[Zhang Xichong returns to China]
Everything is of inferior quality, but reading is of high quality. In the Chinese cultural tradition, scholars are always at the top of the contempt chain, especially looking down on martial artists who wield swords and sticks.
But Liu Shouguang wants him to be a martial artist, Li Cunxu wants him to be a martial artist, Yelu Abaoji wants him to be a martial artist... I am riding a horse as a scholar! Which one of you can tell that I'm good at killing people?
Zhang Xichong was puzzled.
When he took office in Pingzhou, Zhang Xichong tried his best to dress himself up like a scholar and lived an extremely simple life. Although he was a commander-in-chief, he did not pursue a luxurious and decadent life, did not keep concubines, did not drink banquets, did not watch singing and dancing, and did not work during working hours. He served the people diligently and wholeheartedly. After get off work, he held a book in his hand and read without sleep or food.
Zhang Xichong also seems to have obsessive-compulsive disorder. He is almost paranoid about his appearance. Even in the scorching heat of summer, he must wear formal clothes and sit upright.
Zhang Xichong is simply the most standard nerd and a model of behavior for scholars. Even the servants and government officials were affected by it. They spoke and acted in a polite manner and did not even dare to tell dirty jokes or make jokes. Everyone is trying to act like a serious person.
There is good governance in Pingzhou, and the people praise it, saying that Comrade Qi Chong is a good leader.
Gradually, the Khitan people relaxed their vigilance and believed that Zhang Xichong was indeed a loyal, foolish, and filial bookworm and an honest man.
Those who can do earth-shattering things are all honest people.
One day, Zhang Xichong climbed up a tall building alone. The night was long and he had no intention of sleeping. Looking at the bright moon in the sky, he missed his hometown, looked at the current situation, looked forward to the distant future, and thought of unattainable dreams...
"Hey! In the past, Ban Chao guarded the western border and could not return without permission. That was because of the imperial edict. But what about me? Isn't it my own right to choose whether to be a Khitan or not, and whether to be a traitor or not? Well, that's it! "
Zhang Xichong secretly summoned several Han generals whom he regarded as his confidants, vomiting lotus flowers, and said: "We eat cheese and wear furs in the North. We cannot see our relatives and friends in our hometown while we are alive. After we die, we will turn into a lonely soul here." Ghost... Whenever I look south at the mountains and rivers of my homeland, I feel like spending time here feels like years. Don’t you guys feel this way?"
After a few words, everyone burst into tears. Who doesn’t miss his wife and children, who doesn’t feel attached to his homeland, who is willing to be a lackey of the Hulu barbarians?
Needless to say, everyone understands. But everyone still has a concern, how to deal with the three hundred Khitan cavalry at present?
Zhang Xichong said that this was easy to do. To capture the thieves, capture the king first. I would prepare a Hongmen banquet and kill their leader first. They would definitely disperse in a rush, so there was no need to worry about it. Moreover, this place is very close to the Han Dynasty in the Central Plains, but it is thousands of miles away from the Khitan's home base. It will take more than ten days at the fastest for them to bring the news back and send troops to pursue them. By then, we will have already entered the customs!
Everyone was overjoyed, "Students still have many bad ideas!"
On the same day, Zhang Xichong led his people to dig a large pit in the open space next to the mansion, set up organs, prepared quicklime, and then invited the Khitan generals to the banquet.
The Khitan people had already relaxed their vigilance towards the "honest man" Zhang Xichong, so several generals happily attended the banquet. Zhang Xichong greeted them with a smile, took out good wine and prepared good dishes, so as to greet them and get several leaders drunk.
Later, Zhang Xichong sent people to throw these drunkards into a big pit, bury them in quicklime, and half cremate them and half bury them alive. After that, he led Han soldiers to attack the Khitan army.
The Khitan cavalry had no one under their command and formed a chaotic mass. As expected, they dispersed and fled to the north.
Zhang Xichong did not pursue him, and quickly led his men and horses, supporting the old and the young, and fled south. In the end, Zhang Xichong brought back more than 20,000 people for the Later Tang Dynasty.
Li Siyuan appointed Zhang Xichong as the governor of Ruzhou.
Regarding the defection of Lu Wenjin and Zhang Xichong from the Liao Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, there are also disputes in authoritative history books. For example, the order recorded in the "History of Liao Dynasty" is that Zhang Xichong defected first, and then Lu Wenjin defected; and Zhang Xichong was written as "Zhang Chong". However, historical materials such as "Old History of the Five Dynasties" and "Zizhi Tongjian" unanimously record that Lu Wenjin defected first, and Zhang Xichong filled Lu Wenjin's vacancy and also defected two years later.
Comprehensive analysis shows that the records in "History of Liao" should not be accurate. There are many inaccuracies in "History of Liao". Usually, if it conflicts with the records of other authoritative history books, then the records of "History of Liao" will not be adopted in this book.
Lu Wenjin, Zhang Xichong, and Yelvbei successively rebelled against the Liao Dynasty and returned to the Tang Dynasty. However, the Khitan begged the Later Tang Dynasty in a low profile and requested the return of the senior Khitan generals who had been captured before.
In the few years since Li Siyuan came to the throne, the comprehensive strength of the Central Plains and Khitan has undergone subtle changes.
First, the Khitan, although they annexed the Bohai Kingdom and unified the northern part of the Great Wall, they fell into a struggle over political lines due to the sudden death of Yelu Abaoji. This was an earthquake that originated from the core of the empire;
Secondly, in the Central Plains, in order to deal with the harassment of Youzhou by Khitan cavalry, Zhao Dejun, the governor of Youzhou Lulong Army, carefully analyzed and summarized and found that Khitan cavalry often set up ambushes in Yangou (today's Liangxiang Town, Fangshan District, Beijing) to rob grain transport teams. Zhao Dejun built a city in Yangou, stationed troops, and reorganized and built Gulu County, which is fifty miles east of the city, and Sanhe County, which is more than a hundred miles northeast of the city. Relying on the three new cities, Zhao Dejun perfected the military in the Youzhou area. The defense system makes the days when the Khitan cavalry come and go like the wind and move freely are gone forever.
In addition, Zhao Dejun also dug a canal in the southeast of the city, from Wangmakou (in today's Anci County, Hebei Province) to Yukou (in today's Xin'an Town, Hebei Province), one hundred and sixty-five miles long, sixty-five steps wide, and one deep. It is two feet tall and can be used by thousands of stone-level water transport ships. From then on, Youzhou Food Road no longer relied solely on narrow and dangerous land transportation lines.
Zhao Dejun guarded Youzhou, which improved the defense strength of the Later Tang Dynasty and effectively weakened the Khitan threat to the Hebei region.
Finally, the Central Plains Dynasty also faced serious internal divisions, with the "five countries standing side by side" in the south, but this was a legacy of history and did not cause substantial harm to the Later Tang Group.
One is ebbing and the other is ebbing, and the strength comparison between the two sides is equal. Strength determines attitude, and the Khitan was finally willing to sit down and calmly exchange views with Later Tang on certain key issues.
Regarding the Khitan's request for the return of senior generals, Li Siyuan sought the opinions of the generals.
Zhao Dejun and others unanimously opposed the return of prisoners of war, saying that these people had already learned a lot of information about the Later Tang Dynasty and knew the truth and the truth. Once they were released, the harm would only increase, and they must not let the tiger go back to the mountain!
As a political leader, Li Siyuan weighed the pros and cons. The so-called weighing the pros and cons is to evaluate the strength of the enemy and ourselves, because strength determines attitude.
After comprehensive analysis, Li Siyuan believes that although the Later Tang Dynasty tied the Khitan in the short term, and even showed signs of overtaking it, the Khitan Queen Mother Shulu had won the political struggle, and under her iron-fist policy, the internal turmoil had basically ended. Things will gradually pick up in the future, and the two sides will be in a state of tug-of-war and confrontation for a long time.
Therefore, Li Siyuan felt that he could neither fully agree to his request nor reject it entirely, so he had to show some mercy to the Khitan, so he took a compromise and released only one senior general.
