Northern Dynasties

Chapter 1359 Disaster in Fujian
Jiankang Palace, as the royal forbidden garden and the residence of court officials in the Southern Dynasties, has been repeatedly renovated over the years, becoming increasingly large in scale and increasingly magnificent in architecture. It is a pity that it was severely damaged during the Hou Jing Rebellion.

By the time the Southern Chen Dynasty was established, some palaces had been renovated as necessary, but the palace was no longer as grand and magnificent as it was in its heyday. Now that it had been destroyed by fire, it looked even more devastated.

"This is too much. The Tang Kingdom is really too much! Since the two countries formed an alliance, I have never been disrespectful and have been afraid of being disappointed. However, the king and his ministers have repeatedly trampled on the alliance and betrayed their faith. Now, the remnants of the Wang family have burned my palace and almost caused a disaster. The Tang Emperor not only did not punish them, but also invaded my nest and drove me away!"

The angry roar of King Chen Chang echoed in the hall, but all the ministers in the hall bowed their heads and kept silent, just letting Chen Chang roar and vent his dissatisfaction.

At this point, everyone knows that all this is just a way for the Tang people to pretend to be respectable in order to drive their king and ministers away from here, and then have their troops stationed in Jiankang.

But although it was clear, everyone was helpless about it. The strength between them was simply incomparable, and the huge gap made people wonder how to deal with it. Especially in the past few years, the emperor and his ministers had become accustomed to giving in step by step under the Tang Dynasty's constant probing, and now they had no fighting spirit to resist.

Until the end of the party, no minister suggested how to refuse and resist the conditions proposed by the Tang Dynasty. This naturally made Chen Chang very disappointed, and he could only wave his hand and let the ministers leave.

He returned to the palace with a feeling of melancholy, and after sitting there for a long time, he stood up and went to the queen's bedroom. When he arrived outside the bedroom, he first raised his hands and rubbed his face twice, trying to get rid of the sadness and loneliness on his face, and whispered to the waiters beside him to be careful about their words and actions, and remember not to reveal their true intentions in front of the queen, and then went back to the bedroom.

The mess at home and abroad made Chen Chang exhausted. The only thing that made him feel a little relieved recently was that his queen Li gave birth to a son for him after the New Year. This also made Chen Chang love his queen more and more, and did not alienate the relationship between husband and wife because of the disturbances in the outside world.

As the ruler of a country, Chen Chang certainly did not have the temperament, ability and personal charm of a ruler, but as an ordinary person, he treated people sincerely and did not pursue luxury and enjoyment. He was different from his cousin Chen Xu who sowed seeds wherever he went.

Even after returning to Jiangdong and ascending the throne as emperor, he still had only one wife, Li, and did not take any other concubines. The couple treated each other with respect, and his control over his own desires was truly commendable.

In short, Chen Chang may have had great ambitions but little talent, and lacked a deep understanding of people and things, but the current situation of the Southern Chen Dynasty was deteriorating for many reasons. He was certainly not a wise leader who could turn the tide, and from an objective point of view, his own incompetence did not play a big role in the collapse of the Southern Chen Dynasty. In terms of harming the country, his cousin Chen Qian, who always claimed to save the country from danger, made a greater contribution.

Although the situation was hopeless and he was even about to be forced to leave the imperial palace, Chen Chang still tried his best to create a peaceful place for his wife and children, not wanting the disturbances of the outside world to affect them. Unfortunately, his ability was really limited, making this effort seem sad and pitiful.

Although Chen Chang was still trying his best to cover it up, a fire suddenly broke out in the Jiankang Palace at night, and the palace people were all terrified, including Chen Chang, who had deep anxiety in his eyes and eyebrows that could not be concealed. This made Li realize that the situation must have seriously deteriorated.

She had the frankness of a northern girl, but now that she was a wife and a mother, her character naturally became more graceful and reserved. When she realized that her husband was deliberately hiding the external turmoil from her, she no longer pretended to be smart and tried to get to the bottom of it. She just stayed in bed every day to recuperate her body after giving birth and played with her child for fun, enjoying the peace that her husband tried his best to create for her and her child.

After Chen Chang arrived at the bedroom, he chatted with his wife for a while, and then stared at his sleeping son for a long time.

Although state affairs were in a difficult situation, the emperor's family was still well cared for. When he saw that there were more than a dozen wet nurses and maids serving his son, he could not help but sigh, "This son was born rich, but he is not necessarily more blessed than his father!"

He couldn't help but think back to his childhood. Although he was born in Wuzhong, he went to Lingnan with his father when he was very young. At that time, his father was just a general under the command of Xiao Ying, the governor of Guangzhou. His family was not as prominent and wealthy as it would be later. The support his wife and children enjoyed was naturally not superior. Although they did not suffer from hunger and cold, they were poor and simple. Therefore, Chen Chang also developed a character that did not pursue luxury.

He lamented that his son might not be more blessed than himself. It was not that he was comparing them, but that he was comparing himself to his father Chen Baxian, and he felt more and more incompetent. His father was just a poor scholar in Wuxia, but he was able to rise straight up after experiencing turmoil and finally established a hegemony in Jiangdong. Although he inherited his father's foundation, he not only failed to carry it forward, but now it is even more precarious. The current wealth and prominence will become a thing of the past in the blink of an eye.

When Li heard Chen Chang's words, she could sense her husband's sorrow and came over to stand beside the child's bed with her husband. She whispered, "If the child can be properly educated, he will have his own destiny in the future. There is no need for you to worry too much about him. Since we are together now, we should also know where we are going. We will sleep together in life and be buried together in death."

Chen Chang had been suffering from the hardships and setbacks of the world recently. Now he finally heard a touching confession of comfort. He was so moved that his eyes became moist in an instant.

He raised his hand and dusted off his robe to hide his emotions, then coughed and said, "There are still some matters to be dealt with in the outer court, Queen, please rest first!"

After saying this, he walked out, slowly walking in the palace shrouded in the night. His heart was filled with mixed feelings. He felt as if many malicious eyes were staring at him in the dark night. This feeling made him feel uneasy and his mood became uneasy.

Naturally, there was nothing important in the outer court that needed Chen Chang's handling. He just didn't want to expose his weakness in front of his closest relatives. He walked aimlessly in the palace for a while, and then came to the Zhongzhai Bedroom, and ordered someone to summon Xu Ling, the Shangshu You Pushe, into the palace to meet him.

After a while, Xu Ling hurried into the palace, bowed and said, "The Lord has summoned me at night. What is the matter?"

Chen Chang sighed first, then said: "With the current state of affairs, it is hard to predict the fate of my country. The Emperor of Tang wants to move me north this time, but he may not allow me to stay in the world for long..."

"Your Majesty, you are too kind. You are the ruler of Jiangdong and are highly respected by the people. The Emperor of Tang has always been lenient in governing the country. Even if, even if... if you really intend to persecute us, how will it affect the people of Jiangdong?" After hearing this, Xu Ling hurriedly lowered his head and answered in a trembling voice.

"The people's expectations are just empty words. Since I succeeded to the throne, I have not benefited my country. How can the people of Jiangdong have any feelings for me? The Minister of State comforted me with good words, but there are some things that should be prepared for the worst."

Chen Chang laughed at himself, and then said, "I summoned the Minister of State here today to teach you something. The Chen family enjoyed the country for a short time, but they were still the masters of Jiangdong who offered sacrifices to heaven and earth. Although I am not virtuous, I am also the heir according to etiquette. Now my royal family has given birth to a son. He is the eldest of my disciples and should be the heir. The position of crown prince must be determined quickly. The Minister of State will draft an imperial edict for me tonight, and tomorrow I will hold a court meeting with all the ministers to enthrone the crown prince."

He was worried that once he left Jiankang he might be subjected to even more brutal persecution, or even be killed quietly by the Tang people, so while he could still take control of the situation, he appointed his son as the legitimate crown prince of Southern Chen.

In this way, even if he was harmed, his son would naturally become the new puppet master, and after Jiangdong was completely annexed by the Tang State, he could enter the court as a guest of the state lord. Because he was young and inexperienced, and he still had the blood of the Longxi Li family flowing in his body, even without his protection, he could still enjoy wealth and peace.

So on the next day, the Southern Chen court held a ceremony to enthrone the prince in Taicheng, and this was also the last time that the monarch and ministers of the Southern Chen held a ceremony in Jiankang Palace.

As the ceremony ended, Chen Chang's elder brother-in-law Li Zhen also came to Jiankang Palace. He will be personally responsible for relocating his sister-in-law's family, including some important officials of Southern Chen, to Qin County in Jiangbei in the near future.

As early as when Queen Li of the Southern Chen Dynasty married Chen Chang, her uncle Li Tai asked the Western Wei court at that time to confer the title of Princess of Qin County on her, and returned Qin County to the Southern Chen Dynasty as her fief. Therefore, a Princess Qin County Mansion was built in the city of Qin County. Now that Chen Chang and his family have moved to Qin County, they can live in this princess mansion. Although it is far less grand than the Jiankang Palace, it is also comfortable and livable.

No matter how Chen Chang guessed in his heart how the Tang Dynasty would abuse him in the future, from the perspective of the Tang Dynasty court, as long as he could live here, he could avoid the disturbances of various personnel changes in Jiangdong. This was not a bad destination for Chen Chang, who was already able to control the complicated changes in the world.

The relocation of the Southern Chen court to Qin County in the north of the Yangtze River did not cause much disturbance or impact in the city of Jiankang. Many people even felt that the order in the city had improved a lot.

Originally, Jiankang City was in chaos. For example, in the Southern Liang Dynasty, there were many bandits in Changganli and other places south of Daheng. This situation did not improve much until the Southern Chen Dynasty. Many of the so-called bandits were actually slaves of the rich and powerful and fierce city defense soldiers, causing great disturbance and damage to the public security of Jiankang City.

Now that Quan Jingxuan led the Tang army into Jiankang City, it did not have much impact on the people's livelihood, but some unstable factors were completely eliminated. Some stubborn problems that were difficult to eradicate in the past were effectively eliminated as the Qinhuai River turned red for a few days.

The large number of Tang soldiers appearing in the streets of Jiankang City was certainly disturbing, but at the moment, the Tang Dynasty and the Southern Chen Dynasty were not in a state of hostility, and the Tang army's entry into the city certainly did not mean war. Moreover, these Tang soldiers had strict military discipline and rarely harassed the people in the streets, so the people in Jiankang City quickly adapted to it and did not have any collective fierce resistance.

This also shows that the Southern Chen court was very incompetent in terms of national administration. Not only did it lose control of the outside world, but it also lacked internal management. If it were not for a special period, such a regime would have collapsed long ago.

Although Chen Chang and his group were forced to leave Jiankang, they were in a somewhat miserable state, but compared with Chen Qian and his group who fled south in a panic, their situation was much more respectable.

Chen Qian abandoned Hou Andu in Kuaiji, and took advantage of the situation to win over many Shanyin nobles and powerful families to his side to lead the escape to the south.

But such a group is not very reliable after all. Everyone packed up their belongings and set out on the journey of escape because of fear of changes. However, they did not have a comprehensive and thorough plan. It was just a reaction out of stress. Moreover, although Chen Qian had a certain appeal among them, he lacked absolute authority and dominance. After fleeing for a distance, the morale of the team became chaotic.

Some people felt that with so many people gathered together, the target would be too conspicuous, which would be detrimental to escaping the Tang army's pursuit, so they chose to quietly leave the team and lead their families to hide in the nearby marshes, preparing to re-enter the world after the war subsided.

Some people complained that the road was too rugged and difficult. Since it was not the flood season yet, boats were difficult to use, and the limited carriages had to carry their belongings and supplies. Most people traveled on foot. As they got closer to central Fujian, the plains became fewer and the hills became more. Crossing the mountains was very hard, and all kinds of complaints, quarrels, and even fights gradually emerged.

Chen Qian was in no mood to stop and carefully reorganize his troops. Such a hastily assembled mob could hardly be transformed into an elite division no matter how hard they were put together. For now, he only needed to maintain a relatively large momentum so that he could rely on it to negotiate and cooperate with the local warlords in the south. Then these people's mission would be accomplished.

Jin'an County in central Fujian was also the seat of a separatist force in Jiangdong outside the Three Wus. Jin'an Prefect Chen Baoying came from a prominent family in central Fujian. Long before the outbreak of Hou Jing's Rebellion, his family had already controlled many local forces in central Fujian. During the Hou Jing Rebellion, his power developed further, and the separatist force became even more stubborn.

At the same time, Chen Baoying was Liu Yi's son-in-law, and in order to win over him when he was in Wuzhong, Chen Qian directly became a relative and called him his brother. After the fall of Kuaiji, Chen Qian led his troops to flee south, hoping to intercept the Tang army's brigade heading south with the mountains and rivers of Fujian and the local powerful forces, so as to gain some respite.

However, although Chen Qian thought so, Chen Baoying did not feel the need to accept this good brother. When Chen Qian's envoy went to Jin'an County in central Fujian to inform his troops that they would soon arrive, Chen Baoying was so angry that he cursed: "Hou Andu is a thief with a vicious and arrogant nature. He provoked a powerful enemy to attack. The King of Linchuan is arrogant and rashly interfered and brought trouble upon himself. These two are courting death. I have always stayed out of the matter in central Fujian, but now I have been dragged into the disaster. It is really hateful!"

Although he complained like this, he did not dare to really turn Chen Qian and his party away. After all, Chen Qian and his party were quite powerful. If they resisted, they would inevitably kill each other, and the situation would be in chaos before the Tang army arrived.

Therefore, he also ordered his staff to settle the people of Kuaiji in the water fences and mountain strongholds near the county, giving them a place to live and some supplies. Once the Tang army arrived, these people would naturally serve as a ready-made human fence. As for Linchuan King Chen Qian, he was only allowed to lead a small number of his troops to Jin'an to meet him, and the large group of people was not allowed to enter.