A word to wake up the dreamer. When his father is ill, of course his son has to serve him, and Chai Rong has unavoidable obligations both emotionally and rationally. What's more, this also involves the transfer of the empire's highest power. Although Guo Wei has no other heirs and there is no fight for the right to inherit the throne, Wang Jun, Wang Yin and other powerful officials in the ruling and border areas may not covet the throne.
During the period when the emperor was ill, it was a golden period for fierce competition between various forces. During this period, many peripheral elements would use any means to overtake others, just like the speed skaters of the United States. Their hearts and hands were not clean. Some of them were successful, such as Zhu Yougui. ; There are also those who failed, such as Li Congrong.
The main purpose of Chai Rong entering the palace to serve the sickbed was to prevent people like Zhu Yougui and Li Congrong from appearing, and to ensure that Guo Wei's will could be carried out unimpeded and without being distorted or tampered with.
Chai Rong suddenly realized that he moved into the palace that day and stayed at the bedside almost 24 hours a day.
On the eleventh day of the first lunar month, Guo Wei's condition worsened, and he issued an edict to let Chai Rong supervise the country and exercise the power of the emperor. Then came the dazzling promotion of officials and nobles. Almost everyone in the world was promoted to princes, meritorious civil and military officers, laying the foundation for the transfer of power.
Before Guo Wei died of illness, he told his successor Chai Rong three very typical things:
1. Thin burial
Guo Wei said that after his death, the funeral should be quick and simple. All craftsmen and migrant workers involved in the construction of the mausoleum should be paid corresponding salaries, and the people should not be harassed on the grounds of building the mausoleum;
Stone pillars are not allowed in mausoleums because they are "labor-intensive and can only be replaced by bricks";
Burial in earthen coffin and paper clothes, if you don't do as I say, my ghost will not bless you;
Do not build a duplex structure (do not build the lower palace), do not set up mausoleum guards, and do not erect stone figures, stone animals, etc. Only erect a stone tablet in front of the tomb with the words "The Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty came to Yan and made an appointment with the successor emperor, and the fate was good throughout his life." Being frugal, they only buried themselves in earthenware coffins and paper clothes."
Before burial, be sure to open the tile coffin and carefully check every corner of the tomb to avoid accidentally injuring anyone (human martyrdom);
During the Tomb-Sweeping Day in the future, if the country has nothing to do, you can send people to visit the tomb as appropriate. If you are busy, you don’t need to send people to the site and just hold a memorial ceremony at a distance;
I buried a pair of sword armor each in Hezhongfu and Weizhou, because that is where I fought. I buried a Tongtian crown and Jiangsha robe in Chanzhou, and a pair of Pingtian crown and Gunlong robe in Bianzhou.
After explaining his funeral affairs, Guo Wei recalled to Chai Rong: "When I attacked Hezhong before, I witnessed the current situation of the imperial tombs of the Tang Dynasty. At first, they wasted money, wasted money, and was extravagant and luxurious. In just a few years, the tombs were robbed. Thieves dug and destroyed it. However, Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty was frugal, and his tomb is still well preserved. Remember, it must be buried sparingly!"
In addition to preventing tomb robbers from visiting, Guo Wei set an example and advocated thin burials. This was also forced by reality to save the country's financial expenditure.
2. Treat Li Hongyi well
When Guo Wei was dying, he told Chai Rong that he must give Li Hongyi a position as a military governor and treat him kindly. During the Xiao Qiang Incident, if Li Hongyi hadn't reported it, the fate of Guo Wei and others would have been a big question mark.
Treating Li Hongyi well is a manifestation of Guo Wei's clear love and hatred. This temperament remained until the Song Dynasty. Zhao Kuangyin launched the Chenqiao Mutiny and took over the country from Chai Zongxun. He also formulated the ancestral motto of "treating the descendants of the Chai family well" instead of treating the previous emperor like Zhu Wen and other usurpers. The whole family was copied and beheaded.
3. Reuse Wei Renpu
In the early years of the Later Han Dynasty, Wei Renpu fled from Khitan and went to Liu Zhiyuan's tent after being introduced by Guo Wei. Guo Wei and Wei Renpu fell in love with each other and hated each other for a long time.
During the Xiaoqiang Incident, Wei Renpu helped Guo Wei with advice and made great contributions to Guo Wei's founding of the country. We can even boldly speculate that the chief director of the "Chanzhou Mutiny" was Wei Renpu, but the official history will never admit it, because according to the official official report of the official history, the mutiny was an accident, and Guo Wei was really "forced" to claim To the emperor, Guo Wei is innocent, just like Cao Cao, Sima Zhao, and Zhao Kuangyin.
After Guo Wei proclaimed himself emperor, he promoted Wei Renpu to Deputy Privy Councilor and later to Privy Councilor, using him to check and balance Privy Councilor Wang Jun. Of course, this meaning can only be understood but cannot be expressed in words.
One day, without any preparation, Guo Wei suddenly asked Wei Renpu about the number of troops stationed in various states in the world and the names of the generals who led the troops, and inspected Wei Renpu's work.
Wei Renpu answered calmly, and Guo Wei took the roster to check, and it turned out to be accurate! Guo Wei was very pleased.
When Guo Wei was dying, he warned Chai Rong: No matter what, Wei Renpu cannot be expelled from the Privy Council!
Chai Rong was very obedient and appointed Li Hongyi as Grand Master of the School. Soon after, he was appointed as Minister of the Imperial Guard. He moved to Qingzhou and later to Chang'an. After Chai Zongxun came to the throne, he opened the Yitong Sansi Division. Wei Renpu was promoted from Privy Councilor to Deputy Privy Councilor. make.
In addition to Wei Renpu, Guo Wei also left Chai Rong a complete set of mature civil servant groups, such as Wang Pu, Fan Zhi, etc. When Guo Wei felt that he was about to die, he hurriedly urged the Hanlin scholars to draft an edict appointing Wang Pu as prime minister. After the announcement was completed, Guo Wei said happily: "I have no regrets!"
Wang Pu assisted the four emperors of the two dynasties and was a famous wise prime minister in history. His greatest contribution was to compile one hundred volumes of "Huiyao of the Tang Dynasty" based on the work of his predecessors, and also compiled and compiled "Huiyao of the Five Dynasties". " has thirty volumes, and has since advocated the style of "Huiyao". As a result, a series of immortal works such as "Huiyao of Song Dynasty" and "Huiyao of Spring and Autumn Period" appeared in later generations.
Later generations commented that Wang Pu, Fan Zhi, and Wei Renpu were all prime ministers. They were also ministers of the Song Dynasty Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, and they made great contributions to the Song Dynasty in ending the chaos of the Five Dynasties.
In the last stage of his life, Guo Wei summoned his nephew Li Chongjin to his side. Li Chongjin was older than Chai Rong, but Guo Wei asked Li Chongjin to kneel down to Chai Rong in front of him and declare himself a minister, clarifying the distinction between monarch and minister, and then finally closed his eyes with peace of mind.
On the same day (the seventeenth day of the first lunar month), Guo Wei passed away successfully in Zide Hall at the age of 51.
The palace strictly blocks information from the outside world. Although Guo Wei has made detailed arrangements, the transfer of supreme power is far from simple. Chai Rong has a lot of work.
On the 20th of the first lunar month, Guo Wei's edict was read: Chai Rong ascended the throne as emperor in front of the coffin.
The next day, Chai Rong officially ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, namely Shizong of the Later Zhou Dynasty.
Later generations spoke very highly of Guo Wei, "After a month, all the bad governance is eliminated, and after a year, the public sentiment is subdued. How can one do good things like this? He can adapt to endless changes... Although the country does not enjoy a long life, it still has a good foundation." , Guo Wei corrected all the shortcomings of the Later Han Dynasty in a short period of time and laid a solid foundation for future prosperity.
When he died, he ordered a thin burial, which was also a model that was highly praised and praised by later generations.
Of course, he also had controversial aspects. The biggest controversy was the "Execution of Two Kings", which killed the two founding heroes Wang Jun and Wang Yin. Although the history books list various disobedient behaviors of Wang Jun and Wang Yin to prove that it is just and right to kill the two kings, some people still think that this is a manifestation of Guo Wei's inability to control the powerful.
