At the end of the Sui Dynasty, warlords fought in a melee, boiling public dissatisfaction, leading to overwhelming peasant uprisings sweeping across the country, with smoke and fire everywhere.
In July of the twelfth year of Daye (616), Emperor Yang took a dragon boat trip to Jiangdu.
At that time, Li Mi, the leader of the Wagangzhai Army, occupied Luokou and blocked Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty from returning to the west. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty stayed in Jiangdu and had no intention of returning to the capital to prosper. Instead, he planned to use Danyang (now Nanjing, Jiangsu) as his capital and settle in Jiangdong.
Most of the Xiaoguo Imperial Guards who followed the emperor were from Guanzhong in the northwest. They had lived abroad for a long time and were homesick for their families and home.
When the officers and soldiers saw that Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty did not want to return to Chang'an in the west, but wanted to stay in Jiangdong for a long time, they became increasingly uneasy and planned to rebel against the emperor and return to the west.
Wu Benlang's general Sima Dekan commanded more than ten thousand Xiaoguo troops and was stationed in Jiangdu City, directly responsible for the emperor's security.
When he learned that Sergeant Xiaoguo was plotting to defect, he secretly contacted some people and planned to stage a rebellion by taking advantage of the soldiers' eagerness to return.
At this time, they had no ambition to kill the emperor and rebel. They just wanted to rob some property and then return to Guanzhong in a group.
Yuwen Zhiji, who had always been rebellious, was very happy when he learned the news, and immediately went to see Sima Dekan.
At the same time, he was encouraged to give up his original idea of small and futile fights, and instead take advantage of the chaos in the world to rise up against the Sui Dynasty.
Then take advantage of the opportunity of the elite imperial army to carry out a great cause of conquering the world.
Sima Dekan thought that what he said was reasonable, but rebellion was a big deal and there had to be a leader!
After discussion, several people decided to support Yu Wenhuaji as the coach of the uprising.
After the plot was completed, these few people informed Yu Wenhuaji of the plot.
Yu Wenhua and Ben were cowardly and weak in ability. When they heard about such a major conspiracy, their faces suddenly changed with fright.
But Yu Wenhuaji was a frivolous and incompetent person. After thinking for a long time, he still couldn't help but feel greedy in his heart.
Of course, this has something to do with Yu Wenhua and his ungrateful character.
Yu Wenhuaji's father was General Zuoyiwei of the Sui Dynasty. He often relied on his father's power to act recklessly and did not follow the law.
Because he witnessed the dark inside story of corruption in the upper echelons of the ruling class, Yu Wenhua developed a cruel, insidious, greedy and arrogant nature, and never followed the law.
He often led his servants to ride on tall horses, holding bows and bullets, and galloped along the Chang'an Road to bully the people. Therefore, the people in the city called him "the frivolous young man."
When he learned that he had the opportunity to become king and emperor, Yu Wenhuaji was naturally overjoyed.
On the night of March 10, the fourteenth year of Daye (618), Sima Dekan lured Xiaoguo in from the Xuanwu Gate, and Pei Qantong and Yuanli went straight into the palace to search for him.
Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty heard about the change and hid in Yongxiang, but was still captured by the rebels.
In order to be able to legitimately claim the title of king and emperor in the future, Yu Wenhuaji ordered the school captain Linghu Xingda to hang Emperor Yang.
As a result, the Sui clan and relatives in Jiangdu Palace were all massacred.
In order to stabilize the morale of the army, and at the same time in order to survive, Yang Hao, the nephew of Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty, King of Qin, was able to survive and was made emperor by Yu Wenhuaji.
Later Yu Wenhuaji became the prime minister, and Yuwen Zhiji became Zuopushe, preparing to lead more than 100,000 Sui officers and soldiers back to Guanzhong.
When Yu Wenhuaji's troops marched to Xuzhou, due to the impassable waterway, he ordered to plunder 2,000 local ox carts and load the palace maids' treasures together.
The baggage, armor, weapons, etc. were carried by the soldiers.
Due to the long distance and the lack of people and horses, the officers and soldiers of the three armies complained a lot.
Ministers Sima Dekan, Zhao Xingshu and general Chen Botu all planned to kill Yu Wenhuaji, but they were all killed by Yu Wenhuaji because of poor planning.
Later, Yu Wenhuaji was defeated by Wagang Li Mi, and most of the soldiers began to flee.
In the end, less than 20,000 soldiers followed him, and they retreated to Wei County.
After all, the Great Sui Dynasty at that time belonged to the orthodoxy, and Yu Wenhuaji's rebel army and people did not follow it.
Knowing that he would be defeated, Yu Wenhuaji sighed: "You must die in life, how can you not become an emperor one day?"
So the puppet emperor Yang Hao was killed, and the emperor was located in Wei County. His country was named Xu, and Jianyuan was named Tianshou.
Later, Yu Wenhuaji was defeated and captured by Dou Jiande.
If we say that Emperor Yang spent his time on the people and money in three expeditions against Goryeo, he was defeated and his country was damaged.
Then Yu Wenji's rebellion and the massacre of all the Sui royal family ruined the last hope of the Sui Dynasty.
Because Yu Wenhua's rebellion came too suddenly, Emperor Yang and other members of the Sui Dynasty royal family were killed.
Without a leader, many old officials of the Sui Dynasty were actually unprepared.
This also caused many old officials and soldiers of the Sui Dynasty to stay in Jiangnan.
Later, through secret contacts with Empress Xiao, these old officials and soldiers of the Sui Dynasty gradually disappeared in Jiangnan.
Many former Sui officials and soldiers have developed in Jiangnan for decades.
Some became high-ranking officials of the Tang Dynasty, some became gentry and common people in Jiangnan, and some were lost in the long river of time.
But it is undeniable that a large number of people have actually survived in various ways, and some people still remember their old feelings from the Sui Dynasty.
Therefore, as soon as Empress Xiao's secret rescue order came out, these former Sui troops in Jiangnan took action.
For a time, the whole situation in Jiangnan was strange.
…
In the official office of Jiangning County (Nanjing), County Governor Huang Shanchen was concentrating on handling official duties, and even his personal secretary sneaked in without noticing.
Shu Zuo walked briskly and went straight to Huang Shanchen's bookcase. Seeing that his master didn't seem to notice his arrival, he coughed lightly to remind him.
Huang Shanchen finally came to his senses and saw Shuzuo, his confidant sent by his family to assist him, and asked in surprise: "Fucai, what's the matter?"
On the left side of the book, Huang Fucai presented the letter in his hand to Huang Shanchen: "Your Excellency's secret letter..."
Huang Shanchen was stunned for a moment, then quickly picked up the letter and read it carefully.
After a long time, Huang Shanchen handed the letter to Huang Fucai and said with a wry smile: "Oh, this is making things difficult for me!"
As Huang Fucai's confidant, Huang Shanchen was obviously very relieved and did not evade even the secret orders issued by Empress Xiao.
Huang Fucai took it with both hands, glanced at it, read the content of the letter, thought for a moment, and asked: "Do you have any objections, sir?"
Huang Shanchen stood up and said with a wry smile: "So what if I care about you, so what if I don't care about you? I am a county governor who seems to be a shepherd, but in fact I can't go out of the official office, and I am completely ignored by the Jiangnan nobles."
"It's not just me, it's the same everywhere in Jiangnan. Within Jiangning's government offices, except for you and me and the people we've attracted over the years, all the key positions are held by members of the Jiangnan gentry."
"Even if I am willing to repay Empress Xiao for helping me and repay the kindness of Sui Dynasty, I can't do anything."
"It's not easy to instruct the people in the county to go to the rescue. I am really powerless!"
These remarks were not deliberately evasive by Huang Shanchen.
In the Tang Dynasty, the highest level of local classification was "state", and the governor was appointed as its chief.
At this time, Jiangning County has not yet been planned to be "Shengzhou" in the future, and it is still called Jiangning County.
Although he is the governor of the county, he actually does not have much power.
Under him, there are also officials such as Chang Shi, Sima, Judicial, and Joining the Army, who are called Zuoguan.
These positions have specific control over various departments and are official positions with real power.
If these people did not cooperate, he, the county guard, would not be able to mobilize any soldiers at all.
The secret letter made it very clear that Yang Fan, the governor of Jiangnan, was besieged on Yuntai by some Jiangnan nobles and Shanyue people.
After so many days, the county guard himself has not received any news. Obviously the officials below do not want him to know.
Almost all of Jiangshou County's Sima and Jiangjun officials were controlled by officials from various gentry clans in the south of the Yangtze River. Huang Shanchen seemed to have a high position and control, but he could not command these gentry officials at all.
Otherwise, these people should have reported it as soon as the Shanyue people rebelled, and even sent troops to exterminate them.
Now that the Governor of Jiangnan was in danger, he, the county governor, was the last to know. Of course, he knew that these officials deliberately concealed it.
】
Huang Fucai looked at the door cautiously and saw that no one was paying attention here. Then he whispered to Huang Shanchen: "Sir, I think this matter is a good opportunity to break the situation. If it is done well, not only can you retaliate The previous kindness can further control Jiangning County..."
Huang Shanchen frowned and asked: "Jiangning County is controlled by various noble officials, and the government is controlled in every aspect. The name does not live up to its reality. This is known to the world. Even the imperial decree is not easy to implement. How can this situation be broken?"
Huang Fucai explained: "It is precisely because you are being constrained everywhere that you should stand up and resist. The imperial court sent the governor to the south of the Yangtze River for the obvious purpose of dealing with the Jiangnan nobles. If your Excellency takes action when the governor is in danger, Once the governor is out of trouble, wouldn't it be a great achievement? If the emperor is happy, it is possible to transfer your Excellency to the capital to serve."
Huang Shanchen sighed: "Although what you said makes sense, if you want to send troops for rescue, you must get the consent of Sima Linxing and Fan Cheng who joined the army. They were from Jiangnan noble families, and the secret letter said that these two families were involved in this incident. Quite profound, they are obviously very ambitious, how can they agree to send troops to rescue?"
Seeing Huang Shanchen sighing, Huang Fucai shook his head secretly.
It seems that my master no longer has the ambitions he once had.
As a former official of the Sui Dynasty, he obtained the high position of county guard only with the secret support of Empress Xiao.
I originally planned to make some achievements here, but I was repeatedly suppressed by the Jiangnan nobles. Now that I am getting older, I no longer have the same high spirits as before.
Although Huang Shanchen wanted to protect himself wisely, Huang Fucai was unwilling to do so!
As a descendant of the Huang family, he is deeply loved by the family, otherwise he would not be sent to study with Huang Shanchen.
Now that he had such a good opportunity to curry favor with the governor sent by the imperial court, Huang Fucai certainly didn't want to let it go.
Adding icing on the cake is not as good as providing help when needed. Anyone with a discerning eye understands this truth.
So Huang Fucai whispered: "Sir, please forgive me for disagreeing. Some things don't have to be accomplished, but require an attitude... Of course, if you want to make a difference, you have to do your best."
As a veteran official, Huang Shanchen was certainly not stupid, and he soon realized what he was doing!
yes!
All areas south of the Yangtze River were controlled by nobles, and the emperor and officials in the court were well aware of this.
The purpose of sending Yang Fan to Jiangnan this time was to break the monopoly of the Jiangnan gentry.
Now that the Jiangnan nobles are openly defying the imperial court, they will definitely arouse the emperor's anger.
In this case, it doesn't really matter whether you can successfully rescue them or not. What's important is that you have to make your own side clear.
As Huang Fucai said, whether it is successful or not is one thing; whether it is done or not is another matter!
As a superior, he would not want to see the ministers he sent to Jiangnan doing nothing.
Furthermore, will His Majesty Li Er give up control of Jiangnan?
Obviously impossible. If we really gave up Jiangnan, how could we send Yang Fan south?
After he figured it out, he no longer had any scruples. Huang Shanchen slapped the book and shouted loudly: "What the rich man said makes sense. From now on, our Huang family will have to rely on young people like you."
"Immediately take my seal and invite Sima He to join the army. I want to see why these Jiangnan noble officials refused me to rescue the imperial officials. Do they really dare to blatantly risk the disapproval of the world?"
"Your Excellency is wise."
Huang Fucai looked happy and took the order and left.
It is a troubled time now, and these Jiangnan officials are watching the development of the situation in the official office.
Therefore, Huang Fucai quickly invited two people.
Sima Linxing, dressed in official robes, and Fan Cheng, a soldier in the army, walked into the government office one after another.
Lin Xing is about forty years old. He has a white face and no beard. He seems to be kind and gentle, but from the coldness that flashes in his eyes from time to time, it can be seen that he is a difficult person to deal with.
Fan Cheng, on the other hand, was tall and tall, with a sword and armor on his body, his nose turned up to the sky, and he looked extremely arrogant.
As soon as he saw Huang Shanchen, Fan Cheng, who joined the army, asked impatiently: "I don't know what the important thing is for us to come here. Now that bandits are rampant, don't delay our defense."
When speaking, he stood in the hall without even bending his waist, which was extremely rude.
As he spoke, he walked towards the stool on the side, not paying attention to the county governor Huang Shanchen at all.
Huang Shanchen didn't care about this, and held back his anger and asked: "Since joining the army knew that there were many mountain bandits, did you ever know that the Shanyue people rebelled and besieged the governor of Jiangnan Province in Yuntai Mountain?"
Hearing this, Fan Cheng was not afraid of boiling water: "I have indeed heard it!"
But I thought in my heart, not only did I know, but the head of the family also sent people to attack and kill Yang Fan. What can you do?
Seeing Fan Cheng who didn't take his words seriously at all, Huang Shanchen was so angry that his beard stood up!
Have you heard it?
Doesn't this mean that he is really the last one to know that these guys are deliberately hiding it from him.
Although he was prepared in his heart, Huang Shanchen was still very angry at this moment.
Will you look at me with such cold eyes next time when I am besieged by Shanyue rebels?
Thinking of this, Huang Shanchen was so angry that he gritted his teeth.
This group of Jiangnan nobles are really ambitious. Not only do they regard Jiangnan as their own private land, they also ignore the imperial court.
Now I am actually watching the officials of the imperial court being put in danger. It is disgusting and shameful!
Suppressing the anger in his heart, Huang Shanchen turned to Lin Xing and said coldly: "Sima, you are in charge of Jiangning's military affairs. Now the mountains are raging and court officials are besieged. How can you just sit back and watch?"
"I order you to quickly mobilize troops and horses to Yuntai Mountain to rescue the Governor. If the Governor escapes unharmed, I will report to the court to ask for your merits. If the Governor has some shortcomings, your Majesty will punish him when the time comes. Don't say anything about me. The officials won’t protect you!”
These words are already a step back, and the meaning is obvious - I only want to keep Yang Fan alive, and I don't care about the rest.
At the same time, the emperor was carried out to put pressure on him!
