History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 541: Er An's Rebellion 1
An Zhongrong was a border patrol officer until the last emperor Li Congke. The "Hedong War" was a turning point in his fate.

When Shi Jingtang was plotting a rebellion, in order to unite all the forces that could be united, he sent envoy Zhang Ying to the Daibei area to lure An Zhongrong, promising him a high position and generous salary (Jiedushi).

An Zhongrong could not be said to be a man of great righteousness, but at least he was a man who forgot his principles when he saw the benefits. So he gladly accepted Shi Jingtang's invitation and prepared to respond. However, his mother and brother opposed his participation in Shi Jingtang's rebellion, and they plotted to kill Zhang Ying to prevent An Zhongrong from joining the rebels.

An Zhongrong displayed his superb archery skills. He held up an arrow a hundred steps away and said to his mother and brother, "If Shi Jingtang can successfully become the emperor, then I will hit the target with one shot." After that, he drew his bow and shot an arrow, which hit the target with one shot. He held up another arrow a hundred steps away and said, "If I can become the governor, then I will hit the target." He hit the target again with one shot.

His mother and brother thought it was God's will and stopped trying to stop him. An Zhongrong then gathered a thousand men and happily went to Taiyuan Prefecture, becoming one of the first heroes to surrender and support Shi Jingtang.

After Shi Jingtang entered Luoyang, he fulfilled his promise. Although An Zhongrong only brought him a thousand men, he still got the position of Jiedushi and was assigned to Chengde Army in Zhenzhou.

Although An Zhongrong was not well educated, he had his own way of governing and was well-known in Zhenzhou. Once, an old couple sent their son to a village for "disobedience and unfilial behavior".

In the feudal period, disobedience and unfilial piety were serious crimes that were "unforgivable", just like "raping a woman", "disobeying parents". As long as parents accused their children of being unfilial, they did not need to provide evidence or go to trial, and the children would lose the case 100%. It was best for the children not to defend themselves, and if they pleaded guilty, they might be given a lighter sentence. If they dared to talk back and argue, they would be killed on the spot.

An Zhongrong personally tried the case, but found that the defendant was hesitant to speak, as if he had been greatly wronged; his father also had a look of confusion and pain on his face, and only his mother kept accusing him anxiously, with an expression of "CNM, I must kill you" on her face.

An Zhongrong had half the correct answer in his mind, so he pretended to be angry, rebuked his rebellious son, and drew his sword, handing it to his father, "You are disobedient and unfilial, behead him on the spot!"

The old man suddenly burst into tears, "I can't bear it."

At this time, the old lady snatched the sword, swearing and chasing her son.

Seeing this, An Zhongrong immediately stopped the conversation and asked about the whole story.

It turned out that this was not the biological mother, but the stepmother. The case was immediately clear: the old lady married the old man and planned to occupy his property, so she tried to kill her son, who was the legal heir, by accusing him of disobedience.

"What a vicious woman! As soon as you walked in, I knew you were not a good person. What are you still standing there for? Get out of here!" An Zhongrong scolded her angrily and told her to get out immediately.

The evil woman turned and walked out. Just as she walked out of the hall, An Zhongrong quietly drew his bow, used his archery skills again, shot an arrow, and gave the evil woman a chill in her heart.

The people of Zhenzhou spread the word among each other, saying that the Zhenzhou commander knew right from wrong, hated evil and was a very good man.

Soon, An Zhongrong's image as a "honest judge" collapsed, and his brutal side was soon revealed to the world:
On a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, his subordinate Jia Zhang offended him because of a trivial matter, so he framed Jia Zhang for treason and then executed him. At that time, Jia Zhang had a daughter, and An Zhongrong felt pity for her and planned to spare her life. Jia Zhang's daughter said, "There were 30 people in my family, and after the war, 28 of them died, leaving only my father and I. Now that my father is being executed, what's the point of me living?" So she repeatedly and firmly asked to die. An Zhongrong had no choice but to kill her as well.

From then on, the people of Zhenzhou saw through the true face of An Zhongrong's cruelty and tyranny, and they also began to praise the Zhenzhou heroine - Jia Zhang's daughter.

An Zhongrong went from being a small patrol captain of a border defense team and deputy director of a police station in a remote border area to becoming a top leader in a flash, a true nouveau riche.

Nouveau riche generally have several basic qualities, such as extreme arrogance, a desire for respect, and doing everything they can to squander and show off their wealth... If they are just obsessed with showing off their wealth, it only shows that they have no other pursuits. Although they intensify the contradiction between the rich and the poor, they themselves are the defenders of the ruling order.

An Zhongrong played the role of a "nouveau riche" to perfection. He thought that the goldfish bag was not noble enough, so he carved a jade fish to wear. This move was like a silver-rimmed toilet paper;

He married two more wives, risking the wrath of the world, and Shi Jingtang also gave them corresponding titles. It was not so much a compromise by Shi Jingtang as it was a deliberate attempt by Shi Jingtang to disgust him. An Zhongrong thought he was in great glory, but in fact he had turned himself into a textbook idiot.

For an ambitious person like An Zhongrong, he also has another characteristic of a nouveau riche, which can also be regarded as a shortcoming, that is, lack of foundation. Connections are not equal to foundation, and foundation is the long-term sedimentation and filtration of connections. Generally speaking, nouveau riche or upstarts are often not accepted by the traditional old aristocracy, and may even be ruthlessly excluded.

An Zhongrong "started as a soldier and rose to wealth and status", lacking sufficient political resources at both the central and local levels, and even in his own army, he lacked sufficient vertical depth. In a nutshell: Who do you think you are?

However, An Zhongrong witnessed how Li Congke and Shi Jingtang both successfully ascended to power through local vassal states, so the unwilling to admit defeat naturally came up with a small achievable goal in his mind: to become the emperor first.

Li Congke was promoted from the governor of Fengxiang to the emperor, Shi Jingtang was promoted from the governor of Hedong to the emperor, why can't I, An Zhongrong, be promoted to the emperor as the governor of Zhenzhou?

People are divided into different levels, and the value of Jiedushi varies greatly. We have watched Li Congke and Shi Jingtang rise to prominence. They were not just "Jiedushi". They were the best among Jiedushi, with relatively strong armed forces and political capital, and were "powerful" people who ranked high in the previous dynasty. Even so, their path to power was full of uncertainties, and after successfully seizing power, they had to deal with various affairs and maintain stability everywhere.

These were naturally ignored by An Zhongrong.

After careful summary and analysis, An Zhongrong came up with a very wise saying: "Is the Son of Heaven born from a certain breed? The one with strong soldiers and horses can be chosen." As soon as this sentence was uttered, it immediately became a classic quote in history.

Some people compare it to the slogan of the Chen Sheng and Wu Guang uprising, and forcibly elevate An Zhongrong to the level of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang. Let's take a look at these two sentences:

"Are kings, princes, generals and ministers of different species?" - Chen Sheng and Wu Guang

"Does the emperor have any kind of blood? He is the one with strong soldiers and powerful horses." - An Zhongrong
(End of this chapter)