History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 869 All Good Things Must Come to an End 5
2.2 Guo Congyi

Unlike Wu Xingde, a poor woodcutter and "mule and horse noble", Guo Congyi is a member of the royal family of the Tang Dynasty. Of course, since Guo Congyi's surname is Guo, he is definitely not a genuine descendant of the Li Tang royal family. His title of "royal family of the Tang Dynasty" requires some detours and some corners to be used to barely get a little bit of recognition.

Specifically, although his surname is Guo now, his surname was Li before. The reason he had the surname Li is because his father had the surname Li, and the reason his father had the surname Li is because his father's godfather had the surname Li, and the reason his father's godfather had the surname Li is because his father's godfather had the surname Li. So what was the surname of his great-great-grandfather before? The answer is: Zhuye, also written as "Zhuye".

That’s right, the Shatuo Black Flag.

In fact, as a pure-blooded Shatuo, Guo Congyi's father did not have a surname. Although he was born in a humble family, he was smart, sensible, cautious, and had the support of Li Keyong, the savior of the Shatuo people. Li Keyong arranged him to be with his son Li Cunxu. Simply put, the old man was Li Cunxu's confinement nanny.

Soon, the old man's work achievements were recognized by Li Keyong and his son, so he was given the surname Li and the name "Shao Gu", so the old man finally had a name - Li Shao Gu. Through the previous description of the rise of the Hedong Group, the status of the word "Shao" does not need to be explained too much. "Shao" is the same as "Cun" and is mostly given to generals who surrendered to Jin, such as Li Shaoqi (Xia Luqi), Li Shaorong (Yuan Xingqin), Li Shaobin (Zhao Dejun), etc.

When Li Shaogu died, his son was still young (丱角), so Li Cunxu raised him in the palace and placed him on par with other princes. He named him "Li Congyi" and ranked him in the "Cong" generation, making him the same generation as Li Congrong, Li Conghou, and Li Congke.

When Li Shaogu was alive, he had a close relationship with one of Li Keyong's adopted sons, Li Siyuan. So when Li Siyuan became emperor, Li Shaogu's son Li Congyi was not included in the "Zhuangzong remnants" and was liquidated, but was trusted and promoted by Li Siyuan.

After the establishment of the Later Jin Dynasty, Li Congyi hurriedly distanced himself from the previous dynasty and changed his surname to "Guo". According to him, his father's surname was Guo. This is also recorded in history books, but it does not stand up to scrutiny. As mentioned before, the Shatuo people, like other nomadic peoples, had no surnames at all. Even the leader of the Shatuo people, Zhuye, was also the name of a tribe according to some historical records. Later, it was used as a surname by its leader, and then the surname Li was given by the Li Tang royal family.

How could he be surnamed Guo when he was a servant of Li Keyong? Even if his surname was Guo, what was his name? Guo Shaogu? "Shaogu" was given by Li Cunxu, and it was a buy one get one free deal, so he was given the surname Li first.

In short, when the Later Jin Dynasty was established, Li Congyi changed his name to "Guo Congyi" and changed his deceased father's name to "Guo Shaogu" to distance himself from the Shatuo Li clan.

Even so, Guo Congyi was still not welcomed and excluded in the Later Jin Dynasty. He was first demoted from the court and sent to Suzhou as the deputy envoy of the militia. Soon after, he was dismissed and returned to his hometown to mourn his mother. When the mourning period was over, he was not recalled by the court. His funeral leave was a lifetime vacation. He was abandoned by the Later Jin Dynasty.

A blessing in disguise. He was a Shatuo man, and his hometown was in Taiyuan Prefecture, Hedong. At that time, Liu Zhiyuan was in charge of Hedong. Liu Zhiyuan had heard of his name for a long time, so he took him under his command and appointed him as the commander of the cavalry and infantry. When the Khitan destroyed the Jin Dynasty, Guo Congyi was the first to express his firm support for Liu Zhiyuan to become emperor, and became an important confidant of Liu Zhiyuan.

After Liu Zhiyuan proclaimed himself emperor, he immediately promoted Guo Congyi to the position of Zhengzhou Defense Commissioner. He was rewarded with the title of Jiedushi of Zhenning Army for his meritorious service in defeating Du Chongwei; and was promoted to Jiedushi of Chang'an Yongxing Army and Tongpingzhangshi for his meritorious service in defeating Zhao Siwan (who led the three-town rebellion).

During the Later Zhou Dynasty, Guo Congyi's high emotional intelligence and keen political mind once again won him the favor of fate. At that time, Chai Rong had just ascended the throne and lacked the support of his own forces. Guo Congyi took the initiative to leave the town and go to the court to show his loyalty to his new master. When he heard that Chai Rong was going to lead the army in person to attack the Northern Han, Guo Congyi immediately expressed his willingness to accompany him. As a result, "Emperor Shizong was very pleased" and immediately changed his appointment to the governor of Tianping Army in Yunzhou, and ordered him to block the Khitan in Shandong with Fu Yanqing. Afterwards, he was rewarded for his merits and concurrently served as the Minister of the Central Secretariat.

During the "Three Expeditions to Huainan", he moved his garrison to Xuzhou; after Chai Zongxun ascended the throne, he was given the title of Kaifu Yitong Sansi.

In the early Song Dynasty, he was promoted to the position of Zhongshu Ling. When Zhao Kuangyin personally led an expedition against Li Chongjin in Yangzhou, Guo Congyi prostrated himself on the roadside and asked to accompany him. Zhao Kuangyin issued an imperial edict but Guo Congyi was not allowed to follow him. Later, Guo Congyi moved his garrison to Hezhong.

In the first year of Kaibao (968), he went to the capital for recuperation due to illness and just happened to catch the dinner party the following year.

In the second year of Kaibao, at the "Releasing Military Power with a Cup of Wine" 2.0, Guo Congyi followed Wu Xingde and told his revolutionary history with red faces, attempting to make a last-ditch effort and hold on to fame and fortune.

Because of his father's relationship, Guo Congyi was raised by Li Cunxu, the Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang, since he was a child. He entered politics during the reign of Li Siyuan, the Emperor Mingzong. He was born smart, good at observing people's words and expressions, and had a keen political sense. He showed outstanding high emotional intelligence in the Later Jin, Later Han, and Later Zhou dynasties, and lived a prosperous life. However, his emotional intelligence dropped during this drinking party.

Maybe it’s not that his emotional intelligence has really dropped, but he just doesn’t want to lose fame and fortune.

In the end, he was forced to surrender his military power and was granted the title of "General of the Left Jinwu Guard". Guo Congyi knew that his time had passed and that he was lucky to land safely, so the next year, he took the initiative to submit a petition, stating that he was old and weak, and requested to retire and return home, and even gave up the title of "General of the Left Jinwu Guard".

Afterwards, Guo Congyi retired as the Prince's Grand Tutor and returned home to enjoy his old age. He enjoyed his old age for two years, and died of illness in the fourth year of Kaibao (971) at the age of 63. He was posthumously awarded the title of Minister of the Central Secretariat. Although Guo Congyi was not a member of the royal family, he grew up in the palace with the princes because of his father. He was influenced by top arts since he was a child, so he was multi-talented, and his best skills were calligraphy and football.

Once, Zhao Kuangyin suddenly got interested and said to him, "I heard you are good at playing football, show me a show." Guo Congyi, who was in his sixties, immediately put on his football jersey, rode on his donkey, and galloped around the palace, using all the wonderful moves he had learned in his life, dodging and moving, to show Taizu what it means to be an Olympic champion.

Zhao Kuangyin nodded repeatedly, praised him endlessly, and then ordered someone to give him a seat. Guo Congyi panted and thanked Long En, feeling extremely excited, because according to the normal routine, he should be rewarded heavily. However, Zhao Kuangyin only gave him a cold and sarcastic remark: "Your ball skills are indeed great, but this is not what a general should do!"

Guo Congyi was suddenly filled with shame and embarrassment.

The history books do not record the exact time when this incident occurred. The general time should be after the establishment of the Song Dynasty and before the banquet in the second year of Kaibao. Guo Congyi came to the capital to recuperate before November of the first year of Kaibao, so this incident should have happened between these two years, and Guo Congyi should have been around 11 years old.

Why did Zhao Kuangyin deliberately humiliate Guo Congyi? It is very likely to pave the way for the "Release Military Power with a Cup of Wine" 2.0 banquet. "Not what a general or a prime minister should do." Since you, Guo Congyi, are so smart, please carefully taste my words. Please taste them carefully.

Guo Congyi also had a stain. It happened when he was suppressing the rebellion of Zhao Siwan in Chang'an. When Zhao Siwan launched the rebellion, the Chang'an patrol officer Qiao Shouwen fled, and Zhao Siwan took advantage of the situation to occupy Qiao Shouwen's concubines. After Guo Congyi recaptured Chang'an, he took these concubines as his own. After Qiao Shouwen returned to the city, he asked Guo Congyi for them. Guo Congyi then held him accountable for the crime of leaving his post without permission and abandoning the city and escaping, and had Qiao Shouwen executed. The previous article has detailed descriptions.

Let’s take a look at Guo Congyi’s descendants:
Philosophers:

Guo Shouzhong, who was promoted to the position of Deputy Envoy of Xianju;

Guo Shouxin served as the Eastern Shanggemen Envoy and the Governor of Xingzhou.

Grandchildren:

Guo Shilong (son of Guo Shouxin) was a member of the Ministry of Personnel.

Great-grandchildren:

Guo Zhaoyou, the gatekeeper of the cabinet;
Guo Chengyou, this is the last glory of the Guo family, but also the greatest shame. This man actually has no talent, but he married a good wife, the daughter of Zhao Yuanqi, who is the seventh son of Emperor Taizong of Song, Zhao Guangyi. In other words, Guo Chengyou is the grandson-in-law of Emperor Taizong of Song.

Relying on this connection, Guo Chengyou rose to prominence and had a smooth journey.

Guo Chengyou was cunning by nature and arrogant because of his favor. His criminal path was not limited to minor crimes. He completely opened up his pattern and committed all kinds of large-scale treason and usurpation, including but not limited to stealing imperial wine, illegally using imperial gold utensils, illegally riding imperial horses, illegally filing reports on cracking down on crime, killing criminal suspects without authorization, embezzling public funds, privately opening state secret letters, detaining garrison soldiers, abusing lynching... In short, he was "arrogant and presumptuous, and had no etiquette as a subject." The extermination of his nine clans was considered an exception, but just because he married the granddaughter of Emperor Taizong, everything else was just a cloud.

At the central government level, Guo Chengyou was tyrannical and domineering. All officials feared him and the censors hated him, so he was nicknamed the "Military Censor". At the local level, he had "no integrity" and the people were "disgusted with him".

In summary, he is a man of bad mouth and hands, disliked by everyone and annoying to dogs, with a face full of desire for death, and exuding the youthful aura of seeking death from the prostate to the tonsils, from the inside out and from the bottom to the top. He is the grandson-in-law of Emperor Taizong of Song, the nephew-in-law of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, the great-grandson of Guo Congyi, and the fifth-generation grandson of Li Keyong - Comrade Guo Chengyou.

Of course, whenever Guo Chengyou went too far and was impeached by the censors, Guo Chengyou would receive a symbolic punishment, but he would be promoted again after each demotion. In the central government, he was demoted from the captain of the imperial palace security (Zuo Qing Dao Rate Fu Rate) to a ministerial-level cadre (Xuan Hui Nan Yuan Shi); in the local government, he was demoted from the secretary of the municipal party committee (Bie Jia) to a provincial high-ranking official and commander of the provincial military region (Jie Du Shi).

If Guo Congyi knew after his death, I wonder whether he would smile in the grave or not.

(End of this chapter)