Reborn in the late Northern Wei Dynasty

Chapter 416
It was the beginning of winter when Gao Cheng returned to the army. Compared with the previous two expeditions to the south, he hadn't won many victories this time. At least it can be said that his soldiers and horses had not sent a shot, and nothing was captured. Rouran People have suffered heavy injuries, and they can't be robbed anymore.

The economic loss was huge. Fortunately, the state and county soldiers and civilian husbands were not mobilized, and the treasury was able to support it.

After further negotiations with An Luochen, Gao Cheng did not garrison troops in Shuozhou as planned, but left [-] cavalry in Daijun, and transferred [-] infantry from Jinyang to the north, leaving infantry in Daijun. The [-] riders were under the command of Hu Lujin, the governor of the six states, so that he could support Rouran at any time.

When Gao Cheng returned to Luoyang, it was not long after the first snowfall. This time, he rejected the proposal of the left-behind ministers to go out of the city to greet him. city.

Everything in Luoyang was calm, but at the same time, there was an undercurrent in Jiankang City.

Even though Xiao Yan hadn't experienced Hou Jing's siege, he was 87 years old after all, and his body was still breaking down day by day. Especially since the beginning of winter this year, he fainted for the first time at the court meeting, which caused panic among everyone.

An 87-year-old old man fainted in the morning, and pretending to be unconscious with Xiao Gao Wang, a 29-year-old young man, is a different matter. Xiao Yan woke up the next day and gave the government to the prince Xiao Gang. Xiao Yan's body could no longer support him to deal with the heavy workload government affairs.

Xiao Gang’s joy needless to say, since he was registered as the crown prince in 531 AD, he is now 550 years old in 47 AD, and he has been the crown prince for 19 years. I'm old, and I'm still in love with the inn, and I have to worry about whoever is in the position of prince.

If it wasn't for the sudden fainting incident, he really thought that he would be boiled to death by his father like his elder brother Zhaoming Prince Xiao Tong.

Some people were secretly happy, but naturally some people were worried. General Pingbei and Xiao Zhengde, who was in charge of all the military forces in the capital, couldn't sleep all night.

After all, there is only one emperor who treats the clan preferentially like Xiao Yan, and Xiao Gang will never rest assured that he has committed treasonous acts.

I'm afraid that just as Xiao Yan left, after Xiao Gang ascended the throne, he would easily take away his military power.

Regarding the throne, Xiao Zhengde actually had a little thought about it. Even though he was sent back to the sect after Xiao Tong was born, he still insisted on his identity as Xiao Yan's adopted son in his heart.

In recent days, rumors about Xiao Zhengde's past evils have been circulated again in the streets and alleys of Jiankang, such as Leshan Hou Xiao Zhengze, Xia Houhong, and Dong Xian, who were called four evils, murdered and robbed, raped their wives and daughters, and called themselves "beating their wives and daughters." Ji'.

Among the four evils, Xiao Zheng was exiled to Lingnan, and the other two died, leaving Xiao Zhengde alone.

Xiao Zhengde knows who made these rumors, isn't it because Xiao Gang is dirtying his reputation, and it's interesting to keep digging through old accounts.

Ever since Xiao Yan couldn't look at the court, Xiao Zhengde felt more and more urgent. He felt that Xiao Gang would never tolerate him, so he set out to do three things.

One is to continue to recruit a large number of desperadoes to spy on the court and inquire about news.

The second is to send people across the river in secret to contact Bei Qi, hoping to get Bei Qi's support once he is promoted to power.

At this time, at that time, the reason why Gao Cheng was rejected at the beginning was because the Northern Qi Dynasty was furiously mobilizing its troops and preparing for the Southern Expedition. Now that the Northern Qi Dynasty has gone out of the fortress, they have nothing to gain, and it is a waste of money. People who are unable to go south in a short period of time and cannot swallow themselves are suitable as backup.

The third is to spread rumors in Jiankang City that the vassal princes are about to cause chaos, and they say all kinds of speculative things to muddy the water.

For example, Xiao Ji acted arrogantly, and Xiao Yi often used Liu Jun to encourage himself. Liu Jun is a licentious person, but it is also true that he rose to power as a vassal king.

Xiao Gang was worried about Xiao Zhengde, how could he forget his own brothers.

Xiao Yan made a good plan and sent his sons to guard the Quartet. He had eight sons. The Zhaoming Prince Xiao Tong, the second son Xiao Zan, the fourth son Xiao Ji, and the fifth son Xiao Xu died successively. The third son Xiao Gang died. The prince, the sixth son Xiao Lun is in Jingnan, the seventh Xiao Yi is in Jiangzhou, and the eighth Xiao Ji is in Lingnan.

It seems that the rule is firm, but he didn't think about it for Xiao Gang. In the Nanliang of Nuoda, the only thing Xiao Gang can really control when he ascends the throne in the future is the land of Jiangdong, and it is imperative to cut down the vassal.

On the one hand, Xiao Zhengde spread rumors in Jiankang that the vassal king would cause chaos, and on the other hand, he preached that Xiao Gang intended to cut down the vassal in other places. The Xiao brothers already had deep grievances. The three of Xiao Ji returned to court to visit their father, but they were all rejected for various reasons.

Sometimes it was said that the local Tibetans were making trouble, and sometimes it was said that the Northern Qi wanted to go south and found all kinds of reasons to cancel the trip to Jiankang. They were all afraid that Xiao Gang would take the opportunity to put him under house arrest.

Xiao Gang knew that these were just excuses, but there was nothing he could do.

The Northern Qi Dynasty made moves, but it was not in Jianghan, but in Huainan. Since knowing that Xiao Yan was sick and unable to come to court, after receiving Xiao Zhengde's secret letter, Hezhou Inspector Gao Yue and Shouzhou Inspector Duan Shao and Yangzhou Inspector She Di Qian discussed.

In order to keep Xiao Zhengde's military power, the three made a lot of noise in Jiangbei, putting Jiankang under military pressure and making Xiao Gang afraid to change generals.

In particular, the navy under She Digan often had water conflicts with Xiao Yuanming's patrolling navy. Danyang would deliver good news to Jiankang every day, which would give Xiao Yuanming a great name and win him back the trust of the court.

However, Liu Zhongli has completely lost his power. Although he is Xiao Gang's confidant, he was defeated by Anlu, and he is not from a clan like Xiao Yuanming. Wan Jingbing's past, even if he wants to use it, he has to weigh it in his heart.

Liu Zhongli was not convinced either, yes, his defeat in Anlu ruined [-] elites, but Xiao Yuanming rode [-] paces to defend Huainan, and the fight was a mess, and now he was boasting to the sky again, even Xiao Gang deliberately got close to him.

After all, in Xiao Gang's view, talents are rare, and Xiao Yuanming is so proficient in water warfare that he is the best candidate to defend the Yangtze River defense line.

The original chaos in Nanliang was only limited to the private economy. With Xiao Yan's serious illness, the latent contradictions in the upper class burst out, and many people who were worried about current affairs couldn't eat it.

He couldn't help but be thankful, fortunately Gao Chenglao went on an expedition to Mobei, but he didn't understand that if Northern Qi hadn't made this trip outside the Great Wall, facing the threat from the north, the Xiao family's internal struggles might not have been so fierce.

The brothers fought against the wall and defended against their insults.

It was Xiao Gang, Xiao Zhengde and others who believed that the Northern Qi Dynasty was temporarily unable to make a big move southward, so they could leave foreign enemies behind and concentrate on fighting for power and profit.

Gao Cheng received information about Jiankang in Luoyang, and called his five sons to him, using this as a negative example, and taught them a lesson.

　I came back late, well, on the 12th, I will send you 1000 red envelopes, and there are still 5000 words in the early morning, so I will definitely not do it this time.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)