History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 513 Shi Jingtang's Struggle 8
Not only should these regional top leaders be rewarded, but the second-in-command or the top leader's favorites should also be given certain rewards, such as Ma Xigao in Hunan.

Ma Xifan from Hunan sent "precious dragon and phoenix utensils" and "silver flower fruits" and other items.

Faced with these rare treasures and top-notch works of art with exquisite workmanship, Shi Jingtang first expressed his true inner monologue to his close ministers: "What's the use of these strange and lewd things?" After shaking his head and sighing, he said, "But they sent them to us from far away, which is also a token of their kindness. Although I don't like them, I shouldn't spoil their fun."

The ministers around him couldn't help but give him a thumbs up (those who heard it were convinced).

In order to express his appreciation for Ma Xifan's tribute, Shi Jingtang gave Ma Xifan titles such as "Commander-in-Chief of the Jiangnan Provinces", increased his fiefdom, and changed his title to "Meritorious Minister who supports the will of heaven and governs the country with virtue".

Therefore, Ma Xifan presented as tribute a privately customized royal luxury car, made of gold-painted cypress wood with gold flowers and silver decorations, decorated with pearls, clams, red silk net bags and other treasures, as a daily greeting; he also presented as tribute two thousand pieces of silk as a reward for the gift of "General of the Jiangnan Provinces"; he presented as tribute forty silver gongs (weighing a total of two thousand taels), three thousand pieces of cloth, and fifty taels of gold to thank him for the increase in fiefdoms and the title of meritorious official.

After receiving all these gifts of thanks, Shi Jingtang realized that this was not only a diplomatic success, but also a business victory, so he conferred the title of "General of Heavenly Strategy" on Ma Xifan, issued a seal, and allowed him to open the "General of Heavenly Strategy Mansion" and set up civil and military officials. This was the privilege that Zhu Youzhen gave to Ma Yin in the past, and now Shi Jingtang gave it to Ma Xifan.

Throughout the years of Tianfu, the Later Jin Dynasty maintained a healthy diplomatic relationship of peace, friendship, mutual trust and mutual assistance with the Hunan Ma Group (Southern Chu).

"Gao Laizi" in Jingnan, located in today's Hubei Province, was even more well-behaved. The character and personality of Gao's father and son have been described in great detail in the previous article, so I will not go into details here. I will just say something that was not mentioned in the previous article.

Similar to Ma Xifan in Hunan, Gao Conghui in Jingnan also maintained peace and stability with the Later Jin. Gao Conghui in Jingnan brought the rogue spirit to an unprecedented height, surpassing his predecessor. While maintaining friendly diplomatic relations with the central government of the Later Jin, he flirted with the hostile camp of the Later Jin, the Huainan forces. When Xu Zhigao founded the country and proclaimed himself emperor, he even sent envoys to congratulate Nanjiao and publicly recognized Xu Zhigao's "Southern Tang" regime, which was a red line that the Later Jin was determined not to touch. Jingnan touched it.

Not only did Gao Conghui of Jingnan flirt with Huainan, which was irreconcilable with the Later Jin Dynasty, but he also secretly communicated with the rebel generals within the Later Jin Dynasty. This content will be presented in detail later.

In short, Jingnan Gao Conghui is an authentic scumbag. It is not a matter of him having two or three relationships at the same time. He will step on as many relationships as he can and accept all of them.

Later, when the Later Jin sent an envoy to celebrate Gao Conghui's birthday, Gao Conghui warmly invited the envoy to participate in a water parade to show the envoys the huge naval force of Jingnan. Looking at the endless towering ships on the river, the envoys of the Later Jin were amazed. At this time, Gao Conghui said: "Wu and Shu have been disloyal for a long time. I have renovated the war preparations for the court. The powerful navy is ready to fight at any time, waiting to help the royal army unify the world!"

After the envoy returned, he reported the truth. Shi Jingtang was overjoyed and gave him imperial horses and other gifts. The two sides kept exchanging gifts.

In general, Gao Conghui of Jingnan was like a scumbag who had no chance to cheat during the Tianfu years. Although he was ready to cheat, he never got the chance, so he remained loyal. Is mental cheating considered cheating? This is a question, but it is not a "Gao Laizi" question. At the beginning of his reign, Shi Jingtang granted Wuyue Qian Yuanguan the title of "Deputy Marshal of the Army of the World". In April of the second year of Tianfu (937), he sent Cheng Xun, the Minister of Rites, and others as envoys to Liangzhe to confer Qian Yuanguan the title of King of Wuyue and bestow the gold seal of the Deputy Marshal. On the way back, Comrade Cheng Xun unfortunately drowned in the sea.

Qian Yuanguan presented a dragon-carved gold belt and emperor's clothing to the Later Jin Dynasty to express his recognition of the Later Jin regime. He also presented 500 taels of gold, 10,000 taels of platinum, 8,000 pieces of Wu Yue silk with exotic patterns, 3,000 pieces of gold gauze, 20,000 pieces of silk, 90,000 taels of brocade, 24,000 kilograms of tea, a rhinoceros horn belt and other items as a thank you gift for being granted the title and the military commander.

This deal is a steal! Keep rewarding me!
Now, Qian Yuanguan's official title is:

"A meritorious official who built up the country and protected its destiny, advocated virtue and was loyal to the Tao; deputy marshal of the army; military governor of Zhenhai and Zhendong; inspector and administrator of Zhejiang, East and West; concurrently envoy of the salt and iron administration, development and farmland management of Liangzhe; chief minister of the Three Departments; inspector of the Grand Tutor and the Minister of the Secretariat; chief secretary of the Hangzhou Yuezhou Military Governorate; senior pillar of the state; King of Wuyue; with a fief of 15,000 households and a seal of 1,500 households."

In formal official documents, these lines should be added before "Qian Yuanguan" and are the official name of this comrade.

On this basis, within a year, Shi Jingtang promoted the title of "King of Wuyue" to "King of Wuyue", allowed the establishment of a country and the appointment of officials; promoted the title of "Deputy Marshal of the Army of the World" to "Grand Marshal of the Army of the World", increased the fief by 5,000 households, increased the actual seal by 500 households, and promoted Qian Yuanguan's brothers and sons to higher positions and titles...

In short, Shi Jingtang was just offering gifts to Buddha, which was a benefit without any cost. And every time he was given a higher title or a higher gift, he would receive a huge thank-you gift, which was a profit without any cost and a guaranteed profit.

The difference between the Wuyue Qian family and the Later Shu, Jingnan and Hunan is that the Wuyue Kingdom is located on the coast, so it can get in touch with the Khitan by sea. Therefore, while maintaining friendly peace with the Later Jin, the Wuyue Qian Yuanguan did not give up the management of the Khitan. However, this is also fundamentally different from the Huainan forces. The exchanges between the Wuyue Kingdom and the Khitan are pure and sunny. There is no conspiracy against any third party (such as the Later Jin), and there is no imaginary enemy.

The reason why these three countries are put together is because they are highly similar, such as their geographical location and diplomatic positioning. It can be summarized as: there is a possibility of dialogue with the Later Jin Dynasty, and there is a common yearning for peaceful coexistence, but at the same time, it also maintains a friendly and mutually supportive cooperative relationship with the Later Shu and Huainan. It refuses to "take sides" between the Later Jin Central and Huainan camps, and I want both.

They are the "periphery" of the Later Jin forces. What bad intentions could the peripheral forces have?
3.3 Outside the periphery
3.3.1 Huainan
The Huainan forces underwent a major change during the reign of Shi Jingtang, when the powerful official Xu Zhigao usurped the Yang regime of Southern Wu and established the "Southern Tang". Based on this change, for the sake of convenience, the term "Huainan forces" has been used to refer to it, rather than "Southern Wu" or "Southern Tang" according to the time nodes.

However, Xu Zhigao's change of dynasty was very smooth, because the Yang family had long been sidelined by Xu Zhigao. The so-called dramatic change of regime now was just a change of the country's name, and the powerful departments and powerful figures had not changed at all.

(End of this chapter)