History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 468: Chess Piece Li Conghou

【Chess Piece Li Conghou】

A chess piece, but also a discarded piece. Li Conghou's tragedy was doomed from the moment he left Weizhou.

After Li Siyuan's death, the palace blocked the news. Three days later, on November 11, Li Conghou rushed to Luoyang from Weizhou. On December 29, the sad news of the emperor's death was officially announced to the public. Li Conghou ascended the throne in front of the coffin and became the third emperor of Later Tang - Emperor Min of Later Tang (also known as "Emperor Min").

Li Conghou's accession to the throne was not the end of this great political struggle, but just a small comma. After the defeat of Li Congrong's group, they did not suffer a thorough liquidation, which was the result of the game of multiple forces. Then, these interest groups that won the first round will have to fight for their interests more cruelly.

Let's first briefly sort out several major interest groups:
1. "Rocket Pie"

Representative figures: Zhu Hongzhao, Feng Yun, Zhu Hongshi;

Characteristics: young, inexperienced, low prestige, recently promoted rapidly to a high position; dark horse in the political arena;

2. "Qin Wang Faction"

Representative: Kang Yicheng
Features: Being in the Song Dynasty but his heart is in Qin, clearing out the fish that slipped through the net among "Li Congrong's followers"

3. "Harem Faction"

Representative figures: Concubine Wang De, eunuch Meng Hanqiong
Characteristics: declining day by day, becoming obsolete tomorrow. Because the basis of their power is the emperor's favor, a new emperor only wants to inherit the power of the previous dynasty, not the ministers of the previous dynasty, let alone the favorite concubines of the previous emperor.

4. "Follow the Dragon School"

Representative: Song Lingxun
Features: Li Conghou's staff and guests during his ambush, a true descendant of Li Conghou, and Li Conghou's most trusted confidant

5. “Powerful”

Representative figures: Li Congke, Shi Jingtang, Fan Yanguang, Zhao Dejun, Zhao Yanshou, etc.

Characteristics: A veteran of the previous dynasty, a meritorious general, he enjoys a very high reputation in the army, currently lives in a local vassal state, holds a large number of troops, and poses the greatest threat to the central court.

These major interest groups are intertwined, with deep cooperation and conflicts of interest, and they are both enemies and friends. Under the deep water, the "Li Congrong Rebellion Case" is just a small climax of the struggle in terms of the overall process.

The "rocket faction" was also used as a pawn at first, and was a temporary scapegoat for the "powerful faction" to escape. Unexpectedly, they became the biggest beneficiaries of the "Li Congrong Rebellion Case". This interest group is the most deformed, belonging to the political upstarts, a "three-no product" with no foundation, no background, and no qualifications. It has the weakest strength but the greatest power, just like a skinny man holding a Qinglong Yanyue Sword, while a group of burly men around him hold nail clippers.

Such a social form will inevitably cause more violent shocks.

The interests that have been obtained are impossible to give up. The "Rocket Faction" took the initiative to attack and launched indiscriminate attacks on other factions to weaken their opponents and strengthen their own strength. This is obviously a gamble, and they will burn themselves.

They first launched an attack on the "harem faction", and the breakthrough point was Wang Si, the official in charge of clothing.

Siyi, a palace lady, was a sixth-rank official in the Tang Dynasty system. As the name suggests, she was responsible for the management of clothes and jewelry in the palace. In addition, this Wang had another identity: Li Congyi's wet nurse. As soon as Li Congyi was born, he was "adopted" to the infertile Concubine Wang De, and this Siyi Wang was designated as Li Congyi's wet nurse. Therefore, Siyi Wang and Concubine Wang De had a very good relationship.

It is said that according to the "Rocket Party":

One day, Zhu Hongshi's wife came to the palace and chatted with Wang, the official in charge of clothing. During the chat, they talked about the recent big news - "Li Congrong's rebellion case". Wang, the official in charge of clothing, made the following remarks to Zhu Hongshi's wife:
"Li Congrong is a son. His father is seriously ill. How could he not come to see him? He led his troops into the palace to protect the emperor, but was falsely accused of rebellion. Don't you think it's unfair? Besides, Li Congrong is so good to your husband Zhu Hongshi! He gave him so many rewards at ordinary times, but at the critical moment, your husband Zhu Hongshi didn't even defend him. How disloyal."

Then Zhu Hongshi's wife relayed this to Zhu Hongshi, who relayed it to Kang Yicheng, and then they jointly reported it to Li Conghou.

The "Rocket Faction" also revealed another even more shocking palace scandal: Wang, the head of the Imperial Household Department, had an adulterous affair with Li Congrong!

It is said, or according to the "Rocket Faction":

Seeing that Li Siyuan was old and Li Congrong was strong, Wang wanted to cling to Li Congrong's thighs and took the initiative to seduce him. The two flirted with each other, which was very vulgar. At that time, Li Congyi was just four years old. Wang, the wet nurse, lied to Li Siyuan, saying that little Li Congyi wanted to play with his brother Li Congrong. Li Siyuan asked Li Congyi, and Li Congyi answered "I miss my brother" with the words that Wang, the wet nurse, had taught him in advance. Li Siyuan was very happy. It was good for the brothers to be harmonious, so he asked Wang, the wet nurse, to take Li Congyi to Li Congrong's house as a guest. The two threw Li Congyi aside and then did something indescribable.

Wang Shi, the official in charge of clothing, not only sold her body to Li Congrong, but also sold intelligence in the palace to him and acted as a spy for Li Congrong.

Li Conghou was furious and ordered Wang, the official in charge of clothing, to commit suicide. He then ordered Kang, the official in charge of ceremonies, who was implicated in the incident, to be executed. Wang was Li Congyi's wet nurse, and Concubine Wang De was Li Congyi's adoptive mother. This incident naturally implicated Concubine Wang De, which was the real intention of the "rocket faction".

Li Conghou also wanted to punish Concubine Wang De, but Empress Dowager Cao stepped in to stop him, so Concubine Wang De was able to remain safe. However, she was also alienated and neglected as a result, and her power was greatly reduced.

The death penalty was imposed on Wang Shiyi, the official in charge of clothing. The incident happened on December 12, less than 9 days after Li Conghou ascended the throne.

Next, the "Rocket Faction" wisely focused its attack targets on the "Dragon Faction".

The only backer of the "Conglong faction" is Li Conghou. They are also "three-no products", but they are Li Conghou's direct confidants and have the most potential. If they cannot be nipped in the bud, then over time, Li Conghou will inevitably replace the "Huojian faction" with the "Conglong faction". So the "Conglong faction" must be eradicated before they develop.

On December 12, less than half a month after Li Conghou ascended the throne, under heavy pressure from the "Rocket Faction", he demoted Song Lingxun, the number one representative of the "Conglong Faction", to the post of Governor of Cizhou.

There are some marginal figures who have no obvious interests and do not belong to any vested interest groups. They are the old ministers of Zhuangzong and Mingzong and theoretically belong to the "former emperor's faction". In this turbulent political struggle, they remained neutral, were only responsible to the court, and did not seek to curry favor with other factions.

In theory, they are harmless products, but some of them hold coveted power, which is their original sin. The political field is like a primitive hunting ground, the prey is innocent, but the meat on their bodies is the original sin.

For example, An Yanwei, currently the commander of the imperial guards cavalry, and the commander-in-chief of the imperial guards cavalry; Zhang Congbin, the commander of the imperial guards infantry, and the commander-in-chief of the imperial guards infantry. The "rocket faction" does not hate An and Zhang, but covets the power in their hands.

Therefore, under the heavy pressure of the "Rocket Faction", on the 934th day of the first lunar month in , more than a month after Li Conghou ascended the throne, An Yanwei was demoted as the governor of Hezhong, and Zhu Hongshi replaced him as the "Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guards Cavalry"; Zhang Congbin was demoted as the governor of the Zhangyi Army of Jingzhou, and Huangfu Yu replaced him as the "Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guards Infantry".

An Yanwei and Huangfu Yu are now just supporting roles, pawns in the political struggle, at the mercy of others, but they will become famous figures in the future, as will be described in detail later.

(End of this chapter)