Chapter 738 Self-disruption
Many times, people tend to only pay attention to the development of things that is beneficial to them, but they are unwilling to pay more attention to the harmful aspects. Especially when gamblers make desperate bets and cannot bear the cost of failure, the judgment of interests will be more subjective and completely based on wishful thinking.
This was the case for Xiao Ji after he became emperor in Shu. Although he could not be said to be wise or powerful before, his performance in controlling Shu for many years can be said to be shrewd and capable.
However, since he changed the Yuan Dynasty and proclaimed himself emperor, Xiao Ji's behavior has become more and more extreme and irrational. Of course, he himself is not aware of this, but he just acts self-righteously and behaves in a way that suits the current situation.
After negotiating with the envoys of the Western Wei Dynasty, Xiao Ji increased the recruitment of manpower and material resources within the territory.
Originally, because his eldest son, Xiao Yuanzhao, lied about military intelligence and misjudged the intelligence, he originally wanted to slow things down a bit, but the threat from the Western Wei Dynasty made him dare not relax. Instead, he had to speed up the pace, lest Jiangling and the Western Wei Dynasty join forces. Suo was trapped in Shu and awaiting death.
This round of conscription was wider and more numerous, and in order to shorten the time it took for the troops to go out for war, and to avoid any drastic reaction from the Western Wei Dynasty's discovery of the large-scale military preparations in Shu, he directly set up the gathering place for the conscription troops. It's outside the Yangtze River, not near Chengdu.
He thought that by gathering troops outside the river, he could launch an attack on Jiangling faster and at the same time cover the eyes and ears of the Western Wei Dynasty. However, he ignored that such an arrangement would undoubtedly expose his people's intention to go eastward, making the Bashu powerful people even more alienated from him.
In order to paralyze the Western Wei Dynasty and prevent it from immediately sending troops to thwart his plan for the Eastern Expedition, Xiao Ji also sent envoys to the north with large amounts of gifts to bribe and paralyze the Western Wei Dynasty on the grounds of negotiating mutual trade. However, internally, he was developing military force intensively.
Because he was too focused on mobilizing the army and preparing for war, other affairs in Shu were temporarily put aside. Even when the Basi County reported to Langzhong to help prevent Li Guangci from going out for hunting and was killed by thieves, Xiao Ji simply sent an envoy to comfort him. However, he did not order a strict investigation into the matter.
Because he was worried that if he ordered a thorough investigation, it might involve more hidden dangers and disturbances, and he would need to send troops to suppress it. Nowadays, Xiao Ji is full of ambitious plans, and the chaos in Langzhong city is not enough to stop him. Xiao Ji avoided seeing the general Qiao Yan who repeatedly begged to investigate the matter thoroughly.
Perhaps because heaven showed mercy on his hard work, a barbarian rebellion broke out in the Shannan area of Hanzhong occupied by the Western Wei Dynasty in late October. This was undoubtedly great news for Xiao Ji. The Western Wei Dynasty was trapped in the Hanzhong rebellion, so it was naturally impossible to send troops southward. This gave him no worries and could concentrate on taking Jiangling directly.
The only regret is that when this news reached Sichuan, it was already November. In the cold winter, the river water was slightly dry, making it difficult to create a grand water battle with hundreds of teams competing for the current and thousands of sails sailing.
But this is just an innocuous and trivial matter. After all, Shuzhong has the advantage of being located upstream compared to Jiangling, and now Xiao Ji is using all the strength of Shu to attack Jiangling. However, Jiangling's armored soldiers are distributed along the river, and there are few who can return to the upper reaches in time. .
So taking advantage of the civil strife in Hanzhong in the Western Wei Dynasty, Xiao Jixian appointed Yang Qianyun, the general of the Di chieftain, as the governor of Liangzhou, which he had repeatedly requested. He was in charge of military affairs in the north to prevent the Western Wei Dynasty from invading the south. At the same time, he decisively led his army down the Waijiang River. , enter Badong territory.
"I will lead the vanguard troops to welcome Your Majesty!"
In Badong, Crown Prince Xiao Yuanzhao led his civil and military officials to greet Xiao Ji outside the city. When he saw the driver approaching slowly, he hurriedly walked to greet him and knelt down to greet him from a distance.
Although he was resentful that this son had deceived him, after all, he was the crown prince he had personally conferred, and now he needed his son's help in plotting big things. Xiao Ji did not deepen his blame and summoned the son into the chariot to inquire about the military plane.
Xiao Yuanzhao had also been taught a lesson before, but now he did not dare to deceive again. After boarding the imperial chariot, he whispered: "Father, there are envoys sent to Jiangling to report the rebellion to equalize everything. My son will detain the envoys in the camp. , now all the troops still don’t know this..."
After Xiao Ji heard this, he couldn't help but glance at his son. But now that the boat is in ruins, they are racing to be the first, and there is no use in regretting it anymore. So he said in a deep voice: "After the two armies go to war, the seven officials will definitely make people... Showing off this skill in front of the battle will make it difficult to hide the matter for a long time. Recently, you have invited the civil and military officials to briefly disclose the matter. If anyone has a change of heart after hearing this, he will be arrested immediately. Don't condone it!"
After hearing the words, Xiao Yuanzhao quickly nodded in agreement, then got off the chariot, got on his horse, and entered the city to rest.
Shortly after Xiao Ji led his army to Badong, another surprise came from downstream.
General Wang Lin has always been domineering and does not know how to restrain himself. Most of his subordinates are bandits in the Yangtze River and Huaihe River, and his military discipline is corrupt. In the battle to put down the Hou Jing Rebellion, he was ranked first in merit. Wang Lin and his subordinates naturally became more arrogant and arrogant. In Jiankang City, lawlessness, cruelty and violence were rampant, and even Wang Sengbian could not stop him.
Because Wang Lin was too presumptuous, Wang Sengbian simply petitioned Jiangling to punish her. After all, King Xiangdong still refused to let go of this talented general, and was afraid that Wang Sengbian would take the opportunity to harm him, so he ordered Wang Lin to be recalled to Jiangling.
Wang Lin was previously appointed the governor of Xiangzhou for her meritorious service. This time she led her troops to leave Jiankang. She first ordered her chief Shi Lu Na to lead his troops to Xiangzhou, while he himself went to Jiangling to plead guilty.
When Wang Lin arrived at Jiangling, the King of Xiangdong killed his deputy general and put Wang Lin in prison. He sent envoys to his army to announce the order. However, he did not expect that Wang Lin's troops directly killed the Jiangling envoys and marched into the army. According to reports, troops were raised in Shacheng, Changsha, Hunan to rebel.
The suppression of Hou Jing's rebellion was supposed to be a new starting point for the rejuvenation of the country, but unexpectedly, the troops of the Northern Qi Dynasty took advantage of the situation and harassed Jiang Fang. Xiangyang had not yet been pacified, and Shuzhong was brazenly independent. His generals were fighting among themselves, so they directly raised their troops. Rebellion.
King Xiangdong suddenly found that the situation he was facing now was even more distressed than during Hou Jingzhi's rebellion, and one can imagine his bad mood. Originally, he planned to wait until Xiping was disturbed internally and externally and the country was truly stable, before he formally ascended the throne as emperor. That would be the time when his true destiny would be fulfilled.
However, internal and external troubles are emerging one after another, and we don’t know when they will be resolved. The ministers have repeatedly urged the country to move forward because they believe that the country cannot be without a king for a day. The King of Xiangdong also feels that the military government in Jiangling cannot legitimately control the internal and external affairs. Finally, under the pressure of the situation, Jiangling Ascend to the throne as emperor.
But the troubles we are facing today cannot be scared away by claiming emperor. The army of Sichuan is gathered to the west of the gorge and is about to attack the pass at any time and move south. The rebels in Xiangzhou are making noise in Changsha City, just a stone's throw away from Jiangling.
So the King of Xiangdong sent an order to Wang Sengbian to lead his army to the west to quell the Xiangzhou rebellion and to use Chen Baxian to control Yangzhou. At the same time, he sent envoys to the Western Wei and Northern Qi to announce that he had proclaimed control and hoped to improve their diplomatic relations. wait.
Although Li Tai was based in Mianbei, he had been paying close attention to the news along the Yangtze River, and he soon learned that there were new styles of conspicuous bags.
When Jiangling's envoy arrived, he personally came forward to receive him. He first expressed congratulations to King Xiangdong on his proclaimed emperor, and then asked with concern about the current changes in the situation in Jiangling, and sincerely expressed his willingness to provide help.
The envoy did not receive instructions, so of course he did not dare to take the initiative to ask for help. He only answered vaguely. Li Tai did not make things difficult for him. After entertaining the envoy, he sent someone to escort the envoy and his party to Guanzhong, while he himself sent another envoy. Go to Gangneung to observe changes in the situation.
Compared with the big events in the south, the affairs of the Jingzhou General Manager's Office have been relatively quiet in recent years. There have been no major wars. In addition to recruiting powerful troops according to the structure of the army, they specialize in internal affairs.
Due to the increasingly frequent personnel exchanges between the two places, feedback on the deterioration of the situation in Jiangling was quickly received in Miobei. More and more people are coming to Mianbei from Jiangling, and most of them are not passing by in a hurry. Judging from their luggage and luggage, they at least have plans to stay for a short time.
This time, the people who came to Miobei were no longer limited to some people from Jiangling whose ancestral home was Nanyang. There were also many people who came to Jiangling from Jiankang and other places. They saw the troubles inside and outside Jiangling, and there were many discussions in Jiangling city. General Li's virtuous voice, so he took advantage of this time to come to Mianbei to avoid trouble, and take a look at whether the atmosphere in Mianbei was really as kind and tolerant as the rumors.
Li Tai's work policy for the General Administration in recent years is to promote production internally and strengthen united front externally. Of course, these people from the Southern Dynasties who took the initiative to flock to Mianbei were given preferential treatment.
This so-called preferential treatment is not just about food and drink, but it tries to reflect the superiority of Mianbei in social life compared to Jiangling.
In addition to the Hongbin Building, the official guest house designated by the General Manager's Mansion, many apartments and villas were built inside and outside Rangcheng to provide for those people from the Southern Dynasties who came from the north to avoid trouble. Of course, the rents were not cheap. At the same time, a wide variety of high-quality products have appeared in the market for you to choose from.
Although Jiangling is now the capital of the Southern Dynasties, there is actually a big gap between it and Rangcheng in all aspects.
First of all, it cannot compare in terms of stability and prosperity. Although Jiangling has not been conquered like Jiankang, it is often under the threat of war and military fronts. With the influx of a large number of people, the city management is far inferior to Rangcheng. Be well organized.
The development of the commodity economy in Jiangling is higher than that in Rangcheng, but the productivity is greatly sluggish. Due to the influx of a large number of people from the downstream, various commodities on the market are in short supply. In many cases, even if you have money, you cannot buy them. needed goods.
But here in Rangcheng, the handicraft industry has been vigorously developed a few years ago. Various workshops have sprung up in Mianbei, and the scale of production has long been formed. Now is the moment when production capacity is at its strongest.
In the past, these products were mainly absorbed by the governor's office and merchants. Now, with the influx of many people fleeing from Jiangling, the market transactions in the city have become unprecedentedly prosperous.