History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 270 The Founding of the Later Tang Dynasty 1 The Imperial Seal
【Later Tang established 1 imperial seal】

In the first month of the fourth year of Qianhua (914), Li Cunxu captured and killed Liu Rengong and Liu Shouguang, and his power was so great that it shook Hebei. Wang Rong's staff reminded him, "Your Majesty, you have the title of 'Shangshu Ling', which was conferred by the Later Liang regime. Now that Your Majesty follows Li Cunxu of Hedong and becomes an enemy of the Later Liang, you should not keep the title of the Later Liang. Moreover, since Emperor Taizong Li Shimin, no one has dared to accept the title of 'Shangshu Ling'. Now Li Cunxu is the leader in Hebei. Although he has made great contributions, his position is very low. You might as well transfer the title to him."

After hearing this, Wang Rong broke out in a cold sweat, "Yes, yes, yes, why didn't I think of that!" So he joined forces with Wang Chuzhi of Dingzhou and sent envoys to visit Taiyuan to jointly support Li Cunxu as the Minister of the Chancellery.

According to the old rules, Li Cunxu declined three times and then accepted it. He also followed the old example of Emperor Taizong Li Shimin and set up a local power agency representing the central government - the Xingtai. From then on, Li Cunxu could issue orders in the name of the Tang Dynasty emperor.

Obviously, Li Cunxu's acceptance of the "Shangshu Ling" and the establishment of the Xingtai were both illegal. Let's not talk about whether the "Shangshu Ling" can be transferred. Wang Rong's Shangshu Ling was conferred by the Later Liang Dynasty. Now that Li Cunxu and Wang Rong do not recognize the Later Liang regime, the "Shangshu Ling" does not exist at all. However, under the influence of Wang Rong's desire to survive and Li Cunxu's vanity, all parties reached a tacit understanding and deliberately avoided the most critical and fundamental issue of legal correctness.

Accepting the title of "Shangshu Ling" was an important milestone in Li Cunxu's enthronement.

By the seventh year of Zhenming (921), Li Cunxu had won successive victories in the war against Later Liang, and his control continued to expand, almost controlling all the land north of the Yellow River, and gained great prestige.

Therefore, the Former Shu, which had already proclaimed itself emperor, and the Southern Wu (Huainan), which had recently proclaimed itself emperor, repeatedly wrote to Li Cunxu, urging him to ascend the throne and become emperor as soon as possible and join the emperor's circle of friends.

Li Cunxu forwarded these letters to the officials around him and commented: "In the past, Tai Shi Wang also constantly advised my father to ascend the throne and become emperor, saying that the Tang Dynasty had perished and we should each become emperor and dominate our own side. My father told him, 'When Li Maozhen led his troops to invade the palace, Emperor Zhaozong visited Shimen and I led the army to kill the traitor. At that time, Hedong was famous throughout the world. If I took the opportunity to hold the emperor hostage to command the princes and occupy Guanzhong, and write a Nine Gifts Abdication Edict myself, wouldn't it be wonderful? It's because my family has been loyal and filial for generations, and we would rather die than usurp the throne.' My father also taught me that in the future I must support the Tang Dynasty and not learn from these guys (Zhu Wen, Wang Jian)! To this day, these words are still ringing in my ears." As he spoke, Li Cunxu burst into tears and sobbed.

Li Cunxu's words were high-sounding, but he also made insinuations, implying that Zhuge Liang had usurped the Tang Dynasty. We can also see that Li Cunxu addressed Wang Jian as "Wang Taishi", which was Wang Jian's official position in the Tang Dynasty. Li Cunxu was actively maintaining the Tang Dynasty's cultural relics system, so he only recognized the Tang Dynasty's canonization and appointment.

At the same time, it can also be seen that the Hedong Group had conducted a deep reflection on the incident of returning to Taiyuan after the "Xing Shimen" incident. They also believed that they should have used the emperor to control the princes and should not have listened to Gai Yu's womanly kindness.

Listen to the sound of the words and the rhythm of the gongs and drums. Li Cunxu kept saying that he wanted to be a loyal minister of the Tang Dynasty and denounced Zhu's usurpation of power and Wang Jian's separatism. Did he really think so in his heart?
The answer is haha.

Li Cunxu said no, but his body was honest. Accepting the title of "Shangshu Ling" was a strong signal to the outside world.

In the previous article "Three Garrisons Invading the Palace", when talking about Wang Xingyu asking for the title of Shangshu Ling, it has been mentioned that since Emperor Taizong Li Shimin ascended the throne, "Shangshu Ling" became a taboo for the people of the Tang Dynasty. From then on, no one dared to accept this honorary title, and accepting "Shangshu Ling" became an unspoken rule for those who intended to usurp the throne.

After Guo Ziyi put down the "Anshi Rebellion", Emperor Daizong awarded him the title of "Shangshu Ling". Guo Ziyi refused the offer, and Emperor Daizong had no choice but to hand over the story of Guo Ziyi's refusal to accept the title to the historian and ordered it to be included in the national history.

From then on, "Shangshu Ling" became a touchstone of ministers' loyalty, and accepting it meant treason.

Since Li Cunxu has calmly accepted the title of "Shangshu Ling", he has sent a strong political signal to his subordinates. If his subordinates remain indifferent and pretend to be stupid, then they are too ignorant of the ways of the world.

As Li Cunxu won victory after victory in the wars against Later Liang, civil and military officials as well as towns throughout the country (such as Former Shu and Huainan) continued to urge Li Cunxu to follow the will of heaven and ascend the throne as soon as possible.

Li Cunxu refused, saying "I am a Tang official, not a Tang thief", but at the same time he ordered his men to purchase precious jade and carve the emperor's jade seal.

At this time, a monk named "Chenzhen" in Weizhou presented the legendary "Imperial Seal".

The Imperial Seal has been famous since before it was created, and its origin has always been full of mystery. Its predecessor was the "He Shi Bi", the jade piece in the idiom "returning the jade intact to Zhao", which was later engraved by Li Si, the prime minister of Qin State, and later became the emperor's "business license", the only legal token.

Looking through historical records, we can find that this legendary imperial seal has been lost many times. The earliest one was from Qin Shihuang himself. It is said that when he was crossing Dongting Lake, there was a sudden storm. Qin Shihuang was terrified and threw the seal into the lake, praying for the Dragon King's blessing, and then the seal disappeared.

Many years later, it was salvaged and presented again. After Liu Bang became emperor, he obtained the jade seal. According to records, the jade seal was engraved with the eight characters "Received the Mandate from Heaven, Longevity and Health", but the legendary imperial seal should be "Received the Mandate from Heaven, Longevity and Eternal Prosperity". In other words, if the historical materials are all true and there are no typos or omissions, the one in Liu Bang's hand is already a copycat.

When Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty, he demanded the imperial seal from the empress dowager. In a rage, the empress dowager threw the seal on the ground, breaking off a corner. Later, she used gold to repair it, so the imperial seal got a nickname, "gold inlaid with jade". As the saying goes, "one cannot recognize gold inlaid with jade", the "gold inlaid with jade" refers to the imperial seal.

When Dong Zhuo rebelled at the end of the Han Dynasty, the seal was lost again. It was said that it was picked up by Sun Jian from a dry well. Later, it was obtained by Yuan Shu through blackmail. After Yuan Shu's death, the seal came into the hands of Cao Cao...

In the Sui Dynasty, after Emperor Yang of Sui died, the jade seal was taken to Mobei and disappeared from the Central Plains. Li Shimin had to forge the jade seal again. Later, political prisoners of the Sui Dynasty fled back to the Central Plains from Mobei and presented the jade seal to Li Shimin.

Until the end of the Tang Dynasty, when Huang Chao invaded Chang'an, it is said that the whereabouts of the jade seal was unknown again.

Now, Monk Chuanzhen presented the "Jade Seal", saying that it was obtained by his master accidentally when Huang Chao invaded Chang'an. He only knew that it was exquisite but did not know what it was. He had kept it for forty years. Recently, he was short of money, so he thought of selling it in the market. Only then was it recognized and presented to him.

Li Cunxu was very happy. All the civil and military officials congratulated him and held a grand banquet. They did not return until they were drunk.

It is worth mentioning that Wang Jian also had a "Imperial Seal", which was said to have been brought to Chengdu by Tian Lingzi when Emperor Xizong fled to Shu. It was hidden by Tian Lingzi and later discovered and presented to Wang Jian.

There is no need to authenticate the authenticity of these jade seals, because their authenticity is meaningless. It is also just a signal, like the "Shangshu Ling", a pathfinder for ambitious heroes and an important milestone on the road to ascending the throne.

Anyone who intends to become emperor will receive the "Imperial Seal" from the people, and all kinds of auspicious signs will appear in the country. This is the general routine for becoming emperor.

After hearing this signal, Zhang Chengye immediately rushed to Weizhou from Taiyuan and tried his best to persuade Li Cunxu not to have any evil thoughts!

"Your Majesty has been loyal to the Tang Dynasty for generations, so I, an old servant, have served your father and son wholeheartedly for thirty years! Today, Hebei is roughly settled, but the thief Zhu is still there. Can Your Majesty be so eager to become emperor? Your Majesty should first completely eliminate the thief Zhu, avenge the two saints (Zhaozong and Aidi), then find the descendants of the Li Tang royal family, support them to inherit the throne, and then conquer Huainan in the south and Former Shu in the west to restore the former Tang Dynasty!"

Supporting the Tang Dynasty was just Li Cunxu's political slogan. Some things were a matter of course. How could you deceive yourself by lying to others? Zhang Chengye, you are too immersed in the play. Li Cunxu thought so, but he couldn't say it out loud.

Li Cunxu acted very embarrassed, "I don't want to do this either, but you see, they insist on doing this... It's hard to refuse such kindness, and I am in a dilemma."

Li Cunxu laid his cards on the table: he was going to stop pretending and ascend the throne to become emperor.

Li Cunxu, you scumbag, you cheated on me, cheated on my feelings! Zhang Chengye was in agony and burst into tears, "The people of the world fought bloody battles for a common goal: to support the Tang Dynasty! And now you, my king, want to be the emperor yourself..."

Zhang Chengye was innocent and simple, and his loyalty to the Tang Dynasty was moving. Supporting the Tang Dynasty was his lifelong career and pursuit. In order to achieve this grand goal, he assisted Li Keyong and Li Cunxu wholeheartedly, dedicated his best youth (30 years) to the Hedong Group, and worked hard all his life. When the revolution was on the eve of victory, Li Cunxu suddenly betrayed the revolution and stole the fruits of victory... Li Cunxu, you are birds of a feather!
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We cannot understand Zhang Chengye’s pain. His life’s work was destroyed and his spiritual palace collapsed in an instant... It’s too cruel, too cruel.

Zhang Chengye burst into tears and wailed out a heartbreaking sentence: "You have screwed me to death (mistaken me, old slave)!"

After returning to Taiyuan, Zhang Chengye starved himself to death.

(End of this chapter)