Just as the so-called "companion is like a companion tiger", yesterday was still a favorite, and today it is possible that people will move. And this sudden change in wealth and death is not due to corruption or a preference for beauty, but because they want to encroach on power that belongs only to the emperor.
Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, was the grandson of Wu Zetian and the son of Emperor Ruizong of Tang. Before ascending the throne, Li Longji was the King of Linzi. At Li Longji's side, there was a clever family slave named Wang Maozhong.
Wang Maozhong was originally a Goguryeo man, who was not enslaved for crimes when he was young, and worked as an errand boy by Li Longji's side. Because he was "sexually aware" and "brave and good at riding and shooting", he gained the trust and favor of Li Longji.
After the Shenlong Revolution, Wu Zetian was forced to abdicate, and Emperor Zhongzong of Tang was restored. However, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang was dimwitted and incompetent, which led to Empress Wei, Princess Anle, and others acting arbitrarily and disordering the imperial program. Because of wu Zetian's precedent, Empress Wei and Princess Anle also coveted the throne, and Emperor Zhongzong of Tang became a common obstacle for both mother and daughter.
In order to prevent Empress Wei and Princess Anle from plotting to take the throne, Li Longji "often yin introduced the force of the people to help themselves". On the one hand, Li Longji ordered King Mao Zhong and others to often carry bows and arrows and serve as his guards; on the other hand, he bribed the Royal Janissaries with heavy money and used them as his military strength. Wang Maozhong, on the other hand, often acted as Li Longji's messenger and "confessed" to the Janissary general, putting the army on the side of King Linzi rather than Empress Wei.
Therefore, when Empress Wei and Princess Anle poisoned Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, Li Longji was able to quickly assemble the court Yulin and kill Empress Wei and Princess Anle. After Empress Wei and Princess Anle were killed, Li Dan the Prince of Xiang (Li Longji's father) was reinstated as Emperor Ruizong.
Soon after, Li Long was made crown prince. Wang Maozhong, on the other hand, was in charge of the Prince Donggong Camel Horse Eagle Dog and other workshops, which were the most fertile departments of oil and water. And because of his management of the law, Wang Maozhong was deeply appreciated, "not more than a year old, has reached the level of a great general and a third rank."
On the surface, Wang Maozhong only helped Li Longji to take care of the dogs and horses. But in fact, this is just a cover for Wang Maozhong's real work. Taking advantage of Wang Maozhong's personal relationship with the officers of the Forbidden Army, Li Longji was still able to actually take charge of state affairs as a prince. Although Tang Ruizong was emperor, whenever he encountered a major event, he needed to ask Li Longji's opinion. It can be said that Tang Ruizong is just a puppet of Li Longji.
So why didn't Li Longji directly claim the title of emperor? This is because before Li Longji, there was also a strong political woman, she was the Princess of The Tang Dynasty, princess Taiping. In the rebellion of Empress Wei and Princess Anle, Princess Taiping also played a great role. As a result, Princess Taiping had a transcendent political position in the imperial court, and 7 out of 8 prime ministers were her domestic slaves. Tang Ruizong was only a buffer between Li Longji and Princess Taiping. Because Tang Ruizong was there, Li Longji and Princess Taiping did not directly merge.
But with the passage of time, the contradiction between Li Longji and Princess Taiping became more and more intense. First, Princess Taiping plotted to depose Li Longji as crown prince, but did not succeed. Subsequently, Li Longji directly ascended to the throne and cut off Princess Taiping's thoughts. However, Princess Taiping was still not dead hearted, and wanted to launch a coup d'état and directly depose Li Longji.
However, Li Longji arranged a detailed work with Princess Taiping in advance and learned directly of her plot. Therefore, Li Longji took the lead and killed Princess Taiping's party. Among them, Wang Maozhong went into battle shirtless, personally leading more than 300 soldiers and horses to search and kill the Taiping Princess Yu Dang, and made a gestapo contribution to the consolidation of Li Longji's throne.
After the taiping princess was destroyed, Wang Maozhong was awarded the title of Grand General of Zuo Wuwei for his merits, and was enfeoffed as the Duke of Huoguo, and later added the Kaifu Yi Tongsan Division. Thus Wang Maozhong completed the miracle of being promoted from a slave to a great general. Once he was a small slave who was inferior to a dog and a horse, he is now a very popular subject. Wang Maozhong not only helped Li Longji command two battalions of ten thousand horsemen, but also supervised the royal farm, which can be said to be Li Longji's great internal commander.
Therefore, Li Longji gave Wang Maozhong an unimaginable reward. Every time Emperor Xuanzong of Tang set up a court banquet, Wang Maozhong always "sat on the bed in front of the kings, Jiang Jiao, and other imperial servants." If Xuanzong does not see it at any time, it will be quietly lost; if it is seen, it will be happy all night, and there will be a sun and a sun." That is to say, if Li Longji could not see Wang Maozhong at the banquet, he would still have a feeling of "if something is lost."
Li Longji's favor for Wang Maozhong allowed him to gain the power of "one person above ten thousand people", and even with just one sentence, he made people rich. Zhang said that when he was assassinating the history of Hezhou, he often gave gold and silver to Wang Maozhong. One day Wang Maozhong inspected the border, Zhang said that the big wine and big meat were entertaining, and at the climax of the banquet, Pegasus came to report the emperor's edict, saying that Zhang said that the bingbu Shangshu and Zhongshu Menxia Sanpin were awarded. Zhang said that after hearing this, he was overjoyed, and pulled Wang Maozhong to dance, sniffing Wang Maozhong's boots while dancing.
It can be seen that Wang Maozhong used his power to make a lot of black money. However, Tang Xuanzong Li Longji still resigned himself to this. However, an incident that happened afterwards brought the relationship between Li Longji and Wang Maozhong down to a freezing point. Originally, Wang Maozhong had always wanted to ask for the position of Bingbu Shangshu, but Li Longji just refused to give it.
It turned out that Wang Maozhong was friendly with the Janissary generals Tang Diwen, Li Shoude, Wang Jingyao, and others. Serving as a soldier Shangshu, it was convenient for Wang Maozhong to "power rent-seeking". However, the power of the forbidden army can be pretended to be in the hands of others. Therefore, Li Longji can give anything, but Bingbu Shangshu must not give. As a result, Wang Maozhong was unhappy every time he went to the dynasty, and Li Longji had already seen this in his eyes.
One day, Wang Maozhong's wife gave birth to a son, and Li Longji ordered Gao Lishi to send a congratulatory gift, and awarded the newborn child the official title of Wupin. After Gao Lishi returned to the palace, Li Longji asked him: "Is Wang Maozhong happy?" Colliers replied: "He was not happy, and pointed to his child and said, "Can't this child be awarded the 3 Pin Knighthood?" ”
It turned out that Tang Xuanzong had always been very fond of eunuchs, and often granted the post of general of Sanpin, for example, Gao Lishi was Sanpin. Wang Maozhong himself looked down on Gao Lishi, so when he sent the emperor's congratulatory gift, he would make such a bad remark. The subtext is: "Am I still better than a eunuch?" ”
Hearing this, Tang Xuanzong was really furious: "When he killed Wei Hou, he was a two-faced faction, and I just didn't want to say it at that time." Now he dares to blame me with a baby! Is he trying to rebel? ”
At this time, Gao Lishi "appropriately" said: "Wang Maozhong has a good relationship with the Forbidden Army, and if he does not get rid of it early, he will definitely cause serious trouble!" Listening to Gao Lishi's words, Tang Xuanzong was horrified. Therefore, Tang Xuanzong immediately demoted Wang Maozhong to an official and gave him death on the road.
Wang Maozhong's death illustrates that the emperor can share wealth with you, but will never share power with you. Wang Maozhong was pampered and arrogant, and after helping Li Longji make a great contribution, he still maintained close contact with the forbidden army, which eventually aroused the suspicion of the emperor and caused his death.