History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 877 Zhou Xingfeng's Governance of Chu (Part )
If Zhou Xingfeng's governance of Chu is well-received, then the stains and scandals he has can also be said to be too numerous to list.

First of all, they are suspicious and murderous.

Like other warlords, Zhou Xingfeng was born in poverty, started as a soldier, and relied on various conspiracies and tricks to rise to a high position step by step. What he worried most was that people around him would rebel, so he set up spy intelligence agencies throughout the country. The undercover investigations into corrupt officials mentioned above were only a sideline of the intelligence network, and their main job was to monitor their generals.

The history books did not give the details of the organizational structure of Zhou Xingfeng's intelligence agency, but indirectly explained their work performance: "Xingfeng was good at making plans and uncovering hidden dangers. If any general or soldier was planning rebellion or deserting, Xingfeng would be the first to discover it, capture and kill them, and his troops would be in awe."

The spies have penetrated every corner of the country, not to mention the officers and soldiers, even the ordinary soldiers are under surveillance. If Zhou Xingfeng thinks that he is suspected of treason or defection, then he will be mercilessly killed.

One day, Zhou Xingfeng learned that a certain general had gathered a dozen of his followers and plotted a rebellion, so he held a large banquet. At the banquet, the suspected rebel was tied up on the spot. Zhou Xingfeng pointed at his nose and cursed, saying, "I eat brown rice and wear shabby clothes every day. What is the point of being so frugal? Isn't it just to save money, fill the treasury, and support you people? Why do you want to rebel?"

Although it was a question, Zhou Xingfeng had no intention of listening to his explanation. He ordered his men to smash his head with a sledgehammer and kill him with a headshot.

The generals at the banquet were trembling, shaking like sieves. However, Zhou Xingfeng immediately changed his expression to a very relaxed and natural one, as if nothing had happened just now, "Oh, it has nothing to do with you, continue to play music and dance."

In another example, Zhou Xingfeng issued a nearly harsh KPI performance evaluation system to intelligence personnel. If they failed to complete it, they would be suspected of passive resistance at the least and convicted of being in collusion with the traitors at the worst. Intelligence agent Alexander.

Once, Zhou Xingfeng listened to the work report of the Shaozhou branch. Shaozhou was peaceful and prosperous, and there was nothing to report. However, under Zhou Xingfeng's great spiritual inspiration of "no problem means you have a problem", the intelligence personnel did not dare to bring disaster upon themselves, so they said vaguely, "I heard - just heard that Shaozhou Governor Liu Guangwei likes to party and drink."

The intelligence personnel thought that this way they could complete their mission without bringing any disaster to Comrade Liu Guangwei.

He was wrong.

Zhou Xingfeng's face changed and he said, "He often feasts. Is he trying to form a clique to cause chaos and plot against me?" He immediately ordered Liu Guangwei to come to the headquarters for a meeting. Innocent Liu Guangwei was killed without knowing what he had done wrong.

At the beginning, Wang Kui, Zhou Xingfeng and other "ten sworn brothers" started from scratch and started a business together. When Zhou Xingfeng was in charge of Southern Chu, He Jingzhen, Zhu Quanxiu, Zhang Qiong, Wang Kui and Pan Shusi had passed away one after another, leaving only Zhou Xingfeng, Pu Gongyi, Yuwen Qiong, Peng Wanhe and Zhang Wenbiao.

In the past few years, Zhou Xingfeng found various reasons to kill Pu Gongyi, Yuwen Qiong, and Peng Wanhe, leaving only Zhang Wenbiao.

Zhang Wenbiao was trembling with fear and walking on thin ice, knowing that Zhou Xingfeng was a man who could share hardships but not wealth, and that he would fall into his hands sooner or later. So he took the initiative to step down, handed over his military power (commander-in-chief of the personal guards, equivalent to Zhou Xingfeng's commander-in-chief of the imperial guards), and resigned and returned to Hengzhou (he was the governor of Hengzhou at the time), which was equivalent to the Southern Chu version of "releasing military power with a cup of wine."

After arriving in Hengzhou, Zhang Wenbiao "made generous gifts every year" and spent a lot of money on Langzhou to show his loyalty. Whenever Langzhou sent envoys to greet him (actually to monitor and inspect him), he respected all the envoys as much as he respected Zhou Xingfeng himself, and bribed them heavily. As a result, Zhang Wenbiao became the only one among the "Ten Brothers" who was not killed.

Of course, even though Zhang Wenbiao was so humble and submissive, Zhou Xingfeng had no intention of truly forgiving him. It was just that Zhou Xingfeng died too early and did not have the chance to do anything. The truth will be revealed later when you listen to what he said when he entrusted his son to Zhou Xingfeng.

In addition to being suspicious of his subordinates, old colleagues and other people who pose a threat to him, Zhou Xingfeng is also rather petty and narrow-minded and vindictive. Anyone who irritates him is in danger.

The path to power of the "Ten Brothers" was no different from that of other warlords in the late Tang and Five Dynasties. A group of illiterate and rough men seized power by force, and intellectuals were a scarce species in their leadership system. Zhou Xingfeng was very eager to get the support of scholars. During the Ma period, the most famous scholar and cultural figure in the local area was Xu Zhongya, a scholar of Tiance Mansion (equivalent to Hanlin scholar and Duanming Palace scholar).

Xu Zhongya was a man of outstanding literary talent and pride. When Ma Xifan first opened the Tiance Palace, he appointed 18 people including his staff Tuoba Heng as scholars of the Tiance Palace, and Xu Zhongya was one of them. Ma Xifan advocated extravagance, and Xu Zhongya repeatedly advised him to do so but to no avail. When Ma Xi'e overthrew Ma Xiguang, Xu Zhongya was completely disillusioned with the descendants of the Ma family, resigned from his post and retired, never to return to the public again. When Bian Hao destroyed Chu, Xu Zhongya fled to the wilderness, preferring to risk freezing and starving to death rather than being a "Chu traitor", and thus became even more loved by the people of Chu.

Zhou Xingfeng just heard that Xu Zhongya was very famous and was a favorite of the literati, so he issued a letter of appointment to make him his governor. The historical records say that "(Zhou Xingfeng) did not really know Zhongya, but just admired his reputation", just like the nouveau riche rushing to buy 82 Lafite, "I can't drink either, mainly because it's expensive!"

For Xu Zhongya, this appointment itself was a great insult.

As expected, when the letter of appointment was delivered, Xu Zhongya snorted contemptuously and said, "Before (during Ma Xiguang's period), Zhou Xingfeng couldn't find a way to ask me to do things, and now he wants me to be his deputy? Who are you humiliating? (Xingfeng used to serve me, why is he humiliating me as a clerk)" He claimed to be ill and did not come.

The messenger replied to Zhou Xingfeng, who was furious. He did not have the patience that Liu Bei had when he visited him three times. So he did what Zhang Fei wanted to do but failed to do - he ordered his men to tie up Xu Zhongya and bring him in front of him.

Zhou Xingfeng threw the letter of appointment in front of Xu Zhongya, "Don't be so shameless. Just one word, do it or not?"

Xu Zhongya stiffened his neck and said, "No!" Zhou Xingfeng was furious and wanted to kill him on the spot. However, Xu Zhongya was highly respected and even the bastards Ma Xifan, Ma Xiguang, Ma Xi'e and Ma Xicong did not dare to kill him. If you want to kill him, how can you win the hearts of the people of Chu?

Zhou Xingfeng suppressed his anger and exiled Xu Zhongya to Shaozhou.

Soon after, Zhou Xingfeng, who had calmed down, recalled Xu Zhongya and planned to bribe him again. Coincidentally, it was Zhou Xingfeng's birthday, and envoys from all provinces sent congratulations and compliments. Zhou Xingfeng finally experienced the emperor's addiction of "all nations coming to pay tribute", and his pride was beyond words.

Feeling proud, Zhou Xingfeng suddenly turned around and asked Xu Zhongya, "Since I took over the three-town military governorship, are the neighbors afraid of me?"

Xu Zhongya replied coldly, "I'm afraid."

Zhou Xingfeng curled his lips and was about to laugh out loud when he heard Xu Zhongya leisurely say the second half of the sentence:

"In the Shizhong territory, there are all kinds of Taibao, Sikong everywhere, how can the neighbors not be afraid!"

It turns out that since the beginning of the rebellion, the "Ten Brothers" group had to resort to the nasty routine of indiscriminate appointments and rewards in order to reward meritorious soldiers and appease the barbarians. It can be compared to the well-known Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which, in its tiny territory, appointed more than 2,700 "kings" from Hong Xiuquan onwards.

According to historical records, when Wang Kui and others first started to cause trouble, they recruited soldiers and bought horses, and won over troops. Anyone who could come to join the army was granted high positions such as Sikong and Taibao. At that time, there were countless hooligans and ruffians in the streets and fields of Langzhou, and those who were ranked as the Three Dukes were countless. During the reign of Zhou Xingfeng, "there were thousands of officials who were ranked as the Three Dukes".

In addition to those who have made contributions, Zhou Xingfeng and others would sometimes give titles and rewards based on their own subjective feelings. For example, a monk named "Renji" was trusted by Zhou Xingfeng, who even let him participate in the decision-making of major military affairs. Later, Zhou Xingfeng gave this monk the title of "Jianxiao Sikong" and married him several wives. He was accompanied by a guard of honor when he went out, and the specifications were like those of a prince.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was once ridiculed by a scholar in a couplet: "Unifying the country, fifty-seven and a half miles; the court is full of civil and military officials, all three hundred and sixty professions are complete."

Facing the upstart Zhou Xingfeng who was a monkey in human form and easily deceived by others, Xu Zhongya also satirized him with the eight characters "太宝都天，思空遍地".

Zhou Xingfeng was so angry that his head turned green.

A few days later, Zhou Xingfeng held another banquet for his staff and officers. Zhou Xingfeng's Mandarin was not very standard, with "barbarian accents" and many of his pronunciations were incorrect.

Xu Zhongya continued to sarcastically say: "Not cutting the tongue on May 5th has led to such a mistake."

On May 5th, the Dragon Boat Festival, there is a folk custom that people who raise starlings and parrots have their tongues cut on this day. It is said that this will help the birds to learn to speak.

Zhou Xingfeng was from Wuling, Langzhou. He was born in a poor peasant family. When he was young, he wandered around on the streets. Later, he committed a crime and was exiled to the copper mine in Chenzhou. He was marked with an indelible mark on his face. He then joined the army. Since ancient times, a large number of ethnic minorities have lived in Wuling. In the Han Dynasty, they were collectively called "Wuling barbarians". Think of the last warlord of Langzhou, Lei Man, who was "not a human being".

Therefore, Zhou Xingfeng had two major taboos. The first was being regarded as a "Wuling barbarian" or a barbarian. The second was his cultural level of burning books and burying scholars. By the way, the tattoos on his face were not his taboo. Some people advised him to use ointment to wipe them off or have a plastic surgery. But he said that the famous general Ying Bu of the Han Dynasty also had tattoos on his face, but he was still a great hero. So did I.

Xu Zhongya chose to use the parrot's imitation to kill two birds with one stone. He used the "barbarian sound" to mock his background, and also implied that he was pretentious and imitating others.

Zhou Xingfeng was so angry that he finally tore off his disguise of "respecting the wise and humble" and exiled Xu Zhongya to Shaozhou again. It was not that he did not want to kill him, but "because of Zhongya's reputation, he did not dare to punish him."

After being exiled, Xu Zhongya went to the mountains one day to cleanse his soul, and went to the temple to worship Buddha and think about life. Suddenly, he saw monks peeling palm bark. Inspiration burst out, and he immediately wrote a poem "Ode to the Palm Tree" to express his aspirations:
"The leaves are as green as new cattails, and the body is like a tangled brocade.

"No matter how hard you try, my spirit will soar to the sky."

"Complete Tang Poems" includes six works by Xu Zhongya.

If they dared not kill Xu Zhongya, a well-known cultural celebrity, what about ordinary people? Historical records show that "all people will be executed regardless of their mistakes", no matter what mistakes they made, they will all be sentenced to death. Other places advocate "everyone is equal before the law", while Zhou Xingfeng implemented "everyone is equal before the death penalty". Let's look at a few cases:

(End of this chapter)