History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 349 Li Siyuan Becomes Emperor 2
【Li Siyuan proclaimed himself emperor 2】

On April 4, Li Siyuan appointed Kong Xun as Privy Councilor. Kong Xun immediately took the lead with Huo Yanwei and others to arrange for Li Siyuan to ascend the throne.

Kong Xun and Huo Yanwei believed that the "Tang" dynasty had run out of luck and that they should change the country's name and establish a new empire.

Therefore, Li Siyuan widely solicited opinions on the new name of the country, "What do you think we should name the country?"

The ministers were discussing the matter, and the majority of them advocated changing the country's name. Li Siyuan was hesitant and could not make up his mind.

However, the Minister of Personnel Li Qi corrected this dangerous idea in time.

Using Datang as the country's name was the collective wisdom of the Hedong Group and the political cornerstone of the Later Tang Empire. The previous emperor was originally a Shatuo, and was given the surname Li by the Li Tang royal family for his merits. He was included in the royal family and became a member of the Li Tang Dynasty. Although they had no relationship with Li Yuan and Li Shimin, they still inherited the mantle of the Li Tang royal family, and were the continuation and revival of Datang, repairing the damage caused to the empire by Zhu Ze's pseudo-Liang. This is an important political legacy, how can it be easily abandoned?

"Your Majesty, you are also a member of the royal family of the Tang Dynasty. You have assisted three generations of the Li family (Li Guochang, Li Keyong, and Li Cunxu). Now you are also marching to the capital under the pretext of helping the country in times of crisis. If you change the name of your country, it will be equivalent to giving up the title of a royal family member and the merits of decades of conquest. This is too stupid! And if you draw a clear line with the Li family, then the late emperor and you will be strangers. How will the late emperor's coffin be buried? What is the legal basis for your rule?"

After much persuasion, Li Siyuan finally came to his senses. It turned out that these "Later Liang Gang" did not want to see the continuation of the Tang Dynasty, because the continuation of the Tang Dynasty was evidence of the illegal existence of the Later Liang regime, and it was also a historical stain that they could not get rid of and were unwilling to face. Therefore, they wanted to take the opportunity of changing the country's name to whitewash the Later Liang and themselves.

So Li Siyuan made a famous speech to clarify his attitude:

"When I was 13 years old, I followed Emperor Xianzu (Li Guochang) and made some contributions. Emperor Xianzu liked me very much and treated me as his own son. Then I assisted Emperor Wu (Li Keyong) for nearly years and was adopted by him. After that, I followed the late emperor (Li Cunxu) for nearly years... I participated in the research and formulation of the important policies of the Hedong Group and all important wars. Li Keyong's foundation is my foundation; Li Keyong's world is my world. How can one family be divided into two countries? I have decided not to change the name of the country and it will still be called Datang!"

Li Siyuan put his resume on the table. Who would not accept it? I am the oldest founder of Hedong Group. I want to be second, and no one dares to be first.

In terms of length of service, it’s nearly fifty years; in terms of background, I’m the adopted son of Li Keyong; in terms of seniority, since the Hedong Group was founded in Taiyuan, I’ve been involved in all the decisions and battles; in terms of reputation, I’ve long been the commander-in-chief of a front, I have the experience and connections…

In a word, who else but me can be the new emperor?

Li Qi suggested that according to the custom of the current dynasty (Tang), Ruizong, Wenzong and Wuzong were all brothers who succeeded each other, so Li Siyuan should ascend the throne in front of Li Cunxu's coffin according to the etiquette of the crown prince.

Li Siyuan approved.

On April 4, Li Siyuan ascended the throne in front of Li Cunxu's coffin wearing mourning clothes (the heaviest of the five mourning clothes, made of the coarsest linen, without any seams, to express his extreme grief). All civil and military officials attended the ceremony in plain clothes.

After the mourning was over, Li Siyuan changed into the emperor's formal attire and ascended the throne. The civil and military officials also changed into festive attire and presented an imperial edict of support, congratulating Li Siyuan on his new job. On April 4, Li Siyuan issued an imperial edict to change the reign title and grant amnesty. The fourth year of Tongguang was changed to the first year of Tiancheng.

A large number of "Li Shao X" who had been favored by the previous dynasty submitted petitions requesting to restore their original names, because "Li Shao X" were all given by Li Cunxu. In this way, they showed that they had drawn a clear line with their predecessors, firmly supported Comrade Li Siyuan in political stance, and resolutely surrounded the new generation of leadership system with Comrade Li Siyuan as the core.

For example, Li Shaozhen (Huo Yanwei), Li Shaoqiong (Chang Congjian), Li Shaoying (Fang Zhiwen), Li Shaoqian (Wang Yanqiu), Li Shaoqi (Xia Luqi), Li Shaoneng (Mi Junli), while the eunuch Li Shaohong took the initiative to ask to restore his original name Ma Shaohong more than ten days ago.

Li Shaobin later requested to change his original name back to Zhao Xingshi, and Li Siyuan specially gave him the new name "Zhao Dejun" to show his favor.

Li Siyuan's ascension to the throne only clarified the issue of the smooth transition of supreme power, making Li Siyuan politically legitimate. However, the political forces of all parties still needed to be balanced, especially the imminent economic problems that needed to be solved urgently. Becoming an emperor was only the first step in a long journey.

In the following operations, political and economic issues are intertwined, so we no longer strictly distinguish them, but present them in a patchwork manner. It should be stated that in order to take care of the story, the narrative of the context may not follow the chronological order, and some operations actually occurred before the emperor was crowned.

1. Punish evil

1. Kill Kong Qian
Kong Qian, the Tax and Labor Commissioner, was Li Cunxu's powerful empire ATM. Since the Hedong Group took over Weizhou, Kong Qian levied heavy taxes first in Heshuo and then across the country, first to supply military supplies and then to satisfy Li Cunxu's extravagance. He created various pretexts and imposed heavy taxes to squeeze the people's fat and blood. He also blatantly plundered people's wealth by manipulating exchange rates and fleecing the people, causing public resentment.

On April 4, Li Siyuan announced Kong Qian's crimes and issued an edict:

"Kong Qian... exploited people in every way and deceived them in every possible way. As a result, the people suffered, the soldiers were hungry and cold, the city became the scar of the world, and the world was exhausted..."

As analyzed in the previous article, Kong Qian's actions were all hinted and condoned by Li Cunxu. In terms of extorting money, Kong Qian openly disobeyed Li Cunxu's orders more than once, giving Li Cunxu the reputation of "cherishing the people's strength" and "sympathizing with the people's feelings", creating Li Cunxu's image as a wise ruler, while silently taking the blame for exploiting the people. This was a tacit double act between him and Li Cunxu, just like An Zhonghui disobeying Li Cunxu's orders and killing Li Cunxu's clan relatives.

Kong Qian successfully attracted the anger of the military and civilians towards himself, and the overwhelming curses finally cost him his life.

Li Siyuan ordered: behead Kong Qian, and only kill him, and forgive his family; abolish the heavy taxes and levies set by Kong Qian, and stop all unreasonable collection regulations; confiscate all his property and make it public.

Killing Kong Qian calmed the public anger and temporarily stabilized the army; Kong Qian was only Li Cunxu's personal accountant and possessed very little political energy, so there was no need to worry about his family or friends causing trouble, so there was no need to kill the whole family. Only killing Kong Qian and pardoning his clan also demonstrated Li Siyuan's kindness and generosity; the most important sentence was the last one: confiscate all his property.

While gaining political support, he could also solve economic problems. Heshen fell and Jiaqing was well fed.

(End of this chapter)