History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 540 Anzhou Crisis 2
"Yesterday, there was something wrong in Anzhou, and I escaped and returned. The border guards were greedy for merit and took advantage of the opportunity to occupy the fortress. Moreover, I don't know where the opportunity is, but I am confused and can't explain it."

——My subordinates were dishonest, it was just a misunderstanding. The right and wrong are obvious, I was wrong.

"To be negative or positive is bad, this is the clear meaning of the Book of Changes; to be aggressive and never stop is also the shamelessness of the sage."

——Quoting the "Book of Changes" "The teacher comes out according to the law, if he is not good, he will be in trouble", which means that this time I am out of my name, the name is not right and the words are not smooth, and it is reasonable to lose. I am asking for death, and I deserve it; it needs to be specially explained that the "progressive" in the second half of the sentence is not the same as the "progressive" we say today. The meaning here is to express "knowing when to advance and retreat". The so-called great wisdom knows when to stop. "Progressive and never stop" has been a derogatory word since its birth. It means that you will not turn back until you hit the south wall and will not cry until you see the coffin. However, most people now take it literally and regard it as a commendatory word. They even ask calligraphers to write it down, frame it, and put it on the wall, and say it is their corporate culture... Your company is really cultured! It is pretentious and makes people laugh.

"It happened that the summer rains were a little frequent, and the river was very swollen. The command was not yet in place, but the facts had already been violated."

——It’s not that I didn’t care, it was just a coincidence that there was a flood and communications were cut off. By the time I contacted them, they had already committed an unforgivable crime.

"I am humble and wise, and I obey your orders."

——Although it is difficult to pronounce and seems obscure, this flattery is so strong that we will just translate it literally: I, who am wretched, bathe in your wise qualifications, and I, who behave improperly, listen to your imperial edict.

"Return their captives and show them their kindness."

——Returning my prisoners of war is enough to show your wisdom and kindness.

"It's like military law and court rules, neither of them can do that."

——However, neither your country nor my country would allow it, whether it is moral or logical, whether it is military law or national law.

Then he said that although you are a kind-hearted person, I am really embarrassed and cannot obey your order. Du Guangye and 570 others have already sent it to Huaibei, so you should be ready to sign for it.

Suzhou, which was under the control of the Later Jin Dynasty, received the captives and letters and forwarded them to Bianzhou.

Shi Jingtang replied:

"Yesterday, a disaster struck Anlu, and the conflict spread to Hanyang. During the hottest time of the dog days, the armies of the two dynasties were mobilized."

——I admit that it’s all the sun’s fault.

"How could I have expected that the general at the border would not report to the emperor..."

——Don’t let ignorant warriors take the blame.

"I soon released the captives and returned to my hometown, not only thinking of the people who had served me, but also cultivating the way of being a good neighbor..."

——The reason why I let them go home is not just out of pity, but to seek good neighborliness and friendship and promote friendly exchanges between the two countries. Do you know my good intentions?
"…I hope that the text of pardoning crimes will be followed and the virtue of respecting benevolence will be widely spread. Du Guangye and others will be allowed to return to their parents' homes."

Shi Jingtang ordered his men to escort Du Guangye and others back to Huainan with courtesy.

When the ships entered the Huai River, Xu Zhigao of Huainan sent out regular warships to block the river. "Go back!"

The officials of the Later Jin Dynasty had no choice but to deposit Du Guangye and others in Suzhou and report the obstruction of crossing the river. This classical Chinese phrase is the most appropriate to describe Du Guangye and others: Pigs don't gnaw, dogs don't bite, grandma doesn't love, uncle doesn't care.

The enemy doesn't want them, and our own people refuse to accept them. They can go anywhere they want. More than 500 people have become homeless social outcasts, legal illegal immigrants. They are left to be tousled in the wind, doubting their lives.

In the end, it was the kind-hearted Shi Jingtang who showed mercy and issued an edict to allow Du Guangye and others to come to the capital, granted them corresponding official positions according to their original military positions, and reorganized them into the "Xian Yi Du."

At the same time, Ma Xifan of Hunan reported that he had sent General Zhang Shaodi to lead 50,000 elite troops and a hundred large warships to assemble in Yuezhou, ready to go downstream to cooperate with the central army to suppress the Huaiyi.

Shi Jingtang praised his loyalty and rejected his proposal to march.

In July of the fifth year of Tianfu (940), Shi Jingtang pacified Southern Chu (Ma Xifan of Hunan), conquered Huainan by force first and then courtesy, and normalized diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Min (Wang Yanxi of Fujian).

Shi Jingtang had been working hard to seek a peaceful and stable external environment, but it was never achieved.

When Li Jinquan defected, commanders Sang Qian, Wang Wanjin and Cheng Yanwen refused to follow him and were brutally killed by Li Jinquan. However, the commander-in-chief Pang Shourong ridiculed them for being stupid and ignorant of the current situation in order to curry favor with Li Jinquan.

After Anzhou was recovered, the Later Jin court launched a rehabilitation and purge, posthumously awarded official titles to Jia Renzhao, Sang Qian and others, and executed Pang Shourong.

Weizhou Governor Liu Zhiyuan and Luoyang Governor Yang Guangyuan came to Beijing to offer congratulations.

Shi Jingtang held a grand celebration banquet. When he was drunk, he mentioned the pacification of Weizhou from the pacification of Anzhou, and toasted with Yang Guangyuan, a hero in pacifying Weizhou. Then he suddenly realized, "Oh, your left and right generals have made contributions in pacifying the rebellion in Weizhou, but you haven't had time to reward them yet. Now, promote them all to provincial governors and let them enjoy the glory and wealth."

As a result, several of Yang Guangyuan's confidants were appointed as governors of various states, which openly divided Yang Guangyuan's power. Later, Yang Guangyuan, the hero who pacified Wei, was given the titles of Grand Marshal and Minister of the Central Secretariat, and was conferred the title of King of Dongping. At the same time, he was moved to Pinglu Army in Qingzhou. Laizhou was promoted to a defense state, and Yang Chenggui (son of Yang Guangyuan), the defense envoy of Ruzhou, was appointed as the defense envoy of Laizhou.

Luoyang and Ruzhou are both in today's Henan Province, while Qingzhou is located in the middle of today's Shandong Province, and Laizhou is in the easternmost part of Shandong Province. Shi Jingtang expelled Yang Guangyuan's forces from the two important capitals (Bianzhou-Luoyang) to the Shandong Peninsula in the name of reward, but in fact it was exile.

It can be seen that after Fan Yanguang, Shi Jingtang's focus of defense shifted to Yang Guangyuan.

Perhaps Yang Guangyuan thought the time was not ripe, or perhaps he knew that he was being targeted by Shi Jingtang, so although he had the intention to rebel, he still chose to grow in a low profile. However, those young people who were far less powerful than Yang Guangyuan did not follow the rules of martial ethics, nor did they follow the principle of first come first served. They rushed to the road of rebellion one after another.

After Fan Yanguang's rebellion in Weizhou, the "Er'an Combination" debuted in the C position, one in the south and one in the north, forming a pincer attack and echoing each other from afar, becoming the most famous rebellion during the Shi Jingtang period.

The instigator of the "Two An Rebellion" was An Zhongrong, the governor of Chengde Army in Zhenzhou.

An Zhongrong was a rising star in the political arena. He rose through political speculation and entered the circle of feudal lords. His father and grandfather were both provincial governors. An Zhongrong himself inherited the barbarity and sturdiness of the nomadic people in Daibei. He was quite strong and skilled in riding and shooting. He served as the patrol captain of the border defense army in Daibei.

Later, because of his crime, he was arrested by his immediate superior, Gao Xingzhou, and sentenced to death. An Zhongrong's mother rushed to the capital to make connections. At that time, An Zhonghui was in power, and An Zhonghui came forward to coordinate the matter, saving An Zhongrong's life.

An Zhongrong and An Zhonghui should not have a blood relationship. An Zhonghui's father was An Fuqian, from Yingzhou, while An Zhongrong's father was Anquan and his grandfather was An Congyi, from Shuozhou. As for the similarity of their names, it should be a coincidence when they were naturalized and took Chinese names. At that time, the northern nomadic people often had the surname "An", such as An Lushan. Later, because An Lushan was too notorious, many Sogdians changed their surnames to "An".

(End of this chapter)