History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 672: Chanzhou Mutiny 2
Later, Fan Zhi became prime minister, was appointed as the Prince's tutor, and was granted the title of Duke of Lu, just like his teacher He Ning, and this became a good story.

Fan Zhi was a man of both ability and integrity. He Ning, the prime minister of the Later Tang Dynasty, was highly regarded by him, and Sang Weihan, the prime minister of the Later Jin Dynasty, also praised him highly. Sang Weihan promoted him to the central government as a supervisory censor. When Sang Weihan was stationed in a local government, he asked Fan Zhi to be his staff. When Sang Weihan returned to the court as prime minister, he promoted Fan Zhi to the Hanlin Academy to draft imperial edicts for the emperor (Zhi Zhigao).

When Shi Chonggui drafted the "15 Generals to Defend against Liao", it was both secret and hasty. It was already night, and Shi Chonggui suddenly wanted to urgently summon the Hanlin scholars to the palace to draft the edict for the 15 generals. Fan Zhi hurriedly dissuaded him, saying that the palace gates were already closed, and if the scholars were summoned at this time, it would be equivalent to leaking the palace secrets.

How can you post confidential matters on Moments or in group chats?

Therefore, Fan Zhi took on the responsibility of drafting the imperial edict alone. Generally speaking, the emperor would tell the Hanlin Academy what he wanted to express, and then the team of scholars would collectively discuss, draft, and polish it, and then submit the draft to the emperor for review before it could be promulgated. This is why I like reading imperial edicts and imperial documents. These are the collective writing styles of the top scholars in the country at that time. Whether it is the structure of the article or the rhetoric, they are all undisputed full-mark essays.

Fan Zhi completed it on his own in a very short time, and was "famous at the time", showing off his real strength.

After Liu Zhiyuan became emperor, he became the Secretary of the Central Secretariat and the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

When Guo Wei led the expedition against Li Shouzhen in Hezhong, he always found the military instructions from the court well-planned and well-written, and he could not help but admire them. So he asked the envoy, "Who drafted the edict?" The envoy answered truthfully that it was Fan Zhi. Guo Wei remembered this name and said to those around him, "This man has the potential to be a prime minister!"

When Guo Wei entered Bian, Fan Zhi, like other court officials, hid everywhere. Guo Wei sent people to look for him everywhere. When they found him, it was snowing heavily. Guo Wei took off his coat and put it on him.

Therefore, the Empress Dowager's edicts mentioned above, such as the official report on the "Xian Qiang Disaster", and the welcoming of Liu Yun to Xuzhou, were all written by Fan Zhi.

After Guo Wei left Bianzhou, he immediately recommended Fan Zhi as Deputy Privy Envoy and Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.

"The military and state affairs are temporarily entrusted to the prime ministers Dou Zhengu, Su Yugui, and the Privy Councilor Wang Jun for discussion and implementation. The cavalry and infantry in the capital are entrusted to Wang Yindu for supervision."

Dou Zhengu and Su Yugui are Wang Jun's puppets and can be crossed out. The "etc." includes Fan Zhi who was promoted by Guo Wei; the supreme commander of all armed forces in the capital is Wang Yin.

Wang Jun was in charge of civil affairs, while Wang Yin was in charge of military affairs. Guo Wei's two important confidants controlled all the real power in the central government. The court now had the surname Guo.

2. Open and hidden

The old civil service group was wiped out and was controlled by Guo Wei's group within just a few days. The real power was held by Wang Jun of Guo Wei's group, with Dou Zhengu and Su Yugui acting as puppets in the front. New civil servants such as Fan Zhi were also promoted and reused thanks to Guo Wei's kindness. Feng Dao and others were sent to Xuzhou.

Some people say that Feng Dao was a "pro-Han" person, saying that he opposed Guo Wei and worked hard to support the Han Dynasty. Moreover, his powerful influence made him a stumbling block to Guo Wei's usurpation of power and threatened Guo Wei's usurpation of the throne, so he was kicked to Xuzhou. They also used the fact that Feng Dao calmly accepted Guo Wei's kneeling as an excuse, saying that Feng Dao was working hard to maintain the organizational structure and power system of the Later Han Dynasty and to give Guo Wei, who had just entered Bian, a warning.

There is some truth in this. However, the reason why Feng Dao calmly accepted Guo Wei's kneeling has been briefly analyzed in the previous article. This was not to show off Guo Wei's power, but to build a bridge for Guo Wei. Don't mistake sugar for vinegar.

In addition, Feng Dao never had "power". He was a mascot of the political arena, highly respected and admired by everyone, but he never possessed any lethality and was harmless to humans and animals. This was his valuable experience in making a living, and the fundamental reason why he was able to serve four dynasties and ten emperors.

Rather than saying that he has been active in the political arena for decades, it is better to say that he has been cautious and has been walking on the edge of core power for decades, trembling with fear and treading on thin ice. Although he is in a phase and theoretically in a core position, he has never been drawn into the vortex of power. He has no political stance, and no stance is his stance. No move is better than a move.

When Yelu Deguang entered Bianzhou, Feng Dao also surrendered to the Khitans, knelt down and pledged allegiance to Yelu Deguang, and was praised by Yelu Deguang along with Li Song, He Ning and others.

The Khitans could overthrow the rule of the Han people and change dynasties, so could the Han people overthrow the Han people? Why did Feng Dao try to stop Guo Wei from usurping the Han Dynasty?

Moreover, after Feng Dao, Li Song, and He Ning fled back to the Central Plains from Zhenzhou, they were accused of being traitors for submitting to the Khitans, and were deprived of all their real power. They were idle and retired with empty titles such as Grand Master. They also behaved themselves, closed their doors to visitors, and behaved honestly.

Therefore, Feng Dao had neither the motive nor the ability to oppose Guo Wei. It is really far-fetched to portray Feng Dao as someone who tried to prolong the life of the Later Han Dynasty and prevent Guo Wei from becoming emperor.

As an honest man, Feng Dao's only appeal may be to hope that the regime can be transferred peacefully. He has witnessed too many bloody coups, where families were wiped out at will, hundreds of corpses were buried, and women and children were not spared. Feng Dao only hopes that Guo Wei can wear the mask of mercy for a little longer. Since Liu Zhu's family can be pardoned, then Liu Chengyou's family - such as Liu Yun, can you also show mercy?
So before leaving, Feng Dao couldn't help but question Guo Wei face to face, asking whether he really supported Liu Yun or just wanted to trick him over and then...right.

If Guo Wei took him aside, opened up to him and said that he just wanted to put him under house arrest, it would sound like he was telling the truth.

But Guo Wei pointed to the heavens and the earth, swore, and said that I sincerely wanted to support Liu Yun...

Burning newspapers at the grave, are you fooling the ghost? Feng Dao watched Guo Wei's performance and knew the answer in his heart, so after he left Bianzhou City, he said with great entanglement that he had never done anything wrong in his life, but this time, he finally had to go against his conscience. He already knew Liu Yun's ending.

Feng Dao and his entourage prepared for the imperial carriage and arrived in Xuzhou. After Liu Yun received the news, he wanted to meet him from afar according to the rules - to welcome him outside the city.

The horse Liu Yun rode was usually very docile, but today it suddenly behaved in an uncharacteristic way, neighing, biting the reins, and running around like a madman, so Liu Yun had to change another one. Some of the more superstitious servants sighed and shook their heads, thinking that this was a bad omen.

Last winter, a strange bird suddenly flew into Liu Yun's courtyard. It was colorful and looked like the legendary phoenix. After receiving the registration edict, Liu Yun thought it was a good omen, which was called "a phoenix is ​​coming." But people around him thought it was also an ominous sign, "a wild bird enters the house, and the owner is going to die."

(End of this chapter)