Before Han Xizai sneaked into Huainan, he tearfully bid farewell to his friend Li Hub. During the dinner, the two talked about their thoughts and expressed their ambitions. Literary people are always so elegant when they brag, leaving us with the idiom and allusion of "finding things in the bag".
At that time, Han Xizai determined to be prime minister, give full play to his talents and realize his lofty ambitions.
He has knowledge and keen insight. For example, during the Chai Rong period of the Later Zhou Dynasty, Han Xizai was ordered to go on an envoy. After returning home, Li Jing asked him about the truth of the Central Plains. Han Xizai told the truth and gave a prophecy of his own, saying that Zhao Kuangyin would be inspected in front of the palace in the Later Zhou Dynasty. The attention is so great that it is almost unpredictable." When the news of the "Chenqiao Mutiny" came, the monarchs and ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty were in awe of Han Xizai.
Han Xizai's insight was as if he had a God's perspective, and he was cheating. When the Khitan destroyed the Jin Dynasty, he asserted that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Northern Expedition, so he strongly suggested that Li Jing aspire to conquer Bianzhou, but in the end he missed the opportunity because he lacked sufficient courage; at the beginning of the later Zhou Dynasty, the "four evil spirits and five ghosts" clamored for the Northern Expedition, and However, Han Xizai changed his position in time and said that although I had previously advocated the Northern Expedition, at this moment and that moment, we must not engage in war rashly. Li Jing still refused to listen, and the result was the "Three Expeditions to Huainan".
Li Jing avoided all the correct answers based on her ability. The Southern Tang Dynasty lost the opportunity to conquer the Central Plains and quickly slid into the abyss of eternal destruction. Of course Li Jing was heartbroken, but has anyone thought about Han Xizai's feelings?
Carrying the hatred of annihilating his family and carrying the ambition of conquering the Central Plains, Han Xizai was so close and yet so far away from success.
According to records, Tao Hub was sent as an envoy to the Southern Tang Dynasty in the later Zhou Dynasty to take the opportunity to find out the truth. Li Hub, Han Xizai's old friend and the one who made the allusion of "exploring the bag to get things" wrote a secret letter to Han Xizai, "Wu Liugong is very arrogant, and he treats him kindly", which means that Tao Hub is aloof and aloof, and he is not easy to serve. You must be mentally prepared.
Sure enough, Tao Hub behaved extremely coldly in Huainan, either ignoring or being aggressive towards the Huainan monarchs and ministers, and the atmosphere was very embarrassing.
Han Xizai, who had extraordinary insight, observed secretly for a long time, and then confidently told Li Jing that I already have a way to deal with this guy.
Han Xizai found a famous prostitute who was both beautiful and talented, and asked her to dress up as a hotel waiter and hang out in front of Tao Hub all day long, inadvertently showing off her charm. Comrade Tao Hub, a gentleman who was sitting upright in front of others, really showed his true nature behind his back, and couldn't help but come forward to strike up a conversation.
The famous prostitute Qin Ruolan is of course a master of love affairs. According to Han Xizai's instructions, she falsely claimed that she was a poor, helpless little widow. Forced to make a living, she went to her father who was a postman and worked in the posthouse to make ends meet...
Tao Hub stamped his feet and beat his chest, please take a look at me, don't let the beauty stay on the empty pillow... In short, this night will be unforgettable.
In that era without cameras, Tao Hub also recorded this romantic night in an elegant way, and wrote a new song as a gift to Qin Ruolan:
"A good marriage, a bad marriage, why do you have to sleep in a posthouse for a night? Don't be a god.
The pipa plays the tune of lovesickness, but there are few close friends. When will it be until Luanjiao breaks his string? "
A few days later, Li Jing hosted a banquet in honor of Tao Hub. Tao Hub remained sanctimonious and unsmiling. Li Jing tried hard not to laugh, and then gave the attendant a wink, so the Royal Orchestra changed to a new song, which turned out to be Mr. Tao Hub's new composition.
Tao Hub felt like he was electrocuted. When he opened his eyes, he found that the lead singer was Qin Ruolan. Qin Ruolan strummed the strings and gave him a meaningful wink. The pottery hub was petrified on the spot.
But the monarchs and ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty could no longer hold it in, and burst into laughter, "Eh-huh-", just like the scene at Deyun Society.
Tao Hub turned red from the tips of his hair to his heels and could only laugh along to relieve his embarrassment.
Li Jing immediately ordered someone to change him to an oversized wine glass. Tao Hub changed his aloof demeanor, picked up the washbasin-like wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.
At the end of the banquet, Tao Zhu was so drunk that he kept vomiting. When Tao Hub returned to China, Li Jing only sent a few petty officials to hold a banquet in the suburbs to deliberately humiliate Tao Hub. Tao Hub also understood and no longer had the arrogance to be arrogant, so he returned to Bian dejectedly. state.
When reporting his work to the organization, Tao Hub said that the Southern Tang Dynasty had many soldiers and generals, sufficient food and grass, and the emperor and ministers were united, so it was impossible to achieve anything.
However, as soon as this song came out, it became popular all over the country. This diplomatic scandal of Tao Hub was on the hot search. Tao Hub's prestige in the court plummeted and he was never reused again.
This incident is controversial, with some believing it to be a fabrication and others firmly believing it to be true. The playwright Dai Shanfu of the Yuan Dynasty used this as inspiration to create a Zaju, and the painter Tang Bohu of the Ming Dynasty created... It seems that everyone has the same taste.
So some people say that Han Xizai successfully blackmailed Tao Hub through a honey trap, causing him to exaggerate the strength of the Southern Tang Dynasty, postpone the "Three Expeditions to Huainan", and help the Southern Tang Dynasty survive for several years.
This is inconsistent. Even if the honey trap is true, Tao Zhu, who is involved in a diplomatic scandal, will not have a decisive impact on the national strategy in the following weeks.
However, we can also boldly guess that Han Xizai should have made other efforts to use the diplomatic enchantment array to interfere with Later Zhou's judgment on the Southern Tang Dynasty.
Li Yu actually really wanted to reuse Han Xizai. When the bad news of Han Xizai's death came, Li Yu said to his neighbors with great regret: "I really wanted him to be the prime minister, but it's just one step away. So be it, I will posthumously give him the same title as prime minister." Does the chapter comply with etiquette?"
Pan You said that Liu Muzhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty was posthumously given the title of Kaifu Yitong Sansi, which was in line with the etiquette system.
Therefore, Li Yu posthumously gave Han Xizai his right servant She Tongping Zhangshi. After deposing the court for three days, he gave him the posthumous title "Wen Jing" and ordered him to be buried in Meiling Gang, adjacent to Xie An's tomb, and asked Xu Xuan to write an epitaph for him.
Han Xizai said that if Huainan uses me as prime minister, I will drive long and hard to conquer the Central Plains. The Southern Tang Dynasty, which was full of political internal strife, never gave him this opportunity. Even if Li Yu wanted to worship him as prime minister from the bottom of his heart, he could not withstand the pressure from all parties and could only give Han Xizai a posthumous gift after his death.
This was Han Xizai's regret, and even more so the Southern Tang Empire's regret.
Prime Minister, Han Xizai is so close to it, yet so far away.
