History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 331: Zhu Youqian's Family Massacre
[Zhu Youqian's family murder case]

Political struggle is ruthless and bloody, and its cruelty is reflected in the fact that it spreads from one point to another, and when you pull out a carrot, you bring out the mud. The so-called root of the problem is often killed, and even those who are close to the person cannot escape being implicated. Often, when one person causes trouble, hundreds or even thousands of lives are lost.

After destroying Shu, the eunuchs of the Later Tang Dynasty started a crazy "smashing the pot" mode, expanding the targets of attack, completing the rectification and cleansing, and allowing the eunuch forces to regain the initiative.

After Guo Chongtao's death, the eunuchs immediately locked on their next target - Zhu Youqian in Hezhong.

Zhu Youqian, originally named Zhu Jian, was from Xuzhou. His father and grandfather were both junior officers in the Zhongwu Army. During the Huang Chao Rebellion, Zhu Jian served in Mianchi and robbed people on the road near Shihao in his spare time. Later, he turned over a new leaf and served under Wang Gong, the governor of Shanzhou. He was promoted to junior officer due to his meritorious service.

Wang Gong is the son of Wang Chongying and the nephew of Wang Chongrong. The character and temper of the father, brother, son and nephew of the Wang family are the same, mean and ungrateful, cruel and inhumane, especially Wang Gong, who has been introduced in the previous article. After Wang Chongying's death, Wang Gong and Wang Ke competed for Hezhong, which is the "Hezhong inheritance dispute case". Wang Gong was defeated repeatedly, his morale was low, and his army was shaken. His general Li Fan launched a mutiny, killed Wang Gong, and surrendered to Zhu Wen of Bianzhou. Later, Zhu Jian launched a second mutiny, expelled Li Fan, and controlled Shanzhou. He also surrendered to Zhu Wen and was recommended by Zhu Wen as the governor of Shanzhou.

Hezhong and Shanzhou were important corridors between Bianzhou and Chang'an, so they were highly valued by Zhu Wen. Therefore, he tried his best to win over Zhu Jian. In the subsequent "Siege of Fengxiang", Zhu Jian used the same surname as Zhu Wen to claim that he was an elder of the same clan. Zhu Wen then gladly adopted him as his adopted son, included him in the clan register, and changed his name to Zhu Youqian. Both parties were willing and got what they wanted.

After Zhu Wen became emperor, he named him the King of Ji and still treated him with great favor. After Zhu Wen was assassinated, Zhu Yougui summoned him to the capital to pay homage. Zhu Youqian was frightened and declined politely. Zhu Yougui then sent troops to attack him, and Zhu Youqian surrendered in anger to Hedong.

After Zhu Youzhen ascended the throne, he comforted Zhu Youqian with kind words, and Zhu Youqian then broke off his ties with Jin and returned to Liang.

Later, Zhu Youqian annexed the Kuangguo Army of Tongzhou without authorization and recommended his son Zhu Lingde as the governor of Tongzhou, but was rejected by Zhu Youzhen. In anger, he rebelled against Liang again and joined Jin. Li Cunxu named him the King of Xiping.

Zhu Youqian surrendered to Jin with the Hezhong area, which enabled the Hedong group to form a pincer attack on the Later Liang. It was precisely because of Zhu Youqian's containment in the northwest that Li Cunxu boldly transferred the main force to the east, and then defeated the Later Liang in the Hebei and Shandong battlefields. Without Zhu Youqian's surrender, Li Cunxu's great cause of destroying the Liang would have been delayed for many years.

So after the fall of Later Liang, when Zhu Youqian came to Luoyang to pay homage, Li Cunxu personally poured wine for him and toasted him, saying: "It is your power that made my great cause possible!" After that, Zhu Youqian was granted the titles of Grand Tutor and Minister of the Chancellery, with a fief of 18,000 households, almost the standard of two kings. He was also granted a red-lettered iron certificate and a golden medal of immunity from death, and was adopted as his son, named Li Jilin, and included in the clan register.

In the Later Liang Dynasty, he was the adopted son of Emperor Taizu Zhu Wen, and in the Later Tang Dynasty, he was the adopted son of Emperor Zhuangzong Li Cunxu. There are different levels of adopted sons, some are just adopted sons but not registered in the clan, while "Zhu Youqian" and "Li Jilin" are all registered in the clan, and they are the top adopted sons of the two dynasties.

By the time of the war against Shu, his son Zhu Lingde was the Jiedushi of Suizhou and Zhu Lingxi was the Jiedushi of Xuzhou, three Jiedushis in one family. Among his sons, six or seven were provincial governors and five or six were officers. His great favor was unmatched.

Born as a surrendered general, with a capricious and dark past, now in an important city, enjoying the highest standard of treatment... Needless to say, he is definitely a fat piece of meat in the eyes of eunuchs and actors. The greedy eunuchs and actors have been asking for bribes from Zhu Youqian endlessly, so that Zhu Youqian is in short supply. Once the appetite of the eunuchs and actors cannot be satisfied in time, they will be threatened and intimidated.

The eunuchs and actors were no longer soliciting bribes, but were engaging in blatant extortion, and no official of the Later Tang Dynasty was spared.

Zhu Youqian really couldn't satisfy their bottomless appetite. Since he would offend them sooner or later, he decided to give them no money. Zhu Youqian made up his mind, "The land in Hezhong is barren and the people are poor and destitute. I'm sorry I won't show my respect!"

Let the storm come harder!
The eunuchs were furious. This was simply challenging the bottom line of the eunuchs' power! Such people who dared to openly break the rules must be severely punished to serve as a warning to others! So the eunuchs and actors began to offer slanderous words and defame Zhu Youqian.

The army marched westward from Luoyang, passing through the Hezhong region before turning south from Fengxiang. Zhu Youqian asked his son Zhu Lingde to lead his troops and follow the royal division into Shu to fight. This of course made Li Cunxu very happy. Who would have thought that this would become a major crime that the eunuchs and actors falsely accused Zhu Youqian of?

They fabricated rumors and told Li Cunxu, "When the imperial army gathered in Luoyang, Zhu Youqian thought that the imperial court was going to use the false route to destroy Guo to target his Hezhong region, so he quickly raised troops to defend himself and was ready to disobey the imperial order. Later, he took advantage of the situation and sent his troops to follow the imperial army. It can be seen that he is still wary of the imperial court. He is a time bomb. If the imperial court is in trouble, he will definitely change. It is best to eliminate this hidden danger now."

After Guo Chongtao was killed, the eunuchs paired Zhu Youqian with Guo Chongtao, and slandered Guo Chongtao, saying that Guo Chongtao and Zhu Youqian were secretly colluding. The reason why Guo Chongtao dared to be arrogant and rebellious in Shu was because he had the protection of Zhu Youqian in Hezhong, who helped him block the royal army.

When Zhu Youqian heard the news, he was terrified and planned to rush to the capital to explain it to Li Cunxu in person. His staff tried their best to dissuade him, saying that the capital was dangerous and there were eunuchs inside. You are walking into a trap. Besides, you have made great contributions to the empire, so you don't need to worry about some slander. A person with a clear conscience is not afraid of his own shadow. Rumors stop at the wise. In a few days, the rumors will be broken. You must not go to the capital easily!

Zhu Youqian disagreed and said that my contribution was greater? Then Guo Chongtao's contribution was several times greater than mine, and even he died at the hands of the eunuchs, so how could I escape? I could only meet the emperor as soon as possible, confront him face to face, and explain everything to him in person to avoid disaster.

In Zhu Youqian's view, Li Cunxu had always treated him with great courtesy and tried his best to appease him. As long as he could prove his innocence, Li Cunxu would definitely kill those who made slanderous statements to appease him.

So, on the sixth day of the first lunar month in the fourth year of Tongguang (926), Zhu Youqian came to Luoyang to pay homage.

Li Cunxu really entertained Zhu Youqian warmly, comforted him with kind words, and said that he trusted him very much and would never listen to slander, and asked him to keep his heart to himself. There were banquets and parties every day, not to mention it.

Everything seems to be moving in the right direction, but something unexpected could happen within half a month.

The court's killing of Guo Chongtao and his son became a hot topic in the New Year of the Later Tang Dynasty. Everyone in the world felt that it was unfair, from civil and military officials to ordinary people, everyone was shocked and talked about it. Li Cunxu wanted to grasp public opinion and sentiment, so he sent his confidants to secretly investigate people's comments. His confidants were naturally eunuchs. Soon, the eunuchs sent back important information: Li Cunyi, the governor of Fuzhou Baoda Army, was an accomplice of Guo Chongtao!

Li Cunyi was Li Cunxu's half-brother and also Guo Chongtao's son-in-law.

At that time, there was a "master" named Yang Qianlang, who claimed to be proficient in Mozi's art and could exorcise gods and ghosts, and was famous for a while. After witnessing several miracles, Li Cunxu believed in Yang Qianlang's magic and rewarded him generously. Yang Qianlang and his wife were allowed to enter and leave the palace without restrictions, and they were extremely favored. Many people who needed to use their connections and smooth over connections also chose to bribe the Yang couple. Li Cunyi and Li Cunwu often had sex with Yang Qianlang's wife at his home (having sex with friends at his home).

Li Cunyi was Guo Chongtao's son-in-law, and since he had a close relationship with the eunuchs' rival Yang Qianlang, it was just right to use the "smashing the pot" operation to catch them all in one fell swoop.

So, the eunuch reported that on a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, Li Cunyi went to Yang Qianlang's house to drink. After getting drunk, he cried loudly, saying that Guo Chongtao's death was unjust. He also raised his arms and shouted with his generals, threatening to avenge Guo Chongtao...

On the 23rd day of the first lunar month, Li Cunxu ordered the arrest of Li Cunyi and placed him under house arrest, not allowing him to go out, but soon ordered him to be beheaded. Yang Qianlang was also killed.

The eunuchs killed two birds with one stone, eliminating both Guo Chongtao's accomplices and their competitors in the bribery industry.

Even his own brother was suspected and wanted to be killed. Who else would Li Cunxu not be suspicious of?
The actor Jing Jin took the opportunity to make a final move on Zhu Youqian and reported to Li Cunxu that the spies in the Hezhong area had sent back the latest important intelligence: Zhu Youqian had indeed conspired with Guo Chongtao to rebel, and after Guo Chongtao's death, Zhu Youqian joined forces with Li Cunyi to rebel.

The eunuchs also unanimously advised Li Cunxu to eliminate the hidden dangers. If he could kill his own brother Li Cunyi, why should he trust Zhu Youqian, who was not of the same race?

Li Cunxu completely lost his mind. On the day when he executed Li Cunyi, Li Cunxu issued an imperial decree to transfer Zhu Youqian to be the governor of Yicheng Army in Huazhou. That night, he sent his confidant Zhu Shouyin to lead the army to kill Zhu Youqian.

It was not enough to just kill Zhu Youqian. Li Cunxu dispatched troops and generals to kill Zhu Youqian's entire family at the same time in multiple places and multiple routes: Xia Luqi was ordered to set out from Luoyang to Hezhong Prefecture to slaughter Zhu Youqian's entire family; Wang Sitong was ordered to set out from Zhengzhou to Xuzhou to kill Zhu Lingxi, the governor of Xuzhou Zhongwu Army; the eunuch Shi Yanqiong set out from Weizhou to Chanzhou to kill Zhu Jianhui, the governor of Chanzhou; Li Jiji in Shu was ordered to kill Zhu Lingde, the governor of Suizhou Wuxin Army. Zhu Lingde, Zhu Lingxi, and Zhu Jianhui were all sons of Zhu Youqian.

Xia Luqi was ordered to lead his troops to surround Zhu Youqian's official residence in Hezhong Prefecture. Zhu Youqian's wife Zhang led the entire family of more than 200 people, men, women, young and old, to welcome them. Zhang said to Xia Luqi: "The Zhu family has committed a crime and should be executed. I just hope that the general will not implicate innocent people." The innocent people she was referring to were the servants in the family.

Zhang selected 100 maids and servants and asked Xia Luqi not to kill innocent people, but to lead more than 100 members of her family to die bravely. Xia Luqi agreed with tears in his eyes.

Before leaving, Zhang took out the red-lettered iron certificate and the gold medal of immunity from death and showed them to Xia Luqi. "This is the reward the emperor gave to my husband two years ago. I am a woman and I can't read. I don't know what is written on it. Please help me explain it."

Good at talking.

Xia Luqi's eyes were filled with tears, and his face was filled with shame and guilt. He wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. Who doesn't know that Zhu Youqian was wronged? Who doesn't know that Guo Chongtao was wronged? It's not that I, Xia Luqi, have a grudge against your Zhu family, it's that the emperor wants to kill you... Hey! Why did you let me, Xia Luqi, do such a dirty job?
Zhu Youqian's former subordinates, including Shi Wu and seven others, were now provincial governors and were also exterminated. The eunuchs wanted to catch all of Zhu Youqian's "accomplices" in one fell swoop.

Zhu Youqian's stories are scattered in the previous article. I have sorted them out here, which is more shocking. You can fully understand the historical evaluation of him as "plotting against all sides and being two-faced". The final conclusion is that he is "not a loyal minister", which can be said to be a very low evaluation. It is a complete replica of "a slave of three surnames".

Although he had a long history of bad deeds, he was still elevated to a relatively high position in later generations, almost whitewashing him as a model leader of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, and making him into a tragic hero.

The reason is very simple. Who put him on the map? The answer is Li Siyuan, the Mingzong of Later Tang, the successor to the throne of Emperor Li Cunxu, who succeeded to the throne through a military coup.

Li Siyuan seized power through a military coup, and it was a political necessity for him to deny Li Cunxu, just as Li Cunxu demonized the Later Liang. In order to highlight the darkness of Li Cunxu's era, it is necessary to emphasize the injustice of Zhu Youqian and others. After Li Siyuan ascended the throne, he first announced that Zhu Youqian and others had been vindicated and their reputations restored, and then portrayed him as a loyal old minister to the Later Tang and Li Cunxu, and portrayed him as a hero who unswervingly supported the Later Tang and formed a pincer attack to contain the Later Liang.

On the White Gate Tower, Lu Bu vowed to firmly support Cao Cao.

Zhu Youqian's "determination" was mainly reflected in the fact that he did not have time to betray again.

In short, only by emphasizing Zhu Youqian's loyalty can we highlight Li Cunxu's stupidity and explain Li Siyuan's compliance with heaven and people's will. Since Li Siyuan, the entire Later Tang Dynasty has been implementing this propaganda tone, and the same is true for the Later Jin Dynasty that replaced the Later Tang Dynasty. Because the founding emperor of the Later Jin Dynasty was Li Siyuan's son-in-law, he also had to emphasize that he was the legal successor of Mingzong Li Siyuan, so he also had to hold high the political banner of "Li Siyuan is great, glorious, and correct."

Since the beginning of the Song Dynasty, the political influence of "Li Siyuan" has been equal to zero, so there is no need for historians to cover up and even retaliate. Previously, the evaluation of Zhu Youqian was "although he was erratic in his early years, he died unjustly, and his entire family was executed, which was indeed a bit tragic."

In response to this, the historians of the Song Dynasty were actually a little sarcastic, saying, "Why are you so miserable? Don't you have any idea what you have done? Heaven has eyes, and you deserve it!" (It must be that the ghosts and gods are harming the fullness, but the way of heaven is not full?) - "Old Five Dynasties History·Biography of Zhu Youqian"

(End of this chapter)