History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 280 Crying Jing Xiang

【Crying Jing Xiang】

In the third year of Zhenming (917), four years had passed since Zhu Youzhen succeeded to the throne. During these four years, Liu Yan established a separatist regime in Guangdong and Guangxi, proclaimed himself emperor, and broke away from the Later Liang; the "foreign relatives gang" forcibly divided Weizhou, resulting in a large area of ​​territory north of the Yellow River breaking away from the Later Liang. The territory of the Later Liang was severely reduced, and Zhu Youzhen's prestige declined sharply.

Zhao Yan, the leader of the "foreign relatives gang", suggested to Zhu Youzhen that "something should be done in the southern suburbs", saying that Your Majesty has delayed holding the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the heaven since he ascended the throne, so your throne is not legitimate and this is the reason for the alienation between the military and civilians. Therefore, I implore Your Majesty to hold the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the heaven as soon as possible.

In the feudal period, when the emperor "had something to do in the southern suburbs", it was not just a simple formality. The grand ceremony of offering sacrifices to the south suburbs was a huge project that cost the people a lot of money and labor, so even in a peaceful and prosperous era, the emperor did not offer sacrifices to the south suburbs every year.

It is precisely because this is a huge project that costs the people a lot of money and labor that the "foreign relatives gang" actively encouraged it. How can corruption be embezzled if it does not cost money?

In order to make enough money, Zhao Yan suggested that Zhu Youzhen leave the capital Bianzhou and go to Luoyang, the western capital, on the grounds that he could visit the tomb of the previous emperor Zhu Wen and pray for his blessing.

Zhu Youzhen thought what Zhao Yan said made sense, so he decided to go to Luoyang. It was already the twelfth lunar month, and Zhu Youzhen mobilized his army and took the civil and military officials to Luoyang, preparing for the next January in the southern suburbs.

Jing Xiang hastened to dissuade him, saying that the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the gods would cost a large sum of money, and that the huge expenditure would only bring false reputation, which was not worth the cost. Moreover, Liu Xun had just suffered a defeat in Wei Bo, and a powerful enemy was waiting on the north bank of the Yellow River, and the people were in panic. Your Majesty should not leave the capital easily, and should wait until the north is pacified before offering sacrifices to the gods.

Good words can't change a damned ghost.

On the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhu Youzhen led the entire leadership team to Luoyang to inspect the carriages, horses and costumes needed for the ceremony, renovate the palaces and houses, and arrange all matters required for the suburban ceremony.

At the same time, Li Cunxu set out from Weizhou with a few cavalrymen to hunt for fun. When they came to the Yellow River, they found that the Yellow River had frozen and the ice layer had a certain thickness. So Li Cunxu personally stepped on the ice to cross the river and launched an attack on Yangliucheng on the other side of the river, defeating 3,000 Houliang defenders and capturing the defender An Yanzhi.

This was a tentative attack that Li Cunxu had planned on the spur of the moment, but because of its decisiveness and sharpness, it caused a great psychological shock to the Later Liang army. The defeated army fled in all directions, announcing in horror that Li Cunxu in Hedong had crossed the river in large numbers and captured Yangliu City. The panic spread quickly, and as the news spread, it became "Li Cunxu had already invaded Bianzhou."

When the civil and military officials in Luoyang heard about this, they all worried about the safety of their families in Bianzhou, looked at each other and cried. Zhu Youzhen was also greatly shocked, and hurriedly issued an edict to cancel the suburban ceremony and rushed back to Bianzhou.

After returning to Bianzhou, I realized it was a false alarm.

The civil and military officials of the Later Liang Dynasty were like frightened birds. In a strange atmosphere of fear and relief, they welcomed the Spring Festival of the fourth year of Zhenming (918).

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Jing Xiang wept and wrote a memorial, "The empire has been at war for years, with huge casualties and huge consumption, while the territory is shrinking day by day. Your Majesty lives deep in the palace, and only discusses national affairs with inexperienced young people. How can you grasp the success or failure of military operations on paper? When the late emperor was alive, he owned the entire Hebei Province and personally led heroes to fight in the south and the north, but he still could not achieve satisfactory results. Now, the enemy has penetrated deep into Yunzhou, and Your Majesty does not seem to worry at all. I heard that Li Yazi has been leading the troops since he succeeded to the throne, braving arrows and stones. A few days ago, when he attacked Yangliu, he personally carried reeds and firewood and fought side by side with the soldiers. Your Majesty is elegant and calm, and only places hope on He Gui and his ilk... Your Majesty had better actively listen to the opinions of the old cadres and find other countermeasures... Although I am foolish and cowardly, I have received great favors from the late emperor. If Your Majesty really can't find talents, please send old ministers to the front line."

Jing Xiang's memorial was directed directly at the "foreign relatives gang".

Zhao Yan and others immediately retorted, accusing Jing Xiang of being jealous of talented people, complaining because his own interests were damaged, and harboring resentment towards the court.

Therefore, Zhu Youzhen not only did not reject the "foreign relatives gang", but instead favored the "foreign relatives gang" more, and became more alienated from veteran heroes such as Jing Xiang.

When Zhu Wen usurped the Tang Dynasty and established the Liang Dynasty, in order to win support, he named Qian Liu of Hangzhou as "King of Wuyue", and later conferred additional titles on him as Taibao, Zhongshu Ling, and Shangshu Ling. He ordered the construction of a shrine for him, and married his children to him. He made Qian Liu's son Qian Chuanying the duwei of the imperial concubine (Qian Chuanying unfortunately died of illness before the princess could marry, at the age of 36). After Zhu Yougui killed his father and seized power, he conferred the title of "Shangfu" on Qian Liu.

After Zhu Youzhen succeeded to the throne, he selected Qian Chuanjin, the son of Qian Liu, as his consort and promised him Princess Shouchun. Qian Liu sent General Du Jianhui to escort Qian Chuanjin to the capital and happily got Princess Shouchun.

This marriage was a test of Qian Liu by the Later Liang court, and Qian Liu got full marks. Qian Liu not only accepted this political marriage very tactfully, but also took the opportunity to pay tribute to the Later Liang.

Qian Liu sent envoys to pay tribute across most of China (916). This was undoubtedly a timely help for Zhu Youzhen, who was in urgent need of recognition because of his "illegal origin". Therefore, Qian Liu was immediately conferred the title of "Marshal of the Troops" and Du Jianhui was appointed as the remote governor of Jingyuan.

Most officials of the Later Liang Dynasty were opposed to this, pointing out that Qian Liu was just using "tribute" as a cover to do business. To put it nicely, it was business, but to put it bluntly, it was smuggling.

During the feudal period, foreign princes came to the Celestial Empire to "pay tribute". The delegations consisted of dozens to hundreds of people, and they carried a large amount of local specialties. Except for a small part used as tribute, most of them were used for trade in the capital or along the way. They openly engaged in smuggling activities with their privileged status as "tribute envoys".

Therefore, foreign states such as Nanzhao frequently (several times a year) sent large-scale delegations to Chang'an to pay tribute. The Tang Dynasty only had the empty name of the Celestial Empire, but suffered from smuggling.

Jing Xiang and other old officials also unanimously opposed to conferring higher titles on Qian Liu, because it was really impossible to confer higher titles on him. At present, Comrade Qian Liu's official titles are:

"Qi Sheng Kuang Yun Tong De Gong Chen, Huainan Zhenhai Zhendong and other military governors, Huainan Zhejiang East and West and other circuits within the jurisdiction of observation and disposal, concurrently Huainan Xuanshe and other circuits four-sided camp commander, Yingtian Anfu and Liangzhe Salt and Iron Administration and Shipping Envoy, Hangzhou Yue and other state governor's office chief, inspector Tai Shi, Shangfu, guard Shangshu Ling, Kaifu Yitong Sansi, Shangzhuguo, Wuyue King, food 20,000 households, actual seal 1,500 households". Now add "all the way military marshal", he comes to pay tribute next year, how will you confer? The year after next? The year after next?

After the drafting of the imperial edict conferring Qian Liu the title of "Marshal of the Armies of All Provinces" was completed, the Imperial Academy scholar Dou Mengzheng, who was in charge of drafting the imperial edict, held the imperial edict in his hands and couldn't help crying. Zhu Youzhen was very unhappy and immediately demoted him to the position of Penglai County Lieutenant.

What Zhu Youzhen was thinking was that, although "Marshal of the Troops of All Provinces" sounded impressive, it was just an honorary title. After all, apart from his own troops, how many of the "troops of all provinces" would obey his orders?

Qian Liu also thought so. How could he do a business that would lose money? So in March of the third year of Zhenming (917), Qian Liu recommended that his 3 sons be promoted to higher positions.

Zhu Youzhen approved all of them, and gave Qian Liu a buy one get one free offer. In October, he also awarded Qian Liu the title of "Marshal of the Army of the World." Comrade Qian Liu, are you satisfied now?

Although the title of "Marshal of the Army of the World" is also an empty title, it has a hidden benefit: it can establish a Marshal's Office, set up civil and military officials, and establish a complete independent leadership and management system. This means that Qian Liu, who holds the title of "King of Wuyue", has legalized his behavior of separatism in Liangzhe, and strictly speaking it cannot be considered "separatism". This is an inestimable political fortune.

Qian Liu was very satisfied with this, and he also found out the strengths and weaknesses of the central government of Later Liang. So, Qian Liu followed the prescription and very "loyally" paid tribute to Later Liang, pledged allegiance, and pretended to be obedient.

In the fourth year of Zhenming (918), after a long and fierce war, the Huainan forces finally occupied Qianzhou. From then on, the Huainan forces bordered Liu Yan of Southern Han, thus cutting off the only land route for Hangzhou Qian Liu to pay tribute to the Later Liang. Previously, due to the obstruction of the Huainan forces, Qian Liu's tribute route was to start from today's Zhejiang to the south, enter Fujian, then enter Hunan through Jiangxi (Qianzhou), turn north, pass Hubei, and finally enter Henan.

Now, Liu Yan proclaimed himself emperor in Guangdong and Guangxi and opposed the Liang Dynasty. The Huainan forces expanded southwards and annexed Qianzhou, forcing Liangzhe and Fujian to be isolated in the southeast, and their land connection with the Central Plains dynasty was completely severed.

In this year, Qian Liu sent people by sea, landed in Yantai City, Shandong Province today, and established contact with Bianzhou.

At that time, due to objective technological conditions, traveling by sea was extremely dangerous. According to historical records, the mortality rate was as high as 50%! Before setting off, the envoys had to write a suicide note in advance to explain their last wishes.

Even so, Comrade Qian Liu still sent envoys by sea to pay tribute to Zhu Youzhen of Later Liang.

Zhu Youzhen was deeply moved, but there was no way to increase Qian Liu's official position and title, so he instead appointed Qian Liu's son Qian Chuanjing as the military governor of Xuanzhou Ningguo Army, and gave him the title of prime minister (Tong Pingzhangshi); and he appointed his subordinate Du Jianhui as the acting Taifu and Tong Pingzhangshi.

Qian Liu's loyalty was just Zhu Youzhen's wishful thinking. Zhu Youzhen did not understand the basic principles of the political game. Interests were above all else, and everything else was just empty talk.

Jing Xiang tried to persuade Zhu Youzhen earnestly, but Zhu Youzhen ignored him.

In the fifth year of Zhenming (919), Zhu Youzhen ordered Qian Liu to attack Huainan. Qian Liu obeyed the order and sent his son Qian Yuanguan to lead warships to attack Huainan.

The war lasted from March to July, during which two major battles broke out: the Battle of Langshan (Qian Liu won a great victory) and the Battle of Wuxi (Huainan won). Both sides suffered heavy losses and finally reached a peace ceasefire agreement. Since then, there has been no large-scale conflict for more than 3 years.

Look, how obedient Qian Liu is!
So, in September, Zhu Youzhen issued another edict, ordering Qian Liu to attack Liu Yan, who usurped the title of emperor.

Qian Liu expressed his firm support for the Later Liang central government, opposed any form of rebellious separatists, and strongly condemned and protested against the "Guangdong separatist" Liu Yan... without deploying a single soldier.

Zhu Youzhen's attempt to plan for the future was thwarted. Qian Liu followed the imperial edict to attack Huainan based on his own interests. Qian Liu and the Huainan Yang family had long maintained a delicate relationship of war and peace, with long-standing territorial disputes and conflicts of interest, but also many common languages.

Huainan occupied Qianzhou, forming a semi-encirclement of Qian Liu, which severely compressed the living space of Liangzhe. A fierce conflict was bound to break out between Qian Liu and Huainan. It was just that Zhu Youzhen happened to issue an edict at this time.

Loyal? Zhu Youzhen was being too sentimental. Attacking Guangdong and Guangxi would not benefit Qian Liu in the slightest, so Zhu Youzhen was badly slapped in the face.

On the issue of Qian Liu in Liangzhe, Zhu Youzhen again did not follow the strategy of the "old veterans" represented by Jing Xiang, exposing the almost mentally retarded political level of Zhu Youzhen and his favored "foreign relatives gang".

Fortunately, Qian Liu's slap in the face did not cause any substantial losses to the Later Liang court, but only caused some loss of face.

However, on the issue of Heshuo, Zhu Youzhen still adopted the advice of the "foreign relatives gang", which brought immeasurable losses to the Later Liang regime.

(End of this chapter)