Chai Rong A brilliant conqueror in troubled times, regretting that he failed to unify the world
In February of the first year of Later Zhou Xiande (954), a report of 100,000 urgent battles arrived from the frontier to Bianliang City: Liu Chongqin, the lord of the Northern Han Dynasty, led 30,000 elite troops from Tuanbai (Qi County, Shanxi) to the south, directly threatening Luzhou (Changzhi, Shanxi), the number one town in southern Jin and ruled by Later Zhou, and his ally Khitan Wuding Jiedu sent 10,000 soldiers under Yang Gon's command to join the army.
Later, the Zhou court fell into a panic because of the news of the enemy's invasion, because the enemy's invasion was extremely accurate. On the fifth day of the first month of that year, Guo Wei, the Taizu of the Later Zhou Dynasty, unfortunately passed away, and it was during the national funeral, and the new monarch Chai Rong had just taken over.
Liu Chong apparently seized the opportunity of the change of throne and the instability of the regime in the Later Zhou Dynasty, and was ready to deal a fatal blow to his sworn enemies in the south. This was the most dangerous moment since the founding of the country in Hou Zhou, and it was also the most severe test in Sejong Chai Rong's life.
Chai Rong was in a lonely situation, and although he had ascended to the throne, he had neither political nor military achievements. The courtiers in front of him, although they knelt down and bowed three times under the residual authority of the previous emperor, how much sincerity did they have?
But Chai Rong is a strong person, in the face of threats, only 33 years old, less than half a month after ascending the throne, Zhou Tianzi held a meeting in front of the emperor and gave the most resolute response - personally led the army to the battle!
After he made this decision, a peak and prosperous era belonging to Chai Rong Shengjun, a new chapter belonging to the Later Zhou Dynasty, and a glorious period belonging to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms all quietly descended on the land ......of the Central PlainsFive dynasties and ten kingdoms, that **turbulent era In the traditional way of expression, we usually connect the Tang and Song dynasties together, such as the Tang Dynasty and Song ancestors, Tang poems and Song Ci, Tang and Song Eight Families, etc., but in fact, the Li Tang Empire and the Zhao and Song dynasties are not seamless.
From 907 A.D., when Zhu Wen usurped the Tang Dynasty, to 960 A.D., when Zhao Kuangyin ascended the throne and established the Song Dynasty, this period experienced at least 53 years, which was called the "Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms" chaotic period by later generations.
Copywriting: Chai Rong was born in 921 A.D. during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, and his family was once prominent, but by the time he was born, he had fallen into the middle. When Chai Rong was seven years old, because of family difficulties, he defected to his uncle Guo Wei, the Taizu of Zhou.
Guo Wei liked Chai Rong very much and adopted him as his adopted son. Chai Rong is smart and diligent, and he began to go out to do business at a young age, studying and practicing martial arts. After Guo Wei made his career, Chai Rong became his right-hand man.
In 950 AD, Guo Wei staged a mutiny and established the Later Zhou Dynasty.
Guo Wei died, and Chai Rong became the new monarch of the Later Zhou Dynasty, which brought him a great opportunity. Guo Wei's heirs have all passed away, which makes his adopted son Chai Rong, who is not related by blood, a natural heir to the throne.
However, despite Chai Rong's accession to the throne, the Later Zhou remained fragmented, and its territory was limited to the Central Plains. The Southern Tang, Wuyue, Southern Han, Houshu and other strong enemies in the south are eyeing each other, and the Khitans in the north are even more unscrupulous, eyeing him on the border.
Chai Rong, a rising young man, chose to go out in person when facing a national crisis, and his actions showed his outstanding talent and determination. Although his decision was unanimously opposed by the court, he still stood firm in his convictions, because he knew that this was a critical moment to prove himself and preserve the dignity of the country.
As Guo Wei's adopted son, Chai Rong's succession to the throne was originally full of controversy, but with his intelligence and courage, he successfully proved his worth. In the turbulent era of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the army's loyalty to the monarch was very low, and the generals took the opportunity to stand on their own feet, which made Chai Rong more cautious, but he still chose to go out in person.
Chai Rong's decision has been affirmed by history, and he is recognized as the most outstanding monarch of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, and his decision not only proves his worth, but also preserves the dignity of the country.
In the Battle of Gaoping, Chai Rong showed his highest military talent. The Later Zhou army, under the leadership of Xinjun, went straight to Luzhou, but Liu Chong adopted an unexpected strategy, leaving only part of the troops to besiege the city, and the main force was directed at Bianliang, Kyoto, in the Later Zhou.
If it weren't for Chai Rong's timely dispatch of troops, the consequences would be unimaginable. Chai Rong acted in time, and although the Northern Han army was actively on the way, it still met the Later Zhou army in Gaoping County in Zezhou on March 19.
Chai Rong did not wait for the troops to be assembled, and then issued a combat order. However, the situation on the battlefield exceeded all expectations. The Later Zhou army rushed forward, thinking that there would be a fierce battle, but they did not expect that the Northern Han army was vulnerable, and the two armies began to quickly break and flee before they came into contact.
Chai Rong saw the Han army fleeing, and hurriedly urged the army to pursue, but as soon as the troops arrived in Bagongyuan, they saw the scene in front of them: the army flag on the opposite side covered the sun, the sword and halberd covered the sky, and the mountains and fields were full of enemy troops, and there was no appearance of hasty defeat and retreat.
It was a well-planned attack, and Liu Chong's main force had been waiting here for a long time. The three-way army was lined up, with Zhang Yuanhui, the first fierce general of the Northern Han Dynasty in the east, and the Khitans led by Yang Gon in the west, and Liu Chong, the emperor of the Northern Han Dynasty, personally commanded the ** army.
Forty thousand horses stood quietly in the wilderness, indifferently watching Chai Rong and the Hou Zhou army hurrying in. The situation was not in Chai Rong's favor, because the large army was still gathering, and now only about 20,000 people could be put into battle.
However, when he realized that he had hit the time, Chai Rong did not show the slightest panic. He immediately ordered: Li Chongjin was on the left, facing the Khitan Yang Gon Division; Fan Aineng on the right, against Zhang Yuanhui of the Northern Han Dynasty; Zhang Yongde was in **, leading the elite cavalry to wait for the opportunity to raid Liu Chong.
The war was about to break out, but Liu Chong was thinking about other things. He wanted to break the contract, because he believed that only such a small number of troops would come in the next week. However, at this moment, the battlefield changed abruptly, the originally strong north wind turned into a south wind, and the downwind Northern Han army instantly turned into a headwind battle, which was not conducive to their attack.
However, hatred, anger, and a seemingly low-hanging victory carried Liu Chong away, and he ordered an attack. Even when fighting against the wind, the Northern Han army also broke out with extremely strong combat effectiveness, especially Zhang Yuanhui's Eastern Route Army, which killed more than 1,000 people of the Later Zhou army almost instantly.
The escape of the commander Fan Aineng caused the right army to fall into a heavy encirclement, the army was in turmoil, and there was an endless stream of surrenderers and defectors, and the entire Hou Zhou army was about to collapse. Just at the last moment, Chai Rong made a shocking thing: he rode his horse and rushed towards Liu Chong, who was firmly seated in the Chinese army!
On the battlefield of Gaoping, the Later Zhou Emperor Chai Rong rushed into the midst of thousands of troops alone, and his bravery and fearlessness will always be remembered. This fearless and stronger Chai Rong shows the kingly style of the strongest conqueror of the five generations.
His bravery inspired the blood of the Later Zhou soldiers, who followed the emperor and bravely rushed to the Chinese army camp in the Northern Han Dynasty. The brave are fearless, and in the face of Chai Rong's almost lifeless courage, Liu Chong, who surrounded him with thousands of troops and horses, chose to dodge in full view of everyone.
Liu Chong's dodge dealt a fatal blow to the morale of his side, and the situation on the battlefield was reversed in an instant. Under the leadership of the emperor, the soldiers of the Later Zhou Dynasty became more and more courageous, while the entire front of the Northern Han Dynasty, under the back and forth impact of the opponent, was gradually exhausted.
At the most dangerous moment, the Khitans did not make a move, and Yang Gon respected the request of the Northern Han Emperor and always calmly observed from the high slopes in the distance. When dusk came, the Northern Han army collapsed, the fierce general Zhang Yuanhui was killed in battle, and Liu Chong was carried by the fleeing soldiers all the way north, finally reaching Jinyang (Taiyuan).
In this battle of Gaoping, the vitality of the Northern Han Dynasty was greatly damaged, and Chai Rong took advantage of the victory to go north, and the troops came to the city of Jinyang. Although the Later Zhou army was forced to retreat after two months of siege, the series of blows left the sixty-year-old Liu Chong overwhelmed with grief and grief, and died soon after.
After defeating a strong Northern Han opponent, Chai Rong was not satisfied with this. In 955 AD, he began to use troops against Houshu, successively recovered the four prefectures of Qin, Cheng, Jie, and Feng, and made three expeditions to the Southern Tang Dynasty, seizing a large area of land between the Jianghuai River, so that the Southern Tang had to surrender.
At the same time, he also deterred the separatist forces in the south and created conditions for the Northern Expedition.
The difference between Chai Rong and those reckless monarchs is not whether they are obsessed with expanding their territory, nor is it whether they are invincible. The merits of an emperor should be judged not only by his military achievements, but also by his ability to govern and his achievements.
The reason why Chai Rong can be called "the first Ming Jun of the five dynasties" is because he stood out for his ability to govern the country and his achievements during the chaotic period of the five dynasties and ten kingdoms.
The governance of these monarchs mostly brought devastating consequences, and only Chai Rong of the Later Zhou Dynasty, like a light in the dark ages, provided constructive guidance for the five dynasties and ten kingdoms.
At the beginning of Chai Rong's succession, he set up a grand ambition, that is, "to open up the world in ten years, to raise the people in ten years, and to achieve peace in ten years". From his three ten-year plans, we can see that he is extraordinary, he has a plan to gradually unify the Central Plains, which is not possessed by other monarchs of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. "
Ten years to raise the people"It embodies his governing philosophy of "people-oriented, resting with the people"."Ten years to peace"It represents his determination to build and govern the country.
Chai Rong also noticed the problem of army construction while fighting abroad, and the soldiers of the forbidden army in the Later Zhou Dynasty were redundant, arrogant and lazy, and had low combat effectiveness, which brought a heavy burden to the state finances.
To this end, Chai Rong carried out the reform of streamlining the troops, eliminating the old and weak soldiers, and at the same time recruiting warriors from all over the world, so that the army of the Later Zhou Dynasty greatly increased its combat effectiveness, crisscrossing the north and south, invincible, which is inseparable from Chai Rong's reform.
Chai Rong deeply felt that there were frequent wars at that time, and the people suffered greatly from wars, so he devoted a lot of energy to restoring social productivity and improving people's lives. During his reign, he learned from the Tang Dynasty's Yuanzhi system of equalizing land, ascertained the actual situation of the country's land, and distributed taxes fairly and reasonably, so that the rich could not evade paying taxes, and at the same time guaranteed the basic livelihood of the poor people.
After the implementation of the equalization system, the number of fields to be taxed in the Later Zhou increased significantly, which effectively promoted the economic development of the Later Zhou society. At the same time, Chai Rong also actively appeased the exiles and encouraged them to return to their hometowns to settle down; Promote cultural and educational undertakings and select talents; Amend the law to lighten the burden on the people.
He also personally presided over the renovation of the inner and outer imperial cities and Kyoto residences, making Bianliang the largest and most economically prosperous super metropolis in the world at that time. With Chai Rong's efforts, the political, people's livelihood, culture, economy, military and other aspects of the Later Zhou Dynasty have made great progress, and the whole society has shown the image of a prosperous era in which the politics are clear and the people live and work in peace and contentment.
However, the powerful Khitan in the north and the sixteen states of Yanyun ceded by Shi Jingjiao have always been a pain in Chai Rong's heart. In April of the sixth year of Xiande (959), Chai Rong once again personally led 100,000 elites from Cangzhou to the north to attack the Khitan.
In this expedition, Chai Rong showed outstanding military talent and command ability, so that the Later Zhou army, under the leadership of Chai Rong, only took 42 days to recover three passes and three states, a total of 17 counties, which can be described as a fruitful battle.
However, just as Chai Rong was about to seize Youzhou, the capital of Yanyun, in one go, he suddenly fell seriously ill in the army and had to return to the division early. After returning to Bianliang, his condition continued to deteriorate, and finally on June 19, the sixth year of Xiande, the greatest emperor of the Five Dynasties period, Chai Rong, the greatest emperor of the first generation, died with endless regret less than a month after leaving Beijing, at the age of 39.
If he hadn't died unexpectedly young, he would have been able to build a great empire that rivaled the Han and Tang dynasties, and become the emperor of the ages on a par with the Qin Emperor and the Han Dynasty.
Everything is just a hypothesis after all, shortly after Chai Rong's death, in 960 AD, the top soldiers of the Later Zhou Dynasty and the front of the palace all checked Zhao Kuangyin and launched a mutiny. At Chen Qiaoyi, he was put on a yellow robe and became the new emperor.
Since then, the Later Zhou Dynasty and the Chai Rong era have become the historical background for the rise of the Zhao and Song dynasties, and have become the backs of the gradual distancing ......