History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 263 The Emperors in the Same Frame
【Emperors in the same frame】

Li Cunxu went to the Weizhou base camp to comfort the wounded hearts of the people. He also recruited tens of thousands of able-bodied men to serve as laborers in Desheng Jiacheng and expand the northern city of Desheng.

The Later Liang army harassed the people day and night, and conflicts broke out between the two sides every day, with more than a hundred battles of varying sizes.

During the battle, an archer commander encountered concentrated fire from the Later Liang army (kill the archers first!), and the leather belts on his saddle were cut off. In an emergency, another general gave his horse to him, and rode the horse with the broken belt instead, and took the initiative to cover the rear and help the archer commander retreat.

The two finally escaped death and returned to the camp. From then on, they formed a deep friendship.

The archer commander who was rescued was Li Siyuan's son-in-law, named Shi Jingtang; the general who rescued him was named Liu Zhiyuan.

The two have many common labels, for example, their ancestors are both Shatuo people, and for another example, both of them will become emperors in the future.

From Zhu Wen's founding of the Later Liang Dynasty (907) to Zhao Kuangyin's founding of the Northern Song Dynasty (960), the "Five Dynasties" lasted a total of about 53 years. During these 53 years, five dynasties (Liang, Tang, Jin, Han, and Zhou) were replaced, and emperors from eight surnames appeared, with an average of one emperor every three and a half years. The regime changes were like a revolving lantern.

The Eight Surnames and Fourteen Emperors refer only to the emperors of the "Five Dynasties", that is, the orthodox dynasties of the Central Plains in the traditional sense, and do not include the separatist regimes in the "Ten Kingdoms". Wang Jian of the Former Shu, the Yang family of Huainan, Liu Yan of the Southern Han, etc. are not included.

Therefore, there is a very interesting phenomenon in the Five Dynasties period, which is almost unprecedented. I call it "all emperors in the same frame". When I read the history of the Five Dynasties, interesting illustrations always flash in my mind, such as this one:
The picture is horizontal. On the left is the Bianzhou Palace. Zhu Youzhen looks like a tyrant, surrounded by several sharp-nosed, monkey-faced, flattering and treacherous villains (the foreign relatives gang); in the middle of the picture is the broad and turbulent Yellow River, with blood-red water in the sandy yellow; on the right, two fortresses can be seen in the distance, separating the two sides of the Yellow River, which are Desheng Jiazhai. In the near distance are the tired but fortunate silhouettes of two generals. Behind them are two war horses, one of which has its saddle missing. Not far in front of the two generals is a group of people coming out of the city to welcome them. They seem to have just walked out of the distant fortress. Walking in the front is a man in his thirties, and behind him are two people, one old and one young.

This painting is almost realistic. The only freehand expression is in the distance, because it is impossible to put Bianzhou and Deshengdu in the same frame according to the actual proportion.

This illustration can be called "Battle of Jiacheng" or "Emperors in the Same Frame" because six emperors from three dynasties appear in this one shot: Later Liang (Zhu Youzhen), Later Tang (Li Cunxu, Li Siyuan, Li Congke), Later Jin (Shi Jingtang), and Later Han (Liu Zhiyuan).

Six Emperor Pills.

In Luo Guanzhong's "The Romance of the Late Tang and Five Dynasties", there is a famous plot, "Five dragons forced Wang Yanzhang to death", but the above-mentioned Li Congke was replaced by Guo Wei (Emperor Taizu of the Later Zhou Dynasty). After all, it is a novel, not a historical record.

A bloody battle was in progress between Hedong and Houliang at Jiacheng, Desheng. Yanzhou sent an envoy, Liu Churang, to meet with Li Cunxu and request Hedong to send reinforcements as soon as possible to save Yanzhou from the crisis.

More than a year ago, it was precisely because of the surrender of Zhang Wanjin of Yanzhou that Li Cunxu used Majiadu as a breakthrough point to attack the Later Liang in the south. It is said that the war situation was erratic, and Hedong responded to the situation improvisation. After breaking through the natural barrier of the Yellow River, it did not support Yanzhou to the east, but approached Bianzhou to the west.

After Zhang Wanjin of Yanzhou colluded with the enemy and rebelled, Zhu Youzhen reinstated Liu Xun and let him lead the expedition.

Zhang Wanjin held the city for more than a year. During this period, Zhang Wanjin repeatedly urged Li Cunxu to return to rescue, but Li Cunxu was fighting hard along the river and it was difficult to determine the outcome, so he was too busy to do anything.

This time, envoy Liu Churang burst into tears and requested Hedong to send troops to rescue, otherwise Yanzhou would be in danger.

You can't have your cake and eat it too. You have to give up Yanzhou and take Bianzhou. What Li Cunxu never expected was that Liu Churang actually took an extreme approach: he cut off his ear in front of the camp gate, holding the bloody ear in his hand, and wailed: "If the king does not send troops, Yanzhou will surely die. I would rather die than live!"

Li Cunxu was deeply moved by Liu Churang's heroic deeds, so he decided on the spot to send troops to rescue Yanzhou. But just as Li Cunxu was mobilizing troops, the latest news came from the east: Liu Xun conquered Yanzhou, and Zhang Wanjin's entire family was killed and the city was massacred.

History is full of bad taste, which really fits the idiom "A blessing in disguise".

If Li Cunxu had impulsively sent troops to Yanzhou, the situation along the river would have changed significantly, and the Later Liang might have turned the tide. The reinforcements from Hedong would have rushed thousands of miles away, and Liu Xun would have been well-rested, and Yanzhou might not have been saved by Hedong... If Liu Xun had delayed a few more days, history might have been rewritten.

Wang Zan of Later Liang launched a tentative attack on the Hedong army, but was repelled by Li Siyuan.

The Hedong Army discovered the post where the Later Liang stored grain and supplies, which was in Panzhang, about fifty miles away from Yangcun. Li Cunxu was overjoyed upon hearing the news. Wasn't this the "burning of Wuchao" in the "Battle of Guandu" in the story of the Three Kingdoms?

Therefore, Li Cunxu personally led a small number of light cavalry and marched westward along the south bank of the Yellow River, attempting to "burn Pan and Zhang" to pay tribute to Cao Cao. Unfortunately, he encountered an ambush and was surrounded by hundreds of Houliang cavalry along with several cavalrymen. Fortunately, Yuan Xingqin once again led reinforcements to rescue Li Cunxu.

Looking back at the bloody battle along the river for 18 years, Li Cunxu repeatedly showed his bravery here, risked his life, and was surrounded by the enemy many times. The most rescued generals were Yuan Xingqin, Li Cunshen, Li Jianji and other brave generals. Yuan Xingqin was therefore given the name "Li Shaorong" by Li Cunxu, and Yuan Xingqin was used in the following text.

A few days later, a large-scale conflict broke out again between the two armies. Later Liang won first and then lost, and captured Hedong general Shi Junli alive.

Shi Junli served Li Kerou first and then Li Sizhao, and made many military achievements. When Wang Tan attacked Taiyuan, Shi Junli, under the order of Li Sizhao, led 500 light cavalrymen to rush to the rescue day and night, and together with veterans such as An Jinquan, he repelled Wang Tan and saved Taiyuan.

Zhu Youzhen had heard of Shi Junli's great name and planned to lure him to the light with high positions and generous salaries. Faced with the temptation of sugar-coated bullets, Shi Junli smiled bitterly and asked: "A defeated general cannot talk about courage. Even if I swear allegiance, can you really trust me? Everyone has their own master, why do you force me to turn against my old master?" He politely declined.

Zhu Youzhen recalled the story of his father's acceptance of He Gui, so he followed his father's example and beheaded all the other captured Hedong generals, leaving only Shi Junli behind, hoping to influence him. Shi Junli remained silent and still refused to surrender.

Zhu Youzhen threw him into prison and kept him under guard, but ordered him to have good food and good wine every day, and not to mistreat General Shi in life, hoping that he would change his mind. Shi Junli accepted it silently, but still refused to surrender.

Shi Junli remained unyielding and was kept in prison until the eve of the fall of Later Liang. In desperation, Zhu Youzhen issued an order: Execute Shi Junli!

The Later Liang army won first and then lost. The commander Wang Zan grabbed a small boat and fled to the rear. The Later Liang army suffered tens of thousands of casualties.

Zhu Youzhen recalled Wang Zan, dismissed him from his post, and appointed Dai Siyuan as the new commander-in-chief of the Northern Army. By this point, during the Jiahe Campaign, the Later Liang had changed commanders four times (Liu Xun, He Gui, Wang Zan, and Dai Siyuan).

(End of this chapter)