History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 23 Wei Baoheng's Rise

When a team is buoyant, every member of it will contribute to it, and as the saying goes, many hands make light work, the team will be full of vitality and prosper; but when it is declining, every member of it will intentionally or unintentionally add fuel to the fire, and as the saying goes, when the wall falls, everyone pushes it down, and the team will fall into an abyss from which there is no recovery.

Especially when a dynasty is heading towards its demise, people can always find a lot of facts from various angles and aspects to prove their own point of view, "such and such dynasty perished because of such and such thing or such and such person." Historians also often summarize and attribute the decline of a certain dynasty to the monarch's debauchery and tyranny, the harem's meddling in politics, external relatives seizing power, eunuchs' disorderly politics, powerful vassal states, foreign invasions, peasant uprisings... Sometimes just one of these can be fatal, and sometimes all five are present.

For example, the Tang Dynasty. Although it was once a powerful dynasty, it is now in decline and is now plagued by many problems. It is powerless to recover and cannot withstand any disturbance. Any seemingly inadvertent action will be infinitely magnified by the "butterfly effect" and eventually become destructive.

Yan Qingfu planted a seed of destruction for the Tang Dynasty, and just a month ago, another person in the court also planted a seed. The two seeds are sister seeds, and soon they will bloom into twin flowers.

The one who planted this seed was the son-in-law of the emperor, Wei Baoheng.

Wei Baoheng's father and grandfather had served as officials in Beijing. In the fifth year of Xiantong (864), Wei Baoheng also succeeded in becoming a Jinshi (a minor official of the eighth rank).

In terms of origin, Wei Baoheng was from a family of officials; in terms of education, he was a successful Jinshi; in terms of appearance, he was a handsome young man (this was very important). Moreover, he was good at observing people's expressions, was smart and intelligent, and was a good material for flattery.

At that time, the Right Censor-in-Chief belonged to the Secretariat, while the Left Censor-in-Chief belonged to the Ministry of Personnel. Their main responsibilities were to make remonstrations and recommend talents, and their rank was above the eighth rank (the Left Censor-in-Chief was slightly higher than the Right Censor-in-Chief, so Wei Baoheng was indeed an insignificant eighth rank official).

In the first month of the tenth year of Xiantong (869), Wei Baoheng ushered in an important turning point in his life. He married a real "white, rich and beautiful" woman - Princess Tongchang.

Princess Tongchang was the most beloved daughter of Emperor Yizong of Tang, bar none. Her mother was the most beloved concubine of Emperor Yizong of Tang, Consort Guo Shufei.

Emperor Yizong of Tang favored Princess Tongchang not only because "a son's status is determined by his mother's status."

At the beginning, the previous emperor Tang Xuanzong liked the fourth son Li Zi the most and disliked the eldest son Li Wen, so Li Wen was always trembling with fear before he ascended the throne, fearing that his life might be in danger at any time.

Princess Tongchang was born during that period. It is said that when she was nearly 10 years old, she could not speak and people thought she was dumb. When Emperor Xuanzong of Tang died and the princes (especially Li Wen) were in a state of panic, the "little dumb" suddenly said to her father Li Wen, "You must live!"

Everyone in the palace was shocked. At this time, the eunuch group gained the upper hand, successfully squeezed out the ministers of state, and forged an imperial edict to support Li Wen to ascend the throne. After Li Wen ascended the throne, he changed his name to Li Yu, that is, Emperor Yizong of Tang.

From then on, Princess Tongchang was regarded as a god-given lucky star by Emperor Yizong of Tang and was loved even more.

When Princess Tongchang got married, her dowry was extremely luxurious, with mountains of gold and silver, which need not be elaborated. The degree of luxury of this wedding was one of the best in the entire history of China.

Wei Baoheng married a princess, and her dowry included not only countless gold, silver and treasures, but also something even more enviable - a rocket.

Rockets promotion!

Wei Baoheng was promoted from Right Picker of Relics (8th rank, upper) to Recorder (6th rank, upper), then to Left Counselor, Assistant Minister of War (4th rank, lower), and Co-Prime Minister, and of course the exclusive title of "Prime Minister". It took him only one year and three months to rise from an 8th rank official to Prime Minister.

The reason why Wei Baoheng was able to rise so quickly was not only due to his undoubted nepotism, but also had a lot to do with his ability to curry favor with others.

As early as the year before he married Princess Tongchang, the magistrate of Huayin County falsely accused the former prime minister and current Xuanshe Surveillance Commissioner Yang Shou. Wei Baoheng, the then censor, seized the opportunity and accused Yang Shou of corruption and bribery. Yang Shou was immediately demoted.

It is the duty of the censors to expose officials for corruption and bribery, which is neither to be blamed nor to be praised. However, a careful analysis of Comrade Wei Baoheng's work this time will reveal the ugly face hidden behind the mask of justice and outspokenness.

Yang Shou is said (according to himself) to be a descendant of Yang Su, Duke of Yue and a founding hero of the Sui Dynasty.

Yang Shou had a very rough childhood and was a miserable child. He lost his father at the age of 7 and his family was poor. His mother, Mrs. Changsun, was a cultured person who taught him to read. At the age of 13, he was known as a "child prodigy". He was well-read, had excellent writing skills, and could compose a poem in seven steps.

His older half brother Yang Fa once teased him, saying that he heard that he could compose a poem in seven steps, so he should write a poem on the theme of frogs. Yang Shou immediately started to write:

"There are jade trees beside the rabbit, and bronze instruments shine at the bottom of the dragon.

We should all join hands to promote the idea, and no longer ask whether it is official or private. "

The elder brother asked about pens again, and Yang Shou answered casually:

“Even though it’s not in my pocket, why can’t I get through it?

Once he takes charge of government affairs, he will surely be crowned the best among the three officials."

His sharp mind and domineering personality doomed him to an extraordinary life.

The child prodigy Yang Shou was reluctant to take the imperial examination because his half brother Yang Jia had not passed the imperial examination yet and he did not want to overshadow his half brother. During the Kaicheng period, Yang Jia finally passed the imperial examination. In the winter of that year, Yang Shou came to Chang'an. The next year, he passed the imperial examination in one fell swoop. The "child prodigy" was so confident.

Later, Yang Shou met a noble man, Prime Minister Du Chong (Du Yan's elder brother), who admired Yang Shou's literary talent and began to promote him. Yang Shou was able to enter the sight of the upper class.

Then, he was spotted by another talent scout, Prime Minister Xiahou Zi. With the joint recommendation of Du Chong and Xiahou Zi, Prime Minister Linghu Tao finally promoted Yang Shou to the position of Imperial Academy Bachelor, and from then on, he entered the central government.

Good things came one after another. The great eunuch Yang Xuanjia at that time also valued Yang Shou very much because they were from the same clan. Now, the civil service group (three prime ministers) and the eunuch group all regarded Yang Shou as their own. Comrade Yang Shou was very good at dealing with people in the officialdom, and his career was promoted step by step, and he finally became the prime minister.

Fortune comes and misfortune lies, and misfortune lies.

Yang Shou's rapid rise to prominence aroused the envy, jealousy and hatred of his colleagues. He himself became somewhat arrogant as his career went smoothly. He began to indulge in luxury and pleasure. The doormen and servants in his household also took advantage of his power, which made his colleagues even more disgusted.

At the same time, all the gods and masters had to bribe the eunuch Yang Xuanjia. As Yang Xuanjia's favorite, Yang Shou became the key link in corruption and bribery. This made Yang Shou overwhelmed, and Yang Xuanjia was very dissatisfied with this, thinking that Yang Shou was not loyal to him and was not obedient enough (thinking that he betrayed him).

Over time, Yang Xuanjia's attitude towards Yang Shou changed 180 degrees, from support to oppression.

Without the protection of his patron, Yang Shou immediately became the target of public criticism, and his tragic fate began. He was first dismissed from his post and banished from the court, and then he was bullied by dogs in a desperate situation.

Therefore, it is not difficult to understand why a small county magistrate dared to publicly accuse the former Premier of the State Council and current vice-provincial-level official, and it was a false accusation.

It was at this moment that Wei Baoheng, an eighth-rank official, bravely stepped forward to report and expose Yang Shou's past illegal and criminal activities.

Unlike the small county magistrate, Wei Baoheng was very scheming. He had already collected irrefutable evidence of Yang Shou's illegal activities, and his political sense, which was more sensitive than a dog's, told him that now was the time to take action.

This shows that Wei Baoheng is good at taking advantage of opportunities.

He earned himself a good reputation for not fearing power and daring to speak out, and even caught the attention of the senior leader (the great eunuch Yang Xuanjia). "Well, the young man has good vision and can get things done."

So, Wei Baoheng happily got Princess Tongchang.

(End of this chapter)