The imperial court issued a revolt order on the first day of the first lunar month, and the day to dispatch troops was set on February 7th.
Except for discussing the dispatch of troops in the first few days, Sima Yuanxian was drunk every day, drinking and having fun with his beloved concubine Wang Yi.
Since entering the government, Wang Yi has been greatly favored by Sima Yuanxian, and he has a son, Sima Faxing.
Taifu Sima Daozi did not even attend the court meeting. He was drinking and listening to music in his mansion, unaware that Huanxuan's army was approaching.
Liu Jingxuan overheard the news that Zhang Fashun advised Sima Yuanxian to get rid of his father. He was shocked and rushed to the military camp to tell him.
Liu Laozhi was silent. Zhang Fashun came to Jingkou years ago to persuade him to start an army. He offended this guy by pushing back and forth. Could it be that Zhang Fashun deliberately framed him.
Thinking of this, Liu Laozhi decided to go to the Hussar General's Mansion to meet Sima Yuanxian, showing that he had no second thoughts and was willing to obey the court's orders to fight against Huan Xuan.
The hanging plaques on Sima Yuanxian's residence have been changed frequently. Shizhong's Mansion, Yangzhou Governor's Mansion, Shangshu Ling's Mansion, and now they have been replaced by Hussar General's Mansion.
There were many cars and horses in front of the mansion, and there was a long queue of officials who came to pay their respects. The waiter in front of the mansion was very imposing. When he saw Liu Laozhi, he replied coldly, "The general is busy with official duties, please wait for a while."
Liu Laozhi was sitting in the side room waiting for Sima Yuanxian to receive him. The tea on the table had gone cold. Most of an hour had passed, but no servant came to inform him.
He stood up and went to the door to look around, and saw Zhang Fashun coming out of the hall with his sleeves fluttering, his face rosy, as if he had drunk wine.
Liu Laozhi was unhappy. After waiting for more than half an hour, Sima Yuanxian was drinking and having fun with Zhang Fashun in the palace. It was abominable to treat him so coldly.
He suppressed his anger and continued to wait. A quarter of an hour later, a small official came in and said, "General Liu, the general is tired and has gone back to his house to rest. General Liu, please come back next time."
Liu Laozhi was so angry that he threw up his sleeves and left the Husband's Mansion without mentioning his visit to Sima Yuanxian. Sima Yuanxian seemed to have forgotten Liu Laozhi's existence and never sent anyone to invite him to the government to discuss military matters.
On February 7, in accordance with the provisions of the "Ritual System", Emperor Sima Dezong came to Xichi (1) and held a banquet to bid farewell to Sima Yuanxian, Liu Laozhi and others who were going on an expedition.
This was the first time Liu Laozhi saw Sima Yuanxian since he led his army to Jiankang. The two looked at each other from a distance and had no chance to speak.
The emperor toasted three glasses and drove back to the palace. Sima Dewen, king of Langya, continued to entertain all the generals on the expedition on his behalf.
A courtier came in in a panic and reported: "The Duke of Nanjun sent troops from Jiangling and issued a proclamation to the world." As he said this, he presented the proclamation with both hands.
Sima Yuanxian did not expect that Huan Xuan would take the initiative and lead his troops to attack. He took the memorandum and scanned it.
The memorandum states that he "authorized the court, despised the emperor and his relatives, worked hard for mediocrity, and resisted women and aggressive ministers and bandits." He wanted to raise troops to clear the emperor's side.
Sima Yuanxian was actually deeply afraid of Huanxuan. Huanxuan sent troops in the name of attacking him. If he led his army to leave Jiankang, would Zhuhuan take the opportunity to cause chaos? Once the war goes badly, will the imperial court let him be the scapegoat to negotiate peace with Huan Xuan?
Not in the mood for the banquet, Sima Yuanxian returned to the Hussar General's Mansion on the grounds of physical discomfort and asked Liu Laozhi to lead the Beifu Army to set off first.
Liu Laozhi had no intention of fighting Huan Xuan to the death. In his opinion, maintaining the strength of the Beifu Army in his hands was the foundation of his life.
The Huanxuan court is to blame for the defeat. If it wins, will there be a situation where "the cunning rabbit dies and the lackey is cooked"?
Recalling his own experience of visiting Sima Yuanxian in the Hussar General's Mansion, his son Liu Jingxuan was also treated coldly by Sima Yuanxian. After he defeated the Jingzhou soldiers and horses, Sima Yuanxian was likely to kill the donkey.
Through Wang Gong's incident, Liu Laozhi discovered that if he wanted to succeed in his official career, he could not rely solely on bravery, but also had to seize the opportunity to obtain the greatest benefits.
Sima Yuanxian asked him to send troops in the name of the court, and Liu Laozhi did not dare to disobey. When the Beifu Army went south to the sandbank southwest of Stone City - Luzhou (2), Liu Laozhi stood still and stationed himself here.
Liu Laozhi had his own plan to station troops in Liezhou. First, the army was dispatched in response to the imperial court's order; second, the general who left Jiankang would not accept the orders of the foreign emperor; third, it was a good opportunity to firmly control the Beifu army.
When Sima Yuanxian was still hesitating, he received another message from Jingzhou soldiers and horses arriving.
News from Xunyang.
Originally, he planned to let Liu Laozhi lead the Beifu Army as the vanguard and fight the Jingzhou soldiers and horses in Xunyang. However, the opportunity was lost and he could only change the location of the battle to the Hengjiang area.
Sima Yuanxian finally remembered to discuss with the forward Liu Laozhi how to go into battle, and sent someone to Xiezhou to ask Liu Laozhi when he would send troops. ap.
At this moment, Liu Laozhi felt that he had understood the true meaning. The court now had to rely on the Beifu Army in his hands. He could put forward conditions just like Wang Gong did back then. It would be easy to get the position of governor, so there was no need to beg Sima Yuanxian.
Liu Laozhi told the envoy that the Beifu army was intensifying its training, and asked the court to replenish food and grass, and that the army would march south soon.
Sima Yuanxian was so angry that he threw his cup after receiving the reward, but there was nothing he could do about it, not to mention that the imperial treasury was empty and there was nowhere to raise food and grass to recruit new troops.
The soldiers and horses in the court were fighting each other and their morale was low. After arriving at Xunyang, the soldiers and horses in Jingzhou were in high morale. From Huan Xuan to ordinary soldiers, they were full of confidence that they could capture Jiankang and achieve unparalleled achievements.
After arriving in Xunyang, Huan Xuan did not continue down the river, but once again sent a message to the court, enumerating Sima Yuanxian's faults, and he wanted to occupy the great righteousness and win the support of the Jiankang gentry.
Sima Yuanxian was even more uneasy. On February 18th, he issued an edict in the name of the Emperor and sent Qi King Sima Rouzhi to hold a banner and announce the Western Army's withdrawal.
Zouyu is an ancient benevolent beast with a tiger body and a head, white hair and black stripes, and a long tail. It is kind by nature and cannot bear to trample even grass, and will not eat creatures that have died unnaturally.
Zouyu banners are flags with pictures of Zouyu, which are used to convey the emperor's will to mobilize troops.
Sima Rouzhi was intercepted by Feng Gai, and as a vanguard, Feng Gai garrisoned Pengze downstream of Xunyang.
Huan Xuan promised when he raised his army that as long as he conquered Jiankang, he would be rewarded for his merits. Seeing that victory was in sight, and the opportunity to be promoted to a marquis was right in front of him, how could Feng let Zuo Yuban affect his future.
Feng Gai ordered the officers holding the flags to be killed and drove Qi King Sima Rouzhi back (3). The hope of reconciliation was dashed.
In Liyang City, King Qiao Sima Shangzhi read Yang Anxuan's letter, handed it to his third brother Sima Xiuzhi, and sighed: "It is difficult for a country to recognize loyal ministers. Huan Xuan led the Western Army, Liu Laozhi relied on his own troops, and the states After receiving the order, he sat back and watched the success or failure. Only An Xuan, regardless of his own safety, sent troops to Yongzhou to contain Huan Xuan. He was the pillar of the true country."
Sima Xiuzhi was very dissatisfied with the instructional tone revealed in Yang Anxuan's letter, and said: "Yang Anxuan had only fought a few battles, and was lucky enough to defeat Qin and Wei twice. He thought he was a famous general in the world, and actually taught his brother how to arrange troops. The formation is set up."
Sima Shangzhi smiled and said: "What An Xuan said makes some sense. Yu plans to lead the army to Dongpu to set up defenses. Third brother, you stick to Liyang. As a brother, you will have no worries. Let Wen Zhong (4) stationed in Xuancheng to harass the Western Army .”
Sima Xiuzhi said worriedly: "Brother, there are as many as 50,000 troops in Jingjiang, and the garrison in Yuzhou is only 15,000, so we are outnumbered. It is safer to defend Liyang City."
Sima Shangzhi shook his head and said: "In that case, Huanxuan can drive directly from the Yangtze River to Jiankang. As a relative of the country, how can he be afraid of danger and avoid war?"
Sima Xiuzhi sighed softly and stopped trying to persuade him.
After thinking briefly, Sima Shangzhi continued: "Dongpu and Hengjiang are located in the north and south of the Yangtze River, which can cut off Huanxuan's northward route (5). Yu led nine thousand troops to guard Dongpu, and Hengjiang sent Yang Qiu to defend it."
Sima Xiu said: "Although Yang Qiu is a veteran general, he is a Di man. He surrendered to Huan Wen back then. Yang Anxuan's letter mentioned that he should be careful when using old members of the Huan family. The eldest brother must pay attention."
Sima Shangzhi smiled bitterly and said: "The only person who can take charge of the foolish tent is Yang Qiu, the governor of Wudu. Usually Yang Qiu is quite loyal and cautious, so he cannot be abandoned."
Sima Xiu said: "Even if the elder brother wants to use Yang Qiu, he must send someone to watch him, just in case."
"Let Wen Xiang be his deputy and lead three thousand troops to garrison Hengjiang." Sima Xiuzhi said: "Let Liu Zhong lead the navy to move to Caizhou to stop Huanxuan's navy."...
At midnight on February 20th, Yang Anxuan led his light cavalry to set out from Xinxicheng. At Shenshi, they arrived at Xinyang City and sent the imperial order to revolt into the city.
The imperial court's order to retaliate against the rebellion and Huan Xuan's message to raise troops against the Qing Dynasty had spread throughout the world. Fan Zhen, the prefect of Xinyang, ordered to welcome
Yang Anxuan entered the city.
With Fan Zhen's help, Yang Anxuan was unstoppable along the way. Pingchun and the Ping family opened the city gates one after another, supplied baggage, and allowed Yang Anxuan's army to pass.
Five days later, Yang Anxuan's Qingqi arrived at Jiyang City. Jiyang, the seat of Xinye County, where Yang Anxuan spent more than a year.
The east gate opened wide, and He Hao, the governor of Xinye, led the gentry out of the city to greet him. Yin Ji supported Yin Xi and stood aside with a smile.
Yang Anxuan sent Yin Ji to Xinye in advance and asked Yin Xi to come forward to persuade He Hao to accept the imperial army to settle.
Nowadays, the Yin family is one of the best families in Xinye. When Mr. Yin comes forward, He Hao quickly decides to be a wallflower and force anyone to fall for him.
While sending people to Xiangyang City to report to Sima Diao Chang, he also made preparations for Yang Anxuan's arrival, making up his mind that whoever arrived first would obey his orders.
Yang Anxuan took over the garrison of Xinye and asked Prefect He to inform Xinye County in writing, and He Hao obeyed his orders.
Two days later, Yang Siping arrived with his rear army. The rear army originally numbered 2,000 people, but 800 people were selected from the Xinyang County army, and the number became 2,800.
Yang Anxuan asked Yin Ji to select 600 people from the Xinye County army. Yang Anxuan had nearly 5,000 soldiers and horses.
The imperial edict was sent to Nanyang and Nanxiang counties. Nanxiang Prefect Shou Rong expressed his willingness to obey Yang Anxuan's orders, but Nanyang Prefect Yan Qiang ordered the subordinate counties not to obey Yang Anxuan's orders and strictly guard the city, waiting for Nanjun Gong Huanxuan's orders. Order.
This Yan Qiang was Huangfu Fu's general who was defeated by Yang Anxuan in Hujiawu. Relying on the property he looted from Nanyang, Yan Qiang presented treasures to Huan Xuan, which was appreciated and was appointed as the governor of Nanyang.
After learning the news, Yang Anxuan sent Yang Siping and Kuai Si to lead 500 people to Nanxiang to reorganize their troops, and contacted the Hu Dynasty in Panlong Mountain to prepare for the attack on Wancheng, the seat of Nanyang.
Note (1): "Book of Jin: Etiquette": Xun Yi and others established new etiquette, sending generals to Linxuan, Shangshu received the festival Yue, which means kneeling and pushing the boss according to ancient military books.
(2): Liezhou is also recorded as Lizhou, and some say it is Caizhou next to Xinting mentioned in Chapter 204. There are more than ten sandbanks silted up in the Yangtze River, which cannot be verified.
(3): It is said that Sima Rouzhi was killed on the spot. In fact, Sima Rouzhi was killed by Huan Xuan together with Sima Shangzhi and others after Jiankang City was destroyed.
(4): Sima Wenzhong, the eldest son of Sima Shang.
(5): The Yangtze River generally runs from west to east, but the section from Jiujiang to Nanjing goes in the northeast direction, about 60 to 70 degrees northeast, so it is described as north to south.
