History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 763 A small test of one’s skills
[Try it out]

In the first month of 944 AD, Li Jing sent envoys to visit Jianzhou Wang Yanzheng and Fuzhou Wang Yanxi respectively. In the tone of elders scolding juniors, suzerain states scolding vassal states, and eldest brothers teaching younger brothers, he severely criticized the situation of brothers fighting each other within Min and ordered them to reconcile immediately.

At that time, Wang Yanzheng had already established the "Great Yin Kingdom" in Jianzhou, competing with Wang Yanxi of Fuzhou, and the civil war in Fujian was at its peak. Li Jing chose this moment to intervene in Fujian's internal affairs in a high-profile manner.

Unexpectedly, the Wang brothers did not give him face. Wang Yanxi used the story of Ji Dan (Duke of Zhou) in the Zhou Dynasty who killed his brother Ji Xian and exiled Ji Du, and the story of Li Shimin who killed his brothers Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji in the "Xuanwu Gate Incident" as a metaphor to fight back. Although Wang Yanxi rejected Li Jing's mediation, he still gave him some face. Wang Yanzheng was not so polite and directly rebuked Li Jing for usurping the Southern Wu regime of the Yang family.

Just when he was about to appear in Fujian as the eldest brother, he was poured a bucket of cold water on his head. Li Jing was very angry and the consequences were serious. He immediately announced that he would not recognize Wang Yanzheng's "Great Yin Kingdom" and cut off all relations with it.

Soon, in mid-March, a coup d'état took place in Min, with Zhu Wenjin and Lian Chongyu murdering Wang Yanxi. Zhu Wenjin then proclaimed himself the emperor of Min. Wang Yanzheng of Jianzhou used an excuse to launch an attack on Zhu Wenjin of Fuzhou, but was defeated.

In order to protect himself, Zhu Wenjin sent envoys to Southern Tang to ask for help.

Li Jing immediately imprisoned the envoy, and then summoned his ministers to discuss the matter, intending to take this opportunity to send troops to annex the Kingdom of Min.

The Min Kingdom has now essentially split into two countries, one is the Fuzhou Min Kingdom controlled by Zhu Wenjin, and the other is the Jianzhou "Yin Kingdom" controlled by Wang Yanzheng. However, the Fuzhou Min Kingdom and the Southern Tang do not border each other, and Wang Yanzheng of Jianzhou is sandwiched between the two.

The reason why Li Jing sent troops to the Kingdom of Min was to punish Zhu Wenjin, the traitor who killed the king of Min. So the first problem he had to face was Wang Yanzheng of Jianzhou.

Simply put, if Wang Yanzheng is deemed illegal, then Southern Tang will need to destroy Jianzhou first and then go to Fuzhou, which is quite difficult; if Wang Yanzheng is deemed legal, there is a possibility of passing through Jianzhou and attacking Fuzhou (although this possibility is extremely low). In this case, even if Fuzhou is captured, Southern Tang will be taking advantage of the situation to capture Jianzhou.

Therefore, after discussion, the ministers reached a consensus: they must first destroy Jianzhou King Yanzheng and then swallow up the entire Min Kingdom.

Since it was Zhu Wenjin of Fuzhou who murdered the emperor, why did they attack Wang Yanzheng of Jianzhou? The reason was that "Wang Yanzheng was responsible for the civil strife in Fujian." It was because Wang Yanzheng split the motherland that the butterfly effect was triggered, which eventually led to Zhu Wenjin's murder of the emperor. Therefore, Wang Yanzheng was the culprit of the civil strife in Fujian and should be punished first.

Therefore, Li Jing released Zhu Wenjin's envoy and began to mobilize the army, preparing to intervene in the internal affairs of Fujian. It was late May of the lunar calendar, and by the time the Southern Tang Dynasty mobilized the army, it was already June of the lunar calendar. That year, it was the hottest time of the year in Huainan, and the heat was unbearable. There was also an outbreak of plague, which was not conducive to sending troops. Li Jing had no choice but to cancel the military action.

However, Li Jing had already had the idea of ​​annexing the Kingdom of Min and had formulated a grand strategy: first Jianzhou, then Fuzhou, and then advancing all the way.

Zhu Wenjin was panicked because he did not get support from the great powers, so he took the initiative to cancel the title of emperor and only called himself "Fuzhou Weiwu Army Retainer". He sent envoys to the Later Jin Dynasty and pledged his loyalty to the Later Jin Dynasty. The Later Jin Dynasty needed someone to help contain the Southern Tang Dynasty, so it hit it off with Zhu Wenjin and immediately recognized Zhu Wenjin's legitimate rule over the Min Kingdom. Under the interference of the great powers, Wang Yanzheng could only speed up the pace of the reunification of the motherland. After his last defeat, he made a comeback and divided his troops into two groups to encircle and suppress the traitor Zhu Wenjin. The generals of the Min Kingdom surrendered to Wang Yanzheng one after another, and Zhu Wenjin's control range shrank sharply.

Wang Yanzheng won victory after victory and soon advanced to the city of Fuzhou, and was about to complete the unification of the motherland in one go. Zhu Wenjin hurriedly sent his son to Wuyue as a hostage to ask for help from Wuyue. At the same time, the governors of Southern Tang could no longer sit still. This person was Cha Wenhui, one of the "Five Ghosts".

Throughout history, whenever a major power wants to manipulate a region, it must first divide it, then instigate it, and finally fish in troubled waters and reap the benefits. This is true for colonizers and hegemonists. Times have changed. Today, cold weapons have become steel torrents, and colonizers and hegemonists have transformed themselves into world policemen and world beacons, but their methods have never changed.

The unification of Min, whether it is Jianzhou unifying Fuzhou or Fuzhou unifying Jianzhou, is not in the interests of Southern Tang. What Southern Tang needs is that both sides are evenly matched and fight each other and constantly consume each other. At present, Jianzhou Wang Yanzheng is approaching Fuzhou with a crushing force, and the final unification is only one step away. Southern Tang can no longer stand idly by.

At this time, Cha Wenhui submitted a memorial to the emperor, re-proposing the war plan against Fujian. It was in November 944 AD, less than half a year after the last mobilization.

Most of the civil and military officials of the Southern Tang Dynasty held opposing views.

There are many reasons for opposition. For example, Southern Tang is not sure it can swallow up the whole Min Kingdom at one go. If Southern Tang really wants to annex Min Kingdom, Wuyue Kingdom will not sit idly by. The attitudes of Southern Han and Southern Chu are also questionable. Moreover, Fuzhou has already submitted to the Later Jin Dynasty. Annexing Fuzhou is tantamount to declaring war on the Later Jin Dynasty, a big country in the Central Plains. The small Min Kingdom will also be affected by a single move, so it cannot be reckless.
For example, the late emperor Xu Zhigao left an instruction that we should unite our neighbors, accumulate strength, and then wait for an opportunity to restore the Central Plains. The Central Plains Dynasty (Later Jin) was the imaginary enemy of the Southern Tang, and other neighbors should be our friends.

However, Li Jing had long forgotten the pain of biting his finger, and was mysteriously confident in the strength of Southern Tang. In his opinion, the above two major problems were not worth mentioning.

Although all the ministers were unanimously opposed, the emperor himself supported it. So Li Jing played a trick and appointed a senior official to go to the border to investigate the feasibility of sending troops in accordance with the principles of fairness and democracy. This imperial envoy was Comrade Cha Wenhui, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council.

After arriving at the border, Cha Wenhui immediately submitted a research report full of confidence, and assured that it would be feasible!
Therefore, Li Jing approved the military operation against Fujian, and transferred a military rookie Comrade Bian Hao, who had practical experience, outstanding abilities, and had just made great achievements, to Cha Wenhui.

Cha Wenhui was full of confidence, thinking that Wang Yanzheng's elite forces were all in the south, and Jianzhou, the northern base camp, was empty. Even if he couldn't swallow up the entire Min Kingdom in one go, he could at least take Jianzhou away, and from then on, he would rise to prominence...

Cha Wenhui crossed the Jianyang River with great vigor and confidence, and advanced all the way to a place only 12 kilometers away from Jianzhou.

(End of this chapter)