When it comes to the famous emperor in history, everyone knows it. When reading about his history, one can't help but curse him, "a traitor!"

Shi Jingtang will definitely feel aggrieved because he is not a Han Chinese, but a Shatuo person (this is a bit controversial, but there are more opinions that he is a Shatuo person).

The real Shi Jingtang was slightly different from the groveling and servile emperor in everyone's impression. He himself was "simple in nature, taciturn and smiling". He was fond of reading military books since he was a child. Li Siyuan, who was the governor of Daizhou at the time, fell in love with him at once.

He made him his son-in-law.

Shi Jingtang did not disappoint Li Siyuan. He was brave, resolute and good at fighting, and made a lot of contributions to his father-in-law. Especially in the process of Li Siyuan becoming emperor, he made the greatest contribution.

Deep down in his heart, Li Siyuan also preferred him and made him the military governor of the most powerful vassal. However, his stepson Li Congke, who also had great military achievements, did not receive this treatment. He was only given the title of military governor in Hezhong, and was finally sent to Fengxiang.

Hedong can be attacked, retreated or defended. Three political regimes in the Five Dynasties came from Hedong. When it comes to threatening Li Congke, it is actually far less than Shi Jingtang. Li Conghou originally asked Li Congke to move to Hedong, which may not be a plan to kill two birds with one stone.

Now that Li Congke became the emperor, he naturally wanted to continue the unfinished work of his younger brother. After he ascended the throne, he immediately ordered Shi Jingtang to come to Luoyang to see him. Shi Jingtang actually came, but Li Congke started to act stupidly and did not kill him neatly.

Put Shi Jingtang under house arrest.

Shi Jingtang naturally had the courage to come to see Li Congke, one of whom was his wife, Princess Wei, and the other was his mother-in-law, the Queen Mother Cao.

The two women cried, made trouble, and hung themselves. Even the emperor couldn't bear it. Under pressure, Li Congke ignored the objections of the courtiers and went back to the mountain. It must be said that he was completely confused.

Li Congke ostensibly let Shi Jingtang go, but he still planned how to deal with Shi Jingtang. But no matter how he calculated, Shi Jingtang knew very well that he would not take the bait. The Queen Mother was his mother-in-law, she was a great spy.

Being too soft, Li Congke simply went hard and sent people to Hedong in the name of defending the Khitan, but in fact it was to distract Shi Jingtang's power.

Shi Jingtang became anxious as soon as this move was used. Knowing that Li Congke was going to break up with him, he actively prepared for war and actively provoked Li Congke. Shi Jingtang submitted a memorial to the court, saying that he had had enough of staying in Hedong and wanted to change places.

Li Congke got what he wanted and ignored the objections of the ministers, so he bit the bait dropped by Shi Jingtang. After receiving the reply from the court, Shi Jingtang was secretly happy in his heart but full of sadness on his face. He patted the memorial and said to his subordinates: "Brothers, the emperor

If you want to relocate me, you are trying to kill me! Since the emperor is unkind, you can’t blame me for being unjust!"

Shi Jingtang was originally from Taiyuan and had been operating in Taiyuan for many years. He was forced to raise troops and his men naturally followed him. Compared to Li Congke, his strength was still weaker, but it did not prevent him from finding helpers. There was a group of mercenaries to the north of him.

The Khitan Emperor Yelu Deguang herded cattle and horses on the grassland. When he ran out of money, he went to the south to thresh grass and grain. From time to time, people from the Central Plains escaped from their misfortune and came to work as slaves for him. He lived a very happy life.

The Central Plains was in chaos. In fact, he wanted to get involved, but unfortunately he couldn't get in. Although the Central Plains were mostly infantry, they did not lose at all against the Khitan cavalry. In a big battle, the enemy would often lose a thousand soldiers.

Losing 800 yuan to yourself is not worth it.

Even if he was beaten to death, he would never have thought that a leading party would emerge from the Central Plains, saying that as long as they supported him as emperor, they would cede the Yanyun Sixteenth State on the border to him, and also recognize him as his father.

Such joy came from heaven. Yelu Deguang must have slapped his mouth hard to make sure he was not dreaming, but the reality was so full. Although he was a little embarrassed to accept a man who was ten years older than him as his son, Yelu Deguang still agreed.

.

Immediately, Yelv Deguang led an army of fifty thousand soldiers south, claiming to be three hundred thousand, to support his newly recognized son. Everyone knew the result.

The 50,000 Tang troops were completely surrounded by the Khitan coalition forces in the east of the river. Faced with Shi Jingtang's coercion and inducement, they finally surrendered. With the main force gone, the other vassal towns had no choice but to watch the fun.

Of course, there are also shameless ones. For example, Zhao Dejun, the governor of Youzhou, expressed that he also wanted to recognize Yelu Deguang as his father and promised to cede more land. Yelu Deguang was a good father, and he was afraid of letting down the father-son relationship with Shi Jingtang.

, just didn’t agree.

Although Li Congke of Luoyang was still alive, he no longer had any capital. Facing Shi Jingtang's army, Li Congke chose to immolate his family. Of course, the spy Empress Dowager Cao was not left behind, and the imperial seal also disappeared.

Shi Jingtang officially proclaimed himself emperor under the canonization of Yelu Deguang. When he ascended the throne, he still wore traditional Khitan clothes. This meant that the newly created Jin State became a vassal state of Khitan. The Central Plains regime has always been a father, and this is the first

Once he became a son, Shi Jingtang set a precedent in history by doing the opposite.

Liu Bang made peace with the Huns, Li Yuan declared himself a vassal to the Turks, and it is understandable that Shi Jingtang recognized his godfather in times of crisis. When the Japanese soldiers and horses are strong, and he regains face like the Han and Tang Dynasties, others will still praise him for his courage and courage.

He endured the humiliation and endured the heavy burden, but after tearing down the walls of his family's courtyard, he seemed to have no intention of regaining his face.

A good politician can turn his back on words in black and white. As for an empty promise to seek medical treatment in case of emergency, it is nothing more than a fart. He will not easily grant strategically important places to others.

Shi Jingtang not only paid lip service to his words but was also practical. He implemented the cession of the sixteen states of Yanyun and implemented the father-son friendship in his dealings with the Khitan.

His memorial to Yelu Deguang must begin with "Zi'erzi Jinwang"; when facing the Khitan envoy Shi Jingtang, he can kneel down and worship, and ask in a nauseous way, "Is the father, the emperor, okay?"

In addition to flattering his godfather, Shi Jingtang also flattered his grandmother, goduncle, and godbrother. He would not spare any of the upper-class dignitaries of the Liao Kingdom. Anyone who failed to flatter him could be dispatched.

When people scolded him, Shi Jingtang would "humble and thank him."

The government and the public alike despised Shi Jingtang's servile appearance, and one could not help but wonder where his bloody spirit in the battlefield had gone?

In fact, the Liao Kingdom was still on the rise at that time, and the sixteen states of Yanyun had not yet digested the limited comprehensive national strength. The border towns in the north had previously beaten the Khitan. After Shi Jingtang's death, the two countries fell out, and the two sides also fought hard. If it weren't for the traitor formation,

After surrendering to the enemy, Yelu Deguang could not enter Kaifeng at all.

Shi Jingtang was so low-key. On the one hand, he was worried that someone more filial than him would pop up in the Central Plains. On the other hand, he could only be said to be a cheap person. In fact, he himself was not without merit. In terms of internal affairs, Shi Jingtang was a "nothing but a man who eats and sleeps."

, a good emperor who treated the virtuous and obeyed his advice.

When Li Congke came to power, in order to fight against Shi Jingtang, he levied a lot of taxes and forced young men into the army. The young people gathered as bandits to hide in the valley. After Shi Jingtang came to power, he abolished these taxes, pardoned the crimes of these young men, and allowed them to return to their hometowns to farm.

, if he does not return for two months, he will be guilty as before.

The biggest good policy during his reign was to reduce the salt tax. Salt tax has always been a priority in all dynasties. This good government can be regarded as breaking the shackles on the people.

In the face of natural disasters occurring in various places, he has never been vague about whether disaster relief or tax reductions should be provided, let alone like Li Cunxu.

Once on the way from Taiyuan to Luoyang, I saw locusts gnawing on the crops in the fields on the roadside. I immediately ordered local officials to reduce or reduce taxes as appropriate. Maybe this piece of land did not produce much and could not pay much taxes, but for a common person

It is said that the benefits can be seen and touched. Isn’t the so-called intention expressed in such subtleties?

You can say he is putting on a show, but when a person can put on a show for a lifetime, it is no longer a show.

During the troubled times of the Five Dynasties, military disasters were more severe than natural disasters. Shi Jingtang had very strict restraints on his soldiers. Once Bai Jingyou, the defense envoy of Zhengzhou, presented him with a batch of cattle, sheep and utensils, but Shi Jingtang asked: "Isn't it you who robbed the common people?" Bai Jingyou

He said: "I fear your Majesty's laws, and all of them are based on my own salary." The sentence "I fear your Majesty's laws" fully shows the severity of Shi Jingtang's imperial duties.

He personally adhered to the principle of keeping wealth for the people and not competing with the people for profit. Wang Wu, a common man in Chenzhou, dug out a large amount of gold in his own land, and then it was confiscated by the government and presented to Shi Jingtang. Shi Jingtang refused to accept it and returned it to Wang Wu.

The most touching thing is the move of the capital. When he came to the throne, he settled on Luoyang and later moved the capital to Kaifeng. Luoyang was the eastern capital of the Tang Dynasty. Zhu Wen and Li Cunxu both built palaces here, which were definitely more luxurious than Kaifeng.

As the capital of the country, Luoyang naturally consumes a lot of money. However, Luoyang's water transportation is not developed, so it is necessary to conscript the people to transport grain and grass supplies. Therefore, in the third year of Tianfu, the capital was moved to Kaifeng, which has developed water transportation, just to reduce the people's corvee labor.

He also lived a very simple life, often wearing cloth clothes and linen shoes. His philosophy of governing the country is very similar to Huang Lao's thought in the early Han Dynasty: "If I do nothing, the people will be self-improved; if I am quiet, the people will be upright; if I have nothing to do, the people will be rich."

I have no desires, but the people are simple."

Maybe he can't reach this level, but he still has some meaning in it. In short, he just doesn't bother. This is very similar to Li Siyuan. The life of the people of Jin can also reach the level of "roughly well-off".

If only from the perspective of the Jin people, Shi Jingtang can be regarded as a qualified and good emperor.

Before his death, Shi Jingtang passed the throne to his son Shi Chongrui. However, Shi Chongrui was still a child and had to be taken care of by others for food, clothing, and daily life. How could he manage the country well in the troubled times of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms?

Prime Minister Feng Dao simply pretended to pass the throne to Shi Jingtang's nephew Shi Chonggui. In fact, even if he did not change, Shi Chonggui, who had military power, would not give up. It would only make the court more chaotic. It would be better to get it right at once.

Shi Chonggui was much more courageous than Shi Jingtang. He told Yelu Deguang that although his uncle recognized you as his godfather, this was a personal matter. From a business perspective, we were both emperors and equals.

Maybe Yelu Deguang just smiled when he saw Shi Chonggui's letter and threw it aside. It was not that he had a big heart. At that time, the politics and people's livelihood of the Jin State were very stable, and it was not easy for the Khitan to swallow up the Jin State.

However, Shi Chonggui did not disappoint Yelu Deguang. After he ascended the throne, he first made his aunt Feng the queen, and also made Feng's brother Zuopushe. However, this brother-in-law made money and wielded power with one hand.

"The sun is bad".

Shi Chonggui was politically unclear, and he was even more of a bastard when it came to social and people's livelihood. In the last years of Tianfu, a serious disaster occurred in the Later Jin Dynasty, and hundreds of thousands of people starved to death. Instead of vigorously providing relief, Shi Chonggui sent thirty-six envoys to search hard.

There is no doubt that people's wealth is related to robbery, and the people of the world are "frightened, big and small, and they want to die without a place."

The valuable money and stones collected were not used to reorganize the armaments. Most of them were used into his own pocket.

The difference is a thousand miles.

Yelv Deguang saw the situation in the Jin Kingdom very clearly. He had been sharpening his sword and waiting for a long time. When he saw that the chaos in the Jin Kingdom had arisen, he sent his troops southward.

Shi Chonggui's knees immediately went weak, and he immediately asked Yelu Deguang for peace. Yelu Deguang had made up his mind to deal with him, and naturally he would not give up easily.

Yelu Deguang wanted to repeat his old tricks and besiege the Jin army just like he did against Li Congke. The Jin army was short of water and food, and the situation was very critical. The soldiers of the Five Dynasties were greedy for money, lustful, lawless, and did not even have the most basic loyalty. However, they still

He has strong individual qualities and bloody spirit.

Facing the Khitan soldiers who were burning, killing and looting in the Central Plains, the Jin army exploded. Seventy thousand Khitan cavalry were killed and their bodies were laid to pieces for dozens of miles. Yelu Deguang managed to escape by riding a camel.

The Khitan cavalry was mediocre, and the complacent Shi Chonggui once had the idea of ​​regaining the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun. In this regard, he was much stronger than Zhao Kuangyin.

It's good to be determined, but you have to take action. He built armor, trained soldiers, and saved up valuables. Because he was reluctant to spend money, he learned from the iron rooster of his predecessor Li Cunxu.

The key is that he also hired the careerist Du Chongwei, who was Shi Chonggui's old uncle, but he only wanted to be the next Shi Jingtang.

Du Chongwei was very good at planning, but Yelu Deguang was even better at planning. He did not intend to support another Shi Jingtang, but wanted to take over the Central Plains and open up the world for the Khitans.

Three years after the beginning of his fortune, Yelu Deguang led his army to invade again. He bribed Du Chongwei with just a dragon robe and surrendered hundreds of thousands of troops without any effort. Shi Chonggui only had the palace guards left in his hands. The final result can be imagined.

Know.

After all, it was a marriage, and Yelu Deguang didn't do it right. The royal family of the Later Jin Dynasty was kicked out of the palace and sent to the northeast.

The fall of the Later Jin Dynasty was destined from the day it was established. Although Shi Chonggui was the king of the country's destruction, the biggest blame still had to be shouldered by the founder of the country. The debt Shi Jingtang owed to Yan Yun was still withheld until the Fourth Dynasty.

A hundred years later, King Xu Da of Zhongshan led the Ming army to make up for it.

Yelu Deguang made a lot of money. Not only did he acquire a bunch of new godsons, he also gained half of the world. He climbed up the city tower and looked at the panicked people in Bianliang City, and shouted loudly: "I am just like you."

, they are all human beings! I didn’t want to march south, but your emperor brought me here. I will be your emperor so that you can be freed from tyranny and recuperate!"

Don't tell me, this voice is really effective. The officials of the Later Jin Dynasty and the governors of various vassal towns basically surrendered. Yelu Deguang, wearing Hanfu, accepted the congratulations of hundreds of officials in Chongyuan Hall with the ceremony of the Central Plains emperor, and changed to Khitan

The country became the Liao Kingdom, and the reign name was changed to Datong.

He was so complacent that he wanted to be a wise king and a holy lord. He also withdrew the Khitan soldiers stationed in the city from Kaifeng City, which won unanimous praise from the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty. Among the many flatteries, Yelu Deguang must have done something to unify the world.

It was a sweet dream, but it was a pity that he woke up from it within two or three months.
To be continued...