History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 728 A Pool and a Brightness 1
After Ma Xifan's death, the ministers of Southern Chu had serious disagreements on the issue of succession.

The commander of the Imperial Guards (the commander-in-chief of the Changzhi Army) Liu Yantang, the scholar of the Tiance Palace Li Honggao, Deng Yiwen, and the small gate envoy Yang Di firmly supported Ma Xiguang; while the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guards (the commander-in-chief) Zhang Shaodi and the chief yamen officer Yuan Yougong supported Ma Xi'e.

Let's first look at the two most popular candidates:

Ma Xiguang, Ma Xifan's half-brother, was deeply loved by Ma Xifan. During Ma Xifan's time, he served as the deputy governor of Tanzhou Wu'an Army, the commander of Tiance Mansion, and the governor of Hongzhou Zhennan Army. The position of "deputy governor of Tanzhou" is equivalent to the vice president, which is basically the standard for the heir to the throne. When Ma Xifan was dying, he asked Ma Xiguang to "judge the affairs of the internal and external departments", which was like the power of regent. It can be said that Ma Xifan's intention was very clear, that is, to let Ma Xiguang inherit the throne.

Ma Xi'e is currently the oldest among Ma Yin's sons. I have a small question here, that is, the history books say that Ma Xi'e was the oldest among Ma Yin's sons at that time, and it is also recorded that Ma Xi'e was Ma Yin's 29th son... In other words, the previous brothers were all dead.

This is just like Ma Xifan and Ma Xisheng were born on the same day, but Ma Xisheng was said to be the second son, Ma Xifan was the fourth son, and the missing third son could not be verified. Ma Xi'e, who was ranked 30th, became the oldest brother.

Ma Xi'e was a tough and rude person, unruly and fiery, and he was the governor of Wuping Army in Langzhou. Langzhou was to Southern Chu what Jianzhou was to Min. It was the second largest vassal in Southern Chu, second only to Tanzhou, the best district. In other words, Ma Xi'e had a certain amount of strength.

Let’s look at the supporters of both parties:
Li Honggao, one of Ma Yin's important think tanks, one of Ma Xifan's "Eighteen Scholars of Tiance Palace", and the drafter of the famous "Xizhou Bronze Pillar" inscription. His identity and role are similar to those of the Hanlin Scholars, Zhongshu Sheren, and Hanlin Chengzhi in the Central Plains Dynasty, and he is specifically responsible for drafting imperial edicts. He is infinitely loyal to the Ma family and is a veteran revolutionary with rich experience, great contributions, and high moral character. Therefore, he firmly supports Ma Xifan's will and supports Comrade Ma Xiguang's succession to the throne.

Deng Yiwen was also a famous scholar, "a great scholar in Chu with his literature". Unlike Li Honggao, who was a "direct descendant of the previous king", he had less experience, but was very knowledgeable. He was a direct descendant of Ma Xifan. Before Ma Xifan ascended the throne, Deng Yiwen was Ma Xifan's chief of staff. After Ma Xifan ascended the throne, he promoted him to one of the "Eighteen Scholars of Tiance Palace". Therefore, he firmly supported Ma Xifan's will and supported Ma Xiguang's succession to the throne.

Compared with the first two, Yang Di can be said to be a minor character. In the words of the history books, "he has never been well-known in the army." In other words, he is an unknown person. He is neither a veteran meritorious man like Ma Yin nor a direct confidant of Ma Xifan, but a low-ranking officer under Ma Xiguang. So of course he supports Comrade Ma Xiguang. Although Yang Di is an unknown person, he will be recorded in history forever because of a tragic and heroic act.

Liu Yantang, there is almost no record of his previous deeds in historical books. It only says that he was Ma Xifan's Changzhi Commander-in-Chief, and it is estimated that he was Ma Xifan's direct general.

In short, the old subordinates of Ma Yin, the direct followers of Ma Xifan, and the direct followers of Ma Xiguang, these forces formed the "Yong Guang faction".
Zhang Shaodi, his identity and background crushed all the above-mentioned "old veterans and meritorious officials". Even Ma Yin's direct confidants were just scum in front of him. Because his father was called Zhang Ji. What kind of person was Zhang Ji? To say that he was on an equal footing with Ma Yin was to flatter Ma Yin. Whenever Ma Yin saw Zhang Ji, he would respectfully call him brother.

At the beginning, Liu Jianfeng, Zhang Ji and Ma Yin (please note the ranking, the ranking is in order) all served under Sun Ru and were Sun Ru's trusted generals. When Yang Xingmi launched a surprise attack and captured and killed Sun Ru, the three were collecting food in other places. After hearing the news, they fled south, nominating Liu Jianfeng as the commander-in-chief, Zhang Ji as the military advisor, and Ma Yin as the vanguard. The three fought for many years and finally established a foothold in Tanzhou.

Later, Liu Jianfeng was assassinated by his subordinates because of his private life problems. Everyone then recommended Zhang Ji as the commander-in-chief. Zhang Ji was afraid of Ma Yin, so he took the initiative to give up his throne to Ma Yin. Ma Yin then used Tanzhou as a revolutionary base and established the Southern Chu regime.

Zhang Shaodi is the son of Zhang Ji. Zhang Shaodi, Yuan Yougong and Ma Xifan also had a very close relationship. However, the reason why the two of them disobeyed Ma Xifan's will and advocated supporting Ma Xi'e was not out of personal interests, but from the perspective of the overall situation.

They reminded the ministers that Ma Xi'e was the oldest and had a strong temperament, and he would never be willing to be inferior to his younger brother Ma Xiguang. If Ma Xiguang succeeded to the throne, a civil war would most likely break out in the future. If they had to support Ma Xiguang, it was not impossible, but they had to find a way to control and appease Ma Xi'e so that he would willingly obey Ma Xiguang's leadership.

At this time, another old comrade, Tuoba Heng, also spoke up.

Tuoba Heng angered Ma Xifan because of his advice, and Ma Xifan swore a poisonous oath that he would never see Tuoba Heng again in this life. As the saying goes, a dying man's words are good. When Ma Xifan was dying, he suddenly remembered Tuoba Heng and felt that he was ashamed of his old predecessor, so he ordered someone to summon Tuoba Heng to his bedside, sincerely repented, expressed his apology to Tuoba Heng, and asked him to assist his younger brother Ma Xiguang as an important minister.

As one of the important ministers entrusted with the care of the young emperor, Tuoba Heng was ordered to assist Ma Xiguang, but deep down in his heart he also supported Zhang Shaodi's proposal.

However, Liu Yantang and others were determined. There was no room for negotiation on this matter. They had to support Ma Xiguang!
Therefore, Tuoba Heng adopted a compromise approach, saying that although Ma Xiguang was the heir designated by the previous king (Ma Xifan), Ma Xi'e was his elder brother after all, and it would be better to send an envoy to show courtesy and humility, and not leave any room for gossip, so as to avoid rifts between the brothers in the future.

In fact, Tuoba Heng had already hinted at it with the previous experience of Ma Xiwang. Ma Xifan forced Ma Xisheng's biological mother Yuan and Ma Xisheng's half-brother Ma Xiwang to death as soon as he succeeded to the throne because Ma Xisheng did not show any humility and courtesy when he succeeded to the throne.

Liu Yantang and others flatly rejected Zhang Shaodi's retreat and Tuoba Heng's warning, simply because they believed they had already grasped the real power (to judge various internal and external affairs) and were confident of their strong strength and would not compromise at all.

Liu Yantang said arrogantly: "You already have the military and political power in your hands, why are you being polite? God has given it to you, but you don't cherish it. Once someone else gets it, will we still have a place to stay?"

Ma Xiguang is cowardly, indecisive, and has no opinions of his own. "You have the final say."

Therefore, on May 5, Liu Yantang and others read out Ma Xifan's last will and supported Ma Xiguang to succeed to the throne.

(End of this chapter)