Northern Dynasties

Chapter 830 Jingnan Wilderness

Unlike the subtle and awkward atmosphere in Guanzhong, the atmosphere here in Jiangling is purer.

As the conquerors, the officers and soldiers of the Western Wei Dynasty naturally savored the joy of victory. As the conquered people, the Jiangling people did not fall into the desperate situation of national subjugation and genocide. At least their personal safety was fully guaranteed. , so each of them felt a little lucky in their hearts.

The attack on Jiangling did not involve a long-term offensive and defensive confrontation, so the people's livelihood in the city was not damaged to a great extent, and the city buildings remained generally intact.

Some of the residential buildings near the city wall were somewhat damaged. They were demolished by the Jiangling defenders and used local materials to strengthen the city's defenses. Facts have proved that these works were very redundant and did not have the desired effect.

Usually when large armies enter a city, military discipline is a very difficult issue to control. Li Tai's Jingzhou Army has maintained strict military discipline for many years, but suddenly entering Jiangling, a city where the essence of the Southern Dynasties is gathered, will inevitably lead to out-of-control behavior, not to mention those who already use war and plunder as the main way to increase their income. The soldiers of Guanzhong Prefecture are here.

Li Tai did not wait until problems occurred before setting an example and emphasizing military discipline. From the beginning, he did not order all the troops to be stationed in the city. After the sporadic resistance in the city was completely eliminated and the Nanliang defenders were all disarmed, the large group of troops left. Evacuate the city and return to the military camp outside the city to station.

In Jincheng, Jiangling, Li Tai arranged for his cousin Li Miao, who had been staying in Jiangling before, and Linghu Yanbao, who came west from Xiakou, to garrison. At Luocheng, Liang Shiyan and Li Yunxin each led a force to garrison.

On the night when Jiangling City was broken, the hundreds of officials and their families gathered in the inner garden mutinied, and the main army waited for the enemy at the city gate. Because there were not enough guards to suppress the riot, Emperor Liang Xiao Yi was forced to flee the city, while the rest of the civil and military forces Hundreds of officials also led some people to fight on their own, making the situation in Jiangling City extremely chaotic.

Although the soldiers quickly controlled Jiangling Jincheng and Neiyuan when they entered the city, quelled the riots in the Neiyuan, and captured the Nanliang Prince Xiao Fangju and other personnel, there was no trace of Liang Emperor Xiao Yi. Confused.

It should be noted that half of the significance of conquering Jiangling lies in this Liang Emperor, because their advance this time was to take advantage of the opportunity, and there were still many Nanliang troops outside Jiangling. If Emperor Xiao Yi of the Liang Dynasty was not captured but managed to escape, he could immediately summon the troops of King Qin from all directions to counterattack Jiangling, causing the war to continue endlessly.

Fortunately, Wang Bao and other Nanliang officials were captured in time. With the cooperation of these people, the people entering the city were able to control the gates inside and outside the city in time, prohibiting the movement of people in the city. At dawn, after searching the whole city, they discovered Liang Emperor Xiao Yi and his general Xie Daren and others at Tianju Temple in the city, making the capture of Jiangling a complete success.

After the situation in the city was basically under control, Li Tai immediately rushed to the Dongge Library in Jiangling Palace. If the heavy casualties in the Battle of Gangneung in history are a great loss, then what is second only to the casualties and equally saddening is the death of culture!

Li Miao and others had previously sneaked into the Jiangling Inner Garden under Wang Bao's protection, and took advantage of the personnel turmoil in the Inner Garden to enter the Dongge Library and have been stationed here ever since.

Although Emperor Xiao Yi of the Liang Dynasty was frightened away by the commotion in the inner garden and did not have time to order the burning of books, these books were easily lost and destroyed in the war. Li Miao and others were stationed here, allowing the people who entered the city to completely take over these books of the Southern Dynasty. Cultural treasures can also be said to be the greatest meritorious deeds.

"Thank you for your hard work, cousin, and all of you! We have to go to Jiangling this time to collect the rituals, music, rituals, scriptures and historical cultural relics of the South. You should be the first to do so!"

After Li Tai arrived here, he saw Li Miao and others who were already waiting here. He quickly stepped forward, clasped his fists and said to everyone.

After Li Miao and others saw this, they all responded with a humble courtesy: "I came here under orders. Because I have the strong support of the general and the people in the military government, and the cooperation of many people in Jiangling, everything went smoothly. Jiangling Classics Books and other cultural relics have been preserved, all thanks to the great general's planning!"

Li Tai did not exchange any more greetings, but ordered Pei Hong, who was accompanying him, to record everyone's achievements and wait for rewards, and then walked impatiently to the library.

Li Miao and others not only preserved these books, but also controlled a group of editors appointed by Xiao Yi, including Zhou Hongzheng, a famous scholar in the Southern Dynasties.

When Li Miao stepped forward to introduce Zhou Hongzheng and other editors to Li Tai, Li Tai couldn't help but take a serious look at this famous scholar in the Southern Dynasties.

Zhou Hongzheng is in his fifties, probably because he is good at maintaining his health. He doesn't seem to be aging much. Standing among the officials, he doesn't have much fear. Facing Li Tai's gaze, he just bows in a neither humble nor overbearing manner. Greetings. Behind Zhou Hongzheng are the brothers Yan Zhiyi and Yan Zitui who will be more famous in later generations. Compared with Zhou Hongzheng's indifference, the Yan brothers were a little more embarrassed. Facing Li Tai, a general of the Western Wei Dynasty who was about the same age as them, they seemed a little lacking in confidence.

Li Tai didn't care about their respective attitudes. He just motioned for them to follow him into the library and gave him a detailed introduction to the categories of books collected here.

After entering the library, a very complex smell mixed with the smell of spices, ink, paper and wood hit the face. It doesn't taste very good, but it has a calming effect. Li Tai looked around and immediately saw what it meant to be overwhelmed!

In the tall room, there are bookshelves and boxes stacked on the beams. These bookshelves and boxes are all filled with books and volumes. There are more than a dozen rooms like this!

It is not that Li Tai has never seen a large number of books. The number of books in some large bookstores and libraries in later generations is estimated to be much greater than the collections at present. But the visual impact and psychological shock brought to people by books with modern bindings and as neat as bricks are completely different from the contemporary ancient scriptures.

Li Tai walked among the bookshelves and listened to the introductions of Zhou Hongzheng and other Nanliang officials, but he couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion in his heart.

The collection of tens of thousands of books in Jiangling is second to none in the entire Later Three Kingdoms, and this should also be the pinnacle of cultural accumulation in Jiangling and even the entire Jingxiang region!

In history, when the city of Jiangling was destroyed, Emperor Xiao Yi of the Liang Dynasty ordered all these books to be burned. What was burned was not only the essence of Nanliang culture, but also the cultural foundation and development space of the entire Jingxiang region.

Since then, the entire Jingxiang area is no longer famous for its culture. Even in the era of the Sui and Tang unification, the Jingxiang area has lost its original glory in history. It is no longer closely related to the general trend of the world, but more of a role. The miasmatic land of Shannan often maintains a somewhat pitiful existence as a place of exile for those who have lost power.

The idiom "unprecedented" refers to the decline of culture and education in Jingzhou in the Tang Dynasty. Every year, many people were expelled and sent to the imperial examination, so it was called "unprecedented solution". Until the middle and middle years of the Tang Dynasty, Liu Tuo, an academician from Jingnan, was expelled from Jingnan and sent to Beijing for reference, and he became a Jinshi in one fell swoop. Therefore, it is called unprecedented.

From the center of culture to the desert of culture, it may not be entirely attributed to Liang Emperor Xiao Yi's fire, but this fire is undoubtedly the starting point and the biggest reason for the change! Not only was Jingxiang culture and education burned to the ground, but the cultural essence accumulated over hundreds of years in the Southern Dynasties was also reduced to ashes in this fire.

The Western Wei Dynasty attacked Jiangling, wreaked havoc on the people's livelihood in Jiangling, and plundered all the scholars and people in Jiangling. This caused the Jingxiang area to regress greatly after years of development in the Southern Dynasties. The so-called Huguang was well versed in the world, which could not be achieved until the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Emperor Xiao Yi of Liang was mediocre and incompetent. He could not defend the country but he unleashed his anger and burned this place into a wasteland. There is no doubt that they are all sinners!

But before going crazy and setting fire to it, Xiao Yi honestly did a good job in protecting and organizing these books. Some of these hundreds of thousands of volumes of books have been carefully edited and edited, while others are still properly sealed and have not yet been opened for proofreading.

Although the old gentleman Zhou Hongzheng lacks the respectful and humble attitude that a surrendered prisoner should have, he has a deep understanding of the editing and editing of books. He is not only good at metaphysics, but also has deep attainments in Confucian classics and Buddhism. He can really be called a profound scholar, and he is also the core figure among the editors arranged by Xiao Yi.

Nowadays, book compilation has been classified into classics and history subsets. Under Zhou Hongzheng's in-depth explanation, Li Tai also had a preliminary understanding of the collection and compilation of these books.

He worked hard to preserve these books, not to shelve them, but to continue editing and extracting the essence of the ideological culture and spiritual outlook suitable for the new era, so of course the book revision must continue.

Because there were still a large number of books sealed and protected inside, Li Tai did not lead the people too far inside. Instead, he returned to the outermost bookstore. He looked at these people and said seriously: "The pictures, books and scriptures here are all from my ancestors, Xia Xia." Human wisdom is preserved to enlighten future generations, rather than being exclusive to one time and one place. This inheritance needs to be accepted and carried forward with a broad mind!

The leader of Liang was unruly in governing the country and had no skill in controlling his subordinates, which resulted in this disaster. However, his academic proficiency and facts were all there. His regret in his life was probably that he could not be a hermit in a scholar's house and was born into an emperor's family by mistake, thus causing harm to others and himself. You are all appreciated and appointed for your academic work, and I have no doubt that you and the others will keep your peace and avoid being disturbed by weapons. If you have outstanding achievements to report, you will be especially rewarded! "

After everyone present heard this, they couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief. However, after Zhou Hong pondered for a while, he walked to Li Tai and bowed deeply. He asked in a deep voice: "Excuse me, General Li. Today, our Lord, Lord." It has been controlled, what does the general want to do with it?"

(End of this chapter)