History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 835 Chai Rong Governs the Country 1
【Chai Rong governs the country】

Chai Rong was in office for only five and a half years, but these five and a half years were the most glorious five and a half years in the Central Plains, with the "Battle of Gaoping", "Battle of Qin and Feng", "Three Expeditions to Huainan", and "Three Conquests in the North". During these five and a half years, the war machine of the Later Zhou Dynasty never stopped.

However, Chai Rong was not a warmongerer. During the high-intensity war, Chai Rong vigorously developed national defense and civilian infrastructure and deepened reforms. As a result, the national strength of the Later Zhou Dynasty not only did not decline after the baptism of war, but it increased instead. It can even be said that to a large extent, he laid the foundation for the three hundred years of the Song Dynasty.

Below we will briefly review Chai Rong's internal affairs:

1. Political Reform

1. Fight corruption and improve work style
Generally speaking, emperors who came from grassroots backgrounds hated corrupt officials, such as Comrade Zhu Yuanzhang. Although Chai Rong came from a merchant background, he was never lenient in combating corruption.

In September of the first year of Xiande (954), Xue Xun, a general of the imperial guards, was exiled to Shamen Island (between the Shandong Peninsula and the Liaodong Peninsula) for corruption; Zhu Fenglin, the inspector and minister of Songzhou, was beheaded for failing to catch bandits;
During the Tang Dynasty, the territory was vast, and the places of exile were spread across the two lakes, Guangdong and Guangxi, Liangzhe, and even Hainan Island, and the farthest was in today's Vietnam. Since the Five Dynasties, the various vassal states were divided and the Central Plains dynasty was out of reach. The former places of exile became foreign countries and abroad, so Shamen Island became the chosen place.

In October, Meng Hanqing, a general of the imperial guards, was sentenced to death for corruption; Hao Guangting, an official of the imperial court, was sentenced to death for retaliating and killing people when he was inspecting Ye County;
In May of the second year of Xian De (955), Chen Wo, a deputy minister of the Ministry of Justice, was sentenced to death because of his inaccurate inspection of the people's land. According to records, Chen Wo was a poor man, and he was sentenced to death for such a small mistake, and "people at that time felt sorry for him."
In the intercalary September, Xu Xun, the secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, was demoted because he did not return the books he borrowed...

The secretary-general is in charge of national books, which is equivalent to the deputy director of the National Library and Archives. Although borrowing books and not returning them is not a serious crime, it is a typical case of embezzlement for people in this position.

In October, Kang Cheng and four other officials were demoted because they were ordered to go on a diplomatic mission to the Kingdom of Wuyue, but they stayed a few days longer due to playfulness and "failed to report back on time"; Li Zhisun, the Right Counselor, was exiled to Shamen Island because he talked nonsense (made false memorials), slandered (criticized the nobles), and asked to go on a diplomatic mission to the Kingdom of Wuyue;

In the first month of the third year of Xian De (956), Ma Congyun, the palace supervisor, was dismissed from his post because of a family dispute in which he seized the property of his granddaughter Huo.

In February, Kang Yeon, the chief commander of the Jeju cavalry, was beheaded for inadequate maintenance of roads and bridges (the bridges were not carefully maintained);

In June, three people including Yang Zhaojian, the Chief Censor, were dismissed due to false charges (inaccurate inquiries);
In August, the Imperial Household Minister Ju Kejiu was dismissed for his improper selection of candidates, which will be explained later. The Minister of Works Wang Min was dismissed for using nepotism to engage in corruption and illegally arranging jobs for his relatives.
In October, Zhao Shouwei, the Right Picker, was first beaten with 10 sticks and then exiled to Shamen Island. This will also be explained later.
In March of the fourth year of Xiande (957), Han Lun, the military commander of Xuzhou, was stripped of all his official titles and exiled to Shamen Island because he had exceeded his authority to interfere in administrative work, was seriously corrupt, and had overreached. He was reported by someone, and the court sent a special investigation team to conduct an on-site investigation. As a result, he fabricated lies, forged the imperial edict, and resisted the investigation. The problem was not serious, but his behavior of resisting the investigation angered Chai Rong, who ordered him to be arrested and sentenced to death. At the critical moment, someone cried and begged for mercy, and it was for this person's face that Chai Rong reduced the death penalty to exile, and it was only a symbolic punishment. More than a year later, Han Lun settled in Luoyang and lived a happy life.

The man who "cryingly pleaded with Emperor Shizong" was Han Lingkun, the general who conquered Yangzhou and risked his life for his beloved. Why did he plead for mercy? Because Han Lun was his biological father. In April, the attendant Sun Yanxi was sentenced to death, and three people including the imperial chef Dong Yanxun were "double-opened". The reason was that the imperial palace was carrying out a major project at the time, rebuilding the Yongfu Hall, and Sun Yanxi was the general person in charge of the project. One day, Chai Rong went to the construction site to inspect the work and found that some workers used broken tiles as bowls and small branches as tableware. The conditions were extremely difficult. Chai Rong was immediately furious and ordered the general person in charge of the project, Sun Yanxi, to be beheaded as a public display. In addition, the person in charge of the food department, the imperial chef Dong Yanxun, and others were dismissed from office.

Whenever I read this, the image of a benevolent ruler who cares for the disadvantaged and the grassroots workers comes to life on paper. Just imagine that if the grassroots workers have poor food conditions, the project manager will be executed. What about major safety accidents? Water seepage in coal mines, gas explosions, broken bridges, collapsed buildings...

In May, Hou Xijin, the deputy envoy of Mizhou Defense, was sentenced to death. The reason was that Zhang Jiu, the imperial envoy of the court, went to Mizhou to investigate Xia Miao and asked Hou Xijin to examine samples and assist in the investigation. Unexpectedly, Hou Xijin engaged in bureaucracy and refused to cooperate on the grounds that he had not received the official document from the court. Zhang Jiu then reported to the court, and Chai Rong was furious. Isn't it easy to get the official document? The document was delivered, and he had one word: kill.

In October, Fu Lingguang, the administrator of the treasury (the left treasury official), was sentenced to death for not supplying military uniforms in time. The historical records only say that Fu Lingguang was born into a family of meritorious officials, but do not specify the names of his ancestors. Some people speculate that he was a descendant of Fu Xi, a great general of the Later Tang Dynasty. In short, his ancestors were all respected and meritorious officials. Fu Lingguang himself was an honest official with a good reputation in politics. He was sentenced to death just because he was late in making military uniforms. It was really an exaggeration. Therefore, many ministers at the time pleaded for him, but Chai Rong still ruthlessly executed him. "People are all wronged when they are executed for minor offenses."

In March of the fifth year of Xian De (958), Liu Tao, the Minister of Imperial Examination and Right Counselor, was demoted to Right Praiser for his inappropriate selection of candidates.

In April, Zhao Li, a doctor of the Imperial Academy and acting chairman of the Suzhou Executive Committee (the person in charge of Suzhou military affairs), was expelled from the party and removed from office for being passive and lazy (accusing him of slacking off). Behind these few words was a major case that shocked the government and the public:
The incident started when Imperial Medical Officer Ma Daoyuan filed a complaint with the Emperor. According to Ma Daoyuan's complaint, his son was killed in Shouzhou and the murderer fled to Suzhou. However, the Suzhou government, in the spirit of "less trouble is more trouble", refused to file a case. Ma Daoyuan had no choice but to file a complaint directly to Chai Rong.

Think about what Chai Rong would do. If he killed the main person in charge because the workers had difficult dining conditions, then what crime would he be charged with for turning a blind eye to a major case involving human lives?

As expected, Chai Rong was furious and immediately appointed his trusted confidant, Dou Yi, a scholar from the Duanming Palace, to lead a special investigation team to Suzhou for an on-site investigation. The investigation results showed that everything Ma Daoyuan said was true.

Finally, Zhao Li, the highest person in charge in Suzhou, was removed from the list, and as many as 24 people below him were sentenced to death!
In the "History of Song Dynasty·Biography of Dou Yi", this incident was not recorded. This incident was recorded in the "Old History of Five Dynasties·Book of Zhou·Chronicle of Emperor Shizong", and a sentence was specially emphasized, "On the day when Yi resigned, the emperor's order was very severe, so Yi's punishment caused deep injuries", which helped Dou Yi to whitewash himself.

In December, Wu Huai'en, the political commissar of Chuzhou (the military commander), was sentenced to death for killing four surrendered soldiers without authorization; Zhang Shun, the defense envoy of Chuzhou, was sentenced to death for embezzling 12 coins and 4 rolls of silk cotton.

In February of the sixth year of Xian De (959), Wang Decheng, the Right Assistant Minister, was demoted to the Right Zanshan Doctor because of improper promotion. This reason will also be explained later.

(End of this chapter)