History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 556 "Big Eyes Cute" Succession 3
The Hedong War made Shi Jingtang and Jing Yanguang famous, and in just six years, he went from a frightened bird to a popular and powerful boss.

That's why Feng Dao found Jing Yanguang as soon as possible to find out his attitude and win his support.

Don't underestimate this secret meeting. Feng Dao is the chief prime minister and represents the civil service group; Jing Yanguang is the commander-in-chief of the imperial guards. Although he cannot represent the local vassal states and cannot fully represent the army, the imperial guards are close to the water and have the upper hand. If they want to kill the emperor, the local vassal states' armies will have no time to react.

Only when these two people reach a consensus can the state power be smoothly transferred.

The talks went quite smoothly, with no disagreements between the two and a high degree of unity in their opinions. They believed that the country was in a troubled time, with natural disasters, man-made disasters, internal and external troubles, and that the little brat Shi Chongrui, who was still wetting the bed and sucking his fingers, could not shoulder this great and arduous historical mission, and that an older person must be found to preside over state affairs.

The "big-eyed cute" Shi Chonggui was almost thirty years old (29 years old at the time), and the two had always decided to support Shi Chonggui in inheriting the throne.

On June 942, 6, the seventh year of Tianfu, Shi Jingtang passed away.

Feng Dao, Jing Yanguang and other ministers of state read out the will, ordering Prince of Qi Shi Chonggui to ascend the throne in front of the coffin.

Shi Chonggui exudes the wildness of the Shatuo people and likes riding horses and shooting arrows. When Shi Jingtang was in charge of Hedong, he hired a senior teacher to be Shi Chonggui's tutor and teach him the Book of Rites. Shi Chonggui has strong limbs but a simple mind, and is a poor student. In this regard, Shi Chonggui not only has no shame, but also argues: "Studying is not what our family should do!"

If you play the lute to a cow, is it the cow's fault or the person playing the lute?
During the Hedong War, Shi Chonggui not only gave advice to Shi Jingtang, but also went to the front line in person, braving arrows and stones, and was praised by Shi Jingtang.

After the siege of Taiyuan was lifted, the Khitans crowned Shi Jingtang as the emperor of the Central Plains, and then reorganized the army and prepared to march south to attack Luoyang. According to convention, a garrison officer should be placed in the rear. The "child emperor" Shi Jingtang did not dare to act on his own, so he petitioned Yelu Deguang to ask his father to appoint someone to stay in Taiyuan.

Yelu Deguang asked Shi Jingtang to call out all his sons and daughters, took a quick look, and pointed at Shi Chonggui and said, "This is the one with broad eyes." So he appointed Shi Chonggui as the governor of Taiyuan to guard the rear area.

In the third year of Tianfu (938), he was granted the title of Prefect of Kaifeng (Bianzhou), and was given the title of King of Zheng, and the title of Prime Minister; in the sixth year of Tianfu (941), he was changed to Prefect of Guangjin (Weizhou), and was given the title of King of Qi.

On June 942, 6, the day Shi Jingtang passed away, he ascended the throne in front of his coffin. The Old History of the Five Dynasties called him "the Shao Emperor" and the New History of the Five Dynasties called him "the Shou Emperor".

According to the custom, Shi Chonggui also had to find some "God's will" to prove that he was appointed by heaven. So, according to his confidants, during the short period of time in Weizhou, the Heshuo area suffered a severe drought, and Shi Jingtang sent Shi Chonggui to Bailongtan to pray for rain. Shi Chonggui prayed devoutly, and suddenly, a white dragon appeared at the bottom of the pond, and that night, it rained from the sky, and people were amazed.

Pay attention and highlight the key points: he can move heaven and summon dragons, so Shi Chonggui is the true emperor.

After Shi Chonggui ascended the throne, routine operations were naturally indispensable. In addition to the above-mentioned mystification and packaging of himself, he also had to take practical measures to win the support of all parties.

1. Winning over the Imperial Guards The reason why Shi Chonggui was able to succeed to the throne smoothly was largely due to the support of the Imperial Guards (Jing Yanguang), so Shi Chonggui immediately returned the favor and showed some appreciation to the Imperial Guards: on the third day after he ascended the throne (June 6), he ordered the payment of rewards to the Imperial Guards, ranging from the lowest five strings of cash to the highest one hundred strings of cash according to their levels.

2. Shepburn
In addition to winning over the imperial guards around him, other military and political leaders in the country cannot be vague either.

2.1 The Big Three

Liu Zhiyuan of Hedong was Shi Jingtang's absolute direct general and had been Shi Jingtang's trusted subordinate since the Later Liang period. When the "Five Dragons forced Wang Yanzhang to death", the reins of Shi Jingtang's horse broke, and Liu Zhiyuan exchanged horses with him and saved Shi Jingtang's life; when Li Congke rebelled and attacked Luoyang, Liu Zhiyuan saved Shi Jingtang's life again in the "Weizhou Incident"; in the Hedong War, Liu Zhiyuan defeated the larger force with the smaller one and made countless contributions.

Whether in terms of seniority, military achievements, or personal abilities, Liu Zhiyuan was undoubtedly the most powerful general of the Later Jin Dynasty and was capable of standing on his own. It is said that when Shi Jingtang was dying, he summoned Liu Zhiyuan to the capital, intending to entrust him with the care of his son, but the plan came to nothing, and the reasons are detailed later.

In short, in the military system of the Later Jin Dynasty, if Liu Zhiyuan was second, no one dared to claim to be first.

Du Chongwei of Zhenzhou, Shi Jingtang's brother-in-law, was favored because of nepotism. Shi Jingtang tried his best to help him gain experience by lying down, such as pacifying An Zhongrong of Zhenzhou.

If he is evaluated by the standards of a general, Du Chongwei would not even reach the third-rate level. We can appreciate his military talent in the following text. He is an alternative genius who helps the enemy to improve their military records.

Just because of nepotism, he was able to rise to a high position and was even as famous as Liu Zhiyuan, which made Liu Zhiyuan so angry that he almost disobeyed the order.

Yang Guangyuan of Qingzhou, although a surrendered general, but through his personal acting skills and the pacification of Fan Yanguang of Weizhou, he still commanded a large number of troops. Even Shi Jingtang was afraid of him. For example, in the "Zhang Yanze Case", Zhang Yanze's cruelty and tyranny angered God and people, and the civil and military officials in the court jointly submitted a petition, firmly demanding a death sentence. Just because Zhang Yanze and Yang Guangyuan were in-laws, Shi Jingtang actually withstood the pressure from all sides and saved Zhang Yanze, which shows how powerful Yang Guangyuan was.

Shi Jingtang racked his brains and, with the help of Sang Weihan, managed to move Yang Guangyuan's power from Weizhou to Luoyang and then to Qingzhou through methods such as dividing Weizhou and shifting the universe. This weakened Yang Guangyuan's strength to a certain extent and kept him away from the capital. This way, even if he had other ideas, the court would have enough time to respond.

Liu Zhiyuan, Du Chongwei, and Yang Guangyuan were the "three giants" when Shi Chonggui first ascended the throne, and they were also the local vassal states that Shi Chonggui most urgently wanted to win over. All three of them were promoted to higher positions and had their fiefs increased.

2.2 The merit of supporting
Jing Yanguang and Feng Dao were the first pushers for Shi Chonggui to ascend the throne smoothly, and they were undoubtedly the ones who supported him. Shi Chonggui gave Jing Yanguang the title of Special Advancement and the title of Tongzhongshumenxia Pingzhangshi, which gave Jing Yanguang the lofty power of "being a general and becoming a prime minister".

Jing Yanguang was a villain who gained power and took all the credit for supporting the emperor. He was extremely powerful and arrogant. He ordered that the people were not allowed to discuss state affairs, especially the matter of Shi Chonggui ascending the throne, because some people at that time said that Shi Jingtang's will was for Shi Chongrui to ascend the throne. In order to demonstrate his authority, he gave a warning to all civil and military officials. When all officials entered the palace to mourn, Jing Yanguang ordered them to dismount far away from the palace gate. All officials were intimidated by his power and obeyed him obediently.

(End of this chapter)