History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 533: Three Towns Rebellion 7
Shi Jingtang would never allow Anzhou to rebel and surrender to Huainan, and would not sit idly by and watch it secede and become independent. However, Li Jinquan and Hu Hanyun, the master and servant, were in collusion and doing whatever they wanted, which would inevitably lead to chaos sooner or later. Therefore, when the battle in Weizhou reached a stalemate, Shi Jingtang had to take advantage of Li Jinquan's initial arrival in Anzhou and his unstable foothold to properly handle the Anzhou issue.

Shi Jingtang issued an edict to promote Hu Hanyun to the central government and reward him with an official position in recognition of his contribution in suppressing the rebellion of Wang Hui in Anzhou. He also sent Jia Renzhao, an official known for his integrity, to replace him.

Strike while the iron is hot, promote in public but demote in secret. Faced with Shi Jingtang's old routine, Li Jinquan was helpless, and the emperor's words were well-reasoned and reasonable.

Hu Hanyun gave Li Jinquan some advice, that is, to refuse reasonably. So, under his guidance, Li Jinquan submitted a memorial to the court, saying that Hu Hanyun was unfortunately seriously ill and could not leave for the time being, and asked for some time, and when his condition improved, he would definitely let him go to the capital to receive the imperial edict and express his gratitude.

Li Jinquan's old friend Pang Lingtu advised him not to be stubborn and said that Jia Renzhao was a loyal and righteous man and using him to replace Hu Hanyun would only benefit Li Jinquan and not harm him.

Jia Renzhao was originally Wang Yanqiu's aide. When Wang Yanqiu was ordered to conquer Wang Du of Dingzhou, Wang Du selected a sniper who was skilled in archery to kill Wang Yanqiu on the city wall. The arrow hit Wang Yanqiu's helmet and almost took Wang Yanqiu's life. Jia Renzhao, who was behind Wang Yanqiu, bent his bow and shot the sniper on the city wall with one accurate shot.

Wang Yanqiu recovered from his panic and turned back to ask who had killed the sniper on the city wall and wanted to reward him generously. However, Jia Renzhao quietly put away his bow and arrows, "retreating without saying anything", hiding his merit and fame.

After conquering Dingzhou, Wang Yanqiu sent Jia Renzhao to report his victory to the capital. Li Siyuan gave him a generous reward, but Jia Renzhao distributed all his reward to the poor among his relatives and friends. As a result, Jia Renzhao's loyalty, bravery and integrity became widely known and praised by the world.

After Hu Hanjun learned of Pang Lingtu's suggestion, he immediately sent assassins to climb over the wall at night and kill Pang Lingtu's family. He also poisoned Jia Renzhao to death. He then colluded with Zhang Wei, Li Jinquan's aide, to deceive Li Jinquan.

Li Jinquan really listened to Hu Hanyun's words and became more and more favored. Hu Hanyun used the Jia Renzhao incident as an example, saying that this was the court's intention to divide and disintegrate the lord's power. First, they clipped your wings and eliminated your cliques, and then recruited soldiers and grain... The lord has been a soldier all his life, doesn't he understand this principle? It's like boiling a frog in warm water!

Under Hu Hanyun's constant instigation, Li Jinquan gradually developed rebellious ambitions.

Press on Li Jinquan of Anzhou, and then shift your attention to Weizhou in the north.

During the more than one year-long siege, Yang Guangyuan could only come up with one solution: shoot 200 arrows with leaflets tied to them into the city, which basically said that all soldiers and civilians except Fan Yanguang would be pardoned, and encouraged the soldiers and civilians to capture and kill Fan Yanguang. The 200 arrows fell into the sea, and no one in the city responded.

In addition, sieges and sieges turned into demonstrations and sit-ins.

Yang Guangyuan was unable to capture the city for a long time. On the one hand, his military ability was indeed worrying, and on the other hand, he was nurturing the enemy. As the commander-in-chief of Weizhou's rebellion, the court would reward him as long as the war in Weizhou continued. He now had a large army and was stationed in the enemy's lair, just like Li Siyuan back then.

Shi Jingtang, like Li Cunxu in the past, did his best to maintain the weak empire with many holes. The Later Jin regime could not withstand any storms. Even the young general Wang Hui could be tolerated, let alone Yang Guangyuan. Food, military pay, and various rewards were continuously sent to the front line of Weizhou.

In July of the second year of Tianfu (937), Yang Guangyuan surrounded Weizhou; in November, Yang Guangyuan was granted 7 empty official titles from Sikong to Changshi. Any soldiers who had made contributions on the front line could be rewarded by Yang Guangyuan at his own discretion and report to the court afterwards.

The empty official letter, that is, the blank official commission, Yang Guangyuan could fill in his name at will, and it would immediately take legal effect. This was a great privilege, and a step further, it was "acting at one's own convenience" or "ink order" (issuing orders at will in the name of the emperor).

In April of the third year of Tianfu (938), Shi Jingtang gave Yang Guangyuan the title of Zhongshu Ling. In May, he made Yang Guangyuan's son Yang Chengzuo his son-in-law and married his daughter Princess Chang'an to him. In June, he changed the names of Yang Guangyuan and seven of his subordinates' hometowns to "Yijin Township" and "Peiwangli". In short, the emperor flattered his ministers. Countless examples from ancient times to the present, both at home and abroad, tell us a truth: blindly compromising and giving in will only make the other party worse.

Yang Guangyuan became more and more aggressive. Although he lived in Weizhou, he frequently petitioned the court and interfered in the central government's affairs. Shi Jingtang also gave him face. As long as Yang Guangyuan gave instructions, Shi Jingtang would follow them and change the central government's instructions for him. As a result, Yang Guangyuan became more arrogant and domineering.

In August, Yang Guangyuan reported that one of the core members of the rebel army, Chanzhou governor Feng Hui, led his troops out of the city to fight, revolted on the battlefield, and surrendered to the court.

According to Feng Hui, the food in Weizhou City has been eaten up and the city is about to collapse.

Shi Jingtang immediately promoted Feng Hui to the rank of Inspector of the Imperial Guards and promoted him to the governor of the Yicheng Army in Huazhou.

As mentioned earlier, there were serious natural disasters during the Tianfu period. In August alone, when Feng Hui surrendered, Hebei Province suffered a severe drought. Dingzhou reported: "The land is dry and many people have fled."

Shi Jingtang then issued an edict to exempt the people in the territory of Yiwu Army in Dingzhou from taxes in summer and autumn.

Just as the imperial edict was issued, reports came in from Xiangzhou, reporting the flooding of the Han River. China is a vast country, with severe drought in Hebei and floods in Hubei.

In the same month, drought also broke out in Hezhong Prefecture, Tongzhou, Jiangzhou and other places.

Shi Jingtang issued an edict to exempt people in the disaster-stricken areas from taxes.

In just one month, the areas actually controlled by the Later Jin Dynasty reported floods and droughts one after another, and the affected area almost covered half of the Later Jin Dynasty. These were only major disasters that were recorded in the emperor's annals, while minor disasters or production accidents were not recorded.

Therefore, Yang Guangyuan led the army to besiege Weizhou for more than a year, which was an unbearable pressure on the central court of the Later Jin Dynasty. Weizhou City was cut off from food and grass, and Shi Jingtang's life in the Bianzhou Palace was also difficult.

Shi Bo, the Minister of Imperial Clan Affairs, submitted a memorial to persuade the emperor to surrender Fan Yanguang in order to save money and manpower. He also expressed his willingness to enter Weizhou City alone to personally persuade Fan Yanguang to surrender.

A year ago, Fan Yanguang offered to surrender, but was rejected by Shi Jingtang. The reason was actually very simple. Fan Yanguang was not a small fish or shrimp like Wang Hui. After accepting his surrender, how to place him was a big problem. Generally speaking, people can only be promoted, not demoted. Of course, the real power would be deprived or greatly reduced, but the title and honorary position would be promoted.

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(End of this chapter)