History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 144: Lucky Stone Gate

【Lucky Stone Gate】

When the news that the three towns had entered the capital without permission reached Hedong, Li Keyong knew that he could no longer stay out of the matter. So he sent thirteen envoys that day and mobilized all the armed forces in the country to go to the capital to defend the king.

Hedong Li Keyong was the nemesis of the Guanxi group. Li Maozhen, Wang Xingyu and others still remembered the last disastrous defeat. When they heard that the Hedong army was dispatched, they immediately gave up the idea of ​​deposing and enthroning, left thousands of soldiers and horses to guard the capital, and then bid farewell to Zhaozong.

After sending away the three plague gods, Zhaozong immediately re-cultivated his civil service group, re-employed Kong Wei, and restored his previous official position and title.

Kong Wei was already seriously ill and had to be supported by others to get on the sedan chair and barely made it to the capital. When the emperor and his ministers met, they hugged each other and cried bitterly. Kong Wei said that he was already in his twilight years and was too old and weak to take on such a big responsibility, so he resolutely resigned.

Emperor Zhaozong tried to appease him, asking him to work harder for the sake of the country and the people. He rejected Kong Wei's resignation application.

Li Keyong mobilized a large army and wrote a memorial to accuse Li Maozhen, Wang Xingyu and Han Jian of using troops to invade the palace and murder state ministers, which was an unforgivable crime. He asked the emperor to issue an edict to allow the Hedong region to fight against the rebels. At the same time, he sent a letter to the three towns to make the three people's crimes known to the world.

Li Keyong had a legitimate reason and a legitimate reason, and he occupied the moral and legal high ground. The Guanxi Group was extremely terrified.

When the Hedong Army arrived in Jiangzhou, Wang Yao held the city and held out. After only ten days, the city was conquered, Wang Yao was captured alive and beheaded; more than a thousand officials and generals in the city were massacred.

On July 7, Li Keyong arrived at Hezhong Prefecture. Wang Ke personally went out of the city to greet him. Li Keyong married his daughter to Wang Ke, and Hedong and Hezhong became in-laws.

On July 7, Wang Xingyue, a general of the Kuangguo Army in Tongzhou, abandoned the city and fled.

On July 7, Wang Xingyue arrived in the capital. He immediately summoned the eunuchs Luo Quanguan and Liu Jingxuan and told them that Li Keyong of Hedong had brought an army of 4 and was unstoppable. They must quickly take Zhaozong hostage and use the emperor to control the princes.

Luo Quanguan was the Privy Councilor and the one closest to the emperor, so he reported to the emperor that the Hedong army was coming to cause trouble in Chang'an and asked the emperor to escape the chaos as soon as possible.

Liu Jingxuan was the commander-in-chief of the Shen Ce Army. What Wang Xingyue didn't know was that Liu Jingxuan had already secretly attached himself to Fengxiang. Liu Jingxuan privately found Li Jipeng (Li Maozhen's adopted son), the commander of the Right Shen Ce Army, and told him that the Bingzhou side (Wang Xingyu, Wang Xingyue, and Wang Xingshi brothers) were going to take action.

Under the test of interests, the fragility of the Guanxi Group was once again revealed. Li Maozhen planned to kidnap Zhaozong to Fengxiang, while Wang Xingyu and his brothers wanted to kidnap Zhaozong to Bingzhou.

Wang Xingyue urged Emperor Zhaozong to go to Bingzhou as soon as possible to avoid the war, but Emperor Zhaozong refused, and Prime Minister Kong Wei also reprimanded Liu Jingxuan in person, claiming that the emperor should not leave the palace easily, otherwise the world would be in turmoil.

"Don't take it lightly", okay, then I'll add some spice to it for you.

Li Jipeng led his men to set fire to Chang'an City and looted the East Market of Chang'an. Can we set off now?
Zhaozong still refused to leave. Li Jipeng lost his patience and commanded the Right Shence Army to forcibly kidnap Zhaozong.

At this time, an interesting scene took place: someone led troops to rescue the emperor, and the person who rescued the emperor was Wang Xingshi, the commander of the Left Shence Army.

The Left Shence Army and the Right Shence Army clashed outside the palace gate, and the Guanxi kidnapping gang fought among themselves for hostages.

Zhaozong personally went up to the city gate tower and called on both sides to remain calm and restrained.

Li Jipeng was so angry that he bent his bow and shot an arrow at Emperor Zhaozong. Emperor Zhaozong instinctively dodged, and the arrow pierced through the dragon robe and hit the rafters behind him.

Zhaozong was terrified, and the eunuchs on his left and right hurriedly helped him downstairs to hide.

Li Jipeng ordered the palace gates to be set on fire and the palace to be stormed. In an instant, thick smoke billowed, covering the sky and the sun, and the sound of shouting and killing reached the sky.

At that time, there were six regiments of Yanzhou soldiers stationed in the capital area, and the relationship with the imperial guards had always been bad, so Zhaozong ordered the Yanzhou soldiers to enter the palace to assist in defense. After the six regiments of Yanzhou arrived, Li Jipeng and Wang Xingshi led their subordinates back to Fengxiang and Bingzhou respectively. Chang'an City also fell into chaos, and the chaotic troops plundered and robbed each other.

Zhaozong was still in shock when he heard rumors that Li Maozhen and Wang Xingyu were mobilizing a large army and would come to Chang'an in person to welcome the emperor.

I can't invite you, so I have to ask you, my elder brother.

In order to avoid being held hostage by the warlords in Guanxi, Zhaozong, members of the royal family, and close followers, under the protection of the personal guards, left Chang'an City, fled into the Qinling Mountains, and visited Shimen Town.

Hundreds of thousands of officials and civilians followed the army, but one-third of them died of heat stroke. At night, the survivors were robbed by bandits, and their cries echoed through the valley. It was a tragedy beyond belief.

On July 7, Li Keyong took over Tongzhou and sent people to present memorials and inquire about the emperor's daily life.

Li Keyong's memorial gave Zhaozong some confidence, and he immediately sent a senior eunuch with an imperial edict to Li Keyong's camp, ordering Li Keyong and Wang Ke to each send 10,000 cavalry to attack Wang Xingyu. He also issued an edict to Zhang Fan, the governor of Jingzhou Zhangyi Army, to lead troops to contain Fengxiang.

Jingzhou is located between Bingzhou and Fengxiang. If Jingzhou sends troops to block the road, Fengxiang and Bingzhou will be isolated from each other.

Li Keyong sent troops to attack Huazhou. Han Jian, the commander of the Huazhou garrison, personally climbed up the city wall and shouted to Li Keyong, "I have no relationship with you, the commander-in-chief, and I have always respected you and never been disrespectful. Why are you attacking my city today?"

Li Keyong sent someone to reply: "As a minister, you dared to force the emperor to leave. If this is not considered disrespectful, then what else in the world is disrespectful?"

Han Jian was speechless.

Suddenly, news came that Li Maozhen led 30,000 troops to station west of Chang'an, and Wang Xingyu also led his troops to station on the north bank of the Yellow River west of Chang'an, facing Li Maozhen across the river, and both wanted to seize the emperor. So Li Keyong lifted the siege of Huazhou and marched towards Chang'an.

The situation was urgent, so Emperor Zhaozong sent the prince and his personal eunuch Zhang Chengye to Li Keyong's camp to urge him to march quickly and not hesitate. Zhang Chengye had been sent as an envoy to Hedong many times before, and had a deep relationship with Li Keyong. After this mission, he stayed with Li Keyong and became the eunuch supervising the army in Hedong.

Zhang Chengye was loyal to Li Keyong and assisted Li and his son wholeheartedly, which will be described in detail later.

In August, Li Keyong sent Shi Yan to lead 8 Shatuo cavalry to station in Shimen Town to protect the emperor; he also sent Li Cunxin and Li Cunshen to join forces with Li Sixiao, the governor of Fuzhou Baoda Army, to attack Wang Xingyu.

Li Sixiao, a Dangxiang, was originally surnamed Tuoba, and was the younger brother of Tuoba Sigong, the former governor of Xiazhou Dingnan Army. This Dangxiang tribe was very similar to the Shatuo, and both of them were awarded titles for their meritorious service in the various rebellion wars of the Tang Dynasty. Later, they used Xiazhou as their base, continued to grow and develop, and eventually established the Western Xia Dynasty, which coexisted with the Song Dynasty in the Central Plains.

Li Keyong's Shatuo cavalry has always been a cheating existence, a meat grinder on the battlefield, a super MVP. They won battle after battle and were unstoppable.

Li Maozhen of Fengxiang was terrified, so he personally beheaded his adopted son Li Jipeng and sent the head to the emperor's palace. He wrote a petition asking for forgiveness and put all the blame on the head, "It was this rebellious son who committed the crime. I have killed him on behalf of Your Majesty. I was wrong for not disciplining him well. Please forgive me." He also sent a letter to Li Keyong asking for peace, saying that everything was just a misunderstanding.

Of course I choose to forgive him.

In the past, there were Tian Lingzi and Yang Fugong, and now there is Li Maozhen. Although he committed ten unforgivable crimes, Emperor Zhaozong still decided to show leniency and pardon his crimes. The reason is still so simple, drive away the wolf at the front door, and guard against the tiger at the back door. If Li Keyong swallows up the Guanxi Group in one breath, then Li Keyong will be the next Guanxi Group.

The Guanxi Group and Li Keyong must be restrained from each other, and the power of the feudal lords must be balanced, so that Zhaozong can survive in the cracks.

Therefore, Zhaozong issued an order to pardon Li Maozhen and ordered Li Keyong to attack Wang Xingyu.

Thanks to old friends "Pure lsp", "feitian", "Feitian Shenlongzhan" and "Bedroom King" for their recommendation support!
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(End of this chapter)