History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 740 Mr. Xu's Father, Mr. Li

3. The Dream of a Great Power - Huainan

The Huainan Power was a special military and political entity during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. First of all, the description of it. So far, this book has basically referred to it as the "Huainan Power". Its manifestations in history can be roughly divided into three forms. The earliest was the Huainan Group with Yang Xingmi as the core, which generally began when Yang Xingmi annexed Sun Ru and occupied Yangzhou in the late Tang Dynasty; the second stage was the "Southern Wu" regime, and the third stage was the "Southern Tang".

The starting point of the second stage is rather vague, or controversial, because in 919 AD, Yang Wei (the second son of Yang Xingmi, also known as Yang Longyan) ascended the throne of Wu and changed the era name but not the country's name. It was not until 927 AD that Yang Pu announced his ascension to the throne, issued a general amnesty and changed the era name.

The "Southern Wu" regime is also called the "Yang Wu regime". Many people are also accustomed to combining the first and second stages mentioned above, starting from the time when Yang Xingmi occupied Yangzhou.

The third stage is the "Southern Tang" we are familiar with, when Xu Zhigao, a powerful official of the Yang family, usurped power and changed the country's name to "Tang".

Southern Wu and Southern Tang, both of which are among the "Ten Kingdoms", can be said to be just two different names for the same regime in different periods, which are internal renewals.

Another special thing is that their comprehensive strength was the best among the "Ten Kingdoms", and they could even compete with the Central Plains dynasty at one point, forming two major camps divided by the Huai River.

All this is inseparable from the military and political strategies of the early leaders of the Huainan Group. The Huainan sages with Yang Xingmi as the core laid a solid foundation for the Huainan forces. In fact, since the death of Yang Xingmi, the real power of the Huainan forces has been controlled by the powerful official Xu Wen, who also wanted to usurp power and establish himself. It was precisely because the Yang family was deeply rooted in Huainan and had an unshakable mass base that Xu Wen had to be forced to continue the rule of the Yang family like Sima Yi. After Yang Xingmi, it went through Yang Wo, Yang Wei, and Yang Pu. It was not until the death of Xu Wen himself that the usurpation of the Yang family was completed in the hands of his adopted son Xu Zhigao.

Xu Wen played a role in the historical process of Huainan and was the soul of the Huainan forces. Xu Wen's path to power was both bizarre and reasonable.

First of all, Xu Wen is the most senior member of Luzhou in Yang Xingmi's entrepreneurial team and one of the "Thirty-Six Heroes", but Xu Wen's seat is thirty-sixth, ranking last. Moreover, in Yang Xingmi's entrepreneurial process, Xu Wen is also the least meritorious and least outstanding person, a nobody and a supporting role.

When the best of the "36 heroes" were all appointed as governors, Xu Wen just stayed quietly beside Yang Xingmi and did menial work. This indifference became an important factor in his monopolization of power.

After Yang Xingmi's death, most of the elders with outstanding military achievements and extraordinary abilities were sent out to other places, only this harmless coward stayed by his side, so he naturally became the regent.

It was not until this time that people realized how deep Xu Wen's hiding place was!

He first joined forces with Zhang Hao to launch a coup, assassinated Yang Wo, supported Yang Wei, and undermined the rule of the Yang family. He then fought against Zhang Hao and put all the blame for the coup on him. He then used a series of tough measures (exterminating Li Yu's clan) to intimidate dissidents (Liu Wei, Tao Ya, etc.) and forced veterans such as the "Thirty-Six Heroes" to recognize his authority.

From then on, Xu Wen became the actual controller of the Huainan Yang regime. Both Yang Wei and later Yang Pu were just puppets.

People kept urging Xu Wen to take one step forward and break this window paper.

Xu Wen liked to wear white robes. Whenever he had a birthday, his adopted son Xu Zhigao would give him a brand new white robe. On one of Xu Wen's birthdays, Xu Zhigao gave him a white robe that fit him well. After Xu Wen put it on, he walked around the hall and showed off to the guests, "Look, isn't it handsome?"

At this time, one of the guests flattered him, saying, "The white robe is not as good-looking as the yellow robe."

While Xu Wen was still pondering, Xu Zhigao jumped up angrily and loudly rebuked the guest, "Do you want to make my father infamous for thousands of years?" Then he advised Xu Wen earnestly not to learn from Cao Cao and Sima Yi, let alone Zhu Wen. In fact, Xu Zhigao was the real boss who promoted the historical process of Huainan. Xu Wen was a giant, and Xu Zhigao was the man standing on the shoulders of the giant. The reason why he strongly opposed Xu Wen's usurpation of power was that his wings were not yet full. If Xu Wen usurped power, he would definitely designate his own son as the crown prince.

"Zhi Gao was worried that Wen would be eager to seize the kingdom, but he was not his legitimate son and could not be the heir, so he said this." - "Stories of the Five Kingdoms"

Xu Zhigao, wearing the cloak of loyalty and filial piety, stood on the moral high ground and tried to flatter Xu Wen to death. He took the initiative to ask Xu Wen to remove his guards and weapons when he came to the court to show his frankness to Yang, which won the favor of Yang and Xu Wen.

"Jiang Biao Zhi" could not help but praise Xu Zhigao, "assisting the young ruler internally and assisting his adoptive father externally."

However, the "Five Kingdoms Story" pointed out that "He schemed for his family and his country, and his hard work and worries were several times more than Cao and Sima Yi." Xu Zhigao had sinister intentions, was vicious and despicable, and even Cao Cao and Sima Yi were inferior to him.

Who exactly is this Xu Zhigao?
[Mr. Xu’s father, Mr. Li]

According to "Jiangnan Wild History", Xu Zhigao's father was named Li Rong.

Li Rong possesses the standard features of a hard-core ruthless person: "He has great ambitions, does not engage in industry, and always makes friends with heroes..." This is the appearance routine of almost all heroes. In short, he is born at the bottom of society, does not like to study, nor does he like to do serious work, but is not content with doing nothing and being idle, so he can only find an entertainment activity in that turbulent era that can release the restlessness of youth, such as looting, smashing, and burning, and place his hormones on the "road".

So, Li Rong joined the most famous local gang, whose boss was a gangster named Xia Shao. After Li Rong joined the gang, he confessed to Xia Shao, "I won't pretend anymore. I'm going to tell you that I'm a descendant of the royal family..."

If the names of the people in this passage are hidden, it is easy to mistake it for Liu Bei's lines in "The Three Heroes of Peach Garden". It is really similar. I guess "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" may have referred to this passage. In short, Comrade Li Rong said that he was a relative of the Tang Dynasty, and it was very painful to see the country and society in ruins, so he wanted to do something big with everyone and get rich together. The thieves were excited.

Later, Xia Shao and Li Rong started to stir up trouble together, and they grew stronger and stronger, with thousands of people, and the local government had difficulty suppressing them. As a result, they attracted the attention of another group of people, whose leader was Yang Xingmi.

"I heard you're pretty awesome." Yang Xingmi came. Xia Shao's gang was wiped out. Li Rong and other key members were captured, and then their families were searched and executed.

At that time, Li Rong's son was only a few years old. He hid to avoid the disaster and then became an orphan. He wandered around Huaibei (Haozhou) and was taken in by Xu Wen, who adopted him as his son. Later, he was named Xu Zhigao.

Is this record true?

According to the "Jiang Biao Zhi", Xu Zhigao was originally born in Xuzhou. His biological father was Li Zhi and his grandfather was Li Rong. His parents died early, and he became an orphan at a young age. He had an older sister who became a nun, and he was taken care of by this nun. The nun used to take him in and out of Xu Wen's house. Xu Wen's wife, who was also surnamed Li, saw that the child was well-behaved and pitiful, so she took him in.

There are other records that when Yang Xingmi plundered Haozhou, he got this homeless child and planned to adopt him as his own son, but his sons could not tolerate him, so he gave him to Xu Wen, who adopted him as his son.

In short, Xu Zhigao's previous identity was a homeless child near Haozhou, and as for the name of his biological father, he made it up himself later. This will be explained in detail when talking about his founding of the country and becoming emperor.

Thanks to "book friend 20220126121440274" for the monthly ticket support! Thanks also to "Dadi Longteng" for his continuous recommendation votes during my laziness and interruption. Thank you friends!
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(End of this chapter)