History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 551 Zhang Yanze Case 2
Unexpectedly, Zhang Yanze went too far and even petitioned Shi Jingtang to ask for Zhang Shi, and threatened the court nakedly, "If I can't get Zhang Shi, the court will be responsible for all the unimaginable consequences! (If Yanze can't get Zhang Shi, I'm afraid something bad will happen)"

Shi Jingtang actually obediently issued an edict to return Zhang Shi to Zhang Yanze.

After getting Zhang Shi, Zhang Yanze brutally dismembered Zhang Shi. Zhang Shi had a beautiful wife, and Zhang Yanze immediately took possession of her after dismembering Zhang Shi.

As a result, as mentioned above, during the Spring Festival, Zhang Shi's father Zhang Duo went to the imperial court to appeal for justice. Shi Jingtang then asked Wang Zhou to replace Zhang Yanze and return to the central government. In fact, Wang Zhou had just been appointed as the governor of Heyang for only seven days before he was transferred to Jingzhou.

Zhang Yanze packed up his belongings and headed east. When he reached Shanzhou, he met an old subordinate, Yang Hong. Zhang Yanze brutally dismembered Yang Hong.

Why did Yang Hong suffer such a treatment? This starts with another serious crime committed by Zhang Yanze.

When Zhang Yanze was in charge of Jingzhou, he sent troops to attack the ethnic minority tribes in the northwest without authorization. As a result, his entire army was annihilated. In order to make up for the losses in the battle, he forcibly confiscated more than a thousand horses from the people. During this battle, a few soldiers fled, including Yang Hong.

So Zhang Yanze dismembered Yang Hong in Shanzhou to vent his anger.

After Wang Zhou arrived in Jingzhou, it took him about two months to collect evidence of Zhang Yanze's crimes. There were as many as 26 pieces of "conclusive and ironclad evidence". More than 5,000 households in the area fled because of his harsh tyranny. After sorting out the evidence, he submitted it to the court.

Shi Jingtang issued an edict to praise Wang Zhou, "Comrade Wang Zhou, you have worked hard." However, he did not mention the culprit Zhang Yanze at all and left the issue unanswered.

Therefore, corresponding to the above-mentioned point, Zheng Shouyi, Li Tao and others successively submitted petitions to impeach Zhang Yanze and demanded that he be severely punished in accordance with national laws.

At first, Shi Jingtang chose to ignore it, threw the impeachment memorial aside and did not respond. However, these civil servants were upright and persistent, blocking the door to ask for an explanation (Fu Ge Kang Shu).

Under pressure, Shi Jingtang had to respond directly to the impeachment of Zhang Yanze and issued an edict to demote Zhang Yanze's official rank and title by one level; Zhang's father Zhang Duo, brother Zhang Shouzhen, and son Zhang Xifan were all given official positions as compensation; he awarded 100,000 coins to the Jingzhou government to make up for the damage caused by the tyranny; he buried Zhang with great honor, and returned the family property that had been confiscated by Zhang Yanze; and those who fled to Jingzhou and returned to Jingzhou to resume their businesses were exempted from one year's corvee and taxes.

After seeing the result of the punishment, Li Tao led officials from the Censorate and other departments to gather outside the palace gate and kneel down to petition. He believed that the punishment was too light and begged the emperor to punish severely according to the law to set a correct example.

Shi Jingtang was almost annoyed. "Why do these scholars always like to dwell on trivial matters? They are so stubborn! Come, let Li Tao come in, I want to have a good chat with him."

The emperor and his minister had a private meeting, and Shi Jingtang spoke earnestly, saying that Comrade Zhang Yanze had made contributions to the country and was an old comrade-in-arms of his, blah blah blah, meaning that he hoped the matter would end there.

Li Tao insisted on fairness and justice, knelt on the ground and kowtowed, demanding in a stern voice that Zhang Yanze must be severely punished.

"I'm giving you a good face, right?" Seeing that he was not listening, Shi Jingtang was so angry that he started swearing and yelling at Li Tao, and told him to get out.

Li Tao was unyielding, holding up the tablet with both hands, unmoved, and still demanding severe punishment for Zhang Yanze. Kill Zhang Yanze, and I'll leave.

Shi Jingtang was forced into a corner and roared, "I have already promised Zhang Yanze that I will spare his life." Li Tao, do you want the emperor to go back on his word?
Li Tao retorted sharply: "Your Majesty promised that Zhang Yanze would not die, but what about Fan Yanguang's red-lettered iron certificate and the golden medal of immunity from death?" Shi Jingtang was choked and speechless for a long time. He was so angry that he trembled all over, flicked his sleeves, and left (Jin Zu could not answer, so he stood up).

At this point, everyone can't help but wonder, why did Shi Jingtang protect Zhang Yanze so much? Is it true that, as Shi Jingtang said, he was once a close comrade-in-arms and had made military achievements?

Of course not. Shi Jingtang had another reason that he couldn't tell. He had a good reason, but it was inconvenient to put it on the table: Zhang Yanze and Yang Guangyuan were in-laws. Shi Jingtang protected and condoned Zhang Yanze because he couldn't afford to offend Yang Guangyuan.

Fan Yanguang of Weizhou rebelled, Li Jinquan of Anzhou rebelled, An Congjin of Xiangzhou rebelled, An Zhongrong of Zhenzhou rebelled...rebellions broke out in many places in the northwest, but although there were many rebellions in the northwest, they were not large in scale and were basically resolved locally without the need for the central government to send troops. The Khitan father was eyeing the Central Plains covetously, looking for an excuse to invade the south.

Under such circumstances, Shi Jingtang could not afford to offend Yang Guangyuan, who had a large army and was domineering and disobedient.

Zhang Yanze could not be killed, so the only way was to increase the compensation to the families of the victims. Therefore, an imperial decree was issued to posthumously award Zhang Shi the title of Shangshu Yubu Langzhong, and his father Zhang Duo enjoyed the retirement benefits of Qinzhou Sima (retired as Qinzhou Sima), his younger brother Zhang Shouzhen was promoted to the chief clerk of Qinghe County, Beizhou, and his son Zhang Xifan was promoted to the staff of Xingyuan Prefecture.

The "Zhang Yanze dismemberment of Zhang Shi case" came to an end.

Shi Jingtang's kindness to Zhang Yanze is as great as a mountain. As the saying goes, it is difficult to raise a wolf as a dog to guard the house. Mr. Dongguo's story will appear in the later part of the text. At that time, we can see how Zhang Yanze "repaid" Shi Jingtang.

Shi Jingtang was exhausted by the "Zhang Yanze case". In May, the "emperor was ill". In June, he was bedridden and unable to speak.

On June 942, 6, Shi Jingtang died in Baochang Palace at the age of 13.

In August, the ministers agreed on the posthumous title: Emperor Shengwenwumingdexiao, temple name Gaozu, known in history as "Gaozu of Later Jin".

The Khitans claimed responsibility for Shi Jingtang's death:

"History of the Khitan Kingdom" states: "Liao sent envoys to rebuke the Jin Dynasty for recruiting Tuyuhun, and Emperor Gaozu of Jin became ill due to his worry."

"History of Liao" records: "In February... an envoy was sent to Jin to demand the return of the Tuyuhun rebels." Shi Jingtang was scared to death. In March, he sent an envoy to Liao to inquire about his father's daily life. In the intercalary March, he sent an envoy to pay tribute to archery and saddled horses. In June, he asked Shi Chonggui to send an envoy to pay tribute. Then he passed away.

The Khitans felt very sorry. They had not expected that they had frightened their good son, who had just turned 50, to death. So they suspended court for seven days and sent envoys to offer condolences.

The mainstream view is that Shi Jingtang was frightened to death by the Khitan. This is true to a certain extent. As mentioned above, the Khitan was eager to bring up the old matter again, and wanted to send troops south again to conquer the Central Plains on the pretext of recruiting surrenders and rebellions. Shi Jingtang was worried about this, and his death was not unrelated to this. The view that he was "frightened to death by the Khitan" is also logical.

Shi Jingtang's life was full of controversy. He was called a "traitor" for more than a thousand years. This infamy will last for thousands of years and he will be forever nailed to the pillar of shame in history.

Is he really so despicable? How will history judge him?
(End of this chapter)