【War of Defeating Shu 1】
After sending Li Yan away, Wang Zongyan indeed strengthened the military strength on the border under the lobbying of the "main war faction" to prepare for the attack of the Later Tang Dynasty. For example, Wang Zong'e was sent to lead the 21 armies (roughly equivalent to today's regiments and brigades) of the Youdingyuan Army (the Central Forbidden Army) to garrison in Yangzhou, and Lin S'er was appointed as the military envoy of the Zhaowu Army in Lizhou to garrison in Lizhou.
"The Art of War" by Sun Tzu says: Soldiers are deceitful, so they show their inability when they can, and show when they use it.
Li Cunxu has been on the battlefield for most of his life. He is already familiar with military tactics and tactics, and is even more proficient in power and conspiracy. He followed the instructions of the Art of War and "fight and show that he will not fight."
While Wang Zongyan was dispatching troops and generals to strengthen border defense forces, the Later Tang Dynasty sent Li Yanchou to visit Shu again.
Unlike Li Yan, who was arrogant, domineering, arrogant and rude, Li Yanchou was low-key and friendly, showing full respect and respect for Qian Shu, saying that his trip was to promote bilateral relations, enhance trust and strengthen cooperation. In short, Build good-neighborly and friendly diplomatic relations.
This trick works very well. Wang Zongyan had no great ambitions and only wanted to separate the Shu territory and have a small corner of peace. He urgently hoped that the two countries would be friendly and maintain peace and independence. After warmly entertaining Li Yanchou for nearly two months, he sent him back to the Tang Dynasty as a gift and sent Ouyang Bin, a Hanlin scholar, to pay a return visit to the Later Tang Dynasty.
Subsequently, at the end of that year (924), Wang Zongyan took the initiative to reduce the border defense forces, recalled Guan Hongye and other 24 armies stationed in Weiwu City, and recalled the 37 armies stationed in Wuding and Wuxing to assist in the defense of Qin Dynasty. The twenty-nine armies of the prefecture and the seven armies of Wang Zongxun stationed in Jinzhou; he also asked his uncle Xu Yanqiong to replace the general Wang Zongbi and serve as the "Commander of the Horse and Budu Commands inside and outside the capital", ranking above the old heroes and generals.
He also appointed the eunuch Wang Chengxiu as the governor of Qinzhou, whose main task was to collect beauties from the folk.
Wang Zongchou tried to persuade Wang Zongyan to kill Li Yan, but failed. He also saw that Wang Zongyan had believed in the rhetoric of the Later Tang Dynasty and was addicted to sex all day long. He was heartbroken and found Wang Zongbi in private. He planned to carry out his godfather's last edict, depose Wang Zongyan and choose another qualified man. The successor succeeds the throne.
Judging from the energy contained in Wang Zongbi, as long as he nods, the coup will be successfully completed. However, Wang Zongbi was hesitant and could not make up his mind.
In fact, this makes perfect sense.
According to historical records, Wang Zongyan ignored political affairs, leaving internal affairs to the eunuch Song Guangsi, and foreign affairs to Wang Zongbi. The two lonely and important ministers jointly controlled the highest power in the former Shu. Wang Zongbi has reached the pinnacle of fame and fortune.
If he supports a new king, can Wang Zongbi make further progress? Obviously not. So why would he risk annihilating the nine tribes to do something that would only do harm but no good?
Unless...he becomes the new king. That’s why Wang Zongbi was hesitant when faced with Wang Zongchou’s proposal for a coup. He would either not do it. If he wanted to do it, I, Wang Zongbi, would have to be the emperor, but he couldn’t tell Wang Zongbi this... This was Wang Zongbi’s dilemma. at.
Wang Zongchou probably guessed what Wang Zongbi was thinking. In the midst of a national crisis, you actually... Wang Zongchou was so worried and angry that he couldn't even take a breath and died with regret.
After Wang Zongchou died, Wang Zongbi found the eunuchs Song Guangsi, Jing Runcheng and others, and said to them: "Wang Zongchou encouraged me to kill all of you eunuchs to rectify the government. Now, you can rest assured!" "Song Guangsi, Jing Runcheng and others prostrated on the ground, crying and thanking Wang Zongbi for his life.
Although Wang Zongbi did not launch a coup, he used the "coup attempt" to betray Wang Zongbi, gaining the trust and gratitude of the eunuch group and consolidating his own vested interests. It can be said to be very despicable and shameless.
Even Wang Zongbi's son Wang Chengban said to those around him: "Our family is about to be in disaster!"
Song Guangbao, the eunuch of the "main war faction", reminded Wang Zongyan not to let down his guard, "Your Majesty, the imperialists are determined to destroy me!"
Song Guangbao asked Jiazhou to build 500 warships along the river and recruit 5,000 navy troops. They would go eastward along the Yangtze River, attack Xiang and Deng on both land and water, and go south to Jiangling. If they win, they will continue to advance, if they fail, they will retreat to the strongholds along the river; choose three more Ten thousand elite troops will raid the Qi and Yong lands, occupy He and Tong in the east, and tie up with the Khitan in the north. We will bribe them with heavy sums of money. If the Khitan sends troops, that will be enough. If the Khitan does not send troops, we can also hold the Dashan Pass to ensure that the Shu territory is safe.
This military plan from the eunuch was quite sharp and bold, and its core idea was to replace defense with offense. Although the ultimate strategic goal is still to cater to Wang Zongyan's separatist rule of Shu, his method is to replace passive defense with active attack.
Now that Tang and Shu have sent envoys to each other and signed a treaty of friendship and non-aggression between Tang and Shu, Song Guangbao's military plan seems a bit out of date. If "allied countries are surprised", how can we lose face? Wang Zongyan flatly rejected Song Guangbao's memorial.
Listening to the rhetoric of the Later Tang Dynasty, believing the lies of peace, and serious misjudgments in strategy, this was one of the important reasons that led to the collapse and invincible situation of the former Shu in the face of the "blitz war" of the Later Tang Dynasty.
Another important reason is that the command center of Qianshu was paralyzed, because when the war broke out, Wang Zongyan was on vacation in Qinzhou, thousands of miles away from Chengdu.
The lie of peace fabricated by the Later Tang Dynasty was mostly out of practical considerations, because at that time the Later Tang Dynasty was facing the invasion of the Khitans. As mentioned above, the Khitan's main target was Bohai State, and they carried out large-scale harassment and guerrilla attacks against the Later Tang Dynasty to contain the Later Tang army. As a result, the Later Tang Dynasty was exhausted and unable to conquer Shu.
However, the former Shu only saw the manifestations and believed that the Later Tang was unable to resist the Khitan invasion. From this, we came to the conclusion that it was absolutely impossible for the Later Tang Dynasty to attack the former Shu. Under the threat of the Khitan, they were like mud bodhisattvas crossing the river and could not protect themselves, so they believed the Later Tang Dynasty's sincerity in pursuing good neighborliness and friendship.
Not understanding politics is really scary.
We have previously looked at the environment before the war broke out from the perspectives of Later Tang and Former Shu. Now, we will use the same timeline to intersperse the performance of both sides in the war. This contrast is very shocking.
Starting from April in the second year of Tongguang (924), envoys from both sides exchanged greetings, had cordial and friendly exchanges, and expressed their best wishes for peaceful coexistence.
Wang Zongchou failed to persuade Li Yan to kill him, and Wang Zongbi failed to make a coup, so he died of grief and anger. Wang Zongyan canceled a large number of border guards guarding the Later Tang Dynasty and expressed friendship to the Later Tang Dynasty.
At the end of June of the third year of Tongguang's reign (925), Li Cunxu issued a nationwide mobilization order and issued an edict to "Kuoma", that is, to collect civilian horses in preparation for the attack on Qianshu.
In July, on the Yingsheng Festival of the former Shu (July 15th, Wang Zongyan’s birthday), a mountain shed was erected at Dexianmen. Suddenly, the sky changed drastically and a strong wind blew up, destroying the mountain shed; the next day, another "thunder earthquake" occurred. , destroying two stone pillars of Yingsheng Church. Yang Bin, the young minister of Taichang Temple in charge of rituals and music, came to the table and said:
"The destruction of the mountain on the day of His Majesty's birthday indicates that the country is unstable; the destruction of the country at the Dexian Gate indicates that His Majesty is not virtuous in everything he does; the destruction of the stone pillars of the temple indicates that the pillars of the current country are not made of the right materials."
Wang Zongyan turned into an atheist, "It's just a coincidence. Resisting feudal superstition starts with me." (Yan doesn't take it seriously)
