The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, including many separatist regimes such as the Five Dynasties and the Ten Kingdoms, is a period in Chinese history that began with the fall of the Tang Dynasty and ended with the establishment of the Northern Song Dynasty. It can also be define

The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907-979), including the Five Dynasties (907-960) and Ten Kingdoms (902-979) and many other separatist regimes, is a period in Chinese history, starting from the Tang Dynasty It started with the demise of the North Dynasty and ended with the establishment of the Northern Song Dynasty. It can also be defined as the unification of the remaining political power of the ten countries in the Northern Song Dynasty.

The Five Dynasties refer to the five regimes that successively established their capitals in the Central Plains region after the fall of the Tang Dynasty in the fourth year of Tang Tianyou (907), namely Later Liang, Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han and Later Zhou Dynasty. In April of the fourth year of Tianyou (907), Liang Wang Zhu Huang (whose real name was Wen, and was given the name Quanzhong by the Tang Emperor) accepted the abdication of Emperor Ai of the Tang Dynasty, Li Tie, and established the Later Liang Dynasty in the Central Plains, with its capital at Kaifeng Prefecture in Tokyo (today's Kaifeng, Henan Province). The Ten Kingdoms begin. In the first month of the seventh year of the Later Zhou Dynasty (960), Zhao Kuangyin launched the Chenqiao mutiny. He wore a yellow robe and accepted Emperor Zhou Gong's abdication, establishing the Northern Song Dynasty and ending the Five Dynasties.

In the late Tang, Five Dynasties and early Song Dynasty, many separatist regimes existed outside the Central Plains region, such as Yang Wu , Jie Yan , among which the former Shu, the later Shu, the Southern Wu (Yang Wu), the Southern Tang, Wu Yue The ten separatist regimes including Fujian , Southern Chu (Ma Chu), Southern Han , Nanping ( Jingnan ), and Northern Han were collectively referred to as the Ten Kingdoms by "New History of the Five Dynasties" and later historians. After the establishment of the Northern Song Dynasty, it successively unified the remaining local separatist regimes such as Nanping, Wuping, Houshu, Southern Han, Southern Tang, Ping Haijun, Wuyue, and Northern Han.

Houliang (907-923) was the first dynasty of the Five Dynasties. In April of the fourth year of Tang Tianyou's reign (907), Liang King Zhu Huang (whose real name was Zhu Wen, and who was given the name Zhu Quanzhong by the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty) was abdicated by Emperor Ai of the Tang Dynasty, Li Tiao, and proclaimed himself the emperor and founded the country. The country was named Daliang. ), known historically as the Later Liang, the Tang Dynasty was officially overthrown, and Chinese history entered the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Later Liang made his capital Kaifeng (today's Kaifeng, Henan Province), and later moved the capital to Luoyang .

The founding emperor of the Later Liang Dynasty was Zhu Wen. He served Huangchao during the Qianfu period of Emperor Xi (xī) of the Tang Dynasty, and was gradually promoted to a general. After Huangchao captured Chang'an and established the Daqi regime, he was ordered to defend against the vassal towns attacking from all sides. coalition forces. In the second year of Zhonghe in the Tang Dynasty (882), the war became more and more intense. Zhu Wen, who was guarding the whole state, could not get any rescue, so he surrendered to the Tang army. Tang Xizong said happily: "It's a gift from God!" Quanzhong was appointed General Zuo Jinwuwei and served as the deputy recruiting envoy for the camp in Hezhong. From then on, he led troops to fight alongside Wang Chongrong and always achieved victory.

In the spring of the fourth year of Zhonghe (884), Zhu Quanzhong arrived at the boundary of Wazizhai in Chenzhou, and contracted Xuzhou Town General Tian Congyi and others to defeat the tens of thousands of troops stationed here again. Immediately afterwards, Zhu Quanzhong led his troops to Huaiyang, where Chenzhou was governed, and launched a fierce attack with his army. After more than 40 large and small battles, he finally broke through the siege of Huang Chao's army. At this time, Huang Chao's troops began to gather at Guyang Base in the north of Chenzhou, preparing to attack Xuanwu Town. Zhu Quanzhong, Li Ke, and Shi Pu integrated their forces and prepared to attack Huang Chao together. Not long after, Huang Chao led his army towards Xuanwu Town. When his troops crossed the river at Wangmandu of the Bianhe River in Zhongmou, the coalition suddenly launched an attack, causing Huang Chao heavy losses. Huang Chao himself led his guards to flee to Langhu Valley in embarrassment. Xiangwang Village was besieged by Shi Pu's pursuing troops, and he had no choice but to commit suicide. After this battle, Bozhou was captured by Zhu Quanzhong, and Chenzhou surrendered to Zhu Quanzhong after relieving the siege. Huang Chao surrendered Zhang Guiba, Huo Cun, Zhang Guihou, Ge Congzhou and others all knelt down under Zhu Quanzhong's horse. Huang Chao got acquainted with them in the army and accepted them one by one. These people later became Zhu Quanzhong's capable generals.

On April 18, the fourth year of Tang Tianyou's reign (June 1, 907), Liang Wang Zhu Quanzhong changed his name to Zhu Huang, accepted Emperor Ai's abdication, and proclaimed himself emperor. His country was named Daliang, his reign was named Kaiping, and he was known as Houliang in history. The territory of Houliang was the smallest among the Five Dynasties, and its jurisdiction included today's Henan and Shandong provinces, most of Shaanxi and Hubei, and parts of Hebei, Ningxia, Shanxi, Jiangsu, and Anhui provinces.

After Liang Taizu Zhu Huang became emperor, his number one enemy Li Keyong died of illness the next year, and his son Li Cunxu (xù) succeeded to the Jin throne.When Li Cunxu succeeded to the throne, Luzhou had been besieged by Liang Jun for more than a year, and the situation was very critical. Li Cunxu took advantage of the fact that Liang Jun thought he was busy with funerals and was lax on guard. He personally led the army and attacked Luzhou. He broke the stronghold built by Liang Jun to besiege Luzhou and killed Liang Jun's commander Fu Daozhao . Liang Jun was defeated. , more than 10,000 people died. This battle has a great impact on both Liang and Jin. If the Liang army wins, it will open the door to Hedong and can directly attack Taiyuan, the capital of Jin. If the Jin army wins, it will not only consolidate the southern border of Hedong, but also threaten Liang in the south. The ruling center - Henan region.

Then Li Cunxu set out to rectify the lax military discipline, develop agricultural production, reduce taxes, provide care for orphans and widows, stabilize internal order, select talents, and reorganize the army to prepare for war, so that the appearance of Hedong territory took on a new look.

During this period, internal changes occurred one after another in the Later Liang Dynasty. Wang Chuzhi, the envoy of Yiwu Jiedu, and Wang Rong, the envoy of Chengde Jiedu, raised troops to rebel against the Liang because Zhu Huang deliberately eliminated dissidents. They also defected to Li Cunxu and jointly rebelled against the Liang. Zhu Huang listened to the slander and killed Wang Chongshi, the military envoy of Youguo Jiedu, and exterminated the entire clan. General Liu Zhijun was suspicious and fearful, so he raised troops in Tongzhou to rebel and joined forces with Li Maozhen to fight against Zhu. Zhu Huang was also jealous of talents, so he killed the heroic general Deng Jijun (yún) who had repeatedly made military exploits on the pretext of being thin; he also executed general Li Chongyun for disobeying military orders; Zhu Zhen was his famous general, Zhu Huang They killed him for reasons, and the generals begged for mercy, but were driven out by Zhu Huang. Li Si'an was Zhu Huang's favorite general, but after being demoted for some reason, he became dissatisfied and was executed. Internal conflicts in the rear beam intensified, greatly weakening its strength.

In November of the fourth year of Kaiping (910), Zhu Huang sent general Wang Jingren to lead an army to attack Chengde King Rong and Yiwu King Chuzhi. Jin King Li Cunxu personally led an army to reinforce them. The following year, the two armies met in Baixiang (today's Gaoyi County, Hebei). Zhou Dewei first sent a small force to harass Liang Jun. When he was tired and sleepy, he attacked with all his strength and defeated Liang Jun. The dead bodies covered the field. The Battle of Xiang was a turning point in the struggle between Liang and Jin. After this battle, the strategic initiative shifted to the Jin army.

In the second year of Qianhua (912), Liu Shouguang (son of Liu Rengong) of Youzhou attacked Chengde and Yiwu, and Li Cunxu led an army to help. Liu Shouguang was worried that he was not an opponent, so he asked Zhu Huang for help. In order to avenge Baixiang, Zhu Huang personally led an army to attack Jin, claiming to have an army of 500,000. At that time, the main force of the Jin army attacked Youzhou in the north, leaving the south empty. The Jin garrison in Zhaozhou (today's Zhao County, Hebei) harassed Liang Jun with a small force. Jin general Li Cunshen also sent hundreds of cavalry to disguise Liang Jun. , took advantage of the night to make a surprise attack on the camp of Liang Taizu, and the Liang Jun soldiers who were released by the Jin army. After returning, it was rumored that Li Cunxu personally led the army to attack. Liang Taizu was panicked, so he burned the camp and fled at night. In desperation, he lost his way and walked more than 150 miles. The people of Hebei were very angry at Liang Jun's brutality and picked up farm tools to attack Liang Jun. Zhu Huang suffered a series of defeats and was filled with shame and anger. He fled back to Bianliang in embarrassment and became ill and bedridden.

Zhu Huang was born as a gangster, with a violent and cruel temperament. In his later years, due to the unfavorable war, his suspicion became increasingly strong. In addition to killing unscrupulously, he also indulged in sexual immorality. In addition to promulgating prostitution in the palace, he even recruited the ministers' female relatives into the palace and raped them. What is particularly licentious is that Zhu Huang did not let go of his daughters-in-law. Whether they were his adopted son or his biological daughter-in-law, he summoned his attendants one by one to openly profess promiscuity and behave like animals. And his sons were willing to sacrifice their wives in order to compete for favor, without any shame. They took advantage of the opportunity of their wives to stay in the palace, inquire about information, and compete for the throne. The wife of his adopted son Zhu Youwen was beautiful and clever, and was deeply loved by Zhu Huang. For this reason, Zhu Huang also loved Zhu Youwen very much, even more than his own son.

In the second year of Qianhua (912), Zhu Huang was defeated and returned to Bianliang, and then transferred to Luoyang. Because he was critically ill, he planned to summon Zhu Youwen from Bianliang to give instructions about his funeral. Although King Zhu Yougui (guī) of Ying was Zhu Huang's biological son, he was not favored by Zhu Huang because his mother was just a camp prostitute (that is, a military prostitute). However, Zhu Yougui was very ambitious and participated in the struggle for the reserve position. At this time, his wife Zhang was accompanying Zhu Huang and found out the news. She also learned that Zhu Huang was going to demote Zhu Yougui to be the governor of Laizhou , so she immediately reported it to Zhu Yougui.Zhu Yougui was frightened and had a murderous intention, so he bribed the generals of the imperial army, led troops into the palace, killed Zhu Huang, and proclaimed himself emperor in Luoyang. In order to eliminate the root cause, he sent people to Bianliang and killed Zhu Youwen.

Zhu Yougui killed his father and usurped the throne, which aroused the anger and dissatisfaction of Zhu Huang's disciples. Zhu Huang's adopted son Zhu Youqian preached against Zhu Yougui, and surrendered the town of Hezhong to King Li Cunxu of the Jin Dynasty. Later Liang general Yang Shihou, who was always jealous of Zhu Huang, also took the opportunity to occupy Wei Bo. Zhu Yougui did not dare to offend, so he had to admit the fait accompli and appointed him as the governor.

Zhu Huang's third son Zhu Youzhen also wanted to seize the throne. Zhu Yougui ordered him to kill Zhu Youwen. Zhu Youzhen lobbied Yang Shihou to help her. After much hesitation, Yang Shihou decided to support Zhu Youzhen, and Zhu Youzhen acted confidently and boldly. At that time, the Longxiang Army was stationed in Bianliang. Zhu Youzhen forged an edict from Yougui and transferred him to Luoyang. He then took the opportunity to threaten the Longxiang Army and said that he had summoned them just to kill them. The generals of the Longxiang Army were very frightened and went to Zhu Youzhen one after another. He asked for advice on how to escape. Zhu Youzhen took the opportunity to incite them to raise troops to kill Yougui, and the generals also expressed their willingness to support Youzhen. After Zhu Youzhen took control of the Longxiang Army, he immediately sent someone to inform Zhao Yan and Yuan Xiangxian, so Zhao, Yuan and others led the imperial army into the palace. Zhu Yougui committed suicide, and then supported Zhu Youzhen to proclaim himself emperor in Bianliang, that is, the last emperor of Liang, and changed his name. Zhu Kun .

Since Zhu Kun became emperor relying on the support of the Imperial Army generals, after he ascended the throne, he rewarded him lavishly and spent a huge amount of money. Coupled with the continuous wars and huge military expenditures, Houliang's finances became increasingly tight. In order to meet his needs, Zhu Kun appointed corrupt officials to plunder people's wealth, causing social conflicts to suddenly intensify.

After Yang Shihou died, the town of Weibo where he was located was still a big threat. Weibo had many generals, brave and good at fighting, and it was located close to Bianliang. If this threat was not eliminated, Emperor Liang would still find it difficult to live in peace. Therefore, his close confidant Zhao Yan came up with a plan. It was better to take advantage of the fact that his army had no master and split Wei Bo into two to achieve the purpose of weakening its strong position. Emperor Liang Mo followed his plan and issued an edict to divide Weibo into Tianxiong and Zhaode towns, and divide the treasury and soldiers in half. Fearing that Wei Bo's generals would not obey, he sent an army of 60,000 to cross the Yellow River and approach Weizhou, preparing to suppress it.

Wei Bo's soldiers were unwilling to leave their hometown, so they gathered a crowd to mutiny, kidnapped the newly appointed Jiedushi He Delun, and asked him to surrender to the Jin Dynasty. Li Cunxu was overjoyed and personally led his army to Weizhou to take over military and political power. This change was undoubtedly a piece of cake for Jin. Not only did it occupy Weibo, a major military town, directly threatening Bianliang, the center of Houliang's rule, but it also gained Weibo's elite soldiers and Li Cunxu's Military strength has been greatly enhanced. Li Cunxu personally recruited troops to Huangzeling, Taihang (now Zuoquan, Shanxi), and also attacked Dezhou (now Shandong) and Chanzhou. The Liang army was defeated in consecutive battles.

In the second year of Zhenming (916), in order to lure Liang Jun into battle, Li Cunxu left General Li Cunjin to garrison where he was, and threatened to return to Taiyuan. Hearing this, Emperor Liang once again urged troops to advance to Weizhou, and once again encountered the Jin army in the west of Guyuan City (today's Daming East in Hebei Province). The Liang army was defeated. At this time, the Liang army sent to attack Taiyuan defended the city and fought with the Jin army. Under the attack of the reinforcements outside the city, they were also defeated and retreated. The Jin army also took advantage of the victory to attack Xing, Ming and other prefectures, thus all the land in Hebei belonged to Jin, and formed a confrontation with Houliang on the Jiahe River (Yellow River). The war surrounding the battle for Weibo Town ended with the complete victory of the Jin army and the complete defeat of the Liang Dynasty.

During this period, the conflicts within the Houliang royal family also intensified. The Zhu family members were suspicious of each other and always wanted to launch a palace coup in order to seize the throne. Emperor Liang Mo further alienated his clan brothers and favored Zhao Yan and his concubine brothers Zhang Handing and Zhang Hanjie. They all held close secret positions and often discussed military and state affairs with them. Zhao Yan and others also relied on their power to sell their official positions and alienate the generals and prime ministers, creating a tainted atmosphere in the court and disunity among the people. Since then, Liang's political affairs have become more chaotic, until his death.

In the spring of the first year of Longde (921), when Li Cunxu was about to proclaim himself emperor, King Rong of Zhenzhou was killed by his subordinate Zhang Wenli. Zhang Wenli colluded with Hou Liang and Khitan . When the Jin army entered Zhenzhou, the Liang army attacked the Jin army, but was defeated by the Jin army, with more than 20,000 casualties.

In April of the third year of Longde (923), Li Cunxu officially proclaimed himself emperor, the country was named Tang, and the history was called Later Tang. Later Liang was at a disadvantage. In the third year of Longde in Later Liang and the first year of Tongguang in Later Tang (923), at the end of the fourth intercalary month, the Tang army took advantage of the Liang army to attack Zezhou (today's Jincheng, Shanxi), and sent general Li Siyuan to attack Yunzhou (now Jincheng, Shanxi) with 5,000 cavalry. Today's Dongping, Shandong), we captured it early the next morning. Later Liang appointed Wang Yanzhang as commander and Duan Ning as deputy commander, and mobilized 100,000 elite troops to attack the Later Tang Dynasty. Emperor Zhuangzong of the Tang Dynasty personally led his army to fight fiercely with Liang Jun in Yangliu (now Dong'a). Later Wang Yanzhang was defeated in Zhongdu County (now Wenshang, Shandong) and was captured and executed. On November 19 of the same year, Li Siyuan's troops approached Kaifeng. The courtiers of Emperor Liang Mo's Zhu Ai fled one after another, and even his Imperial Jade Seal was stolen by his subordinates and given to Li Siyuan as a meeting gift. Zhu Ai's people betrayed their relatives, were helpless, and eventually committed suicide.

The Later Tang Dynasty (923-936) was a feudal dynasty established by the Shatuo people during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Its capital was Luoyang (today's Luoyang, Henan Province). It was passed down to two emperors and four emperors, which lasted for 14 years.

In the third year of Zhonghe (883), Li Keyong, a general of the Shatuo tribe, was granted the title of Hedong Jiedu envoy to govern Taiyuan Prefecture for his meritorious service in regaining Chang'an, the capital. In the fourth year of Zhonghe (884) and the second year of Dashun (891), Li Keyong was awarded the title of "King of Longxi County" twice. On December 13, the second year of Qianning (Yiwei day, January 1, 896), Li Keyong was granted the title of King of Jin and established the Kingdom of Jin.

In the fourth year of Zhonghe (884), after Li Keyong attacked Huang Chao, he passed by Bianzhou and rested his army at Fengchan Temple for reorganization. Zhu Wen entertained Li Keyong at a banquet at Shangyuanyi. Li Keyong lost his temper while drunk, which angered Zhu Wen. In the evening, after the banquet was over, Li Keyong fell asleep drunk. Zhu Wen's ambushed soldiers came out and set fire to the house. The servant Guo Jingzhu extinguished the candles, hid Li Keyong under the bed, poured water on Li Keyong to wake him up and told him. Fortunately, heavy rain extinguished the fire. Li Keyong and his entourage Xue Tieshan, He Huihu and others used the light of lightning to escape from the Weishi Gate with ropes and returned to their own troops. After that, Li Keyong and Zhu Quanzhong I swear not to be in conflict with each other.

In the fourth year of Tianyou (907), Zhu Quanzhong usurped the Tang Dynasty and established the Later Liang Dynasty. Li Keyong still used the reign title of Tang Tianyou, and the Jin Dynasty became the biggest threat to the north of the Later Liang Dynasty. After Li Keyong died in the fifth year of Tianyou (908), his son Li Cunxu ascended to the throne.

In the seventh year of Tianyou (910), Zhu Wen attempted to completely eliminate the Yiwu Army and the Chengde Army and sent a large army to attack Zhao. Chengde Jiedushi Wang Rong, the king of Zhao, could not resist the attack of Houliang and asked Jin for help. At the same time, Wang Chuzhi, the king of Peiping, the envoy of Yiwu Jiedu, also sent an envoy to express his willingness to surrender to Jin. Li Cunxu seized the opportunity and sent a large army to rescue Zhao. He fought with Liang Jun in Baixiang and defeated Liang Jun. After the Battle of Baixiang, both the Yiwu Army and the Chengde Army surrendered to the Jin State, making the Jin State gradually stronger.

In the eighth year of Tianyou (911), Lulong Jiedushi made King Yan Liu Shouguang proclaimed emperor, changed Yuan Yingtian, the country was named "Yan", and the history was called "Jie Yan". In the name of suppressing the rebellion, Li Cunxu launched a massive attack on the Kingdom of Yan. In the tenth year of Tianyou (913), the Jin State destroyed the Yan State and killed Liu Shouguang in Taiyuan. After this battle, most of the land in Hebei belonged to Jin, which laid the foundation for Jin to go south and destroy Houliang.

In the twelfth year of Tianyou (915), Yang Shihou, the king of Ye, the Tianxiong Jiedu envoy, died. Emperor Liang Mo tried to divide Weibo into two towns. Weibo's army was in chaos, and the prefectures and counties surrendered to the Jin Kingdom one after another. After a series of wars, the Weibo states were owned by the Jin state. Since then, the three towns of Heshuo have all come under the rule of the Jin State, which reversed the situation between Liang and Jin, and the Jin State changed from a weak side to a strong one. In the fifteenth year of Tianyou (918), Jin King Li Cunxu led his army to attack Liang and fought with the Liang army in the Huliupi area of ​​present-day Henan. The Jin army was defeated first and then won, but it also suffered heavy casualties and was unable to attack Bianzhou again.

In the 18th year of Tianyou (921), civil strife broke out in Zhao. King Zhao Wang Rong was killed by his adopted son Zhang Wenli. Li Cunxu sent a large army to attack him, and Zhang Wenli died of illness.In the 19th year of Tianyou (922), Li Cunshen captured Zhenzhou and killed Zhang Wenli's son Zhang Chujin. From then on, the Zhao land was completely owned by and the former Jin Dynasty.

In April of the 20th year of Tianyou's reign (923), Li Cunxu proclaimed himself emperor in Weizhou, changed his Yuan Dynasty to Tongguang, adopted "Tang" as the country's name, and posthumously awarded his father and ancestors as emperors for three generations, together with Tang Gaozu, Tang Taizong, Tang Yizong and Tang Zhaozong were listed as the Seven Temples to show that they were the legal successors of the Tang Dynasty. Historians called them the Later Tang Dynasty.

On the second day of October in the first year of Tongguang (923), Li Cunxu personally led the army from Yang Liu across the river, and on the third day of the month, they entered Yunzhou, with general Li Siyuan as the vanguard. Crossing Wenshui that night, he met Liang general Wang Yanzhang the next morning and won a battle. He conquered Zhongdu (today's Wenshang, Shandong) and captured Wang Yanzhang. He also adopted Li Siyuan's suggestion that the troops should move quickly towards Bianzhou, and ordered him to lead the front army to set off that night, and he would lead the main force to follow. On the seventh day of the lunar month, when they entered Caozhou, (now northwest of Caoxian County, Shandong), General Liang surrendered without a fight. Zhu Youzhen committed suicide when he saw that there was no hope for reinforcements. On the ninth day of the lunar month, the Tang army arrived in Bianzhou, and Wang Zan opened the door and surrendered. On the 12th, Duan Ning led 50,000 troops to Fengqiu (now part of Henan) to ask for surrender, and Houliang was destroyed.

Li Cunxu performed on the same stage with actors (líng) and gave him the stage name " Li Tianxia ". Because he liked acting, he had a special favor for actors, which led to the rare phenomenon of actors intervening in politics in ancient times. After Li Cunxu ascended the throne, the eunuch power revived. There were nearly a thousand eunuchs around Li Cunxu. Moreover, eunuchs were used as supervisors to control the generals in the army. Li Cunxu listened to the slanderous words of actors and eunuchs and neglected his senior generals, which made everyone feel in danger. General Li Siyuan can be said to be loyal, but he is also jealous.

Li Cunxu listened to the eunuchs and established the inner and outer palaces. As a result, the outer palaces were often exhausted and nothing was left, while the inner palaces were accumulated. At that time, the political system was chaotic and there were many political problems. The empress dowager's edicts, empress's edicts, and Zhuangzong's edicts were communicated to the local government, and the local officials followed them without fail.

In September of the third year of Tongguang (925), Li Cunxu ordered Wei King Li Jiji (jí) and Privy Councilor Guo Chongtao (tāo) to lead 60,000 troops from Fengxiang to Dasanguan and enter Shu; Gao Jixing was also appointed to the southeast. They recruited envoys in all camps and led the Jingnan army to attack Kuizhou, Zhongzhou, Wanzhou and other places.

In October of the third year of Tongguang (925), various places surrendered one after another; Zhang Wu, the envoy of the Shuguo Gorge Road, cut off the Yangtze River navigation route with iron locks, defeated the Jingnan army, and Gao Jixing escaped in a light boat. Soon, Zhang Wu heard that the North Road had failed, so he surrendered Kui, Zhong, and Wan prefectures to the Tang Dynasty. In November, the Tang army marched day and night to Lizhou. Wang Zongbi heard the news and abandoned the city and fled westward. Li Jiji led the army to advance towards Jianzhou, Mianzhou, and Hanzhou. Wang Zongshou, the envoy of Wuxin Jiedushi and Zhongshu of the Shu Kingdom, surrendered the five prefectures of Sui, He, Chongqing, Lu and Chang to the Tang Dynasty. When Li Shaochen arrived in Mianzhou, the Mianjiang Floating Bridge had been destroyed by Shu soldiers. In order to seize the Shu Kingdom quickly, Li Shaochen took advantage of the defeat of the Shu army and led his army across the river on horseback, entered Lutou Pass, conquered Hanzhou, and pushed directly towards Chengdu.

On November 26, the third year of Tongguang (925), Li Jiji led his army to Chengdu. The next day, the lord of Shu, Wang Yan, surrendered, and the former Shu was destroyed.

In February of the fourth year of Tongguang (926), Huangfu Hui rebelled in Yedu, and Li Cunxu ordered Li Siyuan (the adopted son of Li Keyong, the founder of the later Tang Dynasty, and the nominal brother of Li Cunxu) to go against him. Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived at Weizhou City, his troops mutinied and joined the Weizhou rebels to support Li Siyuan as emperor. Li Siyuan initially escaped from Weizhou City to recruit stragglers on some pretext, but later he was persuaded by his son-in-law Shi Jingtang (táng) and his subordinates An Chongjiao and Huo Yanwei to rebel. Zhuangzong Li Cunxu heard that there was a change in the crusade, so he ordered Bai Conghui, the commander of Huaiyuan, to lead the cavalry to guard Heyang Bridge to protect the capital. He also rewarded the troops with gold and silk, and personally led the army to Bianliang, but it was too late. On the way, he heard that Li Siyuan had entered Bianliang, so he fled back in a hurry. When he arrived at Xingyang, more than half of his entourage had dispersed. Just after arriving in Luoyang, Guo Congqian, the commander from Ma Zhi, also led his troops to mutiny and started a melee with the garrison in the capital.

On the first day of April in the fourth year of Tongguang (926), Zhuangzong Li Cunxu led the cavalry of the Guards to go into battle and died in the middle of the attack. On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Li Siyuan entered Luoyang and was supported by the ministers as the governor. Soon after, he became the emperor in front of Zhuang Zong's coffin. The fourth year of Tongguang was changed to the first year of Tiancheng.

In the first year of Tiancheng (925), Huo Yanwei and Kong Xun persuaded Emperor Mingzong Li Siyuan to change the country's title. Emperor Mingzong rejected the proposal on the grounds that he was the last brother. In November of the first year of Changxing (930), Wu'an Jiedu envoy Ma Xisheng made a request to surrender to the imperial court. In December, Emperor Mingzong appointed Ma Xisheng as the military governor of Wu'an and Jingjiang, and also as the official secretary of the Central Committee. In November of the first year of Changxing (930), Yelvbei, King of Dongdan of the Khitan Kingdom, returned to the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Mingzong welcomed him as the emperor's guard, and gave him the surname Dongdan and the name Muhua. He paid homage to Huaihua Army Jiedushi, Ruishen and other prefecture observers. Later, he was given the national surname Li and his name Zanhua, and was granted the title of Founding Duke of Longxi County. In June of the second year of Changxing (931), Mingzong restored the Mingfa Department, which was the same as the Kaiyuan ceremony of the Tang Dynasty.

During the reign of Mingzong, the country in the Later Tang Dynasty improved and the people became increasingly wealthy, which brought the already declining government to a "revival" moderately prosperous situation. In fact, Mingzong's rule was not stable. In Mingzong's later years, there was chaos in the country.

On November 20, the fourth year of Changxing (933), King Qin Li Congrong was executed for treason. At that time, Li Siyuan was critically ill, so he sent the eunuch Meng Hanqiong to Yedu the next day to summon Li Conghou back to the capital. On November 26, Li Siyuan passed away, and the mourning was kept secret for six days. On December 1, the funeral was held in the West Palace. Li Conghou ascended the throne as emperor, and the fourth year of Changxing was changed to the first year of Yingshun.

After Emperor Min came to the throne, he regarded Lu Wang Li Congke and Shi Jingtang as a thorn in his side. Emperor Min first dismissed Li Congke's son Li Chongji as the commander of Konghe and appointed him as the training envoy of the Bozhou regiment. He also moved Li Congke to the town of Hedong, Shi Jingtang, the governor of Hedong, to Chengde, and Fan Yanguang, the governor of Chengde, to Tianxiong. His cousin Li Congzhang was transferred to Fengxiang to take over Li Congke's position as governor. Therefore, Li Congke, instigated by his subordinates, refused the imperial order and launched an army to rebel.

In March of the first year of Yingshun (934), the imperial army and horsemen came to Fengxiang City. Li Congke went to the city and cried, saying that he was innocent and had been killed by a traitor. Yang Siquan, the general of the Forbidden Army, incited the Forbidden Army to mutiny for his own selfish purposes, and led the troops to surrender to Li Congke. Li Congke used all Fengxiang's money to reward the army, and promised to give him a heavy reward after he captured Luoyang. King Lu's army quickly captured Chang'an, Huazhou, and Shaanzhou, and the guards and soldiers surrendered to King Lu one after another. Emperor Min had no choice but to flee to Weizhou in a hurry. On the way, he met Shi Jingtang, the governor of Hedong Jiedu. Shi Jingtang led his troops to kill Emperor Min's personal entourage and put Emperor Min under house arrest in Weizhou.

On April 3, the first year of Yingshun (934), Li Congke led his army into Luoyang City. Prime Minister Feng Dao led hundreds of civil and military officials to persuade him to advance, but Li Congke pretended not to comply. The next day, Empress Dowager Cao issued an edict to depose Li Conghou as King of E and order Li Congke to supervise the country. On the sixth day, Li Congke was made emperor again.

In the second year of Qingtai (935), the last emperor sent Wuning Jiedu envoy Zhang Jingda to lead troops and stationed in Daizhou to contain and monitor Shi Jingtang. In the third year of Qingtai (936), the last emperor appointed Shi Jingtang as the envoy of Tianping Festival in an attempt to weaken Shi Jingtang's military power. Shi Jingtang refused to be transferred. As a result, Shi Jingtang rebelled. At the same time, Shi Jingtang also complained that Li Congke's accession to the throne was illegal and that he should immediately give up the throne to King Xu. The last emperor was furious, tore up the memorial, and cut off his official title.

In May of the third year of Qingtai (936), the last emperor appointed Zhang Jingda, the envoy of the Jianxiong Army, as the envoy to recruit from all sides of Taiyuan, and Yang Guangyuan as the deputy envoy, leading an army to attack Shi Jingtang. The Tang army surrounded Taiyuan and built a long siege to besiege Jinyang. Shi Jingtang sent an envoy to ask for help from the Khitan and expressed his willingness to cede territory and become a vassal. In September, the Khitan leader Yelu Deguang personally led 50,000 troops to reinforce Shi Jingtang. The Tang army fought with the Liao and Jin coalition forces in Tuanbai Valley. The Tang army was defeated, with more than 10,000 casualties. Subsequently, Shi Jingtang and the Khitan army were able to successfully move south and attack the capital, Luoyang. On the way, vanguard commander An Shenxin, Zhenwu guard An Chongrong, Zhangsheng commander Zhang Wandi and other generals surrendered to Shi Jingtang one after another. The rule of the Later Tang Dynasty was in danger and was on the eve of a complete collapse.

On November 26, the third year of Qingtai (936), the last emperor saw that the situation was over, so he took the Imperial Seal with Empress Dowager Cao, Empress Liu, Crown Prince Li Chongmei and others to board the Xuanwu Tower and burned himself to death. Later Tang Dynasty also fell. .

In the ninth month of the fourth year of Tianfu (939), Shi Jingtang granted King Xu Li Congyi the title of Duke of Xi to worship the Tang Dynasty. The uniforms, colors and flags remained the same.

The Later Jin (936-947) was the third regime of the Five Dynasties. From the third year of Qingtai in the Later Tang Dynasty (936, the eleventh year of the Khitan Tianxian) in November when Shi Jingtang was canonized as emperor by the Khitan, to the fourth year when the Khitan opened its fortunes in the Later Jin Dynasty. (947, ten years after the Khitan Alliance) destroyed the Later Jin Dynasty and experienced two emperors. In the 12th year, the capital was initially established in Luoyang and later moved to Kaifeng.

Shi Jingtang, the founder of the Later Jin Dynasty, was from Shatuo. He came from a poor family and did not even have a surname. As for the origin of the surname Shi, we do not know its origin. Shi Jingtang's father followed Li Keyong in the conquest in his early years and was awarded the title of Mingzhou Governor for his merits. Shi Jingtang was taciturn and steady. Li Siyuan fell in love with him and married his daughter to him.

For this reason, he was able to serve as a general under Li Siyuan. After Li Siyuan became emperor, he successively served as the envoy of Baoyi and Xuanwu Jiedushi, and the commander of Ma Bujun, the bodyguard and pro-army army. In his later years, Li Siyuan was transferred to the envoy of Hedong Jiedushi. After the death of Tang Mingzong Li Siyuan, great changes occurred in the Later Tang Dynasty. As soon as his son Li Conghou succeeded to the throne, his adopted son Li Congke launched a mutiny and led troops to Luoyang. Li Congke summoned Shi Jingtang to Luoyang to discuss military affairs. Shi Jingtang met Emperor Min of the Tang Dynasty Li Conghou who had escaped from Luoyang on the road. He killed all the followers of Emperor Min of the Tang Dynasty, then imprisoned Emperor Min of the Tang Dynasty, and went to ask Li Congke for merit. Finally, Li Congke He sent people to kill Emperor Min of Tang Dynasty.

After Li Congke succeeded to the throne, he regarded Shi Jingtang as the biggest threat and tried every means to transfer him away from Hedong, the land where the king was rejuvenated. Shi Jingtang thinks that I don't want to stir up trouble, but if the imperial court punishes me, will I be able to stay on the road? So he decided to rebel. General Liu Zhiyuan and Secretary Sang Weihan also had this intention. Therefore, Shi Jingtang complained that Li Congke, the emperor of the late Tang Dynasty, was the adopted son of Emperor Mingzong of the Tang Dynasty and should not inherit the throne, and asked to give way to King Xu Li Congyi (the fourth son of Emperor Mingzong). At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the emperor tore apart his appearance, cut off his official title, and appointed Zhang Jingda, the envoy of Jianxiong Jiedu, as an envoy to attack Taiyuan from all sides, and built a long siege with 30,000 troops to attack Taiyuan.

Shi Jingtang's troops in Hedong were not enough to withstand Later Tang's attack, so Shi Jingtang decided to turn to Khitan for help. As a condition, he agreed to cede the sixteen states of Yanyun to the Khitan, and called himself "son" to Yelu Deguang, Taizong of the Liao Dynasty. Therefore, Emperor Taizong of Liao Dynasty decided to help Shi Jingtang. However, the monarchs and ministers of the Later Tang Dynasty were unprepared for the Khitan's incoming reinforcements and failed to cut off the Yanmen passages early. As a result, the army led by Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty successfully passed through the danger and entered Taiyuan. They defeated the Later Tang army and surrounded the 50,000 Later Tang army in Jin'an Village. . The army of the Later Tang Dynasty, which was surrounded by Jin'an Village, had no food and grass, no reinforcements from outside, and the morale of the army was in chaos. Deputy envoy Yang Guangyuan and General An Shenqi persuaded the commander Zhang Jingda to surrender. When he refused, they simply killed him, and the entire army surrendered to Shi Jingtang. Taizong of the Liao Dynasty wrote a book to confer Shi Jingtang as the emperor of the Jin Dynasty, and changed his name to Tianfu of the Yuan Dynasty. Shi Jingtang was located in Liulin (southeast of today's Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province), the emperor of Jin Dynasty. Soon Jin Gaozu Shi Jingtang invaded Luoyang, the late Tang emperor burned himself, and the Later Tang Dynasty perished. In the second year of Tianfu (937, the twelfth year of Khitan Tianxian), Jin Gaozu moved the capital to Kaifeng.

The Emperor Gaozu of the Jin Dynasty won the throne by relying on the Khitan vassal commander. Therefore, in addition to paying tribute to the Khitan with a large amount of property every year, he never forgot the good and bad times. In fact, he was nine years older than Yelu Deguang. The Khitan Queen Mother, his brother-in-law, kings, marshals, and important minister Han Yanhui also gave him bribes. Whenever a Khitan envoy arrives, he must worship in a separate hall and receive orders. The Khitan envoy is always dissatisfied and makes many rude remarks. Jin Gaozu endured all this, but the government and the public were ashamed of it, and some ministers refused to send envoys to Khitan because of this. Such is the case with Wang Quan, the Minister of War, who was sent by Emperor Gaozu of the Jin Dynasty as an envoy to Khitan to present his emblem and title to Taizong of Liao. Wang Quan was ashamed to kneel down to Taizong of Liao and would rather lose his official position than serve as an envoy.

Although Shi Chonggui, the emperor of the Jin Dynasty, became the emperor, the power in the court was controlled by Jing Yanguang, the commander of the guards and the army. Jing Yanguang was neither brave nor wise, but arrogant and arrogant. Since he came to power, he changed the previous Jin Gaozu's policy towards the Khitans, detained their envoys, killed Khitan merchants, and robbed their goods. The emperor Chu of the Jin Dynasty claimed the title of grandson but not the minister of the Khitan, which aroused the dissatisfaction of the Khitan, and the war was about to break out. Jing Yanguang was not prepared for war, but he spoke arrogantly. Emperor Taizong Yelu Deguang of the Liao Dynasty was furious when he heard this, and invaded the Central Plains with troops for many years.Later, there were many warlords in the Jin Dynasty who also wanted to seize the throne by taking advantage of the chaos, fearing that the world would not be in chaos. For example, Yang Guangyuan, the son and daughter of Jin Gaozu, Zhao Yanshou, the former general of the Later Jin Dynasty, and Du Chongwei and Li Shouzhen, the envoys to the north, were all such figures. In the war between the Khitan and the Later Jin Dynasty, thanks to the desperate fighting of the vast number of soldiers and civilians, the Khitan army was repeatedly frustrated and retreated, sometimes even miserably.

At the beginning of the second year of Kaiyun (945), the Khitan invaded south again, with Zhao Yanshou as the vanguard again. Emperor Chu of the Jin Dynasty originally wanted to fight in person, but due to illness, he first sent Zhang Congen, Ma Quanjie and others to lead the troops northward to resist the Khitan army. At first, the imperial court was afraid of the Khitan's momentum and ordered the army to retreat. Unexpectedly, it caused panic among all the armies, causing the troops to be in chaos and unable to rectify. By March 1st, tens of thousands of soldiers and horses of the Later Jin Dynasty had gathered and lined up south of the Anyang River in Xiangzhou (now Anyang, Henan Province). When the Khitan soldiers knew that the main force of the Jin army had arrived, they retreated north in panic. Zhang Congen, however, was even more frightened. He led his troops south without waiting for consultation with the generals, which once again caused chaos in his own team. Soon, Emperor Chu of Jin personally went on an expedition and entered Huazhou (today's Huaxian County, Henan Province), and urged all armies to march northward. On April 23, Du Chongwei, the envoy to the capital, assembled all the troops in Dingzhou, and then attacked Taizhou (today's Baoding, Hebei) from the north. On May 2, he captured Mancheng (today's Mancheng, Hebei) and captured A Khitan chief and two thousand soldiers. At this time, the Khitan generals reported that Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty had led another 80,000 troops to go south again. Du Chongwei was very panicked and retreated to Taizhou on May 4th. On May 7, they retreated south again, and the Khitan soldiers followed. After the Jin army retreated to Yangcheng (now southeast of Anguo, Hebei Province), they began to counterattack, driving the Khitan army to flee north. But when the Jin army continued to retreat south, the Khitan army pressed back with heavy troops. On May 11th, the Jin army arrived at Bai Tuanwei Village and set up barracks in Luzhai. The Khitan soldiers surrounded the Jin army heavily and sent troops to cut off the grain routes of the later Jin Dynasty. In the evening, the northeast wind picked up and some trees were broken. It was dark, almost like night. The generals led more than 10,000 cavalry and swept towards the Khitan. Their shouts of killing were earth-shattering. Under the unexpected and full counterattack of the Jin army soldiers, the Khitan soldiers' offensive was completely crushed, and they were killed and defeated. The army was defeated like a mountain. Returned to Dingzhou.

This battle relied on the tenacious resistance of the soldiers to achieve a complete victory. The Khitan soldiers suffered heavy losses. Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty was so angry that after returning, he beat many generals with hundreds of sticks. But one victory could not improve the overall situation of the Later Jin Dynasty. This victory was actually a comeback for the Later Jin Dynasty.

In the third year of Kaiyun (946), Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty once again attacked the Later Jin Dynasty. He instructed the surrendered general Zhao Yanshou and the governor of Yingzhou to fake surrender and send false information to the later Jin Dynasty. The emperor of the Jin Dynasty did not distinguish between true and false, and was eager to succeed, so he hastily appointed Du Chongwei as commander-in-chief to lead the army north to fight. Du Chongwei had a personal plan for this expedition. He wanted to imitate Jin Gaozu. Therefore, under the pretext of going deep into enemy territory this time, we must have strong troops to ensure success. The emperor Chu of Jin had no choice but to increase his troops, so that all the imperial troops came under his command and the capital was empty. After Du Chongwei arrived at the front line, he drank and had fun every day and did not discuss military affairs. He only asked the Jin court for more troops and food. The Jin army had many soldiers and generals, and was stronger than the opponent. Because the commander did nothing, the enemy army cut off the food route, and the situation was extremely unfavorable. Du Chongwei was trying to put the Jin army in danger so that he could be coerced into surrendering to the Khitans. He discussed with his deputy commander Li Shouzhen and sent someone to contact the Khitan to request surrender. Although Taizong of the Liao Dynasty surrounded the Jin army, the Jin army had a large number of people and strong combat effectiveness. If he wanted to win a complete victory, he was not sure of victory. When he learned the news that Du Chongwei led his army to surrender, he was overjoyed and immediately made his wish to make him emperor if his wish came true. So Du Chongwei summoned the generals, laid down their armor in the camp, and announced the surrender of the Khitan. Although some of the generals were unwilling, under the threat of swords, they had no choice but to sign a surrender letter. When Du Chongwei announced the surrender to the entire army, the entire army burst into mourning, shaking the heaven and the earth.

After Du Chongwei surrendered, Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty asked him to wear an ocher (zhě) yellow robe. Since he had already promised to make Zhao Yanshou the emperor, he also asked Yanshou to wear an ocher yellow robe to play with the two traitors. In fact, there was no intention for any of them to become emperor. This time he himself wanted to live the life of the Central Plains Emperor.

Since the main force of the Jin army had surrendered to Khitan, Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty quickly entered Bianliang, captured Emperor Chu of Jin and his family, and moved them to Jianzhou in Khitan (today's Chaoyang, Liaoning). There were two emperors in the Later Jin Dynasty, who ruled for 11 years.

The founder of in the Later Han Dynasty was Liu Zhiyuan, the governor of Hedong in the Later Jin Dynasty. Liu Zhiyuan came from a poor family and was a loyal general under Emperor Mingzong of Tang Dynasty in his early years. Because he saved Shi Jingtang's life in the war, he became Shi Jingtang's confidant.

When Shi Jingtang was appointed as the governor of Hedong, Liu Zhiyuan was the governor of Jiedu. When Shi Jingtang conspired to rebel, Liu Zhiyuan also participated. After Shi Jingtang became the emperor of the Later Jin Dynasty, he was named the Marquis of Yu, the capital of the guards and pro-army, and the military governor of the rebel army. Later, he was quickly promoted to the commander of the cavalry and infantry capital of the guards and pro-army, and became the imperial guard. supreme commander. In the sixth year of Tianfu (941, the fourth year of Khitan Huitong), he served as the governor of Hedong and stayed in Beijing.

After Shi Jingtang died, Liu Zhiyuan had a premonition that the world would be in chaos, so he focused on running Taiyuan. In order to strengthen his own strength, he executed Bai Chengfu, the leader of Tuyuhun, and seized a large amount of wealth and thousands of good horses. When the Khitan army went south to attack the Later Jin army and approached Bianliang, Liu Zhiyuan neither sent troops to rescue nor fight against the Khitan, but waited and watched. When the Khitan captured Bianliang and destroyed the Later Jin Dynasty, he sent someone to present himself to the Khitan Emperor Taizong Yelu Deguang of the Liao Dynasty. The Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty called him his son, which was equivalent to a few sticks given to important ministers by the Central Plains Dynasty. Taizong of the Liao Dynasty proclaimed himself emperor in Kaifeng and officially established the country as Liao.

After Liu Zhiyuan became emperor, all his former colleagues became important officials of the imperial court, occupying key departments. Yang Yi (bīn) and Guo Wei were appointed as the chief and deputy privy envoys, Su Fengji and Su Yu were appointed as prime ministers, Wang Zhang was appointed as the third envoy, and Shi Hongzhao was appointed as the commander of the Ma Bu Army and Ping Zhangshi. Except for Guo Wei, the rest of these people are arrogant, ignorant, greedy and cruel. Central officials are like this, and local officials are even more cruel. They often kill ordinary civilians as thieves, or break their hamstrings and abandon the valley. Therefore, the rule of the Later Han Dynasty was the most brutal among the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. The people were so miserable that they even sold their children and took care of their wives.

Liu Zhiyuan only served as emperor for one year before he died of illness. His son Liu Chengyou succeeded to the throne and was known as Emperor Yin of Han Dynasty in history. Emperor Yin of the Han Dynasty was young, and the government was controlled by the old ministers Yang Bin, Shi Hongzhao, Wang Zhang, and Guo Wei. The military officials took power and discriminated against civil servants, which led to constant internal conflicts.

All kinds of domineering behavior made Emperor Yin of the Han Dynasty intolerable, so he discussed with his cronies, ambushed the palace gate, and killed Yang Bin, Shi Hongzhao, and Wang Zhang when they went to court, and wiped out their clan. He also sent people to assassinate Guo Wei who was guarding Yedu. After hearing the news, Guo Wei raised his troops to resist and led his army to Bianliang, defeating the Imperial Army of the Later Han Dynasty. Emperor Yin of the Han Dynasty fled and was killed on the way. After Guo Wei entered Bianzhou, he asked the Queen Mother to take the throne and decided to welcome Liu Yun, Liu Zhiyuan's nephew, Wuning Jiedushi, as emperor. Just when Liu Yun left for Bianliang, Guo Wei ordered someone to falsely report that the Khitans were invaders, and he led his army out of Beijing to meet the enemy. On the way, the soldiers mutinied, put a yellow robe on Guo Wei, proclaimed Guo Wei the emperor, and then returned to Bianliang. Liang.

When Liu Yun arrived in Songzhou, Guo Wei had already entered Bianliang and forced the Queen Mother to issue an edict to designate him as the "supervisor of the country" and take over the power of the government. The Third Division, the Grand Master of the Inspection School, Shangzhuguo, and the Duke of Xiangyin also sent general Guo Chongwei to Songzhou to imprison Liu Yun there. In 951 AD, Guo Wei officially ascended the throne of emperor, with the reign name Guangshun, the country name Zhou, and the history name Later Zhou.

The Later Han Dynasty lasted only three years from its establishment to its demise. It had two emperors and was the shortest-lived regime among the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

Later Zhou Dynasty (951-960), the last dynasty in the Central Plains during the Five Dynasties period of China, had its capital in Kaifeng Prefecture, Tokyo. It experienced three emperors and enjoyed the country for ten years.

Guo Wei did not want to engage in production when he was young. He only liked dancing with guns and sticks. He enlisted in the army at the age of eighteen. He once committed murder out of anger and was imprisoned. Li Jitao, who stayed in Luzhou, secretly allowed him to escape because of his courage, and then summoned him under his command after the incident subsided. When Liu Zhiyuan was appointed as the capital of the bodyguard and army at Yuhou, he paid special attention to Guo Wei; later he was transferred to Hedong Jiedushi, and he also brought Guo Wei to his post.After Liu Zhiyuan proclaimed himself emperor and established the Later Han Dynasty, he was appointed deputy privy envoy. He was promoted to privy envoy during the reign of Emperor Yin.

Liu Zhiyuan died of illness only one year after becoming emperor. His son Liu Chengyou succeeded to the throne and was known as the Yin Emperor of the Later Han Dynasty in history. During the reign of Emperor Yin of the Han Dynasty, Su Fengji was the prime minister, the privy envoy Yang Bing was in charge of the government, Guo Wei was in charge of expeditions, the guards and the army commander Shi Hongzhao was in charge of the forbidden troops, and the third envoy Wang Zhang was in charge of finance. Most of these people in power are arbitrary and do their own thing, causing chaos in the government.

Among this group of warriors, only Guo Wei paid attention to recruiting talented scribes and gained the favor of the civil servants. In the first year of Qianyou (948), Li Shouzhen occupied Hezhong, Zhao Siwan occupied Chang'an, and Wang Jingchong occupied Fengxiang, and they rebelled at the same time. Emperor Yin of the Han Dynasty ordered Guo Wei to supervise the army to attack the three rebel towns. The following year, Guo Wei destroyed Hezhong and Yongxing (Chang'an) towns, killing Li Shouzhen and Zhao Siwan, and Zhao Hui destroyed Fengxiang town and killed Wang Jingchong. After Guo Wei returned to the court after victory, he refused to receive a heavy reward alone and gave credit to all ministers and soldiers in the court. Emperor Yin of the Han Dynasty therefore rewarded all ministers and vassal towns.

In the third year of Emperor Qianyu's reign (950), the Liao army marched across Hebei, and all the vassal towns defended their own territory and did not rescue each other. The imperial court appointed Guo Wei as Tianxiong's military envoy. When he left Weizhou, he still served as privy envoy to control the towns in Hebei Province, so that he could do things easily. He was granted such great power because he had gained the favor of the ministers at home and abroad. Soon after, Emperor Yin of the Han Dynasty, who always hated the important ministers in power, found an excuse to kill Yang Yi (bīn), Shi Hongzhao and Wang Zhang, and sent envoys to Weizhou to kill Guo Wei. Guo Wei was forced to raise troops. He left his adopted son Chai Rong to guard Weizhou and led his own army. He only walked seven days to reach the outside of Kaifeng. Emperor Yin of the Han Dynasty was killed by his subordinates. Guo Wei entered Kaifeng City and led all the troops to plunder, which did not stop until noon on the third day.

In the fourth year of Qianyu (951), Liao soldiers invaded and captured Neiqiu and Raoyang. Empress Dowager Li ordered Guo Wei to lead a large army across the river to attack the Liao soldiers. When Guo Wei arrived at Chanzhou, thousands of soldiers suddenly made a loud noise and said to Guo Wei, it is your duty to be the emperor. The soldiers looted the capital and became enemies with the Liu family. They can no longer do so. Let the Liu family be the emperor. The cracked yellow flag was draped over Guo Wei's body and he was proclaimed emperor. Guo Wei came back with the crowd. When the Chanzhou mutiny occurred, Liu Yun had already arrived in Songzhou. Wang Jun and Wang Yin sent troops to lead troops to Song and Xuzhou. Liu Yun was detained and deposed as the Duke of Xiangyin in the name of Empress Dowager Li. Subsequently, Guo Wei officially ascended the throne of God, changed the Yuan Dynasty to Guangshun, the country's name was Zhou, and it was called Later Zhou in history. Guo Wei was the Taizu of Later Zhou.

After Guo Wei came to the throne, he was able to practice frugality. He issued an edict prohibiting the tribute of exquisite and exquisite delicacies, delicacies from mountains and seas, and smashed the original gold, silver, jade, carved beds, tables, and eating utensils in the palace to show that he was practicing frugality. Determination. Faced with the dilapidated social economy since the Jin and Han Dynasties, he issued edicts to reward farming, recruit exiles, equalize taxes and servitude, restore agricultural production, and develop the economy, which enabled the social economy in the north to recover and improve to a certain extent during the years of his rule. develop. Guo Wei implemented a policy of severely punishing corrupt officials and executed a group of local officials who were corrupt, violated the law, and were cruel and tyrannical, which to a certain extent reversed the official style at that time. He attached great importance to Confucianism, emphasized the use of scribes, and emphasized the selection of scholars through the imperial examination, which showed some styles that were different from other emperors in the Five Dynasties.

In the first month of the first year of Xiande (954), Guo Wei, who had been in power for four years, passed away. The disciples of Guo Wei were killed in Bianliang by the Later Han Dynasty as early as when they raised troops in Yedu, so they could only be succeeded by their adopted son Chai Rong, who became Shizong of the Later Zhou Dynasty. Chai Rong was the son of Chai Shouli, brother of Guo Wei's wife Chai. He grew up in Guo Wei's family with his aunt when he was young. He had a harmonious relationship with Guo Wei and his wife, so he was adopted as an adopted son.

The Northern Han Dynasty took advantage of Guo Wei's new mourning, Chai Rong had just ascended the throne, and when people's hearts were unstable, he united with the Liao Dynasty to send troops south to Luzhou and Zezhou (today's Jincheng, Shanxi) in an attempt to destroy the Later Zhou Dynasty in one fell swoop. The two sides met in the south of Gaoping County, Zezhou (now Gaoping South, Jincheng City, Shanxi Province). Seeing that the Zhou army had few troops, the Northern Han Dynasty launched an attack without waiting for the Khitan army to arrive. The two sides fought bloody battles until evening. The Northern Han army could no longer support it and began to retreat, resulting in casualties. heavy. This battle is known as the Battle of Gaoping in history. After that, the Northern Han Dynasty no longer dared to attack Zhou lightly.

In the Battle of Gaoping, although Chai Rong won, it also revealed that the arrogant and powerful soldiers were difficult to control.In order to solve this problem, Chai Rong decided to change the Five Dynasties' policy of condoning and appeasing arrogant generals. He summoned the generals and publicly announced the crimes of Fan Aineng and more than 70 generals, and immediately beheaded them. This move frightened the arrogant and powerful generals and initially rectified the corrupt military discipline. Chai Rong appointed young generals, eliminated the old, weak, sick and disabled in the Forbidden Army, recruited heroes from all over the world, selected brave men, and selected those who were good at fighting in the army of the feudal lord into the Forbidden Army. Chai Rong even personally tested martial arts and selected talents. After this rectification, there was an elite army, which can only be said to have laid a certain foundation for the future unification war. So Chai Rong started from the aspects of equalizing taxes, developing production, rectifying the style of officials, etc., and carried out a more thorough reform.

Then, Chai Rong planned a war to conquer the Southern Tang Dynasty, aiming to seize the prosperous land of Huainan. Starting from the winter of the second year of Xiande (955) to the fifth year of Xiande (958), Chai Rong went on three personal expeditions and finally defeated the Southern Tang Dynasty. Li Jing, Emperor Yuanzong of the Southern Tang Dynasty, sent envoys to sue for peace and pay tribute. He was forced to offer the land of the four states, draw the river as the boundary, and pay tribute of 100,000 yuan every year in order to stop the army. Chai Rong learned about the land of Huainan in the north of the Yangtze River, with 14 states and 60 counties, and was able to drink from the Yangtze River; Li Jing lost his imperial title and was only called "the Lord of Jiangnan". This battle consolidated the southern border of the Later Zhou Dynasty, expanded its territory, and achieved the goal of weakening the Southern Tang Dynasty and making it surrender and not dare to easily send troops to the north.

In the first month of the sixth year of Xiande (959), Chai Rong officially used troops against the Liao Dynasty, which occupied the land of Yanyun. He personally led the army from Bianliang to Cangzhou, and then led tens of thousands of troops directly into the Khitan territory. The army went smoothly. , the Khitan army either fled or surrendered. Their momentum was like breaking bamboo, and their troops were able to attack the three prefectures of Mo, Ying, and Yi, as well as the three passes of Yijin, Waqiao, and Yukou without any bloodshed. Just as Chai Rong was preparing to march to Youzhou, he was seriously ill and had to return to the court. On June 30 of this year, Chai Rong died of illness in Bianliang at the age of thirty-nine.

After Chai Rong died, Emperor Zhou Gong who succeeded Chai Zongxun was only seven years old. At this time, Zhao Kuangyin served as the inspector in front of the palace (the highest officer of the Imperial Guard) and the military governor of Songzhou returned to Germany.

On the second day of the first month of spring in the seventh year of Xiande (960), Zhenzhou (now Zhengding, Hebei Province) and Dingzhou (now Dingxian County, Hebei Province) reported that the armies of the Northern Han Dynasty and the Liao State jointly went south to attack the Later Zhou Dynasty with great momentum. , requesting the dispatch of troops for assistance. In the later Zhou Dynasty, the Empress Dowager Fu and the prime ministers Fan Zhi, Wang Pu and other ruling ministers did not investigate and ordered Zhao Kuangyin to lead his troops north to defend the enemy. He was given hundreds of thousands of gold belts, silverware, pommel horses, armor, and weapons. On the third day of the lunar month (February 3), Zhao Kuangyin led the army out of Aijingmen, Bianliang. In the evening, the army marched to Chenqiaoyi (now Chenqiao Town, southeast of Fengqiu, Henan). Under the planning of Shen Qi and others, he encouraged the soldiers to launch a mutiny, and ordered him to wear a yellow robe and support him as emperor. Afterwards, Zhao Kuangyin led his troops back to Kaifeng, restrained the officers and soldiers, and strictly prohibited burning, killing and looting. Zhao Kuangyin and Chen Qiao mutinied and returned to Beijing. On the fourth day of the first lunar month, Chai Zongxun ascended the throne of Zen, and Zhao Kuangyin ascended the throne and established the Northern Song Dynasty. The Zhou Dynasty thus perished.

The Ten Kingdoms (902-979) is a collective name for ten relatively small separatist regimes that existed almost simultaneously with the Five Dynasties after the Tang Dynasty. Among them, there are nine in the south, namely Southern Wu, Southern Tang, Wuyue, Southern Chu, Qian Shu, Hou Shu, Southern Han, Nanping, and Min, and one in the north is the Northern Han Dynasty.

Wu was the strongest in the south of the Yangtze River, and was usurped by Li Min to establish the Southern Tang Dynasty, followed by Wu, Yue and Min. Huguang was occupied by Jingnan, Chu State and Southern Han Dynasty. The Southern Tang Dynasty had the strongest national power, and successively attacked the Min and Chu countries. However, the repeated use of troops caused the national power to decline, and was finally defeated by the Later Zhou Dynasty. There were former Shu and later Shu in Shu. The country was prosperous and powerful, second only to the Southern Tang Dynasty. However, it indulged in peace and contentment and eventually perished in the Central Plains. The Northern Han Dynasty was the only one in the north among the Ten Kingdoms and was founded by the descendants of the Liu family of the Later Han Dynasty. After Zhao Kuangyin established the Song Dynasty (known as the Northern Song Dynasty in history), he and his brother Song Taizong successively wiped out the heroes, and unified the mainland China area except Jiaozhou and Youyun Sixteen States in 979, ending the Ten Kingdoms.

Nan Wu : Yang Xingmi, the founder of Nan Wu, was granted the title of Huainan Jiedushi by the Tang Dynasty in 892 and the King of Wu in 902.In 905 AD, Yang Xingmi died and his son Yang Wo (wò) succeeded to the throne. However, he liked to have fun and excluded the heroes and generals. Zhang Hao and Xu Wen launched a mutiny for some reason, and Yang Wo was ousted from power. He was killed in 908 and succeeded by his younger brother Yang Longyan. In 919 AD, Yang Longyan officially assumed the throne of the King of Wu and changed his name to Wuyi. As Xu Wen continued to hold power alone, Yang Longyan was still unable to control the situation. He died in depression in 920 and was succeeded by his younger brother Yang Pu. Yang Pu officially proclaimed himself emperor in 927, and power was still in the hands of the Xu family. In 937, Yang Pu gave way to Xu Wen's adopted son Xu Zhigao, and Southern Wu fell. There were four masters in total, and their existence lasted for thirty-six years.

Southern Tang: The founder of Southern Tang was Xu Wen, the general of Southern Wu. After Yang Wo succeeded Yang Xingmi, he appointed his cronies and squeezed out the old generals. In 907, Xu Wen and Zhang Hao took this opportunity to launch a mutiny, deprived Yang Wo of his power, and executed him in 908. After Yang Wo's death, Zhang Hao tried to stand on his own feet, while Xu Wen wanted to continue to make Yang his queen. In the end, Xu Wen pushed Yang Longyan to succeed Zhang Hao, who was dissatisfied, and the two clashed. The result of the conflict was that Xu Wen killed Zhang Hao and took over the power, while Lord Wu was just a puppet.

Xu Wen initially let his son Xu Zhixun take power, but Xu Zhixun often insulted the Yang family and his subordinates, and was eventually killed by his subordinate Zhu Jin in 918. Xu Wen's adopted son Xu Zhigao put down the rebellion and began to rule. In 927, Xu Wen died, and Xu Zhigao became the actual ruler of Southern Wu. Xu Zhigao lived a frugal life, respected Yang and his subordinates, and gradually won the hearts of the people. In 937, Xu Zhigao saw that the time was right, so he usurped Wu and proclaimed himself emperor. The country was named Qi, and it was known as Xu Qi in history. In 939, Xu Zhigao claimed that he was a descendant of the Tang royal family, restored his original surname of Li, changed his name to Li Min (biàn), changed the country's name to Tang, and was known as Southern Tang in history. Li Min adopted the policy of resting with the people and made peace with neighboring countries, and the Southern Tang Dynasty became strong.

html In 1943, Li Min died and his son Li Jing succeeded to the throne. Li Jing actively used troops to conquer Fujian in 945, and seized the opportunity of the civil strife in Southern Chu to destroy it in 951. Soon, Liu Yan, an old general of Southern Chu, launched an army to resist, causing Southern Tang to lose control of the Hunan area. Years of military use depleted Southern Tang's national power. Li Jing has always adopted the policy of uniting with the Khitan to suppress the Later Zhou Dynasty, which eventually led to a military confrontation between the two sides. In 957, Shizong of the Later Zhou Dynasty conquered the Southern Tang Dynasty. Li Jing was defeated and ceded fourteen states north of the Yangtze River to the Later Zhou Dynasty. He also removed his imperial title and was only called the Lord of Jiangnan. In 961, Li Jing died and Prince Li Yu came to the throne. Although Li Yu is an excellent poet, he is not an excellent monarch. In 973, the leader of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin, summoned Li Yu to the court, but Li Yu refused, so Zhao Kuangyin attacked the Southern Tang Dynasty. In 975, the Song army captured Jinling, Li Yu was captured, and the Southern Tang Dynasty was destroyed. It has experienced three masters and existed for thirty-nine years.

Qianshu: Qianshu was established in Chengdu by Wang Jian, the Xichuan Jiedu envoy of the Tang Dynasty "King of Shu". In 907, after Zhu Wen established the Liang Dynasty, Wang Jian refused to accept the rule of the Later Liang Dynasty. He founded the country and named it "Great Shu", which was also known as "Former Shu" in history, and established its capital in Chengdu. During Wang Jian's 12 years in office, he worked hard, focusing on farming and mulberry farming, building water conservancy, expanding territory, and implementing the policy of "resting with the people." Former Shu has thousands of miles of fertile land and the Chengdu Plain, which is rich in grains. Because there has been no war for many years, the economy, culture, and military of Former Shu have been able to develop rapidly and become a powerful country. But after Wang Jian died in 918, his successor Wang Yan was extravagant, cruel and mediocre. In 925 AD, the Later Tang Dynasty attacked Shu, the Shu army was defeated, Chengdu fell, and the former Shu was destroyed. It has experienced two masters and existed for twenty-three years.

Later Shu: In 925 AD, the Later Tang Dynasty destroyed the Former Shu, and Meng Zhixiang was appointed as the Jiedu Envoy due to his merit. In 934 AD, Meng Zhixiang took advantage of the civil strife in the Later Tang Dynasty to establish himself on his own. The country was named Shu, which was known as "Latter Shu" in history, and its capital was Chengdu. Meng Zhixiang died after only being emperor for 7 months, and was succeeded by his son Meng Chang. At the beginning of his succession to the throne, Meng Chang worked hard to govern and expand his territory. Later Shu was once powerful and enjoyed thirty years of peace. However, due to the long period of peace in Shu, Meng Chang began to pursue pleasure and did not care about state affairs in the later period of his reign, and the government became very corrupt. In 965 AD, the Song army attacked Shu. The main force of the Shu army was defeated at Jianmen Pass. The Song army took advantage of the situation and attacked Chengdu. Meng Chang surrendered, and later Shu was destroyed. There were two masters in total, and their existence lasted for thirty-three years.

Southern Han Dynasty: The founder of the Southern Han Dynasty was Liu Yin, the military governor of Qinghai, who surrendered to the Later Liang Dynasty after the fall of the Tang Dynasty. Liu Yin led his troops to pacify Lingnan and captured Rong and Yong from Nanchu. He reused Lingnan scholars and laid the foundation for the future founding of the country. Liu Yin died in 911 and was succeeded by his younger brother Liu Yan. After Liu Yan defeated the separatist forces in other parts of Lingnan, he proclaimed himself emperor in 917 and established the country as Han Dynasty, which was known as Southern Han Dynasty in history.

htmlIn 1942, Liu Yan died and his son Liu Bin succeeded to the throne. But Liu Bin was greedy for pleasure and did not want to govern the country. As a result, rebellions broke out in the territory, and the national power of the Southern Han Dynasty began to decline. In 943, Liu Sheng killed his brother and established himself. Although he seized a lot of territory from Southern Chu, he was a cruel monarch and massacred the royal family and subordinates, making the Southern Han Dynasty worse and worse. In 958, Liu Sheng died of illness and was succeeded by his son Liu Yuan (chǎng). Liu Yuan was also the lord of stupidity, and the Southern Han Dynasty was completely corrupted and degenerated in his hands. As a result, when the Song army attacked in 971, the Southern Han Dynasty was unable to resist and the Southern Han Dynasty perished. It has experienced four masters and existed for fifty-five years.

Nan Chu: The only dynasty in the history of Hunan that was established with Hunan as the center. It was known as the Ma Yin separatist regime in Hunan, also known as Ma Chu. Ma Yin, the founder of Southern Chu, was granted the title of Military Envoy of Wu'an Army by the Tang Dynasty in 896. After the Liang Dynasty was established in 907, Ma Yin took the initiative to surrender to the central government and was named King of Chu. In 927, the Later Tang Dynasty officially named Ma Yin the king of Chu. Ma Yin changed Tanzhou to Changsha Prefecture as the capital, built a palace in Changsha City, installed hundreds of officials, and established a truly independent kingdom worthy of the name. Ma Yin died in 930 and was succeeded by his son Ma Xisheng. Ma Xisheng died in 932 and was succeeded by his younger brother Ma Xifan. When Ma Xifan died in 947, the generals excluded Ma Xihe, the oldest of Ma Xifan's brothers, and supported Ma Xiguang's succession. This move caused Ma Xi'e's dissatisfaction, and civil strife broke out in Chu. In 950, Ma Xi'e (è) attacked Changsha, but Ma Xiguang was defeated and Ma Xi'e proclaimed himself king of Chu. However, Ma Xi'e became complacent after gaining the throne and indulged in drinking and debauchery. His subordinates Wang Kui and Zhou Xingfeng resisted, occupied Langzhou, and supported Ma Guanghui, son of Ma Yin's eldest son Ma Xizhen, as the military envoy. A few months later, Xu Wei and other generals mutinied and supported Ma Xichong to stay in Wu'an, causing chaos in Southern Chu. The Southern Tang Dynasty seized the opportunity of the civil strife in Southern Chu and attacked the Chu State in 951, capturing Changsha and causing the demise of Southern Chu. It has experienced six masters and existed for forty-five years. However, not long after the Southern Tang Dynasty destroyed Chu, Chu general Liu Yan raised another army and defeated the Southern Tang army and continued to occupy Hunan. Later, Liu Yan was killed by his subordinate Wang Jinkui, and then Pan Shusi killed Wang Jinkui. Zhou Xingfeng killed Pan Shusi, and the whole of Hunan was controlled by Zhou Xingfeng. Zhou Xingfeng and his son Zhou Baoquan ruled Hunan successively. It was destroyed by the Northern Song Dynasty in 963, and Hunan was completely integrated into the territory of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Wuyue: Wuyue was founded by Zhenhai of the Tang Dynasty and Qian Liu, the envoy of Zhendong Jiedu. The capital was Hangzhou. At its peak, its territory was about the entire province of Zhejiang, southern Jiangsu, and northeastern Fujian. In the first year of Kaiping (AD 907), Hou Liang granted Qian Liu the title of King of Wuyue, so this year was the year when Wuyue was founded. In the third year of Changxing in the Later Tang Dynasty (AD 932), Qian Liu died and his son Qian Yuanguan succeeded to the throne. In the fifth year of Tianfu in the Later Jin Dynasty (941 AD), Qian Yuanguan died and his son Qian Hongzuo succeeded him. In the tenth year of the Liao Dynasty (AD 947), Qian Hongzuo passed away. His son was still young, so his younger brother Qian Hongzuo succeeded him. However, Qian Hongzhu wanted to limit the power of the generals. As a result, Hu Jinsi, the commander of the Neija army, launched a coup in December of that year and replaced Qian Hongzhu's younger brother Qian Hongchu as the successor. In 978 AD, Qian Hongchu surrendered his land to the Northern Song Dynasty, and Wu Yue perished. It has experienced five masters and existed for seventy-two years.

Fujian: The founder of Fujian, Wang Shenzhi and his brother Wang Chao, gradually controlled the Fuzhou area during the reign of Emperor Zhaozong of the Tang Dynasty. Wang Chao was awarded the title of Mighty Military Military Envoy. Wang Chao died in 898 and was succeeded by Wang Shenzhi. In 909, Wang Shenzhi was granted the title of King of Fujian by the Later Liang Dynasty. Wang Shenzhi was born in poverty, so he was able to live frugally. When he was in power, he saved punishment and spared money, took small corvees and paid little tax, rested with the people, and became a vassal in the Central Plains, which led to the rapid development of Fujian. In 925, Wang Shenzhi died and was succeeded by his eldest son, Wang Yanhan. Wang Yanhan had a proud and lewd personality, and was cruel and violent. As a result, he was killed by Wang Yanhan's brother Wang Yanjun and Wang Shenzhi's adopted son Wang Yanxun in 926. Wang Yanjun inherited the throne of Fujian and proclaimed himself emperor in 933. In 935, Wang Yanjun was killed by his son Wang Jipeng, who seized the throne.Wang Jipeng had a jealous personality and repeatedly killed members of the clan. As a result, he was killed in the mutiny of Zhu Wenjin and Lian Chongyu in 939, and was succeeded by his uncle Wang Yanxi. Wang Yanxi had always been violent. Zhu Wenjin and Lian Chongyu believed that Wang Yanxi had the intention of harming him, so they assassinated Wang Yanxi in 943. Zhu Wenjin claimed to be the King of Fujian, but was soon defeated by Wang Shenzhi's other son Wang Yanzheng. In 945, the Southern Tang Dynasty seized the opportunity of civil strife in Fujian to attack. The Southern Tang army captured Fuzhou, Wang Yanzheng surrendered, and the country of Fujian was destroyed. It lived through six masters and existed for thirty-seven years.

Jingnan: Gao Jixing, the founder of Jingnan, was a subordinate of Zhu Wen. After Zhu Wen proclaimed himself emperor in 907, he was named Jingnan Jiedushi, and his capital was Jiangling. After the fall of the Later Liang Dynasty, Gao Jixing continued to proclaim himself a minister to the Later Tang Dynasty, and was named King of Nanping by Li Cunxu in 924. When the Later Tang Dynasty destroyed the former Shu, Gao Jixing expressed his intention to help the Later Tang Dynasty attack, but he did not fulfill his promise. After Mingzong of the Later Tang Dynasty succeeded to the throne, Gao Jixing asked for the land of Former Shu from the Later Tang Dynasty. Emperor Mingzong Li Siyuan was furious and sent troops to conquer Jingnan. Fortunately, with the arrival of the rainy season in the south of the Yangtze River, the Tang army was short of food and grass, and Gao Jixing was able to escape the fate of being destroyed. Gao Jixing died in 929. After his son Gao Congjie came to power, he restored the relationship with the Later Tang Dynasty and was named King of Nanping in 934.

Jingnan was a small and weak country, and because of its greed for rewards, it surrendered to almost all nearby regimes that proclaimed themselves emperors, and also robbed tributes from other regimes. Countries call Gao Jixing and Gao Congjie "Gao Laizi". Gao Congjie died in 948, and his son Gao Baorong succeeded to the throne and continued to serve the central government. Gao Baorong died in 960, and his son Gao Jichong was young, so Gao Baorong's younger brother Gao Baoxu succeeded him. Gao Baoxu died in 962 and was succeeded by Gao Jichong. In 963, the Song army passed by Jiangling during its southern expedition. Gao Jichong was deeply frightened by the power of the Song army, so he surrendered to the Song Dynasty. Jingnan was destroyed. It has experienced five masters and existed for forty years.

Northern Han Dynasty: The founding monarch of the Northern Han Dynasty, Liu Chong, was the younger brother of Liu Zhiyuan, the founder of the Later Han Dynasty. He served as the governor of Hedong and Yin of Taiyuan. In 951, Guo Wei destroyed the Han Dynasty and established the Zhou Dynasty. Liu Chong occupied more than ten states east of Hedong and proclaimed himself emperor in Taiyuan. His country was named Han, and it was called Northern Han in history.

The Northern Han Dynasty was one of the weakest countries among the ten kingdoms, so Liu Chong allied with Liao for aid and regarded the Emperor of Liao as his uncle. In 954 AD, Liu Chong tried to take advantage of the opportunity of Zhou Shizong to attack the Later Zhou Dynasty, but was defeated miserably by the Later Zhou Dynasty and his national power was greatly reduced. Liu Chong died in the same year, and his son Liu Chengjun succeeded to the throne. He continued to serve the policies of the Liao State and called the Lord of Liao his father the emperor. In 968 AD, Liu Chengjun died of illness and his adopted son Liu Jien succeeded to the throne. He was assassinated by the enshrined official Hou Ba Rong soon after. Liu Ji'en's brother Liu Jiyuan succeeded to the throne. He was cruel and murderous. He also frequently exterminated his subordinates who disobeyed him, and the Northern Han Dynasty was in decline. In 969, Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin personally conquered the Northern Han Dynasty, but the Song army retreated after being unable to attack for a long time. However, the Song army came back in 979. Zhao Guangyi, Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty, personally conquered the country. The Song army was unstoppable. Liu Jiyuan asked the Liao army for help. The Liao reinforcements were also repelled. Liu Jiyuan was forced to surrender and the Northern Han Dynasty perished. It has experienced four masters and existed for twenty-nine years.