The first prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 552 Shi Jingtang
"Mr. Zeping, please tell me what is going on with the Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures. I only know that Shi Jingtang ceded it to Khitan. As for what is going on, I don't know."

Zhao Xu and the others all rode horses and did not take sedan chairs. People nowadays are not used to sitting in sedan chairs.

Zhao Pu and Tao Gu didn't know why Zhao Xu asked this question. The sixteen prefectures of Yanyun were not something that the Song court was considering.

Zhao Xu should know that the center of gravity of the imperial court should be in the country and rule the world. The prince should know that.

They didn't know that Zhao Xu cared so much about Yanyun Sixteen States. As a later person, Yanyun Sixteen States was an eternal pain in the hearts of every Chinese.

The political structure of China and the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun have always affected the political situation of China in the historical process, and it continued until the demise of the Liao Kingdom.

"Your Highness, the Sixteen States of Yanyun were ceded to the Khitan at that time by Shi Jingtang of the later Jin Dynasty. It has continued like this until now, and it has become a heart disease of our Central Plains dynasty."

Although he didn't know Zhao Xu's intentions, Zhao Pu said that he had studied these things. Although the ins and outs were not very clear, they were almost the same.

If you want to talk about Yanyun sixteen prefectures, you have to talk about one person, and that is Shi Jingtang, a famous person.

This matter still has to start from the end of the Tang Dynasty, when the mighty Tang Empire was already in decline.

Monarchs and ministers did nothing politically. There were eunuchs arbitrarily ruling in the court, and there were heroes fighting for hegemony outside. The emperor was just a puppet.

At this time, there was an incident with Yanyun Sixteen States. It is estimated that people later knew this person because of his notorious cowardice.

He himself has become an eternal laughing stock, the despised emperor!

At this time, Hedong was a place where heroes were born, and it was indeed a place where heroes were born in the later Five Dynasties.

This place in Hedong is a place where ethnic groups are mixed, and many ethnic groups are here, including the Shatuo ethnic group.

When mentioning this Shatuo tribe, everyone will think of two people, one is called Li Keyong, and the other is called Li Cunxu.

At this time, a man of the Shatuo tribe was walking around outside the door. This man was called Nei Jiji.

This name sounds ugly, but Shatuo people, their names are different from those of the Central Plains.

This guy is brave and good at shooting, and his strategy is superhuman. Since returning to Tang with the leader of the Shatuo tribe, he has assisted Li Keyong and his son to fight, and became the governor of Mingzhou.

In other words, this person with a very awkward name actually has such a great ability, which is beyond anyone's expectation.

This man especially admired Sinology. After claiming to be Shi Fen, the prime minister of Emperor Jingdi of the Han Dynasty, he married a Han woman He Shi as his wife, and even named himself Shi Shaoyong.

Now that his first child is about to be born, can he not be anxious, so he keeps walking up and down outside the house.

With a loud cry, hahaha Shi Shaoyong was extremely happy, after all, this was his first child.

"Congratulations, my lord has given birth to a son."

Shi Shaoyong's first child was a boy, which made Shi Shaoyong even more happy that he had a future.He named his newborn second son Shi Jingtang.

He didn't know what major disaster this name would bring to the people of the Central Plains in the future, but Shi Jingtang was still a child at this time.

In times of troubled times, when rituals collapse and music breaks, small people will fight to protect themselves, and big men will support themselves to seal their borders. This trend is particularly prominent among Shatuo people.

The Shatuo people were originally a branch tribe of the Turkic and Uyghur ethnic groups, who have been nomadic for generations in Shatuo in Xinjiang.

The harsh environment made them physically strong, brave and good at fighting, and the Turks came to the head, and the Shatuo tribe also came to Datang!
Later, he moved eastward to join the Tang Dynasty and made contributions, and was placed near Datong, Shanxi.Shatuo boys were born on horseback, and the cavalry army is quite effective.

This newborn child's fate was doomed from the moment he was born, he was destined to jump on horses and kill the enemy like other Shatuo boys!
The young Shi Jingtang was good at martial arts, and he took orders from Li Keyong's adoptive son Li Siyuan.

He is not at all reckless and vulgar like the men of his clan, on the contrary, he is simple and stable, and he usually speaks little and laughs casually.

He likes to study the art of war, and he admires Li Mu, a famous general of the Warring States Period, and Zhou Bo, a famous general of the Han Dynasty. He is thick but extraordinary.

Troubled times are the places where heroes can emerge. Times create heroes. This is a well-known saying throughout the ages. In fact, it proves that Shi Jingtang is also such a character!

He followed Li Keyong's regime, and this is where he started and where his talents were displayed, which also made his power gradually grow.

At that time, Jin Wang Li Keyong, who was the envoy of Hedong Jiedu, did not recognize the Houliang regime established by his sworn enemy Zhu Wen, and still respected the fallen Tang Dynasty as Zhengshuo.

He didn't really respect the Tang Dynasty, but for his own power, relying on this big banner to cultivate his own strength.

Li Keyong led his son Li Cunxu to fight endlessly with Zhu Wen's army. Wars have always been dominated by capable people.

Shi Jingtang was not afraid of life and death on the battlefield, charged into battle, and made outstanding military exploits. He was appreciated by the Li family and his son. Such a person will be able to have his own power one day.

During the Battle of Qingping in 910 AD, Li Cunxu was ambushed and his life was in danger.

At this time Shi Jingtang led more than a dozen relatives to descend from the sky, desperately trying to save them.Li Cunxu, who was out of danger, scratched his back and praised:
"People say that the general will be the general, and it is true. Both your father and son are benefactors of our Li family!"

It was even more admiration for him, so Shi Jingtang became more famous, and the soldiers respected him even more.

Another time, in the battle of Huliubei in the Liang Jin Dynasty, Li Cunxu took the risk to fight, resulting in the loss of soldiers and generals. Shi Jingtang led the army together with Li Siyuan, and killed the Houliang army.

The key point is that he rescued Li Siyuan from danger several times during the battles of Yangliu Town and other battles, and he not only gained respect, but also became a confidant.

He also became Li Siyuan's son-in-law riding a dragon, holding Princess Yongning in his arms, and at the same time commanding his father-in-law's elite cavalry "Zuo Shooting Army".

In the fourth year of Tongguang in the later Tang Dynasty, news of rebellion came from various places from time to time.Zhuangzong Li Cunxu had a rift with his righteous brother Li Siyuan early on, but he had no generals to send, so he had to lead Shi Jingtang and a group of soldiers to fight against the rebellion in Yedu.

Unexpectedly, the counter-insurgency troops also rebelled, hijacked Li Siyuan, and insisted on supporting him as the master, just like Zhao Kuangyin who later asked for a yellow robe.

But Li Siyuan is different from Guo Wei, he doesn't have such big ambitions, facing this situation, he cried loudly:

"Now it's yellow mud mixed into the crotch, it's not shit, it's shit!" On the one hand, he wanted to get away and go back to show his feelings to Zhuang Zong.

That is to say, he didn't want to become emperor in such a muddle-headed way. After all, it was a serious crime of beheading, and his ability was limited.

(End of this chapter)