History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 479 Resource Redistribution

【Resource Redistribution】

By eliminating the "rocket faction" and Feng Dao and others, the core positions of the Privy Council and Prime Minister became vacant. This was the purpose of Li Congke, the new master of the court. Next, he would install his own direct lineage to control the center of national power.

Who are Li Congke’s direct descendants?

"Look at our six faces clearly from now on. We are here to dominate this empire."

According to historical records, when Li Congke started his army in Fengxiang, he had five direct descendants, namely Han Zhaoyin, Li Zhuanmei, Song Shenqian, Fang Hao, and Liu Yanlang.

These five people each have their own duties, acting as military advisors, henchmen and financial managers. They are the "Five Tigers" of Li Congke's group.

After Li Congke ascended the throne, he appointed Han Zhaoyin as the Left Counselor and Academician of the Duanming Palace; Li Zhuanmei as the Direct Academician of the Privy Council; General Song Shenqian as the Envoy of the Imperial City, and Liu Yanlang as the Envoy of the Estates.

As the political purge progressed, the positions of several people were continuously promoted. Finally, Han Zhaoyin was promoted to Privy Councilor; Liu Yanlang to Deputy Privy Councilor; Fang Hao to Envoy of the Northern Courtyard of Xuanhui; and Song Shenqian to Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guards Infantry (Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guards Infantry).

The powerful departments of the empire were quickly gathered into the hands of Li Congke's direct line. As for the positions of prime minister and imperial edict drafter, they actually required excellent students with both good character and good academic performance. It would be best if they were top students, and the best was if they were naive and ignorant. If they had had any previous experience with Li Congke, it would be even better.

As a result, Lü Qi was promoted to the position of Langzhong of the Ministry of Rites, Zhizhigao, and Zhixueshi of the Privy Council; Xue Wenyu was also promoted and given important positions. These people have a common characteristic, that is, they are at the core of power, but do not control powerful departments, and are only responsible for making plans. Later, Xue Wenyu really came up with a lot of bad ideas.

When determining the candidate for prime minister, Li Congke used a very advanced and scientific method: drawing lots.

After preliminary screening, Li Congke had three candidates: Lu Wenji, Yao Yi (pronounced the same as "Yi"), and Cui Jujian.

No. 1 seed: Lu Wenji

Lu Wenji was born into a prominent family, the Fanyang Lu family. His grandfather was Lu Jianqiu, the former governor of Hedong and Li Keyong's predecessor, so he enjoyed greater prestige in the Hedong group. Lu Wenji himself was a top student and a Jinshi. In the Later Liang Dynasty, he served as the Minister of the Ministry of Justice and the scholar of the Jixian Hall. During the reign of Emperor Mingzong, he served as the Chief Censor.

Later, Lu Wenji had a conflict with the then Prime Minister Cui Xie, so Cui Xie promoted a young comrade named Yu Ye to be Lu Wenji's work partner. Lu Wenji's father was Lu Siye, and Yu Ye violated his father's taboo, so Lu Wenji was very unhappy. When Yu Ye came to pay a visit to the dock as a new official, Lu Wenji turned him away, and then took indefinite sick leave and refused to work.

Later, Yu Ye was ordered to go on a business trip. He was packing his bags and had not yet left when Lu Wenji came to work. Being excluded by his senior, Yu Ye was angry and frightened, so he hanged himself.

Emperor Mingzong was very angry at the time, and Lu Wenji was demoted and then sent on a business trip to Shu. When he passed by Fengxiang, Li Congke, the then Fengxiang Jiedushi, received him.

It is said that Lu Wenji was tall, had a loud voice, elegant manners, and outstanding talent, which left a deep impression on Li Congke and laid the foundation for Lu Wenji's future success.

Second seed: Yao Yi

Yao Yi is a talent! He perfectly interprets what a "nerd" is. He can't do anything except reading. He is a silly and stupid boy. When Yao Yi was a child, he was a simple, honest, and dull boy. He also looked a little mentally retarded. He was "stupid, honest, and didn't care about his appearance." People around him treated him as mentally retarded. Only a great poet and writer saw that he was wise but appeared foolish. He respected him very much and married his daughter to him.

This visionary leader was Sikong Tu, who was introduced in the previous article. When Zhu Wen usurped the Tang Dynasty, he starved himself to death.

Sikong Tu was right. Yao Yi's "stupidity" was mostly out of kindness. It is said that he did not know how to count, so his servants often blatantly made extravagant accounts and cheated him out of money. "Whenever the family bought goods, they doubled the income and halved the expenditure." Therefore, Yao Yi's family soon became penniless.

He passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi in the late Tang Dynasty; he entered the Hanlin Academy in the Later Liang Dynasty and was promoted to the position of Zhongshu Sheren; in the Later Tang Dynasty, he served as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and the Shangshu Zuocheng.

Third seed: Choi Ju-gyeon
Cui Jujian is not well-known, but his father is very famous, and he appeared at the beginning of this book. His father was Cui Jujian, who was once the governor of Shan and Guo. He provoked a popular uprising and was expelled. On the way, the people enthusiastically poured a bowl of urine into his mouth.

Cui Luo was force-fed to urinate in 869 AD, and Cui Jujian was born the following year (870).

Cui Jujian's grandfather was Cui Li, who was promoted to the position of Shangshu Zuocheng, and was once the Jiedushi of Zhenguo Army and Pinglu Army. He was also the chief examiner of the imperial examinations (Zhi Gongju), and drafted imperial edicts for the emperor (Zhi Zhigao). After his death, he was posthumously awarded the title of Minister of Rites. His father, Cui Luo, was promoted to Shangshu Youcheng, and also served as Zhi Zhigao.

Cui Jujian was from a very high family, the famous Boling Cui family, an undisputed noble family and a descendant of a famous official of the Tang Dynasty. He himself was also a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the imperial examination) and served as a secretary of the Central Secretariat, a Hanlin scholar, and a censor in the Later Liang Dynasty. He was also a vice minister of the Ministry of Justice and a minister of the Ministry of Rites during the reign of Emperor Zhuangzong of the Later Tang Dynasty.

When Emperor Mingzong Li Siyuan was buried, Cui Jujian was appointed as the "Ritual Envoy" according to the custom, but Cui Jujian refused to accept the position because it violated his ancestor's taboo (Li). The then Prime Minister Feng Dao appointed him as the Secretary General instead.

In fact, Tang Zhaozong had already taught us a vivid lesson on "selecting prime ministers". If the ruler wants to take the "civil servant route", the criteria for employing people are nothing more than three main dimensions: background, talent, and work experience.

It is best to be born in a prominent family, relying on the father, grandfather, and ancestors; the academic qualification must be at least a Jinshi, or a world-famous cultural celebrity, a well-known scholar or poet with many works will be given priority; have a certain amount of work experience, and preferably have lived in the central government for a long time.

Only such people can win the support of the people and, more importantly, can serve the emperor well without becoming too powerful and threatening the imperial power.

Li Congke publicly asked his ministers to recommend candidates for prime minister, and these three people indeed received the top three votes. In addition, a total of more than a dozen people were recommended.

But these three people also have their own shortcomings, not so perfect, Li Congke was in a dilemma, so he adopted the method of drawing lots. He wrote the names of these dozen people on small pieces of paper, crumpled them up, and put them in a beautifully carved bottle made of gems.

That night, Li Congke burned incense, bathed, and prayed to the gods devoutly, hoping that the gods would bless him and send him capable officials to govern the country. Then, he picked up the paper ball with chopsticks.

I picked out the first one, and it clearly said: Lu Wenji; the second one: Yao Yi.

Li Congke exclaimed: "Is this God's will?"

Lu Wenji and Yao Yi were then appointed as Zhongshu Shilang and Pingzhangshi, becoming prime ministers of the empire; Cui Jujian was appointed as Shangshu of Works.

(End of this chapter)