History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 952 So close, so far

So close, so far

Before Han Xizai sneaked to Huainan, he parted with his good friend Li Gu in tears. During the meal, the two talked about their hearts and expressed their lofty ambitions. The intellectuals were so elegant in boasting, leaving us the idiom "taking things from the bag".

At that time, Han Xizai was determined to become prime minister, to fully display his talents and realize his lofty ambitions.

He was knowledgeable and had keen insight. For example, during the reign of Chai Rong of the Later Zhou Dynasty, Han Xizai was ordered to go on a diplomatic mission. After returning home, Li Jing asked him about the real situation in the Central Plains. Han Xizai told him the truth and gave his own prediction, saying that Zhao Kuangyin, the chief inspector of the Later Zhou Dynasty, "looked back and forth in an unusual way, and it was difficult to predict." When the news of the "Chenqiao Mutiny" came, the rulers and ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty showed great respect for Han Xizai.

Han Xizai's insight was like a God's perspective. When the Khitan destroyed the Jin Dynasty, he asserted that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to march north, so he strongly suggested that Li Jing take the throne of Bianzhou. In the end, Li Jing missed the opportunity because he lacked sufficient courage. In the early days of the Later Zhou Dynasty, the "Four Evils and Five Demons" clamored for a northern expedition, but Han Xizai changed his position in time, saying that although I had previously advocated a northern expedition, this was a different time and it was absolutely not right to resort to war. Li Jing still did not listen, and the result was finally the "Three Expeditions to Huainan".

Li Jing managed to avoid all the correct answers. The Southern Tang lost the opportunity to conquer the Central Plains and quickly slid into an abyss of no return. Li Jing was of course heartbroken, but has anyone ever thought about Han Xizai's feelings?
Carrying the hatred of his family being exterminated and carrying the ambition to conquer the Central Plains, Han Xizai was so close to success, yet so far away, just one step away.

According to records, the Later Zhou Dynasty once sent Tao Gu to the Southern Tang Dynasty to spy on the situation. Li Gu, an old friend of Han Xizai and the one who came up with the allusion of "taking things from the bag", wrote a secret letter to Han Xizai, "Mr. Wu Liu is very arrogant, so treat him well", meaning that Tao Gu is aloof and arrogant, and it is difficult to serve him, so you should be mentally prepared.

Sure enough, Tao Gu behaved extremely coldly in Huainan. He either ignored the ruler and his ministers of Huainan or acted aggressively towards them, and the atmosphere was very awkward.

Han Xizai, who was very insightful, secretly observed for a long time, and then said to Li Jing confidently, "I already have a way to deal with this guy."

Han Xizai found a famous prostitute (said to be named Qin Ruolan) who was both beautiful and talented, and asked her to dress up as a hotel waitress and hang around in front of Tao Gu all day, showing off her charm. Comrade Tao Gu, who was a gentleman sitting upright in front of people, really showed his vulgar nature behind his back, and he couldn't help but approach him to chat with him.

The famous prostitute Qin Ruolan was of course a master of love affairs. Following Han Xizai's instructions, she pretended to be a poor, helpless little widow who, out of necessity, went to her father, a postman, to work in the post house to make a living...

Tao Gu stamped his feet and beat his chest, "Please look at me, don't let your beauty stay alone..." In short, this night will be unforgettable.

In that era without cameras, Tao Gu also recorded the romance of this night in an elegant way, and wrote a new poem "Beautiful Spring" to dedicate to Qin Ruolan:

"Good marriage, bad marriage, what can I do? I can only sleep in the posthouse for one night. Don't be a god.

The pipa has played the tune of lovesickness, but few people understand it. When will the broken strings of the pipa be repaired?

A few days later, Li Jing hosted a banquet for Tao Gu, who was still dignified and serious. Li Jing tried hard not to laugh, then gave a wink to his attendant, and the Royal Orchestra changed to a new song, which turned out to be Mr. Tao Gu's new work "Beautiful Spring, Good Marriage".

Tao Gu opened his eyes as if he had received an electric shock, and found that the lead singer was actually Qin Ruolan. Qin Ruolan plucked the strings of the zither and gave him a meaningful wink. Tao Gu was petrified on the spot.

The rulers and ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty could no longer hold back and burst into laughter, "Eh--whoa--" just like a performance at the Deyun Club. Tao Gu blushed from the tips of his hair to his heels, and could only laugh along to ease the embarrassment.

Li Jing immediately ordered someone to replace his glass with an oversized one. Tao Gu changed his aloof personality and picked up the washbasin-like glass and drank it all in one gulp.

At the end of the banquet, Tao Gu was drunk and vomited continuously. When Tao Gu returned to the country, Li Jing only sent a few minor officials to set up a small banquet in the suburbs to deliberately humiliate Tao Gu. Tao Gu also understood the meaning and no longer had the arrogance and returned to Bianzhou in disgrace.

When reporting his work to the organization, Tao Gu said that the Southern Tang had many soldiers and generals, sufficient food and grass, and the emperor and his subjects were united, so it was impossible to attack them.

However, this song "What a Beautiful Spring" became popular all over the country as soon as it was released, and Tao Gu's diplomatic scandal became a hot topic. Tao Gu's prestige in the court plummeted and he was never reused again.

This incident is controversial, some people think it is a fabrication, while others firmly believe it is true. The Yuan Dynasty playwright Dai Shanfu used this as inspiration to create the drama "Mr. Tao Drunkenly Writes Beautiful Scenery", and the Ming Dynasty painter Tang Bohu created "Tao Gu's Gift of Poems"... It seems that everyone has the same taste.

So some people said that Han Xizai successfully blackmailed Tao Gu through the beauty trap, causing him to exaggerate the strength of the Southern Tang Dynasty and postpone the time of the "Three Expeditions to Huainan", thus helping the Southern Tang Dynasty to survive for several years.

This is contradictory. Even if the beauty trap was true, Tao Gu, who was involved in a diplomatic scandal, would not have had a decisive influence on the national strategy of the Later Zhou Dynasty.

However, we can also boldly speculate that Han Xizai should have made other efforts to use diplomatic mazes to interfere with the Later Zhou's judgment on the Southern Tang.

Li Yu actually wanted to use Han Xizai very much. When the sad news of Han Xizai's death came, Li Yu said to his attendants with great regret: "I really want him to be the prime minister. Alas, there is only one step left. How about this? I posthumously confer him the title of Tongpingzhangshi. Is that in accordance with the etiquette?"

Pan You said that Liu Muzhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty was posthumously awarded the title of Kaifu Yitong Sansi, which was in line with the ritual system.

Therefore, Li Yu posthumously awarded Han Xizai the title of You Pushe Tongpingzhangshi, suspended court for three days, gave him the posthumous title "Wenjing", and ordered him to be buried in Meilinggang, next to Xie An's tomb, and asked Xu Xuan to write his epitaph.

Han Xizai said that if Huainan appointed him as prime minister, he would march to the Central Plains. The Southern Tang, which was full of political infighting, never gave him this opportunity. Even though Li Yu wanted to appoint him as prime minister from the bottom of his heart, he could not withstand the pressure from all sides and could only posthumously confer the title on Han Xizai.

This is Han Xizai's regret, and even more so the regret of the Southern Tang Empire.

Prime Minister, Han Xizai is so close to it, yet so far away.

(End of this chapter)