Chapter 226 Chapter 225 Yin Emperor Liu Chengyou

Liu Chengyou is Gaozu's second son.His mother was Empress Dowager Li, who was born in March of the second year of Changxing in Later Tang Dynasty (AD 935) and was killed in the third year of Qianyou.21 years old. In the first month of the first year of Qianyou (948 A.D.), the great ancestor Liu Zhiyuan died of illness, and Liu Chengyou ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor.He tried his best to regain power, but he couldn't always do so.Among the ruling ministers, Yang Bin, Guo Wei, Shi Hongzhao, Wang Zhang, and Su Fengji were the main ones. Everyone went their own way and only regarded him as the monarch in name.

At the beginning of Liu Chengyou's ascension to the throne, with the assistance of the ministers, the country was relatively safe, and Li Shouzhen, the Jiedu envoy of Hezhong, and others launched a rebellion, which was quickly suppressed.However, Liu Chengyou wanted to take care of the government by himself, but lacked the ability to balance various forces. He was always used by a certain faction, which intensified the inherent contradictions between the ministers of the DPRK and China, and involved himself in the vortex of the courtiers' struggle. As early as the beginning of Liu Chengyou's accession to the throne, Tongping Zhangshi Li Tao followed Su Fengji's intention and asked Liu Chengyou to send two privy envoys, Yang Bin and Guo Wei, to important areas as Jiedu envoys, and their power in the court was handed over to Prime Minister Su Fengji and others. people.This makes the contradiction between phases superficial.The conflict between civil and military ministers was not resolved, and the conflict between Liu Chengyou himself and the powerful ministers developed again. He refused to let go of the fall of power. At this time, the actual masters of power in the Later Han Dynasty were still generals such as Yang Bin, Shi Hongzhao, and Guo Wei who held military power. , The literati prime minister has no real power.The main obstacle to Liu Chengyou's pro-government is these generals.

During the three years of Qianyou's reign, Liu Chengyou recommended his cronies to Yang Bin and Shi Hongzhao many times.He wanted Li Ye, the younger brother of the Empress Dowager, to be the envoy of Xuanhui, and Yan Jinqing, the envoy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and others to be promoted in turn, but they all failed.Shi Hongzhao had a cruel temperament, imposed punishments indiscriminately, and showed no mercy to the emperor. When the son of the empress dowager's deceased asked to serve in the imperial army, Hongzhao beheaded him in public.In addition, once Yang Bin and Shi Hongzhao were discussing matters in the hall, Liu Chengyou intervened, and Yang Bin actually said: "Your Majesty, shut up, there are ministers waiting!" This made Liu Chengyou even more resentful.

Under such circumstances, the close officials around Liu Chengyou reported to Liu Chengyou the "hidden things" of Yang Bin and others, saying that they were domineering and would rebel sooner or later. Liu Chengyou and Li Ye decided to kill Yang Bin and others.On the morning of November 13th, as soon as Yang Bin, Shi Hongzhao, and Wang Zhang arrived in front of the Guangzheng Hall, dozens of warriors poured out from the hall, killing three of them. After getting rid of Yang Bin and the other three, Liu Chengyou immediately sent someone to order Guo Chongwei, the commander of the horse army in Yedu, and Cao Wei, the commander of the infantry army, to kill Guo Wei and Wang Jun, the governor of Taining. Wait to enter Beijing quickly to prevent mutiny.After Guo Wei knew the inside story, he immediately sent troops to the south, claiming that Yi Que pleaded guilty.The two armies met at Liuzibei in the south of Fengqiu, and they set up their own camps. There was no battle, and Liu Chengyou personally went to the camp to work.The next day, Liu Chengyou came to the army again, Murong Yanchao led his army to confront Guo Wei for a while, but the army was defeated and Yanchao was almost captured.At dusk, most of Murong's army surrendered to Guo's army, Yanchao led only a dozen people and fled back to Yanzhou, where the Taining Jiedu envoy ruled. Liu Chengyou stayed in Qilidian with several prime ministers and dozens of officials.On the morning of the 23rd, Liu Chengyou led the crowd back to Beijing. When they arrived at Xuanhua Gate, Liu Zhu, the former courtier and known Kaifeng Yin, surrounded the gate and was not allowed to enter.Liu Chengyou returned to his horse and walked into Zhao Village in the northwest of the city. The pursuers were also arriving. Liu Chengyou got off his horse and hid in the people's homes. He was still found and killed by the pursuers.Buried in Yingling of Yangzhai, Xuzhou (now Yu County, Henan).Known as the "hidden emperor" in history.