Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 539 Performance Battle

Unable to capture the city, everyone returned to the Sixth Prince Xiao Xu to discuss countermeasures.

Facing everyone, Xiao Xu showed a smug expression.

I told you that you can't beat them! Why do you insist on fighting?
However, it seemed inappropriate to show such an expression in this situation, so Xiao Xu put away his expression and said:

"All the soldiers have been exhausted all the way. It will take a while for us to capture Shitou City, and the rebels will also take Taicheng City. It is better for us to set up camp around Jiankang and wait for the opportunity to fight."

Generals such as Wei Fang were ready to persuade Xiao Xu to fight again, but when they thought of the heavy losses suffered by their own men, they swallowed their words.

There was no way. You had fewer soldiers under your command, so naturally you had no say. The other generals had seen what happened to Wei Fang, so naturally they were unwilling to let their troops fight to the death. So the military meeting ended hastily.

Xiao Yan, who was besieged in Taicheng, also experienced great ups and downs.

First, the third prince Xiao Gang suddenly rebelled and captured Shitou City in one fell swoop. Xiao Yan was panicked at that time. If Zhu Yi had not persuaded him, he would have fled Jiankang City.

Relying on the leadership of loyal ministers and brave generals such as Chen Qingzhi, Wei Can, and Liu Jin, they blocked several attacks by Heba Sheng and finally maintained the situation in Taicheng. Xiao Yan recovered and started to operate again.

Xiao Yan sent an envoy out of the city to promise Heba Sheng that he would be willing to appoint him as the General of Cavalry as long as he betrayed Xiao Gang and surrendered to him.

Heba Sheng was naturally unmoved. As long as he captured Taicheng, not to mention becoming a general of cavalry, he could even become emperor in the future. How could he surrender at this time?

Moreover, Heba Sheng had also received news that the military preparations of Southern Liang had been lax for a long time. Although a large amount of supplies were stored in Taicheng, there was a lack of salt.

Although Heba Sheng didn't know whether it was true or not, he knew that long-term salt shortage would have a huge impact on the soldiers, so he just had to continue the siege.

Xiao Yan's series of operations were thwarted, and he was humiliated by Heba Sheng instead. The angry Bodhisattva Emperor even started cursing.

But soon, Xiao Yan heard that his sixth son, Xiao Xu, had led troops from Guangzhou to come to support the king!

Although the Sixth Prince Xiao Xu was the younger brother of the Third Prince Xiao Gang from the same mother, and it was unknown why the Guangzhou army was the first to arrive in Jiankang, they were at least under the banner of supporting the king.

Xiao Yan immediately restored Concubine Ding's status and ordered her to write a letter home and send it to the military camp outside Jiankang City by assassins.

When Xiao Xu received the letter from his mother, he naturally burst into tears and swore in front of the death warriors that he would rescue his father and mother.

This made Xiao Yan look forward to it very much, but soon his expectations were dashed.

The army under Xiao Xu's command symbolically attacked Shitou City and hesitated outside Jiankang City. They had no intention of fighting to the death with Heba Sheng.

Xiao Yan sent several more envoys, but in the end all their responses fell on deaf ears. He finally saw the situation clearly.

None of his sons, whether it was the third prince Xiao Gang who was under the banner of clearing the court of corrupt officials, or the sixth prince Xiao Xu who was under the banner of serving the king, wanted to live.

Xiao Yan suddenly felt a little sad. He treated the royal family members well and even forgave his younger brother Xiao Hong, who had committed adultery with his daughter and plotted rebellion, just to set an example for his sons.

But he didn't expect that when the national crisis really came, his sons were even worse than the royal family of Xiao Qi.

Now all of Xiao Yan's hopes rested on Xiao Yi, who had escaped back to Jingzhou.

Jiangling.

Fearing that he would be hunted down by his brother, Xiao Yi fled westward on horseback, then changed to a boat and finally returned to his loyal Jiangling City.

As soon as he returned to Jiangling City, Xiao Yi first released his top general, Wang Sengbian, who was imprisoned for losing Kuimen. Wang Sengbian was also a little confused. Although he was imprisoned in a cell, his treatment was still good, and the jailer would also tell him some news from the outside world.

The news that Xiao Yi had been enthroned as King of Chu and might be made Crown Prince had spread in Jiangling.

Could it be that Xiao Yi would make a special trip back to Jiangling to pardon himself?
impossible?

Soon, Wang Sengbian's questions were answered.

When Wang Sengbian heard that the Third Prince Xiao Gang had raised an army and had already attacked Taicheng City, he found it incredible.

He frowned and asked:
"How many rebels does Heba Sheng have? How could he capture Stone City? I heard from my father that when Your Majesty led his army to attack Qian Qi, it took him three months to capture Stone City."

On the way of escape, Xiao Yi also collected a lot of information from Jiankang City. When he told Wang Sengbian that Shitou City was undefended, even Wang Sengbian was shocked.

He knew that the Southern Liang army was in a state of slack, but he didn't expect it to be so slack?
I didn't expect that the high and mighty Bodhisattva Emperor was just a mortal.

He has no power to bring down divine punishment, and Buddha will not bless him.

For the first time, Wang Sengbian began to waver in his belief in imperial power.

He glanced lightly at Xiao Yi in front of him.

Once upon a time, he also had a filter for people like Xiao Yi, a nobleman.

He was grateful to Xiao Yi for his recognition and was willing to lead his troops through thick and thin for him.

But how did Xiao Yi treat him in the end? Just because he wanted to go to war with Yizhou, he was imprisoned.

Even now people in Jingzhou are saying that it was because of Wang Sengbian's warmongering that they lost Baidi City and Kuimen, and they jokingly call him "the general who has lost a hundred times."

It turns out that the current state of Daliang is all due to the incompetence of you people with the surname Xiao!
Heba Sheng's victory was more than just a coup.

Heba Sheng completely shattered the halo of Xiao Yan, and everyone realized that the Bodhisattva Emperor on the throne was actually just an old man who was about to die.

Politics is all about authority.

As the one in the highest position, if the people below recognize your authority, you are the supreme emperor.

If the people below you do not recognize your authority, they are just mortal beings.

Seeing that Wang Sengbian was distracted, Xiao Yi was a little displeased.

However, Wang Sengbian was the only one who was good at fighting under his command. Xiao Yi said in a friendly manner:
"General Wang, I am willing to hand over all the troops in Jingzhou to you. Let us go to Jiankang immediately to rescue my father."

Wang Sengbian shook his head and said:
"Your Highness, it's not difficult to raise an army, but what about Yizhou? Hou Jing is very good at exploiting the weaknesses of his troops. If we use all our strength to advance eastward, what if Yizhou takes the opportunity to capture Jingzhou?"

Xiao Yi almost blurted out:
"If he wants Jingzhou, then give it to him. Right now, my father's safety is much more important than the gains and losses of Jingzhou!"

As expected, Wang Sengbian finally saw through this group of Xiao family members. No matter what country or people they owned, they could not compare to their wealth and glory.

Just as the two were discussing, a messenger suddenly came to report that Hou Jing's vanguard Yang Jia had occupied Jingmen regardless of the agreement!

(End of this chapter)