History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 132: Friends and Enemies Exchanged
It turns out that the two had met once ten years ago.

This dark man was a local from Zhenzhou, a butcher who slaughtered pigs and sold meat. At that time, Wang Rong had just ascended to the throne and walked on the streets, deep into the masses. Just because he saw him more in the crowd, he could never forget his face and dreamed of meeting him again by chance one day. He didn't expect it would be today.

"Huh? Do we have Kunlun slaves in Zhenzhou too?" Little Wang Rong asked with a smile.

Kunlun refers to the area of ​​South Asia and Southeast Asia, not Kunlun Mountain. Kunlun slaves refer to foreigners who came from those places to do business. Although the word "slave" is included, it does not refer to slaves, but to foreigners from that area in general.

In the Tang Dynasty, Kunlun slaves were described as "in the south of Linyi (now south-central Vietnam), all with curly hair and black bodies, and were generally called Kunlun." Today, the mainstream view is that most of the Kunlun slaves in the Tang Dynasty refer to today's Southeast Asians and Indians, and a very small number are African blacks who followed the Arabs.

Kunlun slaves were strong, hardworking, gentle, and hardworking. They were extremely popular in the talent recruitment market of Chang'an, an international metropolis. Princes and nobles competed to hire them. At that time, young masters and noblemen considered it a top priority to carry Kunlun slave bodyguards with them, just like driving a convertible luxury car in the city today.

So when Wang Rong discovered that the "Kunlun slave" was making a living as a butcher in Zhenzhou, he was both surprised and happy.

Driven by curiosity, Wang Rong went up to ask, only to find out that it was a false alarm. Although this person looked like an imported product, he was actually a pure Chinese, a native of Zhenzhou.

Wang Rong asked him his name, and the butcher answered truthfully: "My surname is Mo, the same as in black ink. My name is Mo Junhe, and my nickname is Sanwang."

At that time, Wang Rong was a playful kid in his teens, so he said to Mo Junhe, "Why not just call you Mo Kunlun? Come, I'll give you something as a reward."

He pointed casually and asked his followers to bring a black piece of clothing and give it to Mo Junhe.

The Wang family was the veritable local tyrant in Zhenzhou. Although Wang Rong was young, his action was like the emperor granting him the right to wear a yellow jacket. Mo Junhe quickly knelt down to receive the black jacket, kowtowed and expressed his gratitude. When he got home, he wanted to enshrine it on the wall to show off his family's honor and bring glory to his ancestors.

"Awarded with a black jacket", a harmless little joke.

In the blink of an eye, it was ten years later. Wang Rong asked me the same question when they first met ten years ago: What is your name?

Mo Junhe didn't know how to answer. Should he answer Mo Junhe, Sanwang, or Mo Kunlun? Then he smiled foolishly and gave a riddle, saying that I was the thing in the inkstone.

Of course, the inkstone contains ink, which evokes Wang Rong's earliest memory.

"I didn't expect it to be you, Mo Kunlun!"

Mo Kunlun heroically rescued his lord and made great contribution. Different from the first time they met when he was "rewarded with a black jacket", this time, Wang Rong rewarded him with ten thousand acres of fertile land in the suburbs, a luxury villa in the city, a reward of one thousand gold, a gold medal of immunity from death (pardon ten deaths), and also recommended him to be Guanglu Dafu... Mo Kunlun heroically rescued his lord, and from then on he reached the peak of his life.

According to historical records, when Mo Kunlun was holding Wang Rong and running away, he used too much force, so that Wang Rong "suffered from neck pain and headache for many days" and "could not bear the pain."

Wang Rong did not die at the hands of Li Kuangwei, but was almost crushed to death by Mo Kunlun.

However, the "Zizhi Tongjian" contains inconsistencies in the record of Wang Rong's age: in the third year of Zhonghe (883), Wang Jingchong died of illness, and Wang Rong succeeded to the throne, "at that time Rong was ten years old"; and ten years later in the second year of Jingfu (893), Mo Kunlun rescued Wang Rong, "Rong was seventeen years old, thin and frail."

10+10=17.

"Old Book of Tang", "New Book of Tang", "Old History of Five Dynasties" and "New History of Five Dynasties" all record that Wang Rong was ten years old when he succeeded to the throne. That is to say, when Mo Kunlun rescued Wang Rong, Wang Rong should have been 20 years old instead of 17 years old.

However, there are slight differences in the specific years when Wang Jingchong died and Wang Rong ascended the throne in these most authoritative historical books. Some record it as the second year of Zhonghe, while others say it was the third year of Zhonghe.

In fact, it doesn't matter, because Wang Jingchong died in December of the second year of Zhonghe, and died at the end of the year. The report was sent to the court, and the court's letter of appointment might have been delivered to Zhenzhou in the first month of the third year of Zhonghe.

So it depends on how the historians define Wang Rong's "succession" standard. Of course, from the historical perspective of this book, it doesn't matter what year Wang Jingchong died, nor does it matter how old Wang Rong was when he succeeded to the throne.

What’s important is that Li Kuangwei’s plot to usurp the throne failed, and he died in disgrace.

[Enemy and friend exchange] After Li Kuangwei's death, Wang Rong held a grand funeral for him according to ritual, personally wore plain clothes and cried at the funeral, and sent envoys to Youzhou to announce the death.

Li Kuangwei launched a military coup in Zhenzhou and coerced Wang Rong, which is an unforgivable crime, but he lent a helping hand in times of crisis, and the military and civilians of Chengde will always remember it.

Merits are merits, faults are faults, and we should treat them separately.

After Li Kuangchou learned the news, he reported it to the court, saying that Wang Rong had turned against his brother and killed him. He wanted to conquer Zhenzhou to avenge his brother's death.

Obviously, this was an opportunity that Li Kuangchou wanted to take to annex the Chengde army.

Emperor Zhaozong issued an edict to stop the conflict, calling on both sides to remain calm and restrained to avoid escalation of the situation. At the same time, he issued an edict to Zhu Wen, asking him to mediate.

When Li Keyong learned that Zhenzhou had lost external support from Youzhou, he immediately led a large army to the city of Zhenzhou.

Wang Rong lost the support of the Lulong Army and knew that he could not compete with them, so he offered 200,000 pieces of silk to seek peace and prepared good wine and meat to reward the Hedong Army. Only then did Li Keyong continue to attack Li Cunxiao in Xingzhou with satisfaction.

As analyzed in the previous article, Li Keyong's strategic target at this stage is not Zhenzhou. This time he went to Zhenzhou to take advantage of the situation, extort a settlement fee, and by the way, disintegrate the alliance between Zhenzhou and Xingzhou, and isolate Li Cunxiao politically and militarily.

Li Kuangchou was unwilling to miss the opportunity to annex Chengde, and despite the court's explicit prohibition, he disobeyed the order and brazenly invaded Chengde.

So, the dramatic scene was staged again.

Wang Rong presented Li Keyong with 500,000 coins and 200,000 hu of grain, expressing his willingness to help Li Keyong defeat the rebel general Li Cunxiao, in exchange for the Hedong army's help in Zhenzhou's resistance against Youzhou's Lulong army.

An interesting scene took place: "Zhenzhou and Youzhou united to resist Hedong" became "Zhenzhou and Hedong united to resist Youzhou". Enemies and friends were exchanged.

Li Keyong readily agreed, and the 30,000-strong coalition force from Hedong and Chengde was stationed north of Xingzhou.

Li Cunxin's troops were stationed at Liulipi, west of Xingzhou, to contain Li Cunxiao of Xingzhou and protect the safety of the transportation supply lines.

Li Cunxiao hated Li Cunxin so much that he attacked Li Cunxin's camp at night, making Li Cunxin suffer a lot.

After Li Keyong led his army back, he sent people to build trenches around Xingzhou. Li Cunxiao always found opportunities to attack and sabotage, so the project progressed very slowly.

At this time, a man named Yuan Fengtao gave Li Cunxiao a bad idea, saying that Li Keyong would return to Taiyuan after the trenches were completed, but how could this trench several feet wide stop him? Once Li Keyong left, he could break out and achieve great success!

Li Cunxiao's interpersonal relationships are indeed worrying. Up to now, there is no one around him who can give him advice. When there is finally someone willing to give him advice, they want to push him into an abyss from which there is no escape.

Li Cunxiao foolishly followed this vicious plan, never sent troops to harass the enemy again, and watched the fortifications outside the city being completed.

Ten days later, the trench was completed. The trench was wide and deep, and the walls were high and thick, making it difficult even for birds and beasts to cross. Li Cunxiao was trapped in a jar and realized that he had been deceived.

Soon, the food in the city ran out. Li Cunxiao was helpless and had to climb the city wall to shout to Li Keyong: "I am blessed by my godfather's grace and have today's wealth and glory. If it weren't for the slander of the villain, how could I give up the father-son relationship and follow the enemy? I hope to meet my godfather in person and complain to him in person, so that I can die without regrets!"

Li Keyong sent his wife, Mrs. Liu, into the city to comfort the people.

Seeing that Mrs. Liu condescended to enter the city, Li Cunxiao immediately believed in Li Keyong's sincerity. He immediately disarmed and followed Mrs. Liu out of the city to apologize.

Thanks to "最爱一笑" and "暮醉雪" for their recommendation votes and support!
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(End of this chapter)