History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 893: The Later Lord Meng Chang (Part )

On January 965, 19, Wang Quanbin led the main force to Chengdu and attended the surrender ceremony, marking the official demise of the Later Shu. It took only days from the time the Song Dynasty sent troops to the time the surrender was accepted. The Song Dynasty recovered one prefecture (Chengdu Prefecture), states, counties, and households from the Later Shu.

Meng Chang sent his younger brother to Bianzhou with a letter to apologize, and also wrote letters to powerful ministers of the Song Dynasty to beg for mercy.

Zhao Kuangyin issued an edict to comfort you, saying that since you were able to seal the treasury and surrender voluntarily, it meant that you had reformed your ways. Don't worry, I won't go back on my word.

Afterwards, Meng Chang and his family moved eastward by boat to Jiangling, where Zhao Kuangyin sent Dou Yan to greet and comfort them. In April, they arrived in Xiangzhou, where Zhao Kuangyin sent envoys to comfort them again, giving them tea and medicine, granting Meng Chang the privilege of being honored without a name, and calling his mother "Mother of the Nation". In May, near Bianzhou, Zhao Kuangyin sent his younger brother, the Prince of Jin, Zhao Guangyi, to greet them outside the city, and on June 4, they officially entered Bianzhou.

Meng Chang, along with his younger brother, son, and 32 other officials including Li Hao, entered the palace, wearing white caps and plain clothes, standing in a row, submitting their surrender letter, and kneeling on the ground to await punishment. During this period, Meng Chang and Zhao Kuangyin presented and gave gifts to many people, which need not be elaborated.

Zhao Kuangyin appointed Meng Chang as the acting grand tutor and minister of the imperial court, and conferred him the title of Duke of Qin, and allowed him to be supported in Bianzhou with the salary of a military governor. All the ministers from Li Hao onwards were rewarded with titles.

Just seven days later, Meng Chang died of illness at the age of 7. In his last will and testament, he asked the Song Dynasty to show mercy and treat his family well. Zhao Kuangyin stopped court for five days, posthumously awarded him the title of Shangshu Ling, posthumously conferred him the title of King of Chu, and gave him the posthumous title of "Gongxiao".

After Meng Chang died, his mother, Queen Dowager Li, did not cry. Instead, she poured wine on the ground and said, "You don't want the king to die for the country, and you want to live in disgrace. The reason I'm still alive is that I still miss you. If you die, what's the point of me living?" Then she fasted for five days and died.

The Empress Dowager Li was originally a concubine of Li Cunxu, and was given to Meng Zhixiang. She was the biological mother of Meng Chang. She was discerning, sensible, kind and frugal. She often taught Meng Chang that success comes from diligence and thrift, while failure comes from extravagance. When she saw Meng Chang promoting Wang Zhaoyuan and others to take charge of military power, she advised Meng Chang:
"I have personally witnessed Li Cunxu's destruction of the Later Liang Dynasty, and personally experienced the bloody battle between Liang and Jin for more than ten years. I have also witnessed the late emperor's resistance to the Khitan in Hedong and his entry into Sichuan to settle the two Sichuans. All those who have achieved great things must follow a basic principle, that is, unless the generals have made great contributions, they cannot be granted military power, so the soldiers are afraid of them. Now, Wang Zhaoyuan is your servant, and Yi Shenzheng, Han Baozhen, and Zhao Chongtao are all dandies, who are still wet behind the ears and do not know military affairs. They have no achievements but command the army only by personal relationships. People dare not say anything at ordinary times, but once an emergency occurs, I am afraid no one is willing to work for them. In my opinion, only Gao Yanchou is our old minister in Hedong, loyal to the Meng family, and both wise and brave. He is the one who deserves to be reused."

Have you ever seen a pig run before you have eaten pork? Empress Dowager Li witnessed the glorious moments of Zhuangzong Li Cunxu and the establishment of the Later Shu regime. The salt she had eaten was saltier than the rice Meng Chang had eaten. In particular, her predictions about Wang Zhaoyuan and others taking control of the military power were accurate. Later, the performance of the Shu army was exactly as Empress Dowager Li predicted. However, Meng Chang refused to listen to his mother.

When Queen Mother Li arrived in Bianzhou, Zhao Kuangyin ordered people to carry her to the palace in a sedan chair, and then let the palace maids and concubines support her to the hall. He also personally poured wine for her to calm her down, respectfully called her "Mother of the Country", and said, "I know you often educate and advise Meng Chang, but it's a pity that the child is disobedient. These things have nothing to do with you. I know that people hope to return to their roots when they get older. You must miss Shu very much. Don't worry, I will send someone to escort you back to Chengdu in two days."

Empress Dowager Li's words made Zhao Kuangyin tremble with joy. "Yes, I want to return to my roots, but my ancestral home is Taiyuan in Hedong. I hope Your Majesty will send me back to my hometown in Taiyuan."

This implies that Zhao Kuangyin will soon be able to destroy the Northern Han and recover Hedong. Zhao Kuangyin was so happy that he said, "Thank you for your good words! Don't worry, I will do it!" (The emperor was very happy and said, "Wait until Liu Chengjun is defeated, and then I will fulfill the wish of the Queen Mother.")
After Empress Dowager Li died of hunger strike, Zhao Kuangyin was saddened for a long time and ordered her to be buried with royal rites (the same as Meng Chang) in Luoyang.

Since Meng Zhixiang seized control of Shu during the reign of Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang, two generations of father and son ruled Shu for more than 30 years. During this period, Shu basically maintained peace and stability, and its economy developed rapidly, becoming one of the most prosperous and wealthy regions during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

According to historical records, "Since Sichuan has been at peace for a long time, a dou of rice costs only three coins, the young men in the capital do not know the difference between beans and wheat, and gold coins are plentiful."

As mentioned above, in peacetime, the price of a dou of rice was about four coins. Only during the "Kaiyuan Reign" and "Zhenguan Prosperity" would a dou of rice cost three coins. From this perspective, the economy of the Later Shu had reached the peak of feudal agricultural society. The fact that the "children of the capital" had never seen what crops looked like in the fields also reflected the development of industry and commerce in Shu and the rapid and mature progress of urbanization. So the question is, why was the prosperous and wealthy Later Shu so vulnerable? This starts with the story of Meng Chang, the king who lost his country.

1. Bones Surprise

At the end of the Tang Dynasty and the beginning of the Five Dynasties, a strange man appeared in Youzhou. He shaved his head and became a monk when he was young. He served a certain monk for more than ten years and was loved by the monk. So the monk taught him the art of bone reading and identification. After learning, he returned to his hometown and became a layman. It is said that he had a high level of attainment in bone reading and soon became famous in Hebei.

One day, Lu Cheng and two friends came to visit. After the three of them left, he told the people around him that Lu Cheng would have a good future, but it was a pity for the two brothers, who would die next spring. In the early spring of the following year, the two died on time, while Lu Cheng became the prime minister during the reign of Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang.

This master of prediction has appeared many times in the previous part of this book. He is the famous fortune teller of the Five Dynasties - Zhou Yuanbao.

When Zhou Yuanbao came to Taiyuan, he was trusted and respected by Zhang Chengye. In order to test his ability, Zhang Chengye deliberately let Li Siyuan wear the clothes of an ordinary soldier and mix him among the sentries on duty. Then he asked an ordinary soldier to wear Li Siyuan's clothes, and then pretended nothing happened and led Zhou Yuanbao to meet "Li Siyuan". Before Zhang Chengye finished the introduction, Zhou Yuanbao pointed at the real Li Siyuan and said: "I think this man has amazing bones, more like the Nei Ya Taibao (a respectful title for Li Siyuan)." Li Siyuan and Zhang Chengye were amazed.

Once, a concubine named Xia accidentally angered Li Siyuan, so Li Siyuan used a wooden stick to beat her. Zhou Yuanbao quickly stopped him, saying that this woman had the status of a marquis' wife and would give birth to a son. Li Siyuan then stopped domestic violence and loved her even more. Not long after, Li Siyuan led Zhenzhou to become a vassal state, and Xia really became a "marquis' wife". Xia also gave birth to a son named Li Congrong, who was later Li Siyuan's Empress Zhaoyi.

Sima Kui, the judge of Taiyuan Jiedushi, came to Zhou Yuanbao for fortune-telling. Zhou Yuanbao counted on his fingers and said that he would go on a long journey in five days, and it would be a one-way trip. Sima Kui was puzzled, and a few days later he got drunk and his collar strangled his neck, and he died.

After Li Siyuan ascended the throne, he recalled Zhou Yuanbao's accurate predictions and could not help but admire him from the bottom of his heart, so he planned to summon him to the palace so that he could tell his fortune and pray for blessings and avoid disasters at any time. Prime Minister Zhao Feng strongly dissuaded him, saying that if the emperor endorsed him and live-streamed his products, then officials and vassal states from all directions would certainly rush to ask him for good or bad luck, and if he deceived people... the consequences would be disastrous!
Li Siyuan suddenly came to his senses and gave up the idea, and only rewarded Zhou Yuanbao with some gold, silver and jewelry.

There is another "Hebei Gang" mentioned in the previous article that has intersections with it, and that is the living fossil of the Five Dynasties, the "tumbler prime minister" Feng Dao. When fellow villagers meet, they will kill you without negotiation. It is said that Feng Dao once offended Zhou Yuanbao in Taiyuan. When the organization planned to promote Feng Dao, a fellow villager from Youzhou, Zhou Yuanbao strongly opposed it, saying that I have secretly observed him carefully and this person has no future and cannot be reused.

When Zhang Chengye was wondering, Lu Zhi spoke up for Feng Dao, saying that he had seen the portrait of Du Huangshang, a famous prime minister in the Tang Dynasty, and that Feng Dao looked exactly like Du Huangshang. He told him not to listen to Zhou Yuanbao's nonsense. As a result, Feng Dao was given an important position. This is the story of "Looks like Sikong" mentioned above.

Some people say that this was Zhou Yuanbao's only mistake, and that he misjudged Feng Dao. In fact, it was because Feng Dao had offended him, and he deliberately took revenge on Feng Dao.

When Meng Zhixiang was in Taiyuan, he asked Zhou Yuanbao to read the bones of his children. Zhou Yuanbao immediately picked Meng Chang and said that this child had amazing bones and must be treated with special favor. A few days later, Meng Zhixiang took the opportunity of inviting a troupe to perform in his mansion and invited Zhou Yuanbao to his mansion again, asking him to observe Meng Chang carefully in secret and calculate how amazing he was.

Zhou Yuanbao looked at him for a long time, then whispered to Meng Zhixiang: "He is no ordinary man. He has been the hegemon for forty years!" Meng Zhixiang then loved Meng Chang even more.

(End of this chapter)