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卷七 唐本紀第七: 愍帝 廢帝

Volume 7 Later Tang Annals 4: Deposed Emperors

Chapter 7 of 新五代史 · New History of the Five Dynasties
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Chapter 7
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1
殿 使 使 使 使 西西使 使使 使 使使 西 使
In the first year of Yingshun, on the new moon of the first month of spring, the Min Emperor held audience in Guangshou Hall. On yihai a Khitan envoy, the commissioner Molayu, arrived at court. On wuyin the throne proclaimed a general amnesty, altered the reign title, and restored court music. Wang Renmei, khan of the Uyghurs, dispatched envoys. Envoys came from Shazhou and Guazhou. On yiwei Zhu Hongzhao and Feng Yun offered funds toward Mingzong’s mausoleum. On bingwu of the intercalary month the empress dowager received her patent of investiture. On jiayin the consort dowager Lady Wang was formally invested. Shi Jingtang, who held Taiyuan as military governor and metropolitan defender, sent silver and silk for the imperial tomb. On gengyin of the second month he went in person to oversee the tomb works. Li Congke, Prince of Lu and military governor of Fengxiang, rose in rebellion. On xinmao Wang Sitong, defender of Luoyang, was named commander-in-chief of the western field army, with Yao Yanchou of Jingnan as his second. On bingchen of the third month Sitong’s force collapsed. Yin Hui of the Yanwei command and Yang Siquan of the Yulin command took their units over to Congke. On xinyou the court put to death Zhu Hongshi, commander of the Palace Attendant Personal Army. On guihai Kang Yicheng of Heyang became grand suppression commissioner for the Fengxiang campaign, with Wang Sitong again as deputy. Liu Suiyong, deputy defender of Luoyang, went over to Congke. Sitong raced for the capital, failed to break through, and was killed. On dingmao the capital inspector An Congjin mutinied, slew Feng Yun, and Zhu Hongzhao took his own life. Congjin forwarded both heads to Congke. On wuchen the Min Emperor withdrew to Weizhou.
2
使 使 使使 西 使 使使
The Deposed Emperor, Li Congke, came from Pingshan in Zhen prefecture. He was born a Wang of humble station. His mother, Lady Wei, was widowed young. Mingzong, then a horse officer, took her when he passed through Pingshan. Lady Wei already had a boy called Asan, past ten. Mingzong adopted him and gave him the name Congke. Grown to manhood he was tall and formidable—quiet, dutiful, and few of words—yet a terror in the field. Mingzong doted on him. While Jin and Liang battled along the Yellow River, Congke piled up merit. Zhuangzong used his pet name and said, “Asan is more than a comrade of my years—he fights the way I do.” In Tongguang 2 (924) he was made prefect of Weizhou and commander of the surprise cavalry, stationed at Shimen. When Mingzong marched south from Wei against Zhao Zaili, Congke swept down from Quyang and Meng county through Changshan to join him. Mingzong’s column was thin on the road south, but Congke’s detachment in the rear made the host seem suddenly vast. After Mingzong seized the throne he made Congke military governor of Hezhong and created him Prince of Lu. Mingzong was old by then, and the Prince of Lu outranked every other son. An Chonghui, who controlled the Bureau of Military Affairs, grew alarmed and forged orders for Yang Yanwen, a Hezhong subordinate, to move against him. While the prince exercised horses at Yellow Dragon Manor, Yanwen barred the gates. He camped at Yuxiang and sent word to the throne. Mingzong recalled him to Luoyang and housed him in the mansion on Qinghua Lane. Chonghui pressed again and again for court-martial; Mingzong refused. After Chonghui’s fall the prince was restored as Left Guard grand general and defender of Luoyang. In Changxing 3 (932) he received Fengxiang as his circuit. Congke’s son Chongji had held the inner army since Mingzong’s reign as Crane Control commander. Once Conghou took the throne, Zhu Hongzhao and Feng Yun stripped him of command and posted him to Bozhou as training commissioner. They shifted the prince to Taiyuan as metropolitan defender—by word of mouth, with no written patent—and installed Li Congzhang at Fengxiang in his place. Congzhang had once succeeded An Chonghui at Hezhong when Chonghui fell. Chonghui’s execution only deepened the prince’s fears; he closed Fengxiang and rose in arms. Conghou sent Wang Sitong to rally the provincial hosts. Sitong was routed, and every allied column broke apart.
3
西 使 西 殿使使使 使使 使
On dingsi of the third month of Qingtai 1 (934) the prince drove his army east. On gengshen he reached Chang’an. Liu Suiyong, deputy defender of Luoyang, broke with the Tang court and submitted. On jiazi he paused at Hua prefecture and took Yao Yanchou prisoner. On bingyin he camped at Lingbao. An Yanwei in Hezhong and Kang Sil in Shanzhou turned their backs on the court and joined him. On jisi he halted at Shanzhou. Kang Yicheng abandoned the Tang cause and came over. The court had Meng Hanqiong, commissioner of the Palace Secretariat, put to death. The Min Emperor was sent to live at Weizhou. On renshen of the fourth month, in summer, he entered Luoyang. Feng Dao brought the bureaucracy to Jiang Bridge to welcome the prince, who refused to show himself. He went in to weep at the Western Palace, then received the ministers. Feng Dao bowed; the prince bowed in return. He took up residence in Zhide Palace. On guiyou the empress dowager’s edict demoted Conghou to Prince of E and put Congke in charge of the realm as regent. On yihai the Deposed Emperor took the throne. On bingzi he stripped Henan households to pay off the troops. On dingchou he seized private homes and took a fifth-month rent to feed the army. On wuyin the deposed Conghou was murdered; Song Lingxun, prefect of Cizhou, carried out the killing. On yiyou the new emperor proclaimed a general amnesty and changed the reign title. On wuzi Kang Yicheng and Yao Yanchou were put to death. On bingwu of the fifth month Han Zhaoyin, academician of the Duanming Hall and Left Remonstrance counsellor, became Bureau Military Affairs commissioner, with manor commissioner Liu Yanlang as deputy. On gengxu Feng Dao left office. Fan Yanguang, military governor of Tianxiong, was named Bureau Military Affairs commissioner. On jiayin he rewarded men who had memorialized for his accession and granted posts to clansmen. On gengchen of the sixth month he called at the homes of Fan Yanguang and Suo Zitong. On xinhai of the seventh month, in autumn, Lu Wenji, director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, entered the Secretariat as vice director and grand councillor. On dingsi Lady Liu of Pei was enthroned as empress. On xinwei of the eighth month Yao Ting, left vice director of the ministries, joined the Secretariat as vice director and grand councillor. The court allowed promotion of men holding provisional appointments. In the ninth month Khitan forces struck the frontier. On wuyin of the tenth month, in winter, Li Yu and Liu Gou left office. On jihai of the twelfth month Zhang Yanlang of Xiongwu became vice director of the Secretariat and grand councillor. Khitan raiders struck Yunzhou. On gengyin he traveled to Longmen. Drought gripped the land.
4
使使 使使 使 使 使
On jiaxu of the second month in the spring of his second year, Fan Yanguang left office. On jichou the court posthumously raised Congke’s mother, Grand Lady Wei of Lu, to empress dowager. On xinchou of the third month Zhao Yanshou, military governor of Zhongwu, became Bureau Military Affairs commissioner. On xinmao of the fifth month, in summer, Liu Yanhao of the southern Palace Secretariat bureau took the Bureau of Military Affairs. Khitan forces again raided the frontier. On guiwei of the sixth month the ministers offered extra horses for the capital guard. On dingyou of the seventh month, in autumn, Wang Renmei of the Uyghurs sent his commissioner Chen Fuhai. Liu Yanhao left office. On jiyou of the ninth month Fang Gao, minister of punishments, became Bureau Military Affairs commissioner. On yimao envoys arrived from Bohai.
5
使 使 使使使 使 使 使使 使 使 使
On yiwei of the first month in the spring of his third year, envoys came from Baekje. On dingwei his son Chongmei was created Prince of Yong. On bingwu of the third month Ma Yinsun, Hanlin academician and vice minister of rites, joined the Secretariat as vice director and grand councillor. Shi Jingtang, military governor of Hedong, rose in rebellion. On yimao of the fifth month, in summer, Zhang Jingda of Jianxiong became grand suppression commissioner for Taiyuan on every side, with Yang Guangyuan of Yiwu as his second. On wushen the vanguard commander An Shenxin defected to Shi Jingtang. On jiyou An Chongrong, officer of the Zhenwu garrison, went over to Shi Jingtang. On renzi Zhang Lingzhao, deputy of the Bearer-of-Sagacity command at the Tianxiong encampment, drove out his military governor Liu Yanhao. On guihai of the sixth month Lingzhao was made a general of the Right Thousand-Ox Guard and left in temporary charge of Tianxiong. On jiaxu Fan Yanguang of Xuanwu became suppression commissioner for Tianxiong on every side. On wushen of the seventh month, in autumn, the imperial army captured Weizhou. On renzi Zhang Lingzhao was put to death. On guichou Zhang Wandi of the Zhangsheng command went over to Shi Jingtang. On wuwu of the eighth month the Khitan envoy Meili arrived. On jiachen of the ninth month Zhang Jingda met the Khitan at Taiyuan and was shattered; they penned him in at Jin’an. On wushen the Deposed Emperor moved to Heyang. On renxu of the tenth month, in winter, the court seized horses and enrolled commoners as troops. On wuzi of the eleventh month Zhao Dejun of Lulong became commander-in-chief of the field army. On dingyou the Khitan enthroned the Later Jin. On jiazi of the intercalary month Yang Guangyuan murdered Zhang Jingda and took his army over to the Khitan. On jiaxu Khitan and Jin forces arrived at Luzhou. On dingchou day he returned from Heyang. On xinsi day the emperor died.
6
使
Alas—the bond between ruler and minister is a hard thing to sustain! The clear-sighted foresee trouble before it sprouts; the blind are warned that disaster is near yet feel no fear. Speak too soon and loyalty may go unbelieved; wait until ruin is upon you and regret cannot catch up. Chonghui alone, in his narrow wisdom, foresaw the Prince of Lu's doom, yet schemed badly and ended with his own death and his clan wiped out—the breach began here. When the Min Emperor died he was laid in a shallow grave at Huiling, a single mound of earth; travelers who passed by all mourned for him. If Mingzong could know from beyond the grave, he would blush for Chonghui—how lamentable!
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