History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 460 A confusing ending

[Confusing period]

The Battle of Xiazhou lasted less than four months before the central government of the Later Tang Dynasty retreated in defeat. The casualties and duration of this war were not huge, but its impact was enormous.

Li Yichao greatly improved the prestige of the Tuoba Li family among the Tangut tribes, consolidated the power of the Tangut people in the Xiazhou area, and laid the foundation for Li Yuanhao to establish the Western Xia regime in the future. The story of Li Yuanhao's establishment of the Western Xia will be detailed later.

The defeat in the Battle of Xiazhou was a heavy blow to Li Siyuan.

Since ascending the throne, Li Siyuan has worked hard to govern the country and created the "Mingzong Prosperous Era". He has successfully suppressed rebellious forces in the country many times, such as Wang Du of Dingzhou and Zhu Shouyin of Bianzhou. He has achieved certain results in strengthening central power and reducing the power of the princes, but he has repeatedly hit a wall in his efforts to extend the central power.

Three foreign wars (in appearance, nominally submitting but actually separatist) - the Battle of Jingnan, the Battle of Liangchuan, and the Battle of Xiazhou - all ended in failure.

Especially in the Battle of Xiazhou, Li Siyuan's concerns were correct. The Tuoba Li clan flirted with the Khitans, and finally formed a tripartite situation (Liao, Song, and Western Xia). Western Xia was between Liao and Song, and was able to play both sides, becoming a strong enemy of the Song Dynasty, and successfully survived until the Southern Song Dynasty, when it was finally destroyed by Mongolian cavalry.

Li Siyuan certainly could not foresee the establishment and unification of the Song Dynasty, but he knew that the Dangxiang people entrenched in Xiazhou would definitely unite with the Khitan and become a major threat to the Central Plains dynasty, whether it was the Later Tang or any other dynasty.

Li Siyuan has no chance, he doesn't have much time left.

Li Siyuan was 60 years old when he ascended the throne. He had no money, no food, no soldiers, and was in a very weak position. Therefore, he felt rather frustrated as an emperor. With his bad temper and strong personality, he had to be a good man and compromise everywhere.

In just seven years, he suffered a series of political setbacks, such as the failure of three foreign wars.

In comparison, the political struggle without weapons is more cruel, and he is more like a lonely boat without power. He can watch it sink and float, and watch it drift with the current, but he cannot control his own destiny.

He sacrificed his mentor, friend and best friend An Zhonghui, but it did not help. An Zhonghui's death was just a product of the general trend, but it could not change the trend.

The local military governors with heavy military forces were still a major threat to the imperial court; the rise of forces such as the harem and eunuchs threatened the imperial rule from within. Li Siyuan felt that he was going to repeat the mistakes of Li Cunxu.

What made him even more unbelievable was that his son Li Congrong actually hoped that he would die as soon as possible so that he could inherit the throne.

Today, 67-year-old Li Siyuan is suffering from numerous illnesses, his health is deteriorating, and he is in danger of dying at any time.

Li Congrong finally couldn't wait any longer, and the Mingzong version of the "Xingjiaomen Incident" took place.

When Li Siyuan started the rebellion, his eldest son Li Congshen was killed by Yuan Xingqin. According to the system of primogeniture, the second son Li Congrong would be expected to become the heir to the throne. Li Siyuan also placed high hopes on Li Congrong. After he ascended the throne, he entrusted him with important towns, first Weizhou and then Hedong. He was also the co-prime minister of the Secretariat and concurrently judged the affairs of the six armies and guards. He also selected well-known intellectuals to be his staff. However, Li Congrong was a frivolous person. He created a persona of "being quite fond of Confucianism" for himself, pretending to be respectful to the wise and respectful to Confucian scholars. He fooled around with poets every day, pretended to be elegant, and often chanted poems and composed fu. It is said that he wrote more than a thousand poems, which were compiled into a book called "Zifu Collection". He also proudly declared that his poems were the best in the world.

But his careful packaging backfired, and the civil and military officials sneered at him. Even Li Siyuan personally advised him that it was good that he liked reading, but he would be the emperor in the future, and there would be professionals to help him interpret the principles in the books. Besides, we are military generals, and the so-called poems we wrote are actually of very low quality, and we are ridiculed by scholars. Didn't the late Emperor Zhuangzong like to write poems? Look at what he wrote, what a crap!

A poor student is a poor student. Why pretend to be a top student? If he is asked about CNKI one day, he will be in trouble. Li Siyuan taught his son earnestly, but Li Congrong would not listen.

Li Congrong wanted to create a persona of a scholar and a poet not just out of personal interest, in fact, he even hated Confucian scholars and was a brutal warrior. He put on the cloak of a "cultured man" mostly out of the need for political struggle.

According to feudal etiquette and the system of primogeniture, Li Congrong was the undisputed heir to the throne. But the problem was that since the end of the Tang Dynasty, no emperor had been born according to this system. Li Congrong might not be able to succeed to the throne smoothly.

For example, the person An Zhonghui wanted to help Li Siyuan get rid of the most was Li Siyuan's adopted son Li Congke. Li Congke had followed Li Siyuan since he was a child, and it had been more than 30 years. He had made countless contributions and had a close relationship with Li Siyuan. He was also older than Li Congrong.

During his lifetime, An Zhonghui reminded Li Siyuan many times that Li Congke would definitely rebel against him in the future. When An Zhonghui was dying, he expressed his regret that "I regret not having eliminated Prince Lu for the country."

Li Congke was one of the threats to Li Congrong's successful succession to the throne.

Li Congrong's half-brother Li Conghou looked most like Li Siyuan, so he was doted on by Li Siyuan. He was also calm and taciturn, liked reading, was polite, and treated people very well, which won the support of all the officials. His wife was the daughter of Kong Xun (he originally wanted to marry the daughter of An Zhonghui). Therefore, Li Conghou also gained a large number of fans in the court.

There was also a minor threat, which was Li Congyi, Li Siyuan's youngest son. It is difficult to verify Li Congyi's exact age, but he must have been no more than 7 years old at this time, because he was born after Li Siyuan ascended the throne.

What bad intentions could a child have? Li Congyi certainly didn’t know what factional struggles or the struggle for succession to the throne meant, but at such a young age, he was used as a pawn by people with ulterior motives.

This brings up the most powerful figure in Li Siyuan’s court struggle—Concubine Wang De.

Concubine Wang De was Li Siyuan's favorite concubine, but she was unable to bear children for him. So, when other concubines in the palace gave birth to children, Li Siyuan would "adopt" the babies to Concubine Wang De and let her raise them as her own children.

The prince adopted by Concubine Wang De was Li Congyi.

Although not her own son, Concubine Wang De treated Li Congyi as her own and raised him since childhood, and they had a deep affection for each other. A son is honored by his mother. Li Siyuan once said to Concubine Wang De, "This prince is the only one born in the palace, and I like him very much. (This child was born in the palace, so I love him especially)"

Born and raised in the imperial palace, young Li Congyi had a dragon aura in him. And because of Concubine Wang De, young Li Congyi was not completely without the possibility of inheriting the throne.

(End of this chapter)