History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 828 Shake hands and make peace

【Handshake and make peace】

The Later Zhou army threatened Shengzhou and showed off its strength in the north of the Yangtze River. At this time, neighbors on both sides also came to assist:

On March 3, Gao Baorong of Jingnan (son of Gao Conghui, grandson of Gao Jichang, "Lai Sandai") reported: Our fleet has arrived in Ezhou. Previously, Hunan Wang Kui was ordered to attack Ezhou, and Jingnan stood by and watched. Seeing that the Later Zhou Dynasty was sure to win and Hunan fell into civil strife, Gao Baorong of Jingnan rushed out to grab the fruits of victory and show his loyalty to his master. He is worthy of being the grandson of Gao Jichang, "Gao Laizi";
On March 3, Qian Hongchu of the Wuyue State reported that 17 warships and naval forces had been dispatched and stationed on the south bank of Tongzhou, waiting for the order from the eldest brother.

The Tongzhou here refers to the Jinghai Army of the Southern Tang Dynasty, which was an important checkpoint on the border between the Southern Tang Dynasty and the Wuyue Kingdom. It was conquered by the Later Zhou Dynasty in the first month of this year, thus opening up the land transportation line between the Central Plains and the Wuyue Kingdom. The Later Zhou Dynasty named it "Tongzhou" because it was located at the confluence of the river and the sea and connected to the territory of Wuyue. Later, the Jin Dynasty also set up a "Tongzhou" in today's Beijing. In order to distinguish them, people habitually called the two places "Nantongzhou" and "Beitongzhou".

Beitongzhou is today's Tongzhou District of Beijing; Nantongzhou became today's Nantong City of Jiangsu Province.

Li Jing sent Chen Jue to present a letter of surrender, asking for peace and surrender, full of sincerity:

1. "Brother, I was wrong" (sad words)

2. rolls of tribute silk, gauze, ramie, and silk (I suspect it was rolls of each), jin of milk tea, incense, medicine, rhinoceros, and elephant, etc.;

3. Please pass the throne to Crown Prince Li Hongji;

4. Treat the country as a vassal and claim to be a vassal of the Central Plains.

When Chen Jue arrived at the Later Zhou camp, he witnessed with his own eyes the "Qiyun giant ship" of the Later Zhou anchored in the Jiangbei military port, and was instantly frightened (shocked and horrified).

Chai Rong saw Li Jing's sincerity in seeking peace from his petition, but it was still a far cry from the price he had in mind, so he told Chen Jue that at present, the only four states missing in Jiangbei were Lu, Shu, Qi and Huang. If he really wanted to make peace, he should offer these four states, otherwise there would be no talk.

Chen Jue nodded repeatedly and promised to accurately convey the meaning of the Celestial Empire.

After Chen Jue came back, he instantly turned into Li Deming, trying his best to highlight the strength of the Later Zhou military... But he was smarter than Li Deming. He only said that the enemy was like a cheat, so powerful that it had no friends, but did not mention ceding land. Describing the enemy's strength is an objective report, while suggesting ceding land is selling out the country for glory.

The matter of ceding land could only be understood, proposed and approved by Li Jing himself.

The area north of the Yangtze River is almost half of the Southern Tang in terms of land area. From an economic perspective, it leads the country in GDP and is the most prosperous and affluent metropolitan cluster in the Southern Tang. Politically, it is the birthplace of the Huainan Group and an old revolutionary base. From a geopolitical perspective, it is the foundation of the Southern Tang's northern expedition to the Central Plains, unification of the country, and "going out" strategy...

Li Jing stood in front of the sand table, looking at the four states in the north of the Yangtze River, and fell into deep thought. This was his last bargaining chip and also his last strength.

Just as he was hesitating, bad news came from the Yangtze River: the Later Zhou general Zhao Kuangyin defeated our Guabu navy and lost more than a hundred warships.

Guabu, located in the southeast of Liuhe County, faces Shengzhou across the river. This is the last fig leaf of the "Yangtze River natural barrier". The reality does not allow Li Jing to hesitate.

On the day when Zhao Kuangyin defeated the Guabu navy, Li Jing sent the cabinet envoy Liu Chengyu to present a formal surrender, expressing his willingness to cede Lu, Shu, Qi, Huang and other states, offer all the land north of the Yangtze River, and request to divide the river and govern it separately.

Chai Rong followed the etiquette between the Tang Dynasty and the Uighur Khan and replied to Li Jing with a formal letter:
"The Emperor respectfully asks the ruler of Jiangnan"

——Just a few words, but it contains a lot of information.

Chai Rong called himself "Emperor" instead of "Emperor of the Great Zhou", and addressed Li Jing as "Lord of the Country", because there can only be one Son of Heaven on the land of China, and that is of course me, Chai Rong. The others are all illegal separatist pseudo-regimes, and can only be called Lords of the Country. Moreover, they are confined to Jiangnan, and you are just a big landlord south of the Yangtze River.

Before, when Southern Tang, Later Shu and others wrote letters to the Central Plains, the headings were all "The Emperor of the Great Tang writes to the Emperor of the Great Zhou" or "The Emperor of the Great Shu writes to the Emperor of the Great Zhou", which also emphasized their own legitimacy.

Now, Li Jing has gone from being an emperor of an empire to being the ruler of a country, and his political status has been downgraded three levels.

"The messenger arrived and asked the province to divide Lu, Shu, Qi, Huang and other prefectures and draw the river as the boundary... If this can be done, what else can we ask for?"

——You are very sensible, so I won’t say anything.

"The border was suddenly hushed by smoke and dust, and the troops returned to the capital... and the soldiers on land and sea in Liangzhe, Jingnan, and Hunan were all ordered to stop fighting..."

——Don't worry, the war is over.

Finally, Chai Rong urged Li Jing to hand over the four states as soon as possible, and at the same time comforted him that he did not have to give up the throne to his son.

In the subsequent correspondence, Li Jing was extremely obedient and called himself "King of Tang". In addition to ceding the entire territory north of the Yangtze River, he also agreed to pay tribute of 100,000 to the Later Zhou every year.

Since Chai Rong had the ambition to annex the whole world and planned to "conquer the south first and the north later", why did he stop at the city of Shengzhou, give up the opportunity to make a final move, and accept peace talks?

Because this is where Chai Rong's foresight and great talent are reflected.

Chai Rong clearly realized that this was not a stand-alone game, but a massively multiplayer online game, in which a single move could affect the entire body.

First, there are the subtle geopolitical factors of the Southern Tang Dynasty.

The Southern Tang was the strongest country in southern China and had great influence on the surrounding forces. Especially when Li Jing, under the instigation of the "Four Evils and Five Demons" group, formulated a route to restore China and unify the Central Plains, Liangzhe (Wuyue Kingdom), Lianghu (Jingnan, Southern Chu), Guangdong and Guangxi (Southern Han), Fujian (Min) all became the strategic imaginary enemies of the Southern Tang, causing great panic in the southern countries. When the Southern Tang really put it into practice and destroyed the Min Kingdom and Southern Chu, it greatly shocked the southern vassal states. The Southern Tang also became the public enemy and the source of all evil for the southern vassal states.

It was precisely because of the strong presence of the regional hegemon and problem child, Southern Tang, that Wuyue, Southern Chu, and Jingnan had long respected the Central Plains, using the power of the tiger to balance the threat of Huainan. In short, the regional threat brought by Southern Tang was the mass base of the Later Zhou in southern China.

However, once the regional advantage of the Southern Tang disappears, the times will be different and the attitudes of these southern vassals towards the Central Plains may undergo a drastic change, and they may turn from friends to enemies of the Later Zhou in order to protect themselves.

Chai Rong made full use of the geopolitical factors of the Southern Tang, dealt it a heavy blow, and eliminated its threat to the Central Plains, but he had to temporarily ensure its survival so that he could maintain an effective deterrent to the southern vassal states, thereby ensuring the centripetal force of the southern vassal states towards the Central Plains.

Secondly, it is to avoid extending the front line too long, preserve strength, and deal with threats from the north.

The two "Battles of Jinzhou" and "Battle of Gaoping" had already caused fatal damage to the Northern Han. The newly succeeded Liu Chengjun had no intention of expanding the territory, but only sought to protect the territory and the people. Historical books also said that Liu Chengjun was determined to recuperate and did not dare to invade the south.

However, during Chai Rong's expedition to Huaihe, Liu Chengjun still took advantage of the situation and went south to Xizhou to steal the fields. Although he was easily repelled by the surrounding defense forces, it was enough to show that Chai Rong had to leave enough forces in the Central Plains to resist possible invasions from the north.

The Northern Han could not be ignored, and the Khitan could not be taken lightly. Chai Rong had to fight tigers in the south and guard against wolves in the north.

Third, avoid taking advantage of the situation.

It took Emperor Shizong three expeditions to Huainan to achieve the current situation. On the eve of victory, Gao Baorong, a famous political speculator and "the third generation of the Lai family" in Jingnan, suddenly sent troops to Ezhou in an attempt to challenge the Later Zhou Dynasty and seize the fruits of victory. The forces of Wuyue Kingdom and Hunan (formerly Southern Chu) were also eager to try.

If Chai Rong launched the Battle of Crossing the Yangtze River, the Later Zhou would have to pay a huge price for it and stand in the front line to absorb the damage, while the forces of Liangzhe, Jingnan, Hunan and other forces would sit back and reap the benefits. Afterwards, the Later Zhou would have to thank the three families for their "help". The three families took advantage of the situation and still acted ungratefully, while the Later Zhou could only suffer in silence.

The most important thing is, as mentioned in the first point, with the demise of Southern Tang, the three families are likely to stand on the opposite side of Later Zhou in an instant. If Chai Rong destroys Southern Tang at this time, it is equivalent to cutting his own flesh to feed his enemies. And if Later Zhou fails to cross the river, all the previous efforts will be wasted.

Therefore, launching the campaign of crossing the river would do more harm than good to the Later Zhou Dynasty.

The two sides reached agreement on key issues and the peace talks concluded successfully.

Chai Rong issued an edict to Jingnan, Wuyue and other countries, ordering them to withdraw their troops. He also gave 30,000 pieces of silk to Wuyue and 10,000 pieces of silk to Gao Baorong of Jingnan. He sent General Song Yanwo to lead the navy to patrol and guard the Yangtze River. He arranged special tomb keepers for Yang Xingmi and Xu Wen, and the government allocated special funds. For those officials of the Southern Tang Dynasty whose ancestral tombs were in the north of the Yangtze River, people were also arranged to protect and maintain them regularly.

Southern Tang sent Feng Yanji to deliver a "banquet request":
"I heard that at the first meeting at Mengjin, he led the army with the yellow axe; after the bronze horse was returned, he won the support of the people with his loyalty."

——He started by paying homage, then farted like a colorful lotus. "The First Meeting at Mengjin" compared Chai Rong to King Wu of Zhou; "The Bronze Horse Returned" compared Chai Rong to Emperor Guangwu of Han.

"The emperor's generosity is eternal, his virtue is as great as that of the Supreme Yuan."

——Comrade Chai Rong was great, glorious and correct, unprecedented and unrivalled, the greatest emperor of all time, yeah\(^o^)/
"Since he is still obsessed with his ways, I will give him a small reward to go on the expedition."

——Just because I was stubborn and refused to change my ways, Comrade Chai Rong gave me a little lesson and pulled me back from the edge of the cliff of error, allowing me to recognize my mistakes in time and correct them. It was Comrade Chai Rong who saved me and allowed me to bathe in the warm sunshine.

"Because they know how to return to the origin of the world, they will look down upon them and trust them."

——After I participated in the reform, Comrade Chai Rong gladly accepted me, a lost lamb, on behalf of the organization.

"I look up to your generosity and tolerance, and I am more devoted to you,"

——I knelt down and looked up at the strong man, thanking Comrade Chai Rong for his tolerance and love, for not holding grudges against me, for taking me in and reforming me, which made me more determined to embrace the organization. From then on, I vowed to be a die-hard fan of Chai Rong.

"However, since Huaihai is a remote place and a country in the southeast, I have worked hard and stayed with the king's army for a long time. Therefore, I am worried and have no time to stay."

——We are located in a remote and desolate corner of the southeast, but you have to come here to educate me, reform me, and help me improve. Whenever I think of this, I feel extremely ashamed and blame myself. So, I have an immature suggestion that I dare to put forward. If it is rash, I hope you will forgive me. This request is...

"Now that the six armies have returned and the imperial chariots have returned to the capital, let us perform the ceremony of disarming the emperor and show that we are filling the court."

—My fellow countrymen, please don’t go. Since you are here, let me show my hospitality and treat you all to a good meal and drink.

Along with the letter came some small gifts from Li Jing: millions of silver, silk, money, tea, and grain.

Chai Rong was very happy. You see, after a beating, his attitude improved a lot.

A few days later, Li Jing sent Xu Liao, Duke of Linru County, and Shang Quangong, the envoy of the Ministry of Guests, to visit the country and bring "money for a banquet" and another letter for a banquet. It was the same routine, with the same "very sad words", and no further details were given.

The war finally ended with peace talks. For a period of time thereafter, the Later Zhou Dynasty and the Southern Tang Dynasty maintained frequent, close and friendly exchanges. Zhong Mo of the Southern Tang Dynasty and Feng Yanlu, who had been captured before, became friendly envoys and traveled back and forth between the Central Plains and Jiangnan many times. The two sides exchanged courtesies and were very close.

Once, Li Jing sent his son Li Congshan and Zhong Mo to visit the Later Zhou. Chai Rong suddenly asked Zhong Mo, "Are your troops in Jiangnan still training for war?"

Zhong Mo immediately denied it, saying that we have already submitted to the superior country, how dare we build up the army! We are so obedient.

Chai Rong shook his head and told him seriously, "This is wrong. We were enemies before, but now we are one family. We should not talk behind each other's backs. As the saying goes, it is hard to predict the future international situation. It is hard to say which way it will develop. Go back and tell your master that while I am still here, you can boldly strengthen the city, train the army, and hold the strategic points for the sake of future generations!"

After Zhong Mo returned to China, he reported the situation truthfully to Li Jing, who then felt assured and boldly carried out national defense construction.

(End of this chapter)