History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 226 Li Cunxu's Test
【Li Cunxu's Test】

Li Kening, Li Keyong's only surviving brother, was a veteran of the Hedong Group. He had made great contributions and was highly respected. His presence made the transfer of the highest power in the Hedong Group uncertain, and it was still unknown whether Li Cunxu could succeed to the throne smoothly.

There are several famous stories of entrusting orphans to others in history. The most widely circulated one is Liu Bei's entrusting orphans to others at Baidi City, which fully reflects Liu Bei's political wisdom:

When Liu Bei was dying, Prime Minister Zhuge Liang had a very high prestige and posed a direct threat to the succession of the young lord Liu Chan, so Liu Bei directly proposed to Zhuge Liang to replace Liu Chan.

Would Zhuge Liang dare to agree immediately? For both public and private reasons, and for both reason and emotion, Zhuge Liang had to say "no", and Liu Bei did not need to be polite again and again. Since you are not qualified, then you should assist my son well.

Before his death, Liu Bei put a moral curse on Zhuge Liang. Even if Zhuge Liang overcame his psychological barriers and wanted to succeed him, he would not be recognized by the civil and military officials. A false courtesy paved the way for his son.

In contrast, Li Keyong directly designated his son Li Cunxu to succeed him. On the surface, this was for his son's benefit, but in reality it left his son with a huge hidden danger.

At that time, the Hedong Group was facing a huge threat from the Later Liang army. Li Cunxu had not achieved any achievements and was young. Most of the generals in the group had serious doubts about Li Cunxu's ability. They all wanted an older, experienced, senior and prestigious person... such as Comrade Li Kening, to lead everyone out of the predicament.

Li Keyong had many adopted sons, organized into the "Independent Regiment of Godsons" (Yi'er Army). They were all older than Li Cunxu, and had followed Li Keyong in battles for many years, had made countless contributions, and had a large number of troops in their hands. When they heard that their godfather had handed over the military and political power to Li Cunxu, they all expressed dissatisfaction. Why should they listen to this kid? Who is he? When my brother followed the King of Jin to fight in the south and the north, he was still wearing open-crotch pants!
At Li Cunxu's inauguration ceremony, they either claimed to be sick and stayed at home and refused to attend; even if they attended, they refused to salute Li Cunxu, openly challenging Li Cunxu's authority.

In short, Li Cunxu's support rate was almost zero. The voices calling for Li Kening to succeed him were getting louder and louder. The Hedong Group was undercurrent, and Li Cunxu's position was in jeopardy.

Li Keyong did not follow Liu Bei's example, so Li Cunxu had to make up for him.

Li Cunxu offered to give up his position to his uncle Li Kening, "I am young and ignorant, and I am not up to the task. Uncle, please take over."

Li Kening glared at him, "Nonsense! You are the eldest son, you should inherit. Besides, it is the order of the previous king, who dares not to obey?"

Civil and military officials were waiting outside. Li Cunxu lacked the courage to come out and face his father. He just cried loudly in front of his father's coffin, using filial piety to cover up his shame. The eunuch Zhang Chengye, the military supervisor, entered the mourning hall and said, "Completing the last wish of the late king is the greatest filial piety. What's the point of crying?" Then he helped Li Cunxu out to face the officials.

If there had been cameras back then, a photo would have been produced that would have won the Pulitzer Prize for Journalism. It would have been a historic moment with political metaphors: Zhang Chengye helped Li Cunxu ascend the throne.

The reason why Li Cunxu was unwilling to come out was because he lacked the confidence. He was very worried about the following embarrassing situation: the ministers stood instead of kneeling and collectively refused to recognize Li Cunxu's status.

His worries are not unnecessary.

As expected, everyone looked at Li Kening, as if with just one look from Li Kening, everyone would pull Li Cunxu down from the throne and nominate Li Kening to succeed him. At this critical moment, Li Kening lifted his sleeves, knelt down first, kowtowed to Li Cunxu, and swore allegiance. Then, everyone knelt down and kowtowed.

We will call the Shatuo nobles headed by Li Kening the "old gang". They were born in noble families (Shatuo tribe), had rich experience (followed Li Keyong to enter the pass), had outstanding achievements, held heavy troops, and controlled the real power of Hedong. They had absolute say in the Hedong Group and could be said to be the founders and original shareholders of the Hedong Group. However, they were often arrogant and lawless, and were unwilling to submit to Li Cunxu.

The new generation of leadership represented by Li Cunxu can be called the "Prince Gang". Their disadvantages in front of the "old gang" are particularly obvious. They have almost no real power in their hands and their only basis for existence is the majesty of Li Keyong's last words.

Comparing the two, we can see that Li Cunxu was in a dangerous situation, walking on thin ice.

Since ancient times, heroes have been young.

Li Cunxu struck while the iron was hot and, while Li Keyong's body was still warm and his echoes were lingering in the air, paid tribute to Liu Bei's entrustment of his son to Li Kening at Baidi City. He temporarily stabilized Li Kening, the representative of the "old gang", and smoothly passed the first hurdle: the power transfer ceremony.

Next, Li Cunxu began to disintegrate and weaken the "Old Gang".

It is still the same old saying: a new emperor appoints new ministers. However, under the huge disparity in power, Li Cunxu did not dare to directly purge the "old gang", so Li Cunxu adopted the method of using the power of others to defeat them, and appointed Li Cunzhang as the military city envoy of Hedong, the cavalry and infantry commander, which was equivalent to the captain of the gendarmerie, the captain of the urban management team, and the senior disciplinary official.

Li Cunzhang, one of the "first heroes of the uprising", the adopted son of Li Keyong, supported Li Guochang and Li Keyong in launching a rebellion in Yunzhou with Kang Junli, Xue Zhiqin and others. He is the most loyal of the Hedong Group and now he is one of the loyal ministers entrusted with the care of the orphan. He has a very high reputation and voice within the Hedong Group. At the same time, he is upright and strict in law enforcement.

Li Cunxu's intention in assigning this job to Li Cunzhang was obvious, which was to use Li Cunzhang to strike a heavy blow against the arrogant and domineering "Old Gang".

The Shatuo nobles had been bullying and committing crimes for a long time, and Li Keyong had always been indulgent and acquiescent towards them, which encouraged their arrogance. During the "Three Sieges of Taiyuan", Li Cunxu warned his father Li Keyong that they must be restrained, but Li Keyong clearly refused. The reasons were simple: first, they were the backbone of the Hedong Group and important employees and could not be dismissed; second, they had made significant contributions and their merits outweighed their faults; third, the group was undervalued and if the discipline was too strict, they would jump ship and resign without hesitation.

Now, Li Cunxu placed his hopes on Li Cunzhang, explained the righteousness of the cause to him, and asked Li Cunzhang to help rectify military discipline and uphold justice.

Li Cunzhang lived up to expectations and was impartial. He had zero tolerance for criminals (especially the "old gang"), and he dealt with both tigers and flies. He gave strict and severe sentences. The more significant the merits, the heavier the sentence (death penalty). As a result, in less than a month, the unhealthy trends in society came to an abrupt end. No one picked up lost items on the road, and no one locked their doors at night. Everyone obeyed the law and built a harmonious society.

Li Cunzhang was known as the "honest official", while Li Cunxu, hiding behind the scenes, quietly weakened the "old gang".

(End of this chapter)