In the first year of de (756 AD), due to the Anshi Rebellion, Tang Xuanzong led the imperial court to flee to Sichuan. His son Li Heng, under the planning of the eunuch Li Fuguo and his concubine Zhang Liangdi, went to Shuofang Jiedu to make Lingwu, and was awarded the title of Grand Marshal of terracotta warriors and horses by Emperor Xuanzong. In September of that year, Li Heng ascended the throne as Emperor Suzong.
In the second year of De (757 AD), Guo Ziyi recaptured Chang'an and Luoyang, Emperor Suzong returned to Chang'an, and Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, who was already emperor of Taishang, also returned from Sichuan. Tang Suzong's ascension to the throne was mainly based on Li Fuguo's power, so he trusted Li Fuguo and gave him a lot of power. However, Empress Zhang Liangdi gradually became dissatisfied with Li Fuguo's dictatorship.
In April of the first year of Baoying (762 AD), Emperor Suzong was too ill to serve as a governor and let the crown prince Li Yu supervise the state. Empress Zhang said to the crown prince: "Li Fuguo has been commanding the forbidden army for a long time, and he has issued orders to the four sides without authorization, saying that it is the emperor's will. He also hates me and you the most. Now your father is seriously ill, Li Fuguo and Cheng Yuanzhen are in cahoots, plotting rebellion,
Guo Ziyi
If we don't get rid of them, we will soon be in trouble! After hearing this, the crown prince said with tears: "Father Emperor is seriously ill and his life is in danger, Li and Cheng are both old subordinates of Father Emperor, if we kill them silently now, it will not only frighten Father Emperor, but also cause chaos, so take your time." When Empress Zhang saw that the crown prince had no intention of killing Li and Cheng, she had to say perfunctorily: "Since my son adopts a preferential policy, let me consider it again." ”
Empress Zhang stepped back, did not think much about it, and immediately approached li shi, the king of Yue, and told him about this plan, asking him to act together with Li Qian, the king of Yan. Li Shi immediately began to make preparations, and ordered duan Hengjun, the internal servant, to select 200 strong eunuchs, dressed in full clothing, and assemble behind the Hall of Eternal Life where Emperor Suzong was recuperating. Then, Empress Zhang came forward and summoned the crown prince to the Hall of Eternal Life in the name of Emperor Suzong.
Who knows, this action has been discovered by Cheng Yuanzhen, An accomplice of Li Fuguo, who immediately reported it to Li Fuguo. Li Fuguo, who held the power of the forbidden army, sent a large number of forbidden troops to guard the only way for the prince to enter the palace, Lingxiao Gate. Sure enough, the prince passed through this gate. Cheng Yuanzhen greeted him and said, "
There will be a fierce battle in the Hall of Eternal Life, and His Highness must not enter it. The crown prince replied, "There is absolutely no such thing, my father is critically ill and summons me, how can I be afraid of death?" Cheng Yuanzhen said in an unquestioning tone: "The country's affairs are big, and we must not go in." Almost pleading bitterly, and beckoning the forbidden soldiers, they gathered the prince and hid in the flying dragon stables outside the Xuanwu Gate.
After dark, Cheng Yuanzhen personally led troops to break into the palace, and soon captured more than 100 people, including Li Shi, the king of Yue, and Duan Hengjun, who was ambushed in various palaces. Under the pretext of the crown prince's order, Empress Zhang was imprisoned in another official, and dozens of people in front of Emperor Suzong's illness ladder were hidden in the harem. That night, Li and Cheng secretly executed Empress Zhang, Li Shi of Yue, and Li Qian, the King of Yan.
SuZong, who was dying, heard this bad news and also died. Crown Prince Li Yu succeeded to the throne,
That is, Tang Dynasty Emperor. As soon as the common political enemy is eradicated, internal contradictions are placed in front of us. This is the case in the official arena, there are no permanent friends, there are no permanent enemies, some just use each other, and Li Fuguo is the same. After killing political enemies such as the empress,
Cheng Yuanzhen gradually became favored by Emperor Daizong, which caused Li Fuguo to be jealous. The contradiction between the two is also getting bigger and bigger. Therefore, Cheng Yuanzhen took the opportunity to constantly say in front of Emperor Daizong that Li Fuguo was too powerful and arrogant.
Emperor Daizong was already dissatisfied with Li Fuguo's killing of his mother and the Kings of Yue and Yan, so he soon removed Li Fuguo from the posts of Marching Sima and Bingbu Shangshu. On the night of October 18 of that year, Cheng Yuanzhen sent assassins to kill Li Fuguo in his bedroom.
In the first year of the Tang Dynasty's Zongbao, Cheng Yuanzhen killed his former accomplice Li Fuguo. As soon as Li Fuguo died, Cheng Yuanzhen was immediately promoted to the rank of Grand General of the Hussars, succeeding Li Fuguo in commanding all the forbidden troops. After Cheng Yuanzhen gained power, his father was given the title of Sikong, his mother was also named Lady Zhao Guo, and his brothers and sisters also followed suit. A dynasty of heavy power
Cheng Yuanzhen, like other powerful traitors, began to frame officials in the imperial court who hindered his seizure of power, as exemplified by the exclusion of the general Guo Ziyi.
Guo Ziyi was a meritorious minister in quelling the Anshi rebellion, and after Emperor Suzong ascended the throne, he served as a deputy marshal and was later promoted to Zhongshu Ling. At that time, Cheng Yuanzhen had already been favored by Emperor Daizong, and he was jealous of Guo Ziyi's high position, so he repeatedly framed Guo Ziyi in front of Emperor Daizong. Battle-hardened
Guo Ziyi could be calm and composed in any dangerous situation, but he was made to sit restless and frightened all day by a small eunuch Cheng Yuanzhen, so he asked Emperor Daizong to dismiss him as deputy marshal and envoy.
In the first year of Guangde (763 AD), Tubo attacked the Central Plains, in October. Arriving at Fengtian (present-day Qianxian County, Shaanxi), Wugong, Jingshi was horrified. At this time, Zongcai issued an edict with Li Shi the Yong King as the marshal of Guannei and Guo Ziyi as the deputy marshal, and went out of the town of Xianyang to resist.
Guo Ziyi led a small number of people to Xianyang, and Tubo led Tuguhun, Dangxiang, Clan, and more than 200,000 people, which filled the mountains and wilderness for dozens of miles. Obviously, the disparity in strength is enormous. At this critical moment, Guo Ziyi sent Wang Yanchang, a Zhongshu sherman, back to Chang'an to ask for rescue, but Cheng Yuanzhen not only did not summon him, but also did everything possible to stop it.
Cheng Yuanzhen only had power to drive away, and even disregarded the security of the country. Guo Ziyi asked for reinforcements, but Yuan Zhen avoided seeing him, causing the Tubo soldiers to drive straight in. What was worse was that when Emperor Daizong ordered the various armies to serve the king, none of them answered the order or delayed. Why?
Cheng Yuanzhen was arbitrary, framed famous generals and loyal subjects, and caused everyone in the civil and military affairs to endanger themselves, and the localities and the central government were separated from Morality, for fear of being framed by Cheng Yuanzhen. When the Tubo soldiers entered and occupied Chang'an, they burned and plundered, and did no evil, and the people ran to the mountains to take refuge.
Cheng Yuanzhen's perverse behavior has aroused the righteous indignation of the vast number of people of insight, who unanimously called for Cheng Yuanzhen's punishment. Dr. TaiChang and Hanlin Waiting for Zhao Liu Said: "Tubo invaded Guanlong and other places with tens of thousands of troops, and the soldiers entered the capital without bloodshed, all because the strategists did not make good plans, and the military generals did not fight to the death... The minister heard that good medicine heals the disease, pays attention to the right medicine, and the medicine cannot cure the disease is useless,
Your Majesty, see how far the situation has come today! The people of the world hate His Majesty for alienating the wise and talented generals, appointing eunuchs and villains, and allowing them to be alienated, and if His Majesty can still think about the sake of the state society, he should cut off Cheng Yuanzhen's head and apologize to the world for his sins. ”
Although Emperor Daizong also realized at this time that it was Cheng Yuanzhen, who had committed adultery and ruined the important affairs of the country, he still cared that Cheng Yuanzhen was credited to him, so he only "cut down Yuanzhen's official title and let him return to the field", as for "the crime has been edicted", it seems that there is no shadow.
Later, Tubo retreated, Emperor Daizong returned to Chang'an, and Cheng Yuanzhen changed into a woman's costume and passed through the customs and also entered Chang'an. As a result, he was accused of plotting against him. Emperor Daizong was still very tolerant of Cheng Yuanzhen at this time, because he remembered his merits again and only exiled him. In the end, Cheng Yuanzhen walked to Jiangling and died.