History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 1000: Southern Fujian
【Minnan Natu】

On April 978, 4, the third year of Taiping Xingguo, Chen Hongjin presented a memorial to offer the two prefectures of Zhang and Quan in southern Fujian. The Song Dynasty obtained a total of two prefectures, 25 counties, households, and soldiers.

Zhao Guangyi "accepted it with pleasure" and immediately appointed Chen Hongjin as the Jiedushi of Xuzhou Wuning Army (remotely commanded, and stayed in Bian Jing), co-prime minister, and granted him the title of Duke of Qi, which was later changed to Duke of Qi; his sons were also given titles and rewards, all of which were given preferential treatment based on their proximity to the county.

At the beginning of Chen Hongjin's separatist rule, his chief strategist, Xu Changsi, the chief secretary, advised him to surrender. Chen Hongjin was very unhappy at the time and wanted to kill him. After Xu Changsi got the news, he fled in a hurry and went to Bianzhou.

At that time, Chen Hongjin thought that Xu Changsi was a traitor to the Song Dynasty who sold out his master for fame and fortune and was a traitor to the Fujian people. Chen Hongjin hated him to the core. This attitude lasted until the Song Dynasty destroyed the Southern Tang Dynasty. According to historical records, when the Southern Tang Dynasty was recovered by the Song Dynasty, Chen Hongjin suddenly realized that Xu Changsi had a long-term vision and was loyal to him.

After the fall of the Southern Tang, Chen Hongjin's close ministers, such as Chen Yinggong, Chen Qigu, and Liu Changyan, kept persuading him to surrender to the Song Dynasty.

Chen Yinggong, a native of Putian, prided himself on his loyalty and righteousness since childhood, and was also a well-known hero. When Emperor Taizong of Song ascended the throne, Chen Yinggong met Chen Hongjin and told him that the world would eventually unite after a long period of division, and that the Song Dynasty was now following the will of heaven and the will of the people. Chen Hongjin listened attentively, and then he went to Bianzhou to meet the emperor without stopping, as mentioned above, without waiting for the imperial edict to be issued.

However, what Chen Yinggong is most praised and remembered for is not his persuasion of Chen Hongjin to surrender, but his accidental invention of the "salt drying method". Before, salt farmers generally used the "salt boiling method", which was costly and inconvenient to operate. One day, when Chen Yinggong was grinding ink, there was no fresh water around, so he scooped up some sea water. After the ink dried, Chen Yinggong found white crystals on the inkstone. Out of curiosity, he pinched it into his mouth and tasted it. "Pure!" The taste was no different from table salt, so Chen Yinggong suddenly realized that he led the villagers to dig salt fields on the seashore, bring in sea water, expose it to the sun, and then get natural sea salt.

This cost-saving, simple and efficient method of drying salt quickly became popular in Putian, then in Fujian, then in the whole country, and then in the world. Now, people all over the world have to thank Chen Yinggong for this invention.

Later generations revered Chen Yinggong as the "Salt God" and "Salt Saint", and all those engaged in salt-related business should worship him as their ancestor. Unfortunately, not long after returning to the Song Dynasty, Chen Yinggong was ordered to fight a group of robbers, but unfortunately died in the line of duty during the operation, at the age of 38.

Today, there is a "Chen Yinggong Memorial Hall" in his hometown. Comrade Chen Yinggong, who pioneered the "salt drying method" in the world, is not only the pride of Putian and Fujian people, but also the pride of the Chinese nation.

Chen Qigu, also from Putian, was a general (commander) under Chen Hongjin. He was considered a senior officer under Chen Hongjin and also participated in the persuasion. Maybe he would not say a lot of big truths like Chen Yinggong, but don't forget his identity, the commander, he can't say much, but he holds a gun, and people holding guns generally don't want to talk too much, the gun is the truth. As the saying goes, try not to talk too much when you can take action.

Liu Changyan, a native of Nan'an County, Quanzhou, was able to write articles at the age of 7. He was a well-known scholar with brilliant literary talent and was hired by Chen Hongjin as his aide.

After Chen Hongjin captured Quanzhou, he sent his son Chen Wenxian to Bianzhou to pay tribute, accompanied by Liu Changyan. Liu Changyan left a deep impression on Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Guangyi. After Zhao Guangyi read Chen Hongjin's memorial to the emperor, he immediately summoned Liu Changyan and asked with a smile: "Did you polish this memorial?" After Chen Hongjin surrendered, Liu Changyan was still appointed as a magistrate. Two years later, he participated in the imperial examination, but unfortunately failed. However, Emperor Taizong appreciated him very much and summoned him to be the secretary of Guide Army in Songzhou. A few years later, he participated in the imperial examination again and was ranked second. After serving as a judge in many military towns, Liu Changyan finally entered the central government because of Zhao Guangyi's appreciation and the academic qualifications of the second place, and rose like a rocket. He was first a recorder (sixth rank), and then moved to the Langzhong of the Ministry of Works (fifth rank). About a month later, he was appointed as a direct scholar of the Privy Council. About three months later, he was promoted to the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, a deputy ministerial-level cadre.

Liu Changyan's rapid promotion caused envy and hatred among the court officials. As the saying goes, a tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind, and only among peers can there be naked hatred. The court officials began to do everything they could to slander and disparage him, determined to bring him down.

For example, someone started a topic: "Hey, our Henan dialect sounds really nice, Liu Changyan's Minnan dialect is not right." Everyone agreed, saying that if there is a language barrier and they can't communicate, how can they serve as officials in the court? Zhao Guangyi was furious when he heard this and said that I have my own translator and it will not affect work communication, so you shut up!
Someone else started a topic, "Liu Changyan is unfilial!" In that era when the world was ruled by benevolence and filial piety, the greatest filial piety was loyalty, and loyal officials must come from filial families. Once someone was found to be unfilial, it was almost equivalent to treason and surrender to the enemy, and the starting price was double dismissal. The evidence to support this argument is that Liu Changyan left his mother and wife in his hometown and had not returned home for more than ten years, and he also married a concubine in the capital. An ungrateful wolf, who married a wife and forgot his mother, is simply a scum! How can such a scum be an official?

Why didn't he go home for more than ten years? Because after Liu Changyan followed Chen Hongjin to surrender, he had been shining and working hard in the Central Plains, caring for the public and sacrificing his own family. He had not taken a leave to visit his family for more than ten years and dedicated his youth to the Song Dynasty... He was one of the ten most touching young people in the Song Dynasty.

Zhao Guangyi wrote an edict: Liu's mother should be welcomed to the capital, and the state where she lived (Quanzhou) would be responsible for the luggage and travel expenses, and the states and counties along the way would be responsible for reception and supplies. In a word, the local government was responsible for escorting Liu's mother to the capital, and the central government was responsible for distributing housing and pensions...

In short, when Chen Hongjin first came to power, he wanted to maintain the separatist status, so when Xu Changsi first proposed to surrender, Chen Hongjin regarded him as a traitor and nearly killed him. As time passed, when the Southern Tang was destroyed, Chen Hongjin was greatly shocked and reshaped his worldview. There were more and more voices around him urging him to surrender, and Chen Hongjin's attitude gradually wavered. He showed more tolerance and freedom of speech towards such voices. During the 8 months when he was warmly retained in the court, Chen Hongjin and his left and right officials witnessed the prosperity and strength of the Central Plains country with their own eyes, and their attitudes further changed until they finally made up their minds to surrender and become a decent person.

It should be Liu Changyan who made Chen Hongjin finally decide to surrender.

How could Liu Changyan persuade him? Generally speaking, when persuading people, one should use both positive and negative aspects, that is, good and bad. Previously, his staff persuaded him to surrender, either from the vague metaphysical perspective of destiny or from the actual perspective of the comparison of the strength of both sides. These arguments can only be classified as "good arguments", so what is considered "bad arguments"?
If you don't surrender, the Song Dynasty will destroy you? This is only one aspect, and it is not convincing enough. Chen Hongjin can find a hundred reasons to prove that the Song Dynasty will not send troops to southern Fujian. Liu Changyan hit the nail on the head for Chen Hongjin - mutiny!
"General, if your subordinates want to gain wealth and power, they can put you under house arrest or murder you, and then send you to the capital in pieces or pack you up as a token of surrender, offering land and surrender..."

Let's not talk about the distant past, let's not talk about others, how did Liu Congxiao get to the top, how did you get to the top, do I need to tell you? Aren't you afraid that the Quanzhou story will be staged in version 3.0?

Chen Hongjin finally came to his senses and immediately offered the two states of Zhangzhou and Quanzhou. The southern Fujian region was peacefully unified.

Thanks to old friends "Jiang Hu Liu Bai" and "Yang Kui" for their monthly ticket support!



(End of this chapter)