The gods began by supporting Guo Jing to become emperor

Chapter 289 Yang Guang Self-Immolation
This young man was Li Jing, who had taught Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling martial arts. He picked up the chopsticks and thought to himself, "Brother Xu actually joined the Taoist sect. They finally got their reward after all the hardships they had endured." Thinking of Xu Ziling's peaceful and calm character, he shook his head and laughed, "The Taoist sect is indeed quite suitable for him."

Not long ago, he heard that Kou Zhong became Tian Dao Song Que's disciple. He envied their situation but did not think of getting involved with them. He was still watching and wanted to find a promising force.

The Li clan was trapped in Hedong and was fighting with the Yuwen clan in Guanzhong. The outcome would not be determined in a short time. The Wagang Camp was very powerful and it would be a matter of time before trouble came from within. Du Fuwei in Lianghuai was even more powerful, as the bandits would have difficulty accomplishing anything. Dou Jiande in Hebei was a man of great talent and strategy, but Hebei was flat and had no strategic locations to defend, and he had lost the geographical advantage. Guanzhong and Hedong were both strong enemies. Although they seemed to be powerful, they were actually trapped.

After counting again and again, Li Jing actually discovered that the Song clan had taken the lead in this overall situation, controlling Lingnan and Bashu, which seemed like they were watching a fight between two tigers from the other side of the river.

These days, he has repeatedly seen people from all over Guanzhong migrating to Shu and the south. The Central Plains is in chaos, and the people can only flee south to survive. The Song clan will inevitably benefit from this.

All kinds of thoughts flashed through Li Jing's mind, and a wise light appeared in his eyes. He turned around and looked at the streets outside. He couldn't stay in Luoyang for long.

……

Jiangdu Palace.

The palace walls are towering, the buildings are jade-like, the walls are red and the tiles are green, and the palace is gloomy and secluded. When you are in it, you can't help but feel submitting, as if the imperial power is solemn and inviolable.

The once magnificent palace no longer has the splendor it once had; the palace maids are still as pretty as ever, but their brows are filled with worry and uneasiness, as if they were frightened little rabbits that would be scared away at the slightest disturbance.

On the throne, a middle-aged man in a dragon robe was half lying in the arms of a beauty. His face was haggard, his eyes were sunken, and his complexion was very bad. Yang Guang put his face against the woman's belly, sniffing the faint fragrance, and said in a sad voice, "Meiniang, the Song clan has rebelled, the Li clan has rebelled, and the Yuwen clan has also rebelled. I am a real failure as an emperor."

He was deeply saddened by the rebellion of the Li clan, and was willing to let the Yuwen clan return to Guanzhong. However, he did not expect that once they returned, they would cut off the supply to Jiangdu in less than a year, and the taxes and grain from the south were blocked by Du Fuwei in Lianghuai and could not be delivered.

Without the tax supply from the south, how could he support his extravagant life? Moreover, due to the lack of food and wages, the army mutinied and almost broke through the imperial city. However, after this battle, the Jiangdu Imperial Guards were also seriously damaged.

The news spread like wildfire and reached the Huai River and Huaibei areas. Li Zitong, who cooperated with Du Fuwei, immediately led a large army to attack Jiangdu. Over the past few days, the army suffered heavy casualties. Even he, the emperor who had lived in the deep palace for a long time, realized that the situation was not good.

"Your Majesty, there is no need to worry. With the support of Lord Yuwen, the court will be able to repel the enemy." The queen, named Xiao Meiniang, stretched out her green fingers and pressed Yang Guang's cheek, trying to ease his anxiety.

Yang Guang showed a mocking smile, "Yuwen Shiji?"

Yu Wenzhi expanded his power in Guanzhong and cut off the supply to the court. His younger brother Yuwen Shiji also held power in Jiangdu. No normal emperor would do this. However, he had already given up and was willing to play for one day at a time. But when this day really came, he suddenly felt fear for no reason.

Outside the city of Jiangdu, Li Zitong, who called himself the King of Chu, was leading his army to attack Jiangdu. On the top of the city wall, Yuwen Shiji looked at the sea of ​​heads below the city and couldn't help wiping his sweat.

At this time, a confidant came forward and said, "General, let's escape."

Yuwen Shiji glared, "You want me to abandon the city and flee?"

"General, there are too many enemies. We can't hold on. There is also Du Fuwei on the opposite side. If he comes, we can't hold on even if we fight to the death. In my opinion, we should take the elite troops back to Guanzhong."

Yuwen Shiji's eyes flickered, and he looked back at the imperial city in the distance. He felt torn between his conscience and his desires. After a while, he gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, let's retreat tonight!"

At dusk, the empty hall welcomed an unexpected guest.

Sitting on the dragon throne, Yang Guang embraced Xiao Meiniang and said nonchalantly, "Oh? General Yuwen, is there any new military intelligence?"

Yuwen Shiji stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the enemy army is strong and our brothers have suffered heavy casualties. In order to preserve the overall situation, please move back to Luoyang and make a long-term plan."

Yang Guang looked down at him from above, "Go back to Luoyang? Can you go back?"

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. We will fight to the death to protect Your Majesty. As long as we return to Luoyang, we will be safe."

Yang Guang's voice became unusually serious. "Without Jiangdu's food and fodder, how can we defend the isolated city of Luoyang? What's the point of going back? My dear, go ahead. I won't leave!"

"His Majesty!!!"

Seeing that Yuwen Shiji wanted to persuade him again, Yang Guang immediately shouted, "I have made up my mind. No need to persuade me anymore. General Yuwen, take your people and leave. It will be too late to leave!"

When Yuwen Shiji raised his head, he was unexpectedly met with Yang Guang's cold and gloomy eyes. He lowered his head subconsciously. After all, Yang Guang was once an emperor who held the power of life and death. The remaining power frightened him so much that he dared not say anything more.

"Your Majesty, take care!" Yuwen Shiji bowed deeply to him, then left without looking back.

After a while, the hall became empty. Xiao Meiniang leaned on Yang Guang's arms and asked faintly, "Your Majesty, why don't you leave?"

"Go?" Yang Guang smiled self-deprecatingly, with a determination flashing in his eyes, "Even if I die, I will not be a puppet of these traitors." As he spoke, one could still vaguely see his high-spirited, wise and decisive appearance when he was the Prince of Jin.

From the beginning to the end, he saw clearly that the three expeditions to Goguryeo had failed and the Sui Dynasty was doomed to perish. Building the canal, emphasizing the imperial examination system, and conquering the south of the Yangtze River were all expensive, but he accomplished all of them in just a few decades.

He was stupid but not mediocre. As an emperor, he still had some dignity in his heart. When the Sui Dynasty usurped the throne from the Yuwen family, if he became a puppet of the Yuwen family, the Yang family would become a laughing stock in the future. He would rather die than let others succeed.

That night, Yuwen Shiji plundered the palace's property, took away the imperial seal and many princes, and took advantage of the cover of darkness to open the city gate and break out of the siege.

The next day, the gates of Jiangdu were lost and Li Zitong's army was pressing forward.

In the end, thousands of soldiers guarded the imperial city, willing to be loyal to the Sui Dynasty.

In the palace, Yang Guang wore the imperial robes and put powder on his face, which made him look much better. He came to the desk and picked up the red brush. "I have succeeded the throne and ruled over all nations. I have lost my ancestral lineage. Yue is now in the wild. The court is blocked from speaking, flattery is heard every day, and the sycophants are in power. Taxes have drained the wealth of the people, and garrisons have exhausted the strength of the army. There are many useless things, and extravagance has become a trend. I did not wake up when I saw many strange things, and I was unaware of the resentment of the people. It's too late to regret my mistakes..."

He could vaguely hear the sound of killing, but Yang Guang turned a deaf ear to it. As he wrote, scenes of the former Sui Dynasty ruling the world, building the Grand Canal, and attacking Goguryeo flashed before his eyes one by one. In a short while, a letter of apology was already written.

"Come here, announce this edict to the world."

"promise."

A moment later, the eunuch arrived in front of the palace and saw Li Zitong. He was riding a tall horse, with a fierce look on his face and blood stains all over his armor. "The tyrant emperor sent you to beg for mercy?"

"Your Majesty has an imperial edict for you." The eunuch did not answer, but presented the imperial edict. The personal guards roughly snatched the imperial edict and presented it to Li Zitong. When Li Zitong opened it, his brows furrowed. What the hell is this? After the eunuch handed over the imperial edict, he hit his head on the ground and died on the spot.

Such a scene made the soldiers frown.

"Your Majesty, the enemy is coming in."

In the hall, a eunuch came to report. Yang Guang's expression remained unchanged. He just smiled and said, "Don't worry. You have followed me for so long. You don't need to serve here. Let's go."

"His Majesty!"

For a moment, the eunuchs and palace maids knelt down and cried. Those who could stay here were all loyal to the emperor, and those who could run away had already run away.

"Come on, follow me out to meet the soldiers."

Outside the palace, hundreds of Sui army soldiers guarded the entrance. Yang Guang came in dressed in his best, accompanied by Empress Xiao and a sparse number of palace maids and eunuchs.

When Yang Guang arrived, the Sui army present knelt down involuntarily, "Your Majesty!"

"I didn't expect that I still have loyal ministers and capable generals under my command. Let's all stand up." Yang Guang felt deeply moved as he looked at the Sui army soldiers in front of him, who were covered in scars and looked excited.

Thinking back to the three expeditions to Goguryeo, hundreds of thousands of troops were mobilized, and the scene was so grand. Now, there were only a hundred or so soldiers left by his side. For a moment, Yang Guang felt compassion and advised, "The enemy is coming soon. If you want to leave, leave quickly while the chaos is going on. Their target is me."

Unexpectedly, none of the soldiers left. Instead, they shouted, "We are willing to die for your majesty and for the Sui Dynasty."

The shouting and killing in the distance gradually subsided, and a smile appeared on Yang Guang's lips, and then the smile widened, "Hahaha, good, God treats me well." The laughter stopped, and he looked at everyone, "Now, I will give you one last order."

Then, Yang Guang and Empress Xiao returned to the palace together. Their figures disappeared as the palace gates closed. The soldiers outside the palace wiped their tears and set fire. In the blink of an eye, the fire began to spread.

Yang Guang sat on the dragon chair and looked at the beauty beside him, "Meiniang, will you still follow me in the next life?"

Xiao Meiniang smiled sweetly, so beautifully that it was beyond words. "Even in the nine springs of hell, I will stay by your side." Her shining eyes were only for the person in front of her.

The fire spread and soon thick smoke billowed.

After setting the fire, in front of the palace, the leading general, with tears in his eyes, drew the sword from his waist and said, "Your Majesty, I will accompany you in the future!" The remaining soldiers also went to die together, and no one retreated.

On the dragon throne, even though the thick smoke had choked them so much that they couldn't cough, when they heard the noise outside the palace, Yang Guang, whose consciousness was already blurred, fell on the dragon throne, with tears falling from the corners of his eyes...

At the same time, Li Zitong, who was plundering the palace's wealth and beauties, had no idea what was happening until a soldier next to him pointed at the palace in the distance and shouted, "My king, the palace is on fire!"

Everyone looked up and saw a thick smoke rising into the sky. Li Zitong's face changed drastically, "Hurry up and put out the fire!"

Soon, they arrived at the scene and saw that the tall and luxurious palace was already on fire. The wooden pillars and beams were covered with smoke. The front of the palace was surrounded by soldiers. "Your Majesty, the tyrant is still inside!"

Li Zitong looked at the corpses of the Sui army outside the hall, then looked at the flames several feet high, and cursed in his heart, Damn it, I'm too late!

The fire was so huge that going in would mean death, so he had no choice but to order the soldiers to guard the place and prevent the fire from spreading.

The fire burned for three days and three nights, with thick smoke billowing. After the fire died down, the Huai Army cleaned up the ruins and found two charred corpses leaning against the dragon throne. Li Zitong wanted to whip the corpses to vent his anger, but his subordinates dissuaded him, so he had to bury them with honor as they said.

At this point, the second emperor of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Guang, burned himself to death.

……

The news of Yang Guang's death reached Damaoshan in less than a month. Upon hearing the news, Su Ming was stunned. Yang Guang died in the twelfth year of Daye. Historically, he died in the fourteenth year of Daye, and was killed with a cup of poisoned wine.

Unexpectedly, the rebellion of the Song clan set off a butterfly effect, and this Emperor of the Sui Dynasty also burned himself to death, with Empress Xiao beside him. In other words, the play of six emperors was gone.

The death of Yang Guang indicated that the world had officially entered a situation of no leader. Now, the forces that can be seen in the Central Plains include the Hedong Li clan, the Guanzhong Yuwen clan, the Lianghuai Du Fuwei, the Hebei Dou Jiande, the Jiangdu Li Zitong, the Wagangzhai Qu Rang, and the Southern Song clan. It can be said that it is a battle for supremacy among many heroes.

Not long after Su Ming learned the news, Wang Zhiyuan, the head of Mount Mao, came hurriedly and said, "Fellow Daoist, His Majesty has passed away. The situation in the world is bound to change again. Do you want to return to the Song clan?"

"No, with the clan leader in charge of the Song clan, nothing will go wrong. It seems that I have to get up and enter the pass as soon as possible. The future situation will be more severe, and our Taoist sect must speed up its pace. Yang Guang had many ways to retreat, but I didn't expect that he chose a dead end."

Wang Zhiyuan had also dealt with Yang Guang, and he sighed when he heard this, "Yes, Your Majesty is foolish and cruel, but his character is still so strong. He was like this during the three expeditions to Goguryeo, and he is still like this now."

The situation of the Sui Dynasty collapsed, and Yang Guang's power was very weak on the surface, but no party would ignore him. No matter how impoverished an emperor was, he was still an emperor, because he represented righteousness and the rule of law. Now that this banner had fallen, it meant that the Sui Dynasty no longer existed, and the rebel kings in various places no longer had to worry, and the remaining forces of the Sui Dynasty would also collapse.

Su Ming nodded and continued, "Daoyou, send someone to discuss the cooperation with the Song clan. There is no time to lose. I will take Ziling north in a few days."

"Alright."

Three days later, Su Ming and Xu Ziling left Maoshan.

At this time, the news of Yang Guang's self-immolation spread throughout the world, shocking many forces in Guanzhong, Hedong, and the south.

The Sui Dynasty collapsed, and many forces began to scramble for territory and annex the remaining official forces of the Sui Dynasty. However, the south seemed very stable. The Song clan moved to Bashu as a whole and did not use military force easily.

If it were an ordinary person, he would have been unable to resist using large-scale military forces to annex the two lakes and sweep across Jingxiang, but Song Que had extraordinary strategic fortitude. He knew very well that the strength of the Song clan was far from enough. He had cooperated with the Taoist sect these days and gained support from many local forces.

The power of the Song clan was growing day by day, so how could he interrupt the momentum of the Song clan for the sake of temporary gain?

(End of this chapter)