【Pumping dad and plotting against Liu】
Xiao Liu is from Weizhou. His father's real name is not recorded in the historical records, only "Liu Sou", Old Man Liu. Old Man Liu is a charlatan by profession. He sells counterfeit medicines on the street and works part-time as a fortune teller and Feng Shui reader. He calls himself "Liu Shanren". Old Man Liu has a very distinctive appearance feature-yellow beard.
When the Hedong Army plundered Weizhou, the general Yuan Jianfeng snatched little Liu from the arms of old man Liu. At that time, little Liu was still a little girl of five or six years old.
At that time, children were often plundered as important strategic resources. Boys could be sent to the army, and those who performed well were even adopted by warlords. Many of Li Ke's adopted sons were boys who were plundered in those years; girls were They were sent to the "Happy Group" in the palace, where they were taught how to play, play and sing, and served the powerful. Those who were excellent in both sex and art could also be selected as concubines.
Xiao Liu was very artistic, and soon became a foreman with outstanding skills. As she grew older, she became more and more beautiful, and was attracted by Li Cunxu. "She has hair and is very colorful, and Zhuang Zong was delighted when he saw it." After Li Cunxu came to the throne, he went to watch Xiao Liu's performance with his mother. Xiao Liu was very well-behaved and knew that this was a turning point in fate, so he personally bought wine for the mother and son to celebrate their birthdays, and showed off his singing and dancing skills to impress the old lady. Very happy.
If you want to marry your son, you must first please your mother-in-law. A principle that has remained unchanged since ancient times.
After the banquet was over, Li Cunxu's mother gave the order to give Li Cunxu the little Liu family. Xiao Liu was very scheming, and after a period of palace fighting, she became Li Cunxu's "mistress". Li Cunxu's first wife was Han, followed by Yi.
Xiao Liu was not ranked third at first. There was a Hou before her. This Hou family was originally the wife of Hou Liang general Fu Daozhao. In the "Battle of Desheng Jiacheng", Fu Daozhao died in battle, and the Hou family was taken over by Li Cunxu. Hou's country was beautiful and fragrant, and she was very favored by Li Cunxu. Because she won the "Battle of Jiazhai" (Desheng Jiacheng is also known as Desheng Jiazhai), the palace called her "Mrs. Jiazhai". When Li Cunxu went out to fight, he often took "Mrs. Jiazhai" Hou with him.
Xiao Liu's belly was so full that she gave birth to Li Jiji. Li Jicheng was Li Cunxu's eldest son, and he looked very much like Li Cunxu. A mother valued her son, so the young Liu family got Li Cunxu's special favor because of Li Jicheng's relationship. After that, when Li Cunxu went out to fight again, he only had Xiao Liu with him.
Another concubine who was as beautiful as a flower also gave birth to a well-behaved and clever son for Li Cunxu, who was also very popular with Li Cunxu. Xiao Liu's status was threatened, but this did not stop Xiao Liu, the king of palace fighting.
One day, General Yuan Xingqin came to the palace for a visit, and Li Cunxu chatted with him about domestic matters. Xiao Liu and the concubine were both present to serve him. At that time, Yuan Xingqin's wife had just passed away. During the chat, Li Cunxu asked him: "Your wife just passed away. Do you plan to remarry? How about I help you introduce her?"
Before Yuan Xingqin could speak, Xiao Liu took the lead and pointed at the concubine beside her, "What do you mean? Okay, Your Majesty!"
"Ah? Ah..."
Just when Li Cunxu was stunned, Xiao Liu winked at Yuan Xingqin and said, "Why don't you thank me quickly!"
Yuan Xingqin didn't know where the two singing songs came from, and he didn't dare to offend anyone, so under Xiao Liu's order, he kowtowed to Li Cunxu.
"Thank you Lord for your kindness..." He raised his head and said, "Huh? Where is the person?" He tilted his head again and found that the concubine had been carried out of the palace on a sedan.
"Your wife is on delivery, please keep the communication open."
It would be a shame for Mr. Liu not to do express delivery. Obviously, she had colluded with the eunuchs for a long time. The sedan chair, bearers, and navigators had been on standby for who knows how long. As long as they caught Li Cunxu's words, they would make him raw rice and cooked rice.
He gave his concubine to the minister as a tribute to Zhaozong.
Li Cunxu was so angry that he didn't eat for several days.
Using similar tricks, Xiao Liu eliminated all potential threats around him.
After Li Cunxu doted on Xiao Liu, the other concubines did not even have the chance to see Li Cunxu again. Xiao Liu only doted on the harem.
Hearing that his long-lost daughter had transformed into the wife of the president of Hedong Group, Old Man Liu was instantly happy, so he came to the Weizhou government office and said, "No more pretense, let's show our cards. I am the father-in-law of King Jin!"
When Li Cunxu heard that his long-lost father-in-law came to see him, he did not dare to neglect him. After a brief greeting with Old Man Liu, he asked him to hide behind a screen, and then summoned Yuan Jianfeng urgently.
"General Yuan, can you still recall what happened back then?"
Yuan Jianfeng pondered slightly, "Although it has been many years and we only met once, I really remember it very clearly! It's just because that person's appearance is so special and easy to recognize. I was in Beiwu, Cheng'an, Weizhou, When I snatched Mrs. Liu, she was still a five- or six-year-old baby, hiding in the arms of an old man with a yellow beard, but I snatched her away."
Li Cunxu nodded, "Then take a look, do you know this person? Come out."
Old man Liu turned around the screen, revealed himself, and saluted Yuan Jianfeng, "Thank you so much, General, for robbing your daughter!"
Yuan Jianfeng only glanced at him and immediately said with certainty: "It's him!"
The long-lost father-in-law and son-in-law recognized each other and everyone was happy. Li Cunxu quickly sent someone to the harem to summon Xiao Liu, "Your biological father is here!"
Unexpectedly, Xiao Liu became angry from shame. Because in feudal society, especially at the end of the Tang Dynasty, family background was a very important asset. Unlike today’s talent show, where competition is so miserable, if you wanted to be an official, gain social recognition and respect, and be an official, you had to compete with your father and ancestors. , after flaunting himself as a member of a famous family. Even when competing for favor in the harem, one must pay attention to family background.
In the process of competing for favor with other concubines in the harem, Xiao Liu's humble background has been under attack. She also wanted to create a persona "after Liu Sheng, Prince Jing of Zhongshan". At this time, there was an old man Liu who was selling health care products everywhere. But to come to the door to recognize a relative, isn't this a slap in the face in public? How will she get along in the harem in the future?
Xiao Liu was furious and said to Li Cunxu: "I still have some memories of my childhood. Unfortunately, my father died in the rebellion. I was lying on my father's body and cried bitterly. Where did this country bumpkin and old farmer come from? , actually pretending to be my father? Beat me hard!"
Under Xiao Liu's order, Old Liu was beaten out with random sticks.
Wu Zetian killed her daughter, and Xiao Liu beat her own father.
In order to solidify her fatherless persona, Xiao Liu did not hesitate to recognize the minister as his godfather.
In the twelfth lunar month of the second year of Tongguang (924), Xiao Liu accompanied Li Cunxu to visit the home of "healing master" Zhang Quanyi. After three rounds of wine and five delicious dishes, Xiao Liu said to Zhang Quanyi: "I lost my parents when I was a child and became an orphan. As the saying goes, a child wants to be raised but not loved. For a long time, whenever he sees an elderly person, he will I have a strong urge to fulfill my filial piety. If you don’t mind it, I want to ask you to be my godfather and let me fulfill my filial piety as a child!”
At that time, Xiao Liu was already the queen. The queen wanted to recognize her minister as her godfather, but Zhang Quanyi was frightened and hurriedly refused, "No way!"
This is not a question of lack of father's love, nor is it a question of fulfilling filial piety, but a question of whether Liu Sou is Xiao Liu's biological father.
Xiao Liu asked very sincerely again and again, but Zhang Quanyi politely declined again and again.
Finally, Li Cunxu came forward to smooth things over, and Zhang Quanyi was forced to accept. In panic, Zhang Quanyi took out a large amount of jewelry to express his gratitude to the emperor, and Xiao Liu also gave it as a generous gift.
The next day, Xiao Liu ordered Zhao Feng, a Hanlin scholar, to draft a "letter home" to greet his godfather. Zhao Feng immediately told Li Cunxu secretly, saying that since Pangu created the world and Nuwa created humans to mend the sky, where has any queen recognized her subjects as godfathers? The most ridiculous thing in the world! Never do it.
Li Cunxu praised Zhao Feng for his integrity, but still ordered him to listen to Xiao Liu.
From then on, Xiao Liu really treated Zhang Quanyi as a child, sending people to Zhang Quanyi's house every day to say hello and constantly giving him gifts.
"Pumping dad and scheming Liu", in addition to beating dad, Xiao Liu is also very good at scheming. To be flattering, she has a unique business acumen.
She has two major hobbies: worshiping Buddha and collecting money.
Xiao Liu came from a humble background, but was deeply favored by Li Cunxu, so he thought he had received the blessing of the Buddha. What is different from other ignorant kings and sycophants who worship Buddha is that Xiao Liu is simply and devoutly grateful to the Buddha, but is unwilling to spend money for the Buddha. She only expresses her respect for the Buddha by copying scriptures and giving small money to monks and nuns. .
Compared to Buddha, her obsession with money has reached an outrageous level.
She sent her men to the market to buy cheap goods, such as vegetables, fruits, firewood, etc., and then brought them back to the market, saying that they were royal items for the palace and selling them at high prices.
After she gained Li Cunxu's special favor, she embezzled public funds without restraint. There was an unwritten unspoken rule at that time: the tribute paid by all parts of the world must be divided into two parts, one part returned to the national treasury, and the other part sent to the harem to belong to the Xiao Liu family.
Embezzling half of the country's finances is not enough to satisfy Xiao Liu's appetite. Xiao Liu blatantly accepted bribes, and she had a unique professional ethics. As long as the funds were in place, no matter who gave the bribe or what was asked for, she would not refuse and would respond to any request. Therefore, Xiao Liu became the most powerful backdoor and the toughest in the Later Tang Dynasty. relationship, the most effective way to smooth things over.
When Zhuangzong entered Bian, Yuan Xiangxian, a member of the Later Liang "relatives gang", was the first to go to Beijing to meet with him, bringing with him truckloads of gold and silver treasures, which he used to bribe Xiao Liu, actors, eunuchs and dignitaries of the Later Tang Dynasty. In just a few days, Yuan Xiangxian was praised both inside and outside the palace. Because of this, Yuan Xiangxian was safe and well, and was favored by Li Cunxu. He was given the name Li Shaoan, and he led Songzhou to the German Army (formerly the Xuanwu Army) as a military envoy, and continued to ride on the people's necks to dominate;
"Healing Master" Zhang Quanyi also established himself in the Later Tang Dynasty through bribery and was promoted to "King of Qi";
Duan Ning also bribed a lot of money to get favor, named Li Shaoqin, and went out to control the Taining Army in Yanzhou;
The "grave robber" Wen Tao dug up all the imperial tombs of the Tang Dynasty. He should be the enemy of Li Cunxu, who claimed to be the successor and resurgence of the Tang Dynasty. He also used bribery to avoid being held accountable and was even given a name. Li Shaochong, "Zhuang Zong treated Tao very well";
Jingnan Gao Jichang went to Beijing for an audience, but also escaped unscathed through bribery, which will be described in detail later;
The traitor Li Jitao was ordered to appear before him. He also paid a bribe of hundreds of thousands taels of silver and was favored by Li Cunxu. He also often accompanied Li Cunxu on hunting trips. However, he was later executed after he conspired to rebel again...
There are numerous examples of Xiao Liu accepting bribes and interfering in government affairs. No one in the world knows that no matter whether it's a political prisoner's cleansing or a coward seeking office, as long as Xiao Liu is given money, there's nothing she can't do.
As a result, Xiao Liu accumulated a lot of money, and the gold, silver and jewelry in the palace piled up like mountains.
Xiao Liu was obsessed with saving money, but was very stingy with spending money, so much so that when the country faced a crisis, she refused to save him. This was the key reason for Li Cunxu's defeat, which will be discussed in detail later.
In order to cater to the Xiao Liu family and support Li Cunxu, the Later Tang regime would inevitably breed a large number of corrupt officials who were proficient in plundering people's wealth, such as Kong Qian, who could be called the "imperial cash machine".
