History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 297: Power Means Willfulness

Zhu Shouyin was a servant of Li Cunxu. He was cunning, strong, brave and fierce. Li Cunxu organized the servants into a "Changzhi Army" led by Zhu Shouyin. Zhu Shouyin liked to do spy work the most. He specially investigated the privacy of generals and then reported to Li Cunxu. Therefore, he was regarded as a confidant by Li Cunxu.

Later, Li Cunxu ordered Zhu Shouyin to garrison the important stronghold, Deshengjiacheng, but Wang Yanzhang defeated the enemy in three days.

After the battle, Li Siyuan secretly reported to Li Cunxu, demanding that Zhu Shouyin be held accountable for the defeat and executed. Li Cunxu not only did not punish Zhu Shouyin, but promoted and rewarded him.

Zhu Shouyin and Li Siyuan became enemies because of this, so Li Cunxu asked Zhu Shouyin to monitor Li Siyuan.

However, Zhu Shouyin leaked the secret to Li Siyuan, saying that he was in a high position and had made great achievements, and his situation was very dangerous. It would be best for him to find a way to return to the town as soon as possible and not stay in the capital.

Li Siyuan was a man of integrity and replied that a man of integrity is not afraid of his own shadow.

Many historical materials claim that Zhu Shouyin had a close relationship with Li Siyuan, so he warned him to escape from the tiger's mouth. In fact, this is completely wrong.

Zhu Shouyin lost Deshengjiacheng, and Li Siyuan secretly reported to Li Cunxu, demanding that Zhu Shouyin be beheaded. This happened just two years ago. Li Cunxu showed this secret report to Zhu Shouyin, further provoking Zhu Shouyin's hatred towards Li Siyuan, and then arranged for him to "serve Li Siyuan's daily life", which was nominally to be Li Siyuan's personal servant 24 hours a day, but in reality it was to closely monitor him 24 hours a day. Because Zhu Shouyin hated Li Siyuan, Li Cunxu did not have to worry about Zhu Shouyin being instigated by Li Siyuan.

Then why did Zhu Shouyin leak the secret to Li Siyuan?
The reason is simple: bribery.

As Li Cunxu's confidant, Zhu Shouyin was spoiled and arrogant, and like the actor Jing Jin and others, he became a major target of bribery. There were many loyal people who were framed in order to fight for power, and this will be slowly expanded in the following text.

He wanted to use his position to extort bribes from Li Siyuan. Please carefully listen to his original words to Li Siyuan: "A minister in a high position is in danger, and a minister with outstanding achievements will not be rewarded. You can be said to be in a high position and have made outstanding achievements. You should return to your fiefdom and avoid being involved in the disaster!"

A common way to extort bribes is to scare you first, "You are in danger!" Then, they will gently point out a way out for you, "But it can still be remedied." How to remedy the situation? I leave it to you to figure it out. Is there any need to figure it out? Your savior is right in front of you.

"You should plan to return to your fiefdom", this is the most important sentence. The prerequisite is that we must first understand the general background of the time, such as the actors, eunuchs, Xiao Liu, and the emperor's favorites (such as Zhu Shouyin), etc., who were all prone to soliciting bribes. No matter how big the trouble you were in, as long as they said a few good words for you, you could turn danger into safety. Even Yuan Xiangxian and Duan Ning were able to turn danger into safety, let alone you, Li Siyuan.

Therefore, those who say that Zhu Shouyin and Li Siyuan were close only stayed on the surface of the text and only saw the superficial aspects, which was too superficial.

Li Siyuan was not isolated and helpless in the court. The eunuch Li Shaohong was his good friend. When others framed Li Siyuan, Li Shaohong would always actively defend him.

In addition to his suspicion of Li Jianji and Li Siyuan, there are three other small things that can reveal Li Cunxu's true attitude towards his meritorious generals:

1. In the second year of Zhenming (916), Wang Tan of the Later Liang Dynasty attacked Taiyuan. Zhang Chengye and veteran general An Jinquan climbed the city wall and fought desperately. Li Sizhao sent elite troops to help, and finally defeated Wang Tan and saved Taiyuan. However, afterwards, none of the participants received any commendation, because Li Cunxu was at the front line in Heshuo, and he did not participate in the entire "Taiyuan Defense War".

2. In March of the third year of Tongguang (925), Li Cunxu set out from Weizhou to visit the former battlefields of Desheng, Jiacheng, and Yangcun. At the site of the bloody battle, Li Cunxu was in high spirits, pointing out everything to his entourage and boasting about his bravery and unparalleled achievements.

"When I was a child, I followed the former king across the river, but now I have forgotten it. In spring, the peach blossoms are in full bloom, and I want to take a look. Who followed me?"

Is there a sense of déjà vu of "bro, when I was in England"?
Whether it was Sanchuigang or Taoyuan on the Yellow River, Li Cunxu was subtly conveying this signal to his troops.

The pitiful bones lying by the Wuding River are still the lover in the spring girl's dream. On this land, many loyal and brave soldiers shed blood and sacrificed their lives for Li Cunxu. However, Li Cunxu did not mourn at all, nor did he mention the achievements of other soldiers. If Li Cunxu was allowed to edit the "History of the Later Tang War", I am afraid that the whole book would be about Li Cunxu's highlights.

The sightseeing at the Deshengdu ruins made countless soldiers feel disheartened.

3. When local vassal states such as Gao Jichang of Jingnan came to Beijing to meet the emperor, Li Cunxu would continue to brag about his achievements at the banquet, stretching out his hands for everyone to admire, these hands stained with the blood of the Later Liang soldiers, and personally said: "I destroyed the Later Liang with these ten fingers!"

I, Li Cunxu, was the one who destroyed the Later Liang Dynasty. The other generals were all scum!

So when these envoys and vassal states returned, they all came to the same conclusion: Li Cunxu was complacent, arrogant, neglected his meritorious officials, was stubborn and self-righteous, and his time would not last long!
【Withered cypress blooms again】

In addition to eunuchs and entertainers, Li Cunxu also favored Taoist priests, because Taoist priests always liked to say things that he liked to hear.

In December of the first year of the Tongguang reign (923), a Taoist priest from Taiqing Palace in Bozhou reported: The dead cypress tree in front of the Shengzu Temple had been withered for a long time, and now a new branch has grown. I will present a painting to you.

According to historical records, this ancient tree withered and bloomed again in the second year of Emperor Gaozu of Tang's Wude reign. After the An-Shi Rebellion, it withered and shrank. When Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji returned to Beijing from Shu, its branches and leaves grew again. After that, the country declined and the tree withered again. Now, Li Cunxu has entered Luoyang and revived the Tang Dynasty, so the tree has revived and grown new branches two feet long.

This flattery is well-reasoned, tactful and implicit.

Li Cunxu was very happy and ordered the historian to record this event in the history books. Li Cunxu personally commented and forwarded the message, saying that the regrowth of the dead cypress tree was a sign of the imperial family's restoration, "It is like the willows in the forests above, and its auspicious leaves have already grown in Han Xuan; it is like the good crops in Nandun, and its auspiciousness is even greater than that of Emperor Guangwu."

In his brief edict, Li Cunxu used two famous allusions:

1. Emperor Xuan of Han, Liu Xun, who initiated the "Xiaoxuan Restoration". The dead willow trees in Shanglin Garden came back to life.

2. Emperor Guangwu of Han, Liu Xiu, who initiated the "Guangwu Restoration". It is said that when he was born, the delivery room was full of red light, and a lucky seedling of auspicious rice with nine ears on one stalk was found in the county, which is also the origin of his name "Xiu".

Since the emperor was willing to listen, the Taoists were no longer idle.

Just one month later, in the first month of the second year of Tongguang (924), just before Li Cunxu's sacrifice to the gods, Zhang Chongxu, a Taoist priest at Huaqing Palace in Zhaoying County, Chang'an, said: The dead cypress trees in Tianzun Temple have grown branches and leaves again.

There is no need to over-interpret such things. Whether it is a dead tree reborn or many ears of wheat, although rare, they are ultimately in line with the laws of nature. They are much more credible than a dragon seen in a field, a unicorn flying into the sky, or a thousand-year-old white deer.

The Taoists won the favor of Li Cunxu and gained a certain degree of favor, and also joined the ranks of accepting bribes and interfering in state affairs.

【Concubines】

The size of Li Cunxu's harem is a huge number. There are 18 people included in the "Family Biography" alone, and his actual number of concubines is definitely more than that.

"During the reign of Emperor Zhuangzong, there were many concubines in the harem, including Zhaorong, Zhaoyi, Zhaoyuan, Chushi, Yuzheng, Shizhen, Yicai, Xianyi, Yaofang, Yide, Xuanyi, etc. The rest of the titles are too numerous to mention." - "New History of the Five Dynasties"

The above are just the titles of concubines, i.e. the ranks. There is usually more than one quota under each title, and different historical periods have different names and quotas. The popular saying of "three thousand beauties" is just an exaggeration.

According to Zhou Li, the emperor's wife was called "Queen", and there was only one person, namely the Empress; below her were three wives, nine concubines, twenty-seven ladies, and eighty-one imperial wives.

Since the Zhou Dynasty, there have been improvements in all dynasties, but no matter how they changed, there are two basic rules that remain unchanged: the empress is the head of the harem, and there is only one person; there can be multiple people under the same title, and the titles can be customized according to the emperor's preferences.

There are 11 titles below the above-mentioned "Zhao Rong". The word "etc." tells us that there are more than 11 titles. Another record says that after Li Cunxu was murdered, the concubines fled in all directions. When Zhu Shouyin entered the harem to clean up the mess, he found more than concubines who had not escaped in time.

There are also records saying that Li Cunxu had hundreds of concubines. Combined with multiple indirect records, "hundreds" should be closer to the fact and not an exaggeration.

For example, the previous article cited a large-scale event of recruiting palace maids. In the Heshuo area alone, the actor Jing Jin and the eunuchs brought back more than 3,000 women from the people for Li Cunxu.

When Li Cunxu entered Bianzhou, he forcibly accepted the concubines of the Later Liang Dynasty. At that time, the surviving concubines of the Later Liang royal family knelt on the roadside, crying and greeting the Later Tang army. Li Cunxu selected them one by one as if he was visiting a club. He first took a fancy to Zhu Youyong's wife Shi, and offered to be the taker. Shi was also a chaste and heroic woman, so he loudly scolded her, and Li Cunxu killed her in anger. Later, Li Cunxu took a fancy to Zhu Youzhen's second concubine Zhang. With the previous experience, Zhang "feared and obeyed orders."

This Zhang was Zhu Youzhen's second concubine, the daughter of Zhang Guihou; Zhu Youzhen's wife, Zhang, was the daughter of Zhang Guiba. She did not have time to be canonized as empress, and unfortunately died on the day she was canonized as Defei.

Zhu Youzhen was the emperor for 11 years, and he only had this pair of sisters. Li Cunxu was the emperor for only 3 years, and he had hundreds of concubines. Everyone can see who was the most licentious and lustful, so the Later Tang tried its best to discredit the Later Liang, but it could only put the word "licentious" on Zhu Wen, and it was too embarrassed to impose it on Zhu Youzhen.

【Power means willfulness】

This man standing at the pinnacle of power - Li Cunxu, vents his emotions at will. Does power mean he can do whatever he wants?
Sorry, the power really can do whatever you want.

Li Cunxu once wrestled with Li Cunxian, who deliberately let him win, but was discovered by Li Cunxu. Li Cunxu was very unhappy, so he said to Li Cunxian, "If you can beat me, I will reward you with a military governor!"

So, Li Cunxian finally tried his best and finally won slightly.

In the second year of Tongguang (924), Li Cunshen, the governor of Youzhou and Lulong Army, died of illness. Li Cunxu appointed Li Cunxian as the governor of Youzhou and Lulong Army in accordance with the previous agreement.

Wrestling bets on Jiedushi are no better than Tang Xizong's bets on Sanchuan. Jiedushi is the top military and political leader of a local area, and is also an important town in Youzhou. How can it be played like this?
I don’t care, I’m just so willful.

The second thing was the execution of Yelu Lage.

The best solution for this capricious political prisoner should be to send him back home with courtesy and hand over this hot potato to the Khitan.

There are two benefits to doing this: one is to show a broad mind (empty reputation); the other is to cause trouble within the Khitan (real benefit).

Yelu Lage was Yelu Abaoji's younger brother, and participated in three rebellions against Yelu Abaoji. Sending him back to Khitan was a difficult problem for Yelu Abaoji, and Yelu Abaoji could only suffer in silence, cursing in his heart but thanking the Later Tang Dynasty on the surface.

But Li Cunxu killed his entire family. In this way, Yelu Abaoji could breathe a sigh of relief and thank Li Cunxu for helping him clean up the mess. At the same time, he also had a legitimate reason to invade the south: to avenge my brother!

We can draw an analogy with the stories of Li Kuangwei and Li Kuangchou.

Li Cunxu's momentary desire to avenge his enemies resulted in a huge political mistake.

I don’t care. If I don’t like him, of course I will kill him. I am so willful.

At the beginning of the third year of Tongguang (925), Wang Du, the governor of Yiwu Army in Dingzhou, came to the central government to pay homage. In order to welcome him, Li Cunxu planned to build a square in Weizhou.

Zhang Xian, the governor of Weizhou, submitted a memorial saying that the square in front of the palace's gate was too small and should be expanded. However, Your Majesty built a high platform there to ascend the throne the year before last, and that platform cannot be demolished, so I suggest rebuilding it on the open space to the west of the palace.

It was a massive undertaking and after several days it was still not finished.

Li Cunxu is famous, why not use the ready-made one? It's just a useless platform, tear it down!

Zhang Xian did not dare to challenge Li Cunxu's authority, so he found Guo Chongtao and said, "This high platform is the holy altar where your majesty worships the heaven and accepts the will of heaven. It is of great significance. How can it be easily demolished?"

Guo Chongtao agreed with this, so he took advantage of Li Cunxu's good mood and carefully advised him.

After hearing this, Li Cunxu smiled coldly, "Is it because of that high platform? Haha, then let's do it quickly." He immediately ordered his personal guards to become a demolition team, "Tear it down now!"

Zhang Xian privately said to Guo Chongtao: "Forgetting the grace of the gods and abandoning the foundation of the empire is the most ominous sign!"

The two of them sighed to each other and shook their heads silently.

I am so willful that I would tear down the platform on which I ascended the throne with my own hands.

As if Zhang Xian's words were true, there was a severe drought since the beginning of spring, and in June, the weather was extremely hot. Li Cunxu wanted to find a place to escape the heat, but he could not find a satisfactory place after searching the entire palace.

At this time, the eunuchs, who were considerate of others, began to use history to satirize the present. "In the past, when Chang'an was at its peak, there were hundreds of palaces and towers in the palace. Today, the emperor doesn't even have a place to escape the summer heat. The scale of your majesty's palace is not even comparable to the private residences of the ministers back then."

So Li Cunxu ordered the construction of a new tall building to escape the summer heat.

The eunuchs reminded Li Cunxu that Guo Chongtao would most likely dissuade him, citing insufficient funds as the reason, so His Majesty should think of a response in advance.

Sure enough, after Guo Chongtao got the news, he wrote a memorial to the emperor to advise the country to cherish the country's strength, to cherish the people's money, and so on... these were the heartfelt words of a loyal minister.

Li Cunxu replied: This time I am using my own money and not spending a single penny from the public sector.

Everyone knows that this is a self-deception. Li Cunxu also felt that his explanation was too shameless, so he sent eunuchs to communicate further, saying that I am not a person who seeks pleasure and comfort. When I confronted the Houliang army along the river before, the garrison was low-lying and extremely humid, but I could still ride on a warhorse, wearing heavy armor, galloping around without feeling the heat and could still endure it; but now the climate is abnormally hot, like a fire, and it is really unbearable.

Guo Chongtao replied, "That's because the powerful enemy was right in front of you, and your Majesty was so focused on revenge that you could forget about the hot weather. But now the powerful enemy has been eliminated, and everyone in the world has surrendered. So, even with the gorgeous palace and comfortable towers, your Majesty still feels bored. If your Majesty can keep his original intention in mind, the heat will disappear."

You are fallen, sire!
Li Cunxu was speechless. However, the real estate project did not come to a standstill because of this. More than 10,000 people participated in the construction every day, and the expenditure was measured in billions.

Guo Chongtao submitted another memorial, saying that the fiscal deficit was now serious and even military rations and salaries were a problem. If His Majesty insisted on building a building, it would be better to wait until after the autumn harvest to allow the finances to flow first.

Li Cunxu also did not respond. The project continued.

I don’t care about whether there is a fiscal deficit or not, I am just so willful.

(End of this chapter)