[End of Xiangzhou]
Just two months after Shi Chonggui came to power, Xiangzhou gave him a great gift: Xiangzhou was recaptured, and the traitor An Congjin committed suicide with his entire family.
In November of the sixth year of Tianfu (941), An Congjin took advantage of Shi Jingtang's absence in Weizhou and launched a rebellion in Xiangzhou, hoping to take advantage of the situation.
Unexpectedly, this was Shi Jingtang's desperate attempt. He had already left a blank transfer order for Shi Chonggui, who stayed in Bianzhou, and arranged an emergency plan. When news of the Xiangzhou rebellion came, the emergency plan was quickly launched. Zhang Congen, Jiao Jixun, Guo Jinhai and others led The Central Forbidden Army went south from Bianzhou; Gao Xingzhou, Song Yanyun and others went south from Luoyang. Like a magic weapon descending from the sky, An Congjin was caught off guard.
An Congjin lost the first battle and immediately retreated to Xiangzhou. The war then entered a stalemate stage.
An Congjin was trapped in Gucheng and sent his younger brother An Conggui secretly out of the city to welcome reinforcements from Junzhou. As a result, An Conggui was captured alive by Jiao Jixun, had his feet cut off and was released into Xiangzhou City.
Afterwards, both sides just wasted it.
"Come in if you can."
"Come out if you can."
Until June of the seventh year of Tianfu (942), half a year after the siege of the city, Gao Xingzhou reported from the front line of Xiangzhou that An Congjin, who was at the end of his rope, was still struggling to his death, and sent his aide (observation judge) Li Guangtu to sneak out of the city to ask for help, but was captured by our army. Live there and be escorted to the capital.
Shi Jingtang has no time to deal with this, because on June 13, he left us prematurely.
After Shi Chonggui came to the throne, he announced a general amnesty for the world, specifically naming An Congjin of Xiangzhou. He said that as long as An Congjin knew his way back and surrendered, he and his party members would be guaranteed to be safe and sound, and he would also be favored and promoted to officials. Get rich, have enough food and clothing, and live a long life.
Surrender, I will not let you down, just like the late Emperor would not let down Fan Yanguang.
When the time came in August, Xiangzhou’s food supply was cut off. An Congjin had no reinforcements from the outside and no grain or grain from the inside. His morale was low and he was on the verge of collapse.
Outside the city, Commander-in-Chief Gao Xingzhou was waiting for Xiangzhou City to be destroyed without attack, but one of his generals woke up the dreamer with a word.
"The army has been besieging the city for nearly a year. The rebels in Xiangzhou have been cut off from food and grass. Our army's logistics supplies have also been consumed a lot. The soldiers and people are already exhausted. Why not put pressure on the city now and force them to surrender early? Don't forget. , now it’s the emperor…”
"Oh——" Gao Xingzhou suddenly had an epiphany.
The generals responsible for siege are actually under tremendous pressure. This pressure does not come from the battlefield, but from the rear. Especially when the battle reaches a stalemate.
Because at this time, the emperor will inevitably be suspicious of the frontline commander, thinking that the commander is supporting the bandits and is using the traitors to threaten the court. If another villain takes the opportunity to slander him at this time, the frontline commander will basically lose his temper. There are too many stories like this. They did not die in the hail of bullets on the front line, but were stabbed in the back by their own people.
Furthermore, now that the country is in financial difficulties and short of money and food, the Xiangzhou front line is undoubtedly a gold-swallowing beast. The court is likely to announce its withdrawal because it cannot support it, just like Emperor Mingzong's expedition to Jingnan ended in vain. When this happens, the frontline commander will also be impeached and dismissed from office due to "ineffective campaign".
Therefore, Gao Xingzhou couldn't afford to wait. He had to eat Xiangzhou quickly, otherwise he would not end well.
Therefore, Gao Xingzhou immediately mobilized his entire army and suddenly launched a fierce attack on Xiangzhou City. After a stalemate for more than half a year, the silent battlefield ushered in passionate shouts. The Central Army was surprised to see that Commander-in-Chief Gao Xingzhou and the Forbidden Army General Liu Ci actually rushed to the front and took the lead in climbing the city wall. The morale of the Central Army was instantly boosted. The soldiers shouted and rushed forward.
The fighting spirit of the Xiangzhou defenders was gone, and their morale had already collapsed. Faced with the sudden fierce attack by the Central Army, they surrendered one after another.
Seeing that the situation was over, An Congjin led his entire family to a high-rise building and set themselves on fire. His son An Hongzan was captured alive and beheaded.
【Relationship breakdown】
The war in Xiangzhou is over, but Jing Yanguang, who was engaged in "line struggle", is not idle. He is actively instigating another larger-scale war.
When Shi Chonggui ascended the throne, he discussed with his ministers how to write a letter of condolences to Emperor Yelu Deguang of the Liao Kingdom.
Logically speaking, the format of a memorial should be used, and Shi Chonggui must declare himself a minister and grandson to Daliao.
Jing Yanguang jumped out and objected loudly. He believed that he could not surrender to the barbarians, so there was no need to use memorials. He could just write a letter casually, but it was okay to call him grandson.
At that time, Sang Weihan was still serving as a military envoy in the local area (Chang'an). Because Shi Jingtang appeased Yang Guangyuan in the late period, Sang Weihan was released. Li Song, the number two figure of the "pro-Liao faction", was in the court.
As expected, Li Song insisted on following the "pro-Liao faction" line, emphasizing that surrendering to Daliao was an agreement between the late emperor and Yelu Deguang, which could not be violated without reason. Moreover, we are currently not ready for war with Liao, in case of war Get up, we will suffer.
Jing Yanguang and Li Song refused to give in to each other, and the issue of "profession" became the first contest between the pro-Liao faction and the anti-Liao faction.
During this period, the smooth and sophisticated Feng Dao said that he would not take sides or express his position, and he was ambiguous and no one would be offended.
In the end, Shi Chonggui adopted Jing Yanguang's suggestion. Because Li Song was the "remnant of Li Congke", Jing Yanguang was the hero who supported him to the throne.
After Yelu Deguang received the letter, he became furious and sent an envoy to reprimand his disobedient grandson, "Why don't you come to me first to report it? Your grandson dares to succeed to the throne without permission from your grandfather and me." ?"
Jing Yanguang took the brush, splashed it with ink, and retorted in person, using arrogant and fierce words.
"Calling yourself a grandson but not a minister" was the first major incident that the Later Jin Dynasty offended the Khitan.
The second incident is the "Qiao Rong Incident".
Qiao Rong was originally a low-level officer in Heyang. During the Hedong War, he was transferred to Zhao Yanshou by Li Congke and followed Zhao Yanshou north to support Jin'an Village.
At that time, after Zhao Yanshou and his adoptive father Zhao Dejun joined forces, they stayed together, watching the fire from across the bank, and threatening the court. After Zhao Dejun and Zhao Yanshou were captured, Qiao Rong was also escorted to Khitan.
Because of his shrewdness and ability, he was quickly appointed by the Khitan as a "return envoy", that is, a foreign trade official, responsible for the trade between the two countries.
The "Hui Tu Wu" and "Hui Tu Envoys" were introduced earlier. They not only monopolized the trade between the two countries, but also were important intelligence centers. They were the bridgehead for the Khitan's economic invasion and the invisible weapon that turned the Later Jin Dynasty into an economic colony.
Jing Yanguang encouraged Shi Chonggui to seal up the "Hui Tuwu", arrested Qiao Rong, the Huitu envoy, and confiscated all the money and goods in the Huitu Wu warehouse. He also ransacked Qiao Rong's home and confiscated all his property.
Not only did he capture the "traitor", but also destroyed the enemy's agent organization, and made a lot of money. This was a really good deal!
