In the second year of Zhongxing (502), Xiao Yan established the Liang Dynasty in Jiankang (present-day Nanjing), ascended the throne as emperor, and historically called Liangwu Emperor.
When he put on the dragon robe, he was not yet forty years old, and he was in his prime. Compared with those founders in history who only knew how to attack the city but did not know how to carry forward culture, Xiao Yan, the Emperor of Liangwu, can be called a complete combination of culture and martial arts. He was diligent and studious from an early age, and showed a strong literary talent when he was studying. Coupled with his famous background, Xiao Yan entered the political center of Southern Qi very early.
In the eleventh year of Yongming (493), Emperor Xiao Zhao of Southern Qi became ill and could die at any time. When the ministers saw that the new monarch was on the throne, they quickly divided into several factions. Although Xiao Yan wanted to go further in his career, he calmly analyzed the situation and thought it was better to stay still. At that time, the chancellor Xiao Yan secretly supported Xiao Ziliang's ascension to the throne, and received the support of many people, even the Right Guard general Xiao Luan could not hold back. Xiao Yan and Xiao Luan had a very good personal relationship, and when he saw that Xiao Luan wanted to wade through this muddy water, he hurriedly expressed his opposition.
Xiao Yan persuaded Xiao Luan that although Xiao Zhaoye, the King of Yulin, was only the Emperor's grandson, there were many ministers behind him, and he would certainly not lose to Xiao Ziliang. Xiao Luan was half-convinced after listening to it, and for his own safety, he planned to wait and talk. However, not long after, Xiao Ziliang was defeated in the struggle for the crown prince, and Wang Rong and others were also killed. While Xiao Luan felt afraid, he couldn't help but feel respect for Xiao Yan.
After that, Xiao Luan would ask Xiao Yan every time he encountered a major event.
In July of that year, Emperor Xiao Zhao died of illness. On his deathbed, Xiao Zhao summoned Xiao Luan, publicly appointed him as Shang Shu Ling, and instructed him to assist Xiao Zhaoye well. After Xiao Zhaoye ascended the throne, he had great trust in Xiao Luan and made him a general of Zhenguo. Xiao Luan was originally a very ambitious person, and after he had a lot of power, he was even more above the top, wanting to experience the feeling of being an emperor.
However, the matter of seizing the throne by killing the king is not trivial, and the slightest carelessness will destroy the Nine Tribes. Xiao Luan did not dare to be careless, he called someone to xiao Yan, wanting to hear Xiao Yan's opinion. Since Xiao Zhaoye ascended the throne as emperor, Xiao Yan had been closely following the situation in the Northern Qi court. Emperor Xiao Zhaoye was only twenty-one years old when he ascended the throne and was very playful. He believed that Xiao Luan was loyal to himself and that Northern Qi's country was very stable.
Therefore, he almost did not ask about political affairs, and devoted all his energy to playing. When he was the Emperor's grandson, because Xiao Zhao advocated frugality, Xiao Zhaoye did not have any money in his hands. After becoming emperor, he took the entire treasury of Northern Qi for himself, and no one could oppose it. It is said that xiao Zhaoye soon after he ascended the throne, he held the coin in his hand and smiled at the coin: "I thought of you every day before, but I couldn't get anything." Now, you say can you still get you? ”
Under Xiao Zhaoye's wanton extravagance and waste, northern Qi's treasury became empty in just one year. And all this, Xiao Yan saw in his eyes. He didn't have the heart to give advice at all, because he knew that even if he was advised, it would be useless.
When he learned that Xiao Luan wanted to abolish Xiao Zhaoye, Xiao Yan was not surprised. He frowned and said to Xiao Luan, "Although the emperor does not cultivate virtue, he must not be hasty in abolishing the establishment." Moreover, Xiao Zhaowen the Prince of Xin'an, Xiao Zhaoxiu the Prince of Linhai, and Xiao Zilong, the King of Sui, were all rewarded by the emperor. If you abolish it without permission, they will definitely oppose it vigorously. ”
Xiao Luan said indifferently, "I see that most of the kings are stupid disciples, and they pose no threat to me at all." Except for Xiao Zilong, who accompanied The King, I was not afraid of anyone. After hearing this, Xiao Yan asked, "King Sui is indeed a character, so what should we do?" Xiao Luan mused, "If you find a way to summon him back, then things will be easy to handle." However, he could not be easily recalled. ”
Xiao Yan had already planned, and he said confidently, "The reason why King Sui has become a climate is only because he has two powerful subordinates. As far as I know, these two of his subordinates have always coveted the high-ranking official Houlu. You just have to show them chips, and they're going to come and throw them. Having lost these two confidants, Sui Wang just wants to oppose you, and he doesn't have that strength anymore. ”
After listening to Xiao Yan's analysis, Xiao Luan had a sense of openness. He immediately did what Xiao Yan said, and the result was just as Xiao Yan expected. From then on, Xiao Luan was obedient to Xiao Yan. In order to express his appreciation for Xiao Yan, he constantly promoted Xiao Yan's officials. In the first year of Jianwu (494), Xiao Luan saw that the time was ripe and decisively deposed the emperor and established himself, that is, the Qi Ming Emperor.
Xiao Luan was proclaimed empress dowager, and his trust in Xiao Yan did not diminish. Even if Xiao Yan was defeated, he did not blame Xiao Yan for a word. Xiao Yan was originally a man of both literature and martial arts, and when Xiao Luan was there, he was grateful for the emperor's kindness and never thought about rebellion. However, his power grew stronger and stronger, and he commanded more and more armies. Less than five years after Xiao Luan ascended the throne, he had a force that could compete with the Northern Qi court.
In the fifth year of Jianwu (498), the Qi Ming Emperor Xiao Luan died, and his son Xiao Baojuan succeeded to the throne, becoming the sixth emperor of Southern Qi. When Xiao Luan was alive, he hoped that his son could become a bold monarch, so he always taught Xiao Baojuan to be decisive in doing things and not to look ahead. However, Xiao Luan only attached importance to boldness, but neglected to cultivate his son's heart.
Xiao Baojuan was very cruel after he ascended the throne, and the ministers were ordered to be executed by him if they were not careful. Even Jiang Wei, Xu Xiaosi, and others with high official positions did not escape Xiao Baojuan's poisonous hands. Under Xiao Baojuan's cruel rule, everyone in the Southern Qi Dynasty was in danger, fearing that the next person to be killed would be themselves. The generals who led the troops outside took advantage of the turmoil of the situation and launched rebellions one after another, hoping to overthrow Xiao Baojuan's rule.
If it were not for the best efforts of Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi, I am afraid that Southern Qi would have changed hands a long time ago. After the two rebellions of the rebel generals Chen Xianda and Cui Huijing were put down by the Southern Qi army, Xiao Baojuan, as emperor, should reflect carefully to avoid a similar rebellion. However, instead of restraining his own behavior, the stupid Xiao Baojuan listened to the rumors of the villain and gave Xiao Yi, who had made great achievements, to death.
When the news of Xiao Yi's death came, Xiao Yan was both sad and angry. After Xiao Baojuan claimed to be emperor, he did countless absurd things, causing a wrath and resentment. With a grateful heart for Emperor Ming, Xiao Yan has been loyally guarding the rivers and mountains of Northern Qi. Unexpectedly, the brutal Xiao Baojuan had now killed his brother. Unable to bear it, Xiao Yan angrily summoned his subordinates, and then told them that he planned to consult the Pathless Xiao Bao scroll and wanted to hear their opinions.
All the generals were also very dissatisfied with Xiao Baojuan, and before Xiao Yan could agitate, they shouted that they would enter Jiankang City (present-day Nanjing) and abolish Xiao Baojuan, the emperor. Xiao Yan saw that the time was ripe, so he openly broke with Xiao Baojuan and then vigorously recruited troops. When the aspirants of Southern Qi heard that Xiao Yan was planning to fight against the emperor, they rushed to come to the rescue. In order to make the division famous, Xiao Yan and Xiao Baorong, the king of Nankang who was in the Jingxiang area, united and launched an attack on Jiankang City together. Soon, Jiankang City was surrounded by Xiao Yan's army.
Since then, it is only a matter of time before Xiao Baojuan was abolished.
Xiao Baojuan knew that the calamity could not be avoided, so he simply counted one day as a day. The ministers advised him to give him money to reward his soldiers and try to defend the capital. Unexpectedly, Xiao Baohuan loved money as fate and resolutely refused. The more the ministers persuaded, he put on a rogue appearance and said, "The capital has been breached, and the anti-thieves will not only arrest one person." If that's the case, why do you only let you pay for it? "The ministers listened to it and were dumbfounded, not knowing what to say. After Xiao Yan attacked Jiankang City, before he could catch Xiao Baojuan, he was beheaded by the eunuchs around him.
After Xiao Baojuan's death, Xiao Yan became the most powerful person in Southern Qi. The titular emperor Xiao Baorong was just a puppet. Not long after, Xiao Yan forced him to give way and ascended the throne himself as emperor, that is, Emperor Wu of Liang. After creating Nanliang, Xiao Yan did not forget the hardships and hardships of the past. Politically, he was humble and devoted to state affairs, which greatly improved the comprehensive national strength of Southern Liang; in life, he was very frugal, and he was reluctant to throw away his clothes for three years.
Seeing that the emperor still acted in this way, the people of Southern Liang learned from Emperor Wu of Liang and changed the extravagant atmosphere of the past. After the southern Liang mountains were stabilized, Xiao Yan focused on studying Buddhism. In his view, Buddhism has a long history and is broad and profound, and there must be great wisdom and great truth in it. Xiao Yan's fondness for Buddhism reached its peak in his later years. He did not heed the advice of his ministers, and not only spent a huge amount of money to build a Buddhist temple, but also became a monk three times. Let the good emperor not do it, and run to the temple to eat and pray to the Buddha.
It can be said that Xiao Yan's approach is really going to make people drop their jaws.
However, people's energy is limited, Xiao Yan put all his thoughts on Buddhism, and the government was naturally abandoned. What's worse is that the more he reads the Buddhist scriptures, Xiao Yan involuntarily becomes compassionate. The ministers of the DPRK made mistakes, and he did not punish them much. There are no rules and no circles, and although the law of strict torture is not correct, it is not conducive to maintaining social order. Under Xiao Yan's blind tolerance, the ambitious Hou Jing waited for the opportunity to launch a rebellion that seriously injured Southern Liang.
When Hou Jing had just rebelled, the strength of his troops was only about eight thousand. Although Emperor Wu of Liang was already eighty-five years old at the time, he had been in the battlefield for a long time, and he did not pay any attention to Hou Jing's military strength. He did not hesitate to arrange a five-way encirclement and suppression army in the Huainan area, and then quietly waited for the news of Hou Jingfu's attack. However, the development of the situation was far beyond Xiao Yan's expectations. Several large armies in Huainan each harbored a ghost fetus, and all wanted to use Hou Jing's strength to weaken each other. In this case, Hou Jing's way south was like a bamboo, and he soon hit Jiankang City.
Xiao Yan realized that things were not good, but did not mess up his position, but hurriedly ordered the only defenders in Jiankang City to go to the city to hold on, and never bowed to Hou Jing. At that time, although the defenders in Jiankang City were not strong in combat, there were still 20,000 people after all. Xiao Yan thought to himself, no matter how fierce Hou Jing's rebels were, they would not be able to break through the capital in a short period of time. As long as the side insisted for a while, when the reinforcements arrived, Hou Jing would be attacked on both sides.
The reinforcements that Xiao Yan relied on were mainly his dozen descendants. After ascending the throne as emperor, he ordered many of his descendants to send troops out to consolidate the jiangshan of Southern Liang. Decades later, the sixth prince Xiao Lun and the eighth prince Xiao Ji already had a very strong army in their hands. Although the other princes were slightly weaker, they were more than enough to deal with Hou Jing.
Xiao Yan was obsessed with Buddhism and did not love the throne, but his sons did not think so, and they did not want to fight for the throne. When they heard that their father was killed, their first reaction was not to save their father, but to let the other brothers come out first, and then seize the opportunity to seize the throne. Xiao Yan waited and waited, and his descendants came very little, only some other troops.
Fortunately, the military strength of Southern Liang was very strong, and even these troops gathered 150,000 people. After they were divided, they chose Liu Zhongli as the main general, and then launched an attack on Hou Jing. Liu Zhongli held a large number of generals, so he took the initiative to send troops, planning to directly kill Hou Jing. However, Hou Jing's strength far exceeded his expectations. After the clash between the two armies, Hou Jing, instead of showing defeat, won several small victories.
It is said that in this kind of large corps combat, small victories and small defeats have little impact. As long as Liu Zhongli kept his position intact, it was only a matter of time before he swallowed Hou Jing. However, the hundreds of thousands of troops under Liu Zhongli came from many sources and were not a force in the first place. After suffering a small loss, their respective generals did not want to suffer any more losses, so one by one they did not move, resolutely refusing to rush to the front.
Liu Zhongli gave several orders, but with little effect. In desperation, he had to quietly look out of the city. Hou Jing saw that Southern Liang's reinforcements refused to fight, and he was happy to concentrate his forces to attack Jiankang. Looking at the indifferent appearance of the reinforcements, the hearts of the defenders of Jiankang City were also half cold. Listening to the shouts of the rebels outside the city, the elderly Liangwu Emperor Xiao Yan really felt afraid.
He hurriedly summoned Liu Jin, an old minister in the court, to inquire about countermeasures and asked how to get Hou Jing to retreat. Liu Jin was Liu Zhongli's father, and he knew that disaster was coming, so he sighed: "Your Majesty has an unfilial son named Xiao Lun, and the old minister has an unfilial son named Liu Zhongli." This rebellion, it seems, cannot be put down. "The two monarchs and courtiers, looking at each other without words.
Soon after, there were few defenders left on Jiankang City, and Hou Jing entered Jiankang City with a big swing. At this time, the reinforcements outside the city still did not send a single soldier. When Emperor Wu of Liang was captured, they dispersed and ended the rescue operation. After Emperor Wu of Liang was captured, Southern Liang not only lost the capital and the emperor, but also lost the hearts of the people. The indifference of the reinforcements made the people of Southern Liang no longer have any hope for the imperial court.
Because, in the eyes of the people, Nanliang had the Yangtze River Graben and hundreds of thousands of troops, but it could not defeat Hou Jing's 8,000 people. Is there still a need to support such a regime?
In this way, Southern Liang went strong and prosperous in Xiao Yan's hands, and then went to decline.
On the second day of the first month of May (June 12) of the third year of the Taiqing Dynasty (549), Xiao Yan lay in the Jingju Hall of the Taicheng Imperial Palace, his mouth was bitter, and he could not ask for honey, and after issuing two "Ho! Ho! After the voice (expressing surprise), he died of hunger and thirst at the age of eighty-six. In November of the same year, he was buried in Xiuling (present-day Lingkou, Danyang, Jiangsu). Emperor Wu of the Imperial Household, Gao Zu of the Temple.
Resources:
[Liangshu Benji No. 1 Wu emperor Shang, Liang Shu Benji No. 2 Wu Emperor Zhong, Liang Shu Benji No. 3 Wu Emperor Xia, Zizhi Tongjian Liang Ji]