History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 714 Zhu Lian's Second Coup

After Wang Yanxi won the battle to defend Fuzhou, an envoy from Silla (now South Korea) happened to visit and presented Wang Yanxi with a large and exquisitely crafted sword. Just as the civil and military officials were about to congratulate him, they found that Wang Yanxi's face changed drastically, jumping between fear and anger.

It turns out that as early as Wang Jipeng's time, Silla sent an envoy to present the sword. At that time, Wang Jipeng held the sword in his hand and played with it repeatedly, and couldn't let it go. After playing with it for a while, Wang Jipeng held it in front of Prime Minister Wang Dan and showed it to him, "What do you think such a beautiful sword should be used for?"

According to records, Wang Yanxi had already planned to seize power and usurp the throne at that time, but Wang Dan was an upright person who was not afraid of power. He noticed Wang Yanxi's misconduct and confronted him head-on. Wang Yanxi was also afraid of Wang Jipeng's suspicion and killing, so he compromised and tolerated Wang Dan everywhere.

When Wang Jipeng asked with a smile, "What will this general do?", Wang Dan looked serious and determined, and said in a decisive tone, "Behead those disloyal ministers!"

Wang Yanxi was standing nearby at the time, and he turned pale with fright, and was unable to recover for several days.
From this we can also see that when Zhu Wenjin and Lian Chongyu launched the mutiny, the statement that they put a knife to Wang Yanxi's neck in the toilet and forced him to become emperor was the same as Guo Wei's "Chanzhou Mutiny" and Zhao Kuangyin's "Chenqiao Mutiny".

It was still the same place, the same Silla envoy, and the same great sword being presented... Wang Yanxi's thoughts instantly returned to the memories of the past, and he couldn't calm down for a long time.

Anger gradually replaced fear. At this time, Wang Dan had already passed away. Wang Yanxi ordered to open the coffin and mutilate the body!
According to records, when the coffin was opened, Wang Dan looked like a living person, and after his head was cut off, blood gushed out, covering his entire body in an instant. People were all deeply saddened by this.

The proofreader Chen Guangyi said to those around him in grief and indignation: "The emperor is so immoral that the country is about to perish. I will die for his advice." All his relatives and friends came to dissuade him, but Chen Guangyi had made up his mind.

Chen Guangyi listed more than 50 "great evils" committed by Wang Yanxi in a memorial, and kept knocking his head in the court, until his face was covered with blood, to persuade Wang Yanxi to repent in time.

Wang Yanxi was furious and ordered the guards to drag him out and whip him severely with a whip. After hundreds of lashes, Chen Guangyi's skin was torn and flesh was exposed, but he was not dead yet. Wang Yanxi then had his guards strangle him with a rope around his neck and hang him on a tree. He was hung for a long time before he died.

In the same month that Prime Minister Wang Dan whipped Chen Guangyi's corpse and strangled him to death, Wang Yanxi married his daughter.

When the princess got married, all the civil and military officials naturally had to give gifts to congratulate her. Wang Yanxi took the account book and carefully counted it, and found that 12 people did not come to give gifts, so he summoned these 12 people to the Jinluan Palace and whipped them one by one.

He also summoned the Chief Censor Liu Zan and blamed him for not impeaching these people in time, and then he was also going to be whipped.

Liu Zan argued that the person he impeached was breaking the law and discipline, and that if others did not give him a gift, what law had he violated?
Wang Yanxi refused to reason with him and insisted on whipping him. Liu Zan resisted with the threat of death, preferring death to such humiliation.

Zheng Yuanbi, the Imperial Counselor, reminded Wang Yanxi that a scholar could be killed but not humiliated. Since ancient times, there has been a rule that "no punishment shall be imposed on scholars and officials". The Chief Censor is a role model for all officials and cannot be punished at will.

"Hey——" Wang Yanxi pointed his finger at Zheng Yuanbi and threatened: "What, do you really think you are Wei Zheng?"

Zheng Yuanbi replied: "It is because I regard Your Majesty as Emperor Taizong of Tang that I dare to regard myself as Wei Zheng."

High emotional intelligence response.

After hearing that he was Emperor Taizong of Tang, Wang Yanxi finally calmed down and said, "Forget it, forget it. Let's just forgive him this time." He ordered the release of Liu Zan.

After Liu Zan returned home, he died of excessive grief and anger. Wang Yanxi's suspicion and bloodlust finally brought him bitter consequences.

Once, Wang Yanxi wandered around the back garden after drinking, and for some reason he killed Wei Conglang, the commander of the Crane Control Command. Wei Conglang was a close confidant of Zhu Wenjin and Lian Chongyu.

At the beginning, Zhu Wenjin and Lian Chongyu launched a mutiny, forced Wang Jipeng to death, and welcomed Wang Yanxi. They were always afraid that Wang Yanxi would take revenge on them later and hold them accountable for the crime of mutiny and regicide, or that they would be used as scapegoats and silenced. So the two of them formed a private alliance, married their children to each other, and formed a close alliance through political marriage.

Wei Conglang’s death was a huge blow to Zhu Wenjin and Lian Chongyu, and they were both restless.

One day, Wang Yanxi got drunk again, and drunkenly recited Bai Juyi's "Heaven Can Be Delivered - Evil and Deceitful People" to Zhu Wenjin and Lian Chongyu:
"The sky can be measured, the earth can be measured, but the human heart cannot be guarded against. When sincerity is as red as blood, who knows that false words are as clever as silver... When human hearts are facing each other, the distance between them is unpredictable..."

Bai Juyi's poems generally do not need to be translated and are very popular.

According to the summary and analysis of historical materials from all parties, Zhu Wenjin and Lian Chongyu were just actors on the front stage in that mutiny, and the real boss behind the scenes was Wang Yanxi.

Now, Wang Yanxi first killed the two's trusted henchmen and eliminated their followers, and then "spoke the truth after drinking", clearly stating that people's hearts are hidden in their stomachs. You two are loyal to me in words, but who knows what you are really thinking? Alas, there are always villains who want to harm me!
Although they were both rough people, they could still understand Bai Juyi's poems. They were so scared that they lowered their heads and dared not speak, just like you when the teacher was about to ask a question.

Seeing that the two were playing dumb, Wang Yanxi raised his glass and toasted them, saying, "What do you two think?"

Oh, and I was asked to write a review...

Zhu Wenjin and Lian Chongyu hurriedly bowed again, kneeling on the ground, tears streaming down their faces, vying to express their loyalty, "As subjects serving our king and father, how could we have any other ambitions?"

Wang Yanxi snorted coldly, ignored him, and turned around to chat and laugh with others.

Zhu Wenjin and Lian Chongyu knelt and shivered in the cold wind.

The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it to heart. The plight of Zhu and Lian was seen by another person, the queen of Wang Yanxi and the daughter of Prime Minister Li Zhen, Queen Li.

Although she was the daughter of the prime minister and the queen who was the mother of the country, she, like Wang Yanxi, was addicted to alcohol and liked to act crazy when drunk. Even Wang Yanxi was afraid of her.

Not long ago, Wang Yanxi married Consort Shang Xian. Wang Yanxi loved the new and disliked the old, and doted on this young and beautiful femme fatale, and his attitude towards Empress Li gradually became cold.

This made Empress Li feel uneasy, fearing that she would fall out of favor or even be replaced by Concubine Shangxian. So, a bold and evil idea came to her mind: she planned to get rid of Wang Yanxi and make her son Wang Yacheng the emperor.

Queen Li secretly contacted Zhu Wenjin and Lian Chongyu, exaggerating and inciting their panic. She told them as an insider that Wang Yanxi had always been suspicious of them and would take action soon, and they were doomed!
(End of this chapter)