History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 188 Struggle
[Clasp]

Cui Yin was born into a prominent family, the Qinghe Cui clan. His father, Cui Shenyou, was a prime minister during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong; his grandfather, Cui Cong, was a senior official during the reign of five dynasties; his great-grandfather, Cui Yi, was the governor of Quzhou; his great-grandfather, Cui Qiao, was the Minister of Rites; his great-grandfather, Cui Rong, was a writer, one of the "Four Friends of Literature" in the early Tang Dynasty, and a tutor to Emperor Zhongzong and a secretary of the Central Secretariat.

Just looking at his father's generation: his uncle Cui Yanzeng was stationed in Xuzhou and was killed during the "Pang Xun Rebellion"; his uncle Cui Anqian repeatedly made meritorious contributions during the "Huang Chao Rebellion" and governed Xichuan, consolidating the southwestern border of the empire. Both of them have been introduced in the previous article.

Therefore, the historical records commented on the Cui family, saying that "there are sons and brothers, most of whom are prime ministers." The family is prosperous, and they are all high-ranking officials. They have a good reputation both in the upper class and among the lower class civilians, until Cui Yin came out of nowhere...

It is said that Cui Shenyou had no children at first, but later he met a demon monk who used unorthodox magic to pray for a child, and then he gave birth to Cui Yin. The births of emperors and generals in history books were almost always accompanied by some supernatural events, but most of them were auspicious signs. There are only a few records of people like Cui Yin who were born by demon monks and magic.

This book has always adhered to the materialist view of history and has always rejected these records with strong superstitious colors. We can only see the views and positions of the ancients from this record. This record about Cui Yin "being born in response to disaster" fully illustrates the attitude of historians at that time towards Cui Yin. This idiot was born with an evil embryo!
You can tell a child's future from the age of three and his character from the age of seven. His uncle Cui Anqian had long seen that this child was no good. When Cui Yin was appointed as prime minister, Cui Anqian sighed, "The family that our father and brothers have worked so hard to build for many years is about to be ruined in the hands of this kid!"

Cui Yin died in disgrace, and was listed in the "Biography of Traitors", being nailed to the pillar of shame in history forever.

"He is content with taking risks and rejoices in other people's misfortunes, but appears to be magnanimous... Since ancient times, there have been many people who have joined forces with bandits and overthrown the royal family and the country, but none is as bad as Yin." Although the Old Book of Tang severely criticized Cui Yin, it also objectively acknowledged the political environment at that time and complained about the decline of the Cui family, saying that "Yan had lived through the chaos of Xu, and Yin had inherited the number of Li's demise," lamenting that the Cui family was unlucky in the right time.

This statement is somewhat suspicious of forcibly whitewashing Cui Yin, reversing the cause and effect relationship. Was the "Li Dynasty's fate of demise" innate? Without Cui Yin's instigation, I'm afraid the Li Tang Dynasty would have lingered for several more years.

Perhaps because of the merits of the Cui family throughout the generations, the Cui family was given a side in the "Old Book of Tang" which attached the "Biography of Cui Yin" after his father Cui Shenyou, listing him alongside Cui Yanzeng, Cui Anqian and other nobles.

Ouyang Xiu was not so polite in the New Book of Tang. He directly picked Cui Yin out and put him in the Biography of Traitorous Ministers.

Both the Old Book of Tang and the New Book of Tang clearly mentioned that it was Cui Yin's active operation and instigation that accelerated Zhu Wen's idea of ​​usurping the Tang Dynasty and establishing his own kingdom. Because Zhu Wen was surrounded by powerful enemies at the time, he did not dare to think rashly, and it was with the help of Cui Yin that he "began to plan to move the country."

When Cui Yin died, the people of Chang'an rushed to smash his body with bricks and tiles, cursing this treacherous minister who had brought disaster to the country and the people.

The treacherous minister Cui Yin was also the last fig leaf of the Tang Dynasty. He was a powerful sandwich between the puppet Emperor Zhaozong and the behind-the-scenes boss Zhu Wen, responsible for resolving sharp contradictions and conflicts.

With Cui Yin's death, Zhaozong and Zhu Wen finally faced off, and the conflict intensified sharply. Zhaozong knew that Luoyang was the gate of his death, and he had to save himself in time.

After removing Cui Yin, Zhaozong quickly formed a new civil service group. The recruitment standards remained the same, still the same three: family background, knowledge, and loyalty.

Theoretically, it seemed flawless, but in practice it was a huge pitfall. Unfortunately, Zhaozong fell into the same pit again and again.

Zhaozong promoted Pei Shu, Dugu Sun, Cui Yuan and Liu Can.

Pei Shu, whose father Pei Yin was the Imperial Censor; whose grandfather Pei Xiang was the Minister of Personnel; and whose great-grandfather Pei Zunqing was the Prime Minister during the reigns of Emperor Suzong and Emperor Daizong. He was of good family background. He passed the imperial examination in the 871th year of Xiantong () and his education was excellent. He followed Emperor Xizong to Sichuan and Emperor Zhaozong to Huazhou, and his loyalty was commendable. He met Emperor Zhaozong's standards for employing people in all aspects.

Dugu Sun, those who are familiar with the history of the Tang Dynasty should know what the surname "Dugu" means. In Zhaozong's own words, "he was a distinguished figure in the Confucian scholars and a famous noble family." He served three dynasties (Yizong, Xizong, and Zhaozong) and was a comrade worthy of trust.

Cui Yuan was not a member of Cui Yin's clan. Cui Yin was from the Qinghe Cui clan, while Cui Yuan was from the second branch of the Boling Cui clan. His father, Cui Dan, was the Minister of Personnel; his grandfather, Cui Yu, was the Minister of War; his great-grandfather, Cui Yan, was the Supervisor of the Ministry of Households; and his great-great-grandfather, Cui Yi. His great-grandfather Cui Yan had eight sons, all of whom were high-ranking officials and were known as the "Eight Dragons of the Cui Clan". Among them, Cui Gong served as prime minister during the reign of Emperor Wuzong. Cui Yuan was a man of beautiful literary talent, handsome appearance, and generous manner. He was nicknamed "Dingzuoli", which means "the treasure on the table", a compliment.

The above three people have common characteristics: they come from prominent families, are talented and knowledgeable, and are loyal.

To be fair, Liu Can is not bad either.

Liu Can, his father Liu Zhongzun, grandfather Liu Gongqi, great-grandfather Liu Zihua, none of them are worth boasting about, but his great-grandfather had a younger brother, that is, his great-uncle-great-grandfather-Liu Ziwen, who had two particularly famous sons, both of whom were famous calligraphers, Liu Gongchuo and Liu Gongquan. Among them, Liu Gongquan was one of the "Four Masters of Regular Script" and created the "Liu Style". Friends who love calligraphy will definitely be familiar with the names of Liu Gongchuo and Liu Gongquan.

Strictly speaking, Liu Gongchuo and Liu Gongquan are Liu Can's great-great-great-uncles, which is comparable to Li Yan, the "third great-great-uncle". So when the history books introduce Liu Can, they also start with Liu Gongchuo:

"Liu Can... was the great-grandfather of Gongqi, the second cousin of Gongchuo, the Minister of State." - "Old Book of Tang"

"Liu Can... was the grandson of Gong Chuo." - New Book of Tang

"Old Book of Tang" also mentioned his grandfather, named Liu Gongqi, and then added that Liu Gongqi was the cousin of Liu Gongchuo; "New Book of Tang" was as impolite as ever, directly saying that Liu Can was the grandson of Liu Gongchuo, "a clan grandson." Anyway, he was not a biological grandson, and they didn't even bother to introduce whether he was the second, third, or fourth cousin. It was enough to know that he was a grandson.

Liu Gongchuo's grandsons Liu Bi and Liu Xin - Liu Can's brothers from the third cousin era - were unwilling to even admit that they were a family with Liu Can, and were very disgusted with this distant relative who was trying to gain popularity.

So, compared with the common people, Liu Can can still pretend to be from a noble family, sit in an armchair with his chest and belly puffed out, fanning himself, chatting seriously about the world and saving sentient beings, and casually showing off his family background in between laughter and scolding, being a bit Versailles. But compared with the first three, he instantly became mute and an unknown loser.

To be honest, Liu Can's personal knowledge is worthy of recognition. Although he came from a poor family, he was knowledgeable and had a good memory. He left behind the idiom "burning leaves to light the book" for Chinese culture.

According to records, Liu Can was "poor and orphaned at a young age", but "study-loving". He chopped firewood during the day to supplement his family income, and burned leaves at night to read and write. His "burning leaves to light up the book" can be compared with using fireflies to reflect the snow and chiseling holes in the wall to steal light. Perhaps because of his bad reputation later, after all, he was listed in the "Biography of Traitors" together with Cui Yin, so "burning leaves to light up the book" was implicated and was not suitable to become an inspirational model to inspire the flowers of the motherland, and it was not included in the textbooks.

His diligence and hard work finally paid off. During the Guanghua period, he passed the imperial examination and entered the official career. He was noticed by Yan Ruo, a secretary of the Zhongshu Academy, and was promoted.

Liu Can has a solid foundation in literature and history. In the work of compiling the national history, Liu Can boldly challenged the authority and pointed out the inappropriateness of Liu Zixuan's "Shi Tong". He compiled it into ten volumes and made it into a new book "Liu's History Interpretation". If it were published today, it would be called "Liu Can's History Interpretation" or "Liu Can's History Interpretation".

Liu Zixuan, a historian in the early Tang Dynasty, compiled the "Tang History" and participated in the compilation of Wu Zetian's Records. However, due to some "you know" reasons, his work was not accepted by the editor-in-chief, who rejected his work. The editor-in-chief was Wu Sansi, the nephew of Wu Zetian. So Liu Zixuan angrily compiled the famous "Shi Tong".

After Liu Zixuan's death, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang read his "Shi Tong" and praised him highly. He first posthumously awarded him the title of Ji County Prefect, then posthumously awarded him the title of Minister of Works, and gave him the posthumous title "Wen".

His elder brother Liu Zhirou was also a famous scholar, a great Confucian scholar, and his six sons were also well-known scholars, some serving in the court, some serving as governors in local areas, and all of them had works handed down to the world; his grandson became a prime minister. "The cause of Confucianism was passed down from generation to generation."

Liu Zixuan and his "Shi Tong" are definitely godfather-level figures in the historical circles of the Tang Dynasty.

Liu Can, a young and inexperienced man, was actually dancing on the shoulders of giants. As soon as his "Liu's History of Interpretation" was published, it immediately set off a sensation in the Tang Dynasty history circle, and it has long been at the top of the hot search list. Liu Can also became an Internet celebrity scholar, and his fame soared.

Insulting celebrities is a quick way to attract new people. Liu Can gave us a successful demonstration more than a thousand years ago.

Zhaozong loved scholars the most. He once forcibly promoted Yi Geong to be the prime minister, which led to a farce of "looting hemp and dismissing him from office". Just a few months later, the book collector Yi Geong died in a cruel political struggle and was killed by the Guanxi group. Zhaozong felt guilty about Yi Geong's death. If he had not insisted on letting him be the prime minister, he would not have been regarded as a victim of political struggle. Zhaozong was responsible for Yi Geong's death.

In psychology, people always have a subconscious desire to find substitutes. For example, when a beloved pet dies or breaks up with their first love, they will involuntarily use the ex as a template when looking for a new pet or lover.

Zhaozong did the same. He ordered his attendants to help him find someone similar to Li Jing.

What kind of person was Yi Gyeong? He was highly educated, especially in history, and had worked as a historian. The attendants on both sides of the court found Liu Can and immediately spotted him, so they recommended him to King Sojong.

Zhaozong then interviewed Liu Can and was very pleased with the result. He immediately summoned him to be a Hanlin scholar.

The imperial edict to dismiss Cui Yin was written by Liu Can. At that time, Emperor Zhaozong summoned Liu Can to the inner hall and asked him to draft the decree, while telling him affectionately, "Cui Yin is gone, and I plan to make you the prime minister. Hush - don't tell anyone else yet."

Afterwards, Zhaozong asked the Hanlin Imperial Secretary Zhang Wenwei, saying that Liu Can is knowledgeable and I plan to make him prime minister, what do you think?

Since it was the emperor who made the appointment himself, Zhang Wenwei did not dare to refute it. He just made a suggestion in a tactful way, saying that Liu Can's current official position was too low, and it would be better to raise his rank first and then grant him the position of prime minister.

Zhaozong thought about it and thought it made sense. "Then let's give him a counselor first, okay?"

"As long as your Majesty is happy."

Therefore, Liu Can was promoted to the position of prime minister as the Counselor and the Minister of the Secretariat.

It took him only three years to go from a commoner to the chancellor of the empire. This was almost a record, a true meteoric rise.

Liu Can's rapid promotion made him more isolated by his colleagues, especially Pei Shu, Dugu Sun and Cui Yuan, who "looked down on him", so Liu Can also deeply resented him.

The civil service group formed by Zhaozong after Cui Yin's downfall also planted a time bomb from the very beginning.

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