History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 210 Six Ministers Carrying the Coffin 1
[Six Ministers Carrying the Coffin 1]

1 Zhang Wenwei

Zhang Wenwei was born into the Zhang family of Hejian. His grandfather was Zhang Junqing, a Jinshi in the reign of Emperor Xianzong. His father needs to be introduced in detail.

His father was named Zhang Fu, a Jinshi in the reign of Emperor Wuzong. He initially served as the defense judge of Shouzhou. While in office in Shouzhou, he condescended to treat a scholar who was living in Shouzhou with great kindness. Zhang Fu only respected the scholar's knowledge and character and had no ulterior motives. However, his unintentional kindness led him to the pinnacle of his life, because the poor scholar's name was Yu Cong.

Wuzong died at the age of 32, and was succeeded by Xuanzong. In the 859th year of Dazhong (), Xuanzong selected a son-in-law, and Yu Cong bravely took on the heavy responsibility and successfully married Princess Guangde. Yu Cong, the son-in-law, turned his life around, and his career was smooth and he climbed up the career ladder until he became the prime minister. After becoming rich, Yu Cong did not forget Zhang Yi's kindness, so he strongly recommended him in the court, and Zhang Yi was able to rise rapidly and enter the core power circle of the central government.

The good times did not last long. In the same year that Cong married Princess Guangde, his father-in-law Emperor Xuanzong passed away and was succeeded by Emperor Yizong.

In the late period of Emperor Yizong's reign, the imperial consort Wei Baoheng first colluded with the prime minister Lu Yan, and the "Baoyan Party" launched a series of bloody and cruel political struggles, which have been detailed in the previous article. The political careers of Yu Cong and Zhang Yi both fell to the bottom at this time.

After Emperor Yizong passed away, Emperor Xizong succeeded to the throne, and the "Baoyan Party" suffered a counterattack, and Yu Cong, Zhang Fu and others were able to see the light of day again and return to the central government. Subsequently, Zhang Fu was sent to the local area and stationed in Tianping Army, Yunzhou.

Comrade Zhang Chen had just arrived when a minor public security incident occurred in the territory: a young man named Huang Chao rebelled. Comrade Zhang Chen had already appeared in the previous article when Huang Chao wrote to Zhang Chen, asking for peace and pretending to surrender. The naive Zhang Chen believed it, so he reported to the court, claiming that the bandit had accepted the amnesty and fell into Huang Chao's delaying tactics.

Huang Chao deceived Zhang Yi's feelings, which brought devastating damage to his innocent heart. Zhang Yi was filled with resentment and died of depression at the age of 64, less than a year after he took office.

Zhang Wenwei, a Jinshi in the reign of Emperor Xizong, was famous for his integrity and filial piety, and was admitted as a Hanlin scholar. At the end of the reign of Emperor Zhaozong, Liu Can abused his power and was tyrannical, killing loyal officials. At that time, all court officials were in danger, but only Zhang Wenwei had the courage to fight against Liu Can. More than a dozen high-ranking officials were saved from Liu Can's butcher knife by Zhang Wenwei's efforts, so Zhang Wenwei became the savior and refuge of scholars.

After Liu Can's death, Zhang Wenwei gained a very high reputation among the civil officials and scholars, and thus became one of the important targets for Zhu Wen's group to win over.

2. Su Xun

Su Xun was a Jinshi in the reign of Emperor Yizong and the Minister of Rites in the reign of Emperor Zhaozong. He was a man of bad character and profit-seeking, known for his flattery and fawning. If one had to sum him up in four words, it would be: shameless.

After Emperor Zhaozong moved the capital to Luoyang, the old ministers of the Tang Dynasty, the descendants of the nobility, the literati and the aristocrats... anyone who still had a conscience, anyone who had some knowledge and some understanding of education, either lived in seclusion and did not serve in the government, or harbored shame and resentment. Only Su Xun was overjoyed, and did his best to please Zhu Wen.

In terms of being a dog licker, Liu Can and Su Xun are equally good, but in terms of professional skills, Su Xun's vertical depth is far better than Liu Can. Liu Can only has the heart to lick a dog, while Su Xun has the strength to lick a dog.

When the court first discussed giving Zhu Wen the Nine Gifts, all the civil and military officials in the court were unwilling to agree, but they were afraid to take it away due to the tyranny of the emperor, so they all remained silent, silently expressing their opposition. Only Su Xun could not wait to step out of the line, spitting and praising Zhu Wen, and even rebelled against his superiors by directly proposing that Emperor Ai abdicate.

Zhu Wen's group readily accepted Su Xun, who took the initiative to throw himself into his arms, and appointed him as the deputy envoy of the enthronement ceremony to carry the coffin for the Tang Dynasty. As a Tang official, he had been eating Tang salary for a long time, which should have been a great shame, but Su Xun was not ashamed, but proud of it. It became his capital for bragging in the future, and he regarded himself as a founding hero of the Later Liang Dynasty.

A dragon gives birth to a dragon, a phoenix gives birth to a phoenix, and a mouse's son knows how to dig holes. If the father is a hero, the son will be a hero; if the father is a traitor, the son will be a bastard.

His son Su Kai perfectly inherited his shameless gene. In his early years, he relied on his father Su Xun's relationship to get into the Jinshi exam. Emperor Zhaozong personally conducted a re-examination and took a look at the paper. He was so angry that he was furious. How could such a useless student pass the exam? So he issued an edict to "ban the exam for life". After Zhaozong was assassinated, Su Kai submitted a memorial to refute the posthumous title, avenging his personal grudge and venting his hatred for Zhaozong.

"Su Kai's rejection of the posthumous title" became a stain on his life.

Su Xun and his son Su Kai were finally recorded in history as clowns and evil villains, and their infamy will last forever.

3. Yang She

Yang She, the nephew of former Prime Minister Yang Shou, has been described in detail in the previous article, so there is no need to repeat him.

When Yang She was assigned to escort the national treasure, his son Yang Ningshi said to him, "Father, you are the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty. You cannot say that you have no responsibility for the country's decline today. What's more, you personally held the emperor's seal and handed it to someone else. Although you can keep your wealth and glory, how will history comment on you? Why don't you refuse this job?" Yang She was frightened by these words and quickly signaled to his son to shut up, "You are going to bring disaster upon your family!" Yang She was horrified and could not calm down for several days.

4. Zhang Ce

Zhang Ce, whose father was Zhang Tong, was the governor of Rongguan (later the governor of Ningyuan Army in Guangxi; the name was different in different times).

As a "second-generation official", Zhang Ce was intelligent and studious, and was known as a child prodigy. When he was 13 years old, his father Zhang Tong accidentally dug up an antique, an ancient tripod, on which was engraved the inscription "Second month of spring in the first year of Huangchu in Wei, by craftsman Ji Qian". Zhang Tong was very happy, but Zhang Ce said, "In the th year of Jian'an in the Han Dynasty, Cao Gong (Cao Cao) died and changed the reign to Yankang. In October of that year, Emperor Wen (Cao Pi) ascended the throne and changed the reign to Huangchu. There was no second month in the first year of Huangchu, so why is the inscription wrong?" Zhang Tong was shocked and hurried back to the study to get the "Three Kingdoms" to check, and the result was exactly the same as what Zhang Ce said.

Later, Zhang Ce became interested in Buddhism, so he became a monk and practiced Buddhism in the Ci'en Temple in Chang'an. When Huang Chao invaded Chang'an, he was forced to return to secular life and lived in a remote village with his parents to avoid the war for more than ten years.

Later, the court summoned him to serve as an official, and soon after, Wang Xingyu of Bingzhou hired him as his staff. Wang Xingyu participated in the "Three Towns Invading the Palace", and Li Keyong of Hedong went south to defend the king. Zhang Ce left Wang Xingyu and returned to Chang'an in the east. On the way back, Zhang Ce, his wife and his mother walked in the thick snow in a sedan chair (the simplest sedan chair carried by two people, with two wooden sticks on the Eight Immortals Chair, and two people carried it on their shoulders in front and back). Passersby all sighed at his filial piety.

Zhu Wen was also moved by his deeds of "carrying his mother on his shoulders and returning east in the snow", and Zhu Wen recommended him to be the envoy of Zhenghua (an official under the governor of Yicheng Army in Huazhou). Later, when his mother died, Zhang Ce was dismissed from his post due to mourning. After the mourning period was over, he was appointed as a staff member by Han Jian of Huazhou.

Later, Han Jian of Huazhou surrendered to Zhu Wen and moved to Xuzhou Zhongwu Army. Han Jian sent Zhang Ce as an envoy to travel between Bianzhou. When Zhu Wen saw Zhang Ce, he could not hide his admiration and joy, and could not help but blurt out: "Master Zhang is here!"

Calling Zhang Ce "Master" shows that Zhu Wen had a double affirmation of his knowledge and character. Afterwards, Zhu Wen kept Zhang Ce by his side as his staff, and recommended Zhang Ce to the court as Zhongshu Sheren, Hanlin Bachelor, and History Museum Editor, so that he could give full play to his expertise in history and compile national history.

5. Xue Yiju
Shameless. As mentioned above.

6. Zhao Guangfeng

Zhao Guangfeng's great-grandfather Zhao Zhi was the governor of Lingnan East Road; his grandfather Zhao Cunyue was the prosecutor of Xingyuan Prefecture (equivalent to the president of the Municipal Intermediate People's Court); his father Zhao Yin was the prime minister during the reigns of Emperor Yizong and Emperor Xizong.

Zhao Yin was a humble man. His family was poor in his early years. He and his brothers worked hard to support their family by farming. No matter how hard or tired they were, they never asked for help from relatives and friends. After becoming a prime minister, he did not forget his roots. After leaving the court and returning home, he took off the court dress that symbolized power and status and changed into casual clothes.

Zhao Guangfeng was not only intelligent and studious, but also inherited his father's low-key and humble character, and was very rule-abiding. People nicknamed him "Yujiechi" to describe his integrity and gentleness, and his words and deeds that set an example for the world.

Once, a female Taoist priest deposited 20 taels of gold in his home. Later, the world was in chaos and the female Taoist priest unfortunately died in a foreign land. Twenty years later, Zhao Guangfeng handed over the 20 taels of gold to the local chief executive and requested the government to deliver the gold to the local Taoist temple. People were surprised to find that the seal on the gold from 20 years ago was intact.

Three generations of the Zhao family can be regarded as moral models.

Zhao Guangfeng passed the imperial examination during the reign of Emperor Xizong and later became a Hanlin imperial scholar. When the "Three Garrisons Invaded the Palace", Emperor Zhaozong went to Shimen, but Zhao Guangfeng did not follow him. Emperor Zhaozong sent eunuchs to order him to come to the palace, but Zhao Guangfeng claimed to be ill and did not go.

Later, due to political turmoil, Zhao Guangfeng resigned from his post and lived in seclusion for five or six years. Later, one of his students was given an important position, so he entered the court and became an official again.

This student was Liu Can, and Zhao Guangfeng was the chief examiner when Liu Can passed the imperial examination.

Zhao Guangfeng was a man of few desires. He was not greedy for high positions and generous salaries, and he was even more tired of the dirty political arena. Although he was promoted to prime minister after Zhu Wen usurped the Tang Dynasty, he repeatedly submitted petitions to resign and insisted on retiring. He finally retired as the Prince's Grand Tutor. After Zhu Wen's death, his son Zhu Youzhen ascended the throne and appointed him as prime minister again. Zhao Guangfeng submitted petitions seven times, resigned on the grounds of illness, and retired as the Minister of Rites. Two years later, the emperor discovered that his bones were still there, and appointed him as prime minister again. After the Later Tang Dynasty destroyed the Later Liang Dynasty, it still valued Zhao Guangfeng, and Zhao Guangfeng kept resigning on the grounds of illness. Finally, during the reign of Mingzong, the second emperor of the Later Tang Dynasty, he was able to retire as the Grand Tutor. He was granted the title of Duke of Qi and died in Luoyang. He was posthumously awarded the title of Grand Tutor.

Zhao Guangfeng's younger brother Zhao Guangyin also became the prime minister in the early years of the Later Tang Dynasty. Once, Zhao Guangyin visited his brother Zhao Guangfeng's house and accidentally talked about current affairs. The next day, Zhao Guangfeng wrote four big characters on the gate: Don't talk about state affairs! He was so cautious.

Zhao Guangfeng served as prime minister in two dynasties (Later Liang and Later Tang). He insisted on retiring four times and had a good character. He lived up to the elegant title of "Jade Ruler" and was free from vulgar tastes. All the literati and officials respected him as a moral model and code of conduct.

(End of this chapter)