History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 497 When a Politician Meets a Traitor 2
When Zhao Dejun led his army to Luanliu west of Taihang Mountain, Fan Yanguang was stationed in Liaozhou with 70 Wei Bo troops. Luanliu is located south of Shihui Pass, and Liaozhou is located east of Shihui Pass, not far from each other ( kilometers in a straight line).

Zhao Dejun was like a vicious dog, staring at the meat bones not far away. He couldn't help but think of Fan Yanguang. He wrote a petition requesting to join forces with Fan Yanguang, so that they could work together to support Taiyuan to the north.

Fan Yanguang already knew what Zhao Dejun had done along the way, so he urgently reported to the court, exposing Zhao Dejun's behavior of annexing other troops, and firmly refused to join forces with Zhao Dejun to prevent his own troops from being annexed by him.

At that time, the situation in Taiyuan had changed. With the help of Khitan reinforcements, Shi Jingtang gradually reversed the situation, lifted the siege of Zhang Jingda, and besieged Zhang Jingda in Jin'an Village.

At the critical moment, Li Congke decided to lead the army in person and go to the Taiyuan front line in person.

Prince Li Chongmei believed that Li Congke was ill (eye disease) and should not lead the troops in person, and expressed his willingness to lead the Northern Expedition on behalf of his father.

Zhang Yanlang, Liu Yanlang and Liu Yanhao persuaded Li Congke to lead the army in person. After much consideration, Li Congke decided to lead the army in person.

Before leaving Luoyang, Li Congke summoned Prime Minister Lu Wenji and asked, "I have always heard that you have the bearing of a prime minister, so I went against all odds and promoted you to be prime minister. Now, the country is facing a great crisis, what is your strategy?"

Lu Wenji had no choice but to kneel down and kowtow.

If Lu Wenji said nothing, it would not necessarily be a bad thing. However, he had few good ideas, but many bad ones. As soon as Li Congke reached the bank of the Yellow River, he convened an emergency military meeting to discuss the next plan.

Li Congke was unwilling to go to the front line, not because he was afraid of fighting with Shi Jingtang, but because he was worried that he would be away from the capital for a long time and lose control of the central government. What if someone else rebelled?
In Li Congke's view, even if the battle in Hedong was lost, the result would be Hedong's independence, and he could still be the emperor. But if he led the army in person and a fire broke out in the backyard, he would not be able to be the emperor. After weighing the pros and cons, Li Congke was really unwilling to march north.

Lu Wenji saw through Li Congke's meaning and said, "The foundation of the country is mostly south of the Yellow River. Hedong is not the core interest of the empire. Although the Khitans are coming fiercely, they are just taking advantage of the situation and will not stay in the Central Plains for long. Besides, the defense of Jin'an Village is strong, and the court has already sent many reinforcements (Zhao Dejun, Fan Yanguang, etc.), so nothing will happen. The emperor should stay in command at the center, wearing a feather fan and a scarf. As for going to the front line, just send a trusted official. If it fails, it will not be too late to lead the expedition in person."

Zhang Yanlang attempted to use this opportunity to remove Zhao Yanshou from his position as Privy Councilor, so he actively agreed to Lu Wenji's proposal, "Lu Wenji is right!"

Li Congke asked for other people's opinions. Liu Suining (son of Liu Xun), the governor of Zezhou, had secretly defected to Shi Jingtang, so he also actively agreed and said that the emperor must not cross the Taihang Mountains.

The others observed his expressions and guessed what Li Congke meant, so no one dared to raise any objections.

Li Congke asked everyone to recommend candidates for the Northern Expedition. Zhang Yanlang and others said in unison: "Comrade Zhao Yanshou is in a high position and has great prestige. His father, Comrade Zhao Dejun, has already gone to the front line. Zhao Yanshou is the best candidate for the Northern Expedition!"

Therefore, Li Congke ordered Zhao Yanshou to lead an army of 20,000 to lead the Northern Expedition on behalf of the emperor.

Li Congke's group made a series of stupid moves, and the hostages were either killed or released. After letting Zhao Yanshou go, Zhao Dejun had no more worries.

Li Congke missed the chance to form an alliance with the Khitan, missed the chance to lead the army in person and turn the tide of the war, and let Zhao Dejun's hostages go... But he still had a chance to turn the tables. The Minister of Personnel, Long Min, gave him this chance, and he took out the chess piece left by Emperor Mingzong - Yelu Bei.

Long Min suggested that Yelu Bei be enthroned as the Khitan emperor, and ordered Zhao Dejun and Fan Yanguang to lead troops to escort him from Youzhou to Khitan. Then Li Congke would announce to the world in the name of the Emperor of Later Tang that Yelu Bei was recognized as the only legitimate emperor of Khitan and diplomatic relations would be established with him.

If this happens, civil strife will break out in Khitan, and Yelu Deguang, who is under the city of Taiyuan, will inevitably return to Khitan at all costs.

Li Congke strongly agreed.

This is also the correct way for Yelu Bei to use it. When the Central Plains was threatened by the Khitan, he set fire to the Khitan's backyard.

Yelü Bei was the eldest son of Liao Taizu Yelü Abaoji, the designated heir to the throne, and the crown prince of Liao. It was reasonable and absolutely strong to support him as the Khitan emperor. In comparison, the current Khitan emperor Yelü Deguang was the usurper who was not legitimate and did not make sense.

Moreover, the war in Hedong was currently limited to the Hedong region. The area east of Taihang Mountain was completely controlled by the Later Tang Dynasty and was not affected by the war. Yelu Bei could eat hot pot and sing songs while going north from Heshuo, out of Youzhou and into Khitan, all the way unimpeded. The armies of Fan Yanguang and Zhao Dejun were not deployed to the battlefield either, so they could completely serve as Yelu Bei's guards and assist him in entering Khitan.

This was Li Congke's last chance, and Li Congke was ready to accept it.

However, this plan was eventually rejected by the North. The reason was simple: there were powerful people who opposed it.

Who was the one who opposed it? History does not give a clear answer. We can try to speculate that Zhao Dejun is the most suspicious.

Moreover, as long as Zhao Dejun did not agree, Yelu Bei would not be able to go north through Youzhou, and he could only go north through Hedong, but this road was a dead end.

Long Min, a native of Youzhou, had a close personal relationship with Feng Dao. After Feng Dao was promoted by Li Cunxu, Long Min went to join him. When the eunuch Zhang Chengye, the military supervisor, heard about it, he asked Feng Dao to bring Long Min here for an interview. After a long discussion, Zhang Chengye thought Long Min was a talent, so he made him his staff. He served Zhuangzong and Mingzong.

When Feng Yun was the governor of Taiyuan, Long Min was his adjutant. When Feng Yun entered the court as the Privy Councilor, he appointed Long Min as the Minister of Personnel.

When Long Min proposed to send Yelu Bei back to his country, he also expected that Zhao Dejun would oppose it. He said that he was from Youzhou and knew Zhao Dejun very well. This person was good at defending the city but not good at field battles. He was also ambivalent and would definitely not support this proposal.

So Long Min proposed a second plan, but it was a little risky. At that time, Li Congke had 5,000 elite troops in front of him, and Long Min pleaded to allocate 1,000 elite troops to escort Yelu Bei north along the Taihang Mountains, brushing the edge of the Hedong battlefield, fighting and marching, and forcibly breaking into the Khitan territory.

Li Congke was deeply concerned because if this plan failed, it would completely offend Yelu Deguang, thus deepening the conflict with the Khitan. After thinking it over, Li Congke gave up the idea of ​​sending Yelu Bei back to China.

(End of this chapter)