History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 74 Shangyuanyi Incident

【Shangyuanyi Incident】

When Li Keyong arrived in Bianzhou, he led his troops to camp in the suburbs as per the usual practice.

Zhu Wen went to meet Gao Ying from afar and warmly invited Li Keyong to come into the city to reminisce about the past and drink and chat.

Li Keyong refused at first. It was a rule that field troops were not allowed to enter the city. Did you forget about the "Xuzhou mutiny"? Wasn't it because Xuzhou commander Xue Neng insisted on placing Xuzhou soldiers in the city that the mutiny was triggered and his body and head were separated?

"Don't bother me, it doesn't matter where we drink. I'm not going."

"Brother, I have arranged a beautiful woman in the city."

"Go, go, go, lead the way."

Li Keyong was very honest in body but not so in words. He left his wife, Madam Liu, outside the city and only brought 300 trusted guards with him (one could only bring trustworthy comrades for such a matter) and followed Zhu Wen into the city.

The banquet was held at Shangyuanyi.

This is the main traffic artery in and out of the city center of Bianzhou, a well-deserved commercial center, a place full of bright lights, extravagance and extravagance, and a popular check-in destination for Internet celebrities who are against vulgarity. Two historic events took place here, and today is the first one.

Here, Zhu Wen hosted a grand banquet for Li Keyong.

At the beginning of the banquet, Li Keyong was still able to control his words and actions. After all, he was a senior state official, so he should be more dignified and learn to sit upright and make polite greetings in a serious manner.

As he drank the flattering words and a few glasses of wine, Li Keyong finally let himself go and could no longer conceal the sense of superiority in his heart.

His sense of superiority is not groundless. First of all, he was born into a noble family, a Hu noble family. He is no longer a "second-generation official". Let's help him do a brief summary:

Zhuye Jinshan, the great ancestor, was named "Governor of Jin Manchuria" during the reign of Wu Zetian, and was given the title of Duke of Zhangye, becoming the regional agent of the Tang Dynasty.
Tianzu Zhuxie Fuguo, in Xuanzong's reign, succeeded to the throne of "Governor of Jin Manchuria", and was given the title of Prince of Yongshou, which meant he already enjoyed the title of a king;
Gaozu Zhuxie Guduozhi became the chief of the tribe;

Great-grandfather Zhu Xie was loyal and led his clansmen to submit to the throne during the reign of Emperor Xianzong;

His grandfather Zhuxie Zhiyi was the military commander of Yinshan Military Governor's Office.

There is no need to elaborate on the father, Zhu Xie Chi Xin (Li Guochang).

In terms of their origins, Li Keyong and Zhu Wen were worlds apart. Li Keyong's ancestors were tribal chieftains, dukes, and kings; Zhu Wen's ancestors were poor and lower-middle peasants.

Capital other than ability is equal to zero.

Then let's take a look at their personal abilities:
Li Keyong had the skill of killing two birds with one stone when he was 13 years old. When he was 15 years old, he followed his father to put down the "Pang Xun Rebellion"; when Zhu Wen was 13 years old, he grabbed cakes and stuffed pie in the village, beat them up in the streets and cursed them in the alleys, and "the villagers were quite disgusted with him". When he was 15 years old, he followed his mother to remarry and was fostered in Liu Chong's home.

When Li Keyong was 28 years old, he recaptured Chang'an; when Zhu Wen was 28 years old, he was appointed captain of the rebel army.

With a good family background, strong abilities, and having saved Zhu Wen's life, Li Keyong was far superior to Zhu Wen in every way.

Perhaps, what allowed Zhu Wen to save face was his good looks.

The history books do not have much description of Zhu Wen's appearance, but his portraits show a full forehead, a square chin, a straight nose, a wide mouth, and big ears facing the chest, which is a standard emperor's appearance. The imperial painters of feudal emperors all have their own emperor filter, and the emperors of all dynasties basically look the same.

As for Zhu Wen's real appearance, he should not be particularly ugly nor particularly handsome, otherwise it would always be recorded in history books.

For example, Li Keyong's appearance was clearly recorded in history books: one eye was big and the other was small, so he was nicknamed "One-eyed Dragon".

In terms of appearance, Zhu Wen passed, while Li Keyong was on the list for supplementary examination.

The more Zhu Wen looked at Li Keyong's different-sized eyes, the more annoyed he became. The big eyes were filled with arrogance and rudeness, while the small eyes concealed filth and vulgarity.

After three rounds of wine and five kinds of dishes, Li Keyong lost all his composure, laughing at the peasants and cursing at the thieves. His words revealed his undisguised sarcasm towards the lower classes.

The confidants around him kicked their legs and exchanged glances under the table, and Li Keyong finally came to his senses and realized that Zhu Wen was also a mud-legged, thief-like person as he called him. So he quickly tried to smooth things over and make amends:
"Brother Zhu, please don't take it personally. I'm not making indirect accusations. You're not a thief. Although you once went astray and joined the thieves, you were able to turn back in the end and make a contribution. Otherwise, you would have been killed by me anyway."

very eloquent.

Zhu Wen's face turned blue and white, and he could only force a smile and drink along with the others.

The half-drunk Li Keyong suddenly thought of something and said, "I heard that when you were in Tongzhou, you captured a stunning beauty. Would you be so kind as to let me have a taste of her today?"

The noisy room suddenly became silent. All the generals in Bianzhou changed color and looked at Zhu Wen in unison.

Zhu Wen was silent for a while, then smiled softly and said, "My dear brother, you are talking about... my humble wife."

Li Keyong originally had one eye bigger than the other, and under the influence of alcohol, one eye was even more confused and unruly, "Bitch? Yes! I like this!" The confidant hurriedly leaned over to Li Keyong's ear and explained the whole story. Li Keyong also knew that he had made a mistake, so he quickly tried to make amends, "Brother, don't worry, I didn't mean it, I just looked but didn't touch. I just seized Huang Chao's wife and children two days ago, a bunch of beautiful young women, and I didn't touch any of them. I packed them all and sent them to Chengdu for the emperor to enjoy..."

Zhu Wen changed the topic by taking out some wine, and the atmosphere became lively again.

The beauty mentioned by Li Keyong was Zhu Wen’s new wife, Zhang Hui.

Zhang Hui and Zhu Wen were from the same hometown. She was from Dangshan, Songzhou. Her father was the governor of Songzhou (some say he was a wealthy businessman). She was a genuine rich girl, a goddess, white, rich and beautiful. She fled to her relative's home in Tongzhou to avoid the war. After the city was broken, she was captured by the enemy army and given to Zhu Wen as a trophy.

Zhang Hui had always been Zhu Wen's dream lover, but the two were in very different circumstances, so Zhu Wen could not get the swan meat. Time flies, and the days and months pass. The short, poor and ugly man has become a loser, so he successfully married his former dream lover, which has become a good story. Many historical novels are based on this true history.

How many men get angry for a beautiful woman? Li Keyong didn't know that his dissolute and rude behavior had completely angered Zhu Wen.

After the banquet, Li Keyong was already drunk. He was helped to the guest room by his confidants and fell asleep.

That night, the sky of Bianzhou was covered with dark clouds. You couldn't see the stars or the moon when you looked up, and you couldn't see your hand in front of you when you stretched out your hand.

It's a dark night for murder, a high wind for arson. A crime is approaching quietly.

The Bianzhou soldiers used vehicles and tree trunks as roadblocks, blocking the streets and alleys. They also piled firewood around the inn where Li Keyong was resting, and ambushed countless swordsmen and archers outside.

Suddenly, flames broke out and arrows rained down.

Several of Li Keyong's confidants, such as Xue Zhiqin, Shi Jingsi, and Guo Jingzhu, were immediately awakened. Among them, Guo Jingzhu was an old hand, and his first reaction was to blow out the candle.

Don't use dog paddling in front of pirates. Xue Zhiqin, Shi Jingsi and others didn't say anything and just grabbed their weapons and started. Guo Jingzhu turned over and kicked open the door of the inner room, pulled Li Keyong off the bed, and pushed Li Keyong under the bed to avoid the stray arrows, "Marshal, Marshal!"

Li Keyong's snoring was like thunder.

According to historical records, Guo Jingzhu covered Li Keyong's face with water to wake him up. Or maybe he untied his belt in a hurry...

Li Keyong then opened his sleepy eyes, but saw the flames rising to the sky outside the window, the noise and the rain of arrows, and he sobered up immediately.

Xue Zhiqin sealed the gate and shot and killed dozens of Bianzhou soldiers in a row with the help of the firelight, slightly slowing down the offensive of the Bianzhou soldiers.

Li Keyong was not destined to die. At the critical moment, there was a sudden flash of lightning and thunder in the sky, followed by a heavy downpour.

The fire around the inn was extinguished by heavy rain. Under the protection of his trusted aides, Li Keyong climbed over the courtyard wall and broke out with the intermittent light of thunder and lightning.

Xue Zhiqin and others fought desperately to protect Li Keyong, who broke through a bridge and continued to flee, while Shi Jingsi stood at the bridgehead and said, "Marshal, hurry up, I will cover your retreat!"

The Bian soldiers only knew to chase the moving figure in front of them, but they didn't know that the person at the bridgehead was also an enemy of Shatuo. As soon as they arrived at the bridgehead, they were hacked to death. In the blink of an eye, dozens of Bian soldiers were lying dead on the bridgehead.

The Bian soldiers who followed ran and shouted, only then did they realize that someone was blocking the bridge.

"Crack——" a loud thunder sounded.

Under the flash of lightning, the Bian soldiers finally saw the outline of this man: broad shoulders, thick back, big arms and a round waist, holding two sabers. This man was like a stone sculpture, with no discernible face or expression.

Around him, dozens of people were lying in all directions, some motionless, some still twisting and groaning in pain. The soil mixed with rainwater and blood turned into dark red mud that exuded a fishy smell.

People kept rushing over and falling down.

The Bian soldiers shouted and stopped going forward to die. The long spears and halberds formed an insurmountable wall, and the archers behind them fired at all costs.

The arrows are used up.

Under the lightning, the man remained motionless.

The Bian soldiers were terrified and didn't know whether the person standing in front of them was a human or a ghost.

The spear array slowly moved forward, and when the spear tips were about to pierce him, someone bravely poked him with a spear. Shi Jingsi then fell to the ground with a thud, and in the lightning, people found that his body was already full of arrows.

The Bian soldiers dared to get closer to take a look, but they were still terrified, fearing that the man would suddenly jump up and pretend to be dead. For a long time, the Bian soldiers did not dare to step over his body to chase him.

Shi Jingsi was a hero like Dian Wei. His tragic death bought precious time for Li Keyong.

Under the protection of Xue Zhiqin and others, Li Keyong fled to the south gate of Bianzhou City, Weishi Gate. In a hurry, he escaped from the city wall and fled back to the base camp in a panic, finally saving his life.

Shi Jingsi and more than 300 of his trusted followers all died in the city of Bianzhou.

(End of this chapter)