The two states were completely unprepared. Facing the unexpected troops descending from the sky, they all chose to surrender in Kaicheng.
He sent troops during the Lantern Festival, but before the first month of the year, Zhu Wen had already peacefully taken over Jin and Jiangzhou, sent troops to guard them, and cut off the only way for reinforcements from Hedong.
Wang Ke was confused, Li Keyong was confused, and the central court was confused.
Different from previous annexation criticisms, Wang Ke of Hezhong and Zhu Wen of Bianzhou are on a par with each other. They have no grudges in the past and no enmity in recent times. There are no disputes or disputes. Zhu Wen suddenly attacked Hezhong without any warning or justification. A blitzkrieg was launched. That's why we easily captured Jin and Jiangzhou.
The river is not only a barrier to the east of the river, but also a barrier to the Guanzhong area. Zhu Wen's move caused uneasiness in the court, and he hurriedly issued an edict, ordering both sides to cease fire and maintain calm and restraint.
Wang Ke in Hezhong: I have always been very restrained...
Bianzhou Zhu Wen: I helped him restrain himself.
Wang Ke sent people to take a small road to ask for help from Li Keyong, and there was an endless stream of envoys asking for help.
Li Keyong refused to send troops on the grounds that the roads between Jin and Jiangzhou were blocked.
Wang Ke's wife also wrote to her father Li Keyong to express her concern: her daughter is about to be captured by the Bian thieves, how can her father not bear to save her?
Li Keyong replied: Where did you ask dad to go? The roads are blocked, the enemy is outnumbered and we are outnumbered. If I advance, my father and I will die together (if I advance, you and I will die together). You and your husband should flee to Chang'an and seek asylum from the imperial court. There's nothing I can do about your father.
Wang Ke also wrote to his former enemy, Fengxiang Li Maozhen of the Kansai Group, asking for help, saying that Zhu and Wen violated the peace agreement, openly defied the imperial decree, provoked regional disputes, and made territorial claims to neighboring vassals with ulterior motives. If the enemy dies, the Kansai forces will be unable to protect themselves.
At the end of the letter, Wang Ke even directly proposed to pay the money and surrender, saying that he was willing to dedicate the river to Li Maozhen, and only asked Li Maozhen to reward him with a small land in the remote border of Kansai to support him in his old age.
Wang Ke's letter to Li Maozhen was written with sincerity, humble attitude, and a sense of crisis clearly visible on the page.
Faced with the fat meat from the river that came to his door, Li Maozhen chose to ignore it and did not respond to Wang Ke's request.
In Li Maozhen's opinion, where is the fat in this? It was clearly a fishhook that burned your mouth.
First of all, this piece of fat is not a welcome gift in peacetime. It is said to be a "send", but in fact, Li Maozhen has to "get it himself". The National Guard Army in Hezhong has jurisdiction over five states, two of which are already under enemy control. Although Wang Ke is a governor of the river, giving away the river at this time is essentially generosity to others.
Secondly, if you really want to swallow this piece of fat, you will have to compete with Zhu Wen, a powerful feudal lord in Guandong. The tiger grabs the meat in its mouth.
In the end, even if Li Maozhen defeated Zhu Wen by luck, Li Keyong of Hedong would not tolerate Li Maozhen occupying the river.
In other words, if Li Maozhen wants to swallow the river, he must defeat Zhu Wen and Li Keyong at the same time. Isn't this seeking death?
Although Li Maozhen didn't agree, she didn't refuse either, leaving a little fantasy in the future. Maybe a few years later, Zhu Wen and Li Keyong fought to the death, and Li Maozhen sent troops to Hezhong again. "Wang Ke, didn't you say you would give me Hezhong before? Here I am."
Zhu Wen didn't give Wang Ke much time. A few days later, Zhang Cunjing arrived at Hezhong Mansion and marched to the city.
At this time, Wang Ke's calls to heaven and earth were unresponsive. He had no choice but to follow his father-in-law's words and flee with his family to Chang'an to seek asylum from the court.
House seemingly endless rain.
A freezing flood broke out in the Yellow River. Large areas of floating ice washed away the pontoon bridges and blocked the river, making it impossible to sail.
Faced with death, Wang Ke decided to take the risk and planned to take hundreds of his family members on a boat at night to forcibly find a way out. But when he ordered the soldiers to prepare the ferry, everyone turned a deaf ear to his words, pretending not to hear and remaining unmoved.
In the evening, Liu Xun, the general of the Ministry, knocked on the door of Wang Ke's dormitory.
Wang Ke was shocked, thinking that he was going to launch a mutiny, and shouted sharply: "What are you doing? Do you want to rebel?"
Liu Xun tore off his sleeve and exposed his arm, "I swear to this arm. If you don't believe it, cut it off first to prove my innocence!"
Wang Ke then came out and asked him what he could do.
Liu Xun told him, "The troops are pressing down on the border and the military is in panic. Some people are unwilling to risk their lives to cross the river. They cannot be forced. What's more, if everyone fights for the ferry, the order will be chaotic. If someone takes this opportunity to raise his arms... he may not be able to do it." What happened?"
"so what should I do now?"
Liu Xun said, "Wait until dawn, tell your troops about the situation and ask who is willing to flee with you. If everyone is willing to follow you, then go; otherwise, express your willingness to surrender to Zhang Cunjing as a delaying measure. Let’s discuss countermeasures slowly.”
Wang Ke listened to his advice.
At dawn the next day, Wang Ke personally climbed up the city wall and shouted to Zhang Cunjing, "Marshuai Zhu and I are close friends from two generations, the love of father and son, and the love of brothers. General, I will break the siege and retreat, and when Marshal Zhu comes, I will naturally open the city and surrender." "
Subsequently, Wang Ke raised a white flag on the city wall, arrested all the Hedong generals stationed in the city, and sent them to Zhang Cunjing's army along with the Jiedushi's talismans, official seals, etc., along with Wang Lin as a hostage. (Wang Ke's brother) and the generals in the river.
Therefore, Zhang Cunjing retreated after relieving the siege and sent someone to report to Zhu Wen.
Zhu Wen was overjoyed when he heard the news. He was leading the main force to advance slowly and had just reached Luoyang. When he heard the news of the surrender in Hezhong, he immediately "ran towards it". But his destination was not Hezhong Mansion, but Yu Township.
This is Zhu Wen's brilliance.
Yuxiang, located east of Hezhong Prefecture, is important because of a cemetery where the former Hezhong Jiedushi Wang Chongrong is buried. What Zhu Wen had to do was go to Wang Chongrong's tomb to cry and pray.
Wang Chongrong was an important person in Zhu Wen's life. At the beginning, Zhu Wen served in Huangchao and guarded Tongzhou. He followed the advice of Wang Chongrong and Yang Fuguang and rebelled against Qi and surrendered to Tang Dynasty. Zhu Wen also shared the same clan with Wang Chongrong because of his mother Wang's family, and recognized Wang Chongrong as his uncle, forming a nephew-nephew relationship. It was that defection that allowed Zhu Wen to transform from a thieves to a hero of the empire, and step by step to get where he is today by conquering Huang Chao and his remnant Qin Zongquan.
Zhu Wen also swore to Wang Chongrong by pointing to the sun and the moon, saying that if I become successful in the future, I will serve all the descendants of the Wang family with all my heart (if I succeed, all Wang family members will serve)!
Now, Zhu Wen is attacking Wang Chongrong's descendants without any reason. This is not only unjust and unjust, but also provokes talk of repaying kindness with enmity. If Zhu Wen happily went straight into the city and accepted the surrender, he would lose his mass base in the Hezhong area. Therefore, he had to perform in front of Wang Chongrong's tomb.
In front of Wang Chongrong's tomb, Zhu Wen beat his chest and stamped his feet, howled and burst into tears. He couldn't help but deliver his memorial speech in tears. Oscar owes Zhu Wen a statuette.
At this time, Zhu Wen almost conquered the five states in Hezhong without any blood, controlled the geographically important Hezhong area, controlled Hedong in the north, and peeked into Guanzhong in the west. My heart was already filled with joy, but my face still showed grief.
The movie king Zhu Wen won the hearts of the people in Hezhong. The people in Hezhong were "pleased by what they heard" and believed that Zhu Wen was a man who valued love and justice. They were willing to accept Zhu Wen's rule from the bottom of his heart. Zhu Wen became the legal continuation of Wang Chongrong.
Qian Liu cried for Zhou Bao, Yang Xingmi cried for Gao Pian, Zhu Wen cried for Wang Chongrong, and Ma Yin cried for Sun Ru. The man didn't shed tears easily, but it wasn't time for the performance.
Next, Zhu Wen still did not rush to station in Hezhong Mansion, but sent envoys to discuss the surrender.
Wang Ke planned to "lead the sheep in front of him" to see Zhu Wen.
This is the greatest insult to those who surrender. The earliest source is "Zuo Zhuan".
"Face-bound" means having your hands tied behind your back. "Historical Records" records that when King Wu defeated Zhou, there was a record of "the flesh is flat and the face is tied, leading the sheep on the left and the grass on the right, walking forward on the knees", which means that the upper body is naked, the hands are tied behind the back, and someone on the left is leading the sheep. Someone on the right is holding thatch, kneeling on the ground, and walking forward with his knees as feet. To express the submission of the surrenderer in this way, leading the sheep means that you are now a lamb to be slaughtered by the other party.
After the Song Dynasty, the Jurchens also liked to use the "sheep-leading ceremony" to humiliate the captives. However, their sheep-taking ceremony did not actually lead a sheep. Instead, the surrendered people were naked (regardless of men and women) and covered with sheepskin. Tie a rope around your neck and COS become a sheep. In the "Jingkang Shame", the two emperors of Huiqin, the royal family, concubines, and civil and military officials all enjoyed this kind of treatment. Many people could not bear the humiliation and chose to commit suicide.
"Zuo Zhuan" also records another similar surrender ceremony, "Facing the Hand with Bi" and "Facing with the Yu Chou". They all have similar meanings. "Xianbi" means holding a piece of jade in the mouth, indicating that one does not want to live anymore, because at that time, the dead often held a piece of jade in the mouth when they were buried; "Yuju" means carrying the coffin, which also means that one is ready to be killed. .
The surrendered monarch, while holding the jade in his hand, would also have his staff and officials lined up in mourning clothes, as if they were about to carry out a funeral. He also said that he was ready to be executed.
In the story of the Three Kingdoms that we are familiar with, when Wei general Deng Ai destroyed Shu, Liu Chan, the queen of the Shu Han Dynasty, was the "face-bound Yu Chou" outside Chengdu.
In order to show his humility and submission, Wang Ke offered to "lead the sheep in front of him" to see Zhu Wen.
Zhu Wen shouted, "No, how dare you forget your uncle's kindness?" Your father is my uncle, so we are cousins. Your father has shown me a great kindness. If you treat me like a nation, how can I meet your father in the underworld a hundred years later?
Finally, both parties reached an agreement to meet each other with common courtesy and family courtesy.
So, Zhu Wen came outside the city just like visiting relatives and friends, and Wang Ke went out to greet him. Zhu Wen held Wang Ke's hands tightly, and the older brothers and younger brothers talked and joked about the past, telling each other about the vicissitudes of the past ten years. The two of them couldn't help but lament and sigh with many emotions. Afterwards, the two of them were in a relaxed and happy atmosphere. , and entered the city together.
Of course, this was another deliberate act by Zhu Wen, a family drama for everyone to see. Try to downplay the conflicts of military annexation and create the illusion of a proactive and peaceful transfer of power.
Soon after, Zhu Wen asked former prime minister Zhang Jun to write the "Inscription on Wang Chongrong, the Former Envoy of the Riverside Festival". Then he left the city in plain clothes, went to Wang Chongrong's tomb to erect a monument in memory, and mourned and cried again.
Zhu Wen petitioned Zhang Cunjing to stay in Hezhong, and asked the court to seize the time to send another high-ranking official with high moral standing, enough to convince the public, support and love of the people to take over Hezhong. We must do it quickly because the people of Hezhong really love me. , I will not be allowed to leave unless I am stopped, and I will be forced to sit in the river for life and death...
What else is there to do? You can just take the blame.
Zhaozong appointed Zhu Wen as the military governor of Hezhong. From then on, Zhu Wen served as the military governor of four towns (Xuanwu Army of Bianzhou, Xuanyi Army of Huazhou, Tianping Army of Yunzhou, and National Protector Army of Hezhong). Zhu Wen personally served as the military governor of these four towns. The rest, such as the Luzhou Zhaoyi Army, the Yanzhou Taining Army, and the Xuzhou Wuning Army, were all served by Zhu Wen's trusted generals and were also under Zhu Wen's direct control. Down.
Zhu Wen went to Shu again and said that before, Hezhong only paid 3,000 carts of salt to the court every year, which was too little. From now on, I will add 2,000 carts of salt to the court every year and offer 5,000 carts of salt to the court. How about that?
Accurate performance.
Zhu Wen asked Wang Ke, his brothers Wang Lin and Wang Zan to move their family to Bianzhou. Soon after, he ordered Wang Ke to go to court to see the emperor, but sent an assassin to assassinate him halfway (Huazhou).
The records in the "Old Book of Tang" are relatively objective. The record of Zhu Wen's cry to pay homage to Wang Chongrong is "Weeping at Wang Chongrong's tomb first, overwhelmed with grief"; while the "New Book of Tang" adds a subjective emotional tone, "(Zhu Wen He swore an oath to Wang Chongrong to treat his descendants well)... But he forgot his oath and went to Chongrong's tomb, pretending to cry and offering sacrifices."
After Zhu Wen assassinated Wang Ke, we can say with certainty that Zhu Wen was "fake crying" and Yan Huan, the handler outside the city, was just acting on occasion and putting on a political show.
Wang Chongrong was upright and fierce, with a fiery nature, cruel and easy to kill, which led to a mutiny and his death in his later years. Some historical data pointed out that when he first persuaded Zhu Wen to surrender, Wang Chongrong had the idea of killing Zhu Wen, but was stopped by the eunuchs in charge of the army. As analyzed in the previous article, Wang Chongrong and Zhu Wen must form a team to keep each other warm and take advantage of each other's strength in order to settle down in the turbulent political field. Yang Fuguang analyzed the stakes for Wang Chongrong, which made Wang Chongrong give up the idea of killing Zhu Wen.
History likes to joke. Wang Chongrong was "strict by nature, fond of killing but without mercy." He had killed countless people in his life, but he spared the one person who deserved to be killed the most.
I have the middle of the river in my hand, and I have the east of the river.
Zhu Wen, who controlled Hezhong, finally had the confidence to tear Li Keyong apart from Hedong. Next target: Li Keyong.
