History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 924 Ultimatum
[Ultimatum]

Li Yu is indeed a master of poetry, with brilliant writing, clear logic, and a coherent and logical style. Of course, the drafter of this letter is someone else, Pan You, the imperial edict maker of the Southern Tang Dynasty. Let's read and appreciate it:
"You and I have enjoyed a long-standing friendship, and have inherited the alliance of our ancestors. We are as close as brothers, and share the same loyalty..."

——Our two families are old friends, and we have been good neighbors for decades. Our relationship is excellent. Try to get close to them first, and act like you are my friend and I am only thinking about you.

"...Yesterday the great court launched an attack on Chu, but your border officials were not in good order, which led to the conflict."

——First, let’s define the contradiction between Han and Song. The fundamental reason for the military conflict in Lingnan was that Southern Han invaded the territory of Southern Chu. In a word, it was you, Southern Han, who were not right.

"…Yesterday, I ordered envoys to pay tribute to the Great Court. The Great Court Emperor repeatedly announced this matter, saying that if they serve with the courtesy of serving a great country, why should we bother to attack them? If they want to start a war and fight, we will take it as a measure to win."

——Not long ago, I paid tribute to the Song Dynasty. Zhao Kuangyin told me clearly that as long as you, Southern Han, can submit to the Song Dynasty like I do, there will be peace. If you insist on refusing to accept my toast, then the Song Dynasty will definitely send troops to destroy Han!
Li Yu's words "Yesterday I ordered the envoys to pay tribute to the court" contain too much information. First, it is the freshness of the news, indicating that Zhao Kuangyin's statement below is his latest attitude, which is authentic and timely; second, it is a personal example. The comprehensive strength of the Southern Tang Dynasty far exceeds that of the Southern Han Dynasty. Now it has already paid tribute to the Song Dynasty. Do you still want to commit suicide? Third, it is a tactful way to show his close relationship with Zhao Kuangyin. Zhao Kuangyin can reveal the bottom line to me without reservation, which involves such a major state secret involving military and diplomatic affairs. It shows that Lao Zhao does not treat me as an outsider, which means that as long as you can do what I say, then I can say a few good words for you in front of Lao Zhao and relieve your worries.

"I don't think the emperor's intention is to covet land, but to be angry at the people for not submitting."

——In my opinion, the Song Dynasty was not obsessed with the small piece of land in Hunan, but just wanted to save face. What is face? It is your attitude. Big countries need face, but we small countries need substance. Making money is not shameful.

"In ancient times, there were four reasons why we had to fight regardless of strength or weakness: one was the enemy's parents' and ancestral temples; two was the people's lack of confidence; three was the enemy's relentless advance and we had no way to retreat, so we would perish if we fought or retreated; four was the enemy's tendency to lose and we took advantage of the opportunity to advance."

——Li Yu said that there are only four reasons for the inevitable war. This is a substitution of concepts, and it is the beginning of a trap for Liu Xiong.

"Now, you and the great court have no such four qualities, yet you sit and accept the armies of the whole country, and decide the fate of the country in an instant. The great court has promised to make peace, but you refuse to follow it. Is this what a person who is in the service of the country and the people should do?"

——You have no hatred with the Song Dynasty in the past and no grudge against you today. The Song Dynasty has also expressed its willingness for peace. Why do you insist on provoking a war? With a trick of replacing the original with the fake, and then concealing the truth, he pushed all the responsibility for the possible war in the future onto the Southern Han.

"If a man is strong, he will sit facing south and be king. If he is weak, he will be treated as a great king. The degree of his humility depends on me..."

——If your strength allows, you can dominate the world. If your strength is insufficient, you can spend money to avoid disaster. In fact, the initiative is in your hands. Isn't it like playing with a big country in your hands? What's wrong with making money on your knees? Business is not shabby.

"…Moreover, you have used your wisdom to govern the people of Baiyue. You are close to the Five Ridges in the north and the vast sea in the south. You have the foundation of generations and the benefit of the people. There are hundreds of thousands of people and mountains and rivers inside and outside. This is why you are so proud of yourself…"

——You have carried on the legacy of your ancestors and created a vast empire. That's really awesome!
How can you make the other party accept your criticism? Li Yu set a good example, that is, first affirm his past and recognize his achievements. For example, if a company wants to fire a middle-level leader, it should first talk about his great achievements, list his merits, and say what he wants to appeal for, and say it in a comprehensive and detailed manner. Then, it should be said that the company has to reorganize its system because of structural optimization and industrial transformation, and the relevant departments and businesses can only make a bold move and give up their love. Finally, it should be said that if there is a chance in the future, the company is afraid that it will not be able to invite him back even if it carries a sedan chair... In a word, since you want to lay him off, please give him dignity.

"... Tian Fang and Chu are not yet in a state of contention..."

——You should know the strength of Chu State better than anyone else. The Song Dynasty conquered the two lakes in the blink of an eye.

"…The terrain is most dangerous than Jiange, and yet Shu was destroyed; the army is most powerful than Shangdang, and yet Li Yun lost it."

——The kingdom with the most dangerous terrain and the easiest to defend and difficult to attack was the Later Shu, which was destroyed by the Song Dynasty; the elite army that had experienced hundreds of battles was Li Yun of Luzhou, but it was also destroyed.

"I think there must be a wise and resourceful minister in your country who can offer a plan to honor the master and strengthen the country. He said that the dangers of the Five Ridges cannot be overcome hastily. We should fortify the walls and clear the fields to cut off the supply routes, rely on the mountains and water to cut off the enemy's crossbows, and how can they succeed even if they have a million troops? If they are defeated, they can still survive by floating on the sea in a light boat. How can we, as the master of a million chariots, yield to others?"

——I guess there must be so-called loyal ministers and generals in your country who would say: We have the strategic advantage of the Five Ridges, the enemy cannot push forward quickly, and cannot march straight in quickly, so as long as we build strong defenses and use a scorched earth policy, the enemy will be dumbfounded. In case of failure, we can also escape to the sea and make a comeback. We cannot surrender easily.

"These are mostly just the reckless talks of scholars and the strategies of counselors. It is easy to talk about them, but difficult to put them into practice as desired." - These words are all nonsense from experts and bullshit from stray dogs.

"Why? Today, the people in the areas south of Jingxiang and Yongshu are all familiar with mountains and rivers and are used to dangerous terrain. Without the Chinese army, there are already more than 100,000 elite soldiers..."

——The military and civilians in the two lakes and Sichuan are proficient in water and mountain warfare. Your Five Ridges are nothing in front of them. Zhao Kuangyin can easily mobilize more than 100,000 vassal troops of Chu and Shu.

Next, Li Yu used the border as a starting point, presented facts and reason, and proved the point that Southern Han could not cut off the food supply of the Song army. In a word, once the Song army launched a full-scale attack on a long front, Southern Han would be powerless to resist, and the navy of Wuyue would block the South China Sea in accordance with the imperial edict, and you would not be able to escape at that time. Moreover, when that day really comes, the city and the sea are full of Song troops. Under heavy siege, how many people around you will be willing to die for you? Don't you want to tie you up and send you to ask for merit? What do you think, are you playing, baby?

"…When the Yang family founded Wu in this dynasty, they also paid tribute to Zhuangzong. Since Liezu founded the country, there have been many troubles in the Central Plains, and the etiquette of serving the great was not followed, which led to the war and almost a dangerous situation."

——Since the Huainan separatist regime, Yang's Southern Wu has also respected the Central Plains. But my awesome grandfather took advantage of the chaos in the Central Plains and stopped respecting the Central Plains. What happened? He finally summoned the Celestial Empire's mighty army for my father, and they beat us to death.

"It is not that we do not want to rely on the danger of the Yangtze River and the strength of the masses, but we will retreat when we realize the difficulty, so we will make an alliance to leave the country. Only a mere messenger can do it, and the troops thousands of miles away will stop, benefiting the people and the masses. Now we rely on it."

——Do you think we are born spineless? We thought the same as you do now, we wanted to rely on the strategic location and the elite army of a country to fight with the Central Plains. Fortunately, I realized the truth in time and promised to respect the Central Plains. Sure enough, a word made the million-strong army stop fighting, and a word brought peace and stability.

"Since our ancestors founded the country with virtue, we have also been friendly with China to show our ambition for hegemony. I hope to follow the plans of our ancestors to seek friendship with China, to eliminate useless resentment, to abandon unnecessary disputes, to know how to survive and how to perish, and to be able to be strong and weak."

——Your grandfather also respected the Central Plains before. He was resourceful and knew how to use respecting the Central Plains as the political foundation to command the four directions. I hope you can learn more from your grandfather's political wisdom. Young people should not be too hot-tempered and fight for the so-called face. A real man can bend and stretch. Business is not shabby.

"Humble oneself to help millions of people, and establish the country with ease. The highest virtue and great cause will not be damaged, and the ancestral temples and the country will not be harmed."

——If you put yourself in a difficult position and let go of your so-called face, you can save countless ordinary people, and achieve peace, stability, prosperity and wealth in a casual manner. This is the true vision and talent!

Next, Li Yu presented facts and reasoned, saying that Zhao Kuangyin was determined to unify the country, and that the terrain in Hedong was rugged, but he had still taken the trouble to lead the army in person. Once he led his troops south, how long could you resist? You should think for yourself.

Finally, Li Yu relayed Zhao Kuangyin's ultimatum, saying that this autumn is the deadline. If Southern Han refuses to repent, the Song Dynasty will march south. He also asked us, Southern Tang, to quickly draw a clear line between ourselves and Southern Han to avoid being hurt. I have done my best to speak well of you, but the Song Dynasty is firm in its attitude. My words are useless. The key lies in your attitude. I really can't do anything about it. You can do whatever you want.

There are two versions of this letter from Li Yu in authoritative historical books. The general content is similar, but some individual sentences are either brief or detailed. The above is an excerpt from the two versions.

Li Yu earnestly told Liu Xiong that the Song Dynasty's will to unify the country was unshakable. He had the ambition and the strength. How about the Southern Tang? There were countless precedents, such as Southern Chu, Jingnan, Hou Shu, Northern Han, Li Yun of Luzhou, Li Chongjin of Yangzhou, etc. The point was that the Song Dynasty had already issued an ultimatum, which was September this year. Tell me, are you sure your melon is ripe?

After reading the letter, Liu Xiong flew into a rage and immediately imprisoned the Southern Tang envoy Gong Shenyi. He then wrote back a letter with harsh words, "many of which were rude."

Li Yu smiled and forwarded the letter to Zhao Kuangyin. This was the second letter Zhao Kuangyin received.

This letter directly strengthened Zhao Kuangyin's determination to march south to rescue the people of Lingnan from the dire straits under the reactionary rule of Liu Xiong.

Thanks to my old friend “江湖刘白” for the monthly ticket support!

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(End of this chapter)