With the full cooperation of the Ministry of Household and the Ministry of War, the Northern Qi Dynasty quickly equipped the materials to aid Liang, and even thoughtfully transported the East Liang to Jingkou, and the Liang people only needed to pick up the goods in Beijing.

Xu Ling was also not greedy for the scenery of the northern country, and said goodbye at the right time, and Gao Cheng did not force him to stay, and ordered Wei Shui to send him off.

During this period, the long-standing war between Jingnan and Lingnan finally broke out.

Jingnan Xiaolun was funded by the Northern Qi Dynasty, and there were soldiers who worked together to save the family roll, and went south with great momentum.

Lingnan Xiao Ji entrusted all the military to the great prime minister Chen Baxian, and led the army to resist.

Crossing the South Ridge, there are five important passages, namely Yuecheng Ridge, Du Pang Ridge, Mengzhu Ridge, Qitian Ridge, and Da Yu Ridge, also known as the Five Ridges, which are usually also used as guide ridges.

In order to go straight to Guangzhou this time, Xiao Lun avoided the Yuecheng Territory that Chen Baxian went north, but went south by riding Tianling.

It's just that Chen Baxian did not defend the Yangshan Pass and other dangerous points, but allowed Xiao Lun to break into Lingnan, so the Northern Liang army was like a bamboo.

Regarding Chen Baxian's idea of catching turtles in the urn, Xiao Lun was not aware of it at first.

The supply line of the Northern Liang was stretched, and Chen Baxian encountered the strong walls along the way, and could not get the replenishment of grain and grass on the spot, until the soldiers were tired, Xiao Lun reacted, Chen Ba first wanted to learn from Jiang Wei's way to guard Hanzhong, trying to swallow all his southern expeditionary army.

Faced with the reminders of the generals, Xiao Lun said contemptuously:

"Jiang Bo gathered troops to gather in the valley, but he couldn't defend Hanzhong, what talent did Chen Baxian have, and he dared to follow the old wisdom of his predecessors."

Xiao Lun's meaning is very clear, Jiang Wei tried to let the Wei army enter and annihilate it all, but the winner was Zhong Hui, and now he has suffered the same situation, and he thinks that he can also get Zhong Hui's credit.

It's just that although Xiao Lun has read history, he has never studied the difference between the two.

It is said that Jiang Wei guarded Hanzhong, but the actual strategic commander was Liu Chan, the queen of Shu Han, and Hu Ji, who guarded Hanzhong with Jiang Wei, missed the deadline for no reason, which led to his previous defeat.

What's more important is that the court misemployed people, and Uncle Jiang, who had long had the intention of rebellion, guarded the important town, so that Hanzhong was lost.

And now inside Lingnan, although Xiao Ji is the son of heaven, Chen Baxian has won the hearts of the people, and the generals of all departments are strictly obeying military orders, holding on to the city, and there is no rebellion.

I thought that I was going to go through the vicious battle along the pass, but I never thought of the Nanling mountains, but I fell into the dilemma of fighting hard in the siege of Shixing and other counties, and the grain road was often attacked by Chen Baxian, the soldiers complained bitterly, and seeing that the military food was gradually running out, Xiao Gang finally had the intention of retreating.

But as the so-called closing the door and beating the dog, it is easy to get in, but it is difficult to get out.

Chen Ba first ordered people to attack and harass day and night to delay Xiao Gang's retreat, and when he stopped all the way, the military rations could not continue, and the soldiers were exhausted, he personally led the army to intercept Xiao Gang outside Shanyang Pass.

With Hou Andu as the vanguard, he rushed straight to Xiao Lun's Chinese army.

The Lingnan army waited for work, and the Jingnan soldiers were exhausted, and the grain and grass were scarce, Xiao Lun, the son of the Northern Liang Dynasty, was only spared, and the army under his command either died or surrendered, and was first annihilated by Chen Ba outside Shanyang Pass.

Xiao Lun fled back to Changsha City in embarrassment, worried that Chen Ba would go north first, so he hurriedly asked Xiao Yi and Gao Cheng in Jiangzhou for help.

However, Jiangdong Xiao Gang was already reinvigorating his armament at this time, and he often made a detailed return, which had the meaning of the western expedition, so Xiao Yi did not dare to divide the army.

On the contrary, it was Hou Jing, the assassin of Ezhou in the Northern Qi Dynasty, and Xue Xiuyi, the assassin of Yingzhou, who learned that Xiao Lun's envoy went north to ask for help, and sent troops south from Anlu and Jiangling respectively to help Xiao Lun defend Jingnan.

Regarding the outcome of this battle, Gao Cheng had expected it before, after all, one side was led by Xiao Gang, and the other side was Chen Ba in command, and the main general's talent was already very different, Xiao Gang was still a away battle, how could there be no reason to be undefeated.

Therefore, he ordered Hou Jing and Xue Xiuyi early, and if Xiao Lun asked for help, he would lead the troops south.

But he never thought that he could be defeated so badly, and now Jingnan's military strength has almost collapsed, Xiao Lun has to forcibly levy Ding Zhuang, increase taxes and miscellaneous taxes, and hope to rebuild the army, but the situation in Jingnan is becoming more and more erosive.

Revolts broke out in various parts of Jingnan, thieves swarmed, and Xiao Lun's decree couldn't even leave Changsha City.

Gao Cheng, who was in Luoyang, learned the news and summoned his cronies and attendants to discuss, and then led 30,000 horsemen south with Murong Shaozong to help Xiao Lun quell the rebellion and actually control Jingnan.

Another edict was sent directly to Jiankang, asking Xiao Gang to send sergeants to Fujian to make a big noise, forcing Chen Ba to return to Guangzhou first.

As the saying goes, eating people with a short mouth and taking people softly, the son-in-law supported a large number of materials for Jiankang, and the father-in-law, as the emperor, must follow Gao Cheng's intentions no matter what.

Xiao Gang didn't think about resisting, after all, after taking so many armor and losing his bow, he inevitably mistakenly thought that he was standing up again.

But the ministers advised and intimidated the Northern Qi soldiers, so Xiao Gang asked his three leading henchmen Wu Mingche, Liu Zhongli, and Wei Cang's opinions, but they all had the same opinion, it was better to obey the Northern Qi Dynasty, and it should be regarded as a repayment of the borrowed materials.

As for the reason why Xiao Gang dared to divide his troops, it was also because he had Duan Shao's 30,000 troops to help defend him, and he was not afraid of Xiao Yi going east.

Xiao Yi saw that Jiangdong's threat was gone temporarily, and he did not have the idea of sneaking up on Jiankang, but planned to go to Jingnan to get a piece of the pie at the request of Xiao Lun for help.

It's just that the Northern Qi Dynasty has long regarded Jingnan as a bag, Hou Jing quickly led the troops to move eastward, and it was difficult for the Western Liang army to enter, so Xiao Yi stopped his ambitions.

And Chen Baxian originally planned to contact Yuwentai to attack the Jingnan Qi army, but suddenly heard that Xiao Gang intended to attack Lingnan through Fujian, so he had to retreat with hatred.

Passing through Shanyang Pass, Chen Baxian said to Hou Andu with emotion:

"Today's trend, such as the affairs of the six countries Qin, let a county today, cut a city tomorrow, with the limited land in the south of the Yangtze River, how can you fill the infinite desires of people, the sons of the Xiao family, why can't they join forces to prevent external troubles!"

Hou Andu didn't hesitate to speak, he said bluntly:

"If they could be of the same mind, how could there be today."

In fact, both of them know that the brothers of the Xiao family know that they are fighting in the house, but they are already killing each other, which is nothing more than Gao Cheng's hypocrisy.

He took Yuan Shanjian as his horse bone, and made the children of the Xiao family believe that even if he was controlled by the Northern Qi, it was better than letting his brother win the world.

After all, Gao Cheng would not want their lives, and these brothers wanted to cut off their children and grandchildren.

This is to give it to outsiders rather than thieves.

Outside Shanyang Pass, there was no trace of the previous war, leaving only the two of them sighing.

Soon after Chen Ba returned to Guangzhou, the troops from Jiangdong threatening Lingnan also withdrew.

In any case, the capture and beheading of 50,000 people in Jingnan was a big victory, Xiao Ji under the hint of Chen Baxian's henchmen, rewarded Chen Baxian for his merits, entered the Xiangguo, and added nine tins, and sealed Chen Gong.

Things have come to this point, and the usurpation process is only a king, and the seemingly close relationship between Xiao Ji and Chen Baxian is also going to break down.

When Chen Baxian was secretly competing with Xiao Ji, the puppet emperor, he did not forget to send envoys to Jiangzhou and Shu to make friends with them.

Before supporting Xiao Ji, he was just worried about the Xiao family brothers and attacking each other, but now that Xiao Lun is disabled, Xiao Gang is obedient to Jiangbei, leaving Xiao Yi alone to face the threat of Northern Qi, naturally he wants to seek help, and he will no longer care whether Chen Ba usurps first or not.

In Shudi, Yuwentai saw that the Xiao family was torn apart, and he didn't let Yuan Qin be the king of Liang Wei anymore, but re-raised the banner of Yuan Wei and proclaimed himself emperor in Chengdu.

As for Chen Ba first usurping Lingnan, Yuwentai didn't care, what he needed was an ally who could fight Gao Cheng with him.

On August 16 of the fifth year of Zhaode (552), Xiao Ji secretly plotted to eradicate the ministers, and Chen Ba first sent Hou Andu to lead troops into the palace, hanged Xiao Ji, and instead supported Xiao Ji's eldest son Xiao Yuanzhao as emperor.

Xiao Yuanzhao was forced by the sword soldiers, and with the skill of making a decision, he first crowned the king of Chen for the enemy Chen Ba, who killed his father, and all the processes for the usurpation of the throne were all ready, just waiting for Chen Ba to choose a good day first, and then usurp the Lingnan regime.

Xiao Ji's death spread to the rest of the three Liangs, even if Xiao Gang and Xiao Lun clapped their hands behind their backs, they were eager to eat Chen Baxian on the surface, after all, he killed his siblings.

It's just that the mouth cannon is loud again, after all, there is no move to send troops, Gao Cheng is the idea of encroaching on Jiangnan step by step, and Lingnan is the last step second only to Shu in his strategic planning.

Without the military and economic support of the Northern Qi Dynasty, Xiao Gang and Xiao Lun could only bare their teeth at Chen Baxian.

Xiao Yi, the remaining brother of the Xiao family, remained silent throughout the whole process.

Looking back at Jingnan, after Murong Shaozong led his troops south, Hou Jing was still on the east side to prevent Xiao Yi from sending troops to intervene, and Xue Xiuyi sent troops to garrison the south bank of Yiling, blocking Yuwentai's eastward route, so that he could not join in the excitement.

And Murong Shaozong was able to lead 30,000 foot cavalry and swept through Jingnan.

How could those people who had just started an incident and had not been tempered by the flames of war be able to compete with the elite of the Northern Qi Dynasty, and the rebellions in various places were extinguished one after another.

Xiao Lun originally wanted to execute all the people who resisted, but Murong Shaozong was advised by Gao Cheng before going south, so he persuaded Xiao Lun to only kill the first person on the grounds that there were few people in Jingnan and no more indiscriminate killing.

But Xiao Lun has a tyrannical temperament, who is a person who can listen to persuasion, and insists on doing things that punish him, if he is a little self-aware, he will not offer poisonous wine to his father and brother, trying to poison them, and ascend to the throne himself, and Gao Cheng will not control Jiangdong and Jingnan so easily.

It was Xiao Lun who jumped up and down at the beginning, instigating Xiao Yi to raise troops, which provoked this brotherly civil war.

Murong Shaozong saw that Xiao Lun was different from his brother Xiao Gang, and he was not willing to respect Luoyang's order at all, and a turmoil broke out in Changsha City, and the Qi army entered the city and controlled Xiao Lun, but Murong Shaozong did not dare to do anything about abolishing the establishment without authorization.

He was very clear about his situation, and it stands to reason that Murong Shaozong had made outstanding achievements, and he should have been like Duan Shao, Hu Luguang and others as the leading generals to guard one side.

Anyway, he has been with Gao Cheng's confidant for 20 years.

But his close relationship with the Erzhu clan made Gao Cheng not feel at ease, and Xiao Gaowang's bottom line was not to let his sons develop their power in the local area.

After all, the power of the DPRK and China is no longer strong, and if you want to cut it off, it is nothing more than sending the forbidden army to knock on the door from door to door, but if it is a local force, civil war is a high probability thing.

Therefore, Murong Shaozong often led the troops, but he never got the opportunity to go to other towns, and when he returned to the Gyeonggi region, he had to obediently hand over the military power.

was already secretly wary of the Son of Heaven, how could he dare to depose Xiao Lun on his own initiative, so he had to send a messenger to the north and ask Gao Cheng to decide.

Gao Cheng received the news, considering that Xiao Lun's temperament was indeed not a good choice to be a puppet, so he ordered that his position as the lord of the country be abolished, and Murong Shaozong supported his third son Xiao Yu in Chang'an.

Xiao Lun's eldest son Xiao Jian was executed by Xiao Gang together with Xiao Yi's eldest son after his uprising, and his second son Xiao was indeed ambitious and appreciated by Gao Cheng.

But with Xiao Qu's talent, he was not a suitable candidate for a puppet, so he bypassed him and supported Xiao Zhen, who was mediocre.

Of course, Gao Cheng deposed Xiao Lun, and also planned to show him and Yuan Shanjian as horse bones, so he ordered Murong Shaozong to bring Xiao Lun and Xiao Qu's father and son to Luoyang.

And the one who succeeded Murong Shaozong to lead the army and control the Northern Liang court was Gao Cheng's uncle Wei Digan.

After Xiao Lun came to Luoyang, Gao Cheng personally met with them, and these two half-brothers finally met.

Gao Cheng named Xiao Lun as the prince of Guiyang, gave him a mansion in Luoyang, and gave him a copy of "Qi Law", which did not completely restrict Xiao Lun's freedom, but when he traveled, someone must accompany him to watch, so as not to bring disgust in the south to the north.

Due to the collapse of Jingnan's own military power, unlike Jiangdong, Northern Qi's control of Jingnan was also more thorough.

If it is said that in Jiangdong, the Jiankang courtiers have to beat the side drum, then in Jingnan, Gao Cheng's will is unimpeded, the so-called Northern Liang is just a shell, and the various systems and decrees of Jingnan are all transplanted to the Northern Qi and smoothly incorporated into the Jiangbei system.

Previously, Chen Baxian plundered a large number of people in Jingnan and went south, so that the land was vast and sparsely populated, so Gao Cheng relocated some people from the narrow and densely populated places in the north of the Yangtze River, and the development of the Jingnan area has been restored.

At the same time, with the resumption of production in Huainan and Jianghan, Gao Cheng was also determined to expand his troops.

The Northern Qi Dynasty successively invaded Huainan, Jianghan, and Jingnan, and garrisoned troops in Jiangdong, but it was unreasonable to delay in expanding its military strength, and Gao Cheng was struggling to maintain it before.

It's just that there are more places to be garrisoned, especially when another 30,000 people are stationed in Jingnan, and the overstretched troops have reached the time when they have to expand the army.

After the autumn harvest of the fifth year of Zhaode (552), the treasury was able to breathe, and Gao Cheng immediately issued an edict to expand the number of soldiers by 100,000, and the original number of more than 300,000 soldiers was really difficult to support the national defense system of the Northern Qi Dynasty, which was also related to the fact that the Northern Qi front was too long.

After all, the number of soldiers in the state and county has decreased again and again, corresponding to the repeated increase in the number of soldiers.

Gao Cheng has long been desperate for the combat effectiveness of the state and county soldiers, and the reason why he still maintains a certain number of state and county soldiers is just to maintain local law and order and act as an auxiliary force in wartime.

This expansion of 100,000 soldiers was not only limited to the Xianbei children of the six towns, but also opened to the Han people in the territory, and for a time there were many responders.

Not to mention anything else, being a soldier in the Northern Qi Dynasty, the treatment is really good, and now it is not the atmosphere of the Northern Song Dynasty, and being a soldier is not a thief with the army, and he still has a sense of honor in the army.

On the one hand, the source of soldiers is to select strong people from the already small number of state and county soldiers, and on the other hand, it is open recruitment, but the innocence, age, physical condition, and skill level are all required.