The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 408 Xue Juzheng enters Jiangning
On the day Xue Juzheng entered Beijing, the streets in Jiangning City were deserted.

The nascent Great Zhou Dynasty was unfamiliar to the people in Jiangnan. According to rumors widely circulated in Jiangnan, the Great Zhou Dynasty was established by Guo Wei, the powerful Han official in Hebei, who was left behind by Situ, Privy Envoy and Yedu at the time.

As for the reason why Guo Wei usurped the throne, it goes without saying.

An Chongrong's famous saying that is popular all over the world: "The emperor, if he has strong soldiers and horses, he would rather have the seed!" can explain everything.

Born in the troubled times of the Five Dynasties, when changing emperors were like changing revolving lanterns, no matter whether it was south of the Yangtze or north of the Yangtze, if you had not experienced the change of dynasties, there might be only one reason: short life.
Therefore, the establishment of the Great Zhou Dynasty was not a huge impact news for the people of the world. They all regarded this political turmoil and change as another epitome of troubled times.

But the knowledgeable people in the world can see the subtle changes.

The founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty almost succeeded Liu Han's empire without any bloodshed. Except for Liu Chong who separatized Taiyuan, the rest of the towns, prefectures and counties were almost decided by proclamation.

A few years ago, when Liu Zhiyuan went south from Taiyuan and marched into Kaifeng, he held high the banner of expelling the Khitans and won the hearts of the people. Only one feudal leader in Hebei, Du Chongwei, rebelled and was executed.

The two founding processes were surprisingly smooth compared to the past. There were almost no resistance in the large and small vassal towns in the Central Plains, Guanzhong, Hebei and other places.

This was unthinkable before.

Ever since Huang Chao bloodbathed Chang'an, burned down the Daming Palace, and completely destroyed the last trace of dignity of the Tang Dynasty, the warlords in the world have completely broken free from the shackles of imperial power. Whoever has soldiers and food will be the Caotou King.

Zhu Wen destroyed the Tang Dynasty, and Li Ke used Li Cunxu and his son to separatize Hebei, proclaimed himself emperor in Weizhou, and competed with Zhu Liang for supremacy in the Central Plains.

Shi Jingtang used Khitan soldiers to destroy the Tang Dynasty, which made all the feudal lords and towns all over the world feel deeply ashamed. Rebels came one after another. Wu Luan, the judge of Beizhou Jiedu, vowed not to surrender. He fought with the Khitan soldiers in the city and finally died by throwing himself into a well.

Fan Yanguang, the governor of the Tianxiong Army, Zhang Congbin, the inspector of Weizhou, and An Chongrong, the governor of the Chengde Army, Shi Jin Dynasty, there were endless rebels.

Without the help of his godfather Yelu Deguang, his godson Shi Jingtang would not have been able to secure the throne in Kaifeng.

However, since Liu Zhiyuan founded the country, there have been fewer and fewer incidents of rebellion in the feudal towns, military and financial power has been increasingly concentrated in the central government, and the authority of the imperial court has become increasingly stronger.

This is the result of the centralization of power by those in power in the past dynasties, and it is also the spontaneous choice of the people all over the world suffering from wars.

It has been nearly a hundred years since Qiu Fu rebelled in eastern Zhejiang in the 13th year of Emperor Xuanzong's reign in the Tang Dynasty, ushering in the chaos of the late Tang Dynasty.

After a hundred years of chaos, the people all over the world have suffered.

Nearly 50 years have passed since Zhu Liang replaced Tang Dynasty. By now, the Great Zhou Dynasty has been established, and it has experienced the rise and fall of five dynasties.

Compared with the chaotic late Tang Dynasty, when the emperor's destiny was regarded as child's play and the dark ages of chaos and chaos in the world, the Five Dynasties period was an era when the central court was more authoritative.

Every dynasty change is a major evolution of centralization.

The power of feudal towns gradually withdrew from the stage of history in the process of evolution.

Kufan ​​has been in the world for a long time.

The people gradually realized that the decline of the vassal power and the central government was the source of trouble. The biggest enemy of the Han Dynasty was always the vagrants outside the Great Wall.

Today, the new Zhou Dynasty dominates the north, separated from the Tang Dynasty occupying the south of the Yangtze River by the Huai River.

No matter whether it is Meng Shu who lives in Chengdu, Wu Yue who is shrinking in eastern Zhejiang, or the lingering Southern Chu, the Southern Han who is locked up in Lingnan, or Nanping who is narrowly living in Jingnan, it is difficult to intervene in the world's orthodoxy battle.

The struggle for hegemony between Zhou and Tang will determine the ownership of the world.

As an envoy of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the special envoy representative of Zhou Lord Guo Wei, Xue Juzheng naturally caused a stir in the city when he entered Jiangning City.

Guo Wei was the iron-blooded handsome man who conquered the Khitan in the north. In the eyes of the people of Jiangning, the Great Zhou Dynasty naturally had an innate iron-blooded and strong temperament.

The people of Jiangning treated the envoys from the Northern Dynasty with extremely complicated emotions, with curiosity mixed with a little fear, not to mention hostility and dissatisfaction.

It is said that the people of the Northern Dynasties were brave and good at fighting. On the one hand, they had to fight against the Khitan barbarians who drank blood, and on the other hand, they had to deal with the war in the feudal towns. The men grew up tempered in blood and fire since childhood.

Since the founding of the country by the great ancestor Li Min, Jiangnan has experienced no major wars in the past fourteen or five years. Culture and education have prospered, agriculture and commerce have developed, and society has become more stable.

In the few foreign wars, when they destroyed Fujian and attacked Chu, they used the big to fight the small, the strong to fight the weak. After the victory, they were praised by the Tang court. The people in Jiangnan inevitably misjudged the Tang army's combat power.

On Zhuque Street, which runs from the north to the south of Jiangning City, there were crowds of people. The people of Jiangning were looking forward to the procession of envoys from the Great Zhou Dynasty slowly entering the city.

Xue Juzheng did not ride in a car, but rode into the city.

He is dressed in a crimson official uniform and wears a round-topped short straight-legged turban. He is sitting upright on the back of a horse, holding a rein in one hand and a talisman in the other.

The talisman in his hand is a three-foot-long flag. The pole is covered with gold and copper leaves, which is gorgeous and beautiful. The flag is made of nine pieces of red silk, with a gold-coated copper dragon head on the top, which is majestic and noble.

The people of Jiangning who were watching crowded on both sides of the long street. Soldiers from the Sixth Army of the Forbidden Army had already lined up along both sides of the long street, clearing the road for the envoys of the Great Zhou Dynasty to enter the city.

The crowd whispered that the Northern Dynasty envoy was completely inconsistent with the terrifying image of the green-faced fang in the rumors. His clear and serious appearance looked more like those stereotyped old scholars in the Imperial Academy.

The people of Jiangning were watching and discussing, and Xue Juzheng was also secretly observing the scenery of Jiangning.

The people of Jiangning gave him the feeling of being more casual and casual, unlike the people living in Kaifeng City who were always alert and always acted cautiously.

The clothes and mental state of the people on the streets also looked better than those in Kaifeng, and the atmosphere in the entire capital became peaceful.

The architectural styles in the city are similar. It has been managed by two generations of the Li family. The buildings are lined up in rows. There are red lanterns hanging high in the large hook-and-rail tile shops, and the traffic is bustling and bustling.

Generally speaking, Jiangning City is much more prosperous than Kaifeng City.

Xue Juzheng sighed in his heart. Kaifeng City had been the capital of the Northern Dynasties since Shi Jingtang moved the capital. Every time there was a change of dynasties, Kaifeng City would inevitably become the center of a storm. There were too many traces of war and burning, which was not comparable to the decades of peace that Jiangning City had enjoyed.

On either side of Xue Juzheng were Sun Sheng, the minister of Dali Temple, and Zha Wenhui, the privy envoy. As representatives of the Tang Dynasty, and Li Jing, the special envoy, they went out of the city to greet the envoys of the Zhou Dynasty.

"I wonder which city is more lively between Jiangning City and Kaifeng City?" Zha Wenhui asked with a smile while twirling his beard, his tone unable to conceal his pride.

Xue Juzheng smiled lightly and said, neither humble nor arrogant: "Jiangning City has developed water transportation and commerce. Kaifeng City has experienced wars for a long time, so naturally it cannot be compared."

"Haha~ I believe that under the rule of Emperor Zhou, Kaifeng City will reach the size of Jiangning City today within ten years." Zha Wenhui said with a smile.Xue Juzheng glanced at him and said with a smile: "The people of Kaifeng may not be as good at doing business and prospering the capital as the people of your capital.

However, in the 13th year of Tianfu, Emperor Yelu Deguang of Liao besieged Kaifeng with heavy troops. The people of Kaifeng spontaneously gathered to defend the city. If the traitor Zhang Yanze had not been an internal collaborator and the deposed emperor Shi Chonggui ordered the city to surrender, Kaifeng would never have been conquered in a short time.

In that battle, tens of thousands of people in Kaifeng suffered casualties, all of them ordinary young men who had never received any training.
I wonder if Jiangning City faced a similar situation and was besieged by heavy Khitan Hulu troops, how many days would your court be able to sustain it?Can the people of Jiangning fight to the end against foreign enemies with a determination to die? "

Zha Wenhui's expression changed slightly, he snorted coldly and said nothing.

Sun Sheng sighed: "The Han people in the north have been suffering from the Khitan for a long time, especially the soldiers and people in Hebei. If they had not resisted desperately, the mountains and rivers in the Central Plains would have been overturned under the iron hoofs of the Khitan. If the Han in the north were destroyed, how could the south of the Yangtze River be spared?

The two countries should join hands to fight against the Khitan. "

Xue Juzheng looked at him in surprise, there are not many people in the Southern Dynasty who can say such things.

Zha Wenhui ridiculed: "If the Khitan invades the south, the Lord of Zhou can learn from Shi Jingtang and ask Emperor Yelu Ruan of the Liao Dynasty to give him a wooden staff. From then on, the Zhou Dynasty can rely on the Khitan and sit back and relax!"
When Liu Zhiyuan raised his troops, it was not by surrendering to the Khitans that he was able to deceive Yelu Deguang and gain the opportunity to take over Kaifeng."

Xue Juzheng's face turned cold, and Sun Sheng also frowned.

What Zha Wenhui said was too ugly.

Khitan nobles have a tradition of giving wooden staffs to their trusted ministers and heirs to represent power and status.

When Shi Jingtang recognized his godfather, Yelu Deguang gave him a wooden stick painted with gold.

When Liu Zhiyuan started his army, he pretended to surrender to the Khitan, and Yelu Deguang also gave him a wooden staff.

Xue Juzheng retorted sternly: "Private Cha's statement is really ridiculous!

My Lord assists Emperor Gaozu of Liu Han in taking over Kaifeng, and pretending to submit to the Khitan is just an expedient measure. The so-called war is never tired of deceit, but it is just a way of using troops!

Privy Council Cha was also the commander-in-chief who led troops to destroy the Fujian Kingdom. Unexpectedly, he could not even see this.

In the first year of Qianyou's reign, my lord served as the marching capital of Hebei Province, commanded the army to sit in Hebei, and drove the Khitan Hulu back to the north of Jixian County. The Khitan people were frightened when they heard my lord's name!
Our founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty was an act of obeying the will of heaven and the people to bring order to order. The Khitan people regard our lord as their close enemy. They have stationed heavy troops in the north of Hutuo River all year round, but they have not dared to take a step south yet.

During the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Holy Emperor was on the throne, and all the subjects of the world returned to their hearts. Hundreds of thousands of tiger warriors swore allegiance to the death. One day, it was inevitable to conquer the Khitan in the north, recover the sixteen states of Yanyun, and keep the barbarians outside the Great Wall!
I dare to ask Privy Councilor Cha, you are a Privy Councilor, in charge of military affairs, and you are also a famous commander passed down by the people in the south of the Yangtze River. If you are asked to lead an army to resist the Khitans, how confident are you?

You are also a Chinese citizen with Han ancestry. How much contribution did you make to the great cause of fighting against the Northern invaders? "

Zha Wenhui was left speechless by the rhetorical question, his face was full of embarrassment, and he gritted his teeth and argued: "In a certain generation, he was an official in the south of the Yangtze River and never set foot in the north of the Yangtze River. Naturally, he has never fought against the Khitans."

Xue Juzheng said coldly: "Then please, Privy Cha, please stop watching the fire from the other side and talk without hesitation! If you want to know the strength of the Khitan cavalry, it's very simple. Privy Cha can report to the Lord of the Tang Dynasty and personally lead an army to Hebei. Next year, he will go to court with us." Yedu soldiers and horses marched north to attack Liao!
As long as Privy Cha can defeat the Khitan troops and make great contributions by beheading generals and seizing the flag, my Lord will not hesitate to reward him! "

Zha Wenhui was speechless, his face flushed and he asked: "A certain official of the Tang Dynasty, how can he lead his army to Hebei to participate in the war?"

Just kidding, Zha Wenhui knows his own weight. He has no problem attacking the small and poor Southern Chu and Fujian countries. But if he is asked to lead his army to Hebei to deal with the ferocious Khitan people, he will not have the ability and courage.

Sun Sheng was shocked and asked: "Will Lord Zhou conquer Liao next year?"

Xue Juzheng twirled his beard and smiled, but remained silent.

As a result, both Zha Wenhui and Sun Sheng believed that the news he just revealed was most likely true.

Dazhou will send troops to conquer Liao next year!

Sun Sheng was so excited that tears filled his eyes. For many years, the Han people in the Central Plains had only been passively beaten when facing the Khitans in Liaodong. How could they dare to take the initiative to provoke them!

If Zhou sent troops to attack Liao, regardless of victory or defeat, this news alone would be enough to inspire people.

"His Majesty the Emperor of the Zhou Dynasty is indeed a great hero!"

Sun Sheng held his hands in admiration and said, "If the Zhou Dynasty invades the Liao Dynasty, Sun will be willing to ask my lord to support you with money, food, and armor!"

"Thank you!" Xue Juzheng nodded and said nothing more.

Given the Tang Dynasty's selfish nature, it would be better not to take the opportunity to send troops to Huaibei when the time comes. We don't dare to expect Li Jing and his ministers to provide money and food to support the cause of conquering the Liao Dynasty.

"Hmph~ You don't overestimate your capabilities!" Zha Wenhui turned his head and muttered softly, but did not dare to let Xue Juzheng hear him.

He had just learned about this person's tongue, it was extremely sharp, and he didn't want to provoke him again.

While talking, the team of envoys came to Honglu Temple, where Xue Juzheng would stay, waiting for the imperial court to meet with the Lord of the Tang Dynasty, Li Jing, in two days.

Zhu Xiu also wore a scarlet official uniform and waited in front of the gate of Honglu Temple for a long time.

Seeing Sun Sheng and Zha Wenhui seeing Xue Juzheng arriving, they hurried forward to greet him and said with cupped hands: "Xue Gong has been working hard all the way. You and I are both strangers in a foreign land. We gather together in Jiangning today, just like family reunion!"

Xue Juzheng seemed much calmer, smiled, cupped his hands and said: "Dingyuan Marquis, you are well and well!"

Zhu Xiu blinked, and Xue Juzheng's eyes were meaningful. He instantly understood that this guy also came with the emperor's order, and Uncle Guo had a decree for him.

Sun Sheng smiled and said: "You two have a good rest. In two days' time, the great court meeting in Taiji Hall will be summoned by our Lord, the Emperor."

"Thank you, Lord Sun Temple."

Zhu Xiu and Xue Juzheng saluted, Zha Wenhui snorted coldly, turned his head and left with a flick of his sleeves.

Watching Sun and Cha leave, Zhu Xiu said with a smile: "It seems that Duke Xue has already fought against the Tang officials in advance, and he has the upper hand."

Xue Juzheng twirled his beard and said, "I heard that Marquis Dingyuan is also quite good at debating. Why don't we discuss it someday?"

"Haha~ It's a deal!"

Zhu Xiu laughed. It seemed that this guy was quite confident in his verbal skills.

(End of this chapter)