History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 555 "Big Eyes Cute" Succession 2
Feng Dao looked down at the child in his arms and suddenly felt his arms extremely heavy. What he was holding in his arms was not a child, but the entire country of the Great Jin Empire!
The child curled up in Feng Dao's arms. Perhaps he was frightened by the depressing atmosphere, or perhaps he was what people call "shyness", and he started crying and trying to break free from Feng Dao's restraints.

Feng Dao panicked. If the child accidentally fell to the ground, it would be terrible! Just when Feng Dao was at a loss, the eunuch beside him was quick to rescue and took the child back.

When Shi Chongrui left Feng Dao's arms, Feng Dao felt relieved and breathed a long sigh of relief. Looking at Shi Chongrui being carried away by the eunuchs, Feng Dao fell into deep thought.

Changing the supreme leader of a country is a matter of honor and disgrace for the empire and determines the future of the nation, and it should never be taken lightly. Although Feng Dao is highly respected, he knows that the matter of supporting a new monarch cannot be solved by an imperial edict. No matter who is supported, there must be the support of a strong figure and absolute strength to back him up. Military power is the most powerful voice. If there is no support from the army, look at Zhu Yougui from afar and Li Conghou from near.

After Feng Dao stepped down, he immediately had a secret meeting with a man named Jing Yanguang who held the military power of the central imperial guards (the commander-in-chief of the imperial guards).

Jing Yanguang's life is full of legends.

Jing Yanguang has been strictly trained by his father since he was a child. His father Jing Jian is a well-known archer. When he was very young, he received systematic and devilish training in archery. His coach father is a firm absolute powerist who firmly believes that all skills are futile in the face of absolute power. His shooting training focuses on strength and accuracy.

His father's training standard was only one: penetrate iron. "If the arrow cannot penetrate iron, it is better not to shoot." This was his father's motto. As for the shooting distance and the thickness of the iron, there is no record in historical records. We can reasonably infer that it should be within the effective range of the bow and arrow to penetrate the standard iron armor, or on this basis, it should be more stringent, such as ultra-long distance, shooting through two layers of iron armor, etc.

After the devilish training of his coach father, Jing Yanguang is also known for his "strong bow", which means that he can easily use a hard bow that most people cannot pull. In actual combat, Jing Yanguang's long-range shooting through iron plates brings a deterrent effect to the enemy that is comparable to a precise point kill.

With this unique skill, Jing Yanguang happily joined the army, gained fame, and was placed under the command of Zhu Youhui (nephew of Zhu Wen) of the Later Liang Dynasty. Unexpectedly, before he had time to display his talents on the battlefield, Zhu Youhui was placed under house arrest for treason. Jing Yanguang was also implicated and fled.

After several twists and turns, he finally escaped the wind and joined the account of Wang Yanzhang, a famous general of the Later Liang Dynasty. It stands to reason that he has a great chance of shining under the famous general and then reaching the peak of his life.

As fate would have it, he followed Wang Yanzhang in the "Zhongdu Defeat", where Wang Yanzhang was severely injured and captured, and then was executed for refusing to surrender. This is like joining Guan Yu's camp and then following Guan Yu to Maicheng; joining Zhuge Liang's camp and then following Zhuge Liang to Qishan.

In this brutal battle, Jing Yanguang was wounded several times and fled back to Bianzhou.

When he recovered, the dynasty had changed and the Later Tang replaced the Later Liang. Jing Yanguang, who was born a soldier, could only join the army again and change his fate on the battlefield. At this time, Zhu Shouyin was in charge of Bianzhou.

When Wang Yanzhang launched a surprise attack on Deshengdu, the commander defending Deshengdu was Zhu Shouyin. Zhu Shouyin's escape made this Wang Yanzhang's highlight moment.

Fate plays tricks on people. Not long after Jing Yanguang joined Zhu Shouyin's camp, Zhu Shouyin rebelled and was quickly eliminated. This time, Jing Yanguang failed to escape and was arrested. He was charged with the crime of being a member of Zhu Shouyin's faction and sentenced to death according to the law.

The person in charge of supervising the execution of "Zhu Shouyin's followers" was the then deputy envoy of the Six Armies, named Shi Jingtang. Just because I saw you once more in the crowd, I could never forget your face. Shi Jingtang only took one look at Jing Yanguang and predicted that this man would achieve great things in the future, so he secretly used his position to release him.

At that time, Shi Jingtang would never have thought that he would sit on the throne of emperor one day, let alone that the person he pulled back from the gates of hell would destroy his country in the future.

Shi Jingtang used bloody facts to show us the serious consequences of abusing power.

After the "Zhu Shouyin Rebellion Case" had passed, Shi Jingtang recruited Jing Yanguang into his own camp.

A few years later, Shi Jingtang rebelled...

It is estimated that when the "Hedong War" broke out, Jing Yanguang had 10,000 alpacas running through his heart. Zhu Youhui, Zhu Shouyin, Shi Jingtang, whoever he followed, rebelled, but he only followed a loyal and righteous man, Wang Yanzhang, who died heroically for his country. Jing Yanguang became the most miserable job seeker.

Wearing the label of "Zhu Shouyin's follower" and lingering at the gates of hell, Jing Yanguang was left with a huge psychological shadow. He knew that once Shi Jingtang failed, he would also be unable to escape the bad luck and would definitely be charged with the crime of "Shi Jingtang's follower" and executed. If the investigators were careful enough, they might find that he was still a "Zhu Shouyin's follower" who had escaped the net. After further investigation, they might find that he was still a "Zhu Youhui's follower"...

He has distorted values, has always been treacherous and disloyal, is keen on rebellion, and refuses to change despite repeated admonitions... No one will dare to let him go anymore, he is dead.

Besides, he owed Shi Jingtang a life, and now it was time to repay the debt.

Therefore, Jing Yanguang was determined and brave enough to sacrifice his life in the defense of Taiyuan, and he repeatedly made extraordinary achievements. Shi Jingtang was deeply moved and secretly felt lucky that he had the foresight to recognize the talent.

After Shi Jingtang proclaimed himself emperor, he immediately promoted him to the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guard Infantry (Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guard Infantry), and added the title of Inspector General of the Imperial Guards. He was first appointed as the Training Envoy of Guozhou and then as the Jiedushi of Kuizhou. Guozhou and Kuizhou were both within the territory of the Later Shu Dynasty. Jing Yanguang only enjoyed the salary and benefits of the training envoy and the Jiedushi, and did not actually hold the real power in the region. "Remote command" and "remote concurrent command" were routine operations. On the one hand, the emperor used this to improve the political status and treatment of his ministers, and on the other hand, it contained the incentive of "letting them take it for themselves".

Not long after, Shi Jingtang sent Jing Yanguang, who was in charge of the imperial guards, to the local area for training, and appointed him as the Jiedushi of Yicheng Army. He was sent to Huazhou, then to Baoyi Army in Shanzhou, and then to Heyang. Finally, in the seventh year of Tianfu (942), he was recalled to the central government and granted the title of the commander-in-chief of the imperial guards, commanding the imperial guards.

Jing Yanguang should be considered as one, or half of the "Hedong direct line". It can be seen that Shi Jingtang cultivated him very much. Not only did he give him the power of the imperial army, but he also sent him to three important cities as a military governor within 6 years to gain experience and reputation in the central and local governments, military and politics.

(End of this chapter)