【Crying Jingxiang】
In the third year of Zhenming (917), four years had passed since Zhu Youzhen succeeded to the throne. During these four years, Liu Yan separated the Guangdong and Guangxi regions and proclaimed himself emperor and founded the country, breaking away from the Houliang; the "foreign relatives gang" forcibly divided Wei Bo, resulting in a large area of territory north of the Yellow River. Detach from the rear beam. The territory of Houliang was severely shrunk, and Zhu Youzhen's majesty declined sharply.
Zhao Yan, the leader of the "foreign relatives gang", then suggested that Zhu Youzhen "have something to do in the southern suburbs", saying that His Majesty has not held a suburban ceremony since he ascended the throne. Therefore, your throne is not legitimate and your words are inconsistent. This is what caused the alienation between the army and the people. Therefore, I sincerely request your Majesty to hold the Jiaotian Ceremony as soon as possible.
During the feudal period, the emperor's "business in the southern suburbs" was not just a formality. The suburban ceremony was a huge project that cost people and money. Therefore, even in peaceful and prosperous times, the emperor did not have to go to the southern suburbs every year.
It is precisely because this is a huge project that consumes people and money that the "foreign relatives gang" must actively encourage it. If you pluck the feathers of a goose, how can you be corrupt without spending any money?
In order to make enough money, Zhao Yan suggested that Zhu Youzhen should leave the capital Bianzhou and go to the western capital Luoyang. The reason was that he could pay a visit to the tomb of the late emperor Zhu Wen and pray for blessings. Buy one and get one free, and Jiaotian will send you to visit the tombs and worship ancestors.
Zhu Youzhen believed that what Zhao Yan said was reasonable, so he decided to leave for Luoyang. It was already entering the twelfth lunar month, and Zhu Youzhen mobilized the troops and set off for Luoyang with all the civil and military officials, preparing for something to happen in the southern suburbs in the first month of the next year.
Jingxiang hurriedly dissuaded him, saying that the Jiaotian ceremony would cost a lot of money, but it would only bring false fame, and the gain would not be worth the loss. Moreover, Liu Wei had just suffered a defeat in Weibo, and a powerful enemy was preparing to attack on the north bank of the Yellow River. People were panicked. Your Majesty should not leave the capital easily. You should wait until the north is pacified and it will not be too late to move to the countryside.
Good words can't bring back a damn ghost.
On the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, Zhu Youzhen led the entire leadership team to Luoyang to inspect the carriages and horses required for the ceremony, renovate the palace houses, and arrange various matters required for the suburban ceremony.
At the same time, Li Cunxu set out from Weizhou with a small number of cavalry to hunt for fun. Wandering around, he came to the Yellow River and found that the Yellow River had frozen and the ice layer had a certain thickness. So, Li Cunxu personally crossed the river on the ice and launched an attack on Yangliucheng on the other side of the river. He defeated the three thousand Houliang defenders and captured the defender. An Yanzhi.
This was a temporary exploratory attack by Li Cunxu, but because of his decisive and sharp attack, it caused a great psychological shock to the Houliang army. The defeated army fled in all directions, and declared in horror that Li Cunxu from Hedong had crossed the river in large numbers and captured Yangliucheng. The panic spread quickly, and from word to person, it became "Li Cunxu has invaded Bianzhou."
After hearing about it, the civil and military officials in Luoyang were all worried about the safety of their families in Bianzhou, and they looked at each other and cried at each other. Zhu Youzhen was also greatly shocked. He hurriedly issued an edict to cancel the suburban ceremony and rushed back to Bianzhou.
After returning to Bianzhou, I realized that it was a false alarm.
The civil and military ministers of Houliang welcomed the New Year in the fourth year of Zhengming (918) in a strange atmosphere of fear and joy.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Jingxiang cried and said, "The empire has been fighting for years, losing troops and generals, and spending huge amounts of money, while the territory is shrinking day by day. Your Majesty lives deep in the palace and only discusses national affairs with inexperienced young people. How can you talk about military affairs on paper?" Can you control the outcome? When the late emperor was still alive, he owned the entire territory of Hebei and led the heroes in battles in the south and north, but he could not achieve satisfactory results. Now, the enemy has penetrated deep into Yunzhou, and your majesty does not seem to be worried. I heard that Since Li Yazi came to the throne, he has taken the lead and braved the arrows. He attacked Yang and Liu a few days ago. He personally carried reeds and firewood and fought side by side with the soldiers. Your Majesty is elegant and calm, and only puts his hope in He Gui and others... Your Majesty had better listen actively. According to the opinions of the veteran cadres, we should find other countermeasures... Although I am foolish and cowardly, I have been favored by the late emperor. If your Majesty really cannot find talents, please send veteran ministers to the front line."
Jingxiang's memorial was directed at the "foreign relatives gang".
Zhao Yan and others immediately retorted, accusing Jingxiang of being jealous of talents, grumbling against the imperial court because of the damage to his own interests.
Therefore, instead of rejecting the "Wai Qi Gang", Zhu Youzhen favored the "Wai Qi Gang" even more, and became increasingly alienated from the merits of Jing Xiang and other veterans.
When Zhu Wen usurped the Tang Dynasty and established Liang Dynasty, in order to gain support, he named Hangzhou Qian Liu the "King of Wuyue". Later, he also granted the title of Taibao, Zhongshu Ling, and Shangshu Ling, and ordered him to build a shrine and marry his son and daughter. Qian Chuan, the son of Qian Liu, Ying was the Prince Consort (Qian Chuanying died of illness before the princess could get married at the age of 36); after Zhu Yougui killed his father and seized power, he named Qian Liu "Shangfu".
After Zhu Youzhen succeeded to the throne, he chose Qian Chuanjue, the son of Qian Liu, as the prince-in-law, and promised him Princess Shouchun. Qian Liu sent General Du Jianhui to escort Qian Chuanjue to the capital to welcome Princess Shouchun.
This marriage was a test for Qian Liu by the Later Liang court, and Qian Liu got full marks. Qian Liu not only accepted this political marriage with dignity, but also took the opportunity to pay tribute to the Later Liang Dynasty.
Qian Liu sent envoys to go around half of China to pay tribute (916). This was undoubtedly a timely help for Zhu Youzhen, who was "in the wrong way" and was in urgent need of recognition, so he immediately named Qian Liu "Marshal of the Soldiers and Horses of All Taoists" and granted Du Jian Huiyao the title. Ling Jingyuan Jiedushi.
Most of the officials in Houliang were opposed to this, pointing out that Qian Liu was just taking advantage of the opportunity to do business under the guise of "paying tribute". To put it nicely, it’s business, but to put it bluntly, it’s smuggling.
During the feudal period, princes from various states visited the Celestial Dynasty to "pay tribute", and the envoys ranged from dozens to hundreds of people, carrying a large amount of local products. Except for a small part for tribute, most of them were used for trade in the capital or along the way. Smuggling activities were openly carried out in the privileged capacity of "tribute envoy".
Therefore, foreign states such as Nanzhao frequently sent large-scale missions (multiple times a year) to pay tribute to Chang'an. The disciples of the Tang Dynasty gained the reputation of being a sovereign nation, but they suffered from smuggling.
Jingxiang and other veterans also unanimously opposed the additional title of Qian Liu because it was really impossible to grant him another title. Currently, Comrade Qian Liu’s official title is:
"Qisheng Kuang Yun Tongde hero, Huainan Zhenhai Zhendong and other military envoys, Huainan Zhejiang east-west and other road management envoys such as observation and disposal, and Huainan Xuanshe and other roads all around the camp capital control, camp field appeasement and two Zhejiang salt iron production Set up shipping and other envoys, the governor of Hangyue and other states, the chief inspector of the school, Shangfu, Shou Shangshu Ling, the three divisions of Kaifu Yitong, Shangzhu Kingdom, the king of Wuyue, 20,000 households in the city, and a real seal Thousands and five hundred households.”
Now add the "Marshal of the Soldiers and Horses of All Taoists", and he will come to pay tribute next year. How do you seal him? What about the year after next? What about the year after tomorrow?
After the edict conferring Qian Liu the title of "Marshal of all Taoists and Horses" was drafted, Dou Mengzheng, a Hanlin scholar who was responsible for drafting the edict, held the edict in his hands and couldn't help crying. Zhu Youzhen was very unhappy and immediately demoted him to Penglai County Captain.
What Zhu Youzhen was thinking was that "Marshal of the Soldiers and Horses of All Paths" sounded very cool, but it was just an empty honorary title. After all, besides his own troops, how many "Marshal of the Soldiers and Horses of All Paths" were at his disposal?
Qian Liu also thought the same thing. How could he do a loss-making business? So in March of the third year of Zhengming (917), Qian Liu announced in one breath that his 11 sons would be promoted to official positions.
Zhu Youzhen approved all of them, and by the way, he bought one and got one free. In October, he also awarded Qian Liu the title of "Marshal of the World's Soldiers and Horses". Comrade Qian Liu, are you satisfied now?
Although the title "Marshal of the World's Soldiers and Horses" is also empty, it has a hidden benefit: it can establish a marshal's mansion, appoint hundreds of civil and military officials, and establish a complete set of independent leadership and management systems. This means that Qian Liu, who holds the title of "King of Wuyue", has legalized his separatist rule over the two Zhejiang provinces, and strictly speaking cannot be regarded as a "separatist rule". This is an immeasurable political asset.
Qian Liu was very satisfied with this, and he also discovered the reality of the central government of the Later Liang Dynasty. So, Qian Liu took the medicine according to the prescription, and very "loyally" paid tribute to the Later Liang Dynasty and pretended to be obedient.
In the fourth year of Zhengming (918), after a long and fierce war, the Huainan forces finally occupied Qianzhou. From then on, the Huainan forces bordered Liu Yan of the Southern Han Dynasty, thus cutting off the only land route for Hangzhou Qian Liu to pay tribute to Houliang. Previously, due to the obstruction of Huainan forces, Qian Liu's tribute route started from today's Zhejiang southward, entered Fujian, then entered Hunan via Jiangxi (Qianzhou), turned north, passed Hubei, and finally entered Henan.
Now, Liu Yan has proclaimed himself emperor in Guangdong and Guangxi and rebelled against Liang. Huainan's forces have expanded southward and annexed Qianzhou, forcing Zhejiang and Fujian to stand alone in the southeast, and their land connections with the Central Plains dynasty were completely cut off.
This year, Qian Liu sent people to take the sea route and landed in Yantai City, Shandong Province today, to get in touch with Bianzhou.
At that time, due to the objective technological conditions, traveling by sea was very dangerous. According to historical records, the mortality rate was as high as 50%! Before the envoys leave, they must write a suicide note in advance and explain their funeral arrangements.
Even so, Comrade Qian Liu still sent envoys by sea to pay tribute to Zhu Youzhen of the later Liang Dynasty.
Zhu Youzhen was deeply moved, but Qian Liu's official title could not be extended, so he instead conferred the title of Qian Chuanjing, Qian Liu's son, as the governor of the Ningguo Army in Xuanzhou, and added the title of prime minister (Tongping Zhangshi); and added the title of his ministry Du Jianhui was appointed as the tutor of the school and Tongping Zhangshi.
Qian Liu's loyalty was just Zhu Youzhen's wishful thinking. Zhu Youzhen does not understand the basic principles of political games. Interests are above all else, and everything else is empty talk.
Jingxiang spoke sincerely, but Zhu Youzhen ignored him.
In the fifth year of Zhenming (919), Zhu Youzhen ordered Qian Liu to attack Huainan. Qian Liu followed the order and sent troops. He sent his son Qian Yuanguan to take command and led 500 warships to attack Huainan.
This battle lasted from March to July, during which two major battles broke out: the Battle of Langshan (Qian Liu's victory) and the Battle of Wuxi (Huainan's victory). Both sides suffered losses, and finally reached a peaceful armistice agreement. Since then, no large-scale conflicts have broken out for more than 20 years.
Look, Qian Liu is so obedient!
So, in September, Zhu Youzhen issued another edict, ordering Qian Liu to attack Liu Yan, who had proclaimed himself emperor.
Qian Liu expressed his firm support for the Central Government of the Later Liang Dynasty, opposed any form of rebellion and separatists, and strongly condemned and protested the "Guangdong independence element" Liu Yan... without sending a single soldier.
Zhu Youzhen's pattern is broken in Tucson. The reason why Qian Liu was ordered to attack Huainan was based on his own interests. Qian Liu and the Yang family in Huainan have maintained a delicate relationship of war and peace for a long time. They have long-term territorial disputes and interest disputes, and they also have many common languages.
Huainan occupied Qianzhou and formed a semi-encirclement situation around Qian Liu, which severely reduced the living space of the two Zhejiang provinces. A fierce conflict was bound to break out between Qian Liu and Huainan. It's just that Zhu Youzhen issued the edict at this time.
loyalty? Zhu Youzhen is too sentimental. Attacking Guangdong and Guangxi did not benefit Qian Liu at all, so Zhu Youzhen was slapped in the face.
On the issue of money and coins between Zhejiang and Zhejiang, Zhu Youzhen still did not follow the strategy of the "old school of veterans" represented by Jingxiang, which exposed the almost retarded political level of Zhu Youzhen and his favorite "foreign relatives gang".
Fortunately, Qian Liu's slap in the face did not bring any substantial losses to the Later Liang court, but it only caused some loss of face.
But on the Heshuo issue, Zhu Youzhen still adopted the suggestions of the "foreign relatives gang", which caused immeasurable losses to the Houliang regime.
