History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 311: Shu Eunuchs, Rat Infestation
[Shu official, rat infestation]

The "Xuzhou direct lineage" was a stubborn problem in Wang Jian's heart. These veterans and old men held real power, controlled the lifeline of the country, were proud of their achievements, and would never be controlled by Wang Zongyan.

Wang Jian had already made plans for this, brewing a grand chess game, the most important part of which coincided with Li Cunxu's plan - the eunuch route. Let the eunuchs participate in politics, and with the tacit approval and secret support of the top leaders, compete with the elders for power and profit, thereby weakening and disintegrating the political influence of the "Xuzhou direct line" and indirectly consolidating the imperial power.

Since ancient times, anyone who has taken this route has ended up shooting himself in the foot.

At first, the eunuchs were controlled by the emperor and were his watchdogs, biting whoever he told them to bite. As time went on, the eunuchs proliferated and expanded, and sooner or later they would break away from the emperor's control and threaten the imperial power.

In fact, Wang Jian's situation was quite similar to that of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang and Li Cunxu, and the ways of escaping from the predicament were also similar, which was nothing more than the civil servant route and the eunuch route, recovering the scattered real power through political means.

However, military prestige can only be gained through military means, so Li Cunxu repeatedly led the army in person, braved arrows and stones, and made great achievements. Only Li Cunxu got out of the "dilemma of the young ruler."

Wang Jian first restored the Privy Council system of the Tang Dynasty, using eunuchs as Privy Councilors to control the central power. At this time, the top eunuch in Former Shu was Tang Wenjian, who came to the center of the political stage of Former Shu and was entrusted with important tasks by Wang Jian.

The leader of the civil servant group was Prime Minister Zhang Ge. After the "Crown Prince Rebellion Case", Concubine Xu colluded with Tang Wenjian and Zhang Ge to plot to make Wang Zongyan the crown prince. Zhang Ge took this opportunity to cling to the thigh of the eunuch Tang Wenjian. As the son of Tang Prime Minister Zhang Jun, Zhang Ge knew the importance of maintaining close relations with the eunuch group.

From then on, Zhang Ge and Tang Wenjian became accomplices and colluded with each other. In order to promote the strategic alliance between the Southern Court and the Northern Court, the two of them would inevitably unite to exclude and suppress dissidents, such as the Minister of Rites and Privy Council Judge Mao Wenxi and Prime Minister Yu Chuansu.

Tang Wenjian and Zhang Ge deliberately searched for small flaws in Mao Wenxi and Yu Chuansu, fabricated charges against them, and kept reporting them to Wang Jian. Soon, the two found an opportunity.

In the third year of Zhenming (917), Mao Wenxi's daughter married Yu Chuansu's son, and the two families became relatives. So they held a banquet for relatives and friends in the Privy Council and played music to liven up the atmosphere.

When Wang Jian heard the sound of drums and horns, he was very shocked. He asked around and found out that it was the Mao and Yu families who "used music without playing it first."

In the feudal era with strict hierarchy, all behavioral norms were strictly bound by etiquette, which was deeply reflected in all aspects of life such as food, clothing, housing and transportation.

For example, in terms of clothing, the styles, colors, and decorations of clothes are strictly divided into different levels, just like the military ranks on military uniforms today. They cannot be worn randomly, so there is a saying that "clothes make the man". A person's official position and social status can be known through his clothes.

For example, when traveling, the material, color of the sedan chair, and the number of sedan bearers were also subject to strict restrictions.

Any violation of etiquette and use of specifications beyond the limits of class is considered "usurpation" and is tantamount to treason.

As for singing, dancing and playing music, they were also strictly controlled. Not only was the number of singers and dancers restricted, but even the repertoire to be played was clearly regulated. Those who are interested can refer to the "Music Records" in various official histories, which record in detail the relevant regulations of that dynasty on literary and artistic performances, which are boring and cumbersome.

For this reason, if officials want to hold private banquets or concerts, they must submit relevant applications to the relevant departments in advance. The participants of the banquet, the repertoire and scale of the performances, etc. must be reported in advance. After approval by the relevant departments and confirmation that there is no "overstepping of authority", the event can be held as scheduled.

However, the engagement banquet of the Mao and Yu families made this fatal mistake. Perhaps because they were overwhelmed by the happy event, the two senior officials actually made this low-level mistake and forgot to report to their superiors and held the banquet privately.

Tang Wenjian and Zhang Ge seized on this "private banquet" and made a big fuss about it. Wang Jian was really furious. He demoted Mao Wenxi to the position of Sima of Maozhou, demoted his brother Mao Wenyan to the position of Lieutenant of Yingjing County, exiled his son Mao Xun to Weizhou, confiscated all the family property, and made the rest of the men in the family slaves and the women maids.

Yu Chuansu was demoted to the position of Minister of Works, and his cousin Yu Ningji was also implicated.

What followed was a political mystery in Former Shu: Wang Jian was critically ill, the eunuch Tang Wenjian plotted a coup, Wang Jian urgently summoned his adopted son Wang Zongbi to the palace to protect him, Wang Zongbi led his troops into the palace and exposed Tang Wenjian's conspiracy.

Therefore, Wang Jian urgently summoned the crown prince Wang Zongyan to the palace to take care of him and wait for him to take over. Then he demoted Tang Wenjian to the post of governor of Meizhou and then exiled him to Yazhou; his accomplice, Hanlin scholar Wang Baohui, was exiled to Luzhou.

Next, Wang Jian promoted the "former criminal" Yu Ningji and the eunuch Song Guangsi. The power of state finance, personnel appointments and dismissals, and the highest judicial system were all handed over to Yu Chuansu, while the military power was handed over to the eunuch Song Guangsi.

Later, the eunuch Song Guangsi and his adopted son Wang Zongbi were appointed as ministers to assist Wang Zongyan. Three days later, Wang Jian died and Wang Zongyan ascended the throne.

"Tang Wenjian's coup" is the biggest political mystery of Former Shu. It was under the secret operation of Tang Wenjian and Zhang Ge that Wang Jian deposed the eldest and enthroned the youngest, Wang Zongyan as the crown prince. Tang Wenjian had the merit of supporting the enthronement. Seeing that Wang Jian was about to die and Wang Zongyan was about to pass away, Tang Wenjian plotted a coup, which was really unbelievable.

Who did Tang Wenzhen want to make the new emperor?
Wang Jian was most afraid of his adopted sons, fearing that they would threaten Wang Zongyan's rule, so he had been suppressing them by various means. Why did he urgently summon his adopted son Wang Zongbi to the palace to protect him at the last moment of his life? Moreover, among the ministers entrusted with the care of the orphan, except for the eunuch Song Guangsi, all of them were adopted sons who had made great achievements and threatened the emperor - Wang Zongbi, Wang Zongyao, Wang Zongwan, and Wang Zongkui.

What exactly happened in the Chengdu Palace during Wang Jian’s last days?
Let’s put it another way: Was it Tang Wenjian or Wang Zongbi who wanted to stage a coup?
The historical records do not give us the answer, nor do they even give us enough clues. There are only a few words about this political crisis from the top of the empire and the doubts about the transfer of supreme power. The more words there are, the more information there is. Like many palace coups, "Tang Wenzhen's coup" has become a historical mystery that is almost impossible for us to solve.

After Wang Zongyan ascended the throne, he immediately gave the eunuch Song Guangsi more power - judging the affairs of the six armies and taking control of the central imperial guards. He then issued an edict to kill the eunuchs Tang Wenjian and Wang Baohui, and to eliminate their remaining forces, so Tang Wenjian's brother Tang Wenyi was also killed.

Faced with the court's overwhelming purge of "Tang Wenzhen's followers", Prime Minister Zhang Ge, who was in cahoots with him, became uneasy, so he planned to resign on the grounds of illness and "beg for his bones" to save his life.

It is nice to take shelter under a big tree. Eunuch Tang Wenjian was a big tree for Prime Minister Zhang Ge, and Prime Minister Zhang Ge was a big tree for Minister of Rites Yang Yin. When the tree wanted to be quiet, the wind did not stop. After hearing that Zhang Ge intended to retire, Yang Yin was unwilling to lose power, so he persuaded Zhang Ge to stay, saying that you have contributed to the establishment of the new emperor, so what do you have to worry about? (You have contributed to the establishment of the new emperor, so there is nothing to worry about)
It is easier said than done to retreat at the height of one's career. No one is willing to give up vested interests, especially those who are in a high position. After hearing Yang Yun's advice, Zhang Ge gave up the idea of ​​retiring in the hope of luck.

Within half a month, Wang Zongyan issued an imperial edict to demote Zhang Ge to the governor of Maozhou and Yang Yin to the lieutenant of Yingjing County. Xu Ji, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Pan Qiao, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, were also classified as "Zhang Ge's accomplices" and demoted. Soon, Zhang Ge was demoted to the secretary of Weizhou.

A broken drum is beaten by ten thousand people. Yu Ningji, who was previously excluded by Zhang Ge, finally got a chance to take revenge. He continued to criticize Zhang Ge in a memorial, so Zhang Ge was exiled to Heshui Town. Within half a month, Zhang Ge went from being the prime minister of the empire, second only to the emperor, to an exiled prisoner.

Yu Ningji was still not satisfied, so he secretly instructed the highest local administrative official, Maozhou Governor Gu Chengyan, to closely monitor Zhang Ge's every move and collect information about Zhang Ge's illegal words and deeds in order to further punish him.

Wang Zongkan's wife, Zhang, wanted to protect him because she had the same surname as Zhang Ge. She persuaded Gu Chengyan's mother to warn her son not to be used as a gun by others, otherwise, one day, his son would be used as a scapegoat.

Gu's mother agreed with this and warned Gu Chengyan not to get involved in the dispute between Yu and Zhang. Gu Chengyan was just a small governor in a remote area, without a prominent family background and no foundation or background in the court. Yu and Zhang were fighting like gods, and Gu Chengyan did not dare to offend anyone, so he listened to his mother's words.

Yu Ningji was furious, so he used his position to take revenge on Gu Chengyan and punish him for his crimes. Later generations commented on Yu Ningji: He would never give up even the slightest grudge.

(End of this chapter)