History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 375: The Three Kings of Fujian

2. Min Kingdom

The story of the Wang family of the Min clan, which was entrenched in the area of ​​present-day Fujian, can be traced back to the Huang Chao Rebellion. Since it was far away from the main battlefield in the Central Plains and had few large-scale interactions with neighboring vassals (which affected the course of history), it was deliberately ignored by us until the time of Li Siyuan. The following will briefly describe the origins of the Wang family of the Min clan.

Huang Chao fought across most of China, and to avoid the pursuit of the imperial army he cut through the mountains for 880 miles and entered Fujian. After ravaging Fujian, Huang Chao fled to Guangzhou, then launched a northern expedition and entered Chang'an in the first year of Guangming () during the reign of Emperor Xizong of the Tang Dynasty.

Huang Chao's arrival broke the peace of Fujian, destroyed the local ruling system of the Tang Dynasty in Fujian, and plunged the region into anarchy and chaos. Under such circumstances, heroes from all over the country recruited soldiers and horses, and under the banner of self-defense against thieves, they developed local armed forces such as militia and militia, conquered cities and strengthened their own strength, and then accepted the court's amnesty and incorporation. In a flash, bandits became secretaries, and gangsters and underworld groups became civil servants of the Tang Dynasty.

Among them, Wang Xu, a butcher in Shouzhou, and his brother-in-law Liu Xingquan gathered 500 local hooligans and captured Shouzhou. A month later, they captured Guangzhou, and their team expanded to about 10,000 people. Wang Xu then called himself a general and took advantage of the situation to contact the court and ask for amnesty.

At that time, Qin Zongquan of Caizhou had just put order in the chaos. Under the persuasion of eunuch Yang Fuguang, he abandoned the dark and joined the light, broke away from the Huang Qi regime, and returned to the Tang Dynasty. Yang Fuguang recommended that Caizhou be promoted to Fengguo Army and Qin Zongquan be appointed as the defense envoy of Fengguo Army.

Qin Zongquan wanted to expand his power, so he recommended Wang Xu as the governor of Guangzhou and recruited him. From then on, Wang Xu became Qin Zongquan's younger brother in Caizhou.

The three brothers Wang Chao, Wang Shengui and Wang Shenzhi, who were temporary workers in the county government of Gushi County under his jurisdiction, were very prestigious in the local area and were nicknamed "Three Dragons". As a result, the three brothers were promoted and reused by Wang Xu and regarded as his wings.

The three brothers Wang Chao, Wang Shengui and Wang Shenzhi were the founders of the later Min Kingdom and were revered by later generations as the "Three Kings of Fujian".

Suddenly, a large number of unfamiliar names appeared. Let's do a simple sorting:
Big Boss: Qin Zongquan of Caizhou
Middle-level leader: Butcher Wang Xu

Younger brother: The Three Kings of Fujian, Wang Chao, Wang Shengui, and Wang Shenzhi
Next, there is another force that was recruited:
When Huang Chao was wreaking havoc in Fujian, Chen Yan, a local gangster, gathered thousands of people and called himself the "Nine Dragon Army" to defend his hometown and resist the invasion of bandits. Zheng Yi, the then local leader, looked at Chen Yan with affection and said, "Your shameless look is very similar to my charm when I was young." So he recommended Chen Yan as the deputy envoy of the militia and officially recruited him.

Zheng Yi was originally the gangster boss of Xiapi. He gathered 3,000 people to respond to Pang Xun. Later, when he saw that Pang Xun was doomed, he resolutely abandoned the dark and joined the light, surrendered to the court, and became a civil servant. He was promoted to the top military and political leader in Fujian. Chen Yan is quite similar to him.

Later, Li Lian, the governor of Quanzhou (now Quanzhou City, Fujian Province), committed a crime and fled for fear of punishment. He gathered a group of ethnic minorities and attacked Fuzhou. Chen Yan led his troops to defeat them, greatly boosting the military's prestige and reputation.

Zheng Yi was a wise man. Seeing that Chen Yan's achievements were so great that they frightened the ruler, he knew when to stop and took the initiative to submit a memorial to the emperor, recommending that Comrade Chen Yan take over his position.

Therefore, the imperial court appointed Chen Yan as the governor of Fujian Province, making him the top leader of Fujian Province. Chen Yan used both kindness and power during his tenure, and was highly respected and admired by the people of Fujian.

Okay, let’s briefly summarize: Chen Yan from Fujian.

Let’s talk about Wang Xu of Guangzhou who took refuge under the protection of Qin Zongquan of Caizhou.

Caizhou Qin Zongquan requisitioned food and grass from Wang Xu endlessly, and Wang Xu had difficulty in supplying them, so he excused himself by saying that he was short of food and could not supply them, and asked for forgiveness. Qin Zongquan also ordered him to attack Huang Chao, but Wang Xu postponed the departure date for various reasons. Qin Zongquan was furious and sent troops to punish him. Wang Xu was terrified, so he led his people to flee south, all the way south from Guangzhou, and fled to Fujian. During the period, in order to speed up the march, Wang Xu ordered the entire army to travel light and not to bring along the elderly, the weak, the sick, the disabled, and the pregnant.

However, the "Three Kings of Fujian" secretly brought their mother Dong with them.

Wang Xu's army crossed mountains and ridges, and the road was rugged. Old Lady Dong was soon discovered by Wang Xu. Wang Xu was furious and summoned the "Three Kings of Fujian" and scolded them: "There is no order without rules. The country has its own laws, and the army also has its own laws. Don't you know my military orders? I have emphasized that it is not allowed to help the elderly and children, but you actually violated it blatantly. This is really unreasonable!" He ordered Old Lady Dong to be abandoned.

The "Three Kings of Fujian" explained: "Everyone in the world has a mother. Did you come out of a stone? General, how can you force people to abandon their mothers?"

Wang Xu was furious, "You dare to talk back? Well, you won't abandon me, right? Come here - kill her!" He ordered the execution of Mrs. Dong on the spot, thus putting an end to the three brothers' hopes.

The three brothers fell to their knees and cried, "We serve you loyally and serve our mother filially. How can you kill the mother and use her son? If you really want to kill us, please kill us three brothers first."

The generals also pleaded with Wang Xu to show leniency.

Wang Xu had no choice but to take back his order because he couldn't afford to offend the public. "Okay, I'll just remember this. It won't happen again!"

This matter was not so easy to get over. It completely severed the relationship between Wang Xu and the "Three Kings of Fujian". The two sides were suspicious of each other, and a fight would break out sooner or later, and it would be a fight to the death.

The team marched southward, plundered Xunyang, crossed the Gan River, took Tingzhou, and captured Zhangpu, and the number of troops grew to tens of thousands.

During this period, a "master" told Wang Xu that there was an imperial spirit in his team. Wang Xu kept this in mind and secretly excluded those who were more talented and prestigious than himself. He would kill anyone who was braver, more strategic, or more elegant and sturdy than himself. He even killed his brother-in-law Liu Xingquan, who had made many military achievements.

The "Three Kings of Fujian" were very prestigious in the army and had openly disobeyed military orders, but the generals actually pleaded for them and forced him to revoke his order. Wang Xu could not forget this grudge. Next, he planned to plot against the "Three Kings of Fujian".

The three brothers were always on guard against Wang Xu.

Liu Xingquan was originally the vanguard. After he was killed, Wang Xu promoted a new vanguard officer.

When the vanguard troops arrived in Nan'an, the "Three Kings of Fujian" privately found the vanguard officer and said to him: "We left our homes, abandoned our ancestors' graves, abandoned our wives and children, and came to this wild and smoky land to become robbers who kill and burn people. Is this our original intention? We were just coerced by Wang Xu. Wang Xu is narrow-minded and cruel. All outstanding talents were killed by him for no reason. Even his brother-in-law Liu Xingquan could not escape his clutches. How can people like you and me rest easy? Especially you, with a heroic spirit between your eyebrows, extraordinary appearance, and better riding and archery than others, you are now replacing Liu Xingquan as the vanguard. I am really afraid for you!"

(End of this chapter)