History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 680 The People's Good Princess
It took Guo Wei only about 40 days from the time he raised his army in Weizhou to the time he ascended the throne and became emperor. If we count from the Chanzhou mutiny, it was less than a month.

Of course, he would never have thought that Zhao Kuangyin's Chenqiao Rebellion ten years later would be even faster than his Chanzhou Rebellion.

Another problem with the fast-paced and efficient usurpation of the throne is that the founding monarch did not have time to be crowned king in the previous dynasty, so the name of the country became a small problem. This problem is not a problem. Don't underestimate the creativity of the working people.

For example, comrade Liu Zhiyuan of the Shatuo people suddenly became a "relative of the Han royal family" and insisted that he was a descendant of Liu Bing, the eighth son of Emperor Ming of Han and King of Huaiyang, and acknowledged an ancestor who lived eight hundred years ago.

The staff of Guo Wei's group opened the history book and started to check from the Qin Dynasty of Qin Shihuang. Which emperor of that dynasty had the surname Guo? Who should our master recognize as his ancestor?

Before Guo Wei, there had never been anyone with the surname Guo who became emperor.

Then, if we go back further, in the pre-Qin period... there was no...

Since there was no one with the surname Guo, they would find a famous one to take advantage of the popularity, and it would be best if it was from a distant past and could not be verified... Guo Wei's team set their sights on the most prestigious Great Zhou Dynasty.

So, Comrade Guo Wei happily announced to everyone: I won’t pretend anymore, I’m going to show my cards, “I’m a distant descendant of the Ji family, a descendant of Guo Shu.” Guo Shu, the third son of Ji Li, was the younger brother of King Wen of Zhou, Ji Chang. Together with his second brother Guo Zhong, he assisted his eldest brother Ji Chang and founded the Zhou Dynasty. After King Wen of Zhou, Ji Chang died, he passed the throne to his son, King Wu of Zhou, Ji Fa. After King Wu defeated King Zhou and destroyed the Shang Dynasty, he made these two uncles the kings of the Guo State. Their fiefs were on the east and west sides of the capital, and they became the loyal guards of the Zhou emperor.

Because they were granted the title of Eastern Guo and Western Guo, they were later called Guo Zhong and Guo Shu. Later, Guo was destroyed by another country, and their descendants took the similar-sounding "Guo" as their surname. Guo Shu is generally recognized as the ancestor of the surname Guo.

Guo Wei was very satisfied with this. Since he was a descendant of Guo Shu and the heir of the Ji family, the name of his country was of course "Zhou".

1. Internal Affairs

1. Found a country, change the era name, and grant amnesty to the world.

As mentioned earlier, the ancient "general amnesty" did not mean that all criminals would be pardoned. There were strict limitations. Serious crimes such as murder, arson, and poisoning were not included in the amnesty. These criminal violations were collectively referred to as the "Ten Evils", so there was a term called "The Ten Evils Are Unforgivable".

But this time Guo Wei issued a hard-core amnesty, "all those who were not pardoned in the regular amnesty will be pardoned", those who committed the ten most heinous crimes were also pardoned, and all prisons in the country were cleared.

To redress the injustice of those who died in the "Xiao Qiang Rebellion", restore their reputation, and posthumously honor them.

Hanlin Academician Xu Taifu requested that accountability procedures be initiated, that the "Li Song wrongful case" be dealt with seriously, and that the false accusers Ge Yanyu and Li Cheng be held criminally accountable.

Prime Minister Feng Dao tried to smooth things over again, saying that it had been so long since the incident happened, and that there had been many amnesties, so it was better not to mention it again. Li Song, Feng Dao, He Ning and others were brothers in the same trench, fighting side by side in life and death, assisting the Later Jin Dynasty together, accepting fake positions from the Khitan together, going north to the Khitan together, and then going south together. Li Song was framed by Su Fengji, his family was destroyed, and the whole world felt wronged. When someone proposed to seek justice for Li Song, Feng Dao actually took the attitude of "less trouble is worse than more trouble", which was really sad.

Although Feng Dao is a legendary figure in Chinese history, he has always been controversial and has not been highly regarded in history. This is one of the reasons.

However, Wang Jun admired Xu Taifu very much, thinking that he was a man of integrity and a good brother, so he personally reported to Guo Wei and demanded severe punishment for Ge Yanyu and Li Cheng.

Guo Wei ordered that Ge Yanyu and Li Cheng be beheaded in public. At this point, all the criminals who framed Li Song had been brought to justice.

All the unjust, false and wrong cases in the Later Han Dynasty, such as the "Xiao Qiang Incident" and the Li Song case, must be redressed, the victims' reputations restored, appropriate financial compensation made, and the criminals severely punished. At the same time, an order was issued to find the descendants who survived the "Xiao Qiang Incident", give them treatment as children of martyrs, and arrange corresponding jobs.

Shi Hongzhao's housekeeper Li Chongju was spared in the turmoil. Li Chongju still carefully kept Shi Hongzhao's asset account book, so Guo Wei helped him to recover all of Shi Hongzhao's property, and Li Chongju continued to keep it. Soon, Shi Hongzhao's younger brother Shi Hongfu was found. He quickly hid among the people when the disaster occurred and escaped. Li Chongju handed over all of Shi Hongzhao's property to Shi Hongfu and did not take a penny for himself.

Guo Wei admired Li Chongju's integrity and loyalty, so he arranged for him to work beside his adopted son Chai Rong. Li Chongju later became a high-ranking official in the Northern Song Dynasty, including the Minister of the Three Departments, the Minister of the Imperial Court, and the Privy Councilor.

Li Chongju's descendants have always been active in the political arena of the Song Dynasty. They have been famous ministers and honest officials for generations. His descendants are very worthy of mention.

Li Chongju's son, Li Jichang, was greatly admired by Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, who wanted to marry his daughter to him. Li Jichang said he did not dare to marry someone of high status and refused. Li Chongju also humbly declined and married his son to a wife in a lightning speed, which put an end to Zhao Kuangyin's thoughts and made Zhao Kuangyin very angry.

Li Jichang's son Li Zunxu helped his father complete the task of becoming a royal consort. During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, he married Princess Wanshou, the daughter of Emperor Taizong of Song. It is said that Princess Wanshou was extremely ugly, and her husband Li Zunxu had a cold relationship with her. Less than a month after their marriage, he had an affair with the princess's wet nurse, cuckolding the princess and shocking the court and the public.

Although Princess Wanshou was ugly and rough in appearance, she was well-educated, kind-hearted, and good at writing poetry and painting. In the History of Song Dynasty, her record is the longest among all the princesses, and it is all praise for her:
She has been quiet and well-behaved since she was young, and she never goes out of the house.

One day, her father, Emperor Taizong of Song, Zhao Guangyi, wanted to test the character of the princesses, so he called them together, laid out various pearls to play with, and let them choose what they were interested in. The princesses immediately turned into old ladies snatching cheap eggs in the supermarket, swarming to grab them, but Princess Wanshou was unmoved and took nothing. Emperor Taizong was very surprised.

Once, a daring thief broke into the princess's house and stole. The emperor ordered a deadline to investigate the case, and the relevant departments quickly captured the suspect. Although the princess never left her house, she was well aware of social affairs. She paid out of her own pocket and offered a reward for the wanted criminal. The real thief was captured. It turned out that the relevant departments, under heavy pressure, bought a scapegoat to take the blame. According to the law at the time, the thief would be beheaded, but the princess personally pleaded for the thief and pardoned him.

Li Zunxu was exiled to Xuzhou and suddenly fell seriously ill. The princess wanted to visit him. According to relevant regulations, the princess had to apply to the relevant department. After review and approval, the relevant department would arrange entourage, guards and other personnel to accompany her. On the one hand, it was to let the princess have a good time and not bring shame to the royal family; on the other hand, it was to prevent the princess from joining forces with her husband to rebel.

(End of this chapter)