2. Bianzhou Xuanwu Army
Two months after Li Siyuan proclaimed himself emperor, he mobilized three thousand crane-controlling troops from Bianzhou (formerly the elite Imperial Guards of Houliang) to go north to garrison Waqiao. After Zhu Wen usurped the Tang Dynasty and established the Liang Dynasty, he ordered the establishment of a bodyguard army called the "Crane Control Army". Throughout the history of the Five Dynasties, this was a very mysterious army. Its main task was to protect the safety of the emperor and work with the Forbidden Army and the guards of the Sixth Army. Their responsibilities overlap, but unlike them, the Crane Control Army almost never leaves the palace, let alone participate in any frontal battlefields.
Perhaps because of his distrust of them, Li Siyuan took the unprecedented step of transferring three thousand crane-controlling troops to Waqiao, turning the emperor's bodyguards in the palace into border guards.
The commander of this unit was named Zhang Jian (the same name as Huainan Zhang Jian). As soon as he left the city, he led a mutiny and led 3,000 crane-controlling troops back to attack Bianzhou. They beat, smashed, looted and burned in the city, killing the temporary governor and the prime minister. officials, and then forced Li Yanrao (son of Li Cunshen) to be their leader, just like Huangfu Hui forced Zhao Zaili, forcing Li Yanrao to do something "big business".
Li Yanrao agreed and said that since you asked me to be the commander, you should obey my orders. I now order you to stop your misbehavior immediately and maintain order in the city.
So the rebels stopped burning, killing and looting.
In the evening, Li Yanrao summoned his trusted generals and said that it was only Zhang Jian and a few other people who launched the mutiny, and that the king should be captured first to capture the thieves. Then he ambushed several warriors in the office, summoned Zhang Jian and others to come over to discuss matters, and successfully captured Zhang Jian and other four core members.
Another of Zhang Jian's accomplices escaped and led his men to gather a crowd to make noise. At the critical moment, Li Yanrao decisively dispatched his army and killed all 400 rebels.
The next day, Li Yanrao reported the incident step by step, and finally reported it to Li Siyuan.
Li Siyuan ordered Kong Xun, the privy envoy, to act as the governor of Bianzhou and take charge of Bianzhou affairs. As early as when Li Siyuan led troops from Weizhou to the south, Kong Xun was stationed in Bianzhou. The north gate welcomed the Mingzong and the west gate welcomed the Zhuangzong. He had a certain reputation and connections in Bianzhou, and he understood the reality of Bianzhou, so he made this appointment.
There are records that Li Yanchao also participated in the counter-rebellion. In fact, Li Yanchao only followed Kong Xun to Bianzhou to hunt down the remaining members of the He-Kong Army, and killed all the He-Kong Army members and their families.
Li Yanchao helped Li Siyuan stabilize Taiyuan, and Li Yanrao helped Li Siyuan stabilize Bianzhou. Therefore, later historians praised Li Cunshen's sons. It was their loyalty and ability that allowed Li Siyuan to secure the throne.
3. Huazhou Yicheng Army
On the second day after Kong Xun was ordered to purge the families of the rebels who controlled He, a mutiny also occurred in Huazhou. Huazhou general Yu Kehong and others rioted. The task force launched an attack (Li Siyuan had previously transferred Zhao to Huazhou in Lili, but Zhao Zaili refused, but some Weizhou soldiers were still ordered to station in Huazhou).
The riot was quickly put down. A few days later, hundreds of people from the Huazhou Left and Right Chongya Army, the main force that launched the mutiny, were killed together with their families; the core leader Yu Kehong and others were captured alive, and The whole family was copied and beheaded.
From the way Li Siyuan dealt with the Bianzhou and Huazhou mutinies, it can be seen that Li Siyuan was not really weak. He often "barbarized" the entire army and thousands of people died. Although Li Siyuan's temple name is "Mingzong" and he was one of the best Mingjun saints in the Five Dynasties period. He is famous for his generosity and kindness, but do not preconceptions that he is a good old man who tolerates compromises. He would only seek negotiation and compromise when he was in a weak position politically, militarily, and economically. But once he was in a strong position, Bianzhou Zhang Jian and Huazhou Yu Kehong would tell us another face of Li Siyuan. .
4. Qingzhou Pinglu Army
When Weizhou was in chaos, Fu Xi, the governor of Pinglu Army in Qingzhou, was ordered to go to support him. Later, because Li Siyuan was kidnapped into the city and the situation on the front line was unclear, he planned to take over Qingzhou. However, Yang Hope, the eunuch who oversaw the army, refused to accept him and forced Fu Xi to return to the front line in Weizhou. They had no choice but to turn around and return to Weizhou. At the same time, the general Wang Gongyan launched a mutiny in the city and killed the eunuch Yang Hope.
Wang Gongyan took control of Qingzhou, and Li Siyuan also took control of Luoyang. Wang Gongyan was overjoyed, thinking that he had seized a historical opportunity, so he wanted Li Siyuan to appoint him as the military governor of Qingzhou Pinglu Army. For this reason, he spread rumors, claiming that Fu Xi was mean and ungrateful, and had no support for the military and public opinion. He also ordered his subordinates to jointly submit a petition, saying that Wang Gongyan was merciful and well-known, and had won the support of the soldiers and the people. He also expressed his willingness to support Wang Gongyan as a governor. make.
Li Siyuan knew very well what kind of person Fu Xi was. The prince was clearly taking advantage of the situation and wanted to make a fortune from the national crisis. Aren’t the lessons learned by Zhang Jian from Bianzhou and Yu Kehong from Huazhou enough to impress you, Prince Qingzhou?
Is it not impossible to blackmail Li Siyuan? For example, Gao Jichang of Jingnan and Qian Liu of Hangzhou, you, a little-known soldier and general, want to blackmail Li Siyuan? wishful thinking.
Li Siyuan issued an edict to commend Comrade Wang Gongyan for maintaining order in Qingzhou and appointed him as the governor of Dengzhou. After Wang Gongyan received the appointment, he refused to take up the post. He said in a letter that the army and the people were too enthusiastic and could not resist their hospitality.
Okay, then I'll help you get out.
Fu Xi can't control you, someone can control you. Li Siyuan appointed Huo Yanwei as the governor of Qingzhou Pinglu Army, mobilized heavy troops, and took over with arms. Can you leave? If you don't leave, I'll kill you!
How dare Prince Yan offend Huo Yanwei! He immediately packed up his bed and rushed to Dengzhou with his whole family.
Huo Yanwei: Do you want to leave now? I'll kill you anyway!
Huo Yanwei sent troops to chase eastward to "punish his original intention" and captured Wang Gongyan and his family alive, and then executed them all. His accomplices also enjoyed the top treatment of being executed. Among those included in the list of "Princes and Dukes' Companions" was a man named Han Guangsi.
This Comrade Han Guangsi was the Ziqing Observation Envoy at the time. To put it simply, he was the third in command of the Pinglu Army in Qingzhou, preceded by the Jiedu Envoy and the Deputy Jiedu Envoy. His father is Shi Yushi Han Yin, and his grandfather is Taichang Qing Han Jun. The three of them are not very famous. The reason why they are included in the history books is because they are the sons of Han Guangsi.
Huo Yanwei defeated Qingzhou, and Han Guangsi was listed as "the prince's ally", and he also had to enjoy the treatment of killing his whole family. His son, Han Xizai, took advantage of the chaos to escape. With the help of his friend Li Gu, he fled to Huainan.
Li Gu sent Han Xizai to Zhengyang, the border between Later Tang and Huainan. In front of him was the Huaihe River, and on the other side of the river was the territory of the Huainan Yang Group. The two of them were drinking heavily, confiding their hearts to each other, and said a lot of farewell words. One of the dialogues has become an eternal classic:
Han Xizai said to Li Gu: "If Huainan can use me as prime minister, I can command the army, march straight into it, and pacify the Central Plains!"
Li Gu then said to Han Xizai: "If the Central Plains can use me as prime minister, I will annex Huainan like a bag."
The two laughed "haha" and then broke up in tears.
This is the origin of the idiom "exploring the bag to get things".
In the future, Li Gu was indeed used as prime minister by Shizong of the Later Zhou Dynasty, and under Li Gu's plan, Huainan was annexed. After Han Xizai arrived in Huainan, it became more interesting. I won't go into details here because there are too many things to talk about. , there are too many thought-provoking things, here are just two sentences: He once urged Huainan to take advantage of the opportunity when the Khitan destroyed the Later Jin Dynasty to go north to the Central Plains, but was not adopted; it was only after his death that he was posthumously awarded the title of Prime Minister by the Huainan Group; he is the most well-known to people. The one is a picture of "Han Xizai's Night Banquet".
There is also a view that this dialogue appeared in later correspondence, not at the time of Zhengyang's separation. But the latter is more romantic. The two talented men were separated into two countries, each with his own agenda, but they were able to express their ambitions frankly and unfairly. The ultimate goal was to complete the great cause of reunification. Imagine the scene at that time. It was really wonderful. romantic.
