History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 507 Shi Jingtang's Struggle 2
3.2 Dad’s Dream
It is said that on a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, Yelu Deguang suddenly felt extremely sleepy in the daytime. He lowered his head and fell asleep. As soon as he fell asleep, he had a strange dream. He dreamed that a handsome god with gorgeous clothes and a large entourage came down from the sky. The god walked in front of Yelu Deguang and said to him, "Shi Lang will send someone to summon you. You should help him." After that, Yelu Deguang woke up and told this strange thing to his mother, Empress Dowager Shulü.

Empress Dowager Shulü scoffed at this and said, "My mother ignored it and didn't think it was strange."

A few days later, Yelu Deguang dreamed of the divine man again, who told him, "Shi Lang has sent someone to look for you."

After waking up from the shock, Yelu Deguang told the story again in vivid detail in front of his mother.

Seeing that he was deeply poisoned, Empress Dowager Shulü gave in and said that Yelu Deguang could ask a wizard to tell his fortune. After divination, the wizard told Yelu Deguang that the people of the Central Plains wanted to establish a new master and needed his help.

Not long after, Shi Jingtang refused the imperial edict and rebelled, and sent envoys to find Yelu Deguang. Eventually, he signed the humiliating "Three Articles of Treason" and ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun.

Yelu Deguang said happily: "I am not sending troops for Shi Jingtang this time, but in accordance with the instructions of the Heaven. (I am not sending troops for Shi Jingtang, but in accordance with the instructions of the Heavenly Emperor)"

This story is not a fabrication of Shi Jingtang's group, but a generous donation from his father Yelu Deguang, or garbage recycling. Because Yelu Deguang's purpose in dreaming these dreams was not for Shi Jingtang.

In front of the powerful Empress Dowager Shulü, Yelu Deguang was just a puppet emperor, and the only way for him to get rid of the control of Empress Dowager Shulü was war, the war against the Central Plains in the south. Therefore, since he came to power, Yelu Deguang has been a hawkish element in Tang policy and actively supported the invasion of the Central Plains.

Therefore, Yelu Deguang used the excuse of immortals appearing in his dreams to find a reason for his trip to the Central Plains. Empress Dowager Shulü certainly understood his thoughts and did not point it out, but she said that he did not think it was strange.

After receiving the promise of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, Yelu Deguang certainly could not say that he was interfering in the internal affairs of another country for the sake of land, and the Khitan soldiers were unwilling to die on the battlefield for Shi Jingtang, the former enemy. Yelu Deguang therefore justified his expedition by saying that he was "doing justice for the heavens". He was not doing it for Shi Jingtang, but in accordance with the will of heaven.

It is like the beacon country always uses human rights and democracy as a magic weapon to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. It can even use a bottle of laundry detergent to slander the other side for possessing weapons of mass destruction and launch a war to annihilate the country.

In order to match my father's dream, Shi Jingtang's group said that in an ancient Buddhist temple in Zhenzhou, there was a stone statue that suddenly shook left and right on its own on a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, surprising everyone. The time when the stone statue moved automatically coincided with the time when Yelu Deguang had the dream.

In other words, it was a dream that a stone statue in a Buddhist temple in Zhenzhou gave to Yelu Deguang.

The will of heaven is to Jing Jian. There is reason and evidence, and no rebuttal is accepted.

Yelu Deguang and Shi Jingtang smiled knowingly, and everything was said without words. One look, you know.

3.3 True God Assist
When Zhang Jingda led his army to besiege Taiyuan, he "set up fences around the city" and built a "Great Wall" outside the city. However, every time the project was about to be completed, the weather would suddenly change, with strong winds and heavy rains that destroyed Zhang Jingda's siege fortifications. From beginning to end, Zhang Jingda failed to complete the physical encirclement of Taiyuan.

There is a "Bishamon Heavenly King Temple" in the north of Taiyuan City, where Bishamon Heavenly King (also known as Duowen Heavenly King, one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" in Buddhism) is enshrined. Shi Jingtang once prayed devoutly here for blessings. A few days later, a fierce battle broke out in the northwest corner of the city. According to the report of the sergeant on duty, at night, a man who was over a meter tall, wearing golden armor and holding a big stick walked on the city wall. It took a long time before he disappeared. So, people said that this Bishamon Heavenly King appeared to help defend the city. In addition, there is a monk's square called Chongfu in the inner city. There is a clay statue in the northwest corner of the side room inside the square. One day, green smoke suddenly came out of the statue's head. The monks thought it was a fire and rushed to put it out. Seeing this scene, they were puzzled. Someone reported this strange incident to Shi Jingtang, who summoned an old monk to ask about it. The old monk said that when Zhuangzong Li Cunxu was about to become emperor, smoke had come out of the head of the statue, but the amount of smoke this time was much greater than that time (looking at the smoke gushing out now, it is even greater than before).

After the head of the statue began to emit green smoke, five-colored clouds were often seen next to the sun, "like lotus leaves". Shi Jingtang asked an expert to help interpret it, asking who this was a good omen for. The expert replied: Who else could it be? You.

In addition, Shi Jingtang would personally climb the city wall every morning to comfort the soldiers guarding the city. One night, a voice of command suddenly came from the city wall, "three times without stopping". Shi Jingtang sent people to investigate, and the result of the investigation was that the sound came from the sky. Therefore, people firmly believed that there were heavenly soldiers and generals helping Shi Jingtang to defend the city.

There were also cases where before the war, many wells in the city suddenly "overflowed" and so on.

In short, although Shi Jingtang was at an absolute disadvantage militarily, he was able to capture Luoyang with ease. "This was due to fate, not human effort."

4. Chinese Heritage

The Later Jin regime was not legitimate and was a puppet regime supported by barbarians. This was the biggest taboo for Shi Jingtang's group. They had to change people's perception and get rid of the label of "pseudo-regime". To this end, the public relations team of Shi Jingtang's group had to systematically whitewash and subtly change people's understanding of "Da Jin".

They found the right direction, which was to emphasize that the Later Jin Dynasty was the continuation of the Tang Dynasty, that Shi Jingtang inherited the country and people of Mingzong Li Siyuan, that he continued Chinese civilization, and that he inherited the Chinese legacy.

4.1 Mingzong's orthodoxy

After Shi Jingtang proclaimed himself emperor in Taiyuan (in the intercalary November of 936), he issued a general amnesty and changed the reign title, changing the seventh year of Changxing to the first year of Tianfu, making the "Tianfu" of the Later Jin Dynasty the successor to the "Changxing" of Mingzong, rather than the "Qingtai" of Li Congke.

In December, an imperial decree was issued that the cultural relics system and daily affairs of the dynasty should be implemented in accordance with the precedents of the reign of Emperor Mingzong of Tang.

In March of the second year of Tianfu (937), the chaotic systems of "regular meals", "granted meals" and "thank-you meals" since the end of the Tang Dynasty were standardized, and the implementation standards were based on the old rules during the reign of Emperor Mingzong, "granted meals under the corridor". In fact, this is a working meal system, "it is advisable to follow the old rules during the reign of Emperor Mingzong".

4.2 Using Tang Dynasty rituals and music
After Shi Jingtang entered Luoyang, he accepted congratulations from all officials in the Wenming Hall and "used Tang rites and music."

Clothing, rituals, music, and cultural relics are usually the external manifestations of the rule of law. A piece of background music or a fashion show can convey strong political signals, which is better than a speech at the top of one's voice. Imagine if Shi Jingtang wore a Hu costume, shaved his head, wore heavy earrings, and had tattoos on his face... No one in the Central Plains would recognize his regime.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to all book lovers!



(End of this chapter)