The Sixteen Kingdoms of the Eastern Jin Dynasty: The Competition in the Central Plains

Jin Ming declined in a panic, but was pushed to the throne by Jin Kang and others. Jin Ming sat down uneasily, and then asked:"My dear friends, what should I do?"

"Lord, we haven't had anything to eat for several days. Surrendering to Liu Yao is better than starving to death in Pingyang City! Please ask your lord to appoint Mr. Butai, your servant, to send the six national jade seals and seals to Liu Yao's camp!"Wang Teng said anxiously

"Alas, that’s all it can do! Jin Ming sighed and said:"Master Butai, please take the jade seal and six seals of the country and go to Liu Yao's camp immediately to discuss surrender!""

"Okay, my lord."Bu Tai said, Jin Kang had already brought the jade seal and seal ribbon and handed them to Bu Tai. Bu Tai and his entourage Bu Xuan hurried to the west gate of Pingyang.

Shi Le's detective horse had already received the news. In the big tent, Shi Le was furious:"It seems that the Jin clan members are all the ones who refuse to eat and drink fine wine when toasting. Since you are ruthless, don't blame me for being unrighteous! The generals listened to the order and raised troops to Pingyang tomorrow. Jin Ming must be captured!"

"The Lord calmed down his anger, and Jin Ming chose to surrender to Liu Yao, which may have been a helpless move. We should send envoys to Pingyang, move them with emotion and reason, and do our best to persuade Jin Ming to surrender. If Jin Ming and others remain stubborn, it will not be too late for the lord to send out an army to attack Pingyang."Zhang Bin said. Shi Le thought about it and said,"Youhou Hou's words are reasonable. It is right to be polite first and then to fight. Lord Shi Yangsheng, I plan to send you as an envoy to Pingyang to persuade Jin Ming and others to surrender the city of Pingyang. You can observe his words and scold Jin Ming appropriately.

Yang Sheng stood up and bowed his hands in salute, saying,"I would like to give Pingyang a try.""

The next day, Yang Sheng rode a carriage to Pingyang. In addition to the driver, Yang Sheng also brought an entourage. Yang Sheng's carriage arrived at the east gate of Pingyang. Seeing that the city gate was closed, he shouted to the tower :"The general's envoy Yang Sheng is going to Pingyang City to meet with the Han Lord!"

Jin Kang on the city tower looked down. There was only one carriage with three people, so he asked the soldiers to open the city gate. The carriage entered Pingyang, and the city gate was closed again. Yang Sheng and Jin Kang held hands with each other, and the carriage went straight to Guangji Hall. Arriving at the Guangji Hall, Jin Ming was discussing matters with several ministers. A guard came in from outside the hall and reported:"Qian Sui, envoy Shi Le wants to see you!""

"Let him in!"Jin Ming said feebly. Yang Sheng came to the main hall and saluted Jin Ming above:"The general sent Yang Sheng to see the Lord of Han!"

"Lord Yang Sheng, why did you come here?"Jin Ming asked. Yang Sheng said:"Originally, my lord was planning to take Pingyang in one go, but Zhang Bin, the right lord, persuaded my lord to pay homage first and then attack with troops. So my lord sent me to meet the Han lord, hoping that the Han lord would submit to the general."

"Gu is now the leader of the Han Dynasty, and his ministers and generals also perform their respective duties. Shi Le asked Gu to surrender to him, isn't it a bit ridiculous and ridiculous!"Jin Ming said. Yang Sheng said:"Although Jin Zhun went on a killing spree in Pingyang a few months ago, there was a reason. It was all due to Liu Can's debauchery and immorality. But you and Jin Zhun belong to the Jin clan, but you killed him. It cannot be justified by emotion, reason, or law, nor can it be tolerated. The best policy is to surrender to the general."

After listening to Yang Sheng's words, Jin Ming was furious. Jin Ming shot several cases and shouted:"Come here! Drag Yang Sheng, who doesn’t know the heights of the sky, out and behead him!"

Two guards with knives came in from outside the hall and dragged Yang Sheng out.

Qiao Tai asked:"My lord, what should I do with the coachman and the entourage that Yang Sheng brought?"

"Let them go back!"Jin Ming said without thinking.

The coachman drove the carriage and rushed back to the camp with the entourage. Yang Sheng's entourage came to the tent crying, knelt down in front of Shi Le, and cried loudly:"Master, Master Yang Sheng is dead.!"

"ah? This daring Jin Ming, who doesn’t know whether to live or die! Shi Le shouted:"The generals listened to the order and immediately began to attack Pingyang." Ji Long and Duan Qin attacked the east gate of Pingyang, while Zhi Xiong and Duan Cong attacked the south gate of Pingyang. Diao Ying and Zhang Jing attacked the north gate of Pingyang. Whichever general conquers Pingyang City first will have accomplished a great feat! I will be heavily rewarded!"

Shi Hu and Duan Qin led 20,000 troops brought from Xiangguo, Zhi Xiong and Duan Cong also led 20,000 troops, and Diao Ying and Zhang Jing led 15,000 troops. The three armies surrounded Pingyang from the east gate to the south gate. In the meantime, a weather-proof and water-tight fence was built between the east gate and the north gate. In the Guangji Hall, Jin Ming was sitting on pins and needles on the throne. He looked at the civil and military ministers below and said to them:"We should not kill Jin Zhun elder brother. At the very least, we can keep each other warm. Now, Gu's heart feels like it has been blown by the cold wind of winter. You regard Gu as your master, and you are roasting Gu on the crater of a volcano! Now Shi Le's three armies have surrounded Pingyang City from the east, south and north. Dear friends, do you have any good advice?"

Jin Kang, Qiao Tai, Wang Teng, Ma Zhong, Guo Lu and other civil and military ministers have just returned from the east gate, north gate, and south gate to check the military situation. Qiao Tai said:"Lord Han, Pingyang City has been out of food for several days. Now we are just surviving. Surrendering to Shi Le would mean death, and surrendering to Liu Yao would not lead to survival. Therefore, we should concentrate our superior forces to break out!"

"Yes, if you break out, you can still find some food to fill your stomach. If we are lucky, we can also recruit some new soldiers to strengthen our strength. Wang Teng echoed. Jin Ming asked Jin Kang:"How about the gates and walls of Pingyang City?" Will it be breached?"

"There is no need to worry about this right now. There are archers on duty at each city gate in turn on the city tower, and there are also two shifts on the city wall, day and night. Speaking of the strength of Pingyang City, we should really thank Liu Cong and his sons. Although it cannot be said that it is an iron wall, it is not a big problem to stick to it for a few days. The biggest problem is that we have no food and not many arrows. Now only livestock in the city, including injured and sick horses, can be killed."Jin Kang said.

General Ma Zhong said:"Rather than sit back and wait for death in Pingyang City, it is better to gather some troops and go out of the city to fight Shi Le. If you can win, it would also be good to rob some food."

"What Ma Zhong Aiqing said makes sense. So dear ladies, let's discuss this, what should we do?"Jin Ming said almost begging. Qiao Tai said:"The way I see it, each general selects brothers between the ages of 18 and 35 from his own team, and leaves the old, weak, sick and disabled to guard the city gate. and city walls. Every day a general chooses a city gate and leads these elite soldiers out of the city to fight the enemy. See what the outcome is, and then decide what to do the next day."

"How many elite soldiers can the generals select?"Jin Ming asked. Jin Kang said:"My general guard's mansion can select two thousand people."