Chapter 12 Chapter Twelve Please Attention, Now I'm the Emperor

That night, Zhao Kuangyin stayed in the inner courtyard of the original Houzhou palace.For him, this was an absolutely mysterious and strange place, and it was impossible to guess how he slept that night.However, he will definitely meet the ghost of Chai Rong, who has just been buried for two months. The deep palace is empty, the clouds are cold and deserted, Zhao Kuangyin and Chai Rong's ghost face each other coldly.There was no guilt, or anger, on either side.Who owes whom?Who betrayed whom?Can't talk about it. When there are no outsiders and no so-called moral constraints, people can truly face their own hearts-who stipulates that this beautiful country must belong to whose family and name?

Similarly, Chai Rong will not thank Zhao Kuangyin's subordinates for showing mercy. Zhao Kuangyin has also killed countless people. He didn't kill Chai Rong's descendants because of his conscience, but because of his own rule...so everything is unspoken Let's go.If there was a conversation between them, I believe it was plain and sincere. After all, the problems that were once in front of Chai Rong are now the same as those in front of Zhao Kuangyin, and the difficulty is even more difficult.For example, Chai Rong only had external worries, but no internal strife, but today Zhao Kuangyin worked overtime and acted late at night, it is very likely that in the end it will only become a small game for his own entertainment.

It's the emperor, but who will admit it? Not to mention how many people in the capital are loyal and supportive at this time, how many feudal towns in the country who are like princes are willing to bow their heads sincerely?What's more, there are so many enemies outside the border... Alas, Zhao Kuangyin will definitely sigh deeply when he is alone-for the first time, he deeply feels that there are other people outside the couch... So, starting from this night, the chaotic substance in the depths of Zhao Kuangyin's heart began to change, and he was no longer the person he used to be.The era of being brave, bold, and fighting for joy is gone forever, and now he only thinks about one ultimate question, that is how to consolidate his imperial power and then annex the world.

For the rest, it doesn't matter. For this purpose, Zhao Kuangyin must force himself to become taller and stronger; similarly, in order to achieve this goal, he must suppress himself even more, and he must also accomplish many things that are unhappy and unwilling to do.And fast, so fast that you have to start the next day. The next day, on the fifth day of the first lunar month in 960 A.D., Zhao Kuangyin officially ascended the throne and sat in the palace, and started working as a director.First of all, open the warehouse and move out countless gold and silver treasures. This is the reward promised to the soldiers of the Imperial Army in advance, and it must be honored immediately, otherwise the soldiers will go out and grab it by themselves; Let them have fun working hard, and enhance their confidence and fun in continuing to work for him.

Some of the most important arrangements are as follows: Let Shi Shouxin take over Han Tong's class and serve as the deputy commander of the Sima infantry of the guards; Han Tong can be promoted, and even though he is dead, he will be posthumously appointed as the order of Zhongshu and will be buried with honor; as for the former supreme leader of the guards, Li Chongjin , also rose with the tide and was promoted to Zhongshuling, and became equal to Han Tong, and continued to stay in Yangzhou, where he was stationed, without having to come to the court.Han Lingkun will take over his job as the bodyguard. Zhao Kuangyin's original position is a special check in front of the palace. It must be done by a real confidant and a person with great appeal. , that was Murong Yanzhao, the former Deputy Chief Inspector.

Speaking of Murong Yanzhao, Zhao Kuangyin really loves and fears him at the same time. He is Zhao Kuangyin's childhood friend and a close comrade-in-arms who "has always been a brother" since childhood, but Zhao Kuangyin is always on guard against his ability and prestige. Not to mention anything else, three days ago the army marched from the capital to the front line. It is said that Zhao Kuangyin led 80,000 troops as the central army, and Murong Yanzhao led 50,000 troops in the vanguard, which was almost as strong as Zhao Kuangyin's.There is a mystery in this, because it turned out afterwards that there was no Khitan army united with the Northern Han Dynasty to invade, so why didn't Murong Yanzhao appear at the scene of the Chenqiaoyi mutiny?And keep marching troops, when Zhao Kuangyin ascended the throne as emperor for the first time today and was promoted to his official position, he had already led his troops to Zhending, Hebei!

I don't know how Murong Yanzhao felt when he knew that he was excluded from the circle, but since Zhao Kuangyin and below, all the officials in Zhao Song Jiangshan were careful and meticulous. This made all the Chinese in the past dynasties helpless, even Sad and indignant.How could Murong Yanzhao be an exception? Among other appointments, Zhao Pu and Zhao Guangyi stood out (from then on, the word "Kuang" became a taboo, and only Zhao Kuangyin was allowed to use it exclusively).Zhao Pu was promoted to be a doctor of the right advice and a direct bachelor of the Privy Council, and changed from a private status of Zhao Kuangyin's shogunate to an official official of the state.Zhao Kuangyi ascended to the sky one step further. He was known from the inner palace only and the enshrining officials, and was directly promoted to Yuhou, the former Sidu of the Palace of the Forbidden Army.

It needs to be pointed out here that all the princes and enshrined officials in the inner palace know that it is just the status of a slightly higher-level attendant around the emperor, not to mention the rank, let alone the identity.It was entirely a small "favor" that Chai Rong gave Zhao Kuangyin for his face, and this identity absolutely did not have the obligation or qualification to go out with the army.According to data ("Jianlong Legacy" by Wang Yu of the Northern Song Dynasty and "Flying Dragon" by Zhao Pu), Zhao Guangyi was not at the scene of Chenqiao at all. When Zhao Kuangyin led the three armies into the capital Kaifeng, Zhao Guangyi led his people to "run out to meet".

So he stopped his brother's horse's head in front of thousands of people in Chenqiaoyi, and one can imagine the authenticity of the sentence "Please take plagiarism as a warning".But as the only adult male in the Zhao family besides Zhao Kuangyin himself (Zhao Guangmei was only ten years old at this time), his promotion was extremely necessary and taken for granted. In addition, Zhao Kuangyin also announced that all the courtiers in the later Zhou Dynasty would remain in their posts, and sent envoys to announce to all foreign towns in the country, not only to explain that he had become emperor, but also to let everyone in the world know that, except Except for the change of the emperor, everything is actually the same as usual, so there is no need to panic.

But all good promises, at least on the outside, look like lies, so it's not surprising that some people don't believe them.But no one expected that the first person who openly jumped out to break arms with Zhao Kuangyin would not be Li Zhongjin, but Li Yun. Li Yun, born in Bingzhou (now Taiyuan, Shanxi), joined the army when he was young. He is famous for his bravery and is said to be able to open a hard bow of a hundred catties.In the later Tang Dynasty, he was already well-known in the military circles. Under Guo Wei, he was appointed as the Jiedu Envoy of the Zhaoyi Army, stationed in Luzhou (now Changzhi, Shanxi), and almost used his strength to resist the entire Northern Han Dynasty.Everyone still remember how he dragged Liu Chong back to buy time for Chai Rong, right?He is really loyal and brave, but he has a huge flaw in his personality, he pays special attention to qualifications.

In his mind, it's not enough for you to have ability, it's not enough for you to have grades, and you're not good enough anyway, unless you have higher qualifications than him in addition to these, that's fine. Was Chai Rongqiang strong back then?Li Yun dared to challenge openly. He expropriated state taxes without authorization, recruited desperadoes from all over the world, and strengthened his own strength.Is this okay?The supervisor sent by Chai Rong couldn't help but say a few words to him, and his reaction was to be furious immediately, and put the supervisor in prison. The matter got serious, and it was publicly reported to Chai Rong.Chai Rong was furious, and wanted to beat him up so that he could remember better, but at that time, Chai Rong was competing with Southern Tang for Jiangbei with all his strength, and he dared not let the backyard catch fire anyway, so he had no choice but to write an official document Throwing it to Luzhou, scolding Li Yun a few words to settle the matter. This is obviously because Chai Rong took the overall situation into consideration and didn't want to be serious with Li Yun.But in Li Yun's heart, he doesn't think so, haha, with Chai Rong's strength, he has to compromise with me, which shows that I, Li Yun, are really extremely powerful, very special, and no one can force me!Now you, Zhao Kuangyin, a junior who can't get up, actually want to climb on my head and become my emperor? !Why?You want me to be a minister every day and worship every day, you are dreaming! In this way, when receiving the envoy sent by Zhao Kuangyin to Luzhou to preach the decree, the evil fire in Li Yun's stomach had nowhere to vent, and finally broke out on the spot.But to be honest, the scene was not violent at all, it just seemed full of greasy pettiness. First of all, Li Yun was extremely reluctant and had an extremely bad attitude, but he still knelt down to accept Zhao Kuangyin's imperial edict as a courtier. It is said in history that he reluctantly did so under the persuasion of his son Li Shoujie and all the soldiers. of.But when the envoys were entertained, his actions left everyone dumbfounded.He actually suddenly took out a painting and hung it up, and wept bitterly at the portrait, endlessly. At that time, everyone was terrified, because the painting turned out to be Guo Wei, the founding emperor of the Later Zhou Dynasty! (How? It's not Chai Rong, it's Guo Wei, Chai Rong's qualifications are not enough) I don't know who the envoy was at that time, there is no record in the history books, and I don't know if someone was so sick that they wanted to vomit in class at that time-the man said he would oppose it, and he would obey if he was persuaded.If you want to rebel, don't accept the decree, if you want to endure, don't pretend to be a woman crying on the wine table, and simply pretend to be the grandson to the end, until you suddenly turn your face and draw the knife.A grandson like him didn't pretend to be, and he didn't dare to pull out the knife. What is this? There was only one result of this incident, which made Zhao Kuangyin know who might be hiding the knife, so he was prepared; and Li Yun suddenly received a secret letter (wax book) from Emperor Liu Jun of the Northern Han Dynasty indirectly. Liu Jun told him that there is no permanent enemy or permanent friend in the world, Li Jun, let's cooperate. Li Yun felt troubled holding Liu Jun's secret letter.against it?He really didn't know what kind of person Zhao Kuangyin was, and he naturally knew it in Hou Zhou, especially the number and quality of the forbidden soldiers in Kaifeng's capital city were not comparable to those of the local Jiedu envoys, he knew it well; But no?And really unwilling!What's more, even the mortal enemy Liu Jun knew that he was going to turn against him, so what's the point of pretending to be a good baby?Who else can believe it? Against, or not against?This is a problem... Faced with a major decision, Li Yun was depressed again, weighing and thinking repeatedly, thinking again and weighing again, so history has proved the accuracy of the old saying - long exams make bad chess.The decision he made in the end is incomprehensible. He actually sent Liu Jun a secret letter that was only known to the few people involved and handed it over to Zhao Kuangyin, hoping to use this to prove that Zhao Kuangyin and everyone in the world will I understand that he is still very loyal to the emerging Song Dynasty. So it was Zhao Kuangyin's turn to be depressed, he really didn't know what he did wrong, and Li Yun took him for a fool.This is a bit like hitting and pulling at the same time, showing favor and resisting at the same time, right?Could it be that Li Yun wanted to get some greater benefits?Hmph, but if you want to use treason as a threat, this kind of sincerity seems a little too big. To be honest, Zhao Kuangyin is in a good mood these days. Most of the envoys he sent to various places have returned, and the news is basically good.The worst one, of course, was Li Yun, but after all, Li Yun accepted the order in court, no matter how many discounts he gave, he still expressed his submission. And the biggest surprise came from Li Chongjin. Li Chongjin received the order, and took the initiative to ask Zhao Kuangyin for instructions, whether he could go to Kaifeng as a Jiedu envoy to meet the new emperor as usual, and thank him face to face? Zhao Kuangyin was a little flattered.Who is Li Chongjin?That was someone who had long been qualified to be an emperor, although Chai Rong preempted him.But once the status is decided, Li Chongjin will absolutely keep his word and never regret it.Not only has he never betrayed Chai Rong, but in the end of Chai Rong's reign, he tried his best to fight everywhere... So, will Li Chongjin treat me like this now? Zhao Kuangyin couldn't help fantasizing happily for a while.Therefore, Zhao Kuangyin also decided to give Li Chongjin a great face-return, in the form of an official document: "The monarch, the head of state, and the ministers and bureaucrats, although far apart, are one. Yi, is it for a while?" In this way, at least on the surface, the emperor of the Song Dynasty who had just successfully usurped the throne and the strongest vassal power in the Later Zhou Dynasty temporarily paid respects to each other and lived in peace.This made Zhao Kuangyin really relieved. And there are surprises.It was Pan Mei, who acted as an envoy for Zhao Kuangyin for the second time.This time is no different than the last time he went back to Kaifeng. The person he is going to meet is Yuan Yan, Zhao Kuangyin’s old enemy in the officialdom. This person turned out to be the commander of the infantry of the Guards Division of the Later Zhou Dynasty, and is now in Shanzhou (now Shanxian County, Henan Province). As the emperor of the land, history said that he was fierce and greedy for profit, and he was good at armoring soldiers, and he had long had the heart of rebellion.Just imagine what role such a general in the early dynasty, a major town in the region, and Pan Mei, an unknown person, can play? But the result was astonishing. Pan Mei rode into Shaanxi alone, and by some means, she brought Yuan Yan back to Kaifeng in person, and expressed her submission to Zhao Kuangyin in public. This really surprised Zhao Kuangyin, Pan Mei was so considerate of him, and knew what he needed most at this time.Yuan Yan's peaceful surrender is tantamount to giving all the watching people in the world an absolutely good news, letting everyone know at once that the emperor of the Song Dynasty is magnificent, regardless of past suspicions, and treats all courtiers equally! But Zhao Kuangyin never imagined that in this series of good news, the rebellion would suddenly happen by his side. A cold arrow suddenly shot over, right on the Daxi Bridge in Kaifeng City where the eyes could be seen.At that time, accompanied by hundreds of officials, Zhao Kuangyin was walking slowly in the imperial chariot. The arrow missed, but the scene was chaotic. No one knew where the arrow came from, let alone whether there was a second arrow.The guards drew out their knives, the common people cried and screamed, and the accompanying ministers were even more frightened, but Zhao Kuangyin stood up slowly in the imperial chariot, looked at the direction of the arrow, sneered, and suddenly He opened his clothes and shouted—teach him to shoot, teach him to shoot! joke!Among thousands of troops, those who survived countless bloody battles still care about this mere cold arrow?But Zhao Kuangyin's psychology was hit hard. It seems that there are not only people who oppose him, but they are by his side.what to do?Should we continue to be lenient and ignore them, or should we immediately search and arrest the whole city, start a massacre, and implement an iron-fisted policy? This is indeed a problem. It is undeniable that some people dare to shout at angels, but they may not dare to challenge demons. Therefore, an iron fist will definitely work. But in this way, can we still talk about his new demeanor?How is he different from the short-lived and violent little courts in the previous half century?On that day, the thirty-four-year-old, bloody and powerful emperor who had never shown weakness on the battlefield sat down slowly again. He ordered to keep quiet and move on as if nothing had happened. Not only that, the emperor's mood didn't seem to be affected either. He wrote a reply letter to Li Yun, highly praised Li Yun's loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, and expressed his belief that Li Yun would be loyal to him as always, in order to express his gratitude , he also specially named Li Yun's eldest son Li Shoujie as the imperial envoy. All the signs show that the emperor of the Song Dynasty did not take it too far. Whether he really believed that Li Yun had no intention of rebellion, or he was really jealous of Li Yun's super high qualifications, Zhao Kuangyin always showed people with a smiling face, and he was in a good mood . Then it's Li Jun's turn to play the cards again, it's still the same old problem, anyway?Or not?In the end, or not... Li Yun is getting deeper and deeper into the same vortex, opportunities and dangers, having nothing or winning the world, this kind of contrast is really driving people crazy!what to do?What to do? At the critical moment, Li Yun's son, Li Shoujie, stood up. Even if it was for his own destiny, he had to persuade him, the father who cut down the roots of his own tree.The question is actually so simple, how many people can form an alliance with Luzhou?Are all reliable?Even if Liu Jun of the Northern Han Dynasty really helped each other, would he be able to defeat Zhao Kuangyin?While other people are waiting and watching, in the end, they just use the power of Luzhou to fight against the whole country of the Song Dynasty. Can this win? The reason is simple and easy to understand, I believe people with a little intelligence will know what to do.But there is one premise, that is, reason is still there.Faced with his son's hard persuasion, Li Yun's reaction was really dumbfounding.He actually ordered it like this--very well, you're right.How about this, I will send you to Kaifeng, you go to see Zhao Kuangyin in person, let me find out the truth, and you can also thank him by the way. Li Shoujie stared blankly at his father, he really couldn't believe that his father really gave him this order.At this time, there must be a question naturally formed in his mind——Dad, am I your biological child? Don't blame Li Shoujie, anyone would think so. You know, politics is just a need, it doesn't matter whether it is true or false.Unlike love, you must be physically and mentally united.Politics is just politics, and it can be adjusted at any time according to needs. At this time, Zhao Kuangyin has already made it clear that he believes in you, encourages you, and rewards you. What else do you want to explore?And you even sent your son to find out in person to "understand"? What do you want to understand?I want to see if Zhao Kuangyin is really sincere, and see if he will arrest your son and threaten you so that you have to be obedient?Or at that time, you still want to surprise the world again, and you openly announce-everyone heard clearly, Li Shoujie is not my biological son at all, Zhao Kuangyin can kill him if he likes... completely crazy, right? But Li Yun straightened his face and told his son very seriously that he was serious and he really gave such an order. Well, poor Li Shoujie had no choice but to bid farewell to his family and go to Beijing alone to meet the new Emperor Zhao Kuangyin.And Zhao Kuangyin did not disappoint him, the first sentence almost made him faint. Zhao Kuangyin asked with a smile - "Prince, why did you come here?" This sentence not only scared Li Shoujie, but even the people around Zhao Kuangyin couldn't figure it out.Why did you try your best to appease Li Yun before, but now you openly point out Li Yun's objection?Isn't this changing from day to day and contradicting itself? No, there is no contradiction at all, it's just that the inside story cannot be known to everyone.At this moment, Zhao Kuangyin had received the news that he almost fainted——Li Chongjin had turned his back on him. History has proved that Li Chongjin is the standard rebel who calls his brother and touches his waist.He had woven an extremely beautiful illusion for Zhao Kuangyin before, not only surrendering, but also sincerely submitting to the end.But secretly, he not only sharpened his swords and guns, but also recruited more people, and even started to contact his fellow party members. He took aim at Li Yun.As a person of the same age, he knew much more about what Li Yun was than Zhao Kuangyin, so he sent someone directly to form an alliance with Li Yun without any temptation.In Li Chongjin's mind, going to the battlefield is killing people, and rebelling is nothing more than killing people, so what's the big deal!As for the throne, for many years, he couldn't possibly think about it, Chai Rong is fine, but what is Zhao Kuangyin?An upstart with a little military exploits, just showing his head, and a brat!A shameless villain who snatched things from orphans and widows while there was no one in the court! Thinking of this, Li Chongjin couldn't convince himself to work for Zhao Kuangyin no matter what... You know, apart from Zhao Kuangyin's family wage earners, or the reincarnated disciple of Confucius, no one could say that Li Chongjin was wrong.A real man stands up to the sky and stands upright, and he will oppose what he says. Is there really anyone who is the illegitimate child of God?Why should others serve it wholeheartedly?Li Chongjin's rebellion cannot be called "anti-thief" in any case. However, in addition to the Chinese fate of the winner, prince and loser, the thief, what is even more regrettable is that Li Chongjin, who was too tough, committed the crime of knowing the soldiers but not knowing the people. The old problem of natural flaws made him lose before he even started. Starting from the southernmost point of the Song Dynasty, Yangzhou, which was on the border of the Southern Tang Dynasty, traveled through almost the entire territory of the Song Dynasty at that time, and arrived at the other end, Luzhou, where Li Yun was located on the border with the Northern Han Dynasty. There are so many hurdles and investigations in the middle, and it is still the mission of rebellion and alliance.Li Chongjin, Li Chongjin, why can't you choose someone who is a little more reliable? The person Li Chongjin sent out was Cui Shouxun, who threw himself into the arms of the new emperor Zhao Kuangyin without any hesitation.The reason is very simple. First, Zhao Kuangyin is already the emperor, so there is no need to burn Li Chongjin's still-cold stove; Zhao Kuangyin is an old acquaintance, if you don't send him on an envoy, he might be your mole! So here's the answer: Zhao Kuangyin: "... Li Chongjin finally rebelled... If I give him the iron coupon of the alchemy book, which guarantees that he will never lose, can he not rebel?" Cui Shouxun shook his head: "He has no heart to submit." Well, Zhao Kuangyin fully understands, he rewarded Cui Shouxun greatly, and promised to be an official, and asked him not to persuade Li Chongjin not to rebel after returning to Yangzhou, but to persuade Li Chongjin to rebel carefully and delay as much as possible , which is sufficient. After dismissing Cui Shouxun, Zhao Kuangyin fell into deep thought.Li Yun and Li Chongjin, no matter which one is the representative of Hou Zhou's feudal town, if they rebel, they will immediately become the weather vane of the whole country's people.So I can't wait any longer, it's better to let the carbuncle become a problem, and let it go! But this is very difficult, not to say that it is enough to defeat them. You must win without hurting your own vitality. In practice, you cannot let them unite, and you cannot let Zhao Kuangyin send troops first...it must be Let the world know that Zhao Kuangyin's heart is as broad as the sea and can accommodate everything.It was always people who failed him, not him who failed others. Then the only way to make Li Yun have to rebel is to rebel immediately!As for Li Chongjin, he had to resign himself to fate... I hope Cui Shouxun's ability to lie and drag his feet is first-rate. That's why Zhao Kuangyin said to Li Shoujie - "Prince, why did you come?" Poor Li Shoujie was completely taken aback by this head-on blow. His explanation was so pale that it was not nutritious at all. It was nothing more than a show of loyalty and no second-guessing. Please believe it... such words will not move Zhao Kuangyin at all. He smiled, and said something that didn't seem to come from the mouth of the emperor-"I tell your father, when I was not the emperor, I let you do it yourself; since I am the emperor, you can't just let me down?" Does it look like old friends who are not from outside the department just fight over a small thing for fun?You see, you don't want this thing first, and you are anxious when I take it, so you can't calm down, let me take a step? It doesn't seem like they are competing for the master of the world's imperial power, the unique power in the world.Whenever I look through the history books and see this, I can't help but see Zhao Kuangyin's slightly smiling expression in my mind.Let no one find fault.Then he let go of the fat Li Shoujie that was brought to his mouth.Yes, why kill him?The child is not in any danger at all, and it is in Zhao Kuangyin's best interest to let him go back.So Li Shoujie returned to Luzhou safely, and brought Zhao Kuangyin's very "gentle and caring" words to his father. But someone who knows how to talk is worse than someone who can listen. Li Yun immediately understood what Zhao Kuangyin wanted to do. Don't look at what he said with grace and generosity. Who was cut off? So, Li Yun could finally say to himself, look, I told you so, I still have to rebel in the end, everything is just as I suspected at the beginning... how accurate my calculations are. In the first year of Jianlong, that is, in April 960 AD, Li Yun, the former envoy of Zhaoyi of the Later Zhou Dynasty, officially rebelled.At this time, just over a hundred days had passed since Zhao Kuangyin founded the Song Dynasty. After searching the case, it was the first time for Li Yun to do business in rebellion, but it doesn't matter if he has never eaten pork. During the Five Dynasties and Eleven Kingdoms, there were fat pigs running everywhere. Li Yun has long been familiar with how to operate the rebellion. First of all, he sent people to attack everywhere, widely collected and edited a large number of Zhao Kuangyin's negative teaching materials.For example, how Zhao Kuangyin was ungrateful to Chai Rong, used despicable and shameful schemes to usurp the power of Hou Zhou, how he bullied poor orphans and widows, etc., and so on, to investigate the illegitimacy of the Song Dynasty from the root; What kind of humble origins are they, and they are not worthy of being an emperor at all. I hope this will awaken the sleeping passion of the people, come to rebel with him, and take this opportunity to blow the confidence of Zhao Kuangyin's followers; Second, he did something practical.He tied up the supervising army sent by the Song Dynasty and gave it to Liu Jun in Taiyuan to convince Liu Jun that this time he was serious, he broke the boat and never looked back; Thirdly, Li Yun also wanted to contact Meng Chang of Hou Shu. He sent people secretly across Shaanxi to form an alliance, but unfortunately, although his envoy did not betray him, he was caught by the border guards of the Song Dynasty... But this is nothing, all contests must be on the battlefield to determine the real winner or loser, the biggest bargaining chip in Li Yun's hand is not the so-called time or harmony, that is too fake, he has an absolute advantage. Luzhou, known as Shangdang in ancient times, is located high on the ridge of the Taihang Mountains. The so-called "on the shoulders of the world and the throat of Heshuo" is an absolute battleground for military strategists.And his subordinates are even more foresight and foresight. The counselor Lu Qiu Zhongqing made it very clear-Kaifeng's soldiers are elite, and it is difficult to compete with them. On the road to Hulao Pass (northwest of Xingyang, Henan today), defend Luoyang, and fight for the world in the east. But who knew that Li Yun was very angry after hearing this.Luqiu, why did you forget my biggest advantage?Always remember, my qualifications... qualifications!What is Kaifeng's elite soldiers, difficult to compete with, even if it is true, it is still mine! ——"I am a veteran general of the Zhou Dynasty, and I am the same brother as Zhou Shizongyi. The Imperial Army Military Academy is my old man. When I hear my arrival, I will definitely defect!" Faced with such self-confidence, what else is there to say?I really don't know how crazy a person must be to say such a thing.It's a pity that no one whispered in his ear at that time: "Excuse me, even if Zhou Shizong himself is resurrected at this time, will the imperial guards in Kaifeng turn against him?" Who would dare to offend a man of such illustrious and colossal credentials?What's more, Li Yun followed up and declared with high spirits-"I have a gun and a sweat horse, so why worry about the world being uneven!" Please note here that the so-called Dangui spear is not Li Yun's own weapon. "Dangui" is Li Yun's favorite general and is good at using long spears.As for the sweating horse, it refers to a fast horse that can carry Li Yun for seven hundred miles a day.These two things are the biggest capital for Li Yun to challenge Zhao Kuangyin.Seeing this, do you think of Lu Bu?Fengxian once said before he was trapped in the Baimenlou, "I have a painting pole halberd and a red rabbit horse, no one in the world dares to approach me!" Bless Li Yun, I hope he also has the bravery of Marquis Wen during the Three Kingdoms period, and his sweat horse must not be used for escape. Although it seems that he can run 700 miles a day, it is really not easy to chase. In April 960 AD, Li Yun, under the banner of avenging and reviving the later Zhou Dynasty, took the lead. No matter what clever things he had done before, as soon as he returned to the battlefield, his instinct as an outstanding commander would be overwhelmed. Guided him to a major victory. Zezhou City was captured in World War I. Zezhou, in the west of Luzhou, facing Taihang Mountain, Li Yun's situation is incomparably better at this time - as long as he rushes to Taihang, Zhao Kuangyin can no longer stop him.With the danger of Taihang, Li Yun could directly occupy the upper reaches of the Yellow River as soon as he rushed down, and then control almost all important granaries along the coast, such as Yongfeng, Huiluo, and Heyang, and cut off the water transportation road of Kaifeng, the capital of the Song Dynasty. The country has no food, that is the most fatal and incurable flaw, not to mention that Zhao Kuangyin just won the country, and the hearts of the people are not in line.Even if he is deeply entrenched, he can't maintain his rule! When the news came, Zhao Kuangyin panicked. He had no other way but to win with his best, and he must win!Order - Shi Shouxin, the deputy commander of the Mabu Army guards stationed in Hebei, and Gao Huaide, the deputy commander in front of the palace, immediately led the army to attack.Must be quick, "Don't let Li Yun go down the Taihang Mountains, rush into the division and strangle the pass, it will be broken!" At this time, another worse news came. The Northern Han Emperor Liu Jun had personally led his army out of Taiyuan to assist Li Yun. Well, Zhao Kuangyin has calmed down completely. It seems that the leak in the house coincided with the continuous night rain... There is no room left, only the imperial conquest is in person, and he can handle his own affairs and put down the rebellion as quickly as possible, just like Chai Rong did back then ! So Zhao Kuangyin cheered up, went back to his old job, and put on the swords, guns and armor that hadn't been touched for more than half a year. Everything should be quite familiar... But at this moment, another troublesome thing happened, which made him hate it so much The roots of the teeth were itchy, and I couldn't help but want to draw out the knife and chop off the sacrificial flag of this bastard first, and then lead the troops to set off. This bastard's surname is Wang, and his first name is Yansheng.By the way, it was the man who killed Han Tong's family on the day of the Chenqiao mutiny.It is said that Zhao Kuangyin ascended to the top and promoted all the participants to get rich, but he was punished instead of rewarded.So what was the penalty?It's really serious, Zhao Kuangyin said, "You can't be a Jiedu for life!" In other words, Wang Yansheng, you don't want to be a Jiedushi for the rest of your life! But can anyone be a Jiedushi?What great merits has Wang Yansheng achieved so far that he will be able to become a Jiedu envoy by one step?Such a nonsensical punishment is like God saying to Gao Tianliuyun one day, you bastard!In order to punish you, I will punish you never to be a king for the rest of your life!Does this make any practical sense? Then Zhao Kuangyin appointed him as the commander of the left side of the iron cavalry, responsible for patrolling and guarding Kaifeng city day and night (how about it, not a reliable confidant can't do this job).But one night, Commander Wang didn't know what was wrong, so on a whim, he knocked on the door of Prime Minister Wang Pu's house in the middle of the night, and it was said in history that "Pu came out in a panic."When I asked him what was the matter, he went straight into Wang Pu's house in a big way, and only after sitting down did he say—it's hard work to watch the night, so I came here to ask for a drink. Wang Pu heaved a sigh of relief, he was really scared, who knows if this bastard is addicted to killing high-ranking officials.No way, set up wine and accompany him in person.But who knew that Wang Yansheng couldn't get away with just a few drinks, he wanted money.According to historical records, some people said that "Yansheng got a thousand taels of platinum and retired", and some said that "Yansheng was looking for goods, but Pu pretended not to realize it, so he bought a few drinks and gave up." Anyway, Wang Pu did not die that night.Zhao Kuangyin was informed about the matter the next day. Zhao Kuangyin was so angry that he suppressed it again and again before he managed to suppress it.However, such things can no longer be left in the capital, especially when there is no one in the country who is about to be conquered by the emperor himself.As a result, Wang Yansheng was kicked out of Kaifeng and went to Tangzhou to make a living.Only then can Zhao Kuangyin gather his troops with confidence, ready to compete with Li Yun no matter what, to see who can climb the Taihang Mountain first! Zhao Kuangyin had already made up his mind to climb up Taihang Mountain first, but Li Yun was still busy at the foot of Taihang Mountain, laughing at each other with Liu Jun. After Li Jun captured Zezhou City, he wanted to climb the mountain with all his strength, but he didn't expect Liu Jun to rush over with his troops immediately after hearing the good news.It is said that he will support Li Yun with the personal conquest of Yujia, the elite teacher of the Northern Han Dynasty.Li Jun was very happy, how can Liu Jun also be the king of a country, so to save face, then wait for him. But when they met, Li Yun was disappointed.He really didn't expect that, after not seeing him for a few years, Beihan was already completely impoverished, to such an extent!I saw that His Majesty the emperor brought only a few thousand troops, and the troops were tired and thin, and the army was disorganized, not to mention the army, even his Luanjia was shabby and crude. In this way, Liu Jun still put on airs and asked Li Yun to meet him as a courtier!Li Yun's nerves must have short-circuited suddenly after being extremely angry that day. He really met the Northern Han Emperor Liu Jun as a courtier, and Liu Jun reciprocated and named him King Xiping (a word difference, almost shot Cheng Ping Xiwang), and then the two talked about how to cooperate.But unfortunately, no agreement can be reached no matter what. The first problem is the Khitan. Liu Jun has been relying on the Khitan people these years. At this time, he naturally thought of the foreign godfather and wanted to introduce it to Li Jun.But I didn't expect Li Yun to refuse outright. No matter what, the Khitan people are not allowed to get involved. This is the principle!Moreover, at the negotiating table, Li Jun said "loyal to the Zhou family, dare not love to death and surrender to Song", and did not give Liu Jun face at all. Everyone knows the relationship between Hou Zhou and Northern Han. The blood feud has accumulated for two or three generations and cannot be resolved at all, but Li Jun still wants to be Hou Zhou's loyal minister, and he said it directly in front of Liu Jun!Liu Jun was silent, but the emperor of the Northern Han Dynasty, who was accustomed to a low profile life, finally chose to continue to cooperate.However, for this reason, he gave Li Yun an additional gift - Supervising the Army.Xuanhui envoy Lu Zan was sent to take care of Li Yun's military life in every possible way from now on. In this way, the negotiations were over, and all the benefits Li Jun got from the Northern Han Dynasty were: thousands of poor-looking soldiers, a title of King Xiping, and a special military commissioner named Lu Zan. Really bad enough! 但衰的事情还在后边，石守信和高怀德马上就到了，在结盟地点太平驿不远的长平附近，双方第一次接战，可能是拥有巨大号召力的西平王李筠没有亲临战场的原因吧，潞州的叛军居然被打败了，损失了近三千人，还丢了泽州外围重要据点大会寨。 这都没什么，一次小胜负而已，但接下来的就是重要军情了，宋朝驻真定的二号军事人物殿前都点检慕容延钊以及彰德军留后王全斌已经出动，正向泽州迅速靠拢，并且陕西、京西（今河南西部地区）诸道兵马也已经完成集结，不仅对泽州的李筠部，就连其老家潞州，都在威慑打击的范围之内。 形势剧变，李筠压力骤增，这时他有些慌了，他一边命令潞州的长子李守节加强警戒，一定要守住老巢。一边自己更加小心谨慎。他的应对办法就是收缩兵力，时刻戒备。 就这样，太行山就在他的眼前，可是这座山的意义乃至形状都与以前不一样了，再不要提什么捷足先登，顺势而下夺取黄河掌控开封，眼前的这座高山，是上天恩赐与他，让他守住眼前的战果，保存实力的最佳天险。 这正是赵匡胤希望他做的，为了达到这个目的，赵匡胤已经打出了当时手里所有的底牌。并且他本人也于公元960年5月21日率禁军从开封出发，24日到达荥阳，急速渡过黄河，直扑巍峨险峻的太行山。 出开封前，赵匡胤已经作了最坏的打算，他悄悄地把弟弟赵光义叫过来，小声吩咐——“是行也，朕胜，自不待言，如不利，则使赵普分兵守河阳，别作一家计较。” 请仔细分析这些话里的内蕴，为什么要说“如不利，则使赵普分兵守河阳……”？为什么不是赵匡胤本人来下令如何应对？因为赵匡胤已经决心与李筠决一死战，不胜即死，绝无二志！而且他非常清楚，自己家里的人都太嫩了，连最年长的二弟光义都挑不起大梁，真要到了那一步，都得倚仗赵普来支撑危局才行……就这样，赵匡胤率领大军，不顾一切冲上了太行山！ 史称“山路险峻多石，帝先于马上负数石，将士因争负之，即日平为大道”，全军迅速翻越巍巍太行，出乎潞州军意料之外，突然出现在泽州城下。 战局至此，李筠已经彻底失败了，他唯一的机会已经在他稍微犹豫的时候从他的指缝中迅速溜走。而且他没有料到，赵匡胤敢在刚刚建国，人心未定的时候就远离国都，御驾亲征。这严重打击了潞州军的士气，随后在泽州城南爆发的第一场主力决战中，李筠近三万人的大军被石守信、高怀德所部击溃，李筠狼狈逃回泽州城，回城之后才知道，这一仗下来他还是有所收获的。 北汉派来的监军卢赞，还有北汉的河阳节度使范守图，连同那几千个老弱病残的北汉兵都被宋朝的军队给咔嚓了。唉，累赘都死了，应该高兴啊，可是直到这时，李筠才能体会出刘钧还有那些北汉的朋友们对他是真心实意的。你看，人家为了他，把命都搭上了，这样的诚意难道还不够吗？ 就算是为了这些为他而死的朋友们，他也得继续战斗，绝不投降！ 于是赵匡胤带着全国大半军队在泽州城外日夜围攻，操练了近半个月，可还是攻不进去。这时候新的问题就出现了，时间，要命的时候开始对赵匡胤不利。全国各地的大小节度使，尤其是南边扬州的李重进，都在盯着泽州城，都在蠢蠢欲动，而赵匡胤的筹码都压在了李筠这里，其他的地方都是空的！ 也就是说，现在已经不是能不能抓住李筠的问题，而是李筠能不能拖着赵匡胤一起下地狱的问题。 局势要求赵匡胤就算是拿他本人拿牙去咬，也得马上把泽州城的城墙啃破。于是皇帝下旨重赏三军，不惜一切代价攻进泽州城！ 这时候赵匡胤的老班底站了出来，殿前司控鹤左厢都指挥使马全义（当年赵匡胤受柴荣的命令召集天下壮士扩建禁军，殿前司诸班中有散员、散指挥使、内殿直、散都头、铁骑、控鹤之名号。马全义是控鹤班中的一部分）率几十个敢死军冒着箭雨仰攻泽州城头。史称“箭如雨下，飞矢贯臂，而全义拔镞进战”，终于攻上了泽州城头。 泽州城终于被攻破了……人人长出了一口气，可是谁也没有料到，就在城将破未破，场面最乱最危险的时候，皇帝本人竟然一跃而起，跟着敢死队第一时间冲了进去。 没有人能够体会到当时赵匡胤的心情，亲历杀场十余年，从来没有这样惊心动魄过！往日为别人卖命，就算战死了，也知道自己的妻儿家小有人照料，可是这时贵为天子，失败了就求为匹夫而不可得……那时人为刀俎，我为鱼肉，怎一个屈辱了得？ 而这也正是李筠的想法，城破之后，迎接赵匡胤的是一团熊熊大火，李筠像当年的李守贞那样，投身火海，绝不偷生。这时候，相信没有人会再挑剔他生前的种种不智之举了，无论如何，他敢做敢当，给自己的行为买了单。 火海映红了胜利者的笑脸，这是赵匡胤登极之后的第一个胜利，同时，千里之外远在扬州的李重进的命运，也随着这团大火被确定了。 攻破泽州，逼死李筠，赵匡胤面前的天地豁然开朗。这时他可以从容地给这次平叛的行动来个妥善的收尾了，那就是继续进兵潞州，彻底扫平李筠的势力。 但是在这之前，他还得先处理一个意外的收获——北汉的宰相卫融。 倒霉的卫融，以堂堂的宰相之尊成了李筠的陪葬品。都是因为李筠从开始就和北汉的监军大人卢赞两人见面就掐，刘钧没办法，只好把自己的大宰相派过去来做调节人。可谁知道赵匡胤来得这么快。 这时赵匡胤的心情极好，他像闲聊一样问了卫融一句废话——听说你赞同刘钧帮着李筠造反来对付我，为什么？ 卫融笑了笑，这还用问吗？他的回答非常无奈——我一家数十口都在太原，怎能不竭力效忠刘钧？愿陛下杀我，不然，有机会我一定逃回太原，决不会为陛下效力。 史称赵匡胤大怒，“以铁挞击其首，血流披面”，而卫融大呼：“臣得死所矣！”直到这时，赵匡胤才突然猛然醒悟，停下了手，说，“此忠臣也”。于是给卫融敷药治伤，然后联络北汉，要以卫融交换以前李筠送到北汉的原潞州监军。但是北汉没有回应，很可能该监军已经被刘钧给杀了。最后赵匡胤留下了卫融，给了他一个太府卿官做。 这里请注意，赵匡胤的突然猛醒。这位世所公认的仁德之君，有时会从心底里的某种本能出发，一瞬间还原到最初那个纵横沙场杀人无数的将军角色里，自然而然地流露出粗野强暴的本性。这样的事以后又发生过几起，但是随即就都被他转念间就恢复的理智给克服了，而无一例外的，理智的恢复，都带给了他丰厚的回报。 就像这时，赵匡胤不杀卫融，反而优遇的消息传了出去，举国一片庆幸，包括李筠的儿子李守节，也包括赵匡胤一方已经对他背叛不忠的臣子们。 先说李守节，赵匡胤继续北上，刚刚到达潞州李守节就出降了，再没有动过一刀一枪。赵匡胤不仅赦免了他，还封他为单州团练使，并且免掉了当年泽州、潞州的租赋，让北疆迅速平定。这样不仅军事上再没有反叛，就连民心也一下子对新兴的宋朝彻底归顺。 仅仅一个多月，赵匡胤就胜利凯旋了。回到开封，他做的第一件事还是宽恕。比如先朝的大臣李谷，他在这段时间收了李筠的五十万贯钱，证据确凿，都成内应了。这样的背叛不说在五代十一国时，放在哪一个朝代里都会人头落地吧。可是赵匡胤一笑了之，不予理会。其他的像中书舍人赵逢侍，跟随出征，可是根本就不看好赵匡胤，自己从马上掉了下来，说脚脖子崴了，一定要脱离赵匡胤的队伍。事后赵匡胤更加理都不理，就当什么都没有发生。 这样的例子很多，不必一一细举。至于赵匡胤的处理办法，就显示了他作为一个过来人，虽然还很年轻，但是对人情事故的透彻理解。 人，起码要懂事。想想看，权门如市，你有权了大家都来，没权了大家自然都散，这天经地义。同样的道理，你的皇帝当好了，都巴不得来巴结你呢，怎么还会背叛？所以，强求每一个人从心里往外地臣服你，是件非常无聊的事。 这就是像是夫妻之间，全身心地水乳交融当然再好不过，但其实大多数只要能做到互相忠诚就谢天谢地了。一个成功的皇帝，能让不管是否真心服从的臣子都努力办事，这样其实就够了。仁义道德，君臣父子，有时就是一层你知我知的窗户纸，至于那层纸的后面是什么，更是大家都知。 但是，无论对谁宽大，都不包括李重进。赵匡胤坐在都城开封的皇宫里，目光穿越过无数的山河社稷，森冷地盯向了李重进所在的扬州。桀骜不驯的李重进，军功显赫的李重进……可惜啊，就算再加上个忠诚可信的李重进，都不会再让赵匡胤动心。 公元960年7月赵匡胤攻灭了李筠回到了开封，几天之后，就发出了诏书，徙原中书令、淮南道节度使李重进为平卢节度使，移镇青州（今山东益都），克日即行。 这条命令一经颁布，所有人立即就知道了李重进的命运。大家还记得后唐皇帝李从厚、李从珂，以及后晋的石敬瑭这些人的兴亡起源吗？对，就是让节度使搬家。节度使一但离开了自己的根据地，几乎立即就会在路上遭到灭亡。现在只是宋初，谁会知道它有多长的命运？当时所有人都还保留着五代十一国时的思考规律。其中包括了李重进本人。 但是让他以及所有人都迷惑的是，赵匡胤紧跟着又发出了一道旨令，令六宅使陈思诲带铁券丹书去扬州抚劳李重进，以表示朝廷对李重进的隆重尊敬以及永远爱戴的真诚。 李重进蒙了，事情比较反常。见过皇帝修理节度使的，可没见过有皇帝这么玩节度使的。赵匡胤，你到底要干什么？思前想后，他决定相信赵匡胤一次，准备跟着陈思诲一起进京谢恩，就此做个大大的顺民。可是他的部下们不干了，旁观者清，他们都看出了这是个标准的大坑，跳进去就别想再活着出来。而李重进已经彻底地方寸大乱，有人劝他就听，这下子不仅不进京了，还公然把陈思诲扣留，开始修城练兵，要跟赵匡胤大干一场。 决战的时候到了。李重进寻求所有可能的帮助。他给南唐的皇帝李璟写了封密信，要求李璟看在过去和赵匡胤苦大仇深的分上出兵助战。可万万没有料到，李璟现在是每日里寻章摘句，力求语不惊人死不休，结果连处理国事时也是大大地与众不同，他居然把密信直接送到了开封，让赵匡胤成了最后的收信人。 还有什么可说的？李重进暴跳如雷，开始加倍地疑神疑鬼，结果适得其反，扬州都监、右屯卫将军安友规再也受不了他，在一天夜里带着几个亲信从扬州跳城墙逃到了开封，向赵匡胤告急。这一下李重进疯了，他怀疑起每一个人，把平时对自己不那么亲切的几十个将官突然抓了起来，不问情由，一股脑都砍了脑袋。 杀完了人，李重进才松了口气，省心了，这下子应该就没有叛徒了吧……结果真正省心了的是赵匡胤，时任枢密副使的赵普漫不经心地说——李重进仗江淮之险，缮修孤堡，尽采守势。既无恩信，复伤士卒。外绝救援，内乏资粮，急攻急取，缓攻缓取。其亡必也！ 赵匡胤决定缓取，任由李重进在扬州变本加厉地砍自己的树根。直到9月20日，赵匡胤才下令削夺李重进所有官职爵位，在10月21日，下诏再次亲征。尽管如此，他还是不敢轻视李重进的战场能力，调石守信、王审奇、李处耘、宋延渥等亲信大将一同出征。 但是历史证明，这都是多余的了，战斗力离不开凝聚力，李重进已经人心离散，再也组织不起来有效的抵抗。当年11月11日，赵匡胤亲临扬州城下，扬州城随即陷落。纵横沙场，所向无敌的李重进，居然在败亡时，没有让自己的敌人付出大量鲜血的代价，其失败比李筠还要颓唐。 扬州城里，迎接赵匡胤的是另一场熊熊大火，刚烈的李重进同样选择了葬身火海，连给敌人示众炫耀的尸体都不留下。历史证明，英雄真的只可远观，没法近瞧。你能想象他挥刀杀敌英勇潇洒，可是你身临其境的话，不是被吓着，就是被崩了一身的血…… 最后的胜利者，又一次属于既是英雄，同时又是个没法猜测的复合体的赵匡胤。