History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 813 Negotiations break down
The title of this letter is very domineering - "Give Li Jing a Seal Letter". The word "give" is very domineering:
"...After the chaos of Chao and Cai, and the war between Zhu and Li, China was in turmoil...Heroes stood together, each with their own reputation..."

——Since the rebellions of Huang Chao and Qin Zongquan, Zhu Wen and Li Keyong have successively fought for hegemony in Jin and Bian, and the Central Plains has been in chaos. You warlords have taken advantage of the chaos to establish your own regimes, and each of you has declared yourself to be the king and the hegemon, claiming to be the only one in power. Why are you pretending to be so powerful?
"He allied himself with the four barbarians and took advantage of the situation to bully the superior country..."

——You colluded with barbarians and foreign nations and took advantage of the situation to plunder the Central Plains. Your crimes are simply too numerous to list!
"I... am not as virtuous as the previous kings, and my principles are not as good as those of the ancients."

——My brother is so outstanding, aren’t you afraid of him?

"However, he controls the wealth of one hundred states, has three hundred thousand soldiers, and is good at both farming and fighting, and his soldiers are happy to work."

——I rule over one hundred states and have an army of three hundred thousand. The whole country is united and closely rallied around me. I just want to ask you if you are afraid.

"I want to avenge the old grudges of successive dynasties and wipe out the shame of the people."

——Sooner or later, you will pay for what you have done. Now, I want to settle accounts with you.

"Since I took the throne, I have been busy worrying about peace. I have defeated the great bandits in You and Jin, and recovered the entire territory of Qin and Feng. The soldiers never tire, and the people have spare energy. Yesterday, I returned to Longshan to punish the criminals on the bank of the river."

——So after I ascended the throne, I first defeated Khitan and Northern Han, and then taught Hou Shu to behave itself again. I became more and more courageous as the battle went on, and my rage value was full, and I had full health and full buffs. Now it's your turn.

"I do have a confession, who shall be held responsible?"

——The reasons have been clearly stated in the manifesto. These are the eight sins. Do you admit them?

"I personally raised the golden drums and sought to cross the Huai and Fei rivers, in compliance with the will of heaven and the wishes of the people."

——Brother will lead the army in person, in accordance with the will of heaven and the people.

"Wherever the vanguard goes, no one is left behind. The abandoned zombies fill the valley."

——Brother is invincible. I have made your minions like turtles eating watermelons, rolling and crawling.

"We have already passed Chuyang after taking back the city and conquering the land."

——I have already conquered Chuzhou and reached your doorstep, do you want me to stop? Grandma!

"How can one not die by knocking down its claws and teeth, breaking its wings, destroying its heart, and strangling its throat?"

——I’m going to kill you!
"Early, the commander of Sizhou delivered a letter to us. Soon after, he sent Zhong Mo and Li Deming to bring the memorial and tribute of clothing, belts, gold and silver utensils, tea, medicine, cattle, wine, etc. Now he has sent Sun Sheng and others to the imperial court. Seeing that he has submitted orders and admitted his guilt and poverty, it is said that a gentleman sees the opportunity and does not wait for the whole day. Who can do this without wisdom?"

——It seems that you are a person who knows how to be flattered, and you also know that you are in the wrong. You are a teachable person. I will not beat around the bush and show you a clear path.

"…If we cannot recover the interior and redraw the border, then we will discuss the return of the troops. It is just like a drama…"

——If I just stop fighting like this, it would be a joke.

"…But within the southern part of the Huai River, we have already conquered six states, Lu, Shou, Hao, and Huang. The army has gathered and is targeting a date…We must conquer all the land in the Huai River area…"

——Listen carefully, cede all the land south of the Huai River and north of the Yangtze River to me!

"As for the removal of honorific titles and the willingness to pay homage to the emperor, this is not without precedent, but rather a precedent."

——As for what you said about paying tribute to our brother, there is precedent.

"Xiao Cha served Zhou without losing the way of being a vassal; Sun Quan served Wei and treated Wei as a vassal state. Although this was the case in ancient times, it is no longer the case today..."

——Although there are precedents of Xiao Cha and Sun Quan, it is no longer possible today.

"...when all the counties have arrived, the army will be disbanded...I am waiting for the coming of spring, and I am worried about various matters...I am so worried that I am tired in my dreams."

——If you don’t agree, then just wait!

Another letter was given to the civil and military officials of Southern Tang:
"I...crossed the Changhuai River and attacked with lightning, pointed to Jianye and flew high. Within a day and a half, we achieved successive victories... I don't need to explain everything, I hope you will understand."

——Do you know how powerful I am?
"...repenting what had happened, he surrendered to the court, not without words of apology, but also with a request to withdraw his troops."

——You also knew you were wrong and begged me to stop fighting, but——

"But the land of Nanbang was originally the border of Zhongxia..."

——Huainan has been an inseparable part of the Chinese nation since ancient times!

"If we draw the river as the boundary from the south of the Huai River..."

——Let me withdraw my troops, yes, but the condition is to cede the entire territory of Jiangbei. "All you officers and soldiers should do your best, make good plans for the country, and strive to choose long-term benefits."

——You should consider this carefully.

The two aggressive letters and Li Deming's vivid performance caused an uproar in the Southern Tang court.

The Southern Tang rulers and ministers commented on the two letters as "full of mockery and arrogance, which was unbearable in the country". In a word, Chai Rong was too much of a bully! However, Li Deming seemed to have been brainwashed by Chai Rong. He tried his best to describe the powerful military force of the Later Zhou Dynasty, and resolutely demanded that Li Jing cede land to seek peace and spend money to avoid disaster.

According to historical records, Song Qiqiu and the "Four Evils and Five Demons" were in one party, while Han Xizai, Chang Mengxi, Xiao Yan, Sun Sheng, Li Deming, and Jiang Wenwei were in another party, which is what the book called the "Qingliu Party". The two parties continued to fight, and later generations compared it to the "Niu-Li Party Fight" in the Tang Dynasty.

We have stressed before that “the clean stream is not clean”, and those who oppose bad people are not necessarily good people. Although Li Deming has been fighting against the “Four Evils and Five Demons” for a long time, he himself is not necessarily better than the “Four Evils and Five Demons”.

According to historical records, Li Deming was "a man of integrity and good at strategizing", and was a close friend of Zhong Mo. They were both "impulsive and self-satisfied", and "reckless and dangerous". In fact, these comments are not much different from the "Four Evils and Five Demons", they are birds of a feather, but they belong to different interest groups.

Because the two were so good at deceiving people, Li Jing loved them very much and often showed favoritism without any bottom line. Therefore, all civil and military officials were terrified of Zhong Mo and Li Deming, and called them "Zhong Li".

Wang Jianfeng, a hero in the previous annexation of Fujian, was killed for slandering Zhong Mo and Li Deming. Since then, the two have become more arrogant and arrogant, "increasingly unbridled, as if no one is around".

Once, when Li Deming was reporting to Li Jing in the side hall, he actually reached out to take Li Jing's imperial pen and wrote and drew on his own notebook. This was a capital crime, but Li Jing just said to him awkwardly, "Bring your own pen next time." Li Deming responded casually, looking calm.

As long as you are not embarrassed, others will be embarrassed.

This also shows how important he was in Li Jing's mind. So when the country was in trouble, Li Jing first thought of the eloquent Li Deming and Zhong Mo and asked them to go and lobby.

When Li Deming was dancing and boasting in the court about Chai Rong's dominance over the world and Zhou's invincible bravery, he could never have imagined that in the dark corner, a pair of vicious and complacent eyes were staring at him.

These eyes belong to Song Qiqiu.

The old fox Song Qiqiu laughed secretly in his heart, "Li Deming, you finally fell into my hands!"

Song Qiqiu secretly found Wang Chongzhi and used threats and inducements, "The Lord asked you to negotiate, and this is the result you negotiated? If he wanted to divide the river and rule separately, why would you negotiate?"

Wang Chongzhi was speechless.

A weak country has no diplomacy. Wang Chongzhi said in his heart, we all know that no matter how eloquent I am, they won't talk to me at all. In one sentence, I will say whether I agree or not. If I don't agree, they will continue to fight. We are really powerless!

Song Qiqiu continued to threaten, "Ceding land for peace is like selling out your master for glory! Do you still want your head?"

Wang Chongzhi hurriedly asked Song Qiuqiu to help him find a way out.

"Come closer and listen - this way, this way and that."

Li Deming finished his performance, wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth, and retreated triumphantly.

Now, please invite Comrade Wang Chongzhi to report on his work:

Wang Chongzhi's speech was completely opposite to Li Deming's. In his description, Chai Rong was eager for quick success and instant benefits, and was fond of pomp and quick success, so that the soldiers could not be driven, the people were homesick, and they were seriously war-weary. A mutiny or other situations might happen at any time. However, our soldiers defended the land and borders and fought bloody battles, especially Liu Renzhan of Shouzhou, who is still resisting stubbornly. The reason why they were retreating was because we misjudged the strategy in the early stage and were caught off guard. As long as we unite as one and keep our footing, we will inevitably turn passivity into initiative, slowly reverse the situation, drive the Later Zhou invaders out of our homeland, and victory will surely belong to us!
Besides, our Majesty is so great, glorious, and correct. He destroyed the Min Kingdom and Southern Chu. How majestic! How come he is not as good as that Chai?

Li Jing's eyes suddenly brightened, and there was a lot of discussion in the court.

At this time, the "Four Evils and Five Ghosts" group spoke actively and enthusiastically. Chen Jue and others took the lead in accusing Li Deming, saying that he was ordered to go on a diplomatic mission, but he disobeyed his mission and failed to demonstrate the country's prestige, nor could he mediate with the enemy. Instead, he showed weakness to the enemy and boosted the enemy's arrogance. He also advised the lord to cede land and seek peace. If all the land north of the Yangtze River was ceded, the natural barrier of the Yangtze River would lose its defensive function. This was more than just treason, it was simply treason!
"Sell out your master for glory!"

"Traitor!"

"Traitor!"

"traitor!"

"Sperm molecule!"

"Kill him, kill him..."

Li Deming became angry after being scolded, so he jumped out of the train, pointed at the "Four Evils and Five Ghosts" gang members who kept shouting, and shouted: "You...you wait! Zhou's army will definitely destroy Southern Tang! Remember, the country will perish in the hands of you bunch of 'patriotic thieves', just wait and see!" Then he threw up his sleeves and walked out angrily (he shouted that Zhou's army would definitely win).

His words completely infuriated Li Jing. Under the instigation of the "Four Evils and Five Demons", Li Jing issued an edict on the spot: behead Li Deming in the city and exile his wife and children to other counties.

After Li Deming was executed on the charge of "privately agreeing to cede land and selling out the country for profit", no one in the Southern Tang Dynasty dared to mention the word "ceding land" again.

The peace talks between the two sides broke down, and Chai Rong could only continue to exert military pressure on Southern Tang.

(End of this chapter)