Chapter 227 Chapter 226 Taizu Guo Wei

Guo Wei, courtesy name Wenzhong, was born in Yaoshan, Xingzhou (now Longyao, Hebei).Born in July of the first year of Tang Tianyou (AD 904), he died in the first month of the first year of Xiande at the age of 51. Guo Wei came from a poor family, lost his father in his early years, and his original surname was Chang. His mother took him to remarry the Guo family, so he changed his surname to Guo. When Guo Wei was 3 years old, he moved to Taiyuan with his mother and stepfather.But not long after living there, his stepfather was captured and killed by the Shatuo Turkic army, and his mother passed away soon after.Guo Wei became an orphan at a young age and was adopted by his aunt Han, who was also from a poor family and her family was not well off. Therefore, Guo Wei lived a very poor and difficult life when he was young.

After growing up, Guo Wei was born with a hulking back, a burly body, as strong as a bull, and bold and bold.Guo Wei loves martial arts very much, he does not want to farm, and is eager to join the army. At the age of 18, Li Jitao, the governor of Luzhou (now Changzhi, Shanxi Province), a warlord in the separatist region, recruited Haoyong in order to expand his power. Guo Weisui followed his biological father's relative Chang to apply for the recruitment.Li Jitao saw that Guo Wei was young, energetic, aggressive and powerful, and he liked him very much, so he immediately stayed in his tent as a tooth soldier.The tooth soldiers are soldiers of the feudal commander. They are well paid, but the discipline is relatively strict. Because Guo Wei is active by nature, he often violates the ban.Li Jitao loves his courage and often gives him shelter, which makes Guo Wei even more self-willed.In the third year of Longde (923 A.D.), Li Cunxu, Emperor Zhuangzong of the Later Tang Dynasty, destroyed Houliang, killed Li Jitao, a Luzhou warlord who was allied with Liang, and appointed all Li Jitao's tooth soldiers as watch husbands, and Guo Wei was of course among them.At that time, Guo Wei was only 21 years old, and he was transferred to serve as a "horse shop pawn" in the Later Tang Dynasty.

Guo Wei is not a reckless man, he is smart since he was a child, and he likes reading.After joining the army, he still often read books. Once he went to visit Li Qiong, a native of Youzhou, his sworn brother. Qiong taught carefully, and since then, he has carefully studied the history of survival and chaos, and the way of governing the country and using soldiers.At that time, Guo Wei was very busy with his official duties, so he hid the book in his sleeve, and took it with him whenever he was on business, and read it whenever he had free time. As a result, his knowledge greatly increased, and he gradually became politically mature and sophisticated.

In the fourth year of Tongguang (926 AD), Guo Wei was 24 years old.This year, he had good luck and married a peerless beauty, Shi Chai, as his wife.With the Chai family as a good helper, Guo Wei's career and life have improved.It's a pity that although the young couple live a happy life, they haven't given birth to a boy and a half girl for many years.The Chai family took Chai Rong, the son of his elder brother Chai Shouli, to adopt him.Chai Rong was young and smart, and was deeply loved by his aunt and uncle. Guo Wei has been serving in the army, brave and resourceful, very capable.He once attacked Shi Jingtang from Shi Jingtang, took charge of the military registration for Shi Jingtang, and was loved by him.Shi Jingtang proclaimed himself emperor, established the Later Jin Dynasty, and Guo Wei was also slightly promoted.Later, Guo Wei was subordinated to Liu Zhiyuan, the Marquis of Yu, the guard of Shi Jingtang's ministry, Ma Budu, and became Liu Zhiyuan's confidant.

In December of the third year of Kaiyun (946 A.D.), the Khitan army, led by the traitor Dewey, invaded Kaifeng, captured Shi Chonggui, the young emperor of the Later Jin Dynasty, and destroyed the Later Jin Dynasty.The Khitan army was resisted by the people of the Central Plains, so they did not dare to stay for long, and retreated after looting a large amount of property.Guo Wei, Su Fengji, Shi Hongzhao and others persuaded Liu Zhiyuan to proclaim himself emperor in Taiyuan and establish the Later Han Dynasty.Because Guo Wei made great contributions to Liu Zhiyuan's founding of the country, he was suddenly promoted from Yajiang Chao to Deputy Privy Envoy, Inspector Situ, and became the general in command of the army.His adopted son, Chai Rong, was also named General Zuojian Guard.Guo Wei led his troops to the south and occupied Bianliang (that is, Kaifeng), which was designated as the capital in the Later Han Dynasty.Soon, Liu Zhiyuan restored the territory of the Later Jin Dynasty, became the emperor firmly, and trusted Guo Wei even more.

At this time, Mrs. Chai was dead and unable to enjoy this rich life. Since Guo Wei became prime minister, he continued to marry several concubines, and soon gave birth to two sons, named Qingge and Yige.Adopted son Chai Rong also married a wife and had three sons.The family had a wonderful time in Kaifeng, the capital city. In the first year of Qianyou (948 A.D.), Liu Zhiyuan, the great ancestor of the Later Han Dynasty, died of illness.Guo Wei and Su Fengji were both ordered by Gu to make Liu Zhiyuan's son Liu Chengyou the emperor, the hidden emperor.Emperor Yin worshiped Guo Wei as a privy envoy, who was in charge of the military power of the whole country.Guo Wei thus became the most important minister of the Later Han Dynasty.

Soon, Li Shouzhen, the governor of Hezhong, rebelled against the city, and the court was shocked.Then, Zhao Siwan and Wang Jingchong rebelled.Emperor Yin appointed Guo Wei as the leader of Tongping Zhangshi to go to the west, and all the soldiers and horses were dispatched by Guo Wei.Guo Wei won an overall victory in the end, and Emperor Yin generously rewarded him, adding Guo Wei's official inspection school grand master and servant. In October of this year, Khitan invaded, and the northern states were in a hurry. Emperor Yin believed that only Guo Wei could stop the enemy, so he ordered Guo Wei to lead the army to fight, and Wang Jun, the envoy of Xuanhui South Court, was the supervisor.Guo Wei led the army on a starry night journey. When they arrived in Xingzhou, the Khitan heard that Guo Wei was coming and knew it was difficult to deal with, so they retreated. Guo Wei wanted to pursue and fight fiercely, but Liu Chengyou refused.In the third year of Qianyou (950 A.D.), Guo Wei had to lead his army back to the court.

On November 14th, Guo Weizheng and Xuanhui envoy Wang Jun were sitting in the yamen hall to discuss border affairs. Suddenly Li Hongyi, the Jiedu envoy of Chanzhou (now Puyang County, Henan Province), and the guard infantry commanded Wang Yin to send Chen Guangsui, the deputy envoy of Chanzhou. To report that a coup d'état took place in the capital.The two turned pale in shock.It turned out that on the morning of the 13th, Emperor Yin killed Prime Minister Shi Hongzhao and many other ministers, and sent his confidants to secretly order Li Hongyi to kill Wang Yin, and also secretly ordered the left chamber commander Guo Chong and others to kill Guo Wei.Li Hongyi was very confused when he got the secret edict, so he showed it to Wang Yin. The two felt that the matter was serious, so they sent Chen Guangsui to report to Guo Wei to discuss countermeasures.Guo Wei summoned Chai Rong and the other generals for a discussion. When they heard that Prime Minister Shi Hongzhao and others had died tragically, everyone was filled with righteous indignation.Guo Wei announced the situation to the public and said to the soldiers: "I started from humble beginnings. Emperor Zuoxian founded the country and had great honors in the country. Today there is an edict to take my head. If you want to make achievements, you can take my head. Repay your merits." Everyone shouted in unison, saying that today the villains on the left and right have falsely accused you, and they are willing to follow Guo Wei to raise troops to fight against the Qing emperor.Guo Chong and others also cried and expressed their willingness to listen to Guo Wei's orders, and they would not hesitate to die.So Guo Wei mobilized his army and marched towards the capital Kaifeng on the grounds of "pleading guilty to the que".

On the 19th, Emperor Yin Liu Chengyou sent Liu Chongjin to lead the forbidden army to fight in an attempt to prevent Guo Wei's army from advancing.But the soldiers were weary of the battle and retreated before the battle.On the 20th, Liu Chengyou had no choice but to lead the forbidden army to line up in Liu Zibei, and on the 21st a positional battle was held.Except for some resistance by Murong Yanchao, Emperor Yin's soldiers surrendered one after another. Seeing this, Murong Yanchao also led his troops to flee to Yanzhou.Liu Chengyou couldn't stabilize his position, so he had to retreat.On the 22nd, Liu Chengyou was killed in the northern suburbs of Kaifeng by Guo Yunming, Guo Wei's subordinate.As a result, Guo Wei led an army to swarm into Kaifeng City.

Guo Wei and Wang Jun came to the palace of Liu Zhiyuan's widow, Empress Dowager Li, to greet him, explain why he was forced to raise troops, and asked for Liu's descendants to inherit the throne.Empress Dowager Li proposed to appoint Xuzhou Jiedu envoy Liu Yun, the son of Liu Zhiyuan's younger brother Liu Chong, so Guo Wei sent the old prime minister Feng Dao to Xuzhou to welcome him.Before Liu Yun entered the capital, all major military and state affairs were carried out in the name of Empress Dowager Li.Guo Wei also asked Empress Dowager Li to listen to the government, and the political affairs were decided by himself.At this time, the prefectures in Hebei announced that the Khitan army had entered the bandits again, and the border was in a hurry. The Queen Mother ordered Guo Wei to lead the army to march north.

On December 1st of the third year of Qianyou (950 A.D.), Guo Wei left the capital and set off, and arrived at Chanzhou (now Puyang County, Henan Province) on the 16th. The capital, everyone has committed crimes against the Liu family, and now we want to establish the Liu family as the emperor and fight for the Liu family, will we have a good end in the future?" On the 19th, Guo Wei ordered the army to continue to march, and on the 20th, the sergeant He yelled and resolutely refused to leave.Guo Wei hid in the house, and many people climbed the wall and entered the house to enter Guo Wei's residence, and asked Guo Wei to make him emperor.Someone tore off a yellow flag and put it on Guo Wei. The mutinous soldiers embraced him and climbed up the tower. Tens of thousands of troops gathered under the city, but they did not go to fight Khitan.Guo Wei wrote to Empress Dowager Li, requesting to enshrine the ancestral temple of the Han Dynasty, and wishing to serve the Empress Dowager as his mother.As soon as Wang Jun and Wang Yin heard about the mutiny in Chanzhou, they immediately sent guards and Ma Jundu commander Guo Chongwei to Songzhou to intercept Liu Yun who had come from Xuzhou.As soon as Guo Chongwei arrived in Songzhou, he recruited Liu Yun's guards to surrender. In the first month of the second year, the inner court heard the "Decree" of the Empress Dowager Li, praising Guo Wei's holiness and virtue, and saying that he should obey the sky and respond to the people, and that he wanted to bestow Guo Wei with the national talisman handed down from the Later Han Dynasty.After Guo Wei arranged everything, a grand ceremony was held, namely the throne of the emperor, the country name "Zhou" and the year name "Guangshun".Another new dynasty appeared in the Central Plains. In the first year of Guangshun (AD 951), Guo Wei killed Liu Yun in Songzhou. Liu Yun's father, Liu Chong, saw this and proclaimed himself emperor in Jinyang (that is, Taiyuan), still using the reign title of Han Qianyou.He occupied the land of Twelve Prefectures in Hedong, known as the "Northern Han Dynasty" in history, and had a long-term confrontation with Guo Wei's Later Zhou regime. In February of the first year of Guangshun, Liu Chong sent five troops to attack Jinzhou (now Linfen City, Shanxi). He was severely beaten by Wang Yan, the Jiedu envoy of the Later Zhou Dynasty. The Northern Han army suffered many casualties and had to retreat.Since then, he has entered the bandits year after year. In October, the Khitan raised another 50,000 troops to join the Northern Han Dynasty to invade the bandits.Liu Chong led 20,000 troops to attack Jinzhou.In December, the weather became colder and it snowed heavily. Liu Chong and the Khitan army did not dare to stay for a long time, and they burned their camps and fled at night.Later Zhou's army took the opportunity to pursue them, and the Northern Han soldiers fell into the valley with many casualties, and the Khitan soldiers and horses also lost three to four out of ten.Afterwards, the army of the Zhou Dynasty won a complete victory, and the Northern Han Dynasty was seriously injured since then. Although they continued to enter the bandits every year, the scale was not large. Since this defeat, Khitan has not organized any major attacks.With the northern border basically settled down, Guo Wei began to concentrate on handling internal affairs. Guo Wei adjusted the central leadership team, with his confidant Wang Jun and veterans Fan Zhi and Feng Dao as prime ministers, and his inner son Chai Rongju led the army and served as the governor of Chanzhou.He also named his wife Chai as the queen, and buried Liu Chengyou, Emperor Yin of the Han Dynasty, and moved the Empress Dowager Li to the West Palace. She lived from time to time and tried her best to stabilize the political situation.And pass through the countries to accept tribute from all over the world. In December of the third year of Guangshun, Guo Wei, who had only been emperor for three years, suddenly fell ill. He had a premonition that he might not be able to recover from the illness, so he handed over the burden of governing the country to his adopted son Chai Rong.Because Guo Wei's own son was killed by Liu Chengyou, Emperor Yin of the Later Han Dynasty, when he raised troops in Yedu.Chai Rong grew up with him since he was a child, knowing the hardships of the people, and after several years of military training, he has rich political experience and superhuman perseverance.Guo Wei was seriously ill in bed, and Chai Rong stayed by his side, day and night.Chai Rong is actually Guo Wei's closest and most trustworthy person, and the most reliable political successor. On New Year's Day, Guo Wei endured the pain, gritted his teeth and went to the palace to hold a court celebration ceremony, changing this year to the first year of Xiande (954 AD), and amnesty to the world.He knew that his time in this world was running out, so he wrote the will and passed the throne to Chai Rong.Guo Wei took Chai Rong's hand, and facing the ministers, he braced himself and said in a weak voice: "When I went to the west, I saw the cemeteries of the eighteen emperors of the Tang Dynasty. This is all because there are too many gold, jade and jewels hidden in it. Emperor Han Wen was buried in a thin way after his death, and his tomb is still well preserved. Since a person is dead, don’t let the living be troubled. Sweep the cemetery once. It doesn’t matter if you are too busy to go, you just need to sacrifice and remember me. In addition, I will bury my beloved armor, bow and sword in the battlefields where I fought as a memorial. This is me My last wish, don't forget my words." After saying that, he passed away.The posthumous title is "Sacred God Gongsu Wenwu Filial Emperor", and the temple name is "Zhou Taizu".Buried in Songling.