Li Congke was hesitant about going north to the imperial army to conduct a personal expedition, so Zhang Yanlang and Liu Yanlang urged him to do so. Facts have proved that the two of them were right. If Li Congke personally marched to the front line, he would put tremendous pressure on Taiyuan. The Khitan had long been prepared to retreat. By then, the "Saigon Iron Fist" was likely to be staged, and history would be very likely. was rewritten.
As Li Congke's brother-in-law, Liu Yanhao was so arrogant and favored that he did many unjust things and had a very bad reputation.
Therefore, Shi Jingtang used these three people to exonerate other "Li Congke gangsters".
Subsequently, Shi Jingtang announced a general amnesty. The intensity of the pardon was beyond imagination. Four people, Ma Yinsun, Fang Hao, Li Zhuomei, and Han Zhaoyin, were named for pardon.
These four people are Li Congke's "six-person group" (plus Li Congke and Song Shenqian). They are Li Congke's "direct descendants of Fengxiang" and the purest "Li Congke party members." Song Shenqian accompanied Li Congke to self-immolation and died, and the remaining four people were all acquitted.
These four people can be exempted from liquidation, and no one in the world will be purged due to the change of dynasties.
Other officials who had clung to Li Congke not only did not suffer counterattacks, but were also able to bask in divine grace and receive promotions and titles:
For example, former Prime Minister Lu Wenji was appointed as Minister of Civil Affairs;
Feng Dao, Lu Qi, Li Song, etc. were all highly employed, among which Li Song was used as prime minister and privy envoy. Lu Qi and Li Song, who offered Li Congke a plan to form a good alliance with the Khitan, could almost put Shi Jingtang to death.
The reason why Li Song was given special importance was because Shi Jingtang was really grateful to Li Song. What Shi Jingtang never forgets is that when he was trying to escape from the central government to avoid Li Congrong's disaster, it was Li Song who recommended Shi Jingtang to Mingzong Li Siyuan to guard Hedong and resist the Khitan. The kindness of a drop of water is repaid by a spring of spring, and the prime minister is also the privy envoy. For a scholar, it has reached the point where nothing can be added.
Even Li Song himself felt embarrassed and couldn't let go, so he went to Shu Shi Jingtang and expressed his willingness to give up the "Privy Envoy" to Comrade Zhao Ying, because Zhao Ying was a direct descendant of Shi Jingtang. Shi Jingtang refused to accept the imperial edict.
Yin Hui and Yang Siquan, the "first righteous heroes" under Fengxiang City, were the first to defect to support Li Congke, and Shi Jingtang also arranged positions for them in the Forbidden Army.
Long Min helped Li Congke come up with the plan to send Yelubei back to China and set fire to the Khitan backyard. Shi Jingtang also promoted him to a high position.
Kang Sili, loyal to the Later Tang Dynasty and Li Congke, was ordered to go north to support the front line of Jin'an Village in Taiyuan. On the way, he heard that Yang Guangyuan had killed Zhang Jingda and surrendered. He was overly sad and angry and died suddenly in the army. Shi Jingtang gave him a posthumous gift as the crown prince's young master, and he had to leave the court for one day.
An Congjin, Fan Yanguang, Yang Guangyuan and others also received promotions. Their stories will be detailed later, because they have many things in common, such as being "Li Congke's party members", and another thing they have in common is that they all embarked on the path of rebellion.
In the edict, Shi Jingtang clearly stated: "The emperor's foundation was first created to show kindness." We must be kind to the old people of the previous dynasty, and even more kind to the heroes of this dynasty, so that everyone can feel the new atmosphere of the new year.
Under the highest instructions of "Shi Pu'en", civil and military officials such as Yang Guangyuan, Fan Yanguang, Fu Yanrao, Chang Congjian, Gao Xingzhou, and An Shenqi surrendered on the battlefield, and Ru Ru, who resisted tenaciously until Li Congke self-immolated, surrendered. The governors of Daizhou, Zhang Lang, Pan Huan, Liu Suining, etc., were all promoted to high positions and no longer mentioned in the past;
Those who had been guarding the frontiers for the empire for a long time, such as Kang Fu, An Yanwei, Li Jizuo, etc., were also promoted to official positions.
The descendants of highly respected civil and military officials of the previous dynasty and the princes of the vassal towns were also promoted and treated favorably, and the deceased were also given posthumous gifts, such as Yang Ningshi (son of Yang She, Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty), Luo Zhoujing (nephew of Luo Shaowei, the former Weibo Jiedu Envoy), etc. .
The deceased outstanding ministers of the previous dynasty were given posthumous gifts, such as Yan Bao, Li Cunzhang, Li Sikai, Li Sizhao, Li Siben, An Shentong, Shi Jiantang, Wang Jianji, Zhou Dewei, etc.
Wang Yanzhang, the "Wang Tiejian" of the former dynasty (Later Liang Dynasty), was also specially demoted and praised by name. Although Wang Yanzhang was loyal to the Later Liang Dynasty and resisted the Later Tang Dynasty, Shi Jingtang respected him as a tough guy and praised him for "enduring his righteousness for thousands of years and his orders for hundreds of generations." "The name" was given posthumously to the Grand Master, and he was appointed by his descendants only after their evaluation.
In short, enjoy, reward, reward.
In addition, Shi Jingtang was buried in honor of the previous monarch:
Zhuangzong Li Cunxu's queen Liu Shi (who was plotting against her father) was posthumously named "Queen Shen Minjing";
Li Conghou was posthumously named "Emperor Min" and was buried on a different date; Li Conghou's queen Kong was posthumously named "Empress Min Ai" and was buried;
Empress Dowager Cao was posthumously named "Queen Hewuxian", mourned, and stayed away from court for three days;
Although Li Congke was deposed as a commoner, he was buried with royal rites, and his wife, son, etc. were also buried with him and stayed away from the court for the whole day.
In short, those who are alive are promoted to positions and titles, and are rich and powerful; those who have just died are buried with honors and remembrance. There is also a type of people who are absolutely dead, such as Zhu Youzhen.
Shi Jingtang issued an edict to allow family members or relatives and friends to claim and bury the heads of criminals who were originally stored in Taishe in the Later Tang Dynasty. One of the most famous heads was that of Zhu Youzhen, the last emperor of the Later Liang Dynasty, who was buried by the Forbidden Army general Lou Jiying.
Treating officials kindly, especially the amnesty and preferential treatment given to officials of the previous dynasty, was not only the kindness of Shi Jingtang, but also out of political needs. The root of Shi Jingtang's illness was that he was labeled as a "traitor" and "traitor". He needed to weaken the conflict with the previous dynasty, thereby diluting the Khitan's interference in the Central Plains, and subtly reducing the reputation of "traitor".
2. Treat people well
Shi Jingtang had to give Khitan a large amount of gold, silver and jewelry to the outside world. In addition to the fixed amount of 300,000 annual coins, he also had to spend a lot of money on festivals and festivals. He also had to bribe Khitan monarchs and ministers with large sums of money in daily dealings. This was an economy that had never been seen before in the previous dynasty. burden.
Internally, it is the "show of favor" mentioned above. The reward for officials is not just as simple as a letter of appointment. Along with promotion and title, there must also be a large reward. Especially the rewards for the army, including the field army, the Central Forbidden Army, and the Khitan reinforcements brought by Di Libi, must not be missing. This is undoubtedly another huge expense.
Therefore, after Shi Jingtang entered Luoyang, he immediately sent Di Libi back to the north as a gift.
"Dili, is it hot?"
"Yes, it's too hot in Luoyang, Tokyo. It's much hotter than our little ones."
Lack of money was a major problem throughout the Later Tang Dynasty. From Li Cunxu to Li Congke, there were problems such as withholding and delaying military pay, and they were eventually overthrown by the unsatisfied army.
Shi Jingtang now has to spend a lot of money to honor the Khitan. The situation is even more difficult than that of Li Cunxu and Li Congke. However, what is puzzling is that Shi Jingtang not only did not plunder the people like Li Cunxu and Li Congke, but instead continued to collect taxes and provide relief to the victims. , bringing real benefits to the people.
