Chapter 1179 The Prince is Strong
When facing survival problems, people will always try their best and make various efforts, but some of these efforts are positive and effective, while others are negative, with less effect than expected, and may even be counterproductive.
The Northern Qi Dynasty's abandonment of Huainan has been evident for a long time. Before, there were important officials such as Gao Yue and Duan Shao who came south to fight and attack, but later they sent fewer and fewer important officials south, and the military investment became less and less. They only relied on the deterrence of strong national strength to win over local powerful forces to maintain their rule.
Now, with the Western Wei Dynasty fighting and pressing step by step, the Northern Qi Dynasty's consistent strong military image has been repeatedly disintegrated, which also made the Northern Qi Dynasty's rule in Huainan more and more precarious. Withdrawing from Huainan is just a formal announcement.
Now, under the coercion of the Western Wei, the Northern Qi finally took this step. With the imperial edict issued by Qi Lord Gao Yan, the troops and officials stationed in Huainan by the Northern Qi gathered in Guangling, Xuyi and other places within the month, and then evacuated Huainan and returned to the country, announcing the official end of the Northern Qi's rule in Huainan.
When this news came to the south, the first to boil was the Southern Chen court.
Before this, the Southern Chen court was shrouded in a pessimistic atmosphere, believing that this northern expedition to Huainan was a misstep, and the weather, location and people were not all available. The Southern Chen was established not long ago, and the national strength had not yet recovered to the level of sustaining a battle in Jiangbei. Under the instigation of the Western Wei, it blindly launched an attack on Jiangbei, resulting in a waste of money and manpower and a long and fruitless battle.
However, as the news spread back to Jiangdong, all the previous doubts and denials suddenly disappeared, and the masses excitedly told each other that they had never dreamed that Huainan would be recovered in this way. Although the Western Wei was still responsible for the negotiations and presided over the handover, the Southern Chen, as a close ally of the Western Wei, would certainly be able to get a share of the results of the negotiations, even if it could not completely own them.
The reaction of the crown prince Chen Chang, who had just returned to Jiankang from Chang'an in the Western Wei Dynasty, was particularly intense. He did not hesitate to express his admiration for Li Boshan, the king of Tang, at several gatherings in the East Palace and the court: "The king of Tang is feared by the world, and his fame is not in vain! Qi has fought with him many times but failed to win. This battle is also a foregone conclusion. If people still refuse to obey the king's teachings, the country will be destroyed soon!
At this glorious moment of victory, the king of Tang did not forget our country's alliance with him, nor did he forget the hard work of the Jiangdong men fighting in Huainan. He first planned Huainan to calm the people's hearts. Today, it is true! The virtue of the king of Tang is known throughout the world, which is really admirable!"
Although Chen Chang was captured and held hostage in Chang'an several years ago, and did not follow Chen Baxian all the way during his rise, his presence was not low, especially after returning to his country.
He is the only surviving son of Chen Baxian and the undisputed successor to the Southern Chen regime. If this unique legality only comes from the protection and inheritance of his father, then the other layer of glory that cannot be ignored has nothing to do with Chen Baxian, that is, the Longxi Li family and the Western Wei regime behind him!
Chen Chang has been abroad for many years, but after returning to China, he has no problems of unstable foundation and isolation. This is certainly due to Chen Baxian's unremitting support for his only son, but more importantly, the Western Wei has equipped Chen Chang with a strong East Palace team.
After the Hou Jing Rebellion, most of the elite people in Jiangdong were concentrated in Jiangling, and then they drifted to Guanzhong with the fall of Jiangling, making Jiangbiao scarce and lacking in talent. As a result, the style of the characters in the Chen Dynasty established by Chen Baxian was much inferior to that of the former Liang period.
When Chen Chang came to the south this time, he had hundreds of staff around him, and most of them were famous people in the Southern Dynasty, such as Yin Buhai, Yan Zhitui, etc., with talents and not much inferior to the imperial court.
As soon as these people returned to the Southern Dynasty, they formed a luxurious team in the East Palace. When Chen Baxian personally crossed the river to conquer Huainan, he appointed Prince Chen Chang as regent. With the assistance of these staff, Chen Chang lived up to expectations and handled all government affairs in an orderly manner.
The Western Wei Dynasty gave Chen Chang not only an administrative team, but also an important support, that is, armed forces.
The three thousand elite soldiers led by Wu Mingche had just crossed the river to the south and appeared in front of the people of Jiankang, leaving a deep impression on the masses. Not to mention the bravery of the elite soldiers, the excellent armor and weapons far exceeded the current armed level of the Southern Chen army, and even the newly formed imperial guards in Jiankang were far inferior.
As for Wu Mingche himself, there is no need to say more. He was originally a famous general in Jiangzuo. He had to choose to surrender to the Western Wei Dynasty because of some reasons. Now he has returned to Jiangzuo as a prince. In addition, he has also made meritorious contributions in the Western Wei Dynasty in the past few years. For a time, he was highly respected by the people of Jiankang. Even several generals under Chen Baxian were overshadowed by him.
In addition to these civil and military followers, Chen Chang returned to Jiangdong with his wife.
This princess was not a wife who relied on her husband's status. As early as the eve of her and her husband's departure, the King of Tang went to the Wei Dynasty to ask for the title of Princess Qinjun for her, and Qinjun in Jiangbei was used as the princess's fief. The thousands of elite soldiers who followed Wu Mingche to the south were strictly speaking the princess's retainers. The reason why Chen Chang's position as the prince was able to be quickly stabilized was also because of the support of such a strong woman.
Even Chen Chang's father Chen Baxian was envious of Chen Chang's personnel team and could not help wanting to poach them. In particular, the return of Wu Mingche, a general who had once served under his command but missed the opportunity, made Chen Baxian deeply relieved.
He even wanted to directly appoint Wu Mingche as the leader of the Central Army and place him as a guard, to show that he didn't mind Wu Mingche's previous experience of serving two masters. As a result, this decision was strongly opposed by his trusted generals Hou Andu, Zhou Wenyu and others. Hou Andu even wore armor and stayed at the palace gate himself to show that he would never allow evil people to interfere with the attack and defense.
In addition, Wu Mingche himself was not very enthusiastic about serving as Jiankang Suwei. After several contacts and discussions, Chen Baxian also realized that Wu Mingche today was very different from what he knew in previous years. His words were mostly related to Turks, Tuguhun and other remote barbarians. The current situation in Jiangdong lacks constructive and specific suggestions. The words seem grand but are somewhat unrealistic. This also makes Chen Baxian a little disappointed. He can only follow his own wishes and leave it to his hometown Qinjun.
In short, the return of his son is a great joy for Chen Baxian. It makes him more calm when dealing with internal and external personnel issues, and he has less worries about looking forward and backward.
Of course, there is a good side to everything, and there is also a bad side. Chen Chang's return is an important event for the entire Nanchen and will inevitably cause reactions from all aspects.
First of all, in terms of family matters, it is naturally worth being happy to have family members reunited. The Chen family was originally weak in blood, but this time a pair of cousins, Chen Chang and Chen Xu, returned together, and Chen Xu also brought back several children, which made the whole family very happy.
But Chen Baxian's queen, Zhang, couldn't help but feel a little displeased when she saw that Chen Xu had both sons and daughters, but her own son still had nothing. She thought that the Wei people had still treated her son badly, and then she wanted to make money for him. By taking concubines, he also hopes to win over the Jiangdong clan and consolidate his son's heirship.
However, this matter was opposed by Chen Chang and his wife. Chen Chang only said that the family and the country were not in peace, and it was not suitable to indulge in the love of his children. Besides, there was already Crown Princess Li and all the maids in the house, so there was really no need to add more waiters. As for the Crown Princess Li, she showed the relatively strong style of women from the north and directly asked people to guard the entrance of the East Palace and return the woman arranged by Queen Zhang to the original route.
Zhang was naturally very dissatisfied with this, and complained repeatedly to Chen Baxian: "Northern women are not respectful, and my husband made a big mistake in asking for my son's marriage. The Li family in Longxi really made a mistake. How can the house be safe when a fierce woman is in charge? Pity my son. He also lost his ambition, flattered his fierce wife, and even violated my mother’s arrangements!”
Although it was inconvenient for Chen Baxian to comment on the conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, he also believed that the bride should not be treated as an ordinary daughter-in-law, so he said solemnly with a straight face: "The reason why Chang'er is in today's personnel situation is partly due to his own experience. Of course, as parents, we hope that our children can live a harmonious life, but they cannot always be a dog-discipline. They should not be diligent in giving guidance in everything. The bride should make her own decisions and experience, and follow my son to stay with her. , The kindness is profound and gratifying, why bother with it!"
The conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in the family can be concealed, but the impact Chen Chang's return has on the current situation and personnel is very obvious.
Before and after the establishment of the Chen Dynasty, Chen Baxian also made some arrangements for the personnel of the country. But now Nanchen's current situation is not big to begin with, and so many people suddenly come back, which will of course have a big impact on the original personnel structure.
If these people just return in vain, the imperial court can gradually recruit and accept them as appropriate. However, they all returned from Chen Chang, the prince. Naturally, they could not completely sit idle. They had to make arrangements. The East Palace alone could not be completely arranged, and it was bound to occupy other positions, which would cause competition and conflicts.
Hou Andu and other Yuancong generals united to resist Wu Mingche, a returning talent, which was a relatively exposed dispute. As for other more subtle disputes, there were more. Even Chen Baxian was a little overwhelmed by this and could only try his best to bridge the gap.
If the series of problems arising from the return of his ministers can be dealt with calmly, then the problems displayed by Chen Chang himself gave Chen Baxian a headache.
This boy has been living in Chang'an for several years, which happened to be the years when Li Boshan rose rapidly and was most prosperous. He has so much flavor of the Northern Dynasties that he can't hide it. He always talks about the king of Tang, completely forgetting that he is the king of the Tang Dynasty. A truly humble Jiangdong hero who came from nothing, this made Chen Baxian feel quite embarrassed and disappointed. Sometimes I even want to ask this kid, Li Boshan is so good, does he also have the throne to pass on to you?