History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 862: Battle of Yangzhou (Part )

After pacifying Yangzhou, Zhao Kuangyin carried out a large-scale military exercise on the Yangtze River. The exercise took place in Yingluan Town, across the river from Shengzhou. In other words, this large-scale live-fire exercise was carried out right under the nose of Shengzhou. Refusing to recognize the fictitious "middle line of the Yangtze River", the Song Dynasty navy repeatedly approached the south bank, and the news reached Shengzhou.

"This military exercise is a routine military exercise. It is not targeted at any third party and does not regard any country as an imaginary enemy." - Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Song Dynasty.

At the same time, Zhao Kuangyin met with Feng Yanlu, the tribute envoy from Southern Tang who "bought the banquet", with an angry face.

Feng Yanlu was one of the "Four Evils and Five Demons". He was captured in Yangzhou during Chai Rong's "Three Expeditions to Huainan". Chai Rong loved his talent and treated him very well. Three years later, he released him back to Southern Tang. A blessing in disguise, it was during these three years of living in Bianzhou that Feng Yanlu escaped Li Jing's liquidation of the "Four Evils and Five Demons" group.

As the threat of the Central Plains dynasty to Southern Tang became increasingly severe, people like Feng Yanlu, who were familiar with the inside story of the Central Plains and were deeply appreciated by the Central Plains monarchs and ministers, became the most sought-after figures in the political circle of Southern Tang, which led to Feng Yanlu's diplomatic mission.

Zhao Kuangyin gave him a warning and took the initiative to angrily blame the Southern Tang for colluding with Li Chongjin, "Why did your ruler communicate with my traitor?"

The Southern Tang envoys were so frightened that their faces turned pale. They were all silent and dared not say a word. Only Feng Yanlu remained calm and said, "Your Majesty, please do not be so angry. You only know that he contacted my lord, but you don't know the details of the incident."

Zhao Kuangyin originally thought that Feng Yanlu and others would panic, and the Song Dynasty would thus take the initiative in diplomacy. Unexpectedly, Feng Yanlu turned the passive situation into active one and set a trap for him.

"Oh? Then tell me in detail."

Feng Yanlu was wearing a feather fan and a long scarf, and he said with a smile: "At that time, the envoy sent by Li Chongjin was staying in my house. Our king sent someone to tell him, 'It has always been the case that a man of honor would rebel when he was frustrated, but you have missed the right time. When the Song Dynasty first accepted the throne, people's hearts were not settled, and Li Yun of Luzhou colluded with the Northern Han to cause chaos. You did not rebel at that time; now people's hearts are settled, but you want to fight against the best soldiers in the world with just a few thousand rabble. Even if Han Xin and Bai Qi were resurrected, it would be useless. Although I have soldiers and food, I dare not support you!' Therefore, Li Chongjin did not get any foreign aid, and was defeated so cleanly."

Originally, Feng Yanlu wanted to put the big hat of "secretly communicating with traitors" on Southern Tang, but he just touched his upper lip with his lower lip and portrayed Southern Tang as the first meritorious in pacifying Huai River (they advanced again and were defeated due to lack of support).

Zhao Kuangyin was well aware of the essence of convincing people with reason, that is, when you are right, everyone should talk about reason, and when you are wrong, fists are the reason. Let's put aside the facts, our Song Dynasty is right.

"Even so, you see—" He raised his hand and pointed at his elite division, "All the generals are urging me to take advantage of the victory and cross the river. What should I do?"

Facing the naked threat of war, Feng Yanlu remained neither humble nor arrogant, and said solemnly: "Li Chongjin thinks he is invincible in the world. However, once your wise and powerful majesty comes in person, he will kill that guy in seconds. How can our small country in the south of the Yangtze River compete with the royal army? However... we still have tens of thousands of personal guards and attendants in the south of the Yangtze River. They are all old revolutionaries who followed Xu Zhigao. They swear to live and die with the Southern Tang. If your majesty insists on annexing us, he must be prepared to sacrifice tens of thousands of soldiers. What's more, the Yangtze River is not as strong as the Huai River, with high winds and rough waves. If your majesty encounters strong winds and waves, you will not be able to capture the enemy city if you advance, and you will lose all your food supply if you retreat. I am afraid that your majesty's ambitions may not be realized!" Feng Yanlu's words were sonorous and powerful, which made Zhao Kuangyin secretly marvel at him. He thought to himself that he was worthy of being a trend-setter who had experienced stormy waves. No wonder he dominated the political arena of the Southern Tang for many years.

Zhao Kuangyin's expression instantly turned from gloomy to cheerful, and he laughed loudly, "Haha," "I was just joking with you, my dear. Don't take it seriously."

The natural barrier of the Yangtze River was indeed an important uncertainty factor that Zhao Kuangyin had to consider. Feng Yanlu's words hit the nail on the head. Even a rabbit will bite when it is anxious. After weighing the pros and cons, Zhao Kuangyin gave up the plan of crossing the river.

This bluffing military exercise and the diplomatic dinner with a dagger hidden in smiles achieved amazing results. The ruler and his ministers of Southern Tang were greatly shocked, and "the ruler of Southern Tang was very afraid." At the same time, Du Zhu, a close minister of Southern Tang, and Xue Liangyin, the magistrate of Pengze County, believed that Zhao Kuangyin would definitely turn the fake into real one. It happened that the two of them broke the law in the country, so they defected for fear of being punished and offered Zhao Kuangyin a strategy to pacify Southern Tang.

Du Zhu and Xue Liang will pay a heavy price for their misjudgment.

Zhao Kuangyin had already given up his plan to cross the river and needed to take practical actions to dispel the clouds of war and reassure Li Jing. These two were simply materials for exposing him to the public.

Therefore, Zhao Kuangyin beheaded Du Zhuo and sent Xue Liang into exile. "The ruler of Southern Tang was Shaoan." Shaoan was not the real An. Zhao Kuangyin's military exercise directly prompted the Southern Tang to move its capital, and also caused Li Jing to leave us prematurely due to excessive fright. These wonderful contents will be detailed in the following text.

Zhao Kuangyin left his trusted confidant, Li Chuyun, the envoy of the Northern Court of Xuanhui, as the acting governor of Yangzhou to repair the wounds of the war. Historical records show that Li Chuyun "diligently pacified the people, lightened taxes and levies", and quickly repaired the wounds of Yangzhou.

In the History of Song Dynasty, Han Tong, Li Yun and Li Chongjin were specially included in the Biography of Three Ministers of Zhou Dynasty. In the preface, the historian said that the New History of Five Dynasties had the Biography of Six Ministers of Tang Dynasty, which was the "Six Ministers Carrying the Coffin" mentioned in the previous part of this book. Ouyang Xiu's intention was to "show ridicule", but the intention of the Biography of Three Ministers of Zhou Dynasty here was completely opposite, "Are the so-called stubborn people in Luoyi not the loyal ministers of Yin Dynasty?"

Han Tong died before the founding of the Song Dynasty, so he cannot be considered a traitor to the Song Dynasty. Then what about Li Yun and Li Chongjin? The historian said: "It is not easy to say." It is really hard to say, and it depends on one's own opinion. This is the definition of them in later generations. In the early years of the Song Dynasty, Li Yun and Li Chongjin were indisputable "traitors", a political red line that no one dared to cross. Perhaps we in later generations should give them an objective and fair evaluation.

I feel sorry for Han Tong. Although he was stubborn and hot-tempered, he was loyal to his cause and never betrayed his country until his death. He was killed because he refused to join Zhao Kuangyin's traitor group.
As for Li Yun and Li Chongjin, even if their anti-Song political stance was correct, they could not escape the mistakes of the process. They colluded with foreign forces to overthrow their own regime. So are they considered "traitors"? Which is right, procedural justice or outcome justice? In the words of the historian, "It is not easy to say."

(End of this chapter)