History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 899: Tianhui’s New Policy (Part )

It is actually very easy to understand the Northern Han during the period of Liu Chengjun. You only need to remember the golden key given in this book: independence. Liu Chengjun was unwilling to be a puppet, and even more unwilling to be a traitor. He wanted to develop the Northern Han and make it a force that could compete with the Central Plains and the Liao Kingdom, and change the bipolar world into a tripartite world. To this end, he carried out bold reforms in many aspects such as domestic and foreign affairs. However, all these reforms eventually led him and the Northern Han into the abyss.

At that time, after the death of their parents, children had to mourn for three years, and the emperor was no exception. However, the emperor's position was special. As the saying goes, a country cannot be without a ruler for a day, so the emperor could not really enjoy three years of mourning leave. Usually, he would "exchange days for months", with one day replacing one month, and the mourning period would end after more than a month.

There are exceptions to conventions. Some emperors insisted on mourning for three years to show their filial piety and respect for the previous emperor, such as Comrade Liu Chengjun. After Liu Chengjun ascended the throne, he said that "it is not polite to replace months with days" and insisted on mourning for his father for three years.

Be it three years or one month, it was actually just a show of hospitality, entertainment, and clothing. It did not mean that he really ignored state affairs; it was just a show.

So in November 956 AD, Liu Chengjun took the opportunity of the three-year mourning period to formally promote a series of reform measures and make great efforts.

First, there was a general amnesty, a change of era name, and the establishment of seven temples. In order to show the purity of the legal system, Liu Chong did not change the era name after he became emperor, and continued to use the "Qianyou" era name of Liu Chengyou, the Yin Emperor of the Later Han Dynasty. After Liu Chengjun ascended the throne, he continued to use Qianyou for the first three years. After he retired from mourning, he announced that starting from the first day of the first month of the next year, the era name would be changed to "Tianhui";
The previous article mentioned that Liu Chong did not establish an ancestral temple in order to show that he was not usurping power. Liu Chengjun proposed to establish seven temples after he finished mourning. According to etiquette, the emperor had seven temples, the princes had five temples, the officials had three temples, the scholars had one temple, and the common people were not allowed to establish temples. Liu Chengjun established seven temples, and his political intention was self-evident.

Secondly, there were personnel adjustments, with the crown prince Liu Jie'en as the prefect of Taiyuan, the Hanlin scholar Wei Rong as the prime minister, the Internal Guests Ministry envoy Duan Chang (his real name was "Duan Heng", but the historians in the Central Plains wrote "Duan Chang" to avoid the taboo of Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng, so this book follows the majority and also writes "Duan Chang") as the Privy Councilor, and the Imperial Guards Commander-in-Chief Wei Jin as the commander of the imperial guards.

At this time, Liu Chengjun's position was not very stable, so his methods were relatively mild. Later, he carried out a series of even more brutal purges, which will be discussed later.

In short, it is to promote "one's own people" and build a new power system with oneself as the core.

The third is to adjust the diplomatic situation, establish friendly diplomatic relations with Southern Tang and Hou Shu, and form a loose "anti-Central Plains alliance", with the political slogan and emotional bond of attacking the Central Plains. In fact, Liu Chengjun's purpose of uniting Huai and Shu was to contain and check the Central Plains on the surface, but his real intention was to reduce the Northern Han's dependence on the Khitan, thereby reducing the Khitan's control over the Northern Han.

After this series of combined punches, Liu Chengjun's philosophy of governing the country became clearer, which was to develop independently, or to put it more bluntly, to gradually get rid of the control of the Liao Kingdom.

Can this be hidden from Khitan's father? Of course not. We are all old Chinese doctors, please don't prescribe me a folk remedy.

In November of the first year of Tianhui (957), the Liao Kingdom sent Datong Jiedushi Gao Xun to lead the Khitan cavalry to Taiyuan to "make an appointment" and claim that they would help the Northern Han to attack Luzhou in the south.

The child wanted to help an old lady cross the road, but the old lady didn't want to cross the road, so the child insisted on helping her cross the road.

Liu Chengjun had no choice but to send General Li Cunhuan to lead his troops south with them. When they arrived at the city of Luzhou, the Khitans turned around and headed north. Liu Chengjun treated them warmly, saying, "Hello, I am fine, my father is fine. Go slowly."

The Khitans were not only trying to blackmail the Northern Han, but also to intimidate Liu Chengjun. If you want to be obedient, you can accompany me to Luzhou for a tour, and then "I, the Khitan father, will send you money." If you don't obey, these Khitan cavalry will attack Taiyuan. Just when Liu Chengjun was about to use his fists and feet, he was hit in time.

In the end, Liu Chengjun chose to give in and be blackmailed.

The following month (December), Chen Chuyao, an envoy of the Southern Tang, came to Taiyuan from Khitan. As mentioned above, the Southern Tang was eager to ask for help from Khitan, but Khitan had no interest in it, so Chen Chuyao went to Taiyuan and asked the Northern Han to send troops south to contain the Later Zhou. Liu Chengjun treated Chen Chuyao well, but said he could not help.

This is the looseness of the "Han, Tang and Shu Anti-Zhou Alliance". Although they have reached a consensus on attacking the Central Plains, they are all thinking about reaping the benefits. They all hope that their teammates can take the damage in the front row while they can hide in the back row and develop themselves.

Liu Chengjun was not unwilling to go south, but because Chen Chuyao, on behalf of Southern Tang, asked Northern Han to act as a middleman and eventually seek the help of Khitan. Liu Chengjun wanted to take an independent development route and was unwilling to rely on the power of Khitan. He wanted to "de-Khitanize". If there was an opportunity in the Central Plains, Liu Chengjun was still willing to go south to pick up the leaks. For example, after he sent Chen Chuyao back to Khitan with courtesy, he sent troops to attack Xizhou of the Later Zhou because Sun Yi, the governor of Xizhou, suddenly died of illness.

The defense of Xizhou has been described in detail in the previous article. Yang Tingzhang, the governor of Jinzhou, rushed to Xizhou to help. He and Li Qianpu organized a death squad to sneak into the camp at night and rob the camp. They defeated the enemy with a small force and defeated the Northern Han army. Liu Chengjun was defeated and returned. Afterwards, Li Yun of Luzhou and Li Qianpu of Xizhou launched a retaliatory counterattack and went deep into the territory of the Northern Han to smash, loot and burn.

In desperation, Liu Chengjun sent envoys to Liao to ask the Khitan father to appear, but the Khitans remained silent; Liu Chengjun sent envoys to ask for help again, but the Khitans still stood by and watched coldly; Liu Chengjun sent envoys for emergency for the third time, but the Khitans still stood by and watched.

You don't listen to your father, you make trouble and want your father to clean up your mess? Of course the Khitans will raise their asking price and squeeze the Northern Han Dynasty.

With the end of the "Three Expeditions to Huainan", Chai Rong's work focus began to shift northward. The Northern Han felt the coming of winter, and the Northern Han historian recorded with great pessimism: "It was winter, and there was heavy snow in the country." As we all know, Chai Rong's work focus shifted northward, not to attack the Northern Han, but to directly attack the Liao. After the beginning of spring, Chai Rong launched a northern expedition, namely "Northern Conquest of the Three Passes".

Liu Chengjun stood outside the palace gate, looking at the completely melted snow, and finally breathed a sigh of relief. Zhongyuan wanted to pass on the cold to everyone.

In April, Chai Rong's Northern Expedition broke the Khitan's defenses, so in the national history of the Northern Han Dynasty, there appeared a rather proud record - "The Liao ruler sent an envoy to ask for help."

When the Imperial Academy scholars and historians were writing these words, they must have rolled up their sleeves, straightened their backs, and perhaps even uttered a few Chinese quintessences before vigorously splashing ink. Perhaps they even punctured the manuscript paper out of excessive excitement, "You have come to this day, too!"

Just less than half a year ago, Liao and Han historians still recorded it like this:

"In November, he sent envoys to Liao to inform them that Zhou was about to invade again. On Yichou, he sent another envoy to Liao. On Gengchen, he sent another envoy to Liao again in December." - "Ten Kingdoms Spring and Autumn Annals·Northern Han"

"In the eleventh month of winter, on the day Xinyou, the Han Dynasty sent an envoy to inform the Zhou that it was invading again. On the day Yichou, the envoy arrived again. On the day Gengchen of the twelfth month, the envoy arrived again." - History of Liao

Now, "the Liao lord sent an envoy to ask for help", Liu Chengjun suddenly felt like a serf turning over a new leaf and became the master, and all he needed was to sing a few lines of a red song. The "History of Liao" was not embarrassed to record this humiliating past.

Liu Chengjun sent out troops, and it is said that they "marched 700 miles a day", but - "they stopped when the Zhou ruler returned south."

"Don't run if you dare."

"That's what you said!"

In the same month (May) when Liu Chengjun traveled 5 li a day, Li Chong advanced his troops out of Tumen and killed more than 6 people in Baijing. The next month (June), Li Yun of Luzhou attacked Liaozhou and captured the governor Zhang Pi alive. Yang Tingzhang of Jinzhou successively conquered thirteen camps.

The Northern Han Dynasty demonstrated what it meant to send someone's head thousands of miles away.

"Three Passes in the North" was just a prelude to Chai Rong's recovery of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun. The soldiers of the Later Zhou Dynasty were ready to march to the city of Youzhou, but they had to retreat urgently because of Chai Rong's sudden illness. Everyone was disappointed and said, "You took off your pants, and you show me this?"

However, the Northern Han happened to come to provoke at this time, and thus became a tool for the Later Zhou soldiers to vent their hormones, and was pinned to the ground and rubbed wildly for two months.

Why only two months? Because Chai Rong passed away, and the Later Zhou soldiers returned to the territory of the Later Zhou with reluctance.

Another four or five months later, in November of that year, "the Liao army planned to join our army to attack the two states of Zhen and Ding of Zhou." As mentioned in the analysis of the Chenqiao Mutiny, the Liao Kingdom asked the Northern Han to attack Zhen and Ding states in retaliation for Chai Rong's "Three Passes of Beiding." However, this was only said by the Liao Kingdom, and the Northern Han heard it, and there was no follow-up, and then it was used by Zhao Kuangyin's group to make use of it.

Chai Rong's death forced Liu Chengjun to live in dissatisfaction and anxiety for half a year. Half a year later, the situation in the Central Plains changed, and Zhao Kuangyin's group completed an unprecedented abdication in seconds.

During this period, Liu Chengjun was heartbroken and figured out a lot of things. The more he understood, the more painful and entangled he became. Khitan was like a banned drug. The more you take it, the more addicted you become, until you lose your soul. If you don't rely on Khitan, the Northern Han will be destroyed physically by the Central Plains. If you rely too much on Khitan, your soul will be devoured by Khitan.

Is it possible to conquer the Central Plains without relying on the power of the Khitan?
Daydreaming!

But without dreams, what’s the difference between you and a salted fish?

(End of this chapter)