[The fisherman gets a profit]
The external environment during Li Congke's period was relatively simple. It can be summed up in four words - the sound of the waves remains the same. Those who are dissatisfied will still be dissatisfied, and those who are enemies will still be enemies. The basic political structure almost continued the style of the late Mingzong period, but went downhill slightly.
Although the rise of Xiazhou, the overtaking of Khitan and the separation of Sichuan and Sichuan basically occurred during Li Congke's period, Li Congke should not be criticized in any way.
Water has a source and trees have roots. Mingzong buried the cause, and Li Congke ate the fruit. Of course, if you have to be hypocritical, Mingzong Li Siyuan was relatively unjust, and Zhuangzong Li Cunxu must continue to be held accountable. In short, Li Congke was the unlucky guy who finally took over.
3. Onion skin
3.1Xiazhou
Li Yichao, the leader of the Dangxiang tribe and the governor of the Xiazhou Dingnan Army, showed his strength to the court through the "Battle of Xiazhou" (933), won respect, and laid the foundation for the Xixia regime.
However, he was jealous of talents. After Li Congke ascended the throne, in February of the second year of Qingtai in the Later Tang Dynasty (935), Li Yichao, who was only 22 years old, died of illness in Xiazhou due to ineffective treatment. Before his death, he reported to the court that his younger brother Li Yiyin was the governor of Xiazhou, and Li Congke accurately reported it.
Some historical materials say that Li Yiyin is Li Yichao's brother, such as "Zizhi Tongjian"; some historical materials say that Li Yiyin is Li Yichao's younger brother, such as "Old History of the Five Dynasties", "New History of the Five Dynasties", and "History of the Song Dynasty". The old rules don't matter. Anyway, the two are brothers and the biological sons of Li Renfu. More importantly, Li Yiyin continued Li Yichao's political wisdom and ruled Xiazhou for more than thirty years until the early Northern Song Dynasty.
Li Yichao laid the foundation for the external environment of the Xixia regime through force, allowing the Dangxiang people to take charge, while Li Yiyin kept a low profile and made the Dangxiang people prosperous.
3.2 Khitan
The Khitan's influence on the Central Plains is the focus of this volume. The main story is placed later and is only briefly mentioned here. The detailed arrangement here cannot accurately reflect its historical influence in this period.
A few years ago, the Khitan focused its work on the outside of the Great Wall, first conquering the nomadic peoples outside the Great Wall in the west and north, and then the Bohai Kingdom in the east. Following the death of Taizu Yelu Abaoji, the domestic political situation experienced great turmoil. Queen Mother Shulu By abolishing the elders and establishing the young, the national strength has weakened to a certain extent;
At the same time, the Central Plains dynasty quickly completed the transfer of power, united under a new generation of leadership system with Comrade Li Siyuan as the core, ushered in the "Mingzong Prosperity", and its overall national strength improved compared with the Zhuangzong period.
Therefore, during the Ming Dynasty, Mingzong's attitude towards the Khitan was relatively tough and the overall attitude was aggressive. Promote the prestige of our country.
However, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, first Li Congrong attempted a coup, and then Li Congke usurped power. Compared with the Ming Dynasty, the overall strength of the Central Plains Dynasty declined significantly;
However, under the bloody purge of Queen Mother Shulu, the Khitan quickly and completely completed the transition of power, and its overall national strength was greatly improved.
The Khitan has turned from defense to offense in its diplomatic strategy towards the Central Plains, becoming more and more powerful.
Since Li Congke ascended the throne, the Khitan has continuously sent troops to harass the northern border of the empire. This is one of the reasons why Li Congke did not dare to offend Zhao Dejun of Youzhou rashly and let Shi Jingtang return to Hedong, so that he could use them to resist the Khitan invasion.
Li Congke's final death was due to his direct connection with the Khitan. More details later.
3.3 Two Sichuan
Meng Zhixiang annexed Dongchuan and formed a de facto separatist regime over Shu. In order to please Meng Zhixiang, Emperor Mingzong Li Siyuan sent someone to send him a first-class court uniform and named Meng Zhixiang the "King of Shu".
In August 933, the canonization envoy arrived in Chengdu. What they didn't know was that Meng Zhixiang had already prepared a full set of emperor's clothes.
In September, Meng Zhixiang established three temples.
In November, Li Siyuan passed away; in December, the news reached Chengdu. Meng Zhixiang predicted that Li Conghou would not last long and that the Central Plains would be in chaos, so he became more determined to proclaim himself emperor.
At that time, the leaders of the southern barbarians led their troops to surrender, and Meng Zhixiang gave them officials, names, and restraints.
Reports of auspicious omens were reported from various places, including yellow dragons in the sky, white magpies gathering in jade, white turtles swimming in Xuanhua Garden... In short, various auspicious signs appeared in various places in the country.
The great counselor Zhao Jiliang then took the lead to persuade Jin, "You should become emperor quickly. This is God's will."
Of course, Meng Zhixiang had to be modest and declined: "Having little virtue is not enough to disgrace the destiny. Being old as the king of Shu is enough to be alone."
Zhao Jiliang continued to persuade: "You are noble and upright, but we are greedy and dirty; you don't want to be the emperor, we still want to be the founding heroes of the country, and follow the dragon and the phoenix. Just be considerate of us, and take care of the voices of the masses. For us and for the people of the world. Common people, just feel aggrieved and become emperor."
In the leap month of 934, Meng Zhixiang officially proclaimed himself emperor in Chengdu and changed the country's name to "Shu" (historically known as "Later Shu" and ranked among the "Ten Kingdoms").
On the day Meng Zhixiang proclaimed himself emperor, a strong wind suddenly blew in Chengdu. At the same time, the sky was covered with dark clouds. The day was like night, and it was impossible to see even one's fingers. "Strong wind and dark day" are so auspicious.
Zhao Jiliang, Li Renhan, Zhao Tingyin, Zhang Ye, Li Hao and other direct descendants have all received their due awards, and there is no need to list them in detail.
After proclaiming himself emperor, Meng Zhixiang sent a letter of credence to Luoyang, announcing the independence of Shu. The title was "A letter from the Emperor of Shu to the Emperor of Tang". The book gave a reasonable explanation for his act of arrogantly proclaiming himself emperor and dividing the country. ——Seeing the public sentiment. There is no way, they have to force me to become emperor...
As soon as Li Congke ascended the throne, he received news of the independence of the two Sichuan provinces. Li Congke chose to ignore Meng Zhixiang's letter.
Because Meng Zhixiang was self-reliant, the Later Tang Dynasty called it "Pseudo Shu".
Previously, when Li Conghou came to the throne, in accordance with the usual practice, he offered Meng Zhixiang an official position and a title, as well as the title of Grand Master, but Meng Zhixiang refused. This is the reason, people have established their own business.
Taking advantage of the opportunity of Li Congrong, Li Conghou, and Li Congke's "three pearls combined into one pearl", Meng Zhixiang founded the country and proclaimed himself emperor, and reaped the benefits of Li Congke's rebellion.
When Zhang Qianzhao, the military envoy of Shannan West Road, was ordered to attack Fengxiang, he ordered Sun Hanshao, the military envoy of Yangzhou Wuding Army, to garrison Xingyuan Mansion. Unexpectedly, under Fengxiang City, Yang Siquan defected, and Zhang Qianzhao fled back to Xingyuan Mansion, and then surrendered with Sun Hanshao to the land offered by Meng Zhixiang of Shu.
Meng Zhixiang sat at home behind closed doors, feeling happy from heaven. The two military towns of Shannan West Road in Xingyuan Prefecture and Wuding Army in Yangzhou voluntarily surrendered. So Li Zhao, the military governor of Zhaowu Army in Lizhou, was ordered to lead 5,000 people back to Lizhou (previously in Chengdu), and Zhang Ye was ordered to lead 10,000 people to respond.
Although the land area of the two major military towns is not large, their geographical location is particularly important. They are located to the south of the Qinling Mountains and are important hubs for the Central Plains to enter and exit Shu. Whenever the previous article mentioned the collision between the Central Plains forces and the Shu forces, or the friction of the sparks of love, such as Xizong's favor with Shu and the "Destroy Yang Movement", place names such as Shannan West Road and Xingyuan Mansion were always mentioned.
The control of the Shannan region determines the initiative to enter and exit Shu and the Central Plains.
