History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 765 Peak Moment (Part )

Peak Moment

After the Southern Tang conquered Fujian, the "Five Ghosts and Four Evils" who actively advocated war reached the first peak of their lives. They struck while the iron was hot, jumping up and down to welcome their "godfather" - Song Qiuqiu back to the central government.

The "Five Demons and Four Evils" were originally cunning and treacherous. After years of practice, their political skills have become perfect. They would not be stupid enough to show up in person. They first lobbied a small clerk named Xie Zhongxuan. Xie Zhongxuan was a small character, but his work unit should not be underestimated - the Prince of Yan's Mansion. The current Prince of Yan is Li Jingda, the fourth brother of Li Jing.

Xie Zhongxuan first lobbied Li Jingda, saying that Song Qiuqiu and the late emperor were "friends in commoner clothing" with a friendship of more than 30 years. Now that the young lord had just ascended the throne, he abandoned the old man in the wilderness, which made everyone feel heartbroken!

First, regarding the "friendship of commoners", Song Qiqiu himself had already raised objections, because he was indeed a commoner at the time, but Xu Zhigao was already a high-ranking official (provincial governor), so he should not try to get close to him;
Secondly, Song Qiuqiu "lived in seclusion" in Jiuhua Mountain and built a luxurious villa there. His food, clothing, housing and transportation were all modeled after those of princes and nobles. His life was extravagant and corrupt, and it could not be considered as living in the "wilderness".

However, what Xie Zhongxuan said sounded very righteous and sounded like human words.

Afterwards, Li Jingda went to the palace to see Li Jing, relayed Xie Zhongxuan's words, and suggested that Li Jing recall Song Qiuqiu back to the central government.

The "Five Ghosts and Four Evils" took great pains. Through Xie Zhongxuan and Li Jingda, they played the long game, hooked the big fish, used the opponent's force to their advantage, and saved the country in a roundabout way. They finally achieved their goal, and Song Qiuqiu returned to the central government again.

Li Jingda was briefly introduced in the previous article. He almost became Xu Zhigao's successor. He was smart, witty, honest and simple. If Li Jingsui had not been in front of him, he might have been designated as the crown prince. Could such a shrewd person not see through the tricks of the "Five Demons and Four Evils"?

He saw it, but he was one step ahead.

The direct reason why Song Qiuqiu was exiled was that he took the initiative to submit his resignation and requested to retire. Li Jing did not follow the convention or basic courtesy to retain him. Although Song Qiuqiu had nothing to say, it ultimately showed that Li Jing was narrow-minded and intolerant.

The real reason why Song Qiqiu was exiled was a matter of political stance, but this definitely falls into the category of "you know", which can only be understood but not expressed in words.

In other words, the reason why Song Qiqiu was exiled was not fair enough to be made public, and all civil and military officials knew it. However, the "Five Demons and Four Evils" were behind the scenes, stirring up public opinion and leading the trend, saying that the reason why Song Qiqiu was exiled was that the rabbit was dead and the dog was cooked, and the bird was dead and the bow was put away, throwing all the dirty water on Li Jing. If this situation was allowed to develop, it would be extremely disadvantageous to Li Jing.

Therefore, Li Jingda thought of a way to go with the flow. He suggested that Li Jing promote Song Qiu in name only but demote him in reality, giving him a very high status but not allowing him to have real power.

Li Jing agreed with this, so he sent Li Jingda to Jiuhua Mountain with an imperial edict to invite Song Qiuqiu to come out of the mountain. He appointed Song Qiuqiu as the Grand Tutor, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, the Duke of Weiguo, and the title of "National Elder"... Among them, the most interesting thing is that he was allowed to participate in the central government meetings, but he had no right to speak (he was invited to attend the court, but he was not allowed to participate in politics). Although Song Qiuqiu had no real power, he did not give up his political ambitions. He became a "wealth-spreading boy" in the capital. With the help of his cronies "Five Ghosts and Four Evils", Song Qiuqiu frantically formed gangs and factions and formed "small circles". According to historical records, "both the knowledgeable and the unknowing attached to him", and his political influence continued to increase.

After the conquest of Fujian, Feng Yansi, one of the "Five Demons and Four Evils", was promoted to prime minister. In order to check and balance him, Li Jing promoted Li Jianxun from the "Former Emperor's Party" and let Li Jianxun and Feng Yansi serve as prime ministers at the same time.

However, after Li Jianxun experienced the "good at making books", he became very mature, so the history books said that although he had very rich administrative experience, he was cowardly and indecisive (he practiced official affairs, but was cowardly and indecisive). The young man in white clothes who was once a scholar, full of vigor, eloquent, and passionate, after years of struggling in the officialdom, accumulated a lot of work experience, and at the same time, he also saw through the red dust in the political arena, and from then on became "cowardly and indecisive", becoming a workplace veteran and a greasy middle-aged man.

Xu Zhigao's original intention of suppressing Li Jianxun and other elders was to help Li Jing clear the obstacles, but he never thought that the side effect of doing so was that Li Jing had no lifeline. Li Jianxun had no intention and no ability to check and balance Feng Yansi.

Li Jianxun had learned his lesson and kept his mouth shut, but there were still righteous people in the court. Gao Yue, a doctor in the Ministry of Water Resources, reported the crimes of Feng Yansi and his brothers to the emperor, but Feng Yansi did nothing, while Gao Yue was banished from the court and demoted to the position of a military officer in Qizhou.

The last line of defense against the "Five Demons and Four Evils" was the Xuanzhengyuan, which was set up by Li Jing and jointly managed by the Imperial Secretary Chang Mengxi and the Secretary Yan Xu, who were responsible for handling the confidential affairs of the court. Chang Mengxi and Yan Xu were loyal, upright and selfless.

Yan Xu, his father was Yan Keqiu, Yang Xingmi's trusted adviser. Yan Xu also married Xu Zhigao's daughter, becoming Xu Zhigao's son-in-law and Li Jing's brother-in-law. After Xu Zhigao became emperor, he served as the Minister of War and Shangshu Zuocheng. After Li Jing succeeded to the throne, he was promoted to the Minister of Rites and the Minister of the Secretariat.

Song Qiqiu formed many cliques, but Yan Xu, who was born into a royal family, was unmoved and refused to join the group. Chang Mengxi also couldn't stand Song Qiqiu's cliques, so he often complained about Song Qiqiu's cliques in front of Li Jing. Li Jing said to Chang Mengxi: "I think among all the officials, only Yan Xu does not follow Song Qiqiu, but he is alone and I am afraid he can't withstand the siege of Song Qiqiu's cliques. You must help him more!"

After stepping down, Chang Mengxi conveyed these words to Yan Xu. They felt that the responsibility was heavy, as the two of them had to carry the entire corrupt and declining court on their thin shoulders.

Yan Xu did not inherit his father's political acumen, and was indeed no match for the sinister and cunning Song Qiqiu's followers. Chang Mengxi helped him to plan countermeasures, but it was a pity that Yan Xu was also a mortal and had some shortcomings, one of which was his stubbornness. Yan Xu was very grateful for Chang Mengxi's help, but he did not adopt some of his strategies. As a result, he really turned over and was defeated by the "Five Ghosts and Four Evils". Not only was he demoted and sent out, but Chang Mengxi was also implicated.

Yan Xu was demoted to the governor of Chizhou, and Chang Mengxi was also dismissed from his position in Xuanzhengyuan.

Xuanzhengyuan, the last stronghold against the "Five Demons and Four Evils", has now been completely lost. Chang Mengxi is almost in despair, claiming to be ill, no longer attending court meetings, and hiding at home every day drinking to drown his sorrows.

At this time, less than a month had passed since Song Qiuqiu returned to the central government. It was the first month of 946 AD.

(End of this chapter)