History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 458 Northwest Storm
【Northwest Wind and Cloud】

Now, a man named Sun Chao suddenly appeared in Liangzhou and was about to return to the court, which gave Li Siyuan a big surprise. In addition to being surprised, he also became curious about Sun Chao's background. What is the relationship between this Sun Chao and the legendary Zhang Yichao?
No one in the court could sort out the situation, and the final investigation result was: when Zhang Yichao was guarding Hexi, the court dispatched two thousand Yunzhou Tianping troops to assist in defense. After the "Huang Chao Rebellion", the central court and Liangzhou were blocked by the Dangxiang people, and they lost contact from then on. The two thousand Yunzhou soldiers fended for themselves in Liangzhou, married and had children, and have reproduced to this day. Today, the two thousand Yunzhou soldiers have long passed away, leaving their descendants to continue guarding Liangzhou. Sun Chao and others are the "second generation of Yun".

Li Siyuan was deeply moved. Two thousand Shandong people rushed to the imperial border thousands of miles away, to the distant Gansu and Xinjiang, and bid farewell to their hometown forever. Decades passed, and the Central Plains dynasty experienced the changes of power from the Tang Dynasty to the Later Liang Dynasty and the Later Tang Dynasty, but their descendants still remembered that they were Chinese and still wanted to return to the motherland.

It must be admitted that the return of Liangzhou was closely related to Kangfu. Kangfu had previously gone to Lingzhou to clear the northwest border, laying the foundation for the return of Liangzhou.

Following Liangzhou, the second news came from the northwest: Li Renfu, the governor of Xiazhou Dingnan Army, died.

During the "Huang Chao Rebellion", Xiazhou Jiedushi and Dangxiang tribal leader Tuoba Sigong made great contributions in suppressing the rebellion and was given the surname "Li" by the Tang Dynasty, the military name "Dingnan Army" and the title of Duke of Xia.

After Tuoba Sigong died, his younger brother Tuoba Sijian succeeded him. Because his later generations all referred to him as "Li", for the sake of convenience, we will call him "Li Sigong" or "Li Sijian" in the following text.

As Zhu Wen's power continued to rise, Li Sijian wisely chose the diplomatic strategy of "making friends with distant countries and attacking nearby ones", and joined Zhu Wen, while becoming enemies with neighbors such as Li Maozhen.

When Zhu Wen usurped the Tang Dynasty, Li Sijian was one of the first vassal states to recognize and pay tribute to him. Li Sijian and his Xiazhou Dingnan Army were continuously promoted by the Central Plains dynasty.

After Li Sijian's death, Li Sigong's grandson Li Yichang succeeded to the throne. Soon, the Tuoba tribe was in turmoil. General Gao Zongyi launched a rebellion, killed Li Yichang and established himself as the emperor. Later, Gao Zongyi was killed by his generals, and the three armies supported Li Renfu as the commander. Li Renfu's identity is a mystery. Some historical books say that he is Li Yichang's "clan father", while others clearly state that his identity and lineage are unknown.

Li Renfu should be the uncle of Li Yichang, because his son's name is also "Yi".

In short, after a coup d'état, Li Renfu was elected as the governor of Xiazhou Dingnan Army.

Li Renfu implemented the political wisdom of his ancestors, pledged loyalty to the Later Liang, helped the Later Liang attack the Hedong Group, and was granted the title of Prince of Longxi.

When Li Cunxu overthrew the Later Liang Dynasty, Li Renfu was terrified because he had been against the Hedong forces for a long time. So he sent his brother Li Renyu to meet Li Cunxu with gifts, letters of apology and congratulations to express his loyalty to Li Cunxu.

When Li Cunxu met him, they laughed off all grudges and promoted Li Renfu to King of Shuofang, continuing to recognize their family's rule over the Dingnan Army in Xiazhou.

Tuoba Li not only controlled the Xiazhou Dingnan Army, but also plundered surrounding counties from time to time, becoming an organized large-scale armed criminal gang.

However, the problems they brought to the Later Tang Dynasty were not just security issues. The biggest threat they posed to the Later Tang Dynasty was their collusion with the Khitans.

From the beginning, the Tuoba Li family was not a die-hard fan of the Central Plains Dynasty. Even during the "Huang Chao Rebellion", they played the role of mercenaries, and money was everything. Profits always come first, and paying tribute to the Central Plains Dynasty was only a temporary expedient. With the gradual decline of the Central Plains Dynasty and the growing strength of the Khitan, the political stance of the Xiazhou Dingnan Army became more and more shaky, and their attitude towards the Later Tang was obviously not as good as that towards the Later Liang.

In particular, the Khitan's several westward expeditions caused the Dangxiang people to suffer a lot and also refreshed their understanding of the Khitan and the Central Plains.

This change in attitude of Xiazhou caused great vigilance and panic in the Later Tang Dynasty. If the Xiazhou Dingnan Army colluded with the Khitan, it would form a terrible pincer attack on the Central Plains Dynasty, from the northeast to the northwest, like a slash hanging over the head of the Later Tang Dynasty, which made Li Siyuan sleepless. The western vassal states also often reported that Li Renfu of Xiazhou secretly communicated with the Khitan. Now, good news came that Li Renfu died of illness, and his generals recommended his son Li Yichao to succeed him.

Therefore, Li Siyuan used the strategy of "moving the garrison" to trick Li Yichao, and appointed Li Yichao as the governor of the Zhangwu Army of Yanzhou. At the same time, he appointed An Congjin, the governor of the Zhangwu Army of Yanzhou, as the governor of the Dingnan Army of Xiazhou. He also sent Yao Yanchou, the governor of Bingzhou, to lead an army of 50,000, with An Chongyi, the palace envoy, as the military supervisor, to escort An Congjin to Xiazhou.

It was called an armed escort, but in reality it was a forced takeover.

Li Yichao submitted a petition, saying that he was deeply honored to be appointed as the governor of Yanzhou by the Holy Grace, and was very willing to obey the organization's arrangements. However, our family has governed Xiazhou for a long time and has always implemented good policies. The people and the soldiers of the three armed forces all support me very much and are reluctant to let me go. They insist that I stay. It is hard to refuse such a kind invitation. He hoped that the organization would reconsider and let me stay on this beloved land.

Don’t give me that!

Li Siyuan believed that Xiazhou was poor and remote, with weak strength. Moreover, Li Yichao was young and incompetent, and had just inherited his father's throne, so his ruling foundation was not solid. It was a good opportunity to eliminate him by force, so he wrote a letter with a threatening tone, firmly rejected Li Yichao's request, and ordered him to move the town immediately.

As the supreme ruler of the empire, Li Siyuan must of course give a more plausible reason for moving the town. So Li Siyuan explained to the people of Xiazhou: Xiazhou is poor and remote, and Li Yichao is young and cannot effectively deal with foreign invasions, so he was sent to a relatively safe place. This was the organization's care and love for him.

In the second half of the edict, Li Siyuan cited the current example to explain the pros and cons:
"If you obey my order, you will have the blessing of wealth and honor like Li Congxun and Gao Yuntao. If you disobey my order, you will have the disaster of overthrowing your clan like Wang Du and Li Kuangbin."

Li Congzhun, also known as Li Jizhun, the son of Li Maozhen, voluntarily offered Fengxiang, but still enjoyed the post of Jiedushi in Later Tang and enjoyed wealth and glory; Gao Yuntao, the son of Gao Wanxing, originally belonged to the Fengxiang Li Maozhen group, and later surrendered to Zhu Wen, sitting in Fuzhou and Yanzhou. After the demise of Later Liang, he returned to Later Tang and still retained his original fiefdom and title. After Gao Wanxing's death, his son Gao Yuntao succeeded his father.

Li Siyuan took Li Jihe and Gao Yuntao, two people who knew the times, as positive examples and told Li Yichao that as long as he sincerely pledged his loyalty to the Later Tang Dynasty, he would never let him down.

The second half of the sentence cites the negative examples of Wang Du of Dingzhou and Li Kuangbin of Shuofang.

"Also, Wang Du was greedy for Shanggu, and Li Kuangbin was stingy with Shuofang. Some of them formed alliances with the Khitan to steal the day and night; some of them relied on the Dangxiang to steal the mountains and rivers."

What was their outcome? “They were defeated just as they launched the campaign.”

"Why should we quote from the past and present to explain the benefits and disadvantages? We can just talk about recent events to give a brief introduction to the future."

Fearing that Li Yichao would not understand, Li Siyuan simply issued a naked threat:

"If he wants to destroy the clan, then Wang Du and Li Kuangbin can serve as a warning; if he wants to keep himself safe, then Yun Tao and Cong He can serve as a rule. I have set two options, you should choose your own... 50,000 cavalry and infantry will escort An Congjin to his post. Those who obey my orders will not be harmed, and those who disobey my orders will be killed along with their entire clan..."

The main idea of ​​the edict is easy to understand: those who obey me will prosper, and those who defy me will perish.

(End of this chapter)