The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907-979) was a great period in Chinese history. This title comes from the New History of the Five Dynasties, which is a combination of the Five Dynasties (907-960) and the Ten Kingdoms (902-979). During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, because of the frequent changes of dynasties, many monarchs had relatively short reigns. In particular, the emperor I am going to talk about today only reigned for 5 months, which can be called the shortest-lived emperor at that time.
One. First of all, this person is Li Conghou, the third emperor of the Later Tang Dynasty. Li Conghou is the third son of Li Siyuan, and he loved to read "Spring and Autumn" when he was a child. He looks like Li Siyuan, so he is deeply loved. In the first year of Tiancheng (926), Li Siyuan was called the emperor, and the history was called the Later Tang Mingzong. Li Conghou was awarded the title of Doctor Jin Ziguanglu and Situ of the School Inspector. Since then, Li Conghou's status has been rising day by day. In the third year of Changxing (932), Li Conghou was awarded the Zhongshu Order.
Li Siyuan's second son, Li Congrong, was named King of Qin and served as Yin of Henan. He was in charge of the affairs of the Beijing Division, and held the power of the army, and was the de facto eldest son, and was later worshiped as the generalissimo of the world's soldiers and horses, but he was never established as the prince, and he was often uneasy. Correspondingly, Li Conghou is quite popular in the government and the opposition, so he is deeply suspicious of Li Congrong. But he was extremely respectful and obedient to Li Congrong, so that there was no big estrangement between the brothers.
In November of the fourth year of Changxing (933), Later Tang Mingzong fell seriously ill. Li Congrong was ready to enter the palace by force to seize the throne. However, Li Congrong was eventually defeated and killed. On November 26 of the same year, Tang Mingzong died. On the first day of December of the same year, Li Conghou mourned for the Later Tang Mingzong in the West Palace, and became the emperor in front of the coffin.
Two. After Li Conghou ascended the throne, although he wanted to make great efforts, he did not know how to govern the country, was indecisive, and had no knowledge of people. At that time, Zhu Hongzhao and Feng Yun relied on their merits, were good at government affairs, and controlled the power of the forbidden army. Although Li Conghou was displeased, he was helpless. In this regard, in the author's opinion, an emperor who does not control military power is undoubtedly very dangerous, especially during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, which doomed Li Conghou to a tragic end.
In February of the first year of Yingshun (934), Li Conghou listened to the advice of Zhu Hongzhao and Feng Yun, and transferred the envoys of Fengxiang, Hedong, Chengde, and Tianxiong through the Privy Council, and sent envoys to supervise them. In this context, Li Congke, the adopted son of Later Tang Mingzong, took the opportunity to rebel in the name of "Qing Jun's side" at the instigation of his generals.
In March of the same year, the army sent by the imperial court was defeated by Li Congke. Li Congke took advantage of the victory to advance eastward and invaded the western capital of Chang'an (now Xi'an, Shaanxi). After learning the news of the defeat, Li Conghou poured out the treasury and rewarded the forbidden army lavishly, and promised a heavy reward after the rebellion was quelled. However, the sergeant of the forbidden army did not miss the emperor's kindness, but was even more arrogant, unscrupulous on the march, and threatened to receive another reward in Fengxiang.
Li Conghou saw that Luoyang could no longer be defended, so he decided to abandon Luoyang, flee to Weizhou, and then try to recover. Soon after, Li Congke successfully entered Beijing. By this time, Li Conghou had lost the opportunity to turn the tables because of the betrayal of his relatives.
Three. On his way to Weizhou, Li Conghou met Shi Jingjiao, who had led his army into the court, a few miles east of Weizhou (now Weihui, Henan). Because Li Conghou has no hope of recovery. Shi Jingjiao killed all Li Conghou's entourage and guards, and then led the army to Luoyang. Li Conghou was left alone in the post house, and was later placed under house arrest by Wang Hongzhen in the state government.
In April of the first year of Yingshun (934), Li Congke entered Luoyang, and Feng Dao led hundreds of officials to persuade him three times. In this context, Li Congke abolished Li Conghou as the king of Hubei. In order to cut the grass and eradicate the roots, Li Congke ordered Wang Luan (Wang Hongzhen's son) to go to Weizhou and kill Li Conghou. When Li Conghou died, he was only twenty-one years old.
To sum up, Li Conghou reigned for only five months, becoming the shortest-lived emperor in the Later Tang Dynasty and even in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. In addition, in the first year of Tianfu (936), Shi Jingjiao exterminated the Later Tang Dynasty and established the Later Jin Dynasty. He posthumously called Li Conghou Emperor Min and buried Li Conghou with Li Congrong and Li Chongji in the Huiling Mausoleum (the mausoleum of Mingzong of the Later Tang Dynasty).
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