History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 543: Er An's Rebellion 3
In his memorial, An Zhongrong said that the generals trapped in the barbarians "stretched their necks and stood ready to wait for the king's army", and these eight words outlined a very sensational picture. However, these eight words may be appropriate for Sha Yanxun, Qu Zhang, and Dong Wenqi, but if they were used for Zhao Dejun and Zhao Yanshou, I'm afraid it would be a slap in the face.

This memorial can be seen as An Zhongrong's declaration of war.

Shi Jingtang was deeply concerned and sent an envoy, Yang Yanxun, to visit the Khitan to explain to them An Zhongrong's arrogance and all the unfriendly behaviors that had occurred in Zhenzhou recently were intentional by this person, with the purpose of provoking relations between the two countries. We should not be fooled. Yang Yanxun was detained by the Khitan and not sent away.

The news that An Zhongrong was going to go to war with the Khitans spread like wildfire, topping the list of hot searches for the Later Jin Dynasty and remained at the top.

Sang Weihan, the chief strategist who was sent to the local area, wrote a letter to Shi Jingtang, analyzing the pros and cons. He saw through An Zhongrong's treacherous plot and advised Shi Jingtang not to be swayed by public opinion and not to be tricked by An Zhongrong. He also listed in detail the "seven don'ts" of going to war with the Khitan:
1. Today, Khitan has vast territory, a large population, abundant resources, complete armaments, and strong strength, far exceeding that of the Central Plains;
2. Our country’s morale is low and our treasury is tight, so we cannot afford a large-scale military operation;

3. Khitan has done great favors for our country and we have an agreement in advance. We have unilaterally violated the agreement for no reason, which has greatly consumed our political credibility and is not worth the loss.

4. At present, Khitan has not suffered from natural disasters, has abundant livestock, and a developed economy. It has adopted the policy of the think tank (Han Yanhui) to use both Han and Tibetan peoples. The political situation is peaceful, the tribes are harmonious, the vassal states are in awe, and the whole country is closely united. There is no opportunity to take advantage of, and no one can find a loophole to take advantage of.
5. The Khitan people had the fine traditions of nomadic peoples. All the people were soldiers, and everyone was a qualified soldier. The quality of individual soldiers was far superior to that of the Han people in the Central Plains.
6. Khitan cavalry is best at fighting on plains, while the Han people in the Central Plains are good at taking advantage of terrain. The area of ​​Yan and Zhao is thousands of miles wide and flat, so the terrain and military forces are restrained;
7. The so-called "humiliating diplomacy" does not exist. It is deliberately created by some people with ulterior motives. Using a small amount of annual tribute to exchange for world peace will do more good than harm to the Central Plains. If the two countries go to war, our losses will be even greater.

In the memorial, Sang Weihan quoted from classics and made extensive references, "The founding emperor of Han was a hero, but he still surrendered goods to Maodun; Emperor Yao was a military strategist, but he still paid tribute to the Khan." This sentence is so valuable.

Literal meaning: Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, also offered gifts and marriage to King Maodun. Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan, was a man of great talent and strategy. When he started his army in Taiyuan, he also pledged his allegiance to the Turks in exchange for their help in raising their army.

Listen to the sound of gongs and drums, listen to the tone of words, and the words behind the words: Liu Bang's descendant, Emperor Wu of Han, drove the Xiongnu into Siberia; Li Yuan's son Li Shimin also destroyed the Turkic Khan Jie Li. Their ancestors endured humiliation and kept a low profile. Serving the barbarians with a low profile was just a temporary expedient, waiting for the right time to avenge their previous humiliation.

In particular, Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan, also started his army in Taiyuan and used the power of the barbarians to seize the world. This was so similar to Shi Jingtang that it really touched Shi Jingtang's heart.

Sang Weihan made a comprehensive analysis in an easy-to-understand manner, and used the "Seven Don'ts" to explain to Shi Jingtang his views on this war, namely, there was no reason to fight, no ability to fight, and no need to fight.

"Don't listen to Fan Kuai's empty words, but accept Lou Jing's unpleasant words."

——Fan Kuai, needless to introduce, was a founding hero of the Western Han Dynasty. He made his debut at the Hongmen Banquet and left his name in history. The so-called "Fan Kuai's empty words" refers to the fact that after Liu Bang's death, the nascent Western Han regime faced the threat of the Xiongnu in the north. The ruling Empress Lü was even teased by the Xiongnu Chanyu Maodun. Faced with the great humiliation, Empress Lü was furious. At the imperial meeting, Fan Kuai suddenly stepped out and said that he was willing to lead 100,000 troops to wipe out the Xiongnu and kill them without leaving a single piece of armor.

If Empress Lü had listened to Fan Kuai's advice at that time, there would have been no "strong Han" later, and the Han Dynasty would probably have become a short-lived dynasty like the Qin and Sui dynasties.

——Lou Jing. Before Liu Bang decided to go to war with the Huns, all the civil and military officials in the court were immersed in the mood of pro-war. Only Lou Jing firmly opposed going to war with the Huns. Liu Bang was so angry that he cursed Lou Jing and threw him into prison.

Liu Bang did not listen to Lou Jingzhi's advice. After the war broke out, he encountered the famous "Siege of Baideng Mountain". The Han emperor who led the army in person almost lost his country and his king.

Afterwards, Liu Bang rewarded Lou Jing generously and later adopted Lou Jing's proposal for marriage. Very implicitly, Sang Weihan compared An Zhongrong, who had ruined the country, and the "war faction" in the court to Fan Kuai, and compared himself and the "pro-Liao faction" and "pro-peace faction" to Lou Jing.

It should be noted that the shameless Fan Kuai was just talking recklessly and his motives were relatively pure, which was fundamentally different from An Zhongrong who had ulterior motives.

Moral kidnapping and moral coercion are used to realize his unspeakable secrets. We must always be vigilant against those who use noble banners to do dirty things. Sometimes, they take to the streets, dress up as patriotic youths, and incite illegal gatherings; sometimes, they wave their folding fans, talk loudly, promote universal values ​​with ulterior motives, instill historical nihilism, and poison the future of the nation.

As a core figure of the "pro-Liao faction", Sang Weihan himself was also condemned by public opinion and was called a "traitor prime minister". In this memorial, Sang Weihan explained the conditions for going to war with Liao:

"The state has nine years of accumulation, and the army is ten times stronger. The ruler has no internal worries, and the people have spare strength."

——This is the basic preparation for war, the internal factor, that is, "knowing oneself";
"Watch the changes in others and wait for their decline."

——This is the external factor that started the war (Khitan), that is, "knowing the enemy";
"Use your strengths to attack the opponent's weaknesses."

——After knowing yourself and your enemy, you should also use cleverness instead of brute force;

"Nothing can stop you, and everything you do will succeed."

——Only in this way can we truly turn things around.

At the end of the article, Sang Weihan pointed out a clear way for Shi Jingtang: to go to Weizhou.

Just as he had originally visited Bianzhou to target Weizhou, this time he visited Weizhou to target Zhenzhou.

Shi Jingtang was delighted after reading the report and replied to Sang Weihan that he had suddenly realized something. However, since it was a secret report, Shi Jingtang could not publicly praise it.

Shi Jingtang ordered a tour of Weizhou in August (the next month). Just like the last time he visited Bianzhou, Shi Jingtang announced in a high-profile manner that "food would be provided along the way" and asked the relevant departments to formulate corresponding ceremonial regulations and pay attention to the pomp. At the same time, he strictly restricted officials from exploiting the people and prohibited them from levying levies in the name of this.

On August 8, Shi Jingtang appointed the crown prince Shi Chonggui as the governor of Bianzhou, appointed Du Chongwei as the commander-in-chief of the imperial guards (replacing Liu Zhiyuan) and the commander of the imperial escort camp, and asked all civil and military officials to go ahead and move to Weizhou.

(End of this chapter)