History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 191: Emperor Zhaozong was assassinated
【Emperor Zhaozong was assassinated】

On the evening of August 904, 8, the first year of the Tianyou reign of the Tang Dynasty, Jiang Xuanhui sent his subordinates, including Shi Tai, and a hundred others to break into the palace at night, claiming that they had urgent military information and wanted to report it to Emperor Zhaozong in person.

The entire palace and Luoyang city were filled with Zhu Wen's confidants. The group had no obstruction and arrived directly at the door of Zhaozong's bedroom.

The one who opened the door for them was Pei Zhenyi, a concubine of Emperor Zhaozong. Seeing the fully armed soldiers, Pei Zhenyi asked, "Why do you need to bring troops to report military intelligence?"

Shi Tai raised his sword and killed Pei Zhenyi with one blow.

Jiang Xuanhui stepped forward from behind and asked sternly, "Where is the emperor?"

Another concubine, Zhaoyi Li Jianrong, held the railing on the corridor and shouted: "Just kill us, don't hurt the emperor!"

Zhaozong had just fallen asleep when he was awakened by the noise outside. Before he could put on his clothes, Jiang Xuanhui, Shi Tai and others rushed into the bedroom and started chopping with knives without saying a word.

Zhaozong jumped out of bed, wearing only pajamas, and performed the "Prince of Qin running around the pillar" in the bedroom. He was caught up by Shi Tai and cut down with a knife.

Zhaoyi Li Jianrong threw herself on Zhaozong to block the knife for him, and both of them died.

Later, the rebels planned to kill Queen He, but Queen He knelt down and begged for mercy from Jiang Xuanhui, saving her life.

Jiang Xuanhui was not moved by compassion, but wanted to use Queen He to give false testimony.

At dawn the next day, Jiang Xuanhui conveyed Empress He's oral instructions, saying that a major criminal case had occurred in the palace last night, and concubines Pei Zhenyi and Li Jianrong murdered Emperor Zhaozong; Prince Hui Li Zuo was named crown prince, renamed Li Yu, and regent.

Then, a false order was passed on from Empress He: Li Yu was ordered to ascend the throne and become emperor in front of Emperor Zhaozong's coffin.

Emperor Zhaozong was assassinated and died at the age of 38. There was a sense of terror inside and outside the palace, and no one dared to cry out loud.

On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Li Yu sat on the dragon throne and accepted the ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows from his ministers, officially becoming the emperor of the Tang Empire. He was 13 years old at the time and was known in history as Emperor Ai of Tang.

Two and a half years later, Emperor Ai handed over the throne to Zhu Wen, marking the end of the Tang Dynasty. Later, Emperor Ai, who was only 16 years old, was also murdered by Zhu Wen.

He was not a king who lost his country, but he was destined to lose his country. This should be the most concise evaluation of Emperor Zhaozong. Ouyang Xiu clearly pointed out in the New Book of Tang that "since ancient times, not all kings who lost their country were foolish, mediocre and tyrannical." He felt deeply sorry for Emperor Zhaozong's unfortunate experience.

Emperor Zhaozong loved reading and valued Confucianism. He was determined to revive the Tang Dynasty and restore its former glory, and he had the elegance of the Huichang period. However, the two major problems of eunuchs and vassal states had penetrated deep into the bones and were difficult to reverse. The fruits of the "Huichang Restoration" and "Dazhong Governance" had been consumed by Emperor Yizong and Emperor Xizong. What Zhaozong took over was a mess with many holes and a terminal illness. Even if Emperor Taizong was resurrected, he would be powerless to save the situation.

However, Zhaozong did not give up. At the beginning of his reign, he struck a heavy blow against the eunuchs' power, and took advantage of the complicated network of vassal states to fish in troubled waters, disintegrate local separatist forces, and consolidate central power.

As for its failure, some believe that it was due to Emperor Zhaozong's misuse of personnel.

There is no doubt that Emperor Zhaozong's reign contributed three prime ministers to the "Biographies of Traitorous Ministers", namely Cui Zhaowei, Cui Yin and Liu Can, as well as Jiang Xuanhui, Zhang Tingfan, Shi Shucong and Zhu Yougong. However, although these four were born in Emperor Zhaozong's reign, they were not ministers appointed by Emperor Zhaozong. Although they are also listed in the "Biographies of Traitorous Ministers", the blame cannot be attributed to Emperor Zhaozong.

Zhaozong was eager to recruit talented people and wanted to rely on the civil service group to defeat the eunuchs and the feudal lords. However, there were few people who could really be used, and instead a group of arrogant and ambitious people came onto the political stage. Zhaozong's civil service line was repeatedly slapped in the face, and even Cui Yin was born, who dragged the empire into an abyss of no return.

The Old Book of Tang also pointed out Zhaozong's failure to supervise the use of personnel, saying that Zhang Jun, Zhu Pu and Zheng Heng were the most unreliable and were simply jokes (these three were particularly absurd, and were the monsters at the end of the season).

And taking advantage of the situation among the feudal lords was like trying to take risks on the edge of death, as evidenced by a poem:
"The emperor is a sheep, and the governors are all tigers and wolves.
Attract wolves to drive away tigers, and keep tigers to guard against wolves.
How long will the Tang Dynasty last? A song of coldness." - Namo Stinky Egg Strong localities and a weak central government will always lead to chaos. In this game of power redistribution, any external performance is the result of a deeper game. All parties exchange chips with the core of power plunder and finally reach a balance. Among them, the imperial power represented by Zhaozong is actually at an absolute disadvantage and is basically hollowed out. The chips in his hands are worthless and it is impossible for him to become the final winner.

In short, Zhaozong took over a situation that was doomed to fail.

If we must nitpick, then alcoholism would be Zhaozong's only flaw. But there was a reason for his bad habit of alcoholism. After experiencing countless failures in political struggles, Zhaozong, who was exhausted both physically and mentally, felt that he was powerless to save the situation. His brothers and sisters also died tragically in the "Sixteen Houses Massacre", so he drank to relieve his sorrow.

He was not lustful or playful, and was wholeheartedly devoted to reviving the Tang Dynasty. However, he was ruthlessly ravaged by the cruel reality, and his will and beliefs suffered unimaginable pain and torture.

Overall, Zhaozong was a tragic emperor worthy of respect and sympathy.

Zhu Wen left Luoyang to avoid Zhaozong's plot and to create an alibi. After hearing the news that Zhaozong had been assassinated, Zhu Wen was so shocked that he fell to the ground from his seat and cried out, "These dogs have betrayed me and made me bear the eternal infamy of regicide!"

This scene was not original to Zhu Wen, but a tribute to Sima Zhao.

Zhu Wen arrived in Luoyang and went to the mourning hall of Emperor Zhaozong, where he fell to the ground and cried bitterly, expressing deep remorse for not being able to protect the emperor. He then met with the new emperor, Emperor Ai, and swore that this was absolutely not his intention, and demanded a thorough investigation of the culprit who murdered the emperor and brought justice to the world.

The so-called "fairness" is to find a suitable scapegoat. Zhu Wen consulted with his trusted adviser Li Zhen.

Li Zhen spoke frankly and said it must be Zhu Yougong and Shi Shucong.

One was his adopted son who had followed him the longest, and the other was his trusted and beloved general. Zhu Wen really couldn't bear it, "Can you change someone else?"

Li Zhen said in a tone that brooked no room for negotiation: "Emperor Wen of Jin killed Duke Gaogui (Sima Zhao killed Cao Mao) and blamed Cheng Ji. It is precisely because these two were your confidants that only by killing them can you help your majesty escape punishment. Otherwise...you will be executed yourself?"

At that time, Luoyang was suffering from drought and food shortage, and the price of a dou of rice soared to 600 coins. However, the subordinates of Zhu Yougong and Shi Shucong committed illegal acts of plundering the people's food, and the people in the city hated them very much.

Zhu Wen arrested the two and reported to Emperor Ai, impeaching Zhu Yougong and Shi Shucong, the senior officials responsible for defending Luoyang City, saying that they failed to control their subordinates, which led to the chaos in the capital. Zhu Yougong was demoted to the post of Sihu of Yazhou (now Qiongshan City, Hainan Province), and Shi Shucong was demoted to the post of Sihu of Baizhou (now Bobai County, Guangxi).

According to the old rules, he saved the travel expenses to Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan Island and directly ordered suicide (seeking to commit suicide).

According to the old rules, the executioner will help with the "suicide".

Zhu Wen paid tribute to Sima Zhao, Zhu Yougong and Shi Shucong were paid tribute to Chengji. However, Shi Tai, who killed Zhaozong himself, was awarded the title of governor of Dizhou "as a reward for his merit in killing the traitor".

When Zhu Yougong was dying, he looked up to the sky and swore at Zhu Wen: "You betrayed me to silence the people of the world. You can deceive the world, but can you deceive the gods and ghosts of heaven and earth? God is watching what you do. If you do such a thing, you will have no descendants in the future and you will not die a good death!"

After cursing Zhu Wen, Zhu Yougong turned to his former comrade-in-arms and today's executioner Zhang Tingfan and said, "Brother, my today is your tomorrow, just wait and see!"

Zhu Yougong's curse came true. That month, Zhu Wen's virtuous wife Zhang Hui suffered a relapse of her old illness and soon passed away; his eldest son Zhu Youyu also died of a sudden illness.

After killing the king, Zhu Wen tasted the pain of losing his wife and son. In his grief, a message came from the south that Guangzhou, which was under the rule of Huainan, had rebelled against Huainan and joined Zhu Wen, and was surrounded by troops sent by Yang Xingmi, asking Zhu Wen for help; Ezhou also asked Zhu Wen for help.

Zhu Wen took advantage of the situation and played a card he had been planning for a long time: march south!
(End of this chapter)