In the fourth year of Tang Tianyou (907), Zhu Wen deposed the Tang Emperor and established the Later Liang regime, officially beginning the era of the five dynasties and ten kingdoms.
At the same time, Fengxiang (now part of Baoji, Shaanxi), about three hundred miles from Chang'an, was also holding an enthronement ceremony.
This person who ascends the throne is only called king, not emperor. However, in order to show the legitimacy of the regime, the king was made empress on the day of his ascension to the throne and made a hundred officials.
Subsequently, a Qin Qi regime independent of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms system officially appeared.
The king was Li Maozhen, the last King of Qin in the Tang Dynasty.
For a long time, Li Maozhen has been a loyal vassal of the Tang Dynasty.
At that time, he was also named Song Wentong, a small detachment of the Boye Army under Zheng Bi under Fengxiang Jiedushi (the team was a kind of position under the Tang Dynasty military system, each team led 150 people).
If it were not for the later Huangchao Uprising, Song Wentong would not have thought that he would one day be able to achieve a grassroots counterattack.
In the second year of Qianfu (875), due to long-term natural disasters and man-made disasters, the Huangchao Rebellion broke out. Under the leadership of Huang Chao, the peasant rebel army successively attacked Luoyang and Chang'an. When Emperor Tang heard the news, he quickly packed up his baggage and fled south with Duke Tian.
▲Huangchao Uprising. Image source: Network
As soon as Emperor Tang left Chang'an, Fengxiang Jiedushi made Zheng Bi take someone to pick him up and do everything he could to ask to serve at His Majesty's side.
Perhaps considering that Fengxiang was relatively close to Chang'an, Tang Xianzong, who was in a hurry to escape, was reluctant to stay. However, in order to stabilize the hearts of the army, he still gave Zheng Bi chicken blood, gave him the right to "engage cheaply", and asked him to take Fengxiang Town to "fight the thief in the east, caress the zhufan in the west, entangle the neighbors, and build a great xun" with fengxiang town.
Zheng Bi is not a fool, how can he personally fight this kind of death-defying work? But His Majesty's holy will had been given, and it was not good to openly disobey him, and the emperor also gave him the power equivalent to Chincha. I don't want to do it, just find someone to replace it. As a result, a piece of hot potato was distributed to Song Wentong.com.
Under the offensive of the rebellious armies of various feudal towns, Huang Chao's life was not good. In order to relieve the siege of Chang'an, Huang Chao asked Shang Rang, the second-in-command of the rebel army, to attack Fengxiang with an army of 50,000, preparing to take this military strategic town in advance.
150 people vs 50,000 people, the disparity in strength between the two sides, let people see Song Wentong's dilemma at a glance.
But that's not the worst.
At the same time, Zheng Bi arranged for his general Li Changyan to ambush key points with thousands of elites and guard the high points, "falsely erecting banners, extending for miles, more than ten miles away from thieves, and cutting drums and fighting."
It turned out that Zheng Bi had used Song Wentong as bait to lure the enemy deeper.
Seeing that he had no way back, Song Wentong could only break the boat and make a desperate bet.
According to the epitaph of Li Maozhen unearthed later, at that time, Song Wentong was "very generous to the enemy and plotted to reduce the stove". There is reason to believe that he probably referred to the number of ways that Sun Zhen had beaten Pang Juan in the past, relied on more than one hundred and ten people, and forced Shang Rang into the condescending encirclement circle of Li Changyan.
Under the siege of the two armies, Shang Rang defeated Longwei pi (龍尾陂, in present-day Qishan County, Shaanxi). Fifty thousand peasant troops were beheaded by more than 20,000 people and returned home.
With such merit, Song Wentong's value rose when he boarded the ship.
After the rebellion was put down, Emperor Tang specially transferred this unknown low-ranking officer to the capital to serve in the Divine Strategy Army. Song Wentong thus became a high-ranking bodyguard at the emperor's side.
In the late Tang Dynasty, the political situation was uncertain, and eunuchs became a common thing. Song Wentong, the bodyguard, had unlimited scenery on the surface, but in fact, in the late Tang Dynasty, the Shen Ce Army was the private army of the eunuchs in power.
After he had just taken office, his superior, the eunuch Tian Lingzi, accidentally exonerated Wang Chongrong.
▲ Tian Lingzi. Image source: Network
The cause was that Tian Lingzi demanded that Wang Chongrong hand over his places such as Anyi and Xiexian in his possession, so that the imperial court could collect taxes from the localities to support the forbidden army. In the face of such an "unreasonable" request, how could Wang Chongrong agree? Therefore, he united with Hedong Jiedu to make Li Ke use his troops to prepare to overthrow Tian Lingzi's party.
Upon hearing the news, Duke Tian instructed Fengxiang Jiedu to make Li Changfu and Zhu Mei and others to join forces with the imperial forbidden army to resist foreign enemies; on the other hand, he privately mobilized his cronies and kidnapped Emperor Tang to go south to Sichuan and Shu.
Due to the suddenness of the incident, Emperor Tang once lost contact with the outside world. It was not until a few days later that Emperor Tang, at the behest of Tian Lingzi, ordered a hundred officials to go to Baoji to take over.
Tian Lingzi's misdeeds made Li Changfu, Zhu Mei and others completely chill their hearts. They simply turned against each other and became "rebels" of the imperial court.
The battle between the two sides was fierce, and no one cared about the death or death of Emperor Tang, so that the little emperor always sighed and sighed, claiming that he was inferior to Emperor Xian of Han.
Seeing that the emperor was like a lost dog, almost all the divine strategists who used to accompany the emperor were scattered. Only Song Wentong and a few others still stuck to their posts.
In such a difficult environment, Tang Xianzong swore that as long as he had a bite to eat in the future, he would not let Song Wentong go hungry!
In order to prevent Tian Lingzi from continuing to hold the emperor hostage to the south, Zhu Mei, Li Changfu, and others instructed Shannan Jiedu to make Shi Junshi wade, and let him lead his troops to block the Great Scattered Pass and block the pace of the group moving south.
▲The ancient battlefield of Dashanguan. Image source: Figureworm creative
Subsequently, Zhu Mei ordered Wang Xingyu to go to the front line to "collect people's heads".
In view of Song Wentong's previous achievements, Emperor Tang asked him to lead the troops to make meritorious contributions. In front of The Great Tang Peak (in present-day southeastern Luoyang County, Shaanxi), Song Wentong was once again possessed by the God of War and defeated Wang Xingyu's troops, who had hurriedly arrived.
Wang Xingyu was always unable to get Rid of Song Wentong, and was reprimanded by Zhu Mei and had resentment in his heart. Under the temptation of Emperor Tang's high-ranking official Houlu, Wang Xingyu directly slaughtered Zhu Mei and quelled the rebellion.
Tracing back the previous achievements, wang Xingyu, the "general of the uprising", naturally wanted to take the big head and act as an emissary of the Jing Dynasty Army. Emperor Tang was also very trustworthy, saying that Song Wentong, a hero of counter-rebellion, "stomped on the south of the mountain and was the first in the discussion of merit", worshiped as an envoy of the Wuding Army, and managed the military of Yang, Peng, bi and other prefectures.
Emperor Wuzong of Tang also gave Song Wentong the name "Li Maozhen" (李茂贞), the character "Zhengchen", to show his merits.
As a result, Song Wentong, who was only 31 years old, finally cultivated positive results after many years of mixing at the grassroots level, became the "grandfather of the country" of the Tang Dynasty, and opened the peak road in the second half of his life.
Since he had become the "commander of the theater" of the Tang Dynasty with heavy troops, Li Maozhen's living method could not be as orderly as Song Wentong had done before.
In that chaotic world of chickens and dogs, it is difficult to live and die without a suitable base for heavy soldiers. As a result, this imperially-given "official subject" also gradually embarked on the road of confrontation with the imperial court.
In the third year of Guangqi (887), Emperor Xianzong of Tang, who had been in refuge for a long time, prepared to return to Chang'an. Li Changfu, who was then Fengxiang's emissary, suddenly jumped out to intercept it, saying that Chang'an's palace had been burned down in the chaos of the war, hoping that Emperor Tang would stay in Fengxiang and not set off.
▲ Tang Dynasty Emperor Li Yan. Image source: Film and television screenshots
Li Changfu was worried that after the emperor returned to Beijing, he might settle accounts with him.
Seeing that the authority of the Tang Tianzi was despised by his subordinates, Tang Xianzong decided not to remain silent. He offered the last trump card in his hand: he appointed Li Maozhen as an envoy to Longzhou and went all out to suppress Li Changfu.
Li Maozhen did not hesitate for a moment, tried his best, and with the assistance of Prime Minister Du Rangneng, successfully won the battle against Li Changfu. Under the fierce attack of Wu Dingjun, Li Changfu followed in Zhu Mei's footsteps and was killed by his subordinate Xue Zhicuo, the assassin of Longzhou, and destroyed his clan.
When the news came, Emperor Tang was very happy and personally promoted Li Maozhen to the position of envoy of Fengxiang and Longyou. He thought that as long as he had li Maozhen's protection, he could sit back and continue to live the happy life he had before.
But God did not intend to let this fallen heavenly son have more time to rest after returning to Chang'an. Just a few months after returning home smoothly, Tang Xianzong, who was only 27 years old, died of illness. Before his death, he passed the throne to his younger brother Li Ye for Tang Zhaozong.
Tang Zhaozong's ascension to the throne did not bring much hope to the tang dynasty that was surviving. In addition to the rebellion of some weaker feudal towns, the Tang Dynasty's two major feudal envoys, Zhu Wen and Li Keyong, also expanded their influence on their respective territories, preparing to enter Chang'an at any time and kidnap the emperor.
In the central court of the Tang Dynasty, the power of eunuchs still rose and fell. After Tian Lingzi, Yang Fugong, who assisted Tang Zhaozong in ascending to the throne, flaunted his might in the court and killed the chancellor.
The situation was unstable, making it difficult for Li Maozhen to act rashly for a while. Relying on the innate advantages of Fengxiang's west to Liupan Mountain and south of Dashan Pass, as well as the danger of Qinling Mountains and the convenience of Weishui, he started a large-scale infrastructure construction in the Fengxiang area. At the same time, he recruited capable people and heroes in his jurisdiction, and unified the reinforcement and renovation of Qin Prefecture (present-day Tianshui, Gansu) and Longzhou, which belonged to Fengxiang Town. After that, he also led people to dredge the Huizhong Road, Longshan Road, Chencang Road, etc., which connect the northwest, Sichuan, Shu, and Guanzhong provinces, so that the small town of Fengxiang became a transportation hub for four-way trade.
▲ Yuan and Fang Town Map. Source: Historical Atlas of China
After years of operation, Li Maozhen's power spread to more than 40 prefectures in the heyday of the Four Provinces, Fifteen Towns, and Including Most of Present-day Shaanxi, Southern Ningxia, Eastern Gansu, and Northern Sichuan, becoming the premier border town in the northwest of the Tang Dynasty.
Although it is easy to fight the world, it is difficult to defend the world. Soon, under the influence of Tang Zhaozong, Li Maozhen's "good luck" gradually came to an end.
Because Tang Zhaozong was eager to take power, it directly intensified the long-term sharp contradiction between the eunuch clique and the emperor. Under the dispatch of Yang Fugong, including Yang Shouliang, who was then the envoy of Xingyuan Jiedushi, and other sons of the "Yang Family Class" rebelled one after another, and the Tang Empire once again fell into a collapse crisis.
Participating in counterinsurgency work has always been an opportunity for Li Maozhen to actively perform, and this time is no exception.
Since Xingyuan (present-day Hanzhong, Shaanxi) was located between Guanzhong and Bashu, its geographical location was very important. Therefore, before Li Maozhen could send troops, Dongchuan Jiedu made Gu Yanhui and Xichuan Jiedushi make Wang Jian come to seize the territory. Seeing that he was about to miss the opportunity to seize the land, Li Maozhen simply sent a complaint to the imperial court and wrote to him to beg himself to solicit envoys for shannan's western provinces.
Li Maozhen thought that with his past military achievements, the imperial court would most likely seriously consider his proposal. However, contrary to his wishes, Tang Zhaozong probably saw that Li Maozhen had moved his mind, "The edict could not be trusted for a long time."
Although there is no edict, since ancient times it will be outside, and the king's order will be exempted. Li Maozhen, who was strong in strength, did not worry about the Chang'an imperial court settling accounts after the autumn, and resolutely sent troops to attack Xingyuan. From Fengxiang, the army could reach Xingyuan through the Great Scattered Pass, so Li Maozhen's troops actually rushed into Xingyuan before Wang Jian, and eliminated the Yang father and son.
On the other hand, upon learning that Li Maozhen had sent troops to attack Xingyuan without authorization, Tang Zhaozong also had a premonition that he might have raised a "white-eyed wolf" again. At this time, however, he was powerless.
Facing Li Maozhen, Tang Zhaozong could only use the little imperial power he had just earned back to give him orders. He warned Li Maozhen not to be disobedient and to quickly return to Fengxiang. Otherwise, make him look good!
The warning from Chang'an did not work at all for Li Maozhen. The successive expansion of strength made Li Maozhen gradually see a fact clearly: the emperor can do whatever he wants, as long as his surname is Li!
Therefore, after that, Li Maozhen directly issued an "ultimatum" to the imperial court.
In this recital, Li Maozhen was mocking Tang Zhaozong for being a monarch inside and outside his words. As an emperor, he "respected the nine states of the pole, but could not kill (Yang) Fu Gong one of the verticals". As the successor of Emperor Tang, he ruled the country "but looked at the strength and weakness, regardless of right and wrong", and if the fanzhen was weak, it was constrained by the state law, and the strong clan town tried every means to win them over for its own use. What does it mean for such an emperor to be in front of him?
At the end of the recital, he explicitly refused the imperial court's arrangement to transfer him away from Fengxiang, and asked rhetorically: "What has happened since the untried public opinion?" I am afraid that The next time Your Majesty flees, I don't know where I can escape?
After reading Li Maozhen's recital, Tang Zhaozong was so angry that he waved his hand and asked the prime minister Du Rang to raise soldiers and horses and overthrow Li Maozhen.
▲ Tang Zhaozong. Image source: Network
Du Rangneng had a lot of experience in politics in the end, and he knew very well that the Tang Dynasty at that time was like an old tree that had been hollowed out, and could no longer withstand the random blows of any fan town. Therefore, he bitterly advised Tang Zhaozong: "Your Majesty has just ascended to the great treasure, the country is in difficulty, Li Maozhen is close to the gate of the country, it is not appropriate to complain with him, in case he does not win, regret is difficult to pursue." ”
I don't know who gave Tang Zhaozong the courage, he pointed at Du Rangneng's nose and scolded: "The royal family is becoming inferior, ordering not to go abroad, this is when the righteous soldiers are angry, they can't sit idly by and watch Lingyi!" Probably worried that his tone was too heavy to annoy the prime minister, at the end, he calmly added: "Qing Dan lost the salary for the transfer of troops, and entrusted himself to the kings to use troops, and success or failure had nothing to do with Qing." ”
Since the ancient emperor is not wrong, if he has to correct it, it must be the responsibility of his subordinates. When Tang Zhaozong said these words, Du Rangneng knew that he was doomed.
However, as the founding father of the country, Du Ruyi's mission of loyalty to the king made Du Rang unable to retreat.
In the end, the results of history were just as Du Rangneng himself predicted, and after the defeat of Tang Zhaozong, Du Rangneng became a war criminal and ended up being beheaded and abandoned. Because of his resistance to Li Maozhen, his "fault" also spread to the entire Jingzhao Du clan. The people in the family, the death of death, the exile, no one was spared.
Since then, this illustrious family, which has been prominent for hundreds of years, has collapsed.
After Du Rang was able to "be loyal" and died, the class of scholars and doctors who had previously been loyal to The Tang Dynasty left one after another, and Tang Zhaozong completely became a loner.
After that, Li Maozhen almost became the actual person in charge of the imperial court. As long as he felt that Tang Zhaozong was unhappy, he led an army to attack Chang'an and forced the emperor to flee. However, even after suffering this humiliation, Tang Zhaozong did not dare to do anything, and in turn had to seal Li Maozhen as the "King of Qi" as a consolation.
However, Li Maozhen did not expect that he had openly bullied this Tang Emperor who was so weak that he had lost his scum, and actually dug a big pit for him to chase deer in the Central Plains in the future.
Seeing that The Tang Dynasty Tianzi was bullied by Li Maozhen and wanted to cry without tears, Zhu Wen, another "loyal minister" of the Tang Dynasty and then the envoy of hezhong Jiedu, was overjoyed.
▲ Later Liang's founding emperor Zhu Wen. Image source: Network
Similar to Li Maozhen, Zhu Wen also started by violently beating Huang Chao. Over the years, he has been fighting rebellions for the Tang court everywhere. In terms of performance and strength, he is stronger than Li Maozhen at any point. Under the banner of King Qin, Zhu Wen found another loyal subject, Li Keyong, the King of Jin. At this time, Li Keyong's sphere of influence was already active to the north of Fengxiang Town, suppressing Li Maozhen's northward advance.
In the first year of Tianfu (901), under the joint efforts of the two strongest towns in the Tang Dynasty, Li Maozhen was completely devastated.
The wall fell on everyone, and Wang Jian of Western Shu, who had previously hated Li Maozhen for land, took advantage of the fierce fight between the two sides and also intervened, dividing Li Maozhen's large territory from the south.
According to historical records, during the Fengxiang Siege, there was a snow disaster in the territory of Datang, and after the heavy snow, there was no grass. The grain accumulated before the war was quickly consumed by the people. Those who have no food to eat can only eat for their children. Even Tang Zhaozong only had one bowl of millet porridge to fill his stomach every day.
In the end, Li Maozhen, who really could not withstand the pressure, could only give up Tang Zhaozong, and this also achieved Zhu Wen's future hegemony.
In the fourth year of Tang Tianyou (907), after killing the last eunuch, Zhu Wen kicked open the Tang Tianzi and ascended the throne as emperor, setting a precedent of five generations.
When the news came, Li Maozhen was a little embarrassed. Over the years, under the continuous squeeze of several big men in the Tang Dynasty, he once had a lot of wind and clouds, and he only had Fengxiang and other seven states in his hands, and his vitality was seriously injured. It is no longer possible to stir up the storm.
But the skinny camel was bigger than the horse, and he had the strength to turn the emperor behind closed doors.
▲Li Maozhen. Image source: Screenshot of the cartoon
Therefore, in the presence of Fengxiang Hundred Officials, Li Maozhen opened the court, gave his wife the title of empress, accepted the courtesy of the courtiers, and bowed three times and nine times.
In order to make a comeback and "become famous", Li Maozhen did not choose to be emperor at the same time as Zhu Wen. On the contrary, after the Tang Dynasty established its own political power, this world-famous Tang rebel raised the banner of "Loyal Jun", always using the name of Tianyou Nian and worshiping Tang as Zhengshuo.
Perhaps because of this, he finally missed the opportunity to be included in the ranks of the founders of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms regime together with Zhu Wen, Li Keyong, Wang Jian and others.
After Zhu Wen established the capital of Bieliang (汴梁, in modern Kaifeng, Henan), the political center of tianxia moved east, and Fengxiang lost the strategic position of the Gongwei Jingshi. In the major battles in the Central Plains, the competitors also gradually excluded Li Maozhen.
Taking advantage of this moment of tranquility, Li Maozhen, who had been fighting for half a lifetime, began to "put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the ground." With his strong support, Famen Temple, which had suffered from the "Huichang Fa Difficulty" in the late Tang Dynasty, was reborn and became the "National Temple" approved by the Qin Qi regime.
▲Shaanxi Fufeng Famen Temple. Image source: Figureworm creative
In order to encourage the military and the people to believe in Buddhism together, Li Maozhen also set an example in person, donating his hand-copied Buddhist scrolls to Famen Temple many times, and asking his princes and grandchildren to communicate with Buddhist practice. Famen Temple gradually regained its former glory, but Li Maozhen, who paid for and contributed, failed to get the protection of the Buddhas and restore Wang Tu's hegemony.
After Fengxiang had eaten Jai Ru vegetarian for more than ten years, Li Maozhen also tasted being bullied.
With the rise of Li Keyong's son, Li Cunxun of the Later Tang Dynasty, Li Maozhen, who had once been proud of the crowd, could only bow down to his subjects. Fortunately, Li Cunxun is not a stingy person. For an old man whose combat strength, energy, and strength continue to weaken, there is no need for the new king to worry about it. In order to show the fraternity of the Later Tang, Li Cunxun honored Li Maozhen as the "King of Qin" and let him spend his old age in Fengxiang Province.
In the second year of Emperor Tongguang of Later Tang Dynasty (924), shortly after receiving a new gift, Li Maozhen, 69, died of illness at home, ending his legendary life.
Throughout his life, he has gone up and down, high and low, although he is committed to establishing hegemony, he has finally humiliated the hands of the world's heroes, which makes people sigh. However, as a tyrant in a chaotic world, he can withstand the pressure, blackmail the Son of Heaven to order the princes, abandon his ambitions at critical moments, insist on not being called emperor, ensure the peace of the people under his jurisdiction, and do something and do nothing, which is also rare.
▲Tomb of the Great Tang Dynasty Qin King. Image source: Figureworm creative
Perhaps because of this, after Li Maozhen's death, his son Li Congyao was able to continue to guard Fengxiang and shelter the people.
It was not until 960 AD, after the Li father and son ended their rule over Fengxiang for more than ten years, that a man named Zhao Kuangyin finally brought to an end to the chaos of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. As a reflection on the chaotic government of the Wu people, in the Great Song Dynasty founded by Zhao Kuangyin, Shangwen finally defeated Chongwu, and since then, there has been no such person as Li Maozhen in the world.
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Liu Junshe: Li Maozhen and the Tomb of the Qin King, Sanqin Publishing House, 2006
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Wu Yi, "A Glimpse into the Rise and Fall of the Qiqin Regime", Humanities Magazine, No. 3, 2009