Reborn in the late Northern Wei Dynasty

Chapter 444 Fanning the Flames (4000)

With Xiao Yan's operation, if there were not only four sons alive, Jiangnan might not just have four beams standing side by side.

In view of the old affairs in Nanliang, Gao Cheng kept a close eye on his sons. Although he allowed them to win over courtiers in Luoyang, he strictly prevented them from building up power in the local area.

But Gao Cheng also had no time to take care of family affairs. After receiving the support of Northern Qi supplies and weapons, Xiao Lun of Northern Liang was already ready for a decisive battle with Xiao Ji.

The battle between Xiao Lun and Xiao Ji was inevitable, a large number of people and supplies were taken away by Chen Ba first, even if Xiao Lun could swallow this breath, the soldiers under his command would not give up because their families were taken captive.

What's more, with Xiao Lun's temperament, he is not a master who swallows his anger, so he sent an envoy to Luoyang, willing to be a minister to the Northern Qi Dynasty.

Gao Cheng naturally fully supported this, among the four beams, he most taboo is Nanliang, or Chen Baxian.

In order for Xiao Gang to go south with all his strength, Gao Cheng and the envoy promised that once Xunyang Xiaoyi or Shudi Yuwentai coveted Jingnan, no matter whether he went west or east, he would never stand idly by.

He even specially wrote to Xiao Yi in front of the envoy, warning him not to capture Jingnan.

As for Yu Wentai, he guards the narrow pass and doesn't care about his threats.

It's just that after Wu Mingche took effect secretly, for Gao Cheng, to overthrow the Jiangdong regime was nothing more than issuing a secret edict in Luoyang.

After hesitating again and again, after Cui Jishu and Feng Zihui resigned, Gao Cheng ordered someone to send a message to Wei Xiaokuan, changing the candidate from Liu Zhongli to Wu Mingche.

Of course, it was not Gao Cheng who took the initiative to send cloth and weapons. At that time, there would be Jiankang courtiers who would propose to borrow them from Luoyang, and there were not a few Dongliang ministers who were willing to do things for King Gao.

Walking quickly to the bottom of the imperial steps, Wei Xiaokuan greeted him respectfully.

When the two went to Yuan Zhonghua's bedroom, they were scolded again. It turned out that the incident had already reached her ears, which made Gao Xiaowan's mental balance a lot. She didn't know that she had eyes and ears around her, and her father's side was also indispensable. The eunuch Gong'e delivers news to others.

During the 50 years of Xiao Yan's rule, the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River were used to being arrogant and pampered, and they had to fight hard.

"Father, you have warned your sons and ministers to be careful, can you?"

Officials from various ministries had already left their duties and returned home to rest. Gao Cheng was still summoning Zuo Pushe, Minister of the Ministry of Household Cui Jishu, and Minister of the Ministry of War Feng Zihui to discuss how to strengthen Jiangdong's military equipment.

Gao Xiaowan returned home on duty, and was overjoyed to hear that his father had given him a gift, thinking that his performance in the Ministry of Officials these days had won Gao Cheng's approval.

Of course, there is also good news. Huainan and Jianghan have already resumed production, and the land in these two places is fertile, with sufficient water and heat, which has brought the Northern Qi's national strength to a higher level.

"Okay, go and visit your mother and concubine, Huairen, you also go together, pay homage to your aunt before leaving the palace."

"Your Majesty, if there is no war to destroy the country this year, I think it is feasible."

After the matter was explained, Gao Cheng fell into entanglement again. In all fairness, he naturally hoped that Dongliang would win, so that he could respond to Xiliang's request and send troops south to take control of the Xunyang court.

Gao Cheng was very satisfied when he heard the words, and he had to leave the matter to professionals. He ordered Wei Changying to send his father out of the palace, and the reason why he called her here was because he wanted to let the father and daughter reunite for a while.

The reason why Gao Xiaowan was afraid was because he was worried that he would offend his father.

As for Wu Mingche, even if he was defeated, nothing would happen if the ministers of Jiankang pleaded for mercy. After all, Liu Zhongli was defeated in Dongliang Mountain before, and he is still in charge of the army now.

"Actually, my uncle treated me very well. If it were another uncle's walking meditation, my mother might be able to save it, but my father and I would definitely die."

Cui Jishu was summoned today to inquire about the impact of lending those [-] bolts of cloth to Xiao Gang on his own treasury.

On the way to Yuan Zhonghua's bedroom, Yuan Huairen suddenly whispered:

When Yuan Huairen heard it, it really made sense, after all his uncle really wanted to kill him, so why would it be so troublesome, just send a palace servant to forcefully pour a bowl of poisoned wine.

"Prepare the swords, guns, bows and arrows that can supply an army of [-] in a battle."

After finishing speaking, he looked at Gao Xiaowan who was kneeling in the hall with Yuan Huairen to plead guilty, sighed and said:

When he was wondering, he heard Yuan Huairen continue:

Yuan Huairen kowtowed excitedly when he heard the words, his head banged loudly.

"Cousin, don't pretend to be smart at this time. It is the best policy to sincerely plead guilty to the father. If the father really wants to deal with you, he will not give you a blanket, but let Song Youdao bring someone to arrest you."

But Liu Zhongli has a few catties and a few ounces, Gao Cheng knows it all too well, expecting him to face Wang Sengbian, Wang Lin, Du Kan and others, it is impossible to avoid.

If they are defeated, they will secretly exert pressure on Xiao Gang, relegate Liu Zhongli, and make Wu Mingche alone in charge of military power in Jiankang and surrounding areas.

Nowadays, no one with discerning eyes knows that the Son of Heaven is raising Gu, how can there be much warmth to speak of to these so-called flesh and blood.

"Thank you father (uncle) for your forgiveness."

No matter how loyal Wang Sengbian was, he couldn't resist Xiao Yi's persecution.

Wei Xiaokuan said confidently:

When Xiao Gang loses his use value, he only needs to force the other party to write a surrender form in Jiankang, and he can enter Jiangdong without even sending troops.

Since this period of time, the news of Jiankang has never stopped.

Feng Zihui reported the exact number truthfully, and Gao Cheng saw that the arsenal was sufficient, so he opened his mouth and said:

Wei Xiaokuan returned to listen to the Sifu Yamen. This intelligence department established by Gao Cheng 20 years ago now has tentacles all over the place. Except for the Nanya led by Wei Xiaokuan, which is in charge of Jiangnan and Shu, and the Beiya led by Li Yuan, who is in charge of Mobei and Tuyuhun. As well as Kumoxi, Khitan, and Goguryeo in the northeast, there is also the Neiya secretly controlled by Chen Yuankang, which is responsible for intelligence collection in the Northern Qi Dynasty.

"A nephew shouldn't talk about his uncle."

The mansions of the four princes are the most important work of Chen Yuankang's inner office.

"Wan'er, get up too."

In the conversation between Yuan Huairen and Gao Xiaowan yesterday, it was clear that the servants had been dismissed, but they were still sent to Gao Cheng.

Gao Xiaowan and Yuan Huairen repeatedly said yes.

It is indeed a troublesome thing to strengthen the military equipment for Jiangdong. Although there is Wu Mingche, there is no need to worry about the wild horse getting full and breaking the rein.

Seeing the father and daughter leave, Gao Cheng fell into deep thought alone in the Mingguang Palace.

After finishing speaking, he confessed his plan to provoke a war between the East and West beams, and asked:

Then Gao Cheng ordered someone to call Wei Xiaokuan into the palace.

"Wei Guozhang doesn't need to be too polite, I have something to ask you to come today."

But Gao Cheng is a man who doesn't stick to the pot, and Yuan Shanjian has the most say in this matter. The Jiangdong regime left behind by Xiao Gang is intended to let him take action to remove thorns for himself.

"My mother taught me to read history since I was a child, and told me about the changes of dynasties in the south of the Yangtze River. She was always slaughtering the royal family of the previous dynasty. She really treated me as a nephew like an uncle. I have never heard of it."

"My nephew is guilty, please ask my uncle to punish me."

Even my father can tolerate the existence of these people, so why should I care about it.

Gao Cheng calmly said:
"What's your guilt?"

But was stopped by Gao Xiaowan.

"Forget it, for the sake of calling me uncle, I won't punish you today."

Gao Cheng did not forget to warn:
"I don't send blankets to scare you two. You need to know that 'the king will lose his country if he does not keep secrets, and the minister will lose his body if he does not keep secrets.' What I did today is just to remind you two that you should not take chances in everything."

It has been 12 years since Wei Xiaokuan surrendered to Qi after the first battle at Xitongguan. He has been engaged in intelligence work all these years. In Jiangnan's current situation, Wei Xiaokuan played a major role in fanning the flames.

As soon as he entered the palace gate, Yuan Huairen wanted someone to report a letter to his aunt Yuan Zhonghua, and then come to Mingguang Palace to save him.

Wei Xiaokuan didn't care about this, he was really afraid that his daughter would give birth to a grandson for him, and that grandson was overconfident and wanted to get involved in the struggle for succession.

Yuan Huairen's buttocks injury has not yet healed, and he knelt in the Mingguang Hall again to plead guilty.

In this way, regardless of victory or defeat, not only will you benefit, but you will also consume the strength of both parties.

As we all know, Gao Cheng never treats his family members who are hardworking. Without Wei Changying's pillow, Gao Cheng has already bestowed on Wei Xiaokuan Duke Jianzhong, [-] households in the city.

After Wei Changying lost her husband, she was brought into the mansion by Gao Cheng, who was still the king of Qi at that time. It has been many years, but she has never been pregnant.

If Liu Zhongli leads the army and wins, since Xiao Lun and Xiao Ji have no time to withdraw, Xiao Yi will inevitably ask Luoyang for help, and he will be able to gain a foothold in Jiangzhou calmly, holding Xiliang in his hands just like controlling Dongliang.

Xiao Gaowang's attitude has always been very clear, government affairs cannot be slack, but he has to enjoy life.

Xiao Lun's envoy left Luoyang contentedly, and Gao Cheng had a new idea, that is, to strengthen Jiangdong's military equipment, and then provoke a war between Xiao Gang and Xiao Yi through the bribed Minister of Jiankang.

He has always insisted on the eight-hour working system, and will never waste his entertainment time unless there is an urgent need to solve military affairs.

Regardless of whether Xiao Gang was persecuted by Gao Cheng or not, it was chilling to the hearts of the people.

Uneasy, Gao Xiaowan hurriedly called the carriage, and pulled Yuan Huairen and himself into the palace to plead guilty.

It's just that such an approach is indeed responsible to the court and the people. After all, a king's temperament and talent are related to the livelihood of hundreds of millions of people.

Feng Zihui responded immediately.

But when he opened the gift box and saw the felt in the box, his expression changed. My cousin just said yesterday that he was sitting on needles, but today my father sent me a felt with needles. How can Gao Xiaowan accept it with peace of mind.

For Gao Cheng, it is also a rare diligence.

Speaking of this, Gao Cheng quickly shut up, he can't let his sons know the dark history of finding someone to pretend to be He Liuhun when he was young, beat him to vent his anger, and finally abandoned his body in the wilderness.

The two of them retreated in response, but when they walked to the gate of the palace, Gao Xiaowan asked again:

They don't care about the life and death of the loser, they only care about whether the successor is wise or not.

If you want to develop the military, you can't do without economic support. Xiao Gang paid Gao Cheng's first batch of military expenses by ransacking his home, [-] bolts of cloth. There is indeed some surplus, but not much. Transparency, Gao Cheng is very precious about his affairs.

When the brothers of the Xiao family beat Jiangnan to anger and resentment, it will be the time for Gao Cheng to punish the people.

It's not that no one clings to the old concept of having a heir to establish a heir and no heir to establish a superior, but the people are happy to see the success of this battle for the heir.

Gao Cheng enjoys the situation of being in Luoyang and remotely controlling Jiangdong. Xiao Gang is like a black glove to him, and he can handle many things that are not convenient for him to come forward.

When Yuan Huairen learned the whole story, he was even more scared out of his wits. Yesterday he saw Gao Xiaowan alone with him, and there was no one to guard his mouth, but he said a lot of taboo words.

At least when he was in Jiankang, Xiao Gang did a good job of confiscating some of the ministers' property, which is why many ministers secretly turned to Northern Qi.

Gao Cheng then ordered someone to put a needle on the felt, and send the felt to Zhao Wang's mansion as a reward.

Gao Cheng asked Feng Zihui again, and said:
"I lent some weapons to Xiao Lun before, how much is left in the arsenal?"

"Don't beat me up, get up, if you lose your head, I won't be willing to marry my adopted daughter to a fool."

At the same time, he ordered Wei Xiaokuan to find a way to separate Xiao Yi and Wang Sengbian. There is no need to instigate Wang Sengbian, but to work on Xiao Yi's side.

Hearing this, Gao Cheng nodded, he also wanted to raise troops this year to take a truce for a year, last year he captured Hanzhong, and went to Jiangnan in a big way, the treasury expenditure was really a bit big.

Of course the envoy believed in Gao Cheng's promise, and it was beyond the world's expectations that King Gao gave up on capturing Jiangdong and resolutely withdrew his troops from Jiankang.

Cui Jishu thought about it in his heart, and replied:

"But rest assured, Your Majesty, I will live up to my trust."

In fact, the reason why Xiao Gang stayed was not only for the so-called political reputation.

Wei Xiaokuan's confidence was not groundless, it was just instigating Xiao Gang to send troops. This matter is easy to hear, and now the ministers of Jiankang, whoever has knowledge, have prepared Qi Ziqi flags at home, and are always waiting for Gao Cheng's determination to destroy Xiaoliang Sheji. Sometimes, it is best to hang it outside the house.

Halfway through the conversation, the voice stopped again.

As soon as Wei Xiaokuan entered the Mingguang Palace, he saw the eldest daughter serving Gao Cheng.

But after all, they are father and son, Gao Cheng understood what he meant, and said with a smile:
"As my father was young and assisted the government, he has ruled the country for many years. The authority is heavy and the foundation is deep. How could you easily deceive the past. I sent people to spy on your actions, just to prevent you from making friends with generals privately, so as to prevent the country from being in trouble in the south of the Yangtze River. My father has actually heard a lot of your brothers' complaints and words and deeds when you are alone, but it doesn't matter, when my father was young, he also used to "

Gao Xiaowan cast a glance at Yuan Huairen, thinking that it is possible that her cousin wanted the accompanying palace servants to pass the words into the ears of his father.

Only then did the two stand up with a respectful look.

Gao Xiaowan was silent when he heard the words.

With cloth and silk and sufficient weapons, all Xiao Gang had to do was appease and motivate the soldiers who had been defeated before.

"I don't know if the father-in-law has the confidence to make things happen?"

At this time, in Jiangdong, except for the imperial army and the former Prince Wei led by Wei Can, the rest of the elite soldiers were all under the command of Liu Zhongli and Wu Mingche. Liu Zhongli was stationed in Dongcheng, and Wu Mingche was stationed in Zhuquehang.

Xiao Gang wanted to take back his military power, but with the [-] Northern Qi army at his side, he could only trust his confidants.

On the seventh day of February in the fifth year of Zhaode (552), someone from Jingkou secretly came to Jiankang and sent a message to the courtiers who had secretly served, in order to encourage them to encourage Xiao Gang to reorganize his military equipment.

　Thanks to book friends glll, I put love on hold, and Zhu Muyue for their rewards.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)