Chapter 20 13. Toffee's Prophecy

When Li Cunxu ascended the throne as emperor, Li Keyong's eldest wife Liu Shi said: "May my son enjoy the country for a long time, and my generation will be lost to the land. There is an owner in the garden, and there is nothing left to say!" Everyone wants to sit on the throne for a long time. , spread far, there is always an annoying gap between wish and reality. Guo Chongtao died, and Xuanhui envoy Li Shaohong succeeded him as Privy Envoy. The Guo Chongtao incident, as a huge political crisis in the later Tang Empire, was not well resolved, and eventually led to unjust and wrongly decided murders.The world was shocked and rumors spread everywhere.Some said that Guo Chongtao killed the prince Li Jiji and claimed independence in Sichuan without authorization, so the court executed Guo Chongtao's family members in Luoyang.Some said that Empress Liu was saddened by Li Jiji's death, thinking that the emperor indirectly killed the prince, so the empress had already killed the emperor.Li Cunxu secretly dispatched Shi Yanqiong, the superintendent of Weizhou, to assassinate Zhu Youqian's son in Chanzhou.Shi Yanqiong went out of the city at night, and it was rumored that Shi Yanqiong had already entered the palace to join the queen.

For a while, various versions of rumors spread, resonated, and innovated on both sides of the Yellow River. It seemed that the Later Tang Empire had become a mess.The military situation, public sentiment, and official sentiment are very unstable, and unexpected chaos may break out at any time. February 926 AD. The Wei Bo army stationed at Waqiao, Hebei, when it was time to change defenses, should return to Weizhou to rest according to regulations.At this juncture, the mobilization and defense changes of soldiers and horses in the world are extremely sensitive.Due to the two wars in Chengde and Sichuan, most of the troops in the Central Plains were transferred to the front line, and Weizhou was empty of troops.Because Weizhou is an important town in the Tang Dynasty, for safety reasons, the Tang Dynasty court ordered Wei Bojun who returned to Weizhou not to return to Weizhou for the time being, and temporarily stationed in Beizhou halfway.Beizhou is the military granary of the Central Plains.Thousands of people in Wei Bo's army happily wanted to go home for a vacation. They were about to see their parents, wives, children, brothers, and sisters after a long absence, but they were ordered to stop on the way and could not return home.What kind of taste is this?Wei Bo Junbing's emotions were suddenly irritated.

One night, these soldiers gambled away their boring time in their tents.There was a boy named Huangfu Hui who lost even a whole night of gambling, and was so angry that he found fault and vented his anger.Huangfuhui didn't finish all the messing around, and actually broke into the tent of the chief general and commander Yang Renxuan.Yang Renzhu was sleeping soundly, and was caught off guard by Huangfuhui.Huangfu Hui took the opportunity to arouse the emotions of the soldiers. He said: "The reason why the emperor conquered the world is mainly due to the credit of our Wei Bo army. We have fought against Zhu Liang for more than ten years without taking off our armor and horses. Now the world has been settled, but the emperor But they forgot about us, not only didn’t reward us for our military exploits, but now they suspect us and don’t let us go home. Do you think it makes sense?”

A group of onlookers, Wei Jun, shouted in unison: "It doesn't make sense! It's not fair!" Huangfuhui added: "Now the capital is in chaos, and the emperor's life and death are unknown. Let's ask General Yang to lead us to Luoyang. If the emperor is safe, then we can fight against the rebels and make new achievements. If the emperor is killed, then we will each seek wealth and honor." ,How about it?" These troops have lost their minds and completely lost the standard of right and wrong. As long as someone takes the lead, they can go anywhere.Wei Jun shouted again: "Just do it! Just do it!"

As the commander, Yang Renxuan maintained his due sobriety and calmness.He realized that this was a violation of military discipline, a rebellion, and a serious nature.Yang Renzhu refused to take the lead in going to Luoyang.This kid Huangfuhui was aggressive, he raised the knife and cut off Yang Renxuan's head. The main force of this group of Wei Bo's army is Xiaojiedu with silver guns.The commander of Xiaojiedu was Zhao Zaili.Zhao Zaili was terrified when he heard that the army was making trouble.In the era of warlords fighting in chaos, most of the results of military rebellion were to kill the chief.Zhao Zaili is too familiar with the market, and it is the best policy to act in a crisis.Zhao Zaili didn't bother to fasten his trouser belt, and ran out barefoot, planning to climb over the wall and escape.

Just as Zhao Zaili climbed up the wall, Huangfuhui had already arrived, grabbed Zhao Zaili's feet and pulled him off the wall.Huangfuhui threw Yang Renzhu's head in front of Zhao Zaili, and asked, "General, will you do it?" Zhao Zaili was afraid, so he had to submit to the threats of Huangfuhui and other soldiers.The rebel army elected Zhao Zaili as the commander-in-chief, and sent troops southward, burning, killing and looting Beizhou, Linqing, Yongji, Guantao and other places along the way. On the third night of Wei Bo's rebellion, soldiers who had escaped from Beizhou ran to Weizhou and reported the Beizhou military rebellion to Sun Duo, the inspector of the capital.Sun Duo hurried to the Supervisory Mansion to discuss with Shi Yanqiong.One of the functions and powers of the supervisory army is to approve the distribution of weapons and equipment, so as to restrict the deployment of the army by the general.Sun Duo asked Shi Yanqiong to approve the distribution of armor and weapons to the soldiers, and quickly armed them to strengthen their defenses.

In this messy situation, no one can trust anyone.Shi Yanqiong was worried that Sun Duo had a different intention. If he was given weapons, what would he do if he caused chaos?Shi Yanqiong prevaricated Sun Duo and said: "The person who reported the news said that the rebel army has just arrived in Linqing, and based on the marching speed, it will take six days to reach Weizhou. Don't rush to prepare." When Sun Duo heard what Shi Yanqiong said, he scolded in his heart: "You are a dead eunuch who has suffered a thousand knives, you still suspect me in an emergency!" He said: "Since the rebel army has launched, it will definitely take advantage of our unpreparedness, Come here day and night, how can you march at a normal speed? Please lead the main force to defend the city. I am willing to lead a thousand people to meet outside the city. The rebellious army has no backbone. The army will naturally collapse and disperse." Sun Duo has already made a concession, if Shi Yanqiong is not at ease, then you Shi Yanqiong can lead the main force to defend the city, and I will not threaten you if I go out to fight in the city, right?

Shi Yanqiong still disagreed, he said: "Forget it, don't go out of the city, I will personally lead people to defend the city." That night, Wei Bo's rebel army had reached the north gate of Weizhou. It was Shi Yanqiong who defended the north gate.When Shi Yanqiong heard the sound of the rebellious army shouting and killing, he didn't move a knife or a gun, and ran away in fright, and the guarding army disintegrated instantly.Shi Yanqiong rode alone through the south gate of Weizhou and fled to Luoyang.Sun Duo led people to resist the rebellious army, but his strength was too small to defeat the rebellious army, so he had to flee in the end.

At this time, Wang Zhengyan, who stayed behind in Weizhou, was drafting a document.Wang Zhengyan, as we explained earlier, is a veteran cadre with dim eyesight, unresponsiveness, and timidity. It is because of his "advantages" that the eunuch group drove away the stubborn Zhang Xian and exchanged him for Weizhou. Wang Zhengyan wrote the document and summoned someone to study the ink for him to transcribe, but no one came after calling several times.Wang Zhengyan got angry and scolded angrily, "Where are all the people going?" Wang Zhengyan's family ran over and said, "My lord, something is wrong. The rebel army has already entered the city, and all the officials have run away! You still call who?"

Hearing this, Wang Zhengyan was so frightened that he almost peed his pants, and quickly ordered his family to prepare their horses and run away.But the horse was nowhere to be found.Wang Zhengyan had no choice but to walk to Zhao Zaili, the leader of the rebel army, and wait for his release.This Wang Zhengyan was really spineless. After seeing Zhao Zaili, he knelt on the ground to plead guilty.Zhao Zaili still knew the general idea, so he hurriedly knelt down and saluted Wang Zhengyan, saying, "My lord, you have high morals and high prestige, so don't lower your status like this. The so-called rebellious army is just that the soldiers are homesick."

Zhao Zaili comforted Wang Zhengyan and the officials who hadn't escaped in time, and sent them away.Zhang Xian's family members still stayed in Weizhou City and did not go to Taiyuan. Zhao Zaili ordered Zhang Xian's family members to be treated kindly and not to be violated. The death of Guo Chongtao not only triggered the Weibo army chaos, but also caused division and rebellion in the army that conquered Shu. The more vanguard general Kang Yanxiao thought about it, the more he felt that Guo Chongtao and Zhu Youqian had died unjustly, and he had always been at odds with other deployments of the Tang army.Now that Guo Chongtao is dead, Kang Yanxiao feels that his own safety is also threatened.On the way back to the imperial court, Kang Yanxiao led tens of thousands of troops to rebel and returned to Sichuan without authorization. He claimed to be Xichuan Jiedu envoy to replace Meng Zhixiang, and sent someone to cut off the return of Prince Li Jiji. Kang Yanxiao's rebellion disrupted the deployment of the Tang court.The imperial court was terrified, and urgently sent people to organize forces to encircle and suppress Kang Yanxiao.The chaos in Shu is not peaceful, and the chaos in Weizhou, Hebei will be even more hopeless.Prince Li Jiji and Meng Zhixiang attacked Kang Yanxiao successively.Kang Yanxiao was a martial artist who lacked strategy, and was quickly destroyed under the siege of Meng Zhixiang and Li Jiji. Shi Yanqiong ran to Luoyang in a panic.At this time, the court has also become a mess.Emperor Li Cunxu asked Li Shaohong anxiously: "Guo Chongtao's business is not over yet, Weizhou is in chaos again, who can go to fight against the rebellious army in Weizhou?" Li Shaohong still recommended Duan Ning.Li Cunxu asked Duan Ning to make a plan first, and talk about the strategy of hunting down the thieves.Li Cunxu's vigilance was aroused by Duan Ning's suggestion that Liao Zuoquan, the deputy general, was an old man of Zhu Liang.Li Cunxu also became a frightened bird at this time, and he had three-point doubts about everyone.In the end, Li Cunxu did not agree to let Duan Ning go on the expedition. Empress Liu, the vixen who caused trouble, had no fear or regret at this time, and she was complacent and thought she had won a big victory in the political struggle.He said to Emperor Li Cunxu: "Weizhou's rebellious army, why bother the general? Just send Li Shaorong (Yuan Xingqin) there." Li Cunxu thought about it, and he had no choice but to do so. Yuan Xingqin and Shi Yanqiong arrived at the city of Weizhou with 3,000 men, preparing to attack the south gate of Weizhou.Before launching the attack, Yuan Xingqin read out the emperor's imperial edict, with the purpose of recruiting these disorderly troops.Zhao Zaili still put on a very polite and courteous look, filled the city with cooked pigs, cattle and sheep, and saluted Yuan Xingqin and said: "The soldiers are homesick, and they came back without discipline. There is nothing wrong with it, general, please say something nice to the emperor and report the situation, and ask the emperor not to pursue their capital crimes, we must reform our mistakes and start a new life!" Zhao Zaili passed the imperial edict brought by Yuan Xingqin to the Wei Jun around him to show the sincerity of the emperor's leniency. Shi Yanqiong at the bottom of the city got excited at this time, pointed at the top of the city, and yelled at the throat of the male duck: "You bloody rebels, after the army captures Weizhou, you will be smashed into pieces!" You see Didn't this dead eunuch add fuel to the fire? Standing beside Zhao Zaili, Huangfuhui said to Wei Jun: "Look at Shi Yanqiong, the dead eunuch, the emperor will not let us go, so what are we waiting for? Just reverse!" Wei Jun on the wall was excited, waving With swords and guns, they raised their arms and shouted, tore the emperor's imperial edict to pieces and threw them into the city. Since the negotiation fails, let's fight. Weizhou City is an important town, and was later designated as the capital by Li Cunxu. The city is strong and easy to defend but difficult to attack.Yuan Xingqin launched several attacks, but failed to make any progress, and was beaten by the Wei army on the city with heavy casualties.Yuan Xingqin had no choice but to withdraw his troops and garrison Chanzhou. The rebellion in Weizhou was not over yet, and military rebellions broke out in Xingzhou and Cangzhou one after another, and small-scale riots also occurred frequently in other counties and counties.What's more terrible is that there was a rebellion in the imperial guards in Luoyang, which made Li Cunxu suspicious of the close guards.The situation in the Later Tang Empire was in full swing and very tense.The imperial court urged Prince Li Jiji several times to lead the army back east, hoping that this army could be used to suppress the rebellion.However, because of Kang Yanxiao's rebellion, the elite troops who attacked Shu were all on the front line of the crusade against Kang Yanxiao, and they could not withdraw for a while.People in Luoyang City were panicked, and they didn't know who to count on to calm down the chaotic situation. In order to quell the rebellion in Weizhou as soon as possible and avoid triggering more rebellions, Li Cunxu decided to march in person.As soon as this remark came out, all the ministers, eunuchs, and harem said no, no, no, no, no, no, no, Luoyang is the foundation of the empire, and the emperor should not act rashly.In fact, these guys were worried that after Li Cunxu left the capital, there would be an accident in the capital and their safety would be threatened.Therefore, they tried to dissuade Li Cunxu with one voice and each with their own ghosts. Yuan Xingqin can't win, the emperor can't go, Duan Ning is worried, and the crown prince can't come back, so who else can go to conquer Wei? In desperation, these people in power thought of the same person, Li Siyuan.After Li Siyuan fought against the Khitan in Chengde and rescued Youzhou, he was conscripted by the emperor and transferred back to Luoyang. In fact, he was relieved of his military power and left idle at home.Li Siyuan made many military exploits, so much so that later he became the master.Li Cunxu has long been wary of Li Siyuan, and has been using various strategies to restrain Li Siyuan's power.Li Siyuan is introverted, always low-key, and never strives for merit, but he can't be too capable, and can always make brilliant achievements in any position.Li Siyuan is not only capable himself, but also has capable son Li Congke, capable subordinates Gao Xingzhou and Shi Jingtang, who are a powerful force in anyone's eyes.Especially after Li Sizhao, Li Cunshen, Zhou Dewei, Li Cunjin and other powerful factions died one after another, Li Siyuan was particularly prominent. In fact, after Li Cunxu entered Luoyang, Guo Chongtao among the civil servants and Li Siyuan among the generals were the two main pillars. It can be said that they were the white jade pillars supporting the sky and the purple golden beams supporting the sea in the Later Tang Empire. Civilian officials do not hold military power, so the threat is not too great.Military generals control the military power, which always makes the emperor worry about not being able to sleep well.Therefore, Li Siyuan aroused Li Cunxu's suspicion even deeper. Li Siyuan himself understood Li Cunxu's attitude towards him.In order to eliminate or alleviate the suspicion of the emperor and the jealousy of framing in the officialdom, Li Siyuan had long proposed to reduce his military power, no longer be in charge of conquest, and even took the initiative to serve in front of the empress dowager.He thought of many ways to express his loyalty and stay away from power, the core purpose is to protect himself. Li Siyuan is indeed an honest man.In the previous article "The Destruction of Lulong in the Three Towns of Heshuo", we have described Li Siyuan in detail.Li Siyuan is very good at fighting, but his personality is calm and introverted, he is low-key, he doesn't like to compete for success, and even speaks a little dull. Everyone recommended Li Siyuan to lead the crusade against Weizhou. Li Cunxu couldn't make up his mind for a long time. He believed in Li Siyuan's ability, but he didn't believe in Li Siyuan's loyalty.What if Li Siyuan changed his mind before the battle?What if Li Siyuan's prestige reaches a new height?Li Cunxu hesitated for several days and was unwilling to send Li Siyuan to the expedition.Later, Zhang Quanyi and Li Shaohong also strongly recommended it, and Li Cunxu reluctantly agreed to Li Siyuan's expedition. Li Siyuan received the emperor's order, without saying anything, silently found out his armor and weapons, and wiped them carefully.Someone in the army under his command said to Li Siyuan: "Your Majesty, after Guo Xiangye's death, there are rumors everywhere, and people are in panic. Your Majesty, please go and punish the rebellious army in Weizhou at this time. This is a hard job." Li Siyuan sighed and said: "Do your best to live in peace." Li Siyuan led the 10,000 people gathered in Luoyang City to set off, and recently arrived in Weizhou, where they set up camp in the south of Weizhou City.Li Siyuan ordered to bury the pot for cooking at night, strengthen vigilance, have a good rest, and attack the city with all his strength tomorrow. At night, when the three armies were gradually falling asleep, suddenly the camp was full of flames and there were noises.Li Siyuan woke up immediately, put on his clothes quickly, and sent someone to check the situation.After a while, the sentry sent a report, saying that the Luoyang garrison had made a rebellion, the main general was killed, and the camp under his command was also set on fire.Li Siyuan was secretly surprised, he hadn't started a war with the enemy yet, why did civil strife break out in his camp? Li Siyuan didn't dare to be careless, and ordered Qi's relatives to prepare for emergencies.Just when Li Siyuan had just mobilized his pro-army, the Luoyang garrison had already reached the main tent of the Chinese army.Li Siyuan led his men to fight with the Luoyang garrison.Helplessly, Li Siyuan's army is not Li Siyuan's original subordinates, it is composed of the Luoyang garrison as the main force, Li Siyuan's pro-army is only a few hundred people, how can it be the opponent of the garrison?In less than a cup of tea, a large number of Li Siyuan's troops were killed and wounded.In desperation, Li Siyuan glared at the rebels and said, "What exactly are you trying to do?" The garrison stopped the attack, and replied: "We have followed the emperor for more than ten years and fought bloody battles to fight the country, but the emperor did not give us the treatment we deserve. The recent incidents have chilled the soldiers. Beizhou Weibo Army rested When they returned home, the emperor insisted on their fault, and said that after Kecheng, the Wei army would be exterminated. A few people in the Luoyang garrison mutinied a few days ago, but the emperor implicated a large number of people. Don't worry. We didn't rebel, we just wanted to survive." Li Siyuan understood, looked up to the sky and sighed, he was very aware of the Tang court's policy towards the army after these years, the lack of military supplies, no rewards and promotions for meritorious servicemen, and there was a lot of resentment in the army.Now the emperor Li Cunxu is engaging in massacres again, everyone is in danger, and it is no wonder that there is no trouble.Li Siyuan remained silent.He was originally not good at expressing words. Seeing that Li Siyuan remained silent, the garrison said: "The matter has come to this, and all the armies in the world are in chaos. In order to survive, we please join forces with Weizhou, repel all the officials and troops, and rule by the Yellow River. The emperor still Continue to be the emperor in Henan, Linggong, you will be the emperor in Hebei, and make decisions for the army and the people." This is an explosive suggestion, let alone doing it, even if you think about it, it is a big treason.In Li Siyuan's view, this is not a condition that can be discussed at all.Li Siyuan was both emotional and moved.I am moved by Li Cunxu's inability to govern the world well so that there is today's chaos, and what is moved is the trust and support of the soldiers in the army.Li Siyuan burst into tears, and said: "You don't need to talk about it. What you want to do is your business, and I don't care. I will go back to Luoyang by myself." How could the garrison be willing to let Li Siyuan go?Don't think that these rebels can cause chaos, but they have neither the guts nor the ability to be the leader. They must find an influential person to be the leader, so that things will be easy to handle.In the whole world, who else is more influential than Li Siyuan?Who else is more suitable than Li Siyuan?Who else is more convincing than Li Siyuan?The rebel army drew out their swords and guns and surrounded Li Siyuan in the center, shouting: "Mr. Ling, these soldiers are rough people. They are desperate. You want to leave without permission. Don't blame the soldiers for accidentally injuring you!" Li Siyuan sent a threatening signal.Li Siyuan couldn't get out of the crowd at all. Regardless of whether Li Siyuan agreed or not, the rebel army surrounded Li Siyuan and his deputy Huo Yanwei and walked towards the gate of Weizhou.Huo Yanwei is the fake son of Huo Cun, the general of Zhu Quanzhong. Huo Yanwei is very good at observing words and expressions, and can speak eloquently.When Li Cunxu entered Luoyang, he brought people from Shaanxi to Luoyang early and surrendered to Later Tang.Because he can speak, Huo Yanwei is very popular with Li Cunxu and Li Siyuan.Especially during the Northern Expedition to Khitan and Jingping, Huo Yanwei has always been Li Siyuan's lieutenant general. The rebellious army in Weizhou City couldn't figure out the situation. They didn't know that civil strife had also occurred in the official army.After talking through the air, Wei Jun understood the intention of the official army.But Wei Jun never trusted outsiders, they rushed out of the city gate and killed the garrison, and kidnapped Li Siyuan and Huo Yanwei.The guards lost their wives and lost their soldiers, and fled with their heads in their arms. After the Wei army hijacked Li Siyuan into the city, Zhao Zaili led the generals at all levels to bow down in front of Li Siyuan, crying and complaining: "The soldiers have obeyed your orders for generations, and we still obey you now." This is influence, Li Siyuan's The aura is so large that it can deter the three armies. Being in a dangerous situation, Li Siyuan didn't have the heart to grind his teeth with these rebels, the most urgent thing was how to get out.It is impossible to fight recklessly, not to mention that Li Siyuan is already old, even if he is young and strong, he can't beat Weizhou City.Li Siyuan turned his brains around and came up with a plan. He lied to Zhao Zaili and said, "For major tasks, you must use more troops. There are too few of you. How can you be the opponent of all the officers and soldiers in the world? The officers and soldiers scattered outside the city are still there." Many, I'll call them. We'll do it together." Zhao Zaili was indeed inexperienced in fighting, so he listened to Li Siyuan's words and sent Li Siyuan and Huo Yanwei out of the city to gather stragglers.Li Siyuan came out of Decheng and lived in Wei County at night. At this time, the scattered officers and soldiers slowly gathered together.Li Siyuan counted these people, and there were less than a hundred of them.Li Siyuan smiled wryly. The scene of Li Siyuan being forced into the city by the rebels was witnessed by Yuan Xingqin who was close at hand.Yuan Xingqin not only did not send troops to rescue, but also suspected that Li Siyuan was in collusion with the rebel army, so he led the troops back.Since Li Siyuan and Li Cunxu were separated in the battle of Huliupo a few years ago, Li Cunxu had a grudge against Li Siyuan, and Yuan Xingqin was even more suspicious and hated Li Siyuan. After Li Siyuan stayed in Wei County for a few more days, more than 5,000 soldiers under Huo Yanwei found the organization and gradually gathered in Wei County.Li Siyuan's lost other generals also came one after another.After Li Siyuan saw everyone, he burst into tears and was very annoyed. He said: "Thinking that I, Li Siyuan I, lost my reputation, what did I do! I almost became a thief if I failed to suppress the thieves. I will return to Chengde Town tomorrow and write a letter to the emperor." Explain the situation and leave it to the emperor." Huo Yanwei and Li Siyuan's office director, An Chonghui, hurriedly said: "This is not possible. As a general, you, Mr. Ling, were unfortunately hijacked by thieves. Yuan Xingqin retreated without fighting. The emperor reported that you surrendered to the enemy, and put all the blame on you, so as to shirk the responsibility for the failure of this army. If you return to the feudal town, Mr. Ling, it will be a separatist territory and threaten the emperor, which just proves that Yuan Xingqin's slander is correct. " An Chonghui's father was An Fuqian.An Fuqian was Li Keyong's general and died while rescuing Zhu Xuan.An Fuqian played in the previous "Sanzhu War (Part 1)".An Chonghui has long been serving Li Siyuan. For the past 20 years, An Chonghui has been loyal to Li Siyuan, diligently fulfilling his duties, and doing his best to help Li Siyuan.Li Siyuan trusted An Zhonghui very much, as long as it was something An Zhonghui wanted to do, Li Siyuan would obey. Li Siyuan raised his tear-ridden eyes and asked tremblingly with his gray beard: "What should I do?" An Zhonghui said: "We should rush back to Luoyang all night long, meet the emperor directly, and explain the situation face to face, maybe we can be cleared." Li Siyuan nodded and said, "Okay." So under the leadership of Li Siyuan, a group of thousands of people rushed to Luoyang. Within a few days of Li Siyuan's arrival in Weizhou, the emperor decreed to recruit soldiers and horses from all walks of life to encircle and suppress Weizhou.However, mutinies occurred one after another in various towns.The main reason is that the contradiction between the eunuchs and the Jiedushi has deteriorated in an all-round way.As soon as Fu Xi, the envoy of the Pinglu Festival, left the formation, the command envoy of Qingzhou, Wang Gongxi, attacked and killed the envoy of the supervising army, Yang Hope.Anyi Jiedu envoy Kong Qing lures and kills the supervising envoy Yang Jiyuan.After Wuning stayed, Chunyuyan also attacked and killed his envoy.Li Siyuan's feudal town Du Yuhou Wang Jianli first killed the eunuch who supervised the army, so Li Siyuan's family was preserved. At this time, the financial revenue and expenditure of the Later Tang Empire were in big trouble.Using troops everywhere, but the lack of military supplies caused a larger area of ​​military chaos.The emperor issued an edict to "borrow" the summer and autumn taxes from the Henan states in advance.The common people had already been extorted by the Tang Dynasty's exorbitant taxes. As a result, the common people rebelled and fled. The prime ministers who were in charge of daily affairs were pushed to the brink, and there was nothing they could do, so they consulted with the emperor and asked the emperor and queen to donate part of the money in the "internal treasury" to help the country tide over the difficulties.Li Cunxu felt that this method could be tried and agreed.But Empress Liu, a stingy miser, firmly disagreed, and kept saying that she didn't have any small coffers.Throwing out a few cosmetic boxes and silver basins, he said: "There are only so many, you can figure it out." The prime ministers were so frightened that their faces turned ashen, and they retreated away. When Li Siyuan reached Xiangzhou, Yuan Xingqin had already arrived in Weizhou, and both of them kept writing memorials to the emperor along the way.Yuan Xingqin said that Li Siyuan had rebelled, and Li Siyuan said that he just made a mistake and did not rebel.Since Yuan Xingqin was in front, most of the messengers sent by Li Siyuan were intercepted by Yuan Xingqin, and Li Siyuan lost the opportunity to defend the emperor. Li Congke, Li Siyuan's son, was stationed in Hengshui. Hearing that Li Siyuan was killed, he immediately set off to form a joint army with the king in Chengde, and rushed to Xiangzhou day and night.Some of Li Siyuan's former troops also came from other places one after another.Li Siyuan's army grew rapidly. Due to the lack of communication with Luoyang, the misunderstanding between Li Siyuan and the emperor became more and more serious, and Li Siyuan was not as confident as before.A few days ago, he still had the attitude of "don't do anything wrong, and don't be afraid of ghosts calling the door". Now he began to think whether the emperor no longer trusted him, and whether he could no longer get rid of his grievances.When the capital heard the news of Li Siyuan's rebellion, it was even more shaken like an earthquake of magnitude 8. Officials and common people were all dumbfounded.A few days ago, Guo Chongtao, a civil official, rebelled, and now Li Siyuan, a military tycoon, rebelled. Isn't this too outrageous?Zhang Quanyi, who strongly recommended Li Siyuan to go to the expedition, was so frightened that he would not eat or drink, and died on a hunger strike. Shi Jingtang, a general of Li Siyuan's department, said to Li Siyuan: "Everything succeeds when it is decided, and when it is lost, you hesitate. You should not be half-hearted, sir. How can there be a general who was kidnapped into the camp of the rebels, but later he was safe and not prosecuted? Kaifeng is the most important thing in the world." Land, I am willing to lead a surprise attack with 300 cavalry, and if you succeed, I will command you to lead an army to follow up. After entering Kaifeng, you may be able to protect yourself.” Li Siyuan groaned silently, if he took this path, it would be treason. Kang Yicheng, the commander of the Tuqi, said: "The emperor has no way, and the army and the people are angry. If you do what Shi Jingtang said, Mr. Ling, then everyone will survive. If you insist on being loyal and observant, then we will all die." Li Siyuan gritted his teeth and said, "To survive, I had to do this." If there is a conflict with the emperor, the only way to escape is to be the emperor.This is the rule of the game in feudal society. Li Siyuan appointed An Chonghui to issue a circular, calling on soldiers and horses from all towns and cities in the world to gather.Shi Jingtang crossed the Yellow River from Baigao as the vanguard, and Li Congke was in charge of the rear. Let's switch to Luoyang again. The princes and ministers were all wilted, feeling that the sky was about to fall. Yuan Xingqin ran back to Luoyang and reported to the emperor that Li Siyuan was going to cross the Yellow River to attack Yuncheng and Kaifeng, and asked the emperor to march eastward himself. Before Wei Wang Li Jiji came back, the imperial court urgently recruited Bai Conghui, the commander of Huaiyuan, to lead the cavalry to guard the Heyang Bridge in case of emergency.The emperor took out his own private money to give to the troops, and the ministers also donated gold, silver, treasures and labor from their families.The sergeants held the money in their hands and cursed: "The wives and children are starving to death, what is the use of these things now?" When things come to an end, there is no way to hide.Li Cunxu bit the bullet and went into battle, wanting to march in person, blocking Li Siyuan in the east. Before leaving, in order to prevent future troubles, Emperor Li Cunxu ordered that the entire family of Shu Emperor Wang Zongyan, who was already in Luoyang, be massacred. Li Cunxu sent Yuan Xingqin as the vanguard, and rushed eastward along the Yellow River.People who were close to Li Siyuan by the emperor's side fled one after another on the way, some broke away from the army, and some defected to Li Siyuan.Li Cunxu sent Li Siyuan's son Li Jijing (formerly known as Li Congshen) to spy on Li Siyuan's situation. Li Jijing began to worry about being suspected by the emperor and was unwilling to go. Yuan Xingqin was killed.Yuan Xingqin played a crucial role in the relationship between Li Siyuan and Li Cunxu. It is not clear what the purpose of this guy is. It seems that his stupid loyalty to the emperor prompted Yuan Xingqin to hate Li Siyuan. Kong Xun, the governor of Kaifeng, stepped on two boats, and while sending a welcome letter to the emperor, he extended an olive branch to Li Siyuan, saying: "You two, first come, first served." Li Cunxu sent cavalry general Xixi Ye to guard Kaifeng.As soon as Xixiye entered the city, Shi Jingtang's troops arrived.After a fierce battle, Shi Jingtang won and Xiye surrendered.Li Siyuan's army followed closely to occupy Bianliang, Kaifeng. Li Cunxu sent Yao Yanwen, commander of Longxiang, to lead 3,000 cavalry to lead the battle.But after Yao Yanwen left Li Cunxu, he came directly to Li Siyuan.Pan Huan, the grain and grass guard, also defected to Li Siyuan's troops in Kaifeng with a large amount of luggage.The officers and soldiers rebelled against their relatives and fled continuously.There were 25,000 officers and soldiers at the time of the expedition, but now there are only more than 10,000 left.Li Cunxu had lost control of the troops.The government and army faced the tragic situation of disintegration without fighting. Later Tang Zhuangzong Li Cunxu stood on the mound, looked up to the sky and sighed: "I am finished." There was no way to fight the battle, so we had to retreat back to Luoyang in order to protect ourselves. On the way back to the west, every time Li Cunxu met officers and soldiers, he comforted them with kind words and said: "Just now to report, the king of Wei has donated hundreds of thousands of silver from Sichuan, and it will be distributed to you when he arrives in the capital. Be loyal to your duty." The officers and soldiers replied: "It's too late for your Majesty to award rewards, and even if you get the money, everyone will not be grateful." When they arrived at the Shiqiao Station in the east of Luoyang, Li Cunxu ordered people to serve wine and dishes, and asked the generals to sit on the ground, saying: "Since you have followed me, we have shared wealth and wealth, and there is no obstacle we cannot overcome. Now this situation, is there no way out at all?" Yet?" The remaining more than a hundred generals of the Tang army cut off their hair and threw them on the ground after hearing what the emperor said, expressing their determination to defend the emperor to the death.But they can only do this, there is no way to return to heaven.Everyone just hugged their heads and cried. After a few glasses of wine, Li Cunxu felt sad, with imperceptible tears shining in the corner of his eyes, he turned his head and asked the eunuch Xiang Yansi in a low voice: "When will the prince arrive in Beijing?" Xiang Yansi replied with a sad face, "On the way back. rush." Thinking back to Li Cunxu's leaping horse and sweeping the banks of the Yellow River with his gun, he was a hero in the world.But under the reflection of the scene in front of him, the end of the hero is indeed very sad. Li Cunxu's Eastern Expedition failed, so he had to return to Luoyang.While hoping that Prince Li Jiji would come back soon, he tidied up the remnants and actively prepared for the battle, hoping to survive this catastrophe.He thought that if he survived this catastrophe, he would find time to reflect on what went wrong?Why has it become such a mess just after conquering the world? April 926, early summer.Cicadas have already started to climb up the treetops early, singing monotonously and restlessly. Suddenly another group of garrison troops made trouble in Luoyang City, and came directly to the Xingjiao Gate of the Imperial Palace.Li Cunxu was eating, and when he received a report that the soldiers were rebelling, he put his rice bowl on the table and was about to send someone to wipe it out, but he looked around and found that there were no military officers above the captain level to send.In desperation, the emperor had no choice but to go out in person.While Li Cunxu sent people to look for reinforcements outside the palace, he hurriedly put on his helmet and armor, carried a panlong golden spear and flew on his horse, leading the imperial guards to face the guards.After a brief struggle, the garrison was driven out of the imperial city by the officers. There were Li Siyuan's rebels oppressing the territory outside, and small groups of troops inside made troubles from time to time. Li Cunxu was very anxious.He thought of a man named Zhu Shouyin, who used to be a strong fighter. He was promoted all the way by Li Cunxu because he was good at observing words and expressions, and he was promoted all the way.At this time, Zhu Shouyin led the cavalry to patrol the field to guard against social security.Li Cunxu hastily sent eight hundred Li urgent messengers to summon Zhu Shouyin to Beijing to escort him.However, Zhu Shouyin had always been on good terms with Li Siyuan, so he deliberately procrastinated for time, and was not in a hurry to enter King Qin, so he simply found a shade tree and went to sleep. After the Luoyang garrison was driven out of the imperial city, they did not disperse. Instead, they turned around and set fire to the Xingjiao gate, climbed the city wall and entered the city again.The emperor basically became a polished commander at this time, and those ministers, eunuchs, guards, and generals who chanted long live, holy, and flattering every day fled one after another.Only a dozen or so people still stood by Li Cunxu's side, holding shields and machetes in hand-to-hand combat with the rebel army.Both sides are red-eyed, today is a desperate battle, either you die or I live, fighting for territory inch by inch, killing and destroying each person one by one. Just when the official army was fighting with the rebel army, suddenly a carved feather arrow came through the air, and with a sharp whistling sound, it went straight to Li Cunxu's chest.Li Cunxu couldn't dodge in time, the arrow with the carved feathers pierced through the gap in the armor and shot into Li Cunxu's heart.Li Cunxu fell to the ground in response.A guard next to him saw that Li Cunxu was injured, and hurriedly helped the bloody emperor to the eaves.At this time, there were no complete field medical personnel, and the imperial physician was not in front of them. Everyone panicked and were at a loss. The generals who have been fighting with the emperor Li Cunxu until the end there is only one person left, this person is Li Yanqing, he is Li Cunshen's third son.Li Yanqing was also covered in blood at this time, and her arm was cut with a knife. Seeing that Li Cunxu was dying, Li Yanqing hurriedly reported the news of the emperor's injury to Empress Liu.Empress Liu was sweating profusely packing up her accumulated gold, silver and jewels, with five or six packages piled up beside her.Li Yanqing begged Empress Liu to find a way to save the emperor with tears.But Empress Liu still just rummaged through boxes and boxes to pack her things, pretending she didn't hear anything.Li Yanqing hurried forward and knelt down in front of Empress Liu with a "plop", holding the lapel of Empress Liu with her hands, crying like rain, begging the empress to go and see the emperor.Empress Liu pulled Li Yanqing aside impatiently, straightened up and picked up a pot of mare's milk on the table, handed it to Li Yanqing and said, "Go, send it to the emperor first, and I will go to the imperial doctor." Li Yanqing held a pot of milk Ma Nai stumbled out of the harem and rushed back to Li Cunxu's side. Li Cunxu, Emperor Zhuangzong of the Later Tang Dynasty, leaned on a pillar, and the hot sun shone on his body.Due to excessive blood loss, Li Cunxu developed symptoms of dehydration, his lips turned purple and he twitched unceasingly.Li Cunxu said eagerly and feebly: "Water, water." Except for the rubble, the wounded, and the broken weapons, there was no water in this place, only the pot of mare's milk.Li Yanqing knelt down on one knee and brought the mare's milk to Li Cunxu's mouth. Li Cunxu only took a sip, then shook his head and didn't want to drink it anymore. Li Cunxu seemed to have thought of something, and shouted with difficulty: "Where is Xiang Yansi, when will King Wei come back?" Everyone looked around, and Xiang Yansi had disappeared without knowing when.这时候有个大内侍从跟斗把式地跑来，气喘吁吁磕磕巴巴地说：“陛下，皇后……皇后和申王李存渥，逃……逃走了。”李存勖闻言后，剧烈咳嗽起来，一口鲜血喷出胸腔，身体一下子瘫软了下去。 靠着柱子休息片刻之后，李存勖转动失神的眼睛避开眩目的阳光，搜寻着身边的人群。以前熟悉的宦官、戏子、搏击手、皇后、宫女都不见了，只有寥寥几个誓死效忠皇帝的军校失落无助地围在他身边。李存勖干裂的嘴唇不住抽动，不知是想喝水还是想说话，没有人看得懂。 这个曾经横扫天下的年轻皇帝，这个只有四十二岁的皇帝，这个正值壮年的皇帝，突然之间魂魄散去，神情苍老落寞，两侧鬓发如霜，似乎一个残阳暮气的耄耋老人。这个曾经以刀头舔血跃马沙场为荣的男人，此时胸口的血水汩汩地往外流不停。他用尽所有力气抬起手指了指天，然后头一歪死去。 无数的枪林箭雨、无数的寒暑风霜、无数的征杀战阵、无数的险情危机，都没能击败李存勖旺盛的进取之心，都没能伤害李存勖性命，可这次一支纤细的羽箭就这么轻易地夺走了李存勖的生命。 就在李存勖咽气的时候，刘皇后大包小包地包裹了一大堆金银珠宝和申王李存渥从师子门逃走。其他王公大臣、宦官、宫女四散奔逃。朱守殷此时才施施然地进入皇宫，掳掠了最好的一批宫女和珍宝藏到自己家里，然后纵军大肆烧杀抢掠。 李嗣源率领大军此时刚刚走到罂子谷，听说洛阳之变后，嚎啕大哭，对左右说道：“皇帝一向与部下同甘共苦，受人爱戴，只是被这些小人蒙蔽，才有今日之祸啊。今后，我可怎么办啊？”正在李嗣源坐在地上痛哭的时候，朱守殷派人来报信说：“洛阳城内混乱不堪，各路兵马趁机作乱，请令公快来平定，救黎民于水火。” 在众将簇拥和朱守殷邀请下，李嗣源赶赴洛阳城。入城之后，李嗣源下严令，禁止剽掠，禁止作乱，禁止杀人放火。李嗣源没有去皇宫，而是回到自己家中住下。他命人在瓦砾堆里找到庄宗李存勖的尸骨，装入棺椁安葬。李嗣源找来朱守殷，命令他负责巡逻警戒，打听魏王李继岌的消息，做好迎接魏王回京的准备。李嗣源还表示，等李存勖的陵寝修建完毕，新君登基之后，他将回归藩第，仍然做他该做的事情，为国家抵抗契丹，守护北大门。 洛阳城内秩序稍稍安定下来，流散的官员们又逐渐回来了。前宰相豆卢革带领百官上书，拥戴李嗣源称帝。真不知道豆卢革这些人肚子里装的都是些什么东西，也不知道他们是如何保住性命的。李存勖尸骨未寒，他们作为当朝宰辅居然又要拥戴新人做皇帝！李嗣源摇摇头说道：“我是奉诏去魏州讨贼，不幸被乱军所迫。原本打算入朝申辩清白，又被元行钦从中阻遏，这才阴差阳错地弄到现在这个田地。我本就没有做皇帝的野心，你们突然要拥戴我称帝，这不是我的初衷。你们不要再说了。” 李嗣源推脱不做皇帝，在一般人看来是正常的。凡是有些城府的大人物，要做皇帝之前都要三推四让一番。豆卢革这些官场老油条深谙此道，于是他们坚持不懈地劝李嗣源称帝。可李嗣源坚决不同意。 百官屡屡劝进，可李嗣源就是不同意。这可与以前的惯例不同啊，这些官场老油条有些傻眼了，难道李嗣源真不想当皇帝？国不可一日无主。这些大臣们憋出了一个变通的办法，拥戴李嗣源做监国，实际是代理皇帝。这次李嗣源倒是同意了。 为了工作方便，李嗣源搬入皇宫居住，接受文武百官觐见。李嗣源入宫后，把李存勖收集来的几千名宫女宦官全部遣散，把蜀国进献的美女宫人也都打发走了。对这些宫女，有家的给盘缠让他们回家，没家的给聘礼在附近民间找婆家安顿。 李嗣源和文武大臣们又忍了半个月之后，终于在一片拥戴声中，李嗣源继位称帝。 有道是天数轮转，冥冥之中自有安排。李存勖浴血奋战十几年，励精图治，把河东藩镇从死亡边缘挽救回来，逐步壮大，合纵连横，灭掉朱梁。可李存勖自己做江山不到三四年光景就呜呼哀哉了。是朱友贞不如李存勖呢？还是李存勖不如朱友贞呢？ 朱梁在大敌压境十年间尚能坚持存活，而后唐在几乎没有任何外患的情况下瞬间崩塌，关键一条是朱全忠给朱友贞留下了一套制度和一个班底，而李存勖身边功臣宿将凋零之后，真空都被奸邪之徒和前朝遗老遗少填充了，这些人各怀心事，各有目的，各有主张，思想混乱，良莠不齐，李存勖自己提不出纲举目张的新理念新模式，治理国家的班子鱼龙混杂。 郭崇韬、李嗣源本是李存勖的左膀右臂，而且是仅有的文武大佬。李存勖错杀了郭崇韬，逼反了李嗣源，他的帝国不崩塌才怪。 如果说朱全忠是只老虎的话，天下诸侯对他都忌惮三分。那么李存勖不过是只纸老虎，占据了比朱梁还大的地盘，可外强中干，毫无作为。开始的时候，各路诸侯以为李存勖有多厉害呢，到头来不过用手指头一捅也就灰飞烟灭了嘛。 应该说后唐李存勖朝廷的迅速崩塌还有一个重要原因，分赃不均是激化李存勖统治集团内部矛盾的主要因素，也是导致五代时期很多政权分崩离析的主要因素。朱温做了天下，好歹还提拔了一大堆干部，分封了几个异姓诸侯王，大家对打下天下的利益均沾，人人有份。风险与收益相匹配，当然皇帝及皇族是最大的受益者。但是跟随皇帝打天下，刀头舔血，提着脑袋出生入死的人，也需要分得相应的利益。如果这些人利益得不到兑现，那首先窝里反的就是这些人。而且这些人也有这个实力。 李存勖没有分好蛋糕，最后将自己的饭碗也砸掉了。