Chapter 1359 Disaster in Fujian
Jiankang Palace, as the royal palace and the seat of imperial affairs throughout the Southern Dynasties, has been repeatedly constructed over the years, becoming increasingly larger and more ornate in architecture. Unfortunately, it was severely damaged during the Hou Jing Rebellion.
When Nanchen was established, although some necessary repairs were made to some palaces, the palace was no longer as grand and gorgeous as it was in its heyday. Now that it has been destroyed by another fire, it looks even more devastated.
"It's too much to bully others. The Tang State has really gone too far to bully others! Since the two countries formed an alliance, I have never been disrespectful and respectful for fear of being disappointed. However, their kings and ministers have repeatedly trampled on the covenant and betrayed their promises. Now, the remnants of the Wang family have burned down my palace and endangered me." It caused great disaster. Instead of punishing me, he invaded my home and drove me away!"
The angry roar of the king Chen Chang echoed in the palace, but all the ministers in the palace bowed their heads and remained silent, leaving Chen Chang to vent his dissatisfaction with his roar.
At this point, no one knows that all this is just a way for the Tang people to show their dignity, in order to drive their monarchs and ministers away from here, and then use their divisions and brigade to station in Jiankang.
But what is clear is that everyone is helpless about this. There is no comparison in strength between them. The huge gap makes people wonder how to deal with it. In the past few years, the monarchs and ministers have become accustomed to the temptations of the Tang Dynasty. He has given in step by step, and now he has no more stubborn fighting spirit.
Until the end of the gathering, no ministers suggested how to reject and resist the conditions proposed by the Tang Dynasty. This naturally made Chen Chang extremely disappointed, and he could only wave his hands and let the ministers retreat.
He returned to the palace full of sadness and sat there for a while before getting up and going to the queen's bedroom. When he came outside the dormitory, he first raised his hands and rubbed his face vigorously, trying to relieve the sadness and loneliness on his face. He also whispered to the waiters around him to be careful about his words and deeds, and remember not to expose them in front of the queen. Horse's feet, and then went back to the dormitory.
The mess at home and abroad has left Chen Chang exhausted mentally and physically. The only thing that has given him some relief recently is that his Queen Li gave birth to a son for him after the New Year. This also made Chen Chang love his queen even more, and he did not alienate the relationship between husband and wife because of external disturbances.
As the king of a country, Chen Chang admittedly did not have the temperament, ability and charisma of a master, but as an ordinary person, he was sincere and not extravagant and hedonistic. He was also different from his cousin Chen Xu who sowed seeds wherever he went. .
Even after he returned to Jiangdong and succeeded to the throne as emperor, he still only had one wife, Mrs. Li, and did not take any other concubines. The husband and wife respected each other as guests and were indeed commendable in controlling their own desires.
All in all, Chen Chang may have some great ambitions and little talent, and lacks deep insights into people and things. However, the current situation in Nanchen is corrupted for many reasons. Of course, he is not a hero who can turn the tide. From an objective perspective, his own Incompetence did not play a big role in the collapse of the situation in Nanchen. In terms of harming the country, his cousin Chen Qian, who has always said that she wants to save the country from danger, has made a greater contribution.
Although the situation is over now, and even he will be forced to leave the palace garden, Chen Chang still does his best to create a peaceful world for his wife and children, and does not want the disturbance from the outside world to affect them. It's a pity that his abilities are really limited, which makes this effort seem bitter and pitiful.
Although Chen Chang was still trying his best to cover it up, a fire suddenly broke out in Jiankang Palace at night. After that, everyone in the palace was frightened, including Chen Chang, who had deep anxiety in his eyebrows and eyes that he could not hide. This also made Li realize The situation should have seriously deteriorated.
She has the cheerfulness of a Northland woman, but now that she is a wife and mother, her character has naturally become more graceful and reserved. When she realizes that her husband is deliberately hiding external affairs from her, she no longer Pretending to be smart, she broke the casserole and asked the truth. She just stayed in her bed every day to recuperate her body after giving birth and had fun with her children, enjoying the peace that her husband tried his best to create for his mother and children.
After Chen Chang came to the dormitory, he chatted with his wife for a while, and then stared at his son who was sleeping soundly for a while.
Nowadays, although the state affairs are getting worse, the daily life and support of the emperor's family are naturally guaranteed. When he saw that there were more than a dozen wet nurses, maids, etc. surrounding his son, he couldn't help but sigh: "It's because my son was born big." Wealthy, but not necessarily more blessed than his father!"
He couldn't help but think back to his childhood. Although he was born in Wuzhong, he followed his father to Lingnan when he was very young. At that time, his father was just a subordinate of Xiao Ying, the governor of Guangzhou. His family background was not as prominent and wealthy as it would be in the future. Naturally, the support his wife and children enjoyed was not superior. Although they did not suffer from hunger or cold, they were still poor and simple. Therefore, Chen Chang also cultivated It has a luxurious character.
He lamented that his son may not be more blessed than himself. It was not that he was comparing each other, but that he felt more and more incompetent when he compared himself with his father, Chen Baxian. At that time, his father was just a humble scholar in the Wu Dynasty. After experiencing turmoil, he was able to rise rapidly until he established a hegemony in Jiangdong. Although he inherited his father's legacy, not only did he fail to carry it forward, but now he is even more in danger. His current wealth and prominence will become a thing of the past in the blink of an eye.
When Mrs. Li heard Chen Chang's emotion, she could feel the sadness in her husband's heart. She came over and stood side by side with her husband beside the child's bed, and whispered: "This is a child who can be brought up properly, and he will have his own destiny in the future." We are destined by fate, so there is no need for me to worry too much about him. But since my husband and I are together now, we should know where we will go. We will live in the same quilt and die in the same hole."
Chen Chang has been hit hard by the world's difficulties recently, and now he finally heard a heart-touching confession of comfort. He was emotionally touched, and his eyes instantly became moist.
He raised his hand and dusted his robe to hide his emotions, then coughed slightly and said, "There are still some matters to be dealt with in the outer court. Queen, please rest first!"
After saying this, he walked out and walked slowly through the night-shrouded palace. However, he had mixed feelings in his heart. He only felt that there seemed to be many malicious eyes staring at him under the dark night. He, this feeling made him feel like a light on his back, and his mood became uneasy.
Naturally, there were no important matters for Chen Chang to deal with in the outer court. He just didn't want to expose his weakness in front of his close relatives. He walked aimlessly in the palace for a while, and then came to the Zhongzhai dormitory. Pu She summoned Xu Ling into the palace to see him.
After a while, Xu Ling hurried into the palace to pay homage and said, "The Lord summoned me at night. I don't know what to teach you?"
Chen Chang sighed first, and then said: "The state of affairs is like this, and it is difficult to predict my fortune. Now that the Emperor of Tang wants to move me north, he may not allow me to stay in this world forever..."
"Your Majesty, your words are serious. Your Majesty is the lord of our country in Jiangdong, where people are gathered. Emperor Tang always treats affairs with leniency. Even, even...if he really intends to persecute, what will happen to Jiangdong's people?"
After Xu Ling heard this, he quickly lowered his head and replied with a trembling voice.
"People's hopes are gathered, but they are just empty words. Since taking the throne, they have not been beneficial to the family and the country. What kind of favors from Jiangdong will be added to me? I have good words to comfort me, but some things should indeed be planned for the worse."
Chen Chang smiled self-deprecatingly, and then said again: "Now that I have summoned my servant to shoot here, I really have something to teach you. The Chen family enjoys the country. Although his life is short, he is still the master of Jiangdong who sacrifices to heaven and earth. Although a certain person has no Virtue is also inherited from etiquette. Now my royal family has given birth to Lin'er, who is the eldest son of my family and should be the heir. It is necessary to quickly determine the throne. Pu She will draw up an edict for me this night and come to the court to appoint the prince. "
He was worried that once he left Jiankang, he might be persecuted even more brutally, or even be killed quietly by the Tang people, so while he was still able to act independently, he first registered his son as the legitimate Crown Prince of Nanchen.
In this way, even if he is harmed, his son will naturally become the new puppet master, and then after Jiangdong is completely annexed by the Tang State, he can be treated as a king and enter the court as a guest. Because of his young age and the fact that he still has the blood of the Longxi Li family flowing through his body, he can still enjoy wealth and peace even without his own protection.
So the next day, the Nanchen court held another ceremony to canonize the crown prince in Taicheng, and this was also the last time that Nanchen monarchs and ministers held a ceremony in Jiankang Palace.
With the end of this ceremony, Chen Chang's uncle Li Zhen also came to Jiankang Palace. He will personally be responsible for moving his sister-in-law's family, including some of Nan Chen's important ministers, to Qin County in the north of the Yangtze River in the next few days.
When Empress Li of Nanchen married Chen Chang, her uncle Li Tai asked the Western Wei Dynasty to grant her the title of Princess of Qinjun, and returned Qinjun to Nanchen as her seat. Therefore, there are also buildings in the city of Qinjun. There is the Qinjun Princess Mansion. Now that Chen Chang and his family have moved to Qinjun, they can live in this princess mansion. Although it is far less grand and grand than Jiankang Palace, it is still comfortable and livable.
No matter how Chen Chang suspected that the Tang Dynasty would mistreat him in the future, from the perspective of the Tang Dynasty court, as long as he could live here, he would be able to avoid being disturbed by various personnel changes in Jiangdong. For Chen Chang, who has the ability to control the complicated changes in world affairs, this may not be a good destination.
The Nanchen court moved to Qin County in the north of the Yangtze River, which did not cause much disturbance or impact in Jiankang City. Many people even felt that the order in the city had improved a lot.
Originally, there was a lot of chaos in Jiankang City. During the Nanliang period, bandits were rampant in Changganli and other places south of Dacheng. This situation did not improve much until Nanchen. Many of the so-called bandits were themselves slaves of powerful people and soldiers of the city defense, causing great disturbance and destruction to the security of Jiankang City.
Now that Quan Jingxuan led the Tang army to settle in Jiankang City, it did not have much impact on the order of people's livelihood, but some unstable factors were all eliminated. Some stubborn diseases that were difficult to eradicate in the past were effectively eliminated as the water of the Qinhuai River turned red for a few days.
The appearance of a large number of Tang army soldiers in the streets of Jiankang City is certainly unsettling, but currently the Tang Dynasty and the Nanchen court are not in a state of tense hostility, and the Tang army's entry into the city certainly does not mean war. Moreover, these Tang Army soldiers had strict military discipline and rarely harassed the residents of the city. The people in Jiankang City quickly adapted to it, and there was no strong group resistance.
It can also be seen that the Nanchen court was very incompetent at the entire national administrative level. Not only did it lose control externally, it also lacked internal management. If it were not for a special period, such a regime would have collapsed on itself long ago.
Although Chen Chang and his group were forced to move away from Jiankang, it was a bit depressing, but compared to Chen Qian and his group who fled south in embarrassment, they were much more dignified.
Chen Qian abandoned Hou Andu in Kuaiji, and drew many Shanyin nobles to his side to lead the escape to the south.
But such a group is not very reliable after all. Everyone was worried about the variables and packed up their belongings and embarked on the journey of escape together. However, they did not have a comprehensive and meticulous plan. It was just a reaction out of stress. Although Chen Qian had a certain appeal among them, he lacked absolute authority and dominance. After fleeing for a distance, the team became chaotic.
Some people felt that so many people gathered together and the target was too conspicuous, which was not conducive to getting rid of the Tang army's pursuit, so they chose to quietly leave the team and lead their families to hide in the nearby marshes, preparing to re-enter the world after the war subsided.
Some people complained because the road was too rugged and difficult. Since it was not the flood season, the boat capacity was still difficult to use, and the limited carriages and horses had to carry their belongings and materials. Most people relied on their feet to travel. As they got closer to central Fujian, the plains became fewer and the hills became more. It was very hard to cross mountains and ridges, and all kinds of complaints, quarrels and even fights gradually grew.
Chen Qian was not in the mood to stop and carefully reorganize his troops. Such a hastily mob could not be transformed into an elite army no matter how hard they tried. At present, they only needed to maintain a relatively large momentum so that they could negotiate and cooperate with the local tyrants in the south, and their mission would be completed.
Jin'an County in central Fujian was also a separatist force in Jiangdong outside the Three Wus. Jin'an Prefect Chen Baoying came from a big family in central Fujian. Long before the outbreak of Hou Jing's Rebellion, his family controlled many local forces in central Fujian. During the Hou Jing's Rebellion, their power developed again, and the separatist trend became more stubborn.
At the same time, Chen Baoying was Liu Yi's son-in-law, and in order to win him over when Chen Qian was in Wuzhong, he directly became a clan member and called him his brother. After the fall of Kuaiji, Chen Qian led his troops to flee south, hoping to intercept the Tang army's division and brigade heading south with the mountains and rivers of Fujian and the local powerful forces, so as to get some respite.
However, Chen Qian thought so, but Chen Baoying did not feel the need to accept this good brother. When Chen Qian's envoy went to Jin'an County in Fujian to inform his troops that they were about to arrive, Chen Baoying was so angry that he cursed: "Hou Andu is a thief with a fierce and arrogant nature. He provoked a strong enemy to attack. The King of Linchuan is self-important and rashly interfered and got himself into trouble. These two are seeking death. I have been staying out of the matter in Fujian, but now I have been dragged into the disaster. It's really hateful!"
Although he complained, he did not dare to really turn Chen Qian and his party away. After all, Chen Qian and his party were not weak. If they resisted, they would inevitably kill each other and would be in chaos before the Tang army arrived.
Therefore, he also ordered his staff to settle the people of Kuaiji in the water fences and mountain strongholds near the county, giving them a place to live and some supplies. Once the Tang army arrived, these people would naturally serve as a ready-made human fence. As for Linchuan King Chen Qian, he was only allowed to lead a small number of his troops to Jin'an to meet him, and the large group of people was not allowed to enter.