Chapter 256 Xiao Yan takes action
Chen Qingzhi began to follow Xiao Yan very early.
Before replacing Qi, Xiao Yan was obsessed with Go and often played it day and night. Other chess players around him could not stand it, but only Chen Qingzhi could make Xiao Yan enjoy himself.
After Xiao Yan ascended the throne in place of Qi, Chen Qingzhi was also appointed as Fengchaoqing, a position that was a close minister accompanying the emperor. Hou Gang also held this position when he started his career.
However, Chen Qingzhi was quite knowledgeable in military affairs, so Xiao Yan would often discuss military issues with him while playing chess.
The scenery inside Tongtai Temple is pleasant. The incense burning in the monks' quarters is curling up, and you can hear the Buddhist chanting in the main hall.
Xiao Yan is already 57 years old this year, but he has a long and beautiful beard, and his hair and beard are still shiny black, making him look very young.
Chen Qingzhi made his moves cautiously, but Xiao Yan picked up a Buddhist scripture and played chess with Chen Qingzhi while reading it, and he was not at a disadvantage at all.
This was really not Chen Qingzhi letting Xiao Yan win. Xiao Yan's chess skills had indeed reached the level of today's top masters.
In addition to chess, Xiao Yan's attainments in calligraphy were also unparalleled in the world.
He discussed calligraphy with Tao Hongjing, who was good at running and cursive scripts and learned from Zhong Yao and Wang Xizhi. Their conversation was compiled into "Letter to Emperor Wu of Liang on Calligraphy", which became a classic in the history of calligraphy.
Xiao Yan studied Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and his attainments in Taoism were so great that even Tao Hongjing, the current master of Southern Tianshi Dao, could not match him.
Xiao Yan's attainments in Confucianism were also extraordinary. During the Yongming period of Emperor Wu of the Southern Qi Dynasty, he often visited the cultural center of the time, the western residence of King Jingling Xiao Ziliang. Together with Shen Yue, Xie Zhen and others, he was known as the "Eight Friends of Jingling". He was quick-witted, well-versed in literature and history, and wrote thousands of fu and hundreds of poems, many of which were famous works.
Finally, in terms of attainments in Buddhism, Xiao Yan was already the number one Buddhist in the Southern Dynasty.
This is Xiao Yan, the Bodhisattva Emperor of Southern Liang.
Chen Qianzhi played chess for a long time, but finally gave up and admitted defeat.
Xiao Yan overturned the chessboard and said to Chen Qingzhi:
"There is civil unrest in Guanzhong, and many ministers in the court have advised me to send troops. Ziyun (Chen Qingzhi's courtesy name) what do you think?"
Chen Qingzhi was packing up his chess pieces. When he heard Xiao Yan asking about such a military and national issue, he lowered his head and said:
"I am physically weak and cannot use a bow or crossbow, nor am I good at riding a horse, so I am not qualified to be a general. How can I participate in such important military and national affairs?
Xiao Yan laughed and said:
"I know that Ziyun wants to be a general. Who says that a general must kill the enemy on the battlefield? There were also generals like Sun Bin in ancient times. Ziyun, you are familiar with the Art of War, but tell me what you think."
Chen Qingzhi thought for a moment and said:
"Since ancient times, there have been three routes for northern expeditions, and Huan Wen of the Eastern Jin Dynasty took all of them."
"The first step is to go north from Jiankang, cross the Huai River and seize Pengcheng. After that, we can attack Qingzhou (Shandong) and Henan."
"Another route is the one Huan Wen took during his first northern expedition, going north from Jiangling to Xiangyang and then following the Han River to attack Nanxiang and Wuguan. This way, he could attack Chang'an and Luoyang."
"The last way is to attack Hanzhong from Shuzhong, and then attack Guanzhong from Hanzhong."
Xiao Yan nodded. He was well-versed in military history. Chen Qingzhi was right. There were indeed only these three options.
Now that the Northern Dynasty was in turmoil, the Southern Dynasty, which had enjoyed peace for a long time, also began to think about making a fortune in the chaos.
The ministers in the court were arguing about these three options.
Xiao Yan put down the Buddhist scriptures and asked:
"Ziyun, which route do you think we should take to march north?"
Chen Qingzhi said directly:
"I think we should take advantage of the civil unrest in Suolu to attack Liangzhou!"
Xiao Wei, Prince of Nanping, was the governor of Yizhou in Southern Liang and the younger brother of Xiao Yan. Xiao Wei was the most active in submitting petitions to attack Liangzhou.
Xiao Yan himself was somewhat hesitant about attacking Liangzhou from Yizhou.
This was not because Xiao Yan was on guard against his younger brother. Xiao Yan had learned from the lessons of the former Qi Dynasty and was very lenient towards the royal family.
Among the anthropomorphic royal family members of Southern Liang, Xiao Wei is already considered a capable person, and Xiao Yan is confident in his younger brother's abilities.
However, Xiao Yan was worried about the combat effectiveness of the Yizhou army.
The Southern Liang and the Northern Wei fought for Liangzhou many times, but ultimately failed and suffered heavy casualties. Xiao Yan lacked confidence in attacking Liangzhou.
Xiao Yan took out a letter and said:
"This is a letter from Yuan Faseng, the governor of Xuzhou, who expressed his intention to surrender."
Yuanfa monk?
Chen Qingzhi remembered this member of the Northern Wei royal family.
When the Northern Wei Dynasty was strong, it once occupied Yizhou.
This is also thanks to Yuan Faseng, the governor of Yizhou.
While serving as the governor of Yizhou, he wantonly plundered local money, triggering a rebellion throughout the region. The Southern Liang took the opportunity to send troops to seize Yizhou.
Emperor Xuanwu did not kill Yuan Faseng, an incompetent member of the royal family. Instead, he granted him the title of Purple Light Doctor and raised him in Luoyang.
After Emperor Xuanwu passed away, Yuan Faseng got in touch with Prince Qinghe and was sent to be the governor of Xuzhou.
There are two Xuzhous now.
The Xuzhou in the hands of the Northern Wei Dynasty, with its capital in Pengcheng, was the Xuzhou that was the hometown of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang. It was also the Xuzhou in later generations where "more than 50 large-scale wars had taken place throughout the ages."
The Southern Dynasty set up Qiaozhou to accommodate people fleeing from the north and to demonstrate its legitimacy. It was located in present-day Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, and was called Nanxuzhou, with its seat in Danyang.
The current governor of Southern Xuzhou in Southern Liang is Xiao Zong, the prince of Xiao Yan who wrote the letter to Xiao Baoyin.
Although Yuan Faseng quickly defected to King Jiangyang Yuan Yi after King Qinghe fell, he was still in a state of panic.
The court sent Zhang Wenbo, a secretary of the Central Secretariat, to Xuzhou to inspect the local area. However, Yuan Faseng's actions in Xuzhou had aroused the anger of the entire Xuzhou. Yuan Faseng was afraid that the local nobles would complain to Zhang Wenbo, so he killed Zhang Wenbo on the way.
After killing the man, Yuan Faseng began to panic again, fearing that the court would discover his murder and remove him from his position as governor of Xuzhou.
So Yuan Faseng wrote a letter to Xiao Yan, requesting to surrender the northern Xuzhou area to Southern Liang.
Chen Qingzhi looked at the monarch he had served for half his life, and he understood Xiao Yan's thoughts.
After the defeat at Fushan Weir, Xiao Yan's ambition for the Northern Expedition faded, and he was no longer willing to fight a battle of this scale that could destroy a country.
The Northern Wei Dynasty was in chaos after Emperor Xuanwu, so the struggle between the two sides was concentrated on the border cities.
For example, Chen Bozhi in "Letter to Chen Bozhi" first surrendered the city to Northern Wei, and then surrendered to Southern Liang again. There were many border generals who jumped back and forth like this.
On the other side, the governor of Beixuzhou of Northern Wei wrote a letter to Xiao Yan to surrender to Southern Liang, and the governor of Nanxuzhou of Southern Liang, Prince Xiao Zong, wrote a letter to Xiao Baoyin to surrender to Northern Wei.
This kind of spectacle can only be seen during the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
If Yuan Faseng really wants to defect to Daliang, that would indeed be the best opportunity to seize Xuzhou.
As an important city in Jianghuai, Xuzhou has undoubted strategic significance. But did the Yuanfa monk really surrender? What if this was a trap set by the Northern Wei Dynasty to deliberately lure the Southern Liang army northwards for an ambush?
As he grew older, Xiao Yan's ambition to unify the world through military means faded.
He is like an old businessman who is becoming increasingly cautious. He no longer wants to explore new business routes but only wants to do his existing business well.
If there is a project that can be invested in, Xiao Yan doesn't mind investing a little money, but it is impossible for him to make a big bet.
Xiao Yan looked at Chen Qingzhi and said:
"Ziyun, I'll give you three thousand soldiers and ask you to go to Beixuzhou to meet Monk Yuan Fa. Are you willing?"
Chen Qingzhi didn't think about it, he immediately said:
"I am willing!"
Chen Qingzhi had been waiting for such an opportunity for a long time. Ever since he became a subordinate of Xiao Yan, he had always wanted to make progress.
It’s a pity that Chen Qingzhi’s family background was too low, so he could only start as a close minister to Xiao Yan.
Over the years, he used all the savings from Xiao Yan's rewards to maintain retainers, which was barely enough to build a group of trusted followers.
Although Xiao Yan was only willing to invest three thousand soldiers and horses, Chen Qianzhi still wanted to seize this opportunity.
Xiao Yan helped Chen Qingzhi up and said:
"If I can take Xuzhou, I will not lose my position as general!"
Chen Qingzhi's whole body was shaking with excitement, although culturally the Southern Dynasty was more open and tolerant than the Northern Wei Dynasty established by the Hu people.
However, since Xiao Yan ascended the throne, he implemented a family system that was more stringent than that of the Northern Dynasties.
Xiao Yan revived the noble families of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, which had declined during the Liu Song period, and granted them official positions according to their family background.
Xiao Yan probably did this because he was inspired by the lesson of the military dictatorship in the late Southern Qi Dynasty. He believed that promoting Confucianism and employing these "morally virtuous" children of noble families could reverse the social atmosphere in the late Southern Qi Dynasty.
However, in addition to promoting these high-ranking families of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Xiao Yan also promoted his friends who had followed him under King Jingling Xiao Ziliang, such as Shen Yue, Xie Tiao and others, and promoted them to high-ranking families.
In order to accommodate these upper-class families, Xiao Yan continued to set up new prefectures and counties. The administrative divisions of the Southern Liang Prefecture were more than twice that of the Northern Wei Prefectures. Some of these prefectures only had one prefecture and one county under their jurisdiction.
Chen Qingzhi's family background was too low. Although he had followed Xiao Yan for a long time in terms of seniority, he was still regarded as a "favored" minister and was looked down upon by ministers from noble families in Southern Liang.
This time he finally had the opportunity to make a contribution, so Chen Qianzhi naturally cherished it very much and prepared to bring all his retainers and private soldiers with him.
Xiao Yan added:
"Yizhou can be used as a detachment. The imperial army cannot be moved lightly. We can let the Prince of Nanping lead the Yizhou troops to try. I heard that the Suolu general Su Ze who now occupies Yizhou is from a Yulin military household and is unpopular in Liangzhou. If he can capture Hanzhong, it will be a pleasant surprise."
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Liangzhou, Wuxing City.
Except for Murong Shaozong who was sent to Gaoping City, all the generals under Su Ze gathered in Wuxing, including Li Cunzhen who stayed in Liangzhou, and even Li Tong, Su Ze's father-in-law, who was placed in Jincheng.
Su Ze's sister Su Yuyao also came to Wuxing with her father-in-law. In addition, Su Ze also met his daughter for the first time.
When Madam An met Su Ze with her daughter in her arms, he truly felt a sense of blood connection.
With children, Su Ze felt that his connection with this world became closer.
However, when facing Madam An, Su Ze thought of Lu Xiuning again. Fortunately, the two women seemed to understand their identities and had no intention of confronting each other.
Li Tong was also deeply moved when he saw Su Ze. Who would have thought that an ordinary Yulin soldier could have such a foundation?
"My father is old."
Su Ze respected Li Tong and allowed him to attend military meetings, but when he saw the white hair on Li Tong's head, Su Ze felt uncomfortable.
"I don't understand the military discussion, so let me train the troops."
When in Hezhou, Li Tong trained troops day and night and helped Su Ze train several batches of Yulin cavalry who were skilled in archery and horse riding.
Nine out of ten cavalrymen that Su Cho brought up from the rear had been trained by Li Tong.
Su Ze remembered his father-in-law's efforts and was the first to propose to grant him an official position, but Li Tong flatly refused.
Li Tong's reply to Su Ze was: "It is written in my ancestors' military manual that the most important thing in the army is to distinguish rewards and punishments. Without military merit, you cannot get a military position. This is an iron rule in any army. How can it be broken because of me?"
Li Tong was determined not to accept the official position and asked someone to persuade Su Ze to give the official position to his meritorious subordinates.
Su Ze had no choice but to propose finding someone to inherit Li Tong's family line and help him carry on the family line.
However, Li Tong was very stubborn. He thought that if he started raising a child at his age, he might not be able to wait until his son reached adulthood. If he adopted an adult male, he felt that people were targeting Su Ze.
So Li Tong rejected Su Ze's arrangement and just said that he would find an orphan with good character first.
In the big tent, what is being discussed today is the future direction of Su Ze's group.
Before traveling through time, Su Ze also disliked these conferences.
At that time, he believed that these conferences did not discuss any substantive work and were a pure waste of time.
Now Su Ze understands the purpose of this kind of meeting. Although the agenda and results of the meeting may have been decided in a small-scale meeting, such a conference is a meeting to announce the guidelines and unify ideas, and is used to build team consensus.
The Su Ze group has different demands in all aspects.
Li Cunzhen and other descendants of the Ganliang West Army hope that Su Ze can develop towards the Western Regions, attract more Ganliang West Army to return to their homeland, and finally rebuild the Western Regions Protectorate and regain control of the Western Regions.
The scholars in Liangzhou and Hezhou also had simple ideas. They needed Su Ze to block the threats from the Western Regions, Tuyuhun, and the northern grasslands, and maintain the stability of Liangzhou and Hezhou. However, if there were military merits, they would not mind following Su Ze to fight.
The demands of Longxi County were similar to those of Liangzhou and Hezhou, except that they had an additional demand to stop the rebels from Qinzhou.
The mentality of the people in Liangzhou was the most complicated. Su Ze and Yang Kan pacified the rebels and made contributions to Liangzhou.
The power of Liangzhou itself could not stop the rebels, nor could it stop the Southern Liang in the south, and it could not even pacify the local Di and Shanyue barbarians.
But they were also afraid that Su Ze would treat them like he did to the Yang family of Hanzhong.
Su Ze sighed, this is the pros and cons of living in a corner.
The advantage was that the court looked down upon the territories he occupied. Although Su Ze occupied three states and one county, in the eyes of the Northern Wei court, all these territories combined might not be as good as one Yongzhou.
Not to mention compared with those states in Kanto.
Living in a remote corner means that you can farm quietly without arousing the fear of other forces.
The downside is that the scholars and generals in the isolated areas are all content with living a life of ease and rarely have the ambition to dominate the world.
Su Ze looked around and finally started today's military meeting.
At this point in time, Xiao Yan had not yet sacrificed himself in Tongtai Temple, and was not as senile as he would be in his later years.
(End of this chapter)