History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 653 Li Song's Death 1
Li Yongji (son of Li Jihe and grandson of Li Maozhen) came to the capital from Fengxiang to pay homage to the emperor. Su Fengji thought that Li Yongji must be very rich because of his prominent family background and his long time stationed at the border. So he sent someone to tell him: I can give you the position of governor, but you have to give me the heirloom jade belt from your father and grandfather as a token of your appreciation.

Li Yongji replied that he was grateful for the Prime Minister's kindness, but the jade belt of the late king was just a folk rumor and he really did not have it.

"This...can be done."

"This... really doesn't exist."

"Then... I'll help you."

Su Fengji sent someone to the market to buy a high-quality imitation jade belt, and then sent a message to Li Yongji: I bought a jade belt for myself and spent several thousand strings of cash. Please reimburse me.

Wang Yun, the guest envoy, was sent to Southern Chu by Shi Chonggui during the Later Jin Dynasty. When he returned, the country had changed and it was already the Later Han Dynasty. Su Fengji knew the rules. Diplomatic activities were always accompanied by trade activities. In addition to controlling the "foreign trade" business of the court, the guest envoys brought a large number of rare things from foreign countries, as well as generous rewards given by foreign leaders.

So, Su Fengji sent someone to tell Wang Yun: Give me everything you brought, and I can make you a governor.

Wang Yun was reluctant to part with the government, so he only offered half of his property (half of his bag). Su Fengji felt that this was a 50% discount, so he took the money but did not do anything, and did not let Wang Yun become the governor.

With money, one naturally wants to lavishly enjoy life. Su Fengji's standard of living was outrageous. He said that the canteen in the court was too rubbish and the working meals were simply for feeding animals. He refused to go to the canteen and instead asked his private chef to deliver delicacies to the palace every day. He cooked a separate meal and had to "list the dishes" for every meal.

Heshen, a corrupt official in the Qing Dynasty, had to eat in the cafeteria while at work no matter how extravagant and ostentatious he was.

Even funerals were a good opportunity for him to extort money. When his wife, Wu, died, he ordered all officials and local counties to make mourning clothes for him with the finest silk. Of course, sending clothes was just a name, but in reality, it was cash. The silk was converted into cash, and officials at all levels just had to send the money.

With great power in his hands, Su Fengji arranged high-ranking positions for his sons, which was a piece of cake. One of his half-brothers came to the capital from another place, but he did not come to visit his father first, but went to see his son first. Su Fengji was furious and beat his brother to death with a stick.

When his stepmother died, according to the rules, he should have resigned from his job to mourn his mother, but in order not to affect his work, he insisted on staying at his job and refused to observe mourning.

What Su Fengji was most criticized for was the execution of Li Song's entire family.

Li Song, the prime minister of the Later Jin Dynasty, along with Feng Dao, He Ning and others were forced north by the Khitan and stopped in Zhenzhou. Just as they were about to leave Zhenzhou and go deep into the Khitan, a mutiny broke out in Zhenzhou and Yelu Malu was expelled. As a result, several people stayed in the Central Plains and returned to Bianzhou to join the Later Han.

These people were all veterans in the political arena. They had been officials during the Later Tang Dynasty and had become prime ministers during the Later Jin Dynasty. They were highly respected and virtuous, which was what Liu Zhiyuan's direct descendants in Hedong, who were in the "crash course", were deeply afraid of.

When Liu Zhiyuan entered Bianzhou, he gave Feng Dao's villa in Bianzhou to Su Yugui, and gave Li Song's villa in Bianzhou to Su Fengji. Li Song also had a family compound in Luoyang, and Su Fengji sent people to occupy it.

After Feng Dao, Li Song and others came back, they were called "traitors" by Liu Zhiyuan's Hedong direct descendants and were ruthlessly excluded. Several old foxes in the political arena knew that they were in danger and did not dare to complain. They were trembling with fear, behaved in a disciplined manner, and were extremely humble and submissive to everyone.

The direct descendants of Hedong still maintained a high level of vigilance and hostility towards Feng Dao, Li Song and others, and often reported to Liu Zhiyuan that these people were highly regarded by the Khitans and had accepted Khitan official positions, and had long been "Liaoized" and could not be trusted. Li Song had tried his best to please Shi Chonggui, and had even had an unpleasant experience with Liu Zhiyuan for this. Therefore, Li Song was even more frightened and could not sleep or eat well.

After much deliberation, Li Song decided to bribe the authorities in order to save his life. However, fate played a trick on him. Li Song's self-rescue behavior not only failed to save himself, but instead sent himself into an abyss of no return.

The person whom Li Song bribed was Su Fengji, a man who was greedy and tyrannical. Li Song gave Su Fengji the property certificates of his properties in Bianzhou and Luoyang.

This move was really inappropriate. As expected, Su Fengji got angry on the spot.

"What's the point of giving this to me? It seems like I'm taking over your property."

Li Song's properties in the two capitals are already under the control of Su Fengji. The property in Bianzhou is a policy benefit granted by the emperor, and the property in Luoyang is an unreasonable occupation. But no matter what the source of the property is, it is actually occupied by Su Fengji. Moreover, the country has changed dynasties from the Later Jin to the Later Han, and your property certificate is stamped with the Later Jin seal.

Su Fengji thought Li Song was deliberately disgusting him and was very angry.

Li Song himself was even more frightened and uneasy, so he simply claimed to be ill and refused to go out, refusing all visitors, and became a coward. However, his family members could not understand his painstaking efforts, and did not know that the world was dangerous.

Li Song's brothers Li Yu and Li Wei worked in the same unit as Su Fengji's children. When they were having dinner together, the two drank a little too much and said half-seriously and half-jokingly, "Your family has taken over our property."

This is the drinking culture. At a dinner table, many things that are usually inconvenient to say can be said with the help of alcohol. If the other party is unhappy, let the alcohol take the blame as a test.

But Li Yu and Li Wei's temptations did him no good at all. They were madly testing him on the brink of death.

The Su family's child told Su Fengji this, saying that the Li family was full of resentment towards him.

Su Fengji planted the seeds of murder in his heart, "I have a way to make them shut up!"

Tao Gu, a Hanlin scholar, guessed Su Fengji's intention, so he secretly helped Su Fengji to collect negative materials about Li Song, preparing to frame Li Song. Tao Gu was promoted by Li Song to enter the Hanlin Academy, and now, shamelessly, Tao Gu repays his kindness with hatred.

Su Fengji and his team quickly seized an opportunity:
Li Yu had a servant named Ge Yanyu, his main job was a buyer and salesman for the Li Group, helping Li Yu run his business. This job was a good opportunity to take kickbacks and make money, Ge Yanyu embezzled a lot of it, and his hands were not clean.

As the saying goes, if you are not deaf or blind, you are not qualified to be the head of the family. If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. When Li Yu found out that Ge Yanyu was making a profit by acting as a middleman, he was very angry. He not only recovered all the embezzled money, but also beat him up. Ge Yanyu held a grudge and prepared to take revenge on his master.

(End of this chapter)