Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 537 Rebellion against Tiangang
"Moreover, the Eastern Wei army has been fighting the Western Wei for years, and has long been honed to an unparalleled level. Once the Southern Dynasty's reinforcements are breached, it is no surprise that they will be completely annihilated, and even their commander, Xiao Yuanming, will be captured." Tao Hongjing said with a sneer.

"Gao Cheng then had Xiao Yuanming write a letter to Xiao Yan, suggesting that the two countries reconcile. Xiao Yan, seeing that he had run into a brick wall, was already half-hearted, and worried about his nephew's safety, so he prepared to reply and agree."

“This is clearly a counter-espionage plot,” Chen Baxian concluded immediately. “Even if the emperor is muddleheaded, those around him should be able to see through it.”

"Yes. Minister of Agriculture Fu Qi warned, 'Gao Cheng has not been defeated, so why is he seeking peace? This is clearly a ploy to provoke Hou Jing. If Hou Jing becomes suspicious, things will definitely change, and we must not fall into this trap.'"

"But Emperor Wu of Han (Xiao Yan) turned a deaf ear, and the envoys of the two countries began to travel back and forth to negotiate peace. Hou Jing, upon hearing the news, was indeed frightened. He submitted a memorial saying, 'If the two countries make peace, I am afraid I will not be able to escape Gao Cheng's clutches.' Emperor Wu of Han then solemnly assured him, 'I am the ruler of the world; how could I break my promise to anyone? You must know my heart.'"

"Hou Jingxin is a ghost," Yang Zhong said in a deep voice. "This man is cunning, suspicious, and easily frightened. He can't be dismissed with just a few words."

“That’s right,” Tao Hongjing nodded. “Hou Jing then impersonated Gao Cheng and wrote a letter to Xiao Yan, proposing to exchange his nephew Xiao Yuanming for Hou Jing. Xiao Yan quickly replied, saying, ‘You return my nephew in the morning, and I will return Hou Jing tonight.’ After Hou Jing intercepted the reply, he decided to rebel and turned his guns on Jiankang!”

“That’s normal.” Chen Baxian nodded. “On one side is a tough nut to crack that we can’t afford to offend, and on the other side is a soft persimmon that’s already rotten to the core. I would have done the same thing if I were in his shoes!”

“Yes, and he’s especially good at defeating the Southern Dynasty’s army.” Yang Zhong rarely agreed with him. “As the saying goes, ‘He who possesses a powerful weapon will naturally have the will to kill.’ He’ll do it sooner or later.”

"Last August, Hou Jing led 8,000 Tianlu Army soldiers and started an attack in Shouyang. They made surprise attacks all the way and swept through the city of Jiankang in no time."

"What about the Jinling Grand Formation?" Ren Yuan asked. "Shouldn't it be able to stop foreign invasion?"

“It’s long gone.” Tao Hongjing couldn’t help but laugh. “It would take ten thousand devout monks chanting scriptures to maintain the great formation. Although there are many monks in this world, it’s impossible to find one who is truly dedicated.”

"What about Wu Yang? Will he just sit idly by?" Ren Yuan asked.

“As I said before, He has already given up on the human world and gone back to his dreamland.” Tao Hongjing spat and said, “Seeing that his ideal country had completely failed and was beyond redemption, and that He could no longer ascend to the position of chief god, He simply gave up. When Hou Jing’s army was at the gates of the city, Xiao Yan even went up Zijin Mountain to pray, but there was no response.”

"That's the kind of thing that woman would do," Chen Baxian sneered. "Extremely selfish, willful, and irresponsible!"

"Seeing that he could not rely on the gods, Xiao Yan had no choice but to save himself. On the one hand, he quickly ordered his sons, who had been enfeoffed in various prefectures, to lead troops to defend the emperor. On the other hand, he entrusted military affairs to Crown Prince Xiao Gang. Xiao Gang did his best to reorganize the defenses and had famous generals like Yang Kan to assist him. Unfortunately, the people and soldiers of Jiankang had gone mad and did not care about anything. They were completely unable to resist the Tianlu Army."

"Hou Jing quickly breached the Zhuque Gate, and Yu Xin, the scholar of the Eastern Palace who was guarding the gate, fled. Then, Xiao Zhengli, who harbored resentment towards Xiao Yan, opened the Xuanyang Gate to welcome the rebel army into the city. At the end of October last year, the rebel army began besieging the capital city," Tao Hongjing continued.
"Because of Yang Kan's steadfast defense, the city could not be captured after a long siege. Hou Jing then built a long siege to cut off communication between the city and the outside. The city was finally breached last month."

"Didn't Xiao Yan send his sons to the rescue?" Ren Yuan asked. "Could it be that all the troops have been turned into spirits?"

"No, of the more than twenty states in the Southern Dynasty, only the five core ones have been transformed into spirits," Tao Hongjing said. "The fiefdoms of most of the princes are not among them, so the armies are naturally still in normal condition."

"Didn't they come?" Yang Zhong asked.

"They all came. At its peak, the Yangtze River was filled with the armies of six princes, with thousands of warships and two to three hundred thousand soldiers." Tao Hongjing said with a bitter smile, "But because each of the princes had their own ulterior motives, they held back after several unsuccessful battles and watched the fall of Taicheng."

"What's going on? Do you wish his father were dead?" Chen Baxian asked.

“You’re absolutely right,” Tao Hongjing nodded. “Xiao Yan learned from the lessons of the previous dynasty and indulged the imperial family in every way. He even enfeoffed his sons as princes and granted them military and political power in their respective states.”

"But when the time came, none of them thought of serving the country. Instead, they stood by and watched, hoping that Hou Jing would kill Xiao Yan and Xiao Gang so they could become emperor," Tao Hongjing said gleefully.
"It can only be said that Xiao Yan protected them too well, turning them into simple-minded, reckless giant babies! After Hou Jing captured Taicheng, he installed Crown Prince Xiao Gang as emperor and appointed himself Grand Commander. Then, in Xiao Gang's name, he issued an edict ordering the princes to withdraw their troops."

"Those guys were immediately caught in a dilemma, but they still couldn't reach a consensus. As a result, Hou Jing defeated them one by one, and they all fled in panic."

"After the crisis was resolved, Hou Jing forced Xiao Gang to appoint him as the 'Grand General of the Universe' and also forced Xiao Yan to marry a princess to him."

"How old is he to marry a princess?" Chen Baxian scoffed.

"He should be almost fifty," Yang Zhong said.

"Hou Jing also had something to say. To defect to the Liang Dynasty, his wife and children were boiled alive by Gao Cheng. Therefore, the first thing he did after storming the capital was to get Xiao Yan to give him a wife," Tao Hongjing added, adding a bit of gossip.

"At first, he wanted to marry a daughter of the Wang or Xie family, but even after Xiao Yan's death, he still said that the Wang and Xie families were of high social standing and that he was not good enough for her. He suggested that she should try to marry a family of lower social standing, such as the Lu or Zhang families."

"This enraged Hou Jing, who felt that the royal family and aristocratic families looked down on him. So he massacred the Xiao family and the Wang and Xie families, forcing them to agree to marry their daughters to him. Moreover, the Xiao family's daughters were to be his principal wives, while the daughters of the Wang and Xie families were to be his concubines."

"This is too humiliating!" Chen Baxian exclaimed, speechless. "They must have lost all emotion, otherwise they would never have agreed, even if it meant death."

“Wrong,” Tao Hongjing shook his head and said, “Only the common people are devoid of emotion. Wu Yang still preserved normal emotions for those top aristocratic families and high-ranking officials in the court. Otherwise, who would help Him govern the country?”

“But it doesn’t matter anymore, Hou Jing has basically killed them all.” He then sighed, “He was too impatient, now he can’t even gather all the guests for the wedding tonight.”

"Is the wedding tonight?" Ren Yuan asked.

"Yes, in the Taiji Hall." Tao Hongjing laughed, "Hou Jing can't wait to experience being an emperor."

"By the way, which princess is he going to marry?" Ren Yuan asked. "Xiao Yan has not been interested in women for decades, would there still be a princess of marriageable age?"

"It is Princess Yongkang, Xiao Yuhuan," Tao Hongjing replied.

(End of this chapter)