因为想篡位只好让老板建国了Wanting the Throne, He Had to Make the Boss Found a State

During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, two successive regimes with similar territories were established in the Jianghuai region and Jiangxi: Yang Wu and the Southern Tang. Amid the wars of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the lands they controlled enjoyed a fairly long stretch of peace and prosperity, and their culture and economy gradually caught up with the north, which had led the way for more than a thousand years. Yet the forerunner of the Yang Wu regime, the Huainan army under Yang Xingmi, which rose amid the Huang Chao rebellion, was no more "civilised" or restrained than the other warlord regimes of its day; on the contrary, it was always the most aggressive power in the south. A series of succession crises, however, gradually changed the character of this group, and also shaped the political situation of the whole south. In this session, through stories of Xu Wen and Xu Zhigao, two generations of powerful ministers of Yang Wu, we will trace how Yang Wu was peacefully transformed into the Southern Tang. Along the way we can get a sense of the very different underlying character of the two regimes, and sketch one way out that was open to warlord regimes of the late Tang and Five Dynasties. Some warm-up questions: What changed between the late Tang, bursting with martial energy, and the Northern Song, which prized civil over military? Why was the south-east able to stay relatively peaceful and prosperous through the frequent wars of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms? What "puppet regimes" in history can you think of? After the session we can also try to discuss the following questions: What should we make of Xu Wen and Xu Zhigao's choice to protect their territory and keep the people safe? Is the transformation from Yang Wu to the Southern Tang a mirror of Northern Song politics? Why did assessments of the Yang Wu and Southern Tang regimes grow more and more favourable during the Song?