In November of the third year of Guanghua, Tang Zhaozong once again experienced the test of life and death. The eunuch group led by Liu Jishu staged a coup d'état, preparing to abolish the disobedient Tang Zhaozong and set up a new monarch. Tang Zhaozong drank too much the night before, and on the way back to the palace, he personally killed several palace maids and little eunuchs who had always been suspected of being spies. That night, he was locked in the palace by the premeditated eunuchs.
Early the next morning, Tang Zhaozong was waiting to open the palace door. But suddenly I saw Liu Jishu and Wang Zhongxian rushing to the palace with a soldier. Tang Zhaozong was so frightened that he trembled. Liu Jishu did not dare to kill the king, but took out a joint petition drawn by hundreds of officials on the spot, announcing that the crown prince would temporarily supervise the country. Tang Zhaozong was deposed and became the emperor. Seeing this scene, Tang Zhaozong could also have any ability to resist and justify.
Subsequently, Tang Zhaozong and the royal family were taken to Shaoyang Yuan and locked up. Liu Jishu ordered people to pour the door lock with iron juice. There are no special circumstances, Tang Zhaozong is not allowed to release it. He also set up heavy guards outside the palace, leaving only a hole in the wall to bring food and drink to the people inside. At that time, it was a harsh winter, and the concubines and princesses had no winter clothes to protect them from the cold, and they were crying from the cold. The dead eunuch Liu Jishu turned a blind eye and only provided food and drink. What's more, in order to prevent Tang Zhaozong from reporting to outsiders, Liu Jishu stipulated that not a pen or paper was allowed to be sent to Shaoyang Courtyard.
After that, Liu Jishu immediately announced that the crown prince would succeed to the throne as emperor, and all the officials would be promoted, and the soldiers of the forbidden army would be rewarded. Liu Jishu tried to gain the support of the people. On weekdays, he was favored by Tang Zhaozong, and the palace people, attendants, monks, and monks were all killed by the eunuchs. Liu Jishu also wanted to kill Cui Yin easily, but he didn't dare to do it easily because he was afraid of Zhu Wen, and only dismissed Cui Yin from his position.
The news of Tang Zhaozong's imprisonment quickly spread to the feudal towns. Han Jian, who was the first to learn, did not seize the opportunity. He thinks that the benefits he has gained are enough. On the other hand, Zhu Wen is different. In order to ensure that Zhu Wen would not be involved, Liu Jishu specially sent his adopted son Liu Xidu to Bianliang to negotiate with him, hoping to reach an agreement on the abolition of the establishment, promising that as long as Zhu Wen nodded, all the taxes and offerings in the world could be transferred to Bianliang and no longer transported to Chang'an. In order to show his sincerity even more, Liu Jishu sent the enshriner Li Fengben to bring the forged abdication edict to Zhu Wen, and said that if Zhu Wen wanted to go further, he could completely hand over the actual control of the imperial court to Zhu Wen.
In the face of such a huge temptation, Zhu Wen had no idea. He gathered his subordinates together to discuss whether to send troops to rescue Tang Zhaozong. Among the people, only Li Zhen, the deputy envoy of the balance festival, had a different opinion. He took a clear stand. The royal family is in trouble, and this is the best time for the princes of the feudal towns to dominate the industry. What kind of thing is Liu Jishu, who dares to abolish the Son of Heaven? The Lord should follow the example of the Duke of Qi Huan and the King of Qi, so that he can establish his prestige among the princes. After weighing it, Zhu Wen felt that what Li Zhen said was reasonable. At present, his strength is strong enough, and there is no shortage of so-called taxes and offerings, but what he lacks is influence on the government. In the end, Zhu Wen decided to take action to eradicate the eunuch group.
On the one hand, he imprisoned Liu Xidu and asked Li Zhen to go to Chang'an to continue discussions with Liu Jishu on the abolition of the establishment, and on the other hand, he sent his confidant Jiang Xuanhui to the capital to secretly contact Cui Yin and prepare to wait for an opportunity. Li Zhen is going to stall for time. And Jiang Xuanhui is going to engage in conspiracy. The two are in different directions, but have the same goal. That is, to unite the forces of the DPRK and China to wipe out the eunuchs.