2. Fujian
The story of the Fujian royal family entrenched in today's Fujian goes back to the Huangchao Rebellion. Because it is far away from the main battlefield of the Central Plains and has few large-scale interactions with neighboring vassals (which affects the historical process), it has been deliberately ignored by us. , until the era of Li Siyuan. The following will briefly describe the ins and outs of the Fujian Wang family.
Huang Chao fought in most of China. During this period, in order to avoid being chased by the imperial army, he drove 700 miles into the mountains and entered Fujian. After ravaging Fujian, Huang Chao fled into Guangzhou, and then went on the Northern Expedition, and entered the country in the first year of Emperor Xizong of the Tang Dynasty (880). Lord Chang'an.
The arrival of Huang Chao broke the tranquility of Fujian and destroyed the local governance system of the Tang Dynasty in Fujian, causing the area to fall into anarchy and chaos. Under such circumstances, heroes from all over the country recruited troops and horses, under the banner of self-defense against thieves, developed regiment training, militia and other local armed forces, conquered cities and territories, strengthened their own strength, and then accepted the imperial recruitment and recruitment, transformed themselves into bandits, secretaries, gangsters and underworld groups. Became a civil servant in the Tang Dynasty.
Among them, Wang Xu, a butcher in Shouzhou who killed pigs and sold meat, and his brother-in-law Liu Xingquan gathered 500 local ruffians and captured Shouzhou. One month later, they captured Guangzhou, and the team expanded to about 10,000 people. Wang Xu then claimed to be a general and took advantage of the situation to contact the court and ask for recruitment.
At that time, Qin Zongquan in Caizhou had just brought order to the chaos. Under the persuasion of the eunuch Yang Fuguang, he abandoned the dark side and surrendered to the bright side. He broke away from the Huang Qi regime and returned to the Tang Dynasty. Yang Fuguang reported that Caizhou was promoted to serve the national army, and Qin Zongquan was appointed as the defense envoy of the national army.
Qin Zongquan just wanted to expand his power, so he appointed Wang Xu as the governor of Guangzhou and recruited him to recruit troops. From then on, Wang Xu became the younger brother of Qin Zongquan in Caizhou.
The three brothers Wang Chao, Wang Shenjun and Wang Shenzhi, who were temporary workers of the county government under the rule of Gushi County, were very prestigious in the local area and were nicknamed "Three Dragons". Therefore, the three brothers were promoted by Wang Xu and regarded as his own. wing.
The three brothers Wang Chao, Wang Shenwen and Wang Shenzhi were the founders of the later Fujian Kingdom and were revered as the "Three Kings of the Founding of Fujian" by later generations.
A large number of unfamiliar names suddenly appeared. Let’s briefly sort them out:
Big BOSS: Caizhou Qin Zongquan
Middle leader: Butcher Wang Xu
Younger brother: "Three Kings of Fujian", Wang Chao, Wang Shengui and Wang Shenzhi
Next, is another force that was recruited:
When Huang Chao was wreaking havoc in Fujian, Chen Yan, the boss of the local underworld, gathered thousands of people and called himself the "Nine Dragon Army" to defend his hometown and resist the invasion of thieves. Zheng Yi, the top local leader at the time, the Fujian Taoist Observer, looked at Chen Yan affectionately and said, "Your shameless look has the charm of my youth." So Chen Yan was appointed as the deputy envoy of regiment training and was officially included in his recruitment. .
Zheng Yi, who was originally the boss of the underworld in Xiapi, gathered a crowd of three thousand people to respond to Pang Xun. Later, seeing that Pang Xun's situation was over, he resolutely abandoned the dark side and surrendered to the court. He became a national civil servant and eventually became the top military and political leader in Fujian. Chen Yan has a lot of his former self.
Later, Li Lian, the governor of Quanzhou (today's Quanzhou City, Fujian Province) committed a crime and fled in fear of the crime. He assembled a group of ethnic minority troops to attack Fuzhou. Chen Yan led his troops to defeat him, which greatly boosted his army's power and reputation.
Zheng Yi was a sensible man. Seeing that Chen Yan's "great achievements shocked the master", he wisely stopped and took the initiative to persuade Comrade Chen Yan to take over his position.
Therefore, the imperial court appointed Chen Yan as the Fujian Road Observer and became the top leader in Fujian. Chen Yan showed both kindness and power during his tenure, and was deeply loved and respected by the people of Fujian.
Okay, let’s briefly summarize: Fujian Chen Yan.
Let’s talk about Guangzhou Wang Xu who took refuge under the wings of Caizhou Qin Zongquan.
Qin Zongquan of Caizhou asked Wang Xu endlessly for grain and grass, but Wang Xu had difficulty supplying it, so he excused himself because he was short of grain and could not supply it. Please forgive me. Qin Zongquan ordered him to send troops to attack Huangchao, but Wang Xu postponed his departure for various reasons. Qin Zongquan was furious and sent troops to investigate.
Wang Xu was so frightened that he led his troops to flee southward from Guangzhou to the ground in Fujian. During this period, in order to speed up the march, Wang Xu ordered the entire army to dress lightly and simply, and it was forbidden to carry the old, weak, sick, disabled, and pregnant women.
However, the "Three Kings of Fujian" secretly took their mother Dong with them.
Wang Xu's army crossed the mountains and ridges, and the road was rugged. Mrs. Dong was soon discovered by Wang Xu. Wang Xu was furious and summoned the "three kings of Kaifu" and reprimanded: "There is no rule without rules. The state has national laws, and the army also has military laws. Don't you know my military order? I have emphasized that you are not allowed to support the old and the young. , and you openly violated it, it is really unreasonable!" Ordered Mrs. Dong to be abandoned.
"Three Kings of Kaifu" explained: "Who in the world has no mother? Did you jump out of a stone? General, how can you force people to abandon their mothers?"
Wang Xu was furious, "How dare you talk back? Okay, you won't abandon me, right? Come here - kill me!" He ordered Mrs. Dong to be killed on the spot, cutting off the three brothers' thoughts.
The three brothers fell to their knees and cried: "We serve you with loyalty, general, and we serve our mother with filial piety. Is there any reason to kill the mother and use her son? If you really want to kill, general, please kill the three of us first." Brother."
The generals also begged for mercy and asked Wang Xuwang to be lenient.
Public anger is inevitable, so Wang Xu had no choice but to take back his orders, "Okay, let's note it down. It won't be the same next time!"
This incident will not be easy to get over. It will completely sever the relationship between Wang Xu and the "Three Kings of Kaifu". Both sides are suspicious of each other. Sooner or later, a fight will break out. Either you will die or I will die.
The team traveled all the way south, plundered Xunyang, crossed the Gan River, captured Tingzhou, and fell into Zhangpu. The number of the tribe grew to tens of thousands.
During this period, an "expert" told Wang Xu that there was an imperial aura in his team. Wang Xu kept this sentence firmly in mind, and secretly excluded those whose talents and prestige were higher than his own. Anyone who was braver, more resourceful, or elegant and tall would be planned to kill, even those who had repeatedly made military exploits. His brother-in-law Liu Xingquan was killed by him.
The "Three Kings of Kaifu" were very prestigious in the army, and they had openly disobeyed military orders, but the generals actually interceded on their behalf and forced themselves to take back their orders. Wang Xu would never forget this grudge. Next, he will plot against the "Three Kings of Fujian".
The three brothers are also always wary of Wang Xu.
Liu Xingquan was originally a pioneer. After he was killed, Wang Xu promoted a new pioneer officer.
When the vanguard troops marched to Nan'an, the "Three Kings of Kaifu" found the pioneer officer privately and said to him: "We left our hometowns, abandoned our ancestors' graves, abandoned our wives, children, and children, but came to this barbaric and smoky land to become bandits who committed murder and arson." , is this our original intention? We are just coerced by Wang Xu. Wang Xu is narrow-minded and cruel. All outstanding talents are killed by him for no reason. Even his brother-in-law Liu Xing cannot escape his clutches. How can you and I sit back and relax? Especially you, you have a heroic spirit between your brows, your appearance is extraordinary, you are better than others in horseback riding and archery, and now you are replacing Liu Xingquan as the vanguard, I am really scared for you!"
