Li Jing of Huainan did not send troops to support, but sent envoys carrying generous gifts to Langzhou for negotiations. He promised Wang Kui and Zhou Xingfeng high-ranking officials and generous salaries, hoping to resolve the Langzhou mutiny peacefully.
Wang Kui and Zhou Xingfeng accepted all the gifts as ordered, and then sent the envoys back to Huainan. As for peace negotiations, I'm sorry, but I'm not interested.
Huainan, who had been stabbed, was very generous and refused to pursue the matter.
Not long ago, Ma Xi'e sent his chief adviser Liu Guangfu to lead a delegation to pay tribute to Huainan. Li Jing entertained Liu Guangfu warmly, and Liu Guangfu secretly reported to Li Jing, saying that "the people of Southern Chu are tired and the ruler is arrogant, so it is desirable" and that the seller seeks glory. So Li Jing ordered Bian Hao, the governor of Xinzhou, to station troops in Yuanzhou (now Yichun City, Jiangxi Province), preparing for an opportunity to invade Hunan.
From this we can also see that Ma Xi'e failed in diplomacy. He refused to surrender to Huainan after Zhou Dynasty, which was really a major strategic mistake of Southern Chu. What is even more chilling is the team building of Ma Xi'e group. Advisers seek glory by betraying their bosses, and direct line generals separate themselves and rule the roost. If Ma Xi'e can last for a long time, he will live in hell.
But the eldest grandson of Langzhou, Ma Guanghui, has the characteristics of both uncles in body and spirit: he is as cowardly and incompetent like Ma Xifan, and he is addicted to wine and sex like Ma Xi'e. In just three months, he lost the support of the generals and was deposed by Wang Kui and Zhou Xingfeng in June.
The two believed that Liu Yan, the governor of Chenzhou, was brave in battle and well-known among the surrounding barbarian tribes, so they recommended him as the new leader. Liu Yan was originally a subordinate of Peng Gan, the governor of Jizhou, and followed Peng Gan into Chu. During the Ma Xifan period, he was appointed governor of Chenzhou.
Liu Yan didn't want to be involved in this dispute, but he was in a world where he couldn't help himself. He told the people around him that Wang Kui and others were arrogant and uncontrollable. If I didn't agree, they would definitely mobilize troops and come to attack me. If I don’t go to hell, who will? So he went to Langzhou alone, and was recommended by Wang Kui and Zhou Xingfeng to be the post-resident of Langzhou. He then submitted a petition to the suzerain state of Huainan, requesting a formal letter of appointment.
Only half a year after the unification of Southern Chu, the political problem of "two Chu states, one pond and one lake" emerged. Huainan did not recognize it and insisted that Ma Xihe was the only legitimate ruler of Southern Chu.
As a result, Wang Kui and others turned to the Later Zhou Dynasty and surrendered.
Ma Xihe's unfair rewards and punishments aroused dissatisfaction among the generals. One of them was Xu Qiong, who betrayed Ma Xiguang. According to records, after Ma Xi'e conquered Tanzhou, he did not give any reward to Xu Qiong.
The solution to this problem is simple, and that is to reissue rewards. However, Ma Xi'e appointed Xu Qiong as the governor of Mengzhou to prevent Xu Qiong from launching a coup.
At the same time, commander-in-chief Xu Wei and others were sent to camp in the northwest of Tanzhou to prepare for attacks from Langzhou.
These troops also did not receive any rewards. The soldiers complained, their morale was low, their morale was disorganized, and even mutiny was brewing. Ma Xichong got the plot of the mutiny, but kept silent, preparing to use the mutiny to achieve his small goal in life.
On September 19, Ma Xihe held a banquet for civil and military ministers, but Xu Wei and others were not invited. Just like the troops of Wang Kui and Zhou Xingfeng, Xu Wei and others were furious. We were not there when we were enjoying the blessings, and we were indispensable when we were used as dogs and livestock. Xu Wei and others decided to launch a mutiny.
Ma Xichong received the news in advance. He was originally invited, but he lied about being ill and did not attend the banquet.
Xu Wei and others first sent people to drive more than a dozen fierce horses outside the headquarters. These carefully selected fierce horses were not fuel-efficient lamps. They were problem children and irritable youths in the horse world. They would kick and bite other horses if they were not satisfied at all. These seemingly useless horses have their uses today.
In the headquarters building, people were drinking and drinking, and at the same time, a fierce fight broke out among more than a dozen horses outside, which the guards could not control.
At this time, Xu Wei and others led their trusted subordinates, armed with axes and wooden sticks, claiming that they were here to drive piles and tie horses, and were naturally let into the headquarters by the guards. Afterwards, Xu Wei led his men straight to the banquet hall, swung the ax and chopped people in sight, killing people when God blocked them and killing Buddha when Buddha blocked them.
Ma Xi'e tried to escape over the wall, but was captured alive by Xu Wei.
His "boyfriend" Xie Yanyong was also captured alive, and the rebels cut him to death on the spot.
Subsequently, Xu Wei and others supported Ma Xichong to succeed him. Obviously, the mastermind of this mutiny was Ma Xichong.
Ma Xichong ordered Peng Shihao to place Ma Xi'e under house arrest in Hengshan County.
When Liu Yan of Langzhou heard the news of the mutiny in Tanzhou, he immediately led his army southward, claiming to be a crusade against Ma Xichong, who had usurped power. Traitors fight traitors.
Ma Xichong was so frightened that he sent two thousand troops to meet the enemy. At the same time, he sent envoys to communicate, proposing that he was willing to divide the country, rule the country, and live in peace.
Liu Yan summoned his subordinates to discuss.
His chief adviser Li Guanxiang said: "There are no two suns in the sky, and there are no two masters in the country. The road between the two Chu states cannot go forward. Ma Xichong does not have his own direct troops, and the soldiers in Tanzhou are basically direct descendants of Ma Xi'e. So...come here, like this, like this, like this."
Li Guanxiang came up with a vicious plan for Liu Yan: first express his willingness to accept peace talks, but Ma Xichong must show sincerity, that is, he must kill all Ma Xichong's direct generals and use their heads to accept the certificate of surrender. In this way, Ma Xichong has two choices, kill or not kill.
If we don’t kill him, then we have a good reputation and can take over Tanzhou with good reason;
If he kills, there will be two consequences. One is that he successfully completes the massacre, then Tanzhou's combat effectiveness will be gone, so we will take advantage of the opportunity and take it down with one blow; the other is that his massacre will trigger another The mutiny will also greatly affect Tanzhou's combat effectiveness, and we can still easily win it.
Liu Yan's supporters were Wang Kui and Zhou Xingfeng, who were direct descendants of Ma Xi'e.
Wang Kui was originally a soldier in Langzhou. He gradually rose from an ordinary soldier to the commander of Langzhou. In the Battle of Tanzhou, Wang Kui was the vanguard of the siege. Zhou Xingfeng's background was even worse. He was originally a soldier in Langzhou. He was a gangster who was idle, had no job, and was not filial to his parents (a scoundrel who did not care about his family's production). He also violated the law and was sent to the army as a prisoner. Later, he was gradually promoted to deputy commander of Langzhou because of his bravery in combat.
Although Wang Kui and Zhou Xingfeng are "direct descendants of Langzhou", their reputation and status in Ma Xi'e's team are not high, and the Liu Yan they admire is a retired general. To put it bluntly, he is a follower. Peng Gan sent someone to live under the fence and begged Nanchu to take him in.
Therefore, most of Ma Xi'e's civil and military veterans looked down on the three of them and found it difficult to lower their profile and coexist peacefully with them. Only then did Li Guanxiang come up with this poisonous plan.
Ma Xichong is a typical expert in civil war and an outsider in foreign wars. He is brave in private fights but timid in public wars. He overthrew Ma Xihe through intrigues, but he followed Liu Yan's lies without any problem. After receiving Liu Yan's request, he immediately arrested Ma Xi'e's meritorious old subordinates:
The great counselors Yang Zhongmin, Liu Guangfu and other generals, a total of more than ten people, were all beheaded and their heads were packed and sent to Langzhou.
