History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 302 Wang Jian's Chess Game 2
【Wang Jian's Chess Game 2】

In order to suppress the "adopted son gang", Wang Jian, in addition to taking the civil service route, also took a path that coincided with Li Cunxu's - eunuch.

Wang Jian relied heavily on eunuchs, and the power of eunuchs within the Former Shu group grew. With the tacit approval of the top leaders, they competed for power with the veteran leaders, and Wang Jian was happy with it.

As for suppressing the veteran nobles headed by the "Adopted Son Gang", Wang Jian was even more ruthless.

For example, he had executed his adopted son Wang Zongdi earlier; for example, he had recently executed the "adopted son leader" Wang Zongji; for example, he had executed Wang Zongxun, who had returned to Chengdu without permission and had received many invitations; for example, he had executed Liu Zhijun.

Liu Zhijun was originally a general under Pu in Xuzhou. He surrendered to Zhu Wen during Zhu Wen's "Eastern Expedition to Xuzhou" and was appointed as the "Commander of the Left Kaidao". Because of his bravery and courage, he was given a resounding nickname "Liu Kaidao". Later, he rebelled against Liang and surrendered to Li Maozhen of Fengxiang. Because Li Maozhen was suspicious of Liu Zhijun, Li Jicong of Qinzhou took him in.

At that time, Li Maozhen of Fengxiang was becoming increasingly weak. Li Jihui, the governor of Jingnan Army of Bingzhou, was poisoned to death by his son Li Yanlu. Li Yanlu claimed to be the regent. Then, Li Yanlu was killed by Li Baoheng, the adopted son of Li Jihui. Li Baoheng then surrendered Bing and Ning states to Later Liang. Later Liang moved Li Baoheng to Huazhou and ordered Huo Yanwei to lead Jingnan Army of Bingzhou.

Li Maozhen sent Liu Zhijun to recapture Bingzhou. Huo Yanwei closed the city and held on. Liu Zhijun attacked for a long time (for as long as half a year) but to no avail.

At the same time, Former Shu also launched a large-scale military operation against Fengxiang Li Maozhen. Generals Wang Zonghan, Wang Zongwan, Wang Zongduo and others led troops in three routes to the north. They captured Qi generals Li Yanchao and Li Yande alive, persuaded Li Yan'an to surrender, and headed straight for Qinzhou. Qinzhou Li Jichong was terrified and hurriedly sent his son Li Yanxiu to surrender with the seal and seal.

Li Jicong's surrender to Former Shu was definitely not unexpected, because he had an important identity - the son-in-law of Former Shu, and the daughter of Princess Puci (Wang Jian). Now Shu was strong and Qi was weak, and Li Jicong should know whose thigh was thicker by voting with his feet.

Liu Zhijun, who was on the front line in Bingzhou, was already suspected by Li Maozhen and was caught in slander due to the unfavorable war situation. Now, due to Li Jicong's surrender, Liu Zhijun's family in Qinzhou were also moved to Chengdu as hostages. So he hurriedly lifted the siege of Bingzhou, returned to Fengxiang, and then took 70 of his trusted men with him at night, broke through the gate and fled, rebelling against Qi and surrendering to Shu.

In this battle, Former Shu gained more than 50 generals including Li Jichong and Liu Zhijun, more than 3,000 war horses, 9,000 soldiers, 60,000 civilians, and the four states of Qin, Feng, Jie, and Cheng. It can be said that it was a great victory.

Before surrendering to Former Shu, Liu Zhijun had defeated famous Former Shu generals such as Wang Zongkan and Tang Daoxi at Qingni Ridge. The Shu people were quite awed by him and nicknamed him "Invincible King". Now, Liu Zhijun, who was the bravest among all the generals, came to Former Shu as a surrendered general and was unanimously excluded by the generals of Former Shu. Liu Zhijun devoted all his loyalty and wisdom to Former Shu, but the generals were jealous of his achievements and refused to obey him. Just like Duan Ning hindered Wang Yanzhang, Liu Zhijun did not make any achievements in the subsequent "Qi-Shu War".

As a result, the generals falsely accused Liu Zhijun of having ulterior motives and secretly communicating with Fengxiang.

Three people make a tiger. Wang Jian gradually began to suspect Liu Zhijun and once said to his attendants: "I am old. After I die, Liu Zhijun will not be under your control."

The generals made up a nursery rhyme, which was widely circulated in Chengdu. The rhyme goes, "When a black ox leaves the circle, the brown rope breaks." Liu Zhijun had a dark complexion and was born in the year of the Ox, so his nickname was "Big Black Ox." Wang Jian's descendants were all named after the characters "Zong" and "Cheng," so they believed that "When a black ox leaves the circle, the brown rope breaks" indicated that Liu Zhijun was going to usurp the throne of his descendants.

So Wang Jian arrested Liu Zhijun and took him to Chengdu Tanshi to be executed.

Liu Zhijun died unjustly. Before his execution, he begged for mercy, but the executioners laughed at him.

It is very ironic that it was the collusion between the civil official (Zhang Ge) and the eunuch (Tang Wenjian) that made the good-for-nothing Wang Zongyan become Wang Jian's successor. Relying on his own strength, Wang Zongyan ruined the foundation that Wang Jian had worked hard for decades in just 8 years.

What’s even more ironic is that it was still the “Adoptive Son Gang” (Wang Zongbi) who ultimately kidnapped Wang Zongyan and his mother and forced the country to surrender.

Man proposes, God disposes, and Wang Jian suffered the consequences of his own actions.

It can be said that the internal struggles in the core political circle of Former Shu were Wang Jian’s top-level design, but the proliferation of political struggles exceeded Wang Jian’s expectations, causing the game to gradually get out of control. This is so similar to Tang Zhaozong! Playing with fire will only get you burned.

The undercurrents within Former Shu were very frightening:
1. The "Crown Prince Rebellion Case" was a microcosm of the internal political struggle of Former Shu and the climax of the factional struggle. At that time, Crown Prince Wang Zongyi and the powerful official Tang Daoxi were fighting for power. Neither side had real intentions of rebellion, but they accidentally fired their guns on the Qixi Festival. As a result, both sides suffered losses. Tang Daoxi and Wang Zongyi both died in that internal conflict.

The most interesting thing is Wang Jian's final conclusion on this internal conflict. Wang Jian issued an official and authoritative report at the time, saying that the prince was plotting a rebellion, and deposed Wang Zongyi as a commoner. He posthumously awarded Tang Daoxi the title of Grand Master, and gave him the posthumous title of "Zhongzhuang". He also erected a monument to commemorate him in his hometown of Langzhou. Although Tang Daoxi was killed in the conflict, the political force he represented still existed, and contained energy that could not be ignored. Wang Jian did not dare to use the death of the prince to purge him, but instead falsely accused his own son of treason.

This incident is enough to show that the game has gotten out of control, and even the original top-level designer Wang Jian is being wronged.

2. On November 915, 11, a fire broke out in the Chengdu Imperial Palace. The Baichi Tower (where all the gold, silver and jewelry Wang Jian had obtained since entering Chengdu were stored) was reduced to ashes. The loss was extremely heavy and the casualties were unknown.

Wang Zongkan and others led troops to request to enter the palace to put out the fire, but Wang Jian refused to let them in. The fire was still not put out the next day, so Wang Jian went out of the palace to briefly meet with his ministers, ordering them to pray to the gods and Buddha and inspect the capital, and then returned to the palace, closing the palace gates and strictly forbidding anyone to enter the palace.

3. After the "Crown Prince Rebellion Case", Privy Councilor Pan Kang had been urging Wang Jian to appoint a new Crown Prince as soon as possible to stop people from hoping for him. Who were the people who were "hoping" for him?
After Wang Zongyan was appointed as the crown prince, Pan Kang requested retirement on the grounds of old age and frailty and fled from the political arena. His keen sense told him that the country was about to face a disaster.

What kind of signals did Pan Kang see or feel before and after the "Crown Prince Rebellion"? Who are the people who are coveting the position of crown prince?

4. After the death of the former crown prince Wang Zongyi, Wang Jian planned to choose one between Wang Zonglu and Wang Zongjie as the crown prince, especially Wang Zongjie, who was "the most talented and virtuous among all the sons". After enthroning Wang Zongyan, Wang Jian showed the idea of ​​deposing Wang Zongyan and enthroning Wang Zongjie instead. As a result, Wang Zongjie suddenly died inexplicably and the cause of death is unknown.

Obviously, this was a political murder, and Wang Jian "deeply suspected it", but it was only limited to "suspicion". The history books did not even record that Wang Jian sent people to investigate the real cause of death of Prince Wang Zongjie, let alone track down the mastermind behind the scenes.

5. After Wang Zongyan was made the crown prince, Wang Jian felt more and more that Wang Zongyan was not a ruler who could maintain the status quo. He once sighed and said, "I fought hundreds of battles to establish my foundation. Can these people preserve it?" So he became very disgusted with Zhang Ge, who had strongly advocated the establishment of Wang Zongyan. Especially after Wang Zongjie died suddenly and unexpectedly, Wang Jian's disgust for Zhang Ge turned into resentment, and he wanted to make a move against Zhang Ge.

According to the old rules, Zhang Ge must first be dismissed from his position as prime minister, demoted and sent to a distant place, and then demoted again and again, and finally ordered to commit suicide. However, under the strong protection of Concubine Xu, Wang Jian was unable to dismiss Zhang Ge from his position as prime minister and demote him.

Although he was the emperor, Wang Jian's power was very limited and he couldn't even touch Zhang Ge.

6. Eunuch Tang Wenjian plotted a coup, but failed.

This incident was extremely bizarre, and the details were not recorded in historical documents. Only a few words and sporadic records were left, but they were enough to give us a glimpse of the dangers and strangeness in the deep palace:
When Wang Jian was seriously ill, he suddenly ordered Wang Zongbi, the core figure of the "Adoptive Son Gang", to come to Beijing to "protect the emperor". All the guards around Wang Jian were replaced by the Central Imperial Guards under the command of the eunuch Tang Wenjian. Wang Jian was essentially placed under house arrest in the palace by the eunuch Tang Wenjian. Wang Zongbi was unable to meet with Wang Jian.

Whenever Wang Zongbi and others requested to come to the court, Tang Wenjian would refuse on the pretext of Wang Jian's oral instructions, citing health problems. His close friend Pan Zaiying (son of Prime Minister Pan Kang) believed that Tang Wenjian's coup plot would not succeed, so he leaked the secret to Wang Zongbi. Wang Zongbi and his confidants broke into the palace by force, and finally saw the dying Wang Jian, so he reported the eunuch Tang Wenjian's actions truthfully. Wang Jian was furious, and banished Tang Wenjian from the court, summoning the crown prince Wang Zongyan to the palace, ready to take over at any time.

As a result, Wang Zongbi became one of the important ministers entrusted with the care of the emperor's young son.

The above is recorded in historical materials.

Doubt: Tang Wenjian was the hero who supported Wang Zongyan as the crown prince. When Wang Jian was about to ascend the throne and the crown prince Wang Zongyan was about to be officially crowned, what kind of coup did he want to stage? Was it to depose Wang Zongyan? Tang Wenjian's real motive for controlling Wang Jian became the key to this case and a secret that will never be known.

Wang Jian has always favored eunuchs and rejected the "adopted son gang", but when he was seriously ill, he summoned his adopted son Wang Zongbi into the palace to "protect him". What happened in the palace that caused Wang Jian's attitude to take a 180-degree turn?
The failed coup by eunuch Tang Wenjian has become an eternal mystery. Although we cannot solve the case, we can get a glimpse of the dangers of the core power circle of Former Shu. The water is very deep.

At this point, we can see more intuitively that in the last few years of Wang Jian's life, there seemed to be an undercurrent of restlessness in the court, and the energy it contained was so astonishing that Wang Jian had to give in.

The politics of Former Shu was gradually getting out of control.

(End of this chapter)