History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 298 Love is like a tide
[Inversion of legitimate and illegitimate children]

Li Cunxu was so willful that he violated rites and laws. Within three years, he reversed the order of legitimate and illegitimate children twice.

In the first year of the Tongguang reign (923), Li Cunxu ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. He honored his biological mother, Cao, as the empress dowager and his stepmother, Liu, as the imperial concubine.

Liu Da was Li Keyong's principal wife. In important events such as the Shangyuanyi Incident and the Battle of Taiyuan, Liu Da fully demonstrated her "intelligence and wisdom". In addition, Liu Da was also a great woman who was both civil and military. She was "quite familiar with military affairs" and taught Li Keyong's concubines horse riding, archery, close combat, etc., turning Li Keyong's harem into a group of beautiful bodyguards.

It was a pity that Liu Da was infertile. However, she was a true mother of the country, not jealous, not competing for favor, and never persecuted other concubines who gave birth to sons, treating them all as her own.

Not only did Liu not compete for favor, she also tried her best to recommend her best friend, Cao, to Li Keyong, saying that Cao had a very noble appearance and would definitely give birth to a great son who could be his successor.

Mrs. Cao was also very modest and always respected Mrs. Liu. The two ladies had a deep relationship.

Later, Cao gave birth to Li Cunxu. Since the mother is honored by the son, Li Keyong favored Cao from then on.

According to the traditional system, Liu Da was Li Keyong's wife and should be honored as the Empress Dowager. In the feudal period, if the wife had no son but the concubine had a son, the son would be adopted by the wife and the wife would treat him as her own. After the son succeeded to the throne, the wife would be the Empress Dowager. For example, Empress Dowager Cixi of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Guangxu was her nephew and nephew, but she was still the Empress Dowager, not Emperor Guangxu's biological mother.

But Li Cunxu is so willful. I want my own mother to be the queen mother, who dares to object?

When Prime Minister Lu Zhi was ordered to go to Taiyuan Prefecture to read the enthronement edict, everyone was shocked by Li Cunxu's violation of etiquette.

The eldest Liu was magnanimous and took the initiative to go to Cao's palace to congratulate her. Her face was beaming with joy and blessings from the heart. This made Cao very embarrassed, and the scene was both harmonious and somewhat awkward.

Mrs. Liu took the initiative to comfort Mrs. Cao, saying, "As long as our son (Li Cunxu) can live a long life and enjoy the country forever, and we have people to visit our graves in the afterlife, we will be satisfied. Why should we worry about other things?"

In the first month of the second year of the Tongguang reign (924), Li Cunxu sent his younger brother Li Cunwu and the crown prince Li Jiji to Taiyuan to welcome Empress Dowager Cao and Concubine Dowager Liu to the capital Luoyang.

Mrs. Liu politely declined, saying that the ancestral tombs and temples of the late emperor were all in Taiyuan. If everyone left, there would be no one to offer sacrifices during the holidays. Therefore, she was willing to stay in Taiyuan and pay homage to the tombs of her ancestors (Zhu Ye Zhiyi, Li Guochang, and Li Keyong).

The reversal of the order of legitimate and illegitimate children is like the emperor being deposed as a certain marquis or a certain duke, which is a great shame. How could Liu Shi, who was deposed from the principal wife to a concubine, face the criticism of the civil and military officials in the court? Staying in Taiyuan to seek peace and quiet is also a kind of relief. So she found a high-sounding reason and resolutely stayed in Taiyuan.

Thus, Cao and Liu parted ways.

The two sisters did have true feelings for each other. After they separated, they both fell in love with each other. They lost their appetite and were not moved by the prosperity in front of them. In just three months, they both fell ill.

Especially Mrs. Liu, her condition was serious.

Empress Dowager Cao was very concerned about Liu's health, and sent imperial doctors to Taiyuan to visit her one after another. In April, they received bad news that Liu was bedridden and her condition was not optimistic.

Empress Dowager Cao said to Li Cunxu: "The Concubine Dowager and I are as close as brothers and sisters. Now that the Concubine Dowager is critically ill, I will go to Taiyuan to visit her in person."

Li Cunxu tried hard to persuade the Empress Dowager Cao to leave, citing the hot weather and the dangerous roads as reasons. So, Li Cunxu asked his younger brother Li Cunwu to go to Taiyuan instead of Empress Dowager Cao.

In early May, the bad news came that Concubine Liu died in Taiyuan due to illness and ineffective treatment.

Empress Dowager Cao was in such great pain that she refused to eat or drink for several days and insisted on going to Taiyuan to see her off. During these days, Li Cunxu stayed by Empress Dowager Cao's side, trying to comfort her and ask her to take care of herself.

In July, Empress Dowager Cao died in Luoyang.

The sisterhood between Mrs. Liu and Mrs. Cao has become a story that will be passed down through the ages.

This is one of the ways Li Cunxu reversed the order of legitimate and illegitimate children.

The second is his queen, Xiao Liu.

Li Cunxu's first wife was Han, followed by Yi, and Xiao Liu was only ranked third. However, because a mother is honored by her son, Xiao Liu was favored by Li Cunxu because she gave birth to the prince Li Jiji. Li Cunxu once again had the idea of ​​reversing the order of legitimate and illegitimate children, and wanted to make Xiao Liu his queen.

This idea was opposed from all sides. His mother, Empress Dowager Cao, opposed it, and all the civil and military officials opposed it unanimously.

Later, in order to protect himself, Guo Chongtao reluctantly expressed his support for Xiao Liu to be made empress. Li Cunxu then capriciously appointed Xiao Liu as empress.

Han and Yi were quite dissatisfied, so Li Cunxu named Han as Shufei and Yi as Defei to appease them.

We will analyze the change in Guo Chongtao's attitude later in the text, so we will just briefly mention it here.

【Love is like the tide】

Since the second year of Tongguang (924), there has been a severe drought across the country. Li Cunxu has personally participated in rain-making ceremonies more than once and has repeatedly issued edicts to local officials to organize rain-making ceremonies, but the weather is still dry and hot.

In April, someone recommended a hermit master, the "dragon-subduing master" and the monk Cheng Hui (also known as "Cheng Hui") of Mount Wutai. Legend has it that his mother went to Mount Wutai to pray for blessings, and when she returned home, she found that she was inexplicably pregnant, and the child she gave birth to was Cheng Hui. When Cheng Hui grew up, he vowed not to marry, and resolutely came to the Zhenrong Temple in Mount Wutai, worshipped the monk Fashun as his teacher, and became a monk from then on.

Later, Monk Chenghui traveled around and came to Zhenzhou, where he ate and drank for free. Wang Rong, the then governor of Zhenzhou, did not believe in evil and did not give Monk Chenghui the hospitality he had hoped for. So, this great monk who was based on convenience and compassion publicly threatened Wang Rong, "Amitabha, I have five hundred poisonous dragons. Just wait, I will send one over. With a little breath, it will feed all the people of Zhenzhou to fish and turtles! Good, good!"

As it happened, a flood occurred the following year, destroying part of the city wall of Zhenzhou. The people were horrified and believed that it was the monk Chenghui who was doing something. The saying that the monk Chenghui had the ability to subdue the dragon and call the wind and rain spread widely in the Heshuo area. So Li Cunxu built the "Ciyun Tower" (also known as "Purple Cloud") for him in Luoyang, bestowed the title of "Master of Dharma Rain", and personally led the harem, the emperor's brothers, and the princes to kowtow to the monk Chenghui and ask him to perform a ritual to pray for rain.

Monk Chenghui was not polite at all. He sat on the high platform with a dignified manner and calmly accepted the emperor's family's kneeling worship. Under the leadership of Li Cunxu, all the civil and military officials in the court also knelt down devoutly to Chenghui, except Guo Chongtao who insisted on not bowing.

"Don't panic, the sweet dew will arrive in the morning and evening."

"Please begin your performance."

Master Chenghui performed for more than ten days, but not a drop of rain fell. Someone warned him privately, saying, "The emperor thinks you are talking nonsense and misleading the people, and he plans to burn you to death!"

Sincerity and kindness cannot call the shots, but they can escape in fear.

It is also worth mentioning that in an entry on a well-known domestic search engine, it is said that Monk Chenghui was rewarded by Li Cunxu because he removed harm for the people and moved Li Cunxu. Well, if releasing five hundred poisonous dragons to poison the people of Hebei is also called removing harm for the people, I have no objection.

The monks from outside the city could chant sutras. A high monk from Khotan alarmed Li Cunxu.

Khotan, a Buddhist kingdom in the Western Regions, was an important source of Buddhism’s introduction to the Central Plains. The “foreign monks” produced there were the authentic monks of the place of origin. The Tang Dynasty regarded itself as a great empire and felt superior to others. However, when it came to Buddhism, an imported product, it was willing to worship foreigners and fawn on foreigners. Local monks (such as Xuanzang) had to go to the Western Regions to gild themselves. Only with the blessing of the halo of returning from the Western Regions could they become the top authorities in the country.

The historical records do not record the name of this foreign monk, but only record that he traveled to Mount Wutai and alarmed Li Cunxu, "Zhuangzong led the empress and his sons to greet him", the emperor's entire family personally welcomed him, and then sent eunuchs to take care of his food and daily life, "wherever he went, the city was shaken". And then, nothing happened.

It’s a sin, it’s a sin, well, well.

People spent the first half of the year in agony of drought and heat. After Liu Da passed away, God finally shed a few tears, but when Empress Dowager Cao passed away, God could not stop crying.

"It rained heavily until September. It was cloudy day and night without clearing up. The rivers overflowed, the dikes broke, and the whole country complained about the flood."

Huazhou reported: The Yellow River burst its banks;
Capital: Luo River flooded, destroying Tianjin Bridge, people had to use boats to cross the river, and people were drowning every day. The court had no choice but to change the time of the court session to every three days;
Heyang and Shanzhou reported that the river had overflowed its banks. Shanzhou reported that the Yellow River had risen 22 feet, destroying the floating bridge and entering the city gates, causing people to drown.
Bianzhou reported: The Bian River is rising and may submerge the city... Open the east and west walls of the city and divert water into the ancient river;
Zezhou reported: It has rained heavily for nineteen consecutive days this month;

Xuzhou and Huazhou reported: flood.

This is just the flood situation within one month of Empress Dowager Cao's death. In the following two months (August and September), Weizhou, Fengxiang, Qingzhou, Heyang, Zhenzhou, Weizhou, Xiangzhou and other places successively reported serious floods. Among them, Heyang reported that the Yellow River water rose by 8 feet; Xiangzhou reported that the Han River surged and a large area of ​​houses collapsed...

The kindness of the sisters Liu and Cao moved God. Their love was like a tide that surrounded the people of the world.

In April, Li Cunxu also issued an edict that all prefectures and cities across the country should hold rain-seeking ceremonies. In July, he ordered all prefectures and cities to pray for clear weather. The flood lasted for more than a year, so that the emperor had to avoid the main hall, reduce regular meals, and stop music and save money "to respond to the punishment from heaven."

In August, Li Cunxu personally inspected the progress of the construction of Empress Dowager Cao's Kunling. At that time, Weizhou was also suffering from floods, and the river overflowed, so the government had to open the old river to divert the flood. The floods made the roads muddy and many bridges were damaged.

Li Cunxu was furious and arrested Luo Guan, the county magistrate of Henan County, where Kunling was located, and tortured him severely, beating him to pieces. The next day, he issued an order: exile to Yazhou. As usual, the order to exile was followed by the order to execute him.

Luo Guan was a man of strong character and upright. He never bowed to the powerful. He ignored all the "greetings" from eunuchs and actors, and enforced the law impartially. Guo Chongtao admired him very much. Luo Guan often gave Guo Chongtao evidence of the crimes of eunuchs and actors, and Guo Chongtao passed the evidence to Li Cunxu to persuade him to stay away from treacherous villains.

Luo Guan was also hated by eunuchs and actors because of this.

The opportunity is here.

The blocked roads due to the flood were force majeure, but the eunuchs, actors and Xiao Liu jointly accused Luo Guan of being lazy and inactive, not paying enough attention to the projects related to the empress dowager's mausoleum, and disrespecting the emperor's authority. Li Cunxu then ordered Luo Guan to be executed.

Guo Chongtao advised: "Even if Luo Guan did not repair the road, according to our country's laws, it is not a capital crime!"

Li Cunxu slammed the table and stood up. "The Queen Mother's coffin is about to be transported, and I also want to travel on this road, but the roads and bridges along the way are all damaged. You still say he is innocent? Are you his accomplice?"

This is a bit ridiculous. Guo Chongtao did not say that Luo Guan was not guilty, but only said that his crime was not punishable by death.

Seeing that Li Cunxu was about to make another mistake, Guo Chongtao changed his angle and continued to persuade him, "Your Majesty, as a high-ranking official, is angry at a small county magistrate. How will the people of the world see it? Why would Your Majesty stoop so low?"

"Okay, then I don't care, you can handle it!" After saying that, Li Cunxu flicked his sleeves and went straight back to the palace.

Guo Chongtao followed closely and explained patiently.

Li Cunxu really disregarded etiquette and decency. He turned around and closed the palace door himself, blocking Guo Chongtao from entering.

While Guo Chongtao was explaining himself outside the door, Luo Guan had already been beheaded and his body was dragged outside the county government and exposed to the public. The common people all lamented for Luo Guan's injustice.

In fact, the killing of Luo Guan was a microcosm of a political struggle, a microcosm of Guo Chongtao's struggle against eunuchs, actors, and the Liu family (let's call them the "Zhuliu Gang" for the time being). It ended with Guo Chongtao's defeat.

Guo Chongtao failed to save Luo Guan, and the following year, he also failed to save himself. Eunuchs, actors, and Xiao Liu were the absolute political power during Li Cunxu's reign, just like the "foreign relatives gang" during Zhu Youzhen's reign.

Judging from the results, the ability of the "Muddy Current Gang" to harm the country completely crushed the "Foreign Relatives Gang". In the face of strong external enemies, the "Foreign Relatives Gang" took ten years to bury Zhu Youzhen, while the "Muddy Current Gang" only took three years to bury Li Cunxu in the absence of external enemies. It was efficient and powerful.

(End of this chapter)