Daming Super Dimension Company, President Zhu Yuanzhang!

According to the records in Khitan history, everyone present knew very well what the people of the separatist Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun would experience.

Li Jiancheng's face turned cold, "After the war begins, I will order the capture of Shi Jingtang."

"Xiao Ran, go on, who was after the Later Jin Dynasty?" Li Shimin said.

Xiao Ran thought back briefly, "The Later Han Dynasty was the shortest-lived regime among the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, lasting only three years."

"The founding emperor of the Later Han Dynasty was Liu Zhiyuan. In his early years, Liu Zhiyuan was a subordinate of Emperor Mingzong of Tang. He saved Shi Jingtang in the war and became Shi Jingtang's confidant. After Shi Jingtang became emperor, he became the supreme commander of the imperial army. Later, when the second emperor of the Later Jin Dynasty ascended the throne, Liu Zhiyuan had a premonition that the world would be in chaos, so he secretly developed his army."

"In 944 AD, the Khitan Emperor Yelu Deguang led his army southward and entered Yanmen Pass. Liu Zhiyuan defeated the Great King at Xinkou, and then killed people from five tribes, and defeated the Khitan again at Yangwu Pass in Shuozhou. When the Khitan army approached Bianliang, Liu Zhiyuan neither sent troops to rescue nor fought against the Khitan. The Khitan captured the Later Jin Emperor and took him north, and the Later Jin Dynasty perished. Liu Zhiyuan was valued by the Khitan Emperor, and pretended to be sad that the emperor was captured, but secretly returned to the capital and killed the Queen Mother and others."

"Afterwards, Liu Zhiyuan entered Kaifeng and proclaimed himself emperor, changing his name to Hao and the name of his country to Han."

Li Shimin's eyes flashed with murderous intent, "Is Liu Zhiyuan also submitting to the Khitan?"

"The status of Khitan and the Central Plains has been maintained for more than ten years, and it cannot be changed in just three years."

Xiao Ran sighed, looking somewhat helpless, "Besides, Liu Zhiyuan is not a capable emperor."

"After Liu Zhiyuan proclaimed himself emperor, he changed his previous practice of using the wealth of the people to reward the army, and instead used all the property in the palace to reward the soldiers, which won him the hearts of the people. At this time, the Khitan army entered the Central Plains, plundering property and killing innocent people in the name of raiding. The people in the Central Plains continued to resist, and Yelu Deguang was forced to retreat north, leaving people to guard Bianjing. Liu Zhiyuan saw the opportunity, led his troops south, and quickly captured Luoyang and Bianjing."

"After stabilizing the situation in the Central Plains, Liu Zhiyuan issued an edict to Du Chongwei, who disobeyed. Liu Zhiyuan ordered an attack, but failed after a long siege, with countless casualties. He kept persuading Du Chongwei to surrender. After a long battle, Du Chongwei had no choice but to leave the city and surrender. Liu Zhiyuan kept his word and did not kill Du Chongwei."

Zhu Yuanzhang spoke slowly, "It can be seen that Liu Zhiyuan is a fool."

"The Later Jin Dynasty fell after three years, mostly because of the chaos in the court," Xiao Ran said.

"After he became emperor, Liu Zhiyuan's former assistants all became important officials in the court. Yang Bin and Guo Wei were appointed as the chief and deputy privy councilors, Su Fengji and Su Yu were appointed as prime ministers, Wang Zhang was appointed as the envoy of the three ministries, and Shi Hongzhao was appointed as the commander of the imperial guards, cavalry and infantry and concurrently the prime minister. Except for Guo Wei, all the people I mentioned were corrupt, violent and cruel. The local officials became even more brutal as a result."

"The most famous one was Liu Zhu, the governor of Qingzhou, who was cruel in law enforcement. When executing an executioner, he used two sticks at the same time, which was beautifully named the "Hehuan Stick". He also decided the number of sticks according to the age of the prisoner, regardless of the severity of the crime. Later generations called it "sui nian stick". There was also Ye Renlu, the governor of Weizhou, who often killed ordinary civilians as thieves when catching thieves. Wang Shouen, the governor of Xijing, collected taxes indiscriminately, including going to the toilet, begging on the street, and even the coffins of the dead. Sometimes he even allowed his subordinates to rob and steal money."

"The brutal politics of the Later Han Dynasty had forced the people to sell their children to survive."

Xiao Ran couldn't help but shake his head, "The Later Han Dynasty shouldn't have existed."

"Li Cunxu, write down these names one by one." Li Jiancheng was furious and ordered in a deep voice.

Li Cunxu's face was also very ugly. He quickly asked someone to bring a pen and ink to write down the names Xiao Ran mentioned. "Who destroyed the Later Han Dynasty?"

"In the first year of Qianyou, which was the first month of 948 AD, Liu Zhiyuan was seriously ill due to the death of his eldest son, so he summoned Guo Wei and others to take care of his son."

"After Liu Zhiyuan died, his son Liu Chengyou succeeded to the throne, known in history as Emperor Yin of Han. Emperor Yin of Han was young, and the government was controlled by the ministers of honor and honor. The court was in power with military men discriminating against the civil officials, and internal conflicts continued. The military men in the court did not take the emperor seriously at all and repeatedly vetoed Emperor Yin of Han's decisions. Therefore, Liu Chengyou was furious, and in the third year of Qianyou, he killed Yang Bin, Shi Hongzhao and others together."

"Soon after, Liu Chengyou sent another envoy to kill Guo Wei, who then rebelled. Guo Wei led his troops across the river, but the imperial court sent troops to stop them. Guo Wei captured prisoners and submitted a memorial. Liu Chengyou showed the memorial to Li Ye and others, who said that Guo Wei's rebellion was clear, so they killed all of Guo Wei's family members, including his infant son."

"Guo Wei led his army to the outskirts of Bianjing. Liu Chengyou went to watch the battle outside the city. The Later Han army was defeated, and he hurried to escape back to the city. Unexpectedly, Kaifeng Yin Liu Zhu blocked the city and refused to let him in. Liu Chengyou led his men to flee northwest, but Guo Yunming, who was following him, saw the critical situation and stabbed Liu Chengyou to death."

"After Guo Wei entered Bianzhou, he asked the Queen Mother to rule the country and decided to enthrone Liu Zhiyuan's nephew Liu Yun as the emperor. When Liu Yun was heading to Bianliang, Guo Wei instructed someone to falsely report that the Khitans had invaded, and he led a large army out of the capital to meet the enemy. On the way, the soldiers mutinied and enthroned Guo Wei as the emperor."

"Guo Wei had already entered Bianliang first, forcing the Queen Mother to issue an edict to appoint him as regent, and to depose Liu Yun. He also sent people to imprison Liu Yun. In 951 AD, Guo Wei officially ascended the throne, named the reign Guangshun, and the country Zhou, which is known in history as the Later Zhou."

Xiao Ran finished telling the rest of the story in one breath.

He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, as the only thing left to talk about was the Later Zhou Dynasty.

The Later Zhou Dynasty did not last long. After only ten years, its three emperors were taken down by Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin.

Fusu looked at Xiao Ran. He wanted to continue listening. "What about the Later Zhou Dynasty?"

"The Later Zhou Dynasty was a moderate dynasty among the Five Dynasties, where the people could barely get by."

Li Cunxu noticed that Xiao Ran felt a little thirsty, so he stepped forward and poured him some tea.

After drinking it in one gulp, Xiao Ran slowly said, "Later Zhou Taizu Guo Wei practiced frugality and issued an edict to prohibit tribute from various places. He also smashed the gold, silver, jade and other items in the palace in the palace to show his determination. Then, he issued an edict to appease the people and encourage farming. Various edicts that benefited the world were issued. In addition, Guo Wei also took measures to address the phenomenon of despising the development of culture and scholars at that time, such as personally going to Qufu to worship Confucius, making use of scholars, and attaching importance to the selection of scholars through imperial examinations."

"Faced with arrogant soldiers and corrupt officials at the time, Guo Wei resolutely suppressed the rebellious vassal states, limited their power over prefectures and counties, and implemented a division of labor between civil and military affairs. At the same time, he severely punished corrupt officials and executed corrupt local officials."

"In the first month of the first year of Xiande 954, Guo Wei, who had been in power for four years, died, and the throne could only be succeeded by his adopted son Chai Rong, the Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou."

Guo Wei's adopted son was the son of his wife's eldest brother.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked regretful, "It's a pity that all of Guo Wei's descendants were slaughtered by the Later Han Dynasty. After a lifetime of suffering, it is really pitiful that he has no children of his own." (End of this chapter)