Zi Zhi Tong Jian

Chapter 55 Hou Liang Ji: The Controversy Between Nephew and Uncle
[Original text]

Later Liang Taizu Shenwu Yuanshengxiao Emperor Kaiping Second Year

The king of Jin had gangrene on his head and was dying.Zhou Dewei and others retreated to the messy willows.The king of Jin ordered his younger brothers, both inside and outside the Han Dynasty, to know the soldiers and horse envoys, the envoy of Zhenwu Jiedu Kening, the supervisor of the army Zhang Chengye, the generals Li Cunzhang, Wu Gong, and the secretary Lu Zhi to make his son Cunxu, the governor of Jinzhou, as his heir, saying: "This You have great ambitions, and you will be able to accomplish my work, and you, Cao Shan, will teach you!" Xinmao, the king of Jin called Cunxu and said: "Sizhao is in a heavy siege, and I can't see him. Once the burial is over, you and Dewei will do our best to save him. It!" He also said that Kening and others said: "I will tire you with Yazi!" Yazi, Cunxu's nickname.Die at the end.No one at home or abroad dares to make noise about the Kning Gangji military mansion.

Ke Ningjiu was in charge of the army for a long time, and there was a tendency to set up a second position. At that time, the siege of the Shangdang was not resolved.Save fear, let Kning take the position.Kening said: "You are the heir to the grave, and you have the order of the former king. Who dares to disobey it!" The general wanted to see Cunxu, but Cunxu cried.Zhang Chengye called Cunxu and said: "If you don't lose your foundation, what's the point of crying so much!" Because of helping Cunxu, he succeeded to the throne as the Jiedu envoy of Hedong and the king of Jin.Li Kening's commander-in-chief paid homage to the generals, and Wang Xi appointed him with the military affairs.Take Li Cunzhang as the envoy of the Hedong Army City and the Marquis of Mabu.At the time of the first kings, Huren and soldiers were favored and harassed the shops. Cunzhang was in charge, especially the violent ones were killed, and the city was in awe for ten months.

【Translation】

The second year of Kaiping, Emperor Taizu of the Later Liang Dynasty (908 A.D.)
Jin Wang Li Keyong had a malignant sore on his head, and his condition was very serious.Zhou Dewei and others withdrew to Luanliu to garrison.Li Keyong, king of Jin, ordered his younger brother, both foreign and Han, to know the soldiers and horse envoys, Li Kening, envoy of Zhenwu Jiedu, Zhang Chengye, general Li Cunzhang, Wu Gong, secretary Lu Zhi and others to support his son Li Cunxu, governor of Jinzhou. Heir, and said: "This child has great ambitions since he was a child, and he will be able to accomplish my career. You must teach him well!" He's here. When the funeral is over, you and Zhou Dewei will do our best to rescue him!" Then he said to Li Kening and others, "I'll trouble you to take care of Yazi for me!" Yazi is Li Cunxu's nickname.Li Ke died after finishing speaking.Li Kening governed the military government very strictly, so no one inside or outside dared to make any noise.

Li Kening led the army for a long time, and he had the momentum of brotherhood. At that time, the siege of the Shangdang was not lifted. Most of the army believed that Li Cunxu was young, so they talked about it in private. For a while, people were panicked.Li Cunxu was very frightened and planned to give up the throne to Li Kening.Li Kening said: "You are the eldest son, let alone the last king's will, who dares to disobey!" The generals wanted to see Li Cunxu, but Li Cunxu was crying inside and did not come out for a while.Zhang Chengye then went in and said to Li Cunxu: "Great filial piety lies in not losing your foundation. What's the use of crying more!" Then he helped Li Cunxu out, and succeeded him as the governor of Hedong and the king of Jin.Li Kening first led the generals to come to worship and congratulate him, and Jin Wang Li Cunxu entrusted all the affairs of the military government to Li Kening.

Jin Wang Li Cunxu asked Li Cunzhang to serve as the envoy of the Hedong Army City and the Marquis of Mabu.When the former king Li Keyong was alive, he was very fond of the barbarians and soldiers, so that they often invaded and disturbed the shops in the market.After Li Cunzhang took office, he arrested and beheaded the most brutal and domineering ones for public display. In just one month, the city became orderly.

[Original text]

In the early days, King Ke of Jin raised many strong men in the army as his sons, and loved him like his true son.And Jin Wang Cunxuli, all the hypocrites were old and holding soldiers, dissatisfied with dissatisfaction, or could not cope with illness, or refused to worship the new king.Li Kening has a lot of power and position, and he has many favors.Li Cunhao, the fake son, said to Kening: "Brothers will always be with brothers, and it has existed since ancient times. If you worship your nephew with your uncle, you will be at peace! If you don't take what you want, you will never regret it!" Kening said: "My family has been known all over the world for its kindness and filial piety. If there is any return to the legacy of the former king, what can I ask for again! Don’t lie, I will kill you!" Kening’s wife, the Meng family, is tough and tough, and all the fake sons sent their wives to talk about the Meng family. And worry about words and disasters, counting to force Kning.Ke Ning is timid, confused by the public's words day and night, and his heart cannot remain unmoved; he also lost with Zhang Chengye and Li Cunzhang, and gave them up several times; Shuo and Yingzhou belonged to Xunzhou.King Jin listened to it.

【Translation】

At first, Jin Wang Li Ke used many strong men as adopted sons in the army, and treated them as his own sons.After Li Cunxu, the king of Jin, succeeded to the throne, the adopted sons were all old and had gained some military power, so they were dissatisfied.Li Kening's power position was particularly important at this time, and most of the favors favored him.Li Cunhao, the adopted son, persuaded Li Kening privately: "When the older brother dies, the younger brother succeeds to the throne. There have been such examples since ancient times. How can you feel at ease when you bow down to your nephew who is a generation lower than you as an uncle? Now is the opportunity bestowed by heaven. If you don’t accept it, I’m afraid it’s too late to regret it in the future!” Li Kening said: “My family has been famous all over the world for its father’s kindness and filial piety. Now the king’s foundation has been owned, so what can I seek! If you dare to talk nonsense, I will I will kill you!" Li Kening's wife, Meng Shi, was usually strong and brutal, and the adopted sons sent their wives to the inner room to persuade Meng Shi, who thought their words were very reasonable, and worried that these words would be leaked out for his own benefit. It brought disaster, so Li Kening was persecuted many times.Li Kening is cowardly by nature, he can hear the bewitching words of everyone from morning to night every day, how can he remain indifferent?In addition, he was at odds with Zhang Chengye and Li Cunzhang and blamed them many times; he also killed Li Cunzhi, Marquis of Duyu without authorization;Jin Wang Li Cunxu all obeyed him.

[Original text]

Li Cunhao and others conspired for Kning. Because the king of Jin passed his title, he killed Chengye and Cunzhang.Shi Jingrong, a native of Taiyuan, lived under the account of King Keyong of Jin for few things. He met his cronies.Jing Rong Yin Xuzhi, went to report to Mrs. Tai, who was horrified, called Zhang Chengye, pointed to the King of Jin and said: "The former king conferred this son's arm to the public. Don’t send the girders away, since it won’t tire the Duke.” Chengye panicked and said, “This old slave was ordered to die by the king, what can I say!” The king of Jin sued him with Kening’s plan, and said: “Dear relatives should not talk to each other. Fish and meat, if I avoid the position, then there will be no chaos." Chengye said: "Kening wants to throw the queen's mother and son into the tiger's mouth, so there is no reason not to get rid of them!" He summoned Li Cunzhang, Wu Gong, his fake son Li Cunjing, and Chang Zhijun Make Zhu keep Yin and make Yin prepare for it.Renxu set up a banquet in the mansion of the generals, and Fujia held Kning and Cunhao in their seats.The king of Jin shed tears and said: "Er Lang gave his uncle the military mansion, but his uncle will not take it. Now that the matter is settled, how can I plan this again, and bear the hatred of my mother and son!" Kening said: "This is all slander Tell me, what can I say!" On that day, Kening and Cunhao were killed.

【Translation】

Li Cunhao and others made suggestions for Li Kening, asking him to take advantage of the opportunity of King Jin to visit Li Kening's home, behead Zhang Chengye and Li Cunzhang, embrace Li Kening as Jiedu envoy, lead the nine states under the jurisdiction of Hedong to join Houliang, and arrest Jin Wang Li Cunxu and Mrs. Cao were escorted to Daliang.Shi Jingrong from Taiyuan used to serve King Jin Li Keyong when he was young, lived under King Jin's tent, and was deeply favored by King Jin. Li Kening wanted to know the secret things in Prince Jin's mansion, so he summoned Shi Jingrong and secretly revealed his plan. tell him.Shi Jingrong pretended to agree to his request at that time, and then quietly went to Jin Wang's mansion to report to Mrs. Tai in person. After hearing this, Mrs. Tai was horrified, and then summoned Zhang Chengye, pointed to King Jin Li Cunxu and said to him: "The former king took this When I entrusted you with my son's arm, I said that if I heard the news that outsiders were plotting to betray him, I just asked for a place to house our mother and son, and we must not send them to Daliang, and you will not be implicated in the rest." Zhang Chengye said fearfully Said: "The old slave obeyed the last king's will with his death. What does the lady mean?" Jin Wang Li Cunxu then told Zhang Chengye about the conspiracy of Li Kening and others, and said: "Relatives cannot kill each other. If I abdicate Uncle Yu, then there will be no troubles." Zhang Chengye said: "Li Kening plotted to throw the queen's mother and son into the tiger's mouth. If he is not eliminated, how can there be any safety?" Then he summoned Li Cunzhang, Wu Gong and his adopted son Li Cunjing Zhu Shouyin, the envoy of the Changzhi Army, asked them to take precautions in secret. On the 21st, a banquet was held at the Prince Jin's Mansion to entertain the generals, and the armored soldiers ambushed by the side arrested Li Kening, Li Cunhao and others from their seats.Jin Wang Li Cunxu said to Li Kening with tears streaming down his face: "My child once gave up the Jiedu envoy to my uncle, but my uncle refused to accept it. Now that the overall situation is settled, how can there be such a plot again, and have the heart to send our mother and son to Where are the enemies going?" Li Kening said, "These are all those villains who are soliciting truth from them, so what can I say!" On this day, both Li Kening and Li Cunhao were executed.

[Comment and Analysis]

Jin Wang Li Cunxu was the later Emperor Zhuangzong of the Later Tang Dynasty. His father Jin Wang Li Keyong was originally the Jiedushi of the Tang Dynasty.After Zhu Quanzhong destroyed the Tang Dynasty, the separatist regimes in various places fought with each other, and gradually established several small countries, among which Li Keyong was one of them.In order to buy people's hearts, Li Keyong took in many adopted sons. These people were brave generals. After Li Keyong's death, they were unwilling to obey Li Cunxu's orders, so they encouraged Li Kening to rebel.Li Kening was originally his own minister honestly, but he couldn't stand the instigation of others. He failed to rebel, and instead ruined his family.

Advice from the industry
[Original text]

Later Liang Jun Wang Zhenming three years
The king of Jin returned to Jinyang.When Wang Lian-sui went to the expedition, Zhang Chengye, the military supervisor of the first committee of the military government, persuaded him to teach farming and mulberry, stockpile gold and grain, and closed the market for soldiers and horses.Sometimes the king needs money and money to give it to the actor, but he can't get the money when he is in the industry.Wang Nai set up a wine bank and asked his son Jiji to perform Chengye Dance, and Chengye presented him with a treasure belt and coin horses.Wang pointed out that Qian Ji called Jiji's nickname Chengye and said: "He brother is short of money, and seventh brother should give it to him with the money. It is not generous to bring a horse." The salary of the industry, this money, is why the king raises soldiers, and Chengye dare not use public property as a private gift." The king was displeased, and he invaded him with wine and words, and Chengye said angrily: "Servant old order to make ears! It is not for the sake of descendants , I cherish this treasury of money, so the king will become a hegemony, otherwise, the king will use it for himself, so why ask the servant to do it! But the wealth is exhausted and the people are scattered, and nothing is achieved."

【Translation】

The third year of Zhenming, King Jun of the Later Liang Dynasty (917 A.D.)
After Jin Wang returned to Jinyang.Since the king of Jin led his troops to go out all the year round, he entrusted all the government affairs of the military government to Zhang Chengye, the superintendent of the army. Zhang Chengye vigorously advocated farming silkworms, saving money and food, fighting hard, collecting taxes reasonably, strictly enforcing the law, and never tolerant of powerful relatives. , Therefore, Jinyang City is quiet and quiet, and the army has never been short of food and salaries.King Jin sometimes wanted to use money to gamble or give rewards to music officials and actors, but Zhang Chengye was always very stingy and reluctant to give it to him, so King Jin couldn't get the money.So the king of Jin would set up a banquet in the treasury, and let his son Li Jiji dance for Zhang Chengye, and Zhang Chengye presented Li Jiji with a belt decorated with treasures and a coin horse.King Jin pointed to the piles of money in the treasury and called out Li Jiji's nickname to Zhang Chengye, saying: "Brother He is short of money to spend, Brother Seven, you should reward him with a pile of accumulated money, treasure belts, coins and horses are worthless." A few dollars." Zhang Chengye said: "The gifts I give to the young master are all deducted from my salary, and the money in the treasury is used by the king to support the soldiers. I dare not embezzle public funds. Go as a private gift." Jin Wang was not happy when he heard this, so he took advantage of the wine to taunt him, Zhang Chengye said angrily: "I am an old minister of the king, and I am not thinking about my descendants. The money in the treasury will be stingy, it is to assist the king to achieve hegemony, otherwise, the king can use it at will, why should he ask for my opinion? But when the money is gone, the people will stay away from you. Your career will be for naught.”

[Original text]

Wang Nu, Gu Li Shaorong grabbed the sword, took over the business, pulled the king's clothes and wept, saying: "I was ordered by the late king Gu Tuo to swear to punish Bian thieves for the country. If I regret that the treasury died at the king's hand, I will be ashamed to see the late king. Please die today!" Yan Bao interpreted Chengye's order to retreat from the side, and Chengye beat Bao Bao to the ground with his fists, cursing: "Yan Bao, Zhu Wen's party, received Jin's great favor, and he was not loyal in return. He wanted to flatter himself. Allow evil!" Mrs. Cao Tai heard this and ordered the king to be summoned. The king kowtowed in fear, Xie Chengye said: "I offended my seventh brother with wine, and I must offend Mrs. Tai. Seventh brother drank for me to pay for my fault." Wang Lian drank four cups, but Chengye refused to drink.When the king entered the palace, Mrs. Tai sent people to thank Chengye and said: "The child has made special progress, so I have already flogged him." Tomorrow, Mrs. Tai and the king will go to Chengye to thank him.Not long after, the third division of Kaifu Yitong, the general of Zuowei, and the Duke of Yan Guo were awarded the Chengye Kaifu Yitong.Chengye refused to accept his resignation, but he was called Tang official for life.

Lu Zhi, the secretary in charge, was addicted to alcohol and arrogant. He tried to call the king's younger brothers porcupine dogs, and the king titled them.Chengye was afraid of disaster, so he said: "Lu Zhishu is rude, please kill him for the king." The king said: "We recruit talented people to make achievements. What is the fault of the seventh brother!" Chengye He stood up and congratulated him, saying: "If the king can do this, why worry about the world!" The quality was exempted.

【Translation】

King Jin was furious, and turned around to ask Li Shaorong

Zhang Chengye hurriedly stood up, grabbed the hem of King Jin’s clothes, and said in tears: “I was entrusted by the late king to swear to kill the Zhu thief in Bianliang for the country. Then I can have a clear conscience when I see the late king after I go to the underworld. Please kill me today!" Yan Bao hastily pulled Zhang Chengye's hand from the side and told him to step back first.Angrily, Zhang Chengye knocked Yan Bao to the ground with his fists, and scolded him, "Yan Bao, you are Zhu Wen's henchman. Are you trying to survive by flattery?" After Mrs. Cao heard about this, she quickly sent someone to summon the King of Jin to see him. Offending Seventh Brother with wine, this must offend Mrs. Tai, so please ask Seventh Brother to drink a few glasses to alleviate my crime." So Jin Wang drank four glasses of wine in a row, but Zhang Chengye refused to drink even one .After King Jin entered the palace, Mrs. Cao Tai sent someone to apologize to Zhang Chengye, saying: "My son offended you, and I just beat him." The next day, Mrs. Cao and King Jin went to Zhang Chengye's mansion together Apologize to him.Not long after, Zhang Chengye was awarded the official titles of Kaifu Yitong Sansi, Zuowei General, and Yan Guogong in accordance with the late king's edict.Zhang Chengye refused repeatedly and refused to accept it. Until his death, he only called Tang Guan.

Lu Zhi, the secretary in charge, was a drunkard by nature, and he was frivolous and arrogant. He once called King Jin's younger brothers pigs and dogs, and King Jin held a grudge for this.Zhang Chengye was afraid that he would cause disaster, so he took the opportunity to say to the king of Jin: "Lu Zhi has been rude many times, please allow me to get rid of him on behalf of the king." The king of Jin said: "I am recruiting talents to complete my greatness. Gongye, why did Seventh Brother say such exaggerated words?" Zhang Chengye immediately stood up and congratulated him, saying: "If your Majesty is able to do this, then why worry about not being able to win the world?" Lu Zhi's misfortune was thus relieved up.

[Comment and Analysis]

During the period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Li Cunxu, king of Jin, was considered a relatively wise monarch, especially in the early stage of his reign, he was relatively clear politically, which was probably due to the advice of some loyal veterans.Zhang Chengye was in charge of the money and food for the king of Jin Li Cunxu, and he was very dedicated. Sometimes even the king of Jin himself couldn't get the money.Thanks to such a loyal minister, otherwise, Li Cunxu would have given the state treasury to the actors long ago.

(End of this chapter)