History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 852 The Last Barrier (Part )

1. Li Tao, "The Regret of Emperor Sejong"
Chai Rong once asked the Minister of War Zhang Zhao who in the court could be the prime minister.

Zhang Zhao, originally named Zhang Zhaoyuan, was later called Zhang Zhao to avoid the taboo of Liu Zhiyuan. His grandfather Zhang Chuping was the magistrate of Shouzhang County. He worked diligently and willingly, and was well-known for his political reputation. The court rewarded him and promoted him. When he was rushing to Chang'an to accept the promotion, he encountered the Huang Chao Rebellion and his whereabouts were unknown since then; his father Zhang Zhi was a people's teacher.

Zhang Zhao was smart since childhood, well-read and talented. When Emperor Zhuangzong entered Wei, the non-staff talents in the Heshuo area went there to seek employment. Zhang Zhao also followed this wave of job hunting to Weizhou and brought his works to visit the mayor of Weizhou, Zhang Xian. After reading his works, Zhang Xian clapped his hands in admiration and felt that they had met too late. He immediately made him his aide.

When Emperor Mingzong entered Wei, Zhang Zhao advised Zhang Xian to support Li Siyuan. However, Zhang Xian was grateful for Li Cunxu's kindness and stayed with him. Zhang Zhao burst into tears and bid farewell to Zhang Xian. Later, Zhang Xian was involved in political struggles and was purged. Zhang Zhao, who changed his allegiance in time, was reused.

Zhang Zhao served in the Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han, and Later Zhou dynasties. His most important job was editing the History Office. His representative works include "The Veritable Records of Tongguang", "Chronicles", "The Veritable Records of Zhuangzong", "Biographies of Meritorious Officials since Emperor Wu", "The Veritable Records of Mingzong", and "The Veritable Records of Zhou Zu". He also wrote records for Li Conghou, Li Congke, and Liu Chengyou... His greatest contribution to the historical community, or his most famous work, was his participation in the compilation of "Old Book of Tang".

During the period of Chai Rong, Zhang Zhao also wrote a military work, a military book, "Zhizhi Bingfa". This military book was highly praised by Chai Rong, and some people even believed that the reason why Chai Rong was invincible was related to this military book.

Zhang Zhao was also a "veteran minister of four dynasties". Chai Rong respected him very much, so when he was struggling to choose a prime minister, he asked him for advice.

Zhang Zhao mentioned a name, but Chai Rong was "shocked" because Zhang Zhao recommended Li Tao.

Li Tao is also a "Liu Huangshu" type of person, and is said to be a descendant of Emperor Jingzong of Tang. After Zhu Wen usurped the Tang Dynasty, Li Tao's father was worried that Zhu Wen would kill all the Li Tang royal family, so he moved his family and fled to Hunan, to the territory of Ma Yin. One of Li Tao's cousins ​​worked for Zhu Wen and betrayed the whereabouts of Li Tao and his son. Zhu Wen issued an edict to recall him to the capital and granted Li Tao the title of Heyang County Magistrate.

During the reign of Mingzong of Later Tang, Li Tao gradually stepped into the central government and got a good opportunity to rise to prominence - becoming a direct descendant of the Eastern Palace and the crown prince. However, this crown prince was Li Conghou.

During the Later Jin Dynasty, Li Tao became a historian and played a cameo role in two major riots:

One was the "Zhang Congbin Rebellion". At that time, Zhang Jizuo, the son of "healing master" Zhang Quanyi, joined Zhang Congbin in a rebellion. Shi Jingtang planned to exterminate the Zhang family. Li Tao strongly advocated Zhang Quanyi's merits and finally saved the Zhang family, killing only Zhang Jizuo's family.
One is Zhang Yanze's rebellion, which will be introduced later.

After the establishment of the Later Han Dynasty, Li Tao was appointed Hanlin scholar and was later promoted to prime minister.

After the establishment of Later Zhou, Li Tao was forced to retreat to the second line and stand aside. He could never hold his head up in Later Zhou, and both Guo Wei and Chai Rong disliked him.

Why did Li Tao fail in the Later Zhou Dynasty? This had a lot to do with the "Xian Qiang Disaster". Li Tao chose the wrong side and stood in the wrong team.

At that time, the military group of Yang Bin, Shi Hongzhao, Guo Wei and other generals threatened the imperial power. Liu Chengyou could only pin his hopes on the "small clan of uncles" and use Li Ye and others to counter them. The two groups fought for power and undercurrents surged. At this critical moment, Li Tao wrote a memorial to Liu Chengyou, suggesting that Yang Bin, Shi Hongzhao and others be sent out, and the power of the court be handed over to the civil group of Su Fengji, Su Yugui and other civil officials, so as to recover the central power.

Historical records say that Su Fengji and Li Tao had a very good personal relationship and that Su Fengji was the mastermind behind this incident.

When Yang Bin and others heard the news, they immediately ran to the empress dowager and cried. Finally, the empress dowager stepped in to stop them, angrily accusing Li Tao of alienating the emperor and his ministers. She then dismissed Li Tao from his position and ordered him to go home and reflect on his mistakes.

Although Yang Bin and other generals survived the crisis, they were eventually wiped out in the "Xiao Qiang Disaster", and Guo Wei, who was leading troops outside, became the only survivor. If Liu Chengyou had adopted Li Tao's suggestion at that time, Guo Wei and others would have died faster, more completely, and more cleanly.

This is why Guo Wei and Chai Rong were quite disgusted with Li Tao.

Chai Rong asked Zhang Zhao about the candidate for prime minister. Zhang Zhao first recommended Li Tao, which made Chai Rong quite displeased. With a gloomy face, he used six words to describe Li Tao: "frivolous and without the qualities of a minister."

Why did Chai Rong say that?
Historical records say that Li Tao was "funny and good at joking", "not bound by etiquette", "liked to joke and had no regard for elders".

Li Tao had a younger brother named Li Huan. Both brothers were famous for their literary talent. Li Huan married an older single woman, the daughter of the Minister of Rites Dou Ninggu, who was "slightly older" and said to be older than Li Tao. On the wedding day, according to etiquette, Li Huan should have brought his new wife to pay respects to his brother Li Tao.

Just as the bride was about to bow, Li Tao took the lead and kowtowed to the bride first.

Li Huan was stunned at the time and screamed, "Brother, are you crazy? How can a new bride pay respect to her uncle? How can she return the greeting?"

Li Tao stood up slowly and said with a smile: "I didn't mean to be so annoying, I just thought it was your mother-in-law." Meaning, I thought it was your mother-in-law. It was a satire on the bride being too old.

Li Huan was very angry (Huan became more and more angry).

The new bride could only smile with an awkward but polite smile, after all, she was the daughter of a ministerial-level cadre (Shangshu). After everyone was seated, Miss Dou stood up and bowed again. As a lady from a wealthy family, she knew the rules. Li Tao crossed his hands in front of his chest and said another witty remark, "Shame on Dou Jian, Miu Zuo Liangshan, hello hello!"

This is a kind of idiom. The first half is about Dou Jiande (one of the separatist heroes in the late Sui Dynasty and early Tang Dynasty), and the second half is about Liang Shanbo. The last character of each person's name is hidden. Li Tao played a game of words. What he meant by this sentence is "I am ashamed and have no virtue, and I am not worthy of being a hero."

Li Huan was almost mad to death, while the onlookers burst into laughter (everyone who heard it burst into laughter).

"Fan Tao was also like this, not observing the rules of propriety within the boudoir", and he was so disrespectful to his brother's wife. Therefore, the history books say that Chai Rong was very disgusted with Li Tao and was determined not to let him become prime minister.

Is it too much to love joking? At least it is better than Wang Zhuo in "The Hangover at the Prostitute's House". So all the frivolous jokes are just for show. The actual reason is that Li Tao stood against Guo Wei and Chai Rong in the Later Han Dynasty and almost put them to death.

Zhang Zhao understood Chai Rong's pain points. He could not undermine him, so he could only provide a way out for his leader. "Your Majesty blames us for minor actions, and I recommend us for major principles." Let's put aside the details and get straight to the point. We are choosing a prime minister, which is related to the rise and fall of the empire. We must focus on the major issues and let go of the minor ones. Who doesn't have some shortcomings?
Afterwards, Zhang Zhao went straight to Chai Rong's heart:
"During the reign of Emperor Gaozu of the Later Jin Dynasty, Zhang Yanze murdered his subordinate Zhang Shi. Li Tao repeatedly petitioned for the execution of Zhang Yanze, stressing that Zhang Yanze would definitely be a threat to the country. Shi Jingtang did not listen to him. What was the result? During the Jin-Liao War, Zhang Yanze bravely led the Khitan army to capture Bianzhou, which led to the demise of the Later Jin Dynasty.
At the end of the Later Han Dynasty, Li Tao again petitioned to relieve Taizu of his military power. I don’t need to say more about this. In short, Li Tao could foresee the national crisis before it happened. He is a real prime minister! Therefore, I would definitely recommend Li Tao as prime minister.

No matter how hard Zhang Zhao tried to persuade him, Chai Rong remained unmoved and was unwilling to waste any more words with Zhang Zhao. He just left after saying "No matter what, Li Tao must not enter the Secretariat"

If Li Tao had really become the prime minister, perhaps there would have been a third accurate prediction - Zhao Kuangyin would have seized power.

Unfortunately, Chai Rong could not let go of his personal grudges and refused to allow Li Tao to become prime minister until his death.

2. Fan Zhi, “Debt Sejong a Death”

Fan Zhi was a "second-generation official". His father, Fan Shouyu, was the defense judge of Zhengzhou. He could write at the age of 9 and teach "Shangshu" to disciples at the age of 13. He passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi during the reign of Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang. During the Later Jin Dynasty, he was spotted by Prime Minister Sang Weihan and promoted to be his aide, and later became a Hanlin scholar and the editor of imperial edicts. Shi Chonggui's "Fifteen Generals to Resist Liao" edict was written by Fan Zhi. Almost all the edicts of the Later Han Dynasty were written by Fan Zhi, and he was praised by Guo Wei as "a prime minister's caliber". After Guo Wei became emperor, he really promoted him to be prime minister.

This has been described in detail in the previous article, so I will just briefly mention it here.

On the day Chai Rong passed away, he urgently summoned Fan Zhi to take care of his son; when Chai Zongxun ascended the throne, he promoted Fan Zhi to the rank of Grand Master of the Three Departments and conferred him the title of Duke of Xiao.

When Zhao Kuangyin returned to Bianzhou, Fan Zhi and Wang Pu had just finished attending the morning court and were having breakfast in the unit cafeteria (in the dining hall) when they suddenly heard the news that Zhao Kuangyin had returned to the city in a mutiny.

"He held Pu's hand and said, 'We are to blame for sending the generals in such a hurry.' His claws dug into Pu's hand and almost bled. Pu was speechless and could not answer."

Fan Zhi tightly grasped Wang Pu's hand and said regretfully, "We made a big mistake by sending the general hastily." I'm afraid it's not just a matter of not distinguishing the truth from the false and sending the general hastily. It was he who recommended Zhao Pu to Zhao Kuangyin; it was also he who, at the instigation of Zhao Kuangyin, tampered with the will of Emperor Shizong and prevented Wang Zhu from becoming prime minister.

Now, the whole story came to his mind, and the cruel reality broke his psychological defenses. Fan Zhi was extremely remorseful and excited. He grabbed Wang Pu with too much force, and his fingernails dug into Wang Pu's flesh, causing him to bleed. Wang Pu was so frightened by this sudden change that he was speechless.

Afterwards, the ferocious imperial guards pushed Fan Zhi and Wang Pu in front of Zhao Kuangyin.

Zhao Kuangyin was sobbing and saying that he was deeply indebted to Emperor Shizong and he dared not let him down, but he encountered a mutiny and they forced him to this point. What should he do?
At this time, Luo Yangui put his hand on his sword and said sternly: "We have no master, today we must get the emperor!" Zhao Kuangyin hurriedly shouted at him not to be rude to the prime minister. The more Zhao Kuangyin scolded, the more angry Luo Yangui and other soldiers became.

"Zhi and the others looked at each other, not knowing what to do. Wang Pu came down the steps and bowed first, and Zhi had no choice but to do the same."

After Zhao Kuangyin became emperor, he maintained the utmost respect for Fan Zhi. He repeatedly called on court officials to learn from Comrade Fan Zhi and personally praised him as "a true prime minister."

In the fourth year of the establishment of the Song Dynasty (964), Fan Zhi died of illness. Zhao Kuangyin and others expressed their regret and gave him high praise, but Zhao Guangyi left a comment on Fan Zhi that has been passed down through the ages: "It is a pity that you are missing the death of Emperor Shizong."

The previous article has analyzed the various efforts, or conspiracies, made by Zhao Kuangyin's group for the "Chenqiao Mutiny". In short, it cannot be considered Fan Zhi's fault for not being able to see through and prevent Zhao Kuangyin from usurping power. This pot is too heavy to bear. In addition, in order to maintain Zhao Kuangyin's glorious image, the people of the Song Dynasty were unwilling to exaggerate Fan Zhi's powerlessness and the huge power of the Zhao family. Therefore, Zhao Guangyi's sarcasm was particularly sharp.

You are powerless to stop Zhao from ascending the throne, but you can die unyielding and sacrifice your life for Zhou.

"Owing a death to Emperor Sejong" became an indelible stain on the life of the famous minister Fan Zhi.

(End of this chapter)