History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 701: Changes in the Nine Dragons Tent 1
Since the emergence of the "Mingzong prosperity" in the Central Plains, the national fortune has turned from prosperity to decline and gradually went downhill. During this period, the Khitan national fortune was booming. Under the leadership of Liao Taizong Yelu Deguang and Empress Dowager Shulu, they strongly interfered in the internal affairs of the Central Plains and briefly occupied the Central Plains. The Central Plains fell into chaos for more than ten years. From Li Congke of the Later Tang to the Later Jin, the Later Han, and then to the Later Zhou, the regime changed frequently, and the emperors of the Central Plains were like a revolving lantern. Ask the vast land, who is the master of the rise and fall?
It was not until the emergence of Guo Wei that the situation in the Central Plains gradually stabilized and truly rebounded.

We will not blindly praise Comrade Guo Wei's wisdom and bravery, because Guo Wei was not playing a stand-alone game, but a massively multiplayer online game. The revival of the Central Plains is certainly inseparable from the outstanding contributions made by Guo Wei himself and his team, but the rise and fall of external forces such as Khitan and Huainan are also important factors that cannot be ignored.

This volume will rewind the timeline and review the rise and fall of various forces outside the Central Plains since the "Mingzong's prosperous period".

1. The fate of a country depends on a seedling - the Min Kingdom

During the Huang Chao Rebellion, Shouzhou butcher Wang Xu recruited three brothers, Wang Chao, Wang Shenzhi and Wang Shenying, to respond to Huang Chao, and then followed Caizhou Qin Zongquan, and then forced everyone to enter Fujian. Because the leader Wang Xu was cruel and inhumane, he was killed by Wang Chao, Wang Shenzhi and Wang Shenying, and the three brothers Wang Chao then occupied most of present-day Fujian, and were known in history as the "Three Kings of Fujian".

Zhu Wen established the Later Liang Dynasty and appointed Wang Shenzhi as the governor of Fuzhou and the king of Min. During his time, Wang Shenzhi always followed the rule of the Later Liang Dynasty and worked hard to manage Fujian, laying the foundation for the Min Kingdom.

After Wang Shenzhi died, his eldest son Wang Yanhan succeeded to the throne. He was cruel and merciless, and was soon overthrown by his second brother Wang Yanjun and his sworn brother (Wang Shenzhi's adopted son) Wang Yanbing. Wang Yanjun succeeded to the throne.

This coup started a curse. Since then, the power of Min Kingdom has never been transferred peacefully, and almost all of them were completed through bloody coups. In this coup, Wang Yanjun was alone and weak, and the one who really contributed was Wang Yanbing. It can be said that Wang Yanbing conquered the country and then handed it over to Wang Yanjun. For details, please refer to the previous article "Brother Comes Back".

Wang Yanjun, who held real power, was very afraid of Wang Yanbing. Soon, a war broke out between the two brothers. Wang Yanjun captured and killed Wang Yanbing, thus eliminating a major threat.

Afterwards, Wang Yanjun sent his younger brother Wang Yanzheng to Jianzhou to comfort the people.

The reason why Fujian Province is called Fujian today is that it is named after Fuzhou and Jianzhou in the territory. At that time, in terms of comprehensive strength, Fuzhou, as the headquarters of the Mighty Army, was the undisputed first in Fujian, and Jianzhou ranked second. Wang Yanbing was entrenched in Jianzhou at the time, and after his demise, Wang Yanzheng was appointed as the governor of Jianzhou. Later, Wang Yanzheng used Jianzhou as a revolutionary base and went south to compete for the throne. This is a later story.

Wang Yanjun was very superstitious and favored Taoism. He favored a Taoist named Chen Shouyuan. In the second month after he seized power, he built the "Baohuang Palace" with Chen Shouyuan as the palace master. The site of Baohuang Palace was next to the "Wangba Altar".

It is said that there was a Wang Ba Altar in Fuzhou in the past, and next to it was an alchemy well. Next to the well was an old tree that had been dead for many years. Suddenly one day, the dead tree came back to life and grew many branches and leaves, and a white turtle appeared in the well. People were very surprised, so they dug three feet into the ground and found a stone with the words "King Wen, the descendant of Wang Ba" engraved on it.

Wang Yanjun was very happy, thinking that he was the descendant of Wang Ba, so he built Baohuang Palace next to Wang Ba Altar. This Baohuang Palace was built very luxuriously, "extremely prosperous in civil engineering".

The "expert" Chen Shouyuan calculated with his fingers and told Wang Yanjun that the "Emperor Bao" had appeared in his dream and said that he should abdicate and accept Taoism for sixty days, and then he could be the emperor for sixty years.

Wang Yanjun was very happy, so he gladly abdicated and let his eldest son Wang Jipeng take charge of military affairs. He himself practiced Taoism in seclusion and gave himself a Taoist name - Yuanxi.

Sixty days later, Wang Yanjun was restored to his position. He suddenly felt that something was not right, so he called Chen Shouyuan and asked, "Master, can you please ask the Emperor Bao, what will happen to me in sixty years?" Chen Shouyuan performed a spell and his soul left his body. After a while, he returned to normal and said to Wang Yanjun happily, "The Emperor Bao said that after you become the Son of Heaven for sixty years, you will become the Great Luo Immortal Lord!"

The demons Xu Yanpu and Sheng Tao at the side echoed, "Yes, yes, that's right. When King Chongshun of Beimiao met Emperor Bao, Emperor Bao said the same thing. We can testify to that!"

Beimiao Chongshun Wang refers to Wang Xu's brother-in-law Liu Xingquan. Wang Xu was suspicious of Liu Xingquan and killed him. Liu Xingquan's death also became the fuse for the "Three Kings of Fujian" to fight against Wang Xu. After the fight, Wang Shenzhi built a temple for Liu Xingquan, namely "Beimiao". Later Liang posthumously conferred Liu Xingquan the title of "Chongshun Wang". From then on, "Beimiao Chongshun Wang" was artificially deified and had a lofty status in the hearts of Fujian people.

Wang Yanjun was very happy after hearing this, and immediately wanted to proclaim himself emperor.

Historical records say that Wang Yanjun prayed day and night that year, and as a result, two cranes flew down, so he decided to become emperor. He submitted a petition to the court of the Later Tang Dynasty, making a lot of unreasonable demands, but received no response, and from then on he stopped paying tribute to the Later Tang Dynasty.

In the first month of the fourth year of Changxing in the Later Tang Dynasty (933), Chen Shouyuan and others spread rumors that a yellow dragon was found in Wang Yanjun's house. Wang Yanjun was very happy, so he ordered the place where he lived to be renamed from "Zhenfeng House" to "Longyue Palace" and built a "Donghua Palace".

As many as 10,000 craftsmen participated in its construction, and it was built to be tall, luxurious and extravagant.

Wang Yanjun went to the Baohuang Palace to receive the imperial decree, and then returned to the palace with a grand guard of honor, announcing his ascension to the throne and changing the country's name to "Damin". From then on, the Damin Kingdom, one of the "Ten Kingdoms", was officially established, the era name was changed to "Longqi", and the name was changed to "Wang Yan". Conventionally, the reign name of the Central Plains dynasty and the original name were used in the narrative.

At the coronation ceremony, Wang Yanjun, wearing the emperor's robes and crown, suddenly fell into a coma without any warning. Chen Shouyuan and other "experts" quickly performed a ritual, and after a long time, Wang Yanjun gradually woke up. After waking up, he immediately ordered to give the monks 3 million yuan in food money and 200 Tibetan scriptures. Then he fully recovered.

After this incident, Wang Yanjun became even more fond of unconventional methods.

In May of that year, an earthquake hit Fuzhou. The "expert" calculated with his fingers and said that Wang Yanjun should abdicate and practice Taoism for 5 days. So Wang Yanjun abdicated again and let his eldest son Wang Jipeng govern the country.

During this period, Wang Yanjun built various palaces on a large scale, which was a change from the frugality and simplicity of his father Wang Shenzhi.

In July, Wang Yanjun was restored to the throne. Although the Min Kingdom was called a "kingdom", it was small and weak, with only five states in its territory: Fuzhou, Jianzhou, Tingzhou, Zhangzhou, and Quanzhou. However, Wang Yanjun was infected with the habits of the second-generation rich and liked to spend money. Practicing Taoism and refining elixirs cost money, and large-scale construction projects cost countless money. Therefore, Wang Yanjun appointed a money-making expert, Xue Wenjie, as the Minister of Finance (National Planning Minister).

(End of this chapter)