History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 1005: Han and thieves cannot coexist 1 "You are called Northern Han"

[Han and thieves cannot coexist 1 "You are the Northern Han"]

As early as the time of Chai Rong of the Later Zhou Dynasty, counselor Wang Pu proposed the strategic policy of "first the south and then the north, first the easy and then the difficult", which Chai Rong and Zhao Kuangyin also basically followed, but they all deviated slightly in the complex and ever-changing domestic and international situation, that is, they launched military operations against the Northern Han and Khitan in the north before the substantive unification of the south was completed. It was not until the accession of Emperor Taizong of Song, Zhao Guangyi, that he firmly implemented Comrade Wang Pu's "Longzhong Plan" and shifted the focus of work to the south. With the successive surrender of Chen Hongjin of Quanzhou and Qian Hongchu of Wuyue, the Song Dynasty completed the substantive unification of the south, and was only two steps away from the unification of the motherland: Jin (Northern Han) and You (Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun).

The Northern Han regime, one of the "Ten Kingdoms", was a very special existence. For example, it was the only separatist regime established in the north, and its real specialness was its strong claim to orthodoxy. Among the "Ten Kingdoms", only the Northern Han could confidently claim that it was the orthodox Central Plains, and that the Later Zhou and Song were both traitors to the Han Dynasty.

From the perspective of the Northern Han, Guo Wei of the Later Zhou was a traitor who usurped the Han Dynasty and his legal system was not legitimate, while Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty was also a traitor who usurped the Zhou Dynasty. Therefore, the Zhao Song group was a traitor among traitors, who tore down the thatched house to build a building - they were stinky from the beginning. The founding monarch of the Northern Han was "Uncle Liu" of the Later Han Dynasty. He was of good family background and although he lived in Taiyuan, he was the only legitimate heir to the only legitimate regime in the Central Plains (the Later Han Dynasty).

Therefore, no matter how great the disparity in comprehensive strength was, the Northern Han regime never reached any reconciliation with the Central Plains dynasty. During the Central Plains dynasty's southern expedition, the Northern Han regime kept sending troops to harass the Central Plains from behind, and even went against the will of its Khitan father and insisted on provoking the Central Plains.

Some people say that the Northern Han Dynasty was warlike and unrealistic.

The person who said this must not understand politics. Military is the continuation of politics. During the Three Kingdoms period, why did Shu Han, the weakest in overall strength, repeatedly challenge Cao Wei, the strongest? Zhuge Liang went to Qishan six times, and Jiang Wei went to the Central Plains nine times. Could it be that Zhuge Liang and Jiang Wei were also unrealistic?
Whether it was Shu Han's attack on Wei or Northern Han's attack on Zhou and Song, it was all out of political necessity, a manifestation and declaration of core values ​​and political correctness. Zhuge Liang clearly condensed this need into ten words in his "The Second Letter to the Emperor": "Han and thieves cannot coexist, and the king's cause cannot be half-hearted." Translated, it means "What is important is not to win, but to fight."

Only by continuously sending troops to attack the Central Plains can we prove that this Central Plains is not that Central Plains, and that your uncle is always your uncle. It doesn't matter if you live in a corner, the key is to shout all day long, "When the king's army conquers the Central Plains, don't forget to tell your father during the family sacrifice." Our Northern Han is the orthodox of China.

Moreover, continuous foreign wars can also divert sharp domestic conflicts, which is a buy one get one free gift.

During the period when Chai Rong and Zhao Kuangyin swept away the separatist regimes of the "Ten Kingdoms", the Northern Han Dynasty did a lot of small moves, which were basically mentioned briefly or even omitted in the previous article. In short, the Northern Han Dynasty never stopped harassing the Later Zhou Dynasty and the Song Dynasty, but the battle between the Northern Han Dynasty and the Central Plains Dynasty was like Liu Bei touching the electric switch - losing (uncle) Ma. Occasionally, they could take advantage of the Central Plains to rob and harass the northern border when the Central Plains was in charge of the south, but they would soon be invaded in retaliation, such as the brave general Comrade Jing Hanru. Sometimes the Central Plains border generals could even chase and kill them near Taiyuan City, giving the Northern Han a profound lesson.

When the Central Plains dynasty had time, they would also teach this disobedient child a lesson. For example, Chai Rong and Zhao Kuangyin almost destroyed the Northern Han Dynasty, but the Northern Han Dynasty was extremely lucky, and each time it was favored by fate at the most critical moment and managed to escape.

The Northern Han was like an indestructible cockroach. The more they fought, the less land and population they had, the worse their economy became, and their dependence on and debt to their Khitan father grew. But they would still stand on the border, "Come on, fight me." The Central Plains dynasty was fed up with it.

Now that the south has been settled, the Song Dynasty can finally focus its main attention on the north.

"You're called Bei Han?"

[Han and thieves cannot coexist 2 Strategic Deception]

This book mentions two old friends of the Central Plains people, one is Nanzhao, and the other is Khitan or Liao. However, Nanzhao was short-lived and soon flew away with the doomed Tang Dynasty, while Khitan remained loyal to the Central Plains from the end of the Tang Dynasty, throughout the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, and even sent off the Northern Song Dynasty.

Some people say, "No! Liao fell before the Northern Song. It should be the Northern Song that sent Liao away. The Han people in the Central Plains finally outlasted this old friend." This is a bit inaccurate, because the Khitan was not completely destroyed by the Jurchens. Under the leadership of the Khitan noble Yelu Dashi (the eighth-generation grandson of Yelu Abaoji), more than 200 Khitan cavalrymen fled to Khatun City (now in Mongolia) with the belief of restoring their country, and joined the Southern Song and Western Xia to continue to resist the Jin Dynasty, and established the "Western Liao" regime, and finally established themselves in today's Central Asia. The Western Liao regime lasted for about a hundred years, and after it, Khitan nobles established a regime in Persia, known as the "Later Western Liao" regime.

Putting aside all the controversies, we can roughly say that this old friend was steadfast and firmly accompanied us through the entire "Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms".

Until the Later Zhou Dynasty, the Khitans had always been an external force that could not be ignored. Their attitude had a significant impact on the situation in the Central Plains. For example, they supported the puppet regime of the Later Jin Dynasty and then killed it with their own hands. At least a whole generation of people in the Central Plains were terrified of the Khitans.

When the Khitan occupied the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, it was even more powerful, and it was able to control the Central Plains strategically. However, when the Five Dynasties came to an end, this once giant suddenly became a passerby. Not only did it turn a blind eye to the Central Plains' unification actions in the south, it even seemed powerless when facing the Central Plains dynasty's military actions against the Northern Han.

There are two main reasons for the Khitan's "paralysis". One is its own internal problems, namely the sequelae of the "Crossing Agreement" and the "Huoshendian Rebellion"; and the other is the epic strategic deception of the Central Plains dynasty.

As for the problems of the Khitan themselves, we will discuss them in detail in a special topic later in this article. Here we will focus on the major diplomatic achievement of the Central Plains dynasty - the strategic deception of the Khitan.

Although I call it deception, you must not be misled by this name and think that the people in the Central Plains fooled the Khitans with just their tongues.

Diplomacy is based on strength, and strength is reflected on the battlefield. As the saying goes, a weak country has no diplomacy, and what you can't get on the battlefield, you can't expect to get at the negotiation table.

Chai Rong's "conquering the Three Passes in the North" shattered the myth of the Khitan's invincibility and exposed their outer strength but inner weakness. The people of the Central Plains straightened their backs again and restored their long-lost confidence. More importantly, the Khitans actually began to fear the people of the Central Plains.

Although Comrade Chai Rong unfortunately fell ill and died during the journey, and the royal army hurriedly returned south, the fear brought to the Khitans by the Central Plains people lingered for three days. The fear in the hearts of the Khitans opened up a favorable situation for the Song Dynasty's diplomacy with the Liao Dynasty.

Zhao Kuangyin further deepened the reforms on the basis of Chai Rong's work. The overall national strength continued to increase. He also suppressed the civil strife at lightning speed and went deep into the heartland of Northern Han to smash, loot and burn. All signs indicated that the emerging Song Dynasty was even more terrible than Chai Rong's Later Zhou Dynasty and was a more terrifying existence.

This brings us to an important point in the previous article: In March 974, Liao and Song reconciled. Amid strong protests from Northern Han, Liao and Song shook hands and expressed their willingness to temporarily shelve disputes over sensitive issues such as Northern Han and the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, and to cooperate for mutual benefit. The two countries normalized diplomatic relations and entered a brief honeymoon period.

On the first day of the first lunar month of the following year (975), the Song Dynasty sent an envoy to the Liao Kingdom to congratulate the Liao Kingdom and wish it a happy new year. In April, an envoy from the Liao Kingdom returned the visit to the Song Dynasty. On the first day of the first lunar month of 4, the Song Dynasty again sent an envoy to congratulate the Liao Kingdom and wish it a happy birthday. In July, an envoy was sent to wish Emperor Jingzong of Liao a happy birthday. In November of the same year, the Song Dynasty again sent an envoy to inform the Liao Kingdom of an unfortunate news: Comrade Zhao Kuangyin left us too early.

The Liao Kingdom immediately sent high-ranking officials to the Song Dynasty to offer condolences and consolation, and also sent high-ranking officials to congratulate Emperor Taizong on his accession to the throne. Zhao Guangyi had a cordial meeting with the Liao envoys and expressed his willingness to maintain the hard-won friendship between the two countries. Peace is great, war is not!

(End of this chapter)