History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 873 Internal Conflict among the Three Chus
[Internal strife among the three Chu states]

There are three major cities in Southern Chu, from north to south, namely Langzhou, Tanzhou, and Guizhou. Tanzhou is the capital of the separatist regime of Southern Chu, and its importance is naturally self-evident; Southern Chu has experienced several civil wars, all of which were power struggles between Langzhou and Tanzhou, and the importance of Langzhou can be seen at a glance; Guizhou is an important city in the south of Southern Chu, connected to Southern Han in the south, Southern Tang in the east, and overlooking the Min Kingdom. It is the hope port of the stars and the sea of ​​Southern Chu. If the horses are as ambitious as Ma Yin, then Guizhou will be the starting point for Southern Chu to dominate southern China.

Although the Three Towns Jiedushi were divided among Liu Yan, Wang Kui and He Jingzhen, Liu Yan's status was ranked ahead of Wang Kui. He not only had an additional honorary title of "Tongpingzhangshi", but also an additional title of "Zhizhiwuan, Jingjiang and other military affairs". In short, Liu Yan became the immediate superior of Wang Kui and others, and the Later Zhou Dynasty regarded Liu Yan as the regional agent of the Central Plains in the New South Chu.

Wang Kui was extremely angry and thought that Liu Yan was just a puppet of his, so he wanted to kill Liu Yan.

In Tanzhou, although He Jingzhen was appointed as the governor of Guizhou, he still lived in Tanzhou. He really did not regard himself as a guest, but treated Tanzhou as Guizhou. He acted like a governor, deployed guards, and opened a government office to work and try cases. At the same time, Zhu Quanxiu, the deputy governor of Tanzhou, also regarded himself as a regular official, deployed guards, worked and tried cases...

At one time, three top officials appeared in Tanzhou: Wang Kui, He Jingzhen, and Zhu Quanxiu. Each of them had an independent and complete organizational structure, and the people of Tanzhou were confused and didn't know whose orders to follow and whose signatures to ask.

In just two years, the "Ten Brothers" went from small soldiers to deserters, to the separatist forces in Langzhou, and then to the power center of Southern Chu today. Most of them were so addicted to the joy of victory that they achieved class crossing too easily. However, as the "Book of Changes" says "virtue carries the world", their inner cultivation obviously could not keep up with the changes in the external environment.

Whenever there was a banquet, these so-called Jiedushi and Jiedushi deputy envoys would play finger-guessing games, drink and shout loudly. After all, they were deputy provincial-level cadres, but they were no different from street hooligans and gamblers. How disgraceful!

Whenever Wang Kui wanted to rectify discipline and show off his authority as a "Jiedushi", these guys would always smile and hug each other, saying "we are close buddies" and "we are good friends". They had no concept of hierarchy, or they didn't take Wang Kui, the leader, seriously at all. Forget about being a Jiedushi. Even if you became the emperor today, you guys would still call you "Little Kui", right, Brother Kui?

Only Zhou Xingfeng and Zhang Wenbiao "treated Wang Kui with utmost courtesy", so Wang Kui was closest to them; while He Jingzhen and Zhu Quanxiu were the most unruly and were hated by Wang Kui the most.

As expected, Southern Chu, ruled by the "Ten Brothers", soon split into three major factions:
1. Langzhou Marginal System
Base: Langzhou
Key figure: Liu Yan
Although Wang Kui's "Restoration Movement" achieved the expected results, he also lost control of Langzhou, which allowed Liu Yan to get rid of the shackles of the "Ten Brothers" group to a certain extent and gain an absolute advantage in politics.

2. Tanzhou Core System
Base: Tanzhou
Key characters: Wang Kui, Zhou Xingfeng, Zhang Wenbiao
The main force of the former Langzhou rebels had a weak foundation but developed rapidly and had an absolute advantage in military terms.

3. Guizhou Branch Family
Base: None, temporarily living in Tanzhou

Core figures: He Jingzhen, Zhu Quanxiu
This faction was originally a "core faction" and was a member of Wang Kui's "Ten Brothers". After the revolution achieved some success, they were overwhelmed by the ecstasy of victory and planned to compete with their eldest brother Wang Kui and split up. As a result, they became alienated from Wang Kui and other core members and gradually developed a rift. Whether in politics, military, or economy, this faction did not have any advantages.

The contradictions between the three factions quickly formed and deteriorated sharply, making the situation in Hunan unstable. Finally, the "family separation faction" decided to separate from the eldest brother Wang Kui, and He Jingzhen and Zhu Quanxiu led their troops to leave Tanzhou and return to Langzhou.

He Jingzhen was the governor of Jingjiang Army in Guizhou. After leaving Tanzhou, he should have gone to Guizhou. If he really went to Guizhou, a new "three-legged tripod" would be formed in Southern Chu, with Lang, Tan, and Gui dividing Hunan. But He Jingzhen returned to Langzhou. His motive was obvious. He wanted to annex Liu Yan, a marginal member of Langzhou, as a "core member of Wang Kui's group" and a revolutionary predecessor.

Liu Yan was terrified. He was not aware that He Jingzhen and Wang Kui had already had a conflict, but he believed that He Jingzhen was sent by Wang Kui to murder him. Because to the "Ten Brothers" group, Liu Yan had lost his usefulness, and there was a serious conflict of interest. It was only a matter of time before the two sides would show their true colors.

In order to protect himself, Liu Yan actively tried to win over He Jingzhen. The relationship between Liu Yan and He Jingzhen was quite delicate. In order to fight against Wang Kui, Liu Yan and He Jingzhen formed an alliance on the surface, but in fact, Liu Yan was more afraid of He Jingzhen, the "undercover" around him.

Just as Liu Yan could not figure out the relationship between Wang Kui and He Jingzhen, Wang Kui was also unsure about the relationship between Liu Yan and He Jingzhen. Everyone was looking at flowers in the fog and the moon in the water. The three major forces each had their own little calculations.

Wang Kui gradually felt empty, lonely and cold. His brothers left him one after another, some set up their own factions and some turned against each other. Seeing that Southern Chu was about to fall apart again, he called his confidant Zhou Xingfeng to discuss countermeasures.

Zhou Xingfeng analyzed the enemy relationship thoroughly in just two sentences, saying that Liu Yan was "not of our race, and his heart must be different." This guy was not of the same mind as us, and he would become our enemy sooner or later, so there was no need to be surprised; as for He Jingzhen and Zhu Quanxiu, these two people are too ambitious. Since they are unwilling to be your younger brothers, they will not sincerely be Liu Yan's vassals. Their alliance is even more of a bed in the same bed but different dreams, and it is easy to break it. Wang Kui's eyes lit up, and he suddenly understood, "You are so right! So, you help me eradicate these scourges, and from now on, the two brothers will rule Hunan together!"

Wang Kui was so excited that he claimed that he would "rule Tan and Lang together with Zhou Xingfeng." Like many historical figures, his words came true. Later, Zhou Xingfeng really became the ruler of Hunan.

How to get rid of Liu Yan and He Jingzhen's "Lang and Gui merge"? Zhou Xingfeng offered Wang Kui a clever plan.

At that time, the Southern Han was still encroaching on the territory of the Southern Chu in the north of the Ling Mountains. Zhou Xingfeng came to Langzhou and said that the Southern Han's offensive was too fierce and that it was necessary to send generals such as He Jingzhen and Zhu Quanxiu to the south to resist the enemy.

As Zhou Xingfeng expected, Liu Yan was more afraid of He Jingzhen than Wang Kui. Liu Yan took the bait and thought this was a good opportunity to get rid of He Jingzhen's threat, so he immediately appointed He Jingzhen as the commander-in-chief of the Zhengnan Army Group (South Camp Recruiting Envoy) and Zhu Quanxiu as the vanguard, and led more than a hundred of his guards to the south to resist the enemy.

How could a hundred or so soldiers resist the Southern Han? This was the tacit agreement between Liu Yan and Zhou Xingfeng: "Lead a hundred or so guardsmen and join forces with the Tanzhou troops to resist the Southern Han." The commander-in-chief and vanguard officers were He Jingzhen and Zhu Quanxiu, but the main force of the army heading south was the Tanzhou troops.

In Liu Yan's view, this would not only preserve the strength of Langzhou, but also send He Jingzhen and Zhu Quanxiu away, and weaken the strength of Wang Kui of Tanzhou, and weaken the strength of the two factions with the help of Southern Han, thus killing two birds with one stone.

As soon as He Jingzhen and Zhu Quanxiu arrived at Tanzhou, they were treated with special courtesy by Wang Kui. Wang Kui "welcomed" them in the suburbs, with a big smile on his face, and hosted a banquet for them. "The banquet lasted for days," they talked happily, calling each other elder and younger, and were extremely affectionate. Wang Kui also specially prepared a large group of charming beauties (mostly beautiful prostitutes) for the lustful He Jingzhen, and He Jingzhen was deeply moved, "Brother, you are really good at judging people!"

Although the Southern Han had made many moves, Zhou Xingfeng had obviously exaggerated the situation on the border intentionally, using this as an excuse to make a point. This could be compared to the "Khitan invasion of the south" in the "Chenqiao mutiny". Zhou Xingfeng's plan was to use the "Southern Han invasion" to trick He Jingzhen and Zhu Quanxiu to Tanzhou, and then use the familiar Hongmen Banquet routine.

He Jingzhen was surrounded by beauties and immediately said that he would not leave. Whoever wanted to go south could go, but he was not leaving.

There were 3,000 Langzhou troops stationed in Tanzhou City. He Jingzhen ordered this army to move south first in the name of the commander-in-chief.

These three thousand people were indignant. You were living a life of debauchery in Tanzhou, but you sent us to the north of the mountains to die? The army mutinied as soon as they left the city. Under the leadership of the junior officer Fu Hui, they kidnapped the supreme commander (commander-in-chief) Li Zhongqian and returned to Langzhou without permission.

After sending away the 3,000 Langzhou soldiers, Wang Kui was finally able to attack He Jingzhen and Zhu Quanxiu. While He Jingzhen was drunk, Wang Kui sent someone to disguise himself as an envoy of Langzhou Liu Yan, and publicly rebuked He Jingzhen and others, saying, "The Southern Han invaded the border, and the situation is critical. Instead of going south to resist the enemy, you are here to indulge in debauchery. Liu Yan has ordered that you be taken back to Langzhou in chains to await your punishment!"

The three thousand Langzhou soldiers in Tanzhou City were the confidence of He Jingzhen and Zhu Quanxiu. The reason why they dared to bring more than a hundred people to Tanzhou was because they had these three thousand "own people" under the elbows of Wang Kui of Tanzhou. When He Jingzhen's eyes were blurred and he transferred them away in a muddle, Zhu Quanxiu felt something was wrong. When he looked at Wang Kui who suddenly smiled all day, he felt more and more that there must be something fishy. When he heard that Liu Yan of Langzhou sent an envoy to Tanzhou, Zhu Quanxiu secretly cried out that something was wrong and ran away immediately.

Although Zhu Quanxiu never understood Zhou Xingfeng's conspiracy until his death, he at least knew that there was a big conspiracy. In contrast, He Jingzhen was beheaded without knowing why, and he didn't know whether it was Liu Yan or Wang Kui who wanted to kill him.

Wang Kui had already laid a net inside and outside Tanzhou, and Zhu Quanxiu and his dozen of men were ultimately unable to escape Tanzhou and were all killed by Wang Kui.

The deceitful murder of He Jingzhen and Zhu Quanxiu was only the first step of Zhou Xingfeng's "three-step plan", and the second step would follow.

(End of this chapter)