History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 890: Signs of National Destruction
[Signs of national destruction]

1. Bloody Storm

Earlier, when Chai Rong was planning to attack Shu, a blood-red rain suddenly fell in Shu (blood raining from the sky);
In 960, Zhao Kuangyin became emperor, and the Queen Mother of Later Shu dreamed of the Holy Dragon bidding farewell to the palace;
The year 961 was even more bizarre:

From spring to summer, no rain fell, causing drought, which in turn led to a locust plague, which spread to Chengdu. In October, a fire broke out in Hanzhou, leaving hundreds of families homeless. It was said that a fire dragon jumped out of a well and flew into the sky. Strong winds lasted for several days, and then a fireball fell from the sky, causing the fire. I personally feel that it was more like a meteorite falling to the ground. In November, when Meng Chang wrote the four characters "兆民赖之", he mistakenly wrote "兆" as "赵".

In 962, a giant snake was found in Baishi County, Bizhou. It was over ten feet long and eight or nine feet thick.

In short, all kinds of weird and strange things.

2. The earliest Spring Festival couplets
During the Spring Festival in 965, Meng Chang asked the Imperial Academy to write a "peach charm" on the door of his palace. The previous year, it was written by the Imperial Academy scholar Xin Yinxun, but Meng Chang thought his handwriting was not beautiful enough, so this year he personally wrote "New Year brings more happiness, and the festival is called Changchun". This is the earliest recorded Spring Festival couplet in Chinese history.

This couplet came true. Before the end of the first month of the lunar calendar, the Later Shu Dynasty fell. Zhao Kuangyin appointed Lü Yuqing as the governor of Chengdu Prefecture, which fulfilled the saying "New Year brings more happiness". After Zhao Kuangyin ascended the throne, his birthday was called "Eternal Spring Festival", which fulfilled the saying "The auspicious festival is called Changchun".

Another story is that Crown Prince Meng Xuanzhe wrote "May the blessings from heaven be bestowed upon us, and may the holy festival last forever" on the door of his bedroom.

3. “Calling the Lord to Redeem Him”

There is a custom in Shu that whenever people need funds to turn over, they will post a notice on the door saying "Calling the owner to redeem" in order to attract loan sharks to come and pawn their belongings, similar to today's "popular shops for rent" and "lucky houses for transfer".

Later, some people analyzed that the homonym of "召" is "赵", the homonym of "救" is "蜀", and the homonym of "召主收救" is "赵主收蜀".

4. Wanli Chaotian

A "whip culture" was popular in the officialdom of Chengdu. Civil and military officials competed to make their whips very long so that when they were riding on horses, they could touch the ground with their wrists down. This was considered high-end and elegant. They even gave this whip a name, "Chaotian".
Women in Shu also like to wear a high bun. The higher the bun, the more beautiful it is. This hairstyle is called "chaotianji".
The pop singers in Shu created a new song that has dominated the charts for a long time, called "Wanli Chaotian"...

He looked up to the sky here and there, and later on, Meng Chang really traveled thousands of miles along the rugged mountain roads to pay homage to the emperor.

【Attack Shu】

In 963, the Song Dynasty recovered the two lakes and repatriated the diplomats of the Later Shu Dynasty stationed in the two lakes. As mentioned in the previous article, on the surface, it was to show goodwill to the Later Shu Dynasty, but in reality, it was to use the Song Dynasty's words to describe the power of the Taishan Mountain and the ambition of unification to the people of Shu, so that the Later Shu Dynasty could weigh the pros and cons and make a choice between good and bad.

As expected, Meng Chang's defense was broken. Under the persuasion of Prime Minister Li Hao, he finally prepared to send envoys to pay tribute to the Song Dynasty.

At this moment, Privy Councilor Wang Zhaoyuan jumped out and strongly opposed it.

Wang Zhaoyuan was Meng Chang's confidant, which will be described in detail later. Because he was Meng Chang's confidant, his career was very successful and he rose rapidly. He was promoted to the high position of Privy Councilor without any achievements. So his staff member Zhang Tingwei advised him, saying that you have no achievements, but you were suddenly promoted to Privy Councilor. Civil and military officials will talk about this. If you don't make achievements at this time, how can you change public opinion?

Wang Zhaoyuan sighed and said, "I understand this logic. It's not that I don't want to be in the limelight, but how can I achieve success?"

Zhang Tingwei's suggestion was to collude with the Northern Han and agree to attack from the north and the south, so that the Central Plains would be attacked from both sides, and then take the opportunity to invade Guanxi, Guanzhong, and even Guandong areas to compete for the Central Plains.

Wang Zhaoyuan agreed with this. In order to "build a career", he dragged Hou Shu into the fire pit without hesitation and used the people of the country as a stake for his promotion and wealth. He strongly suggested that Meng Chang send more troops to the upper reaches of the Yangtze River to control the gorge and guard the dangerous places, and then unite with Northern Han. In this way, he could advance to take Guanxi and fight for Guandong, and retreat to protect Sichuan and Shu. It was a perfect strategy.

Meng Chang followed Wang Zhaoyuan's advice and set up additional navy in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. At the same time, he sent people to secretly contact the Northern Han.

Colluding with Northern Han and Southern Tang to fight against the Central Plains was a common practice in Shu. Why did Meng Chang think that Wang Zhaoyuan's proposal was a feasible and clever plan?
There are two main reasons. One is Meng Chang's absolute trust in Wang Zhaoyuan, which will be elaborated later. The other is that the Northern Han and the Khitan behind him have been in a tug-of-war with the Song Dynasty.

In recent years, the Northern Han has repeatedly harassed the Northern Song border and made small moves in Luzhou, Jinzhou and other areas. Just before recovering the two lakes, the Song Dynasty planned to expand the military stronghold of Yijin Pass, but encountered harassment and obstruction from the famous Khitan general Gao Xun, and ultimately failed to complete it.

The intermittent military conflicts between Northern Han, Liao and the Song Dynasty could escalate into a major war at any time. At this time, the joining of Hou Shu is in line with the demands of Northern Han and Liao, so the call for a joint attack on the Central Plains will inevitably be responded to.

This is Meng Chang’s confidence.

However, recently, the relationship between the Song Dynasty and the Khitan has undergone subtle changes:

In August 963, Wang Quanbin, Guo Jin, Cao Bin and others stationed at the northern gate of the Song Dynasty attacked Leping County of the Northern Han Dynasty. They won three battles and captured Leping, and set up the "Pingjin Army". The Northern Han Dynasty asked the Liao Kingdom for reinforcements and launched a counterattack. The Song army also increased its troops to prepare for war. As a result, the Khitans carried forward the fine tradition of imperialism and retreated 8 miles away from the Pingjin Army. The Northern Han Dynasty knew that they could not defeat them and also led their troops to retreat.

Zhao Kuangyin sent Cao Bin and others to join forces with the garrisons of Jinzhou and Luzhou to enter the territory of Northern Han and fight, occupying Liaozhou, Shizhou and some border counties.

The lone wolf of the northwest - Zhe Dejian, the Jiedushi of Fuzhou, repelled thousands of Northern Han soldiers who invaded Fuzhou and captured Yang Lin, the governor of Weizhou, alive.

The Northern Han suffered a series of defeats, lost soldiers and generals, cities and territories, and its Khitan father dealt a critical blow to it, accusing it of "three major crimes", which looked like the routine of destroying the Jin Dynasty. The Northern Han was frightened and quickly sent its nephew Liu Jiwen to the Liao Kingdom to apologize and pretend to be a grandson. The Liao Kingdom detained Liu Jiwen and did not respond to the Northern Han's apology (the Liao Kingdom detained the envoy without reporting it). The Liao Kingdom's attitude made the Northern Han feel very uncomfortable, so how could it have the heart to fight with the Song Dynasty?

In the first month of 964, Song general Li Jixun once again penetrated into Northern Han territory and besieged Liaozhou. On February 2, the Liaozhou garrison surrendered the city. Northern Han was forced to call on the Khitan again, and the Khitan sent the Southern Court King Yelu Talie (also known as "Yelü Dari") to lead an army to support.

Yelu Tale was a famous general of the Liao Dynasty. His deeds will be described in detail in the Khitan section later. Yelu Tale led 60,000 Khitan cavalry to help and repelled Li Jixun in Shizhou. However, Yelu Tale's mission was only to ensure that the Song army would not advance further and to keep the Northern Han regime alive. He had no obligation to expand the territory for the Northern Han.

As a result, the Song Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty reached a tacit understanding: as long as the Song Dynasty did not overthrow the Northern Han Dynasty, the Liao Dynasty had no intention of expanding the influence of the "Great Khitan Co-Prosperity Sphere" to the south.

In other words, Meng Chang's fantasy of "attacking from both the north and the south" can only remain in the fantasy stage.

Meng Chang of the Later Shu chose Wang Zhaoyuan over the "dovish" Prime Minister Li Hao and the "hawkish" Privy Councilor Wang Zhaoyuan. After all, everyone wants to make money while standing if there is a chance. Meng Chang sent Sun Yu, Zhao Yantao, Yang Ju (pronounced the same as "juan") and others to take a shortcut to the Northern Han Dynasty with wax balls and silk books to contact Liu Chengjun.

In order to ensure the success of the lobbying, or to gain more initiative at the negotiating table, the spy group sent Zhao Yantao to sneak into Bianzhou to spy on the Central Plains, such as the recent border conflicts between the Song Dynasty and the Northern Han and Liao dynasties.

However... there is a traitor among us.

Zhao Yantao secretly stole the wax ball silk book, and after entering Bianzhou, he immediately turned against the Song Dynasty and presented the wax ball book to the Song Dynasty court.

Zhao Kuangyin was overjoyed when he received the wax ball letter, and said to his attendants with great joy: "Finally I can have a legitimate reason to attack Shu!" Historical records say that Zhao Kuangyin "had always planned to attack Shu" and after recovering the two lakes, he appointed Zhang Hui to Fengzhou to collect intelligence on the Later Shu, and soon he "learned all the dangers and difficulties of its mountains and rivers"; and just a few days ago, Zhao Kuangyin had just had an important conversation with Mu Zhaosi.

Mu Zhaosi was originally a member of the "Royal Opera Troupe" in Jingnan (serving the Gao family as a performer), and had long been in contact with the high-level officials in Jingnan, so he was considered a "Jingnan expert". After Jingnan was recovered, he became a medical officer of the Imperial Academy of the Song Dynasty and still served in the court. A few days ago, Zhao Kuangyin talked to him to understand the geographical issues of entering Shu from Jingnan and to explore the feasibility of attacking Shu through Jingnan.

Mu Zhaosi answered truthfully, saying that Jingnan is the transportation hub of Sichuan, Jianghuai, Guangdong and Guangxi. Now that Your Majesty has taken over the two lakes, you can do whatever you want to whoever you want. If you want to do Sichuan, it will be even more convenient as you can advance by both land and water.

Due to Zhao Yantao's betrayal, Sun Yu, Yang Can and others were arrested as soon as they entered the border of the Song Dynasty. Zhao Kuangyin pardoned Sun Yu and Yang Can and ordered them to make meritorious contributions while serving their sentences and assist relevant departments in drawing military maps (they were asked to point out the terrain, garrison locations, and distances of roads, and draw maps for submission).

Zhao Yantao surrendered in October 964, and the following month (November), the Song Dynasty sent an expeditionary force to attack Shu.

Zhao Kuangyin divided his troops into two routes, advancing by land and sea. The land route (Fengzhou) was led by Wang Quanbin as the commander-in-chief, Cui Yanjin as the deputy commander-in-chief, and Wang Renzhan as the general commander; the water route (Guizhou) was led by Liu Guangyi as the deputy commander-in-chief and Cao Bin as the military supervisor. Thirty thousand imperial guards plus thirty thousand local troops marched towards Sichuan and Shu in a mighty force.

Before setting out, Zhao Kuangyin handed the map drawn by Sun Yu and other guides to Wang Quanbin, the commander-in-chief of the expedition against Shu, and gave him a strategy, "Do you have the confidence to destroy Shu?"

Of course Wang Quanbin had to fart like a colorful lotus, saying that unification was the will of heaven and the destiny, and thanks to the emperor's mighty power, success would be immediate.

The other generals were even more flattering, such as the cavalry commander Shi Yande, "If Hou Shu was in the sky, then I would be helpless, but since it is on the ground, then it is a sure win!"

Zhao Kuangyin was very satisfied with the soldiers' heroic words. He emphasized military discipline, prohibiting burning, killing, looting, harassing civilians, digging graves, and cutting trees indiscriminately. Violators would be punished by military law. After conquering the city, only war materials (weapons, armor, food and grass) were confiscated and registered, and all gold, silver, and jewelry were rewarded to the soldiers.

Zhao Kuangyin gave Wang Quanbin and others a high degree of freedom, "What I want is the land." The right to dispose of the spoils of war was completely decentralized, which left hidden dangers for the future.

Before the troops set out, Zhao Kuangyin ordered the construction team to build a residence on the bank of the Bian River outside the imperial palace, with as many as 500 rooms and all kinds of furniture and facilities, saying that this was prepared for Meng Chang. The soldiers were greatly encouraged and said that they must invite the owner to come on behalf of His Majesty.

After Meng Chang of Later Shu received the news, he immediately ordered Wang Zhaoyuan to lead the army north, Zhao Chongtao as the general commander, Han Baozhen as the commander-in-chief, and Li Jin as the deputy commander-in-chief.

When seeing off the army, Meng Chang said to Wang Zhaoyuan with great expectation: "This is the trouble you caused. Now please start your performance (Today's army was summoned by you. Please do your best to serve me)!"

Wang Zhaoyuan was confident and said that the Song army outside the country was nothing but chickens and dogs in his eyes. What Wang Quanbin, even Zhao Kuangyin, was like a stake in a stake.

The previous article left a lot of secrets about Wang Zhaoyuan, but now we can reveal them.

What kind of person is Wang Zhaoyuan? Wang Zhaoyuan was born in a poor family in Chengdu. He could not be said to be a poor man, but at least he was a poor man. At the age of 13, he took refuge with a monk named Zhizhen and worked as a "boy" in the temple to make a living. When Meng Zhixiang was in charge of Xichuan, he once gave alms to monks in the mansion of the commander. Wang Zhaoyuan followed Master Zhizhen to the mansion. Meng Zhixiang saw that the child was smart and clever and liked him very much. At that time, Meng Chang was still very young, so Meng Zhixiang kept Wang Zhaoyuan and let him be a companion to the children. In other words, the poor child Wang Zhaoyuan had the honor to become Meng Chang's playmate, childhood friend, and classmate since childhood, and they had a very close relationship.

After Meng Chang ascended the throne, he promoted Wang Zhaoyuan to the position of "General of the Rolling Curtain" (Rolling Curtain Envoy), and later changed him to the position of Tea and Wine Warehouse Envoy. When the Privy Councilor Wang Chuhui resigned and went home, Meng Chang let Wang Zhaoyuan take his place as the Privy Councilor. He withdrew public funds at will without reporting, investigating or pursuing any responsibility.

Many of the questions in the previous article are answered here. This is the answer to why Wang Zhaoyuan suddenly rose to a high position and why Meng Chang trusted him so much.

Wang Zhaoyuan liked to read military books and thought he was unparalleled in both civil and military skills. He often compared himself to Zhuge Liang. The Empress Dowager repeatedly reminded Meng Chang that this person was not suitable for the job, but Meng Chang did not listen.

Li Hao gave him a farewell party. Wang Zhaoyuan was drunk and blurry-eyed. He waved his arm, pointed at the Shu soldiers under his command and said, "I am here to do more than just repel the enemy. Look, I will lead them to conquer the Central Plains. It will be as easy as pie!"

(End of this chapter)