History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 81: Third Great Uncle

【The Emperor's Third Great Uncle】

Tian Lingzi is best at hiding behind the scenes, manipulating the puppets in front of the stage, and arranging everything from a God's perspective.

If you succeed, you sit back and reap the fruits of your labor; if you fail, you abandon the puppet and keep the backstage. It works every time.

Now, Tian Lingzi was pushed to the front line and became the target of public criticism. In desperation, Tian Lingzi used a trick to escape and retreat in order to advance.

Tian Lingzi took the initiative to show goodwill to the "Yang faction" and promoted and reused Yang Fugong.

Yang Fugong served as the Left Shence Lieutenant and Military Observer, and almost took control of the command of the central imperial guards. Afterwards, he vigorously excluded the "Tian faction", and the first to bear the brunt were the "Five Cities Accompanying the Emperor".

Faced with the counterattack of the "Yang faction", Tian Lingzi remained indifferent. Tian Lingzi was sending a signal to Yang Fugong: I admit defeat, I quit, I don't want to play anymore.

Tian Lingzi took the initiative to request to be sent to another place as a eunuch supervising the military of Xichuan. He left the central government and joined Chen Jingxuan of Xichuan.

Tian Lingzi was gone. Yang Fugong of Xingyuan was busy picking up power in the central government, while Zhu Mei of Fengxiang continued to actively work for Li Yan to ascend the throne. The situation of "two central governments" was about to take shape. There can be no two tigers in a mountain, and no two masters in a country. A fierce battle for the throne was inevitable.

There is no doubt that this will be a political struggle that will shake the world. This is an internal struggle between the two royal families of the surname Li. In essence, it is the two "Sons of Heaven" leaders, and countless vassal states are choosing sides. In front of it, any previous political struggle is child's play, such as the "Niu-Li faction struggle", "Baoyan party", "Tian-Yang struggle"... all of them are rubbish.

However, it has congenital defects and is deformed and illegal.

First, Emperor Xizong of Tang fled west to Fengxiang on the pretext of avoiding the threat posed by the warlord Li Keyong.

However, Li Keyong not only did not attack Chang'an, but took the initiative to retreat to Hezhong, and then retreated to Taiyuan Prefecture in Hedong. The reason that Chang'an was threatened was no longer valid. However, Emperor Xizong of Tang did not return to Chang'an, but continued to go south to Xingyuan. The reason? He was threatened by Zhu Mei and Li Changfu.

But Zhu Mei and Li Changfu were ordered by the court (prime minister) to welcome the emperor. The reason why Xizong stayed in Xingyuan Prefecture was totally untenable and even contradictory.

Therefore, the legitimacy of the "Xingyuan government in exile" has always been controversial. Therefore, the civil and military officials in the court unanimously boycotted the Xingyuan government in exile, and the local vassal states also jointly boycotted it.

At that time, all the local tributes were sent to Chang'an, but not to Xingyuan, which also proved that the "Xingyuan Exile Government" was not recognized by the local vassal states. The "Xingyuan Exile Government" was almost cut off from food, so Tian Lingzi had to beg Wang Chongrong to pardon all his crimes in exchange for 100,000 pieces of silk to solve the urgent problem.

Next, let’s look at Li Yan from Fengxiang.

Like Liu Bei, who debuted as a descendant of Liu Sheng, the Prince of Zhongshan, Li Yan debuted as a descendant of Emperor Suzong. Li Yan's great-grandfather was Emperor Suzong of Tang, Li Heng, and his great-great-grandfather was Emperor Xiang, Li Xian. Let's start with Emperor Suzong, Li Heng:
Daizong Li Yu——Li Heng's eldest son

Emperor Dezong Li Shi - eldest son of Li Yu and eldest grandson of Li Heng
Shunzong Li Song - eldest son of Li Shi, great-grandson of Li Heng
Xianzong Li Chun - eldest son of Li Song, great-great-grandson of Li Heng
Emperor Muzong Li Heng - the third son of Li Chun and the fifth-generation grandson of Li Heng

Emperor Jingzong Li Zhan
Emperor Wenzong Li Ang
Wuzong Li Yan——The above three are all sons of Li Heng and the sixth-generation grandson of Li Heng
Xuanzong Li Chen - the 13th son of Li Chun and the fifth-generation grandson of Li Heng
Emperor Yizong Li Yu - the eldest son of Li Chen and the sixth-generation grandson of Li Heng

Emperor Xizong Li Xuan - fifth son of Li Yan, seventh-generation grandson of Li Heng

What is a little interesting is that Tang Xuanzong Li Chen was not succeeded by his son after his father's death, nor by his younger brother after his elder brother's death, but by his uncle after his nephew's death, and the "Crown Uncle" ascended the throne.

Li Yan is the great-great-grandson of Li Heng and the same generation as Emperor Xianzong Li Chun. In other words, Li Yan is the great-grandfather of Emperor Xizong of Tang.

Don't worry, Emperor Xizong of Tang probably couldn't just call Li Yan "great-grandfather" or "uncle-great-grandfather". A rigorous analysis is as follows:

Let’s start with the relationship between Emperor Xianzong Li Chun and Li Xun, who were of the same generation.

Xianzong Li Chun and Li Yan had the same great-grandfather (Li Heng), but different great-grandfathers (Li Yu and Li Xian).

That is, their great-grandfathers were brothers with the same father but different mothers; their grandfathers were cousins ​​(also called "third cousins"), and their fathers were third cousins ​​(third third cousins); and when it comes to Li Chun and Li Xun's generation, they are brothers through the same clan (third third cousins).

Xianzong Li Chun was the great-grandfather of Emperor Xizong of Tang, so Li Yan was the cousin (third cousin) of the great-grandfather of Emperor Xizong of Tang. Therefore, Xizong’s written name for Li Yan should be “third cousin great-grandfather”.

Chinese is the only language in the world that can clearly express this clan ethical relationship. Six words describe the blood relationship between two people that goes through many twists and turns.

When a nephew dies, the throne can be passed to his uncle, because there is a precedent of "imperial uncle". When a great-grandson dies, it is unprecedented to pass the throne to the great-grandfather, and it is even more unheard of to pass it to the "third uncle great-grandfather".

"The emperor's third great-uncle"? This is the biggest joke in the world.

Whether Emperor Xizong passed away or abdicated, the throne would never have been passed to Li Yun.

Uncle Liu could barely inherit the throne of Emperor Xian of Han, but it was impossible for "the third great-grandfather of Emperor Li" to inherit the throne of Emperor Xizong of Tang.

If you tear down a toilet to build a building, it will stink from the beginning.

Tian Lingzi was a shrewd man who knew very well that this was a dirty political farce, a pool of muddy water that would only get muddier the more he waded into it. If he was caught up in it, he would be like Zhu Bajie looking in the mirror - he was neither a human nor a human, and no matter whether he succeeded or failed, he would be cursed for all eternity, and he would try to avoid it as much as possible.

Therefore, at first glance, Tian Lingzi's behavior of showing weakness to the "Yang faction" seemed to be a collective surrender of the "Tian faction". In fact, he was retreating to advance, deliberately pushing the "Yang faction" to the forefront and to the center of the whirlpool, making Yang Fugong a target of criticism.

Xichuan was Tian Lingzi's first choice for keeping a low profile. After years of management by Chen Jingxuan, Xichuan had become Tian Lingzi's safe haven. He hid here, watched the fire from the other side of the river, accumulated strength, and waited for the fisherman to reap the benefits.

When it comes to power politics, Tian Yan is the king.

【A country has no two masters】

Zhu Mei supported Li Yan to take the throne by force and set up a new court, taking a risky move. In order to gain support, Zhu Mei extended favors widely, promoted officials from the central government to the local governments, and bribed the whole world, just to ask the world to recognize Li Yan's throne.

This move is still very lethal.

Although Li Yan was the emperor's "great-uncle", he was after all the blood of Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Taizong, and a member of the royal family with the surname Li. The warlords of the vassal states were loyal to the Li Tang royal family anyway, no matter if you were the crown prince, the crown prince's younger brother, the crown prince's uncle, or the crown prince's third great-uncle... Moreover, you could get benefits and be promoted. Support!
The vast majority of local officials and governors have made their attitude clear: they must closely unite around the new leadership team with Comrade Li Xun as the core.

In particular, Gao Pian of Huainan directly submitted a memorial to persuade the emperor: The emperor is incompetent and unjust, and the treacherous officials are usurping power. It is time for you to uphold justice long ago!
In October of the second year of the Guangqi reign (886), with the support and persuasion of civil and military officials, Li Xun finally officially ascended the throne of the emperor. He changed the second year of the Guangqi reign to the first year of the Jianzhen reign and gave Emperor Xizong of Tang the honorific title: Taishang Yuanhuang Shengdi.

This scene really pays tribute to his great-grandfather, King Sukjong Lee Heng.

Back then, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, fled to Shu to avoid the "Anshi Rebellion". His son Li Heng took the opportunity to ascend the throne in Lingwu, and remotely respected Xuanzong as the "Grand Emperor"; now, Emperor Xizong of Tang also fled to Shu for refuge. Li Heng's great-great-grandson took the opportunity to ascend the throne, and remotely respected Xizong as the "Grand Emperor Shenghuang".

I hope it will be a good start.

When the new emperor ascended the throne, some local governors throughout the country supported him while others opposed him.

Judging from the superficial numbers, the supporters far outnumber the opponents, but the actual situation is that the supporters are not truly supportive, while the opponents are truly opposed.

One of the opponents was Li Keyong from Hedong.

Li Xun sent an imperial edict to Li Keyong, saying: The emperor encountered a mutiny in his guards while escaping and unfortunately passed away; all the civil and military officials and local officials all support me to succeed the throne, and I now... I am the emperor now, my dear ministers, you must be good.

Li Keyong sought advice from the think tank.

The counselor Gai Yu advised Li Keyong not to accept Li Yan's "edict" because the people of the world had long been led by Tian Yan's party to create public opinion and put the blame for the emperor's escape on you, saying that it was Li Keyong of Hedong who forced the emperor to flee. Now if you acknowledge Li Yan, it would be like putting the blame firmly on you, and you would become the culprit who abolished and forced Emperor Xizong to death. You have no share in the good thing of becoming emperor, but you have to bear all the sins... Regardless of whether the emperor really died or not, the most correct thing for you to do should be to kill Zhu Mei and depose Li Yan, and put the blame on them to prove your innocence.

Li Keyong suddenly realized what was going on and cursed Zhu Mei for her sinister intentions. He then burned Li Yan's false edict in public, imprisoned Li Yan's envoys, and announced to the world: Zhu Mei deceived the emperor and spread rumors that the emperor had passed away. I have mobilized 30,000 elite troops in this town to punish the criminal Zhu Mei!

At the same time, under the persuasion of Yang Fugong, Hezhong King Chongrong also expressed his attitude: he firmly supported Emperor Xizong of Tang, opposed Li Yan, and actively prepared for the war.

The strongest military alliance in Guandong, Wang Zhongrong and Li Keyong, once again turned their attention to Chang'an. This time they wanted to drive out the false emperor and welcome back Emperor Xizong of Tang to atone for the crime of forcing him to come the day before.

However, the main group supporting Li Yan, the Guanxi Group, split.

Zhu Mei was narrow-minded and short-sighted. In the process of supporting Li Xun, he called himself the "Grand Prime Minister", monopolized power, and reaped the fruits of the revolutionary victory alone, while excluding his close comrade-in-arms, Li Changfu, from the core power circle.

The uneven distribution of the spoils made Li Changfu very dissatisfied and resentful, so he secretly contacted the Xingyuan exile government and stated that it was Zhu Mei who supported Li Yan alone and that he had no involvement. He also expressed his firm support for Emperor Xizong of Tang and opposition to the pseudo-regime of Zhu Mei and Li Yan.

Emperor Xizong of Tang was overjoyed and immediately issued an imperial decree to appoint Li Changfu as the inspector of the Ministry of Rites, making him one of the Three Dukes. No one is a saint, so who can be without faults? It is the greatest virtue to correct one's faults. Very good, Comrade Li Changfu, go and make meritorious contributions while serving your sentence.

There were threats from powerful vassal states outside and friendly forces split inside. However, Zhu Mei was still immersed in the beautiful dream of being a "founding hero" and sent his general Wang Xingyu to lead the army to chase after Emperor Xizong of Tang, in order to eliminate the root of the trouble forever.

Wang Xingyu captured Dasan Pass and marched southwards, approaching Xingyuan Prefecture. Emperor Xizong was in danger.

Li Keyong promptly gave Emperor Xizong a reassurance and sent someone to deliver a memorial, saying that he had led his army across the Yellow River and was about to eradicate the rebellion and welcome the emperor back to the palace.

Emperor Xizong pinned this memorial, liked it and forwarded it, which broke the previous rumors in one fell swoop. Before, people had always mistakenly believed that Li Keyong and Zhu Mei were in cahoots to expel Emperor Xizong and support Li Yan. After seeing Li Keyong's memorial, people were excited and told each other about it.

At the end of the memorial, Li Keyong was still possessed by Xianglin Sao, and he tirelessly accused Zhu Wen of despicable behavior and denounced the crime of the "Shangyuanyi Incident". What he touched was not porcelain, but loneliness.

Xizong of course understood that this was Li Keyong's subtle way of speaking, so he asked Yang Fugong to strongly hint in his reply: "Don't worry, I will give you a satisfactory answer after this matter is finished."

Wang Chongrong and Li Keyong were already on good terms with the "Yang faction" and easily formed a united front. Yang Fugong naturally became a bridge of friendship between the Xizong court and the Guandong coalition forces.

Yang Fuguang's godsons were also given important positions. Among them, Yang Shouliang was ordered to lead 20,000 troops to join forces with Wang Chongrong and Li Keyong to attack Zhu Mei together.

To the west of Xingyuan Prefecture, at Datang Peak, Wang Xingyu, a fierce general under Zhu Mei, fought a fierce battle with the Xingyuan troops.

For Emperor Xizong, the "Tang Summit Battle" is of vital importance. It is a battle for the survival of the "Xingyuan Exile Government". The vassal states all over the world are staring at the outcome of this battle, ready to change their allegiance and choose sides at any time based on the outcome of the battle.

The "Great Tang Summit Battle" is just like the "Longwei Slope Battle" and the "Liangtian Slope Battle". Its political significance far exceeds its military significance. For Emperor Xizong, the Great Tang Summit Battle must succeed, not fail.

In addition, Datang Peak is also named after the country "Datang", and it is even more forbidden to insult the national dignity at the foot of this mountain.

Therefore, the Xingyuan government-in-exile generously rewarded the soldiers who participated in the war.

A soldier of the imperial army named Song Wentong performed well and made many military achievements. Therefore, Emperor Xizong of Tang not only promoted him but also gave him the highest honor - the imperial surname and name. From then on, Song Wentong had a more resounding new name: Li Maozhen.

Li Maozhen officially debuted in the "Tang Dynasty Summit Battle" and will become a powerful figure in the future.

Thanks to my old friends "feitian", "Feitian Shenlongzhan", "Shuyou151023051918540" for their recommendation votes, and thank you friends for your continued support!

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(End of this chapter)