History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 223 Xu and Zhang split
It's the same old saying. Although Xu Wen and Zhang Hao were both important ministers entrusted with the care of the young emperor, Xu Wen was, after all, a "Luzhou direct descendant". While Yang Xingmi was promoting him, he was always on guard against and suppressing him. However, Zhang Hao, a surrendered general and a capricious villain, was thriving in Yang Xingmi's group.

Therefore, Xu Wen’s current strength does not support him to confront Zhang Hao head-on, and he must get enough help.

Yan Keqiu secretly lobbied generals who were friendly with Zhang Hao, such as Li Chengsi, the former Hedong aid general (who was now Zhang Hao's deputy), saying that Zhang Hao was narrow-minded and difficult to work with. The only person who could check and balance him was Xu Wen, but Zhang Hao wanted to exclude and eliminate him. It would be no good for us if Zhang Hao took over power.

Li Chengsi and others expressed their agreement.

Afterwards, Yan Keqiu met with Zhang Hao and pointed out the truth, saying that there was a widespread rumor outside that you wanted to kill Xu Wen, so you sent him away. Now the army is in panic, and everyone is guessing who your next target will be... Rumors are scary!
Zhang Hao certainly couldn't admit that he had the intention to murder Xu Wen. "The lord sent him, what does it have to do with me? Besides, the order has been issued, what can I do?"

Of course there is a way.

"Okay, as long as you don't want to harm Xu Wen, I have a way to help you stabilize the morale of the troops." Zhang Hao could only suffer in silence at the charm of language.

The next day, Zhang Hao, Li Chengsi, Yan Keqiu and others held a farewell party for Xu Wen. Before they had finished their polite greetings, Yan Keqiu's face suddenly changed drastically, and he glared and cursed, "Xu Wen, you are such a ruthless person! How can the Yang family treat you so poorly? The young lord has just ascended the throne, and the country is in doubt. It is a time of turmoil. At this critical moment, you only care about your own happiness and abandon the young lord. Are you worthy of the late king? Are you worthy of your conscience?"

It seemed like a barrage of scolding to Xu Wen, but it actually left Zhang Hao confused.

Xu Wen quickly complained, "I'm sorry, it's my fault. I just want to retire and enjoy a good life... Well, then I will work hard for another two years and serve the young master like a slave to repay the Yang family's kindness."

I won’t go to Runzhou.

Zhang Hao then realized that these two people were acting as a double act and teaming up to fool me!

Then, Zhang Hao's brutal side was revealed again, and he sent assassins to kill Yan Keqiu.

Late at night, the assassin appeared in front of Yan Keqiu and saluted, "I'm really sorry for the order from the Lord. I will serve you and help you get promoted."

Yan Keqiu remained calm and said, "I know I will die today, so I ask you to slow down and let me leave a last letter to bid farewell to my lord."

The assassin agreed.

So, with a steel knife pressing on his neck, Yan Keqiu wrote furiously, leaving a suicide letter to the young master Yang Wei.

The assassin sent by Zhang Hao was a man of both civil and military skills, well-educated, and a believer in loyalty and righteousness. When he saw the tragic and heroic words written by Yan Keqiu, he burst into tears, threw the steel knife aside, and said with a folded hand: "You are a good man. I really can't bear to kill you."

Then, the assassin proposed a solution, which was to take Yan Keqiu's property back and report back, saying that Yan Keqiu himself had not been found.

The next day, the assassin handed Yan Keqiu's property to Zhang Hao, saying that the target person did not show up and he just stole some treasures from their house.

Zhang Hao was furious. He threw the treasures to the ground and shouted: "What do I want these treasures for? I want Yan Keqiu's head!" At this time, Zhang Hao should hate himself for not sending Ji Xiang to carry out the mission.

He won't get another chance.

Yan Keqiu found Xu Wen and told him about the shocking scene last night. Since Zhang Hao has already killed someone, we can't just sit there and wait for death.

Xu Wen and Yan Keqiu secretly summoned 30 of their trusted aides, including Zhong Taizhang, and swore to kill Zhang Hao. That morning, Zhong Taizhang led his men into Zhang Hao's office and chopped him off without saying a word. Zhang Hao and his close officials were beheaded in an instant. Afterwards, Ji Xiang was arrested.

Xu Wen summoned civil and military officials and announced in public the truth about Yang Wo's murder: Zhang Hao instructed Ji Xiang and others to do it!

Then, the murderer Ji Xiang was tied up and taken to a busy street, where he was torn into pieces by five horses.

Xu Wen led the civil and military officials to meet with Lady Shi and report that the main culprits of the murder of their lord, Zhang Hao and Ji Xiang, had been executed.

Madam Shi was already frightened out of her wits, knowing that this series of bloody events were all for the purpose of seizing power, so she begged Xu Wen bitterly, saying that we, an orphan and a widow, do not understand politics, nor dare to understand it, so you can take whatever you want, and only ask that you spare my and my lives and allow us to return to our hometown in Luzhou to live out the rest of our lives.

Zhang Hao and Xu Wen were in control of the Ya Army in the Huainan Group, with Zhang Hao as the commander of the Left Ya Army and Xu Wen as the commander of the Right Ya Army. Originally, the Left and Right Ya Army were equivalent to the headquarters guards, or the lord's bodyguards, so once the two conspired, it would only take a few minutes to assassinate the lord.

Before taking action, Xu Wen suggested to Zhang Hao that the mixed organization of the Left and Right Ya armies would make operations inconvenient, and it would be better to use a single force for easier command and dispatch. He also suggested using his own Right Ya Army to carry out the mission.

Zhang Hao was narrow-minded and worried that Xu Wen would take the opportunity to seize the fruits of victory for himself, so he flatly refused.

Xu Wen continued, "Then just use your Zuo Ya Army."

"it is good!"

From the very beginning of the conspiracy, Xu Wen had already set a trap for Zhang Hao.

Therefore, the murder of Yang Wo, the three questions in the palace, and a series of other actions were all participated in by Zhang Hao's Zuo Ya Army. As a result, such a situation was created: except for Zhang Hao himself, almost no one knew that Xu Wen was also one of the culprits of the murder.

The simple-minded Zhang Hao was actually very happy about this situation, because in this way, Xu Wen could not compete with him for the fruits of victory. Therefore, Zhang Hao staged the "Three Questions in the Palace" to strike while the iron is hot, establish his position as the top leader in the Huainan Group, and reap the fruits of victory alone.

Now, Zhang Hao, who is in hell, should have completely woken up.

After a thorough investigation by the relevant departments, it was found that all the soldiers of the Zuoya Army participated in the murder of their master. Therefore, the special investigation team, the Supreme Court, and the Procuratorate gave the final investigation results: Zhang Hao murdered Yang Wo, and Xu Wen was completely unaware of it. In order to achieve the purpose of usurping power, Zhang Hao excluded and framed Xu Wen, who was a senior official entrusted with the care of the young emperor...

Zhang Hao is a jerk, Xu Wen is a hero.

After getting rid of Zhang Hao, Xu Wen took over Zhang Hao's military power and became the commander of the left and right Yadu. The 12-year-old Yang Wei became a complete puppet, and the military and political power was firmly in Xu Wen's hands.

Historical records also show that before Yan Keqiu defeated the "Three Questions of the Palace", Xu Wen had made a similar suggestion, saying that our previous conspiracy was too simple, Yangzhou was too far away from Bianzhou, and the round trip time was too long. From the time we killed Yang Wo to the time we received Zhu Wen's canonization, it would be difficult for us to suppress the situation. It would be more troublesome if we supported the young Yang Wei as a puppet and make plans later.

It has to be said that Xu Wen was playing a big game and playing Zhang Hao to his heart's content. We can even boldly speculate that when Xu Wen planned to kill Yang Wo, he had already designed a plan to silence Zhang Hao. From the beginning, Xu Wen was standing in the perspective of God.

After Xu Wen came to power, he promoted Yan Keqiu to be the military commander of Yangzhou, and handed over military affairs to him, while the financial affairs were handed over to Luo Zhixiang. He rectified military discipline and implemented benevolent policies, changing the cruel and tyrannical rule of Zhang Hao's period. The people praised him and lived and worked in peace. Yan Keqiu and Luo Zhixiang were also praised by the people as "Yan Luo".

The Huainan region has ushered in a new look and is moving towards a new era.

(End of this chapter)