After Guo Congyi arrived in Bianzhou, he forced Wang Defei and Li Congyi to commit suicide.
Concubine Wang De cried: "My son was forced by the Khitan people. What crime is he guilty of? Why can't he be spared his life and serve a bowl of wheat rice as a sacrifice to his father's tomb during the Cold Food Festival every year?"
In the late Tang Dynasty, only poor common people would use wheat rice to worship their ancestors. Concubine Wang De was begging for mercy, so she expressed her misery by the standards of ordinary people.
Everyone who heard it was moved to tears.
However, Guo Congyi followed a secret order. If you don't want to be decent, I can only help you be decent.
Li Congyi was only 17 years old when he died.
Li Congke is Li Siyuan's adopted son, and Shi Jingtang is Li Siyuan's son-in-law. Li Congyi poses a relatively small threat to them, but Liu Zhiyuan has nothing to do with Li Siyuan, and the political threat to him is fatal. Therefore, Liu Zhiyuan cannot tolerate Li Congyi and must kill him. And then quickly.
Again, politicians are not inherently emotional animals. They only pursue the maximization of political interests. There is no kindness and tolerance, only the weighing and game of interests and threats.
Clean the house before treating guests. Guo Congyi helped Liu Zhiyuan clear out Bianzhou, and Liu Zhiyuan left Luoyang on June 5 and headed for the sacred Bianzhou.
Thanks to the outstanding performance of General Shi Hongzhao, Liu Zhiyuan walked calmly and leisurely all the way from Taiyuan to Luoyang and then to Bianzhou. Liu Zhiyuan's main force never engaged in a battle, and wherever he went, there was no bloodshed or a single blow.
According to records, in society, Brother Zhao is a ruthless person and doesn’t talk much. This man was taciturn, calm and strong, and his troops had strict military discipline. During the process of attacking Luzhou, surrendering to Zezhou, and forcing Mengzhou, Shi Hongzhao ordered: Anyone who dares to trample farmland or tie horses to trees will be dismissed regardless of official position. High or low, all will be executed.
Needless to say, trampling on farmland, Cao Cao even cut off his hair as his head. It is forbidden to tie horses to trees because horses eat the bark and cause the trees to die.
Even the ownerless wild trees on the roadside will be cared for so much, let alone harassing the people.
For officers and soldiers who dared to violate military discipline, Shi Hongzhao also had a very special execution method: headshot with a sledgehammer. The sensory stimulation is stronger than that of beheading.
The officers and soldiers were all trembling with fear, strictly implemented discipline, and did not dare to cross the thunder pool even half a step. As a result, the combat effectiveness of the troops was strengthened, and in sharp contrast to the Khitan army that went around robbing men, dominating women, raping and plundering, the people all regarded Shi Hongzhao's troops as soldiers of the people and did their best to help them.
Shi Hongzhao led this force to overcome obstacles and regain Luzhou, Zezhou and other strategic places one after another. Like a sharp knife, it penetrated Henan from the east of Hedong. Jiangzhou and other places on the West Road also became fearful after hearing about Shi Hongzhao's consecutive battles, and then they did not dare to resist Liu Zhiyuan and chose to surrender.
History is fair. Even if Liu Zhiyuan entered Bianzhou according to the western route suggested by Guo Wei, the "first achievement of entering Bianzhou" still belongs to Shi Hongzhao.
The number of Liu Zhiyuan's troops is getting larger and larger, because there are people who come to join the army along the way. There are green forest heroes who have reformed their evil ways and asked for recruitment, as well as frustrated politicians and underappreciated scholars. They all want to catch the last train of the times and in the wave of changing dynasties. Salted fish stand up, break through the shackles of class solidification, and achieve a leap in life.
Among these people was a minor official named Wei Renpu.
Wei Renpu, a child from a poor family, lost his father when he was young, and his mother worked hard to support him in his education. When he was 13 years old, his mother borrowed a piece of burlap and sewed clothes for him overnight. The scene of his mother's stooped body, calloused hands, and sewing clothes with squinting eyes under the lamp was deeply imprinted on Wei Renpu. In his heart, the 13-year-old boy burst into tears and sighed: "A man who is a great man not only cannot worship his mother, but also makes her work hard to make clothes for him. How can I feel so at ease!" From then on, I worked hard! Read and vow to use knowledge to change your destiny.
When he got a little older, Wei Renpu said goodbye to his mother, set foot on the road to Luoyang with only the travel expenses and a lot of economics, hoping to realize the value of life by relying on his talent and knowledge.
Wei Renpu lives in Weizhou, and he must cross the Yellow River to go to Luoyang. Wei Renpu stood on the bow of the boat, looking at the vast Yellow River, thinking about his mother who worked day and night, with so many thoughts. Suddenly, he took off his shirt, threw it into the river, and swore to God: "If I can't get ahead, I will never do it again." Back! (If I don’t go to Guida, I won’t cross here again)”
The ancients throwing away their clothes had a deep meaning, just like a soldier drinking a bowl of wine before going into battle and then smashing the bowl, or a general throwing his helmet on the ground. Throwing away clothes, bowls, and helmets all meant that if If you can't fulfill your oath, you will die, or you will rather die.
After Wei Renpu arrived in Luoyang, he showed amazing talent and immediately entered the Privy Council and became a junior clerk in the Privy Council.
Although his position is very low, Wei Renpu is diligent, conscientious, meticulous in his work, and his conduct is remarkable. He is the most handsome boy in the Privy Council, far beyond the reach of his colleagues at the same level. Wei Renpu, who stands out from the crowd, has no other aspirations. He only hopes that his work ability will be appreciated by his leaders, and then he will be promoted steadily, support his mother, and honor his ancestors.
If it were during the Taiping years, Wei Renpu would definitely follow this career plan and become a phoenix man in the capital Luoyang. If he was lucky, he might be chosen by a high-ranking official such as a prime minister and marry his daughter to him, or Just become a prince-in-law...
However, this is not the Taiping period, this is the early years of the Later Jin Dynasty.
Wei Renpu did not wait for promotion, but waited for the Khitans. The Khitans entered Bianzhou and took all the civil and military officials from the Later Jin Dynasty to the Saibei grassland. Wei Renpu was among the troops heading north.
When Wei Renpu followed the army to Zhenzhou, Yelu Deguang died suddenly, so Wei Renpu took advantage of the chaos to escape and went south. When he came to Weizhou, Wei Bo Jiedu envoy Du Chongwei enthusiastically persuaded him to stay. Du Chongwei had long heard of this young comrade Wei Renpu. Although he was from a humble background and had a humble position, he was knowledgeable, talented, motivated, and honest. , is definitely a potential stock, so he proposed to promote him to be his staff.
Du Chongwei has admired Wei Renpu for a long time, and Wei Renpu has also heard about Du Chongwei for a long time. If you are not a traveler, don't take the same boat. What's more, Du Chongwei is still a sinking ship.
Wei Renpu took advantage of his unpreparedness and escaped overnight.
Du Chongwei hurriedly sent people to chase him, but he failed to catch up.
Wei Renpu continued south from Weizhou, crossed the Yellow River, and finally met Liu Zhiyuan's team in Gong County (today's Gong County, Henan Province). Guo Wei received him in charge and said that since you escaped from the Khitans, you must know the truth about the Khitans, right?
