The young emperor asked the minister: What kind of emperor do you think Shuo is? The minister replied: Everyone in the world says that His Majesty is a virtuous prince like Yao Shun.
The Emperor smiled bitterly: "Actually, I want to ask you, how does Yuan compare with King Zhou Zhaonan and Emperor Xian of Han?" The minister replied with trepidation: His Majesty's virtue is incomparable to that of Cheng Kang of the Zhou Dynasty and Wenjing of the Han Dynasty, so how can it be compared with a subjugated lord like Zhao Xian?
The emperor said self-deprecatingly: King Zhao of Zhou and Emperor Xian of Han were only subject to strong subjects, but they were subject to domestic slaves, and I am afraid that they were far inferior to them! Without saying a word, the two monarchs and courtiers wept relatively.
This combination of kings and courtiers who have a poor dialogue is Tang Wenzong Li Ang, who has the intention to kill thieves but is unable to return to heaven, and Zhou Qichi, a scholar.
Emperor Wenzong of Tang (809-840), whose initial name was Li Han (李汉), the Prince of Fengjiang, was the second son of Emperor Muzong of Tang, the younger brother of Emperor Jingzong of Tang, the older brother of Emperor Wuzong of Tang, the nephew of Li Chen of Tang Xuanzong, and his biological mother was Empress Xiao of Zhenxian.
According to the custom of the Tang Dynasty, As the second eldest, Emperor Wenzong was doomed to have no connection with the imperial throne after the eldest brother of the crown prince, Li Zhan, grew up healthy, and he would change from the emperor's son to the emperor's younger brother, and then to the emperor's uncle and uncle, and squat in the Jiangwang Mansion to spend his life in obscurity.
However, the biggest piece of pie under the sky fell on his head, and on the eighth day of December in the second year of the Baoli calendar (826), the polo emperor Who was four months older than him and only 18 years old, Jingzong Li Zhan, was assassinated by the eunuch Liu Keming and the professional footballer Su Zuoming.
The small gang of emperors, led by the eunuch Liu Keming, prepared to establish Li Wu, the sixth prince of Tang Xianzong and the sixth uncle of Emperor Jingzong, as emperor, and appointed Li Wu to act as military and state affairs, and the next step was to take Li Wu to the throne.
Liu Keming was only a small eunuch favored by Emperor Jingzong, and he actually co-opted a group of rabble-rousers to set up another king, as a grand eunuch and a privy envoy who controlled the Divine Strategy Army, how could Wang Shoucheng and The Lieutenant Liang Shouqian tolerate it? When did Datang's home come from you Liu Keming, and where did you put me? So on the same day, Wang Shoucheng and Liang Shouqian sent troops to beg thieves, killed King Dai and others, and welcomed His Highness the Prince of Jiang to the throne, that is, Tang Wenzong.
Tang Wenzong's ascension to power, like his father Muzong and grandfather Xianzong, was supported by eunuchs, and it was this that made Emperor Wenzong grumble, in fact, he really did not need to be ashamed of this, but from this point of view, Emperor Wenzong was a person with strong self-esteem.
As early as when he was in the mansion, Emperor Wenzong knew about the maladministration of Emperor Muzong and Emperor Jingzong, and he hated the eunuchs for usurping power, after all, there were many people who died at the hands of eunuchs, there were shunzong and xianzong fathers and sons whose cause of death was unknown, and there were recent jingzong who were killed, and several generations were forbidden, and the past was vividly remembered!
Therefore, Emperor Wenzong, who took Tang Taizong as an example, from the moment he ascended the throne, he had the idea of "brushing away the hatred of the emperor's father and expressing the sorrow of the billions of omens", and his whole life was also working hard to eliminate the eunuchs.
After Emperor Wenzong took the throne, he changed the slack administrative style of the two dynasties, and he worked hard to seek cure, be diligent and studious, and restore the old practice of looking at the dynasty on a single day, and also went to Yu Xing, the people who left the palace, the eagle dogs, the layoff of redundant personnel, the provincial teaching workshop music workers, the suspension of tribute and the rare play, and the luxury of obedience, for a while it was a sudden congratulations, and everyone thought that peace could be hoped for.
However, if Emperor Wenzong wanted to make a real difference, it was inevitable that there would be a conflict with the eunuchs who held great power, and in order to realize his political ideals, he must take back the power in the hands of the eunuchs.
As we all know, since the Anshi Rebellion, Li Tianzi of the Tang Dynasty always felt that the ministers were ill-intentioned and did not have reliable domestic slaves, so he began to support eunuchs to balance the ministers.
But what li everyone did not expect was that water can carry boats and overturn boats, under the hands of strong monarchs, eunuchs are loyal household slaves who maintain imperial power, but when they encounter monarchs who are lenient and weak, eunuchs become vicious dogs that devour their masters, not only are they not the emperor's protectors, but they will pose a threat to the emperor.
With the dictatorship of eunuchs, it is not only the imperial power that is infringed upon, but also the rights of the scholars, the imperial power and the eunuchs have conflicts, and there are more conflicts between the courtiers and the eunuchs, after all, the positions are different, so the courtiers are also very active in the struggle against the eunuchs at the beginning.
However, after several failed struggles, the morale-thwarting scholars began to lose the courage to oppose the eunuchs, and their attitude toward the eunuchs changed, either forming an alliance of interests with the eunuchs for mutual benefit or turning to the eunuchs for the sake of the promise, and the remaining few who were not willing to be with the eunuchs were either excluded or killed.
Tang Wenzong was faced with such a big environment, the eunuch temple was rampant, the courtiers were doing their work, even if there were jinshi in the examination of the system, they wrote a thousand words in the countermeasures, and proposed the disaster of eunuchs, and the examiners did not dare to admit them, which showed the prestige of eunuchs.
Emperor Wenzong was helpless about such a situation, and in March of the first year of Taihe (827), the new lieutenant Wang Shoucheng, who succeeded Liang Shouqian, a lieutenant of the Right Army who had succeeded Zhi Shi, was particularly arbitrary, recruiting power and bribery, which was unscrupulous and even more angry to Emperor Wenzong.
After careful observation and screening, Emperor Wenzong considered that song Shenxi, a scholar of Hanlin, was deep and loyal, and was a partner capable of doing great things, so he promoted Song Shenxi to the position of Shangshu Right Cheng and introduced him as a confidant, and in July of the fourth year of Taihe (830), Song Shenxi was made a Tongping Zhangshi.
Song Shenxi also introduced the official Attendant Wang Bian as Jing Zhaoyin, and told Wang Yan of Emperor Wenzong's intention to remove the eunuchs, and wanted to kill the eunuchs through the soldiers of Jingzhao Province. However, due to Wang Bian's imprudent behavior and missing the wind, Wang Shoucheng soon learned the news.
Emperor Wenzong had a younger brother of Emperor Wenzong, Li Zhuo the Prince of Zhang, known as a virtuous man, and Wang Shoucheng adopted the idea of his close confidant Zheng Zhu and had the divine strategy capital Yu Hou Doulu falsely accuse Song Shenxi of plotting to support The King of Zhang, and then Wang Shoucheng reported it to Emperor Wenzong in February of the fifth year of Taihe (831).
Frightened, Emperor Wenzong believed it to be true, and in a fit of rage, he ordered Wang Shoucheng to dispose of Song Shenxi, and Wang Shoucheng immediately sent two hundred horsemen to slaughter Song Shenxi's house, but the flying dragon made Ma Cunliang block it, so he did not make a move.
After Wang Shoucheng's severe torture, the people who were beaten into confession said that Song Shenxi had indeed colluded with King Zhang, and the angry Emperor Wenzong summoned the ministers to discuss the conviction of Song Shenxi, and the Manchu Dynasty Wenwu did not believe that the prime minister would do this, or Zheng Zhu was worried about delaying the exposure of the truth for a long time, so he suggested that Wang Shoucheng ask Emperor Wenzong to be lenient.
In the end, Li Zhuo the Prince of Zhang, was demoted to the title of Duke of Chao County, and Song Shenxi was demoted to Sima of Kaizhou, and the case was closed in a confused way, and Emperor Wenzong's first plan to remove eunuchs had not yet begun to abort.
With another victory, Wang Shoucheng became more and more arrogant and stronger, and Emperor Wenzong was resentful and ashamed, and he was sick with anger and unable to speak.
Therefore, Wang Shoucheng recommended his close associate Sima Zhaoyi, who was good at medicine, and a mysterious evil charm man, Zheng Zhu, to see Emperor Wenzong.
After Emperor Wenzong saw Zheng Zhu, he took the medicine he prescribed, and the illness was really better, just like Wang Shoucheng, Emperor Wenzong's attitude towards Zheng Zhu also changed from initial dislike to trust, and soon took Zheng Zhu as a servant and then a royal master.
Li Xun, a grandson of Emperor Suzong's chancellor Li Xun and a jinshi, also went through Zheng Zhu's door and was recommended to Emperor Wenzong by Wang Shoucheng, because Li Xun was good at speaking Zhou Yi, and soon gained The Favor of Emperor Wenzong and was promoted.
Zheng Zhu and Li Xun, who were regarded by Emperor Wenzong as wizards, were very good at fighting chicken blood, and the two saw that Emperor Wenzong was very ambitious, so they planned a taiping strategy for Emperor Wenzong, first eliminating eunuchs, then restoring Hehuang, and clearing Hebei again.
Emperor Wenzong was very yearning for the big cake they painted, and decided that the monarchs and subjects would work together to realize the dream of the Tang Dynasty, and if the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty was revived, Wenzong would naturally become the Lord of Zhongxing.
Wise people can see that Zheng Zhu and Li Xun are bragging about the revival of the Tang Dynasty, just in the eunuch monopoly, the division of the feudal town, the courtiers party struggle, the need for money and no money, and the need for soldiers and soldiers, to talk about the revival of the Tang Dynasty, that is just to fool the unintelligent emperor.
Zheng Zhu and Li Xun themselves started by eunuchs, everyone knew that their hearts were not right, and now they were helping Wenzong to eliminate eunuchs, and people with hearts would be shocked by their capriciousness, but Wenzong was cited as a confidant to use them extremely much.
What exactly was their plan to eliminate the eunuchs? It is also very simple to say, that is, to use the internal contradictions of the eunuch clique to castrate, divide and dissolve, and then break each one.
In May of the ninth year of Taihe (835), Zheng Zhu and Li Xun, with the right-hand leading general Qiu Shiliang, had meritorious service when Emperor Wenzong ascended the throne, but because of his disagreement with Wang Shoucheng, Emperor Wenzong promoted Qiu Shiliang to the rank of lieutenant of Zuo Shence to divide Wang Shoucheng's power.
In June, Zuo Shence's lieutenants Wei Yuan, the privy councillor Yang Chenghe and Wang Jianyan were in the middle of the battle, and Wang Shoucheng was constantly fighting for power, and Zheng Zhu and Li Xun suggested that Emperor Wenzong send them out as the overseers of Xichuan, Huainan, and Hedong, and in August, they colluded with their friends to degrade them to Qihuan Prefecture, Xiangzhou, and Enzhou, respectively, and posthumously kill them on the way to escort them.
In September, Li Xun gave Wenzong another suggestion, recalling Chen Hongzhi, the eunuch who had murdered Emperor Xianzong and the overseer of Shannan's Eastern Province, and sending someone to kill him on the spot when he arrived at Qingniyi.
Since Zheng Zhu and Li Xun were both introduced by Wang Shoucheng, except for Qiu Shiliang's promotion, all other actions were against Wang Shoucheng's opponents, so Wang Shoucheng did not doubt Emperor Wenzong's actions.
Zheng Zhu believed that Wang Shoucheng's power was too great to deal with, so he asked for the position of Fengxiang Jiedushi envoy, and when the time came, he joined forces inside and outside to destroy the eunuchs, and Emperor Wenzong obeyed him and immediately appointed him as fengxiang jiedushi envoy. And Li Xun, who relied on Zheng Zhu's eminent nobility, was quite suspicious of Zheng Zhu as the momentum flourished.
Zheng Zhu also suggested that Emperor Wenzong promote Wang Shoucheng to the position of Envoy of the Left and Right Divine Strategies and The Commander of the Twelve Guards, and that wang Shoucheng still did not realize that he was promoted to the military.
Subsequently, Emperor Wenzong appointed Li Xun as the attendant of the Ceremonial Department and Ping Zhangshi, and the Niu and Li party members in the court were almost completely expelled, and almost all of them were replaced by people who were dependent on Li Xun.
At the same time, Li Xun and Zheng Zhu sent the eunuchs Tian Quancao, Liu Xingshen, Zhou Yuanshu, Xue Shigan, Xiang Xianyi, Liu Yingxuan, and other eunuchs, whom Wang Shoucheng hated, to Yanzhou, Lingwu, Jingyuan, Xiazhou, Zhenwu, and Fengxiang to patrol the border, and then issued an edict to pursue death, because the change of Ganlu failed, and the edict was abandoned.
At this time, Li Xun and Zheng Zhu thought that they could attack the unsuspecting Wang Shoucheng, and in October of that year, Emperor Wenzong sent Li Haogu to Wang Shoucheng's mansion to give him poisoned wine, and the eunuch Wang Shoucheng, who had been prominent for a while and was above the emperor, died under the schemes of his trusted people.
Wang Shoucheng's death was really happy and pu ben, and it also represented that the Yuan and the rebel party that had once run amok were all fu fa, and Wen Zong suddenly felt how the sky was so blue, how the flowers were so red, and how Zheng Zhu and Li Xun were so capable.
According to Zheng Zhu's plan, he first went to Fengxiang to take a post, and when he arrived in the town, he selected hundreds of brave men to serve as pro-soldiers, and took advantage of the opportunity to bury Wang Shoucheng in the chan water to kill all the high-ranking eunuchs who had been ordered to go to the funeral.
If zheng zhu's plan was followed, Emperor Wenzong still had some chance of winning, and it was almost the early stage of Cui Yin's collusion with Zhu Wen to kill eunuchs at the end of the Tang Dynasty. However, Li Xun, who was jealous of Zheng Zhu, did not want Zheng Zhu to take sole credit, and consulted with his own henchmen to kill the eunuchs in advance in the capital, and at the same time, he also eliminated Zheng Zhu.
Li Xun was also really Li Lingzhi dim, the big goose had not yet fought down to consider how to eat, the eunuch had not yet finished eradicating the internal tilt, or it may be that the previous victory made him dizzy, thinking that only qiu Shiliang's family was left alone, not enough to be afraid to monopolize the great achievements.
In early November, Emperor Wenzong appointed Guo Xingyu (郭行余), the secretary of Dali recommended by Li Xun, as the envoy of the Jiedushi of Hedong, Luo Liyan as the envoy of the Jingzhao Prefecture, Han Yu as the general of Zuo Jinwuwei, and Li Xiaoben (李孝本), who was appointed in September by The Imperial Household of The Imperial Household, who was also dependent on Li Xundejin.
Li Xun asked Guo Xingyu and Wang Fan to recruit hundreds of strong men as pro-soldiers in the name of going to the town; Luo Liyan gathered more than 300 soldiers from Jingzhao Province; Li Xiaoben gathered more than 200 Yushitai guards, as well as some of the Jinwu guards led by Han Yue.
On November 21 of the ninth year of Taihe (835), Li Xun launched the Ganlu Rebellion, but due to the gaffe of Han Yue and Wang Fan, which aroused the suspicion of Qiu Shiliang, he quickly abducted Emperor Wenzong and fled into the Xuanzheng Palace, mobilizing the ShenCe army to counterattack, Li Xun saw that the general trend was gone, so he took off his purple robe and changed into a green shirt and fled.
The angry enemy Shi Liang ordered the deputy envoy of Shen Ce to lead a thousand people to carry out indiscriminate killings of courtiers, Li Xun Hanyue, who participated in the incident, and others were arrested and killed, and the two provincial officials who did not know it were also hacked and killed, "The dead and more than a thousand people, the corpses bleed, the wolf is smeared, and the seals of the various divisions, the books, the curtains, and the utensils are exhausted." ”
Zheng Zhu, who was going according to the plan, led his soldiers to Fufeng, and heard the news that Li Xun had been defeated in advance, and after he quickly returned to Fengxiang, he was also hunted down and killed by Qiu Shiliang.
Tang Wenzong's dream of reviving the Tang Dynasty by removing eunuchs from his heart and mind came to naught, and he also completely lost power after the change of Ganlu and became a puppet of the eunuchs, "Killing and killing and worshiping are all decided by the two lieutenants, and the upper does not know." ”
If it were not for the firmness of the chancellors Zheng Qin and Li Shi, the imperial court would have been almost paralyzed and reduced to a racetrack for eunuchs; if it were not for the Zhaoyi army's thriftiness that Liu Congzhi threatened to clean the side of Qiu Shiliang and deter Qiu Shiliang, Emperor Wenzong would not have had to be depressed and would have died at the hands of Qiu Shiliang in advance.
Many people mention Tang Wenzong, they all sigh for it, think he is too unlucky, he is frugal, diligent, love the people, humble advice, do not toss, Ming Jun's advantages he has, but he encountered the eunuch dictatorship, and even some people think that if Wenzong was born in Song and Ming, he was a benevolent monarch like Emperor Renzong and Emperor Xiaozong.
In fact, such praise was really excessive for Wenzong, he did have some of the virtues of Ming Jun, and he was not willing to spend his life in mediocrity, but at the same time, he also had the fatal shortcomings of indecision, lack of strength, cowardice and cowardice.
It can be seen from the Song Shenxi incident and the Zheng Zhu Li Xun incident that he does not have the insight to be discerning and judgmental, still less does he have the wisdom to know people, and he is suspicious of the real sages, but he regards the real villains as teachers and friends, and is too easy to be used by the villains.
Even if you don't believe in your brother, you should believe in the prime minister you have chosen! People with the personality of cattle monks and children all expressed disbelief when they heard that Song Shenxi was plotting rebellion: "People are not the prime minister, and now Shen Xi is already the prime minister, if you do what you want, what do you want?" Shin Seok is no longer here! ”
Yes, Song Shenxi is already your prime minister, he is supporting the King of Zhang, and what will he get paid? Why should he? But Emperor Wenzong believed in Wang Shoucheng's structure, and how could you, who originally wanted to eliminate the eunuchs, believe in the eunuchs? Do you have water in your head?
Speaking of the change of Ganlu, Wang Shoucheng and Chen Hongzhi have already surrendered to the law, and the Qiu Shiliang family is left alone, so why do you rush to rush in and kill them all? Barbarians can also support new eunuchs to divide the power of the Qiu clan, after all, as an emperor, he cannot eliminate eunuchs.
It is safe to say that if Emperor Wenzong had taken over after Wang Shoucheng's death, the situation would never have deteriorated as it was, and not only would Emperor Wenzong not have been reduced to a puppet, but later emperors would not have been favored by eunuchs.
Take a step back and say, if you want to kill them all, you will also kill them all, and the problem is that you don't have a soft ear! Zheng Zhu made the plan before you have no opinion, Li Xun preemptively attacked in the back, you have no opinion? Don't you have any judgment yourself?
Well, it's okay to be the first to do it, the key is that you have to be well prepared, just expect that little rabble-rouser? Can you eliminate eunuchs in the palace? Are you a decoration when you are a divine strategist? Wenzong's ending is indeed lamentable, but judging from his personality and the people he depends on, his failure is also inevitable.
Tang Wenzong actually only had great ambitions, but he had no talent, one mistake was made by Song Shenxi, and then by Zheng Zhu Li Xun, he was ignorant and unwise, and the non-human beings he used were so, and he was quite self-aware compared to Zhou Zhaohan.
Author: Li Shaoqing
The image comes from the internet intrusion and deletion.
References: Zizhi Tongjian, Old Book of Tang, etc.
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