Author: Xu Yunhui
"Mr. Hou, you were originally from Hezhou, why did you get here?"
“...... Returning to His Majesty: Our Hou general, a native of Shuo Prefecture (朔州, in present-day Shuozhou City, Shanxi), defected to His Majesty in order to escape Gao Cheng's pursuit and killing, and was blessed with the grace of His Majesty's Emperor..."
"Mouthy! Please Mr. Hou speak back himself! How many people did you bring with you when you first defected to me? ”
"A thousand people."
"How many people are taking to besiege Taicheng now?"
"One hundred thousand!"
"How many people are there today?"
"The whole of Nanliang is full of my people!" ..... Including Your Majesty and the Crown Prince! ”
This is a conversation after Emperor Wu of Liang was placed under house arrest by the rebel general Hou Jing. The emperor Bodhisattva Xiao Yan, who sacrificed himself to the temple four times, was like a kind farmer, and when hou Jing, a lost dog, was desperate, Great Compassion took him in to Southern Liang for reuse, but in the end he was eaten by Hou Jing' poisonous snake, staging the tragedy of the Chinese version of "farmer and snake".
What kind of goods is Hou Jing's poisonous snake that will take revenge?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="12" > (1) three surnamed domestic slaves</h1>
Hou Jing was a humble man from Huaishuo Town, Shuo Prefecture, Northern Wei, and when he was a teenager, he was a brave and aggressive land snake that ran rampant in the township. "And long, Xiao Yong has the strength to ride and shoot", and was thus "selected as the Beizhen Guard, with a slight effect." ”
The land snake made a mess of itself in the barracks and quickly pulled up a private force. Taking advantage of the "great chaos in the north at the end of Wei", he led his troops to defect to the powerful minister Erzhu Rong, who was "very important" and was "entrusted with military service." "This house is grateful to Dai De for his repeated military achievements," and was promoted to the title of Dingzhou Assassin, Daxingtai, and Fengpuyang County. Jing Zi is a famous author. ”
Gao Huan, then chancellor of northern Wei, was Hou Jing's comrade-in-arms when he was young, and "was very friendly with Jing." After Erzhu Rong was stabbed to death, Gao Huan took advantage of the situation to destroy the Erzhu family. Hou Jing saw that the situation was not good, took the initiative to lead his troops to surrender to Gao Huan, and turned around gorgeously as a new master's cronies.
Hou Jing "drove the army strictly and neatly" and was good at buying people's hearts. Every time, he rewarded the soldiers with all the treasures plundered after breaking the enemy, and they were followed by the soldiers, and because of their repeated victories, they "took over the military power." After the Northern Wei Split into Eastern and Western Wei, Hou Jing was under the protection of Gao Huan of the Eastern Wei Dynasty, "The dictatorship of Henan has been in power for fourteen years, and there are often flying ambitions. After Zhi Gaohuan became seriously ill, he "supported the army and strengthened himself." ”
When Gao Huan was critically ill, he instructed his son Gao Cheng: "Hou Jing is cunning and calculating, and it is difficult to know repeatedly. When I die, I will not be used for you!" Gao Cheng then pretended to be Gao Huan's handwriting and wrote a letter to summon Hou Jing to Beijing for discussion.
Unexpectedly, Hou Jing was like a monkey. In order to protect himself, he had already agreed with Gao Huan: In order to distinguish the authenticity of the letter, he must make a special mark somewhere. Although Gao Cheng's imitation handwriting is exquisite, because there is no special mark, Hou Jing "knows the falsehood and is afraid of disasters." He originally wanted to defect to Yuwen Tai, a western Wei chancellor, but after being rejected, he adopted the advice of his confidants and sent envoys to surrender to Southern Liang. After obtaining permission from Nanliang, Hou Jing changed his surname from Gao to Xiao again, becoming a standard three-surnamed family slave.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="19" > (ii) grace will take revenge</h1>
Hou Jing lowered his form again, bowed his knees and praised Emperor Liangwu's great achievements of "sky net hongkai, Fang Tongshu track", dressed himself as an innocent loyal liang who successfully high zhen lord, and shook his tail and begged for mercy to express his willingness to bow down for Southern Liang.
Emperor Wu of Liang just happened to have a dream of peace in the world, and when he received Hou Jing's surrender, he decided that it was an auspicious omen, so he ignored the objections of the Qunchen that "all the clouds are not suitable for Hou Jing", and insisted on "not following the discussion and accepting the scenery." And "sealed the king of Henan, the great general, the envoy, the military governor of the north and south of the river, and the daxingtai." ”
Gao Cheng hated Hou Jing for betraying his lord and seeking glory, so he first sent heavy troops to besiege Hou Jing, and then wrote a letter to persuade Hou Jing to surrender, promising Hou Jing that "if he returns, he will die with the assassination history of Yuzhou, and the Wenwu of his department will not pursue him, and he will be safe from harm, and he will also spoil his wife and son." After the conspiracy failed, Gao Cheng "knew that the scenery had no return, but sent troops to ask for the scenery one after another." ”
Xiao Yuanming, the Marquis of Zhenyang, was ordered to lead 100,000 sailors and troops to aid Hou Jing, but was defeated and captured. Hou Jingjie was defeated and retreated, and after Shouchun (寿春, in present-day Huainan Shou County, Anhui), only "eight hundred people were left." Hou Jing was ashamed and indignant, and Emperor Wu of Liang asked for punishment. Emperor Wu of Liang was merciful, "Youzhao did not allow it, but still thought that Yuzhou Mu was the same as before. ”
Xiao Yuanming sent envoys back to Southern Liang to convey Eastern Wei's desire to restore friendly relations with Southern Liang. Hou Jing was worried, and in order to test the degree of trust placed in him by the imperial court, he resorted to a conspiracy: forged documents of the Eastern Wei court and requested that hou Jing be exchanged for the rebel general Hou Jing with the prisoner of war, Marquis Zhenyang. Emperor Wu of Liang almost agreed to the plan, but after being reminded by his subordinates, he replied to the matter and discussed it separately. Hou Jing received the reply and sneered at the left and right: "I already knew that this Wu'er husband is a thin and widowed old thing!" ”
Because his wife and children who remained in Eastern Wei were all executed by Gao Cheng in anger, Hou Jing once again pretended to be real, and asked Emperor Wu of Liang to marry Wang Xie's two families.
The Wei and Jin Dynasties and the Southern and Northern Dynasties paid special attention to the concept of the door, and marriage must be the right door. Wang Xie's second family is a famous and prestigious family at the top of the Southern Liang pyramid, and Hou Jing, a foreign rebel who submitted to Southern Liang, wants to marry Wang Xie, which is purely a toad who wants to eat swan meat. Emperor Wu of Liang smiled bitterly and advised him: "Wang Xie Mendi is too noble, you can't climb high!" Or, do you try to woo the second-rate Zhang Zhu family? Hou Jing secretly gritted his teeth and swore: "One day, Lao Tzu will distribute all these Jiangnan women in Wudi to slaves as wives!" ”
Hou Jing", so he recoiled. In order to buy people's hearts and minds, he announced the abolition of the people's market tax and field rent, recruited the residents of Shouchun Town as "all soldiers", and distributed all the children of the people to soldiers, forming a trend of all the people being soldiers. He then went on to ask the imperial court to issue 10,000 brocades to make battle robes for the soldiers. Emperor Wu of Liang could only be used to reward his vassals with brocade, and only rewarded Hou Jing with 10,000 pieces of green cloth. Hou Jing made all the cloth into battle robes and shirts, and on the grounds that most of the weapons allocated by the imperial court were shoddily made, he asked the imperial court to send famous teachers to Shouchun to re-forge weapons. Emperor Wu of Liang, out of consideration for the overall situation, "did not refuse" many of Hou Jing's unreasonable demands. ”
Eastern Wei continued to extend an olive branch of peace talks to Southern Liang, and Hou Jing's wings grew stronger and richer, and he sent people to express his resolute opposition to the peace talks. Because "Gao zu (Emperor Wu of Liang) did not obey", he became angry and embarrassed, and began to "show his sloppiness and words were not inferior", which obviously revealed the intention of breaking the net of fish death.
Hou Jing's arrogance and strength worried people of insight, "Ju Tired Qi said that Jing had different ambitions. Emperor Wu of Liang, however, was deceived by his courtier Zhu Yi and turned a deaf ear. Hou Jing discovered that Xiao Zhengde, the king of Linhe, was "resentful of the imperial court", bribed him as an internal response, and agreed to open the city gate when the army approached the city.
In order to paralyze Emperor Wu of Liang, Hou Jing, while vigorously preparing for the battle, pretended to be a model and asked Emperor Wu of Liang not to believe the rumors. Emperor Wu of Liang was recruited again and sent someone to comfort him: "Poor people raise ten pigs, and they will also kill five to entertain guests." It is only you, the distinguished guest, but it makes you resentful, which is the fault of yuan! ”
After Hou Jing was ready for everything, "In August, Jing Sui sent an army to rebel. ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="32" > (iii) Hou Jing's rebellion</h1>
Hou Jing led 8,000 elite soldiers to the south under the pretext of conquest of "traitorous ministers and chaotic government". Emperor Wu of Liang thought that Hou Jing's rebellion was purely a "small fight ---- a rat marrying a wife", and even laughed contemptuously: "How big a storm can Hou Jing's little loach set off?" After catching him, he personally punched him in the ass with a short staff! ”
Emperor Wu of Liang paid a heavy price for his own contempt. He was no longer the "wise and courageous" monarch when he started his business, but because he believed in Buddhism, he "exhausted the expenses of the country, destroyed the property of people, and labored more than once", and the great construction of the Buddhist temple caused the anger and resentment of the heavens, and because he favored Zhu Yi and other traitors, the group of courtiers rebelled and became lonely. Therefore, Hou Jing's team of 8,000 people on the way south was like destroying the decay, invincible, and the team snowballed and grew. Two months later, the rebels captured Suzaku Gate. Xiao Zhengde opened the Xuanyang Gate, welcomed the rebels into the city, and launched a fierce attack on Miyagi Taicheng. Because Taicheng could not be attacked for a long time, Hou Jingsuo first "established Xiao Zhengde as emperor", declared himself a state, and forcibly married Xiao Zhengde's daughter as his wife.
After several months of tug-of-war, Hou Jing finally attacked Taicheng, snatched all of Emperor Liangwu's cars and costumes and concubines, imprisoned disobedient civil and military officials, put Emperor Liangwu's father and son under house arrest, and ordered the disbandment of all the Qin Wang reinforcements, and took the military and political power of Southern Liang into his pocket. Subsequently, he demoted his father-in-law Xiao Zhengde to the position of Grand Sima and, after learning that his father-in-law was full of complaints, "worried about his change, he corrected and killed him." ”
Emperor Wu of Liang always maintained a minimum of imperial dignity, and repeatedly and sternly refused Hou Jing's excessive demands. Hou Jing then killed people with a soft knife and withheld Emperor Wu of Liang's diet. Emperor Wu of Liang became "angry and angry", and his illness worsened two months later, "lying in the temple, with a bitter mouth, and not being able to do so", and after issuing two mournful cries, he was "killed one by one." Year eighty-six. ”
Hou Jing proclaimed Crown Prince Xiao Gang as a puppet emperor, and "he also corrected himself to ascend to the throne of Xiangguo, and sealed Twenty Counties such as Mount Tai as the King of Han." Entering the dynasty is not trending, worship is not named, the sword is on the temple, according to the story of Han Xiao He. The most ridiculous thing is that Hou Jing did not measure up to his strength, and falsely preached the Holy Will and declared himself an unprecedented "Great General of the Universe".
In order to vent his private anger that the marriage proposal to Wang Xie's two families was rejected by Emperor Wu of Liang, Hou Jingxian forcibly married Xiao Gang's 14-year-old daughter Princess Liyang (granddaughter of Emperor Wu of Liang) as a concubine, and then wantonly killed the Wang Xie clan and the Xiao clan and assigned all the women in his clan to the soldiers as slaves.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="39" > (iv) shameful end</h1>
Hou Jing began to capture Miyagi and put Emperor Wu of Liang under house arrest, "he had the ambition to usurp. After defeating the various reinforcements and suppressing the resistance in various places, he finally revealed his original form, "wanting to be arrogant and arrogant, and his treacherous intentions." He first deposed Xiao Gang, and then "welcomed Yu Zhangwang (Xiao) Dongliang, that is, the emperor's throne", and after a few months, he could not wait to force Xiao Dongchan to give way, and he himself ascended the throne as emperor, and the country name was Han.
Hou Jing's perverse behavior provoked the indignation of the gods, and all kinds of rebel armies rose up. Emperor Wu of Liang's seventh son, Xiao Xuan, ascended the throne as Emperor Yuan of Liang at Jiangling (江陵, in present-day Jingzhou, Hubei), and ordered the famous general Wang Shengquan and Chen Baxian to advance by land and water to quell Hou Jing's rebellion. Wang Shengxian and Chen Baxian defeated the rebels and forced Jiankang. Hou Jingqin led more than 10,000 people to die and struggle, and after failing, fled to Wu County, where he was killed by the "former crown prince Sheren Yang Kun and sent to Wang Monk's body." At this point, the "Hou Jing Rebellion" came to an end.
After Hou Jing's body was sent to the military camp, the pair of murderous hands were cut off by Wang Shengxuan and sent to Gao Yang, the Xuan Emperor of Northern Qi. His head was cut off and sent to Jiangling, and Emperor Yuan of Liang ordered that he be hung high in the downtown area of Jiangling for three days, "then boiled and painted" and handed over to the arsenal for collection. His body was marinated with five buckets of salt and then "sent to Jiankang and violently to the city." The people of Jiankang, who were deeply affected by it, "ate it all", and Princess Liyang also gritted her teeth and ate a slice with tears. The people who were killed by Hou Jing's family were "burned to ashes" and drank with ashes.
Hou Jing died without a place to bury, pure sin deserved!
When Hou Jing besieged Taicheng, "the arsonists killed and plundered, and the corpses were blocked on the road." Rich and rich families, wantonly stripped, children, wives and concubines, all into the military camp. The rebels went around grabbing grain, resulting in "seven or eighty thousand dollars a liter of rice." "For the sake of life," the people cannibalize each other, and there are those who eat their sons." After that, he "built a mountain of earth, no limit to the nobility, day and night, indiscriminate beatings, the tired because of the killing to fill the mountain, the cry of the cry moved the heavens and the earth." ”
After the capture of Taicheng, "there were no time for the corpses in the city to be buried, and there were those who were already dead or dying, and Jing Xi ling gathered and burned, and the smell smelled for more than ten miles", and Jiankang became a hell on earth. Hou Jing "guesses and endures, good killing", and uses the living as ingredients. Every time you eat, "cut people in front, smile freely, and never drop out of your mouth." Or first cut off the hands and feet, cut off the tongue and the nose, and kill them through the day. ”
Hou Jing also specially made a cuòduì (instrument of torture for severed limbs) for the captured Southern Liang generals, "advanced his feet, cut them off inch by inch, and stopped at the head, so that the public could demonstrate." After learning that The Monk Wang was commanded to go on a crusade, he sent people from Tianliang to "dig up the tomb of the Monk Wang's father and burn his body in a coffin." ”
The four-year "Hou Jing Rebellion" not only destroyed the innocent families of the Jiankang people, but also pushed the powerful Southern Liang into the abyss of destruction. Emperor Wu of Liang, like Huang Quan, had a spirit, and he would have been able to take in and condone Hou Jing, a white-eyed wolf.
Traditional culture pays attention to etiquette, righteousness, honesty and shame and the three principles and five constants, and although Mencius and Xunzi are both Confucian disciples, they also have different views on the beginning, sexual goodness or evil. I think that everyone has a heart for good. But don't underestimate the evil of human nature! The so-called "heart of harming others must not be there, and the heart of preventing people must not be without!" Buddha Yun: "Snakes and scorpions should be returned, and my Buddha's compassion also punishes evil!" The Czech writer Julius Vöček, at the end of The Report Under the Gallows, warns the world meaningfully: "Good people, I love you, but be vigilant!"
So, if you're a farmer, don't pity a frozen snake!
【About the author】Xu Yunhui, male, graduated from the Department of Chinese of Yunnan Normal University in 1984 and is now a senior lecturer at Baoshan No.1 Middle School Education Group in Yunnan Province. He has published two monographs and published more than 600,000 words in literary journals at or above the provincial level.
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