History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 315: The War Against Shu 1
【War of Conquering Shu 1】

After sending Li Yan away, Wang Zongyan did strengthen the border military forces under the lobbying of the "war faction" to guard against the attack of the Later Tang Dynasty. For example, he sent Wang Zong'e to lead 21 armies of the Right Dingyuan Army (Central Imperial Army) (roughly equivalent to today's regiment and brigade organization) to station in Yangzhou, and Lin Si'e was stationed in Lizhou as the Jiedushi of the Zhaowu Army of Lizhou.

"The Art of War" by Sun Tzu says: "The art of war is all about deception; so when you are capable, pretend to be incapable; when you are going to use it, pretend not to use it."

Li Cunxu had fought on the battlefield for most of his life, and he had already mastered military strategies and tactics, and was even more proficient in political tactics and conspiracies. He followed the instructions of the Art of War and "fought but showed that he would not fight."

While Wang Zongyan was dispatching troops everywhere to strengthen the border defense forces, the Later Tang Dynasty sent Li Yanchou to visit Shu again.

Unlike Li Yan's arrogance and rudeness, Li Yanchou was low-key and friendly. He showed full respect and courtesy to Former Shu and said that the purpose of his trip was to promote bilateral relations, enhance trust and strengthen cooperation. In short, it was to build a diplomatic relationship of good-neighborliness and friendship.

This move was very effective. Wang Zongyan had no ambitions, only to establish a separatist regime in Shu and live in a corner of the country. He was eager for the two countries to be friendly and maintain peace and independence. After warmly entertaining Li Yanchou for nearly two months, he sent him back to Tang with courtesy and sent Hanlin scholar Ouyang Bin to pay a return visit to Later Tang.

Subsequently, at the end of this year (924), Wang Zongyan took the initiative to reduce the border defense forces, transferred back armies including Guan Hongye stationed in Weiwu City, recalled armies stationed in Wuding and Wuxing, armies assisting in the defense of Qinzhou, and armies of Wang Zongxun stationed in Jinzhou; he also let his uncle Xu Yanqiong replace the general Wang Zongbi, and appointed him as the "Commander-in-Chief of Cavalry and Infantry inside and outside the Capital", ranking above all the meritorious officials and old generals.

He also appointed the eunuch Wang Chengxiu as the governor of Qinzhou, whose main task was to collect beauties from the people.

Wang Zongchou tried to persuade Wang Zongyan to kill Li Yan but failed. Seeing that Wang Zongyan had believed the sweet words of the Later Tang Dynasty and was addicted to sensual pleasures all day long, he was heartbroken and found Wang Zongbi in private, intending to carry out his godfather's will, depose Wang Zongyan, and choose another qualified successor to inherit the throne.

Judging from the energy contained in Wang Zongbi, as long as he nodded, the coup would be successfully completed. However, Wang Zongbi was hesitant and could not make up his mind.

In fact, this makes perfect sense.

According to historical records, Wang Zongyan ignored government affairs, leaving domestic affairs to the eunuch Song Guangsi and foreign affairs to Wang Zongbi, and the two trusted ministers jointly controlled the highest power in Former Shu. Wang Zongbi had reached the pinnacle of fame and wealth.

If Wang Zongbi supported the new emperor, could he have gone a step further? Obviously not. So why did he risk exterminating his entire clan to do something that would only do harm and no good?
Unless... he becomes the new emperor. So facing Wang Zongchou's proposal for a coup, Wang Zongbi hesitated. Either he would not do it; if he did, he would have to be the emperor, but he couldn't tell Wang Zongchou this... This was Wang Zongbi's dilemma.

Wang Zongchou probably guessed what Wang Zongbi was thinking. When the country was in crisis, you actually... Wang Zongchou was so angry that he couldn't catch his breath and died with hatred.

After Wang Zongchou's death, Wang Zongbi called the eunuchs Song Guangsi, Jing Runcheng and others and said to them: "Wang Zongchou instigated me to kill all of you eunuchs in order to restore order in the court. Now, you can rest assured!" Song Guangsi, Jing Runcheng and others prostrated themselves on the ground, crying and thanking Wang Zongbi for saving their lives.

Although Wang Zongbi did not launch a coup, he used the "failed coup" to betray Wang Zongchou, gaining the trust and gratitude of the eunuch group and consolidating his own vested interests. It can be said that he was very despicable and shameless.

Even Wang Zongbi's son Wang Chengban said to those around him: "Our family is about to face a disaster!" The "war faction" eunuch Song Guangbao reminded Wang Zongyan not to let down his guard, "Your Majesty, the imperialists are determined to destroy us!"

Song Guangbao requested to build 500 warships along the river in Jiazhou, recruit 5,000 naval forces, and go east along the Yangtze River, attack Xiang and Deng by land and sea, and go south to Jiangling. If successful, we will continue to advance, and if unsuccessful, we will retreat to the strongholds along the river. Then select 30,000 elite troops, raid Qi and Yong, occupy He and Tong in the east, and ally with Khitan in the north, and bribe them with a large sum of money. If the Khitan sends troops, it's fine. If not, we can also hold Dasan Pass to ensure the safety of Shu.

This military plan from the eunuchs was quite sharp and bold, and its core idea was to use offense instead of defense. Although the ultimate strategic goal was still to cater to Wang Zongyan's separatist rule of Shu, his method was to use active offense instead of passive defense.

Now that Tang and Shu had sent envoys to each other and signed a treaty of friendship and non-aggression, Song Guangbao's military plan seemed a bit out of place. If "friendly countries were surprised", how could we save our face? Wang Zongyan flatly rejected Song Guangbao's request.

Believing in the sweet words of the Later Tang Dynasty and the lies of peace, as well as serious strategic misjudgments, were one of the important reasons why the Former Shu Dynasty suffered a complete collapse and was completely defeated when facing the "blitzkrieg" of the Later Tang Dynasty.

Another important reason was that the command center of Former Shu was paralyzed, because when the war broke out, Wang Zongyan was on vacation in Qinzhou, thousands of miles away from Chengdu.

The reason why the Later Tang Dynasty fabricated the lie of peace was probably out of practical considerations, because the Later Tang Dynasty was facing the invasion of the Khitan at that time. As mentioned above, the Khitan's main target was Bohai State, and they carried out large-scale harassment and guerrilla warfare against the Later Tang Dynasty to contain the Later Tang army; the Later Tang Dynasty was therefore exhausted and unable to attack Shu.

However, the Former Shu only saw the phenomenon and believed that the Later Tang was no longer able to resist the invasion of the Khitan. Therefore, they concluded that the Later Tang would never attack the Former Shu. Under the threat of the Khitan, they were like a clay Buddha crossing the river, unable to protect themselves, so they believed the sincerity of the Later Tang in seeking good neighborliness and friendship.

It's really scary not to understand politics.

We have previously examined the environment before the outbreak of this war from the perspectives of Later Tang and Former Shu respectively. Now, we will use the same timeline to interweave the stories of the performances of both sides in the war. The contrast is very shocking.

Starting from April in the second year of Tongguang (924), envoys of both sides exchanged greetings, had cordial and friendly exchanges, and expressed their good wishes for peaceful coexistence.

Wang Zongchou failed in persuading Wang Zongbi to kill Li Yan and failed in persuading him to stage a coup, and both died in grief and anger; Wang Zongyan withdrew a large number of border defense troops that were on guard against the Later Tang Dynasty and expressed friendship towards the Later Tang Dynasty.

At the end of June in the third year of Tongguang (925), Li Cunxu issued a national mobilization order and issued an edict to "collect horses", that is, to collect horses from the people in preparation for the attack on Former Shu.

In July, on the Yingsheng Festival of the Former Shu Dynasty (July 7, Wang Zongyan’s birthday), a mountain shed was erected at the Dexian Gate. Suddenly, the weather changed drastically, and a strong wind blew up, destroying the mountain shed. The next day, a "thunderbolt" struck, destroying two stone pillars of the Yingsheng Hall. Yang Yin, the Shaoqing of the Taichang Temple who was in charge of rituals and music, submitted a memorial, which said:

"The collapse of the mountain on your birthday indicates that the country is unstable; the destruction of the stone pillars of the Yingshen Temple indicates that the pillars of the country are not of good character."

Wang Zongyan turned into an atheist, "It's just a coincidence. Let's resist feudal superstition and start with me." (Yan didn't care)
(End of this chapter)