[The relatives ruined the beam 1]
Zhu Wen established the Later Liang Dynasty, learned the lessons of the Tang Dynasty's favor of the eunuchs, and used cruel killing methods to completely eradicate the eunuchs' cancer and take back the power that had been controlled by the eunuchs for a long time. After two strange palace coups, the last emperor Zhu Youzhen favored his relatives and trusted his relatives, making it difficult for the Later Liang Dynasty to escape the interference of their relatives in politics.
The "foreign relatives gang" with Yuan Xiangxian, Zhao Yan, and the Zhang brothers as the core, in order to fight for power and gain, constantly suppressed the meritorious old generals and disintegrated the Houliang regime.
During the confrontation between Liang and Jin along the river, the "foreign relatives gang" suspected and persecuted the frontline commander in the rear.
1. Liu Wei
When Liu Wei was stationed in Shenxian County, the "foreign relatives' gang" accused Liu Wei of playing against the invaders and supporting his own troops. They told Zhu Youzhen that Liu Wei was the second Yang Shihou. Zhu Youzhen believed the slander, and while he was in the rear, he was dictating the front lines and issued edicts one after another to urge Liu Wei to go to war. Liu Wei could not withstand the pressure and had to fight under extremely unfavorable conditions for the Houliang army, and finally suffered a disastrous defeat in Guyuan City near Weizhou.
The "foreign relatives gang" used the excuse of Gu Yuancheng's defeat to punish Liu Wei, and issued an edict to let him go to Beijing to report to the emperor. Liu Wei knew that he was in danger, so he resisted and refused to obey the edict. Zhu Youzhen was worried that he would be forced to rebel, so he stopped forcing him and allowed him to serve as the military governor of Huazhou Xuanyi Army (Liu Wei was temporarily stationed in Huazhou).
Soon after, the Hedong Army stormed Liyang Ferry and threatened Huazhou. Liu Wei led his troops to resist tenaciously and finally pushed back the Hedong Army. At the same time, there was a mutiny in Xinzhou in Hedong. Lu Wenjin killed Li Cunju, defected to the Khitan, and seduced the Khitan army to invade the territory in the northeast of Hedong.
This is an excellent opportunity for Houliang to counterattack Hebei. Because Liu Wei had just won the victory in the defense battle of Liyang, he had the courage to come to the capital and meet Zhu Youzhen. On the one hand, he apologized, cleared up the misunderstanding, and showed that he did not intend to rebel; on the other hand, he made suggestions and persuaded Zhu Youzhen to send troops. Cross the river and take advantage of the Khitan's southern invasion to regain their homeland in Hebei.
The "foreign relatives gang" seized the opportunity to settle old scores, impeach him for the defeat of Yuancheng, put the blame for the loss of Heshuo on the head of Liu Wei, removed Liu Wei from the title of prime minister, and demoted him to the training envoy of the Bozhou regiment.
The "foreign relatives gang" must bear the primary responsibility for the fall of Heshuo. It was they who encouraged Zhu Youzhen to divide Wei Bo's army, which caused Wei Bo's army to surrender to Hedong. In the subsequent battle, it was they who blindly commanded from behind, which led to consecutive defeats on the front line. Even if the frontline generals are at fault, they can only bear secondary responsibility.
Liu Wei became the scapegoat of the "foreign relatives gang". Shifting the blame this time also caused Houliang to lose an opportunity to regain Heshuo.
It is gold and can shine wherever it goes. After being demoted to Bozhou, it coincided with Huainan's northern invasion. Liu Wei defeated the Huainan Corps, crossed the Huaihe River to counterattack, and gained a lot. Soon after, Zhang Wanjin of Yanzhou rebelled against Liang and Huai and surrendered to Jin. The court had to restart Liu Wei and let him take command to quell the rebellion. Liu Wei successfully completed the tasks assigned by the organization. Together with Niu Cunjie, he first repelled the Huainan reinforcements, then captured Yanzhou and sacrificed Zhang Wanjin's head.
Liu Wei relied on his strength to regain control of Yanzhou and was given the title of prime minister (conferred on him as the Military Envoy of the Taining Army, the Inspector of the Military Academy, and the Tongping Zhangshi).
Half a year later, Zhu Youqian in Hezhong rebelled against Liang and surrendered to Jin. The imperial court ordered Liu Wei, the "Captain of the Fire Fighting Brigade," to take command and go west to quell the rebellion. His deputies were Yin Hao, the military commander of the Huazhou Reform Army, Wen Tao, the military commander of the Jingsheng Army in Chongzhou, and Duan Ning, the special commissioner of the Central Committee.
Among them, Wen Tao is a famous tomb robber, who robbed all the Tang Dynasty imperial tombs except Qianling, and gained a foothold in the Later Liang court by bribing the "foreign relatives gang"; Duan Ning, Zhu Wen's uncle, Zhu Youzhen's uncle , a direct member of the "Foreign Relatives Gang", is the supervisor and political commissar of this counter-rebellion team, and his main task is to monitor Liu Wei's every move. There are not many records about Yin Hao. From the only records, it can be seen that he was also a dog-legger of the "Wai Qi Gang". He was headstrong and narrow-minded. He clung to the thighs of the "Wai Qi Gang" and framed Zhongliang.
One can imagine the difficulties and obstacles Liu Wei will face. Our own people are always scarier than our enemies.
Sure enough, the counter-rebellion failed, and the Hezhong area was controlled by Li Cunxu from Hedong. Next, there is no doubt that the "foreign relatives gang" will take advantage of the situation and pass the blame to Liu Wei.
Liu Wei and Zhu Youqian were sons and daughters. When Liu Wei led his army to Shaanzhou, he first sent a letter to Zhu Youqian to persuade him to surrender. He analyzed the pros and cons for him and advised him to stop at the brink and return when he was lost. After exchanging letters for nearly a month, but with no result in persuading him to surrender, Liu Wei launched an attack. Therefore, Yin Hao and Duan Ning used the topic to make a small report in front of Zhu Youzhen, distorting the facts, accusing Liu Wei of secretly colluding with the bandits, deliberately staying behind, delaying the war opportunity, and deliberately letting the Hedong reinforcements enter.
The first is to attack the enemy, the second is to attack the enemy, the second is to attack the enemy, and the third is to attack the city. The best strategy is to be able to persuade the opponent to surrender and subjugate the opponent without fighting. At any time, storming a city is the last resort. Even if it is conquered, the siege party will pay a huge price.
Although Liu Wei's attempt to persuade him to surrender was unsuccessful, it still had a certain effect. As mentioned earlier, Zhu Youqian and his cronies were wavered many times and wanted to return to the embrace of Houliang. They finally decided to adopt a wait-and-see attitude and vote with their feet based on the battlefield performance of Houliang and Hedong.
On the battlefield, due to the obstruction of Yin Hao, Wen Tao, Duan Ning and the "foreign relatives gang" behind them (Yin Hao and Duan Ning were jealous of Wu Gong), this led to the defeat on the battlefield, which in turn led to Zhu Youqian's complete defection to Hedong.
Therefore, the "foreign relatives gang" still has to bear the main responsibility for the failure of the Hezhong battlefield. However, they once again passed the blame to Liu Wei.
Liu Wei was well aware of the power contained in the "foreign relatives gang" and the tragic outcome of competing with them, so he claimed that he was unable to perform his duties due to illness, voluntarily resigned from all positions and handed over all military power. In the political struggle, Liu Wei surrendered completely to the "foreign relatives gang", just to save his life.
He still did not fully understand the cruelty and danger of the "foreign relatives gang" and overestimated their moral bottom line.
The imperial court has issued an order, since you are sick, how can the government sit idly by and do nothing? Come to Luoyang, the western capital, and ask famous doctors to help you treat your illness.
This "famous doctor" is Zhang Quanyi, the "healing master", and his medicine is poisonous wine.
Liu Wei, a famous general of his generation and a man who had "a hundred plans at one step", was murdered by the imperial court in this way.
2. Zhang Wanjin.
Zhang Wanjin of Yanzhou united with the Huaihe River to surrender to the Jin Dynasty, and rebelled against the Liang Dynasty. This cannot be regarded as an accident. It also has its origins. The reason why Zhang Wanjin rebelled was that the "foreign relatives gang" made an immortal contribution.
Zhang Wanjin was originally a general under Liu Shouguang in Youzhou. After Liu Shouguang imprisoned his father and usurped Youzhou, he left his son Liu Jiwei to guard Cangzhou, with Zhang Wanjin to assist him. Liu Jiwei was greedy, violent and lustful, and it is impossible to describe his wife and daughter when he entered Zhang Wan's home. Zhang Wanjin then launched a mutiny, killed Liu Jiwei, and at the same time surrendered to Houliang and Hedong.
Later, Yang Shihou shocked Heshuo, and he and Liu Shouqi took advantage of the victory and marched eastward, and their troops came to Cangzhou City. Zhang Wanjin was so frightened that he voluntarily handed over Cangzhou and asked for resettlement in the court. Yang Shihou reported that he was the military envoy of Pinglu Army in Qingzhou, and later changed to the military envoy of Taining Army in Yanzhou.
After Yang Shihou's death, Zhang Wanjin lost his only supporter in Houliang. He was also a vassal town and lived in the important town of Yanzhou, so he became an ATM for the "foreign relatives gang". The "foreign relatives gang" demanded bribes and extorted money from him, making Zhang Wanjin miserable.
At that time, Li Cunxu personally went to the Yangliu front line to work for the army, and used a boat to detect the water level of the Yellow River. He found that the water was only up to his neck, so he personally led his team to cross the Yellow River on foot and defeated Xie Yanzhang, the general of the Later Liang Dynasty. Subsequently, Li Cunxu mobilized all the armed forces in the territory and held a grand military parade in Weizhou, showing great military might.
After Zhang Wanjin received the news that the Hedong Army was about to launch a general offensive, he saw the hope of liberation, so he sent someone to contact Li Cunxu and expressed his willingness to surrender the city.
Thus, there was the confrontation at Majiadu and the battle of Huliupi.
Zhang Wanjin rebelled against Yanzhou. Although he was quickly put down by Liu Wei, it allowed the Hedong Army to advance the forward position from Yangliu to Majiadu, and then to Desheng Jiacheng.
And all of this is the result of the labor of the "foreign relatives gang".
3. Xie Yanzhang
He Gui and Xie Yanzhang, the "peerless twins" of Houliang, were the infantry and cavalry in national uniform of Houliang respectively.
Xie Yanzhang was not only good at commanding cavalry in combat, he was also a well-known Confucian general. He was good at poetry and calligraphy, and was courteous to Confucian scholars. He liked to wear Confucian uniforms to fight. He was extremely elegant, which boosted the morale of our army and deterred the enemy. The most important thing is that he is the adopted son of Ge Congzhou, a famous general in the Later Liang Dynasty. He is regarded as the "second generation of Xun". He is also upright, honest and honest. He is unwilling to collude with the "foreign relatives gang" and is regarded as a thorn in the side of the "wai relatives gang". Thorn in the flesh.
In the battlefields along the river, Xie Yanzhang repeatedly made military exploits, repeatedly frustrated the spirit of Hedong, and won the hearts of the troops. Therefore, it is even more important to get rid of the "foreign relatives gang" quickly. As a result, the "unprecedented case of two prides" mentioned above was staged. Zhu Youzhen's confidant Zhu Gui joined forces with He Gei to kill Xie Yanzhang, and then falsely accused Xie Yanzhang of treason.
After receiving the news that Xie Yanzhang had been killed, Li Cunxu from Hedong was ecstatic and immediately mobilized his entire army and headed west. Only then came the Battle of Huliupi and the Battle of Desheng Jiacheng. He Gui also became ill from grief and anger due to the failure of the Battle of Desheng Jiacheng, and died of illness within half a year.
Help the Hedong Army remove obstacles to its progress, eradicate the "unparalleled twins", and the "Relatives Gang" will make great contributions to Hedong again.
4. Zhu Youqian
With the deaths of famous generals such as Yang Shihou, Liu Wei, Xie Yanzhang, and He Gui, there was a talent vacuum in the Later Liang Dynasty, especially with the support of the "foreign relatives gang" who were jealous of talents and talents.
After He Gui's death, the imperial court put the unknown Wang Zan in command.
Wang Zan, the son of Wang Chongying and the nephew of Wang Chongrong, is Zhu Wen's cousin and Zhu Youzhen's uncle. I wonder if this relationship can be counted as a member of the "foreign relatives gang". However, based on the existing historical data, it can be inferred that he at least maintained a relatively close relationship with the "foreign relatives gang", so that he could be promoted without merit.
It is an open secret that the "foreign relatives gang" sells official positions and obtains titles. For example, Wen Tao, the tomb robber who was criticized by many and had a very bad reputation, was able to live a very prosperous life in the Houliang Group for bribing the "foreign relatives gang" with large sums of money.
After Wang Zan took command, he lost the first battle and was repulsed by Li Siyuan. In World War II, he won first and then lost. His counterattack failed and Puyang was captured by Hedong, and the Hedong front advanced again.
Later Liang had to change his commander four times and replaced Wang Zan with Dai Siyuan (Liu Wei, He Gui, Wang Zan and Dai Siyuan).
The Hedong Army continued to advance its forward positions, and the rear beams retreated steadily, showing their decline. Zhu Youqian in Hezhong took the opportunity to bully the central government, brazenly annexed the neighboring vassal (Tongzhou), and asked for concurrent posts.
At this time, Zhu Youqian did not intend to rebel against Liang and surrender to Jin, but just wanted to expand his power. Strong local vassal towns will inevitably weaken the authority of the central government, which is equivalent to indirectly dividing the cake of the "foreign relatives gang" and snatching the bones from the dog's mouth. This is not allowed by the "foreign relatives gang".
All the powerful ministers, powerful eunuchs, and the interest groups they represent who control the government and dominate the government and the opposition will not allow another powerful group to appear outside the court, such as a local powerful vassal.
Therefore, the "foreign relatives gang" strongly advocates military crusade and will never tolerate it! After letting the powerful Liu Wei take command, the "Relatives Gang" generously contributed Yin Hao, Wen Tao, and Duan Ning.
Zhu Youqian smelled some unfriendly voices in the court, so out of fear, he surrendered to Hedong Xiancheng in order to protect himself.
Zhu Youzhen initially listened to the instigation of the "foreign relatives gang", but soon recovered his senses and hurriedly sent someone to send an edict appointing Zhu Youqian to also take charge of Tongzhou. But he was a step late. When the edict was delivered, Zhu Youqian had already surrendered to Li Cunxu in Hedong.
Although the "foreign relatives' gang" cannot be completely blamed for the Hezhong area's surrender to Hedong, the "foreign relatives' gang" also played a role in fueling the situation and lost the opportunity to recover the losses.
