History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 206 Weizhou Persuaded
[Weizhou Persuaded to Advance]

Zhu Wen, who suffered a severe mental blow, returned from Cangzhou and fell ill on his way through Weizhou, where he temporarily received recuperation.

Luo Shaowei was also responsible for the military supply of the expedition to Cangzhou. The convoy carrying the baggage stretched for 500 miles. As a result, except for a part of it given to the enemy, the rest of the supplies were burned. In addition, Luo Shaowei also built a marshal's office in Weizhou. The consumption of the two wars seriously overdrew the health of the Weizhou army.

For Luo Shaowei, this was the price he paid for eliminating the Ya army. It is said that it is easier to invite a god than to send him away. Originally, he thought Zhu Wen would lead his army back, giving Wei Bo a chance to recuperate, but unexpectedly, he fell ill at his doorstep, and more than 100,000 troops were stationed there again, with daily expenses running out like water.

Money and grain were not what Luo Shaowei was worried about. What he was most worried about now was that Zhu Wen would take the opportunity to annex him.

Wei Bo had been hollowed out by the Bian Army. It had no soldiers, no money, and no food. As long as Zhu Wen touched his lower lip with his upper lip, Wei Bo would become Zhu.

After much thought, Luo Shaowei came up with a clever plan.

On this day, Luo Shaowei went to Zhu Wen's bedroom to pay his respects to him under the pretext of visiting him during his illness. After a few greetings, Luo Shaowei actively persuaded Zhu Wen to ascend the throne.

Luo Shaowei said that now towns all over the country have gathered people to rise up in arms, all under the banner of maintaining the Tang Dynasty. Your Majesty, it would be better for you to destroy the Tang Dynasty as soon as possible to eliminate people's hope.

Luo Shaowei advised to take the throne in order, firstly, to show his loyalty and act in a good manner; secondly, to divert Zhu Wen's attention and save Weizhou's sesame seeds with Luoyang's watermelons; thirdly, to enjoy the title of "founding hero" in the future.

Zhu Wen was really delighted, and his illness was almost cured. He was grateful to Luo Shaowei, and then decided to return immediately without delay. Luo Shaowei's strategy of persuading him to ascend the throne was effective immediately.

The great leader's evaluation of Zhu Wen is truly brilliant: "He is similar to Cao Cao, but more cunning." Zhu Wen is more cunning than Cao Cao, but not smarter than Cao Cao, and certainly not wiser than Cao Cao.

Cunning, that is, being clever, often gains immediate benefits but loses greater benefits in the future. It is obviously a derogatory word.

Zhu Wen's situation had always been a tribute to Cao Cao, but from this period on, he and Cao Cao embarked on two completely different paths. The biggest difference was that Cao Cao was a "Han minister" until his death, and handed over the work of usurping the Han and establishing the Wei to his son; while Zhu Wen couldn't wait, he wanted to sit on the dragon throne in his lifetime and experience the emperor's addiction, so he didn't hesitate to kill two Tang emperors in a row.

After Zhu Wen murdered Emperor Zhaozong, the process of forcing Tang to abdicate had already begun. For example, the political purge represented by the "Three Massacres of Luoyang" completed a major reshuffle of the central government with the help of Liu Can and others, and firmly controlled the power of the government. Another example is a series of military measures to stabilize the local area, such as pacifying Jingxiang, conquering Huai, and aiding Wei to attack Cang.

Next, Zhu Wen will press the acceleration key to force Tang to abdicate.

【Nothing Happens in the Southern Suburbs 1 Su Kai Refutes the Posthumous Title】

The 13-year-old Emperor Ai of Tang was a prey to the sword since he ascended the throne. He had no power to fight back against Zhu Wen's plan to move the country to Tang. The orphan and his widowed mother fully cooperated with Zhu Wen's group's usurpation, just to endure humiliation and survive. For Empress Dowager He and Emperor Ai, there was no poetry and distant places in the world, only the immediate and miserable life and Zhu Wen.

According to the ritual system, a new monarch should hold a suburban sacrifice ceremony after ascending the throne, and "something should be done in the southern suburbs." The Ministry of Rites requested that the southern suburban sacrifice be held, and Emperor Ai issued an edict to hold the suburban sacrifice ceremony on October 10 of this year.

In September, Emperor Ai suddenly issued an edict to postpone the event to November; in November, he issued another edict to postpone it to the seventh day of the first lunar month of the next year; a month later, he issued another edict to directly cancel the event.

"There is an event in the southern suburbs" is a very important sacrificial activity in the feudal era, which is sacred and grand, and has a certain mysterious color. Emperor Ai repeatedly postponed and even directly cancelled this suburban sacrifice, which is a perfect reflection of the series of political activities of Zhu Wen's group.

After Emperor Zhaozong was assassinated, Zhu Wen's trusted henchmen Jiang Xuanhui, Zhang Tingfan and others, under Zhu Wen's secret instructions, actively worked on the abdication. The bootlicker Liu Can was not to be outdone and spared no effort in persecuting loyal officials.

The loyal and upright officials were forced to be angry but dared not speak out, but there were also a few political opportunists who made their appearance, such as the Minister of Rites Su Xun and his son Su Kai. Ten years ago, Su Kai passed the imperial examination and Emperor Zhaozong, who was eager to recruit talented people, personally re-examined him, but found that Su Kai's writing was poor. According to records, Su Kai "could not read and could only hold a pen", which was simply illiterate! Obviously, there was corruption in the imperial examination this time, using connections and backdoors. Emperor Zhaozong was furious and immediately cancelled Su Kai's qualification to pass the imperial examination and ordered Su Kai to be "banned from taking the imperial examination for life."

Ten years later, Emperor Zhaozong was assassinated, and Su Kai got his chance for revenge.

First, he used his father's connections to become a recorder (a sixth-rank official), and then he submitted a memorial to refute the posthumous title of Emperor Zhaozong, saying that the posthumous title was overly complimentary and demanded that a new posthumous title be given to Emperor Zhaozong.

In the pre-Qin period, posthumous titles generally consisted of one character, such as Duke Mu of Qin and Duke Wen of Jin, but there were also non-mainstream ones with two or three characters.

Qin Shihuang was a man of strong individuality. He believed that it was inappropriate for "sons to discuss their fathers and ministers to discuss their monarchs", so he abolished the posthumous title system and only used "Emperor" as the title. He was the "First Emperor", and his children and grandchildren were called the Second, Third, etc., and implemented digital management.

If the Qin Dynasty could last forever, it would be a blessing for historians. Unfortunately, the second emperor died, and the newly emerging Han Dynasty immediately restored the posthumous name system. In order to standardize the posthumous name system, the central government specially set up the position of "Da Honglu" to manage the posthumous names. At this time, the mainstream posthumous name became two characters.

In the Tang Dynasty, posthumous titles gradually became a tool for rulers to satisfy their vanity and a tool for flatterers to flatter. From this time on, the number of characters in posthumous titles increased, and they became more and more disgusting. It also created an example of giving posthumous titles (honorary titles) to living emperors. For example, when Emperor Yizong first ascended the throne, Prime Minister Du Chong led all officials to give the honorary title "Emperor Ruiwen Wensheng Xiaode", which was only six characters, and they were not satisfied. So nine years later, Prime Minister Lu Yan led all officials to give the honorary title "Emperor Ruiwen Yingwu Mingde Zhiren Dasheng Guangxiao".

At the beginning of Zhaozong's reign, in the first month of the first year of Dashun (890), his ministers gave him the title of "Emperor Shengwen Ruide Guangwu Hongxiao".

Now, Zhaozong's posthumous title is "Shengmu Jingwenxiao Emperor".

Those who are good at giving simple gifts and respectful to guests are called "saints";
The one who spreads virtue and upholds justice, and shows his affection and appearance is called "Mu";
The one who spreads righteousness and acts with firmness, and who has great thoughts and concerns is called "Jing";
The one who governs the heavens and the earth and benefits the people is called "wen";
The five sects are at peace with themselves, uphold virtue and do not waver, which is called "filial piety".

I will not explain the specific meanings one by one. In short, they are all "superior posthumous titles" that commend and praise, and are used by the emperor, his relatives, and gentlemen.

At Su Kai's suggestion, the relevant departments conducted serious discussions and gave opinions on changing the posthumous title, suggesting that the posthumous title be changed to "Emperor Gonglingzhuangminxiao" and the temple name be changed from "Zhaozong" to "Xiangzong".

If you can correct your mistakes, you are called "respectful";
Chaos without damage is called "spiritual"

If one is strong but fails, he is called "Zhuang";
To cause people to be injured or broken is called "min".

Except for the word "filial piety", the above four posthumous titles are also included in the "superior posthumous titles", but they contain implicit criticism while praising:

Being able to correct mistakes: There is nothing better than being able to correct mistakes, but - you made the mistake before;

Chaos without loss: Although no major losses were caused, you did create chaos after all, so you are just lucky;

Martial arts but no success: Warmongering, a bronze player always tries to squeeze into the king rank;

To cause harm to the people: Look, the common people are in trouble.

Su Kai challenged the majesty of the Tang Dynasty by refuting the posthumous title, and he succeeded. He avenged his failure in the forbidden examination ten years ago, and officially debuted with this, starting a shameless life. There will be subsequent performances of him in the later documents, and he will go further and further on the shameless road.

(End of this chapter)