History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 1001 Qian Hongchu Donates Land

【Qian Hongchu Donates Land】

8 months, this was Zhao Guangyi’s good intention.

Qian Hongchu went to the court for the second time and arrived in the capital in March. The next month, Chen Hongjin of Quanzhou took the initiative to offer land, which was highly praised by the court. Chen Hongjin's entire family and his generals were generously rewarded. Qian Hongchu was shocked by the small Song Dynasty.

As mentioned above, it took half a year from the time Qian Hongchu released the news of his visit to the time he officially set off. During this half year, Qian Hongchu was not idle. He was busy preparing gifts for the visit. He was busy for half a year and packed up almost all the good things in the entire Wuyue Kingdom. The historical records say that "all the goods in the palace were transported, divided into fifty carriages." What good things were there? "Rhinoceros and elephants, brocade, gold and silver, pearls, tea and cotton, as well as clothing and utensils, more than tens of thousands of them."

All these things were used to bribe those in power, hoping that the ruler and ministers of the Song Dynasty would show mercy and allow him to return to his country as they did last time, "in order to make him want to return to his country, so they gave him generous tributes to please the court."

After arriving in Bianzhou, Qian Hongchu started to spend money lavishly. For example, once Zhao Guangyi invited Qian Hongchu to a banquet in the Imperial Garden. As soon as they met, Qian Hongchu presented "more than 3,000 taels of precious jade, gold and silver wine vessels, a rhinoceros belt, and six dragon, phoenix, turtle and fish belts" as a meeting gift. Zhao Guangyi was so excited that he took out a bow and arrow to cheer him up. Every time Zhao Guangyi hit a target, Qian Hongchu would present 300 taels of gold and silver as a gift. According to records, Zhao Guangyi hit six targets in one breath, and Qian Hongchu rewarded him with 1,800 taels of gold!

The civil and military officials of the Song Dynasty continued to submit secret memorials, asking Zhao Guangyi not to repeat his mistake and to detain Qian Hongchu. For example, Prime Minister Lu Duosun submitted more than 30 memorials, advising Zhao Guangyi not to miss the opportunity.

Faced with the advice of his ministers, Zhao Guangyi smiled and said nothing, and did not express his opinion.

Calmness comes from self-confidence, which is based on the support of one's own strength and the blessing of external conditions. Zhao Guangyi is playing a big game, and everything is under his control.

He enthusiastically tried to keep Chen Hongjin for eight months. After Qian Hongchu came to Beijing, he finally got the chance to perform. We even have reason to believe that Zhao Guangyi and Chen Hongjin had some kind of secret agreement or tacit understanding, and the two wanted to perform a duet for Qian Hongchu.

In April, when Chen Hongjin surrendered and offered his land, Qian Hongchu was indeed panicked.

Zhao Guangyi invited him to drink in Chongde Hall, and then held a family banquet in the Imperial Garden, inviting only Qian Hongchu and his eldest son Qian Weijun. The next day, Qian Hongchu presented a letter of thanks, in which he wrote, "The Imperial Garden is deep and profound, and I miss the ministers who cannot reach it. The emperor's face is so close, and only father and son are as close as each other." This can be said to be a double entendre, which translates to "Great, glorious and correct comrade Zhao Guangyi, you are closer to me than my own father! I will definitely serve you like my own son, father, let your grandson go home."

A few days later, Zhao Guangyi hosted a banquet for Qian Hongchu at the imperial villa in the southern suburbs. Qian Hongchu presented countless gold and silver wine vessels as a token of his gratitude, and the banquet lasted until the evening.

As the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end, but this is not true for Zhao Guangyi. He has big banquets every three, six, and nine days, small banquets every day, and he can't get enough of the revolutionary wine...

After returning to the Lixianzhai Hotel where he stayed, Qian Hongchu frowned and paced back and forth in the room. He counted with his fingers and realized that the Song Dynasty should send the guests away. He counted again and realized that the money he brought was almost spent. What was Zhao's plan? He didn't really want that, did he? So he quickly submitted a petition to test the situation. The general idea was that he planned to disband all the military forces of Wuyue State and resign from the position of "Grand Marshal of the Army of the World". At the same time, he "begged for a name", resigned from the privilege of being honored without a name, and only asked for mercy to allow him to return to Hangzhou.

Zhao Guangyi smiled slightly, "The emperor does not allow it." Sorry, I can't sell it at this price. Qian Hongchu was on pins and needles and dragged it until May. Cui Renji, the prime minister of Wuyue State who accompanied him, finally couldn't hold it in anymore and said, "Your Majesty, are you really confused or are you pretending to be confused?"

"what do you mean……"

"My Lord, this is not my intention, this is clearly Zhao Guangyi's intention: surrender quickly, otherwise, disaster will befall you!"

Finally, someone poked the window paper. Qian Hongchu frowned and continued to pace back and forth. The ministers around him shouted that it was not possible. One said that the ancestral foundation should not be easily abandoned. Another said that how could the lord face the former king in the future? One said that we are willing to die to save the country. Another said that Zhao Guangyi would definitely be like Zhao Kuangyin, and would not dare to bear the infamy of being a shameless person for thousands of years, and would definitely let us go back...

Cui Renji was furious and shouted: "The situation today is that I am the fish on the chopping board. I am thousands of miles away from my country. I can only fly away with wings!"

Fight, what can you fight with? This is not just a matter of life and death for you and me, but the life and death of millions of people in Liangzhe. How can it be a joke? Putting aside the honor and disgrace of one clan in exchange for the happiness and well-being of the people of the world, there is no greater good!

Qian Hongchu finally found his footing and waved his hand, "Cui Renji stays, the rest of you can leave."

All the ministers knew that he was determined to surrender. Some of them breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that their lives and property were protected, while others cried bitterly, being forced to accept the reality of the country's demise.

Under Cui Renji's polishing, Qian Hongchu submitted a memorial to offer his country and territories. The memorial was concise and to the point. After briefly praising the Song Dynasty, the key point came: offering the thirteen prefectures under his control.

Zhao Guangyi was overjoyed, so he received the court in the Qianyuan Hall and accepted the Wuyue Kingdom without any hesitation.

Qian Hongchu had a strong executive ability. It was not until he presented the memorial that the officials and colleagues who accompanied him (except Cui Renji) learned the news from the hot search list, so "more than a thousand people cried and said: 'Our king will not return!'"

The Song army won the battle without bloodshed, and gained one army, 13 prefectures, 86 counties, 556,080 households, and 115,036 soldiers.

Zhao Guangyi ordered to promote Yangzhou to Huaihai State, and changed Qian Hongchu's title to King of Huaihai, and appointed him as Grand Tutor, Minister of the Chancellery and Secretary of the Central Secretariat, with a fief of 10,000 households and an actual fief of 1,000 households. He still served as the Grand Marshal of the Army of the World, and changed the title to "Meritorious Minister of Ninghuai, Zhenhai, Chongwen, Yaowu, Xuande and Shoudao"... His brothers Qian Hongyi and Qian Hongxin were both Inspectors, and his sons Qian Weijun and Qian Weizhi were both Jiedushi. The rest of his sons and officials also received titles and rewards, which need not be listed in detail.

Thanks to my old friends "江湖留白" and "书友20190611095944789" for their monthly ticket support! Read thousands of books and travel thousands of miles. This afternoon, I started my Spring Festival holiday travel for a week. I will update after I come back next week. Please forgive me. At the same time, I wish all book friends a happy Year of the Dragon!


(End of this chapter)