History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 58 The Emperor Visits Shu
[The Emperor Visits Shu]

Huang Chao took control of Chang'an, and Emperor Xizong of Tang fled in a hurry and went to Shu.

Shu was the imperial refuge of the Tang Dynasty emperors. During the famous "Anshi Rebellion", Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji fled west to this place and planned to restore the country. The powerful eunuch Tian Lingzi also took this as a good omen and advised Emperor Xizong to follow Emperor Xuanzong's example.

In order to build a stable rear area, Tian Lingzi instigated Emperor Xizong of Tang to "bet on Sanchuan" and let his confidant serve as the top leader of Shu, which was considered as a prelude to escape to the west. Among them, Tian Lingzi's brother Chen Jingxuan was appointed as the governor of Xichuan, replacing Cui Anqian, and the disobedient Cui Anqian was given an idle position and left aside.

Chen Jingxuan was born in a humble family and lived in poverty. He sold cakes for a living and was in the same business as Wu Dalang. After Tian Lingzi gained power in the palace, he was promoted to the position of general of the imperial army and then appointed as the governor of Xichuan.

When the news reached Shu, everyone was quite surprised, wondering who Chen Jingxuan was. The former Jiedushi, such as Gao Pian and Cui Anqian, were all well-known and prominent figures with distinguished backgrounds and outstanding military achievements. Who was Chen Jingxuan? What achievements had he made?

Some daring people took advantage of this opportunity and gathered a group of rabble, impersonating Chen Jingxuan's team, and gave instructions to the local government, demanding bribes and asking them to provide various materials. It's just like the current fraud by impersonating soldiers and senior officials.

Their tricks were very low-level. Although there were no photos, recordings, or videos at that time, there were still official documents, official letters, and official seals. Otherwise... I, Emperor Xizong of Tang, would send money.

The fraud gang was soon uncovered by the government and all of them were killed.

Afterwards, Chen Jingxuan himself rushed to Shu and took up his post.

Although Chen Jingxuan relied on Tian Lingzi's support and lacked cultural level, we cannot arbitrarily conclude that he was a good-for-nothing. In today's terms, Chen Jingxuan had a very high emotional intelligence, was able to read people's expressions, and was familiar with official etiquette. Like his brother Tian Lingzi, he was very good at dealing with people.

When Emperor Xizong of Tang fled Chang'an and went south via Xingyuan, Chen Jingxuan was ready to welcome him.

Running around, busy inside and outside, he put Chengdu in order and cleaned the streets.

After everything was ready, Chen Jingxuan also sent 3,000 infantry and cavalry to the north to welcome and escort the emperor to come for guidance.

You may say that anyone can do the above work and it is nothing special.

Yes, these are indeed routine preparations for the welcome ceremony, and doing them well is just a passing grade, or barely good enough.

Chen Jingxuan certainly did an excellent job because he considered an easily overlooked yet very difficult problem and handled it properly.

The Emperor's entourage. That's the problem.

As the saying goes, it is easy to see the King of Hell, but hard to see the little devils. Big leaders are usually approachable, with authority but not overbearing. On the contrary, some of the minions under them often take advantage of their power and become arrogant and domineering. Especially the followers who follow the emperor, not to mention their arrogant faces.

Chen Jingxuan had experience working in the imperial guards and knew the character of these minions better, so he had already formulated a strategy of killing the chicken to scare the monkeys.

There was a welcoming team in Chengdu, and the emperor's entourage also had personnel to go ahead. These entourage and officials who arrived in Chengdu earlier fell into Chen Jingxuan's dense net. They didn't know that Chen Jingxuan had spies everywhere in Chengdu, and their every move was under surveillance.

One day, several imperial garden servants were strolling around the palace, some with their lips curled, some with their chests puffed out, some laughing and talking wildly, with one hand on their waist and one pointing, as if they were leading an inspection. "All the children were joyfully walking around the palace with their arms linked."

"Oh, they say Xichuan is a barren and desolate place, but now it seems like it's not so bad!"

It was a private joke. This sentence seems inappropriate, and it was a private discussion, not a public statement. What consequences could this sentence have?

The answer is, they were beaten to death. A total of 50 people were beaten to death, and their bodies were dragged to the downtown area and exposed to the public.

From then on, the royal entourage had strict discipline. No one dared to gossip or criticize, and no one dared to be rebellious. Everyone obeyed the discipline very well.

Emperor Xizong of Tang was about to arrive, and Chen Jingxuan went to Lutou Pass in person to welcome him.

Because Emperor Xizong of Tang fled in a hurry, he did not notify the civil and military officials, nor organized the orderly evacuation of the government, which resulted in a large number of senior officials suffering in Chang'an City. It also led to the current Chengdu exile government lacking talent, incomplete organizational structure, and large vacancies in institutions.

But for Tian Lingzi, this was a good opportunity to sell official positions and titles.

After Emperor Xizong of Tang settled down in Chengdu, officials gradually fled Chang'an and rushed to Shu to meet the emperor. Among them, Le Penggui, an apprentice legislator (Right Picker), was good at understanding current affairs. He took the initiative to meet Tian Lingzi, kowtowed to him, and was very respectful to Tian Lingzi. As a result, he was soon promoted to Hanlin Bachelor.

Tian Lingzi often held family banquets, which actually opened the door to accepting bribes. Anyone who wanted to get promoted could blatantly bring a little gift to show his appreciation. If he didn't even show a little appreciation, it would be too boring.

One day, Tian Lingzi held a banquet and invited all the high officials to the banquet. Before the meal, Zhang Jun, a doctor of the Ministry of War, was the first to come to the door and kowtowed to Tian Lingzi with a "thump-bang".

Facing such a respectful and polite Zhang Jun, Tian Lingzi just smiled coldly, "You are here early, go and sit down."

"Hey." Zhang Jun sat down happily in the lower seat and waited obediently.

Tian Lingzi glanced at him sideways and thought to himself, you'll be in trouble later, I'll let you show off your cleverness!
What's Zhang Jun doing?
Eunuchs are usually born in a very humble family (if they were not, they would not be doing this job), and due to their acquired physical defects, this group is discriminated against. Especially the noble, well-read, and successful scholars look down on these eunuchs. Kneeling and kowtowing to eunuchs is a great shame, not to mention in public, it is too embarrassing.

At the end of the Tang Dynasty, civil servants in the court called themselves the "clear stream" and demoted the eunuchs to the "muddy stream" to show that they would not be corrupted by them. The two groups were irreconcilable.

In the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the "Southern Court and Northern Court Dispute" broke out between the two groups in a struggle for power, making the two groups more hostile to each other.

At the end of the Tang Dynasty, there was a scholar who had passed the imperial examination. He met a eunuch on the road. The two were old acquaintances, so the scholar greeted the eunuch. As a result, the scholar was regarded as a member of the "Eunuch Party" and was ostracized by his colleagues. His political career was terminated, and he was sentenced to death. He was exiled to the wilderness and disappeared for the rest of his life.

Just because he said hello to the eunuch, he ended up like this, which shows the attitude of the scholar-official class towards eunuchs. Any contact with eunuchs was regarded as shameful, lowly and self-degrading.

Zhang Jun received an invitation from Tian Lingzi. If he wanted to keep his position, he had to go to the banquet and kneel down and kowtow to the damn eunuch. What should he do? Well, let's settle for the next best thing. If he has to kowtow, he shouldn't kowtow in public. Oh, I'll go early and be the first one to arrive. There will be no one else in the room, just the two of us. I'll kowtow to him and no one will know. Haha, that's it!
This is Zhang Jun’s little thought and cleverness.

Who are you hiding this from? Tian Lingzi? You have not only insulted his lower body, but also his upper body, his head.

When all the guests arrived, the banquet officially began. The host, Tian Lingzi, raised his glass to toast and said a few words.

"Everyone, Doctor Zhang and I belong to the two groups of 'clear and turbid'. I am grateful that he thinks highly of me and often praises me inside and outside the court——"

Zhang Jun quickly said politely, "No, no, Lord Tian, ​​thank you for the compliment..."

"But..." Tian Lingzi glanced at him, "Since you don't want me to tarnish your innocence, then don't be so hypocritical and change your upright behavior. Why are you hiding in the shadows and kneeling to thank me for the banquet?"

Zhang Jun was so embarrassed by the sarcastic words that he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Zhang Jun, who was humiliated by Tian Lingzi, will appear again in the later text. At that time, he will bring humiliation upon himself. Throughout his life, he could not escape the four words "humiliating himself", making his whole life a joke.

The brothers Tian Lingzi and Chen Jingxuan, one inside and one outside, controlled Xichuan, controlled Emperor Xizong of Tang, and controlled the imperial court.

Emperor Xizong of the Tang Dynasty gave Chen Jingxuan the title of prime minister. Chen Jingxuan sent General Li Yu to lead the elite Yellow Head Army of Xichuan to the north to provide support. Later, he sent another elite Archery Battalion of Xichuan to the north to provide support.

Both elite troops were founded by Cui Anqian, and now they have become Chen Jingxuan's stepping stone to promotion and wealth.

The Yellow Head Army and the Sharpshooters Battalion did not disappoint Chen Jingxuan and Emperor Xizong of Tang. They marched northward, won battle after battle, and stationed in Xingyuan, ready to recapture Chang'an.

Tian Lingzi and Chen Jingxuan were very happy. Although the world was in chaos, the scenery here was unique. What's more, they could profit from the chaos. Good, good, good!

Xichuan is Xichuan for the people of Xichuan. For the time being, we call all the former officials from Chang'an who followed the emperor to the west, including Tian Lingzi, the "Chang'an Gang" (because the "Follow the Dragon Faction" has been used for the Huang Qi regime, in order to avoid confusion), and the local officials, soldiers and civilians in Xichuan the "Indigenous Gang".

Tian Lingzi controlled the court internally and relied on Chen Jingxuan externally. He also became the real leader of the "Chang'an Gang" by selling official positions and titles. When he was in Chang'an, he had basically controlled the court. When he arrived in Chengdu, his power only increased and did not decrease. This is indisputable.

But he shouldn't despise the existence of the "aboriginal gang" because of this.

A distinguished guest is still a guest no matter how distinguished he is. Don’t let him take over the show. This is the way to be a guest.

Tian Lingzi forgot his identity as a guest, forgot that the court in his hands was an exiled court, and forgot that the "Chang'an Gang" came here not as leaders for inspection but as exiles seeking refuge.

Soon, his masters, the "Native Gang", will teach him a good lesson.

This lesson nearly cost him his life.

(End of this chapter)