In the "Supplement to the History of the Five Dynasties", there is also a short story recorded:
When Guo Wei entered Bian, rebels were looting everywhere. A Forbidden Army general named Zhao Feng shouted, "Admiral Guo aspires to be at the side of the Qing Dynasty and to stabilize the country. People are looking for righteous troops. These rats are plundering the people. Is this the original intention of Admiral Guo?" Then he moved a small horse, sat at the entrance of the alley, held a strong bow, and shot the rebels, thus saving thousands of families. People spontaneously gave him gold and silver. Zhao Feng also said that he did good deeds without asking for anything in return, so he returned the gold and silver treasures to their original owners.
Later, Guo Wei said to Chai Rong: "I heard a prophecy among the people, saying that someone named Zhao will be the emperor. I think this person is very popular, so he should be him. Keeping him will be a disaster for us!" So he Secretly ordered his cronies to falsely accuse Zhao Feng and then kill him.
"Supplement to the History of the Five Dynasties" was written in the Northern Song Dynasty. This story should be about the colorful lotus farts of the authorities. The point is not that Guo Wei killed people, but that "Zhao was the emperor".
Guo Wei left two major legacies to Chai Rong. One was a group of upright and virtuous civil servants who could assist him in creating a prosperous and glorious era; the other was a relatively stable internal and external environment that gave him the opportunity to display his talents.
Since Li Cunxu of the Later Tang Dynasty, Chai Rong's accession to the throne was no longer a hellish start.
Of course, this is due to Guo Wei's painstaking efforts and God-given opportunities. For example, during the civil strife in Southern Chu, Huainan had no time to look north because it interfered with the civil strife in Southern Chu; during the "Vulcan Lake Incident" within the Khitan, Emperor Shizong of the Liao Dynasty Yelu Ruan was killed, and Emperor Muzong of the Liao Dynasty Yelv Jing ascended the throne, so he had no time to look south. These stories will be presented one by one in the following chapters.
Here, we only focus on Guo Wei’s management.
1. Hedong Liu Chong was taught to be a new man
If Guo Weiliu has any regrets, it is the Northern Han regime entrenched in Hedong. Although the Northern Han regime was not pacified, the two battles of Jinzhou taught Liu Chong a new life and temporarily gave up the unrealistic "restoration of the country". "idea. During the two battles, Guo Wei showed tolerance and friendliness as much as possible. He gave clothes, money and food to the captured Hedong soldiers, entertained them with delicious food and drinks, and then sent them back home with gifts.
Then there was the second battle of Jinzhou. He won a great victory without pursuing him and allowed the enemy to return. There is controversy about this approach. For example, Wang Jun speculated on the holy will without permission and allowed the enemy not to pursue him. This also became one of the reasons why Guo Wei was suspicious of Wang Jun. Another theory is that Wang Jun did have a disobedient heart and was not willing to surrender. The statement that both parties are willing to fight with Hedong while retaining their strength to compete with Guo Wei also supports the assumption that Guo Wei is jealous of Wang Jun; the other is that Guo Wei and Wang Jun made a secret agreement in advance, that is, to teach Hedong a sufficient lesson. That's it, just stop there and leave a way for each other.
2. Shameful Huainan
Guo Wei also showed the greatest sincerity in dealing with the Huainan issue. When he first came to the throne, he issued an edict to strictly prohibit the Huaibei states from raiding Huainan without authorization, because at that time, it was common for border troops to occasionally sneak into enemy territory and plunder.
However, in the face of the goodwill from the Later Zhou Dynasty, Huainan sent troops to respond to Murong Yanchao of Yanzhou, but was defeated by the Later Zhou Dynasty and hundreds of soldiers were captured. Guo Wei also treated the prisoners preferentially, giving them clothing, money and food, and persuading them kindly. He wrote a letter to Li Jing of Huainan with sincere words, reasoning and emotion, which reduced friction and conflicts to a minimum.
When the Later Zhou Dynasty was founded (951), natural disasters also occurred on the ground in Huainan, resulting in a large number of hungry people and refugees. Previously, because the Central Plains and Huainan were in a state of hostility, the two sides closed their trade channels and did not trade with each other. After learning that the people in Huainan were suffering from famine and were in urgent need of food, Guo Wei issued an edict to open the trade ports to Huainan and allow Huainan merchants to purchase food in the Huaibei area. Guo Wei said in the edict, "How are the people living there any different from this?" The people on the other side are no different from the people here. Huainan people and Central Plains people are all Chinese.
In the third year of Guangshun (953), a larger-scale drought broke out in Huainan again. The water level of the Huaihe River dropped sharply, and it was possible to wade across the river. Refugees from Huainan flocked to Huaibei, but Li Jing from Huainan sent troops to stop them. The refugees were fighting and advancing, like a hell on earth.
Guo Wei was very worried when he heard about it and reiterated his attitude again, saying that we are all Chinese. In the face of disasters, blood is thicker than water, and political factors should not be brought into humanitarian relief work. Ordered the granaries to be opened to sell grain to the hungry people in Huainan.
The Later Zhou Dynasty and Huainan reached a tacit agreement, that is, the Later Zhou Dynasty would not send troops to interfere in Huainan's internal affairs and would only provide pure humanitarian assistance; Huainan would no longer obstruct the flow of refugees.
Soon after, the Huainan regime actually built a large granary to purchase large quantities of grain from the Later Zhou Dynasty for military reserves. Guo Wei was very angry, so he ordered that grain along the Huaihe River could only be sold for retail, and wholesale was prohibited. If the rice is carried by hungry people with their own bags or animals, it can be sold; if it is an organized and large-scale convoy or fleet, the sale will be refused.
3. The Khitan that touches porcelain
The grievances between the Central Plains and the Khitan are constantly being cut and the relationship is still chaotic. Like Huainan, a more comprehensive analysis will be carried out later, so I will briefly mention it here.
During the Guowei period of the Later Zhou Dynasty, the Khitan, under the instigation of Liu Chong of Hedong, conducted a relatively large-scale military operation and sent 5,000 people to help Hedong fight the Jinzhou Campaign. It started but ended quickly and quickly withdrew to the north. For a period of time thereafter, there were no major battles but constant small battles. Scattered frictions and conflicts in border areas have been the norm for decades.
Guo Wei also ordered the soldiers and civilians along the border to prohibit entering Khitan territory to plunder. Whether it was Huainan in the south or Khitan in the north, the diplomatic attitude of the Later Zhou Dynasty was the same: I will not offend others unless they offend me; if they offend me, we can negotiate.
Once, Khitan general Gao Mohan led his army south to plunder and came to the vicinity of Jizhou. He Fujin, the governor of Zhenzhou, sent troops to Beizhou. When the Khitan heard that the troops of the Later Zhou Dynasty were coming for reinforcements, they immediately turned around and returned northward, taking the loot and captives with them. When they crossed the Hulu River (a tributary of the Hai River), the troops of the Later Zhou Dynasty Already encountered the Khitan army.
The distance at that time was very close, so close that we could hear each other's voices.
At this time, hundreds of Jizhou youths who were coerced saw the motherland's army and were very excited. They shouted loudly and began to resist the Khitan army, hoping to cooperate with the imperial army inside and outside.
However, a tragic scene happened: the army of the Later Zhou Dynasty remained indifferent and watched helplessly as the Khitan army massacred hundreds of Jizhou youths.
In fact, this was a dirty and dirty tacit understanding between Hou Zhou and the Khitan. In the later weeks, they exercised maximum restraint, while the Khitan only limited themselves to grabbing money, food, and women, but not territory.
In terms of natural disasters, also at the beginning of the founding of the Later Zhou Dynasty (951), the Khitans were not spared by the rain and dew. A great famine broke out in Youzhou, and refugees fled southward into Cangzhou and other Hebei areas.
