History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 848 Actor's Self-cultivation 2
2. Li Chuyun

Born in the Later Tang Dynasty, he was the son of a martyr. His father, Li Zhao, died for his country during the suppression of the rebellion in Wangdu, Dingzhou. At that time, Li Chuyun was still young and was raised by his brother Li Chuchou, and later moved to the capital. At the end of the Jin Dynasty and the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Zhang Yanze rebelled and let his soldiers plunder the city. At that time, Li Chuyun was less than 20 years old. He stood alone at the entrance of the alley, drew his bow and shot arrows, and shot and killed more than a dozen rebel soldiers in one breath. The rebel soldiers dared not to move forward. At dawn the next day, rebel soldiers tried to break in again. Li Chuyun killed several more people and became famous in Heluo from then on.

When Zhe Congyuan of Fuzhou heard about it, he summoned him to his tent. Later, Zhe Congyuan was transferred to the four military governorates of Deng, Hua, Shan and Bin, and Li Chuyun never left his side.

Before his death, Zhe Congyuan recommended Li Chuyun to the court (Chai Rong). At that time, Li Jixun went to Mengzhou, so Chai Rong arranged Li Chuyun to work under Li Jixun.

At first, Li Jixun did not take this "relative" seriously and treated him very badly. Until one day, Li Jixun had an archery competition to liven up the atmosphere, and Li Chuyun hit all four of his shots, which attracted Li Jixun's attention. He condescended to become sworn brothers with him. They were not just "brothers" in the ordinary sense, but brothers who had officially come to the palace to pay homage to each other. Later, Li Jixun asked Li Chuyun to take charge of Hejin, an important crossing on the Yellow River.

Li Chuyun said that this was a traffic bottleneck and there would definitely be spies traveling back and forth. Sure enough, within a few months of Li Chuyun's appointment, he successfully captured the Khitan spy and seized the secret correspondence between the Khitan and the Later Shu and Southern Tang - wax pill books.

It can be seen that Comrade Li Chuyun was both intelligent and brave. He was a master archer at long range, killed several bandits with his bare hands in close combat, and had wisdom and strategy. He was truly a rare talent. Historical records commented that he "made decisions on the spot and never failed", and was highly appreciated by Zhao Kuangyin.

Later, Li Jixun performed poorly in the Huai River expedition and was dismissed from his post by Chai Rong, and Li Chuyun was assigned to Zhao Kuangyin.

Therefore, Li Chuyun can be regarded as Zhao Kuangyin's direct confidant. In the "Chenqiao Mutiny", Li Chuyun acted as a bridge of communication, reflecting the voice of the masses to the higher-level functional departments at the first time, and effectively promoted the mutiny.

3. "Professional supporting actor" Chu Zhaofu
Chu Zhaofu was originally a subordinate of Liu Ci and a colleague of Zhao Pu. After Liu Ci's death, Chu Zhaofu followed his new master, Zhao Kuangyin.

It is said that after Liu Ci died, Chu Zhaofu, who was laid off and unemployed, wandered to the capital. While sending out resumes everywhere, he found a blind fortune teller named Liu Wu on the roadside. He went up to him to ask for divination and ask about his fate and future.

Liu Wu counted on his fingers and said that you have come to the right place in Beijing. You will meet your noble person here. Remember, if you meet someone who looks like this, you must hold on to his thighs, obey him and keep his word, and you will be successful! Liu Wu described the appearance of the "noble person" in detail to Chu Zhaofu, and Chu Zhaofu remembered every word in his mind.

What a coincidence, I met love around the corner. Just because I took one more look at you in the crowd, I can never forget your face. When I miss you, you are in my mind, and when I miss you, you are in front of me.

Chu Zhaofu indeed met a person who was exactly the same as Liu Wu's description.

"Amazing!" Chu Zhaofu immediately surrendered to this man and became a die-hard fan of his new master, loyal to him infinitely. This new master was Zhao Kuangyin.

We can boldly speculate that this blind fortune teller Liu Wu was probably also an accomplice of Zhao Kuangyin. With the blessing of his profession (fortune teller) and physical defects (blind), he accurately portrayed the appearance of a "noble man". In that era, few people would doubt the trick behind it, and would only sigh "this is God's will"!
As mentioned above, Zhao Kuangyin's group may have been conspiring long ago, and the blind calculator Liu Wu was one of them. And Chu Zhaofu was probably not the only one who was deceived by Liu Wu to join Zhao Kuangyin's army.

In the "Chenqiao Mutiny", Chu Zhaofu played a supporting role. The "astrologer" Miao Xun pulled him over and pointed out the magical natural phenomenon of "two suns in the sky". The two of them teased and sang in unison, quickly bringing the crowd into the rhythm.

Why did Miao Xun choose him, or why did Zhao Kuangyin's group choose him to be the supporting actor? Perhaps it was because Chu Zhaofu was more susceptible to psychological suggestion. Just like he was fooled by the blind calculator Liu Wu, he was very easy to be fooled by the "astrologer". Others might be acting, but he was acting in his true colors. Moreover, if Zhao Kuangyin became the emperor, it would only benefit him and not harm him, so he had no reason to expose the lie.

Before returning to Bianzhou, Zhao Kuangyin sent Chu Zhaofu to the city to comfort his mother and family. The record in the history books is very interesting:
"Zhao Fu told the public about the support of the people, and the Queen Mother was relieved."

Let's first restore the situation at that time. If you were Zhao Kuangyin's mother, your entire family would be held hostage in Bianzhou City because your son was going to lead troops to war and your family would be held hostage in the capital. This was an unspoken rule. Then your son launched a mutiny outside and declared rebellion because... his subordinates wanted to support him (the scholars and the masses supported him), so... would you be relieved?

Let’s not talk about the distant future, just think about Guo Wei’s whole family.

Why did the Queen Mother say "Nai An"? What did Chu Zhaofu "say"? Let's try to speculate:
"Auntie, don't worry. We have been working on this for half a year. The army in the city is on the same side as us. We will work together from inside and outside. You won't make any mistakes. If you don't believe me, just watch. The change of leadership will be completed within a day. Just wait and see."

This is indirect evidence of the "long-term conspiracy" of Zhao Kuangyin's group. 1. "Off-site security"

4.1 Murong Yanzhao
Murong Yanzhao was from Taiyuan, Hedong, and was a descendant of a military family. His father, Murong Zhang, was the commander of the cavalry and infantry of Xiangzhou. When Liu Zhiyuan was in power, Murong Yanzhao served under Guo Wei and was known for his bravery. After Guo Wei founded the country and became emperor, he appointed him as the deputy envoy of the Imperial Food Department and the Iron Cavalry Commander. The envoy of the Imperial Food Department was in charge of the food in the palace, and must have been a confidant.

After Chai Rong ascended the throne, Murong Yanzhao was promoted to the rank of Commander of the Palace Guard. He made meritorious service in the "Battle of Gaoping" and was promoted to the rank of Marquis of the Palace Guard. After the "Three Expeditions to Huainan", he was promoted to the rank of Deputy Commander of the Palace Guard. After Chai Zongxun ascended the throne, he was promoted to Deputy Inspector of the Palace Guard. When he followed Zhao Kuangyin in the Northern Expedition, he was granted the rank of Marquis of the Cavalry and Infantry of the Northern Camp.

As mentioned earlier, when Zhao Kuangyin ordered Murong Yanzhao to rush to the front line of Zhenzhou, he was not actually "sending" him away, because he was also one of the core members of Zhao Kuangyin's group. He was responsible for helping Zhao Kuangyin guard the north gate so that his comrades' "Chenqiao Mutiny" could proceed smoothly.

4.2 Han Lingkun, Zhang Lingduo, Guo Chong

Han Lingkun, this name appeared frequently in the process of "Three Expeditions to Huainan". He entered Yangzhou twice, risked his life for the beauty he loved, and killed Lu Mengjun in anger.

Han Lingkun was originally a general under Guo Wei. He was a member of the imperial guards during the Later Zhou Dynasty. After Chai Rong ascended the throne, he was promoted to the position of Palace Guard Commander. After the "Battle of Gaoping", he was promoted to the commander of the imperial guards. At the beginning of Emperor Shizong's expedition to Huai River, Prime Minister Li Gu took command of the 12 generals who formed the vanguard of the expedition, and Han Lingkun was one of them.

During the "Three Expeditions to Huainan", Han Lingkun and a close comrade-in-arms jointly won the "Battle of Zhengyang", and together they launched a surprise attack on Yangzhou and took over Taizhou. This close comrade-in-arms was Zhao Kuangyin's father, Zhao Hongyin.

Han Lingkun fought side by side with Zhao Hongyin and forged a deep fighting friendship. So what was his relationship with Zhao Kuangyin?

According to historical records, Han Lingkun and Zhao Kuangyin had a "very close relationship" and worked like close friends.

After Chai Zongxun ascended the throne, he promoted him to the rank of Du Yuhou of the Imperial Guards Cavalry and Infantry and ordered him to lead troops to patrol the north. When the "Chenqiao Mutiny" occurred, Han Lingkun was stationed in Zhenzhou and Dingzhou. When Zhao Kuangyin set out, he ordered Murong Yanzhao to rush to the Zhenzhou and Dingzhou fronts to meet up with Han Lingkun. After successfully seizing power, he granted the two the privilege of "acting at their own discretion."

Zhang Lingduo, a former subordinate of Guo Wei, was stationed in Bazhou (Yijing Pass) as Han Lingkun's deputy after Chai Zongxun ascended the throne. He was also a close friend of Zhao Kuangyin. After the establishment of the Song Dynasty, his third daughter married Zhao Kuangyin's younger brother Zhao Guangmei.

Guo Chong was the Jiedushi of Chengde Army in Zhenzhou and the highest commander of the local army in Zhenzhou.

At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, someone secretly reported to Zhao Kuangyin that Guo Chong missed the Zhou Dynasty and would have other intentions, so he should be cautious. Zhao Kuangyin trusted Guo Chong very much and said that he would not rebel. Then there was a small detail. Guo Chong's staff Xin Zhongfu said to Guo Chong, "You are loyal and loyal..."

You taste, you taste carefully.

The news of "Khitan invaders from the south" was an official letter sent from here. Combining various indirect evidences, we seem to be able to boldly infer that Guo Chong, Han Lingkun, Zhang Lingduo and other top central and local commanders on the front line colluded with each other and jointly issued the false news of "Khitan invaders from the south".

If, as some people say, Murong Yanzhao was not a member of Zhao Kuangyin's group and was an unstable factor in the "Chenqiao Mutiny" and was therefore deliberately sent away by Zhao Kuangyin, then just imagine why Zhao Kuangyin placed this unstable factor at the north gate. What if he really colluded with the Khitan and led his troops south to "suppress the rebellion"?
Of course, the Khitans were happy to act as arbitrators and raise an army to hold the envoys accountable. When Li Cunxu was overthrown, the Khitans used this as an excuse to question the envoys sent by Li Siyuan in person, and they were ready to send out a large army to hold the envoys accountable.

Moreover, after the establishment of the Song Dynasty, there were generals who opposed Zhao Kuangyin and did so. This will be described in detail later.

Therefore, Zhao Kuangyin would not be stupid enough to place hostile elements on the front line of stabilization.

In the drama of the "Chenqiao Mutiny", Guo Chong, Murong Yanzhao, Han Lingkun and Zhang Lingduo silently acted as off-site security personnel, leading heavy troops to guard against the Khitan from turning the fake show into reality.

(End of this chapter)