History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 754 Four Brothers (Part )

3. Li Jingda
In 924 AD, there was a severe drought in Huainan, which made Xu Zhigao, who had just been appointed as the regent, very anxious, because Xu Wen had not died yet and was still struggling with the issue of succession. Xu Wen's biological son Xu Zhixun was fighting with Xu Zhigao openly and secretly. On July 7 of that year, Xu Zhigao piously held a rain-praying ceremony. God seemed to be moved by him and it really rained heavily. Just when Xu Zhigao was grateful, good news came from home that his wife had given birth to a son, Li Jingda.

Xu Zhigao believed that this was not a simple coincidence, but a blessing from God, so he gave him a nickname, "Rain Master".

According to historical records, as Li Jingda grew up, he was "cheerful and cheerful, different from his other sons", and Xu Zhigao "admired him very much". Historical records also clearly point out that Xu Zhigao also wanted to make him the crown prince, but gave up because he was the fourth child and had his third brother Li Jingsui ahead of him.

"I wanted to make him my successor, but it was difficult to take over the throne, so I failed."

In a word, I just don't want the boss to take over.

It can also be seen that the third brother Li Jingsui played an important role in the struggle for the throne. He became Li Jing's meat shield tank, attracted damage for Li Jing, and then turned around gorgeously, hiding his merits and fame.

Although his father was partial to him, Li Jingda, like Li Jingsui, was unwilling to compete with his elder brother for power. Historical records say that Li Jingda was "extremely filial and friendly".

Once, Li Jingda and Li Jing were boating in the lake in the back garden. Suddenly, Li Jing's boat capsized and Li Jing fell into the water. The situation was very critical. Li Jingda was on another boat at the time. Seeing this, Li Jingda, who was not very good at swimming, jumped into the lake without hesitation, carried Li Jing on his back, and swam to a safe area, which was praised by people.

Although he was "extremely filial and friendly", he was not a coward or a good guy. On the contrary, he was hot-tempered, upright, and hated evil. He could not tolerate any ingratitude and could not stand the flattery of treacherous villains. When Li Jing was in power, he repeatedly advised Li Jing to execute the "Five Ghosts and Four Evils".

Although he had a strong character, Li Jingda was very knowledgeable about the ways of the world. He adhered to principles and boundaries, never got involved in the military, and never dared to covet power. He always kept to his duties and played his role as a prince well.

Later, when Li Yu came to power, he treated him with great respect. Unlike his second uncle Li Jingqian, Li Yu treated his fourth uncle Li Jingda with "great respect and courtesy."

Influenced by his father Xu Zhigao, Li Jingda also believed in the Taoist teachings of immortals at first. Later, his aide Xu Kai wrote an article "Shu Xian Fu" to persuade him, and Li Jingda immediately gave up Taoism. Historical records praised him for his willingness to follow good advice.

Xu Kai, the younger brother of Xu Xuan, and the two brothers were collectively known as the "Two Xus of Jiangdong". They were famous talents in the Five Dynasties period. The two brothers were very talented in writing and left behind a large number of poems and essays, which can be found in "Complete Tang Poems", "Complete Tang Prose" and "Complete Song Prose". They were both famous calligraphers, and they also annotated and revised "Shuowen Jiezi".

The two Xus of Jiangdong will be discussed in detail later.

4. Li Jingdun

Among the five brothers, the first four are biological brothers from the same father and mother, and their biological mother is Xu Zhigao's Queen Song. The fifth brother, Li Jingdun, is their half-brother, and his biological mother is Lady Zhong.

In order to expand his influence, Xu Wen actively tried to win over Wang Rong, the governor of Shengzhou, and formed a political marriage with him. He ordered his adopted son Xu Zhigao to marry Wang Rong's daughter, Wang.

According to the "History of Southern Tang" compiled by Lu You, as a dowry for Wang, there was a maid named Song, nicknamed "Fu Jin", known in history as "Song Fujin". Not long after, Wang died of illness, and Xu Wen asked Xu Zhigao to marry Song Fujin as his successor.

According to the "History of Southern Tang" compiled by Ma Ling, Song Fujin was originally a maidservant of Xu Wen. Although her status was humble, she was smart and clever. It happened that Xu Zhigao's wife Wang died. One day, Xu Zhigao entered the tent to pay his respects. Xu Wen pointed at Song Fujin and said to Xu Zhigao: "This woman has the appearance of a lucky charm for her husband. She will have great fortune in the future. You should marry her." So Song Fujin became Xu Zhigao's second wife.

After Song Fujin married, she gave birth to four sons including Li Jing. Mrs. Zhong's original name was "Zhong Shiguang". She was a commoner from Jiangxi. She was smart and intelligent, and very beautiful, with extraordinary temperament and elegant manners. Historical records say that she was like a fairy descending to the earth. At the age of 18, she was selected into the palace and became a member of the Royal Song and Dance Troupe. The official position of this job at that time was - Gongji.

In a romantic season, the young, beautiful and scheming Zhong Shiguang successfully seduced Xu Zhigao and gave birth to a son for him, Li Jingdun.

From then on, Mrs. Zhong received favor second only to Queen Song and became the "number one lady in the harem". After giving birth to Li Jingdun, Mrs. Zhong Shiguang became even more arrogant and domineering, with a face like a villain who has succeeded.

Although Li Jingdun was the youngest among all his sons, he was also the only son born after Xu Zhigao proclaimed himself emperor. Moreover, he and Xu Zhigao were born on the same day and month (December 12). Therefore, he was especially loved by Xu Zhigao. "(Xu Zhigao) loved him very much because he was the son he got after accepting the abdication."

This is similar to Li Siyuan's preference for his youngest son Li Congyi.

According to the rules, the princes born to concubines should be raised by the empress, and Li Jingdun was raised by Empress Song after he was born. Empress Song was the mother of the country and treated her sons as her own.

A mother is honored by her son, so she was promoted to "Madam". The "Madam" in history books is not a casual title. It is different from the honorific "Madam" for women today. It is a title for concubines in the harem, and not all concubines can be called "Madam".

According to the Book of Rites, "the emperor's wife is called the empress, and the princes' wives are called madams." Since the Han Dynasty, the hierarchy of the harem has become increasingly standardized. The emperor's wife is called "empress", and there is only one of them. She is the head of the harem. The concubines are divided into five levels, and "madam" is the highest among the five levels. In other words, the status of "madam" is second only to that of "empress."

Zhong Shiguang transformed herself from a palace prostitute into "Mrs. Zhong", and when she saw that her own son was loved so much, her heart was stirred.

One day, Xu Zhigao suddenly visited Li Jing's palace and happened to see Li Jing playing a musical instrument. He was furious and scolded Li Jing for several days (several days), but his anger was still not gone. Mrs. Zhong saw hope and fanned the flames, saying that Li Jingdun's talent was better than Li Jing's, and asked Xu Zhigao to designate Li Jingdun as the heir to the throne.

Just when Madam Zhong was feeling complacent and thought that everything was going to work out, Xu Zhigao suddenly said in a serious tone, "When a child makes a mistake, it's normal for a father to give him a lesson. How dare you talk about winning the throne?" He shouted at Madam Zhong to get out and banished her from the Golden Palace. He then ordered Madam Zhong to take off her hairpins and jewelry and imprisoned her in the cold palace. After she had been imprisoned in the cold palace for several months, he forced her to become a nun.

Li Jingdun fell out of favor because of this. All four of his brothers were given the title of king by Xu Zhigao, but Li Jingdun was not given the title. Even after Xu Zhigao's death, he was not given the title. After Li Jing succeeded to the throne, he was given the title of Prince of Baoning, and later the Prince of Xixin. After the successor Li Yu succeeded to the throne, he was further given the title of Prince of Jiang.

More haste, less speed. Mrs. Zhong ruined her own bright future. Her move to seize the throne angered not only Xu Zhigao, but also Queen Song. When the news of Xu Zhigao's death came, Mrs. Zhong broke down, cried in fear, and wailed: "The tragedy of human pigs and drunk bones is going to happen again today!"

The human pig and the drunken bones are the byproducts of palace fighting. The human pig was caused by Empress Lü who harmed Lady Qi, so there is no need to introduce it; the drunken bones were caused by Empress Wu who harmed Queen Wang and Consort Xiao. Madam Zhong despaired that Queen Song would definitely come after her.

In fact, historical records show that Queen Song did try to take revenge on Madam Zhong many times, but after ascending the throne, Li Jing was kind-hearted. He not only promoted Li Jingdun to the title of king, but also protected Madam Zhong. In the end, Madam Zhong had a good end.

Through Mrs. Zhong's self-defeating behavior, we can also see Xu Zhigao's determination to prohibit the harem and relatives from interfering in government affairs. Xu Zhigao had already set a rule that eunuchs and relatives were not allowed to interfere in government affairs, and those who violated the rule would be severely punished! This red line not only helped Li Jing eliminate Li Jingdun, but also escorted Li Jing's smooth succession to the throne.

At this point, we can also see that among Xu Zhigao's five sons, the eldest son Li Jing was the least favored, and the four younger brothers all had the opportunity to take the throne first. It was really a fluke that Li Jing was able to ascend the throne without any danger.

In addition, Xu Zhigao had four adopted sons: Jing Mai, Jing Xun, Jing Miao, and Jing Yi. Xu Zhigao himself was an adopted son, so he would never pass the throne to his adopted sons, let alone let them hold real power. The historical records of them are only a few words, saying "in the first year of Shengyuan (937), he was conferred the title of Duke of a certain county", and that's it.

(End of this chapter)