History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 151 "The Tragedy of the Sixteenth House"

Zhaozong's number one choice, Prime Minister Sun Wei, was ordered to lead the Fengxiang expedition and suppress the general commander, waiting to gather troops from all over the world to drive out the Qi bandits, recapture Chang'an, and achieve great achievements.

But the embarrassing thing was that no soldiers from all over the world came to join the army, and Sun Wei became a commander without troops in name only. Under Han Jian's secret guidance, Li Maozhen admitted his cowardice and repented, making the central government's campaign to suppress Fengxiang both powerless and unnecessary.

The political career of the top candidate Sun Wei also came to an end. He was first dismissed from his post as the commander-in-chief of the Fengxiang Campaign, and then dismissed from his position as prime minister.

It is not difficult to understand that Sun Wei's dismissal from the position of prime minister was closely related to Han Jian.

Under the guidance of the great strategist Li Juchuan, Han Jian's interference in the government was subtle and silent, and he quietly undermined the central court.

In addition to eliminating the No. 1 seed Sun Wei, Han Jian also eliminated the No. 3 seed Zhu Pu.

In fact, it was not difficult to get rid of Zhu Pu, because this big liar had boasted that he would revive the Tang Dynasty in more than a month. Now more than half a year has passed, and the pie of "peace in the world" he painted for Zhaozong has not been fulfilled.

When Zhu Pu was promoted out of turn, it caused dissatisfaction among the ministers. Now Zhu Pu is unable to deliver on his boasts and is in a difficult situation. Public opinion and public sentiment are very unfavorable to him.

Even so, Han Jian was still cautious in his work. He first picked a weak target, the Taoist Xu Yanshi. Taoist Xu was one of the people who recommended Zhu Pu. Han Jian chose him as a breakthrough point, falsely accusing him of a crime, and then impeached him on the grounds that Zhu Pu was friendly with him, pushing Zhu Pu to the forefront of public opinion, so Zhaozong dismissed Zhu Pu from his position as prime minister.

It was not difficult to get rid of Sun Wei, Zhu Pu and other "crash-trained" direct descendants of Emperor Zhaozong, because they were originally useless and generally did not have the ability to stir up trouble. As for other factions, it was not so easy, such as Prime Minister Cui Yin.

Cui Yin was relying on the former prime minister Cui Zhaowei, while Cui Zhaowei relied on Wang Xingyu. Although they both belonged to the Guanxi interest group, Wang Xingyu and Cui Zhaowei were both dead, so Cui Yin lost his backer. More importantly, Han Jian did not want to share power with Cui Yin, so he also regarded him as a dissident and listed him as a target for attack.

Under Han Jian's manipulation, Cui Yin was expelled from the central government and sent to Tanzhou (now Shashi, Hunan). Cui Yin knew that the personnel transfers in the central government were the result of the competition between powerful vassals. If he wanted to gain a foothold in the court, he had to rely on the local powerful vassal. So Cui Yin set his sights on Zhu Wen, the most powerful vassal in the Central Plains.

Cui Yin secretly contacted Zhu Wen, instructing him to build the eastern capital Luoyang and hinting that he could use the emperor to control the princes.

Zhu Wen immediately understood Cui Yin's intention and hurriedly submitted a petition with Luoyang's administrative official, Henan Yin Zhang Quanyi, requesting the emperor to move the capital to Luoyang. At the same time, he claimed that he would send 20,000 troops to protect the emperor and said a few good words for Cui Yin.

Han Jian was worried that Zhu Wen would come to snatch the throne from him, so he supported Cui Yin to stay in the central government as prime minister.

After Cui Yin was appointed as prime minister again, he immediately falsely accused Lu Jian of being in cahoots with Li Maozhen and banished him from the court. Han Jian was delighted by Cui Yin's revenge, as he didn't have to worry about Lu Jian, the second seed.

If the prime minister could be removed, other officials would be no problem. Han Jian's cleansing of the civil service group was basically completed, which also announced that Zhaozong's civil service line had once again failed completely.

Next, Han Jian wanted to cut off Zhaozong's other arm: Prince Dianbing.

【The Sixteen Houses Tragedy】

On the eighth day of the first lunar month in the fourth year of the Qianning reign of the Tang Dynasty (897), Emperor Zhaozong received an urgent memorial stating that there was evidence that eight princes, including Prince Mu and Prince Ji, had conspired to murder Han Jian and abduct the emperor to Hezhong.

The person who submitted the memorial was Han Jian.

Zhaozong was horrified and hurriedly summoned Han Jian to clear up the misunderstanding, but Han Jian feigned illness and refused to come.

Zhaozong asked the eight princes to come to Han Jian in person to explain the situation.

Han Jian still avoided meeting him and even submitted a memorial saying that eight princes had suddenly visited him with unclear motives and that he did not dare to meet them.

Finally, Han Jian put forward his own conditions: prohibiting the prince from commanding troops and placing him under house arrest.

His reason was that the princes should take the initiative to avoid suspicion, not hold military power, and not participate in government affairs. He should follow the ancestral system and let the princes live in the Sixteen Houses. The Sixteen Houses were the royal courtyards where the princes were placed under house arrest.

The prince was Zhaozong's pathfinder and an important part of his process of using the opponent's strength to fight the opponent and seize the military power in a roundabout way. He could not give up easily. He could only play Tai Chi with Han Jian in a false way and cook meatballs in soup.

Without saying a word, Han Jian led his elite troops to surround the emperor's palace and threatened with force. With the support of the army, Han Jian pressed the issue further and put forward even more demanding conditions: the newly established Ansheng, Baoning, Xuanhua and other imperial army camps must be disbanded!
Under the threat of force, Zhaozong had to agree, so the new armies of Ansheng, Baoning, Xuanhua and others were disbanded on the spot, and the princes were taken back to the Sixteen Mansions and placed under house arrest.

At this point, all the imperial guards led by Emperor Zhaozong himself were wiped out, not a single one left.

Han Jian earnestly taught Zhaozong that everything he did was for his own good and for the sake of the royal family and the country, and that he must not quench his thirst with poison, and must not be blinded by the separatist rule of the vassal states and ignore the potential harm posed by the prince.

There was the "Seven Kingdoms Rebellion" in the Han Dynasty, the "Eight Princes Rebellion" in the Jin Dynasty, the "Yong Wang Rebellion" before this dynasty, the "Li Yan Rebellion" recently, and the foreign Tubo Rebellion... Without exception, they all supported the royal family to maintain the people's hearts. The vassal states at most controlled one side, but the princes could destroy the entire country!
Therefore, Han Jian proposed that in order to prevent foreign tribes and people with ulterior motives from taking advantage of the situation, the princes who had been exiled to the local areas should also be called back and placed under house arrest in the Sixteenth House. Thus, the spark of hope that Zhaozong had spread to the local areas was extinguished.

Afterwards, Han Jian proposed to kill Li Yun, the head of the Pengri Commandery. When the "Three Garrisons Invaded the Palace", Li Yun had made great contributions in protecting the emperor and was ranked first in merit. Why did Han Jian want to kill him?
There is no reason.

Was there a reason to kill Prime Minister Du Rangneng? Was there a reason to kill Prime Minister Wei Zhaodu?
Now that I, Han Jian, am holding the emperor hostage, it's time for me to have some fun. Is it okay to use the excuse that I don't like Li Yun?
So Li Yun was beheaded.

Actually, there is a reason. It is precisely because Li Yun is the most meritorious that he must be killed to establish his authority and send a signal to everyone: If he can be killed, is there anyone I, Han Jian, cannot kill? But this reason is too dirty, so let's just say "I don't like him". Although he is a bastard, he is domineering after all.

This was not the end. Han Jian also asked for an order to ban such people from entering the palace, claiming that witch doctors and alchemists had misled the emperor.

Zhaozong agreed to all of them.

Finally, Han Jian requested that Prince De Li You be made the Crown Prince.

"Records of Serving the King" records this period of history, saying that Han Jian petitioned to establish a crown prince to consolidate the foundation of the country; the prince was also placed under house arrest in the Sixteenth House to avoid power struggles within the royal family; the big liars who were crooked were forbidden to approach the emperor to prevent the "Wencheng Wuli" from confusing the emperor's heart. From then on, the emperor's ears and eyes were clear, his mind was suddenly enlightened, and people from far and near praised him, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment...

Wencheng Wuli refers to two famous Internet celebrities who were big liars during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, such as Lü Yongzhi. However, Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty was not completely fooled and saw through their tricks.

"Record of Serving the King" can be described as a powerful stain remover, which can actually whitewash Han Jian into a loyal and upright hero, confusing right and wrong, and is extremely shameless!
And when we take a look at the author's signature - Li Juchuan.

Under the guidance of Li Juchuan, Han Jian used the emperor to control the princes and gradually turned Zhaozong into his puppet, but he still had one last concern - Li Keyong of Hedong. It had been a whole year since Li Jiepi, the Prince of Yan, was ordered to go to Hedong to ask Li Keyong for reinforcements from Hedong.

Han Jian was waiting, and Zhaozong was also waiting, waiting for Prince Yan Li Jiepi to bring back Li Keyong's attitude.

Prince Yan Li Jiepi finally came back, and he brought a piece of news: Li Keyong had no time to look west.

The heavy stone in Han Jian's chest finally fell to the ground. He immediately submitted a memorial, reiterating the serious hidden dangers of the prince in charge of the troops. He also continued to falsely accuse Prince Yan Li Jiepi and Prince Tan Li Sizhou of plotting evil, implying that the emperor must kill the prince.

Zhaozong could only hide and not give a direct response.

Han Jian's true intentions were exposed. He and the eunuch Liu Jishou forged an imperial edict, mobilized a large number of troops, and surrounded the Sixteen Mansions.

It was late at night, and the princes were awakened by the noise. They had no time to wash and dress, or even change their clothes. Their hair was disheveled and they all fled. Some climbed up trees, some climbed up walls, and some stood on rooftops. They faced the direction of Emperor Zhaozong's palace and cried out loudly, "Your Majesty, please save your child!"

The only answers they got were the howling cold wind and ruthless killing.

Han Jian arrested eleven princes, including Li Jiepi, the Prince of Yan, Li Sizhou, the Prince of Tan, the Prince of Mu, and the Prince of Ji, and took them to Shidi Valley (today's west of Huaxian County, Shaanxi Province), where they were all executed. He then reported to the emperor that they had committed treason and were executed.

The situation where princes were in charge of the troops would never happen again, and Zhaozong's way to gain armed forces was completely blocked.

After the massacre of the Sixteen Houses, Han Jian decided to go all the way and simply depose or kill Emperor Zhaozong and enthrone the crown prince to succeed the throne.

Han Jian's father, Han Shufeng, tried to persuade him, saying, "You are just a farmer from Henan, who was greatly favored by the emperor in the troubled times. Now you only have two states, a small area of ​​only a hundred miles, but you want to do such a great thing? This will bring disaster to our family! My son, I dare not see that day come, or you can kill me first."

Han Jian then came to his senses a little and gave up the idea of ​​deposing the emperor.

As Cui Yin colluded with Zhu Wen internally and externally, Zhu Wen had already vigorously built the eastern capital Luoyang, and was about to come to Huazhou to seize the emperor. This made Han Jian extremely frightened, so he first joined forces with Li Maozhen to rebuild Chang'an City, and then showed goodwill to Li Keyong, expressing his willingness to respectfully send Zhaozong back to Chang'an to eliminate all previous misunderstandings.

Li Keyong did not want to see Zhaozong being held hostage by the Guanxi Group, and even more so did not want to see Zhaozong fall into the hands of the thief Zhu Wen, so he readily agreed to the request of Han Jian and Li Maozhen, put aside their past grudges, and sent an engineering team to Chang'an City to assist in the renovation.

In August of the fifth year of Qianning (898), Emperor Zhaozong finally left Huazhou and returned to Chang'an, a city he had been away from for a long time. In the same month, Emperor Zhaozong issued an edict to grant amnesty to the whole country, changing the fifth year of Qianning to the first year of Guanghua.

Sending Emperor Zhaozong back to the palace with courtesy can not only consolidate the vested interests, but also prevent gossip and give others an advantage. I personally guess that this clever move should have come from Li Juchuan.

Great wisdom knows when to stop.

Thanks to my old friend “最爱一笑” for his recommendation and support!
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(End of this chapter)