History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 773 Jiangshan Beiwang 4
Canceling the Northern Expedition meant revoking the Northern Expedition Army's authority to lead the army. Li Jinquan, a former general, had no objection to this and firmly supported the court's decision. However, Liu Yanzhen, the "Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Expedition Army" and the governor of Shouzhou, was very dissatisfied with this. In order to protect his vested rights, Liu Yanzhen instigated the soldiers to spread rumors in Shouzhou, claiming that the Later Han Dynasty was gathering in large numbers in the Huaibei area with the intention of invading the south.

Liu Yanzhen, his father was the veteran and meritorious general of Huainan - Liu Xin.

Liu Xin was originally a bandit leader in Yanzhou. After Yang Xingmi took control of Yangzhou, Liu Xin surrendered to Yang Xingmi. Because of his bravery in battle and his many outstanding achievements, he was deeply admired by Yang Xingmi. He often had long talks with him to discuss military affairs. One day, Yang Xingmi summoned Liu Xin to discuss matters. Unexpectedly, Liu Xin was drunk (drunk and unable to speak). Yang Xingmi was furious and scolded him on the spot. Liu Xin was also angry, so he carried a sword on his back and ran away from home.

The generals asked Yang Xingmi for instructions, saying that Liu Xin had defected and requested that he be brought back to be held accountable. Yang Xingmi waved his hands and said, "How could Liu Xin betray me? He was just drunk. When he sobers up, he will come back naturally."

The next day, Liu Xin indeed came to ask for forgiveness.

The peak of Liu Xin's life was the Battle of Qianzhou. After a long siege, Liu Xin first accepted Tan Quanbo's request for peace, and then suddenly turned back and conquered Qianzhou in one fell swoop. Of course, according to historical records, this was not Liu Xin's strategy. Liu Xin sincerely accepted the reconciliation at that time, and it was Xu Wen who forced him to turn back.

In short, Qianzhou was occupied by Lu Guangchou and Tan Quanbo for more than 30 years, and Liu Xin was the terminator of Qianzhou. From then on, Qianzhou, Shaozhou and other places were incorporated into the territory of Huainan. Comrade Liu Xin still made great contributions to the expansion of the territory for the Huainan Group.

Liu Xin was the oldest member of the Huainan Group and had made countless contributions. Especially after the annexation of Qianzhou, he became even more arrogant and looked down on others. When the Later Tang Dynasty destroyed the Liang Dynasty, it sent envoys to visit Huainan. When the envoys passed by Liu Xin's residence, Liu Xin hosted a banquet for the envoys and boasted without restraint, pointing his thumb at his nose and drunkenly asking: "Has your emperor heard of my name?"

The messenger answered truthfully, saying that our master had just arrived in the Central Plains and was not familiar with our area and had not heard of your name.

Liu Xin curled his lips and grinned, "Remember, Han had Han Xin and Wu had Liu Xin, both of them were first-class people!" Han had Zhuge Liang who compared himself to Guan Zhong and Yue Yi, and the Five Dynasties had Liu Xin who compared himself to Han Xin.

Then, Liu Xin said provocatively: "Go back and tell your master to come to the Huai River to compete with me (I also told the emperor that we should come to compete in archery on the Huai River)." You dare to say you don't know me? I will let you know me now!
Liu Xin's arrogance and outspokenness almost caused a serious diplomatic incident and almost led to a war to destroy Huainan. Because Li Cunxu, the Emperor Zhuangzong of the Later Tang Dynasty, had the ambition to unify the world, Huainan and Former Shu were clearly in his consideration, and at that time, the officials of the Later Tang Dynasty almost unanimously advocated attacking Huainan first.

Later, due to a series of reasons, Li Cunxu listed the Former Shu as the primary target of attack and launched a war to destroy Shu, thus Huainan escaped a catastrophe. When the news of the Later Tang's large-scale attack on Shu came, Xu Wen immediately recalled Liu Xin to Yangzhou, "entrusting him with internal preparations while actually seizing the land", fearing that Liu Xin would really cause trouble.

Liu Yanzhen was the fourth son of Liu Xin, and he served as the governor of Haizhou and Chuzhou. As the saying goes, a tiger father will have a dog son. Liu Yanzhen was good at riding and shooting, especially archery. According to records, his arrows never missed, and the soldiers nicknamed him "Liu Yijian". Speaking of Liu Yanzhen's appointment to Shouzhou, we have to mention an old story:
Liu Jin, one of the "36 heroes" and the founder of the Huainan regime, followed Yang Xingmi for many years and was appointed as the commander of the militia in Haozhou for his meritorious service. His reputation spread far and wide. After Liu Jin's death, his son Liu Rengui succeeded his father and continued to rule Haozhou. During his tenure, Liu Rengui was corrupt and violent. After Liu Rengui's death, his son Liu Chongjun succeeded him and continued to rule Haozhou.

When Liu Chongjun first succeeded to the throne, he changed his father's harsh and corrupt policies and became lenient and caring for the people. The people praised him and he was well received by Xu Zhigao. In the struggle between Xu Zhigao and Xu Zhixun, he clearly stood on Xu Zhigao's side and became Xu Zhigao's confidant. When Xu Zhixun's recommendation of his brother-in-law Li Yanzhong to succeed his father was rejected, Xu Zhixun complained, "Your confidant Liu Chongjun, three generations of ancestors and grandchildren have been in charge of Haozhou. I let my brother-in-law take over my father-in-law's job. What's wrong with that?"

Later, Liu Chongjun and Li Jing became in-laws, and Liu Chongjun's son married Li Jing's daughter.

Li Jing promoted Haozhou to Dingyuan Army, and Liu Chongjun was also promoted from a training envoy to a military governor, and he was extremely favored by the Southern Tang court.

As his family's power and status increased, Liu Chongjun's true nature was finally exposed. He began to be cruel and corrupt, even worse than his father Liu Rengui.

Xu Zhigao and his son Li Jing favored Liu Chongjun because both Xu Zhigao's enthronement and Li Jing's succession to the throne faced resistance from many sides and they were in urgent need of finding political allies. Liu Chongjun, who came from a family of generals for three generations, was a political vase with considerable weight.

When Li Jing gradually gained control of the overall situation, he became extremely disgusted with the corrupt element Liu Chongjun, and was even more suspicious of the military warlords who were deeply rooted in Haozhou, so he began to plan to deprive him of his real power.

Coincidentally, Yao Jing, the governor of Qinghuai Army in Shouzhou, died. Yao Jing was originally a stable boy of Liu Jin, that is, a servant who helped Liu Jin lead horses. Later, because of his outstanding performance, he was promoted to a general by Liu Jin. A few years later, he was selected by Xu Zhigao and promoted to a general of the personal army. Later, he was promoted to the governor of Shouzhou. From a little stable boy leading horses, he became a provincial governor. It is a very inspiring counterattack of a loser.

Now that Yao Jing had passed away, Liu Jin's grandson Liu Chongjun wanted to take the opportunity to concurrently govern Shouzhou, so he bribed the dignitaries in the court with a large sum of money and asked them to help him put in a few good words. Li Jing took advantage of the situation and pretended to be stupid and confused. He deliberately heard "concurrently govern" as "relocate" and readily agreed. He immediately issued an order to let Liu Chongjun move to Shouzhou.

Liu Chongjun did not dare to disobey the order, and planned to go to Shouzhou to take up his post first, and then slowly explain to the emperor. As soon as Liu Chongjun left Haozhou, Liu Yanzhen, the then governor of Chuzhou, immediately received a secret order to stay in Haozhou and take over the city defense.

Historical records say that Liu Yanzhen "rushed into Haozhou."

Liu Chongjun immediately realized that this was a trap set by Li Jing. However, Liu Chongjun did not hate Li Jing for this. Instead, he seriously reflected on himself and thought that everything was his fault. It was because he was not a good official that he lost the trust of the emperor. Li Jing's request for him to move to another town was a kind of protection for him, because it was just a warning, which was much more merciful than directly executing the whole family.

Afterwards, Liu Chongjun was grateful to Li Jing and decided to turn over a new leaf.

A prodigal son who returns is worth more than gold. It should be said that Comrade Liu Chongjun was still very conscious. However, fate played a joke on him. Just when he was heartbroken, he unfortunately fell ill and died at the age of 40. Li Jing posthumously awarded him the title of Taiwei and the posthumous title of "Wei".

After Liu Chongjun's death, Liu Yanzhen, also known as "Liu Yijian", moved from Haozhou to Shouzhou.

After Liu Yanzhen arrived in Shouzhou, he brought an indelible nightmare to Shouzhou.

First, as a military governor, he personally went into business, doing business in Shouzhou City and competing with the people for profits. Liu Yanzhen certainly would not follow any fair trade, but took advantage of his power to force purchases and sales, and forced the people to pay his usurious loans. It was called business, but it was actually robbery.

Secondly, Shouzhou had an Anfeng Pond, which irrigated thousands of hectares of fertile fields and supported Shouzhou's economy. Liu Yanzhen diverted the water of Anfeng Pond into the trench outside the city to form a moat on the pretext of strengthening the city's defense, causing the farmland to dry up due to lack of irrigation water, and agriculture was facing a complete loss of production and harvest. At the same time, Liu Yanzhen increased land taxes, making it impossible for Shouzhou farmers to pay rent and taxes. Later, Liu Yanzhen pointed out a way out for the poor people: selling land.

This is the fatal problem that was common during the feudal period - land annexation.

Shouzhou residents had no choice but to sell their farmland, and the buyer was Liu Yanzhen. Liu Yanzhen selected the most fertile land, but priced it according to the poorest land, and even cut a handful of leeks when the land was merged.

After Liu Yanzhen completed the land annexation, he ordered the restoration of the irrigation function of Anfengtang. In this way, Liu Yanzhen became the largest landlord and the richest man in Shouzhou.

Liu Yanzhen bribed Wei Cen and other "four villains and five ghosts" with a large sum of money. These powerful people praised Liu Yanzhen in front of Li Jing and described him as the Great Wall of Southern Tang (promoted as a Great Wall).

During Li Jing's Northern Expedition, Liu Yanzhen was appointed deputy commander-in-chief. When Li Jing was determined to withdraw, Liu Yanzhen was greedy for power, so he deliberately spread rumors that the Later Han was preparing for a large-scale invasion and Shouzhou's military affairs could not be withdrawn.

The "Four Evils and Five Demons" also helped in the court, saying that Shouzhou was a beachhead against the Central Plains and should not be underestimated. As a result, the greedy and cruel Liu Yanzhen was able to continue to abuse his power in Shouzhou until the Central Plains (Later Zhou) officially invaded Huai.

Li Jing believed the news that the Later Han Dynasty would launch a large-scale invasion, so he appointed his eldest son Li Hongji as the commander-in-chief of Run and Xuan states, and stationed him in Run state. He also ordered Zhou Zong, the governor of Ningguo Army in Xuan state, to move his headquarters to Yangzhou, the eastern capital, to prepare for resisting the invading army from the north.

The invasion from the north was a false alarm; Southern Tang’s current challenge still comes from the south.

(End of this chapter)