On July 27, the 6th year of Qiande (968), Liu Chengjun, the emperor of the Northern Han Dynasty, died. How did he die? Cause of death report: He died of poverty, scared to death, and was even more anxious to die by his master of Liao.

What did he die of poverty for? Because the Northern Han Dynasty has no money. And the reason why the Northern Han Dynasty is so poor is all because of the ghosts of the Song Dynasty. The peasants of the Northern Han Dynasty are pitiful! Working in the fields, a small group of Song Dynasty cavalry suddenly rushed in, they did not kill people or rob things, but just trampled on the fields, rampaged, trampled all the fruits of their labor, and then ran away in a puff of smoke. What to do? I can't beat it again, and I can't control it. These people are like ghosts, they come every three or five times, and they really can't live this day. And the Song Dynasty beckoned to them: Come on, we have land to grow here, and it is absolutely safe, and no one will bully you. So you can see such a stroke in the history books: 470 people from the Northern Han Dynasty came to surrender. This is still a large-scale migration and surrender activity, and it is estimated that there are more in groups. As a result, the population of the Northern Han became smaller and smaller. The people are the foundation of the country, and without the people, the country will naturally become poorer and poorer.

Since the founding of the Northern Han Dynasty, it has been fighting with Guo Wei, Chai Rong, and Zhao Kuangyin for nearly 18 years with the strength of only 10 states. is as rich as Jiangnan, but I am afraid that I will be poor. In the back, the poor of the Northern Han Dynasty really couldn't do it, so they wanted to turn to the monk. After Li Yun's incident, Liu Chengjun promoted a monk to be Hongluqing. The state holds military parades and other big ceremonies, incense to ancestors during the Qingming Festival, and receptions of Liao envoys to invite guests to dinner. At first glance, it is clear that this is all a matter of cost.

Why do you ask this monk to do it? Because this monk is not ordinary. This person is Liu Jirong, a senior monk of Wutai Mountain. The family has a background, the son of Liu Shouguang, the envoy of the Youzhou Festival and the self-proclaimed Emperor Yan. Liu Shouguang was captured by Li Cunxuan of the Later Tang Zhuangzong, and the Liu family was defeated, so he went into the mountains and became a monk. But he is not like the junior monks who can only recite Amitabha, he has a special skill and can speak the Huayan Sutra. The Huayan Sutra is equivalent to the theory of relativity in physics, which is very important but not many people understand it. Therefore, Monk Liu was very popular, and there were many people who gave him incense money to listen to his lectures. Monk Liu was not a greedy person, and all the money he earned from his hard work and recitation of the Sutra was subsidized to the Liu family of the Northern Han Dynasty. Later, this monk Liu made new contributions, engaged in geological exploration, discovered silver mines in Tuanbai Valley, and organized nearby people to dig mountains to extract ore and cast silver, and now the tribute money to the Liao State was available. It seems that there is a long history and tradition of monks going to the sea to run a business and make money.

Therefore, Liu Chengjun's death, poverty is a reason that cannot be ignored. And what is he scared to death for? This is still the fault of the Song Dynasty. After pacifying Li Yun, the Song army invaded the border of the Northern Han Dynasty in three days, and Liu Chengjun sat in Taiyuan, receiving an endless stream of military reports every day. And the situation is getting worse and worse, Jingnan was collected, Hunan was destroyed, and Shu was also flattened, maybe it will be his turn next. In such an environment, can you not be scared to death?

Of course, the above two are not the main reasons. He was even more anxious to die by the master of Liao. The relationship between the Northern Han and the Liao has long passed the honeymoon period, and now the two countries are tired of each other.

When Li Yun rebelled in Luzhou and asked him for help, he regarded this matter as a great opportunity for him to recover the Central Plains. But Li Yun has backbone and is unwilling to borrow the power of Liao, and Liu Chengjun has no branch of Liaoguo in order to save a large amount of foreign exchange expenditure for Liaoguo as foreign aid. But Liao Guo is gone, how can I not participate in the murder and money grabbing? The Khitans were angry. They have long been tired of Liu Chengjun. How filial Liu Chong was back then, as long as the country exceeded 300 yuan, he would report it for instructions. But these latecomers are drifting away from them. Gift-giving is not so diligent, greetings are not so intimate, and there is no reporting of state affairs. This will not even ask for such a big thing as attacking the Central Plains. The Liao people watched coldly, seeing how capable this Liu Chengjun could be!

Sure enough, not far from Taiyuan, Li Yun was defeated, and Liu Chengjun had to retract his head. Liao State is a little gloating and robbing the Central Plains? Without me, how could you succeed? Doesn't that make me important?

Another incident made Liao even more unhappy. Liu Chengjun killed Duan Chang. Duan Chang was the privy envoy of the Northern Han Dynasty and had great power. It's so big that you can say no to what happened to Liu Chengjun in bed!

Liu Chengjun married a new wife, and the newcomer's background was a little embarrassed to say, her father was a medical monk, as the name suggests, is to use medical skills to purify sentient beings. On one occasion the monk cured a man of his illness. This is a widow who suffers from infertility. This disease is said to be a terminal illness at worst, because the widow will never be able to have children without a partner. To put it mildly, our medical monk can be cured. How to treat it? Amitabha! Isn't this question blaspheming my Buddha? The monk entered the widow's door in the middle of the night, went to her bed, and was cured.

Not long after, the widow gave birth to a daughter. The surname is Guo. I can't help but think of an Internet joke, very yellow and violent. A young lady gave birth to a son, but she didn't know what her father's surname was, so she couldn't choose a name. I went to consult a certain professor. A professor asked, "Do you know when you got pregnant?" The professor asked again, "Do you remember who you had a relationship with that day?" Miss has a good memory, "A senior secretary, a manager Li, and a director Chen" The professor pondered for a while and said, "Then you can be surnamed Guo" and then explained, "Take the upper half of the height, the lower half of Li, and the left half of Chen, to form a word, isn't it 'Guo'?"

It is not difficult to imagine how dishonorable it is for a widow to give birth to a daughter. If it is placed in today's era of great emancipation of the mind and even great debauchery, it will be despised by others. And what about antiquity? Miss Guo was pointing and pointing behind her, and her ears were full of rumors, sarcasm and mockery, but all this did not prevent Miss Guo from growing taller and growing into a slim beauty.

What does it matter if you have a bad background? One beauty covers one hundred ugliness. The beautiful girl Guo was lucky to be taken by Liu Chengjun and married as his wife.

Does anyone dare to laugh behind their backs? Yes! It's not behind the scenes, it's actually said to your face! Duan Chang's reason made Guo very sad and angry: this woman came from the wrong way, and if she became a concubine, she was afraid of laughing at her neighbors.

Do you know that a defect that is not self-inflicted, a grievance and anger that cannot be changed when someone grabs you and keeps on letting go of the past? Guo gritted his teeth and tears in the back: The surname is Duan, let's see!

Guo has a chance to retaliate. She can't become a concubine, but she can still occupy Liu Chengjun's bed and blow the wind on the pillow. The pillow wind is very gentle, light and soft, but the power is no less than a 12-level typhoon.

It's also often unlucky. He was not so easy to be killed by the wind next to his pillow, but he was unfortunately involved in a conspiracy and was demoted to a petty official. Far from the political center, he is like a strand of hair on the edge of a sharp blade, and with a slight blow from Guo, his head is broken.

Duan Chang's death was just a fight between the minister and **, but this matter was known by the Liao State. Liao felt that he was greatly despised, in the past, the emperor of the Northern Han Dynasty had to ask for instructions when he killed a chicken, but now he killed such a minister, and he didn't even say hello. The anger that had been pent up in the Liao State for many years erupted at once, and sent a serious foreign traffic plate to Liu Chengjun, listing 3 major crimes: changing the era name without authorization, aiding Li Yun without authorization, and killing Duan Chang without authorization.

Liu Chengjun was scared, and through Li Yun, he had seen the horror of the Great Song Dynasty Forbidden Army. If there is no Liao State behind him, what will he do to cut off Taiyuan? Therefore, repairing relations with the Liao State is a top priority. Under Liu Chengjun's anxiety, Lian sent an envoy with a lot of money to Liao to say good things, recall old feelings, and to stabilize and strengthen diplomatic exchanges with Liao and reshape military alliances. But the messengers all became meat buns, and they beat them one after another, and none of them came back! How many people? 16 people!

Liu Chengjun was anxious, what does Liaoguo mean, agree or oppose? Later, he sent a heavyweight of the royal family: Liu Chong's grandson and his eldest nephew Liu Jiwen as an envoy. Still mud cows into the sea, no news.

Are those people dead? Or was it detained? I don't know what to say, after the Liao State issued the letter of inquiry, it never sent an envoy to the Northern Han Dynasty. The diplomacy between the two countries suddenly became an impasse. And this silence is the most suffocating.

Outside, Song soldiers harassed from time to time, and behind the scenes, the only ally he counted on never expressed his position on the issue of restoring friendly relations. Waiting and panicking, Liu Chengjun died. The death certificate reads: Since Li Yun was defeated, he returned in embarrassment, and he lost the favor of Liao, and he was embarrassed and weak, and he was sick with sorrow.

Why didn't the Liao State respond to the Northern Han Dynasty? Perhaps this is nothing more than diplomacy, and sometimes silence is more effective than roaring. Silence is more important than chattering to make others aware of your existence. And the Liao State just wants to make the Northern Han clear that without him, your Northern Han is nothing.

The God-given opportunity of Liu Chengjun's death must of course be seized. The government handover work is enough for them to be busy, and now they can catch the other side off guard. And at this time, Zhao Kuangyin even had an excuse.

At that time, Zhao Kuangyin was uneasy about the Northern Han Dynasty on his head, and he gave Liu Chengjun a challenge letter later, "Jun has a feud with the Zhou Dynasty, so you refuse to give in in Taiyuan, but I don't have anything to do with you." Why bother with one person because of this? If you also have the heart to dominate China, please go down to Taihang Mountain, we will decide the winner alone" The smart Liu Chengjun replied "We can't beat you, but our family is not a splitter, guarding Taiyuan, just to incense the ancestors of the Liu family" and then he hardened "You have the ability, you come in from Tuanbai Valley, to Taiyuan, I will wait for you" The history said: The emperor mourned his words, and said, "For me, I will say a lifetime" So at the end of Liu Chengjun's life, Zhao Kuangyin did not press the border with a large army. However, in my opinion, this seems to be compassionate, and the words of opening up the net are just a delaying tactic, because Zhao Kuangyin has decided to start a war against the southern countries one by one, and he has no extra energy to get up and down, and he doesn't want to be beaten up and down by people from the left and right.

And now that Liu Chengjun is dead, the promise was automatically lifted. Zhao Kuangyin felt that it was justified to send troops at this time.

So Liu Chengjun died less than a month ago, and before his bones were cold, Zhao Kuangyin's army came. On August 17, the Song army was divided into 3 routes: Li Jixun and Dang Jin were the main and deputy generals, and Cao Bin was the supervising army, which set off from Luzhou; Zhao Zan and Si Chao were the main and deputy generals, and Li Qianpu was the supervisor of the army, capturing Fenzhou; He Jiyun was the main general, and Kang Yannuma was the supervisor of the army and served as the vanguard.

But Liu Chengjun's death was an opportunity for the Song Dynasty, and it was an opportunity for the Northern Han Dynasty to reposition diplomatic relations with the Liao State. The newly appointed Liu Jien knew the importance of the Liao State to him, and before ascending the throne, he cautiously consulted the Liao State and requested that the diplomatic relations between the two countries be normalized to achieve Liu Chongqi's close partnership and military strategic alliance. Liao also accepted it when it was good. agreed to Liu Jien to succeed to the throne, and also promised that if the Song Dynasty came to attack, he would come to help.

Well, there is foreign help, and the rest is defense. But at this critical moment, another major incident occurred in Taiyuan City, which made the already chaotic situation even more chaotic. Liu Jien, the new emperor of the Later Han Dynasty, who had just succeeded to the throne, was killed. This is a mystery. But the case itself is not complicated.

Time: In late September 968, just over 60 days after Liu Chengjun's deathLocation: Qinzheng Pavilion Deceased: Liu Jien, the new emperor of the Northern Han Dynasty, Murderer: Worship official Hou Barong

The time of the case is very delicate, at this time, there is a strong enemy outside, and the new emperor is taking office at the beginning, not to mention the panic in Taiyuan City, such a big thing happens, which also confirms that there are several forces in the city wrestling.

Look at the deceased Liu Jien. Liu (Xue) Jien was actually born to Liu Chengjun's nephew and the daughter of Liu Chong, the founding emperor of the Northern Han Dynasty. When the Liu family did not have a career back then, Liu Chong married his daughter to a small soldier named Xue Zhao. But then the situation was different, Liu Zhiyuan became the emperor, and Liu Chong became the prince. Now the gap has widened, Xue Zhao is still a small soldier, and his wife has become the county lord. Generally speaking, the mother's family has made a fortune, and this son-in-law should be able to follow with some light, right? But the truth is quite the opposite. As soon as the identities of the two husbands and wives were opened, things all changed. Maybe it's because the relationship between husband and wife is not very good, and they separated. In the future, Xue Zhao had to post if he wanted to see his wife, and asked the doorman to send a message to ask for a meeting. Xue Zhao was on fire, once he drank some wine, and went to Liu's mansion again, asking to meet his wife. After begging bitterly, he finally met his wife, who he hated day and night. He pulled out his knife and stabbed it. It's a pity that he didn't stab this negative woman to death.

Xue Zhao failed to kill his wife and committed suicide. And his wife should be having an affair. As soon as Xue Zhao died, she remarried a man surnamed He, and gave birth to a son named Liu (He) Jiyuan. Later, the surname He and Princess Liu both died, and Liu Chong passed Liu Jien and Liu Jiyuan to Liu Chengjun's knees, and let them both change their surnames to Liu.

Okay, after gossiping about the ugly things of the Liu family. Let's look at the murderer Hou Barong again. He is actually a horse thief, often stealing between Taiyuan and Fenzhou. Later, he was recruited by Liu Chengjun and became an officer in the Northern Han Dynasty. But in August 963, Wang Quanbin captured Leping County in the Northern Han Dynasty, and Hou Barong jumped to the Song Dynasty and became a member of the Great Song Forbidden Army. What was even more surprising was that it didn't take long for him Hou Barong to come back. What's going on? If you don't do a big company, what are you going to do when you go back to Beihan, which will go bankrupt at any time? The strangest is yet to come. Liu Chengjun did not blame him for his defection back then, but made him an enshrinement officer. If it weren't for Liu Chengjun's absolute trust in Hou Barong, how could he, who had a history of betrayal, be placed in the closest position of the emperor's follower?

From this, we speculate that this Hou Barong may have taken the Infernal Affairs and went to the Song Dynasty to inquire about intelligence.

Let's take a look at what happened. The history books record it very clearly, even in great detail.