In the ancient world of backward thinking, emperors were able to come up with various ways to survive. For example, Tang Xuanzong Li Chen pretended to be a fool before becoming emperor; Before his uprising, Ming Chengzu Zhu Di also pretended to be crazy and bought various things to confuse Zhu Yunwen and take down the messenger. It has to be said that these people were all written by the emperor. However, the person I am going to introduce today is definitely not inferior to the people mentioned earlier. He is Yang Xingmi, the founder of the Wu Kingdom during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.
The period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms was after the Tang Dynasty, which was extremely chaotic. The emperor’s killing was like eating a meal. So those who can survive and make achievements are not ordinary people. Yang Xingmi was a native of Hefei, Luzhou. He rose up in the Jianghuai region and prevented Zhu Wen from advancing southward, avoiding nationwide turmoil. Originally just a fiefdom, he later declared himself king and became known as the Wu state, earning him the reputation of being the “number one person among the ten states”.
After Yang Xingmi got up, he had a capable assistant named Zhu Yanshou, who was the brother of Yang Xingmi’s wife. Yang Xingmi highly valued his uncle, but Zhu Yanshou’s ambition was not just to become Yang Xingmi’s subordinate. Later, Yang Xingmi also felt the ambition of his uncle and began to silently target Zhu Yanshou.
He first tried to win people’s hearts, but Zhu Yanshou had a hot temper and treated his soldiers very harshly. Yang Xingmi, on the other hand, went against Zhu Yanshou. When his soldiers did something wrong, he pretended to be lenient and also pointed fingers at Zhu Yanshou, saying that you should be careful next time. If Zhu Yanshou saw him, he would definitely give him a beating. Gradually, all the soldiers under his command submitted to Yang Xingmi.
Next, in order to make Zhu Yanshou let go of his guard, Yang Xingmi first pretended to have eye disease and couldn’t see anything, which lasted for three years. Sometimes, in front of everyone, they collide with pillars and their heads bleed. Even his wife believed it to be true, because she was unwilling to be lonely and had an affair with the guards under her command, even in front of Yang Xingmi. All of this was seen in Yang Xingmi’s eyes, and he endured it one by one.
Later, Zhu Yanshou felt that the time had come and prepared to rebel. However, as soon as he entered the palace, he was caught by the people ambushed by Yang Xingmi. Yang Xingmi didn’t need to pretend anymore and immediately killed Zhu Yanshou and divorced his wife.
After enduring for three years, he eliminated his hidden dangers and vented his anger. This Yang brother is truly amazing.
