History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 482 The fisherman gets a profit
【Fisherman Profits】

The external environment during Li Congke's period was relatively simple, and can be summed up in four words: the waves remain the same. Those who are dissatisfied are still dissatisfied, and those who are enemies are still enemies. The basic political structure is almost the same as that of the late Mingzong, but it has gone downhill slightly.

Although the rise of Xiazhou, the overtaking of Khitan and the separation of the two Sichuan provinces basically occurred during the period of Li Congke, Li Congke should not be blamed in any way.

Water has its source, and trees have their roots. Emperor Mingzong buried the cause, and Li Congke ate the fruit. Of course, if we must be hypocritical, Emperor Mingzong Li Siyuan was also relatively wronged, and we should continue to hold Emperor Zhuangzong Li Cunxu accountable. In short, Li Congke was the unlucky guy who finally took the blame.

3. Onion peel

3.1 Xiazhou
Li Yichao, leader of the Dangxiang tribe and military governor of the Xiazhou Dingnan Army, demonstrated his strength to the imperial court through the "Battle of Xiazhou" (933), won respect and laid the foundation for the Western Xia regime.

However, God is jealous of talents. After Li Congke ascended the throne, in February of the second year of Qingtai in the Later Tang Dynasty (935), Li Yichao, who was only 2 years old, died of illness in Xiazhou. Before his death, he recommended his younger brother Li Yiyin to the court as the governor of Xiazhou, and Li Congke approved the recommendation.

Some historical materials say that Li Yiyin is Li Yichao's elder brother, such as "Zizhi Tongjian"; some historical materials say that Li Yiyin is Li Yichao's younger brother, such as "Old Five Dynasties History", "New Five Dynasties History" and "Song History". According to the old rules, it doesn't matter, anyway, the two are brothers, both are Li Renfu's biological sons, and more importantly, Li Yiyin continued Li Yichao's political wisdom, ruled Xiazhou for more than 30 years, and lived until the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Li Yichao used force to lay the foundation for the external environment for the Western Xia regime, allowing the Dangxiang people to gain power. Li Yiyin, on the other hand, kept a low profile and led the Dangxiang people to prosperity and strength.

3.2 Khitan
The influence of Khitan on the Central Plains is the focus of this volume. The main story is placed in the following text, and it is only mentioned briefly here. The detailed and brief arrangement here cannot accurately reflect its historical influence during this period.

A few years ago, the Khitan focused its work on the areas beyond the Great Wall, first conquering the nomadic tribes in the west and north, and then the Bohai Kingdom in the east. Then, Taizu Yelü Abaoji died, and the domestic political situation became turbulent. Empress Dowager Shulü abolished the eldest son and enthroned the youngest son, and the national strength weakened to a certain extent.

At the same time, the Central Plains Dynasty quickly completed the transfer of power and united under a new generation of leadership with Comrade Li Siyuan as the core, ushering in the "Mingzong Prosperous Era", and the overall national strength improved compared to the Zhuangzong period.

Therefore, during the reign of Emperor Mingzong, the attitude towards the Khitan was relatively tough, and the overall attitude was offensive.

However, at the end of Mingzong's reign, first Li Congrong's failed coup and then Li Congke's usurpation of power caused the overall strength of the Central Plains dynasty to decline significantly compared with Mingzong's reign.

Under the bloody purge of Empress Dowager Shulü, the Khitans quickly and thoroughly completed the transition of power, and their overall national strength was greatly improved.

As one side gained strength, the other side lost strength. The Khitan's diplomatic strategy towards the Central Plains had shifted from defense to offense, becoming increasingly powerful.

Since Li Congke ascended the throne, the Khitans have continuously sent troops to harass the northern border of the empire. This is one of the reasons why Li Congke did not dare to offend Zhao Dejun of Youzhou rashly and let Shi Jingtang return to Hedong, in order to use them to resist the harassment of the Khitans.

The fact that Li Congke eventually lost his country and died was directly related to the Khitans. This will be explained in detail later.

3.3 Two Sichuan
Meng Zhixiang annexed Dongchuan and established a de facto separatist regime in Shu. In order to please Meng Zhixiang, Emperor Mingzong Li Siyuan sent someone to send him first-class court clothes and promoted Meng Zhixiang to the title of "King of Shu".

In August 933, the envoys arrived in Chengdu. Unbeknownst to them, Meng Zhixiang had already prepared a full set of imperial attire.

In September, Meng Zhixiang established three temples. In November, Li Siyuan passed away. In December, the news reached Chengdu. Meng Zhixiang predicted that Li Conghou would not last long and that the Central Plains would be in chaos, so he became more determined to declare himself emperor.

At that time, the leaders of the southern barbarians led their people to surrender, and Meng Zhixiang gave them official positions and titles in order to control and win over the people.

Various places reported the sighting of auspicious signs, such as a yellow dragon in the sky, white magpies gathering in a jade ball, and a white turtle swimming in the Xuanhua Garden... In short, various auspicious signs appeared in various places within the country.

The great strategist Zhao Jiliang then took the lead in submitting a petition to persuade the emperor, saying, "You should become the emperor soon, as this is God's will."

Meng Zhixiang was of course modest and declined, saying, "My virtue is not enough to humiliate the destiny of heaven. Being the King of Shu and getting old is enough for me."

Zhao Jiliang continued to persuade him, "You are a man of high moral character, but we are greedy and filthy. You don't want to be the emperor, but we want to be a founding hero and to be associated with a powerful person. Please be considerate of us and take care of the people's voice. For us and for the people of the world, please be humble and bear the burden of becoming the emperor."

In the first month of the intercalary year of 934, Meng Zhixiang officially proclaimed himself emperor in Chengdu and changed the country's name to "Shu" (known in history as "Later Shu", ranked among the "Ten Kingdoms").

On the day Meng Zhixiang proclaimed himself emperor, a strong wind suddenly blew in Chengdu, and at the same time, dark clouds covered the sky. Even in broad daylight, it was as dark as night. "Strong wind and dark sky" was very auspicious.

Zhao Jiliang, Li Renhan, Zhao Tingyin, Zhang Ye, Li Hao and other direct descendants of the old heroes all received due rewards, so there is no need to list them in detail.

After proclaiming himself emperor, Meng Zhixiang sent a letter to Luoyang, announcing the independence of Shu. The title was "The Emperor of Great Shu Presents a Letter to the Emperor of Great Tang". In the letter, he gave a reasonable explanation for his usurpation of the throne and his splitting of the country - seeing the public pressure. There was no other way, they had to force me to be emperor...

As soon as Li Congke ascended the throne, he received news of the independence of the two Sichuan provinces. Li Congke chose to ignore Meng Zhixiang's letter and did not respond to it.

Since Meng Zhixiang established his own regime, the Later Tang Dynasty called it "Pseudo Shu".

Previously, when Li Conghou ascended the throne, he promoted Meng Zhixiang to a higher position according to the custom, and appointed him as the Inspector of the Imperial Tutor, but Meng Zhixiang refused. This is the reason, he has established his own school.

Taking advantage of the opportunity of Li Congrong, Li Conghou and Li Congke merging into one, Meng Zhixiang established a country and proclaimed himself emperor, and reaped the benefits during Li Congke's rebellion.

When Zhang Qianzhao, the governor of Shannan West Road, was ordered to attack Fengxiang, he ordered Sun Hanshao, the governor of Yangzhou Wuding Army, to garrison Xingyuan Prefecture. Unexpectedly, Yang Siquan defected under the city of Fengxiang, and Zhang Qianzhao fled back to Xingyuan Prefecture, and then surrendered to Meng Zhixiang of Hou Shu with Sun Hanshao.

Meng Zhixiang sat at home with his door closed, and was overjoyed. The two military towns of Xingyuan Prefecture, Shannan West Road and Yangzhou Wuding Army, took the initiative to submit. So he ordered Li Zhao, the governor of Lizhou Zhaowu Army, to lead 5,000 people back to Lizhou (previously in Chengdu), and at the same time ordered Zhang Ye to lead 10,000 people to meet them.

Although the two military towns are not large in area, their geographical location is particularly important. They are located south of the Qinling Mountains and are important hubs for the Central Plains to enter and exit Shu. Whenever the previous article mentioned the collision between the Central Plains and Shu forces, or the sparks of friendship, place names such as Shannan West Road and Xingyuan Prefecture were always mentioned.

The control over the Shannan area determines the initiative in entering and exiting Shu and the Central Plains.

(End of this chapter)