Chapter 48 Chapter 48: The Only Zhang Dynasty in History

When talking about the surnames of the Chinese nation, people always mention this sentence: Zhang Wang Li Zhao is everywhere (Liu).Undoubtedly, Zhang is a common surname in China, but for unknown reasons, there are very few dynasties established by the surname Zhang in the Chinese history of more than 5,000 years. Zhang dynasty. From the 3rd century to the early 4th century AD, the Western Jin Dynasty declined, and the Eastern Jin Dynasty settled in the southeast corner. In the Bashu area in the north and southwest, 16 regimes established by various ethnic groups emerged successively. Three belonged to the Han nationality, and Qianliang was one of them.

The Qianliang Dynasty was established by Zhang Gui, the governor of Liangzhou in the Western Jin Dynasty and a native of Wushi County, Anding County (now Pingliang City, Gansu Province) during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. Zhang Gui, courtesy name Shiyan, was from a filial and honest family. He was well-known for his erudition, and was highly regarded by Zhang Hua, the imperial secretary. The "Eight Kings Rebellion" began in 291, and most of the states and counties were in their own way. Zhang Gui also wanted to occupy the land of Hexi (now western Gansu and eastern Xinjiang), so he asked to return to his hometown to become an official. In 301, Emperor Hui of Jin worshiped Zhang Gui as governor of Liangzhou and ruled Guzang (now Wuwei City, Gansu).

After Zhang Gui took office, he followed the talented local surname of Liangzhou and jointly governed Liangzhou.He persuaded Nong Sang to set up a school, and always expressed his loyalty to the Western Jin Dynasty to maintain the hearts of the people.He also defeated the invading Xianbei tribe many times, protected the environment and the people, and shocked the western lands. In 311, Luoyang was captured by former Zhao general Liu Yao, and then Liu Yao captured Chang'an. Many people from the Central Plains and Guanzhong areas flowed into Liangzhou. Zhang Gui set up Wuxing County in the northwest of Guzang, and divided it into Xiping County (now Xining City, Qinghai). Jinxing County was set up in the boundary to accommodate refugees, and then five coins were cast and circulated in the territory, making many achievements.

At the end of the Western Jin Dynasty, all states and counties no longer paid tribute to the Western Jin court, but Zhang Gui continued to contribute.When the Han generals Wang Mi and Liu Yao attacked Luoyang and Chang'an, Zhang Gui sent troops to serve the king several times, and was later promoted by the imperial court to be Shizhong, Taiwei, Liangzhou Mu, and Xiping County Duke. In May 314, Zhang Gui died of illness.Zhang Gui's eldest son, Zhang Shi, who was supported by Zhang Gui's confidants, succeeded him as the shepherd of Liangzhou.Zhang Shi made a formal report to Sima Ye, Emperor Min of Jin in Chang'an, and the Jin court quickly responded, letting Zhang Shi take over the post of governor of Liangzhou and lead the protection of General Qiang and Duke Xiping.

During the nearly 20 years when Zhang Gui and Zhang Shi were in power successively, Liangzhou was a relatively stable area in northern China because they were more politically enlightened and far away from the wars in the Central Plains. center of. The Hexi Corridor used to be an important land transportation route leading to the west, with prosperous commerce and relatively developed agriculture and animal husbandry. socio-economic development.At that time, Liangzhou was the first area in northern China to preserve the traditional culture of the Han nationality and accept the culture of the Western Regions.

In June 320, Zhang Shi was killed by his subordinate Yan Sha.According to the rule of succession from father to son, his eldest son, Zhang Jun, should take over. However, Zhang Jun was still a 13-year-old child at the time, unable to handle government affairs, so he had to be succeeded by Zhang Shi's younger brother, Zhang Mao, according to the tradition of brotherhood. Liangzhou Mu, in power. During Zhang Mao's reign, he was good at accepting advice and being able to make decisions. In 322, he sent general Han Yan to conquer Longxi and Nan'an, and established Qinzhou.Jia Mushi, a major surname in Liangzhou, fell to the west and was lured and killed by him.

In May 324, Zhang Mao died of illness. Because he had no children, he handed over the post of Liangzhou pastor to Zhang Jun. Zhang Jun, like his predecessors, always regarded the Jin Dynasty as the only orthodoxy, and regarded serving the Jin Dynasty as his sacred duty.Although the Central Plains area was full of wars and it was difficult to get in touch with the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Zhang Jun still tried every means to express his sincerity to the Eastern Jin Dynasty. In view of the convenient connection between Sichuan and the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Zhang Jun took the initiative to write a letter to Li Xiong, the ruler of the Cheng Han Dynasty who occupied Sichuan, advising Li Xiong not to be arrogant, to get rid of the title of emperor as soon as possible, and to become a minister of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.Regardless of whether Li Xiong adopted his opinion or not, he continued to send a delegation to visit Chengdu, with the purpose of passing through Sichuan to serve the Eastern Jin Dynasty as soon as possible.But despite Zhang Jun's good words, Li Xiong just refused to agree.Nine years passed in a blink of an eye, and in 333, Zhang Jun couldn't wait any longer, so he had to put down his airs and send envoys to Jiankang to pretend to be a Han Dynasty on the condition of proclaiming himself a minister to Li Xiong.Li Xiong apparently agreed, but he secretly planned to sink Zhang Chun, the envoy sent by Qianliang to Jiankang, into the river to kill him. Because Zhang Chun got the news in advance, he gave Li Xiong a righteous word, and then he got the pass. Formally contacted with the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

Zhang Jun is good at employing people and diligent in political affairs. Under his governance, the people in Hexi area are rich and the army is strong, and it has become a rare prosperous area in the war-torn northern China. People from far and near gradually regard him as a wise monarch and call him It is called "Jixian King".Zhang Jun also wanted to show off to the outside world. In 335, he sent his minister Yangxuan to send troops to Kucha and Shanshan. These two small countries had self-knowledge. Seeing this, the small countries also scrambled to pay tribute to Qianliang. With strength, Zhang Jun built five palaces in the south of Guzang City in order to show his majesty.They are Yiyang Green Hall, Zhuyang Red Hall, Political and Punishment White Hall, Xuanwu Black Hall and Qianguang Hall.Qianguang Hall is in the center, and the other four halls are around. The four halls are decorated in four colors: blue, red, white, and black (in ancient times, blue, red, white, and black were used to represent the four directions of east, south, west, and north). , Zhang Jun took turns to live in the four palaces throughout the year. In 345, Zhang Jun claimed to be the governor, general, and king of false Liang, and began to set up official positions such as Jijiu, Langzhong, Dafu, Sheren, and Yezhe, most of which were named after the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

In May 346, Zhang Jun died of illness, and his second son, 16-year-old Zhang Chonghua, succeeded him as the shepherd of Liangzhou and king of false Liang. Zhang Chonghua was taciturn, lenient and prudent. After assuming the throne, he reduced taxes internally, stopped building imperial gardens, and sent envoys abroad to repair them better than Hou Zhao. He seemed to want to make a difference.However, his fate was not good. Not long after he succeeded to the throne, he was repeatedly attacked by Hou Zhao, which made people panic.Sima Zhang Dan came up with an idea and said to Zhang Chonghua: "The survival of a country depends on soldiers, and soldiers are based on generals. Now ministers recommend generals, they all choose their relatives and friends, and most of them can't lead troops to fight. Now, the enemy is in front of you. Can’t fight, how can this be done? I think the master Xie Ai is both civil and military, and he is good at using troops. If he is allowed to lead the army, he will definitely be able to kill the enemy.” Zhang Chonghua then called Xie Ai to him and asked him about the plan to fight the enemy.Xie Ai was neither humble nor overbearing, he talked eloquently, and finally said with confidence: "As long as you give me seven or eight thousand people, if you are undefeated, Zhao will take me!" Zhang Chonghua immediately named Xie Ai a backbone general.

Xie Ai did what he said, and soon defeated Hou Zhao's army.When Zhang Chonghua received the good news, the sadness on his face was swept away, and he made Xie Ai a Fulubo.Later Zhao Guojun Shi Hu refused to admit defeat, and in the second year, he sent tens of thousands of troops to revenge Zhang Chonghua, but was defeated by Xie Ai again. The victory on the battlefield made Zhang Chonghua proud. In 349, he began to call himself the king of Liang, the prime minister, and the shepherd of Yong, Qin, and Liang.Zhang Chonghua was intoxicated by these nondescript titles given by others or by himself, and gradually became tired of government affairs. He played chess with his favorite ministers all day long for fun, and gave them a lot of money when he was happy.Suo Zhen really couldn't bear to see the matter, so he gave him advice, saying: "The former king was diligent and thrifty, and the treasury was full. At the beginning of His Highness's accession to the throne, he encountered the invasion of the later Zhao. It was because of the heavy rewards to the officers and soldiers that he defeated the powerful enemy. Now the treasury It is already empty, and the strong bandits will attack us at any time. Once there is a war, what will we reward the officers and soldiers?" Suo Zhen stopped here, and seeing Zhang Chonghua listening silently, he went on to say: "Emperor Guangwu of Han Dynasty Liu Xiu takes care of everything on a daily basis, and the affairs of the day are dealt with on the same day, which is why the Han Dynasty can be revitalized. Now, you have delayed processing the memorials presented below for several months, which has blocked the upload and release routes, and unjust, false and wrong cases have not been dealt with. Is this what a sage should do?"After listening to Suo Zhen's words, Zhang Chonghua not only did not blame him, but thanked him for his outspoken words.From then on, Zhang Chonghua gave up the habit of playing chess all day long, changed his practice of generously rewarding his favored ministers, and became serious and timely in handling government affairs, and the treasury began to be gradually enriched.

However, once the national treasury is full, Zhang Chonghua will not be willing to be lonely again. In February 353, Zhang Chonghua sent three generals, Zhang Hong, Song Xiu, and Wang Zhuo, to lead troops to fight against Qin.But Zhang Chonghua did not expect that in the battle of Longli, the former Liang army was beaten to the ground, 12,000 officers and soldiers died on the battlefield, Zhang Hong and Song Xiu were captured, and Wang Zhuo abandoned Qinzhou and ran back to Guzang , Shangyu was also occupied by the former Qin Dynasty.This fiasco made Zhang Chonghua furious, and vowed that he would not live in this world until he defeated Qianqin.In May of the same year, Zhang Chonghua sent Wang Zhuo again to attack Shangbi with 20,000 officers and soldiers. Thanks to the support of some counties and counties in Qinzhou, Wang Zhen took back Shangyu in one fell swoop.Zhang Chonghua was dazzled by this victory, thinking that the former Qin Dynasty was not his opponent, so he wrote to Sima Dan, Mudi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, requesting to attack Qin, but before the Eastern Jin Dynasty replied, Zhang Chonghua fell ill and died in November of the same year. During the 30 years of Zhang Jun and Zhang Chonghua's rule, it was the heyday of Qianliang. They divided Liangzhou into Liangzhou, Shazhou and Hezhou;Its territory includes the central and western parts of Gansu, the eastern part of Xinjiang, and the vast areas of western Ningxia. After Zhang Chonghua's death, civil strife continued in the Zhang clan, and the people of Liangzhou also rebelled. More than ten years of struggle for power and profit caused the decline of Qianliang. In October 353, when Zhang Chonghua was seriously ill, he made his 10-year-old son Zhang Yaoling the crown prince.After the news came out, Zhang Chonghua's half-brother Zhang Zuo was extremely dissatisfied.But Zhang Zuocheng's mansion is very deep, and he can't see his dissatisfaction on the surface, but secretly he has frequent contacts with Zhang Chonghua's trusted ministers Zhao Chang and Wei Ji, and they become brothers, plotting to abolish Zhang Yaoling after Zhang Chonghua's death. In November, Zhang Chonghua died of illness, and Zhang Yaoling succeeded to the throne.Zhao Chang and others falsely claimed that Zhang Chonghua had a will, and made Zhang Zuo the governor of all Chinese and foreign military forces and the general of Fujun.A few days later, Zhao Chang and others sent a report to Zhang Chonghua's mother, Queen Mother Ma, saying: "The political situation is unstable now, and Yaoling is too young to clean up the situation. Please make Zhang Zuo King of Liang." Jun's second wife was very much loved by Zhang Jun and gave birth to Zhang Chonghua for Zhang Jun.After Zhang Jun's death, Queen Mother Ma couldn't bear the long-term widowhood, so she had an affair with Zhang Zuo, Marquis of Changning.In terms of title, Queen Mother Ma is Zhang Zuo's mother, but she is not her own.Zhang Zuo was ambitious and wanted to use the power of Queen Mother Ma to manipulate the power of Qianliang. One day in December, Zhang Zuo came to the Yongshou Palace where the Empress Dowager Ma lived, and after warming up with the Empress Dowager Ma, he asked him to abolish Zhang Yaoling.Empress Ma knew very well that if she wanted to control the government for a long time, it would be more beneficial for her to let Zhang Zuo be in power, so she agreed and abolished Zhang Yaoling that day and made Zhang Zuo the shepherd of Liangzhou.In January of the following year, Zhang Zuo was called the King of Liang and changed Yuan Heping. Instead of using the Jin Dynasty title, he began to adopt the emperor's ritual music.When Zhang Zuo took the throne, he still obeyed the queen mother, but he kicked her away not long after, and raped her daughter-in-law, daughter, and all the women in Zhang Jun's harem.Although Ma Shi was very angry, he had no power in his hands and had nothing to do with Zhang Zuo.After receiving Zhang Zuo's cold shoulder, Queen Mother Ma pulled the minister Zhang Yong into her arms again. Zhang Zuo knew very well that his throne was disgraceful, so he was afraid that others would make irresponsible remarks about him, and he was even more afraid that others would have unreasonable thoughts about his throne.As soon as he ascended the throne, he sent people to Jiuquan to kill Xie Ai, but it was a pity that Xie Ai, a famous general of a generation, became a victim of court struggle. In the second year, that is, in 355, Zhang Zuo was afraid that the brothers Zhang Guan, the governor of Hezhou, would be too powerful, so he asked his confidant Zhangye prefect Suo Fu to replace them in Hezhou. Attitude, he readily agreed to hand over his military power and left Fanghan (now Linxia City, Gansu Province) to lead troops to attack the Hu people who opposed Qianliang according to Zhang Zuo's request. In fact, Zhang Zuo asked Zhang Guan to attack the Hu people as a pretense, and the purpose was to let Zhang Guan leave Fuhan.Later, Zhang Zuo asked Yi Chuai and Zhang Ling to lead 12,000 people to attack Zhang Guan.When Wang Luan from Zhangye heard that Zhang Zuo was going to attack Zhang Guan, he went to Zhang Zuo and advised him, "Zhang Guan is brave and good at using troops. If you send troops to fight him, he will never come back. It seems that Liangguo is in danger." .” Then he pointed out Zhang Zuo’s crimes of sexual abuse and immorality, and asked him to restrain himself.As Zhang Zuo listened, he became angry and ordered the guards to pull him out and kill him. On the way to the execution ground, Wang Luan scolded Zhang Zuo: "Zhang Zuo! You bastard, you won't live long after I die, don't believe me Just wait and see!" Just as Wang Luan said, when Zhang Guan heard the news that Zhang Zuo sent troops to attack, he immediately killed Suofu, and spread the message to all states and counties to abolish Zhang Zuo and support Zhang Yaoling to restore him.Then mobilize soldiers and horses to meet Yi Chuai and Zhang Ling, and beat them into a panic and fled back to Guzang. In August of this year, Song Cheng, the younger brother of Xiaoqi General Song Hun, had conflicts with Zhang Zuo because of his eldest brother Song Xiu.Seeing that Zhang Zuo had fallen to the point of betrayal, he had no choice but to vent his anger on Zhang Yaoling. He ordered Yang Qiuhu to drag Zhang Yao to death alive and bury him in a pit indiscriminately. Before long, Song Hun's army arrived at Guzang City. Zhang Zuo wanted to arrest and kill Zhang Guan's younger brother Zhang Ju and son Zhang Song who were in the city, but Zhang Ju and Zhang Song had already opened the city gate before they could do anything. The mixed army marched into the city.At this time, Zhang Zuo was still standing on the temple with his sword in hand, ordering the soldiers to fight. The soldiers had never received any benefits from Zhang Zuo, and no one was willing to work for him at critical moments. Soon Zhang Zuo was killed by Song Hun's soldiers. die.When the people heard that Zhang Zuo had been killed, they all clapped their hands and cheered. After Zhang Zuo's death, Zhang Guan, Song Hun, and Zhang Ju supported Zhang Chonghua's six-year-old son Zhang Xuanliang as King of Liang.Said to be King Liang, the young Zhang Xuanliang knew nothing about national affairs except that he was amused by seeing swords and swords and frightened by seeing blood flowing into rivers.The power fell into the hands of Zhang Guan, who had made great contributions to the crusade against Zhang Zuo. Zhang Guan himself served as the governor of Chinese and foreign military forces, Shang Shuling, Liangzhou Mu, and Zhangye County Duke. Zhang Guan likes to be suspicious of others, and also likes to reward and punish according to his own likes and dislikes, so many people are extremely dissatisfied with him.Doctor Yin Xun advised him, but Zhang Guan was furious, saying: "A tiger knows how to eat meat when it is three days old, so why should someone teach it?" Yin Xun almost died of anger. Song Hun was upright and upright, so he naturally became a thorn in Zhang Guan's side. In September 359, Zhang Guan wanted to kill Song Hun brothers, abolish Zhang Xuanliang, and become the king of Liang himself.Unexpectedly, the news was leaked, but Song Hun beat him first, and the two brothers Zhang Guan and Zhang Ju committed suicide. After that, Song Hun killed Zhang Guan's whole family.After this internal struggle, the 10-year-old Zhang Xuanliang seemed to understand a lot. He added a lot of titles to Song Hun, worshiping Song Hun as the governor of Chinese and foreign military forces, general of hussars, and Duke of Jiuquan County, responsible for managing the government.Song Hun asked Zhang Xuanliang to remove the title of King Liang and become a minister to Jin, so Zhang Xuanliang called Liangzhou Mu. Two years later, Song Hun was seriously ill. Zhang Xuanliang and his grandmother, Queen Mother Ma, visited Song Hun's home in person.Seeing that Song Hun was seriously ill, Zhang Xuanliang cried and said to Song Hun: "If the general dies unfortunately, what will we do if we are left as orphans and widowed mothers? I want your son Lin Zong to take charge of the government. What do you think?"Song Hun panted and said: "Lin Zong is too young to be competent. If you don't dislike our Song family, you can let my younger brother Song Cheng take charge of the government. He is more capable than me." After Song Hun's death, Zhang Xuanliang worshiped Song Cheng as the leading general to manage the government, but the good times didn't last long. In 361, the great Sima Zhang Yong raised troops and killed Song Cheng, and at the same time wiped out the Song family.Zhang Xuanliang was extremely dissatisfied with Zhang Yong's indiscriminate killing of ministers, but because he had no military power in his hands, he had to swallow his anger and appointed Zhang Yong as the Central Guard Army, and let him and his uncle Zhang Tianxi, who was the leader of the Central Army at the time, co-assist in the government. However, Zhang Yong succeeded as a villain and established a private party, which is actually Zhang Yong's dictatorship. 16-year-old Zhang Tianxi is Zhang Chonghua's younger brother. He was naturally dissatisfied with Zhang Yong's monopoly on power, so he conspired with his cronies Zhang Su and Zhao Baiju to kill Zhang Yong and regain his power.In November of this year, Zhang Tianxi went to court with Zhang Yong. Zhang Su, who was walking behind, raised his knife and slashed at Zhang Yong, but he missed. in the palace. After Zhang Yong escaped, he led more than 300 soldiers to attack the palace gate.Zhang Tianxi stood on the roof very calmly and shouted to the soldiers below: "Zhang Yong is ambitious. Killing the entire Song family is not enough, but now he wants to kill me. You are all loyal ministers of Qianliang. Don't fall for Zhang Yong." Yong's fool! I will only kill Zhang Yong now, and I will not ask anyone else." After hearing this, Zhang Yong's soldiers immediately ran away, and Zhang Yong had to commit suicide when he saw this.Zhang Tianxi is crowned as a general, and he supervises all military affairs at home and abroad. In August 363, Zhang Tianxi sent Zhang Su to lead troops into the palace late at night to kill Zhang Xuanliang, and claimed to be a general, Liangzhou Mu, and Xiping Gong. After Zhang Tianxi took power, he was addicted to drinking and sex all day long, and he even forgot the time when he should visit his mother on time, let alone handle government affairs.His cousin Zhang Xian took the coffin to persuade him, but Zhang Tianxi didn't listen at all and went his own way. Zhang Tianxi lived in a daze for ten years. In July 376, the former Qin Buqi 130,000 aggressively attacked Liang.Zhang Tianxi summoned a group of ministers to discuss countermeasures, and the secretary of the ban was the first to speak: "You send your son to the former Qin as a hostage, and then send more gold and silver treasures to the former Qin monarch, and let them withdraw their troops temporarily. Slowly think of a way, this is called yielding." Before Xi Yu finished speaking, he was met with fierce opposition from other ministers, who said angrily: "We have been famous for being loyal to the Jin Dynasty for generations. Serving the Qin Dynasty will insult the ancestors. Besides, Hexi is naturally dangerous and there has been no disaster for a hundred years. If you send out the whole country's army and ask the Western Regions for help, how can you know that you can't win the battle!" Infected by the high emotions of the ministers, Zhang Tianxi suddenly became courageous, rolled up his sleeves, and said loudly: "My determination is determined. Whoever dares to surrender will be killed." , Liang Shu hung on the military gate, and ordered the soldiers to shoot them to death with arrows. When the former Qin generals Wang Tong, Li Bian, and Liang Xi heard the news, they immediately launched a fierce attack on Qianliang.Qianliang's army was vulnerable and was defeated several times.Zhang Tianxi had to go out of the city to fight in person. At this time, another rebellion broke out in the city, so Zhang Tianxi had to run back to quell the rebellion. The former Qin army followed Zhang Tianxi to the city.Zhang Tianxi was desperate and went out of the city to surrender. From 301, the Western Jin Dynasty worshiped Zhang Gui as the governor of Liangzhou to the end of the former Liang Dynasty, advocating the surrender of Tianxi.Except for Wei Wang Zhang Zuo, who was called Liangwang, changed the year name to Heping, and did not use the Jin Dynasty year name, although the rest of the lords had their own year names, they always claimed to be the governor of Liangzhou or Liangzhou Mu in Jin Dynasty, and continued to use the Western Jin Dynasty name.Although they called themselves Jin Chen in name, they had actually become an independent kingdom since Zhang Gui. Throughout the period of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Sixteen Kingdoms, Qianliang was a relatively stable area in northern China, and it was also the earliest area in northern China to preserve the traditional culture of the Han nationality and accept the culture of the Western Regions. The capital Guzang was also the center of politics, economy and culture in the Northwest. It can be said that the former Liang dynasty surnamed Zhang made important and indelible contributions to the development of Chinese culture during this period. Looking at the vicissitudes of Qianliang in the past 80 years, the rise and fall of honor and disgrace, one can't help but think of the song "Linjiang Immortal" inscribed by Yang Shen, a writer of the Ming Dynasty: The rolling Yangtze River flows eastward, The waves scour the heroes. Right and wrong success or failure turned around empty. The green hills are still there, Several times the sunset is red. White-haired fishermen and woodcutters on the river, I am used to watching the autumn moon and spring breeze. A pot of turbid wine is happy to meet. How many things have happened in ancient and modern times, It's all a joke.