Chapter 14 10. Compete in the Central Plains

Two mountains will not meet together, two people will always meet each other.Zhu Quanzhong and Li Ke used their enemies to meet each other, and they were extremely jealous.In the past, Li Keyong always wanted to settle accounts with Zhu Quanzhong, but Zhu Quanzhong always avoided him.This time, it was Zhu Quanzhong who approached Li Keyong.When two tigers fight, one will be injured.Li Keyong did not expect that after this battle, his prestige would no longer be there. Li Keyong shouted every day to seek revenge from Zhu Quanzhong. Li Ke used his obsession with Zhu Quanzhong to almost kill his old enemy.

Over the past ten years, Li Keyong has also witnessed the process of Zhu Quanzhong's rise. With the rise of Zhu Quanzhong, Li Keyong restrained his efforts to seek revenge from Zhu Quanzhong.In other words, Li Keyong realized that Zhu Quanzhong at this time was no longer the Zhu Quanzhong at that time.Revenge is getting harder and harder. Therefore, Li Keyong's pursuit of revenge against Zhu Quanzhong is more and more like a show and a gimmick. In the end, how long could Li Ke use the banner of revenge that he didn't even believe in. In fact, Zhu Quanzhong did not want to be an enemy of Li Keyong.

Ten years ago, Zhu Quanzhong knew very well that there was a disparity in power between him and Li Keyong.Ten years later, Zhu Quanzhong felt that he was still powerless to fight against Li Keyong. As a last resort, Zhu Quanzhong tried to avoid a decisive battle with Li Keyong. Having just been severely repaired by the newly-emerged Yang Xingmi, Zhu Quanzhong's rapidly expanding ambitions and ambitions have suffered a lot of setbacks, and he doesn't want to have a direct fight with Li Keyong. Whether to fight or not, everyone has their own fears. The two tigers bared their teeth and danced their claws, but the hand-to-hand combat was delayed.Greedy world meddlers have itchy hearts and crooked eyes.

Zhu Quanzhong wanted to beat Yang Xingmi, but failed. Zhu Quanzhong didn't want to hit Li Keyong, so he started fighting nonsense.Unexpectedly, this fight changed the power structure of the world.Especially after the Battle of Weizhou, where Liu Rengong stole chickens and lost money, Zhu Quanzhong took advantage of it and occupied Wei Bo to expand his sphere of influence.Zhu Quanzhong's power was directly pushed under Li Keyong's nose.If you don't fight, you can't escape. In the winter of 899 A.D., the capital of Shanzhou, which Hezhong belonged to, killed Zhu Jian and announced his surrender to Zhu Quanzhong.This made Zhu Quanzhong's sphere of influence advance a big step westward, forming a semi-encircled situation against Zelu.

Zhu Quanzhong not only won successive victories on the northern battlefield, expanded his territory and expanded his land, but also rapidly expanded his power in the court, and gradually grasped the initiative of the political linkage between the government and the opposition. Zhu Quanzhong's influence in the central government is mainly manifested in the rise of his agent's power and status.Cui Yin is the political spokesman of the DPRK and China and the agent of power control that Zhu Quanzhong has cultivated for many years. The politics at the end of the Tang Dynasty was crony politics. In the early days, there were two major groups opposing each other, commonly known as the Nanya and Beisi, referring to the Korean and Chinese official group and the eunuch group.The civil official group and the eunuch group are divided into different factions, and the two groups have been fighting for years, one is ebbing and the other is growing, fighting for power and profit, and fighting each other.The factions within their respective groups are also constantly fighting, forming gangs, and constantly splitting, reorganizing, fissioning, dying, and reborn.The big group and the small group fought head-to-head, and it was a great joy.

At the end of the period, the structure of crony politics changed, and local warlords directly joined the crony and formed the main constituent forces of the crony group.If civil servants and eunuchs want to issue orders in the court, or even gain a foothold in the court, they must rely on the use of local warlords, cooperate internally and externally, and collude with each other.Civil servants or eunuchs with the support of feudal towns can only be listened to when they speak in the court, and only after they have finished speaking can they be effective in the local state capital, and only after seeing the effect can they be valued, and only then can their status be consolidated and promoted.On the other hand, local vassals and towns also need to find agents in the court in order to be able to grasp the turbulent and ever-changing government information.Only when the warlords have actions and appeals will someone "cooperate" in the court, which seems reasonable and public opinion is clear.

In the early years, the relationship between Li Keyong, the prince Li Jiepi, and the great eunuch Yang Fugong had greatly influenced the trend of the government.Later, Zhu Quanzhong also discovered the trick and made great use of it.Li Keyong has a solid family background and deep political connections. In comparison, Zhu Quanzhong can be said to be unaccompanied, self-made, and his backer is not strong.It has nothing to do with civil officials or eunuchs who can read and break characters, dance with ink, preach scriptures, and inherit family status.Zhu Quanzhong often sighs, "It doesn't matter, it's really hard to do things!"

Later, the emperor was trapped in Huazhou, and Cui Yin lost power and was excluded.This politically soaked chicken really has extraordinary insight and superb strategy.Cui Yin realized the importance of "sugar daddy" when he was in a homeless situation.He is determined to form an alliance with the warlords and make a comeback.It is not terrible to realize this level, what is terrible is that Cui Yin chose Zhu Quanzhong.In the vassal structure where there are many princes and strong opponents, Cui Yin feels the value of Zhu Quanzhong's use and smells the growth of Zhu Quanzhong's aura.

The reason why Cui Yin made such a judgment is that Zhu Quanzhong started from scratch, relied on "self-reliance", gradually developed and expanded, and had the basic qualities and strong demands to become stronger.The second is that Zhu Quanzhong is located in Heluo, occupying Luoyang and Kaifeng, two famous political cities with important symbolic significance in history.The third is that Cui Yin felt that Zhu Quanzhong also needed him.Therefore, Cui Yin, a political animal, has superb introspection ability and sensitivity, which is also the survival secret for Cui Yin to gain a foothold in the political vortex of strife and intrigue, make a comeback, and flourish.Zhu Quanzhong originally cooperated with Zhang Jun for a short time, but Zhang Jun was really not good at it.The cooperation between Zhu Quanzhong and Zhang Jun was short-lived.After Zhang Jun's death, Zhu Quanzhong lost his way in the court again.

The reason why Zhu Quanzhong hit it off with Cui Yin and readily accepted Cui Yin's suggestion was mainly because Zhu Quanzhong keenly assessed the gold content of Cui Yin's suggestion.This is also Zhu Quanzhong's brilliance.Cui Yin suggested that Zhu Quanzhong run the Luoyang Palace as a bargaining chip for inviting the emperor.This is a lucrative business, and no warlord has such a unique convenience.In this way, Zhu Quanzhong and Cui Yin sang a double reed, Zhu Quanzhong sent Cui Yin back to the political center of the court through his own influence, and Cui Yin waved the flag for Zhu Quanzhong in the court.The two became each other's external and internal, and became the axis that controlled the final government affairs in the late Tang Dynasty until they sent the declining Li Tang Dynasty to the end of the road.

Cui Yin, who returned to the central court, radiated a strong energy for revenge, and launched a series of actions to fight for power and profit.Suffering from setbacks, Cui Yin's psychological quality is more decisive, and his pursuit of power is even crazier. His shots are fierce enough. Every time he strikes, he is a killer, and almost every action is full of blood. Due to political disagreements, Cui Yin had conflicts with Sikong, Menxia Shilang, and Tongping Zhangshi Wang Tuan.Cui Yin held a grudge against Wang Tuan, but Cui Yin had to hold back for many years before his success, but he was always looking for opportunities for revenge. In 900 A.D., that is, in the spring of the third year of Emperor Zhaozong's Guanghua, Cui Yin re-emerged as prime minister with the help of Zhu Quanzhong, and his power increased greatly.Cui Yin thought that the opportunity for revenge had come, so he pushed Wang Tuan out of the ranks of prime ministers, and was first demoted to Minister of the Ministry of Industry, and not long after, he was demoted to Governor of Xizhou.On the way for Wang Tuan to take office, Cui Yin forced Zhaozong to order Wang Tuan to commit suicide. Cui Yin, like scholar-officials, hated eunuchs interfering in politics. On this point, Cui Yin won Zhaozong's support.Taking advantage of Zhaozong's hatred for eunuchs, Cui Yin quickly attacked Song Daobi and Jing Wuxiu, the great eunuchs and privy envoys.First, the two eunuchs were deprived of their power and sent to local towns to supervise the army, and soon the two eunuchs were exiled.Song Daobi and Jing Wuxiu left the capital and were given to death as soon as they reached the Baqiao Station. The Taibao, the minister under the door, Xu Yanruo, the minister of Tongpingzhang, was older than Cui Yin, and the two had long been at odds. Cui Yin hated Cui Yanruo for a long time.After Cui Yin returned to the court, Xu Yanruo realized that his good days were numbered, and seeing Wang Tuan's tragic ending, he simply avoided Cui Yin's edge, left the court, and fled far away from home.This Xu Yanruo really has a lot of heart, before Cui Yin did anything, he took the initiative to resign, and found a relatively safe place, went to Xue Wang Li Zhirou's territory, and went to Guangzhou thousands of miles away to do Qinghai Jiedu Make.If Xu Yanruo saved his life, he could face the sea, welcome the warmth of spring, and live a happy life. Cui Yin's method of playing political power is indeed more deceitful than Zhang Jun's, and his ruthlessness in killing people is much greater than that of ordinary people.After killing a prime minister and two eunuchs, and driving away a first-rank prime minister, the power of the central and southern divisions fell into the hands of Cui Yin.Cui Yin has a lot of power in one body, and has actually surpassed the power of the emperor. Zhu Quanzhong's growing strength has formed a strong pressure on Hedong, which makes Li Keyong very annoyed and nervous.Li Ke quickly mobilized the army and the people to prepare for war, dug ditches to build the city, and overhauled the fortifications, as if he was facing an enemy.At this time, Liu Yanye, the Ya Ya of the Hedong Army, came forward to prevent Li Keyong from preparing for war. Liu Yanye's reason is that if there is a tense atmosphere in the whole of Hedong, it will actually boost the prestige of others and damage Li Ke's reputation of shaking China with his voice.Liu Yanye's words are purely a diplomatic and political strategy and have no practical significance.Under the situation of Zhu Quanzhong's strong persecution, Hedong gave up preparing for the war and lingered on bluffing, which is tantamount to deceiving oneself and deceiving others.However, Liu Yanye's words are in line with Li Keyong's psychology.Li Keyong has always been conceited and arrogant, and he cannot let go of his superiority mentality.Therefore, Li Keyong adopted Liu Yanye's suggestion, slowed down preparations for war, and relaxed his vigilance. In the Zelu area, both Shanxi and Bianjian invested heavy troops, and there was a stalemate for a while.In order to open up a new situation, Zhu Quanzhong adjusted the strategic deployment.While sticking to Zelu, Zhu Quanzhong sent his troops northward to seek a peripheral breakthrough, forming a semi-encirclement situation on Hedong. In April of that year, when the midsummer was approaching, Zhu Quanzhong dispatched the top general Ge Congzhou to lead the four towns of Yanzhou, Yuncheng, Huazhou, and Weizhou with 100,000 troops to crusade against Liu Rengong.In May, the Bian army captured Dezhou and beheaded Fu Gonghe, the governor of Dezhou.Then, the army marched and surrounded Cangzhou.Liu Shouwen, the son of Liu Rengong, guarded Cangzhou.Two years ago, Liu Rengong and his son were defeated by Ge Congzhou, and they haven't recovered yet.As soon as he heard Ge Congzhou's name, Liu Shouwen became nervous. At this time, Liu Rengong showed his flexible diplomatic strategy again.On the one hand, Liu Rengong dispatched troops to help Cangzhou, on the other hand, he humbly asked Li Keyong in Hedong for help, and sent generous gifts, asking Li Keyong to send troops to support Youzhou.Li Keyong would not directly send troops to rescue Cangzhou. Even if the Bian army was defeated, Cangzhou would still belong to Liu Rengong, and Li Keyong would not gain much.What's more, Li Keyong and Liu Rengong had a big enmity before.Li Ke used this opportunity to adopt the strategy of besieging Wei and saving Zhao.Taking advantage of Zhu Quanzhong's transfer of the main force to the northeast battlefield, Hedong sent general Zhou Dewei to lead 5,000 cavalry to attack Xing and Ming prefectures. Let me first talk about Liu Rengong personally leading 50,000 horses to help Cangzhou.Ge Congzhou got the news that Liu Rengong had rushed to Cangzhou.Ge Congzhou decided to encircle and send reinforcements, leaving Zhang Cunjing and Shi Shucong to continue to surround Cangzhou, and led 10,000 elite cavalry to meet Liu Rengong northward. Liu Rengong was on his way, and when he came near Laoyadi, a cannon rang out suddenly, and a Bian army team rushed out in front, with a big "Ge" character embroidered on the big banner.Liu Rengong gasped, thinking that Ge Congzhou had killed him so quickly.When the Bian army and the Yan army encountered each other, the two sides did not answer, and they opened up their battles and fought together.This battle was fought from morning to afternoon.Ge Congzhou is famous and powerful in the north of the Yellow River, and has a strong brand deterrent.Originally, the Yan army was at a disadvantage in terms of momentum after traveling long distances. After being rushed and killed by the elite of the Bian army, they gradually couldn't bear it and were defeated.Liu Rengong left 30,000 dead bodies and retreated to Waqiao. Zhou Dewei made no progress in attacking Xing and Ming prefectures.In July, Li Keyong was replaced by Li Sizhao, the commander of Fanhan Mabudu, who led 50,000 people to continue to attack Xingming Prefecture.Under Li Sizhao's powerful offensive, the Bian army lost one after another and lost Mingzhou. Zhu Quanzhong had no choice but to transfer Ge Congzhou back from the Cangzhou front to fight against Li Sizhao. In September, Ge Congzhou crossed the Zhang River from Ye County and set up camp in Huanglong Town.Zhu Quanzhong personally led 30,000 horses across Mingshui to set up camp in support of Ge Congzhou.Li Sizhao felt that the isolated city was difficult to defend, so he decided to abandon Mingzhou City and return to Jinyang.But Li Sizhao was ambushed by Ge Congzhou on his way back to his teacher.The Jin army was defeated by the Bian army at Qingshankou. After Zhu Quanzhong repelled Li Sizhao, he still carried out the established peripheral strategy.This time, Zhu Quanzhong targeted Chengde Jiedu envoy Wang Rong.At the beginning of his accession to the throne, the skinny Wang Rong was domineering and disobedient, and even took the initiative to provoke Li Keyong, as if he had the demeanor of a little bully.After Youzhou gradually weakened, the Helianduo tribe in the northwest was also wiped out by Li Keyong.Wang Rong was alone and helpless, and his arrogance was much restrained.Under Li Keyong's hard and soft tactics, he had to lower his skinny head to Hedong.Originally, Chengde and Xuanwu were one in the south and the other in the north, and the two wells did not interfere with the river.Now, Zhu Quanzhong is attacking the city and striving for hegemony in the world, pushing his sphere of influence to the border of Chengde, and conquering Chengde is naturally on the agenda. Zhu Quanzhong protested that Wang Rong and Li Keyong were wearing a pair of trousers, and asked the teacher to question the crime.Zhu Quanzhong personally led the army to cross the Hutuo River in one fell swoop, and the soldiers came to the city of Zhenzhou, Chengdezhi Prefecture.Looking at the Bian soldiers and horses showing off their might outside the city, Wang Rong, who was lying on the top of the city, felt frightened, and hurriedly sent judge Zhou Shi out of the city to negotiate a peace. Zhu Quanzhong traveled thousands of miles to work hard for his teachers, and he spent a lot of trouble, but he still hasn't received any benefits. How can he easily stop the army?After seeing Zhou Shi, Zhu Quanzhong first gave him a warning. Zhu Quanzhong was sitting behind the desk, holding his saber in one hand and pressing the other on the table. Under his bushy eyebrows, a pair of aggressive eyes were fixed on Zhou Shi's face.After more than ten seconds of silence, Zhu Quanzhong suddenly slapped the table, and angrily reprimanded: "I wrote letters to persuade Wang Rong over and over again, but he didn't listen. Now that the army is overwhelming, you want to make an alliance under the city, don't you think it's too late?" ?" Zhou Shi was very aware of the current situation. As long as Zhu Quanzhong ordered the siege, Zhenzhou might fall within ten days.The disparity in strength between the two sides is a lice on the bald man's head, it is obvious.Zhou Shi changed his mind, since he came, he had to strive for the greatest benefit and the least loss.Although Zhou Shi felt that he had no idea in his heart, he tried his best to restrain his emotions and try to stay calm.Zhou Shi said in a relatively calm tone: "Chengde is too close to Hedong, and he is bullied by Li Keyong every day. The surrounding towns only care about self-protection, and no one lends a helping hand. Therefore, it is helpless for my lord to repair with Hedong. It is really for the sake of protecting the common people. Marshal Zhu, you are attacking Hedong now, doing justice for the heavens and eliminating harm for the people. Don’t say that I am a virtuous man. Who would dare not support it? Marshal Zhu, follow the example of Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin, and should uphold etiquette To become a hegemony. If we blindly resort to militarism and implement the policy of power, although our town is weak, the city is strong enough, and the food and grass reserves are sufficient. Moreover, my master has inherited it from generation to generation, and is grateful to the local people, receiving incomparable support and support. Even You have an army of 100,000, and you may not be able to conquer Chengde easily." Anyone who acts as a lobbyist must have unique skills, clear logic, quick thinking, good psychological quality, and can adapt to the situation. It is equivalent to a public relations gentleman and diplomat in today's society, and he can enjoy himself among various stakeholders.This Zhou Shi must have made a lot of careful preparations before he came. Knowing that there are tigers in the mountains, he prefers to go to the mountains of tigers.First of all, I said that the alliance with Hedong is for survival, and I have to; then, Zhu Quanzhong, since you are capable, you should go to Li Keyong, and don't take Xiaofan Town as a knife;How cunning Zhu Quanzhong is, hearing what Zhou Shi said, he deeply agrees in his heart. Zhu Quanzhong looked up to the sky and laughed, stood up, turned around the desk, came to Zhou Shi, held Zhou Shi's hand, and said, "Old Zhou, don't mind, I'm just joking with you." The clothes were already soaked, and I said in my heart, "Are you kidding? Who dares to make such a joke. If you don't play well, you will lose your life. Where are you going to laugh?" In the end, Zhu Quanzhong and Wang Rong signed a contract, on the condition that Wang Rong send his son and general's children to the Bian army camp as hostages, and send money and cloth at a discount of 200,000 taels of silver as military compensation for the Bian army.Zhu Quanzhong married his daughter to Wang Rong's son, and the two families married.Zhu Quanzhong retreated.The alliance of Bian and town was formed. Although Zhu Quanzhong retreated. Wang Rong is still not at ease. Because people have long legs.The soldiers who retreat today will come back tomorrow. Zhu Quanzhong can't be left idle, otherwise, Zhu Quanzhong will keep his eye on Chengde. At this time, Zhang Ze, Wang Rong's judge, came up with an idea: "Hedong is too powerful, and it is still the number one threat to us. Even if we form an alliance with Zhu Quanzhong, after all, distant waters cannot save nearby fires, and Xuanwu cannot be counted on. It is better to persuade Zhu Quanzhong to send Youzhou , Cangzhou, Yiding and other places, so that everyone will become allies, and it will be much better to unite to deal with Hedong." Wang Rong actually believed this bastard's idea.Don't you know, how can there be eggs under the overturned nest?How can you raise a tiger on the side of the couch?If Zhu Quanzhong handles all of Hebei, how can Zhenzhou survive alone? However, Zhu Quanzhong was really willing to accept Zhang Ze's opinion.As long as Wang Rong does not make trouble, remains neutral or supports Zhu Quanzhong, Zhu Quanzhong is confident that Youzhou and Yiwu will be put down. Zhu Quanzhong sent Zhang Cunjing and Wei Bojun to attack Liu Rengong.Zhang Cunjing was as powerful as a broken bamboo, and successively captured more than 20 cities including Yingzhou, Jingzhou, and Mozhou.Then he attacked Yiwu Fan Township Yiding to the west. Yi Ding's coach is Wang Gao, the son of Wang Chucun.This kid really doesn't live up to expectations, he's far behind his father. When Wang Gao and Bian Jun met face to face, they were scared out of their wits and fled to Jinyang.Wang Chuzhi, Wang Chucun's younger brother, was elected by Yi Ding's army to act as the governor of the feudal town.Wang Chuzhi was even more muddy.After taking office as Yiding's coach, Wang Chuzhi immediately wrote a letter to Zhu Quanzhong to repent, and sent 100,000 yuan to comfort the Bian army, bowing his head and proclaiming himself a minister. Yi Ding is in danger and is on the verge of collapse, which will seriously destroy Liu Rengong of Youzhou.Liu Rengong watched the surrounding warlords being dealt with by Zhu Quanzhong one by one, and he knew very well that he was the one to be dealt with next.Liu Rengong can't sit idly by.When Wang Gao abandoned the city, Liu Rengong sent his second son Liu Shouguang to rescue Yiding.Unexpectedly, Liu Shouguang was ambushed by Zhang Cunjing on the way and lost 60,000 people.Since then, almost all of Youzhou's family assets have been reimbursed. Zhu Quanzhong used both military and diplomatic means to conquer the vassals and towns in Hebei, forming a semi-encirclement of Hedong from the north, east and south. In the hegemony contest between Xuanwu and Hedong, Zhu Quanzhong gradually gained the upper hand. Zhu Quanzhong looked at the map and fell into deep thought.