History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 363: Worried 2
2. Xuanwu Army of Bianzhou
Two months after Li Siyuan proclaimed himself emperor, he mobilized 3,000 Controlling Crane Army (formerly the elite imperial guards of the Later Liang Dynasty) from Bianzhou to garrison in Waqiao. After Zhu Wen usurped the Tang Dynasty and established the Liang Dynasty, he ordered the establishment of a personal guard army, named "Controlling Crane Army". Throughout the history of the Five Dynasties, this was a very mysterious force. Its main task was to protect the safety of the emperor. Its duties overlapped with those of the Imperial Guards and the Six Armies, but unlike them, the Controlling Crane Army almost never left the palace, let alone participated in any frontal battlefield.

Perhaps it was because of his distrust of them that Li Siyuan unprecedentedly transferred 3,000 Konghe troops to Waqiao, turning the emperor's personal guards in the palace into border defense troops.

The commander of this army was Zhang Jian (the same name as Zhang Jian of Huainan). As soon as he left the city, he led a mutiny and led 3,000 soldiers to attack Bianzhou. They smashed, looted and burned in the city, killed the acting governor and the prosecutor, and then forced Li Yanrao (son of Li Cunshen) to be their leader, just like Huangfu Hui forced Zhao Zaili, forcing Li Yanrao to be the leader and do some "big business".

Li Yanrao agreed and said, "Since you have appointed me as the commander, you should obey my orders. I now order you to immediately stop your misbehavior and maintain order in the city."

So the rebel soldiers stopped burning, killing and looting.

At night, Li Yanrao summoned his trusted generals and said that the mutiny was initiated by only a small number of people including Zhang Jian, and that they should capture the leader first. Then he ambushed several warriors in the office, summoned Zhang Jian and others to come to discuss matters, and successfully captured and killed Zhang Jian and four other core members.

Another accomplice of Zhang Jian escaped and led his men to gather and stir up trouble. At the critical moment, Li Yanrao decisively dispatched troops and killed all 400 mutineers.

The next day, Li Yanrao reported the incident step by step, and finally reported it to Li Siyuan.

Li Siyuan ordered the Privy Councilor Kong Xun to act as the governor of Bianzhou and preside over the affairs of Bianzhou. As early as when Li Siyuan led his troops south from Weizhou, Kong Xun was stationed in Bianzhou. He welcomed Emperor Mingzong at the north gate and Emperor Zhuangzong at the west gate. He had a certain reputation and connections in Bianzhou and understood the strengths and weaknesses of Bianzhou, so he was appointed.

There are records saying that Li Yanchao also participated in the suppression of the rebellion. In fact, Li Yanchao only followed Kong Xun to Bianzhou to search for the remnants of the Konghe Army and executed all the members of the Konghe Army and their families.

Li Yanchao helped Li Siyuan stabilize Taiyuan, and Li Yanrao helped Li Siyuan stabilize Bianzhou. Therefore, later historians praised Li Cunshen's sons. It was their loyalty and ability that allowed Li Siyuan to sit firmly on the throne.

3. Huazhou Yicheng Army
On the second day after Kong Xun was ordered to purge the families of the mutineers in the Konghe Army, a mutiny also broke out in Huazhou. Huazhou general Yu Kehong and others rioted. They not only burned, killed and looted in Huazhou city, but also launched an attack on the Weizhou Task Force stationed in Huazhou (previously Li Siyuan transferred Zhao Zaili to Huazhou, Zhao Zaili refused the order, but a part of the Weizhou soldiers were still ordered to be stationed in Huazhou).

The riot was quickly quelled. A few days later, hundreds of people from the main force that launched the mutiny, including the Huazhou Left and Right Chongya Army, were killed along with their families; the core leader Yu Kehong and others were captured alive and their entire family was executed.

From the way Li Siyuan dealt with the mutinies in Bianzhou and Huazhou, we can see that Li Siyuan was not really weak. He would "wipe out the whole army" at any time, and thousands of people died. Although Li Siyuan's temple name is "Mingzong", he is one of the most wise and holy rulers in the Five Dynasties period, and is known in history for his generosity and kindness, but don't assume that he is a good person who compromises. He only seeks negotiation and compromises when he is in a weak position in the overall situation of politics, military, and economy. But once he is in a strong position, Zhang Jian of Bianzhou and Yu Kehong of Huazhou will tell us another side of Li Siyuan.

4. Qingzhou Pinglu Army
When riot broke out in Weizhou, Fu Xi, the governor of Pinglu Army in Qingzhou, was ordered to go to support. Later, as Li Siyuan was forced into the city and the situation on the front line was unclear, he intended to return to Qingzhou. The eunuch Yang Xiwang, the supervisor of the army, refused to accept him and forced Fu Xi to return to the front line in Weizhou. Fu Xi had no choice but to turn back to Weizhou. At the same time, General Wang Gongyan launched a mutiny in the city and killed the eunuch Yang Xiwang, the supervisor of the army.

Wang Gongyan controlled Qingzhou, and Li Siyuan also took control of Luoyang. Wang Gongyan was overjoyed, thinking that he had seized a historical opportunity, so he wanted Li Siyuan to appoint him as the governor of Qingzhou Pinglu Army. To this end, he spread rumors, claiming that Fu Xi was mean and unkind, and had no support from the army and the people; he also instructed his subordinates to jointly submit a petition, saying that Wang Gongyan was magnanimous and kind, and had a good reputation, and was deeply supported by the soldiers and the people, and expressed their willingness to support Wang Gongyan as the governor.

Li Siyuan knew very well what kind of person Fu Xi was. Wang Gongyan was clearly taking advantage of the situation and wanted to make a fortune from the national crisis. Aren’t the previous examples of Zhang Jian of Bianzhou and Yu Kehong of Huazhou enough to move you, Wang Gongyan of Qingzhou?
It is not impossible to blackmail Li Siyuan, such as Gao Jichang of Jingnan and Qian Liu of Hangzhou. Just because you are a little-known soldier, you want to blackmail Li Siyuan? Wishful thinking. Li Siyuan issued an edict to commend Comrade Wang Gongyan for maintaining the order in Qingzhou and appointed him as the governor of Dengzhou. After receiving the appointment, Wang Gongyan refused to take up the post and submitted a memorial saying that the army and the people were too enthusiastic and it was difficult to refuse their kindness. He really couldn't get away and asked the emperor to forgive him.

Sure, I'll help you get out of this.

Fu Xi can't suppress you, but someone can. Li Siyuan ordered Huo Yanwei to be the governor of Qingzhou Pinglu Army, mobilized heavy troops, and took over armed control. Are you leaving? If you don't leave, I'll kill you!

How could Wang Gongyan dare to offend Huo Yanwei? He immediately packed up his bedding and rushed to Dengzhou with his family.

Huo Yanwei: You want to leave now? I'll still kill you!

Huo Yanwei sent troops to the east to pursue Wang Gongyan and his family, and then executed them alive. His accomplices also received the top treatment of being executed. Among those listed as "Wang Gongyan's accomplices" was a man named Han Guangsi.

Comrade Han Guangsi was the envoy of the Zibo-Qingzhou Observation Branch. In short, he was the third in command of the Qingzhou Pinglu Army, with the Jiedushi and Jiedushi Deputy Envoy in front of him. His father was the Imperial Censor Han Yin, and his grandfather was the Minister of Rites Han Jun. The three generations of grandfather and grandson were not very famous, and the reason why they were recorded in the history books was because of Han Guangsi's son.

When Huo Yanwei conquered Qingzhou, Han Guangsi was listed as a "conspirator of Wang Gongyan" and his entire family was to be killed. His son, Han Xizai, took advantage of the chaos to escape and, with the help of his good friend Li Gu, fled to Huainan.

Li Gu sent Han Xizai to Zhengyang, the border between the Later Tang and Huainan. In front of him was the Huai River, and on the other side of the river was the territory of the Huainan Yang family group. The two drank heavily, talked heart to heart, and said a lot of farewell words. One of the dialogues has become an eternal classic:
Han Xizai said to Li Gu: "If Huainan can use me as prime minister, I can command the army and march straight into the Central Plains to pacify it!"

Li Gu said to Han Xizai: "If the Central Plains can use me as prime minister, I can annex Huainan as easily as taking something out of my pocket."

The two laughed out loud, then parted with tears.

This is the origin of the idiom "take something from the bag".

Later, Li Gu was indeed appointed prime minister by Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou, and under Li Gu's plan, Huainan was annexed; and after Han Xizai arrived in Huainan, it was even more interesting. I will not elaborate on it here, because there are too many things to talk about and too many things that are thought-provoking. Here I will just briefly mention two sentences: He once urged Huainan to take advantage of the opportunity of Khitan's extermination of Later Jin to march north to the Central Plains, but his proposal was not adopted; he was posthumously awarded the prime minister by the Huainan Group after his death; he is best known for a painting called "Night Banquet of Han Xizai".

There is also a view that this dialogue appeared in the later correspondence, not when they parted in Zhengyang. But the latter is more romantic. The two talented men served their respective masters in different countries, but they were able to open their hearts and express their grand ambitions frankly and unbiasedly. The ultimate goal was to complete the great cause of unification. Imagine the scene at that time, it was really romantic.

(End of this chapter)