Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 553: Loyalty

As a last resort, Xiao Yi once again sought out Wang Sengbian for discussion.

Wang Sengbian was speechless about Xiao Yi, such a bad teammate.

He lost the great Jingzhou, and was hesitant when attacking Heba Sheng. In the end, he watched Heba Sheng capture Taicheng and gained the moral justification.

Just last night, the troops that came to support the king in many places had quietly left, so there was no need to fight the next battle.

Just when Wang Sengbian was rushing to Xiao Yi's camp, he heard another piece of bad news - the sixth prince Xiao Xu had also run away!
As one of the main forces of the army to support the king, the army of the Sixth Prince Xiao Xu fled, and several leaders of the army to support the king in the south also fled with their men. By the time Wang Sengbian arrived at Xiao Yi's tent, even Xiao Yi was ready to escape.

But where can I run to?

When Wang Sengbian saw Xiao Yi, he politely pulled him to sit down and said in a friendly manner:
"I regret not listening to you back then. Now that Jingzhou has been lost, where should my army go?"

Speaking of this, Xiao Yi shed a few tears.

However, Wang Sengbian knew that he shed tears not because he lost Jingzhou, but because he failed to seize the throne. Now that the army to support the king was doomed, the one who suffered the greatest loss was Xiao Yi, who had lost both his wife and his soldiers.

Moreover, Xiao Yi really lost his wife. His princess was in Jingzhou City, and now she might have fallen into Hou Jing's hands.

Wang Sengbian was also feeling bitter. His family was also in Jingzhou. When he thought about how Hou Jing had gradually taken over Kuimen and Jingmen, Wang Sengbian could not muster any sympathy for Xiao Yi in front of him.

But Wang Sengbian had no choice. He and Xiao Yi were now in the same boat, and their relationship was one in which both prospered and lost.

Wang Sengbian said:
"Shouchun Governor Wei Fang died in battle. Your Highness can retreat to Shouchun."

Shouchun, also known as Shouyang, is an important town between the north and the south and a strategic location in the Huainan region.

This place was renamed "Sui Yang" in later generations. During the An-Shi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Xun, the prefect of Sui Yang, defended the city here, ensuring the safety of the water transport in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and ultimately providing time for the Tang army's strategic counterattack.

Going back further in time, Yuan Shu once proclaimed himself emperor here, which could be considered as a foundation for his hegemony.

Xiao Yi's eyes lit up. Shouchun was a good place. If he could occupy Shouchun, he could plan to take over the Huainan counties and there might be a chance for him to make a comeback.

Sure enough, when Xiao Yi told his men about his plan to retreat to Shouchun, all the generals expressed their support.

In any dynasty, there are always loyal ministers in times of turmoil.

After these loyal ministers died, the fortune of this dynasty was completely cut off.

Wei Rui's family was known as the God of War because of Xiao Yan's trust. In order to repay Xiao Yan, his descendants also died in the civil strife.

Wei Can, who was guarding Taicheng, still refused to surrender after Heba Sheng broke through Taicheng. He led his soldiers to defend a corner of the city wall. Finally, Heba Sheng ordered him to be surrounded and killed.

Among the coalition forces, there were also the last group of loyal ministers to Xiao Yan.

Under the instigation of Xiao Yi, they finally launched an attack on Taicheng.

However, Xiao Yi, the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, had no intention of providing any support. He just watched these loyal ministers lead their trusted troops to rush towards Taicheng.

Heba Sheng's morale was already high, and now he received the rewards looted from the palace, making him even more unstoppable.

However, these loyal ministers to Xiao Yan had already been excluded and suppressed by Xiao Yi in the camp. They were poorly equipped and poorly supplied, and the morale of the soldiers was already low.

As expected, after these troops rushed forward, they were no match for Heba Sheng and were defeated in an instant.

But this also gave Xiao Yi a chance to retreat. These troops at least delayed Heba Sheng, leaving him no chance to pursue him.

Xiao Yi ignored the messenger sent from the front line asking for help, and did not care about his father Emperor Xiao Yan who was still in Taicheng. He ordered the entire army to turn around and rush towards Shouchun without hesitation.

At this point, the Jiankang Rebellion finally came to an end.

This battle can be said to have wiped out the last group of forces loyal to Southern Liang.

Although Heba Sheng now only controls Jiankang and the Yangzhou area controlled by Xiao Gang, the rest of the places are in disarray and no one cares about the safety of the Jiankang court anymore.

This upheaval can be said to have destroyed the last bit of vitality of the Southern Liang Dynasty.

After Taicheng was captured, Heba Sheng massacred the officials in Taicheng.

A large number of civil servants were killed as Zhu Yi's accomplices. After Xiao Gang ascended the throne, he could not help but reveal a bitter expression when he saw the ministers who were paying homage in the hall.

As for military generals, Chen Qingzhi died of exhaustion while defending the city, Wei Can, who was loyal to Xiao Yan, died in battle, and Liu Jin committed suicide after the city was broken.

Among the troops that came to support the king, those who remained in Jiankang were the ones most loyal to Xiao Yan.

They were also defeated by Heba Sheng's troops after Xiao Yi withdrew.

At this point, Jiankang was completely under Heba Sheng's control.

Xiao Gang finally ascended the throne he had dreamed of. He changed the era name to "Dabao" and appointed Heba Sheng as the Grand Commander-in-Chief, in charge of all military affairs, and entrusted all military and political power to Heba Sheng.

Heba Sheng was not polite either. He ordered his subordinates to empty the treasury of Taicheng. Even the golden body of the Buddha statue in the Buddhist temple where Xiao Yan usually worshipped Buddha was not spared. The soldiers scraped off the gold foil on the statue.

The soldiers also tied all the silks and satins from the imperial palace treasury around their bodies, and their bodies were stuffed with treasures that Xiao Yan had collected over the years.

In addition, there were continuous cries and shouts in the Jiankang Palace. The palace maids and even Xiao Yan's concubines were raped by the soldiers who rushed in frantically. Finally, Emperor Xiao Gang couldn't stand it anymore, so he took out treasures to bribe the soldiers, and only then did he let Heba Sheng's soldiers leave the palace.

Heba Sheng's wife and children were originally held hostage in Jinyang, so when he rebelled, he went south alone.

Xiao Yan's beautiful daughter, Princess Liyang, was also brought into Taicheng by Xiao Yan when Heba Sheng attacked Jiankang.

After meeting Princess Liyang, Heba Sheng immediately took her into the military camp. After Xiao Gang ascended the throne, he asked Xiao Gang to marry Princess Liyang to him.

Xiao Gang naturally did not dare to resist and could only marry his sister to Heba Sheng.

However, for Xiao Gang, it was not a big deal for his sister to marry Heba Sheng. The most difficult thing to deal with was his father.

After all, he was the founding emperor, and Xiao Yan reigned for a long time, so in the end he still had a group of important ministers who were willing to die for him.

There were also Xiao Gang's brothers who were granted fiefdoms in local areas. They only retreated temporarily and did not submit to Xiao Gang's new court at all.

Finally, Heba Sheng came up with a solution. He imprisoned Xiao Yan in a Buddhist temple in Jiankang Palace and announced that Xiao Yan had devoted himself to Buddhism and prayed for those who died in battle.

The Spring Festival has arrived, and this farce in the south has finally come to an end.

The North has finally reached the critical moment to decide the outcome.

(End of this chapter)