History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 446: An Zhonghui's End
【The End of An Zhonghui】

Facing An Zhonghui's provocation, Li Siyuan flew into a rage, "Such a big mess has happened in my family, and you are still congratulating me?"

With Yang Yanwen being silenced, the suspicion of the "Hezhong Mutiny" remained for a long time. As a result, Li Congke was dismissed from his post as the governor of Hezhong and placed under house arrest.

Losing his job was not what An Zhonghui wanted. He was determined to kill Li Congke. Since Li Siyuan refused to listen to him, he would follow the mass line.

An Zhonghui deceived the naive prime ministers Feng Dao and Zhao Feng, asking them: "The Jiedushi was seriously derelict in his duty, which led to the mutiny in the military garrison. He was expelled from the garrison. What crime should he be punished for?"

Feng Dao and Zhao Feng were famous pollution-free products, excellent students, moral models, and very silly and naive. Li Siyuan was illiterate, so all memorials had to be read by An Zhonghui. However, An Zhonghui had not graduated from elementary school. He could not read these parallel four-six, four-six-eight sentences, quotations from classics, and the three emperors before and five emperors after. He either could not read them smoothly or read them haltingly without understanding the meaning. Therefore, he requested Feng Dao and Zhao Feng to be the Grand Secretaries of Duanming Palace to help Li Siyuan translate memorials and answer his questions.

Although An Zhonghui was not educated, he knew how to control people. He used the benefits to deal with villains and the righteousness to deal with gentlemen. Although Feng Dao and Zhao Feng were promoted by him, An Zhonghui did not boss them around like a benefactor. Instead, he treated them with courtesy and respect. His words and deeds revealed his respect for educated people. He often talked about the rise and fall of the country and the righteousness of the Spring and Autumn Period. He portrayed himself as a capable minister who was concerned about the country and the people and devoted himself to the country until his death. The two scholars were deeply moved.

When framing Li Congke, An Zhonghui also exaggerated the issue, evaded the main issue, and changed the subject. Feng Dao and Zhao Feng agreed with this, so they reported to Li Siyuan, accusing Li Congke of dereliction of duty and abandoning the town, and he should be severely punished.

Li Siyuan slammed the memorials of the two prime ministers on the table and said, "These two nerds know nothing! Why are they interfering?"

The two naive boys were relentless and fully demonstrated the fine tradition of "dying for remonstrance". When they saw that their memorial received no response, they actually confronted Li Siyuan and said, "Your Majesty, please follow the principles of the Spring and Autumn Annals and punish the generals who failed in their duties to serve as a warning to others!"

Li Siyuan knew that they were being used by someone with ulterior motives, so he did not get angry with the two prime ministers. He only gently reminded them: "The rebellion in Hezhong has insufficient evidence and unclear facts. It has not yet been concluded. Why do you two insist on forcing me to kill people? From what I hear from you two, it doesn't seem like you really mean it."

A few days later, the two prime ministers again solemnly discussed the issue during court session.

The court fell silent in an instant.

Li Siyuan simply ignored the two men and handled other people's requests as if nothing had happened.

The next day, An Zhonghui personally made another presentation.

Li Siyuan sighed and said, "In the past, when I was still a low-ranking officer, my family was very poor. I relied on this child to pick up horse manure and sell it for money to supplement the family income. Now, I am the emperor, should I repay kindness with hatred? You keep saying that you will deal with it strictly according to the law. Okay, then what kind of strict method do you say? Come on, I'll leave it to you, what do you say?"

An Zhonghui refused to take the knife. "Your Majesty, we are brothers and sisters, how dare I interfere? Please judge for me, Your Majesty!"

Li Siyuan said angrily: "I have already made him stay at home and reflect on his mistakes. What else can be done?"

When An Zhonghui's plan failed, he came up with another one. He wanted to give Li Congke some extra information.

Suo Zitong was awarded the title of Jiedushi of Hezhong for his meritorious service in suppressing the "rebellion" in Hezhong, and succeeded Li Congke. After taking office, Suo Zitong surrendered many weapons in batches according to An Zhonghui's secret instructions, and reported that they were privately made by Li Congke.

Making and storing weapons and armor privately was considered as plotting rebellion, punishable by death. Li Congke's "treason" was irrefutable, and An Zhonghui spoke righteously and firmly demanded that Li Congke be executed.

Li Congke hid at home, praying to gods and Buddhas every day, asking for help from the gods. Apart from that, he had no other way to deal with An Zhonghui's persecution.

All civil and military officials avoided Li Congke like a plague god, fearing that he would bring disaster upon themselves. Political struggle is cruel and merciless.

There was only one honest and upright official who lived in the same alley as Li Congke. He was not afraid of rumors and often visited Li Congke's home.

A friend in need is a friend indeed. Li Congke was deeply moved and the two gradually became good friends who could talk about anything, laying a solid foundation for their friendship. Later, when Li Congke ascended the throne, he vigorously promoted this friend.

This honest and upright official was a man of great literary talent and had an extremely tragic life story. His name was Lu Qi, and his story will be revealed in the following text.

Lu Qi was very open with Li Congke, gave him advice and helped him polish his memorials. However, these efforts were pale and powerless when fighting against An Zhonghui, and were of no avail.

The one who truly withstood the heavy pressure from An Zhonghui was Li Siyuan's favorite concubine, Concubine Wang Defei.

This Consort Wang De was named "Consort De" in the third year of Tiancheng (928), "Consort Shu" in the second year of Changxing (931), and was named "Consort Tai" after Li Conghou ascended the throne. After her death, she was posthumously named Consort Xian. Therefore, some historical books call her "Consort Wang Shu", and some who like to attract attention call her by the erotic nickname "Hua Jianxiu". This book calls her "Consort Wang De".

As mentioned in the previous article, it was An Zhonghui who helped Concubine Wang De ascend to the throne. However, An Zhonghui repeatedly advised Concubine Wang De and accidentally offended her.

An Zhonghui could not have imagined that the one who finally snatched Li Congke from the hands of death was Concubine Wang De. Concubine Wang De was the most powerful lady in the harem, and her pillow talk was very powerful.

After several months of open and secret struggles, Concubine Wang De gradually stabilized her position and then launched a counterattack against An Zhonghui.

On this day, two generals of the imperial army, Li Xingde and Zhang Jian, reported an explosive news: An Zhonghui mobilized troops without authorization, claiming that he would personally lead the army to conquer Huainan, and even asked a wizard to predict his fortune. The source of the news was a minor character named Bian Yanwen.

Li Siyuan was shocked and asked his personal guard commanders An Congjin and Yao Yanchou, "Is An Zhonghui going to rebel?"

The two patted their chests and vouched for An Zhonghui, "Your Majesty, this must be a false accusation! An Zhonghui has served Your Majesty for thirty years. A journey of a thousand miles reveals a horse's strength. Isn't Your Majesty clear about what kind of person he is? Moreover, he has been blessed by the emperor, holds a high position, and enjoys endless wealth and glory. How could he rebel? We are willing to use the lives of our entire family to vouch for him!"

Li Siyuan then beheaded Bian Yanwen, and later summoned An Zhonghui to clear up the misunderstanding.

As the king and his minister talked, they couldn't help crying. This was not pretending, it was the true feelings of the two. At this moment, the king and his minister had a vague ominous premonition in their hearts.

In political struggles, the emperor may also be a small character, and there are many things that even the emperor is powerless to change.

(End of this chapter)