Under Zheng Gong's guidance, Liu Chong repaired the city, gathered grass and grain, recruited troops and horses, and also suspended tribute to the court, laying the foundation for the future Northern Han Dynasty.
After Liu Chengyou was murdered, Liu Chong discussed countermeasures with his staff. At that time, almost everyone said that Guo Wei's rebellion was clear, and we should immediately go to Beijing to serve the king and drive Guo Wei away, and then... Uncle Liu Huang would inherit the throne.
Liu Chong hesitated, "Well... hasn't Guo Wei openly rebelled yet? Doesn't he want to make Liu's descendants emperor? Is it appropriate for us to do this? Will Guo Wei accuse him of treason?"
This is the important point in the previous article. As the "Han Dynasty Attendant", Guo Wei knelt down to Feng Dao, the "Han Dynasty Grand Master", and Feng Dao accepted it calmly. Then Empress Dowager Li discussed with the ministers the successor to the throne and listed four candidates. , and was won by Xuzhou Liu Yun.
It's not that Guo Wei doesn't want to become emperor immediately, it's just that the time is not yet ripe, especially for this Uncle Liu Huang - Hedong Liu Chong. Hedong is a good place. Starting from the Later Tang Dynasty, it was the birthplace of three consecutive dynasties and gave birth to three founding kings. The geographical location here is important, and the people's customs are strong. Its festivals make the city wide, the soldiers strong and the horses strong, all of which have the strength to aspire to dominate the Central Plains. If you retreat to the second best, you can also rule the roost.
Guo Wei made this series of fake moves to paralyze people like Liu Chong.
Guo Wei was also young and had been a non-mainstream person in rural areas. He once had a sparrow tattoo on his neck, and was known as "Guo Que'er" by people in the world. Guo Wei pulled down his collar to the envoy, pointed to the tattoo on his neck, and said, "Since ancient times, have there been emperors with tattoos?"
After listening to the envoy's statement, Liu Chong believed it to be true and believed that it was absolutely impossible for Guo Wei to rebel. He should really look through the newspapers from previous years. The last person to use this method of proof by contradiction was Yang Guangyuan.
When Liu Chong heard that his own son Liu Yun had finally been established as the new emperor, he was even more overjoyed. He smiled and said to his surroundings: "My son is the emperor, what else should I be dissatisfied with?" He immediately gave up the use of troops. idea, and ordered that no one was allowed to bring up the idea of leading troops southward in the future.
But except for Liu Chong, everyone in the world knew that Guo Wei did not sincerely want to establish Liu Yun. This must be his tactic to delay the war.
His deputy mayor of Taiyuan, Li Xiang, tried his best to persuade Liu Chong not to be fooled by Guo Wei. He said that Guo Wei raised troops to invade the palace and forced Liu Chengyou to death. He would definitely not be a Han official and would definitely not establish descendants of the Liu family. You might as well lead the troops south to the Taihang Mountains. , control Mengzhou and other dangerous passes along the Yellow River, and see if Xuzhou Liu Yun can successfully ascend the throne. If he succeeds, then we will return the same way. If something goes wrong, we might as well go to Beijing as soon as possible!
Unexpectedly, Liu Chong became furious and cursed Li Xiang for alienating father, son, monarch and ministers, and then ordered Li Xiang to be beheaded in public. All indecisive people will make such a mistake: when doing the right thing, they will always be hesitant; but when doing the wrong thing, they will always make a prompt decision.
If Liu Chong followed Li Xiang's suggestion, Guo Wei would really have to consider it carefully.
When Li Xiang was dragged to the execution ground, he was heartbroken and shouted to the sky: "I have great talent, but I give advice to a big fool. I deserve to die! I just pity my seriously ill wife. She can't take care of herself. I will die." No, she can’t survive alone!”
When Liu Chong heard this, it made sense.
"Then let's die together." Li Xiang and his sick wife were beheaded at the same time.
Later, Liu Chong seriously recorded the cause and effect of the incident and reported it to Queen Mother Li, in order to show his absolute loyalty to the court. Please tell me, Liu Chong, whether I am a good boy or not.
But soon, Liu Yun was deposed as Duke of Xiangyin. Only then did Liu Chong realize that something was not good, and he hurriedly sent an envoy to Bianzhou to implore Comrade Guo Wei to show mercy and spare Liu Yun's life no matter what, and also requested that Liu Yun be taken to Hedong.
Guo Wei came to Liu Chong with the message "receive orders at the front door and kill people in the backyard", saying that Comrade Liu Yun is still staying in Songzhou. He has sent people to greet him and will definitely arrange a good place for Liu Yun. Don't worry, as long as he If you can fulfill your duties faithfully, I will make you a king and guard Hedong forever from generation to generation. At the same time, he sent someone to tell Songzhou Jiedushi Li Hongyi: Liu Yun should be killed immediately.
On the day Liu Yun was killed (the sixteenth day of the first lunar month), Liu Chong ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor in Taiyuan, using the country name "Dahan" and the reign name "Qianyou" of Liu Chengyou. It was known as "Northern Han" in history and ranked among the "Tenth". One of the "Ten Kingdoms" and the only separatist regime in the north among the "Ten Kingdoms".
There is no doubt that the Northern Han Dynasty and the Central Plains Dynasty (Later Zhou Dynasty and Song Dynasty) are incompatible with each other. The relationship between the two is the relationship between Shu Han Liu Bei and Cao Wei. The Northern Han Dynasty colluded with the Khitans and threatened the Central Plains Dynasty for a long time. It was a serious problem for the Later Zhou Dynasty and the Song Dynasty. It existed for 28 years and was finally destroyed by Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi.
At this point, it is not difficult for us to understand the small detail at the beginning, that is, is the image of Liu Chong in the history books true? Not necessarily, the Song Dynasty completed the reunification of the motherland, inherited the "Five Dynasties", and ended the "Ten Kingdoms". The Northern Han Dynasty was the only local separatist regime among the "Ten Kingdoms" that had a deep hatred for the Song Dynasty. The people who wrote this history were the royal historians of the Song Dynasty.
2.4 Yanzhou Murong Yanchao
Murong Yanchao was Liu Zhiyuan's half-brother. He was from Tyuhun and looked very mixed-race: dark body, pockmarked face, and curly beard. It should be similar to today's Central Asian or Arab people. They once had the nickname "Yan Kunlun" because they took the surname Yan (the adopted son of Yan Bao, a general from the Later Liang Dynasty).
He first followed Li Siyuan and rose to the rank of governor. Later, he was dismissed due to corruption and bribery. According to the law at that time, he should be sentenced to death. Liu Zhiyuan interceded on his behalf, so he changed his death sentence to exile and was exiled to Fangzhou.
His corruption problem should have occurred in the Later Jin Dynasty. Liu Zhiyuan once saved the life of Jin Gaozu Shi Jingtang. For details, see the previous article "Emperors in the Same Frame". Therefore, Liu Zhiyuan still had to take his face into consideration.
After being exiled to Fangzhou, Murong Yanchao faded from the stage of history. When Liu Zhiyuan proclaimed himself emperor in Hedong, Murong Yanchao was so happy that he escaped from prison in Fangzhou overnight and ran back to Hedong in one breath. His status was also promoted from a prisoner to the military governor of Zhenning in Chanzhou.
Obviously, this kind of rocket promotion cannot convince the public, especially Guo Wei, Shi Hongzhao, and Yang Ping. Therefore, in the next war against Du Chongwei in Weizhou, Liu Zhiyuan arranged for Murong Yanchao to be the deputy commander-in-chief, and the famous general Gao Xingzhou to be the commander-in-chief to go against him.
Murong Yanchao was eager to make meritorious deeds and express himself, so he advocated a rash advance and insisted on an immediate attack and a quick victory. The veteran general Gao Xing Zhou assessed the situation, strategized, and advocated encircling the exhausted enemy. As a result, the two had serious unpleasantness. Murong Yanchao reported to Liu Zhiyuan that Gao Xingzhou deliberately passively indulged the enemy because he and Du Chongwei were relatives, and slandered Gao Xingzhou for secretly collaborating with Du Chongwei.
