Li Siyuan had four sons, the eldest son Li Congjing, who was killed by Yuan Xingqin (Yuan Xingqin is Li Shaorong), the second son Li Congrong, the third Li Conghou, and the fourth Li Congyi.
In the first year of Tiancheng (926), Li Congrong was appointed as the envoy of the Tianxiong Army; The following year, Li Conghou became Henan Yin.
Li Congrong saw that his younger brother Li Conghou was bigger than his official position, and his heart was unbalanced. After another year, Li Siyuan transferred Li Congrong to serve as the envoy of Hedong Jiedu. Soon, he was exchanged with his younger brother Li Conghou, and Li Congrong became Henan Yin, and Li Conghou was appointed as Hedong Jiedu Envoy.
After Li Siyuan ascended the throne as emperor, he did not announce the candidate for the crown prince, but the second son of the emperor, Li Congrong, as the actual eldest son, was the first heir to the throne of the Later Tang Dynasty, which everyone knew.
Li Conghou and Li Congrong were born to a mother, but their personalities are very different. Li Conghou is cautious and very sophisticated; Li Congrong is relatively frivolous, ambitious and talented, and likes to be elegant, often gathering a group of gentlemen and sour literati to give poems in the house, and also published a "Zifu Collection", boasting that his poetry is unparalleled in the world. Li Siyuan had sent people to persuade him many times, but Li Congrong only thought he was a fart and still went his own way. The fifth generation is a troubled time, the emperor's order, the ministers can not listen; Lao Tzu's words, sons can ignore it, this is commonplace. Li Siyuan was also not strange, so he had to give up.
In the first year of Changxing (930), Li Siyuan made Li Congrong the King of Qin and Li Conghou the King of Song.
After Li Congrong was crowned king, he opened the mansion and set up a subordinate, attracting some fox friends to be his assistants, chanting the wind and the moon, showing off elegance, drinking and having fun, and indulgence.
Li Siyuan loves and hates this son with a higher education level than himself. Love is natural, but Li Siyuan has some hatred that iron is not steel, what is this son doing with a group of literati? Don't you know that the literati misled the country? The world depends on strength and force. Li Siyuan decided to talk to his son, and he asked Li Congrong: "What have you done outside of military and political affairs?" ”
"In my spare time, I read books and find some Confucian scholars to discuss some scriptures." Li Congrong considers himself a university, and his answer feels a little inscrutable.
"Yes?" Li Siyuan was crying and laughing, and said disapprovingly, "Although I am illiterate, I like to listen to Confucian students preach the general meaning of scripture, which can develop people's intelligence and thinking." Emperor Zhuangzong liked to compose poetry, and it was of little use. You are the son of Xuan, governing the country and security is what you have to study seriously, how many pounds and taels do you have, don't you know it? Spread to other people's ears, in vain make people laugh, don't learn these flashy things in the future. ”
Although Li Congrong did not think so, he reluctantly agreed. After leaving the palace, he was "still the sound of the waves" and did not listen to Li Siyuan's teachings at all.
Li Congrong couldn't even listen to Li Siyuan's words, and the others didn't pay attention to it. Interactions between people are not adulterated, you do not respect others, and others do not need to respect you, which is why Li Congrong has poor connections in the upper echelons of power in the DPRK.
After An Chongxu's death, Wang Shufei Hua and Meng Hanqiong made arrangements to appoint Fan Yanguang and Zhao Yanshou as privy envoys.
Fan Yanguang's prestige in the dynasty was not high, and Zhao Yanshou's original surname was Liu, and he was the righteous son of Zhao Dejun, the envoy of Lulong Festival, so he changed his surname to Zhao and was favored because he was good at sycophancy.
Li Congrong did not look at the two well, and often mocked them.
The privy envoy was the highest military officer of the imperial court, a heavy minister of the imperial court, and Li Congrong easily offended them, which shows how simple his political mind is. Li Congrong not only offended Quan Chen, but also had the same relationship with his half-brother Li Conghou, brother-in-law Shi Jingyu, and brother Li Congke.
Li Congrong's madness frightened Shi Jingyu, the deputy marshal of the world's soldiers and horses.
Shi Jingyu's wife, Princess Yongning, and Li Congrong are half-siblings, and the relationship between the two has never been good. I'm not afraid of Guan Gong playing with a big knife, but I'm afraid of a poet dancing a sledgehammer. Shi Jingyao feared that one day, Li Congrong's sledgehammer would fall on his head, and often thought of avoiding him as a substitute for the post of a clan town outside.
Fan Yanguang and Zhao Yanshou, who were suppressed by Li Congrong, also had the same idea and repeatedly asked to resign from the post of privy seal, but Li Siyuan did not agree.
People move to life, trees to die. Shi Jingyao is a smart person who knows that this sentence is true, but he has not yet found the opportunity. Just at this time, there was an opportunity to let Shi Jingyao leave the capital.
The Khitan king Yelu suddenly wanted to settle a grudge with the emperor's younger brother Yelud Guang and came to the Tang kingdom to seek political refuge. Li Siyuan took him in, gave him the name Li Zanhua, and made him the envoy of the Huaihua Army, the former Tiyin who had been captured by Lu Long, and also granted him an official post and gave him the name Di Huaizhong.
The Khitan emperor Yelud Guang learned that the Tang state had taken in Yelu Tulu, so he sent envoys to ask for people.
Yelu suddenly wanted to come to the Tang Kingdom to seek political refuge, and if the Tang Kingdom handed him over, it would be a matter of great shame, not to mention that the Khitan was not a friendly neighbor, and it was still a sign of weakness to hand over Yelu Suddenly.
Li Siyuan did not want to lose face, let alone show weakness in front of the Khitans, and flatly refused the Khitans' request.
Using this as an excuse, Yelud Guang repeatedly sent Khitan cavalry to riot the Tang border.
Shi Jingyu saw that the smoke in the north was rising again, so he went to the privy envoys Fan Yanguang and Zhao Yanshou and asked them to beat the side drum in front of Li Siyuan and let him lead the troops to the battle; Later, he personally entered the palace to find his old husband, saying that he was willing to go to Hedong to defend against the Khitans.
Li Siyuan did not know Shi Jingyu's thoughts, and thought that this son-in-law was sharing his worries, so he made Shi Jingyao an envoy of Hedong. Hedong is the No. 1 military town of the Five Dynasties, and Shi Jingyu chose Hedong with great strategic vision.
When Shi Jingyu arrived in Jinyang, the appointment department sent Liu Zhiyuan and Zhou Gui as the capitals, and entrusted them with heavy responsibilities, the military was entrusted to Liu Zhiyuan, and the finances were entrusted to Zhou Gui to manage, and asked them to always pay attention to the news of the imperial court and be ready to act at any time.
Shi Jingyu usurped the Tang Dynasty and founded the foundation of the Later Jin Dynasty, which began here.
After Shi Jingyu left Beijing, Li Siyuan transferred Kang Yicheng to Beijing and served as the deputy marshal of the army and horses, replacing Shi Jingyu.
Li Congke was dismissed from office because he was framed by An Chongxu, and has been idle at home. Now, An Chongxu is dead, and he also ushered in the second spring of his political life, serving as the envoy of Fengxiang Jiedu and crowning King Lu.
In the first month of the fourth year of Changxing (933), Li Siyuan made Li Congrong the Prince of Qin a shangshuling and a squire. He also crowned his fourth son Li Congyi as King Xu.
Li Congyi was young at this time, and his nursing mother Wang Shi was a master in the palace, and she saw that Li Congrong, the king of Qin, was powerful, and wanted to find a backer for Li Congyi, and also made plans for her future, secretly asking Li Congyi to ask Li Siyuan, saying that he wanted to visit the King of Qin. Li Siyuan thought that Li Congyi was still a child, and it was common for people to want to see his eldest brother, so he asked Wang to take him to the Qin Mansion.
After Wang saw Li Congrong, he summoned up enough energy to befriend him, and even pretended to be flattering and coquettish.
The women dangling around the emperor have a high appearance index, and the Wang family is certainly no exception. An already beautiful woman, and then show her full of charm, the temptation to men is incalculable, not to mention that Li Congrong is a bloody young man and a lecherous young man, if he is not moved, then he is not Li Congrong.
Li Congrong originally liked others to flatter him, and seeing that the Wang family, who was quite good-looking, took the initiative to give him a hug, the hormones in his body immediately took effect, his blood was open, and he was excited from head to toe. Immediately let the maid take Li Congyi away, and she put her arms around Wang Shi and entered the inner room.
After some clouds and rain, the two set a date for the meeting. Li Congrong also told the Wang family to pay close attention to the movements in the palace and tell him immediately as soon as there was a disturbance. Wang Shi promised with his mouth full and took Li Congyi back to the palace.
After that, the Wang family often went in and out of the Qin royal mansion, firstly to do that meticulous thing, and secondly to deliver news from the palace to Li Congrong. Li Congrong knows all the big and small things in the palace.
The imperial servant Shaoqing sent a letter to He Ze and asked Li Congrong to be crown prince. After Li Siyuan saw the seal, he couldn't help crying, and said to the left and right: "Qunchen asked for the crown prince, and Xu can only go back to his hometown in Jinyang to retire." "According to his idea, if the crown prince is established, he will have to abdicate the throne. From here, it can be seen that Li Siyuan has no culture. The establishment of the crown prince was originally a normal thing and a necessary thing, but he regarded a normal and necessary thing as an abnormal and an act of the ministers to drive him out of power.
After Li Congrong heard about this, he hurriedly entered the palace to ask Li Siyuan, saying that he had recently heard that an adulterer had asked him to be crown prince, and he did not know about it, moreover, he was still young and willing to continue to learn the way of governing the country, and did not want to be a prince now.
"This is the meaning of Qunchen, and Xu has not yet made a final decision!"
After Li Congrong withdrew, he went to see Fan Yanguang and Zhao Yanshou and asked, "Do you want to make me the prince to take away my military power and imprison me in the East Palace?" ”
Fan Yanguang guessed Li Siyuan's thoughts, but he was afraid that Li Congrong would see something strange, so he had to play and ask that Li Congrong be appointed as the generalissimo of the world's soldiers and horses, above the prime minister.
The addition of Li Congrong's generalissimo was to appease Li Congrong, and at the same time did not mention the establishment of the crown prince, so that Li Siyuan could also rest assured, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone.
Li Siyuan soon approved Fan Yanguang's proposal and appointed Li Congrong as the generalissimo of the Soldiers and Horses.
Li Congrong took over the military power, especially ostentatious, every time he entered and left, the streets were full of guards, even when he was in the upper dynasty, there were hundreds of people from the horse, hugging the front and back, Zhang Bing showed his blade, so not awe-inspiring.
Li Congrong's domineering behavior made the civil and military officials feel afraid, and they asked one after another to let go of their posts and become officials at the local level, and some even resigned altogether. The most prominent ones are Fan Yanguang and Zhao Yanshou. The relationship between the two of them and Li Congrong was not good in the first place, and seeing Li Congrong so arrogant, they were even more afraid, and repeatedly submitted their resignation to Li Siyuan, but they were not approved.
Li Siyuan was ill and had not been in court for a few days, and Li Congrong seemed to see the imperial throne waving to him, and said to the left and right in private: "If I become the emperor, I must eradicate those traitors and villains." ”
When Fan Yanguang and Zhao Yanshou heard this, they were even more afraid, and they went to the table again and asked for an external transfer.
Li Siyuan was troubled by illness, read their resignation report, threw the recital on the ground, and said angrily: "If you want to go, let's go!" Why make a report? ”
Fan Yanguang and Zhao Yanshou were even more anxious.
Zhao Yanshou is a colt and has a princess as an insider insider, and Li Siyuan also loves the princess. The princess entered the palace to intercede for her husband, saying that Zhao Yanshou was not in good health and could not do the heavy work, and asked for resignation. Li Siyuan still did not approve.
Zhao Yanshou invited Fan Yanguang to enter the palace with him, and directly approached Li Siyuan, saying that they did not dare to be afraid of the heavy, but the privy seal made this official take turns, so as not to cause others to talk about it. They asked that one of the two be replaced first, and if the successor was really incompetent, they could be recalled, and they promised to be on call.
Speaking of this, Li Siyuan could not insist any longer, so he appointed Zhao Yanshou as the envoy of the Xuanwu Army. Zhao Yanshou happily went to the Xuanwu Army to take up his post.
Fan Yanguang had no choice, so he had to stay, he was in distress, and he was not idle, and found someone who had never had a good relationship with him to back up, this person was Zhu Hongzhao.
Zhu Hongzhao is the one who invited An Chongxu to dinner in Fengxiang, and then laid a black hand behind his back. Zhu Hongzhao thought that Fan Yanguang's conscience found that he was better for himself, and when he was transferred to the capital for two days, he found that the position of privy envoy was like sitting on a stove and roasting, not only was it difficult to sit, but there was also a danger of losing his head at any time, and he scolded Fan Yanguang in his heart for not being a person. Can't afford to mess with it, it's always okay to hide. He went to Li Siyuan and said that his limited ability was difficult for him to serve as a privy seal.
Li Siyuan found that the seeds were wrong, why did his subordinates rush out one by one? He didn't expect that his son Li Congrong's centrifugal force was so great, he thought that he was old and people didn't want to wait! So he angrily scolded: "Don't you all want to be in front of me? What's the use of me raising you?"
Zhu Hongzhao was terrified, so he had to admit that he was unlucky, and then became a privy envoy.
Fan Yanguang hated that he had not married a wife with golden branches and jade leaves, so he had to take out the savings in his pocket and offer them to Meng Hanqiong, the envoy of Xuanhui, and asked him to beg Concubine Wang Shufei to request on his behalf, hoping to be transferred. Not long after Meng Hanqiong received the money, Li Siyuan's edict was issued, ordering Fan Yanguang to be the envoy of the German army. Fan Yanguang was relieved, completed the handover procedures, and immediately went to Zhenzhou (present-day Zhengding, Hebei) to take up his post.
Before leaving, Li Siyuan personally set up a banquet, and after the wine, Li Siyuan said with some sadness: "You are leaving Xu now, if you have anything to say, just say it!" ”
Fan Yanguang glanced at Li Siyuan and said: "The major affairs of the imperial court, I hope that His Majesty will consult with the ministers who are assisted by the inside and outside to decide, and not listen to the villain." ”
The two monarchs were in tears, you look at me, I look at you, tears and farewell.
At that time, Meng Hanqiong gained power, manipulated everything, and those who were attached to him formed friends with each other and jointly blinded the emperor's eyes and ears. Therefore, when Fan Yan was parting, he said these words.
Fan Yanguang left, and another seat of the privy seal was vacant. The third envoy, Feng Yun, became a privy envoy.
Other officials of the imperial court, like fleeing the plague, wanted to flee the capital, and they all asked for their release, and they were ecstatic when they approved, and they beat their chests when they did not approve.
High-ranking officials will resign if they do not do it, and Beijing officials will be released to foreign posts if they do not do it, which is a special scenery brought to the Later Tang Dynasty after Li Congrong seized power. This scenery is probably unique in Chinese history.
Kang Yicheng expected that he would not be able to get out, so he asked his son to serve Li Congrong, the king of Qin, in order to protect himself. Li Siyuan also thought that he was simple and loyal, and worthy of trust, and promoted him to be the commander of the pro-military capital, and also served as the commander of the pro-army capital.
Kang Yicheng is actually a traitorous villain, pretending to be obedient on the surface, but in fact he is two-faced and three-knifed, yang and yin. Those who can do things are gone, and a group of cunning people have enriched the central institutions of the imperial court, and if you want to keep the government in chaos, I am afraid that it will not work.
Seeing that the imperial court was about to be in chaos, many people looked at it and were anxious. Dali Shaoqing Kang Cheng witnessed the chaotic situation in the capital and wrote to Li Siyuan, putting forward many constructive opinions, but Li Siyuan was indecisive and never implemented.
In November of the fourth year of Changxing (933), Li Siyuan's illness improved slightly. After a heavy snowfall, I came to enjoy the snow in the palace and at Shiheting.
Although the snowy scenery is beautiful, the north wind is cold, and Li Siyuan suffered from the wind and cold, and after returning to the palace, he had a high fever that night. Urgently summoned the imperial doctor for treatment, and after the imperial doctor called the pulse, he said that he was occasionally feeling typhoid fever, and it was good to take a piece of medicine.
The next day, Li Siyuan's illness not only did not improve, but worsened, and finally he became groggy and unconscious.
Li Congrong, the king of Qin, heard that his father was ill and visited the palace with the privy envoys Zhu Hongzhao and Feng Yun, hoping that his father would pass on the rivers and mountains to him. After entering to greet him a few times, Li Siyuan lowered his head and said nothing in a daze.
"King Qin sees you coming!" Wang Shufei, who was sitting next to the hospital bed, reminded Li Siyuan that seeing that he did not react, she reminded again, "Hongzhao is also coming." Li Siyuan still didn't look up.
Li Congrong thought that Li Siyuan was really not lightly ill, and led everyone to retreat. Not far after going out, there was a crying sound in the palace, and he was secretly happy in his heart, thinking that the emperor had died. After returning home, he did not sleep all night, only waiting for someone from the palace to come to report the funeral. Until dawn, there was still no movement, and I really couldn't stay up, so I fell asleep in a daze.
Li Siyuan's illness was not as bad as Li Congrong imagined, Li Congrong's greetings and Wang Shufei's reminders, Li Siyuan actually heard it, only because he was dissatisfied with what Li Congrong did, he deliberately pretended to be sick and did not hear it. In fact, that night, his illness improved slightly. Only blame Li Congrong's poor popularity, no one told him these things, if someone reminded him in time, the tragedy after that may not happen.
As soon as Li Congrong woke up, it was already noon the next day, and he asked the next person, there was no news from the palace, and he couldn't help but panic. He knew that the public opinion orientation of the imperial court was very unfavorable to him, and he was worried that the imperial throne would be snatched away by others, and he was ready to take the lead and control the political situation. So he sent people into the palace, falsely claiming that he was ill and could not enter the palace to say goodbye, but secretly convened a meeting of the private party and set up a conspiracy, preparing to use serving Li Siyuan as an excuse to lead troops into the palace and first control the powerful ministers in the dynasty.
Li Congrong was young and ignorant in the end, and even sent Du Ya Ma Zhijun to tell Zhu Hongzhao and Feng Yun about this conspiracy, saying that he was going to lead troops into the palace to serve the emperor, and asked them where it was more convenient to live. Zhu Hongzhao and Feng Yun knew what Li Congrong was going to do, they didn't dare to muddy the waters, Feng Yun replied smoothly: "You can do anywhere in the palace, King Qin, you decide for yourself!" ”
Zhu Hongzhao quietly said to Ma Zhijun: "The emperor is safe and sound, and the king of Qin should do his best to practice the way of loyalty and filial piety, and not believe the nonsense of bad people." ”
After Ma Zhijun returned, he relayed this to Li Congrong. Li Congrong was very angry, and sent Ma Zhijun to warn the two, telling them to be careful when they speak, to consider the safety of themselves and their families, there is only one life, and if they lose it, they will never be recovered.
There is no need to intimidate those who have strength, and intimidation without strength is not only useless, but will scare the snake. When Zhu Hongzhao and Feng Yun heard this, they were completely dead. They originally wanted to persuade Li Congrong, but they received a response from the other party who threatened their lives.
The skin is torn, Li Congrong does not die, that is, they die.
Zhu Hongzhao and Feng Yun hurriedly entered the palace and told Meng Hanqiong, the envoy of Xuanhui, who in turn told Wang Shufei. Concubine Wang Shufei said: "The emperor was already much better yesterday, and he also ate a bowl of porridge for breakfast today, there is no big problem, isn't King Qin doing this to rebel?" ”
"This matter really needs to be extremely careful, once the King of Qin leads troops into the palace, there will be great changes." Meng Hanqiong thought for a while and said, "It seems that I can only summon Kang Yicheng into the palace and transfer troops to guard it, just in case." ”
Wang Shufei nodded in agreement, and Meng Hanqiong withdrew.
Li Siyuan slept for a day and a night, and in the middle of the next night, he sweated, his high fever subsided, and his consciousness was clear. He sat up and looked around, only a palace maid who was guarding the leakage was sitting there, and asked, "How many changes?" ”
"Four more." The palace maid asked, "Does the emperor feel better?" ”
"I'm groggy all day, but it's much better now." Li Siyuan stretched out his hand and asked, "What about the imperial princess?" Where has it gone?"
"Presumably, they all went back to the dormitory to rest, and the slave will go to report." The palace maid got up and left.
When the concubines of the sixth palace heard that Li Siyuan was awake, they rushed to visit, waited for him to eat a bowl of porridge, and then slept peacefully. When it came to Tianming, Li Siyuan's expression was much better.
Li Congrong didn't know this, and he thought that the palace was secret. Worried that others would take the throne, he decided to strike first. Meng Hanqiong received a fatwa from Concubine Wang to see Kang Yicheng and asked him to send troops into the palace to defend the emperor. In order to befriend Li Congrong, Kang Yicheng has arranged his son by Li Congrong's side. Worried about his son's safety, he was a little jealous, so he deduced that he was a soldier and did not dare to interfere in the affairs of the imperial court, and said that he only obeyed the prime minister's instructions. The implication is that Meng Hanqiong has no right to transfer troops.
Meng Hanqiong saw Kang Yicheng's head at both ends and hurriedly went to tell Zhu Hongzhao.
Zhu Hongzhao suspected that Kang Yicheng did not want to show his attitude in public, so he invited him to his home overnight, repeatedly asked, Kang Yicheng still had the same attitude, and soon got up to leave.
On the evening of 20 November, Li Congrong, dressed in his usual clothes, led 1,000 infantry cavalry from Henan Prefecture to line up at the Tianjin Bridge. At dawn, he sent Ma Zhijun to Feng Yun's house to deliver a message, saying that Li Congrong, the king of Qin, wanted to enter the palace to serve the emperor and planned to live in the Xingsheng Palace where he was in the throne. He also warned Feng Yun: "All of you should be ministers, some old, some young, you must be cautious in handling things, whether it is a curse or a blessing, just in the middle of a thought, do not harm yourself." ”
Before Feng Yun could answer, Ma Zhijun left, and he still had to inform Kang Yicheng.
Kang Yicheng's son was by Li Congrong's side, and of course he did not dare to object, saying: "When the King of Qin comes, he will welcome him." ”
Feng Yun and Kang Yicheng each had selfish intentions and rushed to the right gate one after another, and Zhu Hongzhao also arrived. Meng Hanqiong also came out of the palace, and everyone came to the gate of Zhongxing Hall to discuss how to deal with it.
Feng Yun conveyed Ma Zhijun's words to everyone without missing a word and without moving the original text, and said that from the words of King Qin "whether it is a curse or a blessing, just in one thought", it can be seen that he has the intention of conspiring against him. He also specifically warned Kang Yicheng not to throw in rats because his son served in the Qin royal palace. You know, the emperor promoted us to assist him, if the king of Qin led troops into this gate, where would the emperor be placed? Can we still have a bereaved family?
Before Kang Yicheng could answer, the eunuch guarding the gate hurriedly came to report that the King of Qin had led troops to reach the end gate.
Meng Hanqiong was anxious, stood up and flicked his sleeves and said: "Today's matter has endangered the emperor, and the situation is extremely critical, do you have to hesitate and wait and see?" My life is cheap, death is not a pity, let me lead the troops to resist! "Say, immediately enter the gate of Zhongxing Hall.
Zhu Hongzhao and Feng Zan also followed in. Kang Yicheng had no choice but to enter the inner palace with him. Meng Hanqiong reported to Li Siyuan that Li Congrong, the king of Qin, had rebelled and was leading troops to attack Duanmen, and if he was allowed to attack, the situation would be out of control.
When the people in the palace heard that King Qin had turned back, they were all scared and cried, and there was a big chaos.
When Li Siyuan heard that his son had turned against him, he trembled with anger and shouted for sin. He would never let the tragedy of Zhu Youjue and Zhu Wen repeat itself on him, pointing at Kang Yicheng and saying, "You will deal with this matter, but don't disturb the innocent people." ”
Li Siyuan felt faceless, he had such an unsuccessful son, he didn't want the people of Beijing and the world to see the joke.
Kang Yicheng didn't know what to do, and it was okay for him to obey Li Congrong, but now that Li Siyuan was not dead, he wanted to rebel with Li Congrong, but he didn't dare. Asking him to arrest Li Congrong, he was worried about his son in Li Congrong's mansion. Kang Yicheng was in a dilemma.
It just so happened that Li Congke's son Li Chongji was on standby, and Li Siyuan couldn't help but think of his righteous son, and said to Li Chongji: "Your father and I braved the rain of bullets and arrows to win the world and rescued me from danger several times. What credit does Congrong have? Now he is instigated to act in disobedience! I knew that this kind of person was not enough to do big things. You should call your father back and give him the power to take charge of the army. Go and close the palace gates, and don't let the rebels invade." ”
Li Chongji immediately led the crane control troops and blocked the four palace gates.
Meng Hanqiong put on his horse in armor and summoned the commander of the horse army to command Zhu Hongshi and asked him to lead 500 cavalry to fight Li Congrong.
Li Congrong had just strangled the Tianjin Bridge and ordered his own soldiers to summon Kang Yicheng. The personal soldiers came to the end gate, saw that the door was closed, turned to knock on the left door, and no one agreed, looked in through the gap in the door, saw Zhu Hongshi leading the cavalry from a distance, faintly heard the voice of the rebel thief, hurriedly went back to tell Li Congrong.
Li Congrong was dreaming of an emperor, and when he suddenly heard the news, he was so frightened that he almost fell off his horse.
Just as he was panicking, Zhu Hongshi led the troops over, and Lao Yuan shouted: "Why did the incoming army rebel? Hurry back to the camp, so as not to be implicated! ”
Many of Li Congrong's subordinates did not know the details, and when they heard Zhu Hongshi's shout, they scattered.
Li Congrong's personal troops broke up, and he had to flee back to Fuzhong. Don't be strange, don't despise, everyone is afraid of death, Li Congrong, as a poet, has a fragile and timid heart, which is also normal.
After Li Congrong ran home, all the subordinates in the family also ran out, leaving only his wife Liu Shi in the bedroom trembling with fear.
Suddenly, the voices outside the door were loud, and the chasers came to kill. Liu Shi was so frightened that he got under the bed, and Li Congrong saw that there was nowhere to hide, and also got into it.
An Congyi of the imperial city was the first to break in, led troops to search everywhere, saw two people hiding under the bed, grabbed them out by the hand, and killed them one by one without saying a word. Then he searched behind the bed, and found one of Li Congrong's sons, and also pulled it out and killed him. Then they cut off their heads and brought them back to ask for merit.
Although Li Congrong's death was caused by his arrogance and ignorance of how to behave in the world, Li Siyuan was also responsible.
Li Siyuan was sick and weak, and in the year of the broken lamp, he originally belonged to Li Congrong, why didn't he make him the prince earlier? If Li Congrong won the position of crown prince, why was he so anxious and committed the crime of rebellion? Moreover, the Son does not teach, and the Father transgresses. Li Congrong's death, Li Siyuan has an unshirkable responsibility.
Li Siyuan was stunned and dizzy when he heard the shocking news that Li Congrong was killed, but fortunately, the palace maid beside him was quick and helped him, so he did not fall from the imperial bed. After this shock, the grief was excessive, and his condition became even more serious.
Li Congrong also had a son left in the palace, and the generals asked him to be killed to avoid future troubles. Li Siyuan is already an ancient old man, who has just suffered the pain of losing his son and does not want to lose this grandson again. He cried and said, "What's wrong with the little ones? ”
Meng Hanqiong replied: "Li Congrong is a big disobedience, the law of the country is intolerable, and he should sit his wife and children!" ”
Li Siyuan still did not agree.
I don't know who took the lead and shouted: "Kill him!" Everyone followed suit.
Li Siyuan couldn't stop it and lowered his head in pain.
Meng Hanqiong ordered the people to push the child out and kill him, and the generals slowly dispersed. Prime Minister Feng Dao led hundreds of officials into the palace to greet him, and Li Siyuan burst into tears, sobbing and saying: "The family is unfortunate, it has reached such a point, and I don't have the face to see you!" ”
Feng Dao and the others also burst into tears, and then politely persuaded each other, and then fished out.
When Feng Dao walked to the court, he ran into Zhu Hongzhao and others discussing matters there, saying that they would kill all the subordinates of the Qin royal mansion.
Feng Dao immediately protested, saying that Li Congrong's henchmen were only Gao Chen, Liu Sheng, and Wang Shui, and that the judge Ren Zan had been in office for less than half a month, and that Wang Jumin and Situ Xu had been on leave for half a year due to illness, so how could they be complicit with Li Congrong? Officials should have a broad mind and not be innocent.
Zhu Hongzhao still refused to listen, but Feng Zan agreed with Feng Dao's opinion and fought with Zhu Hongzhao. In the end, only Gao Chen was killed. Liu Shen and Wang said that they would not die and were exiled to distant lands. Ren Zan, Wang Jumin, and Situ Xu were dismissed from office.
After Li Congrong's death, Li Siyuan's eldest son was the third son, Li Conghou the Prince of Song. Although Li Congke was fifty years old at the time, he was not biological after all.
Li Siyuan knew that he could not do it and decided to summon Li Conghou back to Beijing to take the throne. At that time, Li Conghou had already been transferred to the Tianxiong Army. He ordered Meng Hanqiong to quickly go to Bianzhou, summoned Li Conghou back to Beijing, and Meng Hanqiong, who had delivered the decree, took over the affairs of the Tianxiong army.
On November 26, Li Siyuan, who was nearly old, was frightened and sad, and did not wait for Li Conghou to rush back to Luoyang, and he returned to Xitian in guilt and remorse.
Li Siyuan died at the age of sixty-seven, reigned for seven years, and was buried in Huiling Tomb, temple number Mingzong.
During Li Siyuan's reign, he took a series of measures such as removing officials, killing eunuchs, and cutting off adulterers; Actively reduce the economic burden of the country and the people; Extortion by magistrates is prohibited, etc. This made the social production and financial situation of the Later Tang Dynasty significantly better and eased social contradictions. History said: During his reign, he was a prosperous man, a soldier was rarely used, and he was in the fifth generation, and he was relatively well-off.
That is to say, Li Siyuan reigned for seven years, harvested grain every year, and did not use military revolution, and he was regarded as a five-generation virtuous monarch. During his reign, compared with the rest of the five generations, he could be called a moderately prosperous society.