History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 149 Emperor Zhaozong Visits Huazhou

In terms of armed forces, Zhaozong still adhered to the old idea: the prince would command the troops.

Handing over the military power of the Imperial Guards to the princes and allowing the royal family to control the Imperial Guards was an important transition for the emperor to personally take charge of the military.

Having learned from the previous lessons, Emperor Zhaozong did not take direct action against the Left and Right Shence Armies this time, but chose to disintegrate and divide them internally and start a new system within the system. In addition to the establishment of the Left and Right Shence Armies, he set up new camps such as Ansheng, Baoning, and Xuanhua, and carefully selected tens of thousands of people from the imperial guards to be incorporated into them, and then ordered the princes to serve as their commanders.

In this way, the problem of poor combat effectiveness of recruited soldiers was avoided, and the resistance of the commanders of the Left and Right Shenshen Army was weakened, achieving the best of two worlds.

At the instruction of Emperor Zhaozong, Prince of Yan Li Jiepi and Prince of Tan Li Sizhou secretly recruited thousands of soldiers to expand their military forces.

Every time Zhaozong took action to consolidate the imperial power, he would arouse the vigilance and backlash of those who did not want the imperial power to be consolidated, especially the actions on military power. This time, the one who had the biggest backlash was of course Fengxiang Li Maozhen.

Li Maozhen was guilty and was like a frightened bird. He was very sensitive to Zhaozong's firm and efficient military actions. He thought Zhaozong was going to take action against him, so he took the initiative and led his troops to "go to the palace to appeal for justice."

Li Maozhen has five seconds to reach the battlefield!
The capital was in great fear, and the people fled into the valleys to hide.

So Emperor Zhaozong ordered the princes to lead their armies and station them west of Chang'an, ready for battle. At the same time, he sent a signal to Li Keyong in Hedong, "Li Maozhen is coming again! Please come to the king as soon as possible."

Li Maozhen encountered the troops of Li Sizhou, the Prince of Tan, in Louguan (today's west of Xingping City, Shaanxi Province). The prince's troops were hastily formed and had no fighting power at all, and the military command level of the princes was also difficult to compare with that of Li Maozhen. Li Sizhou, the Prince of Tan, was defeated and Li Maozhen approached the capital.

Prince of Yan Li Jiepi advised Zhaozong to cross the Yellow River from Fuzhou to seek refuge with Li Keyong in Hedong. Zhaozong followed the advice.

As soon as Zhaozong and his entourage escaped from Chang'an and crossed the Weishui River, Zhenguo Han Jian sent his son Han Congyun to meet Zhaozong with a memorial, suggesting that Zhaozong move to Huazhou (the headquarters of the Zhenguo Army).

Han Jian was also one of the main culprits of the "Three Towns Invading the Palace" and was not trusted by Emperor Zhaozong. Emperor Zhaozong preferred to travel far to Taiyuan Prefecture in Hedong, so he politely declined Han Jian's request.

However, Han Jian did not give up and kept petitioning to retain Zhaozong. The civil and military officials around Zhaozong were also afraid of the long journey to Taiyuan Prefecture and said they were unwilling to go far away. There is no place where people are not buried. Stay.

So Zhaozong ordered Han Jian to come to the emperor to discuss the next itinerary.

Han Jian knelt down and kowtowed, crying, "The world is not peaceful now. Li Maozhen is not the only arrogant and disloyal vassal. I am afraid that once Your Majesty crosses the Yellow River, there will be no return. The royal ancestral temples and tombs are all here, so Your Majesty should not travel far. Although Huazhou has few soldiers and generals, I have encouraged farming and trained soldiers for more than ten years. It is not a problem to control the Guanfu area. Moreover, it is less than 200 miles away from Chang'an. I hope Your Majesty will come to Bizhen to try to restore it!"

Only then did Zhaozong move to Huazhou with all the civil and military officials.

After Li Maozhen entered Chang'an, he ordered arson and razed Chang'an to the ground.

In the third year of Zhonghe (883), Huang Chao burned down the city of Chang'an, and more than half of the houses were burned down (six or seven out of ten government offices, temples and houses were burned down). The following year, the "half-day prime minister" Wang Zheng made a rough repair, and restored less than two-tenths (only one or two were completed); in the first year of Guangqi (885), when Xizong fled for the second time, Chang'an was burned down by rebel soldiers again, and that time it was completely destroyed (almost nothing was left); the following year, Wang Xingyu killed Zhu Mei, and "the troops burned and looted the capital"; last year (895), "three towns invaded the palace" and burned and looted the capital again; now (896), Li Maozhen has burned down the city of Chang'an again, and the palaces, markets and houses in Chang'an "were all burned down."

Yang Xingmi petitioned Emperor Zhaozong to move the capital to Huainan; Wang Jian petitioned Emperor Zhaozong to move the capital to Chengdu.

When he heard about the proposal to move the capital, the third seed Zhu Pu quickly expressed his opinion and wrote a perfect argumentative essay to add to the chaos:

First, a basic rotation is put forward: the capital cannot remain unchanged, but must change at any time according to the rise and fall of the world; then it is pointed out that Chang'an has experienced war and can no longer be the capital of the empire; then a solution to the problem is given, moving the capital to Xiangzhou; then a large section is used to explain from multiple angles the advantages of Xiangzhou as the capital; at the end, the view of moving the capital to Huainan or Taiyuan is refuted; finally, the theme is returned to, reiterating that moving the capital to Xiangzhou is the best choice.

(Special note: Zhu Pu is from Xiangzhou)

The central idea is clear and runs through the whole text; the logic is clear and the structure is clear; the details are appropriate; the rhetoric and word choice are impeccable.

From the perspective of argumentative writing alone, it can be regarded as a perfect essay for middle school students.

But strictly speaking, this essay can also be boldly given a score of "0" because the three views are not correct, the central idea is seriously wrong, and it is fundamentally off track. The capital is the foundation of the country; moving the capital will shake the foundation. The emperor will not lightly talk about moving the capital unless it is absolutely necessary.

During the An-Shi Rebellion, Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji fled to Sichuan; when Huang Chao invaded the capital, Emperor Xizong fled to Sichuan; when Li Xun usurped the throne, Emperor Xizong fled to Xingyuan... There was no discussion of moving the capital, but now it is just Li Maozhen who is being discussed? What do you mean the capital was supposed to be moved at any time? Have you read history books? Since ancient times, how many times has the capital been moved except when dynasties changed?

Zhaozong was angry and disappointed, and ignored Zhu Pu (did not report), and even omitted the word "read".

If you live under someone else's roof, you must depend on that person.

The civil and military officials who were staying in Huazhou were all submissive to their host Han Jian. They didn't know what Han Jian liked or disliked, and they were all silent, fearing that any word would bring them death. Everyone understood it tacitly, and gradually formed a tacit agreement: everything must be consulted with Han Jian first.

Although Han Jian did not force the central government in exile, after countless lessons before, all government officials were very obedient (the unobedient ones had been eliminated long ago), and Han Jian had already controlled the government without any nonsense.

Zhaozong still had some political skills, so he turned from passive to active, broke through this layer of window paper, and directly issued an edict, ordering Han Jian to participate in the central government's decision-making. He set a trap for Han Jian.

Han Jian submitted a petition to decline the offer, thus avoiding a deep pit from which there was no escape.

This is all thanks to Li Juchuan, a great strategist beside Han Jian.

Li Juchuan was the great-great-grandson of Li Fengji, the prime minister of the middle Tang Dynasty. He was a Jinshi in the reign of Emperor Xizong. When Huang Chao rebelled, he fled the capital and went to Hezhong Wang Chongrong. All of Wang Chongrong's letters and petitions to fight Huang Chao were written by Li Juchuan. His quick thinking and clear logic were commendable.

After Wang Chongrong's death, Li Juchuan was demoted to Xingyuan Prefecture. The governor Yang Shouliang was overjoyed and exclaimed "God has given me this gift", so he also reused Li Juchuan.

During the "anti-Yang movement", Yang Shouliang and others were captured by Han Jian, and Li Juchuan was also put in shackles and shackles, ready to be taken to Chang'an for execution. Li Juchuan wrote on a leaf, begging Han Jian to spare his life. Han Jian was deeply moved by these few words, so he kept him by his side and continued to be his adviser. From then on, Li Juchuan became an important think tank for Han Jian.

The reason why Han Jian was able to "use the emperor to command the princes" and escape disaster afterwards, without repeating the mistakes of Li Maozhen and Wang Xingyu, was entirely due to the guidance of Li Juchuan.

Li Juchuan repeatedly warned Han Jian not to interfere directly in state affairs! For example, he was not allowed to express any opinions or make any statements on state affairs, let alone enter the central government to participate in or listen to central government meetings.

Furthermore, if he wanted to interfere in government affairs, he could do it indirectly. As for how to do it indirectly, Han Jian didn't have to bother himself. The civil and military officials were actively trying to figure out Han Jian's inner world. They were sensible. Han Jian only needed a look.

This was a key factor in Han Jian's ability to escape unscathed after "holding the emperor hostage", because there was no evidence to show that he had interfered in state affairs, and there was no accusation related to "holding the emperor hostage to control the princes".

Han Jian is one of the few kidnappers in history who was actually a "terrorist" but never famous.

Li Juchuan's wisdom went far beyond that. He asked Han Jian to issue an edict to the world: transport tribute to the Huazhou Palace; raise an army to support the king.

In this way, Han Jian could get rid of the accusation of holding the emperor hostage, pocket the tribute from all over the country, use the power of others to attack Li Maozhen, and gain the reputation of protecting the emperor. He achieved four goals in one stroke, with no investment and huge profits.

As for the so-called loyalty to the emperor, Han Jian could simply refuse to go to the front line in the name of protecting the emperor's palace. Unless Li Maozhen reached Huazhou, Han Jian could sit in the back row and watch the show with peace of mind.

After Li Maozhen was defeated, no one in the army dared to come to welcome him, otherwise it would be considered "hijacking". Escorting the emperor back to the capital is, of course, my job, Han Jian, so I won't trouble you. Otherwise, can you help repair Chang'an?
He was not there when the work was done, but he took all the benefits.

When Li Keyong received the news, he was filled with regret and lamented, "I said last year that Li Maozhen and Han Jian should be killed together, but the emperor refused to listen. Now it's over, isn't it? Han Jian, that big idiot, will be captured alive by Li Maozhen or Zhu Wen sooner or later!" He then submitted a memorial to the emperor, stating that he would unite the vassal states across the country and raise an army to defend the emperor.

It was at this time that Wang Jian of Xichuan received the imperial edict to be the commander-in-chief of the Western Front Army to suppress Fengxiang.

(End of this chapter)