He Jingzhu was good at catapults and had a brave and decisive nature. When he was young, he was the son of Li Jian, the commander-in-chief of Hubei Province.
Most of the information on He Jingzhu that can be found in later generations comes from "Recent Affairs of the Southern Tang Dynasty" written by Zheng Wenbao in the early Song Dynasty, or "Spring and Autumn of the Ten Kingdoms" written by Wu Renchen in the Qing Dynasty.
This person seems to be nothing compared to the arrogant, domineering, brave and skilled generals of the Central Plains during the Five Dynasties.
But Zhang Yan, who lived in this era, gradually saw the whole picture of this ugly and short warrior of the Southern Tang Dynasty.
Even in the fifth generation, this person is still among the best.
It can be said that since Li Min died and Li Jing succeeded to the throne, the Southern Tang Dynasty has always relied on three people in terms of military affairs.
Huainan relied on Liu Renzhan as a thorn to resist the cavalry from the Central Plains.
On the Yangtze River, He Jingzhu was relied on to defend Ezhou to prevent the Sui Dynasty from destroying Nanchen.
After these two people passed away, basically they could only rely on Lin Renzhao as the mainstay.
The rest of Zhu Lingyun, Chai Kehong, etc. are either too famous to be worthy of their reputation, or they cannot be counted on because they are not able to rely on them.
Among the three, although He Jingzhu is less famous than Liu Renzhan and Lin Renzhao, he was actually more important in the expansion of the Southern Tang Dynasty.
When the Southern Tang Dynasty destroyed Wang Min the year before last, the main force of Wang Min's army was actually defeated by He Jingzhu.
Historically, the reason why the Southern Tang Dynasty was able to destroy Ma Chu was not actually the Bodhisattva with a pickaxe.
But as early as when Ma Xihe attacked Ma Xiguang, He Jingzhu, on the orders of the Southern Tang Dynasty Lord Li Jing, first dispatched the navy of the Wuchang Army in Ezhou to work with Ma Xihe to capture the important town of Yuezhou and kill Wang Yun, the governor of Yuezhou.
Later, he assisted Ma Xi'e's army in controlling the Xiangjiang waterway and participated in the attack on Changsha City.
It can be said that before Bian Hao entered Ma Chu, He Jingzhu had already cleared Yuezhou, the biggest obstacle to the Southern Tang's control of Chu territory.
Since then, the waterway from Wuchang to Changsha has been smooth, and Bian Hao can set out from Yuanzhou (Yichun, Jiangxi) without worrying about manpower and material resources.
However, one thing needs to be explained, that is, unlike Liu Renzhan who stayed in Shouzhou with unswerving determination and loyalty, and Lin Renzhao who was willing to sacrifice himself to help the Southern Tang Dynasty regain Huainan, He Jingzhu was not so brave to sacrifice himself.
Perhaps because he was born as a child servant when he was young, He Jingzhu had a bit of forbearance that is rare among ordinary military commanders. He even tolerated being robbed of his great achievements such as destroying Wang Min.
At the same time, it also caused He Jingzhu to be less loyal to his boss.
Historically, he saw that Liu Renzhan died of illness, the Southern Tang Dynasty's national power declined further, and there was no hope of saving the country, so he immediately chose to resign and retire.
Therefore, he became the only one among the three pillars of the Southern Tang Dynasty who died well.
At this moment, He Jingzhu was furious in the Wuchang Army's office.
Not only was Li Jing too hesitant in plotting to seize Jiangling and Yuezhou, but also because Li Jing chose to put all the blame on He Jingzhu after being questioned by two consecutive groups of Zhang Zhou angels.
This made He Jingzhu furious, because in his opinion, Li Jing, as the leader of a country, should resist this matter.
Moreover, the most consequences would be to receive another reprimand and pay some money. Zhou Guo could not do anything to Li Jing at all.
But it would be unreasonable to put the blame on He Jingzhu.
If Zhou Guo wants to deal with Li Jing, his actions will be too big and the gains will not be worth the losses, but if he targets He Jingzhu, it will be very easy.
Sure enough, the angels from the Zhou Kingdom had already begun to go down the river, and the angel attendants who came to inform him had also arrived at Wuchang Water City.
He Jingzhu could only make a dark face and let the tooth soldiers around him hold swords, guns, swords and halberds, and put on a fierce look, as if they were going to chop Zhou Guolai in with a knife.
....
Speaking of Wang Jiu's courage, he is really brave!
Zhang Yan's arrangement was to have him wait at the Hanchuan Ferry, and then send his entourage to notify He Jingzhu to come to Hanchuan to receive reprimand.
However, Wang Jiu was afraid that his attendants would be timid and unable to complete the task, so he disguised himself as an attaché and came to Wuchang City.
As soon as he saw He Jingzhu's formation, Wang Jiu sneered. The Gaochang Uyghur Khan Jieli Pijia really dared to kill him. Wang Jiu was not afraid. How could he be afraid of the small formation He Jingzhu had put up?
He walked up to the killing array of swords, spears, swords and halberds set up by the Wuchang army soldiers, and simply had someone move a small square stool to sit on. He just looked at the crooked melons and cracked dates in front of him and the ferocious-looking warriors, and waited leisurely.
With.
Oh, by the way! There was an hourglass at his feet.
He Jingzhu waited in the office for a long time, but Wang Jiu didn't move at all until the hourglass was half empty. He Jingzhu couldn't calm down and had to go to the office in person to see him.
"You are no more than a small official in the Zhou Kingdom. I am a general in the Tang Kingdom. How dare you be so arrogant?"
"Although I am a small official, the Holy Week belongs to the Celestial Kingdom. You occupy the high position of Commander-in-Chief, but in the Southern Tang Dynasty, you are just a subordinate."
Wang Jiu smiled coldly and continued to teach He Jingzhu a lesson.
"A certain family's Jieshuai started from a young age, and it is not easy to climb to the current high position. Therefore, it is recommended that Jieshuai be the head of the Southern Tang Kingdom in Jiangning City, not the Tang Kingdom. There is only the Southern Tang Kingdom here, not the Tang Kingdom."
He Jingzhu was so angry that he suddenly pulled out his sword and pointed at Wang Jiu. The surrounding Wuchang army generals also raised their weapons, pretending to come and kill him.
Wang Jiu knew very well that he must not show his cowardice at this time. Not only could he not show his cowardice, but he also had to be more fearless than the other party.
He stood up suddenly, kicked over the hourglass at his feet, and then pointed at the surrounding Wuchang soldiers and shouted.
"Yeye followed Wang Shilang to Jiangning, Li Jing dared to reprimand him, how can he still be afraid of you?
Why are you pretending here, He Jingzhu, if you dare to kill a certain family, then come and let me see if your Wuchang army can withstand the imperial conquest."
He Jingzhu's face turned red with embarrassment. If the Zhou and Tang Dynasties went to war, he would stick to Ezhou and he would not be afraid even if he fell into a desperate situation.
But now the emperor of Jiangning City has given up. If he kills someone from the imperial court and causes Ezhou to be attacked by the imperial court, Jiangning City will probably scold him for causing trouble.
After a thousand thoughts in his heart, He Jingzhu finally sighed helplessly and said to the angel attendant Wang Jiu pretended to be.
"Since the angel of heaven came here on orders, why didn't he come to Ezhou City? Are he still afraid that I, He Jingzhu, would harm him?"
Wang Jiu said calmly: "The angels came all the way and felt the cold. Now they are stationed at the Hanchuan Ferry. I would like to ask the Commander-in-Chief to go and see us. I don't need to bother the angels to come to Ezhou City in person."
"Jie Shuai is not allowed!" A Wuchang military general shouted to dissuade him, "If the Zhou people suddenly stopped leaving Hanchuan, there must be fraud. Jiu Shuai has the important responsibility of Jiang defense and must not take risks."
Wang Jiu looked at the Yajiang who spoke with disdain, "Isn't Hanchuan a place under the jurisdiction of the Wuchang Army?
The Angel King's servant dares to come to this dragon's den and tiger's den as soon as he introduces himself as a scholar. You lick blood from the edge of your knife and are so timid even though you claim to be a hero. You are really a traitor!"
Ya Jiang was so angry that his eyes were filled with fire, but Wang Jiu didn't care. He turned to He Jingzhu and said directly: "I am just a small official who delivers a message. Whether He Jieshuai is going or not, I just need to give you a reply."
He Jingzhu frowned and thought for a moment. Actually, he couldn't figure out why Zhou sent an angel to reprimand him but didn't enter Ezhou City.
Just abducting him directly is something that only a ruthless person like Yuan Heng can think of, and ordinary people can't guess it, so it's normal.
But He Jingzhu knew one thing. If he didn't go, Zhou Guo would definitely take the opportunity to attack, yes! That must be what he thought, and there would be two results.
First, if he did not go, Zhou would take the opportunity to attack Ezhou, taking advantage of the high morale of the navy that had accepted Nanping and Ma Chu, and used this as an excuse to attack Ezhou.
The second is to go there by himself, suddenly take him hostage, and use his life to drive away Wuchang City.
With this thought, He Jingzhu became fearless. If he didn't go, it would give Zhou an excuse to start a war. With the current armaments of the Southern Tang Dynasty, he would definitely suffer a big loss.
And when he left, the Zhou people threatened his own life to open up the Ezhou city, so why should he be afraid of death? Besides, he could have made arrangements in advance.
So He Jingzhu cupped his hands and immediately changed his face, "Since Angel is sick, I'll go see you. It's just that the city is busy with affairs, so I'd like to go and make some arrangements."
After saying that, He Jingzhu immediately turned around and returned to the office without waiting for Wang Jiu to reply.
He then recruited more than ten Wuchang Army generals and ordered them to immediately lead 3,000 naval troops out of the city and cruise near Hanchuan River. If anything went wrong, they would surround the Hanchuan ferry. He also ordered 1,500 Wuchang Army horse and infantry troops to dispatch from the land.
Enter Hanchuan City.
Finally, he told everyone in the Jiedushi government office that if the Zhou people threatened his life, they would never open the door.
After doing this, He Jingzhu met Wang Jiu again and agreed to go to Hanchuan with Wang Jiu to meet the angel.
....
On the second day, at dawn, He Jingzhu took a speedboat and headed upstream to the Han River with Wang Jiu.
After Wang Jiu saw the Wuchang Water City, the Wuchang Army's large and small ships were coming and going like flying on the river, cruising all over the river, and he immediately knew what was going on.
He Jingzhu was looking at Wang Jiu with a smile, "How about you meet the athletes of my Wuchang Army? But how can Nanping and Nanchu Navy compare?"
Wang Jiu replied seriously: "He Jie Shuaiguo is the pillar of the Southern Tang Dynasty, the dragon on the water."
He Jingzhu laughed and was about to continue teasing, but Wang Jiu suddenly looked at the guard beside him. The guard took out a large firecracker filled with gunpowder from his waist and lit it immediately.
The bang and the explosion of the firecrackers startled everyone around them.
Just as He Jingzhu's guards on the boat were about to approach, they saw Wang Jiu unbuttoning his clothes and inserting at least seven or eight big firecrackers inside.
"This is the Hexi divine fire thunder. Under the bombardment, not only the body will not survive, but the soul will also be destroyed. Whoever is not afraid of death, come here and give it a try."
While he was talking, five or six small boats suddenly appeared among the reeds on the riverside and came towards them. They were all filled with Zhou troops holding bows and arrows.
The boatman of He Jingzhu's boat was immediately shot over and fell into the river.
He Jingzhu was furious: "Do you dare to harm me, my dog slave? If I am harmed, the angels of Hanchuan City will also die without a burial place."
"Hahaha!" Wang Jiu looked up to the sky and laughed, "A certain family is the left minister of the Ministry of Rites of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the angel Wang Jiu.
He Jingzhu, as a subject, you do not know the time of the day, and you dare to instigate the vassals to rebel against the sect leader. Such a treasonous offense, the emperor has specially ordered someone to take you back for questioning."
He Jingzhu was shocked, and then he realized that the extremely annoying little official of the Zhou Kingdom next to him was the angel himself, and that the Zhou Kingdom was not going to use him to open the Ezhou city gate, but to kidnap him.
For a moment, He Jingzhu didn't know whether to be proud or sad.
What he is proud of is that He Jingzhu was able to get such a plan from the Emperor of Zhou. He can be regarded as a threat certified by the Emperor of Zhou.
Sadly, the Zhou Kingdom had such a huge advantage over the Southern Tang Dynasty that the emperor of Jiangning was still hesitant in the face of an excellent opportunity.
However, Emperor Zhou was willing to deal with such a general with all his heart. The gap between the two monarchs was too big.
He Jingzhu suddenly couldn't resist much. Since ancient times, the confrontation between the north and the south has meant that the north unified the south, not to mention that the Southern Tang Dynasty was not even the Southern Dynasty.
Of course, even if He Jingzhu wanted to resist, it was too late. Under the threat of the divine fire thunder on Wang Jiu's body, the tooth soldiers on the boat were forced to dive one after another. There were only a few confidants left around He Jingzhu, and they were not at all the four who were approaching.
Army boat rivals.
In the middle of the river, several Wuchang army clippers who realized something was wrong and pursued them were shot by the prepared Zhou army sharpshooters before they could arrive, causing heavy casualties.
Wang Jiu and others succeeded, exerted 200% of their strength, held He Jingzhu hostage, and ran to Yuezhou.
....
Zhang Yan originally wanted to meet He Jingzhu, but before He Jingzhu arrived in Yuezhou, he tore his hair loose, torn his clothes, and covered his face with his hair to show that he was not seeing anyone. Zhang Yan was not asking for trouble.
Not everyone in this world likes to hug their thighs.
After much consideration, Zhang Yan still gave He Jingzhu a certain amount of dignity.
He sent the eloquent Li Fang to reprimand He Jingzhu for taking in Gao Baoxu and plotting to seize Yuezhou. He then ordered He Jingzhu to be appointed as the Superintendent of the Dezhou Army and Horses. In fact, he planned to imprison He Jingzhu in Kaifeng Mansion in Tokyo for a period of time.
.
After He Jingzhu was appointed, he neither accepted nor refused, but he still agreed to write a personal letter and ask someone to take him back to Ezhou, retrieve more than 30 of his family members, and have his confidants escort Gao Baoxu and others to Yuezhou.
....
In the second year of Shaoming Dynasty, AD 947, on the fourteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhang Xuan set out from Yueyang Mansion with a large amount of treasures and 13,000 horsemen, and returned upriver to Jiangling Mansion.
As soon as he arrived outside the city, Ma Zhaoyuan (Ma Yaozi) who came out of the city to greet him brought important news to Zhang Yan.
That is, after another four or five months of struggle, Gao Congjie, King of Jing of Nanping Kingdom, was completely exhausted.
At this moment, Gao Congjie had people carry him to the outside of the Jingnan Jiedushi Office, hoping to see Zhang Yan.
After Zhang Gao heard this, he immediately led five hundred of his followers and rushed into Jiangling City lightly.
Unlike the second generation like Ma Xi'e, Ma Xiguang, and Li Jing, Gao Congjie, who was known as Gao Laizi but was quite skillful, could still get some respect from Zhang Xi.
When Zhang Yan arrived, Gao Congjie was carried over on a shoulder cart, and Zhang Yan almost didn't recognize him. Although Gao Congjie looked sick when he left, he was not out of shape.
But now, Gao Congjie looked haggard, almost completely out of human form, as if all the water in his body had been drained.
Seeing Zhang Yan's arrival, the two brothers Gao Baorong and Gao Baoyin burst into tears beside Gao Congjie. Zhang Yan was furious and shouted at the two of them.
"It's already this time, what are you still worrying about? Why didn't you bring King Jing into the house earlier in such a cold weather? Do you remember the kindness of your mother and father in raising you?"
The two of them hurriedly carried Gao Congjie into the house. When Gao Congjie, who was sitting on the carriage, heard Zhang Hao's voice, a glimmer of light appeared on his face like dry tree bark, and his eyes were half-closed.
It's not that turbid look, but has a bit of a look.
"May I ask the saint, can Nanchu be considered pacified?" Gao Congjie asked in a low voice.
Zhang Hao moved a brocade stool, sat next to Gao Congjie and nodded.
"King Lao Jing is concerned. Everything is going well. The rebellious thief Ma Xi'e has been captured alive, and Ma Xichong has been beheaded by a personal order."
Gao Congjie shook his head with difficulty and said, "King Mawumu is a magnanimous man, knows people well and makes good use of them. He is truly a great talent! It's a pity that Hunan is a place where great things can happen."
"Ma Yin really wants to be considered the hero!" Zhang Hao also nodded in agreement.
"You can't be considered a hero, you can only be considered a hero of a lifetime." Gao Congjie disagreed with Zhang Hao's words. He looked at Zhang Hao and said.
"What Ma Yin has done is far inferior to His Majesty. Your Majesty is the Holy Emperor who was born five hundred years ago. Good times for the people of the world are about to come."
With that said, Gao Congyue looked at Gao Baorong and said, "Sanlang, please give the things to Your Majesty!"
Gao Baorong nodded quickly and took out a bunch of things that looked like keys from his arms.
"Sage, there are three temples built by the Gao family in Jingshan Mountain to the west outside Jingmen City.
Under the three temples, there are secret treasury. Each treasury contains armor, swords, guns, gold and silver, etc., with a total of about 80,000 coins and 2,000 sets of armor.
It was a treasure left by King Wu Xin to the descendants of the Gao family for their restoration, and now it is dedicated to the country to help the saints unify the world."
Zhang Li was speechless. The Gao family was really a band of thieves. Not only did they block the road and rob, they also hid such a treasure for themselves.
Okay! Suddenly I got more than 80,000 yuan of money, two thousand sets of armor, and countless swords, guns, swords and halberds, which was not bad. Of course, this also showed the complete surrender of the Gao family.
Here, before Zhang Gao expressed his position, Gao Congjie suddenly became short of breath, his body twitched slightly, and he almost lost his breath.
too much!"
Well, Zhang Hao thought for half a second and understood immediately. He looked at Gao Congjie and said: "I'm sure, please King Jing to act according to the rules!"
A few turbid tears flowed from Gao Congjie's dim eyes. He asked Gao Baorong and Gao Baoyin to help him up, and personally kowtowed to Zhang Gao.
....
On the 15th day of the twelfth lunar month, Gao Congjie surrendered and ordered Gao Baorongquan to take charge of Nanping affairs and lead internal and external troops.
On the sixteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Gao Baorong was ordered to take over the throne of Nanping Kingdom.
Of course, all this was carried out in the Jingnan Jiedu Office, and it was just a ceremony.
After receiving the inheritance rights of Nanping, Gao Baorong immediately went out and went to Zhang Xuan who lived in the palace in the north of the city.
Zhang Gao was in the palace, and he conferred the title of Gao Baorong as King of Jing, Captain of the Inspectorate, Military Envoy of Jingnan, Xia, Returned to the Second Prefecture for Observation and Disposal, and Governor of Jiangling Prefecture.
At this point, the leader of the Nanping Jing Kingdom finally changed from Gao Congjie to Gao Baorong.
Gao Congjie was completely relieved. Finally, the small Nanping founded by his father Gao Jixing was not lost in his hands.
On the eighteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Gao Congjie, the king of Jing, died of illness in the Yamen of Jingnan Jiedu Department.
The next day, Gao Baorong, who had not yet begun to deal with his father's funeral, came to see him and asked for land donations and resignation from the post of Jingnan Jiedushi.
Zhang Gao specially issued an order to comfort him and allowed him to come back after the first seven days.
On the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, Gao Baorong asked for an audience again. Zhang Gao summoned Gao Baorong to see him. He removed Gao Baorong as the governor of Jiangling Prefecture and returned him to the official position of the Erzhou Observation and Disposal Envoy. He retained the title of King of Jing, as well as the censorship Taibao and Jingnan Jiedu.
A false title for an envoy.
Gao Baorong was overjoyed and immediately expressed his intention to send Gao Congjie back to Shaanzhou, Zhili for burial. Zhang Gao immediately agreed.
Before leaving, Gao Baorong once again asked Zhang Gao to pardon Gao Baoxu.
Originally, Gao Congjie repeatedly asked Gao Baorong to stop taking care of Gao Baoxu, so as not to disgust the emperor, but the good old Gao Baorong still couldn't hold it back.
After Zhang Gao thought about it again and again, he severely punished Gao Bao Xu with ten sticks, executed Li Duan, the Nanping navy soldier and horse envoy who had conspired with him, and others, and sent Gao Bao Xu three thousand miles to Shuofang to guard the border.
Then Gao Baorong left Nanping with the remaining Gao clan members.
Twenty-three years after the founding of the country, the Nanping Kingdom, which had been controlled by the Gao family for forty years, ceased to exist.