History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 687: Yanzhou "Uncle Liu"

Guo Wei did not show mercy to Liu Chong's men, but treated the Hedong issue rationally. Unless he had enough ability to eat it and digest it, he should not try it madly on the edge of death.

In summary, as long as the territory is not lost and Liu Chong returns empty-handed, it will be the greatest victory of the Later Zhou Dynasty. Military is the continuation of politics. When analyzing a war, we should focus more on the invisible front, which is the real context.

After two attempts, Liu Chong was basically disheartened. The ambition to restore the empire had long since disappeared. More importantly, he had to fulfill the obligations of a "child emperor" and pay a considerable amount of protection fees to his Khitan father every year, just like the story of Shi Jingtang.

But Shi Jingtang became the ruler of the Central Plains, while Liu Chong was still confined to a corner of Hedong.

The pressure of the rulers will naturally be passed on to the working people. Although Liu Chong's Northern Han regime was not a continuation of the Later Han Dynasty in terms of orthodoxy, it inherited and carried forward the Later Han Dynasty's system of heavy taxes and harsh laws, and firmly grasped the atmosphere of national destruction.

The people of Hedong were already struggling under the dark system of the Later Han Dynasty, and now they had the additional obligation to serve the Khitan, which made their suffering even more unspeakable.

Especially when the people of Hedong heard that the emperor of Later Zhou was implementing benevolent policies and deepening reforms, they yearned for the free world of Central Plains even more and fled to the territory of Later Zhou.

When the Later Zhou Dynasty launched a northern expedition to Taiyuan, the people's pent-up emotions finally erupted, and an incredible scene was staged in Hedong: the Later Zhou expeditionary army did not seem to have penetrated deep into enemy territory at all. The people of Hedong came in groups, with baskets of food and drink to welcome the royal army, and took the initiative to line up on both sides of the road to welcome them, provide fine wine and food, reward the Later Zhou army, and compete to be the guide to welcome the Later Zhou royal army to liberate Northern Han.

3. Yanzhou

Comrade Murong Yanchao, a long-distance runner, a strong talker, "Uncle Liu", and the military governor of Taining Army in Yanzhou, was one of the people whom Guo Wei focused on appeasing when he founded the country. He was given the title of Zhongshu Ling. Murong Yanchao also immediately admitted his weakness to Guo Wei and expressed his allegiance.

In the war when Guo Wei went south to fight for the world, Murong Yanchao was the first pro-war faction of the Later Han Dynasty and a core figure of the hawkish faction. He actively responded and instigated the use of force to resolve disputes and was the number one enemy of Guo Wei's group.

In the self-consolation edict, Guo Wei's words were sincere and his emotional intelligence was off the charts. Since the fact that Murong Yanchao was a hawk could not be refuted, Guo Wei simply replaced the original with a fake one, elevating Murong Yanchao to the level of a loyal minister and righteous man, saying that it was all Liu Chengyou's fault, that he listened to the slander of villains (Su Fengji and his uncle's clan was small, not including you), and launched a wrong war against the wrong people at the wrong time;

As soon as you heard the emperor's call, you immediately threw away your chopsticks and rushed to the capital without stopping. Why? Isn't it because you are loyal to the emperor? Since you can be so loyal to Liu Chengyou, I also hope that you can be so loyal to me. Don't worry, I promise that I will not move your town, you just need to guard Yanzhou.

In the first few months, the two sides maintained this fragile agreement. However, Murong Yanchao was always uneasy.

Because when Guo Wei was still a hidden talent, Murong Yanchao's official position was much higher than Guo Wei's, and later he relied on Liu Zhiyuan's relationship to bully Guo Wei, Gao Xingzhou and other "outsiders", and the personal relationship between the two was not very good. The reason why Guo Wei is broad-minded is that he has too many problems to face at present. Once all the affairs are properly handled, he will definitely be like Fan Yanguang, Yang Guangyuan, and Du Chongwei.

After Xuzhou was conquered, Murong Yanchao became even more uneasy, so he kept making small moves: recruiting soldiers and horses, gathering grass and storing grain internally; contacting Liu Chong in Hedong, Huainan, and Khitan externally. The Later Zhou captured his messenger sent to Hedong and confiscated his letters to the Northern Han. Guo Wei then sent his messenger Zheng Haoqian to Yanzhou to appease the situation, and swore to Murong Yanchao in the name of Guo Wei.

However, the more magnanimous Guo Wei was, the more frightened and uneasy Murong Yanchao became. The more he saw Guo Wei as a smiling tiger, so he sent his confidant Zheng Lin to the capital several times, ostensibly to apologize and report on work and thoughts, but in reality to investigate the dynamics of the court.

In order to show his loyalty and distract the court's attention, Murong Yanchao used despicable means. He forged a letter written to him by Gao Xingzhou, which was full of dissatisfaction with Guo Wei and criticism of the court. He also expressed his willingness to form an alliance with Murong Yanchao to jointly oppose Guo Wei.

Murong Yanchao gave the letter to Guo Wei, "betraying" Gao Xingzhou.

After reading it, Guo Wei couldn't help laughing. He knew it was fake. Murong Yanchao's IQ should not be overestimated. Guo Wei gave the letter to Gao Xingzhou to read. It is better to share happiness with others than to enjoy it alone.

Gao Xingzhou was shocked at first, then he was moved, and he quickly expressed his gratitude, saying, "Our emperor is so wise!"
Murong Yanchao dragged Gao Xingzhou into the water because Gao Xingzhou was the governor of Tianping Army in Yunzhou at that time, and was a neighbor of Murong Yanchao's Yanzhou. Yanzhou and Yunzhou were the two towns that controlled the Shandong Peninsula in the east, Xuzhou, Sizhou, and Huainan in the south, Cangzhou and Youzhou in the north, and Huazhou and Bianzhou in the west. They were the top priority in East China. Since Zhu Wen annexed the "Two Zhus of Yanzhou and Yunzhou" in the late Tang Dynasty, the region has been controlled by the Central Plains dynasty.

If Yanzhou and Yunzhou really went along with each other, they could cut off the access to and exit from the Shandong Peninsula (Qingzhou), collude with the Khitan in the north and Huainan in the south, dominate one side, and then head west to attack Bianzhou. From Yanyun to Bianzhou is a thousand-mile plain with no strategic locations to defend, so they could completely catch Bianzhou off guard.

Li Cunxu's "left hook" started from Yunzhou and went straight to Bianzhou. When Guo Wei wanted to go to Jinzhou to lead the army in person, Wang Jun reminded him to be careful of Murong Yanchao of Yanzhou taking advantage of the situation, so Guo Wei quickly canceled the plan of leading the army in person.

Will the confluence of Yan and Yun occur?

Absolutely impossible!
Gao Xingzhou and Murong Yanchao's personal relationship is incompatible. Murong Yanchao rejects all capable "outsiders", including Guo Wei and Gao Xingzhou. At the beginning, Murong Yanchao fought side by side with Gao Xingzhou to jointly conquer Du Chongwei of Weizhou. Murong Yanchao falsely accused Gao Xingzhou of secretly communicating with the enemy, and finally forced Gao Xingzhou to use the extreme method of eating feces to express his injustice.

The hatred for killing one’s father is irreconcilable; the hatred for eating shit is unforgettable.

After Du Chongwei was pacified, Liu Zhiyuan appointed Gao Xingzhou as the Jiedushi of Weizhou, but Gao Xingzhou was determined not to be neighbors with Murong Yanchao (Murong Yanchao was the Jiedushi of Chanzhou at the time, which was adjacent to Weizhou). Finally, Liu Zhiyuan moved Murong Yanchao to Yanzhou, and Gao Xingzhou accepted the appointment as Jiedushi of Weizhou.

So why did Gao Xingzhou come to Yunzhou and become Murong Yanchao's neighbor?

This was the credit of Liu Chengyou. When Liu Chengyou first ascended the throne, the real power of the country had been controlled by Shi Hongzhao, Yang Bin and other important ministers who were entrusted with the care of the emperor. It was not until the three-year mourning period was over that Liu Chengyou was able to rule the country in name. He was eager to disintegrate and weaken the power of the feudal lords. It happened that Guo Wei successfully suppressed the three rebellions in the west. Liu Chengyou gave indiscriminate rewards to the feudal lords all over the world. The feudal lords also expressed their desire to come to the capital to express their gratitude. It happened to be Liu Chengyou's birthday, so Liu Chengyou sent out invitations, and the feudal lords came to the capital to attend the emperor's birthday party.

(End of this chapter)