History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 207: No Trouble in the Southern Suburbs
【Nothing Happens in the Southern Suburbs 2 Dog-eat-Dog】

Jiang Xuanhui and others accepted Zhu Wen's secret instructions and stepped up arrangements to force Tang to abdicate.

Jiang Xuanhui and others did not dare to be negligent. They were loyal to Zhu Wen, good at guessing Zhu Wen's inner thoughts, and brave enough to take the blame for their master. They were dedicated lackeys. However, "abdication" was a very ritualistic activity with a certain mysterious color. It was much more noble than killing people, and it was difficult for Jiang Xuanhui and other losers of "low-born" origin to control it.

At this time, the dog licker Liu Can looks particularly cute.

Compared with Jiang Xuanhui and other "dragon followers", Liu Can and other "old ministers" are rich and handsome men of noble birth, hereditary nobility, and scholarly families, and they are more familiar with palace affairs. In particular, Liu Can, who made his debut with "Liu's History Interpretation", has the halo of a "young historian" and is well-versed in ancient and modern times. He is exactly the talent that Jiang Xuanhui and others are eager to find, and Liu Can also actively moves closer to Zhu Wen's party. As a result, the two hit it off and felt sorry for not meeting each other earlier.

In the antique wooden reception room, Liu Can sat in the main seat in a casual and comfortable posture, with Jiang Xuanhui, who seemed a little reserved, next to him. At this moment, Jiang Xuanhui was listening attentively and nodding frequently.

Liu Can waved his folding fan, looking relaxed, talking about everything under the sun, discussing the past and satirizing the present, speaking eloquently and without stopping, "Respecting the virtuous and yielding the throne to the virtuous has been a tradition since ancient times, and there are precedents for abdication. 'In the past, Emperor Yao was intelligent and thoughtful, and he brought glory to the world. He was about to abdicate and give the throne to Yu Shun'..."

Jiang Xuanhui's eyes were full of admiration, and he suffered for not having read the "Book of Documents".

"Yao gave up his throne to Shun, Shun gave up his throne to Yu, Yu passed it to his son, and this is how the empire was passed down from generation to generation," Liu Can showed off his knowledge and talked eloquently. Pangu created the world, Nuwa mended the sky and created humans, the Three Sovereigns ruled the world, the Five Emperors established order, and the First Emperor unified the country until today. "Han abdicated to Wei, Wei abdicated to Jin... Abdication has developed a clear, fixed, and standardized procedure."

Finally, we get to the point. This is exactly the procedure Jiang Xuanhui wanted.

Liu Can raised his face, with seven parts of arrogance in his confidence and three parts of disdain in his composure.

Although the ancient emperor Yao is said to have started the abdication system, it was Cao Pi during the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period who really became the industry rule maker. The process of the abdication of Emperor Xian of Han was regarded as a standard process and template by later generations. Generally speaking, it is like this:

The court first promoted the one who accepted the abdication to the title of king, such as the King of Wei;

Then he was granted the "Nine Gifts", which was the highest honor bestowed by the emperor on princes and ministers. The nine items included carriages, clothes, guards, weapons, etc.

Then he was granted privileges such as "no need to walk in the court", "no need to name when praising or worshipping", and "wearing sword and shoes when entering the palace";

Then all the ministers jointly submitted a petition asking the emperor to give up the throne to a virtuous person;
Then the emperor said that he had no intention of coveting the throne and was willing to let someone more capable take over. He issued an edict to abdicate and let Comrade So-and-so take over and work hard for the people of the world day and night...

Of course, during this period, various places would submit reports one after another, reporting supernatural events or sightings of mythical beasts within their borders; the Central Meteorological Bureau would also report that the stars had changed, meaning bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new... In short, the heavens were giving a warning, and God was sending an important signal to mortals: change the emperor soon.

At the same time, from the beginning of the conferment of the title of king, the recipient must constantly refuse and decline, saying that he is not virtuous enough and only wants to be a loyal minister of the dynasty, doing the work of Yi Yin and Huo Guang. Generally speaking, he must refuse three times, and the matter is no more than three times, so just give it a try.

When the abbot refused, the ministers and the emperor would argue with him. The third time, they would threaten him with death. "If you don't accept, all of us civil and military officials will die in front of you!" "If you don't want to be the emperor, I will kill you!"

Therefore, the abbot reluctantly agreed to the demands of the people and the emperor and his ministers, almost crying, "You forced me to do this! I really don't want to be the abbot..."

Finally, an auspicious day was chosen to hold a grand abdication ceremony, marking the end of the old dynasty and the emergence of a new dynasty. The new era was changed, amnesty was declared, and the dynasty was replaced.

Jiang Xuanhui was overjoyed and began to follow the rules. On the day when Zhu Wen assembled his army from Xiangzhou to attack Huainan, the court issued an appointment letter appointing Zhu Wen as the Grand Marshal of the Army of the World (Marshal of the Army of All Provinces), and the situation progressed step by step.

You should drink wine one sip at a time and take one step at a time. If you take too big a step, you might break your balls. Although Jiang Xuanhui is good at guessing Zhu Wen's mind, he didn't know Zhu Wen's pulse this time. Zhu Wen was eager to ascend the throne, and he was "young and humble". There was no public intellectual like Liu Can around him, so he didn't care about tedious formalism. He didn't want a marshal, a king, or nine gifts. He just wanted a two-word title - emperor.

Zhu Wen was angry and scolded Jiang Xuanhui and others for their poor performance and procrastination.

"Hurry up!"

Jiang Xuanhui was scared, and the "wait and others" were even more scared, so the lackeys who stayed in Luoyang had an internal conflict. We will call Zhu Wen's confidants who stayed in Luoyang the "Three Envoys Gang" because their core members were Jiang Xuanhui (Privy Envoy), Wang Yin (Envoy to the Northern Court of Xuanhui and Imperial City Envoy), and Zhang Tingfan (Street Envoy). These were the official positions of the three after the capital was moved to Luoyang. Before the capital was moved, the three served as Street Envoy, Imperial City Envoy, and Palace Garden Envoy in Chang'an respectively.

In short, the palace was controlled by the "Three Envoys" both inside and outside. The other important positions were also occupied by Zhu Wen's confidants, so I will call them the "Three Envoys Gang".

There is no party outside the party, and there is imperial thinking; there is no faction within the party, and there are all kinds of strange things.

There were also small groups, cliques, and factions within the "Three Envoys Gang" that fought for power and jealousy. As the core figure of the "Three Envoys Gang", Jiang Xuanhui was also envied and hated by other members, and felt the naked hatred from his peers. For example, another core figure, Wang Yin, deliberately wanted to get rid of Jiang Xuanhui in order to replace him.

Wang Yin found a capable assistant - Kong Xun.

Kong Xun was born in a poor family, and his family background is unknown. He was an orphan who drifted to Bianzhou. He was adopted by Li Rang, a local tyrant in Bianzhou, and was recognized as his adopted son. After Zhu Wen settled in Bianzhou, he adopted Li Rang as his adopted son, and Kong Xun became Zhu Wen's god-grandson. Later, a wet nurse of Zhu Wen's sons liked him very much and adopted him as her adopted son. So Kong Xun took the wet nurse's husband's surname - Zhao, and his name was Yin Heng. When he became rich and powerful later, he changed back to his real name. According to convention, we always call him by his real name "Kong Xun".

It is also worth mentioning that Zhu Wen’s adopted son, Li Rang, a local tyrant in Bianzhou, was not only the adoptive father of Kong Xun, but also the adoptive father of Gao Jichang.

Wang Yin and Kong Xun formed a small group and plotted to frame Jiang Xuanhui. They slandered Jiang Xuanhui and Liu Can to Zhu Wen, saying that the reason why Jiang Xuanhui and Liu Can delayed the abdication was to prolong the Tang Dynasty and revive the Tang Dynasty.

When Jiang Xuanhui heard the slanderous rumors, he was so frightened that he immediately ran to Zhu Wen in person to defend himself, and revealed his and Liu Can's plan and reported the detailed process of the abdication truthfully.

Zhu Wen was still furious. He interrupted his long-winded work report and said angrily, "Stop giving me these fancy tricks and trying to prevent me from accepting the throne! If I don't accept the Nine Gifts, I can't be the emperor?"

Jiang Xuanhui knelt on the ground and kowtowed, crying out in grievance: "The Tang Dynasty has run out of luck. The will of heaven and the people are all with you, the king. Everyone, whether wise or foolish, knows this. How dare Liu Can and I betray your kindness? However, we still have Li Keyong of Hedong, Liu Rengong of Youzhou, Li Maozhen of Fengxiang, Wang Jian of Xichuan, etc. They are all our powerful enemies. If we accept the abdication hastily, I am afraid they will not accept it in their hearts. Therefore, we must make it perfect and impeccable in terms of legal principles. I am creating a foundation for the king that will last forever!"

Zhu Wen slammed the table and stood up, shouting, "Shut up! You bunch of dogs and slaves, you want to rebel!"

Jiang Xuanhui was so frightened that he dared not talk back. He just nodded and left.

Jiang Xuanhui worked hard and conscientiously for Zhu Wen to move the country to Tang, but was accused of treason by Zhu Wen. Naturally, he felt wronged. But Zhu Wen's anger was not without reason. Because Jiang Xuanhui was too persistent and ignored the role limitation, he was Zhu Wen's worker rather than a partner. He only had the right to execute but not the right to make decisions. Although his starting point was to ensure the longevity of Zhu Wen's country and create a foundation for eternity, he deprived the leader of the decision-making power, so it was reasonable for him to be accused of "treason".

Leaders don't need you to think, they just need you to execute orders and fulfill the leader's will.

Jiang Xuanhui returned to Luoyang in fear and went to Liu Can to discuss the matter of abdication. He was scolded by his leader, but he was only afraid and did not get the essence of the scolding. They were still pushing forward the process of adding the Nine Gifts.

(End of this chapter)