Chapter 703: Truce at the End of Autumn
Chapter 703: Truce at the End of Autumn
Wang Shichong walked a few steps with his hands behind his back and said, "Sir, do you think we can hand Yang Zhao and his son over to the King of Jin?"
Wei Shijie nodded. "After the abdication ceremony, Yang Dan was renamed Duke Anyi. Usually, to prevent a restoration, he would be poisoned to eliminate future troubles. It is also possible to hand him over to the Prince of Jin. The Prince of Jin will certainly not let him threaten his position, nor will he pose any threat to His Majesty. It is also a favor to His Majesty. I suggest that His Majesty accept it."
Wang Shichong pondered for a moment and said, "Thank you for your advice, sir. I will think about it again!"
Wei Shijie bowed and left. Wang Xuanying asked quietly, "Father, do you think there will be a day when the King of Jin will need to spare my life?"
Wang Shichong smiled and said, "In the battle for the Central Plains, there will only be one winner. It could be the King of Jin, or it could be me, or it could be Li Yuan. Everything is possible. If I laugh last, I will kill all of the Yang family. If the King of Jin laughs last, he can spare the lives of my descendants. It's a sure win, so why shouldn't I agree?"
Wang Shichong could no longer wait, and three days later, he issued an edict in the name of the emperor, abdicating the throne to King Zheng. He then held an abdication ceremony, accepted Yang Tan's abdication, officially proclaimed himself emperor, changed the country's name to Zheng, and made his eldest son Wang Xuanying the crown prince.
Two days later, Wang Shichong sent troops to escort five large ships to Jiangdu. On board the ships were Yang Zhao and his son, their families, and the palace maids who served them.
But on the same day that Wang Shichong ascended the throne, the Wagang Army captured the Luokou Granary, which stored five million shi of grain, which the Wagang Army could not use up at all. Li Mi ordered the granary to be opened and the grain to be released. Hundreds of thousands of people from a hundred miles away rushed to transport grain day and night, resulting in serious waste. The ground for several miles around was covered with several inches thick white rice.
The Wagang Army took the opportunity to recruit troops. Within ten days, they gained 200,000 new troops, bringing the number of Wagang Army to more than 300,000.
At this time, Xu Shiji persuaded Li Mi to retreat to Xingyang and establish a regime centered on Guancheng County, governing Xingyang County, Dong County, Yingchuan County and part of Liang County, in preparation for the winter attack on Liyang Warehouse.
Generals such as Shan Xiongxin, Hao Xiaode, and Zhang Tong'er also supported Xu Shiji's plan. Although Li Mi wanted to take the opportunity to destroy Wang Shichong, considering that the new recruits had poor combat effectiveness and did not have enough weapons and armor, Li Mi finally agreed to Xu Shiji's plan, transported away one million stones of grain, and withdrew the army to Xingyang County.
The reason for attacking Liyang Warehouse was because there were a large number of weapons and armors in Liyang Warehouse. In the past, the weapons and armors of Northern Qi and Southern Chen were basically stored in Liyang Warehouse.
Li Mi now had enough food but was seriously short of weapons and armor. It was already November, and in another month the Yellow River would freeze over, and it would be time for them to head north.
The Wagang Army trained while patiently waiting for the arrival of winter.
After the Wagang Army withdrew, Wang Shichong immediately sent General Liu Changgong to retake Luokou Granary and Hulao Pass. Although only half of the 5 million shi of grain was left in Luokou Granary, there was still a large amount of grain in Xingluo Granary and Hanjia City. Wang Shichong was not heartbroken. As long as the Wagang Army withdrew, he would concentrate his forces to deal with Li Yuan's army on the eastern expedition.
Late autumn and early winter is a rare short period of peace. The princes from all over the country stopped fighting, entered a truce period, and began to train their troops for the New Year.
Xiao Xia also welcomed several major events at the same time. First, Xiao Mei and Zhang Qiao gave birth to a son, named Yang Xin and Yang Qun. Together with their brothers Yang Chu, Yang Ren and Yang Yi, Xiao Xia now has five sons and two daughters, Yang Junjun and Yang Qianer, which can be said to be a house full of children.
The second major event was that the eldest brother Yang Zhao and his nephew Yang Tan arrived in Jiangdu, and they even sent Yang Ling's son Yang Zhengdao and his mother Wei with them. This made Xiao Xia look up to Wang Shichong. Wang Shichong was a man who could accomplish something, had a certain amount of courage, and knew how to make choices.
He was ruthless when killing the ministers, but he decisively sent Yang Zhao and his son based on just a letter from him, without being affected by his personal emotions. This is very good.
When Empress Dowager Xiao saw that all her children and grandchildren had been brought here, she could not help but cry for joy, especially her eldest son Yang Zhao, who was dull and stupid all day long. If no one took care of him, he would die in a few days.
At night, Xiao Xia sat at the table admiring the treasures sent by Zhou Faming, the national treasure and the divine treasure.
There are eight imperial seals in total, including the imperial seal, the imperial seal for receiving the mandate, the three imperial seals for the emperor, and the three imperial seals for the son of heaven. They have different uses, including enthronement, internal affairs, diplomacy, enthronement, worship, and the use of military forces.
Emperor Yang Guang went south to conquer the Western Sui Dynasty and left the three treasures of the emperor in Luoyang, which were kept by the eldest grandson Yang Dan, and finally fell into the hands of Wang Shichong. The three treasures of the emperor were left in Chang'an, kept by the third grandson Yang You, and finally fell into the hands of Li Yuan.
He kept the imperial treasure and the imperial seal with him, but they finally fell into the hands of Yu Wenzhi. Li Xiaogong hunted down Yu Wenzhi, largely in order to recover the most crucial imperial treasure, that is, the imperial seal.
But many things are just God's will. Xiao Xia sent troops to Bashu not to obtain the imperial seal, but the imperial seal eventually fell into Xiao Xia's hands.
At this time, his wife Cui Yu came in with a teacup. Seeing her husband absorbed in observing the jade seal, she put down the teacup and looked at it for a moment, then asked with a smile, "Is this the legendary He Shi Bi?"
Xiao Xia laughed and said, "I dare say that Bian He's quest for jade with a rough stone is just a story made up by later generations!"
"Why would you say that, my husband?"
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "Think about it. Bian He is from Chu. Chu doesn't produce jade. At most, it's Dushan jade from Nanyang County. And this jade seal is obviously carved from Yutian jade from the Western Regions. Either the Heshi Bi is Dushan jade, or the Heshi Bi is Yutian jade, or this imperial seal has nothing to do with the Heshi Bi. Which one do you think it is?"
Cui Yu thought for a moment and smiled, "I think it's the latter two possibilities. The Heshi Bi is Khotan white jade, and the imperial seal has nothing to do with the Heshi Bi. The reason is very simple. The shape of the jade bi is a ring, a very thin piece. How could it be carved into such a square shape?"
Xiao Xia praised: "Very smart, you thought of the impossible from the format."
Xiao Xia put the two jade seals into the box and asked with a smile, "Have you met your sister?"
Cui Yu sighed, "To be honest, I really don't want to see her, but out of blood relationship and courtesy, I have to meet her."
"She gave you a cold look again?"
Cui Yu shook his head. "How dare she? This is Jiangdu. Now she pretends to be pitiful when she sees me. I can only perfunctorily say a few words to her. I think what she cares most about is how her husband plans to settle his nephews."
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "I have reached a consensus with the Queen Mother to let the brothers go to the Imperial College to study and stay there to study and live a peaceful life. The next step is to bring Yang You back and reunite the three brothers. This is also an explanation to my eldest brother."
"This is the best. As long as no one with ulterior motives takes advantage of them, they can live a peaceful life like normal people."
Speaking of ill intentions, the person Xiao Xia was most worried about was Cui. She was a woman who could not bear to be lonely and had a strong desire for power. He was afraid that she would instigate the three brothers.
Just then, her father Cui Hongsheng wrote her a letter from Chang'an, giving Xiao Xia hope.
Thinking of this, Xiao Xia said slowly: "Go ask your sister. If she is willing to marry again, I can make the decision to cancel her engagement with my eldest brother, and I will give her a generous dowry."
Cui Yu immediately understood her husband's concerns. She nodded and said, "I'll go talk to her tomorrow!"
(End of this chapter)