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

After the review, Liu Jian accompanied Liu Yao back to the middle position. Some of the other ministers and generals accompanied Liu Yao, and some stood in front of their own soldiers. Everyone was looking towards the east. Less than half an hour later, they saw dust flying in the east, and a group of people and horses stretching for several miles from far to near, walking towards Suyi. As the team got closer, Liu Yao and others saw that it was Jin Ming, Jin Kang, as well as some civil and military ministers such as Qiao Tai and Wang Teng. When they were still dozens of steps away from Liu Yao, these people got off their horses and trotted to Liu Yao.

"Your Majesty, Jin Ming and others have come to surrender! Looking forward to receiving it! Long live our emperor! Long live! Long live!"Jin Ming and others knelt down in front of Liu Yao. Liu Yao looked at Jin Ming and others with disdain and asked:"Jin Ming, how many of you are here in total?"

"Returning to Your Majesty, I am leading more than 3,000 soldiers, followed by more than 10,000 civilians. The people were all bringing their families with them, so they were still walking behind."Jin Ming kneeled on the ground and said tremblingly. Jin Ming, Jin Kang and others did not dare to raise their heads, they just looked at the ground in front of their knees.

"Jin Ming and Jin Zhun were important ministers of the Han Dynasty. Although they committed major crimes such as murdering the late emperor, they made great contributions to the country. If you and Jin Zhun had come to seek refuge with me, how would you be today? How can Shi Le become bigger?"Liu Yao said angrily. Jin Ming quickly defended:"Your Majesty, it was all done by Jin Kang, Qiao Tai, and Wang Teng, and it is none of my business!"

"Haha, it's none of your business. You have become the master, and it is none of your business to pass all the responsibilities onto others! Liu Yao sneered and said:"If you don't have long-term worries, you must have immediate worries." A person without farsightedness still wants to be a king or a lord and command the world!"

Jin Ming and others were kneeling to listen to Liu Yao's reprimand, and a long group of people came from the east. Liu Yao and others looked at the getting closer and closer, and Butai said:"Your Majesty, these are the common people."

More than 10,000 Pingyang men and women, old and young, came to the open space, knelt down and saluted Liu Yao. Several old men who were relatively close to Liu Yao said:"Your Majesty, we are all Pingyang people. I have had enough of the chaos of war in recent years and am willing to live a peaceful life with His Majesty."

After listening to the words of several old men, Liu Yao felt sad. Liu Yao said loudly:"Folks in Pingyang, you are innocent victims. From now on, as long as you support me, you will be a good citizen!"

More than 10,000 people in Pingyang stood up one after another. At this time, the sound of horse hooves coming closer and closer came from the east. As we got closer, it turned out that the troops led by General Liu Chang, who went to Pingyang to meet Jin Ming, returned..Liu Chang and several generals came to Liu Yao, knelt down and saluted:"Your Majesty, I have brought back the people of Jin Ming and Pingyang. I will hand over my orders at the end!""

"Very good, dear ladies, please rise up and speak."Liu Yao said. Liu Chang said:"Your Majesty, Shi Le's three-way army has occupied Pingyang. After entering the city, they sent an army out of the west gate to pursue Jin Ming and his party members. In order to protect the people of Pingyang, we had no choice but to walk behind them"

"You guys are doing great, lining up on both sides! Liu Yao said again.

Looking at Jin Ming and others who had been kneeling on the ground, Liu Yao asked Butai and others:"People like Jin Ming and Jin Kang kill each other and seek glory from their sellers. How should we deal with them?""

"kill!"Butai and others said in unison. When Jin Ming and others heard that they were going to be killed, they kowtowed and begged like pounding garlic:"Please have mercy on us, Your Majesty, please let us go!""

"Let you go? If you, the Jin family, had not been hesitant; if you had surrendered to me earlier, I would not have wandered to Suyi. If you had persuaded Jin Zhun to surrender earlier, I would be the one sitting in the Guangji Hall now, not Shi Le!"Liu Yao said:"The generals will listen to the order and arrest all the Jin clan members, regardless of age or gender, and kill them all!"

Jin Ming, Jin Kang, their wives, concubines, children, relatives and more than a hundred people from the Jin clan were all tied up. Under the escort of hundreds of soldiers, they were all beheaded in the eastern suburbs of Suyi. Liu Yao watched Looking at Qiao Tai, Wang Teng and others who were still kneeling on the ground, these generals under Jin Ming quickly thanked them and said,"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty, for not killing me!

Liu Yao said:"You people are Jin Ming's accomplices, but considering that you are forced to obey Jin Ming and have put in a lot of hard work to defend Pingyang, I will let you go." Now is the time for the country to employ people. I hope you will change your mind and serve your country well."

"I am sure, I will definitely change my mind!" Qiao Tai, Wang Teng and others said.

Liu Yao then said to Butai:"Master Butai, please sort out the roster of officials and generals of the old dynasty. I will continue to hire anyone who has the ability. The soldiers and people who came from Pingyang made separate registers and recorded their names. In the future, we will be given houses and fields to live and work in peace and contentment."

"I obey the decree!" Butai agreed. When the soldiers and people who followed Jin Ming heard the news, they burst into tears with joy. They knelt down and said,"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After Shi Le captured Pingyang, he led some soldiers to garrison in Pushang. Inside and outside Pingyang City, Zhi Xiong and others led the troops to garrison. Zhang Bin, Shi Hu and other civil and military ministers came to persuade him to move in. There were many ministers and generals on Shi Le's desk. Shi Le glanced at these letters of persuasion and said to them:"Pingyang City is not a place for us Jie people to become emperor and succeed to the throne. The land of Longxing for us Jie people is in the State of Xiang. Pingyang experienced two emperors, Emperor Guangwen of the Han Dynasty (Liu Yuan) and Emperor Zhaowu of the Han Dynasty (Liu Cong), and also experienced the Rebellion of Jin Zhun and the Disaster of Jin Ming. Most of the people fled in all directions, and some followed Jin Ming. Now we will return to Pingyang immediately and send troops to completely burn down the Pingyang Palace and Guangji Hall, leaving nothing to Liu Yao. In addition, the armillary sphere for astronomical observation and some musical instruments for playing court music should be moved to Xiangguo."

Shi Hu led his troops and rushed to Pingyang first. Shi Le, Zhang Bin and other civil and military ministers then set foot on the road back to Pingyang from Pushang. Entering Pingyang City, Shi Le saw billowing smoke covering the sky. Shi Hu was commanding His soldiers burned the palace and Guangji Hall. Looking at the devastated and ruined Pingyang City, Shi Le said:"Jin Zhun destroyed the tombs of Emperors Liu Yuan and Liu Cong, which was too much. More than 800 years ago, in order to vent his hatred, Wu Zixu not only teamed up with Sun Wu to attack Yingdu, the capital of Chu State, but also brought Chu State to the edge of destruction. Wu Zixu also dug up King Chu Ping's tomb, beat King Chu Ping's body with three hundred lashes, and even blinded his eyes. Compared with Wu Zixu, Jin Zhun was even worse. For the sake of the entire Liu family's Han Kingdom, I helped the two late emperors and massacred tens of thousands of Han people. I wonder if the fate of the Shi clan will be the same as that of the Liu clan in the future."

After hearing Shi Le talk about so many cases of retribution, no one could figure out Shi Le's intention, so no one spoke. Shi Le then said to the two generals following him, Pei Xian and Shi Hui:"Two generals, Pei Xian and Shi Hui, Please send your soldiers to repair the tombs of the two emperors. The scattered corpses of Liu Can and other Liu clans must also be collected and properly buried."