In December of the third year (929) of the Fifth Dynasty period of later Tang Tiancheng, Gao Jixing, who had divided Jingnan, died of illness at the age of seventy-one, and his eldest son Gao Congjie succeeded to the throne.
Gao Jixing, who had always been good at things, fell out with the Later Tang in his later years and even cut off the tribute. Gao Congzhi, who succeeded to the throne, always disapproved of his father's opposition to later Tang, "often weeping and advising, But Ji Xing did not obey". He did not take his father's strategy of submitting to Yang Wu, believing that "Tang is close and Wu is far away, not Ji Ye." After succeeding to the throne, Gao Congzhi tried his best to repair the clan relations with Later Tang, and through two channels, Ma Yin, the king of Chu, and Jiedu of Shannan, he sent An Yuanxin to Later Tang and requested "restoration of the official tribute".
In June of the fourth year of Tiancheng (930), Gao Congzhi, in his capacity as sima and guizhou assassin of the former Jingnan marched from the official post given by the Tang Dynasty, went to the imperial court and requested that "the first sin of the upper chapter, begging for a tribute, still entering the silver three thousand two to atone for the crime." Such a humble gesture finally won the forgiveness of Li Siyuan, and in July of that year, he was granted the title of envoy and attendant of jingnan jiedushi.
Jingnan in the crack
At the beginning of Gao Cong's reign, the Yang Wu regime also issued an edict appointing him as the envoy of Jingnan Jiedu and shizhong . However, after submitting to the Later Tang, it was necessary to sever the subordinate relationship with Yang Wu. In March of the first year of Changxing (930), under the premise of obtaining the permission of Later Tang, "Gao Congzhi sent an envoy to pay tribute to Wu and told him that his grave was in China, fearing that Tang would be begged, and Wu Bing would not be able to help him, so he refused."
In February of the third year of Changxing (932), Later Tang gave Gao the title of King of Bohai. In the first year of the Qing Dynasty (934), the Later Tang court also crowned Gao Congzhi as the King of Nanping. In the end of the Tang Dynasty, Gao Congzhi scrupulously observed the festival of his subjects and took care of the imperial court. "Doing great things to protect his country" became Gao Congzhi's basic foreign policy, and "liturgy to neighbors and serve the imperial court" was the mainstream position of weak and small clan towns at that time.
After Shi Jingyao established the Later Jin Dynasty, Although Jingnan Gao Congzhi continued to pay tribute to his subjects on the surface, he secretly had some plans. Shi Jingyao sent Tao Yu, a scholar of Hanlin, as a messenger of Gao Congjie's birthday, and Gao Congjie feasted on Tao Yu at the Wangsha Building in Jiangling, and the Dachen warship was downstairs. Such a show of force is obviously a show of muscle to the Later Jin court.
However, Gao Congzhi said: "Wu and Shu are not long-term, and they are willing to cultivate their weapons and practice water warfare to wait for the division." "It seems to be to cooperate with the Later Jin Dynasty in its conquest of Wu and Shu, in fact, even if the Shi Jin regime at that time could stabilize the north, even if it was good, where was the energy to solve Wu Shu?" Tao Yu returned the matter to Shi Jingyao, who was ostensibly overjoyed, and "the reinstatement envoy gave him a hundred horses", but in fact it was just stability.
Jingnan in the Later Jin and Later Han Dynasties
Gao Congjie's policy of "big things" had a strong opportunistic color, and once the Central Plains Dynasty was in turmoil, Jingnan would pledge allegiance to the new lord and decisively change the court. When the Khitan sent troops to destroy the Later Jin Dynasty, there was a possibility of entering the Central Plains, and Gao Congzhi immediately "sent envoys to pay tribute to the Khitans, and the Khitan sent envoys to give them horses." When Liu Zhiyuan of Taiyuan had the tendency to rise to replace Shi Jin, the Jingnan Gao clan "also sent envoys to persuade Yi Hedong to advance."
Gao's "great affairs" were to honor all regimes that were stronger than themselves, and in order to lose sincerity to the Later Tang, Gao Congzhi had severed contacts with Yang Wu. Before Yang Wu's chancellor Xu Zhihuan (李昪) took wu's place, Gao Congzhi, who was paying close attention to his political situation, "sent an envoy to Fengzhi" to persuade him to take the throne. After the establishment of the Southern Tang Dynasty, Gao Congzhi also sent envoys to be vassals.
Gao Congzhi's title of vassal was also utilitarian, and after Liu Zhiyuan took the throne in Taiyuan, Jingnan immediately "sent envoys to pay tribute". However, this tribute was conditional, and gao congzhi asked Liu Zhiyuan to promise the stability of the Central Plains, and then assigned the prefecture of Ying, which had not been given by the Later Tang, to the jurisdiction of Jingnan. Liu Zhiyuan, who had not yet decided to do so, agreed at first, but after entering the capital, he repented. Therefore, Gao Congfu turned his face to Hou Han in anger, "Since the tribute is not coming." From the east to Wu and the west to Shu, both of them are beneficial to the supply of military goods and goods. ”
The Zizhi Tongjian talks about Gao Congzhi's claims to various countries, "Tang, Jin, Khitan and Han are more according to the Central Plains, and the Southern Han, Min, Wu, and Shu are all called emperors. In fact, Gao's Jingnan title of vassal states is not just a greed for rewards, but a survival technique in the pattern of strife between the masses, and the Jingnan regime in the land of four wars has existed for more than fifty years, which has a great relationship with this strategy.
Spring and Autumn of the Ten Kingdoms
In addition to being a lowly country, Gao Congzhi was also a qualified ruler who was good at appointing talents and good at governing government affairs, and Liang Zhen and Sun Guangxian were all able ministers he appointed. Wu Renchen's "Spring and Autumn of the Ten Kingdoms" praised Gao Junchen, "Nanping began to be a servant of the family, and was able to break the sages, and zhen made strategic progress, Guangxian was shown in articles, the pawns retained the jing soil, the beginning and the end were good, a corner of the district, the five lords of the past, and the husband was also a shili", and the close friend Mr. Lu Simian praised Gao Congzhi as "the sage lord of the five generations".