Chapter 23 3. Li Yun was pacified by courtesy first and soldiers later

Zhao Kuangyin's generosity showed his benevolent side in dealing with the survivors of the former dynasty, and won him support from the people to the court, allowing the new dynasty to quickly enter a stable period.But Zhao Kuangyin's benevolence also has a limit. When those survivors openly confronted him, which was not good for Song Ting, he would also wield his sharp sword, and treat the enemy with a fierce attitude so as not to give the other party any vitality. Li Yun, the Jiedushi of the Later Zhou Dynasty, was an old official whom Zhou Taizu Guo Wei attached great importance to. As early as when Guo Wei was a minister in the Later Han Dynasty, he admired him very much.Li Yun is not only brave and good at fighting, but also proficient in the art of war. Guo Wei once recommended him as the vanguard commander of the Later Han Dynasty.When Guo Wei launched an incident, Li Yun followed him and fought side by side. He became one of the founding heroes of the Later Zhou Dynasty.

In the second year of Emperor Gong of Zhou, AD 960, Zhou and Song completed the abdication handover in the joyful atmosphere of the Spring Festival.When Li Yun, who was far away in Luzhou, heard the news, his heart was filled with grief and he blamed himself deeply. Zhao Kuangyin has always been afraid of Li Yun, so after the government stabilized, he said to Zhao Pu: "When Sejong was alive, among the generals who were highly valued, Li Yun was the bravest, so Sejong handed over the important town of Luzhou to him. He was stationed there. Later, when Emperor Gong succeeded to the throne, the Empress Dowager Fu made him a captain in order to keep him loyal. It can be said that glory and wealth are nothing to Li Yun. Now that I have taken over the world, this person must be It's a big threat to me."

Zhao Pu said: "Li Yun used to be an official in the same dynasty as you, and was once your immediate superior. Now that you have become emperor, he must have some thoughts in his heart. But now our government is stable, and no one comes out to make trouble. I You don't think he dares to show off the limelight, do you?" Miao Xun disagreed with this, he said: "Li Yun is not moving now, just because there is no good time, if there is a chance, he will not be silent." Zhao Kuangyin said: "No matter what his reasons are, I just want him to accept that the dynasty has changed and the Zhao family is already in the world. As long as he knows the current affairs, I will not treat him badly. It is good for senior officials and nobles to treat him politely." gone."

In order to maintain the peaceful situation, Zhao Kuangyin did not persecute Li Yun, but treated him kindly, and named him Zhongshu Ling. The envoy of the Song Dynasty came to Luzhou with the imperial decree of the new emperor. Although Li Yun's eyes were bloodshot, he held back his temper and opened the city to welcome him.When the envoy entered the hall to announce his will, he refused to kneel down. Adviser Li Yuanheng whispered to him: "General, those who know the current affairs are outstanding! Don't try to be brave and suffer the immediate loss!" Under the repeated persuasion of everyone, Li Yun thought of his family, and the people and officials of Luzhou all over the city, who would suffer because of his refusing to kneel, so he could only reluctantly bow down.

After the uneasy special envoy announced his appointment, he hurriedly left the tense Luzhou city.Li Yuanheng and others persuaded Li Yun: "Now that the new emperor has ascended the throne and controlled the whole country, he also treats all the veterans of the former court. The general should stop fighting!" Li Yun flicked his sleeves and said, "I'm not trying to show off for a while, but Taizu and Shizong treated me well, but I can't protect the Great Zhou and let the rebellious officials win the world. I just feel ashamed!" According to the usual practice, after being sealed, there will be a banquet to celebrate, and the officials in Luzhou also congratulated him one after another.Li Yun came to the banquet, seeing everyone's smiling face, he couldn't help feeling sad, he ordered someone to hang a portrait of Zhou Taizu Guo Wei in the middle hall, and he bowed down in front of the picture and said: "Taizu, I, Li Yun, am ashamed." For His Majesty's trust in me! If I can't contribute to the Great Zhou Dynasty, my life would be worse than death!" As he spoke, he actually burst into tears!

This scene really frightened everyone in the hall, and those who wanted to miss the old dynasty couldn't help but shed tears. Some people admired General Li's loyalty and courage and hurried forward to dissuade them, but there were also those who watched the excitement and just watched Li Yun accept the Song Dynasty. He was appointed by the court, but he cried and sacrificed to Zhou Taizu.Li Yuanheng, Liu Jichong and other cronies hurried forward to help Li Yun into the back hall, and dismissed everyone. Although Li Yuanheng strictly asked everyone to silence, the news of Li Yun crying and worshiping Taizu spread like wildfire and reached Zhao Kuangyin's ears.Hearing the news, Zhao Kuangyin angrily said to Zhao Pu: "I treat him with courtesy, but he is blatantly trying to be my enemy. Crying to the Taizu is to show his loyalty to the previous dynasty. I can fulfill him and send him off." He went to see Taizu!"

Zhao Pu quickly comforted him and said: "Your Majesty, please calm down. Li Yun is a loyal person. He has fought side by side with Taizu for many years and participated in every war established by the previous dynasty. Therefore, it is not surprising that he has deep affection for Taizu. And The most important thing right now is safety first, and we must not provoke him." Zhao Kuangyin sighed and said: "It is precisely because I want to be safe that I speak kindly to him. Who knows that he is so ungrateful. I understand that many people are waiting for the opportunity to see who will be the first to stand up to me. We are enemies, so we must treat these people with caution and avoid provoking war. But if Li Yun continues like this, I will not continue to endure."

Zhao Pu said: "Your Majesty has extraordinary bearing, we still have to focus on the overall situation!" Under everyone's persuasion, Zhao Kuangyin held back his breath and pretended to know nothing about what Li Yun had done.But Li Yun didn't restrain himself because of this, he felt more and more ashamed of himself for not being loyal to Da Zhou, and he didn't pay much attention to Zhao Kuangyin's forbearance.Finally, after several sleepless nights, he said to Liu Jichong, his confidant general: "I followed the Taizu to establish the Great Zhou Dynasty. Because the Taizu was worried about the border, he asked me to be stationed in Luzhou, but he didn't expect to destroy the country. The hatred comes from the court. After Zhao Kuangyin seized power, none of the courtiers objected, only General Han Tong died in a bloody battle and died for the country. Have these people forgotten the kindness of Taizu and Sejong?"

Liu Jichong said: "Now the Song court has mastered the military and government. Although many of the former courts have been employed, important positions are held by their people, and the army is also controlled by Zhao Kuangyin. Wang Pu, Fan Zhi, etc. Even if the veteran is not willing to allow such a traitor to become emperor, he can only watch him show off his power." Li Yun said: "Wang Pu and others are all scholars with no strength to restrain a chicken. They have no integrity. But I have a heavy army in my hand, should I be like them?" Liu Jichong hurriedly dissuaded him: "General, don't be impatient. Although the Luzhou garrison has been drilled for a long time, it is still not enough compared with the Kaifeng Forbidden Army. If you have other plans, you should think long-term."

Li Yun said: "I have no choice but to discuss any further, because I can't sleep at night because I am ashamed of Taizu. Only by overthrowing Zhao Kuangyin can I have the face to go underground to meet Taizu! If Luzhou's troops are not strong enough to fight against Kaifeng, then I will go to the nearest Northern Han Dynasty to borrow troops!" Liu Jichong was shocked when he heard this: "The Taizu asked you to be stationed in Luzhou to guard against the Northern Han. You have been fighting against the Northern Han for decades. Are you going to betray the country and make friends with the Northern Han just to kill Zhao Kuangyin?"

Li Yun said: "In order to avenge my shame, even if I make friends with the Northern Han Dynasty, I will not hesitate." After making up his mind, Li Yun went to visit Ruizong of the Northern Han Dynasty with the courtesy of a monarch and minister, and asked him to send troops to rescue him, and to attack the Song Dynasty to report Zhou.Emperor Ruizong of the Han Dynasty was very happy with Li Yun's surrender. He didn't expect that his old enemy would prostrate himself on the ground and pay respects to him as a courtier.But he also understood that Li Yun did not consider the feud between Zhou Dynasty and himself because of Guo Wei's kindness, but even so, as long as he can defeat Song Ting, it can be regarded as the realization of his long-cherished wish by the hands of Li Yun.Therefore, he generously ordered Xuanhui envoy Lu Zan to lead his troops to support him. When Zhao Kuangyin heard that Li Yun defected to the Northern Han Dynasty and used troops to conquer the Song court, he could no longer restrain his inner anger and said sharply: "The Northern Han Dynasty has been my enemy for generations, and Li Yun actually defected. He is trying to defeat me. If Da Song doesn’t care about integrity, then I can no longer show mercy to him.” Shi Shouxin, the Marquis of Yu in front of the hall, said: "There is an urgent report from the front. Li Yun has borrowed 100,000 troops from the Northern Han Dynasty and marched southward. Zezhou, which is the closest to Luzhou, became his first target. Zezhou Inspector Zhang Fu fought hard, but he was outnumbered and had already been killed by him." The fall of Zezhou and Li Yun's rebellion caused an undercurrent to surge in the court that had just stabilized. The ministers were quietly discussing where Li Yun would go and who would follow him to become the second Raiders.Zhao Kuangyin knew that he could no longer be merciful, otherwise his opponents would make a big fanfare and encourage more people to follow Li Yun and make him an enemy.He immediately ordered Shi Shouxin and Murong Yanzhao to split into two groups as the vanguard, and then led the brigade to Zezhou. Zhao Pu dissuaded him and said, "Although Li Jun is arrogant, he is not strong enough, and Ruizong of the Northern Han Dynasty will not support him sincerely, so he must not be able to resist for a long time. Why should Your Majesty go on a personal conquest?" Zhao Kuangyin said: "Although I believe that Li Yun is just making a fuss this time, he has set an example for others, making those who oppose my enthronement think that they can make enemies with me in this way. So I must You have to go to the front line, kill Li Yun with your own hands, and tell those people what will happen if you become an enemy of me!" Seeing that Zhao Kuangyin was so resolute, Zhao Pu, Fan Zhi and others did not dare to persuade them anymore, so they could only follow Zhao Kuangyin's chariot and horses to the Northern Expedition. Northern Han's support for Li Yun was very limited, because Emperor Ruizong of the Northern Han Dynasty knew that Li Yun did not really surrender himself, he only wanted Li Yun to consume Zhao Kuangyin, instead of supporting Li Yun to become the second Zhao Kuangyin, so the reinforcements were not allowed to fight. force.However, as the first expedition after the establishment of the new dynasty, the Song Army had an absolute advantage in terms of the number of troops, morale and combat effectiveness.When Murong Yanzhao led his troops to Changping, he defeated Li Yun. In addition, Zhao Kuangyin's imperial conquest forced Li Yun into Zezhou, where there was no way out, and he was finally captured. Zhao Kuangyin's attitude towards Li Yun is his attitude towards the survivors of the previous dynasty. He hopes to live in peace with everyone and hope that these people will continue to be loyal to him, so the new dynasty will not treat them badly.But if they miss the previous dynasty wholeheartedly and refuse to accept Song Ting's leadership, Zhao Kuangyin will never be soft-hearted.What Li Yun represents is that group of loyal and courageous old ministers of the Later Zhou Dynasty. They miss Taizu and Sejong and cannot bear the Song court's power. When most people choose to keep silent, they will also jump out to oppose .Such a loyal minister and righteous man is commendable, and the quality he represents has been admired for thousands of years, but from a historical point of view, unification is the general trend, and the ultimate goal of national power development is better than being confined to the old master. a narrow range of thought.