The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907-960) was a period of great division in Chinese history. This title comes from the New History of the Five Dynasties, which is a combination of the Five Dynasties (907-960) and the Ten Kingdoms (891-979).
The Five Dynasties refers to the five regimes located in the Central Plains that were successively replaced after the fall of the Tang Dynasty in 907, namely Later Liang, Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han and Later Zhou. In 960, Later Zhou Zhao Kuangyin launched the Chen Qiao Mutiny, the yellow robe was added, and the Northern Song Dynasty was established by Later Zhou, ending the Five Dynasties.
At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties and the beginning of the Song Dynasty, there were many separatist regimes outside the Central Plains, among which the Former Shu, Later Shu, Wu, Southern Tang, Wuyue, Min, Chu, Southern Han, Nanping (Jingnan), Northern Han and other more than ten divided regimes were collectively called the Ten Kingdoms by the New Five Dynasties History and later historians. After the establishment of the Northern Song Dynasty, it successively unified the remaining jingnan, Wuping, Houshu, Southern Han, Southern Tang, Wuyue, and Northern Han regimes, and basically realized the unification of the south.
The five dynasties are liang, tang, jin, han, and five dynasties, and the history is called Later Liang, Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han, and Later Zhou. In 907, Zhu Wen usurped the Tang dynasty to establish Later Liang, which was the beginning of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. In 923, Li Cunxun, the son of Li Keyong, the King of Jin who was occupying Taiyuan, destroyed Later Liang, and Later Tang established the state. The five generations of kings after the Later Tang Dynasty were all descendants and subordinates of Li Keyong. Later Tang experienced the expansion and reorganization of Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang, and the country was strong, but after civil unrest, it was attacked and destroyed by the Khitan army led by Shi Jingyao, and later Jin was established. Soon relations between Qi and Jin deteriorated, and the Khitan army went south to destroy the Later Jin and establish the Liao Dynasty. At the same time, Liu Zhiyuan established the Later Han Dynasty in Taiyuan and recovered the Central Plains. Guo Wei usurped later Han Jianhou Zhou, and Later Zhou Shizong Chai Rong painstakingly managed, so that Later Zhou had hidden hopes of dominating the world, but Chai Rong unfortunately fell ill and died during the Northern Expedition to Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures. Later Zhou was subsequently usurped by Zhao Kuangyin and established the Northern Song Dynasty, ending the Five Dynasties.
In terms of the Ten Kingdoms, the Jiangnan region was initially the strongest of the Wu states, and then was usurped by Li Fu, establishing the Southern Tang Dynasty, followed by the Wu Yue kingdom and the Min state. Huguang was occupied by Jingnan, Southern Chu and Southern Han. The Southern Tang Dynasty was the strongest, successively attacking the State of Min and the State of Chu, but repeatedly using troops to weaken the national strength, and finally lost to the Later Zhou. Shu land had Former Shu and Later Shu, and the country was rich and strong, second only to the Southern Tang Dynasty, but it was delayed by happiness and finally died in the Central Plains. The Northern Han Dynasty was the only one of the Ten Kingdoms in the north, and was founded by Liu Qi, the younger brother of Liu Zhiyuan, the ancestor of the Later Han Dynasty. After Zhao Kuangyin established the Song Dynasty (historically known as the Northern Song Dynasty), he and his brother Emperor Taizong of Song swept away the masses one after another, and finally attacked the Northern Han Dynasty in 979 AD, basically unifying the whole country and ending the Ten Kingdoms.
The Tang Dynasty fell
After the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty turned from prosperity to decline, and took the opportunity to become bigger and stronger in various feudal towns. After the Yellow Nest Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty even appeared in a situation of "extremely blind and no fireworks". The unrest spread to the southern region of the Two Huai Rivers, and the local masses rose up to resist the enemy, and the States of Wu and Chu in the Ten Kingdoms were established. The rebellion of Emperor Qin was not put down until the time of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang, with the efforts of Zhu Quanzhong.
Zhu Quanzhong, Li Keyong, and Li Maozhen influenced the politics of the late Tang Dynasty and the early Five Dynasties, and Li Keyong's descendants and subordinates became the monarchs of the Tang, Jin, Han, and Zhou dynasties of the Five Dynasties. Zhu Quanzhong and Li Keyong were at odds for some reason, and the two sides fought continuously, from the imperial court down to the fan town. Zhu Quanzhong used the power of the court to suppress Li Keyong, and took advantage of Li Keyong's confrontation with Li Maozhen and others to intimidate the various feudal towns in Hebei and annex the territories of the Hezhong Army and the Ziqing Army. The expansion of the territory made Zhu Quanzhong's power far greater than That of Li Keyong. Fengxiang Jiedu in Guanzhong made Li Maozhen threaten the Tang court, but failed due to Li Keyong's interference with Zhu Quanzhong. After Emperor Zhaozong of Tang succeeded to the throne in 888, the chancellor Cui Yin fought with the eunuch Han Quanjie for power. Tang Zhaozong was imprisoned by the eunuch Han Quanzhi, and Cui Yin urgently summoned Zhu Quanzhong to help. However, Han Quanzhi forced Tang Zhaozong to defect to Li Maozhen, and Zhu Quanzhong led an army to besiege Fengxiang. The following year, Fengxiang's army ran out of grain and grass, and Li Maozhen had no choice but to kill the eunuch Han Quanjie and others to reconcile with Zhu Quanzhong. Zhu Quanzhong seized the opportunity to control the power of the court, slaughtered hundreds of eunuchs, and sent troops to control Chang'an. Cui Yin regretted it, deliberately escaping Zhu Quanzhong's threat, and secretly recruited the six armies and twelve guards, which was detected by Zhu Quanzhong's eyeliner in Chang'an. In 904, Zhu Quanzhong killed Cui Yin and forced Tang Zhaozong to move the capital to Luoyang, and in August of the same year, he killed Tang Zhaozong and made Emperor Zhaozong's son Li Li emperor, that is, Emperor Ai of Tang. Zhu Quanzhong originally wanted to wait for unification before seizing the throne, but due to the defeat of the conquest of Huainan, he forced the Tang Emperor Chan to give way in 907, and soon killed him, and the Tang Dynasty fell, beginning with the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. He changed his name to Zhu Huang (朱文), the state name Liang, the historical name Of later Liang, he was later Liang Taizu, and finally the capital was set at the eastern capital of Bei Prefecture.
Liang Jin confronted
Although the five dynasties controlled the Central Plains and Guanzhong region (except for Hou Liang, who did not control Guanzhong), they did not become the co-lords recognized by all the feudal towns like the Tang Dynasty, and the main sphere of influence was not out of north China, which could only be said to be a fanzhen-type imperial court. After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, some regimes in the early days still used the Tang Dynasty era name to divide one side, some of them regarded the Five Dynasties as Zhengshuo, and others were defending the territory or calling the emperor fighting for the world. Regardless of their diplomatic strategy, these feudal towns were already independent, and ten of them existed simultaneously or successively as representative regimes called the Ten Kingdoms by the New Five Dynasties History and later historians. The semi-independent regimes in the Central Plains that were annexed to Later Liang included the Envoys of Yiwu Jiedushi, Wang Chuzhi of Beiping, Chengde Jiedushi, Wang Rong of Zhao, and Liu Rengong of Lulong (whose son Liu Shouguang was proclaimed emperor in 911 AD), and the independent states of Qi, founded by Fengxiang Jiedushi and Li Maozhen the Prince of Qi, and the Jin state of Hedong Jiedushi and Li Keyong, the King of Jin. In terms of Shu land, Xichuan Jiedushi and Wang Jian of Shu established Former Shu; in the Huguang area, Gao Jixing, the Jingnan army occupying the area around Jiangling, became independent in the Later Tang Dynasty, Hunan Wu'an army Ma Yin built the Chu state, liangguang (Lingnan) Qing navy Liu Yin built the southern Han Dynasty; in the Jiangnan region, The Huainan army Yang Xing, who occupied the two Huai Wu lands, secretly built the Wu state, Zhejiang Qian Built the Wu Yue state, and the Fujian wang jianzhi built the Min state. In addition, Qu Chengyu, a navy of The Cross Toe Jing, was self-reliant, known as Qu Jia in Vietnamese history, and was the beginning of the Vietnamese region's separation from China. The Dingnan army composed of the Dangxiang clan also established itself in the xiazhou area of northern Shaanxi. The Rebel Army in Hegua Prefecture once established the Jinshan Kingdom. At this time, Jin, Qi, and Wu still held the tang era name, while Former Shu was called emperor, and none of them recognized Later Liang, and the rest of the regime submitted to Later Liang.
Later Liang Taizu made many strong reforms in response to the shortcomings of the late Tang Dynasty. He hated eunuchs so much that he refused to return to the capital from eunuchs who had taken refuge in the south; he hated high-ranking Tang officials, used frustrated scholars such as Li Zhen, Jingxiang, and others, and followed Li Zhen's advice to massacre thirty high-ranking officials, including the chancellor Pei Shu and Cui Yuan, known in history as the Scourge of the White Horse. These frustrated men value reality over nominality and are representatives of five generations of politicians. In the economic aspect, it attaches great importance to agricultural development and strives to reduce taxes; it is very strict with the army, such as the death of a general in battle, and all the soldiers and pawns are beheaded, called "beheading in the brigade". However, in his later years, Emperor Taizu of Later Liang was unscrupulous and even disregarded ethics, and often summoned the wives of his sons to the palace to accompany him. In terms of diplomacy, at the beginning of the founding of Later Liang, almost all the countries and feudal towns expressed submission, and only Jin, Qi, Former Shu, and Wu were hostile to Later Liang and still held the Tang dynasty name. Among them, Li Keyong of the Jin State was a sworn enemy of Later Liang Taizu, and since the founding of the State, Liang Taizu has been northernly attacking the Jin State, and has been in a stalemate with Li Keyong at Luzhou (Shanxi Changzhi), which is known in history as the Battle of Luzhou. After Li Keyong's death due to distress, his son Li Cunxun was victorious with the assistance of Li Kening and Zhang Chengye. After 910 AD, Liang Taizu suspected that the Chengde army was in a close alliance with the Jin Dynasty and led an army to attack, forcing the Chengde army Wang Rong and the Yiwu army wang to fall directly to Li Cunxun. Li Cunxun led his army to defeat the Later Liang army at Baixiang (柏乡, Hebei) and successfully rescued the German army, while the Liang army was seriously injured, known in history as the Battle of Baixiang. Liu Shouguang, the male of the north, was a cruel man and a strong enemy of Jin. In 909 AD, he was enfeoffed by Later Liang as the King of Yan, established the State of Yan, and in 911 AD was proclaimed emperor, historically known as Jie Yan. The following year, Li Cunxun sent Zhou Dewei to attack Liu Shouguang, and Zhu Wen personally led an army to rescue him, but was defeated by the Jin army. Liu Shouguang was finally attacked and destroyed by Li Cunxun the following year.
After Zhu Wen's defeat and retreat to Luoyang, he was critically ill, and his second son Zhu Yougui, dissatisfied with Zhu Wen's intention to make zhu Youwen the crown prince, took the opportunity to assassinate Zhu Wen and succeed him. However, Zhu Yougui was unscrupulous and unpopular, and in 913 his brother Zhu Youzhen joined forces with Yang Shihou of the Tianxiong Army (i.e., Wei Bojun) to seize the throne, and was known as the Late Emperor of Later Liang. After Yang Shihou's death, tianxiong army and other towns in Hebei were successively annexed to the Jin state, and coupled with the defeat of the Liang army at the Battle of Weizhou in 916 AD, the northern frontier of Later Liang could only barely maintain itself south of the Yellow River. In 918, Li Cunxun led an army to the south and held the Liang army in the Puzhou area. The Liang army was defeated, but the Jin general Zhou Dewei was killed, and the Liang-Jin war fell silent for a while. In 921, Zhang Wenli killed Chengde Jiedushi and Wang Rong of Zhao, took control of the Chengde army, and united the Khitan state and Later Liang against the Jin state. However, Li Cunxun led an army to defeat the Liang and Zhao forces at Zhenzhou and captured the three towns in Hebei. In 923, Li Cunxun proclaimed himself emperor in Wei Prefecture (later Tang Zhuangzong), and used the restoration of the Tang Dynasty as a call to establish the tang dynasty, which was called Later Tang in history, and soon after he made a second southern expedition. The Liang general Wang Yanzhang (王彦章) took the form of containing Yun Prefecture (郓州, in modern Dongping, Henan) and successfully encircled the Tang army near Yang Liu (陽妀匫, in modern Dong'a, Henan). The two sides had been facing each other for a long time, and the Tang army was short of food and showed signs of imminent retreat. However, Liang Ting's Zhao Yan, Zhang Hanjie, and others entered the rumors, causing Wang Yanzhang to be replaced, and Later Tang Zhuangzong led his army to attack the empty and empty fenzhou through Yun Prefecture. On the day the city was destroyed, The last Emperor of Later Liang had no choice but to order Emperor Fulin to kill him, and Later Liang died.
Later Tang dynasty boom and bust
After Emperor Zhuang of Later Tang destroyed Hou Liang, he made the capital Luoyang. At this time, the three towns in Hebei had been determined, and the later Tang state was strong. Li Maozhen of the State of Qi declared himself a vassal of Later Tang, and Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang made him the King of Qin. When Li Maozhen died in 924, Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang's eldest son Li Jiquan served as an envoy to Fengxiang Jiedushi and formally annexed the State of Qi. After the founding of the Former Shu Dynasty, Wang Jian paid attention to nongsang and built water conservancy, which made Former Shu very strong in both economy and military. However, after Wang Jian's death in 918, his son Wang Yan was extravagant and cruel. After 925, the Tang Zhuang sect guo Chongtao and the Wei king Li Jiquan led an army into Chengdu, Wang Yan surrendered, and Former Shu perished.
Later Tang was strong externally, but internal worries accumulated. After Emperor Zhuang of Later Tang made the capital Luoyang, he recruited eunuchs back to serve as governors
The appointment of conservatives such as Li Xiji was the same as that of the late Tang Dynasty, and the government was increasingly corrupt. Later, Emperor Zhuangzong of Tang believed that his foundation had been solidified, did not take care of political affairs, indulged in lust, took the stage name "Li Tianxia", and favored the lingren Jingxin mo, the lingguan Jingjin and others. At that time, the army was huge and the national treasury was tight, but his wife Empress Liu interfered in the government affairs, greedily loved money, and returned half of the tax to the harem, so that the imperial court also had to temporarily withhold military food to make up for other expenditures, forming a great hidden worry, and soon guo Chongtao, a tang army in Shu, completed the task of destroying Shu, but Li Jiquan was dissatisfied with not being able to participate deeply in military affairs. He secretly reported to the imperial court with the intention of framing Guo Chongtao. Later, Emperor Zhuangzong of Tang intended to investigate before deciding, but Empress Liu ordered Li Jiquan to execute him on her own. In 926, Guo Chongtao was killed, and the Tang army was distracted and mutinied. Empress Liu was also reluctant to use her belongings on the labor army, which worsened the situation. Soon, Wei Bojun rebelled at Wei Prefecture (大名, Hebei) under the leadership of Zhao Zaili, and the Tang general Li Zhaorong failed to pacify, and Emperor Zhuangzong of Tang had to send Li Siyuan to Pingding. Li Si originated from Wei Prefecture and was supported by his followers and rebels, but instead led his army to the south to march after Emperor Zhuangzong of Tang. The Tang armies in various places were reluctant to fight for Later Tang Zhuangzong, and Beizhou and Luoyang were successively trapped, and Later Tang Zhuangzong died of arrows in civil unrest. After Li Siyuan invaded Luoyang, he killed all the traitors and became emperor, that is, Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang, and Li Jiquan, the eldest son of Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang, committed suicide in Chang'an.
During the reign of Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang, the maladministration of Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang was eliminated, and the government gradually stabilized. He expelled eunuchs and appointed scholars; abolished many redundant organs and established financial organs such as the Three Divisions; advocated frugality, built water conservancy, and cared for the well-being of the people; strengthened the central military and established a guard army to suppress the feudal towns. This was one of the rare periods of stability in the Five Dynasties, and historians called Emperor Mingzong of the Later Tang Dynasty second only to Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou during the Five Dynasties period, and some of the systems he formulated were also inherited by the Song Dynasty. However, in his later years, Tang once again went into civil unrest. After 933, Emperor Mingzong of Tang fell seriously ill, and his son Li Congrong was killed, and his younger son Li Conghou succeeded to the throne, that is, Emperor Min of Later Tang. At this time, Emperor Mingzong's two adopted sons Li Congke (李從珂) appointed Fengxiang Jiedushi (凤翔節度使) and son-in-law Shi Jingyao (石敬瑭) as Envoys of Hedong Jiedushi (河東節度使), both of whom had heavy troops. The chancellors Zhu Hongzhao and Feng Yun originally wanted to separate the military power by mobilizing the emissaries of Jiedushi, but instead provoked a rebellion. In 934, Li Congke invaded Luoyang on the grounds of the Qing Emperor's side, and Emperor Min of Tang was captured by Shi Jingyao on his way to Wei prefecture and finally killed by Li Congke. Li Congke was proclaimed emperor, that is, the late Emperor of the Later Tang Dynasty. During the civil unrest, the independence of Later Shu occurred. Originally, after the fall of Former Shu, Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang made Meng Zhixiang the envoy of Xichuan Jiedushi. Soon after Emperor Mingzong of Tang rebelled and seized the throne, Meng Zhixiang trained troops with the intention of independence. In 932, Meng Zhixiang was made the King of Shu by Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang after annexing the Dongchuan Army, and was called Emperor Jianguo when emperors of later Tang launched civil unrest, and were known as Later Shu in history. In the same year, Meng Zhixiang died and was succeeded by his son Meng Chang. Meng Chang, a favored concubine who trusted mediocre talents, was already guilty of a quick death, but he wanted to collude with the Northern Han Dynasty and start a war, although he wanted not to die, he could let the later Shu survive for thirty years of peace.
The late Emperor of the Later Tang Dynasty and Shi Jingyao were at odds with each other as early as the time of Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang. After the late Tang Emperor succeeded to the throne, he was very jealous of Shi Jingyao, and Shi Jingyao also had a rebellious heart because of fear. After 936, emperors of the late Tang Dynasty transferred Shi Jingyao to the Tianping Army and ordered Zhang Jingda and Yang Guangyuan to lead the army to urge. Shi Jingyao followed the advice of Sang Weihan and Liu Zhiyuan to borrow troops from the Khitan to rebel, and claimed favors to Emperor Taizong of Liao, yelü Deguang, and afterwards ceded Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures to the Khitans, losing 300,000 horses a year. After Zhang Jingda heard about the rebellion, he led his army to besiege Taiyuan, but Shi Jingyao could not hold out. At that time, Zhao Dejun of Lu Longjun and the Khitan Khan Yelü Deguang intended to cooperate in conspiring against zhongyuan, and Shi Jingyao was greatly frightened and urgently ordered Sang Weihan to see Yelü Deguang. Sang Weihan knelt in front of the Khitan tent and pleaded bitterly, which made Yelü Deguang give up his plan to cooperate with Zhao Dejun. Yelü Deguang led an army to break the siege and helped Shi Jingyao to establish the State of Taiyuan after the Jin Dynasty, that is, the Later Jin Dynasty Gaozu. In 937, the Jin army and the Khitan army marched south, and Yang Guangyuan, Zhao Dejun and other towns surrendered one after another. The Jin army invaded Luoyang alone, and the late Tang Emperor set himself on fire and died, and later Tang perished. Later, Emperor Gao of the Jin Dynasty made the capital fenzhou and ceded the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun to the Khitan according to the agreement, after which the Influence of the Khitan State reached the greatest for the Five Dynasties.
The expansion of Gangnam
The Five Dynasties entered the Later Jin Dynasty, and the national strength was not as great as before, and it was often threatened by the Khitans. Wu and the successor Southern Tang states in the Jianghuai region were powerful, and they adopted the strategy of uniting with the Khitan state in the north to restrict the Central Plains, repeatedly conquering the surrounding countries to strengthen their power, and becoming a major threat to the Central Plains Dynasty. The state of Wu was established by Yang Xingmi, the envoy of Huainan Jiedu. As early as the rebellion of Emperor Qin, Qin's subordinate Bi Shiduo led an army to attack Yangzhou, and Yang Xingmi developed a divided force in the process of resisting the enemy, and finally established the state of Wu. In 902, Yang Xingmi was enfeoffed by the imperial court as the King of Wu and built the capital Guangling, called JiangduFu. During his reign, he encouraged Nongsang to stabilize the economy and gradually revive the Jianghuai region. Externally, he supported the Tang Dynasty and was hostile to The Xuanwu Army Zhu Quanzhong (the founder of Later Liang). Yang Xingmi died in 905 and was succeeded by his son Yang Wo. The following year, When Zhong Chuan of Jiangxi died and his sons were in civil strife, Yang Wo took the opportunity to send Qin Pei to attack Jiangxi and unify Jianghuai. However, Yang Wo liked to have fun and was jealous of the heroes, and the ministers Zhang Hao and Xu Wen launched a mutiny and killed Yang Wo. In 908, Xu Wen established Yang Wo's younger brother Yang Longyan as emperor, eliminated Zhang Hao, who wanted to establish himself as emperor, and completely seized the power of the state of Wu. After Xu Wen seized power, he repeatedly attacked wu yueguo without success, and peace talks were not held until the end of Later Liang. After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, the State of Wu did not recognize the orthodox status of Later Liang, and still used the era name of "Tianyou" of the Tang Emperor, until 919, when the State of Wu changed the Yuan, and officially severed relations with the Tang Dynasty. Internally, the yang clan was gradually cut off to stabilize its power, but the eldest son of the dictatorship, Xu Zhixun, was arrogant and arrogant, and once led to a mutiny for bullying Yang Longyan, the king of Wu, and was finally killed by his subordinate Zhu Jin. Xu Wen's adopted son Xu Zhihuan quelled the chaos, and Xu Zhizhen was very filial to Xu Wen and eventually became the successor to Xu Wen's regime. Yang Long's performance was depressed, and his son Yang Pu succeeded to the throne, and in 927 he was proclaimed emperor, that is, Emperor Wurui. In 927, Xu Wen died and was posthumously crowned King of Qi, and his adopted son Xu Zhihuan succeeded to the throne, becoming the de facto ruler of the State of Wu. Xu Zhihuan lived frugally and respected Emperor Wu and his generals, and won the hearts of the people. In 937, Xu Zhihuan seized the throne of Emperor Wu Rui, and Wu died, founding the State of Qi, the capital jinling, called Jiangning Province (Nanjing, Jiangsu). In the same year, the Later Tang perished. Two years later, Xu Zhihuan claimed to be a descendant of the Tang Dynasty, changed his name to Li Fu, changed his national name to Tang, and was known as Southern Tang in history, and he was the Southern Tang Liezu. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Li Fu adopted a policy of resting with the people and being friendly with neighboring countries, so that the national strength continued to grow stronger. After Li Fu's death in 943, he was succeeded by his son Li Jing, Emperor Yuanzong of Southern Tang. At the beginning of Li Jing's reign, the Southern Tang Dynasty was still strong, and the Foreign Alliance and the Liao Dynasty suppressed the Later Zhou, and also took the opportunity to invade the surrounding countries, successively destroying the Min and Chu states.
In the southeast of the Southern Tang Dynasty, there were the kingdoms of WuYue and Min. The founders of the State of Wu yue were Zhenhai and Zhendong Jiedushi, both in Hangzhou, whose territory was about the same as that of Zhejiang Province. In 907, Qian Was made the King of Wuyue by Later Liang, or Taizu of Wuyue. During his reign, he promoted economic development and protected the territory and the people; he regarded the five generations as the suzerainty and the sworn enemies of Wu and Southern Tang, and this strategy was maintained until the fall of the country. In addition, he once sent envoys to crown the kings of Silla and Bohai, and all the countries in the sea regarded him as the ruler. The State of Min was founded by Wang Chao, the observer envoy of Fujian, who and his brother Wang Zhenzhi controlled the area around Fuzhou, and later became the envoy of the Wuwei Army, whose territory was about the same as that of present-day Fujian Province. After Wang Zhenzhi came to power, he was made the King of Min by Later Liang in 909, that is, Min Taizu. During his reign, he also advocated frugality, rest with the people, and called himself a vassal to the five generations, which enabled the rapid development of the Fujian state. After the death of Taizu Min in 925, his successors, the clan and ministers were suspicious of each other and fought, which gradually weakened the min state.
In 943, Wang Yanzheng, the younger brother of Emperor Jingzong of Min, was proclaimed emperor in Jianzhou (建瓯, Fujian) with the state name Yin. The following year, Min Jingzong was killed by the chancellor, and there was great chaos in the country. In 945, Wang Yanzheng changed the name of the country to Min. In the same year, Emperor Yuanzong of southern Tang took the opportunity to attack the state of Min, captured Jianzhou, and died in Fujian. However, Wu Yue took the opportunity to intervene, and Min attached Li Renda to Fuzhou to Wu Yue, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou were left as the basis for the Qingyuan army, and the Southern Tang finally only obtained Jianzhou and Tingzhou (present-day northwestern Fujian), and relations with Wu Yue continued to deteriorate. Soon, Emperor Yuanzong of Southern Tang took advantage of the civil unrest in Chu to send a border pickaxe to attack in 951, but the following year, because the Chu general Liu Yan rebelled, Southern Tang lost another part of Hunan. The Southern Tang Dynasty's continuous use of troops greatly depleted its national strength, and most of the land it gained was also lost. Coupled with the fact that Emperor Yuanzong of the Southern Tang Dynasty was gentle and vicious, he thought that the group of small people was advancing, and the political affairs were not the same. Later Zhou took the opportunity to send an army to the southern Tang Dynasty in 957. Southern Tang Yuanzong was defeated, ceded the fourteen prefectures of Jiangbei to Hou Zhou, and removed his imperial title, only to be called the lord of Jiangnan, and Southern Tang Yuanqi was seriously injured. The more military-able crown prince Li Hongji also died after poisoning his uncle Li Jingsui, who was trying to seize the throne. Emperor Yuanzong of southern Tang had no choice but to make his sixth son Li Yu crown prince, but Li Yu's scholarly temperament was heavier. Emperor Yuanzong of the Southern Tang Dynasty moved the capital to Hongzhou, or Nanchang Prefecture, to avoid the joint invasion of Jinling by the Zhou army and the Wu Yue army. After the death of Emperor Yuanzong of Tang in 961, Li Yu took the throne, that is, the lord of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and the capital was Jinling Province. At this point, the Southern Tang Dynasty was powerless to threaten the five generations and could only protect itself.
Civil unrest in Huguang
Huguang, on the other hand, is surrounded by Jingnan, Nanchu, Nanhan and Jinghai. Jingnan was also known as the State of Nanping and Northern Chu, and its territory was about the western part of present-day Hubei Province. The founder, Gao Jixing, was a general of Later Liang Taizu and in 907 he was given the title of Jingnan Jiedushi (荆南節度使) and his seat of government was Jiangling. Jingnan was small and weak, so it claimed to the surrounding countries. Its monarch Gao Jixing coveted the tributes of various countries and intercepted and looted, and was threatened by various countries to return them, known as "Gao Laizi". After the fall of Later Liang, Gao Jixing became a vassal of Later Tang, and in 924 he was made the King of Nanping by Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang, formally establishing a state and establishing the capital Jiangling, who was the King of Wuxin. When Later Tang destroyed Former Shu, Gao Jixing expressed his willingness to assist in the cutting of Shu, but did not take action, and then asked Later Tang for former Shu land. These made Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang furious and sent an army to march south, but fortunately the rainy season in Jiangnan caused the Tang army to retreat due to poor grain and grass. Relations between the State of Nanping and the Later Tang were not reconciled until his son Wang Gao succeeded to the throne.
The State of Chu was founded by Ma Yin, the envoy of the Wu'an Army, also known as Southern Chu and Ma Chu. During the rebellion of Emperor Qin, Qin's deployment Sun Ru attacked Yang Xingmi in lianghuai, and Sun Ru's troops led Ma Yin to hunan via Jiangxi. After the establishment of Liang in 907, Ma Yin declared himself a vassal of Later Liang and was given the title of King of Chu, the King of Wumu. Its power covered present-day Hunan and northern Guangxi, submitted to the five dynasties of the outside world, calmed down the rebellion and strong domains at home, and adopted a policy of protecting the border and the people, making the Chu state strong. After 927, Tang enfeoffed Ma Yin as king of chu and made the capital Tan Prefecture, or Changsha Prefecture. During the reign of Ma Xifan, king of Chu Wenzhao, the land expanded to the northeast of Guangxi, and the country was quite powerful. However, after Ma Xifan's death in 947, the state was in turmoil, and Chu supported the second son Ma Xiguang to succeed him, causing the eldest son Ma Xicao to be dissatisfied and defect. In 950, Ma Xicao successfully captured Changsha, the King of Chu Gongxiao. However, he indulged in alcohol and fornication, causing the Chu generals Wang Kui and Zhou Xingfeng to raise an army to rebel. They supported Ma Guanghui as the envoy of Wuping Jiedushi, and after Liu Yan left Wuping's army, led an army to occupy Langzhou (Changde, Hunan). Soon Xu Wei also supported Ma Xichong's stay for the Wu'an army and exiled Ma Xicai. Ma Xicao, on the other hand, was once again embraced at Hengshan Mountain. After the State of Chu split into the three factions of Ma Guanghui, Ma Xichong, and Ma Xicai, Emperor Yuanzong of southern Tang took the opportunity to send a border pickaxe to capture Changsha in 951, and Ma Xichong and Ma Xizhao surrendered one after another, and the State of Chu fell. At the same time, the Southern Han Dynasty took the area around Guizhou (Guilin, Guangxi) in the north, occupying the entire Lingnan region. The following year, After Wu Ping's army remained, Liu Yan was reluctant to surrender to Tang, and sent Wang Kui and Zhou Xingfeng to attack Tanzhou, and the Southern Tang completely withdrew from Hunan. Liu Yan was made an envoy of Wuping Jiedu by Later Zhou, but was deposed by Wang Kui and Zhou Xingfeng due to his opposition to Wang Kui and died. Wang Kui was insatiablely greedy and was also killed by his subordinate Pan Shusi, and the position of WuPingjun was eventually succeeded by Zhou Xingfeng. Zhou Xingfeng eliminated the inferior government of the Chu State, loved the people, and advocated honesty. The generals were harshly used and killed decisively. The Hunan region returned to stability until Zhou Xingfeng's death in 962.
The Southern Han Dynasty was founded by Liu Yin, the emissary of the Qing Navy, and was enfeoffed by Later Liang as the King of Pengjun in 907, and later as the King of Nanping and the King of Nanhai. After Liu Yin stabilized Lingnan, he reused local scholars, laying the foundation for the future establishment of the country. After Liu Yin's death in 911, he was succeeded by his brother Liu Gong. After Liu Gong reunified Lingnan, he was proclaimed emperor in 917, that is, Gaozu of the Southern Han Dynasty. The state name was Dayue, the capital Panyu, and the name Xingwangfu (present-day Guangzhou, Guangdong). The following year, the name of the country was changed to Han, and the history was called Southern Han. Gaozu of the Southern Han Dynasty reconciled with his neighbors and promoted the imperial examination system. However, it is cruel and extravagant, and every time it kills people, it is happy, and it pampers the eunuchs, so that the government is restless. In 942, Gaozu of the Southern Han Dynasty died, and was succeeded by his son Liu Yue, the Emperor of the Southern Han Dynasty. The Southern Han Dynasty emperor coveted pleasure, and Zhang Yuxian rebelled at that time, and was killed by his brother Liu Sheng the following year. Liu Sheng established himself as emperor, that is, Emperor Zhongzong of the Southern Han Dynasty. During his reign, although he captured the Chu state of Rong Prefecture (陳州, in modern Nanning, Guangxi), he advocated severe punishment and brutality, and wantonly slaughtered the imperial family and ministers and generals, leaving only eunuchs and palace women in the Southern Han Dynasty. After his death in 958, he was succeeded by his son Liu Xun (劉鋹), the Empress Dowager of the Southern Han Dynasty. During this time, Jinghai (present-day northern Vietnam) began to break away from Chinese rule.
Later Jin and Later Han
When the Ten Kingdoms gradually weakened or defended themselves, the Later Jin Dynasty in the north was also repeatedly uneasy because of the threat of the Khitan state. At that time, after the Jin Dynasty, the finances were scarce, the Khitan was insatiable, and the feudal towns were reluctant to obey. In order to solve the financial crisis, Later Jin Gaozu adopted Sang Weihan's suggestion, adopted the method of appeasing the feudal towns, respecting the Khitans, and attaching importance to agriculture and commerce to enhance the economy. Although the Khitan state was appeased, the former Yanyun Sixteen Prefecture officials such as Wu Luan and Guo Chongwei were ashamed of being subordinate to the Khitan and were reluctant to surrender. The various feudal towns almost disobeyed the Jin court, and some even intended to win over the Khitan state to seize the throne, at this time it was up to Du Chongwei, Li Shouzhen and others to pacify. In 937, Fan Tingguang, the Tianxiong army (i.e., Wei Bojun), rebelled against Wei Prefecture, and Zhang Congbin, who had gone to quell the rebellion, also surrendered to him and killed Shi Chongxin and Shi Chongqi, the sons of Emperor Gaozu of Jin. Finally, when Fan Zhang's combined forces approached Kaifeng, Hou Yi and Du Chongwei led an army to defeat and pacify. Yang Guangyuan interfered in imperial politics because of his heavy army, and Later Jin Gaozu often submitted to it, and later colluded with the Khitan state to defect and was defeated and killed by Li Shouzhen. In 942, the Chengde army An Chongrong rebuked later Jin's grandfather, Shi Khitan and demanded that he go out and attack the Khitans. But in fact, it was secretly communicating with the Khitan and intending to seize the throne. Later Jin Gaozu sent Du Chongwei to lead an army to behead An Chongrong, known in history as the Battle of Zongcheng, and send his head to the Khitans. In the same year, the Tuguhun tribe in the north of Daibei was unwilling to surrender to the Khitan state, and the leader Bai Chengfu led his troops to hedong Jiedu to make Liu Zhiyuan, and the Khitan sent envoys to question him. Later Jin Gaozu finally died in these grievances, and his ministers Feng Dao and Jing Yanguang, in view of the difficulties of the country, yili Changjun succeeded him as his nephew Shi Chonggui (邑都, Hebei Daimyo), that is, the emperor of the Later Jin Dynasty.
Because the generals and people of the Later Jin Dynasty were strongly dissatisfied with the condescending foreign race, the Later Jin Emperor heeded Jing Yanguang's advice and gave up his title of vassal to the Khitan state and changed his title to Sun to wash away the humiliation. Jing Yanguang's hostility to the Khitans was very strong, and he killed Khitan merchants, arrested Khitan emissaries, and repeatedly provoked the Khitans. This provoked the anger of the Khitan khan Yelü Deguang, who led an army to the south in 944 AD. At that time, there was a drought in Hebei, locusts invaded, and the Khitan army attacked Bei Prefecture (Qinghe, Hebei) and other places and returned. The following year, emperor Jin sent Du Chongwei to lead the Northern Expedition, and Yelü De Guangwenzhi led a large army to the south, and finally Du Chongwei successfully defeated the Khitan army at Baigou (between Dingxing and Xincheng in Hebei). However, after the Battle of Baigou, the Later Jin Emperor became increasingly arrogant, and then ruled with Feng Yu, bribed the public, and the government was corrupted. After 946, emperor Jin led an army to the Northern Expedition with Du Chongwei and fought with Yelü Deguang at the Tuotuo River. At this time, Du Chongwei intended to seize the throne, but instead surrendered to Yelü Deguang. Yelü Deguang took the opportunity to lead the coalition army directly to Kaifeng, and the Later Jin generals Li Shouzhen and Zhang Yanze surrendered one after another, and finally the Later Jin Emperor Kaicheng surrendered, and the Later Jin fell, known in history as the Battle of Liao and Jin. The following year, Yelü Deguang changed the name of the country to "Great Liao", that is, Liao Taizong, and officially established the Liao Dynasty. Emperor Taizong of Liao had great confidence in running the Central Plains, but the policy of "hitting the grass valley" and plundering people as slaves caused the people of the Central Plains to revolt in groups. Among them, Liu Zhiyuan of the Hedong Army followed Zhang Yanwei's advice and claimed the title of emperor of Taiyuan because of the lack of ownership in the Central Plains, and founded the State later Han, that is, The Later Han Gaozu. Emperor Taizong of Liao could not suppress this situation and led his army back north on the grounds that the weather was hot. He ordered Xiao Han to stay in Kaifeng and Du Chongwei to stay in Yidu. He eventually died in The Killing of Hu Lin (栾城, Inc. in Hebei), and his brother Yelü Wu wanted to succeed him, i.e., Emperor Shizong of Liao.
Later Han Gaozu began to recover the Central Plains after the Liao army returned to the north. After Xiao Han learned the news, he kidnapped Li Congyi of the Tang Dynasty and declared himself emperor in Kaifeng, and then returned north. Later, Emperor Gao of Han sent his envoys to kill Li Congyi to set the capital kaifeng, and sent Gao Xingzhou and Murong Yanchao to surrender Du Chongwei at the Battle of Weizhou, and the towns were successively annexed. After the death of Han Gaozu in 948, his son Liu Chengyou succeeded him as Emperor Yin of the Later Han Dynasty, with Yang Ying, Guo Wei, Shi Hongzhao, and Wang Zhang as auxiliary ministers. At that time, Li Shouzhen rebelled in hezhong Jiedu, and it was up to Guo Wei to quell it. Later Emperor Yin of The Han Dynasty, after being suspicious of the chancellor of the auxiliary state, made an agreement with Guo Yunming and sent Guo Weizhen to guard the capital in 950 on the grounds of the Liao army Kou Hebei, and then killed Yang, Shi and Wang, and other ministers, killed Guo Wei's family, and summoned Murong Yanchao and others from the Taining army to rush into beijing. Guo Wei heeded Wei Renpu's advice to raise an army south and sent his adopted son Chai Rongzhen to guard the capital. The following year, Murong Yanchao was defeated and kaifeng was invaded, and Emperor Yin of Later Han was finally killed by Guo Yunming and others. Guo Wei intended to make Liu Chongzi's Xuzhou army Liu Yun emperor, and first made Empress Li empress dowager. At that time, it happened that the Liao army invaded, and Guo Wei sent his troops to resist the enemy, but when the army reached Liaozhou (澶州, in modern Puyang, Hebei), the soldiers supported Guo Wei as emperor, and the army returned to Kaifeng. In 951, Guo Wei was proclaimed emperor, and after the founding of the State of Zhou, that is, Later Zhou Taizu, Later Han died.
Later Zhou and Northern Song Dynasty
After Later Zhou Taizu ascended the throne, he cut off a number of harsh governments and practiced frugality, so that the population of the southern stream once again had the tendency to flow back to the Central Plains. However, Liu Yun was killed, causing the Later Han generals to disobey the Zhou court. Liu Chong, the hedong army (the younger brother of Liu Zhiyuan, the emperor of the Later Han Dynasty), learned that Guo Wei was called empress dowager, established himself as emperor, and established the Northern Han Dynasty. He called himself Emperor Nephew with the help of the Liao people, and waited for the opportunity to cut down the Zhou. The Later Han generals Gong Tingmei of Xuzhou and Murong Yanchao of the Taining Army intended to rebel, relying on the successive pacification of Later Zhou Taizu.
After 954, Zhou Taizu died and was succeeded by his adopted son Chai Rong, later Zhou Shizong. Later Zhou Shizong was the first monarch of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, and at the beginning of his succession, he encountered the Northern Han Emperor Liu Chong, and the Liao general Yang Gun to unite and go south. At that time, the Zhou court was terrified, and most of them advocated acting in a steady manner, but Later Zhou Shizong personally defeated the Han and Liao allied forces and beheaded the incompetent generals who were retreating from the front, known in history as the Battle of Gaoping. After that, the military system was reformed, the central forbidden army was streamlined, and the strong soldiers were supplemented, forming a forbidden army of "classes in front of the palace". In terms of internal affairs, he appeased exile, reduced taxes, and stabilized the domestic economy. Rectify the rule of officials, extend the employment of literati, suppress the politics of the warriors, and make the politics of the Later Zhou clear. In 955, the Temple of The World was abolished and a large number of bronze artifacts were obtained to rectify the economy. Both military and economic upgrading established an important foundation for the future unification of China.
Later Zhou Shizong intended to unify the world after stabilizing the country, and he aimed to "open up the world in ten years, feed the people in ten years, and bring peace in ten years". In 955, he led an army to defeat Hou Shu and occupied the Area of Hanzhong in Qin Prefecture. In 956, he led an army to defeat the Southern Tang, obtained the land of Jiangbei, and forced the Southern Tang to become a vassal. After 959, Zhou Shizong led an army to the Northern Expedition to the Liao Dynasty to recover Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures, and the Zhou army successively attacked Yingzhou, Mozhou and other places. When he was preparing to retake Youzhou, he suddenly fell ill and was forced to teach. He died soon after, and his youngest son, Chai Zongxun, ascended the throne as Emperor Gong of Later Zhou. In 960, zhao Kuangyin, the leader of the forbidden army, led an army to the northern imperial court on the grounds that The Second Prefecture was invaded by the Northern Han and Liao Dynasties, and then the Chen Qiao Mutiny occurred at Chen Qiaoyi in Kaifeng, and was supported by the forbidden army as emperor. Zhao Kuangyin returned to Kaifeng, deposed Emperor Gong of Later Zhou, and later Zhou perished, ending the Five Dynasties. He founded the Song Dynasty, known as song taizu.
When Song Taizu succeeded to the throne, the Ten Kingdoms still had Hou Shu, Northern Han, Southern Tang, Wuyue, Southern Han, Jingnan and Hunan Wuping Army Zhou Xingfeng, Minnan Qingyuan Army Remaining Congfeng, etc., most of these countries or feudal towns were regarded by the Song Dynasty as the suzerainty or subject. Faced with the threat of the Liao Dynasty, Song Taizu adopted Zhao Pu's strategy of "first easy and then difficult, first south and then north" to unify the Chinese region. In 962, Gao Baoxun, the lord of Jingnan, died, and in the same year Zhou Xingfeng of Hunan died, and the new lords of the two countries were young and incompetent. Song Taizu took the opportunity to send troops south to Hunan on the grounds of the Rebellion in Pinghunan the following year, and on the way, he falsely cut down the road and swallowed Jingnan. After the Later Shu lord Meng Chang heard that Jingnan and Hunan were annexed, he united with the Northern Han To resist the Song division. However, in his later years, he was extravagant and entertaining, the government was not repaired, and the army had no combat effectiveness. In 965, Song Taizu sent Wang Quanbin and Cui Yan in and out of Fengzhou (Feng County, Shaanxi), Liu Guangyi, and Cao Bin out of Guizhou (秭归, Hubei), and the north and east roads entered Shu at the same time. As a result, within sixty days, the Later Shu Emperor Meng Chang surrendered, and Later Shu died. His favorite concubine Lady Huarui wrote after the fall of the country: "The flag was lowered in the king's city, and the concubine learned in the deep palace that 140,000 people were disarmed, and none of them were men." Liu Xun, the lord of the Southern Han Dynasty, entrusted political affairs to the eunuch Gong Chengshu and the maid Lu Qiongxian and others. Since only eunuchs were trusted, officials had to be castrated to be employed. In 970, the Song court sent Pan Mei to attack the Southern Han Dynasty, because the Southern Han generals and ministers were all dead, only the eunuchs led, and the following year the Southern Han Emperor Liu Xun surrendered, and the Southern Han died.
Li Yu, the lord of the Southern Tang Dynasty, was a master of the word world, and although he was worried about external troubles all day long, he was not good at political affairs. At that time, it was up to his brother Li Congshan, the chancellor Pan You, and the general Lin Renzhao to confront Hou Zhou. After the establishment of the Song Dynasty, Li Yu was close to villains, killed ministers indiscriminately, and feasted with his ministers all day long, thinking and singing sorrows, and the Southern Tang dynasty was in chaos. In 975, Emperor Taizu of Song sent Cao Bin to march south on the grounds that the Southern Tang Emperor Li Yu was ill and could not enter the dynasty, and attacked with Wu Yue's army as a supplement. In the end, Li Yu surrendered and southern Tang died. On the side of Wu Yueguo, although Qian Hongzuo, the loyal king, took advantage of the civil strife in Fujian to obtain Fuzhou, he himself was heavily taxed and the people were miserable. By the time of Qian Li, the King of Zhongyi, because he was very obedient to the Song Dynasty, Song Taizu did not seize the land. The Qingyuan army in southern Fujian remained on the side of the division, and after his death, many people competed for the throne, and finally Chen Hongjin seized it. In 978, Qian Li and Chen Hongjin returned to the Song Dynasty, and Wu Yueguo and the Qingyuan army of southern Fujian were killed. The last state of the Ten Kingdoms, the Northern Han Dynasty, was Liu Jiyuan, the Emperor of The Yingwu Dynasty. In 979, the Northern Song Dynasty sent Pan Mei to besiege the Northern Han capital Taiyuan to repel Liao reinforcements, Liu Jiyuan surrendered, and the Northern Han Dynasty perished. At the end of the Ten Kingdoms period, China was basically unified and officially entered the Song Dynasty period. However, there are still Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun that have not yet been recovered. Shortly after Emperor Taizong of Song destroyed the Northern Han Dynasty, he ignored the opposition of his ministers and tried to recover Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures from taiyuan in an attempt to retake the Liao Dynasty. At first, the Song army captured Yizhou and Zhuozhou, but retreated at the Battle of Gaoliang River in Yanjing, thus entering the era of Confrontation between Song and Liao.