[The later Tang Dynasty established a national jade seal]
In the first month of the fourth year of Qianhua (914), Li Cunxu captured and beheaded Liu Rengong and Liu Shouguang, which shocked Hebei. Wang Rong's staff reminded: "Your Majesty, you have the title of 'Shang Shu Ling', which was conferred by the Hou Liang regime. Now that the king follows Li Cunxu from Hedong and becomes the enemy of the Hou Liang, he should no longer retain the title of the Hou Liang. Besides, since Taizong Li Shimin , no one dares to accept the 'Shang Shu Ling'. Now Li Cunxu is in charge in Hebei. Although his achievements are great, his position is very low. You might as well transfer this title to him."
After Wang Rong heard this, cold sweat broke out down his spine, "Yes, yes, yes, why didn't I think of that!" So he joined forces with Wang Chuzhi of Dingzhou, sent envoys to visit Taiyuan, and jointly supported Li Cunxu as Shangshu Ling.
Following the old rules, Li Cunxu declined three times, then accepted, and followed Taizong Li Shimin's old practice to set up a local authority representing the central government, Xingtai. From then on, Li Cunxu could issue orders in the name of the emperor of the Tang Dynasty.
Obviously, it was illegal for Li Cunxu to accept the "Shang Shu Order" and set up a platform. Let's not talk about whether the "Shang Shu Ling" allows transfer. Wang Rong's Shangshu Ling was canonized by the Later Liang Dynasty. Now that neither Li Cunxu nor Wang Rong recognizes the Hou Liang regime, the "Shang Shu Ling" does not exist at all. However, under the influence of Wang Rong's desire for survival and Li Cunxu's vanity, all parties reached a tacit understanding and deliberately avoided the most critical and fundamental issue of legal correctness.
Accepting the "Shang Shu Order" was an important milestone for Li Cunxu to become emperor.
In the seventh year of Zhengming (921), Li Cunxu won successive victories in the war against Houliang, and his control area continued to expand. He controlled almost all the land north of the Yellow River and gained great prestige.
Therefore, Qianshu, which had long been proclaimed emperor and established its country, and Nanwu (Huainan), which had recently proclaimed its emperor and established its country, wrote to Li Cunxu many times, urging him to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor as soon as possible and join the emperor's circle of friends.
Li Cunxu forwarded these letters to the left and right officials and commented: "In the past, Grand Master Wang also constantly urged his father to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor, saying that the Tang Dynasty had perished and we should each proclaim ourselves emperor and dominate our own country. My father told him, ' Back then, Li Maozhen claimed that the army was invading the palace, Emperor Zhaozong came to Shimen, and I led the army to kill the traitors. At that time, Hedong was famous all over the world. If I took the opportunity to coerce the emperor, order the princes to occupy Guanzhong, and write a Jiuxi abdication edict myself, would it be wrong? Isn't it beautiful? Just because my family has been loyal and filial for generations, I would rather die than usurp.' My late father also taught me that I must help the Tang Dynasty in the future and not imitate these guys (Zhu Wen and Wang Jian)! To this day, these words are still with me In my ears." As he spoke, Li Cunxu burst into tears and burst into tears.
Li Cunxu's words were high-sounding, but he did not forget to insinuate that the Zhu thieves had usurped the Tang Dynasty. We can also see that Li Cunxu called Wang Jian "Wang Taishi", which was Wang Jian's official position in the Tang Dynasty. On the surface, Li Cunxu actively maintained the Tang Dynasty's cultural relics system, so he only recognized the Tang Dynasty's canonization appointment.
At the same time, it can also be seen that the Hedong Group internally deeply reflected on the incident in Taiyuan after the "Xingshimen" incident, and also believed that the emperor should be held hostage to order the princes, and should not listen to the benevolence of Gai Yu's woman.
Listen to the sound of speaking, and listen to the sound of gongs and drums. Li Cunxu kept saying that he would be a loyal minister of the Tang Dynasty and denounced the Zhu thieves for usurping power and Wang Jian for separatism. Did he really think so in his heart?
The answer is hehe.
Li Cunxu said no, but his body was very honest. Accepting the "Shang Shu Order" is a strong signal released to the outside world.
In the previous article "Three Towns Offense", when talking about Wang Xingyu's request for Shangshu Ling, we have already mentioned that since Taizong Li Shimin came to the throne, "Shang Shu Ling" has become a taboo for the people of the Tang Dynasty. From then on, no one dared to accept this Honorary title, and accepting the "Shang Shu Ling" has become an unspoken rule for tampering.
Guo Ziyi put down the "Anshi Rebellion", and Emperor Daizong gave him the "Ling of Ministers", but Guo Ziyi refused. In the end, Emperor Daizong had no choice but to hand over Guo Ziyi's deeds of resigning to the order of ministers to historians and ordered them to be included in the history of the country.
Since then, the "Shang Shu Ling" has become the touchstone of ministers' loyalty, and accepting it means treason.
Since Li Cunxu has calmly accepted the "Shang Shu Order", it is equivalent to sending a strong political signal to his subordinates. If his subordinates are still indifferent and pretend to be stupid, they will be too ignorant of the world.
With Li Cunxu's successive victories in the battle against Houliang, civil and military officials and towns across the country (such as Qianshu and Huainan) continued to persuade him to advance, asking Li Cunxu to obey the people and ascend to the throne of emperor as soon as possible.
While Li Cunxu refused, "I am a Tang official, not a Tang thief," he ordered his men to purchase precious jade and carve the emperor's seal.
At this time, a monk named "Fax" in Weizhou presented the legendary "Jade Seal of the Kingdom".
The Chuanguo Jade Seal has been famous all over the world since before its birth, and its life experience has always been full of mystery. Its predecessor was "He's Bi", the idiom "returning the complete jade to Zhao", the piece of bi was later carved by Qin Prime Minister Li Si, and later became the emperor's "business license" and the only legal token.
If you look through historical records, you will find that this legendary jade seal has been lost many times. The earliest appearance was from Qin Shihuang himself. It is said that when he was crossing Dongting Lake, a stormy sea suddenly arose. Qin Shihuang was so frightened that he threw the jade seal into the lake and prayed to the Dragon King for protection, so the jade seal disappeared.
Many years later, it was salvaged and rededicated.
After Liu Bang became emperor, he obtained the jade seal. According to records, the jade seal was engraved with the words "Ordered by heaven, both long life and good health". However, the legendary jade seal passed down to the country should be "Ordained by heaven, both longevity and prosperity". In other words, if the historical data are all true and there are no clerical errors or omissions, what Liu Bang has in his hands is already a copycat version.
When Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty, he asked the Queen Mother for a jade seal. In a rage, the queen mother threw the jade seal to the ground and lost a corner. Later, it was repaired with gold, so the jade seal of the country was nicknamed "gold inlaid with jade". As the saying goes, "Eye can't see gold inlaid with jade", the gold inlaid with jade refers to the jade seal passed down to the country.
When Dong Zhuo rebelled at the end of the Han Dynasty, the jade seal was lost again. It is said that Sun Jian picked it up from a dry well. Later, it was blackmailed by Yuan Shu. After Yuan Shu died, the jade seal found its way to Cao Cao...
After the Sui Dynasty, after the death of Emperor Sui Yang, the jade seal was taken to Mobei and disappeared in the Central Plains. Li Shimin had to copy Yuxi again. Later, the political prisoners of the Sui Dynasty fled back to the Central Plains from Mobei and dedicated the jade seal to Li Shimin.
Until the end of the Tang Dynasty, when Huang Chao invaded Chang'an, it is said that the whereabouts of this jade seal were unknown again.
Now, the faxed monk presented the "Jade Seal", saying that his master accidentally obtained it when Huang Chao invaded Chang'an. He only knew that it was exquisite, but did not know what it was. He had been keeping it for forty years, and he had been short of money recently. I wanted to sell the money in the market, and then I was recognized and came to donate it.
Li Cunxu was very happy. All the civil and military officials congratulated him and held a banquet. He would not return until he was drunk.
It is worth mentioning that Wang Jian also has a "Jade Seal of the State". It is said that it was brought to Chengdu by Tian Lingzi when Emperor Xizong visited Shu. It was hidden by Tian Lingzi, and was later discovered and presented to Wang Jian.
There is no need to identify the authenticity of these jade seals, because their authenticity is meaningless. It is also just a signal. Just like the "Shang Shu Ling", it is a pathfinder for ambitious heroes and an important milestone on the road to ascending the throne and becoming emperor. .
Anyone who plans to proclaim himself emperor will receive a "jade seal" from the people, and various auspicious signs will appear within the territory. This is a common way to become emperor.
After Zhang Chengye heard this signal, he immediately rushed from Taiyuan to Weizhou and tried his best to dissuade Li Cunxu from having evil thoughts!
"The king has been loyal to the Tang Dynasty for generations, so I, my old servant, have served the king and his son with all my heart for thirty years! Today, Hebei is roughly set, but the red thieves are still there, how can the king rush to proclaim himself emperor? The king should be thorough first Destroy the red thieves, avenge the two saints (Zhaozong and Emperor Ai), then search for the descendants of the Li and Tang royal families, support them in inheriting the unification, then conquer Huainan to the south, conquer Qianshu to the west, and restore the Tang Dynasty to its former glory!"
Helping the Tang Dynasty is just a political slogan of Li Cunxu. Certain things are a matter of course. How can you deceive yourself by lying to others? Zhang Chengye, you are too involved in the drama. Li Cunxu thought so, but he couldn't say it.
Li Cunxu looked embarrassed and said, "I don't want to be like this, but you see, they have to be like this... It's hard to refuse kindness, and I'm riding a tiger and it's hard to get off."
Li Cunxu has shown his cards, I don't want to pretend anymore, I just want to ascend the throne and proclaim myself emperor.
Li Cunxu, you scumbag, you deceived me and deceived my feelings! Zhang Chengye was in agony and burst into tears, "People all over the world fought bloody battles, all for a common goal: to help the Tang Dynasty! Now, my king, you actually want to be the emperor yourself..."
Zhang Chengye was innocent and simple, and his loyalty to the Tang Dynasty was touching. Helping the Tang Dynasty was his lifelong career and pursuit. In order to achieve this grand goal, he wholeheartedly assisted Li Keyong and Li Cunxu, dedicated his great youth (30 years) to the Hedong Group, and devoted his whole life to it. Seeing that the revolution was on the eve of victory, Li Cunxu suddenly betrayed the revolution and stole the fruits of victory. ...Li Cunxu, you and Zhu Wen are the same as each other!
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We cannot understand Zhang Chengye's pain. His whole life's hard work was ruined in one moment, and his spiritual palace collapsed instantly... It's too cruel, too cruel.
Zhang Chengye burst into tears, wailing and shouting an extremely heartbreaking sentence: "You have tricked me to death (old slave)!"
After returning to Taiyuan, Zhang Chengye went on a hunger strike and died in the Tang Dynasty.
