Chapter 26 Chapter 23 The Rise and Fall of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms and the Khitan Invasion

All internal strife will cause external troubles, and Shatuo's invasion is an example.But Shatuo invaded China by the whole tribe, just like the Wuhu.After a few generations, it assimilated with the Han nationality, and its fate was over.If there is a country outside of China, which is invaded as a country, and after the invasion, its own country still exists, the situation is different.Since Qing Huihe collapsed in 840 A.D., there were no strong tribes in the north and south of Monan, and Khitan prospered in about 70 years.Khitan, probably the legacy of the Yuwen clan.It has been a long time since he lived outside the Great Wall of China.However, at the beginning of the 6th century, it was attacked by the Northern Qi Dynasty and recuperated. It was not until the Sui Dynasty that the vitality gradually recovered. At the end of the 7th century, it was destroyed again because of Li Jinzhong's rebellion.Afterwards they fought against Anlu Mountain. Although the Khitan had won battles once or twice, it was always true that they could not rest in peace.The most important authority in the Tang Dynasty to manage the Northeast was the Yingzhou Governor's Mansion. After the middle period, it could no longer maintain its power, but Khitan was still interfered by Youzhou from time to time, so it could not rise until the end of Tang Dynasty.The Khitan people are divided into eight parts.Each has an adult.Among the eight adults, one is publicly recommended to be the leader.When the year is too old, or the state-owned disease and the livestock decline, another adult will be pushed to replace it.It also has a co-owner, the Dahe family at first, and the Yaonian family later, which seems to have only a false name.The connection between its various tribes is probably very weak, and they can only be combined with each other when encountering battles. This may be one of the reasons for its late rise.Civil strife is to attract foreigners to invade China, and it is also to expel the flow of native people to foreign countries.This kind of thing has happened many times in history.Generally speaking, (1) foreign countries have a low degree of civilization and a small number of people, and we can completely assimilate them when we transplant a large number of people. (2) When we are relatively small in number, and the level of civilization is almost the same, the colonized people can become barbarians in their tribes. (3) If they also have a certain degree of knowledge and technology, although they need to be consulted by me, political and social organizations must not allow Hakkas to invade and hold power, then our transplanted people can only For their use, it even made them strong, and the knowledge and technology we imparted to them are suitable for their backlash.Time is the friend of progress.The same tribe in the four descendants of the official history, the name has not changed, or the name is different but the system can be found, the later generation will always be more advanced than the previous generation.Therefore, in the previous dynasties, most of the Chinese transplants belonged to the first two types, but in modern times, most of them belonged to the latter type. This is unsurprising, and Khitan is a good example.Khitan Taizu Yelu Abaoji, according to "History of the Five Dynasties", is also one of the eight masters.At the beginning of the tenth century AD, Liu Shouguang was tyrannical in Youzhou, and many Chinese escaped from the frontier.The Great Patriarch of the Khitan invited him there and comforted them well, so he learned a lot of knowledge from them and improved economically and politically.Just use the trick to trap and kill the eight masters, and don't accept them any more.In 916 AD, he abolished the Yaozhan family and established himself.At this time, there were absolutely no strong troops in the north and south of the desert, so he was able to do whatever he wanted.Destroy the Bohai Sea in the northeast, serve Shiwei, serve Dangxiang and Tuyuhun in the southwest, and reach Huihe in the west of Hexi. Listed in "History of Liao Dynasty", there are as many as forty or fifty volumes of his vassal states.

Liang Taizu's personal virtues were somewhat flawed, so previous historians did not criticize him very well.However, private morality is only private morality. The social situation is complicated, and the standards of people are also complicated. How can politics, morality, and ethics be discussed together?Just to usurp and murder is also the public crime of the heroes of the past dynasties, how can one person be blamed?To be honest: when the overall situation is in danger, anyone who can protect the country, resist foreigners, and save the people is a meritorious politician.When a politician wants to fulfill his responsibilities for the country and the people, and the royal family of the previous generation becomes his obstacle, how can he keep his small faith and forget his righteousness?During the Tang and Five Dynasties, Liang Taizu was indeed able to control chaos and be sympathetic to the people. However, commentators throughout the history have mostly regarded it as a heinous crime, and some even favored the later Tang Dynasty.It's a pity that there is no holiday, Liang Taizu was murdered only six years after he usurped the throne.The last emperor was self-reliant, cowardly and incompetent, and after Li Keyong died, his son Cunxu took over the throne with a heroic spirit.In the war between Liang and Jin, Liang was at a disadvantage.The three towns of Hebei and Yiwu were reintroduced into Jin Dynasty. In 923, the two armies held a stalemate in Yunzhou (now Dongping County, Shandong).At that time, Cunxu changed the name of the country to Tang, so Luoyang was the capital, which was Zhuangzong of the later Tang Dynasty.The land of the Central Plains was then occupied by Shatuo.Zhuangzong of the Later Tang Dynasty was originally a barbarian, but after the destruction of Liang, he was naturally full of ambition.So he indulged in sensuality, doting on actors, listening to eunuchs, and political chaos. In 925, the prime minister, Guo Chongtao, was sent to Fu Qi's son, King Wei Jiji, to conquer Qianshu and destroy it.After hearing what the eunuch said, Empress Liu suspected that Guo Chongtao would be harmful to the king of Wei, so she ordered the king of Wei to kill Guo Chongtao.As a result, people panicked and rumors spread everywhere.The Tianxiong army made chaos in Yedu.Zhuangzong sent Li Keyong's adopted son Li Siyuan to conquer.Li Siyuan's army also rebelled and forced Li Siyuan to enter Yecheng.Siyuan used tricks to escape.Xuan listened to his son-in-law Shi Jingtang's words and raised his troops to rebel.Zhuang Zong was killed by an actor.The source of succession is Mingzong.Mingzong was older and more experienced, so he was quieter. In 933, Emperor Mingzong died, and his adopted son Conghouli became Emperor Min.At that time, Shi Jingtang was in the town of Hedong, and Mingzong's adopted son Congke was in town of Fengxiang. Emperor Min wanted to mobilize them to rebel against Congke.All the soldiers sent by Emperor Min turned their backs and surrendered.Emperor Min fled and was killed.Cong Keli is the abolished emperor.They wanted to mobilize Shi Jingtang again, but Jingtang turned against him again.In view of Emperor Min's failure, the deposed emperor prepared a Zhang Jingda who would not turn against him, and then launched it, besieging Shi Jingtang.Jing Tang sent people to Khitan to ask for help, and Xu cut Yan and Yun sixteen prefectures (Youzhou and Yunzhou have been seen before. Jizhou, present-day Jixian County, Hebei Province. Yingzhou, present-day Hejian County, Hebei Province. Mozhou, present-day Hejian County Suning County, Hebei. Zhuozhou, now Zhuo County, Hebei. Tanzhou, now Miyun County, Hebei. Shunzhou, now Shunyi County, Hebei. Xinzhou, now Chahar Zhuolu County. Guizhou, now Chahar Huailai County. Confucianism Zhouzhou, present-day Chahar Yanqing County. Wuzhou, present-day Chahar Xuanhua County. Yingzhou, present-day Ying County, Shanxi. Huanzhou, present-day Mayi County, Shanxi. Shuozhou, present-day Shuo County, Shanxi. Weizhou, present-day Chaha Erwei County).His subordinate Liu Zhiyuan advised him: as long as he bribes with gold and silk, his wish will be fulfilled, and he is not allowed to cut the land to cause future troubles.Jing Tang didn't listen.At this time, Khitan Taizu was dead, and his second son Taizong was in power. He sent troops to the south and besieged Zhang Jingda, and the deposed emperor could not save him.Emperor Taizong of Khitan and Shi Jingtang went south, and the deposed emperor burned himself to death.Jing Tang established his capital in Daliang, he was the emperor Gaozu of the Jin Dynasty, and he called himself a vassal and ceded the land to Khitan. In 942, Emperor Gaozu of Jin Dynasty died, and his brother Chonggui was established as the emperor.Hearing what the bodyguard Jing Yanguang said, he stopped being a vassal to Khitan and changed his tough attitude in negotiations.At this time, Khitan had changed its name to Liao.Liao soldiers went south, and the wars were also victorious.However, Shi Jin's national strength was exhausted, and there were already cases of colluding with foreign enemies and coveting high positions.So Jin general Du Chongwei descended to Liao, and the Liao people entered Daliang and left as emperor in 946.Emperor Taizong of Liao Dynasty was a rough man who didn't understand politics.After entering Daliang, he sent people to various places to search for money and silk, and sent more of his cronies to various places to be governors, and traitors attached to them to abuse the people.The Liao people marched without food and pay. There was another army in the army, which plundered everywhere for self-sufficiency.So rebels arose.Taizong of the Liao Dynasty had no choice but to abandon Bianliang and die before leaving China.Taizong, the second son of Taizu, was established because of the preference of Queen Shulu.His elder brother, Tuyu (Chinese name Bei), established the Bohai Sea and enfeoffed it, and he was called the King of Dongdan.The king of Dongdan went to the later Tang Dynasty. When Emperor Taizong of Liao entered China, he was killed by the Jin people. Li Hu, the third son of Empress Shulu, was more violent than Taizong. The Liao people were afraid that Empress Shulu would set him up, so they supported Dongdan in the army. The king's son is Sejong.Li Huxing refused to fight and was defeated.Shizong reigned for only four years, and Taizong's son Mu Zong succeeded him. He was indulging in wine, political chaos, and the situation in the north.Fortunately, it was Liao Taizong who invaded China at this time. If it was Liao Taizu, it would not be so easy to withdraw.

Although the Khitan withdrew, the regime in the Central Plains still fell into the hands of the Shatuo people.Liu Zhiyuan entered Daliang and proclaimed himself emperor, and he was Gaozu of the Later Han Dynasty.Not long after he died, Ziyin became the emperor. In 950, it was usurped by Guo Wei, the Taizu of the Later Zhou Dynasty.The regime in the Central Plains began to return to the Han people.Min, the younger brother of Emperor Gaozu of the Later Han Dynasty, stood on his own in Taiyuan and was called his nephew Yu Liao. He was called the Northern Han Dynasty, also known as the Eastern Han Dynasty.Taizu Li of the Later Zhou Dynasty died four years later, and his adopted son Sejongli died.The Northern Han Dynasty came to attack at the funeral, and Sejong was defeated in Gaoping (now Gaoping County, Shanxi).First, after Wu Yang Xingmi, it was usurped by his minister Li Min, and the name of the country was changed to Tang, which was Southern Tang.And there is the land of Jiangxi, which has a wide territory.After Tang Zhuangzong's death, Xichuan Jiedu made Meng Zhixiang attack Dongchuan and stand on his own, which was later Shu.Jing, the son of Li Min, took advantage of the decline of Fujian and Chu to annex them, and he was quite conceited; Chang, the son of Meng Zhixiang, was a foolish and arrogant person. He wanted to make friends with Khitan. , you have to punish the two countries first.The disadvantages of the Tang Dynasty vassals and towns can be summed up in the eight words "the land is good at generals, and the generals are good at soldiers".The military armor and wealth of a locality are all reserved by the Jiedu envoy, and the central government cannot intervene.When Jiedushi changed his generation, at least he had no full power to intervene, or he could not intervene at all.However, the Jiedushi may not be able to deal with the affairs in his territory with full authority, at least he must take into account the opinions of his generals and school, or follow the customs of his army.Especially when changing generations, no matter if they are relatives or people with similar qualifications, they must also be supported by the army, otherwise they will be in danger of being killed or expelled.If Jiedu envoys lose the hearts of the public, they will also be killed by their subordinates.There are also ambitious people who incite the army, bait with heavy rewards, and overthrow the Jiedushi and replace them.This kind of army is really the so-called arrogant soldiers.All soldiers who are arrogant will not be able to fight externally, but will be controlled by them internally, and they will not be able to do anything.After the mid-Tang Dynasty, the feudal towns sat on the sidelines of the bandits and bandits and were unable to attack; knowing that their strong neighbors were oppressed, they had to sit back and wait for them to be annexed; when they encountered a strong enemy, their army fell apart.This is not enough to make a difference unless it is thoroughly rectified.Zhou Shizong was well aware of its disadvantages. In the battle of Gaoping, the army had yet to receive a weapon, and those who watched the wind disarmed knew the danger of the situation.As a result, the forbidden army was greatly eliminated, and the states were ordered to recruit soldiers and send the elite to the capital. The army was completely changed, and its political clarity was enough to match it, so the country's power suddenly expanded.After the defeat of Shu, they attacked the Southern Tang Dynasty and took all the land in the north of the Yangtze River. In 959, he sent troops to attack Liao, restored the three prefectures of Ying, Mo, and Yi, and approached Youzhou.At this time, when the Khitan was in decline, if Zhou Shizong did not die, Yan and the sixteen prefectures of Yun had great hope of recovery, and the future history would be completely changed.It's a pity that Shizong was ill on the way, so he had to return to the army and died soon.The heir was young and weak, and next year, he was usurped by Song Taizu.

Song Taizu's talents were comparable to those of Zhou Shizong, or even more stable.He probably knew that Khitan was a formidable enemy, Yan and Yun were not easy to take for a while, even if they were taken, they would not be impossible to defend with a heavy force, but at this time the separate kingdoms are either weak or chaotic, so it is not easy to take them, so we must first After calming down the country, we will concentrate our efforts on the outside world.After the death of Liang, he established Gao Jixing according to the three prefectures of Jing, Gui, and Xia (Jingzhou, present-day Jiangling County, Hubei; Guizhou, present-day Zigui County, Hubei; Xiazhou, present-day Xiling County, Hubei), which was Nanping.Although Chu was destroyed by the Tang Dynasty, Langzhou became independent immediately (Langzhou, now Changde County, Hunan Province). In 962, because Langzhou and Hengzhou attacked each other (Hengzhou, now Hengshan County, Hunan Province), Song Taizu sent people to ask for help, and sent troops to Nanping to destroy both Nanping and Langzhou (Hengzhou had already been destroyed by Langzhou) ). In 956, troops were sent to destroy Houshu. In 971, troops were sent to destroy the Southern Han Dynasty. In 975, troops were sent to destroy the Southern Tang Dynasty.That year, Taizu died, and his younger brother Taizong was established. In 976, Wuyue Natu surrendered.Next year, Taizong will destroy the Northern Han Dynasty on a large scale.So China reunited.It has been 72 years since Zhu Liang usurped the Tang Dynasty in 907.If we count from the actual collapse of the central government of the Tang Dynasty in 880 when Emperor Xizong went to Shu, it will be a hundred years.