Chapter 145 Going South
Song Dynasty, Kaibao period.

Zhao Kuangyin did not think highly of the father and son of the Shi family. He was full of sarcasm: "Emperor Taizong of Liao, Yelü Deguang, apart from domestic affairs, his achievements in foreign wars were indeed made possible by the father and son of the Shi family."

If there had not been two people like Shi Jingtang and Shi Chonggui in the north of the Central Plains adjacent to the Liao Kingdom, would Yelu Deguang have been able to achieve his success in expanding territory so smoothly? I'm afraid not.

Apart from other things, during the war against the Later Jin during Shi Chonggui's period, they were not able to win directly, but suffered several defeats. If it were not for Shi Chonggui's mistakes, the Khitan and the Later Jin would have been in a stalemate. Although the Later Jin would not have won, it would have at least caused considerable losses to Yelu Deguang.

Following his words, Zhao Guangmei thought of someone: "Sang Weihan... is really talented. If what he thinks in his heart is really consistent with what he says, and if the Later Jin can act in this way, there is a chance that they will counterattack the Liao Kingdom."

Sang Weihan's ability is beyond words. When Shi Jingtang was in deep trouble in the Later Tang Dynasty, he was able to persuade the Khitan to help. Although this aid was due to Yelu Deguang's own covetousness for the Central Plains, Sang Weihan's contribution was indispensable. After that, the establishment of the Later Jin Dynasty, the government management, and the suppression of the Jiedushi in various places were all due to his contribution.

But he did cede the Yanyun area after all!

Zhao Defang didn't quite understand what Zhao Guangmei said: "Uncle, what is Sang Weihan thinking and what are his words?"

Zhao Guangmei explained: "According to records, Shi Jingtang actually did not insist on paying tribute to the Liao Kingdom, but he was persuaded by Sang Weihan, because the Later Jin Dynasty did not have the national strength, economic and military capabilities at that time. And Sang Weihan later said, 'Train farmers and learn warfare, raise soldiers and rest the people, wait until the country has no internal worries and the people have spare strength, then watch for opportunities and take action, and then you will succeed.'"

In other words, develop domestically first, and when the internal situation is stable and there is spare capacity, then look for opportunities externally, and you will surely succeed.

In fact, by the time of Shi Chonggui, the national strength of the Later Jin Dynasty had recovered to some extent, otherwise it would not have been able to stop Yelu Deguang twice.

Zhao Defang expressed his understanding, but there was no answer to this question after all, because Sang Weihan was not able to stay in power all the time, so there was naturally no way to observe his words and deeds, and Shi Chonggui also ruined the Later Jin Dynasty - the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun had always been in the hands of the Liao Kingdom and had never returned to the Central Plains.

Listening to their discussion, Zhao Kuangyin said, "If we don't count Shi Chonggui's various decision-making mistakes, then the key is still the internal problems, those vassal states..." He sneered. Shi Chonggui's mess, coupled with the internal disunity, there are always people who are independent of the central government, it would be strange if there were no problems.

[Among them, in addition to Shi Chonggui's own wishes, there is another important person: Jing Yanguang.

After supporting Shi Chonggui, Jing Yanguang thought that it was all his own merit. After Shi Jingtang's death, he prohibited people in the capital from talking to each other, and ordered civil and military officials who came to the funeral to dismount before reaching the palace gate. This fully demonstrated his arrogant and tyrannical side.

As for whether to submit to the emperor, he strongly supported the view of not submitting to the emperor.

Yelu Deguang was naturally dissatisfied when he received such a letter with obviously different meanings, so he sent envoy Qiao Rong to the Later Jin Dynasty to express his dissatisfaction and condemnation.

However, after Qiao Rong arrived in the Later Jin Dynasty, he encountered a situation completely different from what he had expected: Jing Yanguang persuaded Shi Chonggui to put Qiao Rong in prison, and "all those who trade in the Liao Kingdom in the Jin territory will be killed and their goods will be seized." Later, considering Qiao Rong's different identity, he was not killed and was released.

Afterwards, Jing Yanguang responded to Qiao Rong's intention: "The previous emperor was established by the Northern Dynasty, and the current emperor is China's own. It is fine to be a neighbor or a grandson, but there is no reason for him to be a vassal."

“The Jin Dynasty has 100,000 swords. If the old man wants to fight, he should come soon. If you don't control your grandson one day, you will be laughed at by the world and regret it later.” We have 100,000 swords in the Later Jin Dynasty. If the old man wants to fight, he should do it soon. If you can't control your grandson one day, you will be laughed at by the world and regret it later.

Qiao Rong brought the message back to Khitan and reported it to Yelu Deguang one by one. As expected, it aroused Yelu Deguang's dissatisfaction and made Yelu Deguang realize that the Later Jin Dynasty was beginning to slip out of control, so he began to think about going south to conquer the Later Jin Dynasty. 】

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

Liu Che did not like Emperor Taizong of Liao, Yelu Deguang. To him, after all, Yelu Deguang was a foreigner, a foreign king who invaded the Central Plains from the south, rather than those foreign talents who defected to the Han Dynasty and were loyal to the Han Dynasty, or the Xiongnu princes and even the Chanyu who surrendered to the Han Dynasty.

However, since he was able to become Emperor Taizong, there are still some reference points for Yelu Deguang's actions and ideas. Even if he cannot use them, it would be useful to record them and pass them on to his descendants. Who knows, they may be useful someday.
In addition, although the structure of the Khitan is not exactly the same as that of the Xiongnu, as a type of nomadic people, it is also a reference and sample for the Han Dynasty to deal with the Xiongnu, including other ethnic minorities that may appear in the future.

Therefore, Liu Che continued to look at Yelu Deguang's deeds carefully and asked his attendants and officials to record them carefully.

As for the Later Jin, although Liu Che did not know the specific situation of the battle between Khitan and Later Jin, he also felt that Shi Chonggui was a little anxious. Again, as the biggest legacy of the Tang Dynasty, did Shi Chonggui subdue those vassal generals? Can he ensure that they will fight hard against Khitan? Or, taking a step back, can he ensure that they will not secretly make trouble during the battle between the main force of the Later Jin and Yelu Deguang?
As for Jing Yanguan... he was arrogant and domineering, and took it as a credit to support the emperor. Liu Che felt itchy when he saw such a minister.

It is better for ministers who cannot put themselves in the right position by using their "great kindness" to the emperor as an excuse to leave as soon as possible.

Ming Dynasty, during the Hongwu period.

Seeing this, Zhu Chong asked, "Do you think that if Shi Chonggui was not like this, but a wise and perceptive person, would the Later Jin have a chance against the Liao Kingdom?"

"It's hard to say. If this possibility is to be achieved, Shi Chonggui must be an outstanding and wise monarch." Zhu Gang felt that although the Later Jin Dynasty had won several times in the battles between the Liao Kingdom and the Later Jin Dynasty, the Later Jin Dynasty had too many problems.

Shi Chonggui must first be a man with sufficient brains and talents, who is also a man of good character, who is able to see through everything, know people and assign them to the right positions, and who is not complacent because of a temporary victory; and then it would be best if he could lead the troops himself, so as to subdue the generals and accumulate prestige, that is, to be able to handle the internal military governorship issues; in addition, the Later Jin Dynasty should have been hit by natural disasters at that time, such as locust plagues, severe droughts, and heavy rains...

If Shi Chonggui could handle this series of problems, improve the internal affairs of the Later Jin Dynasty, defeat the Liao Kingdom and retake Yanyun... the Later Jin Dynasty, which could achieve such achievements, might be able to achieve unification.

But is this a great feat that an ordinary emperor can accomplish?
Besides, whether Shi Chonggui was an ordinary emperor is still unclear.

Zhu Su also said: "If Shi Chonggui can quell all the hidden dangers within the Later Jin Dynasty, he can be called a capable monarch." In fact, Shi Chonggui couldn't even do this. Zhu Su's implicit feeling that Shi Chonggui was not as good as an ordinary emperor... although a bit harsh, it was not without reason. [Yelü Deguang, who had thought about it, did not immediately issue an order, but maintained normal exchanges with the Later Jin Dynasty: congratulating Shi Chonggui on his succession to the throne, allowing the capital to be built in Bianjing, and sending Shi Chonggui a birthday gift...

It was not until November 17 that Yelu Di Nian, the governor of Shangjing, obtained intelligence about the Later Jin Dynasty and gained evidence that the Later Jin Dynasty had ulterior motives.

So, on the third day of December, Yelu Deguang formally expressed his intention to go south to attack the Later Jin Dynasty.

After arriving in Nanjing, he first discussed the methods, plans and timing of sending troops with his ministers. Then, he ordered Zhao Yanshou, Zhao Yanzhao, Yelu Anduan, Jie Li and others to advance separately from Cangzhou, Hengzhou (Zhengding County, Hebei), Yizhou (Yi County, Hebei), Dingzhou and other states, and he led the army to follow.

And within the Later Jin, there was another Khitan insider who was likely to provide intelligence to the Later Jin. This person was Yang Guangyuan, the governor of Pinglu Army and the Prince of Dongping, who was in Qingzhou. He was also the main person who killed Zhang Jingda and surrendered.

After Yang Guangyuan surrendered to Shi Jingtang, he was treated very generously.

When Shi Chonggui succeeded to the throne, although he continued Shi Jingtang's basic policy of weakening the local military governors, he did not take any drastic actions against Yang Guangyuan, so Yang Guangyuan became more and more arrogant.

The fuse that ignited the conflict was Jing Yanguang.

After Shi Chonggui ascended the throne, the equally arrogant Jing Yanguang petitioned to take back the 300 official horses that Yang Guangyuan's subordinates had borrowed from the court. Yang Guangyuan was very dissatisfied with this and believed that Jing Yanguang's behavior showed that the central government did not trust and was suspicious of him.

What will happen when a person who is already extremely arrogant and ambitious feels that the court begins to doubt and mistrust him?
Of course it was to save himself - to contact the force he believed could suppress the imperial court, and to save himself by eliminating the imperial court that was suspicious of him.

So, while he was secretly contacting the Khitan, he sent a message to his son Yang Chengzuo, who was then the governor of Shanzhou. Then Yang Chengzuo fled from Shanzhou to Qingzhou of Yang Guangyuan.

This behavior is actually quite serious. Without the central government's order, he left his own area without authorization, and Yang Chengzuo even opened the city gate and fled at night. If this is not a bad intention, what else could it be? 】

Tang Dynasty, Wude period.

Li Jiancheng said: "Then Shi Chonggui should be able to discover the problem and take relevant countermeasures, right?" Yang Guangyuan and Yang Chengzuo had no intention of covering up at all - no, it cannot be said that they did not cover up, it can only be said that they covered up, but not really covered up.

Li Yuanji had a mocking look on his face. Although he had suffered a blow from the story of Emperor Taizong of Tang, he still had a firm self-confidence: I am right, I am the best!
Therefore, at this moment, he could still calmly mock Shi Chonggui: "If he can't respond at this time, how can he still call himself a grandson and not a subject, and how can he fight against the Khitan?" It is better to surrender as soon as possible.

Li Jiancheng pretended that he did not hear Li Yuanji's words and did not react.

After a while of silence, a minister finally spoke up: "This Yang Guangyuan contacted the Khitan. Could it be that he was planning to rely on the power of the Khitan to establish his own country and become emperor?"

"..." It's really possible. So everyone present stopped caring about Shi Chonggui's problem and started to dislike Yang Guangyuan together.

Although everyone wants to be an emperor, and there is nothing wrong with this dream, why do you still want to ally with the Khitan to become an emperor? Let's not talk about anything else, let's talk about Yelu Deguang. After experiencing Shi Jingtang, wouldn't he feel that supporting the Central Plains regime is not very secure and there are risks at any time?

After all, the Later Jin Dynasty has only been in existence for a few years, and the Khitan has not yet declined. They don't want to continue to be obedient subjects. Can you, Yang Guangyuan, guarantee that your Yang family will always be loyal to the Khitan and never rebel?

[After receiving the news, Shi Chonggui did not punish Yang Chengzuo immediately. Instead, he appointed Yang Chengzuo as the governor of Zibo Prefecture.

Yang Guangyuan naturally did not think there was anything wrong, or rather, he thought that even if Shi Chonggui found out about the problem, he could not do anything to him. So he continued to contact the Khitan and sold a large amount of intelligence about the Later Jin at the time, including that the Later Jin was suffering from constant natural disasters, an empty treasury, and was unable to fight against the Khitan.

Shi Chonggui, on the other hand, after he appointed Yang Chengzuo as the governor of Zibo Prefecture, began a series of measures to prevent Yang Guangyuan from rebelling: he sent the commander of the imperial guards, Guo Jin, to lead troops to Yunzhou to prepare for the Khitan invasion and the Qingzhou rebellion. He then sent the general of the left army, Cai Xingyu, to reinforce the troops in Yunzhou, and sent officials to inspect the area from the south bank of the Yellow River to the mouth of the Yellow River.

At the same time, in response to the possible invasion of the Khitan at any time, Shi Chonggui also summoned many military governors and generals from Hebei and Henan to Beijing to make plans, including Fu Yanqing, Gao Xingzhou and others, to discuss the war with the Khitan.

At the same time, Shi Chonggui also sent Bian Guangfan and Guo Yanwei to Khitan, both to seek peace and to gather intelligence. However, when the two arrived in Hengzhou, they found that Yelu Deguang's army had already started moving, and they ultimately returned empty-handed.

This series of actions took place before the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month. 】

Ming Dynasty, during the Hongwu period.

Zhu Bo looked at Shi Chonggui's series of deployments and felt that it was beyond his expectations. "This seems to be okay. Yang Guangyuan has sent people to guard against it and has also discussed with the Liao Kingdom. He should have a countermeasure. Moreover, he can mobilize the governors and generals of Hebei and Henan Provinces. At least he can control these governors now."

Not only did he take military matters into consideration, such as garrisoning and increasing troops in Yunzhou, he also guarded against contact between Yang Guangyuan and Yelu Deguang and strengthened inspections from the south bank of the Yellow River to its estuary.

"So far, there really aren't any fatal problems, so this time the Later Jin was able to resist Yelu Deguang and make him return empty-handed," Zhu Chong confirmed Zhu Bo's words. Although Yelu Deguang's first trip south did cause damage to the Later Jin, he didn't achieve his goal. "It's just that the Later Jin itself has a lot of problems, and Shi Chonggui... well, he will soon not be able to handle state affairs sensitively and correctly."

For the time being, although there was a Jing Yanguang in the central government, his problems were far inferior to those of the later ones. As for Shi Chonggui, how should we say that he inherited the characteristics of many emperors during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, that is, he was only wise for a short time, and after that, he would endlessly be close to villains, stay away from wise ministers, indulge himself, and indulge in pleasure.

(End of this chapter)