Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 532 Give it a try

Heba Sheng was originally the governor of Qizhou appointed by Erzhu Rong. After he took Qizhou to Southern Liang, the person who came to take over Qizhou was Xiao Gang, the third son of Southern Liang Emperor Xiao Yan and the commander-in-chief of the military affairs of Xu and Yang states.

The Southern Liang Dynasty was very tolerant of military generals like Heba Sheng who surrendered with their states, and allowed Heba Sheng to take his 800 troops to Jiankang to receive the title.

Heba Sheng had already arrived in Yangzhou with Xiao Gang, waiting to go to Jiankang.

But at this time, news came from Jiankang that Prince Zhaoming had passed away and something unexpected had happened in the palace.

After hearing the news, Xiao Gang, the younger brother of the deceased crown prince, who was involved in the war for the throne because of the affairs of his mother, Concubine Ding, became extremely frightened and was ready to go to Jiankang to apologize.

But when he went to apologize, Heba Sheng felt embarrassed.

Heba Sheng surrendered to Southern Liang, and it was Xiao Gang who accepted his surrender. The only person he knew in Southern Liang was Xiao Gang.

In other words, he is basically a force under Xiao Gang.

I just arrived in Nanliang and my immediate boss has fallen?
As a surrendered general, he would definitely be suppressed and feared.

This treatment was also what Xiao Gang fought for from the Southern Liang court in order to win over the hearts of the people.

If Xiao Gang falls, won’t I be finished?

When he thought of this, Heba Sheng couldn't calm down.

I have been through life and death to this day, and I jumped off the boat when Erzhu Rong was about to capsize. Now I am like this in Southern Liang?

Is it really necessary to retire?

No, even if I were to return to the countryside, how could a northerner like me, a foreigner, survive in the Southern Dynasty?

Heba Sheng made up his mind and went straight to find Xiao Gang who was about to set off.

Xiao Gang was a little confused as to why Heba Sheng asked to see him.

However, when taking over Qizhou, Xiao Gang had a good impression of Heba Sheng and was ready to win him over. It was a pity that he had lost his hope of becoming the crown prince and had no use for such a talent.

Xiao Gang still went to see Heba Sheng.

When Heba Sheng saw Xiao Gang, he said directly:
"Your Highness, do you want to be a prisoner or a crown prince?"

Hearing this, Xiao Gang was startled. He quickly looked around, fortunately they were all his trusted followers, so he immediately said:
"Don't speak nonsense!"

Heba Sheng saw Xiao Gang's reaction and thought there was hope. He immediately said:
"I am a foreign minister from the north, but I have heard a few things."

"The Crown Prince passed away. Your Highness is the oldest prince besides the Crown Prince, but he was not appointed as the new Crown Prince."

"If Your Majesty is interested in the grandson, it is understandable according to etiquette, but you have no intention of enthroning the grandson. Instead, you summoned the King of Chu to Jiankang. Can't Your Majesty see the situation clearly?"

When Xiao Gang heard this, he had already seen these problems. He also knew that his mother was imprisoned in the cold palace. He sighed and said:
"This king knows the situation very well, but now that things have come to this, what can we do?"

When Heba Sheng heard Xiao Gang asking for advice, he knew that he was actually unwilling to accept it.

Heba Sheng said with determination:
"We should mobilize the army and remove the emperor's entourage."

Xiao Gang almost fell off his seat after hearing this. He quickly said:
"General Heba! You must not have such rebellious thoughts again!"

Heba Sheng saw that when Xiao Gang heard his suggestion to start a rebellion, he just told him to shut up and did not let his subordinates take him down. Combined with Xiao Gang's character, he already understood most of it.

Like the late Prince Zhaoming, Xiao Gang was relatively weak in character, lacked much of his own opinion, and also had a fondness for literature.

Such a person may not have too much desire for power, but as a prince, even if you don't want to participate in the fight for the throne, you cannot escape this matter, not to mention that Xiao Gang is now Xiao Yan's eldest son, and has become a thorn in the eyes of others.

Zhu Yi, who had helped the King of Chu to power, had always been hostile to the Crown Prince. He was the Crown Prince's younger brother, so he was afraid that his ending would not be very good. Heba Sheng continued:
"Your Highness, are you going to go to Jiankang and wait for death?"

Xiao Gang's face darkened, and Heba Sheng realized that he probably already had this plan.

He continued:
"Your Highness! If you don't care about your own safety, don't you care about your family and the people around you?"

Xiao Gang felt a little depressed now.

He had a very good relationship with his wife. Even though he did not understand struggle, he knew that he might survive in Jiankang, but his confidants would definitely be purged.

Heba Sheng continued:

"Your Majesty is very kind to his brothers, but please think about the princes of Song and Qi."

Hearing this, Xiao Gang's expression changed completely.

Yes, Xiao Yan was very generous to his brothers and even forgave his younger brother Xiao Hong for committing adultery with his daughter.

But it was different for the emperors of Liu Song and Xiao Qi. Killing brothers was commonplace, and even physical torture was the lightest punishment. Many things could not be written in history books.

Now we are not far away from the Southern Song Dynasty, and the story of how Liu Ziye treated his uncles and brothers is still circulating.

However, King Xiao Yi of Chu was not born to the same mother as himself, and his personality was not as magnanimous as Xiao Yan's.

Thinking of this, Xiao Gang hesitated.

Heba Sheng said:
"I heard that Your Highness once led the military of Shitou City. Now most of the soldiers guarding Shitou City are Your Highness's old acquaintances, right?"

Xiao Gang nodded. He had led troops in Shitou City ten years ago. He was not very old at that time, but he followed the prince's instructions and showed kindness to ordinary soldiers, thus accumulating some prestige.

Stone City is the most important fortress on the way to Jiankang.

Since the Three Kingdoms period, the attack on Jiankang had to go through the Stone City.

Yangzhou is to the north of the Yangtze River, and Jiankang City is to the south of the Yangtze River. It is necessary to cross Shitou City before attacking Jiankang City.

Heba Sheng continued:
"Your Highness, please raise an army. As long as Your Highness is willing to trust me and allow me to lead 800 personal soldiers, and then ask Your Highness to write a letter to the soldiers of Stone City, I am willing to lead the way for the king and capture Stone City!"

"Once Shitou City is broken, Your Highness can recruit soldiers from Yangzhou and start an army in the name of clearing the court of corrupt officials!"

"If this fails, I will die and will not implicate Your Highness!"

Xiao Gang hesitated when he heard this.

Heba Sheng's plan could be said to be quite considerate of him.

Heba Sheng led his own personal soldiers to attack the fortress of Shitou City. If they could capture it, Jiankang would be in their hands, and he only needed to raise troops in Yangzhou to provide support.

If they failed to capture the city, Xiao Gang could still blame Heba Sheng for starting the rebellion on his own.

In fact, Xiao Gang knew in his heart that once Heba Sheng raised an army, he would have no choice but to go all the way.

However, he let Heba Sheng be the vanguard to attack Shitou City, so that he could flee to the north in case of failure.

Thinking of this, Xiao Gang went through a fierce ideological struggle, and remembering the cruel methods used by Emperor Song Qi to deal with his rivals for the throne, he finally decided to give it a try.

He pulled Heba Sheng up and said:

"Then I'll have to trouble General Heba!"

That night, Heba Sheng led his 800 elite soldiers from Yangzhou and attacked Shitou City!
(End of this chapter)