History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 117: Anti-Yang Movement
【Reverse Yang Movement】

In the second year of the Dashun reign of the Tang Dynasty (891), Zhaozong's uncle Wang Gui requested to be appointed as a local governor, and Zhaozong sought Yang Fugong's opinion.

Yang Fugong expressed his opposition by citing classics, "If the Han Dynasty was prosperous, think twice before the Tang Dynasty was in danger." He pointed out that the descendants of the emperor should never be given titles. If Your Majesty really loves your uncle, you should give him other official positions instead of letting him become a local vassal, otherwise there will be endless troubles.

"Chanlu Qing Han" refers to the Western Han dynasty, Empress Lü's two nephews Lü Chan and Lü Lu; "Sansi Wei Tang" refers to Wu Sansi, the nephew of the Tang Dynasty Empress Wu Zetian. They all threatened the rule of the royal family.

Zhaozong took advantage of the situation and kept his uncle Wang Gui in the court.

Wang Gui was the younger brother of Empress Dowager Gongxian (Empress Yizong). After learning that it was Yang Fugong who was causing trouble, Wang Gui ran to Yang Fugong and scolded him, and then confronted Yang Fugong in every aspect of his work.

Yang Fugong realized that he had been tricked by Emperor Zhaozong, and that the emperor was deliberately dividing and depriving him of his power. So he followed Wang Gui's advice. After Wang Gui's dirty talk, Yang Fugong said that he had realized his previous mistakes and took the initiative to help Wang Gui win a position as a Jiedushi, the Jiedushi of Qiannan.

Wang Gui swaggered into office with a smirk on his face. When he arrived at Jibaijin (now Zhaohua Town, Guangyuan City, Sichuan Province), Yang Fugong ordered Yang Shouliang, the governor of Shannan West Road, to sink the ferry, drowning Wang Gui's family and staff. Afterwards, Yang Shouliang reported that it was an accident.

The assassination of Zhaozong's uncle became the last straw that broke the camel's back, and the "anti-Yang movement" began.

Emperor Zhaozong issued an edict, appointing Yang Fugong as the military supervisor of Fengxiang.

This was Zhaozong's first step.

Fengxiang is located to the west of Chang'an and is the western gate of Chang'an. Although it was a move from the central government to the local government, it was not too far and could not be considered an exile. It was a relatively mild move. After Yang Fugong arrived in Fengxiang, Zhaozong could demote him again and again and gradually weaken his power.

Yang Fugong was better than Zhaozong in playing politics, and this trick could not be hidden from him. Yang Fugong turned the tables and directly applied for retirement on the grounds of old age and illness.

Generally speaking, the emperor would reject the minister's application for retirement, "My dear minister, you are the pillar of the country, my right-hand man, the country cannot do without you, and I cannot do without you either... Please work hard for another two years."

Then the ministers would repeatedly submit memorials, saying that they were old and weak, had blurred vision, were deaf, and had difficulty walking, and that they were unable to shoulder the emperor's high expectations...

At this time, the emperor would say, the country really cannot do without you, so let’s put it this way, since you have a disability in your legs and feet, I will give you a pair of crutches; since you are blind and deaf, I will allow you to be closer to me when you go to court; since you are weak, I will allow you to go to court at intervals and take unlimited sick leave... In short, you must not retire.

In the end, the old minister could only cry and say that he was dying and would pass away in a few days. He hoped that the emperor would show mercy and let him die in his hometown. There is a special term for this, called "begging for bones."

At this time, the emperor would reluctantly agree to his subjects' retirement request, and when the subjects had completed the retirement procedures, the emperor would personally visit and comfort them.

This is the general procedure for resigning and retiring.

Yang Fugong used resignation to test Zhaozong. If Zhaozong followed the routine and pretended to keep him, then Yang Fugong could continue to stay in the court, and the imperial edict to transfer him to Fengxiang would come to nothing. Zhaozong replied: Get out now!

Zhaozong readily agreed to his retirement application, without even observing the most basic etiquette between the monarch and his subjects, or courtesy and hypocrisy.

After receiving the imperial edict granting him retirement, Yang Fugong realized that the relationship between the emperor and his minister could no longer be restored. Yang Fugong sent his confidant Zhang Wan to kill the envoy who delivered the imperial edict to protest to Emperor Zhaozong.

After retirement, Yang Fugong still lived in Chang'an. His house was close to the "Yushan Camp" base of the imperial guards. The person in charge of Yushan Camp was his adopted son Yang Shouxin, who often visited him.

As a result, some people accused Yang Fugong and Yang Shouxin of plotting evil and intending to rebel.

Zhaozong personally went up to the Anxi Tower, assembled the imperial guards, and ordered Yang Shouli and Li Shoujie to lead the army to attack Yang Fugong's residence on the grounds that Yang Fugong assassinated the envoy who delivered the imperial edict.

The "Anti-Yang Movement" has entered a new stage, shifting from political game to military contest.

Zhang Wan led his servants and slaves to fight desperately, and Yang Shouxin, who got the news, also hurriedly led his troops to rescue. Yang Shouli and others were unable to conquer the city.

The imperial guards stationed in the imperial city were ready to fight, waiting for the order to rush out of the imperial city, and plundered the East Market and West Market of Chang'an City under the banner of attacking Yang Fugong. This kind of dirty thing was also the unspoken rule at that time. Whether it was the central imperial guards or the local warlords, they were all without exception. They had no skills to defend against the enemy and knew how to disturb the people. Once the cannons were fired, they would get thousands of taels of gold, and they would rob money, food, and women!
Prime Minister Liu Chongwang arrived in time and told them that the emperor was personally supervising the battle in the east of the street. You are the royal guards and should report to Anxi Tower to kill the traitors of the court and make achievements. You must not be greedy for short-term gains and bring infamy!
After some earnest instructions, the imperial guards mended their ways, shouted "Long live the emperor", and went to reinforce under the leadership of Prime Minister Liu Chongwang.

When Yang Shouxin's troops saw the large number of imperial guards reinforcements, they immediately dispersed. Under the protection of Yang Shouxin, Yang Fugong fled to Xingyuan Prefecture with his family and took refuge with another adopted son, Yang Shouliang, the governor of Shannan West Road.

To the south of the Qinling Mountains and Dasan Pass, and to the north of Xichuan and Dongchuan, there were Yang Shouzhong, the military governor of Wuding, Yang Shouliang, the military governor of Shannan West Road, Yang Shouzhen, the military governor of Longjian, and Yang Shouhou, the governor of Mianzhou... The vast land was closely united around the "Yang faction" with Yang Fugong as the core, and armed themselves to protect themselves.

The bizarre scene was staged again: Zhaozong urgently called a halt to the "anti-Yang movement" that had just started, and Zhaozong suddenly put the brakes on it.

Emperor Zhaozong did not kill Yang Fugong, who was entrenched in Shannan West Road, or Tian Lingzi, who was detained in Xichuan. It seemed that he wanted to let them go into exile and fend for themselves.

When we connect the historical materials together and review them from the beginning, we will find that the so-called "Anti-Yang Movement" should be regarded as the 2.0 version of the "Anti-Tian Movement". It is an integral part of Zhaozong's plan to eradicate the cancer of eunuchs. It is a long-planned chess game to gradually return power to the emperor by imposing political persecution on the eunuchs.

Zhaozong did it. The powerful eunuchs Tian Lingzi and Yang Fugong were successively expelled from the court. More importantly, the military power of the imperial guards was gradually returned to Zhaozong's hands.

Zhaozong never wanted to eliminate the eunuchs physically, but to take back the power from them. In Zhaozong's view, although the "Yang faction" still had a strong presence in Shannan, the "anti-Yang movement" had ended with a great victory for the court.

(End of this chapter)