Gao1 Zu3(great great grandfather) 高祖 Liu2 Bang1
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| 2) Emperor Jianwen of Liang - Jianwen Di 简文帝 Xiao Gang (萧纲 xi_o g_ng) 549-551 Dabao (大宝 da b_o) 550-551 Emperor Jianwen of Liang (梁简文帝) (503━551), personal name Xiao Gang (萧纲), courtesy name Shizuan (世缵), nickname Liutong (六通), was an emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty. He was initially not the crown prince of his father Emperor Wu, the founder of the dynasty, but became the crown prince in 531 after his older brother Xiao Tong died. In 549, the rebellious general Hou Jing captured the capital Jiankang, and Hou subsequently held both Emperor Wu and Crown Prince Gang under his power, having Crown Prince Gang take the throne (as Emperor Jianwen) after Emperor Wu's death later that year. During Emperor Jianwen's reign, he was almost completely under Hou's control, and in 551, Hou, planning to take the throne himself, first forced Emperor Jianwen to yield the throne to his grandnephew Xiao Dong the Prince of Yuzhang, and then sent messengers to suffocate the former emperor. Background Xiao Gang was born in 503, as the third son of Emperor Wu. His mother Consort Ding Lingguang (丁令光) also gave birth to Emperor Wu's firstborn son and crown prince Xiao Tong, and therefore carried a special status within his palace even though she was never empress. In 506, at the age of three, Xiao Gang was created the Prince of Jin'an. As he grew in age, he was given a number of progressively higher offices. In 526, when Consort Ding died, he resigned those offices to observe a mourning period for her, but Emperor Wu restored him to those offices before the mourning period was over. Consort Ding's death would about bring a disastrous effect in the relationship between Xiao Gang's father Emperor Wu and Xiao Gang's brother Xiao Tong. Xiao Tong sought out an appropriate place to bury Consort Ding, but while he was doing so, a land owner bribed the eunuch Yu Sanfu (俞三副) into convincing Emperor Wu that that piece of land would bring good fortune for the emperor, and so Emperor Wu bought the land and buried Consort Ding there. However, once Consort Ding was buried, a Taoist monk informed Xiao Tong that he believed that the land would bring ill fortune for Consort Ding's oldest son─Xiao Tong. Xiao Tong therefore allowed the monk to bury a few items intended to dissolve the ill fortune, such as wax ducks, at the position reserved for the oldest son. Later on, when one of Xiao Tong's attendants, Bao Miaozhi (鲍邈之), was squeezed out of Xiao Tong's inner circles by another attendant, Wei Ya (魏雅), he, in resentment, reported to Emperor Wu that Wei had carried out sorcery on Xiao Tong's behalf. When Emperor Wu investigated, waxed ducks were found, and Emperor Wu became surprised and angry, and wanted to investigate further. He only stopped the investigation when he was advised to do so by the prime minister Xu Mian, executing only the Taoist monk who had suggested the burial of wax ducks. Xiao Tong became humiliated in the affair, and was never able to clear himself completely in his father's eyes. Xiao Tong died in 531. Under Confucian rules of succession, his oldest son Xiao Huan (萧欢) the Duke of Huarong was expected to succeed him as crown prince, and Emperor Wu summoned Xiao Huan back to the capital Jiankang in order to do so. However, still resentful over the wax duck affair, he hesitated for days without carrying out the creation, and finally did not do so. Instead, against popular opinion, he created Xiao Gang, his then-surviving oldest son, crown prince. Xiao Gang's staff advisor Zhou Hongzheng (周弘正) wrote a memo to Xiao Gang advising him to decline the creation, but Xiao Gang did not do so, although he subsequently avenged Xiao Tong's disgrace by executing Bao Miaozhi. As crown prince As crown prince, Xiao Gang was a distinguished poet, as well as patron of the poets Liu Zun and Xu Li (徐□). The poem "Multitudinous Blossoms" by Liu Zun describes the luxurious but ultimately pitiful life of a professional male prostitute.[2] One of the crown prince's own poems describes a languid life of lolling on an ivory inlaid bed, surrounded by feather curtains, with a male lover.[3] Given his own writing, some have asserted that Xiao Gang was homosexual. Others have pointed to the numerous children claimed by him later in life as evidence of heterosexuality. There is no way to prove either assertion, and the notion of a powerful man pointedly limiting himself to one gender or the other would in fact have been alien in a culture where class hierarchy affected male sex lives far more than the genders of their partners.[4] The poet Xu's writing style became known as "palace style", and initially, Emperor Wu was displeased about this development, but once Emperor Wu met Xu, he was impressed by Xu's talents, and became a patron of Xu himself as well.
It is unclear whether Xiao Gang carried out much decision-making duties in the imperial administration, as Xiao Tong did before his death. As Emperor Wu aged, Xiao Gang's younger brothers Xiao Xu (萧续) the Prince of Luling, Xiao Guan (萧纶) the Prince of Shaoling, Xiao Yi the Prince of Xiangdong, and Xiao Ji the Prince of Wuling grew less obedient of his edicts, and effectively exercised imperial powers in their provincial domains. Fearing that his brothers would seize power, Xiao Gang selected elite troops to be the palace guards for the crown prince's palace. He honored Taoist philosophies, and often lectured on the Tao Te Ching and the Zhuangzi. In 547, the Eastern Wei general Hou Jing, in a conflict with the new regent Gao Cheng, surrendered the 13 provinces (the region between the Yellow River and the Huai River) to Liang, seeking aid from Liang. However, both Xiao Gang's cousin Xiao Yuanming the Marquess of Zhenyang, and Hou himself, were defeated by the Eastern Wei general Murong Shaozong (慕容绍宗). Xiao Yuanming was captured, while Hou fled and, surprising the Liang governor of Southern Yu Province (南豫州, modern central Anhui), Wei An (韦黯), seized the key city Shouyang (寿阳, in modern Lu'an, Anhui), the capital of Southern Yu Province. Instead of punishing Hou, however, Emperor Wu allowed him to serve as the governor of Southern Yu Province. It is unclear whether Xiao Gang was involved in making these decisions, but he was clearly informed about them, as he revealed these decisions to his assistant He Jingrong (何敬容). Soon, however, Hou, believing that Emperor Wu, who engaged in peace talks with Eastern Wei and appeared to be willing to betray him to exchange for Xiao Yuanming, rebelled in summer 548. Hou's army quickly advanced on Jiankang, assisted by Xiao Gang's cousin Xiao Zhengde the Prince of Linhe, putting Jiankang under siege. Emperor Wu put Xiao Gang in charge of the defenses, but Xiao Gang was unsuccessful in preventing the outer city from falling. The imperial troops were forced to withdraw into the palace. When Hou then claimed that it was the corrupt official Zhu Yi that he wanted to kill, Xiao Gang confirmed that Zhu was indeed corrupt, but advised against executing Zhu in that it would serve nothing in the campaign against Hou. Soon, Hou declared Xiao Zhengde emperor. While provincial troops gathered near Jiankang to try to relieve the besieged palace, those troops, commanded by Liu Zhongli (柳仲礼) and Xiao Guan, were unsuccessful, and ultimately, after Liu was nearly killed in a battle, Liu refused to engage Hou any further, leaving the palace troops to fend for themselves. (Xiao Yi and Xiao Ji, although they each had large numbers of troops in their domains, largely stood and sent only token troops.) In winter 548, Hou's general Fan Taobang (范桃棒) offered to rebel against Hou, and while Emperor Wu was initially in favor of the idea, Xiao Gang spoke against it, and it was not carried out. Soon, Fan was killed by Hou, and an opportunity was lost. In spring 549, Xiao Gang tried to negotiate peace with Hou, whose troops had by then tired. Hou initially agreed─with the terms being that he would be given the provinces west of the Yangtze River. However, Hou soon reneged on the peace agreement and resumed the siege of the palace. Soon, the palace fell, and Emperor Wu and Xiao Gang were effectively taken as hostages, although Hou continued to formally honor them as emperor and crown prince, despite his earlier agreement with Xiao Zhengde to have them killed. (Hou soon deposed Xiao Zhengde and killed him.) Xiao Gang's attendants all fled, except for Xu Li and Yin Buhai (殷不害). The provincial troops which had come to Jiankang's aid were disbanded, and Hou was now in control of the capital region. Meanwhile, Emperor Wu, while he was under Hou's control, was unwilling to yield, and he refused to carry out some of the acts that Hou wanted him to. Xiao Gang tried to urge Emperor Wu to follow Hou's requests, but Emperor Wu refused. Hou put Emperor Wu under closer guard, and Emperor Wu, in anger, soon grew ill and died. (Some historians believe that Hou starved Emperor Wu to death.) Xiao Gang did not dare to weep for Emperor Wu's death, and Hou made him emperor to succeed Emperor Wu (as Emperor Jianwen). As emperor Emperor Jianwen was formally recognized by the governors of the provinces not under Hou's control, but they saw his edicts as coerced and not binding on them, and they continued to resist Hou, and yet at the same time fought each other for territorial control and were largely ineffective when Hou attacked them, allowing Hou to seize additional territory. Eastern Wei (and its successor state Northern Qi, established in 550 as Gao Cheng's brother Gao Yang seized the throne from Emperor Xiaojing) largely seized the Liang provinces north of the Yangtze. Emperor Jianwen himself tried to foster a relationship with Hou, to ensure his own safety, and in 550, he married his daughter the Princess Liyang to Hou as Hou's wife. Hou favored the princess greatly, and for the time being, the emperor appeared safe. He created his oldest son Xiao Daqi crown prince. However, Hou still kept the emperor under heavy guard, and only several officials, including his cousin Xiao Zi (萧咨) the Marquess of Wulin, Wang Ke (王克), and Yin Buhai were allowed to see him. Meanwhile, most of the provincial governors eventually accepted the command of Emperor Jianwen's brother Xiao Yi the Prince of Xiangdong, the governor of Jing Province (荆州, modern western Hubei). In summer 550, Hou sent his general Ren Yue (任约) to try to conquer the central empire. Ren first defeated and captured Emperor Jianwen's son Xiao Daxin (萧大心) the Prince of Xunyang and governor of Jiang Province (江州, modern central and northern Jiangxi), and then continued on to try to attack Xiao Yi's territory. When Ren was unable to prevail against Xiao Yi's general Xu Wensheng (徐文盛), and Hou himself commanded a force to aid Ren. In winter 550, while Hou was away from Jiankang, Emperor Jianwen's nephew Xiao Huili (萧会理) plotted with his brother Xiao Aili (萧刈理), the general Liu Jingli (柳敬礼), and Emperor Jianwen's cousins Xiao Quan (萧劝) the Marquess of Xixiang and Xiao Mian (萧_) the Marquess of Dongxiang, to start a rebellion at Jiankang and overthrow Hou Jing's lieutenant Wang Wei. The plot was discovered, however, and Xiao Huili and his coconspirators were executed by Wang. While Wang could not show that Emperor Jianwen was involved, Hou and Wang became even more suspicious of Emperor Jianwen thereafter. In fear, Wang Ke and Yin stopped seeing the emperor, but Xiao Zi continued. In response, Hou had Xiao Zi assassinated. Emperor Jianwen believed that eventually he would be killed as well, and he commented as such to Yin. Removal and death In summer 551, Hou was again aiding Ren, taking Xiao Daqi with him as hostage. Initially, with Hou backing him, Ren took the important city of Jiangxia (江夏, in modern Wuhan, Hubei), and Hou next approached Xiao Yi's headquarters at Jiangling (江陵, in modern Jingzhou, Hubei). However, Hou's forces then became bogged down while trying to siege Baling (巴陵, in modern Yueyang, Hunan), with Xiao Yi's general Wang Sengbian successfully defending Baling. Soon, Hou's food supplies ran out, and his forces collapsed. Ren was captured, and two other key generals, Song Zixian (宋子仙) and Ding He (丁和) were killed. Hou fled back to Jiankang. Hou, believing that his days of power might be numbered, wanted to become emperor. Meanwhile, Wang had disputes with Emperor Jianwen's daughter Princess Liyang, and believing that she would eventually harm him, persuaded Hou that he should remove the emperor to show off his power. In fall 551, Hou deposed Emperor Jianwen and demoted him back to the title of Prince of Jin'an, and made Xiao Huan's son Xiao Dong the Prince of Yuzhang emperor. Hou had all of Emperor Jianwen's sons who were under his control, including Xiao Daqi the Crown Prince, executed. (He soon regretted these actions, and considered restoring Emperor Jianwen to the throne and making Xiao Dong crown prince, but Wang persuaded him not to do so.) He put Emperor Jianwen under house arrest. During the house arrest period, Emperor Jianwen, filled with sadness and fear, wrote several hundred poems─and because he was not given paper to write on, wrote the poems on the walls and screens of his residence. Less than two months after Emperor Jianwen's removal, Wang persuaded Hou that Emperor Jianwen must be removed, and Hou sent Wang, Peng Jun (彭隽), and Wang Xiuzuan (王修纂) to visit Emperor Jianwen one night. Emperor Jianwen, knowing what their intentions were, feasted and drank with them, becoming very intoxicated. Once he fell asleep, they suffocated him, and then placed him in a makeshift casket, storing the casket in a brewery. In 552, after Wang Sengbian captured Jiankang, he had Emperor Jianwen's casket placed in the palace and then buried with imperial honors. 3) Prince of Yuzhang - Yu Zhang Wang 豫章王 萧栋 xi_o dong 551-552 Tianzheng (天正 ti_n zheng) 551-552 Xiao Dung (萧栋) (died 552), courtesy name Yuanji (元吉), sometimes known by his pre-ascension title of Prince of Yuzhang (豫章王), was briefly an emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty. In 551, with the general Hou Jing in control of the imperial government at the capital Jiankang, Hou, wanting to show off his strength, deposed Xiao Dong's granduncle Emperor Jianwen and replaced him with Xiao Dong, the grandson of Emperor Jianwen's older brother Xiao Tong, who was originally the founder Emperor Wu's crown prince. During his brief reign, Xiao Dong was entirely under Hou's control. Just two and a half months after Xiao Dong became emperor, Hou forced him to yield the throne to Hou, who took the throne as the Emperor of Han. In 552, troops under Wang Sengbian, a general loyal to Xiao Dong's granduncle Xiao Yi retook Jiankang, and the general Zhu Maichen (朱买臣), under Xiao Yi's instructions, threw Xiao Dong and his two brothers in to the Yangtze River to drown. Background Not much is known about Xiao Dong's early life, including when he was born. What is known is that he was the oldest son of Xiao Huan (萧欢) the Prince of Yuzhang, the oldest son of Emperor Wu's oldest son and first crown prince Xiao Tong. When Xiao Tong died in 531, Emperor Wu had considered, pursuant to Confucian principles of succession, creating Xiao Huan crown prince, but ultimately decided against it and created him only the Prince of Yuzhang. Emperor Wu created Xiao Tong's younger brother Xiao Gang crown prince instead. Xiao Dong's mother was Xiao Huan's wife Princess Wang. He had two younger brothers known to history -- Xiao Qiao (萧桥) and Xiao Jiu (萧□). After Xiao Huan's death -- and that date is not known -- Xiao Dong inherited the title of Prince of Yuzhang. In 548, the general Hou Jing rebelled and, in 549, captured the capital Jiankang. Hou put the surviving princes of the Xiao imperial clan, including Xiao Dong, under effective house arrest. Emperor Wu died later that year, and Xiao Gang succeeded him as Emperor Jianwen, albeit under Hou's control. In 551, Hou, after attempting to defeat Emperor Jianwen's brother Xiao Yi the Prince of Xiangdong but being defeated by Xiao Yi's general Wang Sengbian, retreated to Jiankang, and he, believing that his days may be numbered, wanted to take the throne. In order to show off his power, he deposed Emperor Jianwen and replaced him with Xiao Dong. When the imperial processing went to Xiao Dong's residence to escort him to the palace, Xiao Dong and his wife Princess Zhang were tending their garden, growing vegetables to supplement their diet in light of the war-induced famine in the capital region. He was shocked when the imperial processing arrived, and, not sure how to respond, got onto the imperial carriage while crying. Hou declared him emperor. Brief reign Xiao Dong had no actual power, as power was in the hands of Hou Jing. Xiao Dong posthumously honored his grandfather Xiao Tong and father Xiao Huan as emperors, and honored his mother Princess Dowager Wang as empress dowager. He created his wife Princess Zhang empress. Two and a half months after Xiao Dong became emperor, Hou forced Xiao Dong to yield the throne to him. Hou, who became the emperor of a newly declared Han state, created Xiao Dong the Prince of Huaiyin, but imprisoned him and his brothers Xiao Qiao and Xiao Jiu in a secret prison. Death In spring 552, Wang Sengbian captured Jiankang, forcing Hou Jing to flee. Xiao Yi had initially ordered Wang to have Xiao Dong killed, but Wang declined -- stating that while he was willing to fight Hou, the responsibility of killing an emperor should be entrusted to someone else. Xiao Yi therefore gave the order instead to another general, Zhu Maichen. Meanwhile, when Hou fled, Xiao Dong and his brothers broke out of their prison, but they were still in chains. They encountered the general Du Shi (杜□), and Du removed their chains. Xiao Qiao and Xiao Jiu happily stated, "Finally today we have avoided an unnatural death." Xiao Dong responded, "It is difficult to know whether we are facing good fortune or ill fortune. I am still fearful." Soon thereafter, they encounter Zhu, who invited them to drink on his ship. Before they finished, Zhu's guards grabbed them and threw them into the Yangtze River to drown. 4) Emperor Yuan of Liang - Yuan Di 元帝 萧绎 xi_o yi 552-555 Chengsheng (承圣 cheng sheng) 552-555 Emperor Yuan of Liang (Chinese: 梁元帝; pinyin: Liang Yuandi) (508━555), personal name Xiao Yi (萧绎), courtesy name Shicheng (世诚), nickname Qifu (七符), was an emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty. After his father Emperor Wu and brother Emperor Jianwen were successively taken hostage and controlled by the rebel general Hou Jing, Xiao Yi was largely viewed as the de facto leader of Liang, and after defeating Hou in 552 declared himself emperor. In 554, after offending Yuwen Tai, the paramount general of rival Western Wei, Western Wei forces descended on and captured his capital Jiangling (江陵, in modern Jingzhou, Hubei), executing him and instead declaring his nephew Xiao Cha (Emperor Xuan) the Emperor of Liang. Emperor Yuan was a renowned writer and collector of ancient books, but was criticized by historians for concentrating on eliminating potential contenders for the throne rather than on fighting Hou Jing. As Jiangling was sieged by Western Wei troops, Emperor Yuan set his collection of more than 140,000 volumes of ancient books on fire, and this is commonly considered as one of the greatest disasters for the study of ancient works in Chinese history. Background Xiao Yi was born in 508, as the seventh son of the dynasty founder Emperor Wu. His mother was Emperor Wu's concubine Ruan Lingying (阮令赢), whose original surname was Shi (石), and who had previously been concubine to the Southern Qi prince Xiao Yaoguang (萧遥光) and then the emperor Xiao Baojuan, and whose surname was changed to Ruan by Emperor Wu. In 514, at the age of six, he was created the Prince of Xiangdong. As the years went by, he got increasingly higher offices, and by 547 he was not only the governor of the key Jing Province (荆州, modern central and western Hubei), but was also titular commander of the troops of the other provinces in the central empire. Xiao Yi was blind in one eye─although it was not clear whether he suffered an illness or injury. He was known as learned in literary matters, but not well-versed in military matters. His relationship with his wife Princess Xu Zhaopei was very chilly, and he rarely visited her bedchambers─once every two or three years. When he did, she would parodize him by putting makeup on only one side of her face, and when he saw it, he would storm out. She also conducted affairs with a number of men. During the Hou Jing Disturbance In 548, the general Hou Jing, who had defected from Eastern Wei in 547, rebelled from his headquarters at Shouyang (寿阳, in modern Lu'an, Anhui). He quickly arrived at the capital Jiankang and, after capturing the outer city, put the palace under siege. Despite the desperate situation that the capital was in, Xiao Yi only sent partial troops, commanded by his heir apparent Xiao Fangdeng (萧方等) and general Wang Sengbian, to join the other provincial troops to try to lift Jiankang's siege. However, the provincial troops, once they gathered, were hesitant to engage Hou's troops. Xiao Yi himself, commanding the majority of his troops, halted at the border between Jing Province and Ying Province (郢州, modern eastern Hubei), claiming that he needed to wait for the other provincial troops to gather before he could proceed. Meanwhile, as soon as he heard news that Emperor Wu had entered into peace with Hou in spring 549, he withdrew his troops entirely. Hou soon reneged on the peace agreement, however, and put the palace under siege again in earnest, and he soon captured it, seizing Emperor Wu and the crown prince Xiao Gang (Xiao Yi's older brother) effectively as hostages. The provincial troops already at Jiankang took no action and disbanded. Xiao Fangdeng and Wang Sengbian took their troops back to Jing Province. Upon their arrival, Xiao Yi's response was to strengthen the defense of his headquarters at Jiangling. He declined requests by several other provincial governors that he formally undertake imperial powers, but then began to act in accordance therewith, including commissioning generals and governors and creating titles, particularly after his cousin Xiao Shao (萧韶) the Marquess of Shangjia fled out of Jiankang and claimed to carry a secret edict from Emperor Wu authorizing Xiao Yi to exercise those authorities. When Emperor Wu died in summer 549 and was succeeded by Xiao Gang (as Emperor Jianwen), Xiao Yi learned the news of Emperor Wu's death but kept it secret from his people and army. Meanwhile, Xiao Yi was displeased that his nephews Xiao Yu (萧誉) the Prince of Hedong, the governor of Xiang Province (湘州, modern Hunan) and Xiao Cha the Prince of Yueyang, the governor of Yong Province (雍州, modern northwestern Hubei), were resisting his orders. At the same time, his friend Zhang Zuan (张缵), who had a prior dispute with Xiao Yu, falsely informed him that Xiao Yu and Xiao Cha were planning to attack him together. Xiao Yi therefore prepared first to attack Xiao Yu. Xiao Fangdeng, who was fearful of his father on account of his father's chilly relations with his mother Princess Xu, volunteered to command the troops against Xiao Yu, but was defeated by Xiao Yu and drowned in battle. Xiao Yi did not mourn Xiao Fangdeng, and subsequently forced Princess Xu to commit suicide. He would not take another wife for the rest of his life. Meanwhile, Xiao Yi sent Bao Quan (鲍泉) and Wang Sengbian against Xiao Yu, but over a minor disagreement in strategy, he pierced Wang's leg with a sword and nearly killed him, and Bao ended up commanding the army on his own. Wang would be spared only after his mother made urgent pleas to Xiao Yi to spare her son. Bao was able to defeat Xiao Yu and force Xiao Yu back into his headquarters at Changsha (长沙, in modern Changsha, Hunan), but after putting Changsha under siege for months was unable to capture it. Xiao Cha, trying to save his brother, marched on Jiangling, and Xiao Yi was forced to release Wang from prison and have him command Jiangling's defense forces against Xiao Cha. Wang defeated Xiao Cha, who was forced to retreat back to his headquarters at Xiangyang (襄阳, in modern Xiangfan, Hubei). Xiao Yi subsequently replaced Bao with Wang in sieging Changsha. Meanwhile, Xiao Cha, unable to save his brother and fearful that he would be Xiao Yi's next target, submitted to Western Wei, and Western Wei's paramount general Yuwen Tai sent the general Yang Zhong (杨忠) to assist Xiao Cha, defeating Xiao Yi's army commanded by Liu Zhongli (柳仲礼) in spring 550 and capturing all of Liang territory north of the Han River, after which Xiao Yi made peace with Western Wei, effectively acknowledging Western Wei's suzerainty over Xiao Cha's domain and further declared Liang to be a subordinate state. Xiao Yi's older brother Xiao Guan (萧纶) the Prince of Shaoyang, at that time holding his troops at Jiangxia (江夏, in modern Wuhan, Hubei), considered trying to save Xiao Yu, but felt that he did not have enough strength to do so, and therefore sent letters to Xiao Yi, trying to persuade him to give up the siege on Changsha. Xiao Yi refused, and continued the siege. Soon, Changsha fell, and Wang executed Xiao Yu. It was only after this point that Xiao Yi acknowledged Emperor Wu's death. While he implicitly recognized Emperor Jianwen as the rightful emperor, he refused to recognize Emperor Jianwen's era name Dabao (大宝) and continued to use Emperor Wu's era name Taiqing (太清), and, citing the fact that Hou Jing was actually in control, did not recognize Emperor Jianwen's edicts. When Xiao Yi's younger brother Xiao Ji the Prince of Wuling, who was then controlling the modern Sichuan and Chongqing region, sent an army commanded by his heir apparent Xiao Yuanzhao (萧圆照) toward Jing Province, claiming to be willing to accept Xiao Yi's command in attacking Hou, Xiao Yi commissioned Xiao Yuanzhao as the governor of Xin Province (信州, modern eastern Chongqing) and ordered him to halt at Xin Province's capital Baidicheng and not to proceed any further. Xiao Yi, hearing that Xiao Guan was preparing an attack on Hou, became displeased at the possibility that his brother might be successful, and he sent Wang and Bao against Xiao Guan, but meanwhile claiming to be preparing to engage Hou's general Ren Yue (任约), who had just captured Jiang Province (江州, modern Jiangxi) from Emperor Jianwen's son Xiao Daxin (萧大心) the Prince of Xunyang and was continuing to advance west. Xiao Guan saw through Xiao Yi's plan, but felt he could not resist, and therefore fled north to Ru'nan (汝南, in modern Jingmen, Hubei), allowing Xiao Yi to take Ying Province under control. Confrontation with Hou Jing Meanwhile, Ren Yue's forces were approaching Xiao Yi's territory. When Xiao Ji led his army east, however, Xiao Yi, suspicious of Xiao Ji's intentions, sent him letter to halt him, stating, "The people of Bashu [i.e., Yi Province and surrounding regions] are brave but ferocious, and they easily get emotional and difficult to control. I need you, my brother, to watch over them, so that I can destroy the bandit [i.e., Hou Jing]." He also attached a note, "Based on geography, you and I are like Liu Bei and Sun Quan, and we should each be satisfied with our territory. Based on our blood, we are like the states of Lu and Wei, and we can continuously communicate." Apparently in reaction to Xiao Yi's letter, Xiao Ji returned to his headquarters at Chengdu (成都, in modern Chengdu, Sichuan). Ren's forces and Xiao Yi's forces, commanded by Xu Wensheng (徐文盛), became stalemated. Hou himself therefore led forces to come to Ren's aid, leaving Jiankang in winter 550. Meanwhile, Western Wei captured Ru'nan and killed Xiao Guan in spring 551, eliminating a potential competitor for the throne for Xiao Yi. Hou's forces approached Xu's, and he sent Ren and Song Zixian (宋子仙) to make a surprise attack on Jiangxia, capturing it and seizing Bao and Xiao Yi's heir apparent Xiao Fangzhu (萧方诸), subsequently putting them to death. Xu's forces collapsed, and he was forced to flee back to Jiangling. Xiao Yi instead put Wang Sengbian in charge of his remaining forces, and Wang took up position at Baling (巴陵, in modern Yueyang, Hunan). Instead of bypassing Wang and attacking Jiangling directly, Hou sieged Baling and was unable to capture it. Eventually, his food supplies ran out, and he was forced to retreat. Ren was captured, and soon thereafter, so were Song and Ding He (丁和). Xiao Yi spared Ren, but put Song and Ding to death. Also, claiming that Xu had complained about his leadership, he also put Xu to death. At the same time, his relationship with Xiao Ji would further deteriorate when he arrested Xiao Ji's son Xiao Yuanzheng (萧圆正) the Marquess of Jiang'an and seized Xiao Yuanzheng's troops. Xiao Yi sent Wang further east to put pressure on Hou, who by that point had retreated back to Jiankang. By fall 551, Wang had, in conjunction with another key general, Chen Baxian, who had advanced north from Guang Province (广州, modern Guangdong), captured Jiang Province. Hou, believing that his days might be numbered, first deposed and killed Emperor Jianwen and replaced him with Xiao Dong the Prince of Yuzhang, the grandson of Emperor Wu's first crown prince Xiao Tong (who was also Xiao Yu's and Xiao Cha's father), and then forced Xiao Dong to yield the throne to him, establishing a state of Han. Upon the spread of news of Emperor Jianwen's death, Xiao Yi's generals requested that he take imperial title, but he refused. By spring 552, Wang and Chen had arrived at Jiankang. They repelled Hou's counterattack against them, and then defeated his troops. Hou abandoned Jiankang and fled east. Wang entered Jiankang, but while most of Hou's generals surrendered, those north of the Yangtze River instead surrendered to Northern Qi. By Xiao Yi's orders, the general Zhu Maichen (朱买臣) found Xiao Dong and threw him and his brothers Xiao Qiao (萧桥) and Xiao Jiu (萧□) into the Yangtze River to drown. Meanwhile, Hou, in flight, was killed by his own attendant Yang Kun (name not in Unicode). Around the same time, Xiao Ji, not realizing that Xiao Yi had already defeated Hou, claimed imperial title himself. Reign For months after Hou's death, Xiao Yi declined imperial title, and but exercised imperial powers still under his title of Prince of Xiangdong. However, he did not have much territory under his control, as the provinces north of the Yangtze and Han Rivers had been lost to Northern Qi and Western Wei, and the western provinces and southern provinces were controlled by Xiao Ji and Xiao Yi's cousin Xiao Bo (萧勃), respectively. Despite the state the empire was in, Xiao Yi managed to create another crisis for himself, even as Xiao Ji was approaching Jing Province from the west. He had put his general Wang Lin under arrest, even though Wang Lin was much loved by his troops, and when news of Wang Lin's arrest reached Xiang Province, where Wang had become governor, his troops rebelled under his lieutenant Lu Na (陆纳). Troops that Xiao Yi sent to combat Lu Na were not successful in defeating Lu, and Xiao Yi was forced to commit considerable troops to combatting Lu. In winter 552, Xiao Yi finally took imperial title (as Emperor Yuan). For the time being, the capital was at Jiangling. Emperor Yuan, facing the dual threat of Lu and Xiao Ji, recalled Wang Sengbian from Jiankang in spring 553. Meanwhile, he requested Western Wei to attack Xiao Ji from the rear, and Yuwen Tai, seeing a chance to seize Liang's western provinces, agreed, sending his nephew Weichi Jiong south to directly attack Xiao Ji's headquarters at Chengdu. Meanwhile, Xiao Ji, receiving false information from his son Xiao Yuanzhao that Hou had defeated Jing Province forces, continued to advance east. He finally realized the falsity of Xiao Yuanzhao's reports in summer 553, but decided to continue east against Emperor Yuan. Wang Sengbian, while forcing Lu to withdraw into Changsha, was unable to capture Changsha quickly, and Emperor Yuan, finally realizing that Lu was only interested in freeing Wang Lin, released Wang Lin, and Lu surrendered. Emperor Yuan was then able to concentrate his forces against Xiao Ji, and he offered Xiao Ji peace. Xiao Ji refused, but subsequently realized that he himself was caught between Emperor Yuan's and Western Wei forces. When Xiao Ji offered peace through his official Le Fengye (乐奉业), however, Le revealed the desperate situation Xiao Ji was in, and so Emperor Yuan refused the peace offer, instead sending Wang Lin, Ren Yue, and Xie Daren (Ren and Xie both being Hou's generals that he had pardoned) to cut off Xiao Ji's retreat path. he then sent the general Fan Meng (樊猛) against Xiao Ji's fleet, and Fan, after defeating Xiao Ji, surrounded Xiao Ji's ship. Under Emperor Yuan's orders, Fan boarded Xiao Ji's ship and put him to death. Emperor Yuan excised Xiao Ji's line from the imperial clan, and put his sons under arrest. Meanwhile, Western Wei captured Xiao Ji's domain, and that territory would be permanently lost. In fall 553, Emperor Yuan announced that he was moving the capital back to Jiankang. His officials' opinions were evenly split, and Emperor Yuan, believing Jiankang to be in shambles and Jiangling to be relatively wealthy, decided to stay in Jiangling, despite its close distance to Western Wei borders. Instead, he again put Wang Sengbian in charge of Jiankang and the surrounding areas. Defeat and death In spring 554, Emperor Yuan made a major diplomatic faux pas when both Western Wei and Northern Qi ambassadors arrived at Jiangling, as he treated the Northern Qi ambassadors with far greater respect than the Western Wei ones. He then compounded the insult by sending an arrogant letter to Yuwen Tai, requesting that the borders be refixed to earlier times. Yuwen made the comment, "Xiao Yi is the type of person that, as said in proverbs, 'One who has been abandoned by heaven cannot be revived by anyone else.'" He prepared an attack against Emperor Yuan, and when the Western Wei general Ma Bofu (马伯符) revealed this to Emperor Yuan, Emperor Yuan did not believe it and took minimal precautions. Suspicious of Wang Lin, he even sent Wang Lin away to be the governor of Guang Province. In winter 554, Yuwen Tai launched his attack, commanded by Yu Jin (于谨) and assisted by Yang Zhong and Yuwen Tai's nephew Yuwen Hu; Xiao Cha served as guide. Receiving mixed intelligence reports, Emperor Yuan continued to take no major precautions other than to summon Wang back to the capital, but Wang, being geographically distant from Jiangling, could not arrive quickly. Wang Lin did turn back his forces and try to come to Jiankang's aid, but was also not able to arrive before Western Wei forces surrounded Jiangling. Emperor Yuan, believing that he was on the verge of being captured, set fire to his great collection of ancient books and began to draft articles of surrender. When Xie Daren and Zhu Maichen suggested that he make a surprise dash out of Jiangling to try to join Ren Yue, whose forces were just across the Yangtze River, Emperor Yuan initially agreed, but later, believing that the plan would not succeed and would only bring further humiliation, changed his mind, and walked out of Jiangling to surrender. Xiao Cha took custody of Emperor Yuan, and interrogated him harshly. Emperor Yuan then made a false promise to the Western Wei general Zhangsun Jian (长孙俭) that he had a large collection of gold that he was willing to give Zhangsun─and once Zhangsun took custody of him, revealed to Zhangsun that he had no gold and was merely trying to get away from Xiao Cha. Zhangsun kept him in his own custody. Around the new year 555, Western Wei forces put Emperor Yuan to death─with Xiao Cha in charge of the execution. Xiao Cha suffocated him with a bag full of dirt, and then wrapped his body with cloth and tied it with grass, burying it outside of Jiangling. The sons captured with him were also executed. In 557, with Wang Lin still trying to maintain Liang as a dynasty, Western Wei returned Emperor Yuan's body to Wang Lin. However, it was not until after Wang Lin was defeated by Emperor Wen of Chen that Chen Dynasty had Emperor Yuan buried with imperial honors in 560. |