One

Soon after Yang Xingmi was named the queen of Wu, Li Maozhen, the king of Qi, took Tang Zhaozong and Li Ye to surrender to Zhu Wen together, and Zhaozong appointed Zhu Wen as the deputy marshal of Zhudao soldiers and horses in order to protect himself under Zhu Wen's hostage, and crowned him as the king of Liang. But Zhu Wen has long been greedy for profit, and is no longer satisfied with these, he is worried that Zhaozong will become the opponent's bargaining chip, so he instructed his subordinates to kill him, and set up his son Li Ji as the emperor, since then Zhu Wen learned Cao Cao to coerce the Son of Heaven to order the princes. After Zhu Wen defeated Li Keyong in Hedong, he basically unified the north, and once again aimed the spearhead at Yang Xingmi, Yang Xingmi knew that this battle was inevitable, so he asked the deputy envoy Li Chengsi to deal with Huainan affairs, and he personally led the army to resist Zhu Wen's army. Yang Xingmi ordered the generals Li Shenfu and Wang Maozhang to be the vanguard, and Xu Wen was responsible for the transportation of military food and materials in the rear, and defeated Zhu Wen's army in Shandong and Hubei after a hard battle, and also beheaded Zhu Wen's son Zhu Youning, once again preventing Zhu Wen's invasion of Huainan. Through this engagement, Yang Xingmi completely controlled and stabilized Huainan, making Huainan a de facto independent kingdom, and Xu Wen was very satisfied with Yang Xingmi's excellent performance in logistics and transportation, thus gaining Yang Xingmi's greater trust. And Zhu Wen vowed to destroy Yang Xingmi because his son was killed.

After Yang Xingmi defeated Zhu Wen, he continued to control Ezhou and other places, expanding his sphere of influence to the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and continued to consolidate his sphere of influence. Due to the great chaos in the world at the end of the Tang Dynasty, the war was repeated, and the society was greatly damaged, in order to restore production, improve the social and economic vitality, and also to provide financial resources for the future competition for the world, Yang Xingmi began to pay attention to internal affairs and the construction of Huainan. He lightly taxed, emphasized agriculture and mulberry, and promoted education, excavation, and reuse of people of insight, so that Huainan's economy and society were quickly and greatly restored, and compared with the war-torn Central Plains and northern regions, Huainan's society was relatively stable, and the people's lives were much more stable. In order to stabilize the border and obtain a favorable external environment, Yang Xingmi also married his daughter to Qian Biao's son, and the two sides turned hostility into friendship, and since then the two sides have maintained peace for decades, greatly promoting the development of Huainan and even the entire Jiangnan region.

Two

But the good horse always returns to the stable, and the hero ends in the twilight, and when Yang Xingmi has made great achievements in operating Huainan, and is preparing to make great achievements in the world, his body is getting worse, and Yang Xingmi has to think about the aftermath. Because Zhu Wen and Li Keyong were facing off in the north, and he was planning to become emperor, he had no time to take care of Huainan for the time being; On the border side, Yang Xingmi has reconciled with Qian Miao, and neither side has any intention of continuing to wage war, so the external environment is safe for the time being. Yang Xingmi is most worried about the old generals who have military achievements in the interior at the moment, especially Zhu Yanshou who makes him feel at ease.

Zhu Yanshou is Yang Xingmi's brother-in-law and one of the first veterans to get into trouble with him. He fought bravely, dared to fight tough battles, repeatedly made military exploits, was fierce and difficult to control, and his subordinates also commanded the elite troops of Huainan "Heiyundu". In many major battles before Yang Xingmi became the king of Wu, Zhu Yanshou had outstanding military achievements, but such a powerful and distinguished person was also a person who was not easy to restrain himself. Zhu Yanshou relied on his military achievements, and he was Yang Xingmi's brother-in-law, so he always put himself in the second position in Huainan, and Yang Xingmi had long been wary of this. After Yang Xingmi became the queen of Wu, he let Zhu Yanshou lead troops outside for a long time and did not let him enter the court and the central government, which Zhu Yanshou was quite dissatisfied. Yang Xingmi was afraid that after his death, no one would be able to balance him and set himself up as the king, which would cause civil strife in Huainan, so that Yang Xingmi's decades of hard work would be in vain in an instant. Therefore, he wanted to get rid of Zhu Yanshou before he died to prevent future troubles, but there was no good way, so he decided to consult with Xu Wen.

After Yang Xingmi told Xu Wen about his worries, Xu Wen didn't think of a good way for a while, so he consulted with his staff Yan Keqiu. Yan Keqiu was Xu Wen's protégé in his early years, and he helped Xu Wen in many battles, and was an excellent military staff officer, Xu Wen admired his ability very much, and trusted him very much. Yan Keqiu thought for a while and said:

"Zhu Yanshou has a high prestige in the army, and his subordinates command the elite division, but Zhu Yanshou is brave and not strategic, so he can't come hard, he can only outwit."

"What's the way to outwit?" Xu Wen asked.

"My lord, as far as I know, King Wu has a disease in his eyes, so I can discuss with King Wu and use King Wu's eye disease to make a fuss."

"How?" Xu Wen asked again.

"My lord, you can tell King Wu to pretend to be blind, King Wu has been suffering from eye disease for a long time, and it is reasonable to be blind at this time. Use this to paralyze Zhu Yanshou, make him relax his vigilance, and then trick him back, and find another opportunity to get rid of him. ”

"Well, this method should be feasible, if it succeeds, it can not only get rid of King Wu's heart disease, but also be bloodless." Xu Wen said happily.

Three

Xu Wen immediately told Yang Xingmi about Yan Keqiu's suggestion, and Yang Xingmi also felt that it was feasible after hearing it. In order to get rid of Zhu Yanshou before he died, Yang Xingmi played pretending to be blind regardless of the dignity and image of the prince, which was also well-intentioned! At first, Yang Xingmi pretended to be able to see a little, and slowly pretended that his eyesight was getting worse and worse, and finally he pretended that he couldn't see anything, and he either hit the wall or hit the pillar when he walked, often hitting his head and bleeding, and when it was serious, he almost fainted, and after a long time, even his wife Zhu concluded that he was really blind. In order to let Zhu Yanshou know his situation, Yang Xingmi deliberately sighed in front of his wife, "My great cause has not been accomplished, but God doesn't care for me, my body is seriously ill, my eyes are still blind, my sons are still young, who can keep Huainan peaceful after death!" If only life extension were by my side. Mrs. Zhu was overjoyed when she heard this, comforting him while telling Zhu Yanshou about his condition. After Zhu Yanshou learned the news, he thought that Yang Xingmi would not live long, and felt that his time would soon come, so he relaxed his vigilance and only waited for Yang Xingmi to inherit his power after his death. Zhu Yanshou has always believed that whether he has military merits, prestige in the army, or relationship with Yang Xingmi, he should be in charge of Huainan after Yang Xingmi's death. In this way, when the people around Yang Xingmi knew that he was blind and seriously ill, Xu Wen and Yan Keqiu felt that the time was ripe, so they told Yang Xingmi that he could act, and Yang Xingmi summoned Zhu Yanshou to return to the court on the grounds of serious illness.

Zhu Yanshou danced happily after receiving the order, he couldn't wait to rush back to Guangling immediately, and the deputy general next to him said:

"General, be careful, you have high merit and beware of deception."

But Zhu Yanshou said confidently: "I'm sure that King Wu is critically ill, and my sister won't lie to me." ”

"Then the general should bring more people, just in case." Said the adjutant general.

"Hahaha, this general has attacked the city and killed countless enemies, do you still need to mobilize the army when you return to Guangling today? If I don't fight for a few days, I'll be a coward? Zhu Yanshou laughed loudly.

Zhu Yanshou rushed back to Guangling with the deputy general and a small number of troops, because he got carried away he didn't think much else, he was thinking about how to control the court situation in the future, how to give orders, they had a smooth journey, and soon entered Guangling City. As soon as he entered Guangling City, the deputy general felt that something was wrong, first, the city gate was closed immediately, and second, there were very few pedestrians, and there should be many people in normal times, but now there are almost no people. The adjutant said nervously:

"General, something is wrong, it's not the time to close the city, and there are few pedestrians, be careful of deception." Hearing what the deputy general said, Zhu Yanshou instinctively felt abnormal, years of fighting created his keen seventh sense, he vaguely felt that there was a murderous aura ahead, but the city gate was closed and he could not turn back and could only go forward, he pulled out his sword and shouted loudly: "Everyone be careful!" The group walked slowly forward, looking around vigilantly. Suddenly, a pair of centaurs on the left and right sides were killed, Zhu Yanshou was shocked, and at this time, a pair of centaurs were also killed in front and back to block their way and retreat, and there were many archers on the roof. Zhu Yanshou saw that these soldiers were very unfamiliar, and he didn't know the leader, he immediately understood that he had been fooled, and he was familiar with the famous generals in Huainan, if he came, he was afraid that he would not be able to do it softly, so he would send some unfamiliar faces, it seems that he is in a catastrophe this time! But he immediately took out the momentum that a general should have, and shouted:

"What do you want to do? I am Zhu Yanshou, and I am ordered by King Wu to return to the court to discuss matters, and those who know each other should get out of the way quickly. The leading general was also unambiguous, and shouted righteously: "Zhu Yanshou, you regard yourself as a high-ranking man and have no king's law, and you are plotting to rebel, and now I am on the order of King Wu to arrest you and kill you!" "There is no superfluous nonsense, and a big battle to strangle Zhu Yanshou has begun. Zhu Yanshou and his party were surrounded on all sides, and there were archers on the roof, which was an unequal hand-to-hand combat. Zhu Yanshou was completely at a disadvantage because of the small number of people he led, and the soldiers fell one after another, and the deputy general protected him and shouted while fighting: "General, retreat quickly!" Zhu Yanshou retreated in the direction of the city gate while fighting, planning to forcibly bang on the door and take the opportunity to rush out after arriving at the gate. The other party saw the intention of Zhu Yanshou and others to intercept their retreat, Zhu Yanshou was trapped in place, seeing the people around him fall down one after another and let out a scream of "ah", Zhu Yanshou was angry, he rushed away from the crowd and slashed wildly, and the other party's soldiers also fell, but immediately rushed up and surrounded him, but no one dared to come forward, because no one could get close to him. Zhu Yanshou's eyes were bloodshot, and he was already red, at this moment, Zhu Yanshou saw that the deputy general not far away was killed by several people, and he looked at Zhu Yanshou with his last strength and shouted "General" before he fell to the ground...... Army", Zhu Yanshou's heart was like a knife, he was completely angry, he brandished a big knife like crazy and slashed left and right, and shouted in his mouth, "Come out, you come out, can you be the king without me?" Ah, ......", he shouted and slashed, the other party's soldiers fell several people one after another, Zhu Yanshou deserved to be a fierce general, only a lonely man was left, and his combat effectiveness was still very strong, and he really had a bit of the momentum of the overlord of Western Chu. Suddenly, a cold arrow passed through his chest, and the opposing soldiers took the opportunity to rush up, Zhu Yanshou was stabbed by a spear due to a serious decline in physical strength caused by his injury, one, two, and several spears stabbed his body, some in the legs, and some in the abdomen...... Zhu Yanshou spat blood in his mouth, gritted his teeth and insisted on fighting, slashed and killed two people with his last strength, and then slowly fell, and before he fell, he cursed in his mouth, "Yang Xingmi, you are ungrateful...... Righteous ......", the other party saw that Zhu Yanshou had fallen, and a group of people swarmed up and stabbed him to death. It is chilling that a military general who has repeatedly made military exploits did not die on the battlefield, but died in the hands of his own people. Zhu Yanshou's strong combat power made the other party awe-inspired, he was dead, and many soldiers did not dare to approach, maybe this was a battle that they would never forget!

After Zhu Yanshou was killed, Mrs. Zhu was very saddened by the death of her younger brother and felt that she had killed Zhu Yanshou. But because she was angry with her brother and didn't give birth to a son and a half daughter, Yang Xingmi divorced her in a fit of anger. Zhu Yanshou was eliminated without civil strife, and there was no mutiny or rebellion under Zhu Yanshou, Yang Xingmi was very satisfied with the outcome of the whole thing, and from then on regarded Xu Wen as a confidant, and Yan Keqiu became Yang Xingmi's confidant and strategist because of his meritorious contributions. However, Yang Xingmi's health deteriorated, and in the last days of his life, he arranged the aftermath of his life, set up his eldest son Yang Wu to succeed him, and promoted Xu Wen to the commander of the right ya, that is, the commander of the forbidden army, and Xu Wen officially became a powerful person with military power. Because Yang Xingmi was more wary of military generals in his later years, he asked all the generals who led the troops to go outside to garrison the border city, and only Xu Wen was the henchman with real power in the court, so Yang Xingmi entrusted Xu Wen to deal with the aftermath of the incident, and ordered Zuo Ya to command Zhang Hao to assist together.

In the winter of the second year of Emperor Tianyou of Tang Dynasty (905 AD), Yang Xingmi completed his glorious life at the age of fifty-four. Yang Xingmi's secession of Huainan prevented Zhu Wen's southward advance, so that the southern separatist forces coexisted with the Central Plains regime in the north, successfully avoided nationwide turmoil, created a rare and peaceful environment for the economic and social development of the south, and also laid an important foundation for the prosperity of Wu and Southern Tang later, and deserved to be called "the first person in the Ten Kingdoms".