History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 904: The Battle between the Emperor and His Ministers

[The King and His Ministers Fight]

At first, Liu Chengjun had high hopes for Liu Jie'en. After he ascended the throne, he trained him as the crown prince and appointed him as the mayor of the capital, Taiyuan Prefecture, to train him. Unfortunately, Liu Jie'en perfectly inherited the genes of his father Xue Zhao, being mediocre, cowardly, stupid and cute, which made Liu Chengjun very angry.

Liu Chengjun even thought about deposing the eldest son and enthroning the youngest son. He said to Guo Wuwei, "Ji'en is filial and respectful to me. He is a good child, but he is not a man of great talent and cannot manage the family business. What should I do?"

This is a fatal question. Cao Cao was also wavering between Cao Pi and Cao Zhi, so he asked the great strategist Jia Xu, but Jia Xu kept silent. When Cao Cao questioned him, he seemed to answer the question irrelevantly, saying that he was distracted just now because he suddenly thought of Yuan Shao and Liu Biao. He tactfully expressed his support for Cao Pi's position, but without leaving any traces, and escaped unscathed from the issue of succession. Of course, it was Cao Pi who succeeded to the throne in the end, so Jia Xu was safe and sound. Imagine if it was Cao Zhi who succeeded to the throne, would Jia Xu, who "thought of Yuan Benchu ​​and Liu Jingsheng father and son", have a good ending?
Guo Wuwei certainly understood the danger of this issue, so he kept silent. The History of Song Dynasty records that Guo Wuwei "also said so", clearly stating his attitude of not supporting Liu Jie'en, but this record is questionable and may not be credible.

A new emperor chooses new ministers. Although Guo Wuwei did not slander Liu Jie'en, he did not speak well of him either, and he was not on the same page with Liu Jie'en. Therefore, Liu Jie'en was very disgusted with this important minister who was entrusted with the care of his son, and wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible.

Guo Wuwei also felt the danger, so he took the initiative and took the lead in sidelining Liu Jie'en.

According to etiquette, Liu Jie'en had to mourn for Liu Chengjun. Generally speaking, the new emperor could not sit on the throne before he was done with mourning, but had to meet with ministers in the side hall and handle state affairs. Especially with the precedent of Liu Chengjun, in order to show his filial piety, Liu Chengjun refused to replace days with months and observed mourning for Liu Chong for three years in a proper manner.

Liu Jie'en's image as a filial son forced him to wear mourning clothes and isolate himself at home in the Qinzheng Pavilion, like the story of Liu Chengjun. However, the entire organizational structure including civil and military officials continued to operate as usual in the Jinluan Palace (Taiyuan Prefecture). Therefore, the actual controller of the Northern Han court became Guo Wuwei, the prime minister and privy councilor.

This period is also known as the "Guo Wuwei dictatorship" period, and Liu Jie'en was sidelined from the beginning.

In response, Liu Jie'en used the old trick of promoting Guo Wuwei in name only but demoting him in reality, giving him the title of Sikong, but taking back his real power. From this moment on, the relationship between the monarch and his subjects broke down.

There is nothing wrong with the routine, but the timing and strategy must be considered. Although Liu Jie'en is now the emperor in name, he is a lone commander "alone in a room". All civil and military officials, and even the personal guards all obey Guo Wuwei. Choosing to break up with him openly at this time is tantamount to hitting a rock with an egg.

If nothing unexpected happens, Liu Jie'en will definitely have an accident.

One day in September, Hou Ba Rong, a general of the imperial guards, led a dozen people, armed with sharp blades, and broke into the Qinzheng Pavilion in broad daylight. He locked the door and then ran straight to Liu Jie'en. Liu Jie'en was shocked and staged a thrilling action scene in the pavilion, running around the screen and the pillar. In the end, Hou Ba Rong, who moved more coquettishly, stabbed Liu Jie'en in the chest.

Liu Jie'en was assassinated at the age of 34 and had been in power for only more than days.

According to records, Liu Jie'en had a distinctive appearance, "a big belly and a lot of beard, long on top and short on the bottom, a burly man on horseback and a dwarf on foot", meaning that he had a long upper body and short legs, a big belly, and a long beard, so when he got on a horse he looked like Guan Yu, but when he got off the horse he turned into a short-legged little corgi. His short legs and big belly limited his flexibility.

Liu Jie'en was not completely useless. Although he was not a talent for saving the world, he was very filial to Liu Chengjun. "He always visited Liu Jie'en in the morning and at night without violating any etiquette." When Liu Chengjun denied Liu Jie'en's ability to govern the country, he first affirmed his respect and filial piety.

In the "New History of the Five Dynasties", it is recorded that he held a banquet with ministers and royal family members. After the banquet, he rested alone in the pavilion, and then Hou Bayong entered the room and killed people.

Just after Hou Bayong murdered Liu Jie'en, Guo Wuwei brought his troops to "protect the emperor" in time. As the door of the attic was locked, Guo Wuwei ordered the soldiers to bring ladders and storm the attic, killing Hou Bayong and more than a dozen other assassins on the spot.

Guo Wuwei's actions made Liu Jie'en's murder case an eternal mystery.

At that time, there was a popular saying that Guo Wuwei was the mastermind behind the murder, who first ordered Hou Barong to kill Liu Jie'en and then killed Hou Barong. This saying has been passed down to this day and has become the mainstream view.

Afterwards, Guo Wuwei discussed with his ministers to support Liu Chengjun's other adopted son, Liu Jiyuan, Liu Jie'en's half-brother, as the new emperor.

Prime Minister Zhang Zhaomin objected, saying that neither Liu Jien nor Liu Jiyuan were authentic descendants of the Liu family, because in terms of blood relationship, both were grandsons of Liu Chong, and that we should establish Liu Chong's legitimate grandson, Liu Jiwen. Liu Jiwen had previously been detained while on a diplomatic mission to Khitan, so Zhang Zhaomin suggested communicating with the Khitans and inviting Liu Jiwen back to inherit the throne, which would not only stabilize the ancestral temple and the country, but also ease relations with the Khitans and ally Liao with them as foreign aid.

The magical operation of sending new monarchs back from other countries has been commonplace since the Spring and Autumn Period. Sometimes, in order to manipulate other countries, powerful countries will take the initiative to retain (detain) or send crown princes from other countries. For example, the Later Tang Dynasty warmly accepted Yelu Bei and the Jin Kingdom detained Emperors Huizong and Qinzong.

If the Northern Han took the initiative to invite Liu Jiwen, who was living in Liao, to return to the country to succeed the throne, it would certainly be a blessing from heaven for Liao, and the Liao's control over the Northern Han would be further deepened.

On the surface, it was a question of establishing a new emperor in the Northern Han Dynasty, but behind the scenes, it was a struggle for the line of the Northern Han Dynasty. Guo Wuwei rose to prominence by relying on Liu Chengjun's "anti-Liao line" and rose to prominence by excluding the "pro-Liao faction". He can be regarded as an "anti-Liao faction", while Zhang Zhaomin's "pro-Liao line" obviously shook the foundation of the power system headed by Guo Wuwei and ruined their political future. Guo Wuwei's group was in its heyday in the Northern Han Dynasty, and Zhang Zhaomin was alone, so in the end, there was no suspense and he supported Liu Jiyuan. Not long after, Zhang Zhaomin, who was not afraid of power, was killed by Guo Wuwei as expected.

After Liu Jiyuan ascended the throne, he continued to use Liu Chengjun's "Tianhui" era name and sent envoys to Liao to express his condolences, announce his accession to the throne, and ask for military rescue.

After hearing about the bloody coup in Northern Han, Zhao Kuangyin was delighted and wrote letters to persuade them to surrender, promising to grant Liu Jiyuan the title of Jiedushi of Pinglu Army in Qingzhou and Guo Wuwei the title of Jiedushi of Anguo Army in Xingzhou. In addition, there were more than 40 edicts to persuade them to surrender, granting generals such as Ma Feng and others, and promising to grant them vassal states.

Guo Wuwei was impressed by the Song Dynasty's sugar-coated bullets and persuaded Liu Jiyuan to surrender. From then on, Guo Wuwei turned into a "Song elite" and became a high-level spy for the Song Dynasty.

How could a "Xingzhou Anguo Army Jiedushi" control the Northern Han Prime Minister and Privy Councilor? Guo Wuwei was an underground worker who successfully infiltrated the enemy's army. This is an undisputed conclusion. People are more arguing about when he became an underground party member.

Some people say that he was one from the beginning, and they even say that when Guo Wuwei defected to Guo Wei, he had known Zhao Kuangyin and formed a deep friendship. From then on, Zhao Kuangyin was determined to become the emperor of the Central Plains, and Guo Wuwei also secretly lurked in Hedong Taiyuan from then on, and finally staged a wonderful Infernal Affairs several years later...

Tearing the almanac with eyes closed - nonsense.

According to the analysis of existing historical materials, Guo Wuwei's contact with Zhao Kuangyin should not have been as early as when he surrendered to Guo Wei, nor as late as when he sent a letter of persuasion to surrender with the enemy at the gates. Instead, it should have been at some point in between the two. The most likely time should be during the time period when Guo Wuwei was valued by Liu Chengjun, which is just over two years ago.

We can also analyze based on indirect evidence:
There had long been unofficial secret channels of communication between the Song Dynasty and the Northern Han, such as the "spies on the border". Liu Chengjun once played the victim by saying that he established rule over Hedong only because he was "fearing that the Han family would not feed him", which successfully moved Zhao Kuangyin and in return he obtained a gentleman's agreement to "let you make a living along the way".

Zhao Kuangyin once sent a high-level spy to the Northern Han Dynasty. The historical records recorded him as "Hui Lin". The method of sending him was similar to the "Zhou Yu beat Huang Gai" trick. Hui Lin's official identity was the commander of the Song Dynasty. He "fleeed from the crime" and surrendered to the Northern Han Dynasty. This time point should be after Guo Wuwei was reused. The shrewd Guo Wuwei saw through the Song Dynasty's trick at a glance, but he pretended not to know, cooperated in the play, took the initiative to help Hui Lin cover up, and promoted him to a sacrificial official.

We can boldly speculate that Guo Wuwei had already had the intention to submit to the Han Dynasty at this time, and took the initiative to communicate with the Song Dynasty through Huilin's secret channel.

After Liu Chengjun's death, when the Song Dynasty launched a large-scale northern expedition, Huilin fled to the Song Dynasty with a large amount of confidential information, but was intercepted by a patrol of the Northern Han Dynasty and sent back to Taiyuan. The official official Guo Wuwei who was in charge of the trial of this major spy case, as expected, dismissed the case as a false accusation, and made a big deal out of a small matter (let it go without asking).

But Hui Lin was caught red-handed, how could it be easily resolved by a "misunderstanding"? An official named Li Chao who participated in the arrest of Hui Lin was dissatisfied with Guo Wuwei's trial and was ready to report it to a higher level, post it on Weibo or YouTube, and make things worse. Guo Wuwei had spies in the court and got the news in advance, so he killed Hui Lin and Li Chao together.

Huilin probably never managed to pass the intelligence back to the Song Dynasty, and the only time he did so, he was caught in the act, so the Song Dynasty probably didn't know that Guo Wuwei had been "redified" by our side. Since the letter of persuasion to surrender could be delivered to Guo Wuwei, Guo Wuwei could take the opportunity to speak to Zhao Kuangyin. With just one word "Huilin", the Song Dynasty could feel Guo Wuwei's long-standing sincerity.

Therefore, in the "History of Song Dynasty", it is said that Guo Wuwei began to have the intention of surrendering from this moment (since then he began to have second thoughts and persuaded Ji Yuan to pay tribute, but Ji Yuan refused). In fact, it was not Guo Wuwei who began to have the intention of surrendering from this moment, but the Song Dynasty only knew that he had the intention from this moment.

Guo Wuwei hid more than 40 imperial edicts, including his own, and only presented the one to Liu Jiyuan, and then urged Liu Jiyuan to accept surrender.

Liu Jiyuan had just sat on the throne and was demoted to Jiedushi before he could even warm up to it? Of course he was unhappy, so he flatly refused to surrender and placed all his hopes on his Khitan father.

The famous Liao general Yelu Tale commanded tens of thousands of Khitan cavalry, using the cavalry's mobility advantage to attack thousands of miles to rush to Taiyuan.

Taiyuan City is a strong city. It has been besieged several times since the Five Dynasties. Both Zhu Wen and Chai Rong returned empty-handed. Now, Li Jixun and his men have been besieging for more than a month, but they have been unable to take the city and are in a stalemate. At this time, tens of thousands of Khitan cavalry have joined the battle, and the situation is extremely unfavorable to the Song army. After weighing the pros and cons, the commander Li Jixun ordered a retreat to preserve strength.

The Northern Han took the opportunity to counterattack and plundered Jin and Jiang provinces.

Zhao Kuangyin's first expedition to Taiyuan ended here.

Thanks to a very lucky friend, “Stinky Egg Guardian”, for his one-click three-ticket support (monthly ticket, recommendation ticket, reward)!

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(End of this chapter)