The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 224 Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (Part )

"Report!"

"Zhao Kuangning and Li Sizhou resisted Yique, and the scholars of Bai Juyi Village led the people to rebel and respond to the Western rebels! Wang Tan, the envoy who suppressed Yi and Luo, was very frightened. He was afraid that the isolated city would be destroyed by his subordinates, so he dared not hold on and fled to Luoyang at night!"

"Zhu Yougong is struggling to fend off the advances of Zhazhu and Wang Congxun outside Huangxiangban."

"Xiao Xiu, Wu Yiji, Zhao Kuangning, Chen Wu, Chen Xiong, Geshu Jin, Wu Tao, Ye Lichan, Li Renmei, Yang Shouliang and other princes' coalition forces have issued advice to Your Majesty... I dare not speak!"

"How can I do that? Tell me!"

"Let your majesty...bring the lamb."

"Zhao Keyu, the defense envoy of Zhengzhou, Zhao Chang, the governor of Zhongwu Army, Huang Wenjing, the governor of Heyin and Mengjin Pass, and Li Sian, the governor of Heyang, sent a letter saying, saying..."

"say what?"

"It is said that Your Majesty is hated by the heavens and the people, the whole world is in turmoil, and your authority has been completely lost. It is appropriate for you to retire as the Supreme Emperor and pass the throne to Zhu Youyu. The four marshals are still serving the Zhu family. If Your Majesty follows the will of heaven and the people and Li Sheng marches east, they will fight to the death with the young marshal... Otherwise, they will take drastic measures..."

"Shut up! Zhao Keyu, Huang Wenjing, and Li Si'an dare to force me to remonstrate. Has the matter come to this? These three-surnamed slaves I have raised! Good-for-nothings! Beasts! Traitors!"

……

"The fake saint was frightened by the real saint. When Qin Zongquan's army was approaching the city of Bianzhou, he personally went to fight. Now he doesn't even dare to fight in the open."

"It's useless. It's useless."

"Knife in hand, follow me! Kill the old dog and support the young commander!"

"Now that the king's way is flourishing and Liang's government is declining, it is a shame for the warriors to continue to allow the dictator in the court to be incompetent. Comrades, those who are stubborn and still want to work for the stupid old pig, show your right arm. Those who are willing to support the young master to succeed the throne, show your left arm! Let's fight it out in this military camp."

"Open up and fight!"

"Uh, I won't participate for now. I'll help whoever wins."

"Fool! Whoever we help will win. This has been our custom since the beginning of time."

The situation was turbulent, fierce men were everywhere, and people were in a panic. The decisive battle had not yet broken out, but the situation had already reached a critical point. The bad news made everyone feel that the flags on the city walls were changing.

"Li's rebellious army is approaching day and night, and there are often terrifying rumors in the army. I ask Your Majesty to abandon the army... and flee! Return to Bianjing, and order the provincial governors, garrison commanders, and military governors of each state to immediately come to the defense and gather the warriors in the royal capital!"

Zhu Wen walked back and forth with a sullen face, still undecided about what to do. He wanted to go to war, but the army was divided, and he was afraid that once they gathered, the army would be led by the instigators on the spot. His prestige could no longer suppress the ambitious! If he didn't come out, he would die sooner or later. If he returned to Luoyang, he might be "invited to be beheaded" halfway. The difference between waiting to die and seeking death, or possibly dying, was really annoying.

"Go to Taiyuan again and explain the pros and cons to Li Keyong. If I die, he will not live long. Ask him to send a large army to Henan as soon as possible and try to persuade his son-in-law to go back. If the matter goes well, I will give him Henan Prefecture and Henei. Hurry!" Zhu Wen found someone and ordered urgently.

After that, he held Jingxiang's hand again and said, "Have Zhao and Wei responded?"

"Wang Zimei, Xiao Xiu and Tian Xide said frankly that Your Majesty must commit suicide to thank the world before they can withdraw their troops." Jing Xiang said sadly.

There are different levels of severity in suppressing rebellion.

The sage is eager to conquer the Central Plains in one fell swoop.

The civil and military officials under his command sought to obtain higher official titles, or even powerful military governors, in this eastern expedition.

Zhao Kuangning was loyal to the emperor out of the traditional scholar-official mentality.

Zhao Kuangming was forced to do this because of his brother, who was kidnapped because he wanted to go all the way with the Li family. As a result, he was slow in moving on the battle front.

Ma Yin came because of the geographical relationship between Jingzhou and Xiangyang, but his jurisdiction was not yet determined and his strength was weak. In addition, most of his subordinates were inclined to the Li family.

As for Zhao and Wei, their goal of suppressing the rebellion was only to overthrow Zhu, to eliminate this war criminal who had shaken the situation of separatist regimes and posed a serious threat to their survival and destruction right next to their bed, to replace the current ruler of the Xuanwu Army, to restore Guandong to the situation before the Chao Rebellion, to maintain the "vassal control by vassal", or simply the separatist regimes, rather than to eliminate the rebels.

The condition for the peace talks was that Zhu Wen must die, there was no room for bargaining at all.

This is one of the reasons why Ge Congzhou, Zhang Tingfan, Zhao Chang, Huang Wenjing and others all gave up as soon as the Battle of Shanzhou began. Zhu Wen's continuous defeats against Li led to the loss of his authority. They were not optimistic about the Battle of Shanzhou because they could not spare more effective troops to support them due to the invasion from all sides. Their demands included seeking to control various prefectures and counties. If Zhu Wen's defeat could be exchanged for the expansion of the "father dies and son inherits" Heshuo-type vassal state to the Central Plains, why not?
"If it weren't for your advice, I would have made a big mistake!" Zhu Wen suddenly realized.

He finally understood that in the atmosphere of separatism, reducing the power of the vassal states would lead to the emperor's death!

The Jiedushi could do anything to seize power or satisfy personal desires. The emperor was afraid of them, but could not eliminate them, so he used the Jiedushi to control the Jiedushi.

The Jiedushi sought to establish his own regime and control the territory by force, but was afraid that the army would rebel, so he used his guards to suppress the foreign troops. The guards were arrogant, so he used his personal troops to control the guards. What if the personal troops also rebelled? Then he used the backyard troops to control the personal troops. What if the backyard troops also rebelled? He fled and sought refuge in neighboring vassal states or the imperial court.

The warriors from the masses as a whole reluctantly recognized Li.

This is the middle and late Tang Dynasty.

To sum it up, there are two sentences: establish many vassal states to weaken their power and support the royal family. Raise a large number of military forces to defend the vassal states and safeguard the inheritance.

The emperor, the military governors, and the imperial guards had separate powers that confronted and checked each other.

Whoever dares to subvert the rules of Daizong and Wu Fu will lose his head!
If Zhu Wen could win all the time like later generations, maintain his authority, and purge meritorious officials by various means, and consolidate the imperial army's advantage over the local area, then he could have a decent ending where his rule would not collapse immediately even though he was stabbed by his son. But once he is frustrated, the backlash will come very quickly and very severely, just like now.

"Hahaha." Zhu Wen laughed, as if he had been hit on the top of his head by a hammer, and couldn't recover for a long time. It turned out that what he wanted to usurp was not just a small remnant of the Tang Dynasty, what he wanted to attack was not just the domineering warriors, and the enemy was not just the vassal states, but a set of order, an era... the people's hearts!
But reviewing and reflecting cannot stop the development of war.

The two sides were less than a hundred miles apart, and the big soldier learned that the enemy army was moving faster than him. "The Yongliang barbarians who led the beasts and cannibals left the front smoke cave."

"The miscellaneous Hu cavalry landed on the east bank of the Hongnong River and approached Luoyang."

"The shameless lecherous brother-in-law entered Nanzhuang."

"The fake king of Guanzhong occupied Laoyabei and attacked Yunu Mountain!"

"The Tang Emperor crossed the Guanyin River!"

"The emperor breaks through the small fence!"

"The Saint's scouts appeared at Changqiu Temple!"

The enemy's situation was constantly updated and spread among the army: "The vanguard of the chariot shot a letter of persuasion to me!"

"The great Son of Heaven, the Lord of Destiny, the supreme Great Sage Wu Kang has arrived outside Hongnong City!"

"Go to Luo! Kill the pigs!" On the ninth day of the seventh lunar month, a thin layer of mist after rain covered the outside of Hongnong City. In the mist, the red flags were half-rolled up, and the shouts that resounded through the clouds were: "Kill! Charge!"

"The enemy has started cutting down trees to prepare for the attack." After a while, the mist dissipated, the sky was half blue and half cloudy, the bright sunshine shone on the green grass, the wind was gentle and the sun was bright, revealing the armored warriors all over the mountains. A sudden scream sounded: "Ah, the evil army is filling the trenches."

"Shoot! Deploy."

“Ah…” Just as the Bian army on the city wall was observing the enemy situation and preparing for battle, screams came from behind. Suddenly, there was a burst of strange howling in the city: “Wuwuwu! Burn the camp!” Then… as if by coincidence, houses on several streets were set on fire. Billowing black smoke rose into the sky, and wave after wave of shouts rang out in every corner: “Sons, make a fuss!”

"Rebellion!" On the city wall, as if receiving some kind of signal, many officers and soldiers dropped their work, carried bows and spears, and went down the city wall to join the enemy.

"Kou Yanqing is planning a rebellion!"

"Zhu Youyu has rebelled!"

"Shi Shucong, Zhang Shensi, Xiao Hao, General Konghe Han Qing, and Long Sword Zuo Yuhou Zhao Zaili... have also rebelled?!"

"The guards of Changzhi, Yuan Zheng, and the commander of Yiyong, Gao Jichang, have joined the rebel army. They are attacking the orange orchard! There are rebel soldiers everywhere. Ah, don't kill me——"

"Puff!" Blood spurted out, the minister's head flew up, and the headless corpse, spurting hot liquid, was carried by the chaotic soldiers above the crowd of people.

"Kill!"

"Zhu Wen was so cruel and mad that the young commander was brave and skilled in fighting. He was proficient in everything. The Pillar of the South Sky was almost executed twice."

"You useless thing, the Li family is dying and there is nothing you can do. Why do you want me to be your saint? Are you worthy? Brothers, tear him down! Support the young marshal to the throne, and everyone will have concubines and become a general!"

"You commit adultery with your daughter-in-law all day long, and you are obsessed with your mistress. I have been a soldier for ten years but I still don't have a wife. I am ugly, so can't you give me a palace maid as a reward——"

"Stop talking nonsense and cut the old dog into pieces!" Zhu Youyu shouted fiercely in the crowd.

"Holy... the old dog got away!"

"shoot!"

“Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh…!” As a burst of arrows rang out, shouts of killing exploded inside and outside Hongnong City at the same time: “You! Go tell Saint Li that we are killing the emperor. Once we kill the dog emperor and deal with the old dog’s followers, you can surrender.”

"The enemy has defeated us. There is no chance to defeat Hongnong. Let's go back to Luoyang."

"The thief Li is just outside the city, I'm afraid he will be chased and killed."

"They are so tired from the long journey that they have just arrived and haven't even set up camp yet, so how can they have any energy left? Just form a formation and take the small road to avoid the cavalry. If the infantry wants to chase us, we can just fight them."

"Tsk, the Saint and Zhu Youyu are father and son, I don't know where the hatred comes from, why do they suddenly want to kill their father and the king?"

Boom! The east gate suddenly opened, and tens of thousands of knights, followers, and officials rushed out with Zhu Wen. Behind him, dense cavalry, cavalry, and infantry soldiers chased him madly. More than 100,000 troops without command were disbanded on the spot. Those who wanted to rebel followed Zhu Youyu in rebellion, and those who did not want to rebel formed groups and retreated to Luoyang with civilians, craftsmen, and prostitutes. Some deserted and returned home, and some surrendered to the Li family.

"Anyway, it's over. It's a mess."

"Crazy, all crazy, Li Sheng is attacking outside the city, and Zhu Sheng is attacking inside the city."

On the hillside, Mr. Li was stunned, feeling both happy and worried.

The good news is that it is a classic civil strife. The bad news is that judging from the rebels' rebellion formation, their fighting power is still there, but Zhu Wen can no longer control them, and he is not relaxed. If I fall into decline in a certain year, will I end up in such a situation? What a Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

Let’s take a gamble. Can Zhu Wen escape?
　There are often all kinds of shocking comments in the comment section. From now on, every time I update a question, I will give the answer the next day to see everyone's composition.

　　Today's topic: Daily life can reflect the style and characteristics of the times. Which of the following scenarios may have appeared in the late Tang Dynasty?
　　A. The woman and the emperor are wearing the same yellow robe. B. Farmers are selling grain in the East Market to exchange for silver. C. The emperor is on tour, and the censor rides on horseback behind the carriage. D. The officials in Beijing go home for lunch on time at noon.

　　After the middle of the Tang Dynasty, when a governor of a Hebei-type vassal town was replaced, the court would either immediately appoint a prince to lead the town remotely, or wait for several months before officially issuing a seal and an imperial edict to the governor recommended by the town. The specific operation was often communicated by the eunuchs. What does this reflect?
　　A. The power of the eunuchs expanded. B. The procedures for appointing and dismissing officials were standardized. C. The independence of the feudal lords was restricted. D. The transfer of power between the feudal lords was stable.

　　All are single choice.

　　Translation title: Moreover, when it comes to national disasters and catastrophes, who are more terrible than the sudden appearance of cunning invaders, evil lotus, rebellious generals and fierce commanders who usurp the throne?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)