Chapter 1178: Dissociating Wei and Chen
Soon, the consensus reached by Hongnong on the Huainan issue was spread back to Jinyang. Emperor Gao Yan of Jinyang naturally felt complicated after learning about this situation.
The territory acquired by the Northern Qi in Huainan was basically acquired during the Hou Jing Rebellion during the Tianbao Period. It directly pushed the Northern Qi's territory from the original Huai River line to the north bank of the Yangtze River. It can also be regarded as the most important frontier expansion achievement in the Gaoyang Period. .
However, although the harvest was considerable, the price paid was also not small. Although due to the civil strife in Nanliang, the price paid in the process of opening the border was not large, but later in order to maintain and consolidate rule and fight against the competition of the Western Wei Dynasty in the same period The opponents started several battles with each other in Huainan. Northern Qi lost more and won less, losing important cities such as Hefei.
The biggest loss among them was the cross-river battle a few years ago. A total of more than 100,000 Huainan divisions took advantage of the aftermath of the internal strife between Wang Sengbian and Chen Baxian of Nanliang to cross the river and attack Jiankang. However, they were met with Chen Baxian's stubborn counterattack and the Wei army's robbery. .
This defeat caused huge casualties and material losses, so that both the government and the public at that time began to question whether the late emperor Gao Yang's Huainan strategy was a mistake. Among them, Jinyang nobles in particular had a clear negative attitude towards this, and all They are unwilling to continue to invest manpower and material resources in Huainan and manage it.
Even not long ago, the Anding King He Baren, who had become a prisoner, when facing the punishment of being exiled to Huainan, would rather launch a coup with Gao Yan than go to Huainan. This also reflects to a certain extent the attitude of Jinyang nobles towards the Huainan region, and they do not regard it as the core interest of the Northern Qi tradition.
Gao Yan has not been in office for a long time, and the nobles of Jinyang are the main force for him to successfully launch a coup. At present, the two sides are still in a kind of honeymoon period, so they are not very resistant to abandoning Huainan.
However, as an emperor, he had to cede territory and seek peace as soon as he ascended the throne. This was a big blow to his self-esteem and majesty. Therefore, after receiving the news, he summoned Duan Shao and other noble representatives to discuss this matter.
"The King of Pingyuan once fought in Huainan. What does he think of Wei's request?"
After everyone arrived at Jinyang Palace, Gao Yan took the lead in asking Duan Shao.
Duan Shao pondered for a moment and then said in a deep voice: "Huainan is located in a remote location, and there are many strong men and powerful bandits in the Jianghuai River. It is inconvenient for troops and troops to get in and out. The current situation is even more difficult to take into account, and it is necessary to give up. Gather in the middle of the country, shrink the defense line, prepare your troops and wait for the time to move."
Hearing what Duan Shao said, Gao Yan's slightly frowned brows relaxed slightly.
Although this answer was only satisfactory, it also greatly relieved his psychological pressure. He then sighed and said: "If it's just Huainan, it's okay to give it up and take care of the overall situation. But I'm afraid that the greed of the Wei people will increase and they will look forward to Shu." , and then made an even more excessive request. Although the two sides have temporarily ceased fighting, the Wei division is still stranded in our territory. If we fail to comply later, the thieves will attack again. I want to send the division and brigade to Yedu in advance to increase our defenses. What do you think, Wang?"
After everyone heard this, they all looked thoughtful. After a while, the new Grand Master He Baren said: "Increasing defenses and preparing for war is a natural way to defeat the enemy. But Jinzheng and Wei In order to seek peace, the country rushed to increase its troops in the southern border, which inevitably made it suspicious. Moreover, the Wei soldiers suddenly stopped at this moment, which showed that they had no intention of making a large-scale attack.
On the contrary, in the north of Jinyang, during the previous battle with the Wei army, most of the garrison soldiers were withdrawn from the Beishan line, leaving the defense line empty and the barbarians outside the border inevitably ready to move. Moreover, the Turks are also the minions of Wei. For example, if the Chen State in the south is bewitched by the Wei State and sends troops to invade, the troops going south will be exhausted from the journey back. Therefore, the most important thing now is to stick to the basics. Since we have made peace with Wei, it is not appropriate to start a war again for the time being. "
"What the Grand Master said makes sense. I am also deeply worried about this issue, so I asked everyone. It seems that peace should be the best strategy, and others still need to be cautious."
After hearing He Baren's answer, Gao Yan nodded in agreement.
But when night fell, when Wang Xi and other confidants came to Jinyang Palace to discuss matters, Gao Yan changed his expression again, and sighed with a gloomy face: "The disciples here still want to tie me up in Jinyang for a long time. , Bu Le went south to return to the capital. They relied on their old achievements and were forced by powerful enemies. Because the country needed military men, they were full of ambition and did not want to make progress. Can you and others have a plan to allow me to travel between the two countries calmly? All?"
Gao Yan has stayed in Jinyang since he ascended the throne and has never returned to Yedu. This is naturally not his intention, but caused by various reasons. Among them, the wishes and attitudes of Jinyang nobles accounted for a large proportion.
Gao Yan had previously launched a coup with the support of Jinyang nobles. Although he was able to ascend to power, it was tantamount to a major blasphemy against the emperor's authority. The imperial power that the late Emperor Gao Yang had been trying to build since the founding of the country could be said to have been severely damaged after this incident.
Now that Gao Yan has become the emperor, he will naturally have to bear all the consequences. Whether he dares not publicly summon his confidants during the day, or is restricted to Jinyang and has difficulty returning to Yedu, this is a sign of the restraint of the monarch's power.
Especially when powerful enemies are pressing down on the situation, the ministers and generals are born with a greater say, which makes Gao Yan feel even more constrained. He even feels that staying on this throne now is not as majestic as when he was a prince. .
After Wang Xi heard the emperor's question, he was speechless for a while.
He was obviously a serious confidant of the emperor. Not only did he contribute a lot to Gao Yan's affairs when he was still a prince, but he also worked hard and put in a lot of effort when he was planning to launch a coup. As a result, after it was completed, , even normal public meetings to discuss matters were restricted, and they were like wild men having an affair and needed to communicate quietly in the dead of night.
Although Wang Xi himself was not keen on advancement in fame, when facing the emperor to express his dissatisfaction and ask for strategies, he did not have any good strategies to offer because the current situation was even worse than when Gao Yang came to power. A bit bad. In a situation of internal and external troubles, it is not easy to maintain a basic stability.
Facing the emperor's eager gaze, Wang Xi could only lower his head and said: "The big worry at the moment is Wei's strong attack and aggressiveness. Since the peace talks have achieved great results, it is believed that both sides will be able to completely stop fighting soon.
Although Li Boshan is a fierce and stubborn leader, his reputation is not bad at the time, but if he can abide by the covenant, His Majesty will be able to calmly clean up the internal affairs, and the success will be seen in a short period of time. When our national strength increases, all the current problems and difficulties will naturally be solved. There is no need to worry about the immediate situation and the lack of solutions! "
"Oh, that's the only way! But I'm worried that Li Boshan is greedy and will make more excessive demands. If he doesn't agree, it will be difficult to make peace. If he agrees, the whole country will be upset and disappointed. "
Gao Yan sighed again and said that now he felt more and more like someone was trying to cut someone off and I was a fish. He was lying on the chopping board with nothing to do and letting others cut him off. This feeling really made him feel unbearable, and he even regretted the coup he had launched before. It turns out that the throne that he took such a big risk to snatch was just a qualification for making human flesh!
After Wang Xi pondered for a moment, he spoke again: "The reason why the Wei State threatened Huainan was because of the Southern Dynasty Chen State. In fact, it is not our country that has invaded Huainan the most, but the Wei State. The Chen State is flattering because of its weakness. The matter is serious, but the monarchs and ministers of his country may not always be willing to obey Wei's orders.
The six counties in Huainan that have been cut off today are all located between Huaidong. The Wei State still needs to intimidate our country and it is difficult to distribute its troops to garrison. It is bound to use them as bait to lure Chen State. If I can contact Chen Guo in advance to make handover arrangements and hand it over directly to Chen Guo, on the one hand, I can slightly reconcile with Chen Guo, and on the other hand, I can also make Chen Guo secretly alienate from Wei. thin! Now that Guangling and Zhongli have been secured, Liyang and Hefei must also be plotted! "
Gao Yan's eyes lit up immediately after hearing this, and he nodded slowly and said, "Yes, since Huainan is always going to be abandoned, it's better to make some plans here. Wei's arrogance is now exposed, Chen Guoruo wants to It is impossible to beg for long-term peace. It is precisely because of Wei's invasion and occupation that Chen Deliang has only one of three things, and his kings and ministers will certainly not be able to tolerate it for a long time.
Chen Baxian once argued with Wang Seng heartily, but it was inevitable that he would attack him with a sword. Now that he has been an enemy of Li Boshan for a long time and has deep hatred, how can he stay with him for a long time? Once given the opportunity, there will definitely be a backlash! "
After some discussion between the monarch and his ministers, they felt that they should not be too obedient to the wishes of the Western Wei Dynasty and make Li Boshan live too comfortably. They must not be soft-hearted when it is time to apply eye drops, and this delivery of Huainan is an excellent opportunity.
They don't need to perform very explicit operations, they just need to be enthusiastic, eager and sincere when contacting Chen Guo. Chen Guo will surely be able to feel their goodwill and seek cooperation with each other in a larger space. Opportunity.
Those who can develop and grow in troubled times are never good men and women. If a potential ally can be developed to check and balance the growing Western Wei Dynasty, Chen Baxian will definitely not refuse!