History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 638: Three Towns Rebellion 1
Liu Zhiyuan's dilemma was that he had to flex his muscles to the Kansai region in a high-profile manner, while at the same time convincing the two that he was not an imaginary enemy.

If you want to take a nap, someone will give you a pillow.

The Uighur tribe sent envoys to accuse the Tangut tribe of frequently robbing their tribute missions and asked the Celestial Empire to uphold justice. So Liu Zhiyuan sent the imperial guard general Wang Jingchong to lead thousands of imperial guards to attack the Tanguts, exerting military pressure on the Guanxi region in the name of maintaining the tribute route.

Before Wang Jingchong set out, Liu Zhiyuan summoned him to his bedroom, dismissed his attendants, and gave him a private instruction: "The true intentions of Zhao Kuangzan and Hou Yi are still unclear. You must wait and see when you go. If they really set out for Bianzhou, you should not make any moves; if they delay, you should act according to circumstances."

Liu Zhiyuan thought this was a foolproof plan, but he never imagined that this was a huge time bomb for his son.

Because Wang Jingchong's public mission to the west was to wipe out the Tangut bandits who plundered the tribute roads, and to deter or even interfere in Chang'an and Fengxiang was his secret mission, and this secret was known only to Liu Zhiyuan. Once Liu Zhiyuan died, the legitimacy of Wang Jingchong's military operations in the western border would be misunderstood.

Wang Jingchong was like an undercover agent who had penetrated into the gang, and Liu Zhiyuan was the only police officer who knew his police identity. After Liu Zhiyuan's death, Wang Jingchong really became a gang member and it was difficult to clear himself.

At the same time, there was no specific arrangement for Wang Jingchong's "undercover" mission, but he was allowed to "act at his own convenience" with a high degree of freedom. He did not have to ask for instructions from Bianzhou and had the privilege of acting first and reporting later.

Wang Jingchong led his troops to set out in the first ten days of the first lunar month. A few days later, Liu Zhiyuan became seriously ill and died that month. This was the key foreshadowing of the following text.

Zhao Kuangzan must have really repented. Before Li Shu returned to Chang'an, he couldn't wait to embark on the journey back to the east. No matter whether Liu Zhiyuan forgives him or not, I will go to Bianzhou. Let him kill me or cut me into pieces as he pleases.

Zhao Kuangzan arrived in Bianzhou on the 26th day of the first lunar month (the day before Liu Zhiyuan's death).

With Zhao Kuangzan's departure, Wang Jingchong took over Chang'an and maintained local order. At this time, the support troops of Hou Shu had entered the 800-li Qinchuan and were about to approach Chang'an.

Wang Jingchong only brought a few thousand imperial guards, and was worried that the troops were too few, so he mobilized the local garrison in Chang'an and the guards left by Zhao Kuangzan. However, he was worried that these Guanxi soldiers would not fight and would flee, so he planned to tattoo them on their faces. Wang Jingchong was very cautious and deliberately "leaked" some news to test the military situation and public opinion. As a result, an officer named Zhao Siwan took the lead and actively responded, saying that he was willing to be a tattooist and set an example for everyone.

Wang Jingchong was very happy to see the local army cooperate so well, but his deputy general Qi Zangzhen secretly reminded him that Zhao Siwan was vicious and cruel and difficult to control, so it would be better to kill him to prevent future troubles.

Wang Jingchong did not agree.

Perhaps Wang Jingchong sincerely agreed with Qi Zangzhen's statement, but he really could not adopt Qi Zangzhen's suggestion. Zhao Siwan was not only a local tyrant (a representative of the local army), but also a good employee who took the lead in responding to the call and helped the airborne leaders who lacked a mass base to establish prestige and command the masses. If he was killed for no reason, how could Wang Jingchong gain a foothold in Guanxi?

This time, Hou Shu divided its troops into three groups to meet three defectors from the Later Han: He Jiancheng of Qinzhou, Hou Yi of Fengxiang, and Zhao Kuangzan of Chang'an. After Wang Jingchong received support from the local army, he took the initiative to attack the Hou Shu army in Ziwu Valley, captured and killed 3,000 people, and the Hou Shu army retreated to the south of Qinling Mountains.

The central army of Hou Shu was led by the surrendered general Zhang Qianzhao, who left Dasan Pass, crossed the Wei River, passed Baoji, and went to Fengxiang. When they arrived in Baoji, close to Fengxiang, serious internal differences arose. This disagreement continued to ferment as Wang Jingchong's counterattack progressed, and ultimately led to the defeat of Hou Shu's northern expedition.

Zhang Qianzhao's experience is a typical example of the internal divisions and contradictions within the Later Shu:

1. Awkward identity background
Zhang Qianzhao was a surrendered general. When Li Congke rebelled against Fengxiang, he led his army to fight against him on the orders of Emperor Min Li Conghou, but was defeated and fled to Hou Shu.

The ruler of the Later Shu at that time was Meng Zhixiang. Meng Zhixiang attached great importance to Zhang Qianzhao's decision to abandon the dark and join the light. Firstly, Zhang Qianzhao was brave and resourceful, and was a famous general in the Later Tang Dynasty, and was highly regarded by Mingzong Li Siyuan; secondly, he could become the pioneer of the Later Shu to interfere in Guanxi.

But now the ruler of Later Shu is Meng Chang, the son of Meng Zhixiang.

A surrendered general - from the time of the previous emperor. These two labels created Zhang Qianzhao's awkward position in the Later Shu Dynasty and became the core of a series of subsequent contradictions.

At the end of the Later Jin Dynasty, Zhang Qianzhao finally got the opportunity to make meritorious services. Meng Chang planned to take advantage of the chaos to annex the Guanxi region, so he let Zhang Qianzhao take command and lead an army of tens of thousands, with flags stretching for dozens of miles, to Qinchuan. As a result, Liu Zhiyuan proclaimed himself emperor and entered Bianzhou to stabilize the Central Plains. Meng Chang ordered his troops to withdraw, and Zhang Qianzhao returned without success.

Now, Hou Shu has sent troops again. Although it has been less than a year since the last time, the deployment of the Shu troops has undergone tremendous changes.

For example, a few months ago, Zhang Qianzhao was the general manager of the Guanxi project. However, a few months later, the Guanxi project was restarted, but the entire project has been split into three modules: Qinzhou, Fengxiang, and Chang'an. Zhang Qianzhao is only responsible for one of them, which means that his power has been reduced by at least two-thirds, and he has been reduced from project general manager to department manager.

Moreover, even in one of the routes, Zhang Qianzhao did not have absolute say. His master Meng Chang assigned him two "deputy managers" - Han Baozhen and Pang Fucheng.

A glance at their resumes will reveal Meng Chang's intentions:
Han Baozhen, a descendant of Meng Zhixiang from Hedong, followed Meng Zhixiang into Sichuan. He was not only a descendant of Meng Zhixiang from Hedong and a meritorious official, but also wisely stood on the side of the "prince party" and became a descendant of Meng Chang, and was deeply trusted by Meng Chang. After Meng Zhixiang's death, the founding general Li Renhan was arrogant and domineering, and acted in a disloyal way, becoming a major concern for Meng Chang. In the end, just like Kangxi's removal of Oboi, Meng Chang finally got rid of Li Renhan with the help of meritorious old ministers such as Zhao Jiliang and Zhao Tingyin. In the process of Meng Chang's design to eliminate Li Renhan, Han Baozhen actively framed him and was willing to be the fuse and the vanguard, so he was deeply grateful and trusted by Meng Chang.

Afterwards, Han Baozhen, the warehouse manager (Fengde warehouse envoy and Guangyi warehouse envoy), rose rapidly, first to governor, then to deputy envoy of the Privy Council, and then to envoy of the Northern Court of Xuanhui, becoming one of the core power circle members of Meng Chang's reign in the Later Shu Dynasty.

Meng Chang was only 15 years old when he ascended the throne. He was in the ignorant period of adolescence. He suddenly became the man in the world who could do whatever he wanted. So naturally he developed a strong interest in gender issues. He often studied and enriched his harem, and he had a special liking for "good girls".

(End of this chapter)