The Ganlu Rebellion was an anti-eunuch struggle during the reign of Emperor Wenzong of Tang, which took place in the ninth year of Taihe (835).
Eunuchs initially appeared as a special kind of slave. The duties of eunuchs make it impossible for them to participate in the decision-making of major national policies, and it is said that they cannot cause the misfortune of eunuchs. However, eunuch dictatorships were still frequent. The root cause of the emergence of eunuch dictatorship lies in the faintness of the supreme ruler and the weakening of imperial power, as well as the resulting connivance and appeasement of eunuch policies and tactics. The greatest harm caused by the eunuch dictatorship in China's feudal society was the Eastern Han, Tang and Ming dynasties, especially the Tang Dynasty. Qing Dynasty scholar Zhao Yi said:
"The calamity of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the former Ming eunuchs was fierce, but the sovereignty was disturbed to wreak havoc on the world, and the power of the officials of the Tang Dynasty was above that of the lord of man, and the king was deposed and the king was abolished, and there was a drama with the children, and the change that Shi Ji had never changed."
The eunuch dictatorship of the Tang Dynasty intensified from the beginning of the Tang Ming Emperor, and since Emperor Dezong, there were seven emperors supported by eunuchs, and those who killed him were Shunzong, Xianzong, and Jingzong. The eunuch's dictatorship caused extreme darkness and chaos in the politics of the late Tang Dynasty, and the slightly more sober-minded emperor realized that in order to make a difference, he must first eliminate the eunuch power. Tang Wenzong was such a sober-minded emperor.
The "change of manna" begins and ends
Emperor Wenzong still wanted to do something when he ascended to the emperor's throne, and Emperor Wenzong was well aware of the great harm caused by the eunuch's monopoly, so he initially appointed Song Shenxi, a scholar of Hanlin, as chancellor in an attempt to exterminate the eunuch Wang Shoucheng, according to the Old Book of Tang and the Biography of Song Shenxi:
"Shen Xi was in the inner court, and Emperor Wenzong was loyal and could do whatever he wanted. He had no choice but to summon Shen Xi and Shen Xi to calmly talk to Wang Shoucheng, so he conspired with the courtiers of the foreign court to go away." "Shen Xi has obtained the secret will, but he removed Wang Fan as Jing Zhaoyin, and used the secret will as a metaphor.
Because Wang Fan leaked secrets, Song Shenxi was framed by the eunuchs and demoted to Sima of Kaizhou, so that the plan to attack the eunuchs was forced to be aborted before it was implemented. After Song Shenxi was degraded, Emperor Wenzong's determination to curse the eunuchs was still great, but he suffered from the lack of credible people for a while, and his anxiety and irritability could be imagined. At this time, Li Xun and Zheng Zhu appeared as special figures in a special period. Li Xun was a son of the family, proficient in scripture, a middle-aged scholar, who was exiled for a reason, and later lived in Luoyang to befriend Xianhao and met Zheng Zhu. Zheng Zhu was originally surnamed Yu, proficient in medicine, Taihe eight years, due to Wang Shoucheng's introduction, for Wenzong's treatment, gradually credited. Li Xun was therefore recommended by Wang Shoucheng to see Emperor Wenzong. Li Xun and Zheng Zhu also lived up to Emperor Wenzong's wishes, cleverly removing eunuchs such as Wei Element, Yang Chenghe, Wang Shoucheng, and Wang Jianyan, and then launched the "Ganlu Revolution" in order to completely eliminate the power of eunuchs.
On November 21, the ninth year of Taihe (835), Emperor Wenzong's Imperial Purple Palace, the zuo jinwu wei general Han Yue, according to Li Xun's arrangement, said that the pomegranate tree in the jinwu left courtyard fell at night, and asked the emperor to watch it in person, so Emperor Wenzong took advantage of the soft public opinion to ascend the Zichen Gate to the Hanyuan Hall (next to the Jinwu Left Guard Temple). Li Xun, the prime minister, was ordered to inspect it, and the Old Book of Tang and the Biography of Li Xun contain:
"Not only that, he said: 'The ministers and others are afraid that they are not true manna, and they dare not speak lightly.' Speaking out, the four parties will call He Ye. ’”
Emperor Wenzong also ordered the lieutenant eunuchs Qiu Shiliang and Yu Zhihong of the Divine Strategy Army to go to see them again, and at this time there was already an ambush in the Kingo Courtyard, which was to lure the eunuchs to the Kingo Guards to surround and kill. After the eunuch left, Li Xun urgently summoned the soldiers who were guarding outside the Danfeng Gate into the palace to prepare for the reception. Qiu Shiliang, Yu Zhihong, and others had just entered the left battle, and Han Yue was white and sweaty due to excessive nervousness. Qiu Shiliang felt very strange, and at this time, it happened that the wind blew the curtain, revealing the ambush soldiers, and Qiu Shiliang and others were shocked, and they quickly withdrew and ran back to the temple. The gatekeeper wanted to close the door, but was surprised by Qiu Shiliang's loud voice, and it was too late to close the door. Li Xun hurriedly called on the guards to go to the palace to protect him, but it was too late, and the eunuch robbed Emperor Wenzong and hurriedly returned to the palace. Jingzhao Shaoyin Luo Liyan led more than 300 people from Jingzhao Province to come from the east, and Li Xiaoben, the head of Yushitai, led more than 200 people from Yushitai from the west. Soon, the eunuchs dispatched a forbidden army to massacre the imperial officials, and Li Xun, Zheng Zhu, and the chancellors Wang Ya and Shu Yuanyu, as well as Wang Fan, Guo Xingyu, Luo Liyan, Han Yue, Li Xiaoben, and more than ten other families were killed, and the whole family was almost empty. Emperor Wenzong was also almost deposed. The "Change of Manna" ended with the victory of the eunuchs.
Although the "Ganlu Revolution" ended in the defeat of the emperor and the imperial officials, before the incident, it could not be said that its initiator, Emperor Wenzong, was very thoughtful, and the planners Li Xun and Zheng Zhu planned very carefully.
Emperor Wenzong was deeply worried about the eunuch's misfortune and wanted to accuse the eunuch, but he did not dare to consult with the foreign chancellor. As an important part of the central government, the chancellor should have been an active force relied on by the emperor, but most of the chancellors in the Wenzong period were dependent on eunuchs to varying degrees, and they had no intention of rebelling against eunuchs or daring to exterminate eunuchs, and their main body had lost the fighting spirit and sharpness to compete with eunuchs. At that time, the court officials split into two parties, Niu and Li, and they had their own sects, colluded with eunuchs, and excluded each other, and it was impossible to help Emperor Wenzong. Emperor Wenzong clearly saw this fact, so it was impossible to discuss the grand plan with the prime ministers. This is where Emperor Wenzong thinks carefully, and in this regard, it seems that Emperor Wenzong can also be regarded as an emperor with an opinion. At this time, Li Xun and Zheng Zhu, as representatives of the "lonely and cold new soldiers", were regarded by Emperor Wenzong as suitable candidates to join the struggle against eunuchs.
Li Xun and Zheng Zhu planned the "Change of Manna" plan in detail and ingenious ideas.
The first is the cleverness of the idea of a false "change of manna".
It was a very common thing for manna to fall on a tree, but how could it be used to deceive the eunuchs? If it is summer and autumn, it is indeed not a rare thing, but the "change of manna" is in late November, and Chang'an in the north is already very cold, and it is unlikely that there will be manna, and if there is an occasional arrival of manna, it is regarded as a sign of great luck. And Li Xun and Zheng Zhu used this scheme to capture all the curiosity of the people, and the eunuchs were no exception. It is precisely because it is unlikely that the winter night will drop manna, so on the day of the incident, Han Yue said that the night fell manna, and Emperor Wenzong first asked the prime minister Li Xun to see it, and Li Xun came back and said that he did not dare to be sure whether it was true or false, which was another wonderful move. It was precisely because Li Xun and others said that there was indeed something similar to nectar on the pomegranate tree in the Kingo WeiYuan, which needed to be further confirmed, and then Emperor Wenzong asked Qiu Shiliang and other eunuchs to look at it again. As for the changes that occurred later, they were unexpected, and there was no loophole in the plan.
The second is the deployment of troops.
After Li Xun was promoted to chancellor, considering that the eunuchs controlled the forbidden army, they must have armed forces that were enough to compete with the eunuchs.
"It is with Dali Qing Guo Xingyu as the envoy of the Yongning Festival, Hubu Shangshu Wang Bian as the Taiyuan Festival Envoy, Jingzhao Shao Yin Luo Liyan Zhi Da Yin Shi, Taifu Qing Han Yu JingWu Street Envoy, Punishment Department Lang Zhongzhi Li Xiao Ben Quan Zhi Zhongzhong Zhi Zhong, Li Xiao Ben Quan Zhi Zhong, all of whom are close to the training." Ji Wang Bian and Guo Xingyu did not go to the town, and Guangling summoned the heroes and followers of the Jinwutai Government to gather their affairs. "Out of the note for the Fengxiang Festival"
Prepare for an internal and external combination. When the eunuch was ordered to go to the Kingo WeiYuan to see the nectar, Li Xun immediately summoned the soldiers into the officers to prepare to cooperate with the ambush soldiers inside, so he was also very thoughtful in the deployment of troops.
Then the initiators and planners of the "Nectar Change" did not expect that it would be themselves who would fail, and they would fail so badly. On the day of the incident, "six or seven hundred people died from the officials", and after that, the forbidden army launched a massacre, killing tens of thousands of people. Although the "change of manna" was planned more carefully, there were also mistakes in looking at the before and after the incident.
The mistake of the "change of manna".
First, the eunuchs were not seized of military power first.
As mentioned earlier, before the Ganlu Incident, Emperor Wenzong relied on Li Xun Zhengzhu to successfully remove the eunuch Wang Shoucheng, and it was important at that time that he first seized his military power. When killing Wang Shoucheng, he also took advantage of his contradiction with Qiu Shiliang to eliminate Wang Shoucheng by supporting Qiu Shiliang. However, after Qiu Shiliang's power grew, it caused the disaster of a new eunuch, and Qiu Shiliang's control of the forbidden army was a very tricky thing, but at that time there was no way to seize his military power. This is more appropriate than a mistake as a helplessness. It is precisely for this reason that corresponding arrangements have been made in the arming against Qiu Shiliang.
Second, there is no close cooperation between all parties.
First of all, when the eunuch "went", Li Xun summoned the soldiers outside the Danfeng Gate into the palace to prepare for the reception, the Old Book of Tang, Li Xun's Biography
"Wei Yan entered from the army, but the Soldiers of Ying Ning did not arrive."
Wenzong's side had less strength to resist.
Secondly, when an accident occurs, no one can deal with it calmly and calmly in order to turn things around.
"The lieutenant and the privy councillor went to the left side, heard the sound of soldiers under the curtain, and walked out in terror, and the people who wanted to lock it up were called by the middlemen, and they could not get off the pass."
This was actually a very crucial step, and the eunuch had the opportunity to show it when he got out of this door.
Third, Emperor Wenzong foresaw Li Xun's plot, but after the ambush was exposed, he could not cooperate with the tacit understanding and fell into the hands of the eunuchs. However, the eunuchs were very clean and neat when they robbed Emperor Wenzong, Li Xun raised public opinion and shouted urgently, and the eunuch Xi Zhirong fought hard to train and train the servants,
"When the public opinion is entered, the door is closed, the eunuchs are all shouting long live, and the hundred officials are shocked and scattered."
Fourth, Li Xun wanted to take the lead in advance, so that when the incident occurred, Zheng Zhu could not move troops from Fengxiang in time to cooperate.
Third, the disparity in armed forces is also an important reason for the failure of the incident.
Because Li Xun's arms were temporarily recruited, they were naturally vulnerable to the well-trained Forbidden Army. When the forbidden army slaughtered the zai chancellor and the imperial officials, Li Xun had no strength to compete with it.
"In November, after noticing the incident, Zi Fengxiang led five hundred soldiers to Que. To the wind, to hear the defeat of the training, but to return. ”
Because Li Xun wanted to grab the credit, at the time of the incident, the rescue force was still far away and could not actively cooperate.
The causes and consequences of the "change of manna".
Before and after the "Change of Ganlu", the ones who worked hardest for Wenzong to saddle the front and back of the horse should be Li Xun and Zheng Zhu. The two were appreciated by Emperor Wenzong as cold and humble soldiers, and became the right and left hands of Emperor Wenzong to eliminate the eunuch forces. When most of the foreign prime ministers were dependent on eunuchs, and the eunuchs were very powerful, it was undoubtedly a very dangerous task to destroy eunuchs, and Li Xun and Zheng Zhu ran so hard, in addition to the reasons for the grace of Emperor Wenzong, there were also factors for their own consideration, that is, to get rid of their opponents. Why? The greatest threat to imperial power during the Reign of Emperor Wenzong was the eunuch dictatorship. At that time, the power of Li Xun and Zheng Zhu was also very prominent, and the greatest threat to their power was naturally the eunuch. To maintain this power, it is necessary to eliminate the eunuch forces. The potential spiritual power to destroy opponents supported Li Xun and Zheng Zhu to bravely face the powerful eunuchs. Therefore, from the perspective of the purpose of the struggle against eunuchs, on the one hand, Emperor Wenzong wanted to remove the eunuchs' threat to the imperial power and revitalize the imperial power. On the other hand, Li Xunzheng was determined to eliminate his opponents in order to consolidate his power.
After the failure of the "Change of Ganlu", the Zizhi Tongjian records:
"Everything in the world is decided by the North Division, and the prime minister only carries out the documents." Eunuchs are full of vigor, coercing tianzi, looking down at the prime minister, and the tyrannical courtiers are like grass mustard."
The "change of manna" caused such a result, which was a very heavy blow to Emperor Wenzong. Emperor Wenzong originally wanted to make a difference, and did not want to end up being the emperor in the end, but in fact he was just a prisoner, which was indeed a tragic thing for an emperor who originally intended to be enterprising. Emperor Wenzong was deeply sorry for the people who had been killed in the incident, and he himself was depressed. In the fifth year of Kaicheng, Emperor Wenzong died in depression at the age of thirty-three. After the Ganlu Incident, Qiu Shiliang was hindered by the forces of the Four Fang Town and did not dare to depose Emperor Wenzong, and after Emperor Wenzong's death, he also complained about Emperor Wenzong, and all the music workers and internal servants were fortunate to be degraded by Emperor Wenzong. The Japanese monk Yuanren's "Record of entering the Tang Dynasty to Seek the Law" also records:
"I also smelled that the Heavenly Son collapsed on the third day of the first month of this year. Smell the new Heavenly Son on the throne. More than 4,000 people were killed in the city, and the former emperor (Emperor Wenzong) was also a benefactor. ”
The eunuch's fierceness was exposed here.
Summary: After the change of Ganlu, the eunuchs were even more arrogant and arrogant, causing heavy losses to the imperial court. Taking a step back, even if the Ganlu Revolution succeeded, only the power and eunuch forces would be eliminated, and the eunuchs would still exist as appendages of China's feudal system.