Summoning of the Great General of the Great Qin Empire

Chapter 204

And Li Cunxu was born in the Shatuo tribe of Western Turkic. His original surname was Zhu Xie, and he was the chief of Shatuo in the world.Grandfather Zhu Xie Chixin was bestowed the surname Li by the Tang Dynasty emperor for his meritorious service in suppressing Pang Xun's mutiny, and it was included in the clan genealogy.His father, Li Keyong, was an official at the Jiedu envoy of Hedong, where he was granted the title of King of Jin, stationed in Taiyuan, and established the Hedong separatist power (Jin State).

At that time, Zhu Wen, king of Liang, occupied Xuanwu Town (the government office in Bianzhou, in today's Kaifeng, Henan), and controlled the Central Plains.Li Keyong and Zhu Wen fought for the hegemony of the Central Plains for more than [-] years.

Li Cunxu was the son of Li Keyong and his concubine Cao. He was good at riding and shooting since he was a child. He was brave and open-minded, and was deeply loved by his father.He loves to read "Spring and Autumn", has a basic understanding of subtle words and great meanings, and is good at music. He can be said to be both civil and military.

In the second year of Qianning (895), Wang Xingyu, the Jiedu envoy of Binning, joined forces with Li Maozhen, the envoy of Fengxiang, and Han Jian, the envoy of Zhenguo, to invade Chang'an (now Xi'an, Shaanxi Province), and plot to abolish Emperor Zhaozong of Tang Dynasty.Li Keyong led the army to serve the king and put down the rebellion in the three towns.Li Cunxu was 11 years old at the time. He also went to war with the army and entered the court to show victory. He was praised and rewarded by Emperor Zhaozong of the Tang Dynasty.Soon after, Li Cunxu was awarded the title of inspector Sikong, and he led the governor of Xizhou far away, and later changed to Fenzhou and Jinzhou.

In the second year of Tianfu (902), Li Keyong was worried because Taiyuan was besieged by Liang Jun twice and unable to compete with Zhu Wen.Li Cunxu comforted him and said: "Things will not repeat until the extreme, and evil will not perish if the evil does not reach the extreme. Zhu Wen threatened the emperor, coveted the throne, and framed goodness. It can be said to be self-destruction. My family has been loyal to the royal family for three generations. Qu can't repay him, but he is not ashamed of himself. Father, you should wait patiently and watch, accumulate strength, and try to revive Zhu Wen when he weakens. How can you be easily discouraged. Li Keyong is relieved.

In the third year of Tianyou (906), Zhu Wen sent troops to attack Cangzhou (originally Henghai Town, then under the rule of Youzhou Town), and Liu Rengong, the Jiedu envoy of Youzhou, sent an envoy to Li Keyong for help.Li Keyong was angry with Liu Rengong's capriciousness and was unwilling to send troops to help.But Li Cunxu said: "Now Zhu Wen has occupied seven-ninths of the world, and even Weibo, Chengde and other feudal towns have also belonged to him. The only ones who can fight against him in the north of the Yellow River are Jin and Liu Rengong. If we If Liu Rengong is not rescued, the situation will be even more unfavorable to us. And if we send troops to help, our Jin country can regain its glory, and we must not miss this opportunity because of resentment." Li Keyong then sent troops to attack Luzhou (now Changzhi, Shanxi Province) ), forcing Zhu Wen to withdraw his troops from Cangzhou.

In the fourth year of Tianyou (907), Zhu Wen usurped Tang and proclaimed himself emperor, established Houliang, and was known as Liang Taizu in history.He changed Yuan to Kaiping and set his capital in Bianzhou.However, Li Keyong refused to recognize the Houliang regime, and continued to use the title of Tianyou in the Tang Dynasty. He confronted Houliang in the name of revitalizing the Tang Dynasty and became the biggest threat to the north of Houliang.In May of that year, Zhu Wen sent [-] troops to besiege Luzhou and build Jiazhai.Li Ke ordered Zhou Dewei to rescue Luzhou.However, Zhou Dewei and Liang Jun have been confronted for more than a year, but they still cannot lift the siege of Luzhou.

In the fifth year of Tianyou (908), Li Keyong died of illness.Li Cunxu was 24 years old when he succeeded as the Jiedu envoy of Hedong and became the king of Jin.At that time, Li Keyong's adopted sons Li Cunhao, Li Cunshi and others believed that they held military power and were older than Li Cunxu, so they were very dissatisfied with Li Cunxu's succession to the throne.Some of them said they were sick and refused to go to court, some did not pay homage when they saw them, and even encouraged their uncle Li Kening to launch a rebellion, intending to murder Li Cunxu and surrender to Houliang.Li Cunxu responded calmly, first obtained the support of the supervisor Zhang Chengye, general Li Cunzhang and others, and then acted first, ambushing soldiers in the government, capturing and killing Li Kening, Li Cunhao and others, initially stabilizing the domestic political situation.

In April of that year, Li Cunxu personally led his army to rescue Luzhou and arrived at Huangnian (in today's Changzhi, Shanxi) in the north of Luzhou on the 29th.Liang Jun originally thought that since Li Cunxu succeeded to the throne at a young age, he would not dare to send troops, so he was unprepared for this and did not send any scouts to investigate.On the second day of May, Li Cunxu ambushed his troops under Sanchui Gang, took advantage of the heavy fog to attack Jiazhai, and unexpectedly defeated the Liang army, completely lifting the siege of Luzhou.After this battle, the Jin army became more powerful.Soon, Li Cunxu returned to Taiyuan, rewarded the soldiers, and then began to rectify the internal affairs.He strictly enforced military discipline, cared for the orphans and widows, appointed talented people, punished corruption, lenient probation and punishment, and cracked down on thieves, which greatly changed the customs of Jin people and made the people return to their hearts.

In November of the seventh year of Tianyou (910), Zhu Wen sent three thousand troops to Shenzhou and Jizhou in an attempt to seize the towns of Chengde and Yiwu.Chengde Jiedu envoy Wang Rong and Yiwu Jiedu envoy Wang Chuzhi successively sent envoys to ask for help from Li Cunxu, expressing their willingness to form an anti-Liang alliance with Jin, and they jointly recommended Li Cunxu as the leader of the alliance.Li Cunxu defied all opinions and resolutely sent troops to rescue him.He personally led the Jin army to march eastward, so in December of that year he advanced to the north bank of the Yehe River (now a tributary of the Fuyang River) five miles away from Baixiang, and confronted the Liang army across the river.

In the first month of the eighth year of Tianyou (911), Li Cunxu ordered Zhou Dewei to lead 280 fine riders to the Liang army camp to challenge, angering Liang general Wang Jingren, and luring Liang army to the plains and wilderness south of Manyi.He took advantage of the terrain and waited for work with leisure. When the Liang army was exhausted, he led the cavalry to attack, smashed the Liang army, captured [-] five generals of the Liang army, and beheaded [-].In this battle, Liang Jun's corpses were buried for dozens of miles, and the elite forbidden troops such as Longxiang, Shenwei, and Shenjie were wiped out. Wang Jingren, Han Qing, and Li Si'an only led dozens of cavalry to escape overnight.Since then, Chengde Town and Yiwu Town have completely fallen to Jin State.

After the Battle of Baixiang, Li Cunxu decided to postpone his offensive against Houliang and seize the Hebei region first to eliminate his worries. His first goal was to imprison Liu Shouguang, King of Yan, who succeeded his father Liu Rengong and succeeded Youzhou Jiedushi.He adopted the strategy of arrogant soldiers, united the five towns of Chengde, Yiwu, Zhaoyi, Zhenwu and Tiande, sent envoys to be registered, and jointly respected Liu Shouguang as his father-in-law to further his ambition.Liu Shouguang thought that the six towns were afraid of Youzhou's military power and were even more arrogant.He learned that his father had no right to worship heaven and change the Yuan Dynasty. Regardless of the objections of the shogunate generals, he brazenly proclaimed himself emperor in Youzhou in August of the eighth year of Tianyou (911). The country was named Dayan and historically known as Jieyan.In December of that year, Li Cunxu ordered Zhou Dewei's troops to go out of Feihukou (in today's Yu County, Hebei Province) and join forces with Chengde Town and Yiwu Town to conquer Liu Shouguang.

In the ninth year of Tianyou (912), Zhou Dewei captured Zhuozhou and entered Youzhou.Liu Shouguang hurriedly asked Houliang for help.Zhu Wen personally led the army to the north, ordered Yang Shihou to besiege Zaoqiang, and ordered He Delun to attack Yi County (now Jing County, Hebei Province).However, although Liang Jun defeated Zaoqiang, he was defeated by Jin generals Fu Cunshen and Shi Jiantang in Ju County.Zhu Wen fell ill with shame and anger, returned to Luoyang, and was soon murdered by his son Zhu Yougui.

In the tenth year of Tianyou (913), Zhu Youzhen launched a coup, killed Zhu Yougui, and seized the throne. He was known as the last emperor of Liang in history.The Jin army successively seized Shunzhou (governing today's Shunyi, Beijing), Tanzhou (governing today's Miyun, Beijing), Wuzhou (governing today's Xuanhua, Hebei), Pingzhou (governing today's Lulong, Hebei) and Yingzhou under the jurisdiction of Youzhou Town. (Governing today Chaoyang, Liaoning) and other places.In November of that year, Li Cunxu personally conquered Yan State, broke through Youzhou, and captured Liu Rengong (who had been imprisoned by Liu Shouguang), Liu Shouguang and his son.He left Zhou Dewei to guard Youzhou.

In the 11th year of Tianyou (914), Li Cunxu returned to Taiyuan and executed Liu Rengong and his son in memory of Li Keyong.At that time, Li Cunxu defeated Houliang in the south and Jieyan in the north, which shocked the world.Wang Rong and Wang Chuzhi successively sent envoys to the Jin Dynasty, and they jointly recommended Li Cunxu as Shangshu Ling.Cun Xu Yili made three speeches, and then accepted the post of Shangshu Ling.He opened a tyrant in Taiyuan, established a business platform, and appointed officials in the name of the emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

In the 12th year of Tianyou's reign (915), Wei Bo's Jiedushi envoy Yang Shihou died of illness.Emperor Liang Zhu Youzhen took the opportunity to divide Weibo Town into two towns in order to weaken the power of the vassal town, which resulted in the Weibo Mutiny.He rebelled and imprisoned the new military governor He Delun, asking him to surrender to the Jin Dynasty.Li Cunxu took advantage of the situation to occupy Weizhou (which governs the northeastern part of Daming County in present-day Hebei Province) and executed the rebel leader Zhang Yan and others to deter the rebel soldiers and stabilize the chaos.He accepted Wei Bo's Ya soldiers as his own troops and personally led Wei Bo's military envoys. Later, he captured Dezhou and Chanzhou (governing present-day Qingfengxi, Henan).In July of that year, Li Cunxu marched into Shen County and confronted Liang general Liu Wei.

In the 13th year of Tianyou (916), Li Cunxu claimed to return to Taiyuan to lure Liu Wei to fight.Sure enough, Liu Po ​​was caught in the trick and wanted to take the opportunity to recapture Weizhou. As a result, he was attacked from three sides by Li Cunxu, Li Siyuan, and Fu Cunshen. He was defeated in the First World War in Yuancheng and fled to Huazhou (now Hua County, Henan Province).Afterwards, Li Cunxu sent troops to capture Weizhou (now Weihui, Henan), Mingzhou (now southeast of Yongnian), Xiangzhou (now Anyang, Henan), Xingzhou (now Xingtai, Hebei), Cangzhou, and Beizhou (now Henan). Today Qinghe West, Hebei) and other places.The area north of the Yellow River was entirely occupied by the state of Jin except for Liyang (which ruled in the east of Junxian County, Henan Province today).Since then, the situation in Liang and Jin has reversed.

In the 14th year of Tianyou (917), Lu Wenjin, the governor of Shouzhou, rebelled against Khitan and led the Khitan army to the south.Khitan Emperor Yelu Abaoji personally led an army of 50 troops to invade Youzhou.The guard Zhou Dewei stood alone in Youzhou, and at the same time sent envoys to ask Li Cunxu for help.Li Cunxu then ordered Fu Cunshen, Li Siyuan, and Yan Bao to command [-] cavalry and go north to rescue.In August of that year, Li Siyuan led reinforcements to arrive outside the city of Youzhou, defeated the Khitan army, and lifted the siege of Youzhou.In this battle, the Jin army captured tens of thousands of prisoners, captured cattle and sheep, and countless luggage.

The Khitan retreated, and the northern frontier was temporarily safe.Li Cunxu began to mobilize his troops southward, pushed forward to the bank of the Yellow River, and confronted Liang Jun across the river to compete for key points along the Yellow River.

In December of the 14th year of Tianyou (917), Li Cunxu led his army eastward, defeated several camps of the Liang army, captured Yangliucheng (an important ferry crossing from Weizhou to Yunzhou, in today's Dong'abei, Shandong), and captured the defender An Yanzhi. They also attacked and plundered the areas of Yunzhou (governing present-day Dongping, Shandong) and Puzhou (governing the north of Juancheng, present-day Shandong).At that time, Zhu Youzhen was holding a ceremony to worship the heaven in Luoyang. After hearing the news, he hurried back to Bianzhou to organize the recapture of Yangliucheng.However, Xie Yanzhang used troops several times but was never able to regain Yangliucheng.

In August of the 15th year of Tianyou (918), Li Cunxu mobilized troops from the towns of Hedong, Weibo, Youzhou, Henghai, and Yiwu to gather in Weizhou, preparing to attack Bianzhou and destroy Houliang in one fell swoop.In December of that year, Li Cunxu crossed the Yellow River from Majiadu in Puzhou, stationed in Huliupi (northwest of today's Juancheng, Shandong), and started a bloody battle with the Liang army.The Jin army was defeated and Zhou Dewei died in battle.Li Cunxu was forced to protect himself according to the mountain.At that time, most of the soldiers surrounding the mountains were infantry, and their foothold was not stable.Li Cunxu adopted Yan Bao's and Li Jianji's suggestions and used cavalry to attack, and finally turned defeat into victory and defeated the Liang army.In this battle, although the Jin army took advantage of the victory to capture Puyang, they were unable to attack Bianzhou due to heavy casualties, so they had to withdraw to Hebei.

In the 16th year of Tianyou (919), Fu Cunshen entered Desheng City (an important ferry from Weizhou to Bianzhou, in the southwest of Qingfeng, Henan today), and built two cities in the north and the south in Jiahe.Liang's general He Gui besieged the southern city of Desheng, and connected warships with bamboo cables across the river, blocking the reinforcements led by Li Cunxu on the north bank of the Yellow River.Li Jianji led [-] warriors, sailed into the river by boat, smashed the fire with axes, and broke through the Liang army's boat array.Li Cunxu took advantage of the momentum and swung his army across the river, defeating the Liang army.

Later, Liang general Wang Zan crossed the river from Liyang, stationed at Yangcundu, built pontoon bridges, and stored a large amount of military supplies.And Li Cunxu also expropriated tens of thousands of civilians to expand the North City of Desheng.At that time, the two armies of Liang and Jin fought more than a hundred battles every day, winning and losing each other.

In the 17th year of Tianyou (920), Hezhong Jiedu envoy Zhu Youqian captured Tongzhou (ruling today's Dali, Shaanxi Province), rebelled against Liang and surrendered to Jin, but was besieged by Liu Wei, and sent an envoy to Li Cunxu for help.Li Cunxu ordered Fu Cunshen, Li Sizhao, Li Jian and other troops to rescue him. He defeated Liu Po ​​twice in Tongzhou and Weihe, and pursued him to Fengxian (now Pucheng, Shaanxi).Since then, Hezhong Town has been attached to the State of Jin.

In the 18th year of Tianyou (921), Zhang Wenli, a general of the German army, instigated a mutiny.Forced by the situation, Li Cunxu gave him the title of Chengde Soldier and Horse to stay behind.Soon, eleven vassal towns including Hezhong, Zhaoyi, Henghai and Chengde sent envoys to persuade Li Cunxu to join the army and ask Li Cunxu to establish a country and proclaim himself emperor, but Li Cunxu refused.In August, Li Cunxu ordered Yan Bao to conquer Chengde Town and besiege Zhenzhou (now Zhengding, Hebei Province).Zhang Wenli died of illness due to fear, and his son Zhang Chujin took over the military affairs and continued to resist.Wang Chuzhi, the envoy of Yiwu Jiedu, colluded with Yelu Abaoji and led the Khitan army southward with the intention of betraying Li Cunxu. As a result, he was imprisoned by his adopted son Wangdu.Wangdu succeeded him as Jiedushi, and was soon besieged by the Khitan army in Dingzhou.

In the 19th year of Tianyou (922), Li Cunxu personally led five thousand cavalry to the north. He defeated the Khitan army in Xincheng (now Gaobeidian, Hebei Province) and Wangdu, lifted the siege of Dingzhou, and took advantage of the victory to pursue Youzhou.But at the same time, the Jin army suffered successive defeats in Zhenzhou, losing troops and generals.Yan Bao's attack on the city was frustrated, and he died of illness in shame and anger.Successor coaches Li Sizhao and Li Cunjin died in battle one after another.

Liang Jun took advantage of the situation to counterattack, conquered Weizhou, Xinxiang and other places, and recaptured Xiangzhou, an important town in Hebei.In September of that year, Zhenzhou was finally besieged for a long time and was short of food, so it was defeated by Fu Cunshen.Zhang Chujin and his party members Zhang Chuqiu, Gao Meng, Li Zhu, etc. were all captured and sent to Weizhou for execution. Zhang Wenli was also chopped into a coffin and killed.Li Cunxu also led the Chengde Jiedu Envoy and directly brought Chengde Town under the control of the Jin State.

In April of the 20th year of Tianyou (923), Li Cunxu accepted the persuasion from various towns to advance and proclaimed himself emperor in Weizhou. He changed the 20th year of Tianyou to the first year of Tongguang.He continued to use "Tang" as his country's name, and posthumously conferred the title of emperor on his father and ancestors for three generations. Together with Tang Gaozu, Tang Taizong, Tang Yizong, and Tang Zhaozong, he was listed as the Seven Temples to show that he was the legal successor of the Tang Dynasty. Historians called it the Later Tang Dynasty.At that time, the Later Tang Dynasty had jurisdiction over thirteen towns and fifty prefectures, including Weibo, Chengde, Yiwu, Henghai, Youzhou, Datong, Zhenwu, Yanmen, Hedong, Hezhong, Jinjiang, Anguo, and Zhaoyi. .

While the later Tang Dynasty was established, it was still facing a severe situation.The Khitan invaded Youzhou continuously, and the front of the army was approaching Hebei.Li Jitao, the defender of Luzhou, rebelled and attached himself to Later Liang. Liang General Dong Zhang rushed to attack Zezhou (now Jincheng, Shanxi), intending to annex Zhaoyi Town, directly threatening the safety of Taiyuan, the western capital of the later Tang Dynasty.In order to reverse the situation of the battle, Li Cunxu decided to take advantage of the emptiness of Liang Jun's east defense and send troops to surprise Yunzhou to cut off the Liang Jun's right wing, and then waited for an opportunity to enter Bianzhou.

In the leap month of the first year of Tongguang (923), Li Cunxu ordered Li Siyuan to lead a [-]-step rider to cross the river overnight in the rain, and attacked Yunzhou in one fell swoop.Zhu Youzhen heard that Yunzhou had fallen, and ordered Wang Yanzhang to lead his army to prevent the Tang army from advancing westward.Li Cunxu ordered Zhu Shouyin to strictly guard Desheng, and led his own army into Tunchan Prefecture.

In May, Wang Yanzhang sent troops to Yangcundu to capture Desheng Nancheng, and then went east along the river to attack Yangliucheng.He planned to cut off the connection between the Tang Army in Hebei and Yunzhou first, and then try to recover Yunzhou.Li Cunxu ordered Zhu Shouyin to abandon Desheng Beicheng, load military supplies and float down the river, and assist Li Zhou in defending Yangliucheng.The two armies advanced rapidly along one bank of the river, fighting as they marched, each winning or losing.Soon, Wang Yanzhang arrived at Yangliu City and launched a forceful attack day and night. He also deployed nine giant ships across Hejin to block reinforcements from the Tang army.He repeatedly failed to attack, so he had to retreat to the south of the city and build fortifications to prevent the Tang army from crossing the river.

In June, Li Cunxu visited Yang and Liu in person. On the one hand, he ordered the Tang army to go out to challenge and restrain the Liang army.Wang Yanzhang led an army to attack Bozhou Xincheng, and used more than ten giant ships in the middle of the Yellow River to cooperate in the battle.Guo Chongtao defended the city, and Li Cunxu also led an army from Yang and Liu to reinforce it.Wang Yanzhang had no choice but to withdraw his troops and surrender Zoujiakou.Li Cunxu reconnected with Li Siyuan in Yunzhou.In July, Wang Yanzhang attacked Yang and Liu again, and was defeated by the Tang army again, so he withdrew his troops and returned to the west, surrendered Yangcun, and was recalled to Bianzhou soon.Duan Ning took over as coach.

In August, Zhu Youzhen deployed a four-pronged counterattack: Duan Ning attacked Chanzhou, Dong Zhang attacked Taiyuan, Huo Yanwei attacked Zhenzhou, and Wang Yanzhang attacked Yunzhou. He planned to launch a general offensive in the Later Tang Dynasty in October, but due to the dispersion of troops, Bianzhou's defense was hampered emptiness.He also ordered Liang Jun to dig up the Yellow River embankment south of Huazhou (now Hua County, Henan Province) to prevent the Tang army from attacking Bianzhou, but at the same time, he also blocked the main force of Liang Jun to the north of the Jue River.In September, Liang general Kang Yanxiao surrendered to Hou Tang. He informed Li Cunxu of Hou Liang's military situation and suggested that the Tang army take advantage of the false attack to capture Bianzhou.Li Siyuan defeated Wang Yanzhang near Yunzhou, captured more than [-] Liang Jun generals, and forced Liang Jun to withdraw from Zhongdu (now Wenshang, Shandong).

In October, Li Cunxu crossed the river from Yangliu and arrived in Yunzhou. With Li Siyuan as the vanguard, he attacked Zhongdu and captured Wang Yanzhang.At that time, all the generals believed that Yanzhou and other places should be captured first, and then take the opportunity to move.Li Siyuan insisted on taking advantage of the strategy of attacking Bian.Li Cunxu ordered Li Siyuan to lead the former army to march to Bianzhou.On the ninth day of the first month, Li Siyuan arrived in Bianzhou and sent his army to attack the city.Zhu Youzhen committed suicide, and Liang General Wang Zan surrendered.Li Cunxu arrived on the same day and entered Bianzhou through Daliangmen, and Houliang officially perished.

During the struggle for hegemony between Liang and Jin, there were still many separatist regimes in the south.Among them, there are three rivers (referring to Jiannan Xichuan, Jiannan Dongchuan, and Shannan West Road) in the former Shu, and their capital is in Chengdu.During the reign of the later master Wang Yan, he was extravagant and promiscuous, carried out large-scale construction projects, delegated power to eunuchs and courtiers, and connived at the empress dowager and concubine's prostitution, which led to the corruption of the government and the prevalence of corruption.He also traveled around the country, forcing the states and counties along the way to provide board and lodging, and the people suffered terribly.Later Tang Dynasty destroyed Liang and shocked the world. Qi, Chu, Wuyue, Fujian, Nanping and other separatist regimes all paid tribute and became vassals, but the former Shu refused to surrender.Li Cunxu intended to pacify Qianshu.

In the second year of Tongguang (924), Li Yan, the envoy of the Hakka Province, was sent to Shu to take the opportunity to spy on the real situation in Shu. After returning to the country, he strongly advocated the defeat of Shu, saying that the kingdom of Shu had already appeared to be subjugated, which further strengthened Li Cunxu's decision to send troops to destroy Shu. determination.At that time, in order to defend the later Tang Dynasty, the former Shu stationed heavy troops on the border between the two countries.In August of the same year, Li Cunxu sent an envoy, Li Yanchou, to Sichuan, expressing his intention to make peace with Shu, in order to paralyze Wang Yan.Wang Yanxin thought it was true, so he sent Ouyang Bin, a Hanlin scholar, as an envoy to Tang and Shu, and he was sent to the later Tang Dynasty. At the same time, he also removed the border defenses.

In September of the third year of Tongguang (925), Li Cunxu led an army of [-] with Wei Wang Li Jiji as the commander-in-chief, and conquered the former Shu.Li Jiji was young, and his deputy Guo Chongtao made decisions on all military affairs.With Kang Yanxiao and Li Yan as the vanguard, the Tang army seized a large amount of grain and grass in Weiwu City (in the northeast of Fengxian County, Shaanxi Province), Fengzhou (in Fengxian County, Shaanxi Province), and Xingzhou (in Lueyang, Shaanxi Province).

At the same time, Wang Yan was still touring the country for fun. When he arrived in Lizhou (now Guangyuan, Sichuan), he learned that the Tang army was invading.He hurriedly organized [-] troops to fight, but was defeated by the Tang army in Sanquan (governing the southwest of Ningqiang, Shaanxi today).The vassal towns from all over the former Shu came to surrender one after another, and Wang Yan fled back to Chengdu in panic.

In November of that year, the former Shu Zhongshu ordered Wang Zongbi to launch a coup, imprisoning Wang Yan, the concubines and other kings, and claimed to be the Xichuan soldiers and horses remaining behind.In the name of Wang Yan, he invited Li Yan to Chengdu to discuss surrender.Li Yanchi entered Chengdu, comforted the former Shu officials and people, and ordered the Shu army to withdraw Chengdu's military defenses.Soon, Li Jiji led an army to Chengdu.Wang Yan led hundreds of officials out of the city to surrender, and the former Shu was officially destroyed.All the southern kingdoms were terrified.

In February of the fourth year of Tongguang (926), Wei Bo Shu died in a mutiny in Beizhou. He pushed Zhao Zaili as the leader and invaded Weizhou.Xingzhou and Cangzhou also had mutinies one after another, and Hebei was in chaos.Yuan Xingqin led troops to attack, but failed again and again.Li Cunxu originally wanted to conquest himself, but was dissuaded by the minister, so he had to use Li Siyuan and let him lead the guards to go north to quell the rebellion.Li Siyuan met the mutiny of the pro-army at the foot of the city of Weizhou, was hijacked into the city, and joined forces with the rebels.He had no objection at first, but due to the internal and external situation, he had no choice but to change his troops and go south.

In March, Li Cunxu personally led the army to march eastward, intending to sit in Bianzhou and command the suppression of the rebellion.However, Li Siyuan had already occupied Bianzhou first, and was supported by a large number of generals of the Tang army.Knowing that the situation was irretrievable, Li Cunxu ordered to return to his army when he arrived at Wansheng Town (northwest of Zhongmu, Henan), and hurried back to Luoyang.He comforted the soldiers again and again, promising generous rewards, but it was too late.The soldiers didn't appreciate the emperor's kindness, and more than half of them fled along the way. [40] At that time, Li Jiji had already led the army to conquer Shu, but his return was delayed due to Kang Yanxiao's rebellion in the post-pacification army.

In April, Li Cunxu decided to go to Sishuiguan (northwest of Xingyang, Henan Province), join Li Jiji, and then join forces to suppress Li Siyuan.He ordered his followers to wait outside the palace gate, and he ate in the inner hall.Under the command of Ma Zhi, Guo Congqian suddenly launched a rebellion and led his troops to attack Xingjiaomen.Li Cunxu personally led the guards to fight and killed hundreds of rebels. He was finally shot by Liu Ya and died in Jiangxiao Palace at the age of 43.

The actor Shanyou covered Li Cunxu's body with musical instruments and set fire to his body.When Li Jiji's army arrived in Weinan, he was forced to hang himself to death due to the collapse of his subordinates.The army conquering Shu, under the leadership of the deputy envoy Ren Yuan, surrendered to Li Siyuan.In the same month, Li Siyuan entered Luoyang and proclaimed himself emperor before Li Cunxu's spirit, and was known as Emperor Mingzong of the Later Tang Dynasty in history.

In July, Li Siyuan buried Li Cunxu in Yongling, named him Zhuangzong in the temple, and posthumously named him Emperor Minxiao, the holy god of light.

(End of this chapter)