History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 1016 How the Steel Was Tempered 2
In December of that year (980, the fifth year of Taiping Xingguo), the vanguard of the southern expeditionary army, led by Prince Xiaoyao Hou Renbao, encountered the enemy and achieved gratifying results, defeating more than 12 bandits and beheading of them, thus making a good start.

In March of the following year (981), the Song army and Jiaozhou forces once again engaged in fierce fighting at the Bach Dang River, sparking the Song Dynasty version of the "Battle of the Bach Dang River."

Bai Tengjiang seems to be born with the attribute of defeating the Central Plains.

At the beginning of the battle, the Song army achieved the first success, defeating more than 15,000 bandits, beheading more than 1,000 people, capturing 200 warships and more than 10,000 armors. If the pace had continued, the carefree prince Hou Renbao would have really recovered Jiaozhou in one fell swoop, re-established the "Annan Protectorate" for the court, and become a national hero who would be remembered forever.

However, the instigator, Lu Dosun, only wanted to be remembered for eternity rather than leave a name behind, so as we expected, he only needed to do a few small moves behind the scenes.

According to the deployment, Hou Renbao led the vanguard, and Sun Quanxing and others led the main force. Hou Renbao lived up to expectations and achieved impressive results in succession, gaining a lot of gains and defeating Jiaozhou. However, the main force of the Song army was late, and Hou Renbao did not dare to advance alone, so he contacted the back row, "We have few people in the group battle."

Sun Quanxing's reply was "Don't start the group, wait until everyone is gathered." Sun Quanxing insisted on waiting for Liu Cheng's troops to gather with him, and then together with Hou Renbao at the front line, and he waited for a full 70 days! During this period, Hou Renbao sent people to urge him many times, but Sun Quanxing and others refused all of them, saying that as long as everyone was gathered, I would wait until the end of time.

Better late than absent, after more than 70 days of stagnation, Hou Renbao finally waited for the main force. The army advanced to Duolo Village by water, without encountering any enemy soldiers. Then, a major loophole appeared in the Song army: whether it was intentional or a real mistake, Sun Quanxing and others actually led the troops back to the previous gathering place without informing Hou Renbao, and the history books said "returned without authorization".

Just as Hou Renbao in the front row was about to start a team fight, Da Qiao behind him called back to city, and four teammates all rushed back to the fountain. Hou Renbao was completely unaware of this and was simply setting his teammates up for dead.

At the same time, Jiaozhou lured Hou Renbao into the deeper areas by means of false surrender. In this way, the free and easy master Hou Renbao died for his country with the tacit cooperation of his great opponent and stupid teammates.

The vanguard of the Song army fled to the rear. The first two soldiers who escaped back smashed, looted and burned in the downtown area and were beheaded by the transport envoy Zhou Wei. In order to prevent the spread of panic and to maintain local public order, Zhou Wei ordered the defeated soldiers to disarm outside the city first and receive ideological education before entering the city. Under Zhou Wei's overall planning, the local area did not suffer the impact of the defeat.

Afterwards, the frontline troops reported to the court that an epidemic had broken out on the front line, "the troops were suffering from malaria", and they had suffered a defeat and suffered heavy losses. Their spiritual leader, comrade Hou Renbao, had also died, and their morale was low. They suggested retreating and requested instructions. However, before the court's reply, the army had already withdrawn to the border (Yongzhou), and opened the local treasury without authorization, misappropriated public funds to reward the troops, and misappropriated important strategic materials such as granaries and medical warehouses.

Faced with the obstruction of local officials, they argued: "If we had waited for the court to reply, these tens of thousands of people would have starved to death or died of disease!" Then the generals jointly submitted a memorial to the court, reporting the situation and begging the court to punish them.

The imperial court fully affirmed their actions and praised them in an imperial edict. However, although they flexibly saved the remaining troops, they still had to be held accountable for the defeat in the Battle of Bach Dang River.

After research, the organization decided that Liu Cheng, Jia Xi, and Wang Zhen were executed on the spot (Wang Zhen died of illness before the verdict, and only Liu and Jia were beheaded in Yongzhou); Sun Quanxing and others were imprisoned, awaiting further trial by the military court. After the trial, Sun Quanxing was also sentenced to death; Chen Qinzuo, Hao Shoujun, and Cui Liang were demoted and sent out. Hou Renbao was posthumously awarded the title of Minister of Works, and his two sons, Hou Yanling and Hou Yanshi, were employed as officials by the court.

When an avalanche occurs, no snowflake is innocent. It is hard to say whether Liu Cheng, Sun Quanxing and others were instigated by Lu Duosun to cause Hou Renbao's defeat and death. If so, the person who advocated killing Liu Cheng and Sun Quanxing and posthumously awarding Hou Renbao a title should be Lu Duosun!
The reason is actually very simple. In name, it was Lu Dosun who recommended Hou Renbao. If Hou Renbao is denied, it is equivalent to denying Lu Dosun, which means Lu Dosun should bear joint liability, at least he failed to recommend him. If Hou Renbao is packaged as a hero, then Liu Cheng, Sun Quanxing and others need to be blamed. In this way, Lu Dosun can get away with it.

In fact, Liu Cheng, Sun Quanxing and others, like Hou Renbao, were innocent cannon fodder in political struggles and victims of power games.

Why didn't Zhao Pu deny Hou Renbao and hit Lu Duosun? Because once Hou Renbao was recognized as a martyr, his descendants would be treated as martyrs, such as his two sons being recommended as civil servants. Maybe Zhao Pu had to admit defeat in this round out of guilt or helplessness.

Finally, let's go back to Hou Renbao's family background. His father has appeared many times in the previous part of this book - Hou Yi. Hou Yi first joined Li Keyong's account and made many achievements in the first landing. Li Cunxu once bandaged his wounds personally. Later, he followed Li Siyuan to fight against Zhao Zaili, a rebel in Weizhou. When "Mingzong entered Wei", Hou Yi couldn't bear to betray Li Cunxu, so he fled back to Beijing and stood on Li Cunxu's side. After Li Siyuan became emperor, Hou Yi tied himself up and asked to die. Li Siyuan patted his back to comfort him and still used him. During Li Siyuan's period, Hou Yi participated in almost all important rebellion wars, such as the pacification of Zhu Shouyin and Wangdu. However, after Li Siyuan's death, Hou Yi refused an important rebellion-the rebellion of Lu Wang Li Congke, and thus gained Li Congke's trust.

After Shi Jingtang proclaimed himself emperor, Fan Yanguang of Weizhou and Zhang Congbin of Heyang rebelled. Hou Yi once again took on the heavy responsibility of suppressing the rebellion. He first killed Zhang Congbin and then forced Fan Yanguang to surrender, making great contributions to the Later Jin Dynasty. He was promoted to the commander-in-chief of the Western Route Army and stationed in Qinzhou.

However, not long after, a border general surrendered to Hou Shu and turned against the empire's western frontier as a guide. Hou Yi, on the one hand, petitioned the court for reinforcements, and on the other hand, wrote to Hou Shu saying that he also wanted to surrender. Shi Chonggui was unsure whether Hou Yi really wanted to defect or was just a delaying tactic, so he moved Hou Yi inland based on the principle of not using a person he doubted.

When Liao conquered the Later Jin, Hou Yi went to Beijing to meet Yelu Deguang and said that he did not participate in the "Jin-Liao War". The Eight Route Army was wrong, and the good people asked the emperor to see it clearly. Yelu Deguang expressed his trust in him and appointed him as the governor of Fengxiang.

Soon, the Liao army retreated, and Liu Zhiyuan proclaimed himself emperor and founded a new country. Hou Yi was worried about being liquidated because he accepted the appointment of the Liao Kingdom, and he was uneasy. Meng Chang of the Later Shu seized this opportunity and used coercion and inducement to try to persuade Hou Yi to rebel. Liu Zhiyuan then sent Wang Jingchong to summon Hou Yi to the court, and told him that if Hou Yi hesitated for even a moment, he would be killed.

When Wang Jingchong arrived in Fengxiang, Liu Zhiyuan had passed away and Liu Chengyou succeeded him. Wang Jingchong was worried that the young Liu Chengyou could not control Hou Yi, so he took the initiative to kill Hou Yi, regardless of whether he surrendered or pretended to surrender. He would rather kill him by mistake than leave hidden dangers. Unexpectedly, Hou Yi predicted his prediction and took only a dozen personal cavalrymen to run to the capital to show his loyalty to Liu Chengyou. Hou Yi bribed the dignitaries in the court and framed Wang Jingchong. Wang Jingchong was furious and rebelled in the city, and beheaded more than 70 members of Hou Yi's family.

During the "Chanzhou Incident" led by Guo Wei, Hou Yi surrendered to Guo Wei overnight. After Guo Wei proclaimed himself emperor, he granted Hou Yi the title of Duke of Chu, and later Duke of Qi. He retired soon after.

After Zhao Kuangyin became emperor, he allowed Hou Yi to attend court only once a year and treated him as a prime minister.

In 965, Hou Yi died of illness at the age of 80, leaving us prematurely.

Hou Yi spent the first half of his life suppressing rebellions, while in the second half he was involved in many rebellions. He experienced the entire Five Dynasties period and thrived in five dynasties (Tang, Jin, Han, Zhou, and Song).

Hou Yi used his life experience to explain to his descendants the dangers and cruelty of the world of fame and fortune, and in return he gained wealth and honor that ordinary people could not achieve. Hou Renbao can be said to be a young man born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He just wanted to live a simple life of a rich second generation, born in peace and die in peace. Hou Renbao had enough family background to make him indifferent to fame and fortune, and let him survive in troubled times without seeking fame and fortune among the princes. For ordinary people, lying down is called a broken jar, while for Hou Renbao, lying down is called indifference to fame and fortune.

Although Hou Renbao spent his whole life avoiding power struggles, he was still forced into the struggle between Lu Duosun and Zhao Pu, and eventually became cannon fodder. However, Hou Renbao also got rid of the regret of wasting his youth and the shame of doing nothing, and went down in history with the glorious label of a national hero. I don't know whether this is sad or lucky for Hou Renbao.

History always repeats itself in a surprising way. When the news came that the Song Dynasty had sent troops to punish him, Le Huan launched the "Giaozhou Incident" on the pretext of resisting the Song Dynasty, forcing Ding Xuan to abdicate, ending the Ding Dynasty and establishing the "Pre-Le Dynasty". This is a tribute to the "Chenqiao Mutiny".

Afterwards, Li Huan submitted a petition to the Song Dynasty court to defend his actions. The gist of it was that the people in our area were fierce and would not obey the young master. I was ordered to act as regent in times of crisis to intimidate the barbarian tribes. In the final analysis, I was helping the Song Dynasty to look after the barbarian lands. I requested the Song Dynasty court to formally appoint me as such.

Zhao Guangyi thought to himself that this was the second person I had ever seen who could describe the usurpation of power in such a refreshing and refined way. The first one was my brother. Moreover, the Song Dynasty won victory after victory at the beginning of the war, so Zhao Guangyi did not read it back and just did it.

After the Battle of Bach Dang River, Li Huan was very obedient and sensible and submitted another memorial to apologize to Zhao Guangyi. Moreover, he submitted the memorial in the name of Ding Xuan, claiming that everything was a misunderstanding and that he had offended the emperor's army and deserved death... Submitting the memorial in the name of Ding Xuan proved that Li Huan had not usurped power, so that the Song Dynasty lost the reason to use troops; although he won a great victory, he still apologized in a humble manner, giving the Song Dynasty enough face. However, this memorial with a lot of scheming was also read and not replied.

Li Huan begged for mercy and submitted another petition, claiming to be the deputy envoy of the Three Envoys of Jiaozhou, and still submitted a petition in the name of Ding Xuan, asking for enthronement and seeking recognition from the great Celestial Empire.

This time, Zhao Guangyi finally gave a reply, which said that the Ding family had inherited the throne for three generations and had secured a place...Since the Ding family trusted and relied on you so much, how about this: I would appoint Ding Xuan as the commander-in-chief and you as the deputy commander-in-chief. Although you are the deputy commander-in-chief, you will be in charge of the actual affairs. When Ding Xuan comes of age, you can hand over the power and still maintain the reputation of Zhou Gongdan; or if Ding Xuan is stupid and incompetent, then please send him and his son to me. As long as they come to me, I will immediately grant you the Jieyue, so that you can rule Jiaozhou legitimately. You can choose one of the two.

Both options seem to be beneficial to Li Huan, but that is just a superficial statement. In fact, both options are mines for Li Huan.

The first path is what we call "regency". Although the Song Dynasty acquiesced to Li Huan's rule over Jiaozhou, it was not legitimate. Li Huan's official status was at best a professional manager rather than a chairman. In other words, as long as the Song Dynasty was willing, it could "clear the court" at any time. Not only the Song Dynasty, but also other forces in Jiaozhou could use this as an excuse to attack him, support the Han Dynasty, and jointly punish Cao Cao.
The second way, we call it "political asylum", is very familiar, such as the Later Tang Dynasty taking in Yelu Bei. If Ding Xuan and his mother came to Bianzhou, the Song Dynasty would have greater flexibility. Not only could it support the "Ding Dynasty exile court" as a puppet, but it could also personally go south to quell the rebellion.

The hero Li Huan saw through the evil plot of the Song Dynasty at a glance and rejected it outright. Adults never make choices. I don't want either of them.

Although the Annan region (now northern Vietnam) has been Chinese territory since ancient times, it has been independent since the "Battle of Bach Dang River" with Southern Han in 937. By the time of the "Battle of Bach Dang River" by Emperor Taizong of Song, it had been nearly half a century. Even before 937, this place was a scrap of the Tang Empire and not its core interest. The rulers of the Central Plains did not have much interest in it. In the account books, it was considered a bad debt that had already been accounted for in goodwill. If it was lost, it would not be considered a loss, and if it was gained, it would be considered a gain.

Objectively speaking, Emperor Taizong of Song had already declared war on the powerful enemy Liao in the north through the "Battle of Gaoliang River". From both political and military perspectives, Jiaozhou and the Liao were incomparable.

So after being rejected by Li Huan, Zhao Guangyi did not continue to fight for Jiaozhou, this stone in the toilet - smelly and hard, because he was going to do a big thing next - the Yongxi Northern Expedition.

Thanks to my old friend "Yang Kui" for the monthly ticket support!

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(End of this chapter)