[Establishing the last eunuch in Later Tang Dynasty 2]
The Tang Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty were dynasties that suffered from eunuchs. Especially in the Tang Dynasty, the powerful eunuchs were in power and disrupted the government, even to the point of deposing the emperor. For example, Tian Lingzi, Yang Fugong, Liu Jishu, and Han Quanhui were highlighted in the previous article of this book.
Ironically, the two eunuchs who were most loyal to the Tang Dynasty were Yang Fuguang and Zhang Chengye. They make many hypocrites who claim to be men feel ashamed.
Zhang Chengye's real surname was Kang. He entered the palace at an early age and was adopted as an adopted son by the eunuch Zhang Tai, so he assumed his surname of Zhang. Because of his many missions to Hedong, he was appointed as the eunuch to oversee the army in Hedong, and he stayed with Li Keyong from then on. At that time, the Tang Dynasty pinned its hopes of reviving the Tang Dynasty on Li Keyong. Li Keyong often regarded himself as a loyal minister of the Tang Dynasty, and Zhang Chengye assisted him wholeheartedly.
Li Keyong respected Zhang Chengye's character and ability very much, so when he was dying, he made Zhang Chengye a trusted minister and asked him to continue to assist his son Li Cunxu.
Zhang Chengye has a high and powerful position, but he is cautious and cautious. He never uses his power to bully others or sells his official position. He is clean-minded and has noble moral character. Even when facing Li Cunxu, he is neither humble nor arrogant. He is both a slave of the Li family and an elder of the Li family. When Li Cunxu makes a mistake, he will always speak out to advise him, just like an elder teaching a younger generation.
Although Li Cunxu respected him very much, he occasionally acted foolishly.
One time, Li Cunxu held a banquet outside the treasury. During the banquet, Li Cunxu ordered his son Li Jiji to dance for Zhang Chengye. According to etiquette, Zhang Chengye stood up to thank him and presented gifts such as BMWs and jade belts to Li Jiji. Li Cunxu said to Zhang Chengye: "You are too stingy. How much is this broken horse worth? My son is a little short of money recently -" Then he pointed to the pile of money in the treasury and said, "There is plenty of money here. How many piles can you give him?" Okay." Then he pointed at Zhang Chengye and said to Li Jiji: "In the future, if you are short of money, ask him for it."
Zhang Chengye's main job is equivalent to the financial director of Hedong Group. He is in charge of finance, taxation and expenditure, and is Li Cunxu's pocketbook.
Zhang Chengye quickly argued, saying that the gifts I gave him were paid out of my own salary, and these were public funds from the treasury, so how could they be used at will?
Li Cunxu was very unhappy, "What's owned by the public belongs to my family. I'll give it to you. Do you dare not listen?"
Zhang Chengye was very upright and contradicted him face to face: "Public funds are for the public. How dare I misappropriate public funds and give personal favors?"
Li Cunxu was furious, and because of his drunkenness, he cursed Zhang Chengye.
Zhang Chengye was also furious and said: "I am just an old eunuch with no descendants. What do I want? I just think about the Hedong Group wholeheartedly and assist the king to achieve a great cause. Otherwise, the money here will be lost. You are squandering carelessly, wasting the country's power, dividing people's hearts, and leaving nothing to chance!"
Li Cunxu was really anxious. He turned around and called Yuan Xingqin to take his sword. He wanted to kill the old eunuch with his own hands.
Zhang Chengye stood up, grabbed Li Cunxu's clothes, and cried: "I was ordered by the late king Tuogu to swear to eliminate the red thieves for the country. If I die in your hands today because of cherishing public funds, I will meet the late king under Jiuquan. With a clear conscience, Your Majesty, please take action quickly!"
Yan Bao rushed over, scolded Zhang Chengye for being rude, and then wanted to break Zhang Chengye's hand.
Zhang Chengye was so angry that he knocked Yan Bao to the ground with one punch and cursed him bitterly, "Yan Bao, you are originally a member of the bandit gang. You just surrendered to Hedong. The king spared you the favor of not killing you and used you in a big way. Not only did you not You don’t want to repay, but instead you focus on flattering and flattering. You will only lead Hedong into the abyss. What on earth do you want to do?"
Yan Bao sat on the ground covering his face, not daring to say anything.
An attendant conveyed the news to Li Cunxu's mother, Cao. Cao quickly sent someone to summon Li Cunxu.
"Li Cunxu, your mother asked you to come over."
Li Cunxu was the most filial person. When he heard that his mother knew about his bastard behavior and invited him over for tea, he suddenly sobered up and quickly changed his attitude. He knelt down and kowtowed to Zhang Chengye very sincerely and begged: "Seventh brother (to Zhang Chengye) (honorific title), I was wrong! I drank too much just now, which offended you and alarmed the wife... Brother Qi, please, drink this glass of wine (to express reconciliation between the two)."
Li Cunxu poured the wine himself, holding the wine glass in his hand, and knelt down to toast Zhang Chengye, "Do it first!" Li Cunxu drank four glasses in a row.
Zhang Chengye turned around and gave Li Cunxu a slap on the back of his head without taking a sip.
Li Cunxu went to his mother's house anxiously.
Later, Mrs. Cao sent someone to tell Zhang Chengye, "I have offended you because of your disrespect. I have already whipped him."
The next day, Mrs. Cao led Li Cunxu, mother and son to Zhang Chengye's home in person to apologize.
This is Zhang Chengye's position in Hedong Group.
A few days later, Li Cunxu granted Zhang Chengye the following title: Kaifu Yi Tongsan Si, Zuo Wei, General, was granted the title of Duke of Yan.
Zhang Chengye resolutely resigned. Zhang Chengye sincerely supported the Tang Dynasty and helped the Tang Dynasty, so until his death he only used the official title he had received before the fall of the Tang Dynasty.
He is dedicated to his duties at work and is impeccable in life. It can be said that he is selfless.
Zhang Chengye not only has a clean mind, but also strictly disciplines his family members.
One time, one of his nephews had a dispute with a cattle dealer and impulsively killed the cattle dealer. Zhang Chengye immediately killed his relatives and beheaded his nephew. At the same time, Li Cunxu also heard about the case and hurriedly sent people to mediate, leaving others behind. When Li Cunxu's envoy arrived, Zhang Chengye had already executed his nephew.
Another nephew was appointed as the governor of Linzhou. Before taking office, Zhang Chengye personally warned him, saying: "You were just a commoner, and you once worked as a bandit and robber with Liu Zhijun, killing people and setting fires. You have a bad record! If you can't change your past. , If you change your life, I will call you a ghost!" After this nephew took office, he did not dare to break the law and discipline, and became an outstanding cadre in Hedong...
There was a comrade named Lu Zhi in the Hedong Group who loved to drink and drink like crazy. He often became rude and rude after drinking. He repeatedly called Li Cunxu's younger brothers "pig and dog", which made Li Cunxu very angry.
Zhang Chengye was worried that Li Cunxu would kill Lu Zhi impulsively, so he found an opportunity and said to Li Cunxu: "This kid Lu Zhi is too impudent and always offends the king. How about I kill him for you to relieve your hatred?"
"No," Li Cunxu objected immediately, "Now we are recruiting talents from all over the world to fight against the tyranny of power and complete the great mission of supporting the Tang Dynasty. Lu Zhi was just drunk and lost his temper, and his crime is not worthy of death. If you kill him because of this, He, who else in the world would defect to Hedong and serve us? Brother Qi, how could you say such a thing?"
Zhang Chengye was overjoyed. He immediately stood up and bowed again, congratulating him and saying, "If your Majesty has such a broad mind, why worry about failing to achieve your great cause?"
Only then did Li Cunxu understand that Zhang Chengye was deliberately telling the truth and admonishing him. So I am very happy to have such people around me to help me. Lu Zhi was no longer in fear of his life. From then on, Li Cunxu forgave him for his indulgence in drinking.
Later generations spoke highly of Zhang Chengye:
"Old History of the Five Dynasties": Chengye felt the great favor of Emperor Wu, and assisted Zhuangzong in his revival. He was both righteous and loyal.
"New History of the Five Dynasties": The misfortune of officials and women does not happen in a day... The theory of inheriting the industry alone is magnificent and lovely.
"Zi Zhi Tong Jian": Yang Fuguang's crusade against thieves... Zhang Chengye's loyalty to the end, are there no talents among them?
Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty: Lu Qiang of the Han Dynasty and Zhang Chengye of the Tang Dynasty could also be described as virtuous.
Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty: Since ancient times, there have been many officials and temples who have misled other people's country... Only inherit the industry and be loyal and sincere to the Tang Dynasty for the rest of his life...
Regarding Zhang Chengye's death, some historical records record that he died of illness. After learning that Li Cunxu was going to proclaim himself emperor, Zhang Chengye was so sad and angry that he fell ill and died soon after. Another theory is that he died of hunger strike after returning to Taiyuan from Weizhou. This book adopts the second statement, which is more logical and makes the characters more tragic.
After Zhang Chengye passed away, Li Cunxu was just like Li Shimin who lost Wei Zheng. He was so sad that he didn't eat for several days. Li Cunxu's mother, Mrs. Cao, personally went to Zhang Chengye's home to pay her respects and wore mourning clothes as a nephew.
After the death of Zhang Chengye, who enjoyed a high reputation within the Hedong Group, nothing could stop Li Cunxu's energy from proclaiming himself emperor.
