Posing as a County Magistrate in the Five Dynasties

In the first year of the Yingshun era, Emperor Min of Later Tang, Li Conghou, suddenly took it into his head to curb the regional governors. When Li Congke, Prince of Lu, heard the news, he flipped the table on the spot and went on a rampage. At the time, the Khitan ruler Yelü Deguang in the north was eyeing the Central Plains, ready to invade at any moment. In the south, Xu Zhigao of Wu was about to usurp the throne, and the Southern Tang, as flowing as spring water, was just around the corner. The king of Chu, who “ate thirty chickens a day,” had died, and his relatives were battling fiercely for the throne. In Min, Wang Yanjun had just inherited his father’s harem and was devoted to finding new ways to have fun. Gao Laizi of Jingnan was busy robbing travelers, claiming powerful men as his fathers, and begging for rewards, with no concern for his dignity. Only the southeastern kingdom of Wuyue quietly made its fortune amid the chaos. That year, Zhao Kuangyin, the man who would end the age of turmoil, was still a little brat in a Luoyang military camp. Guo Wei was merely a junior officer, Guo Rong was still selling tea, and the ninth son of the Qian family was squatting in the market, watching people sell fish. That same year, Gu Qingyuan transmigrated and, forced by mutinous soldiers, had no choice but to pose as a county magistrate. He had planned to pocket some money and make a quick getaway. But as fate would have it, the title above his head kept growing longer and longer, until one day an officer under him raised his chin and shouted: “Prefect, even the emperor of the Central Plains isn’t all that important!”