History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 937: Death of "Lin Huzi"

[Death of "Lin Huzi"]

Lin Renzhao, one of the "Four Generals to Aid Shouzhou", performed outstandingly during the "Three Expeditions to Huainan". He dealt a heavy blow to the Later Zhou army in the south of Shouzhou City, and then lifted the siege of Haozhou Water Fort. He was promoted to Huainan Tunying Support Envoy for his merits and led the Southern Tang counterattack. After Chai Rong's Zhengyang Floating Bridge was built, Lin Renzhao personally led a thousand death squads, took a small boat to launch a charge, and used an almost suicidal fire attack. When it seemed that the mission was about to be accomplished, the wind direction suddenly reversed, and Lin Renzhao was forced to retreat.

During the retreat, Zhou general Zhang Yongde chased and killed them madly, while Lin Renzhao rode alone to the rear to protect the soldiers and escape first. Zhang Yongde drew his bow and shot Lin Renzhao's arm. Lin Renzhao pulled out the arrow and shot back at the Song army.

Zhang Yongde was shocked when he saw this and said that the enemy had such brave men and could not be forced. So he withdrew his troops and stopped the pursuit.

Although the Southern Tang lost the war, Lin Renzhao's heroic performance still left a deep impression on the victorious side. Now Zhao Kuangyin planned to use force against the Southern Tang. Looking at all the Southern Tang generals, only Lin Renzhao was worthy of fear.

Zhao Kuangyin found a way to get a portrait of Lin Renzhao. Some say that he got it by bribing Lin Renzhao's servant with a large sum of money, while others say that he sent someone to steal it from the Wuchang Monastery (Lin Renzhao once served in Wuchang). In short, he got a portrait of Lin Renzhao and hung it alone in a room.

After that, whenever the Southern Tang envoys came to pay tribute, Zhao Kuangyin would lead them to this room, and then point to the portrait and ask, "Do you know this person?" The envoys replied that this was our country's General Lin Renzhao. Then Zhao Kuangyin said that General Lin had surrendered, and when you come next time, you will be able to see the real person here. Then we can gather together and drink and talk happily, wouldn't it be wonderful?

When Li Congshan came to pay tribute, Zhao Kuangyin brought him to this room and asked him to observe. Then he told him that Lin Renzhao had secretly joined me and this autographed photo of him was a token of my loyalty. Then he pointed to several finely decorated houses next to him and said that this was the new home I had prepared for him.

Li Congshan was very stupid and naive, and actually believed it. He then wrote a secret letter to Li Yu, saying that Lin Renzhao had secretly joined the Song Dynasty.

Although Lin Renzhao was a commander, he cared for his soldiers and ate and drank with the grassroots soldiers at every meal, which won the hearts of the soldiers. He was also upright and outspoken, and was not afraid of the powerful. As a result, he was envied and excluded by the powerful, such as Huangfu Jixun, who will be described in detail later.

Ever since Lin Renzhao proposed the suggestion of "fake rebellion", Huangfu Jixun took advantage of the issue and secretly reported to Li Yu that Lin Renzhao was a "fake rebellion" and that he just wanted to split off from Hongzhou and become the king (from being the king of Jiangxi).

Huangfu Jixun and other "own people" said so, the envoys who came to the Song Dynasty to pay tribute said so, and even his own brother Li Congshan said so... Three people make a tiger, and Li Yu finally confirmed his initial judgment that Lin Renzhao must be planning a "fake rebellion" and colluding with the Song Dynasty to trap him.

Li Yu sent someone to poison Lin Renzhao to death.

Chen Qiao, a three-term minister and prime minister of Southern Tang, admired Lin Renzhao very much. He once proudly said that although Southern Tang was small, with him in charge of the interior and General Lin in charge of the exterior, the Song Dynasty could not do anything to us. When he heard that Lin Renzhao was poisoned to death, Chen Qiao was filled with grief and indignation, and sighed: "The country is in such a crisis, and they still kill loyal ministers? Alas, it seems that I will not have a place to bury my body!" He lamented for several days.

Chen Qiao is one of the few martyrs of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and will be mentioned later.

【Come here】

In 972, Zhao Kuangyin appointed Li Congshan as the military governor of Taining Army in Xuzhou (remotely), and gave him a mansion in Bianzhou. He then again invited Li Yu to come to Bianzhou for a pilgrimage.

If he goes, he will be detained; if he does not go, he will be disobeying the order, and the Song Dynasty will use this as an excuse to send troops to the south of the Yangtze River.

Li Yu summoned his ministers to discuss countermeasures, and Chen Qiao came up with a brilliant plan: pretend to be sick. So Li Yu sent Feng Yanlu to Bianzhou to thank the great country of the Celestial Empire for its preferential treatment of Li Congshan, and to report that Li Yu was too ill to come in person to express his gratitude. After Feng Yanlu arrived in Bianzhou, he fell seriously ill and was bedridden. Like Zhong Mo, Feng Yanlu has always been loved by the emperors and ministers of the Central Plains, such as Chai Rong and Zhao Kuangyin. Zhao Kuangyin invited famous doctors to treat him, and then sent him back home with courtesy. Not long after returning to Southern Tang, Feng Yanlu, who was in his twilight years, died of illness at the age of 68.

In the previous article, when telling the story of the "Four Evils and Five Ghosts", we have already introduced in detail the first half of Feng Yanlu's life. He and his half brother Feng Yansi were the core figures of the "Four Evils and Five Ghosts" group. During the "Three Expeditions to Huainan", Feng Yanlu was the governor of the Eastern Capital and stationed in Yangzhou. When the Later Zhou conquered Yangzhou, they captured Feng Yanlu, who was pretending to be a monk and trying to get away with it. Chai Rong gave him the titles of Jieshizhong and Xingbu Shilang, and he lived in Bianzhou for three years until the end of the war. As a result, he escaped Li Jing's reckoning of the "Four Evils and Five Ghosts".

After the war, Li Jing was eager to repair relations between the two countries, so he reused "returnees" such as Feng Yanlu and Zhong Mo.

After Zhao Kuangyin put down the rebellion of Li Chongjin in Yangzhou, Feng Yanlu was ordered to go on a diplomatic mission to the Song Dynasty. Zhao Kuangyin invited him to participate in a grand military parade to appreciate the invincible Song Dynasty's naval and land forces. Then he harshly criticized the Southern Tang for colluding with the traitor Li Chongjin, and threatened to use this as an excuse to launch a campaign across the river and annex the Southern Tang.

Faced with the aggressive threats, Feng Yanlu was not afraid at all. He first argued with reason and removed the label of "traitor". Then he strongly fought back against Zhao Kuangyin's military threats and won Zhao Kuangyin's respect.

Afterwards, Zhao Kuangyin launched a massive hunt for "Li Chongjin's followers" in Yangzhou City, killing dozens of them. Feng Yanlu again advised: "Was it Li Chongjin alone who started the rebellion, or were they all involved?"

Zhao Kuangyin had already experienced Feng Yanlu's eloquence, and when he heard this, he knew that this was a general routine of a lobbyist, so he was not in a hurry to get into the trap, "So what if it's just him, what if it's all the people?"

Feng Yanlu did not dare to keep the secret and revealed his trump card directly: "If everyone is rebelling, it is not called rebellion, and Your Majesty should follow the will of Heaven and let Li Chongjin be the emperor; if only Li Chongjin is rebelling, then why should Your Majesty kill those who followed him?" It is an international practice to only kill the main culprit and leave the rest alone.

Zhao Kuangyin then stopped the bloody purge, rewarded Feng Yanlu handsomely, and sent him back to his country with courtesy.

Li Congshan was detained, and Zhao Kuangyin invited Li Yu to Bianzhou. Only then did the veteran Feng Yanlu step in and visit Bianzhou again to mediate.

Feng Yanlu has the characteristics of a middle-aged greasy man, that is, he often posts some Buddhist Zen and Chinese style poetry status in his circle of friends. Although he has a deep attachment to fame and fortune in his heart, he always shows that he is detached from the world, indifferent to fame and fortune, and pursues a life in the countryside. Feng Yanlu should be the earliest middle-aged greasy man with clear records.

Once before the morning court session, all the officials gathered outside the palace waiting to clock in for work. At this time, Feng Yanlu suddenly sighed: "Emperor Xuanzong of Tang once gave the 300-li Mirror Lake to He Zhizhang. I don't have any extravagant expectations. If the emperor can give me Xuanwu Lake, I will be satisfied in this life."

Xu Xuan, a member of the "Qingliu Party", said, "How could the emperor begrudge Xuanwu Lake? He only regrets that there is no He Zhizhang in the court."

All the officials burst into laughter, and Feng Yanlu felt so ashamed that he couldn't face his face.

Feng Yanlu did a lot of evil things that harmed the Southern Tang Dynasty in the first half of his life, but in the last stage of his life, he helped the Southern Tang Dynasty survive for 15 years. Is he a prodigal son who has returned?

No, Feng Yanlu is still the same Feng Yanlu. He is neither a devil nor an angel. He is just a member of the feudal bureaucracy. He was a traitor in the first half of his life because the emperor needed him to be a traitor. He was a loyal minister in the second half of his life because the organization needed him to be a loyal minister. There is no such thing as heroes creating the times. It is the times that create heroes.

(End of this chapter)