Chapter 867 Heroes of Nanchuan
Since Yi Guan crossed south and the Eastern Jin Dynasty established the country south of the Yangtze River, the Southern Dynasty regime has always had a political and military pattern in which Jing and Yang were in opposition. That is, those stationed in Jingzhou in the upper reaches were often strong military ministers, thus forming a conflict with the central government of Jiankang. Confrontation state.
This situation did not improve much even if the central court often divided Shaanxi's important areas in the upper reaches of the town with clans. For example, Xiao Yan, Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty, started from the upper reaches and replaced the Southern Qi regime.
Under the dual political structure of Jingyang, a balance point is bound to be needed to bring a certain degree of stability, and Jiangzhou, located between the two places, often plays such a role. For example, Tao Kan, Wen Qiao, etc. who successively guarded this place during the Eastern Jin Dynasty played a similar role.
Of course, this was when the territory of the Southern Dynasty's regime was still relatively intact, but when foreign enemies invaded and important towns in the upper reaches were lost one after another, Jiangzhou became the front town to resist the foreign enemies in the upper reaches.
After the fall of Jiangling, the various forces in the lower reaches of the Southern Liang Dynasty barely formed a new order after a period of chaos. Xiao Fangzhi, the king of Jin'an, the son of Emperor Liang, was the supervisor of the country, and the Taiwei Wang Sengbian was actually in charge of the military power.
Although order has initially been formed, it is difficult for Wang Sengbian to immediately lead his army to the west, regain the lost territory of Jiangling, and rebuild the Liang family and the country. Because Hefei, the important town in Huainan, has been occupied by the Western Wei Dynasty, once Wang Sengbian's army moves out from the lower reaches, it will inevitably be difficult to take care of the head and tail, and even the territory downstream may be lost.
Not to mention that shortly after the fall of Jiangling, the Northern Qi Dynasty sent envoys to negotiate forcefully to return Guangling. After the negotiations failed, they directly sent troops to besiege Guangling, which made the armies downstream even more afraid to move without permission.
Although the army did not dare to go out, the threat from the upper reaches could not be ignored. Jiangzhou, as the front line to resist enemy invasion, naturally received great attention, so Wang Sengbian appointed Hou Ai as the governor of Jiangzhou to guard Huancheng. His brother Wang Sengmin guarded Yuzhang as the governor of Yuzhang.
Of course, there is a certain degree of selfishness in this arrangement. Huancheng is close to the river. Once the enemy troops from the upper reaches move down the river, the place where Huancheng is located will bear the brunt. Yuzhang, on the other hand, is located in the hinterland of Jiangzhou, has the essence of personnel and materials, and directly controls the supply line of Huancheng. After all, Hou Zhen was not a member of the Jiangling Yuan Dynasty. In this time of national crisis, he was a bit of a confidant. Wang Sengbian made this arrangement well prepared.
However, this arrangement soon encountered changes. Xiao Bo, who had been entrenched in Lingnan and was in chaos, took advantage of the fall of Jiangling and the chaos in the country. Not only did he regain control of Guangzhou, he also sent a force to cross the Yuling Mountains and go northward. Entering Nankang County directly threatens the security of Jiangzhou's hinterland.
So Hou Qi went directly south from Huancheng into Yuzhang County on the pretext of preparing for chaos, and then sent Wang Sengmin to Huancheng. Wang Sengxin naturally refused, and just sent general Zhou Tiehu to lead a group of troops to garrison in Huancheng, while he remained in Yuzhang and continued to confront Hou Ai.
Jiangzhou is so busy here, if nothing else happens, there will definitely be an accident, especially when that man came from upstream in a panic with thousands of tigers and wolves.
In the palace of the city lord of Huancheng in Jiangzhou, Wang Lin was sitting in the hall. Below him were his close followers and powerful local military leaders in Jiangzhou. In the hall, they share wine and eat meat, which is very indulgent, but outside the hall, there is another scene.
There are still many blood stains and uncollected corpses on the ground of the city lord's palace. In addition, there is a wooden torture instrument placed in front of the hall, with a naked and strong man tied to it.
The man's hair was disheveled, and his body was covered with many wounds caused by torture, but he still shouted angrily into the hall: "Wang Lin is a thief, and doesn't care about the country's hardship! He colluded with Jiangzhou gangsters and disobeyed the Taiwei's military orders..."
Every time the man shouted, Wang Lin's soldiers next to him would cut a knife into his body, but the man still cursed. This person is Zhou Tiehu, the general sent by Wang Sengmin to garrison Huancheng. He is a general of Xiao Yu, the king of Hedong. When Wang Sengbian defeated Xiao Yu in the early years, he took this person for his own use.
Since the Hou Jing Rebellion, many local tycoons have emerged in Jiangzhou, each gathering to fight against each other. Nowadays, the upper echelons of Jiangzhou are also in a confrontation with each other, which is naturally what these powerful chiefs like to see. Only in this way can they have the opportunity to protect themselves, speculate and strengthen themselves.
When Wang Lin went east this time, all important military equipment and staff were confiscated by the Wei army, leaving only basic short-hand weapons for them to protect themselves. Although Wang Lin also defeated and looted several fortresses guarded in the countryside along the way, the proceeds were still not enough to arm the troops to their heyday, let alone conquer Huancheng, a strong city near the river, in one fell swoop.
Although Wang Lin's strength is no longer at its peak, Wang Lin's evil reputation still exists. After knowing that she attracted people to the east, the various forces in Jiangzhou also reacted differently. Among them was Yu Xiaoqing, a new Wu powerful man who was not angry with Hou Ai for being appointed as the governor of Jiangzhou. After learning about Wang Lindong's arrival, he sent envoys to secretly contact each other and colluded with each other.
When Wang Lin led his elite troops to the vicinity of Huancheng, Yu Xiaoqing pretended to open the city gate in the name of delivering supplies to Huancheng, then guarded the city gate and led Wang Lin's troops to attack.
Zhou Tiehu, who was guarding the city, had only a small number of troops, and was attacked by collusion between internal and external forces. He defended the city lord's palace and fought hard but was finally defeated. Wang Lin captured the city, and he was also captured by it. Because of her strong temper and unwillingness to give in, Wang Lin was tortured.
"Your Majesty is about to arrive, and we and other disciples in Jiangzhou finally have a heroic master to look up to! Hou Qi is no more than a slave of the Wang family in Poyang in the past, but now he has pampered Wang Taiwei. He has been causing chaos since he entered the state, and he treats our Nanchuan heroes like pigs and dogs. Everyone is afraid of it, but he is unyielding. Now that you have come to help, what do the righteous men here have to fear!"
Yu Xiaoqing, holding a wine glass in his hand, stood up and toasted Wang Lin in a very respectful manner. Jiangzhou is located south of Jiankang, so its area is often called Nanchuan.
Seeing his attitude, Wang Lin laughed loudly, pointed at Yu Xiaoqing and said with a smile: "There are many cave leaders and dock wall heroes in Nanchuan. Each of them gathered hundreds of people and enclosed the land for several miles. They thought they were heroes, but they didn't know what to do. Loyal and knowledgeable, General Yu can be regarded as a leader among his colleagues.
Hou Qi, who is now in the city, is not an old disciple, so it is very easy to drive him away. I will banish the monks and others in the mansion. If they are unwilling to obey orders, I will also have laws to restrain them! When the disturbances in Yuzhang are settled, the general and others will be richly rewarded for their welcome today. The Nanchuan disciples don't know moral integrity, I teach them myself, but if they don't listen, I commit suicide! "
Wang Lin's generals in the hall cheered loudly after hearing this. However, after Yu Xiaoqing and several of his subordinates heard Wang Lin's words, their expressions couldn't help but look a little unnatural. Although they were constantly fighting with other Nanchuan heroes, they still felt a little uncomfortable when they heard that Wang Lin actually despised this group.
Wang Lin didn't take these local tycoons of Nanchuan seriously at all, and naturally she didn't care much about their respective feelings. She carried a jar of wine to the hall, looked at Zhou Tiehu, who was covered in wounds and dripping with blood, and sneered: "Who did the fool keep the holiday? Back then, he looked at Zhou Tiehu who was covered in wounds and blood. On the day when your old master, King Hedong, died, you did not die with him, but you are so proud and loyal in front of me today, it is really ridiculous!"
Zhou Tiehu was already exhausted due to excessive blood loss and long-term pain torture, but after hearing Wang Lin's voice, he summoned up all his strength and roared angrily: "Wang Lin is a thief who deserves death!"
When Wang Lin heard the insult, she was so angry that she threw the wine jar in her hand at Zhou Tiehu. Zhou Tiehu was already covered in scars, but after receiving such a heavy blow, the wounds on his body were opened and soaked by the wine. He vomited blood and fainted from the pain. .
"Humph, the country is in trouble, and everyone considers himself a diligent king, but they all stand back and patrol the territory to take pride. I am the only one who leads the army to fight against the powerful enemy. Even though I am defeated, I am glorious. Throughout the country, who dares to boast of his loyalty and bravery in front of me? "
Wang Lin glared angrily at Zhou Tiehu's men who had been captured in the corridor, and shouted angrily: "Does this disciple not know that the thief is here? Rejecting me is like rejecting the enemy, and you deserve to die! You are all subject to his fate, and it is not a pity to die, but Our country is in trouble and needs brave men. If anyone is willing to cut off the flesh of this dog and eat it, I will spare his life and give him more power!"
Under Wang Lin's coercion, more and more prisoners came forward, cutting their flesh and blood, or wiping their lips with their blood, and each of them was pardoned. However, Zhou Tiehu was so abused that he woke up from a coma and screamed again and again.
"Well done, General!"
A prisoner of war came forward with a knife. When he saw that Zhou Tiehu was tortured into a human shape, he roared and stabbed the sharp knife in his hand into Zhou Tiehu's chest, ending the inhuman torture. He was assassinated on the spot by the furious Wang Lin's tribe.
After Wang Lin forcefully entered Huancheng, Hou Qi and Wang Senxin, who were still fighting openly and secretly in Yuzhang, immediately calmed down, put aside their disputes, and sent envoys to Huancheng to condemn Wang Lin's actions.
However, Wang Lin turned a deaf ear to this, and instead sent someone to Yuzhang to convey an order to each of them to send sergeants to escort supplies to Huancheng to help them counterattack, otherwise they would lead their troops south to investigate.
However, the fire did not break out after all, because soon the news that Emperor Liang Xiao Yi was beheaded in Chang'an came from the west. No matter what the remaining Southern Liang tribes thought in their hearts, they naturally had to mourn His Majesty the Emperor after hearing the news.
Especially Wang Lin, who had just settled in Huancheng, was even more sad after learning the news. She came to the riverside and cried to the north of the river until she was weeping and was escorted back to the city by the soldiers. Then they raised mourning flags. Tell his sergeant to vow to avenge the king!
Compared to Wang Lin's extreme grief, the temporary court in Jiankang had a somewhat lukewarm reaction to the sudden death of His Majesty the Emperor. Although there were mourning activities such as mourning services, they soon had to turn their attention elsewhere.
A country cannot live without a king for a day. Now that the emperor is dead, King Jin'an, who oversees the country, naturally needs to take a step further and become the legitimate emperor of Liang to lead them to continue their struggle. However, this enthronement ceremony more and more exposed the fact that people in Nanliang are now scattered and divided.