History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 655: Shi Hongzhao, the founding hero

The trend of false accusations arose, and the Xiangzhou Jiedushi Wang Jihong killed his aide Zhang Yi on the grounds that Zhang Yi spread rumors, and the court did not pursue the matter.

“Whenever the vassal states and counties report a case of execution, the request will be granted without investigating the facts.” This was the law of the Later Han Dynasty, which could be described as “killing is not against the law.” This was especially true for officials at all levels, who could simply say that the person was spreading rumors or intended to rebel after killing someone.

The Later Han Dynasty was the shortest-lived dynasty among the Five Dynasties, lasting more than three years but less than four years. However, these three years were the darkest moments of the Five Dynasties and even the entire five thousand years. "Han law was harsh," and Su Fengji contributed a lot.

The conflict between the civil officials of the Later Han Dynasty represented by Su Fengji and the military generals represented by Yang Bin, Shi Hongzhao, and Guo Wei was open and fierce. The two sides had direct conflicts many times. Below, we will briefly sort out the irreconcilable grievances between the two sides:
1. Shi Hongzhao
1.1 Shi Hongzhao

Shi Hongzhao's background was quite ordinary, and he was a typical example of a person in troubled times: his family had been farmers for generations, and he was uneducated and unlearned since childhood, and loved fighting. He was a well-known village bully and gangster in the surrounding area. He was not only good at fighting, but also at athletics. He could "walk 200 miles a day" and "run as fast as a horse", and was good at both short-distance and long-distance running.

He enlisted in the army during the Later Liang Dynasty. Because of his bravery and fighting skills, he was soon promoted to a junior officer and then incorporated into the imperial guards.

During the Later Tang Dynasty, when Shi Jingtang commanded the imperial guards, he incorporated him into his personal guard. Later, Liu Zhiyuan went to Zhen Hedong and requested to include him in his own corps.

Shi Hongzhao was a ruthless man who didn't talk much. He was very strict with his soldiers. For example, when he was marching south from Hedong, he stipulated that anyone who dared to trample on the wheat fields or tie the horse to a tree would be executed immediately in front of the army. Moreover, compared to beheading, Shi Hongzhao preferred to slam his head with a sledgehammer. Therefore, the troops led by Shi Hongzhao had strict military discipline, did not harm the people, and had extremely high combat effectiveness.

In Liu Zhiyuan's "crash course", Shi Hongzhao was the one who made the most contributions. When Liu Zhiyuan first proclaimed himself emperor in Taiyuan, Wang Hui of Daizhou rebelled and returned to Khitan. Shi Hongzhao led his troops to attack and conquered Daizhou in one fell swoop, showing the prestige of the new regime of the Later Han Dynasty and setting a good example for the Later Han Dynasty.

Later, they acted as the vanguard army heading south, taking Luzhou and Zezhou, allowing Liu Zhiyuan to travel from Taiyuan to Luoyang without any obstruction, just like going back to his own home. This was all thanks to Shi Hongzhao (the journey to Luoyang was like returning home, thanks to Hongzhao's role as the vanguard).

He also had all the problems that a "crash course" should have.

For example, his mother died in time after Liu Zhiyuan entered Bian, but Shi Hongzhao only wore mourning clothes for a few days before returning to work and continuing to serve the people. If you must be hypocritical, he is a little better than Su Fengji, after all, Su Fengji didn't worry about his mother for a day. Filial piety is fifty steps, and filial piety is a hundred steps.

When the three towns rebelled, rumors spread throughout the capital and the people were in panic. Shi Hongzhao was in charge of maintaining order in the capital at the time. His methods were simple: anyone who dared to spread rumors would be killed without mercy.

Even the Prime Minister Su Fengji was so ruthless, not to mention the military commander Shi Hongzhao, so he created countless unjust, false and wrong cases in the capital. Because Shi Hongzhao did not need evidence, as long as there was a suspicion, such as someone exposing and reporting, he would be sentenced immediately, and the death penalty was the starting price.

Like Su Fengji, Shi Hongzhao did not have detention, fixed-term imprisonment, or suspended sentences in their code. No matter what the crime was, all were sentenced to death. Even regardless of the facts, as long as the defendant was sentenced to death.

"They don't ask about the severity of the crime or the reason. They just say that someone has committed a crime and then they sentence him to death. No one dares to appeal."

This is also recorded in the "Song History·Biography of Bian Guidang". Bian Guidang was Shi Jingtang's staff member and was appointed as the Chief Censor in the Later Han Dynasty. Bian Guidang had advised Shi Hongzhao at the time, saying that we should verify those letters of denunciation, especially anonymous letters, in detail and make decisions after finding out the truth of the matter. We should not kill people immediately after hearing rumors. Now it is a common practice to frame and falsely accuse. Corrupt officials and shameless people are extorting and taking revenge for personal gain. In such an environment, officials extorted money on a large scale. If the people did not obey, they would be falsely accused and framed, and then sentenced to death.

There are two typical cases recorded in history books:
"Drunk Case"

A citizen got drunk and confronted a soldier, who immediately accused him of spreading rumors and causing trouble, and then sentenced him to death according to the law;
"The Curious Beheading Case"

On April 949, 4, a rare astronomical wonder occurred in the sky: the Venus Taibai appeared in the sky during a clear day. Driven by curiosity, a resident of Bianzhou City looked up. After just a glance, he was arrested by the patrol, and Shi Hongzhao ordered: Behead him!
Because strange natural and astronomical phenomena are always used as an excuse to create political rumors. Just look up and it will be cut in half on the spot. Let's see who dares to post it on WeChat Moments!

In addition to Shi Hongzhao's favorite method of killing with a sledgehammer, other common methods of punishment included beheading, cutting off the tongue, and amputating the feet.

His subordinate, the cruel official Jie Hui, was treacherous and cruel. He strictly implemented Shi Hongzhao's work instructions, "Anyone who impeached, tortured at will", and anyone arrested by him, regardless of whether they were wrongly accused or not, would rush to admit their crimes and only ask for death after being tortured. When the people of Bianzhou City met Jie Hui on the road, no one dared to look him in the eye, and all lowered their heads and bent over to avoid him.

There was a wealthy businessman in Youzhou named He Fuyin, who once bought a jade pillow at a sky-high price of 140,000 yuan. He sent his servants to sell it to Huainan, then bought a batch of Huainan tea from Huainan and sold it to the north.

This servant was just like Li Yu's servant Ge Yanyu, who took advantage of the situation and coveted a sum of money from his master He Fuyin. He was greedy and was discovered because he had embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars... He was trying to fleece a sheep, and he was doing it like Ge You, so who couldn't see it?

He Fuyin became anxious and beat the servant severely, ordering him to return the stolen money and make up for the losses.

The servant held a grudge, so he learned from comrade Ge Yanyu and went directly to Shi Hongzhao to "report and expose" his master He Fuyin's "treason", saying that his jade pillow was entrusted by Zhao Yanshou to be sent to Huainan when the Khitan entered Bianliang, and was given to Li Jing of Southern Tang, colluding with Southern Tang to harm the Central Plains.

Shi Hongzhao then handed the case over to Jie Hui.

Xie Hui immediately understood what his leader meant, so he arrested He Fuyin and tortured him severely. Soon, He Fuyin confessed all his "criminal facts" of betraying the Khitan and colluding with the Huaiyi.

Subsequently, He Fuyin and his family (male members) were executed, his wife and daughter were given to Shi Hongzhao's subordinates as rewards, and all his property was embezzled by Shi Hongzhao.

After Li Song was falsely accused and executed, his young daughter, who was entrusted to Su Fengji, was taken away by Shi Hongzhao and made a slave.

(End of this chapter)