History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 380 Brother Comes Back 2
This was a naked threat. Wang Yanjun was so frightened that his face turned pale and sweat poured down like rain. He sent Wang Yanbing away respectfully and humbly.

Like all abnormal transfers of supreme power, the joint overthrow of Wang Yanhan by Wang Yanbin and Wang Yanjun is also shrouded in mystery:
Wang Yanhan was overthrown less than three months after he proclaimed himself king. Even if we count the time he took over as the governor of Weiwu Army, it has been less than a year. What heinous things did he do in this year?

After searching for a long time, it turned out that he was just lustful. As for the large-scale construction, how many people would not build palaces when a new lord ascended the throne? Even if the "Crystal Palace" of more than ten miles was indeed too luxurious, then he was only extravagant this time, wasn't it?

It is certain that he is lustful, but compared with Li Cunxu and Wang Zongyan, he is still nothing.

Apart from this, there is no other reason for him to be overthrown. Even Wang Yanbing, who overthrew him, could only accuse him of "killing his father to seize power."

Did Wang Shenzhi kill himself? Definitely not. In May, Wang Shenzhi was seriously ill, so he ordered his eldest son Wang Yanhan to take charge of military affairs (Quanzhi Junfu Shi), which is generally the next successor. In December, Wang Shenzhi died of illness, and Wang Yanhan succeeded to the throne smoothly.

Would Wang Yanhan be so impatient? After he had already identified himself as the successor, after waiting for seven months, and when his father was already dying, he lost his patience? This was obviously not reasonable.

The historical records of Wang Yanhan are very brief. For example, in the Old History of the Five Dynasties, there is only a very brief sentence:

"Shenzhi dies, his son Yanhan succeeds him, but he is killed by his younger brother Yanjun." - The end of the play.

In the New History of the Five Dynasties, Xiu Ye, which was rare, spent a little more time and effort than in the Old History of the Five Dynasties, and gave a more comprehensive introduction, but it was only less than 200 words, and a large part of it was used to accuse his "vulgar and lewd" wife, Cui.

Even in "Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms", Wang Yanhan was only allocated less than 500 words.

In "The Story of Five Kingdoms", the length of the story about Wang Yanhan's wife Cui completely overshadows his.

After a little sorting and summarization, we can find the key point: in all historical records, the record of Wang Yanhan is a simple summary of a few words, and his wife Cui is only given half of the role. However, in this brief historical material, there are also thought-provoking words:
"Yan Han was a tall and handsome man, as fair as jade" - "New History of the Five Dynasties"

"Yan Han was a man of great stature, fair as jade, fond of reading, and well versed in classics and history" - "Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms"

Think about it, what kind of person is usually described as “face like a jade” in a stereotyped way.

Furthermore, when Wang Yanhan first took over the throne, he suppressed the Chen Ben rebel group, which had a size of 20,000 people. Was Wang Yanhan really incompetent?
Wang Yanhan was accused of being incompatible with his brother, and he exiled his brother Wang Yanjun to Quanzhou. Was it cruel to exile his brother to a local place? Compared with imprisoning his brother in the "Sixteen Houses" or killing him directly, Wang Yanhan's approach was really merciful. He sent his brother to a local place to be a governor and let him hold military power, but he did not appoint a military supervisor or assign a personal guard to monitor and restrain him.

Wang Yanjun entered Fuzhou only after Wang Yanbing beheaded Wang Yanhan. Some say he entered on the same day, while others say he entered the next day. Was it really such a coincidence? Why did Wang Yanjun have a perfect alibi?
The most critical question is the reason why the two men started the rebellion. Judging from the existing historical materials, it seems that it was simply because they were "displeased with you". I personally think that Wang Yanhan's death is even more bizarre than Zhu Yougui's death.

Regardless of the conspiracy, Wang Yanjun, with the strong support of Wang Yanbin, successfully overthrew Wang Yanhan's rule and replaced him. After Wang Yanjun came to power, he changed his name to Wang Yanjun, and continued to use the old rules.

Li Siyuan of the Later Tang Dynasty appointed Wang Yanjun as the Jiedushi of the Weiwu Army, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, and conferred him the title of King of Langya. In fact, the titles and official titles are very long, such as the General of the Jinwu Guard, the Inspector Grand Tutor... We only pick a few representative ones.

Wang Yanjun then presented some local specialties as tribute, such as rhinoceros horns, spices, seafood, etc.

Li Siyuan was very happy and promoted Wang Yanjun to the King of Min.

Wang Yanjun also presented as a tribute of 100 taels of gold, 6,500 taels of silver, 3,000 rolls of silk, as well as rhinoceros horns, camphor, tortoise shells, pearls, and incense as gifts of thanks.

Wang Yanbin relied on his merits in supporting the throne and was arrogant and domineering, and his power was equal to that of Wang Yanjun. His terrifying fighting power in conquering Fuzhou in one day was both a myth and a nightmare, and it was a nightmare that Wang Yanjun could not get rid of.

Wang Yanjun was very afraid of his brother, especially the words he said before he left, "Don't bother me again, brother." It was like an invisible sword, making Wang Yanjun feel uneasy and uneasy. He became a great concern to Wang Yanjun, and he had to get rid of him as soon as possible.

In December of the fourth year of Tiancheng (929), Wang Yanbing suddenly claimed that he was seriously ill and unable to perform his duties. He directly petitioned Li Siyuan of the Later Tang Dynasty and recommended his son Wang Jixiong as the governor of Jianzhou to succeed him. Li Siyuan approved the petition.

At that time, when provincial governors and military governors were critically ill, they would report to the court to appoint their successors. In normal times, this would never be allowed by the court. Since the first emperor of Qin abolished feudal fiefdoms and established counties, China has entered a centralized system. Local officials must be appointed by the central court, and officials at all levels must be responsible to the emperor. The emperor can be hereditary, but how can mayors and high officials be hereditary?
However, with the gradual decline of the central government in the late Tang Dynasty, the trend of strong local governments and weak central government intensified. The central government had long lost control over the local governments. The positions of defense envoys, observation envoys, and military governors were basically assumed to be hereditary, but the form of "memorials" was retained. They would write a memorial to the central court to show their intention and give the central government face. The court would definitely approve it, otherwise there would be a big war.

However, Wang Yanbing's move was full of mysteries. In fact, he was not directly under the central government, but a subordinate of Wang Yanjun. Even if he really wanted to pass the throne to his son, it should be Wang Yanjun who should make the proposal. However, Wang Yanbing bypassed Wang Yanjun and directly contacted Li Siyuan of the Later Tang Dynasty. In this way, he returned Jianzhou and other lands to the central government of the Later Tang Dynasty.

Wang Yanbing publicly stated that he wanted to break away from Wang Yanjun's Great Min Kingdom and become his equal in politics from now on. This was very tactful and implicit.

Dividing the territory is intolerable! Although Wang Yanbing was nominally the governor of Jianzhou, he actually controlled most of the Min Kingdom. He was good at fighting and had rich experience. He was quite prestigious in the army. His rebellious heart was obvious. He openly colluded with the Later Tang. If he did not take any action, he would probably take away his foundation sooner or later.

So Wang Yanjun used his own method to retaliate against him: You feigned illness, and I feigned illness too.

In April of the second year of Changxing (931), news spread in the territory of Min that Wang Yanjun was seriously ill. Subsequently, an obituary was sent to Jianzhou, saying that Wang Yanjun had died and requesting condolences.

(End of this chapter)