History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 332 Kang Yanxiao's Rebellion

[Kang Yanxiao's Rebellion]

Among the teams that went to kill Zhu Youqian's clansmen, two were the most critical: the eunuch Shi Yanqiong who set out from Weizhou, and the other was Li Jiji in Shu. These two killings became the fuse for two rebellions.

Let’s talk about Li Jiji from Shu first.

After killing Guo Chongtao, Li Jiji reorganized his troops, calmed the military spirit, selected generals stationed in Chengdu, and then led his troops back north. Among them, Kang Yanxiao was ordered to lead 12,000 people as the rear guard, keeping a distance of 30 miles from Li Jiji's main force.

When Li Jiji arrived in Wulian (southwest of Jianzhou), he met the eunuchs sent by Luoyang, who told him that Zhu Youqian had been executed and ordered Li Jiji to return to Suizhou as soon as possible to kill Zhu Lingde. Without further delay, Li Jiji sent General Dong Zhang to lead the army to execute the order.

Dong Zhang and Kang Yanxiao had a very bad personal relationship, because Kang Yanxiao was Dong Zhang's superior, and Kang Yanxiao also made more contributions than Dong Zhang during the attack on Shu. However, Dong Zhang was very good at scheming and was very close to the commander-in-chief Guo Chongtao. Dong Zhang, Gao Jichang, and Kong Xun were all grandsons of Zhu Wen (adopted sons of Zhu Yourang, Zhu Wen's adopted son). These three grandsons were good at guessing people's hearts and were well versed in human relations, so they were favored by Zhu Yourang and Zhu Wen. After surrendering to the Later Tang, they were also deeply loved by Li Cunxu.

Guo Chongtao often bypassed Kang Yanxiao and discussed military affairs directly with his subordinate Dong Zhang, which made Kang Yanxiao very dissatisfied. Once, Kang Yanxiao was furious with Dong Zhang and roared: "Do you think you are great just because you cling to Guo Chongtao's thigh? I am your superior, and I have the right to execute you by military law!"

Dong Zhang was very frightened and went to Guo Chongtao to cry.

Guo Chongtao adopted a milder solution: he recommended Dong Zhang as the governor of Dongchuan and relieved Dong Zhang of his military post. In other words, Dong Zhang was transferred from the army to the local government. In this way, Dong Zhang and Kang Yanxiao were no longer in a superior-subordinate relationship, and Kang Yanxiao had no way to deal with Dong Zhang.

Guo Chongtao designated Meng Zhixiang as the governor of Xichuan, and his confidant Dong Zhang as the governor of Dongchuan. It can be seen from this that there was a reason for Guo Chongtao's death. He was indeed domineering in dealing with the dividends of the war. The affairs of the two Sichuans depended entirely on him. How could Li Jiji and Li Cunxu not be suspicious of him?

Kang Yanxiao was even more angry about Dong Zhang's appointment as the governor of Dongchuan. He said, "I braved the arrows and stones, crossed mountains and ridges, pacified the two rivers, but got nothing, while Dong Zhang did not make any contribution, but got the fruits of victory. It was unfair!" So he found Guo Chongtao and said, "Dongchuan is an important town in the empire. It is very important. We must invite a highly respected and talented person to guard it. I suggest that Comrade Ren Yuan be in charge of Dongchuan."

If the superior consults first, the subordinate's suggestion is called a suggestion, otherwise it is an order. Facing Kang Yanxiao's order, Guo Chongtao was furious. I appoint officials, how can you have the right to make decisions?

"Do you want to rebel?" Guo Chongtao shouted harshly.

"I dare not..." Kang Yanxiao sweated profusely and retreated. Since then, the conflict between Kang Yanxiao and Dong Zhang has deepened.

After Guo Chongtao was killed, Kang Yanxiao found Dong Zhang and asked him coldly and viciously with a gloomy look on his face: "Now that Guo Chongtao is dead, I wonder who can protect you!"

Dong Zhang was so frightened that he apologized on the spot and only begged Lord Kang Yanxiao to forgive his misdeeds and spare his life.

Kang Yanxiao smiled coldly, "Remember this lesson from now on, do you hear me?"

After the army set out, Li Jiji received a secret decree in Wu to kill Zhu Lingde of Suizhou, so he hurriedly sent Dong Zhang to carry out the task. This was an important time node in the previous article. Dong Zhang went to Suizhou to kill Zhu Lingde, which became the fuse for Kang Yanxiao's rebellion.

First, Kang Yanxiao was horrified when he learned that Dong Zhang went to Suizhou to kill Zhu Lingde. He was not horrified that Zhu Lingde died unjustly, but why Li Jiji did not send him. Unfolding a map, Kang Yanxiao's doubts will be clear at a glance: Li Jiji led the main force in the north, Suizhou was in the south, and Kang Yanxiao's rear guard troops were right in between the two. Li Jiji chose to go far away instead of near, and let Dong Zhang who was beside him instead of Kang Yanxiao who was closer to carry out the mission, which aroused Kang Yanxiao's suspicion, "Does Li Jiji not trust me? Or... Li Cunxu does not trust me?"

Secondly, when Dong Zhang led his troops through Kang Yanxiao's residence, he did not stop to pay a visit, but "passed by his home three times without entering", and led his troops to quickly pass through Kang Yanxiao's defense zone in a combat posture... This further strengthened Kang Yanxiao's concerns, as it seemed that the court did not trust him.

In fact, Kang Yanxiao thought too much.

Li Jiji chose to go far away because this mission was not glorious but very difficult. He could only succeed and not fail. He could not let the news leak out in advance, otherwise Zhu Lingde would not be prepared. The more transfers there were in the transmission of orders, the more likely it was that the secrets would be leaked. Therefore, Li Jiji could only reduce the number of links in information transmission and let the generals around him carry out the mission directly, instead of passing the secrets to Kang Yanxiao layer by layer.

Dong Zhang "passed by his home three times without entering" because he was in a hurry. The reason was the same as the above. It was necessary not only to reduce the links of message transmission, but also to shorten the execution time. The faster the better, to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Kang Yanxiao misunderstood, and the consequences were serious.

Watching Dong Zhang's troops disappear in a cloud of dust, Kang Yanxiao felt very upset, so he and his generals drank to drown their sorrows.

Draw a sword to cut the water, the water will flow faster; drink to dispel sorrow, the sorrow will be more severe. This feast of wine was drunk in an extremely terrifying and weird atmosphere. The death of Guo Chongtao and Zhu Youqian greatly stimulated everyone, and the misunderstanding that Dong Zhang was ordered to go to Suizhou was like a dark cloud, hanging over the hearts of Kang Yanxiao and others, and lingering.

Everyone just sighed and drank silently. Unlike the past when they drank and talked happily, this time there was no other sound at the banquet except sighing.

After a long time, Kang Yanxiao suddenly slammed the wine glass onto the table, which scared the generals. When they looked in the direction of the sound, they saw that Kang Yanxiao's face had turned red, even his eyeballs had turned red, and his pupils were filled with blood.

"The country was able to conquer Daliang in the south and pacify Bashu in the west, all thanks to Guo Chongtao's strategy and my military exploits. As for the formation of a pincer attack and the containment of the main force of the Later Liang, it was Zhu Youqian's great contribution alone. Today, Guo Chongtao and Zhu Youqian were both innocent but suffered the calamity of genocide. When we return to Luoyang, I, Kang Yanxiao, will be the next one. It's so unfair! Oh, God, is this my fate?"

When he was moved, Kang Yanxiao burst into tears.

Most of the 12,000 people led by Kang Yanxiao were soldiers from Hezhong, or what the eunuchs and actors called "Zhu Youqian's accomplices and old subordinates." These people also cried bitterly, "Yes, what crime did Zhu Youqian commit to deserve the tragic extermination of his entire family? If we return to Luoyang, we will definitely become the second Shi Wu."

After crying for a long time, the generals from Hezhong said in unison: "We will never return to Luoyang!"

Afterwards, Kang Yanxiao incited the soldiers to fear and discontent, and collectively mutinied. Under Kang Yanxiao's leadership, 12,000 soldiers turned south and marched all the way to Chengdu. Kang Yanxiao claimed to be the governor of Xichuan and the governor of Sanchuan, and sent a letter to Chengdu, saying that he was ordered to replace Meng Zhixiang. He also sent someone to tell Li Jiji that the soldiers from Hezhong were crying and their morale was unstable, and there were signs of rebellion. I will stay here to help appease them. You don't have to worry about me. Go back to your Luoyang.

In three days, Kang Yanxiao recruited surrenders and rebellions and quickly gathered an army of 50,000 people.

(End of this chapter)