HLnovel Chapter 70 The Jinshan Kingdom of the Western Han Dynasty
Chapter 70 The Jinshan Kingdom of the Western Han Dynasty
During the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty
Li Shimin felt a pang of sadness, and a sudden idea popped into his mind.
With so many political upheavals in the Tang Dynasty, could it be that his Xuanwu Gate Incident was the beginning of it?
The emperor fled because of that old bastard Li Longji. It makes me furious just thinking about it!
How dare the emperor abandon the city and flee, leaving his people behind! What face do they have to call themselves descendants of the Tang Dynasty?
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The live broadcast continues.
"In January of 903 AD, Zhu Wen's army had been besieging Fengxiang for several months. Li Maozhen's supplies were exhausted and he could no longer hold out. So he killed the eunuchs and handed Emperor Zhaozong of Tang over to Zhu Wen."
"Cui Yin did try to resist, but unfortunately, the military force he rebuilt was too weak. To get rid of the troublesome Cui Yin, Zhu Wen even granted him the privilege of having nine generations of his family wiped out. Now, Emperor Zhaozong of Tang was left without anyone by his side. Zhu Wen, who caused all this, immediately forced Emperor Zhaozong to move the capital to Luoyang."
When Emperor Zhaozong's carriage arrived in Huazhou, the people shouted "Long live the Emperor!" but Emperor Zhaozong himself covered his face and wept, saying: "Do not shout 'Long live the Emperor!' I am no longer your ruler!"
"Perhaps Emperor Zhaozong's fate was sealed the moment he was captured. He was killed on August 11, 904 AD, and Emperor Ai of Tang, Li Zhu, succeeded him."
"Zhang Chengfeng, far away in Hexi, was extremely worried. The Uyghurs in the vicinity had risen to power, and since Liu Jishu's coup, the Tang Dynasty had not issued any decrees regarding the affairs of Hexi."
Just as he was feeling extremely distressed, someone came from Luoyang with some news.
The man sighed deeply and said, "The Tang Dynasty is gone...!" This year was 907 AD, the first year of the Kai Ping era of the Great Liang Dynasty.
A scion of a prominent family in the Tang Dynasty: General Zhang Yichao's wish was ultimately not fulfilled...
A spoiled young master from the Ming Dynasty: I always wanted to go home, but now my home is gone...
A scion of a prominent family in the Song Dynasty: After listening to the Tang Dynasty story for so long, I suddenly feel a little sad to hear that it's over!
Empress Li Erfeng of the Tang Dynasty (heartbroken): My Great Tang Dynasty has fallen just like that!!!
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"Although the Tang Dynasty is finished, the story of the Guiyi Army is not over yet."
"After Zhang Chengfeng seized power, he broadened his vision to the entire Hexi Corridor, only to discover that their situation was already extremely dangerous, and the banner that supported the Guiyi Army's beliefs had collapsed with the fall of the Tang Dynasty."
"On the other hand, Zhu Wen (whose given name was Zhu Quanzhong by Emperor Xizong of Tang), the military governor who kidnapped Emperor Zhaozong and forced him to move the capital to Luoyang, changed his name to Zhu Huang after becoming emperor, and thus became Emperor Taizu of Liang."
"Unlike the Ganzhou Uyghurs, the Guiyi Army did not recognize Emperor Ai of Tang, whom Zhu Wen had installed, nor the Later Liang dynasty he had established after usurping the Tang throne. They continued to use the Tianfu era name of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang."
"However, although the Guiyi Army did not take Zhu Wen seriously, it did not mean that Zhu Wen would let them go. He nominally controlled Liangzhou as the military governor of Hexi."
"At this time, the Guiyi Army was practically isolated, bordered by the Ganzhou Uyghurs to the east, the Gaochang Uyghurs to the north, the Anxi Uyghurs to the west, and the various Tibetan tribes to the south."
"Yet, despite facing such a predicament, Zhang Chengfeng was filled with fighting spirit; he wanted to recreate the glory of his grandfather Zhang Yichao's era!"
A Ming Dynasty soldier: Good heavens, we're surrounded on all sides!
A scion of a prominent family in the Song Dynasty: It's not easy!
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"In July and August of 909 AD, Zhang Chengfeng, on the advice of his close advisor Zhang Wenche, formally established the Western Han Dynasty's Jinshan Kingdom on an autumn day at the turn of the two months."
"At the beginning of the founding of the nation, everything was in ruins and needed to be rebuilt. Zhang Chengfeng was full of fighting spirit. In order to re-establish contact with Khotan, he ordered General Luo Tongda to lead a thousand elite troops to raid Loulan. This battle was a great victory."
"After the great victory at Loulan, the entire Jinshan Kingdom was overjoyed, and Zhang Chengfeng even wanted to continue his campaign against the powerful Ganzhou Uyghurs."
"According to the Dunhuang manuscripts, around 906 AD, the two sides were attacked and their relationship rapidly deteriorated. There is reason to speculate that this was Zhu Wen of the Later Liang dynasty."
"In 910 AD, Zhang Cheng was ordered to conquer the Ganzhou Uyghurs. However, unlike Loulan, the Ganzhou Uyghurs were well-prepared. Even though the soldiers he sent fought valiantly, they could not reverse the tide of war and were forced to retreat to Dunhuang."
"At this critical juncture, Zhang Chengfeng decided to personally lead the charge, gathering 10,000 troops from within the city to 'go out and meet the enemy.'"
"This battle was exceptionally fierce. Zhang Chengfeng's side only managed to hold on at the cost of heavy casualties. After the Uyghurs retreated, they changed their commander, and this time Zhang Chengfeng was no longer able to turn the tide."
"With the Uyghur army at the city gates, Zhang Chengfeng realized that the situation was hopeless. He then sent the eminent monk Da De and others to negotiate peace with the Uyghurs. Ultimately, through the mediation of various parties in Dunhuang and local powerful clans, the Uyghurs agreed to peace talks."
"In 911 AD, Zhang Chengfeng, after his defeat, never recovered and relinquished his imperial title, changing it to Heavenly King. The Western Han Jinshan Kingdom was transformed into the Western Han Dunhuang Kingdom."
"As I've said before, the people don't care who's in power; what they care about most is whether that person can ensure their peaceful lives."
"At that time, the people of Dunhuang City had experienced repeated wars of resistance against Japan, and were also facing natural disasters such as locust plagues, frost, and epidemics. They were on the verge of not being able to survive. How could they not have grievances in their hearts?"
"Therefore, this also diminished Zhang Chengfeng's prestige among the people of Dunhuang."
Zhu Bajie of the Ming Dynasty: If our parents had enough to eat, they wouldn't have starved to death! And we, Zhu Bajie, wouldn't have rebelled!
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