Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 546 Death of Chen Qingzhi

After repelling the coalition forces, Heba Sheng immediately said to the third prince Xiao Gang:

"Your Highness, our army's morale is high, and we should continue to attack Taicheng."

Xiao Gang was still a little hesitant.

These days, he did not order a fierce attack on Taicheng in order to leave some affection between father and son, and also to leave a way out for himself.

The best outcome Xiao Gang envisioned was that Xiao Yan would leave Taicheng and surrender to him, and then pass the throne to him.

Then the troops outside the city who were defending the king would have completely lost their righteous cause.

If only a few vassal kings like Xiao Xu were left to support the king, they could be defeated one by one.

So although Xiao Gang launched some offensives against Taicheng these days, they were not the kind of fierce attacks at all costs.

When Heba Sheng saw Xiao Gang hesitate, he immediately said, "If Your Highness does not want to attack the city, why don't we tie our hands and surrender to Your Majesty!"

Hearing Heba Sheng's harsh words, Xiao Gang did not dare to hesitate any longer and could only say:

"Then follow the general's orders and attack Taicheng with all your forces!"

Xiao Gang also realized the situation clearly. He had no prestige in the army. Even the personal soldiers around him were Heba Sheng's men. At this time, he already regretted starting the rebellion.

But now the two of them are tied to the same rope. If one wins, he still has a chance to be a puppet, but if he loses, he will be reduced to ashes.

Heba Sheng arrogantly seized the military order and began preparing for a fierce attack on Taicheng the next day.

This time, Heba Sheng did not completely resort to reckless tactics.

Heba Sheng recruited a number of craftsmen in Jiankang City. He first ordered the craftsmen to make a pointed wooden donkey for attacking the city.

This siege device is a cart covered with leather and straw mats on the top. Soldiers hide under the cart to protect themselves from falling rocks and arrows from the city walls. They push the cart to the city gate to attack it.

The craftsmen of the Southern Liang Dynasty were very capable. The pointed wooden donkey they built was very sturdy, and the defenders on the city wall were unable to break through the defense.

Heba Sheng ordered his troops to attack the city gate with battering rams, and the gate of Taicheng was on the verge of collapse.

Chen Qingzhi, who was directing the defense on the city wall, immediately ordered his men to make pheasant-tail torches, install iron arrowheads on them, pour oil on them, and throw them at the wooden donkey, burning it completely.

When Heba Sheng's plan failed, he drove the people to build earthen hills on the east and west sides of the city, and ordered the archers to shoot arrows from the hills to suppress the city.

Chen Qingzhi sent people to dig a tunnel that secretly led to the bottom of the hill, causing the hill to collapse.

Heba Sheng was not giving up, and he built a climbing tower carriage that was more than ten feet high, preparing to shoot arrows into the city from the carriage.

Chen Qingzhi observed the battlefield and said to his soldiers: "The towers are too high, and the trenches are soft and weak. They will surely collapse when they come. There is no need to defend them."

Later, it turned out to be true. These tower cars could not even be pushed to the vicinity of Taicheng City. They were knocked over by the uneven ground. Heba Sheng's siege was once again unsuccessful.

After nearly half a month of struggle, the defenders of Taicheng were united and repeatedly defeated Heba Sheng's fierce attacks.

But right inside Jiankang City, Liu Zhongli had been in a state of decline since his last defeat and no longer suggested attacking the rebels.

During the siege, Liu Zhongli's father Liu Jin also climbed up to the city wall several times and shouted to the nearby King Qin's army camp:
"Your king and father are in trouble, and you cannot give your all. How will the world judge you a hundred generations from now?"

However, when Liu Zhongli heard his father's personal call, he just smiled and said nothing to those around him. He continued to indulge in wine and music, and no longer persuaded the coalition forces to attack the rebels. He watched the rebels attack the city using various means.

Liu Jin shouted several times, but saw that the coalition forces did not respond at all. He returned to Xiao Yan disappointedly and said:
"Your Majesty has a son like the Third Prince, and I have a son like Zhongli, who is disloyal and unfilial. How can we defeat the enemy?"

When Xiao Yan heard Liu Jin's words, he couldn't help but shed tears and sigh.

However, Xiao Yan could not help being sad, as Zhu Yi came to report that Chen Qingzhi was dying! Xiao Yan was shocked, as he had relied on Chen Qingzhi's clever ideas to resolve Heba Sheng's siege.

Chen Qianzhi has high prestige in the army and is a first-class military strategist. If he is no longer capable, who else can defend the city?

Xiao Yan immediately went to Chen Qingzhi's barracks.

When I arrived at the barracks, I found that Chen Qianzhi had become so thin that he was no longer human after just a few days.

Chen Qianzhi's health has been poor since he returned from the last Northern Expedition.

The last time he fled across the river, Chen Qianzhi contracted a disease. Whenever the weather got cold, all his bones felt like they were being pricked by needles.

However, there was a lack of fuel in Taicheng, and Chen Qianzhi, who lived in the military camp, could not keep himself warm, leaving the soldiers to freeze.

The intensive city defense these days often required him to get up at night for patrols, and his body quickly collapsed.

Seeing Chen Qingzhi like this, Xiao Yan also shed tears and said:

"I regret not listening to your advice and reorganizing the military. Now the thieves have taken advantage of the situation and sneaked in. I regret it."

At this point, Chen Qianzhi no longer thought about these things.

The White Robe Army was so high-spirited when they marched north. What a great achievement it was that they conquered cities and captured land along the way and entered Luoyang.

When fighting against Erzhu Rong, Chen Qingzhi was never at a disadvantage. He confronted Erzhu Rong head-on many times and never lost the upper hand.

Such achievements would not have been lost in historical records even if Xiao Yan had not publicized them.

Chen Qingzhi said with a faint voice:

"Your Majesty, although our army has repelled several attacks by the rebels, the main force of the rebels did not contribute to the siege, and they just defeated the Royalist Army, so their morale is high."

"Some people in Taicheng are suggesting to take the initiative to break out of the city. I am against this."

"If we go out with a small number of people, we won't be able to defeat them; if we go out with a large number of people, once we are defeated, we will trample on each other and suffer heavy casualties."

After saying this, Chen Qingzhi started coughing violently.

Xiao Yan's face looked a little ugly.

Chen Qingzhi has put it very tactfully, and "someone" actually refers to Xiao Yan's own opinion.

The rebels' siege on the city was frustrated these days, and Xiao Yan began to think of "micro-management". He wanted to send his trusted generals, holding his imperial edict and military token, to break out and go to the camp of the loyalist army to replace the rebellious son Xiao Xu, and order the loyalist army to attack the rebels with all their strength and lift the siege of Taicheng as soon as possible.

After hearing Chen Qingzhi's words of advice before his death, Xiao Yan could only say:
"I understand."

After Chen Qingzhi said this, he slowly closed his eyes. Xiao Yan was well versed in medicine, and you should know that he was at the point where his life was at an end and no medicine could cure him.

Chen Qingzhi's family was crying beside his bed. Xiao Yan couldn't stand this atmosphere and left the barracks with Zhu Yi.

The first year of Wutai, the first year of Datong, the end of 525 AD, December th.

Chen Qingzhi, a military god of the Southern Liang Dynasty, died of illness in the Taicheng military camp. Xiao Yan ordered the Taicheng defenders to tie white cloth on their helmets to mourn.

On this day, Heba Sheng, who had been attacking fiercely in recent days, also called off his troops for a day to express his condolences to this military god who had made great achievements in the Northern Expedition.

Xiao Yi's army finally arrived in Jiankang.

(End of this chapter)