In 951 AD, in the fourth year of Qianyou, in Taiyuan Mansion, Shanxi, Liu Chong established the Northern Han Dynasty, and he was a man with ideas. He has a dream, that is, to restore the prosperity of the Later Han Dynasty in the past, the Later Zhou regime.
During the period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, infighting seems to have always been the main theme, and those who work together to create the imperial industry seem to be unable to escape the four same words. Liu Chong's dream is to break this law and create a prosperous era without infighting.
After Liu Zhiyuan died of illness, Liu Chengyou succeeded him and became Emperor Yin of the Later Han Dynasty. However, Liu Chengyou's ability to govern the country is not outstanding, and he is narrow-minded, always suspicious of ministers, and even conducts politics.
This left a minister named Guo Wei desperate and finally decided to rebel. Guo Wei's uprising was successful, but Liu Chengyou could not resist it, and finally suffered the fate of death and national annihilation.
Guo Wei is very popular in the imperial court, and everyone wants him to be the emperor. However, Guo Wei was worried that the act of raising troops to kill Liu Chengyou would be interpreted by the outside world as disloyalty and unfilial piety, and he was afraid that he would be hotly discussed by the melon-eating masses and self-esteem.
He thought about it for a long time, and finally decided not to take the risk, so as not to be infamous on his back.
Guo Wei is a smart man, he knows the rules of the law and knows that he will not be able to succeed Liu Chengyou smoothly. Even though Liu Chengyou had no sons, his cousin Liu Yun held the right to inherit the throne.
And Liu Chong's son Liu Yun is the heir to the throne, and his father and son are concentric, which is enough to create enough pressure on Guo Wei. Guo Wei understood that if he blindly sent troops to fight against Liu Chong or groveled to curry favor with him, he would not be able to solve the problem.
Therefore, he chose to speak bluntly, claiming that he was really helpless to rebel and wanted to support Liu Chong's son Liu Yun as the emperor. He asked Liu Chong to send his son to Kaifeng Mansion and let him ascend the throne.
This set of rhetoric seems absurd, but Liu Chong believes it. He was overjoyed, and immediately beat gongs and drums to send his son to Kaifeng Mansion.
Liu Yun, the highly anticipated heir to the throne, was killed by Guo Wei, who took advantage of this to eliminate hidden dangers and successfully ascend the throne, establishing Hou Zhou.
When Liu Chong learned of this news, he was shocked and regretted, because Liu Yun was his only eldest son and the most suitable candidate to be the emperor under the current circumstances.
Liu Yun's death made Liu Chong feel completely hopeless, he lost his throne and son, and his relationship with Guo Wei was completely broken. Faced with such a blow, Liu Chong decided to take action, and he decided to proclaim himself emperor in Taiyuan Province and establish the Northern Han Dynasty.
He knew that a happy life needed to be created by himself, and Guo Wei was unwilling to give up the throne, so he would create an empire by himself. However, out of new hatred and old hatred, Liu Chong's only goal after becoming emperor was to overthrow Hou Zhou and avenge the death of his son in the country.
However, war is not a game, it is a matter of life and death. Although the Northern Han had a small sphere of influence, Liu Chong still decided to seek the help of the Khitans, knowing that he could not shake the Later Zhou rule on his own.
Therefore, Liu Chong invited the Khitans as foreign aid, hoping to fight against Hou Zhou together.
Liu Chong took the Khitan as his reinforcement, but ignored the fact that the Khitans were not free. Shi Jingjiao once ceded the sixteen states of Youyun in order to seek assistance from the Khitans, which shows the high level of the Khitans.
As a small state, the Northern Han could not provide adequate compensation, so the Khitans sent a limited number of troops to pose a threat to the Later Zhou. In the end, Liu Chong's army failed to attack the city, and the soldiers were heavy.
Although Liu Chong is optimistic and positive, the reality is cruel and he cannot change this fact.
In the fifth year of Qianyou, in 952 AD, Liu Chong's heart was still full of ambition, and he once again launched an attack on Fuzhou Prefecture in Later Zhou, however, the defenders of Fuzhou City did not let him get his wish, but gave him a severe blow, Liu Chong's army was defeated, and Qi Lan under his rule was also taken away by Later Zhou.
Liu Chong did not lose confidence because of this, but stimulated his fighting spirit. In the seventh year of Qianyou, after Zhou Taizu Guo Wei died of illness, and his adopted son Chai Rong ascended the throne, Liu Chong saw the opportunity, so he sent troops again.
This time, he borrowed 70,000 soldiers and horses from the Khitans, and raised another 30,000 troops, vowing to fight with the next week. Although his sword has been sharpened for less than a decade, this time, his determination is unwavering.
In his heart, there are painful memories of national hatred and family hatred and the pain of losing a child, and he wants to find answers to these pains.
For him, the humiliation of surrendering to the Khitans, the pain of living in peace, the ruins of the Later Han Dynasty, and the wail of his eldest son before his death were all the forces that inspired him to move forward.
He knew very well that only when Hou Zhou was defeated could he find peace in his heart.