preface
In August 904, bad news came from Luoyang that Tang Zhaozong had been killed. The initiator was Zhu Wen, who controlled half of the rivers and mountains. How did a warlord from a humble background rise in a chaotic world and eventually usurp the throne? What will happen to him?
First, Zhu Wen's early experience
Zhu Wen was born in 852 to an ordinary peasant family, his father died early, and the family was burdened. Since he was a child, he has shown a mischievous personality, often fighting, and causing trouble. A rich horse breeder in the village did not like him, and once Zhu Wen stole his horse, only to be caught and beaten by him. From then on, Zhu Wen avoided this person when he saw it.
His adoptive father, Liu Chong, often wiped his ass, but he could not discipline him. Once Liu Chong went out, Zhu Wen took the opportunity to steal something again, but was discovered by Liu Chong's mother. The old woman did not rebuke him, but God said mysteriously, "I see you transformed into a red serpent, and you will be very lucky."
This prophecy spread ten by ten, and the whole village said that Zhu Wen had a great future. A man in the village who had learned a little bit of writing still babbled to Zhu Wen: "I have read the story of the emperor, and you are the saint today." In the future, wealth and power will fall over the world!" But at present, Zhu Wen is still a lawless gangster who often causes trouble.
A widow in the village used to cook for him, and Zhu Wen saw that she was beautiful, so he wanted to forcibly hold her. As a result, he was beaten by the widow's son, and he did not dare to make a second time again. Another time, Zhu Wen saw a traveler dressed brightly and wanted to snatch it, but the other party reacted quickly and beat Zhu Wen away. These experiences made Zhu Wen realize that he needed real talent, and could not rely on violence alone.
When he grew up, Zhu Wen was still unemployed and idle, causing trouble everywhere. He often went to the hotel in a gang to bully people, and once offended a person with high martial arts skills and was beaten to death by the other party. Zhu Wen took people to take revenge, but was beaten down by the other party and begged for mercy.
Once Zhu Wen went to the market to gamble, won a few copper plates, and was happy and started the idea that he should not fight. As a result, he was targeted by several tough bad guys, not only robbed of gambling funds, but also beaten up. These experiences made Zhu Wen realize that if he wanted to take revenge, he must accumulate strength.
Second, Zhu Wen was annexed to the Tang Dynasty
When the Huangchao peasant rebel army came to Zhu Wen's hometown, Zhu Wen organized a group of villagers to join, and immediately showed their bravery and resourcefulness on the battlefield. He successively made battle merits and was promoted from a small soldier to a general under Huang Chao. After capturing Chang'an, Zhu Wen was ordered to guard the Dongwei Bridge in case the Tang army counterattacked.
At this time, Zhu Wen privately contacted the Tang general, hoping to surrender. He set up an ambush and used the power of the Tang army to capture Huang Chao's henchmen. Kaesong then surrendered and handed over the Dongwei Bridge to the Tang army. Huang Chao was convinced of Zhu Wen and was greatly shocked to be betrayed.
Emperor Yuzong of Tang was overjoyed when he learned that Zhu Wen had returned to obedience. He immediately made Zhu Wen an envoy of Jiedu and ordered a crusade against Huang Chao. At the same time, he was rewarded with a large amount of gold and gave him the name "Zhu Quanzhong", hoping that he would serve faithfully. Under the attack of Zhu Wen and the Tang army, Huang Chao could not hold Chang'an, so he could only flee everywhere and was eventually killed.
In the following years, under the protection of the Tang Dynasty, Zhu Wen rapidly expanded his power. He annexed the towns of Hebei and defeated neighboring rivals. He was also given a higher official position and became deputy ambassador of the acting northern camp. Obviously born in a small city people, now he is a warlord.
At first, Zhu Wen remained loyal to the Tang court, helping to defeat Huang Chao and another warlord, Li Keyong. But his appetite grew with it. Zhu Wen began to covet higher positions and looked at Tang Zhaozong's throne.
Third, Zhu Wen controlled the emperors of the Tang Dynasty
In 901, under the pretext of attacking Li Changfu, Zhu Wen suddenly led his army to occupy Chang'an. This caught Tang Zhaozong, who was in Chang'an, off guard, and could only rush to Fengxiang to join Li Maozhen. After capturing Chang'an, Zhu Wen sent an army to besiege Fengxiang and force Li Maozhen to surrender Emperor Zhaozong.
A month after the confrontation between the two armies, Emperor Zhaozong went out of the city and surrendered. Zhu Wen "rescued" Emperor Zhaozong from Chang'an, but actually put him under house arrest. He sent his henchmen to keep an eye on Emperor Zhaozong and strictly control it. Emperor Zhaozong was trapped in the palace, unable to communicate with the outside world, and could only be at the mercy of others.
Soon Zhu Wen forced Emperor Zhaozong to move the capital to Luoyang, claiming to avoid troubles. This further limited Emperor Shojong's actions. Emperor Zhaozong became a prisoner and endured humiliation all day long. The eunuchs under Zhu Wen even bullied and squeezed Emperor Zhaozong, making him worse off than dead.
Seeing that the Great Tang River and Mountains were controlled by Zhu Wen, his ambitions became more and more expanded. Zhu Wen longed for the supreme power of the empire and began to hatch a conspiracy to seize the imperial throne. In order to avoid long nights and dreams, he decided to remove the threat of Tang Zhaozong first.
Fourth, Zhu Wen's usurpation of the Tang Dynasty
One night in 904, Zhu Wen ordered the eunuch Jiang Xuanhui to lead troops into Emperor Zhaozong's palace. Due to the prior arrangement, the palace gate guards turned a blind eye to their arrival. Jiang Xuanhui soon broke down the door, and under the butcher's knife of the eunuch, Zhaozong was killed along with all the palace maidens.
After that, Zhu Wen pretended to express his shock and put the blame on his subordinates. He claimed that this was the work of a eunuch who exceeded his authority and that he had no knowledge of the matter. But no one in the DPRK would believe that this was a eunuch's own initiative. Everyone knew that this matter must have been ordered by Zhu Wen.
Zhu Wen then killed all of Zhaozong's sons, eliminating potential rivals. He invited Zhaozong's sons together for a feast and took the opportunity to poison them. In 905, he forced the thirteen-year-old Emperor Tang Zhaoxuan to relinquish the throne. Zhu Wen then proclaimed himself emperor, and after the establishment of the state of Liang, officially ending the rule of the Tang Dynasty.
A Jiangyang thief from a city background, through betrayal and murder, finally got his wish and won the entire empire. But his ambition was not satisfied, and greater darkness was yet to come.
Fifth, Zhu Wen's final end
Empress Zhu Wen completely removed his disguise, and his brutal temperament was fully displayed. He was obsessed with sound and lust, and included all of Zhaozong's concubines in his harem. Zhu Wen even took a fancy to the wife of his son Zhu Youjue and forcibly took her as a concubine. His lack of morality aroused Zhu Youjue's great dissatisfaction.
At this time, Zhu Wen was already in his old age, and he decided to pass on his adopted son Zhu Youwen instead of his own son. In order to compete for the throne, Zhu Youjue staged a coup d'état while Zhu Wen was seriously ill in bed. He brought people into the palace and personally assassinated the ailing Zhu Wen. Zhu Wen wailed and begged for mercy, but it was too late.
Zhu Wen died in the sound and color pile, ending his life of sin. An ordinary man from a city background, greedy for power and transformed into a tyrant. His life is a concentrated embodiment of the lust for power, and he is also destined to be harmed by the lust for power.
epilogue
Zhu Wen was a great talent in his life, and he did everything he could to achieve his ends, first betraying his benefactor, then usurping the throne, and then lustful and greedy, and finally suffered the consequences of his own evil. His life was full of treachery, conspiracy to usurp power blood and tears, and also made this thrilling historical script. However, his ambition and ferocity eventually led to his ill-fated fate and the destruction of his family. The wheel of history rolls forward, and Zhu Wen and the turmoil he caused have been annihilated in the turmoil, but his story is forever engraved in the long river of history. When will one's greed stop? Where does the temptation of power lead to disaster?