Chapter 10 10. The heroic strategy of the gods, but the ambition is not perfect

The most respected generation of monarchs during the Five Dynasties period can be said to be none other than Zhou Shizong Chai Rong.He worked hard all his life to conquer the north and south, and made outstanding contributions in military, political, cultural and other aspects of construction.He was originally Guo Wei's nephew, but he ascended the throne of Later Zhou Dynasty as an adopted son.At the beginning of his succession, Chai Rong made an oath: willing to use "ten years to open up the world, ten years to support the people, and ten years to bring peace."But the sky was not beautiful, and an emperor who had the ability and desire to bring peace to troubled times died young. The "Old History of the Five Dynasties" gave him the highest evaluation: "Shenwuxionglue, a generation of heroic masters", but unfortunately "surrendered Years are not forever, ambitions are not fulfilled, sad husband!"

In the first month of the first year of Xiande in the Later Zhou Dynasty (954 A.D.), Guo Wei, the Taizu of the Later Zhou Dynasty, died of illness. According to his last words, Chai Rong, king of Jin, succeeded to the throne before Guo Wei's coffin and became the new Emperor of the Later Zhou Dynasty.But less than ten days after he became emperor, he encountered a huge crisis from the Northern Han Dynasty. Liu Chong, the ancestor of the Northern Han Dynasty, admired Shi Jingtang, the emperor of the later Jin Dynasty. Even though he was despised by everyone for betraying his country and seeking glory, Liu Chong still felt that it was a very wise move for Shi Jingtang to borrow power from Khitan.Therefore, he very much hoped that he could follow Shi Jingtang's example and rely on Khitan's troops to go south to overthrow the mighty Hou Zhou.It coincided with Guo Wei's death and Chai Rong had just ascended the throne. Liu Chong believed that his chance had finally come.He borrowed troops from Khitan, led the privy envoy Wang Yansi, Si Tianjian Li Yi, and the privy direct scholar Wang Dezhong. With Zhang Yuanhui as the vanguard, he personally led the troops southward and came straight to Luzhou.

Chai Rong, who had just sat on the dragon chair, was still in the stage of wearing mourning for Guo Wei, so he hurriedly ordered Zhaoyi Jiedu envoy Li Yun to intercept him.Who knew that Liu Chong came so aggressively that he defeated Li Yun's army and forced him to retreat to Shangdang County.The allied forces of the Northern Han Dynasty and Khitan suddenly gained momentum and wiped out the trend of the Later Zhou Dynasty in one fell swoop. After Chai Rong heard the news, he said to the ministers: "Now Liu Chong is leading the Khitan coalition army to invade our border. It is nothing more than bullying me who has just succeeded to the throne. If he succeeds this time, it may be difficult to gain prestige in the future, so I have decided to lead my troops to the expedition myself!"

Regarding this proposal, the ministers immediately divided into two factions, and the opposition headed by Feng Dao warned one after another: "Liu Chong's visit this time is just a bluff, trying to disturb our military and people's morale. As long as Li Yun rectifies , will definitely be able to defeat him. Your Majesty has just won the world, it has not been long, and people's hearts are still unstable, it is best not to act rashly." Chai Rong said: "Liu Chong came here this time just to take advantage of my father's new funeral. If we appear weak and deceitful, then he will be even more arrogant. This time he joined the Khitan army to come, presumably with the intention of embezzlement My wish for the land of Great Zhou. Since he can personally lead troops to attack me, why can’t I personally lead troops to repel him for the sake of Great Zhou mountains and rivers?"

Feng Dao was a typical official in the Five Dynasties period. He served many emperors of different dynasties and surnames in his life. Every time a new general seizes power, he will lead a hundred officials to open the city gate to welcome him, so he can always regard himself as a hero in the new dynasty, and he can be described as a tycoon in the officialdom.Chai Rong didn't appreciate his character, but Guo Wei relied on him, so he had to keep him as an official in the court.This time Feng Dao was ignorant of the current affairs and resolutely stopped him. Chai Rong was very angry and said to him: "When Emperor Taizong of Tang used to pacify the world, he personally led the troops in every battle. Why should I live in the capital? seek temporary ease?"

Feng Dao said: "How can Your Majesty compare yourself with Tang Taizong?" This sentence made Chai Rong very unhappy, and said: "Am I not as good as Emperor Taizong of Tang? Liu Chong and Khitan are just mobs who came for the wealth of my Great Zhou. If I lead an army to attack, I will surely be able to conquer Tang Taizong like a big mountain." They overwhelm!" Feng Dao obviously didn't pay much attention to the new emperor, and he said sarcastically, "How could your majesty become a mountain?" As soon as this remark came out, Chai Rong was furious.Fortunately, Wang Pu, the minister of the main battle, stood up and said: "Liu Chong's army suppressed the border, and Li Yun's defeat in the first battle was largely due to the unstable morale of the army. The first emperor passed away, and everyone had no confidence in the situation, so they fought It’s time to go all out. If His Majesty can personally conquer, it will definitely boost morale, and by then, the defeat of Liu Chong will be just around the corner.”

After hearing what Wang Pu said, Chai Rong looked at Feng Dao angrily again, and said, "That's exactly what I mean. Immediately order Tianxiong Jiedu envoy Fu Yanqing and Yicheng Jiedu envoy Bai Chongzan to lead their troops to Ze State, support Li Yun." He himself immediately led his troops from Kaifeng to Zezhou. Chai Rong, who wanted to repel Liu Chong, galloped all the way and came to Zezhou without stopping. Liu Chong was very surprised that he was able to lead the army himself. He never thought that he would sit on the bumpy dragon chair instead of the comfortable dragon chair. on horseback.

The two armies met at Gaoping, south of Luzhou, and Chai Rong led the army to storm the Northern Han and Khitan coalition forces.Liu Chong ordered Zhang Yuanhui to fight, but Yang Gun, the general of the Khitan reinforcements, said to him: "The enemy's troops have just arrived, and their morale is still strong. We should wait until we go out." But Liu Chong said: "Their barracks are not yet firmly established, which is a good opportunity for us. Since you don't want to send troops, don't say any more. Let's see how I can defeat the enemy." Yang Gun was very dissatisfied with Liu Chong's tone, but Liu Chong said to Wang Yansi and Li Yi on the left and right: "I think with the strength of our Han army, we can defeat the Zhou army. This time we invited the Khitan army to come. It's really redundant. Today I not only want to defeat Zhou Jun, but also make the Khitan people admire us!"

Seeing what he said, Yang Gun led his army back, pretending to be sitting on a mountain watching a tiger fight, determined not to participate in the battle. When Liu Chongzhi in the Northern Han camp was bound to win, Chai Rong carefully arranged offensive and defensive positions in the Hou Zhou army.He said to the generals: "Although our army is slightly inferior to the opponent in terms of numbers, this does not mean anything. The most important thing in a war is morale. As long as our army's morale is high, we will definitely be able to drive Liu Chong back to Taiyuan." The generals were very encouraged by the emperor's personal conquest. Fu Yanqing said: "Although the enemy is fierce, they each have their own plans. The Khitan army and the Han army are their own masters. All the soldiers are willing to fight to the death.”

Chai Rong nodded and began to deploy for battle.He sent general Zhang Yongde to attack directly from the left flank, while Fu Yanqing went around to the enemy's rear, and let Bai Chongzan advance from the right flank, forming an outflanking trend against the Northern Han army.In order to boost morale, Fan Aineng, He Hui and others who had fled in the last battle were tied to the front of the camp and beheaded. Chai Rong said to the soldiers: "The country's security is at stake in this battle. I swear to live and die with the soldiers. I will not be defeated." The Han army will never return to the court!" After speaking, he swung his sword and rushed to the front, heading straight for the Han army camp.

The crowd was encouraged, and Zhao Kuangyin, who was the general of Hou Zhou at that time, shouted loudly: "My lord is in a critical situation, how can we soldiers not swear to protect him to the death! Let your majesty fight the enemy, what do we need?" So he drew his bow and shot an arrow. , Shooting dozens of enemy troops in a row.Seeing that the general was so brave, the soldiers all fought bloody battles, determined to repel the Han army with all their might, and each of them defeated a hundred with one enemy. This time, Liu Chong suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Gaoping between the Northern Han Dynasty and the Later Zhou Dynasty. Although the Northern Han Dynasty had an advantage in number of troops before that, he did not expect that Chai Rong would march in person. So heroic under the leadership.Zhang Yuanhui, the chief general of the Northern Han Dynasty, died in this battle, and Liu Chong was surrounded by groups. Yang Gun, the Khitan general who had come to rescue in the name of the Allied Forces, saw that the Zhou army was so strong, and resented Liu Chong for belittling him, so he also Unwilling to be rescued, they retreated alone.In the end, Liu Chong was defeated in this battle. The corpses of the Northern Han army were scattered all over the field, and only 10,000 people were able to return to the south. After Chai Rong's triumphant return, he sent Feng Dao, who had blocked him, to build a tomb for Guo Wei, and rewarded Fu Yanqing, Zhao Kuangyin and others for their bravery in the battle.After this battle, Chai Rong not only showed a resolute and fearless imperial spirit, but also created a good situation for the stability of the later Zhou Dynasty.After the Battle of Gaoping, Chai Rong discovered the disadvantages of Hou Zhou's army construction, and began to promote elite soldiers from all over the country to form an imperial army with strong combat effectiveness. This team played a very important role in the subsequent battles of Hou Zhou. effect.Not only won a large area of ​​territory in the wars with Later Shu and Southern Tang, but also took back a total of 17 counties in Ningzhou, Yingzhou, and Mozhou from Khitan, and achieved the best results in the war between the Central Plains and Khitan during the Five Dynasties period. Zhou Shizong's literary and martial arts throughout his life can be regarded as the first monarch of the Five Dynasties, and he is also revered as the most outstanding politician of the Five Dynasties.He was frugal all his life, accepted advice sincerely, established a series of effective policies, and made outstanding contributions in taxation, administration of officials, and law. "Great Zhou Xingtong" and other laws and regulations are the best legal norms in the Five Dynasties period, and have a great influence on later generations such as "Song Xingtong".Chai Rong also built water conservancy, dredged water transport, and dredged the Grand Canal, Yellow River, Bian River and other rivers, thereby further developing the economy.During the Five Dynasties period, Buddhism flourished. Chai Rong boldly destroyed the Buddha and made money, strengthened the management of monasteries and monks, and made 600,000 people return to secular life, which not only reduced the burden on the country, but also increased the labor force.And he also devoted himself to the unification of the country with his outstanding military talents, making Hou Zhou one of the most powerful countries at that time.But when he was victorious in the war with Khitan, he died in Kaifeng at the age of 39 due to illness.Although it is a pity that Meizhi was not successful, the foundation he established laid a solid foundation for the later development of the Northern Song Dynasty, and he is still worthy of the reputation of a generation of heroes.