When it comes to the ancient giant greed, everyone will definitely think of Yan Song of the Ming Dynasty and He yan of the Qing Dynasty, and there was also such a figure in the Tang Dynasty, called Yuan Zai.
Yuan Zai, a political activist during the Middle and Tang Dynasties, served as an official in the three dynasties of Xuanzong, Suzong, and Daizong, and served as prime minister for fourteen years.
Yuan Zai was born in a family of official eunuchs, and although his father once held a considerable official position, he was relatively incorruptible, so his family was not very well off. From an early age, he showed extraordinary talent, extensive reading, hard work. The history books have recorded that the first time Yuan Zai participated in the scientific expedition, he actually went on foot, which shows that his family was indeed very poor at that time.
Yuan Zai participated in several scientific expeditions and was named Luosun Mountain, but he was able to go to the court as an official, why is this? It's because of a hobby of his. He liked to read, and he never forgot, and over time he mastered a lot of Taoist and metaphysical theories, and in the early years of Tianbao, when he showed off lightness and metaphysics, his hobby became a stepping stone for him to enter his career later.
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang advocated Taoism and ordered the selection of people who were proficient in Taoism throughout the country, and Yuan Zai stood out among many scholars.
Yuan Zai initially served as a county lieutenant, and it didn't take long for him to become famous for his outstanding talents and was transferred to Dali Sizhi, in this role, Yuan Zai did a good job, he clearly judged right and wrong, and handled a lot of backlog cases.
Soon after, the Anshi Rebellion broke out and the Tang Dynasty was in turmoil, which was a disaster for others, but for Yuan Zai, this was undoubtedly the best opportunity to climb upwards. In this era of urgent shortage of cadres, Yuan Zai racked his brains and showed his ability and talent in front of his superiors, so he was promoted to a Beijing official.
After the Anshi Rebellion, Yuan Zai became an official of the Ministry of Finance, and his official career was even more successful. He was good at reading the emperor's mind and doing everything he could to make the emperor happy. Because he always dealt with money, his career as a corrupt official began.
Yuan Zai first took advantage of Li Fuguo, who was once in power, who was deeply trusted by the emperor and had great power. When Emperor Suzong Li Heng was seriously ill, Li Fuguo and Yuan Zai commanded hundreds of officials together, and also sent people to falsely preach the Holy Will, so that Yuan Zai naturally became the prime minister.
After Emperor Suzong's death, Li Fuguo began to lose power, but Yuan Zai's position as prime minister did not waver in the slightest, and he colluded with Dong Xiu, a big red man around the emperor.
To what extent is Yuan Zai greedy? Let's look down.
He was in power for fourteen years, and there was a rule circulating in the official arena: "If you want to be an official, find Yuan Zai." "There are countless acts of buying and selling official positions. As long as enough gold and silver treasures are offered, he will not refuse. Officials make mistakes and want to keep their positions and bribe him.
Yuan Zai used the embezzled money to build more than a dozen extremely luxurious villas, and the Tang Dynasty Su Yan once described in detail the extravagance of these villas: "The private residence is mashed with vanilla, painted with walls, and overflowing with strange fragrances." With gold and silver as the window, there is a hanging screen inside..."
Under Yuan Zai's dictatorship, the court was chaotic, officials formed parties for personal gain, and politics was in disarray. In the face of these unbearable current conditions, Li Yu, the acting king, decided to rectify the imperial program, and Yuan Zai finally ushered in the day of destruction.
Faced with a heavy shackle, Yuan Zai lowered his once-invincible head.
According to historical records, when Yuan Zai was arrested and raided his home, the imperial court found countless gold and silver satins and rare treasures from his home, and there were 800 cartons of pepper from the Western Regions alone, equivalent to more than sixty tons today, and the gold and silver treasures were innumerable.
Before Yuan Zai left, he said an intriguing sentence: "I only want to kill with a knife, and I hope to die quickly." "This great corrupt official, who enjoyed all the glory and wealth and the power of the world, brought only the shame of the door and the scorn of the world.