History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 830: The Destruction of the "Four Evils and Five Ghosts" (Part )

[The Destruction of the "Four Evils and Five Demons"]

It is ironic that Li Jing eradicated the "Four Evils and Five Demons" political group not to eliminate harm to the people, but out of selfish motives and without benefiting others.

The reason why the "Four Evils and Five Ghosts" group was able to dominate the government was because of Li Jing's favoritism. It was Li Jing who made them famous.

Li Jing’s inner monologue is: It’s easy to make anyone famous if I want to. If I support you, you are a glass lamp. If I let go, you are broken glass.

The long-term prosperity made the "Four Evils and Five Demons" group lose themselves, forget about everything, and forget the root of their ability to cover the sky with one hand. Finally, during the Emperor Shizong's expedition to Huaihe, they played with fire and burned themselves.

After the war broke out, Li Jing summoned the cunning and treacherous Song Qiuqiu to the court to conspire with him to help the country. At that time, Chai Rong was unstoppable and crushed the Southern Tang with overwhelming force. Li Jing sent Li Deming, Zhong Mo, Sun Sheng and Wang Chongzhi to the Later Zhou camp to ask for reconciliation.

After Li Deming came back, he praised the invincibility of the Later Zhou Dynasty and suggested that Li Jing cede the entire territory north of the Yangtze River in order to persuade the Later Zhou Dynasty to withdraw its troops.

The "Four Evils and Five Ghosts" group had always been at odds with the "Pure Stream Party" led by Li Deming and others, so they strongly criticized Li Deming for selling out his masters for personal gain, and went to extremes to label him a traitor.

In the end, Li Jing ordered Li Deming to be executed. The "Four Evils and Five Ghosts" group lost a powerful political enemy, and from then on they became more arrogant and domineering, and thus became the "pro-war faction."

In order to kill Li Deming and turn themselves into the pro-war faction, the "Four Evils and Five Ghosts" group has taken the first step towards the abyss.

Li Jing let his younger brother Li Jingda take charge of the army, and appointed Chen Jue, a core member of the "Four Evils and Five Ghosts" group, as the military supervisor. As mentioned earlier, the actual command of this army was unsurprisingly held by Chen Jue, and Li Jingda was just a mascot.

Facing the threat of the Later Zhou army, Chen Jue's primary enemy is his younger brother Li Jingda. He must closely monitor, control, and supervise Li Jingda to prevent him from seizing military power or gaining reputation. The second is the new Internet celebrities headed by the two Taoists (Zhu Yuan and Li Ping) and the "Four Generals Aid Fujian". They must be prevented from making meritorious contributions and becoming famous, and then threatening the ruling position of the "Four Evils and Five Ghosts" group. Finally, the third is the Later Zhou.

Chen Jue's bold move directly forced Zhu Yuan to rebel, leading to the great defeat of the Southern Tang army. This defeat was a catastrophic disaster for the Southern Tang, with extremely heavy losses. Not only did they lose control of the Huai River, but they also lost all their elite soldiers and generals, and there was no way to turn the tide.

Chen Jue and Li Zhenggu, who had fled back, hurried to find the "godfather" Song Qiuqiu to discuss countermeasures.

Song Qiuqiu's situation was not much better.

In the initial stage of the war, Song Qiuqiu suggested dispatching a large army to garrison in the Sizhou area to firmly control the Huai River. This would prevent the Later Zhou from acting rashly. By the next spring, the Huai River would surge, and the Later Zhou would have been old and tired, so they would retreat without a fight. By then, if we asked for peace talks, we would have the initiative at the negotiation table and thus gain the greatest benefits for the Southern Tang.

It has to be said that Song Qiuqiu's suggestion was the most correct one. It was like opening the eyes of God and controlling the Later Zhou Dynasty firmly.

Li Jing thought about it and finally decided not to adopt it.

Later, the war took a small turn for the better, Chai Rong returned to Bianzhou, and all the land in Huainan except Shouzhou was recovered. At this time, some people (Zhu Yuan, Li Ping, etc.) tried their best to persuade Li Jing to send troops to seize the dangerous terrain, so that the invading army of the Later Zhou Dynasty would never return.

However, Song Qiqiu thought that this was too unethical and would anger the Later Zhou, "surprise friendly nations", and would not be conducive to the restoration of international relations. He suggested letting the tiger go back to the mountains and saluting the Later Zhou army, "Master, come and play often."

Because of the huge disparity in power between Southern Tang and Later Zhou, Song Qiqiu's core idea was to resolve the dispute between the two countries peacefully through dialogue and avoid the use of force as much as possible. However, the idea of ​​"bluffing, protracted consumption, and forcing peace by war" at the beginning of the war was full marks, while the idea of ​​"letting the tiger go back to the mountains and repaying grievances with virtue" at this time was zero marks.

Li Jing regretted not accepting Song Qiuqiu's suggestion before, so this time, he gladly accepted it.

The result of this was that the Later Zhou Dynasty completed its strategic transfer in the enemy's hinterland without any danger, concentrated all its forces in Shouzhou, and finally conquered Shouzhou, so as to divide the river with the Southern Tang.

Li Jing was very disappointed with Song Qiuqiu. At this point, the old fox had no other choice. After thinking about it, he realized that there was only one way to protect himself, which was to depose Li Jing and establish a puppet emperor who was easy to control.

Under the manipulation of the "Four Evils and Five Ghosts" group, one day, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory reported to the emperor that the stars were very strange last night. After a scientific and reasonable calculation, it was concluded that "the ruler should abdicate and pray for blessings to be blessed." This means that the emperor should abdicate to avoid disaster, otherwise there would be a catastrophe.

The Imperial Observatory spoke so vividly that all the officials lowered their heads, held their breath, and glanced at Li Jing secretly.

Li Jing always maintained an unfathomable smile. After the Si Tianjian finished his report, Li Jing nodded deeply and said approvingly: "That's exactly what I want! To be honest, I have wanted to resign for a long time, but... who should I give this job to?"

Chen Jue and Li Zhenggu immediately took the bait and said hastily, "Of course it's the Crown Prince!"

Li Jing suddenly realized, but was a little worried, "Yes, yes, it should be my brother, but..."

Chen Jue and Li Zhenggu both learned to answer quickly, "Song Qiuqiu once gave advice to the previous emperor, turned his family into a country, and finally achieved great success. He is a minister of the country, and all state affairs can be handed over to him. Your Majesty, please protect the throne, and Comrade Song Qiuqiu will work hard to support the country. Your Majesty will enjoy a leisurely life in a secluded place, live a long life like a tall pine tree, and follow the footsteps of Dinghu Lake. This is also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

In a succinct and to the point manner, it was suggested that Li Jing give up his throne to Li Jingsui, and that all real power be handed over to Song Qiuqiu. Isn't it wonderful that everyone gets what they want?

Facing the pressure from the "Four Evils and Five Demons" group, Li Jing acted honestly and submissively, and said with a smile: "You are absolutely right!" He then summoned Hanlin scholar Chen Qiao into the palace, and drafted the abdication edict according to the request of Chen Jue and Li Zhenggu.

When Chen Qiao heard this, he was shocked and asked to meet Li Jing in person.

After the meeting, Chen Qiao wept and advised: "The importance of the country is not a joke. How can you easily give it to others? Even if Your Majesty really has the leisure and elegance to return to the garden and the fields, you should think about the country and the people, think about the great cause of the rejuvenation of the country. How can you be so unethical and selfish? Moreover, if you have forgotten the stories of Nao Chi and Li Dui, have you also forgotten the story of giving up the throne in front of you?"

Nao Chi was a general of the State of Chu during the Warring States Period. He was ordered to lead his army to rescue the State of Qi and was appointed Prime Minister by King Min of Qi. Not long after, Nao Chi brutally killed King Min of Qi and conspired with the enemy to divide the State of Qi.

Li Dui was a powerful official of the State of Zhao during the Warring States Period. At that time, King Wuling of Zhao abdicated the throne in advance and became the "Lord Father" (the predecessor of the retired emperor). In a coup, Li Dui imprisoned King Wuling of Zhao and eventually starved him to death.

As for the "relinquished emperor" mentioned by Chen Qiao, it was Yang Pu, the last emperor of Southern Wu. Chen Qiao said it very tactfully, but it hit the nail on the head. Relinquished the throne? Let's not talk about Emperor Xian of Han, Emperor Ai of Tang, or King Wuling of Zhao. Let's just talk about how your father treated Yang Pu. How could you not know the bad deeds of your own family?

"Your Majesty has personally witnessed the Emperor being imprisoned in Danyang. Now that he has wept and begged to be a farmer, it is impossible!"

You have witnessed with your own eyes how miserable Yang Pu's end was. Chen Qiao did not mention the second half of his sentence. Li Jing not only saw it with his own eyes, but also personally ordered the extermination of the Yang family.

Li Jing suddenly realized something and said, "Look at me. I was confused for a moment and almost made a big mistake." Then he led Chen Qiao into the harem with relief, called the queen and the princes, and said, "This is a loyal minister. If the country is in trouble in the future, you can use him. In this way, I can die with my eyes closed!"

Li Jing was very good at Tai Chi, using the honest man Chen Qiao as a shield. When discussing the important matter of abdication, Li Jing was extremely cynical. According to historical records, Li Jing "stopped laughing" and smiled frivolously on such a serious issue.

The "Four Evils and Five Ghosts" really thought Li Jing was a fool and thought he was really heartless. Little did they know that this was called smiling but hiding a dagger. The more he pretended to be stupid, the more it showed that he was scheming and cunning; the more he laughed, the more it showed that he had murderous intentions.

The "Four Evils and Five Ghosts" group was too popular and exposed their ambition to force the emperor to abdicate, and they went from being Li Jing's confidants to his enemies.

They were just tools of Li Jing. On the surface, the political struggles in Southern Tang were basically their faction fighting against dissidents and their power was overwhelming. In fact, those political victims were all secretly arranged by Li Jing. They just helped Li Jing to clear obstacles. In short, the "Four Evils and Five Ghosts" were just dogs of Li Jing. They would bite whoever Li Jing told them to bite.

Now, the vicious dog is out of control and intends to turn around and bite its owner. The owner has no choice but to eat dog meat.

(End of this chapter)