Memoirs of the Heavenly Khan

Chapter 450 Don't fall for Ono Sō's tricks

Shouyang City.

After Li Shuang led his army across the Huai River, he discovered that most of the Liang soldiers in the fortresses surrounding Shouyang City had already fled.

At that moment, he led his army straight to Shouyang City.

The Liang army outside Shouyang City did not dare to stop Li Shuang's cavalry when they saw them.

As the King of Qin's banner fluttered outside Shouyang City, the city gates, which had been tightly closed for several days, finally slowly opened.

Gao Huan, Hou Jing, Nian Xian, and others went out of the city to greet them.

"Your humble servants respectfully welcome the King of Qin!"

Li Shuang, mounted on his horse, asked:
Why do you cause trouble?

Nianxian was a little confused by the question and obviously didn't know how to answer it.

Gao Huan smiled, but didn't speak immediately. Only Hou Jing echoed Li Shuang's words right after he finished speaking:

"Your Majesty, it is not we who want to rebel, but Marquis Zhenyang, Xiao Yuanming, who is plotting a rebellion!"

Hearing this, Li Shuang said "Oh," and looked at Liu Jin, whose face looked very bad, and said:
"Master Liu, did you hear that?"

Liu Jin snorted and said:
"That's just one side of the story!"

Who is Marquis Zhenyang, Xiao Yuanming? Does Liu Jin not know him? How could he have the audacity to rebel?
Li Shuang smiled and asked:

"Did you hear what Master Liu said?"

Hou Jing cupped his hands and said:
"If Marquis Zhenyang, Xiao Yuanming, does not plot rebellion, I am willing to atone with my death!"

Li Shuang waved his riding whip and said:

"In that case, let's go into the city first, and we can discuss the rest once we're inside."

Li Shuang gave the order, and Houmochen Chong led the vanguard cavalry into the city. After entering the city, Houmochen Chong ordered his soldiers to take over the key passes in Shouyang City.

Afterwards, Li Shuang led the main force into the city and stationed them in Jincheng.

Shouyang was the seat of the prefecture, and Li Shuang led his troops directly to the prefectural governor's residence.

Where is Marquis Zhenyang?

Hou Jing cupped his hands and said:
"I have someone bring him here."

Seeing the relationship between the ruler and his minister, Liu Jin felt a little puzzled.

How dare they be so self-righteous?

"Under severe punishment, what cannot be desired?"

Hou Jing quickly said:
"This is a misunderstanding on our part. We did nothing to him."

As he spoke, Xiao Yuanming was brought up.

Just as Hou Jing said, there were no signs of torture on Xiao Yuanming's body, but his eyes were full of evasiveness.

Liu Jin hurriedly asked:
"Marquis Zhenyang, they say you are plotting a rebellion, is that true?"

“I…” Xiao Yuanming glanced at Hou Jing and nodded, “It was I who plotted the rebellion!”

Liu Jin was very anxious and asked:
"Lord Zhenyang, you must be careful what you say, this matter is of great importance. If you did not do it, you must not admit it."

"I……"

Hou Jing coughed slightly, which startled Xiao Yuanming.

"It was I who plotted the rebellion!"

Under Liu Jin's persistent questioning, Xiao Yuanming, unable to withstand the pressure, covered his head and said:
"It was I who plotted the rebellion; it was all my doing."

At this moment, Li Shuang spoke up:

"You see, it's all a misunderstanding. Now that things have come to this, I think Lord Liu should go back to Jiankang, tell Lord Liang what has happened, and then we can discuss it further."

Liu Jin was somewhat surprised and said:

"Will you let me go back?"

"What you're saying is true. I never intended to arrest Lord Liu."

"Very well, I will take Marquis Zhenyang, Duke Pei and the others back with me."

Li Shuang smiled and said:
“That won’t do. If you take them all, some things will become unclear. Lord Liu should return to Jiankang first and tell the Liang ruler that the peace negotiations need to be changed.”

What does the King of Qin mean?

"Shouyang originally belonged to our Great Wei, but the Liang Kingdom took advantage of our Great Wei's internal turmoil and seized it. Now that things have come to this, it is time to return it to its former owner."

Yanagitsu immediately objected:
"That's impossible!" "Don't rush, Lord Liu, you should go back and ask Lord Liang first."

"Farewell!"

……

Watching Liu Jin leave, Li Shuang put his hands behind his back and said:
"Pass on my teachings!"

Upon hearing this, Hou Jing and the others immediately bowed and acknowledged the order, saying:

"Your Majesty, we await your command!"

"From this day forward, all slaves in the city shall be restored to civilian status. The money and grain of the Prime Minister's city shall be distributed to appease the displaced people and provide relief to the families of the soldiers who died in battle."

After Li Shuang finished speaking, he sighed again.

"Gentlemen, time is of the essence, we must stabilize the situation in Shouyang as soon as possible!"

"promise!"
-
Jiankang.

Before Liu Jin could return to Jiankang, news of the fall of Shouyang City had already reached him.

Uncertain in his mind, Xiao Yan summoned a group of imperial relatives and high-ranking officials to discuss the matter.

"Your Highness, I entrusted you with the command of the Jianghuai region. Today, Shouyang has fallen to the northern barbarians. What do you suggest we do?"

After Xiao Yan finished speaking, Xiao Gang felt everyone's eyes on him, and he felt like an ant on a hot plate.

"Your subject believes that we should recall the army that was attacking Shu to protect Jiankang."

Before Xiao Gang could finish speaking, someone objected.

"I believe this is unacceptable."

This person was not Zhu Yi, Xiao Gang's old rival, whom Xiao Yan had arranged for him, but Xiao Zhengde, Xiao Yan's former adopted son.

Xiao Yan had no sons in his early years, so he adopted Xiao Zhengde, the son of his sixth brother Xiao Hong, as his son.

After Xiao Yan's eldest son, the deceased Crown Prince Zhaoming Xiao Tong, was born, Xiao Zhengde, the adopted son, became his nephew again.

However, Xiao Yan treated his former adopted son quite well.

Xiao Zhengde did not suffer the same fate as Liu Feng. Of course, it's also possible that Xiao Zhengde lacked Liu Feng's abilities.

Anyone else would have been content. But Xiao Zhengde was not. He always thought the position of crown prince should be his, and even once defected to the Northern Wei.

However, the Northern Wei Dynasty already had Xiao Baoyin at that time.

Xiao Baoyin feared that Xiao Zhengde would usurp her position as the successor to the Southern Dynasty, so she tried her best to belittle Xiao Zhengde.

Xiao Zhengde was neglected in the Northern Wei Dynasty and returned to the Southern Liang Dynasty.

Emperor Xiao Yan not only forgave this ambivalent person, but also later bestowed upon him the title of Prince of Linhe.

Xiao Yan looked at Xiao Zhengde and asked:

"Why?"

"Your Highness's words can guarantee everything, but if that's true, wouldn't that be exactly what the Northern Barbarian Da Yeshuang wants?"

None of the ministers objected upon hearing this.

After all, although Xiao Zhengde was a scoundrel, what he said made sense.

The Southern Dynasty now wants to negotiate peace with the North, and its bargaining chip is the army of Yizhou.

Once this is withdrawn, there will be no more threat to Li Shuang. At that time, not only will Badi not fall into his hands, but he will also likely not be able to get back Shouyang and the money and grain that have already been sent to Shouyang City.

"In your opinion, what should be done?"

"Hefei is fortified and the Yangtze River is dangerous, so we should not show weakness to the enemy."

After Xiao Zhengde finished speaking, another person came out.

He is Wei Rui's grandson and Wei Fang's son, Wei Can!

Wei Can was close to Crown Prince Xiao Gang and was his confidant. He said:

"Your Majesty, the Northern Barbarian Da Yeshuang is no ordinary commander. Back then at Hulao Pass, he defeated Yuan Shen's army of 200,000 with only 3,000 cavalry and captured Yuan Shen alive. Now he is coming with 5,000 cavalry, and we cannot underestimate him. In my opinion, even if we do not recall all the troops from Sichuan and Chongqing, we should recall more than 10,000 elite troops to protect Jiankang. At present, Jiankang is poorly defended and lacks sufficient troops. If the Northern Barbarians march south, we fear we will lose something."

Xiao Zhengde laughed and said:
"Lord Yongchang is overthinking it. Even when Tuoba Tao led hundreds of thousands of troops, he couldn't cross the Yangtze River. What can a mere child like Daye Shuang do? If we recall the main force, we will only be looked down upon by the northern barbarians."

When Xiao Yan hesitated, he said something.

"Let's wait for Yanagi to return, see what Ohno Sō thinks, and then decide on a course of action!"

……

(End of this chapter)