[Shu surname Meng]
There is a slight dispute in the historical data about the time when Li Cunhuan came to Chengdu, but no matter, the final conclusion is the same, that is, Li Siyuan used Li Cunhuan to ease the relationship between the central government and Xichuan. Meng Zhixiang responded positively, but in terms of rhetoric Quite arrogant, he took the opportunity of reporting the war to show off his muscles to the court.
Li Siyuan's court knew very well that Meng Zhixiang's separatist rule of Shu was a bastard who took advantage of the weight, and he was determined.
Just one month after Meng Zhixiang expressed his loyalty to Li Siyuan, on the Mid-Autumn Festival in the third year of Changxing (932), Meng Zhixiang ordered Li Hao to draft a memorial, using the names of generals such as Zhao Jiliang, Li Renhan, Zhao Tingyin, etc. to request the imperial court They canonized Meng Zhixiang as the King of Shu, and at the same time, they also requested the imperial court to formally appoint themselves as Jiedu Envoys.
Meng Zhixiang wanted to follow the mass line and step by step towards the ultimate goal of founding a country and becoming emperor.
Li Hao's words made him enlightened, "The generals themselves request the imperial court to issue seals and talismans, then they become members of the imperial court; and even your title and title are fought for by them, then even you are their 'appointment'" ’. In Shu, do you have the final say, or do they?"
Meng Zhixiang suddenly realized that he only wanted to stay behind the scenes, but he had ignored the most important issue-the rule of law!
Therefore, at Li Hao's reminder, Meng Zhixiang changed his name to the imperial court, requesting permission to exercise the power of "Mozhi", that is, he could issue "imperial edicts" on behalf of the imperial court, appoint officials in Liangchuan, and report at the same time. Zhao Jiliang was the military envoy of Wutai Army in Qianzhou, Li Renhan was the military envoy of Wuxin Army in Suizhou, Zhao Tingyin was the military envoy of Baoning Army in Langzhou, Zhang Ye was the military envoy of Ningjiang Army in Kuizhou, and Li Zhao was the military envoy of Zhaowu in Lizhou. Military governor.
Li Siyuan fully agreed.
In this way, Meng Zhixiang gained actual control of Shu. Then, Meng Zhixiang encountered a new problem:
Previously, the imperial court planned the two rivers under the plan of An Zhongjie. Whenever a governor or military envoy appointed by the imperial court took office (such as Wu Qianyu, Li Renju, and Xia Luqi), the imperial court would send a large force to escort them. The size of the army increased from The number of people, ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand, was then stationed in the name of Yajun. Today, there are still more than 30,000 Central Task Force troops stranded in the two Sichuan provinces. After the Sichuan War and the Sichuan Civil War, these more than 30,000 troops were recruited by Meng Zhixiang.
The problem is that the wives, children, and children of these more than 30,000 people are all in the Hou Tang Dynasty, and they are at risk of defecting at any time.
So Meng Zhixiang went to the court again and asked the court to send their wives, children and children to Xichuan so that the family could be reunited.
Li Siyuan wanted this effect, so of course he refused the request and did not recruit their class teacher. Thirty thousand time bombs, you Meng Zhixiang, help me raise them.
In February of the fourth year of Changxing (933), Li Siyuan appointed Meng Zhixiang as the Inspector of the School, Jian Zhongshu Ling, Xing Chengdu Prefect, and the governor of the Eastern and Western Sichuan Provinces to observe and deal with the nearby barbarians and to pacify the eight countries in the Western Mountains and Yunnan. Waiting for envoys, he was granted the title of King of Shu, 1,500 households were added to the city, and 200 households were actually granted the title of "loyal and loyal Kuang national security hero". Meng Zhixiang's absolute dominance over Shu was officially recognized.
Meng Zhixiang was not polite and made the "Nine-shaped Crown" by himself. According to the feudal etiquette system, "the emperor's crown has twelve crowns, and the princes have nine crowns." Dragon robes and other utensils were also made, and the carriages and horses were dressed in the same manner as the emperor.
Meng Zhixiang ordered the renovation of the tombs built by the former Shu kings and prohibited the cutting of trees near the tombs. Later, he hosted a banquet for the ministers in Xuanhua Garden. Meng Zhixiang couldn't help but sigh: If Wang Zongyan was not so dissolute and immoral, and the ministers gave their full support, how could that boy Li Jiqi conquer Chengdu?
Zhao Jiliang complimented: "Not for peace, but for Gaitianshi! If he doesn't go, how can you come?"
Meng Zhixiang laughed proudly.
God’s will, isn’t it God’s will!
According to records, Shu people play ball and those who hit the hole with one blow are called "Meng Ru" or "Meng Ru"; the palaces in the former Shu are all engraved with the name of the chief engineer, "Meng De", which is homophonic to "Meng De" ; Xu Yanqiong, the uncle of the former Shu Kingdom, built a magnificent and extremely luxurious villa in Chengdu. After Wang Zongyan looked at it, he wrote the word "Meng" on the wall, which means "hot chicken" and "SB". Xu Yanqiong carefully framed it After Li Jiji entered Chengdu, he lived in Wang Zongyan's palace. Meng Zhixiang, who came with the army, lived in Xu Yanqiong's villa. When he saw the carefully framed word "Meng", he joked to his entourage: "This How did the boy foresee that I would take over?"
Wait, wait, etc. In short, the Meng Zhixiang Group found thousands of reasons to prove that it was God's will for Meng Zhixiang to be the lord of Shu.
Meng Zhixiang accepted the canonization of the Later Tang Dynasty and governed Shu as the "King of Shu". He had the power to issue edicts under the "Mo system". Shu was only one step away from officially establishing an independent country.
Meng Zhixiang only needs to wait quietly for the canonization of the "King of Shu" by the Later Tang Dynasty, and establish a state in a reasonable and legal manner. This is the safest way.
If you can't wait, you can still be "self-reliant", but the disadvantages of self-reliance far outweigh the time advantage. Because self-reliance means that Meng Zhixiang's "name is not legitimate and his words are inconsistent" and he has lost the foundation of legal authority. Denying the Later Tang Dynasty is tantamount to denying himself, and his generals can raise high the banner of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism to oppose him.
Former Shu, Huainan, etc. are all "self-reliant" on the premise that their founding kings have been cultivating this land for many years and have a solid foundation of rule that can withstand ordinary storms. Meng Zhixiang had just arrived a few years ago, and besides Xichuan, Dongchuan and other territories had just been acquired recently, and their foundations were unstable. "Self-reliance" was not Meng Zhixiang's best choice.
Meng Zhixiang's wait is not endless. Today's Later Tang Dynasty is in a troubled period.
Having said this, we have to re-examine this short-lived resurgence during the "Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms" period - the "Ming Dynasty". During this period, the entrepreneurial generation who dominated the world passed away one after another, and generally entered the "second generation of governing the country". "stage, for example, the two most powerful enemies of the Central Plains Dynasty were Huainan internally and Khitan externally.
All major political forces are facing the issue of the transfer of supreme power and are busy with civil strife, and have been unable to form an effective force against the Central Plains dynasty. Especially in Huainan, Xu Wen first took over the Yang family, and then was replaced by the Li family (Xu Zhigao); the Khitan was first busy annexing the Bohai Kingdom, and after destroying the Bohai Kingdom, they were about to take advantage of the victory and go south, but Yelu Abaoji, the Taizu of the Liao Dynasty, suddenly died of illness. , and then the Queen Mother Shulu abolished the elders and established younger ones, which caused civil strife in Khitan.
In short, no one came to grab the army line or the wild area, and Li Siyuan was able to develop in an awkward way. And he tried his best twice in total, attacking Jingnan and Shu, but they were both defeated, exposing to the world that the central court of the Later Tang Dynasty was strong on the outside but weak on the inside.
Now, Huainan, Khitan and other forces have successfully completed the redistribution of resources, survived the civil strife, and began to seek external expansion. Li Siyuan's life is not easy.
Therefore, during the Sichuan War and the Sichuan Civil War, Li Siyuan showed compromises and weak concessions. As long as there is a greater threat, Li Siyuan will have to continue to pursue the policy of appeasement, and this is the opportunity that Meng Zhixiang is waiting for the "King of Shu".
His opportunity came quickly.
