You're listening to an airwave media podcast.

Hello and welcome to the history of China.

Hello and welcome to the history of China.

Episode 127, towering inferno.

Leaving the Liao behind in their northern expanse,

this time we'll be heading back down to the thick of things

in the Yellow River Valley, and specifically to the regime of the later tongue at the dawn of its second

ruler's reign, Lee Suyen, aka Emperor Ming Zong.

As you recall from the end of 125, Mingzong had taken the throne rather

unexpectedly in the year of 926, when he'd just sort of ridden the

disaffected coat tails of the later Tong army into power.

The army had been sent by Tong's first emperor, Li Tunschunshu, akazong, to stamp out reports of a rebellion being led by Suyen in Chengde.

To which the Imperial armies, by this point well and truly over, Huangzong's flat refusal to pay out the kinds of bonuses they had grown

accustomed, and yes, entitled to. So turned on the emperor and killed him at the capital city

of Loyang. The rest of the pieces just sort of fell into place after that.

Here was Lisa Yuen. Having been chosen by the army as in effect,

the guy seemingly most likely to pay what the soldiers felt that they were owed by the state.

There was the usual bout of ceremonial hemming and hawing by Suyuen over whether he really

should take the throne.

After all, wasn't there someone better?

Surely, one of Jong-Zon's own sons could be found to carry on the bloodline.

That sort of thing. But as it turned out, wouldn't you know it, suddenly it seemed

...