History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 470 Taking Office 1
【Take office immediately】

Li Congke's achievements were so great that he had long been a target for elimination by those in power. An Zhonghui had once spared no effort to kill him, and now he had become another target of elimination by those in power.

His son Li Chongji was exiled and his daughter was held hostage, and soon after he received an order from the Privy Council to move his capital.

When Li Congke saw that it was Li Congzhang who came to Fengxiang to replace him, he couldn't help but gasp.

Li Congzhang is Li Siyuan's nephew. He is cruel, bloodthirsty and murderous. Not long ago, he went to Hezhong Prefecture to replace An Zhonghui. When An Zhonghui saluted him, he shot him in the head and killed him. Now, he is coming to Fengxiang to replace him... When Li Congke saw the three words "Li Congzhang", it was as if he saw the Black and White Impermanence.

Li Congke was conflicted because he was too weak. After being framed by An Zhonghui, he was seriously injured. Although he was currently stationed in Fengxiang, he had few soldiers and horses, and was short of money and food. He was simply unable to confront the court head-on. So he sought the advice of the think tank.

The nerd Ma Yisun (also known as "Ma Yinsun") quoted "The Analects of Confucius" and said: "When the king summons you, you don't have to wait to go." It means that when the king summons you, don't waste time and just go!
As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately aroused unanimous opposition from all the generals. They pointed out that the current emperor is young and ignorant, and the military and political power is controlled by Zhu Hongzhao, Feng Yun and others. It is obvious that they want to harm your life, my lord. How can you fall into their trap?

The nerd Ma Yisun advocated obedience; the rest of the generals advocated disobedience.

Although the resistance was hopeless, there was still a glimmer of hope. Li Congke finally made up his mind and refused to be replaced. That evening, Li Congke ordered his chief think tank Li Zhuanmei to draft a manifesto, asking for help from all provinces in the name of "clearing the emperor's side".

In the manifesto, Li Congke accused Zhu Hongzhao, Feng Yun and others of taking advantage of the late emperor's serious illness to depose the eldest son and enthrone the youngest son, assassinating Li Congrong and supporting Li Conghou, thereby controlling the government. Now they are trying to sow discord among the royal family and shake the local warlords, which will bring the empire into an abyss of no return. Therefore, he had to raise an army to support the king and purge the court.

Chang'an is the only way from Fengxiang to Luoyang. At that time, Wang Sitong, the governor of Xijing, was guarding Chang'an. Li Congke was eager to win over Wang Sitong, so he sent his trusted confidants Hao Xu and Zhu Tingyi to Chang'an, bringing ten beautiful women who were good at singing and dancing as a gift, to explain the pros and cons to Wang Sitong.

Before leaving, Li Congke secretly told the two that if Wang Sitong refused, they should find an opportunity to kill him!
Wang Sitong is the grandson of Liu Rengong, the "Liu Kutou". His uncle Liu Shouguang imprisoned his father and usurped power. Wang Sitong defected to Li Keyong in Hedong and served Li Keyong, Li Cunxu and Li Siyuan. He is now the governor of the Western Capital, guarding Chang'an. He is infinitely loyal to the Later Tang and has a firm stand. He immediately arrested the lobbyist Hao Xu and others and reported the news of Li Congke's rebellion in Fengxiang to the central government.

The envoys sent by Li Congke to other military towns to lobby were basically arrested or expelled. Only Longzhou Defense Envoy Xiang Li Jin clearly expressed his support for Li Congke and sent his aide Xue Wenyu to Fengxiang to discuss major issues.

Li Conghou convened a royal meeting to discuss the matter of suppressing the rebellion of Li Congke in Fengxiang.

Kang Yicheng strongly recommended Wang Sitong to take command, the reason being that Kang Yicheng currently held the command of the imperial guards. If he were to lead the Western Expedition, the central power would fall into the hands of the "Rocket Faction" who stayed behind in the palace. In the "Li Congrong Rebellion Case", Kang Yicheng's two-facedness had been fully exposed. On the surface, Kang Yicheng had reached a cooperative relationship with the "Rocket Faction" and Li Conghou, but once he, the "remnant of Li Congrong", left the central government and lost his military power, he would become a fish on the chopping board.

Kang Yicheng promoted the imperial guard general Hou Yi to be the "supervisor" of the expedition to Fengxiang (the commander of the cavalry and infantry of the camp), but Hou Yi retreated and declined, claiming to be ill, and resolutely declined. He was then demoted to the governor of Shangzhou and sent away. The reason why Hou Yi resolutely declined will be mentioned later.

Li Conghou also sent Chu Kuangzuo to Bozhou to arrest Li Congke's son Li Chongji and put him in Songzhou prison.

On February 2, the central government completed the deployment of the Fengxiang war: Wang Sitong was appointed commander-in-chief, Yao Yanchou was deputy commander-in-chief, Chang Congjian was "military supervisor", and the imperial guards generals Yin Hui and Yang Siquan led the imperial guards to support; subsequently, An Yanwei was appointed as the chief military commander.

In March, Kang Fu and five other military governors submitted a memorial to express their support for the central government's decision and requested to send troops to conquer Fengxiang.

Fengxiang Li Congke was in dire straits from the start:
The only exit to the east was firmly blocked by Wang Sitong of Chang'an, while Kang Fu, the governor of Jingnan Army of Bingzhou, Zhang Congbin, the governor of Zhangyi Army of Jingzhou, Zhang Qianzhao, the governor of Shannan West Road of Xingyuan Prefecture, and Sun Hanshao, the governor of Wuding Army of Yangzhou, led their armies to approach Fengxiang from the north, west and south, staging the "Siege of Fengxiang".

Li Congke had few soldiers and generals, and was short of money and food, so he was isolated and helpless. On March 3, the various armies gathered outside Fengxiang City and immediately launched a siege from the east and west directions, conquering the east and west outer cities in one go, causing heavy casualties to the Fengxiang defenders.

The next day, the siege troops gathered again, ready to attack the inner city in one go and capture Li Congke alive.

The walls of Fengxiang City were thin and low, the moats were shallow, and there was a lack of defensive equipment. Once the siege troops blew the charge, the city would fall in an instant. Faced with the siege troops ready to go, the defenders were shaken and terrified.

Faced with a desperate situation where the beginning was the end, Li Congke made a desperate move and personally climbed up the city wall, crying to the siege troops:

"When I was less than 20 years old, I followed the late emperor in his battles. I went through life and death, and was covered in wounds. It was not easy for me to conquer this empire. Many of you were my brothers who fought side by side with me in the past, and many of you were my former subordinates. Today, you have also seen that treacherous ministers are in power, bewitching the emperor, and killing his own flesh and blood. Tell me, what crime have I committed?"

After saying this, he burst into tears, "Everyone who heard it was saddened." Then the situation in Fengxiang City changed dramatically.

The defenders of Fengxiang fought a desperate battle, and in the face of death, they were inspired to fight to the death. The soldiers attacking the city were afraid, but Zhang Qianzhao, the governor of the southwest, ordered the supervising soldiers to keep urging them. The supervising soldiers were not to kill the enemy, but to kill their own people. Those who dared to retreat in battle or dared to fear the enemy and not advance would be executed without mercy.

The soldiers attacking the city faced a fierce resistance from powerful enemies in front of them and their own butchers swinging their knives at them from behind. They collapsed mentally and began to curse Zhang Qianzhao. They mutinied in front of the battle line and turned their weapons to attack Zhang Qianzhao.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Zhang Qianzhao turned around and ran away.

The imperial guard general Yang Siquan took the opportunity to say to everyone: "Li Congke is our true dragon emperor!" He then led his troops to surrender in an organized manner and entered the city from the west gate.

Yang Siquan was originally a general of the Later Liang imperial guards. When Li Congrong wanted to fight with Li Conghou, Yang Siquan advised Li Congrong to recruit soldiers and strengthen his strength, and also said to Li Congrong, "You have soldiers, and Siquan is here, so what's the problem?" In other words, Yang Siquan was also a "Li Congrong faction", and was squeezed out by the "rocket faction" Zhu Hongzhao and Feng Yun. He was promoted in name but demoted in reality, and was summoned from Taiyuan Prefecture to the central government and thrown into the imperial guards.

When Yang Siquan saw Li Congke, he handed him a piece of paper and asked, "Look, Marshal, I was the first to defect to you in times of crisis. I am loyal, right? If you can conquer the capital, I will be your most meritorious minister. I hope you will not just give me a small position as a defense envoy or a training envoy, but grant me the title of Jiedushi. Thank you!"

Li Congke then wrote on the small piece of paper: "Appoint Comrade Yang Siquan as the Jiedushi of Jingnan Army in Bingzhou." Yang Siquan was from Bingzhou, and he was given the Jiedushi of Bingzhou so that he could return home in glory. But this piece of paper was just a blank check, a blank note written by Li Congke.

After Li Congke proclaimed himself emperor, he did not default on his debts.

When Yin Hui, who was deployed in the east city, heard about it, he shouted, "The troops in the west of the city have already entered the city to receive rewards. What are we waiting for?" He then led his troops into the city and surrendered to Li Congke.

The siege troops collapsed in an instant.

Thanks to my old friend "Book Friend 20180121110920727" for his monthly ticket support. I will add another chapter today to show my gratitude!

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(End of this chapter)