History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 299 After the Tide

【After the Tide】

"Jingnan is a small country with a narrow territory and weak military. It is located between Wu and Chu and is a small country." - "Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms"

The area of ​​Jingnan originally had eight subordinate states (the New History of the Five Dynasties says ten), which was definitely vast, densely populated, and rich in resources. The reason why it was called "small in area and weak in military strength" was that after the Huang Chao Rebellion, many heroes emerged and the various prefectures encroached on the area. When Gao Jichang took charge of Jingnan, "there was only one city, Jiangling". Although Gao Jichang had the title of Jiedushi, he actually did the work of a governor.

After Gao Jichang arrived in Jingnan, he pacified the refugees and encouraged farming and sericulture, thus restoring some vitality, but the overall strength was still weak.

Jingnan was a typical place of four wars, with Zhu Wen of Bianzhou in the north, Yang family of Huainan in the east, Ma Yin of Tanzhou in the south, Wang Jian of Xichuan in the west, and Lei Yangong of Langzhou and other clowns who were gradually swallowed up by the above forces. Gao Jichang was like a lamb to be slaughtered, surrounded by a group of jackals and tigers. Jiangling was an isolated city, in danger.

Good fortune and disaster go hand in hand. Although Jingnan is small, it is an important transportation hub, and the powerful enemies surrounding it provide Gao Jichang with a geopolitical game stage. Gao Jichang moved between Qi and Chu, maneuvering between the major powers with ease, turning the Jingnan region from a coveted fat meat into a popular destination.

Things are divided into high and low, noble and humble, and people are divided into different classes. In the circle of friends of the feudal lords, the political status of the big guys is also clearly stratified. Before the demise of the Tang Dynasty, this stratification was still relatively vague, and the contempt chain was relatively mild. After Zhu Wen usurped the Tang Dynasty, the feudal lord circle immediately completed the class division, and it was clear at a glance who was high and who was low:
The highest-level bosses openly established a country and proclaimed themselves emperors, on par with the Later Liang, such as Wang Jian of the Former Shu;

The next level, with a high degree of autonomy, refused to be vassal of the Later Liang, such as Hedong and Huainan;
The next level, with a high degree of autonomy, was a vassal of the Later Liang, such as Qian Liu of Hangzhou;
The lowest level, the loyal vassal vassals of the Later Liang, such as Gao Jichang of Jingnan;

In addition to these four levels, there is another type, who says the harshest words and suffers the most severe beatings. They are so mediocre yet so confident. They are obviously ranked third or fourth, but they insist on doing first-class things, such as Liu Shouguang of Youzhou.

Only after the tide goes out can you tell who is swimming naked.

Gao Jichang of Jingnan, who ranked fourth, was not only looked down upon by the top three peers, but also discriminated against by ordinary people, such as Liang Zhen, a successful scholar.

Liang Zhen, originally named Liang Ai, was from Qiongzhou, Xichuan. He was quick-witted and fluent in writing. When Emperor Xizong went to Sichuan, he took his poems to visit the great poet Liu Xiang who accompanied Emperor Xizong to Sichuan (10 of his poems were recorded in the Complete Tang Poems). After reading them, Liu Xiang clapped his hands in admiration and said that he would surely become a great man in the future, but his name - "Ai" would become a stumbling block on his road to success.

Liu Xiang explained that "Ai" means "paying respect under the rain", so he could not see the emperor. He might as well change his name to "Zhen". "Chen" means dragon. If the dragon walks, there will be rain. You will surely rise to prominence. So Liang Ai changed his name to Liang Zhen. As expected, he passed the imperial examination after changing his name.

At that time, the Tang Dynasty was in turmoil for a long time, and its future was uncertain. Liang Zhen, who passed the imperial examination, did not have the opportunity to become an official, but was forced to become a "drifter in the north" (living in the capital) and wait for a vacancy to be filled. He waited until the end of the Tang Dynasty.

Liang Zhen had no choice but to pack his bags and leave the capital, preparing to return to his hometown to try his luck in Qianshu. When passing through Jiangling, Gao Jichang warmly invited him to stay.

Although Gao Jichang was illiterate and a rough man from the military, he attached great importance to cultural education and respected scholars. Gao Jichang offered Liang Zhen a very generous salary and hired him as his staff.

Liang Zhen was a scholar with aloof arrogance. He looked down on the tiny land of Jingnan, and even more so on Gao Jichang, a small fourth-class vassal (he considered himself a Tang official and was ashamed to be a subordinate of a powerful vassal). Unable to serve the central court (Tang and Later Liang), he had to settle for the next best thing, and work for the first-class vassal (Former Shu).

Moreover, Gao Jichang was born a slave, so being an official under him meant being a "slave below a slave", which was considered a great shame and humiliation by scholars.

Liang Zhen did not want to be Gao Jichang's staff, but was worried about his revenge. So he came up with a compromise. He said to Gao Jichang: "I have never wanted to be an official (Zhen has never been interested in officialdom). If you don't mind me being a fool and insist on letting me participate in the discussion of political affairs, then please let me participate as a commoner."

This is the ultimate arrogance of scholars, you can do it in reality, but not in name. For example, you can live together and hold a wedding banquet, but you just won’t get a marriage certificate with you.

Scholars pursue fame, but Gao Jichang is practical. As long as you can give me advice, all other problems are not a problem. After several attempts, Gao Jichang realized that Liang Zhen was not being modest or polite to him, so he agreed.

Liang Zhen devotedly assisted two generations of leaders in Jingnan (Gao Jichang and Gao Conghui). He never accepted official appointments from Jingnan and always called himself a "former scholar". Gao Jichang also called him "senior".

Liang Zhen became Gao Jichang's chief adviser, gave correct opinions on many major issues, and made immortal contributions to the eventual independent founding of Jingnan.

A soldier who doesn't want to be a marshal is not a good soldier. Gao Jichang also had great ambitions. He was unwilling to be at the bottom of the fourth rank and wanted to be the first rank, a high-ranking boss that everyone envied. As early as the second year of Qianhua (912), Gao Jichang "had the ambition to occupy southern Jing". He expanded the city, widened the moat, and built new enemy towers. Among them, a new "Xiong Chu Tower" was built in the north city, named after Du Fu's poem "The northwest tower becomes the Xiong Chu capital, and the mountains and rivers are scattered far away."

In order to meet the construction deadline, Gao Jichang mobilized hundreds of thousands of laborers, "all the officers, guests and friends carried soil." It can be said that all the personnel in the territory were mobilized; all the tombs within fifty miles outside the city were excavated and their bricks were used to build the city.

After the project was completed, it was said that people often heard the crying of wild ghosts and saw ghost lights in the middle of the night. People said that this was because Gao Jichang forcibly demolished their tombs, leaving the wandering ghosts homeless.

During the construction period, earth, rocks and other building materials were piled up to the north of Yingcheng. After the project was completed, the abandoned and idle sand actually formed a small hill, and people named this hill "Jigong Mountain".

At that time, Zhu Wen was fighting fiercely with Hedong in Heshuo, and was repeatedly defeated. Gao Jichang requested to expand and renovate the city, but Zhu Wen was unable to control it, so Gao Jichang had to rush the construction schedule and complete it before Zhu Wen recovered. By that time, the matter was already done, and Zhu Wen had to acknowledge the fait accompli.

After Zhu Wen's death, Gao Jichang became even bolder. Having witnessed the decline of Later Liang, he became even more determined to establish his own kingdom and was unwilling to be controlled by Later Liang.

Ideals do not equal strength. Many aspiring young people have made this mistake, and Gao Jichang is no exception. He was ambitious and set the target of his first military invasion as Former Shu.

Gao Jichang went upstream and launched a tentative attack on Former Shu, but was taught a lesson by Former Shu general Wang Zongshou. After realizing the power of Former Shu, Gao Jichang had nowhere to vent his lofty ambitions, and he became dizzy and turned his spearhead against his backer, the Later Liang.

Gao Jichang announced that he was going to Hebei to help the Later Liang Dynasty attack Hedong. When passing through Xiangzhou, Gao Jichang showed his fangs and launched an attack on Xiangzhou, but was defeated by Kong Xing, the governor of the Later Liang Dynasty's Shannan East Road (headquartered in Xiangzhou).

Ideals are full of hope, but reality is very hard. Gao Jichang was filled with shame and anger, and he turned the tables, accusing Kong Qing of Xiangzhou of obstructing his northward march to support the war in Hebei and killing his northern expeditionary army, and on this basis he refused to pay tribute to the Later Liang Dynasty.

After Zhu Youzhen ascended the throne, he conferred Gao Jichang the title of King of Bohai as a sign of appeasement. Gao Jichang apparently returned to the embrace of the Later Liang, but in fact he secretly colluded with Huainan and Qianshu, recruited surrenders and rebels, expanded the army and prepared for war, with 500 warships alone. Zhu Youzhen could only turn a blind eye.

After the relationship with the Later Liang Dynasty eased, Gao Jichang continued to make territorial claims against the Former Shu, saying that the four states of Kui, Wan, Zhong, and Fu originally belonged to Jingnan and had been an inseparable part of Jingnan's territory since ancient times, and should be returned to Jingnan. He then sent his invincible fleet to forcibly take over Kuizhou.

Gao Jichang sent out fire ships to burn the floating bridge of Former Shu. The Former Shu troops set up layers of large iron chains in the river to block the fire ships. At this time, the wind direction suddenly reversed, and Gao Jichang's invincible fleet was swallowed by his own fire ships. The Jingnan navy collapsed instantly, and countless people were burned or drowned. Gao Jichang's flagship was also hit by fierce fire, and stones rained down, smashing the stern. Gao Jichang had to change to a small boat to escape the battlefield.

When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares into you.

The decline of Later Liang also made Ma Yin of Tanzhou, who was also a vassal of Later Liang, become restless. Gao Jichang of Jingnan, who had suffered repeated military setbacks, fell into Ma Yin's trap.

In the fifth year of Zhenming (919), Ma Yin of Tanzhou invaded Jingnan. Gao Jichang asked for help from Huainan. Huainan's reinforcements surrounded Wei to save Zhao and sent General Liu Xin to attack Tanzhou. Ma Yin hurried back from Jingnan to help his old nest.

This "Jingchu War" was very short and very absurd.

First, Gao Jichang of Jingnan and Ma Yin of Tanzhou were both vassal states that paid tribute to the Later Liang Dynasty and were both “our own people”;
Secondly, when conflicts occurred among "their own people", the boss, the central government of the Later Liang Dynasty, should have been the arbitrator and mediator. However, Gao Jichang invited "outsiders" and let Huainan, the hostile force of the Later Liang Dynasty, as the mediator. Regardless of the outcome, the high-profile intervention of the Huainan forces was itself a ruthless mockery of the authority of the Later Liang Dynasty. How could the Later Liang Dynasty feel so embarrassed?

Finally, there is no gain without early rise, and Huainan will not serve the "Jingchu War" for free. His mediation fee is Fuzhou (now Tianmen City, Hubei Province). While Liu Xin led his army to threaten Tanzhou, Huainan general Li Jian led his troops to capture Fuzhou. Fuzhou was the territory of the Later Liang Dynasty.

In other words, two vassal states within the Later Liang Dynasty were fighting each other, and one of them seduced foreign enemies and ceded the master's land to the enemy as a reward.

This also shows the decline of the Later Liang Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)