History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 851 The Final Barrier (Part )

The Last Barrier

1. "Han's Eyes" Han Tong

Han Tong was born in Taiyuan, Hedong. He enlisted in the army when he was a teenager and was famous for his bravery. When Liu Zhiyuan was in charge of Taiyuan, he placed the brave Han Tong under his command. He was promoted for his meritorious service in defeating Du Chongwei. When Liu Chengyou ascended the throne, Han Tong was promoted to the commander of Fengguo.

Guo Wei had heard of Han Tong's great name for a long time. When he was conquering Li Shouzhen in Hezhong, he specifically asked for Han Tong to accompany him. Han Tong indeed made great achievements in being the first to reach the target and was promoted to Yu Hou of Fengguodu.

When Guo Wei went to Weizhou, he petitioned the court and specifically requested Han Tong to be the commander of the cavalry and infantry of Weizhou. From then on, Han Tong became Guo Wei's confidant and assisted Guo Wei in establishing the country and becoming emperor.

During the conquests against Murong Yanchao of Yanzhou and Liu Chong of Hedong, Han Tong made great military achievements and was promoted to the Jiedushi of Caozhou and Jianxiu Taibao.

After Chai Rong ascended the throne, Han Tong participated in the construction of the "Liyankou-Hulu River" Water Great Wall project and made great contributions in repelling the Khitan; he then participated in the "Qin-Feng War" and was promoted to the rank of Du Yuhou of the Imperial Guards Cavalry and Infantry Army.

During the "Third Expedition to Huainan", Han Tong was appointed as the "Inspector of the Capital and Outside the Capital" and "Temporary Inspector of the Imperial Guards", which means that the important task of guarding the house was given to Han Tong.

When the three passes were conquered in the north, Han Tong, Gao Huaide and Zhang Lingduo were the vanguards who went to Cangzhou first to dig a waterway for the army. Later, he was appointed as the commander of the land route and opened up the roads to Yingzhou and Mozhou for the army. When Bazhou (Yijingguan) was built, Han Tong was the general commander of the project.

After Chai Rong returned from the expedition, he gave Han Tong the title of prime minister (making him the acting grand marshal and co-prime minister), and appointed him as the deputy commander of the imperial guards, cavalry and infantry.

Han Tong's contributions in the most important "Three Expeditions to Huainan" are easily overlooked, but anyone with a discerning eye can see that he is one of Chai Rong's most trusted generals. Although Han Tong did not join the army in the Huainan expedition, he was responsible for the defense of Bianzhou, and Chai Rong handed over the imperial capital to him.

Obviously, Zhao Kuangyin's group failed to drag him into the water.

According to records, Han Tong had a strong character but was a bit stupid (tough but lacked strategy), and he was outspoken, had a bad temper and was prone to glaring and swearing when he disagreed with something. People nicknamed him "Han Cangyan".

More importantly, his relationship with Zhao Kuangyin was ordinary. According to records, Han Tong and Zhao Kuangyin were both in charge of the palace guards and were colleagues of equal rank, but "many military and political decisions were made by Tong", Han Tong was more assertive, and Zhao Kuangyin was tolerant and showed weakness. The two could not urinate in the same pot.

Han Tong's son was very intelligent, but he was in poor health. He was a sickly child and had a hunchback (hunchback due to childhood illness), so people nicknamed him "Tuotuoer".

According to historical records, Han Tong's son "saw that Taizu was popular and often advised Tong to take action as soon as possible, but Tong did not listen."

This is another key indirect evidence. This sentence means that Han Tong's son also discovered the signs of Zhao Kuangyin's group, so he persuaded Han Tong to join them, but Han Tong did not listen.

The words are short, but the information is rich.

First, even Han Tong's son could see that Zhao Kuangyin was "popular", which showed that the secret operation of Zhao Kuangyin's group had a long history, which was another indirect evidence of "long-term conspiracy";
Secondly, Han Tong's son persuaded him to join Zhao Kuangyin's group, but he did not listen. This is why Han Tong must die. He clearly rejected the Zhao Kuangyin group's solicitation and stood on the opposite side.

Prime Minister Fan Zhi and Wang Pu also opposed Zhao Kuangyin, but they had no military power and were just old scholars who wrote articles, so they could just let Luo Yangui and other warriors scare them; but Han Tong, the fierce general who had been guarding the house for the Later Zhou Dynasty, was no match for him. He had military power and had been a professional tower guarder for 30 years. He had complicated relationships in the Bianzhou city defense system and had a bad relationship with Zhao Kuangyin, so he had to be physically eliminated as soon as possible.

Zhao Kuangyin expressed regret over Han Tong's death, and issued an imperial decree to grant him the title of Zhongshu Ling and gave him a grand funeral.

Zhao Kuangyin's regret may have come from the heart, and was also mixed with a trace of guilt. Later, when Zhao Kuangyin visited Kaibao Temple, he suddenly found the portraits of Han Tong and his son hanging on the wall. He was horrified and hurriedly ordered people to remove them.
Wang Zhuo was a successful candidate in the imperial examinations during the Later Han Dynasty. He was open-minded but not cunning. When Guo Wei went to Weizhou, Chai Rong heard of Wang Zhuo's name and summoned him to be his aide. Wang Zhuo also met Guo Wei and was well-received by Guo Wei and Chai Rong. Chai Rong, in particular, always treated him as his trusted aide and kept him by his side.

After Chai Rong ascended the throne, Wang Zhuo was appointed as the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Revenue and a Hanlin scholar. According to records, Chai Rong regarded Wang Zhuo as his confidant and loyal minister, summoned him to the harem, and asked the princes to come out to pay homage to him, only calling him "scholar" instead of his name, and repeatedly wanted to appoint him as prime minister, and even asked to write "Wang Zhuo as prime minister" in his will.

However, even so, Wang Zhuo never became prime minister. Why?

Don’t blame the heavens or the earth, just blame Wang Zhuo for not living up to his expectations.

Wang Zhuo was free and easy-going, not particular about details, and especially liked to drink. It was not uncommon for literati to be addicted to alcohol, but Wang Zhuo often lost his temper after drinking. For example, after getting drunk, he would go to a hair salon, get a foot massage, or go to a nightclub to enjoy the bright lights and women... Prime Minister Fan Zhi and others used an elegant term - "drinking and losing self-control."

Chai Rong repeatedly expressed his intention to make Wang Zhuo the prime minister, but the ministers always dissuaded him on the grounds that he was "addicted to alcohol". How could a prime minister of an empire drink so much all day long, either doing a health check or on his way to a health check?
When Chai Rong was dying, he summoned Fan Zhi and others to the palace to entrust his son to him. When a man is about to die, his words are good. Chai Rong said to the ministers entrusted with his son, "The king is an old friend of mine in the vassal state. If I don't get up, I will serve as my minister."

This means that Wang Zhuo is my confidant. If I die, you must make him the prime minister! Chai Rong was not convenient to say the second half of the sentence, so we said it for him: Wang Zhuo is a trustworthy comrade, loyal to the Chai family. If he becomes the prime minister, there will be no rebellion.

There are many different opinions and mysteries about Chai Rong's entrusting his son to others. One of the most critical questions is: who were the important officials entrusted with the care of his son? Who was present when Chai Rong passed away?

"Zizhi Tongjian": "... summoned Fan Zhi and others to receive instructions."

"History of Song Dynasty": "Taizu (Zhao Kuangyin) and Fan Zhi entered to receive the imperial edict."

Obviously, Prime Minister Fan Zhi was one of the eyewitnesses on the scene. The key point is whether this "etc." includes Zhao Kuangyin.

The subsequent records are even more vague. The "Zizhi Tongjian" says that after the few people came out, "they said to each other, "Wang Zhuo is addicted to alcohol and loses his composure after drinking. How can he be a prime minister? Hush - don't tell others, just the few of us know it, and keep it to ourselves (be careful not to let this word out)!
So who told whom? Not sure.

The record in the History of Song Dynasty is even more vague, "(Wang Zhuo served as prime minister) until Emperor Shizong died." After Chai Rong's death, no one mentioned this matter again.

We can boldly guess that if Zhao Kuangyin was also present at the scene, it is very likely that Zhao Kuangyin instigated Fan Zhi to privately tamper with the edict and delete the clause "Wang Zhuo as prime minister"; if Zhao Kuangyin was not present, or it was Fan Zhi's own initiative, then it can better explain Fan Zhi's reaction after hearing about the "Chenqiao Mutiny", which will be mentioned later.

Let's look at another small detail: After the establishment of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin promoted Wang Zhuo to the position of Zhongshu Sheren and Zhigongju, and he always treated him well. But one time, Wang Zhuo cried loudly after getting drunk, and was framed by someone, saying that he "missed Emperor Shizong", and pushed him to death, but Zhao Kuangyin did not pursue the matter; later, another time, Wang Zhuo was on night duty in the palace, and he broke into the bedroom after getting drunk. This time, Zhao Kuangyin was really angry, so he "blamed him for staying drunk at a prostitute's house" and demoted him.

Note that Zhao Kuangyin "started the drunken prostitutes' fault". First, Comrade Wang Zhuo did have a history of misconduct; second, Zhao Kuangyin had all the evidence against him.

With these two points in mind, thinking back to when Sejong entrusted his son to others, it is truly terrifying.

Wang Zhuo is talented and loyal to the Chai family. He is the great protector of the Chai family's kingdom, so... those with different intentions must overturn Sejong's will and must not let Wang Zhuo become the prime minister.

Zhao Kuangyin had some damning evidence about Wang Zhuo, so if he encouraged some upright people like Fan Zhi, then... was this kind of rubbish qualified to be prime minister?!
Although Comrade Wang Zhuo loved wine and women, he was really talented. Although he never became a prime minister, he served as a Hanlin scholar, a master of imperial edicts, and a master of imperial examinations in the Northern Song Dynasty. Although he was dismissed from office, he was soon reinstated. He died suddenly in the second year of Kaibao (969) at the age of 42. Later generations said that his body was hollowed out by wine and women...

(End of this chapter)