History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 194: Inhuman Two Thunders
【The Orphan of Zhao】

If we trace the roots of Zhao Kuangning, the governor of the Loyal and Righteous Army of Xiangzhou, strictly speaking, he and Ma Yin of Tanzhou were from the same school and both were "remnants of the Cai thief."

Zhao Kuangning's father was Zhao Dezhen, who was originally a general under Qin Zongquan. When Qin Zongquan was at the peak of his power, he was recommended by Qin Zongquan to be the governor of Xiangzhou Loyalty Army. Later, Qin Zongquan suffered a heavy defeat from Zhu Wen. At the critical moment, Zhao Dezhen judged the situation and rebelled in time, attached himself to Zhu Wen, turned against Qin Zongquan, and made great contributions in the battle to eliminate Qin Zongquan, becoming the key force to overthrow Qin Zongquan.

Zhao Dezhen's defection to Qin Zongquan and its effect perfectly paid tribute to Zhu Wen's defection to Huang Chao, both of whom betrayed their former masters at the most critical moment. Zhu Wen overthrew the founding emperor of the "Great Qi Kingdom", and Zhao Dezhen overthrew the second emperor of the "Great Qi Kingdom".

Zhu Wen: "Xiao Zhao, your shameless look is very similar to my charm when I was young."

Afterwards, Zhao Dezhen was named Prince of Huai'an and reached the peak of his life.

After Zhao Dezhen's death, his son Zhao Kuangning succeeded to the throne and continued to maintain a dependent clan relationship with Zhu Wen.

Zhao Kuangning was handsome, narcissistic, and had a mysophobia that was almost abnormal. He had to tidy up his clothes countless times every day, and every time he did so, he would have his servants carry a huge mirror, and examine himself 360 degrees without blind spots. He would also constantly ask those around him, "Mirror, mirror, am I beautiful?" Even when he was receiving guests, if he felt that his clothes were slightly dusty, he would immediately ask the beautiful lady who was accompanying him to wipe it with a red whisk.

Although they are effeminate and pretentious, they are not very gentle. If anyone accidentally breaks the taboos in their family, they will be beaten with sticks.

When Zhu Wen suffered the "Qingkou Defeat", Zhao Kuangning felt that Zhu Wen was doomed, so he secretly contacted Yang Xingmi in Huainan and expressed his willingness to surrender. Zhu Wen sent Shucong and Kang Huaizhen to attack, and they successively conquered the cities under his control and captured Zhao Kuangning's brother Zhao Kuanglin alive. Zhao Kuangning then admitted his mistake to Zhu Wen and re-submitted himself to Zhu Wen.

Zhao Kuangning was a man who was greedy for profit and was wavering. He had previously contacted Cui Yin secretly to arrange for the relocation of the capital to Xiangzhou... But in Yang Xingmi's view, this was exactly a comrade who was worth winning over and could be used.

【Jingnan Chengli】

Cheng Li is also a "remnant of Cai's thief."

In his early years, he was a gangster. Later, because of drunken provocation and fighting that resulted in death, he became a monk and fled to all corners of the world. Afterwards, he joined Qin Zongquan's army. Because of his bravery, he was adopted by a general named Guo and was renamed "Guo Yu".

Later, he was transferred to Jiangling by Qin Zongquan for garrison. Cheng Li deserted the army and became a bandit. The world is so big, he wanted to see it.

After being a bandit for a while, he felt tired and found an honest man to join him. He took refuge under the command of Chen Ru, the then governor of Jingnan.

Later, the army in southern Jing rebelled, and the general Zhang Gui imprisoned Chen Ru and proclaimed himself Jiedushi. Zhang Gui was very afraid of the fierce and brave Cheng Li, and planned to assassinate him. After hearing the news, Cheng Li led more than a thousand troops to flee, and after several twists and turns, he conquered Guizhou and proclaimed himself governor.

Cheng Li used Guizhou as a revolutionary base, recruited refugees and soldiers, and soon gathered a 3,000-man army. Qin Zongquan's general Xu Cun also came to join him.

Things change. Qin Zongquan sent his brother Qin Zongyan to attack Jingnan. Zhang Gui held out for a year, but Qin Zongyan returned without success. Qin Zongquan then sent Zhao Dezhen to attack Jingnan again. Zhang Gui was unable to resist and asked Cheng Li for help.

Cheng Li put aside his past grudges and sent troops to aid Zhang Gui, forcing Zhao Dezhen to withdraw. But Zhao Dezhen still did not give up and attacked again a year later. Years of war drained Zhang Gui's last drop of blood, and Zhao Dezhen finally captured Jiangling Prefecture. Afterwards, Zhao Dezhen looted the city, leaving General Wang Jianzhao to defend the city, and returned home.

It was a godsend opportunity. Cheng Li took advantage of the emptiness of Jingnan and sent Xu Cun as the vanguard to launch a blitzkrieg on Jingnan. Wang Jianzhao was defeated and fled to Qianzhou. Cheng Li controlled the Jingnan area and was appointed as the governor of Jingnan by the court.

Later, Cheng Li expanded his power westwards, went upstream along the Yangtze River, seized territory from Qin Zongquan, competed with Wang Jian of Xichuan for profit, and took possession of a salt field of the imperial court, which became one of his important economic sources.

After conquering Qianzhou, which was held by Wang Jianzhao, Cheng Li also suspected and suppressed Xu Cun, his former comrade-in-arms and current subordinate. So Xu Cun escaped over the wall at night and joined Wang Jianzhao hand in hand to join Wang Jian in Xichuan. Xu Cun was adopted by Wang Jian and renamed Wang Zongbo. As mentioned in the previous article. In the process of Cheng Li's expansion of territory, there was a small episode of a "heroic woman".

It is said that there was a general named Han Chuyan in the enemy camp, who cursed Cheng Li in front of the battle line, exposing all of Cheng Li's shortcomings and his dirty past, and his words were extremely vulgar and crude. Cheng Li was furious and threatened to capture Han Chuyan alive and then dismember him to vent his anger.

Not long after, Han Chuyan was defeated and the city was captured. His wife Li reminded him that you had scolded Cheng Li before, and Cheng Li said he would dismember you, so you'd better commit suicide now.

Faced with this "dignity", Han Chuyan was hesitant.

During dinner, Li hid the knife in advance and urged him to commit suicide again. Han Chuyan said with a fluke: "It may not be the case... What if Cheng Li spares my life to show his magnanimity?"

So Li secretly took out a sharp knife, cut off Han Chuyan's head with a knife, and saved his life. Then she killed her three sons with her own hands, and finally committed suicide by cutting her own throat.

When Cheng Li heard about it, he praised her for her strength and ordered a grand funeral and erected a stone tablet in her memory.

Although Cheng Li's first half of his life was not glorious, with labels such as "murderer", "deserter", and "traitor", he behaved like a righteous gentleman after he obtained Jingnan.

Cheng Li was well-versed in official administration, strictly enforced laws and discipline, went deep into prisons, and investigated "unjust, false, and wrong" cases. When Cheng Li took over Jingnan, Jingnan had suffered from wars for years and was riddled with holes. It was also looted by Zhao Dezhen, and the population and property were lost. There was no one living for thousands of miles. Cheng Li comforted the refugees, persuaded them to engage in farming, and encouraged cultivation. Soon, the vitality of the Jingnan area was restored, and he and Huazhou Han Jian were collectively called "North Han and South Guo".

【Langzhou Lei Yangong】

Lei Yangong, son of Lei Man.

Lei Man was originally a native barbarian under the jurisdiction of Langzhou. He had cut hair and tattoos, and was savage and fierce. During the Huang Chao Rebellion, Lei Man took the lead and gathered thousands of barbarians, calling himself the Tuan Army. The local barbarians all expressed their obedience to his orders. Later, Lei Man's Tuan Army accepted Gao Pian's offer of amnesty and was officially incorporated into Gao Pian's troops.

Afterwards, Gao Pian moved his garrison to Huainan. On the way to Yangzhou, Lei Man led his group of barbarians to desert, captured Langzhou, killed the governor, and then proclaimed himself the governor of Langzhou and reported it to the court.

Lei Man's banditry remained unchanged, and he became a problem child in Langzhou, committing murder, arson, rape, and looting. The imperial court tolerated and appeased him, recognizing his actual control over Langzhou and Lizhou, and established the Wuzhen Army in these two states, with Langzhou as its headquarters and Lei Man as its governor.

Lei Man's behavior was eccentric, absurd, and "corrupt, filthy, cruel, and vicious." Even the authoritative history book, the Old History of the Five Dynasties, one of the "Twenty-Four Histories," could not help but curse him. It was rare. The original text had four big characters, "He is not a human being." He was simply not a human being! It shows how angry the editors of the History Museum were at that time.

He dug a large pool of water in the government office, which was so deep that one could not see the bottom. He also built a large pavilion on the pool. Whenever messengers from neighboring roads visited or passed by, Lei Man would summon them to the pavilion for a feast and chat, and boast happily, telling them that the pool was the legendary Dragon Palace, where a dragon lived. Mortals could not approach it, but only he could come and go freely.

When he was drunk, he would pick up an utensil and throw it into the pool. Then he would strip naked in public, revealing his agile body and exaggerated and alternative tattoos. He would jump into the pool, dive to the bottom of the pool, and take back the things he had just thrown in. Don't worry, he would not rush to get ashore. Instead, he would perform synchronized swimming for everyone, "playing around on the water for a long time" before coming out. Then he would put on his clothes and continue chatting and laughing with the stunned guests at the table.

How could this be something done by a local governor or a high-ranking military governor? It was clearly a dolphin in an aquarium that had turned into a spirit.

In the first year of Tianfu (901), Lei Man, who had been unrestrained and freedom-loving all his life, finally put a perfect end to his alternative life, and his absurd career would be carried on by his son.

After Lei Man died, his son Lei Yanwei proclaimed himself as the regent, and his younger brother Lei Yangong colluded with Zhao Kuangning of Xiangzhou, expelled his brother Yanwei and replaced him.

(End of this chapter)