Summoning of the Great General of the Great Qin Empire

Chapter 203

The most depressing thing is that Li Cunxiao actually brought three subordinates, namely Li Siyuan, one of the Thirteen Taibaos under Li Keyong, Li Cunxu, the Third Taibao, and Shi Jingsi, the Eleventh Taibao.

Fortunately, these three people were implanted in the confrontation between Dorgon's men and Cao Cao in the north, and they did not abuse Fusu together with Li Cunxiao.

Li Siyuan is a member of the Shatuo tribe without a surname. His name is Miao Jilie. He is good at riding and shooting.At the age of 13, he served in the army of Li Guochang, the leader of the Shatuo tribe, and was later adopted by his son Li Keyong as an adopted son and given a name.

Four years of Zhonghe (884).Li Keyong was besieged by Xuanwu Jiedu envoy Zhu Wen in Shangyuan Station in Bianzhou (now Kaifeng, Henan), and his generals died countless times in battle, which is known as the Shangyuan Station Incident in history.Li Siyuan was seventeen years old at the time, and he desperately protected Li Keyong and rescued him from the chaotic soldiers, so he was highly valued and was able to lead his own soldiers.Later, Li Siyuan was appointed as Li Cunxin's deputy general, and he cooperated with him in the battle, and won many victories.

In the third year of Qianning (896), Zhu Wen competed with brothers Zhu Xuan and Zhu Jin for the Shandong area and sent troops to attack Yanzhou and Yunzhou (which governs today's Dongping, Shandong).The Zhu brothers asked Li Keyong for help, and Li Keyong ordered Li Cunxin to lead [-] troops to the rescue.Li Cunxin stationed troops in Shen County and ordered Li Siyuan to lead [-] cavalry to aid Yanzhou.Li Siyuan defeated Liang Jun in Rencheng (now Jining, Shandong) and lifted the siege of Yanzhou.Soon, Luo Hongxin, the envoy of Wei Bo Jiedu, attacked Shen County and defeated Li Cunxin.Li Siyuan personally moved to the rear to cover Li Cunxin's retreat.In order to commend Li Siyuan, Li Keyong named the [-] cavalrymen under his command Hengchong Capital.From then on, Li Siyuan was called Li Hengchong in the Lianghe area.

In the first year of Guanghua (898), Li Sizhao sent troops to Qingshan Pass to attack Xingzhou (now Xingtai, Hebei) and Mingzhou (now Yongnian, Hebei), but was defeated by Liang general Ge Congzhou.Li Siyuan led his troops to arrive, set up a formation on a high place, and shouted: "I will only kill Ge Congzhou, and the rest of the soldiers should not move rashly." He rode his horse into the Liang army's formation, fighting in and out.Li Sizhao then attacked and finally turned defeat into victory and repelled Liang Jun.In this battle, Li Siyuan was hit by four arrows, and his fame moved the world.

In the first year of Tianfu (901), Liang Jiang's Shu Cong led an army of [-] to besiege Taiyuan and occupied many counties of Hedong.Li Keyong was trapped in Taiyuan City.At that time, the heavy rain continued, the city walls were mostly decayed, and Taiyuan was in danger.Li Siyuan and Li Sizhao split up and attacked the Liang army's barracks from time to time.Liang Jun failed to break through Taiyuan repeatedly, coupled with insufficient food and grass, he had to retreat in the end.Li Siyuan led his troops in pursuit again, recovering the lost prefectures and counties one after another.

In the second year of Tianfu (902), Shi Shucong defeated Li Sizhao and Zhou Dewei in Pu County, led his army to pursue Jinci, and besieged Taiyuan again.Li Ke used himself to go to the city to direct the defense. Seeing that the situation was critical, he planned to abandon the city and flee to Yunzhou (now Datong, Shanxi).He summoned the generals to discuss, but was firmly opposed by Li Siyuan and others, so he had to give up.Soon, the Jin army was defeated and gradually returned to Taiyuan.Li Siyuan personally led the men who dared to die, went out of the city day and night to raid Liang Jun, and captured Liang Junxiao general You Kunlun.Liang Jun was tired of coping, so he had to burn the camp and retreat.

In the fifth year of Tianyou (908), Li Keyong died of illness, and his son Li Cunxu succeeded him as the Jiedu envoy of Hedong and the king of Jin.In May of the same year, Li Cunxu personally rescued Luzhou (now Changzhi, Shanxi), and ordered Li Siyuan and Zhou Dewei to divide their troops into two groups to attack the Jiacheng built by Liang Jun.Li Siyuan commanded his soldiers to cut down the antler formations arranged by Liang Jun, filled the trenches with firewood, and attacked Jiacheng from the northeast corner.Zhou Dewei then also broke through the northwest corner of Jiacheng.Li Cunxu took the opportunity to launch a general offensive, and finally defeated the Liang army, won a great victory in Jiacheng, and completely lifted the siege of Luzhou.In this battle, Li Siyuan took the lead in attacking Jiacheng and took the first place.

In the eighth year of Tianyou (911), Li Siyuan joined Li Cunxu in the Battle of Baixiang.Seeing that the Liang army was strong and strong, Li Cunxu was worried that the Jin army would be timid to fight, so he deliberately urged Li Siyuan to fight to boost morale.He offered wine to Li Siyuan and said, "Have you seen Liang Jun's white horses and red horses? It's really frightening." Li Siyuan laughed, thinking that Liang Jun was showing off.He drank the wine in his glass, then got on his horse, led his troops straight to the White Horse City of Liang Jun, and captured two members of the cavalry school alive.The morale of the Jin army was greatly boosted, and they all moved forward bravely. From Chenshi to Weishi, they finally defeated Liang Jun and won the victory in Baixiang.In this battle, Li Siyuan fought back and forth in the Liang army's formation, gained a lot, and was promoted to the governor of Daizhou because of his meritorious service.

In the tenth year of Tianyou (913), Zhou Dewei conquered Liu Shouguang, the king of Yan, and ordered Li Siyuan to divide his troops to capture the Eighth Army behind the mountain (in the north of the military capital at the northern end of the Taihang Mountain in Hebei Province).Li Siyuan fought against Yan general Yuan Xingqin in the Guangbian Army (ruling south of Chicheng, Hebei today). Although he shot Yuan Xingqin seven times, he was also shot in the thigh by Yuan Xingqin in the end.In the end, Yuan Xingqin refused to support him and asked to surrender. He was adopted by Li Siyuan as his adopted son, and was later asked by Li Cunxu to take him under his command.

In the 13th year of Tianyou (916), Li Cunxu and Liang Jiang Liu Po ​​fought in the old Yuancheng (in the east of Weixian County, Hebei today).Li Siyuan led [-] cavalry to fight loudly, and fought with Li Cunxu inside and outside, defeating the Liang army.He then captured Cizhou (now Ci County, Hebei Province), Mingzhou, and Xiangzhou (now Anyang, Henan Province), which belonged to Houliang, and was redesignated as the governor of Xiangzhou.In September, Cangzhou defender Mao Zhang surrendered to the Jin army.Li Siyuan was ordered to go to Cangzhou to appease Mao Zhang, and soon he was appointed as the Anguo Army Jiedu envoy, and he left the town of Xingzhou.

In the 14th year of Tianyou (917), the Khitan besieged Youzhou (ruling today's Beijing), and the guard Zhou Dewei sent an envoy in an emergency.Li Siyuan advocated rescue, and asked to lead [-] cavalry as the forward.Li Cunxu asked him to join forces with Fu Cunshen and Yan Bao in Yizhou (now Yi County, Hebei Province) to rescue Youzhou together.Li Siyuan analyzed the situation of the enemy and himself, adopted the tactic of "sneaking into the stream and attacking them unprepared", led his army to cross Dafangling (to the west of Zhoukoudian in today's Beijing), and marched eastward along the mountain stream.

He and his adopted son Li Congke fought bloody battles to the death, repelled many interceptions by the Khitan army, and reached sixty miles outside the city of Youzhou.At that time, the Khitan cavalry suddenly arrived.Li Siyuan galloped his horse into the enemy's formation, fought hard with his mallet, was invincible, and captured the Khitan commander alive.The Jin army then attacked and finally defeated Khitan and lifted the siege of Youzhou.In September, Li Siyuan's class teacher went to the Taibao to inspect the school.

In the 18th year of Tianyou (921), Li Siyuan joined forces with Hezhong Jiedushi Zhu Youqian, Zhaoyi Jiedushi Li Sizhao, Cangzhou Jiedushi Fu Cunshen, Dingzhou Jiedushi Wang Chuzhi, Tianping Jiedushi Yan Bao, and Datong Jiedushi. The envoys Li Cunzhang, Xinzhou Jiedushi Wang Yu, Zhenwu Jiedushi Li Cunjin, and Tongzhou Jiedushi Zhu Lingde came forward three times to persuade Li Cunxu to proclaim himself emperor, and each donated hundreds of thousands of coins as the cost of his ascension to the throne and the founding of the country. , but were rejected by Li Cunxu.In October of the same year, Li Siyuan defeated Liang general Dai Siyuan in Qicheng (in today's Puyang, Henan Province) and beheaded [-] people. He was promoted to deputy general manager of Mabu inside and outside Fanhan, and was awarded the title of Tongping Zhangshi.

In the first year of Tongguang (923) of the later Tang Dynasty, Li Siyuan was transferred to be the envoy of the Henghai Navy.In April, Li Cunxu proclaimed himself emperor in Yedu (governing today's northeast of Hebei Province) and established the Later Tang Dynasty as Zhuangzong of the Later Tang Dynasty.Li Siyuan came to pay homage to the inspector Taifu and concurrently served as a servant.At that time, the main forces of the Liang and Tang armies were facing each other along the Yellow River. All the way, the Liang army was rushing to attack Zezhou (now Jincheng, Shanxi). Later, Li Jitao, the defender of Luzhou in the Tang Dynasty, defected to the Later Liang.Tang Zhuangzong discussed with Li Siyuan, intending to send troops to surprise Yunzhou to cut off the right wing of the Liang army.Li Siyuan led the [-]-step cavalry across Jishui, took advantage of the unprepared Liang army to attack Yunzhou, and was worshiped as the military governor of Tianping army.

In September of the same year, Liang general Wang Yanzhang led his army to attack Yunzhou.Li Siyuan ordered Li Congke to lead the cavalry to fight, defeated the vanguard of the Liang army in Difang Town, captured Liang General Ren Zhao and 300 people, and forced Wang Yanzhang to retreat to the central capital (now Wenshang, Shandong).In October, Emperor Zhuangzong of the Tang Dynasty crossed the river from Yangliu (in today's Dong'abei, Shandong) and arrived in Yunzhou. With Li Siyuan as the vanguard, he broke through Zhongdu and captured Wang Yanzhang.At that time, all the generals of the Tang army believed that they should first capture Qingzhou, Qizhou (governing today's Jinan, Shandong), Xuzhou, Yanzhou and other places, and then take advantage of the opportunity.

However, Li Siyuan resisted all opinions and proposed to attack Bianzhou and capture the capital of Houliang.He led the former army to make multiple journeys, arrived in Bianzhou on the ninth day of the lunar month, and then sent troops to attack the city.Liang Emperor Zhu Youzhen committed suicide, Liang General Wang Zan surrendered at Qiumen, and Hou Liang officially perished.Soon, Tang Zhuangzong moved his capital to Luoyang and promoted Li Siyuan as Zhongshuling.

In the second year of Tongguang (924), Tang Zhuangzong worshiped heaven in the southern suburbs and gave Li Siyuan an iron coupon.Soon, Li Siyuan quelled the Luzhou rebellion, captured the rebel leader Yang Li, and was transferred to the Jiedu envoy of the Xuanwu Army, and also served as the general manager of the horse infantry inside and outside the Han Dynasty.In December of the same year, Khitan invaded south.Li Siyuan led his army to march north again, defeating Khitan in Zhuozhou.

In the third year of Tongguang (925), Li Siyuan was transferred to the Jiedu envoy of the Chengde Army and moved to Zhenzhou (now Zhengding, Hebei).At this time, Emperor Zhuangzong of the Tang Dynasty had already neglected government affairs, connived at eunuchs and actors, and executed Guo Chongtao, Zhu Youqian and other heroes without guilt.Li Siyuan was also suspected by Emperor Zhuangzong because of his high position and weight.

In December, when Li Siyuan entered the court from Zhenzhou, Zhuangzong asked Zhu Shouyin, Marquis of Yu, the capital of Mabu, to monitor him.Zhu Shouyin secretly warned Li Siyuan, saying that he had reached the point where "those who are virtuous and successful will be in danger, and those who have made great achievements will not be rewarded", so that he should make plans early.But he was unmoved.At that time, Li Siyuan was often slandered by rumors. Fortunately, Li Shaohong was exonerated by the privy secretary, so he was saved from being killed.

In February of the fourth year of Tongguang (926), Wei Bo Shu died in a mutiny in Beizhou (ruling today's Qinghe, Hebei). He pushed Zhao Zaili as the leader and invaded Yedu.At the beginning of Tang Zhuangzong, Yuan Xingqin ordered Yuan Xingqin to crusade, but failed again and again, so he had to use Li Siyuan to lead him to go north from Mazhi (the emperor's pro-army designation) to join Yuan Xingqin to suppress the rebellion.In March, Li Siyuan arrived in Yedu, stationed in the southwest of the city, and set a date for attacking the city.Cong Mazhi mutinied on the eve of the siege, hijacked Li Siyuan, and claimed to join forces with the rebels in Yedu and proclaim him emperor of Hebei.

Zhao Zaili led the school out of the city to welcome Li Siyuan, and welcomed Li Siyuan into Yedu, but did not allow the disorderly army to enter the city.Li Siyuan escaped from Yedu and arrived in Wei County under the pretext of appeasement of scattered soldiers. [24] He ordered Yajiang Zhang Qianzhao to go to Yuanxingqin camp, and called him to come together to quell the chaos.However, Yuan Xingqin suspected that he was deceitful, so he led [-] paces and retreated to Weizhou (now Weihui, Henan), falsely claiming that Li Siyuan conspired with the rebels to rebel.

When Li Siyuan first arrived in Wei County, he had less than [-] men under his command. He then summoned Huo Yanwei's [-] town and state troops, and only then did he regain some strength.He wanted to return to Chengde Fan Town, waiting for the emperor to convict him.But both Huo Yanwei and An Chonghui objected, suggesting that he return to the court and defend himself to the emperor.Li Siyuan then led his army back to the south, and appealed to Tang Zhuangzong several times to express his heart, but Yuan Xingqin blocked them all and failed to make it up.

At that time, Li Congjing, Li Siyuan's eldest son, was serving in the Luoyang Imperial Army. He was ordered by Emperor Zhuangzong to appease Li Siyuan, but was also detained in Weizhou by Yuan Xingqin.Li Siyuan was suspicious and uneasy, so he adopted his son-in-law Shi Jingtang's suggestion and decided to capture Bianzhou in order to seek self-reliance.Qizhou Defense Envoy Wang Yanqiu, Beizhou Inspector Fang Zhiwen, Beijing Right Wing Majun Commander An Shentong, and Pinglu Jiedu Envoy Fu Xi all supported Li Siyuan and led their troops to join him.Li Siyuan's troops increased greatly.

Tang Zhuangzong personally led the army to the east, and wanted to sit in Bianzhou and command the suppression of the rebellion.He ordered Yao Yanwen, the commander of Longxiang, to lead the [-]-horse army as the forward, and Pan Huan, the commander, to lead the army to guard the grain and grass.Yao Yanwen and Pan Huan both surrendered to Li Siyuan.At this time, Li Siyuan had already occupied Bianzhou first.Knowing that the situation was irretrievable, Zhuang Zong ordered to return to Luoyang when he traveled to Wansheng Town (northwest of Zhongmu, Henan today).More than half of the soldiers fled along the way.

He decided to go to Bishui Pass (now northwest of Xingyang, Henan), join the army of conquering Shu led by his eldest son Li Jiji, and then join forces to attack Li Siyuan.Guo Congqian, the commander from Ma Zhi, suddenly launched a rebellion and led his troops to attack Xingjiaomen.Zhuang Zong personally led Su Wei into battle, but was killed by an arrow.At that time, there was great chaos in Luoyang, and all the clan kings including Tong Wang Li Cunque and Ya Wang Li Cunji fled.Zhu Shouyin sent an envoy to Li Siyuan's army, asking him to enter the capital quickly and stabilize the situation.

In April of the same year, Li Siyuan led his army into Luoyang and ordered his generals to quell the chaos in Beijing.He let all the officials settle down to their respective posts, and waited for Li Jiji to return to Beijing to succeed him, and said that he would return to Fan Chengde after Zhuangzong was buried.The prime ministers Dou Luge, Wei Shuo, and the privy envoys Li Shaohong and Zhang Juhan led hundreds of officials to persuade them to enter, but they were all rejected, and Li Siyuan was asked to supervise the country.Li Siyuan then lived in Da Nei Xingsheng Palace and accepted the worship of all officials in the name of Jian Guo.

He appointed Shi Jingtang as the empress of Shanzhou to guard against the army conquering Shu, and at the same time ordered various places to search for the kings.An Chonghui secretly sent people to kill Li Cunque and Li Cunji.Shen Wang Li Cunwo and Yong Wang Li Cunba were killed by the rebels. Xue Wang Li Cunli, Prince Li Jisong, Li Jitong, Li Jichan, and Li Jiyao were all missing.Soon, Wei Wang Li Jiji hanged himself in Weinan, and the army conquering Shu, under the leadership of Ren Yuan, returned to Li Siyuan.All obstacles to Li Siyuan's proclaiming himself emperor were removed.

On April 926th in the first year of Tiancheng ([-]), Li Siyuan proclaimed himself emperor in the West Palace.He is wearing the clothes of cutting down, which is located in front of Li Cunxu's coffin, to show that he is a legal inheritance, not a usurpation.

At that time, Li Siyuan was already sixty years old, and entrusted the government affairs to An Chonghui, the Privy Councilor, and Ren Yuan, the Prime Minister.Ren Yuan also served as the third envoy, in charge of national finance.He selected talented men, put an end to private affairs, and cared about the country like a family. After one year in power, "the treasury was enriched, the army and the people were full, and the government was well-established."Chongjiao is Li Siyuan's heroic minister. Although he is devoted to his duties, he relies on his merits and favors him, and is good at doing majestic blessings.He and Ren Huanzheng disagreed, and they often got angry when discussing politics, and even scolded each other.

In the first year of Changxing (930 and the second year of Tiancheng (927), Ren Huan was dismissed as Prince Shaobao, and asked to be an official, and retired to Cizhou. In October of the same year, Li Siyuan wanted to visit Bianzhou. In the eastern expedition to Huainan, some said that the emperor wanted to destroy the warlords of the feudal towns.

Zhu Shouyin, the governor of the Xuanwu Army, felt uneasy, and took the opportunity to launch a rebellion in Bianzhou, but Fan Yanguang led the army to put it down.An Chonghui took the opportunity to frame Ren Yuan for treason, claiming that he was in collusion with Zhu Shouyin, and ordered Ren Yuan to die.Li Siyuan knew that Ren Yuan died unjustly, but he did not pursue it.Since then, An Zhongjiao has become even more powerful in the government and the public. Even the princes Li Congrong and Li Conghou respect him too much, but Li Congke, the Jiedu Envoy of Hezhong, is the only one who is afraid of him.He forged an imperial edict and instigated He Zhongya to find an opportunity to expel Li Congke from Yang Yanwen.

In the first year of Changxing (930), Li Congke went out of the city to inspect the horses.Yang Yanwen took the opportunity to close the city gates, not allowing Li Congke to enter the city and forcing him to return to Luoyang.Li Siyuan recalled Li Congke to the court, and at the same time ordered Yao Yanchou to lead the army to defeat Yang Yanwen.An Zhonghui also instigated the prime minister to discuss Li Congke's crime of falling, hoping to take the opportunity to get rid of Li Congke.Li Siyuan dismissed the prime minister's proposal, and only ordered Li Congke to stay at home.

Later, Li Xingde and Zhang Jian, the generals of the Forbidden Army, impeached An Chong and instructed privately recruited soldiers, equipped them with equipment, and plotted against the law.Although Li Siyuan punished Li Xingde and Zhang Jian for the crime of false accusation, he also became suspicious of An Chonggao and ordered Fan Yanguang to serve as a privy envoy to disperse An Chonggao's power.

In the second year of Changxing (931), An Chongjie was dismissed from his post as privy envoy and was sent to Hezhong Jiedushi, and then he became an official as the prince and grand master.Later, Li Siyuan suspected that An Chongjiao had different ambitions, and appointed Li Congzhang as the military governor of Hezhong, asking him to supervise An Chongjiao, and asked the infantry commander Yao Yanchou to lead the army to Hezhong.Li Congzhang led his soldiers to surround An Zhongjie's residence and killed An Zhongjie and his wife with iron laos.Li Siyuan issued another edict to convict An Chongjiao.

In the fourth year of Changxing (933), Li Siyuan wanted to annex Xiazhou Dingnan Army (which governs today's Jingbian, Shaanxi) by "changing the town", but Li Yichao resisted after staying in Dingnan.He mobilized troops to attack Xiazhou, but he couldn't attack for a long time, so he had to compromise and appointed Li Yichao as the envoy of the Dingnan Jiedu.At that time, the imperial court did not use troops for a long time, but once sent troops but returned without success, rumors abounded in the army.Li Siyuan ordered to reward the soldiers, but there was no legitimate reason.From then on, the soldiers became more arrogant.

When Li Siyuan ascended the throne, his eldest son Li Congjing had been killed by Yuan Xingqin.He named his second son Li Congrong the King of Qin, and appointed him as the Yin of Henan and the guards of the Sixth Army.Li Congrong was already the de facto eldest son at that time. He was in charge of the government affairs of the capital, held military power, and could compete with the prime minister. All signs showed that Li Siyuan planned to make him his successor.

But when the eunuch Shaoqing He Ze wrote a letter asking Li Congrong to be crown prince, Li Siyuan was very unhappy and said: "All the ministers please appoint a crown prince. It seems that I should go back to Hedong to retire." In the end, Li Congrong was only worshiped as a soldier of the world. Marshal Ma failed to become the crown prince.He was extremely disturbed, worried that he would not be able to inherit the throne.

In November of the fourth year of Changxing (933), Li Siyuan became seriously ill.When Li Congrong visited the palace, he saw that Li Siyuan could no longer raise his head, and when he left the palace, he heard the constant crying in the palace.He mistakenly thought that Li Siyuan had passed away, and the next day he claimed that he was ill and would not return to the court, and conspired with his cronies in the mansion to seize the throne.On the [-]th, Li Congrong led thousands of tooth soldiers to line up at Tianjin Bridge, preparing to enter Xingsheng Palace by force.

Privy envoys Feng Yun, Zhu Hongzhao and Xuanhui envoy Meng Hanqiong reported that Li Congrong had rebelled, closed the gate of the imperial city, and ordered Li Chongji to lead his troops to guard the gate of the palace.The commander of the guards, Kang Yicheng, who was Li Congrong's internal response, was also blocked in the palace at this time, making it difficult to meet Li Congrong.Meng Hanqiong summoned Zhu Hongshi, the commander of the horse army, and asked him to lead [-] cavalry to attack Li Congrong.Li Congrong fled back to the mansion, but was chased and killed by An Congyi, the envoy of the imperial city.

Li Siyuan was inexplicably terrified and his condition worsened.He pursued and abolished Li Congrong as a commoner, and recalled Li Conghou, king of Song Dynasty, from Yedu.On the 26th of this month, Li Siyuan passed away in the Hall of Yonghe in Da Nei at the age of 67.Li Conghou rushed to Luoyang to mourn for Li Siyuan and ascended the throne in front of the coffin.

In April of the first year of Qingtai (934), Li Siyuan was posthumously named Emperor Shengde and Wu Qinxiao, with the temple name Mingzong and was buried in Huiling.

(End of this chapter)