History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 991: Destroy Tang
【Destroy Tang】

As expected, a fierce debate broke out within the Wu Yue Kingdom over the attitude towards the Later Zhou edict.

Prime Minister Wu Cheng supported the imperial edict to send troops, while another prime minister, Yuan Dezhao, opposed it. Let's first formally get to know these two prime ministers who were arguing.

Yuan Dezhao, his father has already appeared in this book. Among the numerous military governors in the late Tang Dynasty, his father also occupied a place. Let us now solemnly introduce Mr. Yuan’s father - Mr. Wei.

During the Huang Chao Rebellion, Wei Quanfeng occupied Fuzhou, and his brother Wei Zichang occupied Xinzhou, starting a nearly 30-year separatist regime in Jiangxi. Later, the Wei brothers fought with the Huainan Group for Hongzhou, but were defeated. Jiangxi was then incorporated into the Huainan forces, Wei Quanfeng was captured, and Wei Zichang fled to Liangzhe and defected to Qian Liu.

Wei Quanfeng had once done a favor to Yang Xingmi, so he was still treated well after being captured and enjoyed his old age; Wei Zichang had helped Qian Liu when Qian Liu encountered rebellions in Quzhou and Muzhou, so after he defected to Qian Liu, he was also treated as a guest of honor by Qian Liu.

Wei Zaichang was treated well in Hangzhou, but Qian Liu did not like his surname, thinking it was unlucky, so he changed it to Yuan. When Wei Zaichang was in Xinzhou, he invited a "master" to tell fortunes for the scholars. The master pointed at Yuan Dezhao and said that the child should not learn martial arts, but should learn literature. After Wei Zaichang's repeated questioning, the master finally revealed the secret, saying that if he was allowed to learn literature, he could become a prime minister in the future. From then on, Yuan Dezhao gave up martial arts and turned to literature, determined to become a small town test-taker.

When Qian Yuanguan was in office, Prime Minister Lin Ding recommended Yuan Dezhao to Qian Yuanguan. After the interview, Qian Yuanguan sighed with great satisfaction: "Yuan Dezhao has the talent to assist me, and my descendants can have no worries!" He helped his sons to decide on the candidate for prime minister. From then on, Yuan Dezhao entered the core power circle and began to participate in the decision-making of national affairs.

During the "Baixipou Victory" during Qian Hongzuo's time, Yuan Dezhao was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the army (all military affairs were entrusted to Dezhao). After the war, Yuan Dezhao was promoted to prime minister based on his merits.

After Qian Hongchu succeeded to the throne, he showed even more respect to this old senior and treated him with even more kindness.

Let’s take a look at the relatively unfamiliar Wu Cheng:

Wu Cheng was born and raised in a noble family in Liangzhe area, and was a descendant of an official. His grandfather, Wu Kexin, was the magistrate of Yutang County, Dingzhou; his father, Wu Tui, was a Jinshi in the reign of Emperor Zhaozong, the secretary of Zhendong Jiedushi, and the chief think tank of Qian Liu. Because of his father's relationship, he entered the system very early. At that time, Wu Cheng was no different from many other dandies. He did not think that he was blessed by his father, but believed that his achievements were entirely due to his own strength, and he even publicly declared that his capital other than ability was equal to zero.

Fortunately, at this time, he met a nobleman who advised him in a way that he could accept: "Young man, I see that you have extraordinary talent and will become a general or a prime minister in the future. But if you are not good at speaking, you may become a laughing stock in the upper class." Wu Cheng suddenly realized it and started to study hard from then on.

Later, Qian Liu planned to marry his daughter, and selected three candidates: Meng Can, Yu Bao, and Wu Cheng. The three entered the finals and were interviewed by Qian Liu himself.

Qian Liu took a liking to Wu Cheng among the three of them at first sight. He looked at him left and right, up and down, and watched him for a long time. Finally, Wu Cheng achieved the achievement of "Meeting the father-in-law" and happily married Qian Liu's daughter. From then on, his career flourished.

After Qian Yuanguan succeeded to the throne, Wu Cheng was promoted to important positions such as observation envoy and military governor. When Qian Yuanguan asked his second son Qian Hongxuan to remotely govern Muzhou, he asked Wu Cheng to be the governor of Muzhou. Princes and heirs usually remotely govern a certain state, which is actually just a title to gain experience. The actual administrator of a state is usually a capable and trustworthy old comrade.

When Qian Hongzong was in power, Wu Cheng was first appointed to judge the affairs of the Xifu Court, which was Hangzhou. Wu Cheng's appointment was equivalent to the prefect of Kaifeng and the mayor of the capital. He was soon appointed as the prime minister. After Bao Xiurang killed Li Renda of Fuzhou during the "Fuzhou Incident", Qian Hongzong appointed Wu Cheng as the governor of Fuzhou's Weiwu Army. Wu Cheng achieved the top achievement of "going from general to prime minister".

During the "Second Battle of Fuzhou", the Southern Tang vanguard defeated the Wuyue garrison outside Fuzhou, causing panic among the Wuyue garrison troops. Wu Cheng "secretly showed the strategy" to the troops, and thus won a great victory and captured Zha Wenhui alive. After the war, Qian Hongchu appointed Qian Hongxuan as the governor of Fuzhou, while Wu Cheng was recalled to Hangzhou and appointed as prime minister for the second time. Soon after, he also took charge of the economic lifelines such as military farming and wine monopoly.

It can be seen that both Prime Ministers Yuan Dezhao and Wu Cheng possessed outstanding personal abilities and rich experience in politics, and their value was obvious to all. In comparison, Yuan Dezhao was more inclined to civil affairs, while Wu Cheng was more inclined to military affairs. In terms of the relationship between the monarch and his subjects, both of them won the respect and trust of Qian Hongchu, and Wu Cheng had the status of a "royal relative" and was Qian Hongchu's uncle.

The two prime ministers had a heated debate over whether to follow Zhou's imperial edict and attack Tang.

At that time, Wu Cheng's deputy, Chen Man, the deputy envoy of Yingtian, offered advice to Wu Cheng, saying that Zhou's army had launched a large-scale expedition to the south, and the whole of Southern Tang was in panic. The national defense forces had basically been transferred to the north to resist Zhou's army, and Changzhou in the east was empty. This was a godsend opportunity, and it would be uncomfortable if we don't take it!
Wu Chengshen agreed with this idea, so he reported it to Qian Hongchu, advocating to send troops to Changzhou immediately to expand the territory of the Wuyue Kingdom.

Yuan Dezhao opposed it for three main reasons: First, the old saying is that if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. From a political perspective, the Southern Tang was a powerful enemy of Wuyue, but in reality it was the foundation of Wuyue's existence. It was precisely because the Southern Tang was powerful and irreconcilable with the Central Plains that the Central Plains dynasty would collude with Wuyue. Once the Southern Tang was destroyed or surrendered, Wuyue would immediately be exposed to the threat of a big country and would be in danger.

Second, we must not underestimate the enemy. A centipede is still alive even after death. Although the Southern Tang was exhausted after the two battles of Fuzhou, it was the largest country in southern China after all, and it had dominated the southern vassal states for decades. A lean camel is bigger than a horse, and my country has been fighting against it for many years. Needless to say, the combat effectiveness of the Southern Tang army is very strong. How confident are we in destroying it? I believe you will be cautious when you calm down.

The third is that we should not over-trust and rely on the Central Plains. The reason why the generals are eager to try is nothing more than that they think that the Central Plains dynasty is unstoppable and the Southern Tang Dynasty is in danger, so we should take advantage of the situation and make a profit. Will the Central Plains take advantage of us? I am afraid that once we send troops and go deep into the enemy territory, the Central Plains will suddenly hesitate and let us take advantage of it. We will be caught in a dilemma and have to fight with the Southern Tang Dynasty until both sides suffer losses. At that time, the Central Plains will reap the benefits. Or if a major change occurs in the Central Plains and the troops have to withdraw, we will be forced to face the main force of the Southern Tang Dynasty alone. What should we do then?
To sum it up, it can be summed up in one word: oppose sending troops.

Qian Hongchu hesitated a little.

Wu Cheng was furious, saying that the corrupt scholar only knew how to talk about war on paper and didn't know how to adapt to changing circumstances. The history books said that Wu Cheng finally persuaded Qian Hongchu with the words "the opportunity cannot be missed", so Qian Hongchu finally decided to send troops to attack the Tang Dynasty.

In fact, Wu Chengsheng is good at seeing into people's hearts.

If you don't send troops, how should you respond to Chai Rong?
"Respecting the Central Plains" was the basic national policy set by Qian Liu. The Wuyue Kingdom had firmly maintained the Central Plains dynasty since the Qian Liu period. If they rejected the imperial edict at this moment, the good boy image that the Qian Group had built over decades would collapse, and all their political efforts would be wasted. They would also offend the Central Plains and give the Central Plains an excuse to attack the Wuyue Kingdom, bringing disaster to the Wuyue Kingdom.

If troops were dispatched, it would be possible to achieve the achievement of expanding territory. Suzhou and Changzhou were the core towns that the two Jianghuai heroes had repeatedly fought for for decades, and were finally controlled by the Southern Tang (Huainan forces). This was the knot in the heart of the Wuyue Kingdom, and it was a goddess that they had dreamed of but could not get. The Wuyue Kingdom's capture of Suzhou and Changzhou was like the Central Plains Dynasty's recapture of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun. It was a great achievement that could be recorded in the history books as "the greatest emperor of all time." If Suzhou and Changzhou were captured, Qian Hongchu's brilliance would be comparable to that of his grandfather Qian Liu.

If you don't send troops, you will be in trouble. If you send troops, you may be blessed. What should Qian Hongchu choose? So when he was still in doubt, Wu Cheng said "the opportunity cannot be missed" to wake him up. What are you still hesitating about? If you think about it with your heels, you should know what to choose!

The Wuyue Kingdom opened up the eastern battlefield of the "Three Expeditions to Huainan", and then as mentioned above, it failed.

Qian Hongchu ordered Wu Cheng to lead the army, General Bao Xiurang to attack Changzhou, Lu Yanzhu to attack Xuanzhou, and Luo Sheng to lead the navy to stay in Jiangyin to wait for the Zhou army to join forces. However, after the army was assembled, Yuan Dezhao still insisted not to rush into the territory of Southern Tang and wait for the Later Zhou to take action first.

Wu Cheng was furious. Speed ​​is of the essence in war. We must take advantage of the Southern Tang's unpreparedness to attack Changzhou. The opportunity is fleeting. If we wait, we can only wait for reinforcements from the Southern Tang. How can we capture the city if we wait for them to repair their armor and strengthen their city defenses?
In Wu Cheng's opinion, Yuan Dezhao was deliberately targeting him. First, he sang a different tune on the issue of sending troops, and now he was obstructing him from behind. After the war breaks out, he might do other small tricks, such as starting a fire in the backyard or stabbing him in the back... No, we must stabilize the internal situation before we can resist foreign aggression. How can I feel at ease on the front line if I don't get rid of this time bomb in the court?
So Wu Cheng deliberately angered the soldiers, saying that Prime Minister Yuan Dezhao did not want to see you achieve success and was obstructing you everywhere. I really have no choice, you can just go and argue with him. He encouraged the soldiers to defend their rights with force.

After the two battles of Fuzhou, the soldiers of Wuyue State had long forgotten the decades of brutal fighting between the two Jianghuai heroes. They generally believed that the Southern Tang was overrated and its combat effectiveness was just so-so. Moreover, all the elite forces were now transferred to the Huaihe River to resist the Later Zhou Dynasty. Changzhou was simply a river spirit, a free gift of fame. Therefore, the soldiers wished they could grow wings under their ribs and rushed to Changzhou. Once the cannon sounded, gold would be worth a thousand taels. Instigated by Wu Cheng, the crowd was so angry that they almost surrounded and beat Yuan Dezhao.

Qian Hongchu hurriedly hid Yuan Dezhao in his mansion.

The indignant soldiers were no longer defending their rights, their behavior could almost be considered mutiny. They ignored Qian Hongchu's orders, broke through the layers of obstruction of the guards, and rushed into the palace, shouting and cursing while looking for Yuan Dezhao. Judging from the situation, if Yuan Dezhao unfortunately lost the hide-and-seek game, he would most likely lose his life.

Qian Hongchu was terrified, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, and said to himself: "We are just sending out troops, and the soldiers want to attack the prime minister. This is too unlucky!"

Afterwards, Wu Cheng led this arrogant army to the front line of Changzhou, and indeed won the battle in one go. He captured alive Zhao Renze, the commander of the Changzhou militia, and more than 100 generals and officers, winning the first battle.

However, Southern Tang soon turned the tables and won.

The internal cause of Wu Yue Kingdom's defeat was the discord between generals and ministers, and the disagreement between coach Wu Cheng and general Bao Xiurang; the external cause was the cunning of Southern Tang.

(End of this chapter)