History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 379 Brother Comes Back
【Brother is back】

After Wang Shenzhi died, his eldest son Wang Yanhan succeeded to the throne. At the beginning of Wang Yanhan's succession, Chen Ben, a rebel from Tingzhou, gathered 926 people and launched a rebellion, which was suppressed by Wang Yanhan. Subsequently, in March of the fourth year of Tongguang (3), Li Cunxu officially appointed Wang Yanhan as the governor of Weiwu Army.

In the same month that Wang Yanhan was appointed, Li Cunxu's regime was overthrown and Li Siyuan took control of Luoyang.

In order to maintain stability, Li Siyuan fully recognized Wang Yanhan's old official title (Jiedushi of Weiwu Army) and conferred him the title of Tongpingzhangshi as a sign of favor.

However, Wang Yanhan felt the decline of the Central Plains dynasty amid the changing circumstances in Luoyang, and had no place to put his restless little heart.

Wang Yanhan took out the "Records of the Grand Historian" and turned to the "Biography of Wuzhu, King of Minyue". He told everyone, "Look, Wuzhu was named King of Minyue during the Han Dynasty. What does this mean? Min has been an independent kingdom since ancient times. Now, if I don't become king, who else can I choose?"

This was no longer a hint, but a clear statement. The staff members then wrote to persuade him to take the throne.

On October 926, the first year of Tiancheng (10), Wang Yanhan proclaimed himself the King of Damin, built a royal palace, appointed civil and military officials, and modeled all cultural relics and systems after those of an emperor. He also issued an amnesty for the entire nation.

However, what is interesting is that after Wang Yanhan established his own country, he still recognized the legitimate rule of the Later Tang Dynasty and continued to use the Later Tang era name. In this way, the Min Kingdom was officially established and ranked among the "Ten Kingdoms", which was obviously also an illegal separatist regime politically.

Wang Yanhan, the founding monarch of the Min Kingdom, was overthrown less than three months after he took office.

After Wang Yanhan became king, he became arrogant and extravagant, no different from the other "second generation" ones:

Dancing on the grave, Wang Yanhan ended his mourning period early even though his father Wang Shenzhi's mourning period had not yet expired;
Civil engineering was started, and a luxurious palace over ten miles long was built across the West Lake in the west of the city, which was named "Crystal Palace";
He was lustful and licentious, and he searched for beautiful women among the people, forcibly brought them into the palace, and asked officials from all over the country to search for beautiful women among the people for him.

He excluded his brothers. His younger brother Wang Yanjun wrote a letter to persuade him, but Wang Yanhan was furious and exiled him to Quanzhou.

Wang Yanhan's wife was from a famous noble family, the Boling Cui family. Mrs. Cui was ugly, but very lewd and jealous. Whenever Wang Yanhan collected women from the people, Mrs. Cui would pick the pretty ones and then lock them up and abuse them. She would whip their cheeks with a large wooden board in the shape of a palm, hang them up and whip them until blood came out, and then stop whipping them with a large iron spike in their faces and arms. She tortured 84 people to death in one year.

Such a jealous, cruel, bloodthirsty and promiscuous lady actually believed in Buddhism. "The lady believed in Buddhism and took the monk Hui Leng from Fuzhou as her teacher, calling herself Master Lian."

In the Buddhist history book "Upāsikā-bhidāna", there is a record about this "Master Cui Lian", saying that she often conversed with old monks and was quite knowledgeable about Buddhism.

So how did she communicate with the monks and how did she know so much about Buddhism? The Five Lamps Collection records such a story:
Cui sent someone to deliver the donated clothes to Master Huiling. The person who delivered the clothes told Master Huiling that Master Cui Lian asked him to reply. Master Huiling said, "Go back and tell her: please receive the reply." After the servant left, he came back and bowed to Master Huiling.

The next day, Master Huiling came to the Jiedufu, and Cui bowed to him and said, "Thank you for your reply yesterday!"

Zen Master Hui Leng said, "Then bring me yesterday's letter so I can take a look."

Cui spread out his hands, palms facing the sky. His hands were empty, but he pretended to be holding something, and he respectfully placed them in front of Zen Master Huileng.

Wang Yanhan asked, "Master, do you think this letter is okay?"

Zen Master Hui Leng nodded and praised: "Hmm - it has some flavor."

Wang Yanhan still retained a bit of his normal mind. Faced with the Emperor's New Clothes-style "dialogue between monks", he was reserved and could not help asking: "Master, may I ask...what does the letter say? (I don't know what your intention is)" Zen Master Huileng closed his eyes and remained silent. He was too lazy to argue with such an ordinary person. They were in different realms and could not be discussed.

The atmosphere was awkwardly frozen. After a long time, Wang Yanhan could no longer bear the condemnation of his conscience and his wife's vicious and contemptuous eyes, and said to himself: "The master's Buddhist teachings are profound... incredible."

This is the conversation between Cui and the monk, as well as the profound realm of Buddhism.

Poems as proof:

"The city spans the West Lake and the road is opened, and the Crystal Palace Garden is open to you.

The training master alone talks about the Dharma of the Western Paradise, and he has just asked the Zen master for a letter. "

In fact, it is not surprising. Many people who respect Buddhism on the surface do not believe in Buddhism from the bottom of their hearts. Instead, they bribe the Buddha with the mentality of bribery to seek spiritual liberation. They burn two sticks of incense for the Buddha, donate some money to the temple, and then go back to kill, arson, and take bribes. Many criminals today are also like this.

Later, Cui fell ill, and during her illness, she suddenly saw a wronged spirit demanding her life, and died of excessive fright. Another version is that one midsummer day with a clear sky and no clouds, there was suddenly a thunderbolt that killed Cui in the courtyard. Another version is that she was killed together with Wang Yanhan, which will be mentioned below.

Wang Shenzhi also had an adopted son named Wang Yanbing, who was now the governor of Jianzhou. He looked like Li Keyong, but was blind in one eye, so he was nicknamed "One-eyed Dragon".

Wang Yanbing had always been at odds with Wang Yanhan. Wang Yanhan ordered Wang Yanbing to search for beautiful women in Jianzhou, but Wang Yanbing wrote a petition to persuade him, and his words were often rude. Wang Yanhan was furious, and the relationship between the two brothers became even more tense.

Wang Yanbing's Jianzhou was located in the northwest of Fuzhou, on the upper reaches of Jianyang River, while Fuzhou was located in the lower reaches of Jianyang River; Wang Yanjun, who had been excluded and exiled before, was in Quanzhou, which was located south of Fuzhou.

In December, Wang Yanbing and Wang Yanjun secretly joined forces, raised troops at the same time, and attacked Fuzhou together.

Wang Yanbing arrived in Fuzhou first by sea. Chen Tao, the commander-in-chief of Fuzhou, fought against him and committed suicide after being defeated. That night, Wang Yanbing led more than 100 warriors to climb the city wall at night, controlled the west gate, and then rushed directly into the inner city, opened the armory, seized weapons, and then attacked the palace.

When Wang Shenzhi attacked Fuzhou in the 30th year of the Han Dynasty, the siege lasted a whole year, while Wang Yanbing only took one day.

Wang Yanhan was sleeping soundly when he heard the news. He was so frightened that he didn't even have time to put on his clothes. He hurried to hide in the next room, but was caught.

The next morning, Wang Yanping beheaded Wang Yanhan and his wife Cui, and announced their crime: murdering their father Wang Shenzhi. A notice was issued to reassure the people.

Afterwards, Wang Yanjun finally arrived.

Wang Yanbing opened the city gate and warmly welcomed Wang Yanjun's arrival. Although Wang Yanbing was older than Wang Yanjun, he was only Wang Shenzhi's adopted son, and the relationship between the two was like that between Li Siyuan and Li Cunxu, so Wang Yanbing supported Wang Yanjun's succession to the throne and recommended him as the successor of the Weiwu Army.

After everything was settled, Wang Yanbing led his troops back to Jianzhou. Wang Yanjun respectfully went out of the city to see him off and gave a farewell party to the brother who helped him to the throne. After a good meal and a good drink, the two brothers expressed their feelings and said goodbye in tears. But just as Wang Yanbing was about to leave, he suddenly said the last words to Wang Yanjun:

"Take good care of the family business, and don't let me come again!" (Carry on the will of the elders, don't bother me again)

(End of this chapter)