History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 695: King Yin, the Second Minister of the Ming Dynasty 2
It's not shabby to earn money.

As for greed for money, this is something Guo Wei can tolerate.

Unlike Wang Jun who lived in the central government for a long time, Wang Yin had been staying in Weizhou and had very few interactions with the central government. Apart from his greed for money and heavy taxes, there was nothing wrong with him.

When Guo Wei pacified Yanzhou and returned, Wang Yin greeted him on the road and Guo Wei gave him a banquet. The former revolutionary comrades and today's monarch and minister drank and talked happily and left in high spirits.

After deposing Wang Jun, the first person Guo Wei thought of was Wang Yin. Fearing that Wang Yin would misunderstand, he sent Wang Yin's son, who was left as a hostage in the capital, to Weizhou to explain and comfort him.

Wang Yin was very worried, so he submitted three petitions requesting to go to Beijing for an audience, on the grounds that it was to celebrate Guo Wei's birthday (July 7).

Guo Wei initially agreed to Wang Yin's request, but soon realized that this was most likely a test by Wang Yin, so he quickly sent envoys to dissuade him.

As Guo Wei expected, after receiving the imperial edict to stop him, Wang Yin agreed and never came to Bianzhou again.

From then on, a rift began between the emperor and his minister, and the one who pushed their relationship to the brink of collapse was another meritorious minister, He Fujin.

Among the meritorious officials who assisted the emperor, He Fujin was a rare talent. He joined the army during the reign of Li Cunxu of the Later Tang Dynasty and was known for his bravery. He was selected into the imperial guards and became a junior officer. During the "Xingjiao Gate Incident", He Fujin and other generals such as Fu Yanqing were among the few warriors who fought desperately to resist the rebellious army and protect Li Cunxu.

When Emperor Mingzong Li Siyuan heard about his deeds, he praised him as a loyal minister and promoted him to the post of governor of Cizhou. During the reign of Li Congke, he led the imperial army to attack Fan Yanguang of Weizhou and was promoted to defense envoy for his merits.
When the Later Jin Dynasty was destroyed, He Fujin was forced to follow the Khitan to the north. When he arrived in Zhenzhou, he heard the news that Emperor Taizong of Liao, Yelü Deguang, had died suddenly. So he launched the "Bell Uprising" with Li Yun (Li Rong), Bai Zairong and others, using the Buddhist bell as a signal, and eventually took control of Zhenzhou. At that time, He Fujin was the main planner, organizer, and implementer of the uprising, but Bai Zairong's position was much higher than his, so Liu Zhiyuan appointed Bai Zairong as the governor of Zhenzhou without strict investigation. It was not until a year later that Liu Zhiyuan learned the truth of the "Bell Uprising" and promoted He Fujin to the defense of Caozhou.

When Guo Wei was ordered to patrol the border, He Fujin followed the army and became Guo Wei's subordinate. When Guo Wei went south to compete for the throne, he only had a small-scale fierce conflict with Murong Yanchao at Liuzipo. It was He Fujin, Li Yun, Wang Yanchao and other generals who confronted Murong Yanchao and defeated him.

After Guo Wei proclaimed himself emperor, He Fujin was promoted to Jiedushi of Xuzhou Zhongwu Army for his meritorious service in assisting him, and later transferred to Jiedushi of Zhenzhou Chengde Army.

He Fujin had a special affection for Zhenzhou. He worked diligently and wholeheartedly for the people. He focused on production and national defense, guarding the northern gate for the Later Zhou Dynasty. The Khitans were so afraid of He Fujin that when they went south to plunder, they basically went around Zhenzhou, either to Dingzhou in the north of Zhenzhou, or to Weizhou and Beizhou.

The people of Zhenzhou loved this good leader and official who was the father of the people very much. They jointly petitioned the emperor to erect a monument to commemorate his benevolent deeds.

As a neighbor of Wang Yin of Weizhou, the upright and loyal He Fujin could not stand what Wang Yin did and secretly collected and organized various evidences of Wang Yin's illegal and disorderly conduct.

In October of this year (953), Guo Wei decided to "have something to do in the southern suburbs" during the Spring Festival of the following year. According to the practice since the Tang Dynasty, the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the gods was held in Luoyang. Zhu Wen of the Later Liang Dynasty opened the precedent of offering sacrifices to the gods in Bianzhou. Guo Wei was a little embarrassed, so he asked the prime minister and others to discuss whether it was appropriate to offer sacrifices to the gods in Bianzhou.

In fact, the discussion of the altar in the suburbs of Bianzhou was a debate of political stance. Luoyang represented the Tang Dynasty, the place where the orthodox doctrine was; Bianzhou represented Zhu Wen, representing the usurpation of power and the controversy over the legal system. The prime ministers catered to Guo Wei's wishes, saying that where the emperor was, the gods were there, and it didn't matter whether Luoyang was there or not! So Guo Wei ordered the construction of an altar in the southern suburbs of Bianzhou and sent Prime Minister Feng Dao to Luoyang to invite the tablets of the royal ancestral temple and the tablets of the gods of the land and grain.

There was another purpose for such a grandiose "occurrence in the southern suburbs": to lure Wang Yin to the capital. The significance of "occurrence in the southern suburbs" was not much different from the emperor's coronation ceremony. Generally speaking, all the vassal states and princes in the world would come to the scene and participate in the grand event.

In the charges against Wang Yin presented by He Fujin, Guo Wei was more concerned about his "disloyalty" rather than "lawlessness." Even if he was not "disloyal," he would still be concerned about whether there was a sign or potential for "disloyalty."

For example, in the north of the Yellow River, Guo Wei had to use a formal edict to make military movements or financial expenditures, while Wang Yin only needed a sentence. At first glance, it seems that there is nothing special about it, as if Wang Yin only has the same power as the emperor in the Hebei region, but this is not the case.

Because the issuance of an imperial edict is a strict restriction on the imperial power, the emperor's true intentions will be discounted in the process of being turned into an imperial edict. Generally speaking, when the emperor wants to issue an order, he will dictate it to the Hanlin Academy, and then the Hanlin Academy will draft the imperial edict. During this process, the Hanlin Academy will argue about the emperor's intentions. If they think there is something wrong, they will protest, modify it, or even refuse to draft it.

For example, Li Cunxu wanted to wipe out the rulers and ministers of the Later Shu Dynasty and issued an edict to kill Wang Zongyan and his entourage. However, the eunuchs secretly changed the word "yi yi" to "jia yi".

In other words, now in the north of the Yellow River, Wang Yin is not subject to any constraints and his words are final, while Guo Wei will be subject to layers of restrictions. Wang Yin's authority is far greater than Guo Wei's.

This was enough to make Guo Wei feel uneasy, but this alone was not enough to prove that Wang Yin had ill intentions, let alone be a reason to kill Wang Yin.

Therefore, Guo Wei simply detained Wang Yin in Bianzhou and appointed him as the inspector of the capital's interior and exterior, keeping him under observation.

If Wang Yin could understand the principle of retreating at the right time and protecting himself by giving up power, he could have kept the wealth and glory for the rest of his life. But after Wang Yin sensed the murderous intent from Guo Wei, he did not give in and pretended to be obedient. Instead, he fought against fate and did two things that were reckless.

The first is strict military guards.

After being detained in Bianzhou, Wang Yin was always surrounded by hundreds of personal bodyguards, and was surrounded by them whenever he went out. These personal guards were all burly men who were strictly selected. They were tall and strong, with ferocious faces, wearing armor, holding sharp blades, and carrying bows on their waists, exuding a domineering aura.

Walking on the streets of Bianzhou, people were all terrified.

Secondly, they demand weapons and equipment and blatantly expand their own armed forces.

One day, Wang Yin suddenly broke into the palace and asked Guo Wei to give him more weapons and ammunition. Wang Yin said that there was unrest outside the city of Bianzhou, and bandits were rampant. Please give me more weapons and armor in case of emergency.

(End of this chapter)