History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 417 Forced to Become a Hero 2
An Zhonghui's power can be easily felt through the appointment of Kang Fu as the Jiedushi of Shuofang.

In fact, many of the emperor's orders were not the emperor's original intention, but were done by An Zhonghui. An Zhonghui assisted in handling state affairs and could issue orders in the name of the emperor.

The external information received by Li Siyuan had to be filtered by An Zhonghui. An Zhonghui was already trying to sideline Li Siyuan. This was also the reason why Li Siyuan needed a Kangfu-like person to stay by his side, so that he could obtain external information through multiple channels and avoid being completely sidelined by An Zhonghui.

Li Siyuan may not have known about the dangers of the northwest beforehand, but only learned about it after Kangfu complained to him. In order to remedy the situation, Li Siyuan tightened his belt and squeezed out 10,000 elite troops from his teeth. At that time, Li Siyuan had just lost a battle in Jingnan. The previous article has analyzed Li Siyuan's weak predicament in detail. He was able to squeeze out 10,000 elite troops for Kangfu at this time, which shows that he really didn't want Kangfu to die.

An Zhonghui's arrogance also laid the groundwork for his downfall. When his power expanded to the point where he could influence the emperor, the emperor had to consider removing him. The following article will detail An Zhonghui's fate.

Kang Fu gritted his teeth and took extremely heavy steps towards the northwest of the empire. The road ahead was full of hardships and tests, no less than the journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures.

When Kangfu reached Fangqu (now Huan County, Gansu Province), he was attacked by the Qiang army. Fortunately, it was only a small-scale attack and Kangfu easily dealt with it and drove them away.

Kangfu continued to advance northwestward and arrived at Qinggang Gorge (north of Huanxian County). It snowed heavily, so Kangfu sent people to climb high to look out and indicate the direction for the army.

The scout climbed to the top of the hill and was shocked. He then reported the urgent military situation, saying that he saw smoke coming from behind the mountain, which he estimated to be thousands of Tibetan military tents!
The soldiers were terrified and didn't know what to do.

Kang Fu remained calm and ordered an active attack. Ten thousand soldiers were divided into three groups and launched a surprise attack on the Tibetan army.

The strategic intentions of this Tibetan army were unknown, and they had not discovered the Central Plains army at all. Faced with the sudden attack of the Central Plains army, they were panicked and had no time to resist. They fled in all directions and were almost wiped out by Kangfu.

In this battle, Kangfu wiped out the Tubo army without knowing why, and seized a large amount of gold, silver, treasures and precious war horses.

This is China, this is Chinese territory. The Tubo army has intruded without permission. It is legitimate defense to kill them all without leaving a single soldier. All consequences will be borne by the intruders themselves.

We can reasonably speculate that this Tibetan army either came to take advantage of the situation or was foreign aid invited by a tribe in the northwest.

Kang Fu's army descended from the sky and shocked the northwest. The rebel leader Li Kuangbin still wanted to resist. Kang Fu took advantage of the victory and defeated him in one fell swoop. Li Kuangbin was beheaded.

With his powerful military force and firm belief in maintaining the unity of the motherland, Kang Fu forcefully entered Lingzhou, controlled the Shuofang Army, and then reported the victory to the court. Only then did the Shuofang Army truly return to the embrace of the motherland. Before that, it had been divided by the Han father and son for 24 years.

In more than a year since he took office, with the strong support of 10,000 troops, Comrade Kang Fu convinced people with reason, adhered to the Central Plains Dynasty's policy of appeasement and control over ethnic groups, and used both kindness and force. He not only suppressed the local situation but also made the surrounding ethnic groups submit to the Central Plains Dynasty.

"After more than a year of arrival, the Western Rong all submitted to him." - "Old History of the Five Dynasties"

This is somewhat ironic. An Zhonghui originally wanted to kill someone with a borrowed knife, but unexpectedly he made Kang Fu into a national hero. The Kang Fu, who he called "a man of no merit", has now opened up the "Belt and Road" and provided escort for it. From then on, ethnic minority tribes in the northwest began to pay tribute to the Later Tang Dynasty via Lingzhou, and the Lingzhou Shuofang Army once again became a bridgehead, observation platform, and propaganda station for the Central Plains dynasty to control the Western Rong.

Comrade Kang Fu was therefore able to be promoted to higher positions and was awarded the honorary title of "Yao Zhong Kuang Ding Bao Jie Gong Chen". Kang Fu guarded Shuofang for a total of three years. Every year, there was good weather and good harvests. The treasury was full, and there were herds of cattle and sheep, and countless war horses. It can be said that his political achievements were outstanding. The strong economic foundation is also the basis of his strong military power, and the strong military power is the backing of politics.

We all have nine years of compulsory education, so why are you so outstanding?

It is said that An Zhonghui did not give up and continued to tell Li Siyuan that according to reliable information, Kang Fu had the ambition to secede and become the hegemon! Living in an important border town, holding a large number of troops, and actively developing his own strength, do you believe that he will not rebel?
Li Siyuan was half-believing and half-doubting, so he secretly wrote a letter to Kang Fu, saying, "I have treated you well, why are you rebelling?"
Kang Fu quickly replied, saying that I have received great favors from the emperor, and even death cannot repay it, so how could I have second thoughts? This must be a slander by a villain! How about this, please allow me to go to Luoyang alone to meet the emperor and complain to him in person.

Li Siyuan couldn't find Yun again, "Okay, it's just a joke, I believe you."

Kangfu submitted another memorial, continuing to request an audience with the emperor.

Li Siyuan had no choice but to agree to let him come to the court. After he arrived, the two of them expressed their feelings to each other, and then Li Siyuan moved Kangfu to Bingzhou.

The above record begins with "it is said". It is true that Kang Fu entered the court, moved to another place, and there was a traitor who spread rumors, but this "traitor" should not be An Zhonghui, because An Zhonghui had already died at that time, and the grass on his grave was very tall. The time does not match.

The reason why Kang Fu was eager to go to Beijing to meet the emperor was not only because he was eager to prove his innocence, but also because he wanted to ask the court to relocate his base and transfer him away from the barren, desolate and dangerous northwestern border.

Kangfu was a complete nationalist with a strong sense of national superiority. He considered his Shatuo bloodline noble and was extremely proud of being a Shatuo. At the same time, he despised other "barbarians", such as the Xi, Shiwei, and Dangxiang.

Once, Kangfu was ill, and his staff came to greet him. Kangfu wore a brocade fur coat and sat on the bed to receive them. Perhaps the brocade fur coat had been used for a long time, and there was a small tear on it. After one of the staff left, he whispered to another, "The brocade fur coat is rotten."

Unfortunately, Kang Fu heard this. Kang Fu was a soldier who had no knowledge or culture and did not understand classical Chinese. Hearing this, he flew into a rage and immediately ordered his servants to chase the man back. He angrily said, "I am a Shatuo, not a Xi! Xi is Xi, why do you still call me Xi? Come on, call me that again!"

The man quickly explained that "兮" is a modal particle, and the meaning of that sentence is...

Kang Fu didn't have the patience to listen to his explanation and scolded him. From then on, his staff would think twice before speaking and avoid being pretentious.

Under his command, there was a low-ranking official (a reviewer) whose surname was Luo. He had no talent, but he was a Shatuo and had naturalized with Zhuye Zhiyi (Li Keyong's grandfather). Kangfu wanted to make an exception and promote him. At a banquet, Kangfu said to his attendants: "Although Xiao Luo's official position is very low, his family is very high. He is a pure Shatuo!"

Everyone laughed secretly at Kang Fu (those who heard it laughed secretly). Pure-blooded Shatuo people... Where did the Shatuo people come from? The purer the blood of the Shatuo people, the more barbaric, barbarian, and mixed.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with a sense of nationalist superiority. After all, Kang Fu did not make any substantial discrimination or exclusion against other ethnic groups. On the contrary, he promoted the recognition and allegiance of the Western Regions to the Central Plains dynasty, and his contribution is invaluable.

(End of this chapter)