History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 594: The Battle of Hutuo River 3
In addition, although Li Shouzhen colluded with the "Pro-Old Friends Gang" when he was excluding Sang Weihan, he was not a core member of the "Pro-Old Friends Gang" after all. Like Liu Zhiyuan and Sang Weihan, he was a direct confidant of Shi Jingtang and a key target of the "Pro-Old Friends Gang". It was only because of his personal grudge with Sang Weihan that he temporarily became an accomplice.

The principle of "killing the dog after the rabbit is dead" is not only valid between countries, but also between people, especially in political struggles. When Li Shouzhen killed Sang Weihan and vented his anger, he immediately became the next target of the "pro-old gang" because he was isolated and helpless.

In the extremely dangerous political arena, don't be in a hurry to kill all your political opponents and enemies. As the saying goes, "keeping an enemy at home will protect you." Sometimes, your enemy is the one who takes the bullet for you.

Li Shouzhen's status gradually rose, and he was often in charge of northern affairs, which caused great dissatisfaction among the "old and new gang". Li Yantao used various connections to place countless spies around Li Shouzhen, so that Li Shouzhen's every move outside was under Li Yantao's surveillance.

Li Shouzhen seemed submissive to Li Yantao on the surface, but secretly he hated him with gnashing teeth.

However, the biggest hidden danger of the Later Jin Dynasty was Shi Chonggui's arrogance and his unconditional favoritism towards the "old and pro-old gang".

War is a powerful weapon to test a regime. Although it may not be fair, it is definitely simple and crude, because under external pressure, various internal hidden dangers will surface and interact with each other. Therefore, the direction of a war is often not entirely determined by the comparison of military strength, but is often more influenced by political factors.

The internal troubles of the Later Jin and Khitan broke out in this war, bringing life-and-death tests to their own countries. The Later Jin did not withstand the test and was taken away by a wave, while the Khitan had a figure who turned the tide. Although it avoided the fate of national destruction, it was also seriously damaged.

At the beginning of the third battle, although the Khitans could not use the old tactic of "blitzkrieg", with the help of Zhao Yanshou, they used a more insidious and cunning tactic: feigning surrender.

In July, when Yelu Deguang assembled the Khitan's national military forces and prepared to march south, Zhao Yanshou sent envoys to establish a single line of contact with the Later Jin court, saying that he had changed his mind and planned to abandon darkness and join the light and return to the embrace of his motherland.

The actual rulers of the Later Jin Dynasty - the "old and new gang" believed this without a doubt, especially Feng Yu, who ordered Du Chongwei to write a letter to Zhao Yanshou, promising that the court would definitely put aside past grudges and give him the most generous reward.

Why were Feng Yu, Du Chongwei and other "old friends" so sure that Zhao Yanshou was not pretending to surrender?

Because they need him to come.

There have been many political upstarts in every dynasty, such as the "pro-old gang". They have an inherent deficiency: lack of sufficient qualifications. There is no need to explain too much. If there is no such congenital defect, they would not be called "upstarts".

In order to make up for this inherent defect, political upstarts are usually more radical in their political performance. Their style of doing things tends to be bold, drastic, and extremely subversive. They may even go against the grain. In short, they want to make the storm come more violently. Silent and subtle actions are definitely not their thing.

There are many reasons for this style, such as insufficient governing experience, lack of high education, lack of solid theoretical foundation, no long-term work experience, and lack of practical experience, so they are relatively green and inexperienced, but this is not the main reason, because there is a huge bureaucratic system to support them. Even if they are brain-dead, their staff and civil and military officials in the court may not be all brain-dead.

The main reason is that they need to be alternative and radical, emphasize their differences from the establishment, artificially create factions and differences in routes, be different, and sensationalize... In short, it is a political marketing. For example, in war years, they will try their best to promote peace negotiations, and in peace years, they may try their best to clamor for war. Making different voices is the physiological instinct of this type of political group.

Differentiation is a means for them to quickly accumulate reputation and gain the right to speak. Making contributions is their most urgent political need.

Zhao Yanshou is now even more important than Lu Wenjin was back then. He is a king in Khitan, with a high position and power, and has a large army. Moreover, his father and son have been stationed in Youzhou for more than 20 years, and are familiar with the ground and have a certain mass base. The addition of Zhao Yanshou in the Central Plains is not a timely help, but just icing on the cake; while the loss of Zhao Yanshou in Khitan is not a temporary solution, but a way to remove the firewood from the cauldron.

Therefore, if Zhao Yanshou could return to the Central Plains, the balance of war between Jin and Liao would be substantially reversed, which would definitely be great news for the Later Jin.

Is it true that Zhao Yanshou has returned?

The "pro-old gang" does not consider "how it is", but "how it should be". Feng Yu and others do not deduce the results from the evidence, but first come to a conclusion and then look for evidence to supplement it. If there is no evidence, they will create evidence. In short, it is self-deception. To this day, Western politicians also use this routine, whether it is Iraq's laundry detergent or Syria's White Helmets.

Moreover, in the eyes of the Later Jin court, the evidence of Zhao Yanshou's return to the country was irrefutable and irrefutable:
First of all, the initiator of the super topic "Zhao Yanshou's Return to the Country" was the Later Jin Dynasty court.

As early as a year ago, the Later Jin court sent people to secretly contact Zhao Yanshou, urging him to return to the embrace of his motherland. Zhao Yanshou also expressed his willingness to return to his country at that time, but the war was stalemate and there was no time to discuss the specific details.

Now, after the Khitans were defeated twice and the Jins won twice, it was reasonable for Zhao Yanshou, a fence-sitter, to change his stance according to the situation and bring up old matters again.

Secondly, seeing that the Khitan "had lost the battle" and the Later Jin Dynasty was rising, many Han surrendered generals in the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun expressed their desire to return to their motherland.

Liu Yanzuo, the governor of Yingzhou, wrote a secret letter saying that this year's flood had a serious impact on Hebei Province. The roads north of Waqiao Pass were almost completely paralyzed. The main force of the Khitans had returned to the northern grasslands. There were less than a thousand defenders in Yingzhou City. He asked the motherland to send troops to recapture Yingzhou. I will be the internal support. The Khitans' thirst cannot be quenched by distant water.

Similar reports were also reported by Mozhou and others;
Murong Qian, the governor of Shenzhou, even presented the "Yingmotu" to guide the Later Jin Dynasty in attacking the north.

Therefore, the return of Zhao Yanshou from Youzhou did not seem abrupt at all. Instead, it had a sense of historical trend that was the general trend and the will of the people.

Finally, in the border friction after the second battle, the Later Jin also had an advantage. Zhang Yanze defeated the remnants of the Khitan in Dingzhou, chased them for more than a hundred miles, beheaded more than twenty people, captured four generals alive, seized two pairs of gold earrings, and presented them to the court; Liu Zhiyuan of Hedong reported that he had defeated the remnants of the Khitan and killed more than 7,000 enemies.

(End of this chapter)