History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 466 Tianjin Bridge Incident

【Tianjin Bridge Incident】

Li Siyuan was not confused. He immediately sent Li Chongji to seal the palace gate and cut off the connection between the inside and the outside, that is, to cut off the retreat routes of all "insiders", such as Kang Yicheng. He was forced to be locked up in the palace with everyone else and could not contact Li Congrong on Tianjin Bridge.

At this time, Li Congrong was still confident that as long as Kang Yicheng supported him, this matter would be successful. Besides, what reason did he have not to support it? My own son was in my hands, and the early communication was also smooth. Now we just had to cooperate internally and externally.

Li Congrong brought a small stool (Hu bed) and sat on the Tianjin Bridge, and sent his confidant to summon Kang Yicheng and ask him to raise an army to seize power. However, the Duanmen Gate was closed and heavily guarded, so the attendants came to the Zuoye Gate and suddenly heard the noise of people and horses inside. They squinted their eyes and peeked in through the crack of the door. After taking a look, they hurried back to the bridge.

Li Congrong was very impressive, "What's going on in the palace?"

"Soldiers! Soldiers... Soldiers!"

Li Congrong was elegant and calm, "But are they Kang Yicheng's soldiers?"

"Cavalry, Zhu Hongshi's cavalry!"

Li Congrong was shocked and thought it was all over!

Zhu Hongshi, the commander-in-chief of the imperial cavalry (the commander of the cavalry), was quite brave. When Li Congrong became the generalissimo of the army, he wanted to win him over and often gave him generous rewards, treating him better than other generals. However, Zhu Hongshi chose another thigh - Zhu Hongzhao.

Regarding the names of these two people, there are different writings in historical records. For example, Zhu Hongzhao is written as "Zhu Hongzhao", and Zhu Hongshi is written as "Zhu Hongshi" or "Zhu Hongshi". This is interesting. These two people who have nothing to do with each other seem to be brothers or cousins.

Zhu Hongzhao became the Privy Councilor and the top leader of the imperial military system. Zhu Hongshi, who was born in a military family, took advantage of the coincidence of their surnames and generation names to climb the ladder and recognized Zhu Hongzhao as his brother. The two immediately hit it off and huddled together for warmth.

It was obvious that Zhu Hongshi was Zhu Hongzhao's man. So when Li Congrong heard that it was Zhu Hongshi who led the troops out of the palace, he knew that the internal support in the palace did not work and he was going to face a tough battle.

Do you want to be a bear for your whole life, or be a hero for just one second?
Li Congrong wanted to be a hero. Whether he was pretending to stabilize the morale of the army or really risking his life, he maintained the demeanor of a general, remained calm in the face of danger, ordered his followers to fetch armor, put it on, and then sat calmly on a small stool, concentrating on adjusting the bowstring.

Soon, a large number of cavalry poured out of the palace.

The imperial envoy An Congyi led 300 cavalrymen to attack the Tianjin Bridge position. Li Congrong was calm and composed. He bent his bow and drew his arrows, commanding his archers to shoot together. An Congyi's attack failed and he retreated slightly. The Zuoye Gate was opened, and Zhu Hongshi led 500 cavalrymen to attack. Li Congrong was calmly commanding the response, but he saw dust flying in the direction of the Zuoye Gate, and there were endless troops following the 500 cavalrymen.

The morale of Li Congrong's troops collapsed and they scattered. They ran to the south city, looted Jiashanfang, and then scattered like birds and beasts.

Since ancient times, there have been many heroes who have fallen on hard times, and many generals who have failed, but few have been as embarrassed and disgraced as Li Congrong. According to historical records, Li Congrong ran home and hid under the bed with his wife, but was caught up by An Congyi, who dug them out and chopped off their heads. Li Congrong's sons were also killed.

An Congyi presented the heads of Li Congrong, his wife and their sons to Zhu Hongshi.

Upon learning that Li Congrong was dead, Kang Yicheng killed Sun Yue while searching for Li Congrong's remaining followers. This was both a personal revenge and a way to silence the witnesses. When the news of Li Congrong's beheading reached the palace, Li Siyuan was so shocked and grief-stricken that he almost fell off the bed. His eyes went black and he passed out. The imperial physician gave him emergency treatment, but he fell into a coma again after waking up. He kept going back and forth like this for several times, and his condition deteriorated rapidly (hence his illness became worse).

Li Congrong still had a young son raised in the palace, and the ministers requested that he should be completely wiped out.

There is no grandfather who doesn't love his grandson. Li Siyuan burst into tears and almost begged: "What crime has this ignorant child committed?"

However, the pressure from his ministers was so great that Li Siyuan had no choice but to hand over his grandson and behead him.

The next day, Prime Minister Feng Dao led civil and military officials to the Yonghe Hall to meet Li Siyuan.

Li Siyuan burst into tears and choked up several times, "I never thought that something like this would happen in my family. How can I have the face to meet you all again!"

When the ministers heard this, they burst into tears. In the Yonghe Hall, the emperor and his ministers wept together.

Afterwards, the organization made a decision: to immediately summon Li Conghou, the governor of Weizhou and the Prince of Song, to Beijing. The eunuch Meng Hanqiong was appointed as the messenger to deliver the imperial edict, and he was left in Weizhou to temporarily take over the military and political affairs of Weizhou and replace Li Conghou.

Then came the climax of the political struggle - the Great Purge. With the imperial edict to demote Li Congrong to a commoner, a bloody liquidation of "Li Congrong's followers" began.

Who are considered "Li Congrong's followers"? Of course, they are his staff, subordinates, and all those who are close to him or even have contacts with him. In many cases, the person in charge of the liquidation will use this opportunity to settle personal grudges, attack his political enemies, and force them to be related to Li Congrong. If no connection can be found, they can also be listed as "spiritual accomplices" on the grounds of "sympathizing with Li Congrong" and suppressed.

This kind of scene has been seen many times in the previous article.

Soon, Gao Nian, Liu Zhi, Wang Jumin, Liu Zan and other staff and subordinates were listed as the top "Li Congrong's followers." However, a fierce debate broke out within the liquidation working group.

The radical faction, represented by Zhu Hongzhao, advocated strict and severe punishment, and insisted on wiping out Li Congrong's group and eradicating the root of the problem.

The moderate faction, represented by Feng Yun and Feng Dao, advocated differentiated treatment and not killing innocent people indiscriminately.

Who is innocent?

For example, Qin Wangfu Liu Zan, Li Congrong's teacher, was definitely a "Li Congrong cronies", but Li Congrong's attitude towards Liu Zan was obvious to all. Although they were in name only, they were definitely not in the same party. Liu Zan not only did not participate in Li Congrong's conspiracy, but also kept trying to persuade him, so Liu Zan was innocent.
Another example is Wang Jumin, who was the Prince's Secretary and theoretically Li Congrong's top adviser. If the prince succeeded to the throne, the "Prince's Secretary" would be the new emperor's most trusted confidant, second only to the emperor and in charge of military and political affairs. It was Wang Jumin who recommended Liu Zan to Li Congrong as his teacher.

However, Wang Jumin was also a righteous and learned man, and he repeatedly advised Li Congrong, so he did not like Li Congrong. Wang Jumin watched with disappointment as Li Congrong went further and further down the path of heresy, and he was powerless to persuade him, so he lied that he was seriously ill and took indefinite sick leave. By the time Li Congrong rebelled, Wang Jumin had already taken half a year of sick leave, so it was impossible for him to participate in the coup plot.

Moreover, when Li Congrong led his troops to line up at Tianjin Bridge, he looked at the rising sun and said to those around him with a smile: "Wang Jumin will not see the sunrise tomorrow morning. When I take that position, I will be the first to chop off his head!"

(End of this chapter)