History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 309: Trip to Qinzhou
【Qinzhou Trip】

In October 923 AD, astronomy enthusiasts had a great time: a solar eclipse and a shooting star appeared in the sky. However, politicians had mixed feelings.

At that time, Li Cunxu was accumulating strength to prepare for the war against the Later Liang Dynasty. For the Former Shu, the meteor was even more frightening because this time it was a "comet seen in Yugui". Yugui is the Ghost, one of the seven southern stars in the twenty-eight stars, ruling the Qin and Long regions. The people of Shu believed that this comet was very unlucky, and the Sitianjian reported that the country would suffer a great disaster.

The Imperial Astronomical Bureau of the Later Tang Dynasty also reported the unusual celestial phenomena to Li Cunxu and requested Li Cunxu to cancel the military operation, but Li Cunxu angrily rebuked him and ignored it. In fact, it made sense because the legitimate emperor at that time was Zhu Youzhen, and a solar eclipse was unlucky, which was also unlucky for Zhu Youzhen.

Wang Zongyan followed the advice of the Former Shu Astronomical Observatory and issued an edict to build a Taoist temple in Yujuhua (a place name, in present-day Chengdu. Legend has it that it was the place where Taoist master Zhang Daoling became an immortal and ascended to heaven) and invited masters to perform rituals to resolve the problem.

Zhang Yun, the Right Assistant Minister, submitted a memorial to the emperor, saying that the people's resentment had risen to heaven, which had led to the formation of a comet. This was a sign of the country's demise and could not be resolved through a ritual (it could not be resolved through prayers).

Zhang Yun's original intention was that disasters are caused by a corrupt ruler and corrupt officials, which leads to the people's misery and the country's natural changes. Therefore, instead of engaging in feudal superstition, Wang Zongyan should conduct a deep self-reflection and turn from evil to good, and only then will the country be on the right track. This was not meant to be sarcastic.

Wang Zongyan was furious and ordered Zhang Yun to be exiled to Lizhou. The same formula, long exile to Lizhou, and the same result: he died of illness halfway (Linqiong). Again, it is doubtful whether he died of illness or helped to die.

Zhang Yun was upright and honest. He also couldn't stand the corruption in the court and often compared himself to Zhu Yun. Zhu Yun was a famous official in the Western Han Dynasty. He criticized the court officials many times and was not afraid of the powerful. Because he accused Prime Minister Zhang Yu of being a flatterer, he was almost beheaded by Emperor Cheng of Han, leaving behind the historical allusion of "breaking the threshold". After breaking the threshold, Zhu Yun resigned in anger and never served in the government again. Zhang Yun regarded Zhu Yun as an idol and carried forward the spirit of not fearing the powerful and daring to die for his advice.

The powerful people in Former Shu feared and hated him.

The eunuch Jing Runcheng once said sarcastically, "Back then, Zhu Yun asked the emperor for a horse-slaying sword so that he could cut Zhang Yu in half. Now, the emperor doesn't have a sword, but only a chicken-killing knife. Do you want to use it?"

Zhang Yun smiled coldly, "Although the chicken knife is small, it can still kill a group of dogs!"

Zhang Yun's fearless attitude towards death and his determination to fight power to the end made the eunuch Jing Runcheng feel a chill down his spine.

This time, taking advantage of Wang Zongyan's anger, the eunuch Jing Runcheng exaggerated the situation and charged Zhang Yun with "slandering the country" and exiled him to Lizhou.

On March 924, 3, Wang Zongyan hosted a banquet for his ministers at Yishen Pavilion. When Wang Zongyan and his ministers and palace maids were so drunk that they took off their hats, made noises and played around, and lost their manners. Li Guizhen, who was in charge of drafting the imperial edict, strongly advised that the emperor and his ministers were all addicted to wine and sex and did not consider the future of the empire at all. He was really afraid that the powerful enemy in the north (Later Tang) would plot against us after learning our strengths and weaknesses.

Wang Zongyan did not listen to Li Guizhen's advice. He seemed to think that the Later Tang Dynasty was too far away from him, while heaven was very close to him.

In fact, one month later, in April, Li Yan, an envoy of the Later Tang Dynasty, visited Former Shu. After returning home, Li Yan indeed urged the attack on Shu, and the Later Tang Dynasty really took only a very short time (4 days) to destroy Former Shu.

In June of the third year of Tongguang (925), Li Cunxu of the Later Tang Dynasty issued an edict to mobilize the whole country to prepare for the attack on Shu. In September, the Later Tang army officially set out. During this period, what was Former Shu doing?

In March of this year, Wang Zongyan paid homage to the Yongling Mausoleum of the late emperor. Needless to say, it was another paid tour under the guise of visiting the tomb. Wang Zongyan made a kind of "clipped scarf" by himself, which was a "pointed scarf wrapped around a cone", which should be the kind of hat worn by the Black and White Impermanence in folk legends. In the past, prisoners also wore this kind of hat when they were paraded in the streets.

Wang Zongyan led the fashion trend and people followed suit.

Afterwards, Wang Zongyan went to Yishen Pavilion, where all the concubines wore golden lotus crowns and Taoist robes. When they were half drunk, they took off their hats, let their hair down to cover their faces, and painted their faces with rouge and powder, which was called "drunk makeup."

In September, when the Later Tang army was dispatched, Wang Zongyan and his aunt, Concubine Xu, visited Qingcheng Mountain, Zhangren Temple, Shangqing Palace with great interest, and also checked in at Yangping Mountain in Pengzhou and Sanxue Mountain in Hanzhou.

In Mount Qingcheng, the concubines and palace maids who accompanied him all wore cloud-like clothes, looking like fairies. Wang Zongyan was delighted and inspired to compose a song called "Ganzhou Qu" on the spot, describing them as fairies. He asked the palace maids to play and sing the song on the spot. The tune was sad and mournful, and those who heard it burst into tears. The lyrics were:
"The painted silk skirt can be finished and fits the waist. The willow eyebrows and peach face are full of spring.

Bo Mei has a lot of spirit, but it's a pity that she has fallen into prostitution."

What Wang Zongyan originally meant to express was to describe the palace maids as fairies who were tired of the heavenly palace and descended to the mortal world. However, more than two months later, the Former Shu Dynasty was destroyed and most of the palace maids fell into the common people. People then remembered the phrase "It's a pity that they have fallen into the dust" and believed that Wang Zongyan's words had come true.

At Zhangren Temple, Wang Zongyan and his party checked in at Danjing Mountain, Jinhua Palace, Zhide Temple, and Shangqing Palace. They paid homage to the late emperor, prayed, wrote poems, and carved the poems on stone, so that they could be passed down to future generations. These poems have been shown in the previous article.

They went to Yangping Mountain and Sanxue Mountain in Hanzhou, admired the magnificent sunset, and watched the holy lamps, which cleansed their hearts and purified their spirits. The elder Concubine Xu composed a poem saying "I suddenly felt beyond the three realms, and I had all six senses." The younger Concubine Xu composed a poem saying "The sound of chimes striking the golden ground, the monks chanting the voice of Brahma. If you talk about the method of no mind, this light is like a sentient being."

On the way back, passing by Tianju Posthouse, the elder Concubine Xu was full of aftertaste and still wanted to leave, so she composed a poem saying "I regret that I couldn't see enough of the smoke and light, but had to drive the golden chariot into the Turtle City". The younger Concubine Xu even sublimated it to the philosophical level and composed a poem saying "I have been out to see the scenery of rivers and mountains recently, but the rivers and mountains have watched me out".

The large-scale military actions of the Later Tang Dynasty were bound to leak out, and the news that the Later Tang Dynasty was about to launch a large-scale invasion was already spreading in Shu.

But even in this situation, Wang Zongyan still made a bold decision: to check in at Qinzhou.

The governor of Qinzhou was the eunuch Wang Chengxiu, and he had a capable deputy, the deputy governor An Zhongba. Seeing this surname, it should not be difficult to guess that this person originally belonged to the Hedong Group.

An Zhongba, a native of Yunzhou, was originally a general under Li Cunxu. Later, he violated military regulations and fled for fear of punishment. He first fled to Houliang and then to Shu. At that time, Wang Jian saw that he was good at riding and shooting, which was a rare military talent in Shu, so he kept him by his side and entrusted him with important tasks. After Wang Zongyan ascended the throne, he promoted An Zhongba to the governor of Jianzhou.

(End of this chapter)