Memoirs of the Heavenly Khan

Chapter 459 In this life, only loyalty and righteousness matter.

"Our lord is now being coerced by treacherous officials and is trapped in the capital. You are all loyal ministers of Liang. At this time, you must unite as one, defend Jiankang City, and weather this difficult time with me."

Li Shuang looked at the group of officials below and spoke with great conviction.

The officials below also answered with great conviction.

"We are willing to serve Your Majesty."

Gao Huan and Yuwen Tai watched from the sidelines, feeling somewhat uneasy about this unusual scene.

After the group of Southern Liang officials who had sworn allegiance left, Gao Huan cupped his hands and said:

"Your Majesty, the funds, provisions, and military equipment in Stone City have been allocated. What is the next step?"

Gao Huan and Yuwen Tai wanted to know Li Shuang's next plan.

Do you want to go or stay?

These people can leave anytime they want.

But if they were to leave with all that money, provisions, and weaponry, it wouldn't be so easy.

Wei Can and Chen Zhao held Hefei and refused to surrender, so the fleet's route from Feishui to Shouyang was blocked.

Having abandoned this waterway, the only feasible option now is to take the Zhongdu River from Guangling. This waterway leads to either Shouyang or Pengcheng.

However, to use this waterway, one must first surrender the garrison troops of the prefectures and counties along the route.

Furthermore, if they wanted to transport the money, grain, and weapons away, they would have to conscript the people of Jiankang.

These people helped Li Shuang, and once Li Shuang leaves, they will inevitably become criminals.

Therefore, if we want them to work for us, we must take them all away.

This could lead to a lot of complications.

Of course, there is also a cost-effective way: enslaving the conscripted people. This way, there's no need to worry about anything else, resulting in almost zero cost.

Li Shuang waved his hand and said:

"I have already sent the officials who surrendered in Jiankang to persuade the officials of the various prefectures in the north and south of Xuzhou and Yanzhou to surrender. I have also sent Wei Xiaokuan to lead his army south to meet them. There is no need to worry."

The elite troops of Huaixi are now trapped in Hefei and unable to accomplish anything.

Several important towns in Huaidong, such as Huaiyin and Xuyi, also have a number of Liang army elites in their cities.

The purpose of these garrison troops was merely to provide early warning and delay reinforcements. They were not the main force. Now, Jiankang City was unlikely to send reinforcements, rendering the garrison's hold on these important towns meaningless.

As long as the advantages and disadvantages are explained and handled properly, it is entirely possible to subdue the enemy without fighting, take over the prefectures of Huaidong, and successfully open up the passage from Jiankang to the Central Plains.

"As for money, provisions, and weapons, do not touch them for now. If you do, morale will collapse."

Gao Huan acknowledged the order, and Yuwen Tai continued:
"Your Majesty, if that is the case, should we deploy troops first? I fear that the Liang army that has invaded Bashu will rush to Jiankang's aid once they learn of the situation."

From Jiankang to Bashu, the journey is upstream, and the 100,000-strong army would travel rather slowly. But if the journey were reversed, it would be downstream, and the 100,000-strong army could return in less than a month if things went smoothly.

Li Shuang nodded and said:

"There's no need to rush. Whether this army of 100,000 can reach Jiankang is still uncertain."

……

Below Jiangzhou City, at the Liang army's main camp.

With the news of Jiankang's fall, the Liang army, which had been riding high, lost its will to attack the city.

The city of Beifu in Jiangzhou, scarred by war, was unusually calm at this moment.

But Xiao Ji's heart was in turmoil.

It's all because of his elder brother, Xiao Yi, who is now stationed in Jiangling.

When Xiao Ji was campaigning against Ba and Shu, Xiao Yi was sent back to Jiangling to oversee the campaign.

The money, provisions, and military equipment needed for the 100,000-strong army to conquer Bashu all had to be transported from Jiangling. However, after the fall of Jiankang, the transport of provisions from there almost came to a standstill.

Xiao Yi even dispatched his general Wang Sengbian to lead troops to garrison Yiling. Xiao Ji wrote a letter to Xiao Yi, saying that he was going back to the capital to defend the emperor, but there was still no movement from Jiangling.

Just as Xiao Ji was hesitating, Hebasheng found him.

After the fall of Shouyang, Hebasheng was marginalized in the Liang army.

Since there was no clear decree from Jiankang to deal with the matter, and Hebasheng's official position and rank in Southern Liang were not low, Xiao Ji could not do anything about it and could only leave it as it was.

But everyone knows that Hebasheng has lost the emperor's favor. Even if he returns to Jiankang, Hebasheng will never be the same as before.

Fortunately, Hebasheng remained silent and did not make any suspicious moves.

But when news of Jiankang's fall arrived, Hebasheng, who had been keeping a low profile, changed and became more active. Of course, no one in Liang's army cared about his little actions anymore.

"Your Majesty!"

Inside the main tent, Hebasheng bowed respectfully. Xiao Ji didn't have a good impression of this person, but he didn't dislike him either. He simply asked:
"Why did Lord Heba come so late at night?"

"To be honest, Your Majesty, I just met with an envoy from Chengdu."

Xiao Ji's eyes widened. For a moment, he had the urge to summon the armored soldiers outside the tent to capture Hebasheng, but he restrained himself.

"I wonder why the envoy from Chengdu is seeking out Duke Heba?"

Hebasheng did not answer, but instead asked:
"Does Your Majesty know why the Prince of Xiangdong has been so slow to reply?"

"Why?"

"He's waiting for the king to run out of food!"

After saying this, Xiao Ji's doubts vanished, replaced by a sense of sudden enlightenment. Suddenly, Xiao Ji was startled and said:

"Are you saying he wants to seize my military power?"

Hebasheng lowered his head and spoke softly, yet his words carried immense weight.

"In the current situation, whoever controls these 100,000 troops will be the next emperor of the Great Liang."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ji felt as if ants were crawling all over his body, becoming extremely agitated, and instinctively rebuked:
"Shut up! How can you utter such disrespectful and unfilial words?"

Hebasheng didn't argue, but waited for Xiao Ji to calm down before asking:
"What can I do?"

"Your Majesty commands an army of 100,000, but supplies are running low. Moreover, many of the bravest soldiers are from the Wu and Jianghuai regions. For them, who the commander is is unimportant; their priority is to return to Jiankang as soon as possible. Does Your Majesty believe that once the army runs out of food, you can prevent them from defecting to the Prince of Xiangdong?"

Xiao Ji hesitated.

He was the commander of an army of 100,000, but he lacked prestige. He was able to control this army only because of the authorization granted to him by Jiankang.

But now, the Qin King of Liang is issuing orders in the Jiankang court.

"What do you suggest we do?"

"Your Majesty can lead your personal guards straight to Yiling and explain the dangers to them. Wang Sengbian will not dare to stop you. As long as Yidu County is in your hands, Jiangling will not be able to stop Your Majesty's army. At that time, Your Majesty can sit in Jiangling and send proclamations to all the towns to come to the capital to defend the emperor. If you succeed, you will be able to become the emperor."

Upon hearing that he was to personally take the risk, Xiao Ji hesitated and said:

"The Prince of Xiangdong is also His Majesty's son. Why should brothers act like this?"

Hebasheng shook his head and said:
"Our army is now trapped between Jiangling and Jiangzhou. The waterway is narrow and confined for thousands of miles. If we do not quickly pacify Jiangling, we will be taken advantage of sooner or later."

……

Hebasheng returned to his tent, where people were already waiting.

"If we defeat the Hu, is Xiao Ji willing to follow your plan?"

Hebasheng sighed in despair:

"Is the King of Qin truly willing to forgive me?"

……

(End of this chapter)