Today, the History Encyclopedia editor brings you an article about Zhu Wen. Welcome to read it~
Zhu Wen, who exactly is he? Many people may not know yet, but if we talk about the great things he did, everyone will understand that he is the terminator of the Tang Dynasty.
In 907 AD, Zhu Wen changed his name to Zhu Huang and established the Great Liang Dynasty, which led to the downfall of the Tang Dynasty and marked the beginning of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in history.
What does Zhu Wen do? He has the ability to destroy the Tang Dynasty. I don’t know if everyone remembers this poem: When autumn comes, on the eighth day of the ninth month, after the flowers bloom, a hundred flowers will kill, and the sky will fill Chang’an with fragrant incense. The whole city will be covered in golden armor.
That’s right, this is a poem written by Huang Chao, the leader of the peasant uprising at the end of the Tang Dynasty. The poem is called “Ode to Chrysanthemums after the Second Day”, and Zhu Wen initially started his career with Huang Chao.
Zhu Wen was born in 852 AD and died in 912 AD. His hometown was Dangshan County, Anhui Province. His father, Zhu Cheng, was a rural teacher who passed away at a young age. His mother was forced to bring him and his two brothers to Xiao County, Anhui Province.
After arriving in Xiao County, Zhu Wen fed pigs to landlord Liu Chong, while his older brothers farmed and grazed cattle. Zhu Wen, who fed the pigs, did not initially have any dream of becoming an emperor. What inspired him to have the idea of “princes, nobles, generals, and ministers would rather have seeds” was because of a beautiful woman named Zhang Hui.
Zhang Hui is the daughter of Zhang Rui, the governor of Song State. It is said that she is beautiful. Zhu Wen was fascinated by her beauty and fell in love with her at first sight. However, in his status, he wanted to marry Zhang Hui, which is just like a toad wanting to eat swan meat. He was also teased by his brother for this reason. He did not fight for Mantou. He did not believe that princes and generals really have seed. Those beautiful women should belong to them.
At that time, Huang Chao’s rebel army happened to pass by his hometown, so he angrily joined the uprising team.
After Zhu Wen joined the rebel army, he was quickly promoted and appointed by Huang Chao due to his bravery in battle. He went from an ordinary soldier to a commanding general, and his dream soon came true.
In the midst of war, Zhang Hui’s family was in decline, and he happened to meet her. After marrying Zhang Hui, Zhu Wen became even more powerful. Because Zhang Hui was thoughtful and decisive, Zhu Wen obeyed her every word. Even in the midst of a fierce battle, when the situation was extremely favorable to him, as long as Zhang Hui sent a message to withdraw, he would immediately withdraw his troops.
Later, the Tang Dynasty allied forces came to suppress Huang Chao. Seeing Huang Chao’s decline, he surrendered and rebelled, and together with the Tang army besieged Huang Chao. Due to his meritorious service in suppressing Huang Chao, the reigning emperor Tang Xizong gave him the name Zhu Quanzhong and appointed him as the deputy commander of the Henan Bank’s campaign. The following year, he was appointed as the governor of Bianzhou and appointed as the military governor of Xuanwu, and then promoted to the title of Prince Liang.
In 904 AD, he killed Emperor Zhaozong and proclaimed his son Li Bai as emperor. In 907 AD, he seized power of the Tang Dynasty and established the country as Liang, known as the “Later Liang” in history.
Zhang Hui helped Zhu Wen achieve his dominance, but he was unable to share his blessings with him. In 904 AD, Zhang Hui fell ill and died. After Zhang Hui’s death, Zhu Wen ignored her dying advice to “refrain from killing distant women” and began his debauched life without any restraint, earning him the title of “Emperor of Beasts” by later generations.
What exactly are his animal behaviors? Let’s go through them. There are plenty of emperors in history who are more cruel than him, and there is no need to say anything about ingratitude. Although he betrayed Huang Chao, after all, ancient people had a saying that good birds choose trees to live on. There are also many people like him who break their promises, let alone winners, nobles, and losers.
He eventually became the emperor, and all the bad things he did could be seen as means to achieve his ultimate goal. Even if he went too far, he could not be compared to a beast, because after all, it was still done by humans.
Mencius once said in “Teng Wen Gong Shang” that if a person lacks education or does not pay attention to education at all, they are no different from animals. If a commoner lacks education, there are still moral and legal constraints to restrain them. If an emperor lacks education, it is terrifying. Filial piety, brotherly love, loyalty, propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame are all established by ordinary people. The vastness of the world is not the land of the king, the daughters of the world, or… The world belongs to Laozi, who doesn’t spend money when dining out. What’s wrong with your woman.
Zhu Wen thought and did the same thing. After he became emperor, whether you were the daughter of a commoner or the wife and daughter of a minister or a general, anyone he liked would be summoned to the palace to serve him. Not only that, he also did not spare his daughters in law. According to historical records, “Although the princes were away, they often conscripted their wives to serve, and the emperor often caused chaos
Over time, his sons no longer felt ashamed of it and used their wives to please him, blowing a “pillow wind” on him and seeking more benefits for themselves.
In 912 AD, Zhu Wen fell seriously ill and wanted to summon his adopted son Zhu Youwen to the palace to entrust his affairs. His third son Zhu Yougui’s wife happened to be by his side, and Zhu Yougui learned the news and led his men into the palace. Zhu Yougui’s soldiers killed Zhu Wen, ending his absurd and shameful life.
