Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 384: Fuso Raiders (Special thanks to book friend 2017…3254/Brother Fu Yuan for the monthly ticket!)
After the son-in-law was selected, Chai Zongxun ordered that the remaining "beautiful men" who entered the final selection be selected as officials in various departments of the imperial court and prefectures across the country.

As for the other unsuccessful "beautiful men" who came to Bian Jing, Chai Zongxun ordered that each of them be rewarded with twenty taels of silver, given half a month's leave, and then escorted back to their hometowns by officials sent by the court.

Although these more than 10,000 "beautiful men" failed to be selected as prince consorts, and many of them had never even seen the emperor or the princess, they were rewarded with twenty taels of silver by the emperor, and some were even given official positions. They were very happy and took advantage of the half-month holiday to appreciate the scenery of the imperial capital, Bianliang.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Ministry of Internal Affairs held a grand royal wedding for the eldest princess of the empire. After the wedding of the eldest princess, Chai Wodan and her husband, Di Pu, they moved into the "Eldest Princess's Mansion" in the capital, which was given by their father.

At the same time, he rewarded the son-in-law's family generously and allowed them to visit Beijing for one month every year.

The Great Zhou inherited the Tang system, which prohibited a prince consort from taking concubines in his lifetime. This was also the reason why the number of young men participating in the selection of prince consorts across the country was far less than the number participating in the selection of emperors or princes.

On September 2, the 29th year of Kaixi, Chai Zongxun received a report from Dai Qi, the pacification envoy of Longxiang Guard who had infiltrated Fuso.

Since Daichi sent troops to annihilate the Otomo family and take control of the Arima family, the territory under his control has spread to the eight prefectures of Fuso's "Kyushu region". With his greatly increased strength, he attracted the attention of Fuso Emperor En'yūin.

After discussing with important officials in the court, they all believed that Dai Qi's "Goryeo" merchant group actually had learned the magic weapon and bow from the Great Zhou, and had never killed people indiscriminately, so they should be won over.

Enyūin then issued an order to grant the third daughter of the important minister Fujiwara family to be Daiki's wife, confer a fifth-rank official position on her, and reward her with 100 taels of gold. In fact, this recognized Daiki as the most powerful daimyo in Fuso and Kyushu.

Yuanrongyuan also sent an envoy to bring a message to Dai Qi, implying that if Dai Qi could lead his army to expel Jingqiong, a Uighur who occupied the territory of the Mori family, he would be rewarded with two states of the Mori family.

Dai Qi did not dare to make the decision on his own, so he submitted a memorial to the Emperor Chai Zongxun.

After discussing with his important ministers, Chai Zongxun believed that the war between Great Zhou and the countries of the Star Religion world would not be likely to be won quickly in the next one or two years, as the country faced more than 5 countries in the Star Religion world with a total population of 500 million and a maximum total military strength of more than million.

It would be better to let Dai Qi accept the reward from the Emperor of Fuso, use the eight states of Kyushu under his control to recruit Fuso people and train them into an army to attack Jingqiong who occupied the Mori family, and suppress the development space of the Uighurs first.

Chai Zongxun then ordered Dai Qi, who was stationed in Fuso, to accept the reward from Yuanrongyuan and train local soldiers in Fuso so that they could send troops to harass Jingqiong from time to time.

A few days after the imperial edict was issued, at the end of September 8, the 29th year of Kaixi, the news that "Marquis Baoguo" Han Tong was critically ill was reported to Emperor Chai Zongxun.

Han Tong was born in the second year of Kaiping in the Later Liang Dynasty (908), with the courtesy name Zhongda. He was from Taiyuan, Bingzhou, and is eighty years old this year.

Han Tong volunteered to join the army when he was less than 20 years old and served in the Later Tang Dynasty. Because of his strong physique and courage in combat, he was promoted to captain of the cavalry.

In the first year of Kaifu in the Later Jin Dynasty (947), Liao troops invaded Kaifeng. Hedong Jiedushi Liu Zhiyuan (Emperor Gaozu of the Later Han Dynasty) proclaimed himself emperor in Jinyang, and Han Tong defected to him.

After the Liao army retreated north, he followed Liu Zhiyuan to Kaifeng. Because of his meritorious service in the fight against Du Chongwei, he was appointed as the Inspector of the Imperial College. After the establishment of the Later Han Dynasty, he was promoted to the Inspector of the Left Prime Minister.

In the first year of Qianyou (948), Emperor Yin of the Later Han Dynasty, Liu Chengyou, succeeded to the throne, and Han Tong was promoted to the commander of Fengguo. In February of the same year, the three towns of Hezhong, Yongxing and Fengxiang rebelled. Emperor Yin appointed Guo Wei as the Privy Councilor to lead the army to suppress the rebellion.

Han Tong followed Guo Wei into battle and was wounded six times. He was promoted to Du Yu Hou and became Guo Wei's confidant. Guo Wei was stationed in Daming Prefecture and requested Han Tong to serve as the commander of the cavalry and infantry of the Tianxiong Army.

In the third year of Qianyou (0), Guo Wei was appointed governor of Yedu and Privy Councilor. Liu Chengyou was jealous of killing ministers, so Guo Wei was forced to raise an army to replace the Han Dynasty and establish the Zhou Dynasty. During this coup, Han Tong, as one of the military generals with military power, played a role in promoting it and was credited with following the emperor. After Guo Wei ascended the throne, Han Tong was appointed as the commander of the Sixth Army of the Left of Fengguo and the governor of Leizhou.

In the early years of Guangshun (951-953), Han Tong was successively transferred to the post of Defense Commissioner of Yongzhou and Muzhou.

When Emperor Taizu of Zhou, Guo Wei, personally led an expedition to Yanzhou, he appointed Han Tong as the inspector of the right wing in Beijing. When the Yellow River flooded and flooded Heyin City, Han Tong was ordered to lead more than a thousand soldiers to dredge the mouth of the Bian River, and then presided over the construction of Heyin City. Soon after, he was transferred to the governor of Baoyi Army.

After Taizong ascended the throne, in the "Battle of Gaoping", Han Tong assisted Wang Yanchao in marching eastward from Jinzhou Road to attack the Northern Han army and made great contributions.

After returning from the campaign, Han Tong moved to Caozhou and was appointed as the Inspector of the Imperial Guards.

In the first month of the second year of Xian De (955), Guo Rong believed that the embankment of the Hulu River (i.e. Hengzhang River), which stretched for hundreds of miles between Shen and Ji states, was not high and steep enough to stop the Khitan cavalry from advancing directly, so he ordered Han Tong and Wang Yanchao to lead soldiers and men to dredge it.

While Han Tong was in charge of the project, he also fought against the invasion of Khitan and successfully completed this arduous task. He also built a castle for the Jing'an Army at Liyankou. The dredging of Hulu River achieved three benefits: defending against the enemy, facilitating water transport, and irrigating farmland.

During this period, Han Tong worked extremely hard, "sleeping in ancient temples at night and walking through thorns during the day"; at the same time, he had to resist the harassment of the Khitan, but he still achieved his goal.

In June of the second year of Xian De (955), Emperor Taizong Guo Rong sent troops to attack Hou Shu, and Han Tong was appointed as the commander of the cavalry and infantry of the southwest camp.

He led his troops into Dasan Pass and besieged Fengzhou. He also divided his troops to build Guzhen Castle, cutting off the food supply of Hou Shu, thus creating favorable conditions for Da Zhou to capture Fengzhou.

After the Great Zhou recovered Qin, Feng and other four states, Han Tong was promoted to the rank of Du Yuhou of the Imperial Guard Cavalry and Infantry Army for his military merits. Soon after, he was appointed as the inspector of the internal and external parts of the capital and the temporary inspector of the Imperial Guard.

In the same year, Guo Rong felt that the city of Tokyo Bianliang was becoming increasingly prosperous, but its size was too small to meet the needs of development. He issued an edict to widen the streets and expand Kaifeng City, and ordered Han Tong to be in charge of the project.

This massive project was originally planned to be completed in three years, but Han Tong's good command enabled him to complete the expansion of the capital in just half a year.

In the fifth year of Xian De (958), the Great Zhou occupied Huainan, and Guo Rong appointed Han Tong as the governor of Guide Army.

In the sixth year of Xian De (959), Emperor Taizong launched a northern expedition against Yanyun. Han Tong and others led the navy and army to Cangzhou first, repaired the waterway into Liao territory, and set up a barrier south of Qianning Army.

After Guo Rong arrived in Cangzhou, he led tens of thousands of infantry and cavalry directly into the Khitan territory. Wang Hong, the governor of the Khitan Qianning Army, surrendered the city.

Guo Rong ordered the generals to attack by land and sea, and appointed Han Tong as the commander of the army. After the Zhou army conquered the three passes, they took Yijin Pass as Bazhou, and Han Tong presided over the construction of Bazhou City.

After returning from the campaign, Han Tong was appointed Acting Grand Marshal, Co-Prime Minister, and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guards' Cavalry and Infantry.

After Emperor Shizu Chai Zongxun ascended the throne, Li Chongjin, the commander of the Imperial Guard, was deprived of power and demoted by ministers such as Fan Zhi. After being transferred to be the governor of Huaizhou, Han Tong actually took charge of half of the imperial guards and was also in charge of Yunzhou.

(End of this chapter)