Yang Yan was an important political figure during the reign of Emperor Daizong and Emperor Dezong in the middle of the Tang Dynasty, born in 727, died in 781, gongnan, a native of Tianxing County, Fengxiang Province (present-day Fengxiang County, Shaanxi), and an official to Yinqing Guanglu Dafu, Menxia Shilang, and Tongzhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi. This position is what the people call the first high-ranking official in the DPRK and China- the prime minister. In the history of ancient Chinese finance and taxation, he first put forward the concept of "financial budget", implementing the principle of "living within one's means", that is, how much money is needed to do, and at the same time creating and implementing the "two tax laws".
Yang Yan is his own business
What is the "Two Tax Law"? In short, it was a way for the government to tax and apportion labor to the people. In ancient China, from the Northern Wei period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the early years of the Tang Dynasty, the method of collecting taxes at the imperial court was called rent modulation, and its main content was that every ding had to pay two stones to the state every year, called rent; to pay silk erzhang, mian three two or cloth two zhang five feet, hemp three pounds, called tuning; serving for twenty days, leap years plus two days, is for regular service.
If the state does not need its service, it may pay the amount of twenty days of service according to the standard of three feet of silk or three feet of cloth seven inches and five minutes per day, which is called yong, in general, "silk service is yong", also called "losing mediocrity". If the State requires its service, in addition to twenty days of service, if it is added to fifteen days, it is exempted from transfer, and if it is added to service for thirty days, it is fully exempted from rent and transfer.
Normally, regular service shall not exceed fifty days. In the event of a serious natural disaster such as flood and drought, more than four-tenths of the crop losses are free of rent, more than six-tenths of the losses are exempted from adjustment, and more than seven-tenths of the losses are exempted from enlistment.
The Ding mentioned here refers to the adult men of each family, during the Sui Dynasty, the man was Ding after the age of 21, and during the Tang Tianbao period, it was delayed to 23 years old.
The core content of this two-tax law has two points, one is that the imperial court levies taxes on the people of the country, not for people, but for the amount of assets they have, in layman's terms, that is, the rich pay more taxes, and the poor pay less, which to a certain extent changes the unreasonable phenomenon of the rich and the poor to bear taxes; The other is to merge the original three projects of "rent and transfer" and collect them twice in summer and autumn, and they must not be levied separately.
Objectively speaking, the two-tax system is more practical than the rent system, and some unreasonable levies are exempted. In this regard, the Old Book of Tang spoke highly of it: "The world is convenient, people do not write in the land, they do not add to the land, they do not add to it, the edition is not created but they are false, the greedy officials do not commandment and the adultery has nothing to take, and the power of the heavy and the heavy is first vested in the imperial court."
Back to the point, now let's introduce Yang Yan as a person. According to historical records, when Yang Yan was young, he was very literate, eloquent in writing, and in appearance, he was also dignified, handsome with eyebrows, and he was proud and handsome, in short, he was a typical scholar and handsome man.
Around the second year of Emperor Qianyuan of the Tang Dynasty (759), Li Guangbi, deputy marshal of the Terracotta Army, asked Yang Yan to be a judge, but Yang Yan did not accept it, and a year later, the imperial court recruited Yang Yan to enter Beijing as a living quartersman.
The Qijushe people were subordinate to Zhongshu Province, and the official in charge of recording the daily actions of the emperor and the major events of the state, in the Tang Dynasty, from the Liupin. For such a position, Yang Yan still resolutely resigned, the reason is very noble, the grandfather is in poor health, the parents are old, and they need to be at ease to support their relatives. After that, the relatives died one after another, during which Yang Yan set up a hut in front of the tomb to live, and often cried bitterly, full of a big filial piety, and at that time, the heavens descended on Xiangrui, and the imperial court heard about it, and issued an edict to commend his filial piety.
It is worth mentioning that Yang Yan's filial piety is ancestral, before, Yang Yan's father and grandfather were all given a watch because of filial piety, and Yang Yan was the third generation, and the number of ques for the watch in front of the family door reached six.
A few years after the completion of the mourning period, in the first year of the Great Calendar (766), the 40-year-old Yang Yan and Du Ya gradually entered Shu with Du Hong, serving as judges as Bingbu Langzhong, and soon after, Yang Yan was transferred from Sichuan to become an official in the dynasty, from the position of "Inspector Shangshu Bingbu Langzhong and Deputy Marshal Judge of Shannan", to Rebbe Langzhong, Zhizhi Zhen, and later promoted to Zhongshu Sheren. Zhongshu Sheren was also in charge of the affairs of Zhongshu Province, and was mainly responsible for drafting imperial edicts and reading holy decrees. At that time, there were two famous people in the Zhongshu She, Chang Gong was good at writing edicts appointing officials, and Yang Yan was good at drafting edicts for the emperor's commendation, and their writing was praised by the courtiers and called "Chang Yang".
In the appointment of Zhongshu Sheren, Yang Yan also paid tribute to Corporal Xian, and promoted the backward advance, which was quite popular for a while.
At this point, Yang Yan displayed positive images such as handsomeness, filial piety, and talent inside and outside the imperial court, but knowing the face of the people and not knowing the heart, with the promotion of his position and the increase of the power in his hands, he gradually moved to the other side of his life: clinging to the powerful, forming parties for personal gain, narrow-mindedness, framing Zhongliang, and finally being victimized by traitors.
Look at his resume after that.
On December 25 of the ninth year of the Gregorian calendar (January 31, 775), Yang Yan was promoted to the rank of official attendant and wrote the history of the country. On March 29 of the twelfth year of the Gregorian calendar (May 11, 777), Yuan Zai was given death. Yang Yan was also implicated and demoted to Sima of Daozhou on the second day of April of the same year (May 13, 777).
In the fourteenth year of the Gregorian calendar (779), Tang Dezong Li Shi ascended the throne, and the chancellor Cui Youfu recommended Yang Yan, and Emperor Dezong had already heard of Yang Yan's good name, so on August 7 of the same year (September 21, 779), he was recalled from the degraded place and appointed as the Yinqing Guanglu Doctor, the Menxia Waiter, and the Tongzhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi.
On February 16 of the second year of Jianzhong (15 March 781), Emperor Dezong promoted Lu Qi to the post of Menxia Shilang (門下侍郎) and Pingzhangshi (平章事), and changed yang Yan to Zhongshu Shilang (中書侍郎), still serving as Pingzhangshi (平章事), but no longer full-time as Yang Yan.
On October 10 of the second year of Jianzhong, due to Lu Qi's whistle-blowing, Shangshu Zuo's servant Yang Yan was convicted, and he was dismissed from his post as prime minister and demoted to Sima of Yazhou. Yazhou is now the city of Sanya in Hainan Province, and when it was more than a hundred miles away from Yazhou, Emperor Dezong's edict of death caught up with it. At the age of fifty-five, Yang Yan was killed by a white aya.
As a well-known financial and taxation expert in history, the "wise man" recognized by the government and the public, after working in the highest position of the imperial courtiers for more than two years, he corrupted his character and fell from the peak of his power, not only exiled thousands of miles away, but also died quite tragically.
In this regard, people can't help but wonder, what is the reason for such a huge gap? How did he get up, and how did he not? Everything has a cause, this person looks beautiful and wise, but in fact, he is golden and jade, and he is defeated in it. Throughout his life, in the official arena, there have been ups and downs, successes and failures. The circle determines the pattern, the character determines the destiny, and in his circle of work, there are several important people who have influenced or changed his destiny, and let's talk about the relationship between these people and him.
Emperor Dezong Li Shi: Success is also Xiao He, defeat is also Xiao He
Yang Yan was born in a family of eunuchs, great-grandfather to Longmen County, and his father Yang Bojinshi and the first empress, who served as a counselor. As a teenager, Yang Yan remained in his hometown, first in Fengxiang, Shaanxi, and then migrated to the eastern capital Luoyang. Not only is he well-written, but he is also famous for his calligraphy and paintings. It is reasonable to say that with Yang Yan's talent, he can fully enter the career path through the imperial examination, which may be influenced by the life experience and personality of his father and grandfather, he does not want to be an official, only wants to be a hermit, read and write every day, plant flowers and plants, tour the landscape, visit relatives and friends, and live a leisurely and comfortable pastoral life.
Entering middle age, Yang Yan's family fell in the middle of the road, lacked clothes and food, although the calligraphy and paintings he wrote would be exchanged for a little silver, but it was difficult to solve the pain of hardship, and for the livelihood of the whole family, he decided to leave. Coincidentally, Yuan Zai recommended and Emperor Daizong approved, Yang Yan was ordered to enter Shu, serving as a judge in the army, and more than a year later, he was again appointed to serve as the emperor's secretary.
A few years later, because of his involvement in the Yuan Zai case, he was demoted from Chang'an and became the Sima of Daozhou, which is now Daoxian County, Yongzhou City, Hunan Province, which was a remote place at that time.
In July 779, Emperor Li Yu of Tang dynasty died, and the crown prince Li Shi succeeded him as Emperor Dezong of Tang. The prime minister Cui Youfu strongly recommended that Emperor Dezong had already heard of Yang Yan's name, and immediately agreed to use it, and he was promoted to prime minister by leaps and bounds.
There's a story in this. During his tenure as a scholar, Yang Yan wrote the "Li Kailuo Monument" for Li Guangbi's father, Li Kailuo, which was neatly written and written by many literati, and after hearing about it, the crown prince Li Shi at that time ordered people to rub it and nail it to the wall for appreciation. It can be said that the current emperor is a super fan of Yang Yan.
Due to the recommendation of the current first assistant and the appreciation of the emperor, Yang Yan entered the peak of his life and became a member of the supreme ruling team of the empire. In Datang, the prime minister team is generally 2-4 people, sometimes as many as 5 people, sometimes one, called the single phase, but this situation is rare. The titles of the positions are not nearly the same, the chiefs of the three provinces of Zhongshu, Menxia, and Shangshu are called Zhongshu Ling, Shizhong, and Shangshu Ling, usually the prime minister, and the deputy chiefs of the three provinces are called Zhongshu Shilang, Menxia Shilang, Shangshu Left Servant, Shangshu Right Servant, if you add the same Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi, it is also the Prime Minister.
At that time, there were three prime ministers, Cui, Yang and Qiao Lin, Cui was not in good health, often sick and asked for leave, and soon, Qiao Lin was exempted for some reason, so Yang Yan was actually a lone minister.
The emperor trusted that the people who had monopolized their power and had no constraints around him were a great time to show their skills and make contributions to the country, and indeed, during this period, Yang Yan also did several major things that benefited the country and the people.
First, in October of the fourteenth year of the Gregorian calendar (779), Tubo and Nanzhao jointly invaded Sichuan and Shu, and Yang Yan's opponents returned to the original Ren Jiedu to save the situation, but instead recommended the general to lead troops into Shu to rescue. As a result, it not only saved the crisis of Sichuan Shu, but also avoided the situation in which Sichuan Shu returned to Cui Ning' territory.
Second, in the face of the problems of public and private separation caused by the storage of state endowments in the Daying Inner Treasury and the corruption of eunuchs, he advocated changing the revenue of the state from the private possession of the monarch to the government, and redividing the difference between the national treasury and the private treasury. On December 19, 780 ( January 30 , 780 ) of the fourteenth year of the Gregorian calendar , Emperor Dezong formally issued an edict and adopted Yang Yan's suggestion , for which the courtiers praised Yang Yan.
Third, in view of the fact that the foundation of Xuanzong's later rent-making system was destroyed, Yang Yan advocated the implementation of two tax laws, suggesting: replacing "income and income for output" with "amount of income for out"; replacing "counting taxes for ding" with "counting capital and taxing"; collecting currency instead of collecting physical goods; merging the names of servitude, centralizing the tax payment period, and so on. Dezong firmly believed in it and made it possible to implement it. On the fifth day of the first month of the first year of Jianzhong (February 15, 780), Emperor Dezong officially issued an edict to replace the rent system with two tax laws.
As a degraded official, Yang Yan only a few months after he began to use him as a chancellor, he gave strong assistance to Emperor Dezong, had great political achievements, and was praised as a "virtuous minister" by both inside and outside the imperial court for a while, and placed great hopes on him.
The next two things were disappointing.
In order to repay Yuan Zai, Yang Yan advocated the implementation of the plan proposed by Yuan Zai to build a castle in Wonju, and after being opposed by Duan Xiushi, the border military commander Jingyuan Jiedu, he pointed the spearhead at Duan Xiushi and relieved Duan Xiushi of his post, causing Liu Wenxi, the deputy general of Jingzhou, to refuse to accept the imperial order, contact Tubo, and launch a rebellion, which almost caused border troubles.
Then, he swung the stick at his former superior, the official Shangshu Liu Yan, first fabricating the facts and accusing Liu of trying to abolish the emperor's position as crown prince. This crime directly poked at the pain point of the emperor, resulting in Liu Yan being deposed. Although Liu Yan was demoted out of the capital, Yang Yan felt that he was not relieved enough. Half a month later, together with The Southern Jiedu envoy Yu Zhun, he falsely accused Liu Yan of summoning soldiers to supplement the state and wanted to resist the imperial orders. Believing this to be true, Emperor Dezong secretly sent eunuchs to Chungju to kill Liu Yan.
As soon as the edict to kill Liu Yan was issued, the government and the public were in an uproar, and everyone did not believe that the elders of the Four Dynasties had the idea of rebellion, and they all went up to the music and cried out for Liu Yan.
Pinglu Jiedu made Li Zhengji deeply uneasy about the killing of the military generals by the imperial court, and repeatedly went to the imperial court to ask Liu Yan why he had been killed, expressing his dissatisfaction with the imperial court's move. He played in the table chapter: Killing Liu Yan was too much, did not verify the facts, killed first and then issued an edict, and the whole country was surprised and regretted.
After the Middle and Tang Dynasties, local moderation made the military, government, and financial powers gathered in one, and the soldiers respected themselves, and the imperial court was afraid of three points. Old Li lian is not simple, he did this, at least sent the following signals: Liu Yan is a civilian official, has always been poor, why was he killed in a good manner, is it to kill chickens and monkeys, or is he ready to do something to us in these clan towns? If there is no evidence, it is said that the ming dynasty is in charge of adultery; If there are traitors, they should be brought out and punished, the imperial court cannot handle it, and our clan town can clean up the side of the king.
What is The King's Side? The traitors in the dprk and the middle were in charge, and the emperor could not deal with them, so the outside clan led troops to surround the imperial palace and kill the traitors in place of the emperor. Heavy troops besieged the city, the emperor had no choice, the general was angry, and the incident of deposing the emperor and establishing himself has occurred from time to time in history.
The local clan town Xingshi asked about the crime, but it was not a trivial matter, and if it was not good, it would cause a rebellion, and the emperor was also confused about it, thinking: In the courtyard of the deep palace, where do you know what crime Liu Yan committed, and it is not Yu Zhun who reported it, Yang Yan testified to it? Xie Quan still had to tie the bell, so he found Yang Yan and ordered him to find a way to calm the matter.
Who knows, Yang Yan was also uneasy at this time, afraid of provoking the fire to burn himself, and in a hurry, he made a trick: send emissaries to the towns, saying that killing Liu Yan was Dezong's own idea. This practice was very wrong, dared to do it, threw the responsibility to the emperor, violated the taboo of the officialdom, and ignited the fuse for his demise.
There is such a saying in the feudal dynasty, the emperor is wise, the subject is damned, which means that the whole world can not be the king's land, the coast of the land can not be the king's subject, the emperor is supreme, has always been wise and correct, even if there is a mistake, it is also the fault of the courtier, since ancient times, the courtier is only the emperor's tool to rule the world.
Yang Yan's practice was naturally reported to the emperor, and Emperor Dezong was very surprised, and after sending someone to check and verify, his view of Yang Yan plummeted, from the initial worship, later trust, to disgust and hatred: the prime minister of a country, selfish, competing to betray the emperor, such a courtier wants him to use!
However, the emperor did not shoot, but concealed it, and first found an opponent for him. Soon, Lu Qi was promoted to prime minister, and Yang Yan's situation of being alone for more than a year came to an end. This Lu Qi is not a good stubble, he is the emperor's tailor-made enemy of Yang Yan, and it can also be said that he is his hypnotic ghost.
Sure enough, the two soon became in the same situation, Yang Yan's position was dropped again and again, and half a year later, Lu Qi sent someone to find out that Yang's son had accepted bribes, and the family temple he built was suspected of violating the royal family, and Emperor Dezong issued an edict announcing: Shang Shu zuo servant Yang Yan had repeatedly held important positions by virtue of his literary talents, but he had formed a party for personal gain and corrupted the law. He then ordered death.
Adulterous Yuan zai: He is a leader and a gravedigger
Yuan Zai (713–777), courtesy name Gongfu, was a famous traitor and corrupt official in qishan county, Fengxiang Province. This man came from a humble background and loved to read when he was young. In the first year of Tianbao (742), Jinshi and Di were appointed as the county lieutenants of Xinping County (present-day Bin County, Shaanxi), and for more than ten years, he served as an official in the local prefectures and counties, and in the second year of the first century (761), Yuan Zai returned to the dynasty and served as a hubu attendant, a duzhi envoy, and a zhudao transfer envoy.
The following year, Emperor Suzong of Tang became seriously ill, and the eunuch Li Fuguo had exclusive powers. Because Yuan Zai was in the same position as Li Fuguo's wife, he was also appointed as Jing Zhaoyin. Jing Zhaoyin is the mayor of the capital Chang'an. Belonging to the imperial court, Yuan Zai belonged to the Yi phase, so he visited Li Fuguo. Next. Only then was he reappointed as Tongping Zhangshi (同平章事), and was sentenced to the position of commander of the branch and the transfer of salt and iron.
After that, Yuan Zai gave full play to his special skills of patting horses and inviting people and speculating on the camp, and soon served as the prime minister, and when the eunuchs Li Fuguo and Yu Chao'en were in power, they could also play with ease, and with the support of Emperor Tang, in October of the same year, he designed to kill Li Fuguo, and in March of the fifth year of the Gregorian calendar (770), he also designed to kill Yu Zhao'en.
Since then, Yuan Zai has ascended to the throne of the Prime Minister, and his descendants are zhongshan wolves, and his ambitions are even more rampant. He prided himself on his merits in eliminating evil, monopolized power, criticized the former sages, and believed that no one in the Manchu Dynasty was comparable to him. Later, he was openly greedy for money and bribes, cultivated cronies, excluded dissidents, and gave generous gifts to his sons and cronies for advancement, and for a time, corruption prevailed. He built two mansions in the north and south of the capital, luxurious and magnificent, with hundreds of officials, and the villas in the south of the city were even more grand in scale, with many servants and concubines, and flocks of singers.
Yang Yan entered the dynasty in 767, and after a few years in the position of Zhongshu Sheren, he entered the Hubu, and it was not until 775 that he threw himself into the arms of Yuan Zai, was promoted, and then became his henchman.
How did Yang Yan climb the Yuanzai? Instead of sending money, but acknowledging relatives, both of them are from Fengxiang Province, their hometowns are not far apart, and yuan zai is Yang's distant cousin. Nevertheless, in less than two years from the fall of Yuan Zai in 775 to 777, Yang Yan did not receive too much weight, but Yang Yan regarded it as a benefactor.
Yuan Zai had a close relationship with the chancellor Wang Jin, both of whom wantonly amassed wealth and became increasingly arrogant. Emperor Tang Daizong was very clear about what Yuan Zai had done, but considering that Yuan Zai had been in charge for many years and wanted him to start and end well, he summoned him alone and admonished him, hoping that he would restrain himself. Daizong was disgusted and gradually withdrew his power.
On March 28, 777, emperor of the Tang Dynasty ordered the zuo Jinwu general Wu Zhuo to arrest Yuan Zai and Wang Jin, imprison them in the government affairs hall, and then imprison Yuan Zai's sons and cronies, and ordered the officials Shangshu Liu Yan, Yushi Dafu Li Han, Scattered Horse Chang Shi Xiao Xin, Bingbu Shilang Yuan Qi, Li Gong of the Libu Shilang, and Du Ya the Counselor to interrogate them together, and sent eunuchs to investigate their secret deeds. Yuan Zai confessed his sins and was given to commit suicide on the same day.
The liquidation is clean and thorough, and the people are arrested first. After Yuan Zai's death, the bribe-taking wife Wang Shi and his sons Yuan Bohe, Yuan Zhongwu, and Yuan Ji Neng were all given death, and Dong Xiu, Zhuo Yingqian, and four other minions were also executed. In addition, Dozens of party members, including Yang Yan, Wang Ang, Han Huan, Bao Tuo, and Han Hui, all belittled the localities.
Raid the house again. Yuan Zai's family property was confiscated and returned to the public, and after the investigation, Yuan Zai's home was searched for many gold and silver treasures, as well as many land deeds and house deeds. In the Tang Dynasty, the capital city of Chang'an had a total of 109 squares, and Yuan Zai alone occupied the three squares of Daning, Anren and Changshou, which shows the scale and the number of buildings.
Eight hundred stones of pepper alone were copied out. Eight hundred stones is equivalent to 64 tons now, which means that the corrupt pepper of Yuan Zai cannot be eaten by the people of Chang'an City. Pepper is native to India and Southeast Asia, and in ancient times, it was a luxury product, equivalent to ginseng and bird's nest. During the Tang Dynasty, pepper was regarded as a rare medicine, was imported, and pepper was only used in "hupan meat food", where ordinary people could afford to use it.
Then he dug up ancestral graves and demolished real estate. In May of the same year, Emperor Tang ordered that the tomb of Yuan Zai's father and ancestor be excavated and the coffin discarded; Demolished the Yuan family's mansions in Daningli, Anrenli, and the eastern capital luoyang, burned the private temple god lord, and distributed the five hundred and two stalactites copied from his home to the forbidden army.
After Yang Yan became prime minister, he was bent on repaying Yuan Zaizai Pei's kindness, and in the case of difficulty in overturning the case, he took Liu Yan, who was usually unaccustomed, to open the knife, and the result was that both sides were defeated.
Prime Minister Cui Youfu: I helped you get on your horse, but you crossed the river and demolished the bridge
Cui Youfu (崔祐甫) (721–780), courtesy name Yisun, was a native of Anping County, Boling (present-day Anping County, Hebei). Cui Youfu was born in a famous family, his father was a Zhongshu Waiter, in his early twenties, he entered high school, and successively served as a lieutenant of Shou'an County, a living houseman, a Sixun member of the Wailang, and a yushi Zhongcheng.
In the thirteenth year of the Gregorian calendar (778), the post of Zhongshu Shilang was vacant, and Cui Youfu served as a Zhongshu Sheren, who was promoted because of his fair handling of affairs and upright style, and presided over the handling of the affairs of Zhongshu Province. During this period, due to his upright temperament and good manners, he had many disputes with the prime minister Chang Gun, and the relationship between the two was very bad.
After Emperor Dezong of Tang succeeded to the throne, Cui Youfu had a dispute with Chang Gun over the issue of Tang Dynasty's funeral system, and was demoted by Chang Gun to the rank of Shaoyin of Henan. Soon, when Chang Gun was drafting the edict, he was suspected of cheating and was reprimanded by Emperor Dezong. Therefore, Cui Youfu was transferred to Beijing and worshipped as Zhongshu Shilang and Tongping Zhangshi.
Although Cui Youfu, who was a righteous gentleman, was an official in the same dynasty as Yang Yan, he did not have too many personal contacts. Because of the shortage of the prime minister's team, Tang Dezong asked him to recommend candidates, naturally remembering Yang Yan, who had served as a Zhongshu She, in his opinion, Yang Yan followed Yuan Zai, but because he had not been promoted for a long time, he had not heard of any bribery and perverting the law; And this person's article is indeed very well written, a person's article is well written, indicating that his thinking is clear, well-organized, and can grasp the main and secondary.
Yang Yan, who was far away in Daozhou, could not have dreamed that Prime Minister Cui, who had no personal relationship with him, would actually say good things about him and strongly recommend him to enter the government affairs hall, and the emperor also agreed.
Cui Yang and Yang did not have a long time in the same dynasty, Yang arrived in Beijing in September 779, Cui died in January 781, less than 5 months after the full dozen, during which Cui was on leave due to illness, which shows that the number of discussions in the same hall is pitiful. For Yang Yan, Cui Youfu is the eldest brother and has the grace of knowing him, but he is not as loyal to this big brother as he is to Yuan Zai, and even a little weak.
In order to avenge Yuan Zai, Yang Yan defiled Liu Yan, Li Gan, Liu Zhongyi, and others, and secretly plotted to set up a lonely concubine, at that time, Cui Youfu was present, and immediately raised an objection, "Gongnan, this kind of thing can not be hearsay, Li Gan is a military attaché, cunning, good at drilling camps, Liu Zhongyi is a eunuch, greedy and bribery, and Liu Shi'an is a literati, has always been clean and honest, how can he get involved with them?" Then, Cui Youfu said to the emperor: "Your Majesty has granted amnesty to the whole world, do not listen to rumors, and convict people." After that, Cui Ning and others defended Liu Yan.
According to common sense, this matter should be informed of the prime minister in advance, listen to his opinion, even if the matter is urgent, see the prime minister's opposition, should also give the prime minister a face, slow down and then deal with it.
However, Yang Yan did not listen to the opinions of the people at all, but instead snapped to the ground, directly knelt on the ground, and said with tears in his eyes: "This matter is absolutely true, there is absolutely no adulteration, Your Majesty, as the prime minister, cannot crusade against the thief, and it is indeed a crime to die."
Let's see if this acting skill is quite explosive, if there was a Nobel Prize at that time, at least it can be nominated
Afterwards, Yang Yan attacked all the officials who defended Liu Yan on the spot and wrote to discuss the rescue afterwards, including one named Zhang Zhijin, who had originally planned to degrade the official Xuzhou, because this person was Cui's protégé, and Zhang used this to entrust people to intercede.
After Cui Youfu, who was seriously ill, heard about it, he was angry and gritted his teeth, he did not think that Yang Gongnan was so narrow-minded and ruthless, and lamented that he had seen the wrong person.
Liu Yan: Although my peers are wrongdoers, I didn't expect them to be so vicious
Liu Yan (716-780): Zi Shi'an, a native of Nanhua, CaoZhou (present-day Dongming County, Heze City, Shandong Province). Liu Yan was gifted and intelligent since childhood, and in November of the thirteenth year of the new century (725), Tang Xuanzong Li Longji sealed Zen in Mount Taishan, and the 10-year-old Liu Yan wrote a document to Xuanzong, and Xuanzong was surprised, and the chancellor Zhang said that after the inspection, he thought that such a small pen was an auspicious omen for the prosperity of the country. Emperor Xuanzong was immediately conferred the post of secretary of the province orthography, known as a prodigy by the people.
Since then, Liu Yan has taken advantage of his position to read diligently and read a lot of books. In 762, he was promoted to the position of Hubu Waitang Anduzhi, Minting Money, Salt and Iron, etc., and began to grasp the financial power of the empire, and in 763, he was promoted to Hubu Shangshu, tongzhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi, still concurrently an envoy of jiedushi, and became the prime minister who also managed the imperial finances.
In 766, Liu Yan concurrently served as the envoy of the Seven Salt and Irons, vigorously reduced the salt affairs agency, and changed the official collection, official transportation, and official sales to official revenue, commercial transportation, commercial sales, and unified salt tax. In order to prevent salt merchants from inflating the price of salt, Changping salt warehouses were set up in various places to level the price of salt.
A large number of salt officials were reduced, salt prices fell, the people praised, and taxes soared.
In the 4 years that Liu Yan served as hubu shangshu, Yang Yan had served as a waiter in the household department, and the two were superior-subordinate relations, but unfortunately, soon the two had a conflict. According to age, Liu Yan is in his early fifties, Yang Yan has entered the puzzle, they have been in the official field for many years, and they all belong to the expert level in terms of finance, but the two are not in a pot, are the literati light, or are their peers wrongdoers? None of them are known; In terms of personal personality and style of acting, Liu Yan is simple and old-fashioned, diligent and pragmatic in his work, and many things are personally done, focusing on solving problems in work, while Yang Yan is good at seeing the wind and making the rudder, and is calculating. In his work, Liu Yan demanded perfection, and his subordinates made mistakes in their work, often without mercy, so they offended many people, including Yang Yan.
In the process of handling the Yuan Zai case, Liu Yan, who was the official Shangshu, was the head of the court, and according to his nature, he was bound to handle it impartially and dig deep and investigate carefully, resulting in the killing of 4 fathers and sons of the Yuan family, the investigation and handling of many henchmen, and the demotion of the degraded official.
Colleagues for several years, although usually different opinions, but no major conflicts of interest. At the critical moment of the trial of the case, Liu Yan did not take any care of Yang Yan, and all this intensified Yang's hatred for Liu, and whenever he remembered his suffering in Daozhou and recalled the tragic scene of yuan zai's family's destruction, Yang Yan hated Liu Yan to the bone.
Ten years after the river turned east to west, Yang Yan, who ascended to the position of prime minister, was determined to avenge the snow and hatred. Yang Yan killed Liu Yan and took three moves, pressing forward step by step.
Previously, when Emperor Dezong was crown prince, Emperor Daizong favored Dugu Concubine, so he favored Li Yi, the son of Dugu' son, Li Yi, the King of Han. The eunuch Liu Zhongyi and Emperor Daizong's cronies requested that Dugu Befei be made empress, and said that Li Yi, the king of Han, had an auspicious omen and wanted to depose the crown prince Li Shi. At that time, there were rumors that Liu Yan was involved in the planning of this matter. Yang Yan first took this rumor to say things, Cui Ning was demoted from the capital, and Liu Yan's transfer, rent, Qingmiao, and salt and iron envoys were removed.
Within half a month, Yang Yan attacked again, accusing Liu Yan of being corrupt on the grounds that Liu Yan's account books were inconsistent with the physical objects, deposing Liu Yan from his post as Hubu Shangshu, and was demoted to the post of Assassin of Chungju and escorted by eunuchs. Chungju is now ChungJu, Chongqing.
More than four months later, in August 780, Yang Yan was bent on fabricating Liu Yan's guilt, and knowing that Yu Zhun and Liu Yan had an old vendetta, he promoted him to the post of Jingnan Jiedushi envoy. Yu Zhun reported that Liu Yan had written a letter to Zhu Zhu, and there were many words of dissatisfaction, and he also selected the army to train, took away public property without authorization, threatened to send emissaries, and wanted to rebel. Tang Dezong first suspected the letter, and when Yang Yan came forward to testify, he believed that Liu Yan's crime of conspiracy was established. The holy decree was issued, ordering the eunuchs to execute Liu Yan, and a dozen days after his death, the edict to execute Liu Yan was issued to the public, and the family and children were sent to Lingnan, and dozens of people were implicated in the dprk.
At this point, Yang Yan did not give up and proposed to confiscate Liu Yan's family property, but the opposition of the ministers did not succeed. However, Yang Yan had already ordered the officials to inventory Liu Yan's family property, and the result was unexpected, there was no gold and silver jewelry, only all kinds of miscellaneous books and two carts, a few grains, in charge of state finance and taxation for more than 20 years, and even the family had no surplus wealth, and people admired Liu Yan's honesty.
Lu Qi: Whoever looks down on Lu Mou will die an extremely ugly death
Lu Qi(?) –-785), courtesy name Ziliang, was a native of Lingchang, Huazhou (present-day Hua County, Henan), whose ancestral home was Zhuo County, Fanyang Commandery (范阳郡, in modern Zhuozhou, Hebei). Lu Qi was born in a family of eunuchs, his grandfather Lu Huaishen was sent to Menxia Province, serving as prime minister for many years, his father Lu Yiguan to Yushi Zhongcheng, during the Anshi Rebellion, the rebels invaded Chang'an, many officials went out to escape, but Lu Yi sat firmly on the Yushitai, refused to defect in front of An Lushan and was killed, in modern terms, he was a third generation of officials, plus the descendants of martyrs.
Because of the official positions and merits of his grandfather and father, Lu Qi entered the official field at the age of 19, a situation called Enyin Entering the Shi, first appointed as the crown prince Qing Dao to lead the government soldiers Cao, and then at the request of Shuo Fang Jiedu to make the servant Gu Huai'en recruited, Shuo Fang was appointed as the secretary of the shuo fang's government. The secretary in charge is mainly responsible for keeping the seals and important documents of the envoy, which is equivalent to the current chief of staff. After that, he entered Beijing and served as an auditor and inspector of imperial history in Dali, and was dismissed from his official post due to illness.
Three years later, he was summoned to The Capital again, made up the post of Hongxu Cheng (弘胪丞), and was promoted to the post of Imperial Attendant of the Imperial Household (殿中侍御史) and the Imperial Guard of the Imperial Household Department (外郎), and was appointed as the Assassin of Chungju. Lu Qi arrived in Jingnan and met Wei Boyu, who did not like him. Lu Qi wrote that he resigned from illness and returned to the capital, and successively served as a member of the Punishment Department, Wai Lang, Jin Bu, and Official Lang Zhong. In the early years of Jianzhong, he was conscripted into the imperial history of Zhongcheng. In February of the second year of Jianzhong (781), Lu Qi was promoted to the post of Imperial Grand Master and Gyeonggi Observer. Ten days later, he served as a servant under the door and a pingzhangshi under the Tongzhongshu menxia, and ruled at the same time as Yang Yan.
In the history of the Tang Dynasty, Lu Qi was an extremely rare wonder. Gen Hongmiao was upright and unlearned, his appearance was ugly and clever, the party was different and fierce, and he served as the prime minister for 3 years, and the prime ministers Yang Yan, Zhang Yi, The Imperial Master Yan Yin, and the crown prince Yan Zhenqing all died at his hands. Such a high-quality traitorous minister was not punished in the end, and he died of illness and no one liquidated.
Speaking of his appearance, how ugly is it? There are historical records that say that his face is like a ghost, half yellow, half blue, and uneven. At the same time, this person's life is not informal, often the face does not wash teeth, do not brush, dress casually, eat is not exquisite, just like the name of Hanako, at first glance, live off the bell and reborn.
However, Lu Qi also has superiority, good at observing words and colors, acting opportunistically, and when getting along with people, as long as he does not dislike him, his words can be said to the point and make the other party happy. When he served as a royal historian, every lecture was in line with Emperor Dezong's wishes. Less than half a year later, he was promoted to imperial master, and ten days later, Emperor Dezong promoted him to the position of Menxia Shilang and Tongzhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi.
For Yang Yan, Lu Qi is his natural star. At that time, Liu Yan was his superior, he wanted to be literate, he wanted to be capable, he still didn't pay attention to it, Lu Qi looked ugly, had no literary talent, how could he get into his eyes? The two talked about work together, often the donkey's lips were not on the horse's mouth, less than a point, eating together, Lu Qi's untrimmed poor sour look, directly called him nausea and nausea. As a result, Yang Yan began to make excuses that he did not work together with him, nor did he receive guests together.
Lu Qi people ugly brain is not stupid, this Yang someone is clearly looking down on people, well, you are not benevolent to blame me for not being righteous, the tiger does not threaten you still think it is a sick cat.
In the human world, some people with physical shortcomings may not be strong in their hearts, and they are often inferior and psychologically dark because of their own defects, and venting out is fierce and vicious. Lu Qi was like this, after winning the zhi, the sinister and vicious side gradually revealed, jealous of the virtuous, suspicious of the talented, slightly offended him, and did not stop until he put the person to death. Moreover, he had long been aware of the delicate relationship between the emperor and Yang Yan.
Bringing down the current prime minister is not an easy task. But as long as you look for it with your heart, there will always be a way.
Since Emperor Daizong ascended the throne, Liang Chongyi had the land of Xiang and Han Prefectures and defended himself. After Emperor Dezong ascended the throne, he appeased him, but he was stubborn and resisted the imperial order. When Yang Yan returned to the imperial court, he passed through Xiang and Han and tried to persuade Liang Chongyi to enter the dynasty, but Liang Chongyi did not listen and had already plotted a rebellion. Soon, Yang Yan sent his henchman Li Zhou to persuade Liang Chongyi, but Liang Chongyi stubbornly refused to listen, and finally rebelled. The people who talked about it all blamed Yang Yan, believing that he had contributed to Liang Chongyi's rebellion.
This is the first one, indicating that Yang Yan's work was not in place, which led to Liang Chongyi's rebellion.
After Liang Chongyi's rebellion, in June of the second year of Jianzhong (781), Emperor Dezong appointed Li Xilie of Huaixi to lead various armies against Liang Chongyi. Yang Yan advised: "Li Xilie was the adopted son of Dong Qin (i.e., Li Zhongchen), and he won Dong Qin's trust, and finally expelled Dong Qin and seized his position. Li Xilie was a white-eyed wolf, and he was still untamed when he did not make meritorious contributions, if he pacified Liang Chongyi, what would the imperial court do to control him? Dezong did not listen, Yang Yan insisted on his own opinion, and the controversy was repeated.
This is the second rule, stubbornness and contempt for imperial power.
After that, Li Xilie postponed the march due to weather reasons.
Third, because of Yang Yan's obstruction, the military plane was delayed.
According to these three articles, Lu Qi believed that Yang Yan was no longer suitable for him, and asked the emperor to remove Yang Yan's real power as prime minister.
During this period, the emperor asked the two prime ministers who could take on the big responsibility, Lu Qi recommended Zhang Yi and Yan Yin, while Yang Yan recommended Cui Zhao and Zhao Huibo, and Emperor Dezong thought that Yang Yan's discussion was sparse and unrealistic.
On July 3, 781 , 2011 , Yang Yan was stripped of his real power from the post of Zhongshu Shilang (中書侍郎) and Tongzhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事) to Zuo Shu (左仆射).
After a few days, Yang Yan entered the court of Xie En, and after asking the right question at the Yanying Temple, he returned home in a hurry, and did not go to Zhongshu Province to meet with Lu Qi, who was even more angry with Yang Yan.
Soon, Lu Qi introduced Yan Yin as the Imperial Grand Master. In the past, when Yan Yin was serving as Jing Zhaoyin, he did not attach himself to Yang Yan, and Yang Yan was very dissatisfied with him, so he instructed Yushi Zhang to impeach Yan Yin and depose Yan Yingjing Zhaoyin from his post as Yushi Zhongyin. Yang Yan also promoted Yuan Xiu, who had a conflict with Yan Yin, to Jing Zhaoyin. Yan Yin was later reappointed as Dali Qing for committing the crime of being untrue in Du Tian, and people felt sorry at the time. At this time, Lu Qi catered to the demands of everyone, and took advantage of Yan Yin's grudge with Yang Yan to deliberately introduce him as the Imperial Grand Master.
The duty of the Imperial Observatory was to picket hundreds of officials, impeach high-ranking officials, and pull them off their horses as their leader, that is, to keep an eye on the prime minister and impeach them in time when problems were discovered.
Yan Yin's new official took office, and he very much wanted to make achievements for the emperor and Lu Xiang to see. It just so happened that Yang Yan's son Yang Hongye had violated the law and forbidden behavior, and accepted bribes and requests from others. After being instructed, Yu Shitai immediately filed a case, and Yan Yin personally tried it, and quickly found out the crimes of the Yang family's father and son.
Previously, in order to build a family temple, Yang Yan asked Yin Zhao Huibo of Henan to sell his private residence in Dongdu for him, and Zhao Huibo bought this house as an official office. After the trial, Yan Yin believed that Zhao Huibo had overestimated the price of Yang Yan's private residence, so that Yang Yan could get a lot of benefits. Lu Qi summoned Dali Zheng and other relevant officials for trial, and sentenced him to prison for self-theft and sentenced to criminal punishment.
These were obviously not enough capital offenses, so Lu Qi borrowed Yang Yan's method of dealing with Liu Yan and grasped the problem on the line. Lu Qi reported to the emperor: Yang Yan's heart was not right, the family temple built in Qujiang South, and this place was kingly, Yang Yan deliberately took this place to build a family temple, must have ulterior motives.
When Emperor Dezong heard this, he was greatly angered, and when the results of the interrogation were submitted, Emperor Dezong issued another edict to the Three Divisions and asked for another review.
On October 10, 781 ( October 31 , 781 ) of the second year of Jianzhong , Emperor Dezong of Tang issued an edict announcing Yang Yan's crimes.
One report after another, the wicked have their own wicked grinding. After the edict was issued, Yang Yan embarked on the road of exile, passing through the Ghost Gate Pass, and feeling that the prospects were not good, so he wrote a poem lamenting:
Ten thousand miles away, a thousand knowledge and no return.
Where is the cliff state, the birth of the ghost door closed.
Looking back, looking at this Yang Yan again, there is talent, although framing colleagues is not a heinous traitor, but there are problems with personality, and the problems are not mature enough to deal with them. The bloody facts tell us that we must be open-minded and not blindly harsh and accuse others; We must have a sense of responsibility, and we must not shrink back in case of trouble, especially not to throw the pot to the leader; Until the critical moment, do not offend the villain.