Chapter 540: The Edge of the Game
Chapter 540: The Edge of the Game
In the General Manager's Mansion, Xiao Xia summoned all the civil and military officials, a total of more than 300 people.
Xiao Xia said loudly to everyone: "The emperor has already destroyed King Yang of Qi, and immediately started to reduce the power of the vassal. He changed my title to King of Liang, moved me to be the governor of Jiannan Road, and did not allow me to take any soldiers with me, nor money, food and supplies. At the same time, he sent Yuwen Shu to lead an army of 200,000 south to the south of the Yangtze River. This is using force to reduce the power of the vassal. If I don't leave, I will be the second King of Qi, demoted to a commoner, and imprisoned forever.
But I will not surrender. I have struggled step by step to get to where I am today. My efforts will never be in vain. I will fight to the end, but I am not rebelling, and I will not rebel. I am just expressing my unyielding attitude until the emperor changes his toughness and arrogance, and until the court changes its decision.
You all have followed me for at least one year. I welcome those who are willing to follow me and fight against the court. If you want to leave, I will never force you. I will give you three months' salary in one go and send you off respectfully. But if you stay, I will increase your monthly salary by 50%.
Everyone, think carefully about it. If you want to leave, go find Liu Changshi to register. If you don't want to leave, let's pack up and prepare to move south to Jingkou."
After saying that, Xiao Xia turned around and went back to his office. The officials in front of the gate were talking a lot, and soon they left and began to consider their own life choices.
Luo Shixin and Pei Xingyan found Xiao Xia and said puzzledly: "Your Highness, we can actually block the Huai River and fight against the enemy without moving south."
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "My principle is to fight but not to rebel. If I fight the imperial court head-on, like Yang Ling did, that would be rebellion. So I rely on the Yangtze River to refuse to fight, and the imperial court can't do anything to me. This is called resistance.
Yang Su and Xiao Cong, who have a good relationship with me, will find an opportunity to persuade the emperor, and in the end everyone will give each other a way out, and the reduction of the vassal states will be left unresolved. You must remember that once we rebel, no one will support us, and our final outcome will definitely be defeat. "
Luo Shixin sighed and said, "I understand what Your Highness means, but I just feel a little aggrieved."
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "We won't do anything that would make us feel bad. Before their fleet enters the Huai River, you two can each lead 2,000 cavalrymen to attack the fleet from the west bank of the canal with rockets and burn their fleet. I will pick you up in Liyang County and cross the river."
The two men bowed together, "We obey your orders!"
The next morning, the main force began to evacuate Jiangdu in an all-round way, and all technical craftsmen also began to evacuate. Before that, all kinds of supplies, military resources, various equipment, and horses were evacuated, leaving only personnel.
At this time, Liu Wenjing handed a list to Xiao Xia, "Your Highness, 30% of the staff have resigned. I have already processed their resignations. Most of them are civil servants, mainly from the north. In addition, many officials are willing to resign but do not want to leave. They hope to serve Your Highness as staff members, including Zhou Mo and Zhao Guangcai."
Xiao Xia smiled happily and said, "That's also a solution. What about the generals?"
"Not many generals left, only seven in total. Among them, the senior generals were Chen Leng and Zhu Kuan. They both made it clear that they wanted to return to the court."
Xiao Xia nodded. These two people were within his expectations. He looked at the list and asked curiously, "Why didn't Zhang Zhenzhou leave?"
"Your Highness, Zhang Zhenzhou used to be a subordinate of Qin Wang Yang Jun, and he has a bad relationship with Yuwen Shu. He said that he would be on the bench if he went back, so he is willing to be loyal to Your Highness!"
Xiao Xia felt emotional. Zhang Zhenzhou seldom spoke and was always taciturn. She didn't expect that he would be loyal to her at the critical moment. It was rare.
"Your Highness, Lai Huer and Zhou Fashang are also willing to continue to be loyal to Your Highness. They expressed their support for Your Highness's principle of fighting but not rebelling. In fact, most of the civil servants stayed because of Your Highness's principle of not rebelling."
Xiao Xia certainly knew that it was the fourth year of Daye and no one was willing to take part in the rebellion, but it would be different if it was after the ninth year of Daye.
Xiao Xia also knew that rebellion would not gain the support of the people and officials, so he chose the marginal strategy of fighting without rebelling, and successfully solved the biggest trouble he would face.
Xiao Xia nodded, "The most urgent task is to quickly organize the army to harvest rice and evacuate as soon as possible!"
These days are the time when rice is ripe. All the soldiers are rushing to harvest rice in Jiangdu County, and the people are also working hard to harvest. Once the imperial army arrives, their rice will be gone.
Not only rice, but also a large amount of black beans had to be harvested and transported away. In the morning, Xiao Xia's family also left Jiangdu on a large ship carrying 10,000 stones and retreated to Jingkou.
The docks along the Yangtze River were packed with people, more than 200,000 in total. They were not only the families of officials and soldiers, but also a large number of people who were willing to follow Xiao Xia to retreat south.
Thousands of ships of all kinds are transporting people on the Yangtze River, with ships coming and going in an endless stream.
Tens of thousands of large tents were also set up on the other side of the river to temporarily accommodate civilians, and then distributed to various counties in the south.
Xiao Xia placed the Jiangnan General Administration Office in Yanling County, which is today's Zhenjiang and was also under the jurisdiction of Jiangdu County during the Sui Dynasty.
Xiao Xia's palace is also in Yanling County, and also includes official residences. He started building it in January. Although it is generally not as spacious as those in Jiangdu, it is also good, at least it is relatively comfortable.
Xiao Xia's palace only has ten acres. It doesn't feel like a palace, but more like a mansion, which is enough for them to live in.
Perhaps it was because of the miscarriage when crossing the river, Xiaoqing's stomach began to hurt as soon as she moved into the mansion. Xiao Xia urgently found a midwife and a doctor. Half an hour later, with a cry, another little boy was born.
This was Xiao Xia's second son. Xiao Xia was overjoyed and immediately named the child Yan to commemorate his birth in Yanling.
The child fell asleep after drinking breast milk, and Xiaoqing also fell asleep tiredly.
Everyone was tired today, so they went back to their rooms to rest early.
As night fell, Xiao Xia sat in his new study reading a book. He had a large soft chair, which was very comfortable to sit on.
At this time, Zhang Qiao brought him a cup of tea. Zhang Qiao was almost four months pregnant and her belly was slightly bulging.
Xiao Xia saw the worry in her eyes, so he held her hand, held her in his arms, and said with a smile: "I guess this is a girl, my intuition is not wrong!"
Zhang Qiao forced a smile and said, "That's because my reaction was minimal! Basically, no reaction at all."
"You seem unhappy, why?"
Zhang Qiao said after a while: "I'm worried about my second uncle!"
Zhang Qiao received news that all the civil and military officials who followed Yang Ling in the rebellion were executed, which really made her distressed.
"Uncle will be fine. He is a skilled martial artist and also good at swimming. The enemy attacked the city at night. When Anyang City was in chaos, he could easily escape. You see, I am not worried about him at all."
"My husband is right. Even with my second uncle's martial arts, he was not able to catch him. I am just worried and confused. I hope he can return to Jiangnan safely."
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "If Second Uncle comes to see you, tell him for me that I hope he can stay and help me train the soldiers."
Zhang Qiao nodded gently, "If he comes, I will definitely tell him."
(End of this chapter)