History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 514 Shi Jingtang's Struggle 9
One thing that has not changed is our foreign policy.

Since the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Huainan forces, under the leadership of Yang Xingmi, have been incompatible with the representative of the Central Plains forces, Zhu Wen. After Zhu Wen proclaimed himself emperor, the Huainan forces even regarded the Central Plains dynasty as a strategic imaginary enemy, and opposing the Central Plains dynasty was the political correctness of the Huainan forces throughout.

In fact, this hostility continued until the final demise of the Huainan forces (Li Yu, the last emperor of the Southern Tang).

The diplomatic strategy of the Huainan forces was also continued. From Yang Xingmi to Xu Wen, then to Xu Zhigao, and the descendants of the Li family, they were all strictly implemented, that is, to create chaos in the Central Plains and reap the benefits.

Shu and Huainan were the thorns in the eyes and flesh of the Central Plains court. Once there was no trouble in the Central Plains, the emperors of the Central Plains began to think about attacking Shu and Huainan, so the emperors of the Central Plains must not be left idle, and must be made to worry. If there was nothing to do, they would find something for him to do, such as the aforementioned interception and killing of Khitan envoys and framing the Later Jin.

The relationship between the Later Jin and Khitan was very special, and fundamentally different from that between the Later Liang and Later Tang. It needed to work harder to maintain its relationship with the Khitan, so the diplomatic focus of the Huainan forces was to sow discord and give the Khitan an eye.

3.3.2 Southern Han
A very arrogant existence.

Liu Yan took over the Lingnan region from his brother Liu Yin. After several years of fighting, he basically controlled the Guangdong and Guangxi regions today. He proclaimed himself emperor during the Later Liang Zhu Youzhen period and established the Southern Han regime. When Li Cunxu entered Luoyang, Liu Yan was very frightened at first and hurriedly sent people to Luoyang to pay their respects. When he heard the story of Li Cunxu "playing music and dancing", he was relieved. From then on, Liu Yan no longer sent envoys to Luoyang.

Throughout the Later Tang Dynasty, Liu Yan behaved very coldly. After Shi Jingtang proclaimed himself emperor, he sent an envoy to announce it, but Liu Yan behaved very coldly and ignored him. Emperor of the Central Plains? Humph, who cares? It's none of my business.

Shi Jingtang did not confer any more titles on Liu Yan, and the two sides never met again.

Although Liu Yan of Southern Han did not have any exchanges with Later Jin, she attached great importance to relations with neighboring countries and actively improved relations with Hunan (Southern Chu), Huainan, Min, and Wuyue. She was a famous lady in southern China.

But to the Later Jin Dynasty, he was arrogant and cold.

3.3.3 Min Kingdom
During the reign of Emperor Mingzong Li Siyuan, Wang Yanjun (the second son of Wang Shenzhi), who ruled Fujian, proclaimed himself emperor and established the "Great Min Kingdom". The Later Tang court did not recognize it and immediately broke off diplomatic relations with it.

During the reign of the last emperor Li Congke, Wang Jipeng killed his father and seized power. Wang Jipeng immediately sent envoys to present a memorial to the Later Tang, requesting to restore the old relationship and gain recognition from the Central Plains. It was October of the second year of Qingtai (935), and Li Congke received this memorial in March of the third year of Qingtai (936).

Li Congke was naturally very happy, because although Wang Yanjun and his sons ruled southern Fujian, they were still vassals of the imperial court. However, the two sides did not reach an agreement on the details, and there was no chance to discuss them at all, because more than half a year later, Li Congke burned himself to death, and the Later Tang Dynasty perished.

Therefore, after Shi Jingtang was enthroned, Wang Jipeng continued to show goodwill to the Central Plains, hoping to further ease relations with the Central Plains, and proposed to set up an office such as the "Min Kingdom Office in Jin" or an embassy in Luoyang. This was a legacy issue from Li Congke's time.

The Min Kingdom wanted to restore the old relationship with the Central Plains Dynasty. But there is a key question here: what is the nature of the "old relationship"?

The Central Plains Dynasty believed that the relationship should be restored to that of the late Tang Dynasty, that is, Wang Jipeng would govern Fujian as the "Fujian Jiedushi" of the Later Jin Dynasty. Wang Jipeng also called himself "Fujian Jiedushi" in his letter to Li Congke. Wang Jipeng believed that since his father Wang Yanjun had been emperor for many years and he was the son who inherited his father's career, he should be on equal footing with the "Emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty" as the "Emperor of the Great Min Kingdom".

One "good old thing", each with its own interpretation.

Wang Jipeng came up with a clever way to buffer the situation: he submitted a petition to the Later Jin Dynasty in the voice of his younger brother Wang Jigong, saying that my brother has succeeded my father and is loved by the people and supported by the three armies.

This is like finding a "matchmaker" when discussing marriage. Having indirect conversations through a middleman can effectively ease conflicts.

Since the end of the Tang Dynasty, there was little interaction between the Min Kingdom and the Central Plains dynasties, which were basically limited to showing goodwill from a distance. The Min Kingdom's transition from separatism to independence was a natural process, and it did not happen during the Later Jin Dynasty. It was a historical legacy. Even if Shi Jingtang recognized the Min Kingdom, he would not bear the stigma of losing territory (the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun were ceded, which was not a big deal).

Therefore, Shi Jingtang took advantage of the situation and appointed Wang Jipeng as the King of Min, adding 15,000 households to his fief, which was a positive response to Fujian.

We will discuss later that Wang Jipeng's succession to the throne was "patricide to seize power". The Min Kingdom was originally independent and had an illegitimate legal system. Wang Jipeng killed his father to seize power through a bloody palace coup, which was even more unjust and unreasonable. At this time, as the orthodox dynasty of the Central Plains in the traditional sense, the recognition of the Later Jin Dynasty was crucial, as it was related to the political foundation of the Min Kingdom's regime.

After being crowned the "King of Min", Wang Jipeng immediately expressed his sincerity to the Later Jin Dynasty:

Five thousand taels of platinum, six sets of gold wares (weight unknown), three thousand taels of silver wares with gold threads, twenty catties of pearls, thirty rhinoceros horns, fifty pairs of small silver stools (Hu beds), twenty ivory tusks, eighty catties of large tea, ten thousand catties of incense and medicine, as well as weapons such as silver spears and bows, various seafood, and countless other specialties...

This is the most direct manifestation of what political advantage is. It is simply cash withdrawal.

Such a large number of treasures were sent to Luoyang, which exceeded Shi Jingtang's expectations. So he decided to give back to this big customer with some small gifts. He conferred Wang Jigong the title of "Prince of Linhai" and gave Wang Jipeng an ochre robe (the emperor's exclusive skin). He sent Lu Sun, the right attendant of the imperial guards, as the envoy of etiquette to Fujian.

What follows is another historical mystery: the fallout between Shanxi and Fujian.

Living in harmony is in the common interests of the two countries. The leaders of the two countries reached a consensus and made relevant efforts, achieving phased results, and things were moving steadily towards a happy ending. However, at this critical moment, Wang Jipeng suddenly turned hostile, and the relationship between the two countries quickly dropped to a freezing point.

It was simply unbelievable, and the onlookers cried out that they couldn't understand it. After all, in the early efforts, Shi Jingtang just talked, while Wang Jipeng took out real money and made substantial efforts.

The historical records provide some reasons for Wang Jipeng's dramatic change in attitude, but these reasons, far from answering questions, add more questions to the mystery. The following is a brief summary of the clues given in the historical records:
(End of this chapter)