History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 670: The Later Han Dynasty
For example, although Shi Hongzhao was cruel, he had to do so in order to maintain order; although Wang Zhang amassed wealth, he did it for the country, not for his own benefit; although Yang Bin held all the power, he was an honest official and refused to engage in corruption or accept bribes... So much so that when Yan Jinqing wanted to leak secrets to Shi Hongzhao, Shi Hongzhao thought he was there to offer a bribe and refused to meet him.

The collective whitewashing of the Later Han Dynasty’s military commanders by the Northern Song historians and the collective slander of the civil officials and “small gangs” are really disgusting. After all, history is written by the victors.

The historical evaluation of Liu Chengyou, the king who lost his country, was relatively objective and fair, leaving him some face, unlike the harsh and ruthless evaluation of the "small group":
"When you are still young, you inherit the new business."

——He ascended the throne at the age of 18, the age of high school graduates, but took over a new emerging empire full of crises. Starting in the basement of the eighteen levels of hell, Liu Chengyou endured pressure that he should not have to endure at his age.

"The ruler who received the mandate was not as virtuous as Yu and Tang; the ministers who assisted him in governing were not as virtuous as Yi and Lu."

——Under heavy pressure, Liu Chengyou had mediocre ability. He did not have the talent of Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen and Wu, and was not able to turn the tide. And the ministers who assisted him were not Yi Yin (who assisted Shang Tang) or Lu Shang (who assisted King Wen of Zhou), and they did not have strategies to stabilize the country and maintain its security.

"If you want to maintain Yanhong's fortune and hold on to an unbreakable foundation, it is impossible."

——With such a monarch and ministers, do you still want to protect the country? Dream on.

"However, although the three rebels in the west were only destroyed by gunfire, they were surrounded by vicious people at home, and Russia brought itself into disgrace."

——Although the rebellions of the three western towns were suppressed, it was done with great difficulty and was a makeshift effort. Look, what a tragic outcome.

"Since ancient times, no one has destroyed a clan as quickly as the Emperor."

——Liu Chengyou is a fast boy. It is not very harmful, but it is extremely insulting.

"It is because man's plans are not well-planned that destiny is suddenly taken away."

——Evil seeds cannot produce flowers of justice. Liu Chengyou favors a bunch of villains. Look at the dirty things you have done. You deserve to be punished by God. Insult +1.

After Guo Wei entered Bian, he ordered people to temporarily place Liu Chengyou's coffin in the West Palace according to custom. Someone catered to Guo Wei and suggested to follow the story of Gaogui Xianggong, that is, Cao Mao, the grandson of Cao Pi and the great-grandson of Cao Cao.

After Sima Zhao murdered Cao Mao, he forced the Queen Mother to issue an imperial decree, accusing Cao Mao of treason, scolding him profusely, and then depriving him of his imperial title and demoting him to "Gaogui Xianggong". Sima Zhao then submitted a petition requesting that he be buried with royal rites.

I don't know if this person is trying to flatter Guo Wei or is sincerely trying to disgust Guo Wei. If Liu Chengyou is Cao Mao, then isn't Guo Wei Sima Zhao?

Fortunately, Guo Wei kept a clear mind and said to those around him: "The incident happened in a hurry and I failed to protect the emperor. My sin is big enough. How can I belittle him?"

Feng Dao led the civil and military officials to meet Guo Wei. Before they could salute Guo Wei, Guo Wei knelt down and kowtowed to Feng Dao. Because Guo Wei was now a Han official, not a Han thief, within the framework of the Han Dynasty, Feng Dao was the Grand Master (the head of the "Three Dukes", the first rank), and his rank was higher than Guo Wei (the Minister of the Court, the second rank), so Guo Wei had to kneel down and kowtow to Feng Dao.

Facing Guo Wei's lavish tribute, Feng Dao accepted it calmly. The political logic behind this was that Feng Dao, on behalf of the Han court, recognized Guo Wei's identity as a "loyal minister of the Han Dynasty". Otherwise, Feng Dao's slight courtesy would be equivalent to calling Guo Wei a traitor to the Han Dynasty.

After Guo Wei finished his kowtow, Feng Dao slowly reached out his hand and symbolically supported him. When Guo Wei stood up, he said meaningfully: "It's really not easy for you to come here!"

On November 11, Guo Wei compressed the promised "23 days of legal robbery" into one day, and by dusk, order had been restored in Bianzhou. On the 24th, Guo Wei led the civil and military officials to Mingde Gate, kowtowed to Empress Dowager Li, and petitioned: "The country cannot be without a ruler for a day, please appoint a new ruler as soon as possible!"

Empress Dowager Li issued an imperial decree, saying that Guo Yunming was plotting treason and regicide, and that the court should indeed appoint a new ruler.

In this edict, Empress Dowager Li gave an official definition of the bloody coup, rehabilitated the murdered Shi Hongzhao and others, and strongly condemned the criminal murderers.

"I didn't expect that the evil villains would conspire with each other, and a group of small people would succeed. They hid sharp weapons and secretly attacked the palace, killing the loyal and good people. They just reported it to the young master... They also secretly sent envoys to forge the imperial edict and plotted to kill the Privy Councilor Guo Wei, the Xuanhui Envoy Wang Jun, the Imperial Guard Infantry Commander Wang Yin and others..."

This is the official report of Empress Dowager Li on the entire process of the coup: The Emperor and I were unaware of this matter. This gang of treacherous villains secretly conspired to execute first and report later. The Emperor and I were completely kept in the dark...

The Queen Mother also explained Liu Chengyou's death:

"The rebels, Li Ye, the imperial envoy... Guo Yunming and others, threatened the emperor in the palace, and fought in the suburbs. When they were exhausted, they committed treason. Their indignation and indignation were so great that they have never been heard of before or since."

Liu Chengyou went to the battle and offended the general's majesty, and was also coerced by this group of people. When he saw that things were failing, this group of people killed the emperor. It was so cruel.

Obviously, this explanation is far from the truth of the matter and is more political propaganda than news reporting.

Afterwards, Empress Dowager Li nominated a list of candidates for the new emperor: Liu Chong, the governor of Hedong, and Liu Xin, the governor of Xuzhou Zhongwu Army, both of whom were the younger brothers of the late emperor Liu Zhiyuan; Liu Yun, the governor of Xuzhou Wuning Army, and Liu Chengxun, the prefect of Kaifeng, both of whom were the sons of the late emperor.

Two imperial uncles and two imperial brothers, these are the candidates given by Empress Dowager Li.

Among them, Liu Yun of Xuzhou was not Liu Zhiyuan's biological son, but the son of Liu Zhiyuan's younger brother Liu Chong. Liu Zhiyuan liked this nephew very much and adopted him as his son.

According to the "Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms", after Guo Wei entered Bian, he secretly colluded with all officials and asked them to support him as emperor. As a result, only Feng Dao refused to submit, so he calmly accepted Guo Wei's kneeling. Guo Wei was very frustrated, so he had to let Empress Dowager Li decide on the successor to the Han Dynasty.

The pattern is broken.

As long as he defeats these four candidates legally, Guo Wei can legitimately change the dynasty. First, we use the process of elimination to exclude the two Liu uncles. Since ancient times, the son inherits the father, the younger brother inherits the elder brother, and the nephew inherits the uncle. Although there are precedents, it is still too unusual.

As a result, Liu Chong of Hedong and Liu Xin of Xuzhou were eliminated.

Given the choice between two options, a biological son and an adopted son, all officials would of course choose the biological son, and so they unanimously called for Comrade Liu Chengxun to inherit the throne.

Empress Dowager Li shook her head and said that this guy was a vegetable, how could he be the emperor?
It's a bit exaggerated to say that he was in a vegetative state. At least he was severely paralyzed and bedridden for years. In short, he couldn't be an emperor.

Guo Wei and others insisted on seeing it with their own eyes. Empress Dowager Li had no choice but to have the bed brought over for everyone to see. As expected, the patient's mouth was crooked, eyes were slanting, and saliva was flowing. He couldn't be said to be unconscious, but at least he was unconscious and in danger of passing away at any time.

(End of this chapter)