Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 326 Emperor Tianqi of the Song Dynasty
Throughout the first month of the eighth year of the Common Year, the atmosphere in Jiankang City was very depressing.

Of the three princes, one was imprisoned, one died, and one became a monk. More than 20,000 imperial guards also disappeared on the top of Purple Gold Mountain. The whole capital was gloomy and filled with cries.

The emperor and his ministers in the court were also relatively silent, speaking with a weak voice, and no one urged the Northern Expedition anymore, as if there was no ambition at all...

But as the saying goes, there is always a silver lining, and God will not let a sparrow starve to death.

On the second day of the second lunar month, the urgent sound of bronze bells once again rang through the gate of Jiankang city.

The defenders on the city walls all looked up and saw the messenger with wings on his back and a red flag in his hand, flying across the high city wall at lightning speed.

"Another urgent military situation?" The people of Beijing also discussed the situation:

"I wonder what bad news there will be."

"Oh, please don't let any more people die..."

The messengers with red flags on their backs folded their wings and landed in front of the palace gate. They were not birds or beasts transformed into spirits, but were using the magic flying weapon "Lu Ban Wings".

The imperial guards guarding the gate immediately brought the messenger into the palace to see the emperor.

"Your Majesty, the governor of Northern Xuzhou has an urgent report on military situation!"

Xiao Yan was playing chess with Chen Qingzhi in the Shiqian Hall. When he heard the report, his expression tensed up and he said softly to Chen Qingzhi:
"Alas, I've heard too much bad news recently. I really don't want to be hit again."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. It shouldn't be bad news." Chen Qingzhi said with a smile while holding the chess piece.

"Oh? So confident?" Xiao Yan looked at Chen Qingzhi happily, knowing that he never spoke nonsense.

"A little bit." Chen Qingzhi nodded and smiled, "There are two reasons. First, although Lan Qin, the garrison commander of Zhongli, is young, he is mature and prudent, and never takes risks, so there is no need to worry that he will cause trouble. Second,..."

"Secondly," Xiao Yan said for him with a smile, "the opposing defender Yuan Faseng is a poor chess player with great ambitions but little talent. There is no need to worry about him having any clever tricks."

"Your Majesty is wise. This is exactly what I mean." Chen Qingzhi nodded and smiled.

"Haha, let's see if you guessed it right." Xiao Yan smiled and said to the outside, "Send it in."

The eunuch Dong Ping held the wax letter box, opened it in front of the emperor, took out the military report and presented it to Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan took it and glanced at it, his eyes wide open, and read it again word by word, then handed it to Chen Qingzhi and said with a smile: "Ah Qing, you have a good eye for people."

Chen Qingzhi took the letter and looked at it, and it was indeed good news - Yuan Faseng, the governor of Xuzhou in the Northern Dynasty, sent people to Zhongli to make secret contacts, and he was going to surrender the whole city to Liang!

"This is great news!" Chen Qianzhi's expression brightened up and he slapped his thigh.

Xuzhou in the Northern Wei Dynasty governed seven prefectures and 24 counties. It was located at the strategic point of Shandong, Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu, and had always been a battleground for military strategists. It and Shouyang were two important towns and gateways to the east and west of the Northern Dynasty. Although Xuzhou was located in a plain and not as easy to defend as Shouyang, it was also a city with high walls, well-trained soldiers and sufficient food. If the Liang army wanted to take it by force, it would have to besiege the city with at least hundreds of thousands of troops and tens of thousands of lives.

Now there is a chance to get it without any effort, it's like God is chasing and feeding me!
Because the opportunity was too tempting, Xiao Yan, who was afraid of being cheated, was so happy that he immediately muttered, "Is this a trick?"

"Your Majesty, rest assured. If it were someone else, they might have cheated, but not Yuan Faseng." Then Chen Qingzhi said slowly, "First, he doesn't have the ability to cheat. Second, he is in a difficult situation in the Northern Dynasty. He will definitely not cut off this retreat."

Nowadays, the concept of imperial power, destiny, loyalty to the emperor and patriotism have all been dismantled. As a result, the confrontation between the two dynasties gave the officials on both sides a tangible way out... If they were unhappy working on one side, they would just jump to the other side, which was a basic operation and commonplace.

Especially during the chaos in the Northern Dynasty, there were countless princes and nobles, civil and military officials who fled to the Southern Dynasty, and there were six or seven princes from the royal family alone... Of course, when they fled, they were all alone. Naturally, they would not make Xiao Yan's heart flutter like the Yuanfa monk who came with a rich dowry.

~~
Chen Qingzhi was confident that Yuan Faseng would not easily cut off this retreat route because he knew this person very well...

Yuan Faseng was a member of the Northern Wei royal family, and his father Tuoba Zhongkui was named King of Jiangyang. As a member of the royal family, Yuan Faseng indulged in pleasure and wasted his time when he was young. After he reached the age of fifty, he suddenly felt that he could not live without making any achievements in his life, so he wrote a letter to request to serve the country.

The emperor saw it and thought, "A prodigal son who has returned is more valuable than gold." He immediately agreed. In this era where people only look at their background and not their ability, the Yuanfa monk, who was full of halo, naturally had a smooth career. In just a few years, he became the military officer of the Taiwei, the general of Longxiang, and the governor of Yizhou.

But this fellow, like most of the princes and nobles who rose to power by blood, had no real ability at all. Moreover, he was mediocre and arrogant, greedy and tyrannical, moody, and relied on power to bully others.

In order to accomplish something, he went against the conventional wisdom that "a strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake". When he was governor of Yizhou, he forced the sons of wealthy families, scholars and wealthy businessmen to join the army, preparing to lead a large army to the south.

As a result, they offended the local powerful before they even set out, which made people fear Wei and triggered a rebellion throughout the territory, which in turn attracted the Liang army to invade the territory.

The Liang army was unstoppable and quickly captured most of Yizhou and even reached the territory of what is now Shaanxi. The Yuan monk was so frightened that he dared not open the city gate in broad daylight and quickly asked the court for help.

The Northern Dynasty had no choice but to withdraw the Yuan Fa monk who was capable of causing trouble but not able to quell it, and sent another general, Fu Shuyan, to take over the mess.

Fu Shuyan, who still had two eyes at the time, was really amazing. He fought nine battles in three days and won nine victories. He fought over 200 miles and put down the civil strife in just a few days, drove away the Liang army, and saved Yizhou...

After Yuan Faseng returned to the court, he only stayed at home for two years, avoiding the limelight for a while. Not long after, relying on the relationship with Empress Dowager Hu, he was recommended by the powerful minister Yuan Cha as the General of Andong and the Governor of Xuzhou, and became a senior official who was in charge of a region and could take charge of everything...

This time, Yuan Faseng learned his lesson and established good relations with local tyrants in Xuzhou. He also recognized his own strength and did not take the initiative to provoke the Southern Dynasty. With his background and background, the tyrants naturally would not embarrass him, so there was peace for several years.

After that, the Six Garrisons Rebellion broke out, and civil uprisings broke out in the Northern Dynasties. The court was also in chaos. Empress Dowager Hu was corrupting the palace, and Yuan Cha was tyrannical and ruled the country. In short, the world was in chaos and a mess...

As a result, Yuan Cha was killed by his arch-enemy in a palace coup.

Yuan Faseng had always been a member of Yuan Cha's party and was afraid that he would be implicated. In addition, the court was in chaos and there were rebellions everywhere, so he made up his mind to rebel!
Yes, he did not surrender to Daliang right away. Instead, he first eliminated dissidents and obstacles, killed Xingtai Gao Liang, proclaimed himself emperor in Pengcheng, named the country "Song", changed the era name to "Tianqi", and made several sons kings...

But no matter whether it was the Southern Dynasty or the Northern Dynasty, everyone treated him as a joke, and no one believed that he could succeed in the rebellion, otherwise in Lan Qin's report, he would not still be called the Governor of Xuzhou of the Northern Dynasty instead of the 'Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty'.

(End of this chapter)