History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 608 Who rules the Central Plains 5
Both his father and grandfather were martyrs, so Shi Kuangwei was definitely of good family background. He was determined and would never yield to the barbarians.

He Jiancheng, the military governor of Qinzhou Xiongwu Army, killed the Khitan envoys and refused to surrender. Although he did not pay tribute to the Khitan, his next move was also questionable. He offered the three states under his jurisdiction (Qin, Feng, and Cheng) to Hou Shu, surrendered to Hou Shu, and served as a guide for Hou Shu.

After more than two months of fighting, Hou Shu actually controlled the three states and the important pass - Dasan Pass, thus recovering the entire territory of Qian Shu.

As usual, when the Central Plains dynasty was in chaos, the happiest places were Shu and Huainan, who could take advantage of the situation to loot. For example, this time, Hou Shu not only restored the territory of Qian Shu at its peak, but also extended its tentacles to the north of Dasan Pass, posing a threat to Chang'an.

However, Huainan missed this opportunity because they were stuck in the quagmire of war with the Kingdom of Min and could not extricate themselves.

From another perspective, although He Jiancheng betrayed his country and surrendered to the enemy, he did give the land to the Han people. He would rather be a vassal of Hou Shu than of Khitan.

The orders of Shi Kuangwei and He Jiancheng set an example for the world and struck a blow to the arrogance of the Khitans.

2. Chang'an Mutiny

Zhao Zaili, who was stationed in Chang'an, received an order to go to Bianzhou to meet Yelu Deguang. Like all the officials who were summoned, Zhao Zaili went to report without stopping.

After Zhao Zaili left, a minor general in Chang'an City launched a mutiny, but was suppressed by the deputy governor.

However, this mutiny was very representative. When Yelu Deguang fled in defeat, he carefully summed up the experience and lessons. One of them was that the military governors from all over the country should not be placed under house arrest in the capital. As a result, the local areas lost control and mutinies and civil unrest were numerous.

When Zhao Zaili arrived in Luoyang, he was treated with disrespect by the chief of the Xi tribe, Zhaila, so he committed suicide when he arrived in Zhengzhou. At that time, the military and civilians in Luoyang were also in a panic.

Liu Xi, the Khitan's Privy Councilor, Prime Minister and Governor of Youzhou, was appointed by Yelu Deguang as the Governor of Luoyang. After Liu Xi arrived in Luoyang, the first thing he did was to scold Zhela and others in public, saying that Zhao Zaili was a veteran of two dynasties in the Central Plains and a respected senior official, and you guys are just small chieftains of the northern barbarians, why are you pretending to be his grandsons!
Then he made Zhaila and the others stand in the courtyard as punishment.

The Han officials scolded and physically punished the barbarian chieftain. When the people of Luoyang saw this scene, they felt at ease.

3. Brothers in need are close to each other - Mingzong's heroes

The reason why Zhao Zaili reached the peak of his life was because of the Beizhou mutiny, which was a rebellion launched by a low-ranking officer Huangfu Hui. Huangfu Hui put a steel knife on Zhao Zaili's neck and forced him to take the lead.

Now that Zhao Zaili is dead, will Huangfu Hui still feel comfortable?
Huangfu Hui, then governor of Mizhou, and Wang Jian (another name of the same name), then governor of Dizhou, led their troops to surrender to Huainan; the rebel groups in the areas north of the Huai River also attached themselves to the Huainan forces.

At this time, Xu Jingtong, the son of Xu Zhigao, was in charge of the Huainan regime. His adviser Han Xizai pointed out that this was a good time to unify the Central Plains. Once the Khitans returned north and a new emperor emerged in the Central Plains, it would be difficult to achieve. The rulers and ministers of Huainan understood this, but their main force was outside Fuzhou (now Fuzhou City, Fujian Province), and they were unable to do so and missed the opportunity.

4. Appearance but not mind

4.1 The Fisherman Gains Profits - Later Shu
Taking advantage of the civil strife in the Central Plains, Hou Shu took advantage of the situation and reaped many benefits, which I will not elaborate on.

4.2 Inability to do so - Although the Huainan forces of the Southern Tang Dynasty did not have the strength to interfere in the Central Plains, they never lacked the ambition to covet the Central Plains. Huainan sent envoys to Bianzhou to congratulate Yelu Deguang on his entry into the Central Plains. At the same time, they made a small request, asking Yelu Deguang to allow them to send envoys to Chang'an to repair the tombs of the Tang Dynasty emperors.

The name of the Huainan regime at this time was "Tang", known in history as "Southern Tang". The founding monarch was Xu Zhigao, who was the adopted son of Xu Wen. It is said that his original surname was Li, so Xu Zhigao claimed to be a descendant of the Tang royal family, changed his surname back to Li, and built temples for Tang Gaozu Li Yuan and Tang Taizong Li Shimin.

In 943 AD, Xu Zhigao (Li Bian) died and his eldest son Xu Jingtong (Li Jing) succeeded to the throne.

According to historical records, after Yelu Deguang entered Bianzhou, he issued a military threat to Li Jing:

"I was invited to hold a meeting on my border, but I refused to attend." - "Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms"

Historical books are very euphemistic. For example, running away is called "hunting". Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji and Emperor Xizong went hunting in the west. Another example is Cao Cao provoking Sun Quan by saying "I will hunt with you in Wu". So the real meaning of "please meet at the border" here is that Yelu Deguang issued a military threat to Li Jing, "Come here and fight with me, do you dare?"

The record in Jiangnan Wild History is quite ridiculous, saying that Yelu Deguang wanted to enthrone Li Jing as the ruler of the Central Plains and restore the Tang Dynasty... Then Li Jing was very modest and said that he only hoped that Huainan and Khitan would maintain their old friendship and he did not dare to hope for anything else. At the same time, it also pointed out the reason why Li Jing did not dare to hope for anything, "Min was exhausted from the war, could it compete with China?"

Li Jing told the truth to his ministers: We have suffered heavy losses in Fuzhou, how can we have the ability to conquer the Central Plains? Just bear with it.

When Li Jing proposed to go to Chang'an to build the Tang Dynasty mausoleum, he was decisively rejected by Yelu Deguang. Therefore, the record of "Jiangnan Wild History" is half true and half false. It is false that Li Jing was canonized as the ruler of the Central Plains, and it is true that Li Jing was trapped in the battlefield of Fuzhou and had to show weakness to the Khitan.

A month later, Southern Tang finally got out of the quagmire of the Fuzhou battlefield. Two months later, Khitan was defeated repeatedly in the Central Plains and was forced to return north. Yelu Deguang died suddenly on the way, and the general Xiao Han who stayed in Bianzhou also abandoned the city and fled north...

Li Jing believed that this was a good opportunity to get involved in the Central Plains, so he issued an edict for the Northern Expedition: "I love the Central Plains, my hometown." Comrades, everyone has the responsibility to counterattack and save the country. I will take you back to your hometown!

The commander of the Northern Expedition was Li Jinquan, a former rebel general of the Later Jin Dynasty. During the reign of Shi Jingtang, Wang Hui of Anzhou rebelled, and Li Jinquan went to replace him and became the governor of Anzhou Anyuan Army. In the fifth year of Tianfu (940), he defected for fear of punishment.

Before the army had completed its assembly, it was heard that Liu Zhiyuan had already entered Bianzhou, so Li Jing canceled the Northern Expedition.

During the more than half a year from the fall of the Later Jin Dynasty to the Later Han Dynasty's control of the Central Plains, the Central Plains's powerful rival, the Southern Tang (Huainan), hardly gained any advantage.

4.3 The well-deserved "Gao Laizi" - Jingnan

When Yelu Deguang took control of Bianzhou, Gao Conghui of Jingnan immediately sent envoys to pay tribute and congratulate the Khitan for taking control of the Central Plains. The Khitan also sent envoys to present gifts such as famous horses.

At the same time, Gao Conghui also sent people to Taiyuan to persuade Liu Zhiyuan to ascend the throne, saying that Jingnan supported Liu Zhiyuan's enthronement and in return, asked Liu Zhiyuan to cede Yingzhou to Jingnan. Liu Zhiyuan readily agreed.

(End of this chapter)