History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 978: Three Prime Ministers of Wu and Yue (Part )

Cao Zhongda

This name is refreshing. Could this man be the fruit of the love between Cao Cao and Sima Yi? This is a small misunderstanding. In fact, his original name was Cao Hongda, and he changed "Hong" to "Zhong" to avoid taboos. For the convenience of description, we will call him by his common name Cao Zhongda.

This man can be called a descendant of a military family. His grandfather was Cao Xin, who was originally a general of Linping Town and one of the founding members of the "Eight Capitals of Hangzhou". He was almost on par with Qian Liu. One day, Cao Xin had a dream in which a divine man said to him, "I will become your son, with a salary of two thousand shi." Soon, his wife gave birth to a boy and named him Cao Gui.

Cao Xin didn't know the meaning of the dream, so he asked his neighbors, but they were all puzzled. After discussing it, they thought that the dream indicated that the child would become an outstanding farmer in the future, with an output of 2,000 dan per mu, which was a lie.

In fact, the two thousand stones refers to the official salary, which is equivalent to the salary of cadres at the level of governor or county magistrate.

Cao Gui showed a unique temperament since he was a child. He was brave and strong. He never lost in a fight. When he grew up, he followed Qian Liu and became a general in Jiahe County. Once Huainan besieged Jiahe County, Cao Gui and his cousin Cao Shilu defended the city. At that time, the enemy was numerous and we were few. Huainan could not be conquered for a long time. There was an "expert" in the army who could "read the air". He said that although Jiahe County was small, there was the aura of a tiger general above the city, and it should not be attacked.

When the Huainan Army was attacking the city, Cao Gui and Cao Shilu set up a banquet on the top of the city wall, with music played by the band. They drank heavily and enjoyed themselves in the midst of arrows and stones. Everyone was impressed by their courage. Not long after, reinforcements arrived and the siege of Jiahe was lifted. Cao Gui was promoted to the governor of Suzhou for his merits.

In the early years of the Later Liang Dynasty, the Huainan army besieged Suzhou. It was the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month. Cao Gui and Cao Shilu decorated the city with lanterns and colored confetti, and the military and civilians celebrated the Lantern Festival. At the same time, they ordered the release of Huainan captives, allowing them to freely watch the lanterns in the city and enjoy the festive atmosphere.

What if the prisoners escape? What if they deliberately sabotage?
Because of all these concerns, Cho Kyu did this to "show his calmness", just like drinking and feasting on the top of the city wall, which is the greatest deterrent to the enemy. Translated into modern words, it is not very harmful but extremely insulting.

Cao Shilu was short in stature, so Qian Liu personally gave him a nickname - "the present-day Yan Pingzhong", comparing him to Yan Zi, and speculated that this person was better at civil governance, while Cao Gui should be more inclined to military strategy. The two brothers were a perfect match, first protecting Jiahe and then Suzhou.

Cao Zhongda is the son of Cao Gui and grandson of Cao Xin.

According to records, when Cho Jong-da was born, the whole room was filled with purple light, and it was obvious that he was not an ordinary child. Cho Kyu was very strict in training and shaping Cho Jong-da, a typical "tiger dad".

The first step is to "starve their bodies".

Cao Gui deliberately did not let him eat enough, and distributed his food to slaves and servants. In winter, he did not allow him to wear cotton clothes. Although he was born in a wealthy general's family, he could not enjoy the life of a rich second-generation with no worries about food and clothing. Instead, like many children from poor families, he was not well fed and poorly clothed.

The second is "exerting their muscles and bones".

Cho Kyu tempered his indomitable will through hard physical labor, and made him move bricks on the construction site - this was not a joke, he really moved bricks, real bricks - "daily order to carry bricks".

Tiger Dad did this out of love for his child. When Cao Zhongda grew up, Cao Gui, like all parents, began to worry about his child's marriage. Forcing marriage is a traditional virtue of the Chinese nation. At first, Cao Gui planned to marry him to the daughter of Chen Xun of Muzhou.

Chen Xun was the younger brother of Chen Sheng, one of the "Eight Governors of Hangzhou", on par with Qian Liu.

However, just when he was about to get married, an "expert" told Cao Gui his fortune and said that Chen Xun would not work out and he should not make friends with him. It would be better for him to marry someone else's daughter.

Sure enough, after the "Xu and Xu Rebellion", Chen Xun of Muzhou also betrayed Qian Liu and colluded with Huainan to rebel. The Cao family was lucky that they did not board the Chen family's pirate ship at that time. So which girl did Cao Zhongda finally marry? Answer: The Qian family. When he passed through Hangzhou, Qian Liu fell in love with this handsome young man in the crowd at first sight, and then married his sister to him.

After marrying Qian Liu's sister, Cao Zhongda suddenly became a "member" of the Qian Group and a member of the royal family.

Qian Liu trusted his brother-in-law very much, and Cao Zhongda became one of the important ministers entrusted with the care of his son. During the period of mourning for Qian Yuanguan, Cao Zhongda was appointed as the "temporary governor of state affairs". Because Qian Yuanguan had not yet been crowned as the "king", he could not appoint a prime minister. The "temporary governor of state affairs" actually meant the regent and the prime minister. When Qian Yuanguan was crowned the King of Wuyue, he immediately appointed Cao Zhongda as the prime minister.

Cao Zhongda accompanied Qian Yuanguan to the end. Qian Yuanguan died in August 941, while Cao Zhongda died of illness in 8.

Pi Guangye

Pi Guangye’s father appeared at the beginning of this book. He was the famous Tang Dynasty poet and writer - Pi Rixiu.

Pi Rixiu also had the honor of failing the imperial examinations many times. He finally passed the examination in 867 and ranked first, the last. Although he was the last, he was admitted into the system. It is said that because Comrade Pi Rixiu was ugly and stubborn, he was isolated and excluded. He was originally in the central government, but was quickly sent to Suzhou and became the military judge of Suzhou.

Even more unfortunate was that not long after arriving in Suzhou, Huang Chao was wreaking havoc in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Cao's army captured Pi Rixiu and took him north, and then Huang Chao entered Chang'an, proclaimed himself emperor and established a country, and appointed Pi Rixiu as the founding prime minister of the Huang Qi regime.

This is the most controversial and confusing history of Pi Rixiu. Some sources say that Pi Rixiu wrote a hymn to Huang Chao in order to please him, but was killed because of the offensive wording; some say that Pi Rixiu refused to serve as the prime minister of Huang Qi and wrote a poem to satirize Huang Chao, deliberately angering Huang Chao and was killed; some sources say that Pi Rixiu had been living in Huang Qi's regime until Huang Chao was defeated in Chang'an, and Pi Rixiu disguised himself and escaped, and his whereabouts have been unknown since then...

Let’s not talk about Pi Rixiu anymore, and just talk about his days in Suzhou. He gave birth to a son in Suzhou, who is today’s protagonist, Pi Guangye.

Pi Rixiu was very attentive to Pi Guangye's education, not wanting his son to repeat his bad luck of failing the imperial examinations and ranking last. Pi Guangye was very smart and hardworking. It was said that he could write good articles at the age of 10 and was famous in the village. When he grew up, he submitted articles to Qian Liu, was appreciated, and was used as an aide by Qian Liu.

When Zhu Youzhen of the Later Liang Dynasty ascended the throne, Qian Liu wanted to send someone to visit the Later Liang Dynasty. However, due to the obstruction of Huainan, the envoy could only take a long detour, going south from Zhejiang to Fujian, then west from Fujian through Jiangxi to Guangxi, turning north, entering Hubei from Hunan, and finally entering Henan to Bianzhou. The road was tortuous, but the future was bright. Qian Liu asked his staff who was willing to make this trip, and everyone shook their heads because they were tired of the long journey. At this time, Pi Guangye volunteered to take on this important task.

Finally, after half a year of traveling, Pi Guangye finally arrived in Bianzhou, which was like a journey to the west. Zhu Youzhen, who had just ascended the throne, needed to be recognized by all parties. Pi Guangye, who had spent more than half a year, traveled through most of China, and crossed many separatist regions, was naturally warmly received by Zhu Youzhen.

Zhu Youzhen conferred Qian Liu the title of Grand Marshal of the Army and granted him the privilege of establishing a government and appointing officials; he also conferred the title of Jinshi (guaranteed to study), the title of Secretary, the title of Right Assistant, the title of Internal Worshiper, and the title of Jinzi (gold and purple) on Pi Guangye...

This appointment in a time of crisis established Pi Guangye's position in the Qian Group.

Soon after, Huainan extended an olive branch to Qian Liu, asking him to ease the relationship between the two countries. Qian Liu named Pi Guangye as a special envoy to visit Huai. When Zhu Youzhen selected Qian Chuanjin as his son-in-law, Pi Guangye went to Bianzhou as a special envoy to welcome the bride. He was promoted to Liangzhe Surveillance Envoy for his meritorious service.

With his talent and ability, as well as his sense of responsibility for the group at critical moments, Pi Guangye was eventually selected as Qian Liu's trusted minister. During Qian Yuanguan's mourning period, Pi Guangye was appointed as the acting governor of the East Palace. After the founding of the country, he was appointed as prime minister on the same day as Cao Zhongda and Shen Song.

Pi Guangye also accompanied Qian Yuanguan throughout his life and, like Cao Zhongda, died of illness in 943.

(End of this chapter)