Shi Jingtang would never allow Anzhou to defect to Huainan, let alone sit back and watch its independence. However, Li Jinquan and Hu Hanjun's master and servant were collaborating and misbehaving here, and sooner or later there would be trouble. Therefore, when the war in Weizhou reached a stalemate, Shi Jingtang had to take advantage of Li Jinquan's first arrival in Anzhou and when his foothold was not stable, to properly handle the Anzhou issue.
Shi Jingtang issued an edict to promote Hu Hanyun to the central government and reward him with an official position as a reward for his contribution in quelling Wang Hui's rebellion in Anzhou. And sent Jia Rennum, an official known for his integrity, to replace him.
Strike while the iron is hot, rise brightly and fall darkly. Facing Shi Jingtang's old tricks, Li Jinquan was helpless. What the emperor said was well-founded and reasonable.
Hu Hanyun gave Li Jinquan an idea and had to reject it reasonably. Therefore, under his guidance, Li Jinquan went to the court and said that Hu Hanyun was unfortunately seriously ill and could not leave for the time being. Please allow some time. When his condition improved, he would definitely be allowed to go to the capital to receive orders and express gratitude.
Li Jinquan's old friend Pang Lingtu advised him not to be stubborn, and said that Jia Renmao was a loyal man, and using him to replace Hu Hanjun would only benefit Li Jinquan, not harm.
Jia Rennum was Wang Yanqiu's staff earlier. When Wang Yanqiu was ordered to conquer the royal capital of Dingzhou, the royal capital selected a sniper who was good at shooting and killed Wang Yanqiu on the city wall. He shot an arrow and almost hit Wang Yanqiu's helmet. To kill Wang Yanqiu, Jia Rennumu, who was behind Wang Yanqiu, bent his bow and nocked an arrow, and shot the sniper on the city accurately with one shot.
Wang Yanqiu recovered from his panic, turned around hurriedly, and asked who was responsible for killing the sniper in the city. He wanted to reward him heavily. However, Jia Rennumu quietly put away his bow and arrows and "retreated without saying a word", hiding his merit and fame.
After conquering Dingzhou, Wang Yanqiu sent Jia Renmao to offer sacrifices to the capital. Li Siyuan rewarded him generously, but Jia Renmao distributed all his rewards to the poor among his relatives and friends. As a result, Jia Rennum's loyalty, bravery and integrity were widely spread and praised by the world.
After Hu Hanjun learned of Pang Lingtu's suggestion, he immediately sent assassins to climb over the wall at night and kill Pang Lingtu's family. He also killed Jia Rennum. Later, he colluded with Li Jinquan's aide Zhang Wei and jointly bewitched Li Jinquan.
And Li Jinquan really obeyed Hu Hanyun's words and became more and more favored. Hu Hanjun took the Jia Rennum incident as an example, saying that the imperial court intended to divide and disintegrate the lord's power. He would first cut off your wings and remove your cronies, and then conscript troops and food... Your lord has been a soldier all his life. Don't you understand this principle? ? Boil the frog in warm water!
Under Hu Hanjun's constant instigation, Li Jinquan gradually developed his ambition.
Press Anzhou Li Jinquan, and then turn his attention to Weizhou in the north.
During the siege that lasted for more than a year, Yang Guangyuan only came up with one solution: shoot 200 arrows tied with leaflets into the city, to the effect that all soldiers and civilians except Fan Yanguang were pardoned and encouraged to capture and kill Fan Yanguang. Two hundred arrows fell into the sea, and no one in the city responded.
In addition, siege warfare and siege warfare became demonstration warfare and sit-in warfare.
Yang Guang was unable to attack for a long time. On the one hand, his military ability was indeed worrying, and on the other hand, he was self-respecting the invaders. As the commander-in-chief of counter-rebellion in Weizhou, the war in Weizhou continued, and the imperial court continued to reward him. He now holds heavy troops and is stationed in the enemy's lair, much like Li Siyuan back then.
Just like Li Cunxu back then, Shi Jingtang tried his best to maintain a weak empire that was riddled with holes. The later Jin regime could not withstand any storm, and even the young general Wang Hui could tolerate it, let alone Yang Guangyuan. Food, military pay, and various rewards were continuously sent to the Weizhou front line.
In July of the second year of Tianfu (937), Yang Guangyuan surrounded Weizhou; in November, Yang Guangyuan was given the title of Official Official, with a total of 40 ranks from Sikong to Changshi. Any soldiers who had made meritorious service on the front line could be rewarded by Yang Guangyuan on his own and reported to the court afterwards. Just one click.
A blank official letter is a blank official appointment letter. Yang Guangyuan can fill in his name at will, which will produce legal benefits immediately. This is a great privilege, and half a step further is "acting cheaply" or "mozhi" (giving orders at will in the name of the emperor).
In April of the third year of Tianfu (938), Shi Jingtang gave Yang Guangyuan the title of concurrent secretary; in May, he made Yang Guangyuan's son Yang Chengzuo his consort and married his daughter, Princess Chang'an; in June, he gave Yang Guangyuan and seven of his subordinates a new township. The name means changing the name of his hometown, such as "Yijin Township" and "Peiwangli". In short, it is the emperor's flattery to the ministers.
Numerous examples at home and abroad tell us a truth: blindly compromising will only make the other party worse.
Yang Guangyuan was aggressive. Although he was living under the city of Weizhou, he frequently went to the court and interfered in central affairs. Shi Jingtang was also very considerate. As long as Yang Guangyuan gave instructions, Shi Jingtang would definitely comply and change the central government's instructions for him. As a result, Yang Guangyuan became even more arrogant and domineering.
In August, Yang Guangyuan reported that one of the core members of the rebels, Feng Hui, the governor of Chanzhou, led his army out of the city to fight, revolted in front of the battle, and surrendered to the imperial court.
According to Feng Hui, the food in Weizhou city has been exhausted and it will soon be unsustainable.
Shi Jingtang immediately appointed Feng Hui as the chief security officer and promoted him to Huazhou Yicheng Army Jiedu Envoy.
As mentioned before, there were severe natural disasters during the Tianfu period. In August alone, when Feng Hui surrendered, Hebei suffered a severe drought. Dingzhou reported: "There is a drought in the territory and many people are dispersed."
Shi Jingtang then issued an edict exempting the people within the jurisdiction of the Yiwu Army in Dingzhou from taxes in summer and autumn.
The edict had just been issued, and reports from Xiangzhou came one after another. It was the flood in the Han River. China has a vast territory, with severe droughts in Hebei and floods in Hubei.
In the same month, drought also broke out in Hezhongfu, Tongzhou, Jiangzhou and other places.
Shi Jingtang issued an edict to provide tax exemptions to the people in the disaster area.
In just one month, floods and droughts were reported in the actual control area of the Later Jin Dynasty, and the affected area covered almost half of the Later Jin Dynasty. These are only major disasters that are recorded in the emperor's annals. Minor disasters or production accidents are not recorded.
Therefore, Yang Guangyuan led an army to surround Weizhou for more than a year, which was an unbearable pressure on the central court of the later Jin Dynasty. Weizhou City's food supply was cut off, and Shi Jingtang's life in the Bianzhou Palace was equally difficult.
Zong Zhengcheng wrote an exhortation on stone and silk, urging Fan Yanguang to be surrendered in order to save financial resources and manpower. He also expressed his willingness to enter Weizhou City alone and personally lobby Fan Yanguang to surrender.
A year ago, Fan Yanguangjiu offered to surrender, but Shi Jingtang refused. The reason is actually very simple. Fan Yanguang is not a small fish like Wang Hui. After accepting his surrender, how to resettle him is a big problem. Generally speaking, he can only be promoted but not demoted. Of course, the real power must be deprived or significantly reduced. Yes, but titles and honorary official positions must be promoted.
