History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 274: Relatives from the Outside Ruining Liang 1
【Foreign relatives destroy Liang 1】

Zhu Wen established the Later Liang Dynasty, and learned from the Tang Dynasty's lesson of favoring eunuchs. He eradicated the eunuchs through brutal killings and took back the power that had been held by eunuchs for a long time. After two strange palace coups, the last emperor Zhu Youzhen favored his relatives, making it difficult for the Later Liang Dynasty to escape the situation of relatives interfering in politics.

The "foreign relatives gang" with Yuan Xiangxian, Zhao Yan and the Zhang brothers as its core, constantly suppressed meritorious old generals in order to fight for power and profit, and disintegrated the Later Liang regime.

During the confrontation between Liang and Jin along the river, the "foreign relatives gang" in the rear were suspicious of and persecuted the commander on the front line.

1. Liu Xun

When Liu Xun was stationed in Shen County, the "foreign relatives gang" accused Liu Xun of playing the enemy and not advancing, and said to Zhu Youzhen that Liu Xun was the second Yang Shihou. Zhu Youzhen believed the slander, stayed in the rear but pointed fingers at the front line, and issued edicts to urge Liu Xun to go to war. Liu Xun could not withstand the pressure and had to go to war under extremely unfavorable circumstances for the Later Liang army, and finally suffered a disastrous defeat in Guyuan City near Weizhou.

The "foreign relatives gang" then used the defeat of Guyuan City as an excuse to punish Liu Xun, and issued an imperial edict to ask him to go to the capital to report to the emperor. Liu Xun knew that he was in danger, so he disobeyed the imperial edict and refused to obey the edict. Zhu Youzhen was worried that he would force him to rebel, so he stopped forcing him and let him serve as the governor of Huazhou Xuanyi Army (Liu Xun was temporarily stationed in Huazhou).

Soon after, the Hedong army attacked Liyang Ferry fiercely, threatening Huazhou. Liu Xun led his troops to resist tenaciously and finally repelled the Hedong army. At the same time, the Xinzhou mutiny occurred in Hedong. Lu Wenjin killed Li Cunju, defected to Khitan, and lured the Khitan army to invade the northern part of Hedong.

This was a great opportunity for the Later Liang to counterattack Hebei. Liu Xun had just won the Liyang Defense War, so he bravely came to the capital to meet Zhu Youzhen. On the one hand, he was asking for forgiveness and clearing up misunderstandings, and showing that he really had no intention of rebellion; on the other hand, he was giving advice and persuading Zhu Youzhen to send troops across the river and take back Hebei while the Khitan invaded the south.

The "foreign relatives gang" seized the opportunity, dug up old scores, impeached him for the defeat in Guyuancheng, and put the blame for the Later Liang's loss of Heshuo on Liu Xun. They removed Liu Xun from his title of prime minister and demoted him to the position of commander of the militia in Bozhou.

The "foreign relatives gang" was primarily responsible for the fall of Heshuo. It was they who instigated Zhu Youzhen to split up the Wei Bo army, which led to the Wei Bo army's surrender to Hedong. In the subsequent battles, it was also their blind command from behind that led to the frontline's defeat. Even if the frontline generals were at fault, they could only bear secondary responsibility.

Liu Xun became the scapegoat of the "foreign relatives gang". This scapegoating also made the Later Liang Dynasty lose an opportunity to recover Heshuo.

Gold shines everywhere. After being demoted to Bozhou, the Huainan army invaded from the south. Liu Xun defeated the Huainan army and crossed the Huai River to counterattack, gaining a lot of rewards. Not long after, Zhang Wanjin of Yanzhou rebelled against Liang and surrendered to Jin. The court had to re-instate Liu Xun and let him lead the rebellion. Liu Xun completed the task assigned by the organization brilliantly. Together with Niu Cunjie, he first repelled the Huainan reinforcements, then captured Yanzhou, and presented Zhang Wanjin's head.

Liu Xun relied on his strength to take control of Yanzhou again and was given the title of prime minister (granted the title of Jiedushi of Taining Army, Inspecting Grand Marshal, and Co-Prime Minister).

Half a year later, Zhu Youqian of Hezhong rebelled against Liang and surrendered to Jin. The court ordered this "firefighting captain" Liu Xun to lead the army to the west to quell the rebellion, and his deputies were Yin Hao, the governor of Huazhou Ganhua Army, Wen Tao, the governor of Chongzhou Jingsheng Army, and Duan Ning, the central special commissioner.

Among them, Wen Tao was a famous tomb robber who dug up all the Tang Dynasty imperial tombs except Qianling Mausoleum, and gained a foothold in the Later Liang court by bribing the "foreign relatives gang"; Duan Ning, Zhu Wen's elder brother-in-law, Zhu Youzhen's uncle, and a direct member of the "foreign relatives gang", was the military supervisor and political commissar of the rebellion suppression team, and his main task was to monitor Liu Xun's every move. There are not many records about Yin Hao, and from the few records, it can be seen that he was also a lackey of the "foreign relatives gang", stubborn and narrow-minded, clinging to the thighs of the "foreign relatives gang" and framing loyal officials.

It is conceivable that Liu Xun will face difficulties and obstacles. Our own people are always more terrible than the enemy.

As expected, the rebellion failed and the Hezhong region was controlled by Li Cunxu of Hedong. Next, the "foreign relatives gang" will undoubtedly take advantage of the situation and put the blame on Liu Xun.

Liu Xun and Zhu Youqian were in-laws. When Liu Xun led his army to Shanzhou, he first sent someone to send Zhu Youqian a letter of persuasion to surrender, analyzing the pros and cons for him and persuading him to stop and return to the right path. After nearly a month of correspondence, Liu Xun launched an attack after failing to persuade him to surrender. So Yin Hao and Duan Ning took advantage of the situation and made a small report in front of Zhu Youzhen, distorting the facts and accusing Liu Xun of secretly communicating with bandits, deliberately staying and delaying the battle, and deliberately letting the reinforcements from Hedong enter the battlefield.

The best strategy is to attack the enemy's plans, the next best is to attack their alliances, the next best is to attack their troops, and the worst is to attack their cities. The best strategy is to persuade the enemy to surrender and win without fighting. At any time, attacking a city is the last resort. Even if it is conquered, the attackers will pay a huge price.

Although Liu Xun's attempt to persuade the enemy to surrender was unsuccessful, it still had a certain effect. As mentioned earlier, Zhu Youqian and his cronies had wavered many times and wanted to return to the embrace of the Later Liang Dynasty. In the end, they decided to take a wait-and-see attitude and vote with their feet based on the battlefield performance of the Later Liang Dynasty and Hedong.

On the battlefield, Yin Hao, Wen Tao, Duan Ning and the "foreign relatives gang" behind them interfered (Yin Hao and Duan Ning were jealous of Xun Gong), which led to the defeat on the battlefield, and then Zhu Youqian completely turned to Hedong.

Therefore, the "foreign relatives gang" still had to bear the main responsibility for the failure of the Hezhong battlefield. However, they once again put the blame on Liu Xun.

Liu Xun was well aware of the power of the "foreign relatives gang" and the tragic outcome of competing with them, so he claimed that he was ill and unable to perform his duties, and took the initiative to resign from all his positions and hand over all military power. In the political struggle, Liu Xun surrendered to the "foreign relatives gang" in order to save his life.

He still did not fully realize the cruelty and danger of the "foreign relatives gang" and overestimated their moral bottom line.

The court ordered that since you are ill, how can the government just sit back and do nothing? Come to Luoyang, the western capital, and ask a famous doctor to treat you.

This "famous doctor" is the "healing master" Zhang Quanyi, and his best medicine is poisonous wine.

Liu Xun, a famous general who had a hundred strategies in one step, was poisoned to death by the imperial court.

2. Zhang Wanjin.

Zhang Wanjin of Yanzhou allied with Huai to surrender to Jin, and rebelled against Liang. This was not an accident, and it had its own reasons. The "foreign relatives gang" made an immortal contribution to Zhang Wanjin's rebellion. Zhang Wanjin was originally a general of Liu Shouguang of Youzhou. After Liu Shouguang captured his father and usurped Youzhou, he left his son Liu Jiwei to guard Cangzhou, and Zhang Wanjin assisted him. Liu Jiwei was greedy, violent, and lustful. He entered Zhang Wanjin's house and could not describe his wife and daughter. Zhang Wanjin then launched a mutiny, killed Liu Jiwei, and surrendered to Houliang and Hedong at the same time.

Afterwards, Yang Shihou was powerful in Hebei and he and Liu Shouqi took advantage of the victory to march eastward and approached the city of Cangzhou. Zhang Wanjin was terrified and took the initiative to hand over Cangzhou and asked to be settled in the court. Yang Shihou recommended him to be the Jiedushi of Pinglu Army in Qingzhou, and later changed him to Jiedushi of Taining Army in Yanzhou.

After Yang Shihou's death, Zhang Wanjin lost his only support in the Later Liang Dynasty. He was also a vassal in the important city of Yanzhou, so he became an ATM for the "foreign relatives gang". The "foreign relatives gang" demanded bribes and extorted money from him, making Zhang Wanjin miserable.

At that time, Li Cunxu personally went to the front line of Yangliu to comfort the troops, and took a boat to measure the water level of the Yellow River. He found that the water was only up to his neck, so he personally led his team to wade across the Yellow River on foot and defeated Xie Yanzhang, a general of the Later Liang Dynasty. Afterwards, Li Cunxu mobilized all the armed forces in the country and held a grand military parade in Weizhou, with great military power.

After Zhang Wanjin received the news that the Hedong Army was about to launch a general offensive, he saw hope for liberation, so he sent someone to contact Li Cunxu, expressing his willingness to surrender the city.

As a result, there was the Majiadu confrontation and the Huliubi battle.

Zhang Wanjin rebelled in Yanzhou, and although it was quickly suppressed by Liu Xun, it enabled the Hedong army to advance its frontier positions from Yangliu to Majiadu, and then to Desheng Jiacheng.

And all of this is the result of the labor of the "foreign relatives gang".

3. Xie Yanzhang
He Gui and Xie Yanzhang, the "two most outstanding heroes" of the Later Liang Dynasty, were respectively the national infantry and national cavalry of the Later Liang Dynasty.

Xie Yanzhang was not only good at commanding cavalry, but also a well-known Confucian general. He loved poetry and books, and liked to wear Confucian clothes in battle. He was very elegant, which boosted the morale of our army and deterred the enemy. Most importantly, he was the adopted son of Ge Congzhou, a famous general of the Later Liang Dynasty, and was considered a "second-generation meritorious general". He was upright, honest and incorruptible, and was unwilling to go along with the "foreign relatives gang", so he was regarded as a thorn in the eyes and a thorn in the flesh by the "foreign relatives gang".

In the battlefield along the river, Xie Yanzhang repeatedly made military achievements and repeatedly defeated the spirit of Hedong, which won the hearts of the army. Therefore, the "foreign relatives gang" wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible. So, the "unparalleled case of the two heroes" mentioned above was staged. Zhu Youzhen's confidant Zhu Gui and He Gui killed Xie Yanzhang and then falsely accused Xie Yanzhang of treason.

After hearing the news of Xie Yanzhang's death, Li Cunxu of Hedong was overjoyed and immediately mobilized the entire army to march westward. This led to the Battle of Huliupi and the Battle of Deshengjiacheng. He Gui also became ill due to his grief and anger over the failure of the Battle of Deshengjiacheng and died in less than half a year.

Helping the Hedong Army to clear obstacles in their advance and eliminate the "two heroes of the greatest era", the "foreign relatives gang" made another great contribution to Hedong.

4. Zhu Youqian
With the passing of famous generals such as Yang Shihou, Liu Xun, Xie Yanzhang, and He Gui, there was a talent vacuum in the Later Liang Dynasty, especially with the support of the jealous "foreign relatives gang".

After He Gui's death, the court appointed the little-known Wang Zan as commander.

Wang Zan, son of Wang Chongying and nephew of Wang Chongrong, is actually Zhu Wen's cousin and Zhu Youzhen's uncle. I don't know if this relationship can be considered as a member of the "foreign relatives gang". However, based on existing historical materials, it can be inferred that he at least maintained a relatively close relationship with the "foreign relatives gang", which allowed him to be promoted without any merit.

It is an open secret that the "foreign relatives gang" sells official positions and titles. For example, Wen Tao, a tomb robber who was condemned by thousands of people and had a very bad reputation, lived an extremely comfortable life in the Houliang Group because he bribed the "foreign relatives gang" with a large sum of money.

After Wang Zan took command, he lost the first battle and was repelled by Li Siyuan; he won the second battle at first but then lost, and his counterattack against Desheng failed, and Puyang was conquered by Hedong. The Hedong front advanced again.

Later Liang had to change its commander four times, with Dai Siyuan replacing Wang Zan (Liu Xun, He Gui, Wang Zan, Dai Siyuan).

The Hedong army continued to push forward the frontier positions, and the Later Liang was defeated and in decline. Zhu Youqian of Hezhong took the opportunity to bully the central government, brazenly annexed the neighboring vassal (Tongzhou), and requested to hold concurrent office.

At this time, Zhu Youqian did not intend to rebel against Liang and surrender to Jin, but just wanted to expand his power. A strong local vassal would inevitably weaken the authority of the central government, which was equivalent to indirectly dividing the cake of the "foreign relatives gang" and snatching bones from the dog's mouth. This was something that the "foreign relatives gang" would not allow.

All the powerful ministers and eunuchs who control the government and have great power, as well as the interest groups they represent, will not allow the emergence of another powerful group outside the court, such as a powerful local vassal.

Therefore, the "foreign relatives gang" strongly advocated the use of force to attack and would never tolerate it! After letting the fierce general Liu Xun take charge, the "foreign relatives gang" generously contributed Yin Hao, Wen Tao, and Duan Ning.

Zhu Youqian sensed some unfriendly voices in the court, so out of fear he surrendered the city of Hedong in order to protect himself.

Zhu Youzhen initially believed the instigation of the "foreign relatives", but soon regained his senses and hurriedly sent someone to deliver the imperial edict appointing Zhu Youqian to concurrently lead Tongzhou. But he was a step too late. When the edict arrived, Zhu Youqian had already surrendered to Li Cunxu of Hedong.

Although the "foreign relatives gang" cannot be entirely blamed for the Hezhong region's submission to Hedong, the "foreign relatives gang" also played a role in fueling the situation and lost the opportunity to recover the losses.

(End of this chapter)