History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 981: The Post-Qian Yuanguan Era
【Post-Qian Yuanguan Era】

Qian Liu passed on his developed reproductive genes to Qian Yuanguan in a slightly circuitous way. Since Qian Yuanguan was over 30 and still childless, one cannot help but wonder if this was Qian Liu's biological child? Look at the glorious achievements of the 38th son!

In fact, it was not Qian Yuanguan who was incompetent, but his wife. Qian Yuanguan made his debut by marrying the daughter of Tian Yu, but there was almost no record of Tian Yu. Qian Yuanguan's legal wife was his cousin, Ma.

Ma's father was named Ma Chuo, who first worked with Qian Liu under Dong Chang. Once, Dong Chang ordered Qian Liu to inspect the troops, but Qian Liu accidentally lost the roster. Fortunately, Qian Liu had an excellent memory and was able to write down the roster from memory. Just as Qian Liu was secretly rejoicing, Ma Chuo reminded him to burn the roster quickly.

"Our boss Dong Chang is narrow-minded and jealous of talented people. You are so smart and capable that you will definitely bring disaster upon yourself!"

Qian Liu was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat. "What should I do?"

Ma Chuo found a pile of white paper and said, "Use this."

Qian Liu was very grateful to Ma Chao for saving his life, so he married his cousin to him. Some information also says that Qian Liu married Ma Chao's sister. Later, Qian Liu let Qian Yuanguan marry Ma Chao's daughter, strengthening the relationship between the two families.

Qian Liu was strict in military discipline and had issued an order prohibiting officials and soldiers from taking concubines (forbidding foreign and domestic prostitutes). As a good boy, Comrade Qian Yuanguan naturally did not dare to disobey the order, but he was over 30 years old and still had no children. So Ma took the initiative to find Qian Liu and asked him to allow Qian Yuanguan to take a concubine to continue the Qian family's incense.

Qian Liu was very pleased, "A good Chinese daughter-in-law!"

Qian Yuanguan was also very happy. Taking concubines was a political task assigned to him by the organization. It was glorious and arduous. Qian Yuanguan worked overtime and forgot to eat and sleep. He took several concubines in one go and gave birth to more than a dozen children. The historical records recorded Qian Yuanguan's work results in detail:

"Fu gave birth to Hongzun and Hongzun, Xu gave birth to Hongzuo, Wu gave birth to Hongchu, and the concubines gave birth to Hongyi, Hongwei, Hongyang, and Hongxin."

In short, Qian Yuanguan worked hard, achieved outstanding results, and completed the organizational tasks with quality and quantity guaranteed.

Ma showed the qualities of a queen dowager, treating these children as her own and loving them dearly.

Before Qian Yuanguan took a concubine and had a son, he first adopted four adopted sons. After "taking a concubine by imperial order", Qian Yuanguan, who was nearly 4 years old, finally had a son in his old age. He welcomed his first biological son, Qian Hongzun. According to the ranking, Qian Hongzun was the fifth son, but he was the eldest son among his biological sons, so Qian Yuanguan "especially loved him". The "Qian Yuanguan's first son" mentioned later is based on the mainstream ranking method, that is, the four adopted sons are ranked first, for example, Qian Hongzun is the fifth son.

After the founding of the country, Qian Yuanguan immediately appointed Qian Hongzun as the "crown prince" and built a prince's mansion in the north of the city. One day, Qian Hongzun and his brother Qian Hongzuo were gambling in Qingshi Building (note that it was Qingshi Building, not Qinglou). Qian Hongzun said, "My father just built a camp office. Who do you think it is for? Come on, let's make a bet to decide the outcome."

Unexpectedly, Qian Hongzuo got "six red" four times in a row. Qian Hongzhao was very dissatisfied and turned hostile on the spot.

Qian Hongzuo calmly explained: "Fifth brother will inherit the throne in the future. This is a sign that I will obtain the seal, which means that I will assist you in building your career in the future." Then he prostrated himself and bowed again.

However, Qian Hongxian was still furious and overturned the gambling plate (throwing the dice bowl downstairs in anger). Not long after, Qian Hongxian suddenly died of a sudden illness at the age of 16. He left us prematurely and died before Qian Yuanguan.

After Qian Hongzun's death, his sixth son Qian Hongzuo became his heir.

When Qian Yuanguan was dying, he entrusted his son to the care of the eunuch Zhang De'an, saying that Qian Hongzuo was too young and asked him to choose an older member of the clan to be his successor.

Zhang De'an knelt down to express his loyalty, saying that although Comrade Qian Hongzuo was young, all the ministers admired his intelligence and were willing to serve him wholeheartedly, so you can go with peace of mind.

Qian Yuanguan showed a gratified smile and said, "I feel relieved to have your wholehearted assistance."

Who was the "elder of the clan" mentioned by Qian Yuanguan? It was definitely not his biological son, because Qian Hongzuo was the oldest of his biological sons. So the "elder of the clan" was either the four adopted sons or the brothers or nephews of other "Yuan" generations.

This kind of statement is a common tactic used when entrusting an orphan to another person. It not only tests the loyalty of the minister, but also tests the prestige of the successor, and at the same time digs out competitors who could threaten him.

When it comes to Qian Yuanguan and Qian Hongzuo, and when we think about the "lost decade" and the fire in Lichunyuan, Qian Yuanguan's words are no longer so procedural. There were indeed some people in the court who coveted the throne, and the internal troubles of Wuyue became more intense after Qian Yuanguan's death.

Qian Hongzuo's situation was far worse than that of his father Qian Yuanguan, because Qian Hongzuo was only 13 years old when he succeeded to the throne, and he bore pressure that he should not have borne at this age.

On August 941, 8, Qian Yuanguan died of illness. Zhang De'an, the chief minister entrusted with the care of Qian Yuanguan, blocked the news and kept the death a secret. Instead, he hid soldiers in the palace. The next morning (the 24th), when Dai Yun, the commander of the inner court, went to work and punched in, the ambushed soldiers appeared everywhere and chopped him with knives without giving any explanation. Dai Yun received a box lunch without knowing what was going on (there are also records that Zhang De'an summoned Dai Yun to the palace in the name of Qian Yuanguan to discuss important matters and tricked him into death).

In fact, Dai Yun could barely be considered a half-royal relative. His wife was a relative of Qian Hongyou's wet nurse, and Qian Hongyou was Qian Yuanguan's third son. As mentioned above, Qian Yuanguan's first four sons were all adopted sons. In other words, Dai Yun was the husband of a relative of Qian Yuanguan's adopted son's wet nurse. It is said that Dai Yun conspired to depose Qian Hongzuo and establish Qian Hongyou. After Zhang De'an ambushed and killed Dai Yun, he demoted Qian Hongyou to a commoner, restored his original surname Sun, and changed his name to "Sun Ben".

Dai Yun was not only a "royal relative", but also one of Qian Yuanguan's direct confidants. During the "Xu and Xu Rebellion", Qian Yuanguan bravely raised Tian Yu's daughter, and Dai Yun accompanied Qian Yuanguan into the tiger's den. It was precisely because of these two reasons that Dai Yun became the commander of the inner court during Qian Yuanguan's period, and together with the inner court supervisor Zhang De'an, he became Qian Yuanguan's left and right protectors.

However, when Qian Yuanguan was dying, only Zhang De'an was by his side. Zhang De'an not only blocked the news, but also killed Dai Yun within 24 hours of Qian Yuanguan's death. The relevant historical materials about the two are limited to this, and other deeds have almost disappeared in the long river of history. The "lost decade" hides too many secrets.

We can boldly hypothesize that during this "lost decade", the court was divided into at least two factions: the one headed by Zhang De'an who supported Qian Hongzuo, and the one headed by Dai Yun who supported Qian Hongyou. During this decade that even historians dared not record, there were probably far more than just these two factions. Major interest groups were intertwined, and the internal struggles of the Wuyue Kingdom reached their peak during the Qian Hongzuo period.

The water is very deep, and the historians were afraid of losing their grasp, so they would rather sell fake wine than record this history.

Thanks to my old friend “江湖刘白” for the monthly ticket support!

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(End of this chapter)