Xiao Ji - During The Hou Jing Disturbance

During The Hou Jing Disturbance

In 548, the rebel general Hou Jing put the capital Jiankang under siege, and many provincial governors sent forces to Jiankang to try to lift the siege. Xiao Ji, however, initially failed to take any action. After Jiankang fell and Emperor Wu died in 549, Xiao Ji finally took action in spring 550, sending a 30,000-men force commanded by his heir apparent Xiao Yuanzhao (蕭圓照), and he claimed that he was willing to have that force accept orders from his brother Xiao Yi the Prince of Xiangdong—the governor of Jing Province (荊州, modern central and western Hubei) and at that time the strongest Liang prince, who was exercising imperial authority at the time. Xiao Yi, apprehensive of Xiao Ji's intentions, made Xiao Yuanzhao the governor of Xin Province (信州, modern eastern Chongqing) and ordered him to halt at Baidicheng (the capital of Xin Province) and not advance any further.

In summer 550, the Buddhist monk Sun Tianying (孫天英) launched a peasant rebellion and attacked Chengdu (成都, in modern Chengdu, Sichuan), the capital of Yi Province. Xiao Yi engaged Sun and killed him.

in fall 550, the people of Li Province (黎州, roughly modern Guangyuan, Sichuan) -- a minor province part of Xiao Ji's domain—rebelled and expelled the governor of Li Province, Zhang Ben (張賁). The general Yang Fachen (楊法琛) entered Li, and he instigated two major clans of Li Province, the Wangs and the Jias, to petition Xiao Ji that Yang be allowed to become governor. Xiao Ji refused and imprisoned Yang's sons Yang Chongyong (楊崇顒) and Yang Chonghu (楊崇虎). In response, Yang surrendered his territory to Western Wei.

In winter 550, Xiao Ji departed Chengdu with his forces and headed east on the Yangtze River. Xiao Yi, suspicious of Xiao Ji's intentions, sent him letter to halt him, stating, "The people of Bashu 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 ." 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 Chengdu. Meanwhile, he sent the generals Yang Qianyun (楊乾運) and Qiao Yan (譙淹) against Yang Fachen. In spring 551, Yang Qianyun defeated Yang Fachen, dislodging him and forcing him to flee, but Yang Qianyun then withdrew without capturing Yang Fachen.

In summer 551, an event would cause the already uneasy relationship between Xiao Yi and Xiao Ji to grow even more strained. Xiao Ji's son Xiao Yuanzheng (蕭圓正) the Marquess of Jiang'an was the governor of Xiyang Commandery (roughly modern Huanggang, Hubei), and he enjoyed great support from the people, and his army had grown to 10,000-men strong. Xiao Yi became suspicious of him, and Xiao Yi bestowed him a general title. When Xiao Yuanzheng visited Jiangling (江陵, in modern Jingzhou, Hubei), the capital of Jing Province, to thank his uncle, Xiao Yi refused to see Xiao Yuanzheng, but instead had his cousin Xiao Ke (蕭恪) the Prince of Nanping treat him to a feast and get him drunk. Xiao Yi then put him under arrest inside Xiao Yi's mansion and seized his army, an act that angered Xiao Ji.

Also in summer 551, Hou Jing launched a major attack on Xiao Yi, and Xiao Yi, hoping for support from Western Wei, ordered his cousin Xiao Xun (蕭循) the Marquess of Yifeng, the governor of Liang Province (梁州, modern southern Shaanxi), to abandon the provincial capital Nanzheng (南鄭, in modern Hanzhong, Shaanxi) and cede Nanzheng to Western Wei. Xiao Xun disagreed with the decision, believing that cession to be without reason, but received no response from Xiao Yi. Meanwhile, Western Wei's paramount general Yuwen Tai, along with his generals Daxi Wu (達奚武) and Wang Xiong (王雄), launched a two-prongued attack on Nanzheng. Xiao Xun sent his secretary Liu Fan (劉璠) to seek aid from Xiao Ji, and Xiao Ji sent Yang Qianyun to assist Xiao Xun. Meanwhile, after hearing about the death of his older brother Emperor Jianwen at Hou's hands and Hou's subsequent seizure of the throne as the Emperor of Han, Xiao Ji, while rejecting his subordinate Liu Xiaosheng (劉孝勝)'s request to take the throne himself, began to produce wagons and clothing that were only appropriate for the emperor.