Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 473 Prince Zhaoming
Even Zhu Yi did not dare to conceal such a major event. Not only did he deliver the two letters for help to Xiao Yan's desk, he even wrote a letter personally to explain the matter.

But that's how it is.

Xiao Yan is old and he no longer wants to take care of many things, nor does he have the ability to do so.

The requests for help from both sides actually mean the same thing: asking for soldiers and food.

However, Xiao Yan was unable to meet either of these two requests.

There were no soldiers, but this does not mean that the military preparations of Southern Liang were relaxed. Southern Liang had just issued iron coins, and it was not the era when Hou Jing invaded Jiankang in the previous life, and the Tongtai Temple had just held its first sermon.

However, taking advantage of the civil strife in the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Southern Liang Dynasty had sent troops to occupy the prefectures and counties along the Yangtze River, including the important city of Xuzhou that had not been taken before. Troops and personnel were sent to control these places.

There are no soldiers and no food.

Personnel must be sent to newly occupied areas, and surrendered officials and soldiers need to be given food and resettled.

It can be said that Southern Liang is now in a state of overeating. Just digesting these states and counties would cost enormous financial and material resources. If it were not for Zhu Yi's "Iron Money Magic", the Southern Liang court might have gone bankrupt.

This is also the reason why Xiao Yan did not immediately follow up and occupy the Henan region after Chen Qingzhi's successful Northern Expedition.

I really can't eat any more.

If Yizhou had not been lost, relying on the food and military forces of Jingzhou, perhaps it would have been possible to support Chen Qianzhi.

But now Yizhou has been lost. In order to recapture Yizhou, all the troops and food supplies from Jingzhou have been sent to Baidi City, and Jingzhou can no longer be used to support Henan.

It is impossible to send troops, and there is no food.

To put it bluntly, what else can we do about this matter?

Once people get older, they like quietness and don’t like to hear bad news. They only like to hear good news.

Xiao Yan announced that he wanted to meditate in seclusion and did not even open the two urgent reports, thinking that out of sight, out of mind.

However, Xiao Yan wanted peace and quiet, but there were always people who didn't want him to have peace and quiet.

In front of the Buddhist temple in the Jiankang Palace, Bian Ji looked at Crown Prince Xiao Tong who was coughing violently with a helpless expression.

The current crown prince has always been in poor health. He has been editing books in the Literature Institute of the Eastern Palace some time ago and rarely even attends court meetings.

However, Xiao Tong's prestige in Southern Liang was still very high.

The South has always revered scholars of letters. Xiao Tong was the perfect inheritor of Xiao Yan's literary talent. He was a child prodigy at a young age, and became a master of the literary world after the publication of "Wenxuan".

Xiao Yan himself was very satisfied with such a prince.

In fact, if we talk about the most comfortable era for being a crown prince in all dynasties, Xiao Yan can definitely be counted as one of them. At least as Xiao Yan's crown prince, there was no risk of being suspected by his father.

But this does not mean that Crown Prince Xiao Tong has no worries.

The two people Xiao Tong hated the most were his uncle, Xiao Hong, the Prince of Linchuan. When his uncle was on the Northern Expedition, he encountered a heavy rainstorm on the way and abandoned his army and fled, causing the Liang army to be defeated.

Xiao Hong had no talent or virtue, but was extremely greedy, and his family treasury was filled with copper coins.

But my father is very indulgent towards such useless members of the royal family.

The last time a minister reported Xiao Hong for treason, Xiao Yan visited his home and discovered that what was hidden in Xiao Hong's treasury was not armor but copper coins. He praised him instead.

When iron coins were issued and copper coins were abolished, the crown prince Xiao Tong wrote "On the Foolship of Money" to mock his greedy uncle.

In addition to being greedy for money, he is also lustful.

What made Xiao Tong angry recently was the case of adultery and treason between Xiao Hong and his sister Princess Yongxing.

This case made Xiao Tong even more angry. His father punished his sister and relatives, but did not punish Xiao Hong at all.

Has there ever been anyone who committed treason throughout history and was not punished?
Another person Xiao Tong hated was Zhu Yi, a favorite minister of his father.

Once upon a time, Zhu Yi was also a talented minister in the court, but since he became Xiao Yan's favorite, he began to flatter his superior completely.

From the perspective of Crown Prince Xiao Tong, his father was wise and brave, with outstanding achievements in both civil and military affairs. The current political chaos was entirely due to unscrupulous royal family members like Xiao Hong and flattering ministers like Zhu Yi.

If these two were killed, my father would be able to return to the way he once was.

After hearing about the two letters for help from Jingzhou and Henan, Xiao Tong hurried to the palace and asked to see Xiao Yan with his views on the front line.

Bian Ji looked at Xiao Tong and said softly:
"Prince, His Majesty has been in seclusion to worship Buddha. As you know, he will not see any outside visitors before he comes out of seclusion."

"Does it mean that when my son sees his father, I am also a stranger?"

Xiao Tong coughed again, which made Bian Ji even more anxious. If the prince died of coughing in front of the palace gate, how would he explain himself?

Xiao Tong had always been in poor health, and was granted permission by Xiao Yan not to attend the New Year's celebration.

It was still February and the weather was chilly, so Bian Ji could only lead Xiao Tong into the warm room.

After entering the warm room, Xiao Tong stopped coughing immediately. He looked at the house in confusion. It was obviously winter, so why was the house so warm?
Bian Ji smiled and said:

"This is the warm room that the monks presented to Your Majesty. The floor of this warm room is hollowed out, and there are ventilation holes on the walls. Burning golden charcoal can ensure that it is spring-like all year round in the warm room."

"Now, your majesty's bedroom and the Buddhist temple have been converted into a warm room."

Seeing that Xiao Tong was interested, Bian Ji said:
"I have the blueprints in my hand, and they will be sent to the East Palace later. If there are any problems during the construction, Your Highness can always come and ask me."

Xiao Tong frowned and said:

"How much golden charcoal would be needed to heat the whole house? Soldiers on the front line don't even have winter clothes."

Hearing this, Bian Ji was silent. He was afraid that in the eyes of the prince, he was already a treacherous minister who was in cahoots with Zhu Yi.

Xiao Tong held back his outburst. He knew that this monk was a favorite of his father and that if he wanted to see Xiao Yan, he had to go through him. So he could only patiently say:

"National affairs are urgent, please inform Master Bianji!"

"Henan and Jingzhou have sent us urgent military intelligence, requiring support from Daliang. The treacherous minister Zhu Yi isolated China from the outside world and hid two urgent reports."

"Master Bianji, please allow me to meet my father and explain Zhu Yi's crimes to him! This is also for the lives of thousands of soldiers in Daliang. This is a great merit!"

After hearing what Xiao Tong said, Bian Ji couldn't help but persuade him:

"Your Highness, Lord Zhu did not conceal the military intelligence of both sides. Both memorials were personally delivered to Your Majesty by the Secretariat. In order to remind Your Majesty, Lord Zhu also sent another memorial stating the importance of fighting in Henan and Jingzhou."

Xiao Tong was stunned. He still asked in disbelief:

"How did the Master know?"

Bian Ji put his hands together and said:

"Monks do not tell lies. I personally delivered Mr. Zhu's letter to Your Majesty. Mr. Zhu also repeatedly reminded me that Henan and Jingzhou are related to the country, and Your Majesty must approve it as soon as possible."

Xiao Tong had another violent coughing fit.

Originally, Xiao Tong attributed all the problems to the royal family and ministers, but now Bian Ji told him with facts that the one who did nothing about the wars in Henan and Jingzhou was not others, but his respected father.

When all excuses were lost, the bloody facts were laid before Xiao Tong.

Xiao Tong murmured:

"Doesn't your Majesty know the importance of Henan and Jingzhou? No, your Majesty certainly knows. Your Majesty started his army from Jiangzhou, and at the beginning of his reign, your Majesty personally planned several northern expeditions."

"Father must know!"

Xiao Tong suddenly lost control of his emotions, and Bian Ji could only step forward and say:
"Amitabha, Your Highness, the court is out of money."

Xiao Tong immediately retorted:

"No money? How can there be no money? Aren't we still going to hold the Wuzhai Conference?"

Bianji said:

"Your Highness, to be precise, we have money but no food. No matter how many iron coins the court mints, it cannot buy food."

Xiao Tong was a smart man and he quickly understood what Bian Ji meant.

The principle is very simple. Iron coins are cast, and theoretically there can be as many as needed.

But the output of the land is real. You can't buy food just by minting iron coins.

Harvesting food from the land is a down-to-earth process. The food collected from all over the country must be transported to the front line, which is another time-consuming and labor-intensive task.

But the current Southern Liang court no longer has this ability.

Xiao Tong's face turned pale. He realized the seriousness of the matter, although he once wrote "On the Foolishness of Money" to praise the replacement of copper coins with iron coins, which made Jiankang less copper-smelling.

However, anyone who has read history books can understand the harm caused by excessive issuance of currency.

The example of Wang Mang reforming the monetary system of the Han Dynasty and ultimately bringing down the country happened only a few hundred years ago.

Xiao Tong was proficient in literature and history, so he naturally understood these things.

He clenched his fist and said:
"Master, please let me see my father."

Bian Ji could only chant the Buddha's name. He said to Xiao Tong:

"Your Highness, please wait a moment. I will go and see His Majesty."

After waiting for a long time, Bian Ji returned to the warm room and said to Xiao Tong:

"Your Majesty said that Erzhu Rong and Su Ze are just minor ailments. With the bravery of General Chen Qingzhi and the military wisdom of General Wang Sengbian, we will surely defeat them."

"The whole country of Daliang is now peaceful and prosperous, and it is because Your Majesty is devoted to worshipping Buddha. If Your Highness has nothing else to do, you should also recite the scriptures after you return and pray for Daliang."

Hearing this, Xiao Tong's face turned pale.

Xiao Yan’s answer was also very straightforward, which was - "no save".

From what Bian Ji said before, Xiao Tong also understood that this was Xiao Yan's own idea, and that the Southern Liang court had no way to save him.

After realizing this, Xiao Tong could only leave the warm room in despair.

At the same time, Erzhu Rong personally led the army to the outside of Hulao Pass.

It is said that emperors were buried in mountain tombs, and the tomb of Emperor Xuanwu, the father of the young emperor Yuan Xu, was just on the mountain opposite Hulao Pass.

Erzhu Rong led his troops to the imperial tomb of Emperor Xuanwu and overlooked Hulao Pass from a high place.

Unlike the last encounter in which both sides were eager to retake Luoyang, this time both sides were fully prepared.

Only by capturing Hulao Pass and occupying the Henan area near Luoyang could Erzhu Rong deal with Su Ze without being attacked from both sides.

Chen Qingzhi also understood that only by defending Hulao Pass could this pseudo-imperial court occupy Henan and continue to stay in the Central Plains.

Pointing at Hulao Pass, Erzhu Rong said: "Generals, the day of defeating the enemy is just around the corner!"

(End of this chapter)