History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 677 Zhou Ge Han Ming 3
Before leaving Beijing, Liu Xin asked to meet Liu Zhiyuan in person to express his gratitude and leave, but was decisively rejected by Yang Bin and others. According to historical records, Liu Xin "left in the rain and cried."

Compared with the tragic emperor Liu Yun, the image of Liu Xin, the emperor's uncle, in history books is really disgusting. I personally guess that it is also related to the previous analysis, that is, the systematic slander and smear of the Later Han Dynasty by the Guo Wei group and its successors (Northern Song Dynasty).

According to historical records, Liu Xin was "stupid and cowardly, greedy for money, and fond of enforcing harsh laws." The harsh laws of the Han Dynasty are the general evaluation of the Later Han Dynasty in history. Of course, this Han royal uncle, Liu Bei, was indispensable in the ranks of those who enforced harsh laws.

Liu Xin invented a method of punishing criminals, combining human flesh sashimi with luxury, giving the inhumane torture a veneer of upper-class society:

Whenever his subordinates committed a crime, Liu Xin would bring the man's wife and children over and either torture or dismember him in front of them. He would start from the feet and slowly move up to the head. He would also order them to eat the flesh cut from the prisoner's body. During the entire process, a band would play elegant music on the side.

It is hard to imagine how the prisoner’s wife and children would react. At least Liu Xin was chatting and laughing freely, looking very contented.

"If a soldier broke the law, Xin would summon his wife and children, cut them into pieces, and make them eat their own flesh, with blood flowing in front of them. Xin would then order them to drink and enjoy themselves." - New History of the Five Dynasties

"If there were criminals, the court would summon their wives and children, cut them into pieces, and force them to eat their own flesh. Or they would dismember them from the feet to the head, with blood flowing out in front of them, and order music and wine to be served, without any mercy or compassion." - "Old History of the Five Dynasties"

When I first read the text, I was horrified.

Whether he was in the capital or in Xuzhou, he did not like to receive guests and had no followers of his own. In addition to his love of torture, his only hobby was to make money. He would make money if there was an excuse, and would create one if there was no excuse.

When Liu Zhiyuan was buried, the funeral procession passed through Xuzhou. Liu Xin used this as an excuse to extort money from the people "in preparation for the welcoming ceremony", which caused the people of Xuzhou to complain and "suffer".

He blamed Shi Hongzhao and Yang Bin for all the hatred he had for the place where he was exiled. When the news of the killing of Shi Hongzhao, Yang Bin and others came, Liu Xin was overjoyed. He immediately set up a grand banquet and summoned all his staff and subordinates to the banquet. The Xuzhou Marshal's Mansion was as lively and festive as the New Year.

Liu Xin raised the wine glass and said to everyone, "I have always said that God was blind. Today, God finally opened his eyes and helped me avenge the hatred that had been accumulated for three years! On the one hand, I am happy that my hatred has been avenged, and on the other hand, I am celebrating that my lord is finally able to rule the country. Come on, drink this glass, and there are three more! I will not go home until I am drunk today." So the staff toasted him one after another, and Liu Xin accepted all the toasts and drank until he was drunk.

After a few days of happiness, Guo Wei entered Bian and Liu Chengyou was assassinated. Liu Xin was so worried that he "could not eat".

After being hungry for a few days, he heard that the Empress Dowager had ordered Liu Yun of Xuzhou to ascend the throne, so he immediately sent his son to Xuzhou to accompany Liu Yun to Bianzhou in order to grab the title of "Yuancong meritorious official".

As soon as his son left, Chen Sirang, who was leading his army to Huainan to "act at his own convenience", passed through the west of Xuzhou. As mentioned earlier, Chen Sirang's combat mission was to contain Huainan and try to prevent its armed intervention in the civil strife in Southern Chu. The specific combat details were to be formulated by Chen Sirang himself without having to report or ask for instructions. When necessary, he could cross the border to fight, and the scale was still determined by Chen Sirang himself.

However, historical records show that Chen Sirang did not fight across the border this time. He led his troops to station in Yingzhou, which is located at the junction of four countries (Zhongyuan Dynasty, Huainan, Jingnan, and Nanchu). The division of power in this area is like the Chinese character "concave". The vertical rectangle on the left is Jingnan, the horizontal rectangle below is Nanchu, the vertical rectangle on the right is Huainan, and the concave in the middle is the control area of ​​the Zhongyuan Dynasty. For the Zhongyuan Dynasty, this area is a peninsula of political power, and Fuzhou is deep into the peninsula, and Yingzhou and Anzhou retreated into the "inland". The Zhongyuan Dynasty set up the Anyuan Army here, with Anzhou as its headquarters.

Chen Sirang finally chose to station troops in Yingzhou instead of Fuzhou. This was a more conservative and prudent approach, not seeking merit but avoiding mistakes. Because if he advanced to Fuzhou, Huainan might cut off his retreat and attack Anzhou, which would "cut off the troops" for Chen Sirang.

Chen Siran's stay in Yingzhou was the result of the combined effect of many factors, such as the above-mentioned reasons, which were considered from a military perspective.

Politically, Chen Sirang's southward march and Guo Wei's northward march were similar in nature, both of them had other purposes. Guo Wei, under the pretext of resisting the Khitan, had his eyes fixed on Bianzhou; Chen Sirang, under the pretext of aiding the Southern Chu, had his eyes fixed on Xuzhou.

When Chen Sirang led his army through the west of Xuzhou, Liu Xin should have gone out of the city to reward the troops according to convention. However, Liu Xin was uneasy and lied that he was not feeling well. He refused to go out of the city and only sent people to reward the troops with wine, meat, dishes, gold, silver and jewelry.

After the Chanzhou mutiny, Wang Yin and Wang Jun, who stayed in the capital, sent Guo Chongwei to Songzhou. At the same time, they also sent General Ma Duo as the inspector of Xuzhou to lead the army to Xuzhou to protect Liu Xin and prevent him from getting into any accidents.

Ma Duo was very efficient, and Liu Xin was also very decent and chose to commit suicide.

2.3 Liu Chong of Hedong
Liu Chong is Liu Zhiyuan's younger brother. Some say he is his biological brother, and some say he is his cousin. It doesn't matter. He is handsome, with a beard like Guan Yu, and double pupils, similar to Xiang Yu. However, his character and personality do not live up to his appearance.

According to historical records, Liu Chong was "a scoundrel who loved drinking and gambling when he was young, and was once tattooed as a soldier." Looking at his choices when faced with major events later, he was also short-sighted and indecisive. No wonder he and Liu Yun were father and son. The father and son could not be said to be wishful thinking, but at least they were fanciful.

When Liu Zhiyuan proclaimed himself emperor and went south, he left Liu Chong in Taiyuan Prefecture in Hedong and made him the governor of Taiyuan. After Liu Chengyou ascended the throne, he appointed Liu Chong as the governor of Hedong and he still stayed in Hedong.

Although Liu Chong was cowardly and slow, and had no advantages, he had one outstanding skill, which was offending people. He offended Guo Wei.

The reason is simple. Guo Wei, Shi Hongzhao, Yang Bin and others are capable and have made contributions. They rose to the top by their strength. However, Liu Chong, Murong Yanchao and others have mediocre abilities and almost no achievements, but because they are Liu Zhiyuan's younger brothers, they are on an equal footing with several meritorious officials. Guo Wei and others are seriously unbalanced psychologically.

After Liu Zhiyuan's death, Guo Wei and other military generals became the actual controllers of the Later Han court, which made Liu Chong quite uneasy.

Liu Chong's adviser Zheng Gong gave him advice and suggested that he expand his strength in preparation for any eventuality.

(End of this chapter)