1.2 Hedong
Li Cunxu's remaining members (Li Cunba and Li Cunwo) fled to Taiyuan Prefecture in Hedong Province and plotted to make a comeback. They were discovered in time by Taiyuan Inspector Li Yanchao and strangled in the cradle. Li Yanchao played an important role in controlling the situation in Taiyuan for Li Siyuan's new regime and ensuring the order and stability of the most prosperous area in Hedong.
After Li Siyuan took office, he immediately sent Li Yanchao's younger brother Li Yanqing to appease and win over him, because he was worried that Li Yanchao would seize control of Hedong. Li Yanchao immediately rushed to Luoyang in person to meet with Li Siyuan to express his loyalty. Li Siyuan promoted Li Yanchao to the post of Jinzhou Jianxiong Army. Soon after, he was promoted to stay in Taiyuan.
1.3 Fengxiang
Li Jiyu (son of Li Maozhen), the military envoy of Fengxiang, entered Shu with the army. When he passed by Fengxiang on his way back east, Chai Chonghou, the eunuch in charge of Fengxiang, refused to accept Li Jiyu and urged him to return to Luoyang immediately to resume his duties. In February of the fourth year of Tongguang, Li Cunxu was still in charge of Luoyang. emperor.
This was a very dangerous move, because not long after Li Jizuo surrendered the land of Fengxiang to the Later Tang Dynasty, Chai Chonghou's move could easily cause misunderstanding, making Li Jizuo understand that the central government was going to take action against him and annex his Fengxiang. History does not give any more clues. It is not known whether Chai Chonghou, the eunuch who oversaw the army, received a secret order from the central government (Li Cunxu) or whether it was his personal behavior. In short, it was a dangerous move that could force Fengxiang and Li Jiyu to rebel.
After Li Siyuan took office, he immediately sent people to kill Chai Chonghou.
Li Jizuo was given the title of Imperial Examiner and Imperial Secretary, and was given the name "Li Congyu". "Ji" is the seniority character of Li Cunxu's nephew, and "Cong" is the seniority character of Li Siyuan's nephew, to show his favor. , and then asked Li Jizuo to return to Fengxiang and continue to be his military governor of Fengxiang.
1.4 Sichuan and Shu
Shu had just been conquered, and it was a hotbed of separatist rule. It had unique geographical advantages, and not a single soldier of the army stationed here was a direct descendant of Li Siyuan. The political and military subjects here are the natives of Shu, who have been managed by Wang Jian and Wang Zongyan for nearly forty years; the auxiliary component is the expeditionary force sent by Li Cunxu to conquer Shu. Therefore, the situation in Shu is very delicate.
Li Siyuan appointed Meng Zhixiang of Xichuan as the Grand Tutor of the School and concurrently as the Imperial Attendant; he appointed the Grand Tutor of the School of Examination to Dong Zhang of Dongchuan.
"Murphy's Law" says, whatever you fear will come to you. As expected, Li Siyuan still failed to retain Shu. Under Li Siyuan's deliberate operation, Meng Zhixiang finally separated Shu and established "Later Shu". This is something.
In general, when Li Siyuan proclaimed himself emperor, he temporarily stabilized the Shu region and received blood transfusions from the Shu region, which helped the new regime overcome economic difficulties.
1.5 Youzhou
Zhao Dejun, the governor of the Lulong Army in Youzhou, was the first to respond to Li Siyuan's call and help him march to Luoyang to seize power. After Li Siyuan proclaimed himself emperor, he naturally could not forget this Conglong Yuanxun. He appointed Zhao Dejun as the imperial tutor and Tongping Zhangshi, and married his daughter Princess Xingping to Zhao Dejun's adopted son Zhao Yanshou.
1.6 Jingnan
Gao Jichang, the military envoy of Jingnan Festival, served as the governor and the minister of law. Gao Jichang petitioned to cede Kui, Zhong and Wan prefectures back to Jingnan, and Li Siyuan agreed.
As repeatedly emphasized in the previous article, Jingnan’s geographical location is very important. It is not only the southern gate of the Later Tang Empire, but also the place of the Four Wars. It is connected to the Later Tang, Shu, Chu, and Huainan. It can really affect the whole body, so although Gao Jichang is narrow The people are weak, the army is small, and the generals are few. They have never won a battle, and they have never lost by cheating. He turned his military disadvantage into a geopolitical advantage. He was in the middle of Qi and Chu, but he had both sides, and he controlled the Central Plains Dynasty, Huainan and other forces that were more powerful than him.
Gao Jichang's request to cede land at this time was a sure sign of Li Siyuan's pulse and openly ripped him off. Li Siyuan is a mute who eats Coptis chinensis. He cannot express his sufferings, so he can only suffer the consequences of being mute.
Li Siyuan focused on the overall situation and temporarily stabilized Jingnan, but then a fierce armed conflict broke out between the two sides. This is a story later.
1.7 Northwest vassals
Li Renfu, the governor of the Dingnan Army in Xiazhou, was given an additional 1,000 households. After leaving the Zhangwu Army in Yanzhou, Gao Yuntao was promoted to a regular official and was officially appointed as the military governor of Yanzhou Zhangwu.
The northwest regions, such as Xiazhou, Lingzhou, Yanzhou, Suizhou, etc., have been separated from the control of the central government since the end of the Tang Dynasty. Although they have always been governed by the Zhengshuo of the Central Plains Dynasty, they enjoy a high degree of autonomy. During the "Huangchao Rebellion", Tuoba Sigong, a young general from Xiazhou, a member of the party, was given a national surname and the title of "Xia Guogong" for his meritorious service in defeating the thieves. He was granted the land of Xia and Sui, and was given the name of his armed forces - Ding. Since then, this "Party Qiang" has long controlled the northwest of the empire.
Since then, whether it was the Later Liang, the Later Tang, or even the Great Song Dynasty, their leaders had been professing vassalage to the central dynasty and Feng Zhengshuo. In the first year of Baoyuan of the Great Song Dynasty (1038), their leader Li Yuanhao founded the country and proclaimed himself emperor, and changed the name of the country to "Daxia" ”, Jianyuan’s “God-given etiquette Yanzuo” (the creation of a six-character reign name, unprecedented), known as “Xi Xia” in history.
After Li Siyuan proclaimed himself emperor, he promoted the leader of the Li family in Xiazhou (Tuoba family) to a noble position as a sign of win over. This received a positive response. The northwest vassals recognized the legitimacy of Li Siyuan's regime and swore allegiance to Li Siyuan. The northwest frontier was stabilized.
2. External affairs of the Later Tang Dynasty
There are both the periphery within the interior and complete external (clan) forces. The definition of "external" refers to the "inside of the Later Tang Dynasty". They are Li Cunxu's "sequelae of the conquest of Shu", because the war of conquest of Shu was a huge gamble made by Li Cunxu when he was on the verge of collapse. During this period, Li Cunxu's court was too weak to cause trouble again, so it had to compromise with other military and political entities and agree to everything they wanted. They made unreasonable demands, and without exception, they launched extortion against Li Cunxu.
Li Siyuan took over in a weak position, and his new regime was even more fragile. There was no doubt that he would be ripped off by them and compromised at every turn. This is the basic "foreign" national policy of Li Siyuan's court.
For example, Gao Jichang of Jingnan, mentioned above, extorted the land of Kui, Zhong and Wan prefectures.
After Li Siyuan ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, he sent envoys to various Taoist states, Huainan, Khitan and others to express condolences and inform them of Li Cunxu's death and the succession of the new master.
2.1 Internal external lines
Due to Li Siyuan's weakness, the situation of "strong local areas and weak central government" gradually amplified, which led to the establishment of kingdoms on the periphery of the empire, accelerating the formation of the "Ten Kingdoms".
2.1.1 Wang Yanhan of Fuzhou, additionally inspected Taiwei and Tongping Zhangshi.
After receiving the reward from Li Siyuan, Wang Yanhan claimed to be the king of the Great Fujian Kingdom, built a palace, appointed civil and military officials, used the emperor's etiquette, granted amnesty to the world, and honored his father Wang Shenzhi as "King Zhaowu". All civil and military officials called him "Your Highness", and did not change the Yuan Dynasty. They continued to use the reign name of the Later Tang Dynasty, and on the surface they still regarded him as Zhengshuo of the Later Tang Dynasty.
Without changing the Yuan Dynasty after the founding of the country, Wang Yanhan had already taken an important step on the road to separatism and becoming emperor.
