One of the legendary Li Jiqian - historical background

Li Jiqian was a legendary figure in the early Northern Song Dynasty!

Since the age of nineteen, after his brother Ding Difficult Festival Li Jishou dedicated the five states of Ding Difficult to the Great Song Dynasty, he rebelled against the powerful Great Song Dynasty, and after more than 20 years of fighting, he finally laid the foundation of Western Xia, and in 1038 his grandson Yuan Hao was called the emperor and established the Great Xia Kingdom, Li Jiqian was posthumously named Xia Taizu!

Speaking of Li Jiqian, some people may not be familiar with this name, but when it comes to his other descendant more than 600 years later, Li Zicheng, the emperor of the Dashun regime, it is estimated that there are few people who will not know him. In the first month of 1644, Li Zicheng was proclaimed emperor in Xi'an, and the founding name was "Dashun", and Li Jiqian was the ancestor.

As a person, he is also the ancestor of the two countries of Daxia Taizu and Dashun Taizu, and this alone is enough to see its legend.

Speaking of Li Jiqian, we first have a general understanding of his ancestors.

During the reign of Emperor Xizong of the Tang Dynasty, the party nobleman Tuoba Sigong was awarded the title of Dingyan Army Festival Envoy for his meritorious service in helping the Tang Dynasty suppress the Huangchao Uprising, leading the five states of Xia, Sui, Yin, You, and Jing, and was given the surname Li.

Li Jiqian's great-grandfather Li Sizhong's younger brother, who also followed his brother Li Sigong to conquer Huangchao, both of whom died in the suppression of the Huangchao Uprising. Great-grandfather Li Renyan, after the Tang Dynasty, was the Yinzhou defense envoy, and since then Li Jiqian's family has been leading the Yinzhou defense envoy for generations, and he is also a powerful faction among the Li nobles in the party.

Without further ado, let's start with the establishment of the Great Song Dynasty and talk about the legend of Li Jiqian.

On New Year's Day in 960 AD, Zhao Kuangyin directed a "Chenqiao Mutiny" with a "yellow robe", and the Central Plains Dynasty changed from Zhou to Song.

For Xiazhou, which is accustomed to regime change in the Five Dynasties, this coup d'état that took place thousands of miles away did not have much substantial impact on them. At that time, the commander of Xiazhou was called Li Yiyin, and when he was Xiande in the Later Zhou Dynasty, he was added to the post of Taifu and Zhongshu Ling, and was named the king of Xiping. As the leader of the Dangxiang clan, Li Yiyin has already served seven emperors of the Central Plains, and he knows better than anyone what the newly enthroned emperor needs. In the same month that Zhao Kuangyin ascended the throne, Li Yiyin sent Li Guangyan, the young talent of the family, to lead people to Chaohe, and there must have been Han people to help him, because he found that his name was "offended". He asked Li Guangyan to bring a message to Zhao Kuangyin: "I'm sorry for the emperor, my party members have no culture and are not familiar with the emperor's genealogy, so I actually made me guilty of the name of Emperor Xuanzu." The minister was terrified, from today onwards, I will no longer be called Li Yiyin, and my name will be changed to Li Yixing. Zhao Kuangyin was very happy that the leader of an ethnic minority took the initiative to avoid it and raised his name change to the height of praying for the blessing of the Great Song Dynasty, and immediately crowned Li Yixing as a lieutenant. At the beginning of the establishment of the Northern Song Dynasty, those who could be named the "Three Dukes" were only one Li Yixing in the feudal towns except for Zhao Pu, who "ruled the world in half of the Analects". Li Guangyan completed the mission very well and was also commended by Li Yiyin.

Two years later, in the third year of Jianlong (962 AD), Li Yixing presented 300 good horses to the Song court. At this time, the Great Song Dynasty had a special thirst for war horses. Because if you want to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun and gain an advantage in the battle against a "nation on horseback" like the Khitan, you must have strong cavalry, so horses are more affordable than any other tribute for Zhao Kuangyin.

Taizu was overjoyed, personally supervised the production of jade belts for Li Yixing, and summoned an envoy to ask, "What is the circumference of Ru Shuai?" The envoy replied, "Yi Xing's waist is very large." Taizu said, "You are really blessed with a handsome man." Then he sent an envoy to give a belt. In the autumn of the fifth year of Qiande (967), Li Yixing died, and Taizu abolished the dynasty for three days, gave him the title of Taishi, and posthumously crowned the king of Xia. The son Li Guangrui is the heir and stands on his own as the queen. ”

At that time, the highest specification of gifts in the Song Dynasty was to give jade belts. It seems that it is an extra-long jade belt that was given to Li Yixing, a treasure!

It seems that at the beginning of the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty, the relationship between the Li family in the northwest and the central government was quite harmonious. After receiving the jade belt from Zhao Kuangyin, in April of the first year of Qiande (963), Li Yixing sent someone to Bianjing to offer a cow as a return gift. The rhino is actually the yak, which is the main animal in the northwest and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, but it is an unprecedented rarity in the Central Plains. The arrival of the ox also really made Zhao Kuangyin happy, and in this back and forth of etiquette, the Central Plains Imperial Court and Dingnan spent a sweet "honeymoon life" together. During this sweet time, a new life was born in the Li family. The father of this child is Li Guangyan, who was previously sent by Li Yixing to the Song Dynasty, and the child is named Li Jiqian. Later, he became "Xia Taizu".

After Li Yixing's death, he was replaced by Li Kerui (whose real name is Li Guangrui, who is Zhao Guangyi, Taizong of the Song Dynasty, and changed his light to Ke), who has always been cautious about the Great Song Dynasty, and spent it in the trembling and trembling confrontation with the Northern Song Dynasty.

In May of the third year of Taiping Xingguo (978 AD), Li Kerui passed away, and after Li Kerui's death, his son Li Jiyun took the post of the queen of the Dingyan Army, and also inherited the ruling power of Xiazhou. In order to express his condolences to the loyal Li Kerui, Zhao Guangyi also learned Zhao Kuangyin's etiquette to treat Li Yixing for two days, and posthumously awarded Li Kerui the title of servant. What is very interesting is that Li Jiyun did not become a festival envoy soon after succeeding to the throne like his ancestors, in fact, he was just a "queen" until he died. This point completely deviates from the tradition since the Five Dynasties, and Zhao Guangyi must have ill intentions in doing so.

In March of the fourth year of Taiping Xingguo (979 AD), Emperor Taizong personally drove a conquest against the Northern Han Dynasty. In order to cooperate with the military operations of the Song Dynasty, Li Jiyun of Xiazhou ordered Li Keyuan, the assassin of Yinzhou, and Li Kexian, the assassin of Suizhou, to lead tens of thousands of troops of the Fan and Han to cross the Yellow River and enter the territory of Taiyuan to cheer for the Song army. In the end, Song Taizong finally destroyed the Northern Han Dynasty and unified the Central Plains, and the history of "Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms" was truly over.

Strangely, in October of the fifth year of Taiping Xingguo (980 AD), Li Jiyun, who was only one year of rule and was not very old, died unexpectedly. Regarding the cause of Li Jiyun's death, it is still a mystery. Shanhe personally always believed that he was very likely to be assassinated. After Li Jiyun's death, his son was still young, and his younger brother Li Jisheng inherited the rule of Xiazhou. This practice is not without precedent in Xiazhou, after the death of Li Sigong (Tuoba Sigong), it was his younger brother Li Siji who served as the queen, and then passed the position to Li Yichang (Tuoba Sigong's eldest son), so as to keep a piece of Xiazhou.

At this time, Li Jizhui ascended the throne in the way of "brother to brother" and became the ninth leader of Xiazhou.

However, since Li Jisheng succeeded to the throne, Xiazhou began to be in chaos.

This year, our protagonist Li Jiqian is fourteen years old, and he is about to face a chaotic situation.

And through the layers of fog and traced clues, we seem to see the shadow of the Song Dynasty behind this chaos.

Back then, Li Jiyun ascended the throne and only gave the title of "retained", and the so-called "retained" meant acting. However, Li Jiyun made meritorious contributions in the evaluation of the Northern Han Dynasty and should have been given the "Temperance Envoy", but he died suddenly.

Then, Li Ji took the throne.

In August of the sixth year of the Song Taiping Rejuvenation (981 AD), Li Keyuan, the assassin of Yinzhou who belonged to his uncle's generation, and his brother Li Keshun raised troops to attack Xiazhou, in an attempt to launch an armed coup d'état and overthrow Li Jishou. The cautious Li Jisheng got the news in advance and sent people to ambush along the road, Li Keyuan was ambushed, and finally beheaded to show the public. It is said that behind the action of Er Li, there was the instigation of the people of the Song Dynasty.

In May of the seventh year of the Taiping Rejuvenation of the Kingdom (982 AD), Li Jisheng's other cousin, Suizhou Assassin Shi and Xijing Workshop, made Li Kewen report to Bianjing, saying that Li Jishuang's inheritance of the position of the supreme governor of Xiazhou was not in line with etiquette, and if he continued to serve, "I am afraid of chaos", and suggested that the Song Dynasty summon him to the court.

Li Kewen's twist and turn, the yaks and good horses that advanced the tribute before the Western Xia all pleased Zhao Guangyi of Song Taizong. The opportunity was sent to the door by himself, of course, he would not let it go, and immediately passed the edict and ordered Li Ji to enter the Hajj. After receiving this edict, under the coercion and coercion of Li Kewen and the edict envoys, Li Jisheng reluctantly went to the Great Song Jingshi.

Li Ji went to the Song capital, which was unprecedented in Xiazhou. Xiazhou, also known as the Dingyan Army, the eight top leaders in the history before, except for Li Kerui, who symbolically asked to "enter the Hajj", the others all used the difficult and dangerous road to act, and never entered the Beijing Dynasty to see the emperor. Zhao Guangyi was very happy with Li Jisheng's arrival and held a grand welcome banquet for him in Chongde Hall. At the banquet, Li Jisheng presented a jade plate and three gold plates offered by his grandmother to the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty. As a reward, Emperor Taizong rewarded Li Ji with a thousand taels of platinum, a thousand horses of silk, and a million silver. After that, Li Jisheng traveled to Bianliang, which was prospering, and finally one day, he said to Zhao Guangyi with infinite sincerity: "Your Majesty, I like the Central Plains too much, and I have long been happy, or I will stay here?" The implication is that he automatically gave up his position after the Dingyan Army, and just wanted to stay by the emperor's side and be a Beijing official.

After Li Jitou was determined to stay, he was the local "soil emperor", and even the title and position were hereditary, and he was an independent kingdom. How could there be such a request? That is, he realized that his life would be in danger when he went back, and he would stay in Bianjing, and he would retain the glory and wealth of his life, in order to achieve this purpose, Li Jisheng did a very controversial thing - that is, the land of Xia, Sui, Yin, You, and Jing, which his ancestors had painstakingly operated for 200 years, was dedicated to the Song Dynasty as a "tribute". Perhaps, he felt that the Great Song Dynasty wanted to dominate the world, and "set the difficulty of the five states", that is, the Song Dynasty of Xiazhou would eventually solve it, and with the power of Western Xia, it would not be able to deal with the tiger and wolf army of the Song Dynasty. He is well aware of this.

In this way, Li Jitou became a "summer traitor", he really betrayed the country, and he stayed in Bianliang as he wished, and lived comfortably in the exquisite residence carefully arranged for him by Zhao Guangyi, and no longer had to stay in the tent and suffer from the birds of those miscellaneous people.

Li Kewen used the imperial court to bring down Li Jisheng, but he didn't get what he wanted. In his opinion, according to his performance this time, it is so eye-catching, this must be difficult to make the envoy (even if it is to stay behind) is his, but the official position given to him by the Great Song Dynasty is only a Xiazhou governor. It is this Zhizhou, and he is not in charge alone, and he is on an equal footing with Yin Xian, the representative of the central government sent by Zhao Guangyi. In the next four months, Zhao Guangyi had gradually infiltrated the central forces into the sphere of influence of the Dingyan Army, and also gathered heavy troops on the Song-Xia border, and then - "send an envoy to protect the Li clan and go to Que in person".

Who are the "relatives above the line"? Hemp is a type of ancient mourning dress. In the mourning system, all men who are great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, and brothers of their own clan, as well as parents, cousins, aunts, and brothers of their grandchildren, nephews, sons-in-law, and wives, are given hemp. It is said that the "escort" activity personally presided over by Zhao Guangyi relocated a total of more than 370 Hao chiefs related to the Li family, about 50,000 tent families. Almost all the branches and vines of the Li family in Xiazhou were moved to the capital to be "raised" under the "escort" this time.

Subsequently, those in power in the Li family in Xiazhou, who held real power, were also transferred by Zhao Guangyi from the five states of Dingnan. Li Jisheng was named the envoy of the Zhangde Army (now Anyang, Henan), and Li Kewen, who had just known Xiazhou, was transferred to the post of Assassin of Shanzhou, and Li Kexian, the assassin of Suizhou, was also forced to accept the appointment of being transferred to Shanzhou Assassin (now Shanxian County, Shandong) after several struggles. And after they left, the power vacuum that was difficult was quickly filled by the central government officials selected by Zhao Guangyi. Yin Xian continued to know Xiazhou, and Cao Guangshi served as the governor of the seven prefectures of Yin, Xia, Sui, Lin, Fu, Feng, and You.

In this way, the Li family's power that had been entrenched in the five states of Yinxia for a hundred years was almost removed by Zhao Guangyi in one fell swoop. Even the iron coupons and Zhu Shu Yuzai given by Tang Xizong to his ancestor Tuoba Sigong were transferred to Zhao Guangyi by Li Kewen (equivalent to the title deed of the territory of the Dingyan Army), and Zhao Guangyi became the undisputed new owner of this land. Song Taizong once again used a bloodless war to prove to the world that the gap between him and Tang Taizong was just a surname, and the Li family in Xiazhou was about to become a historical term in the northwest.

In those years, Tang Taizong also took over such a group of minority regimes, and they did it very successfully.

This time, from a formal point of view, this Song Taizong did more than Tang Taizong!

But just as the monarchs and ministers of the Song Dynasty were drinking and singing for this glorious victory, in the northwest town of Yinzhou, Li Jiqian, a nineteen-year-old young man, was facing a difficult choice in life.

Follow the big slip and go to the Central Plains, but also lose the glory and wealth, poetry and wine; But the inheritance of our ancestors, the struggle of the nation, and especially the freedom of that nation, will be lost!

Go?

Seeing that the whole clan is about to migrate, will there be a good result if they are resisting independently?

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