History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 463 Domineering Exposed
【Exposed domineering】

Li Congrong came to Li Siyuan, and said to him with anger and grievance: "I heard that some evil people have been talking nonsense recently, wanting to make me the crown prince. I am still young, and I am studying hard, making progress every day, trying to train myself, and learning how to train the army and govern the people. I don't want to take up this position!"

Li Siyuan said helplessly that this was the opinion of the ministers and the voice of the masses.

After Li Congrong withdrew, he happened to run into Prime Minister Fan Yanguang and Zhao Yanshou. Li Congrong was furious and shouted at them: "You are planning to make me the crown prince, but you are just trying to take away my military power and imprison me in the East Palace. How can you hide this little trick from me?"

The two men trembled with fear, so they immediately reported to Li Siyuan, saying that Comrade Li Congrong was a man of high moral character and wanted to serve the people wholeheartedly and had no other ideas.

Subsequently, Li Siyuan appointed Li Congrong as the Grand Marshal of the Army of the Nation, and granted him an additional fief of 10,000 households, with a real fief of 3,000 households; he then issued an edict: the rank of the Grand Marshal was above that of the Prime Minister, thus stipulating in the name of law that Li Congrong had the supreme status.

"Crown Prince" is just a title, and one can appoint or depose a crown prince. "Crown Prince" is theoretically the legal successor, but there is often a deviation between theory and practice.

"Emperor" is like a legal couple who have obtained a marriage certificate, while "Crown Prince" is a couple. Couples may not necessarily be able to enter the marriage hall. Li Congrong wanted to be an emperor, but he did not necessarily have to be a crown prince.

According to convention, the crown prince had to live in the Eastern Palace, hand over his military power, stay away from civil and military officials to avoid suspicion, and his only job was to wait quietly for the old emperor to pass away.

In a peaceful and prosperous era, this procedure was fine, but in the chaotic Five Dynasties, handing over military power was equivalent to handing over one's life. Li Congrong did not want to pin his fate on the mercy and loyalty of his ministers.

In comparison, the prince's synonym for "Grand Marshal of the Army" is more practical.

After obtaining this title, Li Congrong became even more arrogant and domineering.

He first held a grand banquet and rewarded the generals generously: he rewarded the commanders of the three imperial guards units, Konghe, Pengsheng and Yanwei, with a horse and ten pieces of silk each; the other commanders of the imperial guards were given ten pieces of silk each; and the officers below the rank of Dutou of the imperial guards were given three to seven pieces of silk each, depending on the rank of their official position.

He allocated one thousand men from the Pengsheng and Yanwei camps as his personal guards.

After that, whenever he went out, he was always accompanied by a large number of soldiers, even when he went to the palace to see Li Siyuan. There were hundreds of cavalrymen alone. The guards rode their horses with bows strung and swords unsheathed. No matter officials or civilians, they all had to get out of the way, and "everyone who saw them was terrified."

The "literary man" Li Congrong gathered his staff and guests and assigned them a composition, "The Proclamation on the Conquest of Huainan", in which he expounded his ambition to eliminate Huainan and unify the world.

After obtaining the title of Grand Marshal and opening the Grand Marshal's Office, Li Congrong requested that Cui Ze, a Hanlin scholar, be appointed as the judge of the Marshal's Office to serve as his advisor and think tank. Li Siyuan rejected the request, saying that he still needed him.

Li Congrong was very angry. After leaving the hall, he complained publicly, saying that he was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the army, but was not allowed to hire staff. Was he on guard against me?

It is the truth, but it cannot be said openly. Just like the son of a provincial governor serving in the imperial guards, how can you say that the court's grace to you is a hostage? Can such truth be said openly?

After hearing Li Congrong's complaints and grumblings, the civil and military officials believed that he was naive and would never amount to anything, and would sooner or later be defeated in the cruel political struggle. "Everyone knew the disaster but no one dared to speak out."

Li Congrong was outspoken. He not only complained publicly about the emperor, but also told his confidants about his horrific and bloody political purge plan in private: "When I take the throne, I will execute all the treacherous officials in the court!"

Who are the treacherous officials he is talking about? Answer: Everyone. Please don't get me wrong, I am not targeting anyone. I mean, everyone here is garbage.

Because the whole court of civil and military officials did not support him, but supported Li Conghou, often praised Li Conghou and belittled Li Congrong in front of Li Siyuan, becoming a stumbling block on Li Congrong's way to the throne. So they all deserved to die, and their whole family should die.

The higher the official position and the closer they were to the emperor, the higher their ranking on Li Congrong's death list, such as Prime Minister Fan Yanguang, Zhao Yanshou, Shi Jingtang, etc.

These people were very self-aware, so they tried every possible way to get out of the situation. They resigned from their central government positions and requested to be transferred to local areas.

For example, Shi Jingtang, who failed in his campaign in the two Sichuan provinces, served as the commander of the imperial army and the governor of Heyang after returning to the court. At a time when the Khitans repeatedly harassed the northern border, Li Siyuan discussed with his ministers who could lead troops to the north to resist the enemy. Fan Yanguang and Zhao Yanshou agreed: "The only ones who can resist the Khitans are Shi Jingtang and Kang Yicheng."

Shi Jingtang was eager to leave the central government, so he gladly accepted the order and was transferred to Hedong Jiedushi, stationed in Taiyuan Prefecture. When he received the imperial edict, he found that he still retained the title of "Deputy Envoy of the Six Armies and Guards" of the central imperial guards, so he resolutely submitted a petition to resign and completely rejected the central government position.

Fan Yanguang and Zhao Yanshou also tried every possible means to request to be transferred to local positions.

Li Siyuan was both angry and sad about this because he was seriously ill and his end was near. There were undercurrents and crises in the court, but these generals whom he trusted most and the old ministers who had accompanied him in conquering the world chose to leave and abandon him at this time.

With tears in his eyes, Li Siyuan shouted at Fan Yanguang and Zhao Yanshou, "Why are you all leaving me? Well, if you want to leave, just go ahead. No need to submit a resignation letter. Go, go, go!"

Zhao Yanshou's wife was Li Siyuan's thirteenth daughter, Princess Xingping. Princess Xingping helped Zhao Yanshou to excuse himself, saying that Zhao Yanshou was seriously ill and could not hold an important position in the court, but he did not dare to occupy an empty position and infringe on the interests of the empire. He also wanted to find a quiet place to prolong his life.

Fan Yanguang and Zhao Yanshou joined forces to explain to Li Siyuan, and put on a noble attitude, saying that we dare not let the empire down, but our abilities are limited and we dare not stay in the high position of prime minister for a long time. We hope to take turns in the position with other meritorious veterans so that other comrades can share the benefits and have a chance to serve the country and the people.

And emphasize: We dare not leave together, please send one of us out first, and the other one will stay temporarily, "old and new", and slowly make the transition. If the new successor is not capable enough, call us back, and we promise to report back immediately!

No matter how tactfully it is expressed, the real reason is unspoken.

"Okay, okay..." Li Siyuan appointed Zhao Yanshou as the Jiedushi of Xuanwu Army in Bianzhou, and transferred Zhu Hongzhao as Privy Councilor and Prime Minister.

Being prime minister or privy councilor was a high-risk job nowadays, so Zhu Hongzhao hastily resigned.

Li Siyuan could no longer bear it and angrily shouted, "If you don't want to stay with me, why should I support you?"

Zhu Hongzhao then dared not speak and accepted the appointment with tears in his eyes.

Fan Yanguang also requested to be sent out through the relationship between eunuch Meng Hanqiong and Concubine Wang De. Li Siyuan appointed Fan Yanguang as the governor of Chengde Army in Zhenzhou and transferred Feng Yun as the privy envoy.

Shi Jingtang, Fan Yanguang and Zhu Yanshou, who had backgrounds, connections and channels, successfully escaped. What should Kang Yicheng do?
(End of this chapter)