted the spirits of the troops outside Jiankang City and began to organize a new round of offensives.

All the generals knocked on the camp to ask for battle, but Liu Zhongli refused because he was seriously injured and had not recovered. It was really difficult to refuse the will of the people. He also knew that he wanted his brother Liu Jingli to cooperate, but he was unwilling to take on military affairs.

It was not until the end of the month that the troops from all sides reached a consensus and crossed the Qinhuai River again. After fighting with the rebels, they captured the camp of Dongfu City and stationed troops in Qingxi. In addition, Gaozhou Governor Li Qianshi and Tianmen Prefect Fan Wenjiao underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly. They were defeated by Hou Jing's general Song Zixian, and one escaped and the other died. Although the other armies were close at hand, they could only wait and see the outcome.

Therefore, Liu Zhongli was more convinced of his judgment. If he went to the battle rashly, the enemy forces in front would be surging, and the retreat would be cut off by the masses. At that time, he would be in a dilemma, so it would be better to preserve his strength.

In February, the city suddenly received news that the court was going to negotiate peace with Hou Jing's rebels. The generals were also shocked when they heard the news. Hou Jing had done such evil things, and the two palaces had lost face. Should they be condoned?

Of course, this is from their perspective. For the second palace, although there are many reinforcements outside the city, they are all negative. Although the soldiers in the city are still resisting stubbornly, the supplies are extremely scarce.

Before the Taicheng was closed, the families of the nobles sent their servants to carry rice into the city, collecting more than 400,000 stones of rice, and the money and silk of the various government vaults reached 5 billion. After entering the city, they carried soil to build mountains under the command and arrangement of Yang Kan, which can be said to be in line with the essence of building high walls and storing grain.

However, in addition to money and food, other supplies in Taizhong are extremely scarce. Fish, salt, firewood and firewood are all in urgent need. Rice is used to feed horses, horses are killed for meat, and the shortage of condiments such as salt makes the soldiers and civilians in the city edema. Even the vegetables stored in the kitchen have been eaten up, and the emperor is a Buddhist vegetarian, so he only eats eggs to fill his stomach.

When the peace talks began and the Taicheng resumed contact with the outside world, they learned that the situation in Taicheng was so serious that all the generals sighed and dared not question the peace talks.

When Prince Shaoling learned that His Majesty the Emperor was in such a difficult situation, he burst into tears and ordered the envoy to present hundreds of eggs. In Taicheng, His Majesty the Emperor personally prepared the eggs presented by his son, and he couldn't help but choke with sorrow and tears.

The reason why Taicheng wanted to negotiate was naturally because the situation was extremely dangerous. The rebels proposed peace talks because the passage to Dongfu City was cut off with the attack of reinforcements, and the rebels' food was accumulated in Dongfu City. Through peace talks, these grains were transported back.

Liu Zhongli and other generals naturally knew what Hou Jing was up to, and even His Royal Highness the Crown Prince himself knew very well that Hou Jing was not trustworthy, but he still just held an illusion to satisfy Hou Jing's many difficulties, and the generals naturally did not dare to disobey the Second Palace and attack the rebels, not to mention that they had no intention of fighting.

In order to delay time by negotiating and strive to transport the rice and grain from Dongfu City, Hou Jing also reported to the city that it was Xiao Que, the son of Shaoling King, who was insulting and trying to disrupt the peace talks, and hoped that the court would summon several clan members and generals with a firm attitude to Taicheng.

Although Shaoling King himself missed the opportunity to fight and was passive in suppressing the rebellion, he did not dare to bear the bad reputation of disrupting the peace talks and persecuting the two palaces. Because his son refused to enter Taicheng, he even ordered his son to be killed, forcing Xiao Que to enter the city in tears.

When all the grain from Dongfu City was transported out and Hou Jing had enough food, he directly broke the agreement and stopped the peace talks. He even wrote to the court to list the emperor's ten major sins.

After reading the letter, Emperor Liang was furious. He set up an altar outside the Taiji Hall to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, and set up beacons and drums to order another battle with Hou Jing. However, the old, weak and sick people in Taicheng were already in a state of disarray, so how could they have the strength to fight again? All they could count on was the reinforcements outside the city.

So the generals outside the city went to Liu Zhongli's camp to request a fight, but Liu Zhongli just refused. The father and son in the city had no bottom line to survive. They knew that Hou Jing's request for peace was impossible, but they still did it. They had lost all their dignity by changing their orders every day.

The enemy army was on the north bank of the Qinhuai River. Liu Zhongli, the leader of the coalition, had never been an official position clearly conferred by the imperial edict. If he didn't agree, would the generals dare not fight? In the final analysis, it was nothing more than letting him take the blame.

If he ordered a fight, even if he rescued Er Gong, he would have to bear Er Gong's anger. If he hadn't been passive in the fight, why would Er Gong have to endure humiliation and negotiate with the enemy? If he couldn't rescue Er Gong, he would also be guilty of a serious crime. The two sides were negotiating, but because of his greed for merit and recklessness, Er Gong was killed by the enemy!

However, when faced with the generals' requests for battle, and even his father Liu Jin, who was also trapped in Taicheng, climbed up the tower and called on him to attack the rebels, Liu Zhongli did not respond, but he was also very anxious in his heart, and simply indulged in wine and sex and ignored external affairs.

The troops outside the city were passive and lazy, just watching, and Taicheng, which had been besieged for several months, was on the verge of collapse. The soldiers and civilians in the city were killed and injured, but the royal family still did not care about survival. For example, Xiao Jian, the prince of Shaoling, was still drinking and gambling, and did not care about the soldiers.

But the key reason why Taicheng could still be maintained was that Hou Jing's rebels were also passive and lazy. On the one hand, the siege lasted for several months, and they had to deal with the reinforcements outside the city, and the consumption of soldiers was also great.

On the other hand, the rebels knew that Taicheng was short of supplies, but they accumulated money and silk, so they took advantage of the siege to squeeze the dignitaries in the city, and exchanged salt, seasonings and other survival supplies for money and silk in the city. Sometimes a few taels of salt could be exchanged for tens of thousands of coins, and this business was incredibly profitable.

Hou Jing was extremely angry about his subordinates' passive fighting but active collusion with the enemy, so he directly ordered the arrest of dozens of colluding soldiers and beheaded them as a warning to the army.

However, this made many soldiers who didn't know about this matter know about it. When the crowd swarmed to attack the city the next day, they only surrounded it and waited for the remaining people in the city to bring money and silk for trading. After all, most of the spoils seized after entering the city belonged to the generals, and it was unknown how much was squeezed out during the battle.

With the two sides fighting each other, the battle of Taicheng lasted for another ten days until mid-March. In the end, the Xiaoliang clan was better. The generals of the Shaoling prince could not bear the abuse of the rebels and directly led the rebels into the city, thus finally ending the protracted battle of Taicheng.

It was still late autumn when the blue robe and white horse came to Shouyang. When Taicheng was conquered, it was already late spring when the spring river was warm and prosperous.

After entering Taicheng, Hou Jing immediately ordered his men to control the key points of Taicheng, especially to protect the emperor and the prince. He knew that the two palaces were his real trump cards, and Xiao Zhengde was just a joke, so after meeting the two palaces, he immediately ordered the troops outside the city to disband in the name of Emperor Liang.

As expected, all the troops gathered in Liu Zhongli's camp again. Xiao Lun, the king of Shaoling who had a deep quarrel with Liu Zhongli and had not seen him for many days, took the lead and said: "The thieves have entered the city and the second palace has fallen. What should we do today? I am waiting for you." We are all waiting for you, General.”

After hearing this, Liu Zhongli just looked at King Shaoling and said nothing.

Pei Zhigao, who was originally dissatisfied with Liu Zhongli, snorted coldly: "General, as the leader of the army, he has millions of troops in his hands. The former sat in the palace and watched the palace fall. Now if he is unable to win a decisive victory and avoid the humiliation, what more will he do?" What to say!”

Wang Sengbian, a general from the royal family of eastern Hunan who arrived in Jiankang shortly after arriving from the upper reaches, also generously said after hearing the words: "The second palace is imprisoned, and the whole world is sad. The only thing we can do today is fight!"

The generals expressed their respective stances. They were all heartbroken and high-spirited. They wished they could kill the rebel soldiers in the city!

Liu Zhongli just listened to everyone's impassioned speeches and never said a word. Only at the most passionate moment, he took off his upper robe and showed it to everyone. The newly healed scars on his shoulders that were deep into his shoulder blades were shocking. Then he raised the wine glass on the table and faced I bowed deeply and sprinkled wine in the direction of Qingtang.

When all the generals saw this, their expressions turned cold. The veteran Pei Zhigao stood up first, snorted coldly, and walked away with a flick of his sleeves.

Upon seeing this, King Shaoling and other clan members also hurriedly left. After leaving Liu Zhongli's camp, they led their troops and quickly left the surrounding area of ​​Jiankang. Now that Hou Jing has entered the second palace, there is no doubt that these clan members are the most dangerous. Leaving as soon as possible is the best way to protect themselves.

After Wang Sengbian and other generals saw this, they no longer stayed here. They stood up, briefly clasped their fists at Liu Zhongli, and then returned to their camps.

The kings of the clans dispersed, but Liu Zhongli and other generals who were still staying around Jiankang opened their camp gates, received Hou Jing's envoy and asked for surrender, and then led by the envoy into the city to pay homage to their father.

From then on, Hou Jing, the rebel general of the Eastern Wei Dynasty who fled southward in panic with 800 remnants and crossed the Yangtze River with 8000 troops in Shouyang, finally besieged Jiankangtaicheng for more than four months. He conquered Taicheng, entered the Second Palace, and surrendered a number of generals in Nanliang, officially assuming the highest power in Nanliang.

In the fourth year of Zhengguang's reign in the Northern Wei Dynasty, the people of Huaihuang killed the town general Jing and raised their troops in rebellion. Soon after, the people of Woye broke through the Liuhan Ba ​​Ling and raised their troops in rebellion. From then on, the rebellion of the Six Towns began.

In the first year of Yongxi in the Northern Wei Dynasty, Gao Huan, a citizen of Huaishuo, defeated Erzhu's Bafu and supported Yuan Xiu, a clan member of the Yuan and Wei Dynasties, as Emperor Xiaowu. From then on, the Gao family's Bafu was established.

In the third year of Yongxi reign of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Emperor Xiaowu Yuanxiu led his people to hunt west after failing to seize power with Gao Huan. Yuwentai, a native of Wuchuan Town, welcomed Emperor Xiaowu into Guanxi and established the Yuwen clan's hegemony. The Northern Wei Dynasty also split into the Eastern Wei Dynasty and the Western Wei Dynasty.

In the third year of Taiqing in Nanliang, Hou Jing, a native of Huaishuo Town, led his army southward, captured Jiankang Taicheng, and took power in Nanliang.

From then on, the three kingdoms of the world were all controlled by the warriors of Beizhen.

Originally I didn’t want to write about the Battle of Taicheng head-on, it was too bad. But after all, it is a very important event, and some book friends don’t understand the process very well. If you just ignore it and don't write it, there will be some obstacles in connecting the plot later. I got stuck when I wrote about Nanliang, because the Xiao family’s brainless operations really challenge the imagination. At any rate, I have finished writing a 6,000-word chapter today. . .