Chapter 21 Emperor Zhaozong of Tang Dynasty who was precarious

In 880 A.D., in the early morning of the fifth day of December in the first year of Emperor Xizong of Tang Dynasty, under the power of Huangchao peasant army, Emperor Xizong fled Chang'an hastily through Jinguangmen with only a few followers, including his 13-year-old younger brother Shouwang Li Jie.Afterwards, Xi Zong wandered and went through hardships, and Li Jie always followed his elder brother, so he was highly regarded.As a result, he also had more contact with the eunuchs who were close to Xizong, which was also an important reason why he was later established as emperor. After Huang Chao's defeat, the Golden Armor disappeared, and the momentum of the Tang Empire began to fade, and the situation of disintegration became increasingly prominent.All the vassals and towns are expanding crazily, and the whole of China has become a sea of ​​blood.After Emperor Xizong returned to Chang'an after all the hardships, the eunuch Tian Lingzi took control of the government and was brutal and domineering.Hedong Jiedu envoy Li Keyong and Hezhong Jiedu envoy Wang Chongrong joined forces to demand Tian Lingzi's dismissal. Emperor Xizong was controlled by Tian Lingzi and fled the capital again to Fengxiang.Later, Zhu Mei, envoy of Binning Jiedu, and Li Changfu, envoy of Fengxiang Jiedu, united again against Tian Lingzi. After a scuffle, Zhu Mei was killed and Tian Lingzi was expelled.Xi Zong was tortured so much that he was in shock and soon fell ill.

On the fifth day of March in the first year of Wende (888), Xi Zong was critically ill.Because Emperor Xizong's son was too young, the eunuch Yang Fugong, who served as the military envoy, suggested that Lishou Wang Li Jie be the emperor.Because Li Jie and Xi Zong were born of the same mother and had the closest relationship among all the brothers, Xi Zong agreed and issued an edict to make Li Jie the emperor's younger brother to act as an agent of military and state affairs, and immediately sent eunuch Liu Jishu to welcome Li Jie into the palace.Here, it is especially important to mention that the eunuchs Yang Fugong and Liu Jishu later turned against Li Jie.

At that time, only the eunuch Yang Fugong, who held military power, supported Li Jie.The courtiers all wanted to set up Ji Wang Li Bao, because Ji Wang had the best reputation among the kings and was older than Shou Wang.But since the mid-Tang Dynasty, eunuchs have mastered military power and can completely manipulate the emperor's life, death, and abolition.The opinions of the courtiers on the establishment of an heir were not taken seriously at all. The next day, Xi Zong, who was only 27 years old, died of illness in Wude Hall.Emperor Xizong reigned for fifteen years, but in fact he was in Chang'an, the capital for less than eight years. He was forced to flee the capital twice for refuge. The false name of the emperor.However, he was lucky for Emperor Xizong. He was the last emperor of the Tang Dynasty who died in Chang'an and was buried in Guanzhong. He was buried in Jingling in December of that year.

After Li Jie was established as the emperor's younger brother, he changed his name to Li Min.Three days later, he ascended the throne as Tang Zhaozong and changed his name to Li Ye.Changing his name several times represented a change in his identity and status.The ministers saw that Emperor Zhaozong was "clear in appearance, full of heroism, and all of them are private celebrations". Zhaozong was twenty-one years old when he came to the throne. Like the last emperors of many dynasties, he was not a real king of subjugation.On the contrary, he had the ambition to revitalize the Tang Dynasty and wanted to save the empire from danger. At the beginning of his accession to the throne, he liked reading, paid attention to Confucianism, rectified internal affairs, and wanted to do something.At this time, Emperor Zhaozong had great ambitions and ambitions. "With Emperor Xizong's prestige sluggish, the imperial court has been humbled, and he has the ambition to restore the former martyrs. He respects ministers and dreams of virtuous men." He is known as "the legacy of Huichang."

After the Huangchao Peasant Army Uprising, the separatist forces in the feudal towns that had been relieved during the Xianzong reign grew again. The Jiedu envoys who used to obey the emperor's orders in the past now openly ignore the imperial edict.The new and old warlords who made their fortunes by suppressing the Huangchao Peasant Army took the opportunity to expand their power, ruled the roost in their territories, and annexed each other.When Emperor Zhaozong came to the throne, there appeared in the north Zhu Wen, the Jiedu envoy of Xuanwu (who was named "Zhu Quanzhong" for his contribution to suppressing the peasant uprising), Li Keyong, the Jiedu envoy of Hedong, and Li Maozhen, the Jiedu envoy of Fengxiang (formerly known as Song Wentong, who was named "Zhu Quanzhong" because of his contribution to suppressing the peasant uprising). The meritorious service of the peasant uprising was given the name "Li Maozhen") to the three powerful vassals headed by.

Zhaozong was young and energetic, smart and frivolous, with the characteristics of being brave and willful among the children of the royal family.He often tends to imagine things as simple as possible. As soon as he ascended the throne, he recruited an army of 100,000, intending to use a strong force to suppress the strong vassal.However, at this time, the Tang Dynasty had been weak for a long time, eunuchs monopolized power, feudal towns were domineering, wars continued, and imperial power declined.In particular, all kinds of forces are intertwined, eunuchs and powerful ministers all colluded with the vassals and towns as foreign aid, and there were many contradictions within the court, which often affected the whole body, and the situation was quite complicated.Zhaozong himself was also the prey of various forces, and the power groups wanted to control the world by controlling him.Emperor Zhaozong was unaware of this, and hastily adopted a tough stance against the feudal towns in an attempt to restore the power of the central court, which instead led to a greater crisis.

At that time, the eunuch Yang Fugong didn't pay much attention to Emperor Zhaozong because of his achievements in supporting him.He also imitated Tian Lingzi's method, selected many warriors, and adopted them as adopted sons, known as "the gentleman outside the house".Then let these righteous sons share the military power.He also raised 600 eunuchs as adopted sons, and sent them to various ways as supervisors.The power of eunuchs is stronger than before.Zhaozong hated Yang Fugong's monopoly and wanted to find an opportunity to get rid of him. In the first year of Dashun (890), Xuanwu Jiedu Envoy Zhu Wen asked the Tang court to order a crusade against Hedong Jiedu Envoy Li Keyong for personal benefit.Emperor Zhaozong felt that this was an opportunity, and wanted to use Zhu Wen's troops to deal with the great eunuch Yang Fugong, first to get rid of internal worries, so he followed the advice of the prime ministers Zhang Jun and Kong Wei, and issued an imperial edict to remove Li Keyong's official title in Taiyuan, and ordered the prime minister Zhang Jun Wait to lead the army and use troops against Hedong.The feudal towns all over the country sat on the sidelines and watched, and did not actively send troops to cooperate with the military operations of the Tang court.As a result, both Zhu Wen's and Zhang Jun's troops were defeated by Li Keyong, who was famous for his bravery and skill in fighting. The official army sent by Emperor Zhaozong to the Hedong area was almost wiped out.Eunuch Yang Fugong took the opportunity to counterattack and dismissed Zhang Jun and Kong Wei, the prime ministers who supported Emperor Zhaozong.

At this time, Zhaozong appointed Wang Yu (Zhaozong's uncle) as the governor of Qiannan.When Wang Yu arrived in Lizhou (now Guangyuan, Sichuan), Yang Fugong sent people to sink the boat Wang Yu was on, and Wang Yu and his followers were all drowned.After Emperor Zhaozong knew that Yang Fugong was the chief envoy, he appointed Yang Fugong as Fengxiang's military supervisor, intending to send him to Li Maozhen, Fengxiang's governor, with the intention of killing people with a knife.Yang Fugong immediately asked to retire under the pretext of being ill, but secretly plotted to make trouble.Emperor Zhaozong made a prompt decision and personally sent troops to attack Yang Fugong's private residence.Prime Minister Liu Chongwang encouraged the soldiers to attack, but Yang Fugong was defeated. He led his adopted son Yang Shouxin and others to flee to Xingyuan (now Hanzhong, Shaanxi).After Yang Fugong failed, Lord Ximen became the leader of the eunuchs.Zhaozong's move was probably the only thing worth mentioning in his life. Although it did not completely change the eunuch's status as a soldier, it also hit the eunuch to a certain extent.

After Zhaozong expelled Yang Fugong, Yang Fugong fled to his adopted son Yang Shouliang, the governor of Xingyuan.Fengxiang Jiedu envoy Li Maozhen always wanted to expand his territory, and was waiting for an opportunity, so he took the opportunity to ask the court to send troops to attack Yang Fugong.But the eunuchs in the palace felt sad for the death of the rabbit and the fox, so they stopped Zhaozong and prevented him from issuing an edict.Li Maozhen did not get the imperial edict, so he sent troops to capture Xingyuan, captured and killed Yang Fugong and his son, and took Xingyuan into his own possession.

Li Maozhen's power has developed greatly, and his jurisdiction is very close to Chang'an, so Emperor Zhaozong became alert to him.Emperor Zhaozong ordered Li Maozhen to let go of Fengxiang Jiedu envoy to serve as Shannan Xidao and Wuding Jiedu envoy.Li Maozhen not only refused to follow, but also insulted Zhaozong in a letter, openly accusing Zhaozong of "only looking at strength and weakness, not right and wrong". Emperor Zhaozong was furious after reading it, and decided to send troops to attack Li Maozhen.The Prime Minister Du Rangneng said: "Your Majesty has just ascended to the Great Treasure, and the national crisis is not over. Maozhen is close to the gate of the country. It is not appropriate to have a grudge with him. If you fail, you will regret it." He thought that Li Maozhen was in the Gyeonggi area. It was an accident, and the consequences were unpredictable, so Emperor Zhaozong was advised to act cautiously.But Emperor Zhaozong was so angry that he refused to listen. He even scolded Prime Minister Du Rangneng, saying: "The royal family is inferior, and orders are not allowed to go abroad. Pay, I entrust the kings to use troops, success or failure has nothing to do with you."

Most of the imperial troops sent by Emperor Zhaozong were freshly recruited market youths who did not understand military affairs, while Li Maozhen's side were frontier soldiers who had experienced many battles.Thirty thousand forbidden troops were defeated before entering Fengxiang.Li Maozhen took advantage of the victory to force the capital.Zhaozong had no choice but to make peace with his courtiers, killed Ximen Junsui and other three eunuch leaders, and killed Du Rangneng, the prime minister who planned the military, before Li Maozhen was willing to retreat. Since then, the ministers have also gone far with Zhaozong.Zhaozong had great ambitions, but he was powerless.His ambition gradually began to dim. After Li Maozhen defeated the imperial army, he served as the governor of Fengxiang, Shannanxidao, Wuding, and Tianxiong, occupying fifteen states and becoming the most powerful feudal town in Guanzhong.In addition, Wang Jian occupied Sichuan, Yang Xingmi occupied Huainan, Qian Liu occupied Wuyue, and Wang Chao occupied Fujian. In the second year of Qianning (895), after the death of Wang Chongying, the Jiedushi in Hezhong, his son Wang Gong and Wang Ke, the son of his brother Wang Chongrong, competed for the position of Jiedushi.The powerful Hedong Jiedu envoy Li Keyong supported Wang Ke, and Emperor Zhaozong gave the Jiedu envoy to Wang Ke.Li Maozhen supported Wang Gong, and was very dissatisfied with this. He joined forces with Wang Xingyu, the Jiedu envoy of Binning, and Han Jian, the Jiedu envoy of Huazhou, to send troops to Chang'an to interrogate him, intending to force Zhaozong to change the candidate for the Jiedu envoy of Hezhong.Zhaozong fled to Zhongnan Mountain.Li Maozhen killed the prime ministers Li Xi (who had just been appointed prime minister) and Wei Zhaodu. After that, Li Maozhen asked his adopted son Li Jipeng to stay in the capital to guard, and led the army back to Fengxiang.After hearing the news, Li Keyong, the Jiedu envoy of Hedong, was naturally not to be outdone, and led his troops to attack, killing Wang Xingyu, the envoy of Jiedu of Binning.Li Maozhen knew that he could not defeat Li Keyong's Shatuo army, so he killed his adopted son Li Jipeng and apologized to Emperor Zhaozong in order to calm things down. Li Keyong is warlike, and is planning to attack Fengxiang to completely eradicate Li Maozhen's power.Zhaozong was afraid that after Li Maozhen was removed, Li Keyong would be too powerful to control, so he wanted to keep Li Maozhen to contain Li Keyong.So Li Keyong was not allowed to enter the army, and he was made the king of Jin and asked him to lead the army back to Taiyuan.Because the national treasury was empty, Emperor Zhaozong could not give Li Keyong any more rewards, so he had to give away the stunning beauties in the harem.When Li Keyong took the beauty away, he said resentfully: "If Li Maozhen is not killed, there will be no peace in the capital!" After Emperor Zhaozong returned to Chang'an from Zhongnan Mountain, he was extremely sad, learned from the painful experience, and decided to build his own armed forces.He recruited tens of thousands of soldiers, all of whom were commanded by the clan's children.What Emperor Zhaozong didn't expect was that his measure not only failed to solve any problems, but also brought disaster to the clan kings. After Li Keyong withdrew, Li Maozhen made a comeback and led his troops to force the capital under the pretext of using troops against Fengxiang.Emperor Zhaozong left Chang'an hastily, intending to flee to Taiyuan to join Li Keyong, but he was kidnapped by Huazhou Jiedu envoy Han Jian on the way.Han Jian threatened Zhaozong, saying: "Driving across the river, there will be no repayment period." After that, Zhaozong completely lost his personal freedom and was forcibly detained in Huazhou for more than two years. In the fourth year of Qianning (897), Huazhou Jiedu envoy Han Jian forced Tang Zhaozong to disband all the banned troops led by the kings.Later, Han Jian conspired with the eunuch Liu Jishu and sent troops to surround the residences of sixteen clan kings.The clan kings were terrified, and most of them ran for their lives with their hair down, shouting along the city wall: "The official family (the name for the emperor in the palace) save the life of the son." Some panicked and climbed onto the roof, calling for help.Han Jian captured eleven kings and their bodyguards, no matter how old or young they were, and killed them all on the spot.Afterwards, Han Jian only told Zhaozong that the kings had "conspired against him", and he was hasty.The resentment and fear in Zhaozong's heart can be imagined. Even so, Emperor Zhaozong was forced to grant Han Jian the title of Shou Taifu, Zhongshu Ling, Xingde Yin, Yingchuan County King, iron coupons, and the word "loyalty" written by the imperial pen.At this time, Emperor Zhaozong, because of his precarious situation, had completely lost his previous vigor to forge ahead. The Huazhou Jiedu envoy Han Jian was not very powerful at the time, but he even coerced the emperor to order the princes, which naturally made other powerful feudal clans grievances, among which Zhu Wen had the strongest reaction.At that time, Zhu Wen was the most powerful and had the largest territory among all the vassal towns. Only he dared to compete with the fierce and brave Li Keyong.After discussing with Li Maozhen, Han Jian was also afraid that Zhu Wen would send troops to snatch Zhaozong, so he sent Zhaozong back to Chang'an on his own initiative. After more than two years of living like a prisoner, Zhaozong has completely changed himself. Not only did he not think about making progress, he also began to give up on himself.His temper became more and more irritable, and he often paralyzed himself with alcohol.Because of the hopelessness of revival, he became moody, and he would kill the people who served him to vent his anger.At this time, Emperor Zhaozong was already a fierce and tyrannical figure, whose behavior was unpredictable.This aroused the fear of the eunuchs, for fear that one day they would be accidentally killed by Emperor Zhaozong.The four eunuchs Liu Jishu, Wang Zhongxian, Privy Envoy Wang Yanfan, and Xue Qiwu secretly conspired to depose Emperor Zhaozong. One day in November of the third year of Guanghua (900), Emperor Zhaozong went hunting in the Forbidden Garden and returned drunk.That night, Emperor Zhaozong suddenly became angry and took advantage of the wine to kill several eunuchs and maids around him with his own hands, causing the palace people to panic.The next morning, Emperor Zhaozong was still hungover and the gate of the palace would not be opened.The eunuchs Liu Jishu and Wang Zhongxian took the opportunity to coerce Prime Minister Cui Yin to summon all officials.Cui Yin was afraid of death, so he led the officials to sign the document agreeing to "abolish the faint and make the bright".The eunuchs immediately led the forbidden soldiers into the palace.At this time, Zhaozong had just woken up, when he suddenly saw a soldier coming in, "falling under the bed in shock", got up and was about to escape, but was held back by Liu Jishu and Wang Zhongxian, and sat down on both sides. Empress Zhaozong He was very knowledgeable, and when she saw that the general situation was not good, she immediately stood up and dealt with it: "The chief of the army is supposed to protect the official's family. Don't scare him. If you have anything to do, please make decisions." The signed document said: "Your Majesty is tired of this throne. Everyone means that you want the crown prince to supervise the country. Please take care of your Majesty in the East Palace." After a while, why come to this!" Empress He immediately said: "The saints will follow their wishes!" Then, in front of Emperor Zhaozong, Empress He took out the Chuanguo Seal and handed it to Liu Jishu, expressing that Emperor Zhaozong agreed to abdicate. Emperor Zhaozong, Empress He and more than ten attendants were then imprisoned in the Shaoyang courtyard of the East Palace.Liu Jishu also painted the ground with a silver stick, and counted Zhaozong's crimes face to face: "If you don't follow me for something at a certain time, it's a crime..." There are dozens of them.After that, Liu Jishu personally locked the door of Shaoyang Courtyard, and the big lock on the door was also melted with molten iron to prevent people from entering or leaving.Food and beverages for Zhaozong and others were delivered through a hole in the wall. On the same day, the eunuch falsely passed on Zhaozong's order and made Zhaozong's son Li Yu emperor. Prime Minister Cui Yin once advised Zhaozong to kill eunuchs Song Daobi, Jing Wuxiu, etc., which made the eunuchs very afraid of him and filled with resentment.Although Liu Jishu hated Cui Yin, he didn't dare to kill him because he was afraid of Zhu Wen, so he just dismissed him from his position.Cui Yin immediately complained to Zhu Wen and asked him to send troops to rescue him.Liu Jishu also sent envoys to see Zhu Wen, expressing his willingness to present the Tang Sheji.Although Zhu Wen has the ambition to be emperor, he feels that the time is not yet right, and he still needs Zhaozong's card.After weighing the pros and cons, Zhu Wen imprisoned Liu Jishu's envoy, sent his confidant Jiang Xuanhui to secretly enter Chang'an, and secretly planned with Cui Yin, intending to eradicate the eunuchs, welcome Zhaozong's restoration, and coerce the emperor to command the princes. In the first month of the first year of Tianfu (901), Cui Yin joined forces with generals Sun Dezhao, Dong Yanbi, and Zhou Chenghui of the Shence Army to launch the Shence Army (Forbidden Army) to defeat Liu Jishu and welcome Emperor Zhaozong's restoration.Emperor Zhaozong "anyway" in the congratulations of the officials, deposed Prince Li Yu as the king of virtue, and killed dozens of eunuchs and eunuchs of Liu Jishu's party members.The palace coup launched by the eunuch failed in less than two months.Generals Sun Dezhao, Dong Yanbi, and Zhou Chenghui of the Shence Army received heavy rewards, and they were called the "Three Envoys" at that time. After Emperor Zhaozong was restored, in view of Liu Jishu's chaos, he couldn't wait to get rid of the eunuchs, so he ordered Cui Yin and Lu Chen to take charge of the shence army and seize the eunuchs' military power.However, the generals of the Shence Army were all eunuchs' confidantes, and they strongly opposed it. Zhaozong's edict could not be implemented, so the eunuch Han Quanhui had to be appointed as the lieutenant of the Shence Army. Cui Yin was eager to get rid of the eunuch, and went to the doctor in a hurry. He actually wanted to use Fengxiang Jiedu envoy Li Maozhen to control the eunuch, so he secretly invited him to send 3,000 troops to Chang'an for assistance.Unexpectedly, Han Quanhui was a Fengxiang military supervisor, and he had a very good personal relationship with Li Maozhen, and the two had colluded for a long time.The Fengxiang soldiers stationed in Chang'an actually encouraged the eunuch's aura.Cui Yin urged Zhu Wen to go to Chang'an quickly and seize Zhaozong from the eunuch.This hit Zhu Wen's heart, and he immediately led his troops to set off. When he arrived in Hedong, he first wrote a letter asking Zhaozong to go to Luoyang, the eastern capital. The eunuch Han Quanhui and others were shocked when they heard the news, so they acted preemptively and hijacked Zhaozong and his family members to Fengxiang to join Li Maozhen.After Zhu Wen led his troops into Guanzhong, he first defeated Han Jian, the governor of Huazhou, obtained Huazhou, and then entered Chang'an City.Prime Minister Cui Yin led civil and military officials to meet him at Weiqiao and hosted a banquet.In the meantime, Cui Yin raised a wine glass to celebrate Zhu Wen's birthday, full of ugly appearances. In the second year of Tianfu (902), Zhu Wen led troops to besiege Fengxiang, and started a fierce battle with Fengxiang Li Maozhen for Zhaozong.Fengxiang was isolated and helpless, the food in the city was cut off, and it encountered severe cold and heavy snow. Many soldiers and civilians in the city died of freezing and starvation.Zhaozong also had to grind his own grain in the palace, grinding soybeans and wheat to drink porridge every day in order to survive.The people in Fengxiang were even more miserable, and cannibalism was common. "Human flesh is worth a hundred renminbi per catty, and dog meat is worth 500 renminbi. When you serve the royal meal every day, you use this meat as a substitute."With no food and grass inside and no reinforcements outside, Fengxiang must not be able to hold on. Li Maozhen had no choice but to accept Zhu Wen's conditions and agreed to send Zhaozong, Han Quanhui and others voluntarily. At this time, Li Maozhen did not forget to reach out to Zhaozong, asking Zhaozong to marry his daughter Princess Pingyuan to his son Song Jixuan (Li Maozhen's original surname was Song).Empress He felt sorry for her own daughter and refused to agree.Zhaozong persuaded her: "No, I have no place to live!" ("New Book of Tang Volume Eighty-three Princess Biography") The majestic emperor of the Tang Dynasty even gave up his daughter for a safe place. It is really sad. Alas. After Zhaozong and others left Fengxiang, Zhu Wen executed hundreds of eunuchs including Han Quanhui on the spot, and brought Zhaozong back to Chang'an like a trophy. According to the "Five Dynasties History Quewen", when Zhu Wen welcomed Zhaozong back to Chang'an from Fengxiang, Zhaozong pretended that his shoelaces had fallen off and said to Zhu Wen, "Quanzhong (Zhu Wen) tie my shoes for me." Zhu Wen had no choice but to kneel down for Zhaozong. Knotted and sweated.At that time, there were guards around Zhaozong. Zhaozong did this on purpose, so that the left and right could capture and kill Zhu Wen, but none of the left and right dared to do it. After Zhu Wen returned to Chang'an, he killed more than 800 eunuchs in the palace, leaving only 30 young and weak in Huangyi (the eunuch with the lowest rank) to clean up the palace.At the same time, Zhu Wen also ordered all the towns and towns to kill all the eunuchs who served as military supervisors.The power of eunuchs that lasted for more than a hundred years in the Tang Dynasty has been completely eradicated so far.No one thought that the eunuch problem, which had been in trouble since the mid-Tang Dynasty, was actually solved by Zhu Wen.Because of Zhu Wen's meritorious service in killing eunuchs, he was named King of Liang. From then on, he took the emperor to order the world and controlled the central government. Zhaozong remembers that Princess Pingyuan, the daughter of Fengxiang, is still in Fengxiang, and asks Zhu Wen to write to Li Maozhen to ask for it.Li Maozhen was afraid of Zhu Wen's power, so she had to send Princess Pingyuan back to Chang'an. In the third year of Tianfu (903), Zhu Wen led his troops back to Daliang, and his nephew Zhu Youlun led 10,000 soldiers to control the capital. Zhaozong was completely isolated. In the first year of Tianyou (904), Fengxiang Jiedu envoy Li Maozhen raised troops to force Gyeonggi.In order to better control Zhaozong, Zhu Wen also saw that the economy in Guanzhong was in depression, the Yellow River water transportation was interrupted, Luoyang's economy was recovering, and there was economic support from Jianghuai, so he proposed to move the capital to Luoyang.But the courtiers objected.Cui Yin, the prime minister, guessed that Zhu Wen would usurp the throne. As a prime minister, he would inevitably harm himself one day, so he secretly recruited six armies and twelve guards to defend him secretly.He also planned with Jing Zhaoyin, Zheng Yuangui and others to repair and repair the armor, day and night.Zhu Wen took precautions and ordered hundreds of his subordinates to respond to Cui Yin's recruitment, but Cui Yin didn't know it. Just at this time, Zhu Youlun, the nephew of the Chang'an Dian Imperial Army, accidentally fell off his horse and died while playing polo.Zhu Wen suspected that Cui Yin did it on purpose, so he used this as an excuse to send his nephew Zhu Youliang to lead troops into Chang'an, threatened Emperor Zhaozong to move his capital to Luoyang, and arrested and killed Cui Yin and Zheng Yuangui on the charge of "authorizing power to disrupt the country and alienating the monarch and ministers".The people of Chang'an hated Cui Yin. After hearing that he was killed, they were very excited and threw rubble and bricks at his body to vent their anger.Among all the prime ministers in the late Tang Dynasty, Cui Yin had the worst reputation and was considered to have subjugated the country and harmed the people.Although the situation was chaotic and complicated at that time, and the Tang court was facing a crisis that could not be solved by individuals, Cui Yin could hardly absolve himself of the blame for Zhu Wen holding the emperor until the end of the Tang Dynasty. Zhu Wen also used Pei Shu, Liu Can and others as prime ministers, and Pei Shu forced Zhaozong and all officials to move their capital to Luoyang.In the city of Chang'an, there was a gloomy cloud.The residents of Chang'an were also forced to move to Luoyang, and there were endless wailing and wailing along the way. It was just like Dong Zhuo hijacked Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty and drove the people of Luoyang to move westward to Chang'an. Zhu Wen overthrew the country and affected all living beings. As soon as Emperor Zhaozong left Chang'an, Zhu Wen ordered the destruction of Chang'an's palaces and houses in order to disappoint everyone.The wood from the demolished houses in Chang'an was thrown into the Wei River, and flowed down the river for more than a month.Chang'an City was reduced to ruins, and since then, the history of being a capital has ended. Zhaozong had left Chang'an several times before, but after leaving this time, he never came back. Chang'an has since become the old capital of dreams. Zhaozong drove through Huazhou, and the people of Huazhou lined the road and shouted "Long live".Zhaozong burst into tears and said: "Don't call me long live, I am no longer your emperor!" Then he said to the attendants on the left and right: "He said in a mean way: 'The birds are frozen on the top of Hegan Mountain, why don't you fly to the living place to have fun. 'This time I'm wandering, I don't know where I'm going to end up!" After saying that, I burst into tears.People on the left and right also wept sadly. In February of the first year of Tianyou (904), Emperor Zhaozong arrived in Shanzhou (now Sanmenxia, ​​Henan). Because the Luoyang palace had not yet been completed, the driver stayed here temporarily.Zhu Wen personally went to Luoyang to supervise the repair of the palace.Emperor Zhaozong took the opportunity to complain to Xichuan Jiedu envoy Wang Jian Chuanshu.Wang Jian sent troops to join Fengxiang Jiedu envoy Li Maozhen's army to rob Zhaozong, but was blocked by Zhu Wen's army on the way and retreated.Zhaozong sent an urgent message to Li Keyong again, but Zhu Wen had already made preparations and stationed heavy troops in the river. Although Li Keyong was eager to get Zhaozong, it was difficult to succeed immediately. In April, when the Luoyang palace was completed, Zhu Wen urged Zhaozong to set off.Zhaozong almost begged Zhu Wen to declare that Empress He had just given birth, and it was inconvenient to travel during confinement, and she would not enter Luoyang until October.Zhu Wen thought that Emperor Zhaozong was procrastinating on purpose and wanted to wait for reinforcements, so he was very annoyed, and said viciously to his subordinate Kou Yanqing: "Go to Shanzhou immediately and urge the officials to leave immediately." Zhaozong had no choice but to set off from Shanzhou.After driving to Gushui, Zhu Wen hosted a banquet to wash away the dust.After several turmoil, Zhaozong now has no guards around him, and only the kings, more than a dozen Xiaohuangmen, and Dawu Daifeng Neiyuan children who followed him to move eastward, totaling more than 200 people.Zhu Wen was still worried, worried that these people would also cause trouble.In order to prevent accidents, Zhu Wen ordered his subordinates to hang the more than 200 people one by one that night, and then changed more than 200 people to wear the clothes of the dead.It wasn't until several days later that Zhaozong discovered that all the people around him had been replaced. When they arrived in Luoyang, Empress He cried and said to Zhu Wen: "From then on, you and I will commit ourselves to be loyal." The puppet and signboard in Wen's hand.Afterwards, Emperor Zhaozong became more and more depressed, and spent the whole day with the queen and his wife "drinking and forgiving".Since it is "self-lention", it means that deep in his heart he has been worried about something unexpected happening.At this time, the emperor is just lingering on his last breath. Li Maozhen in Fengxiang, Li Keyong in Taiyuan, Wang Jian from Xichuan, Yang Xingmi from Huainan, etc., allied with righteousness and played the banner of "Xingfu". They bluffed and claimed that they would send troops to rescue Zhaozong. In fact, they just wanted to confront Zhu and Wen. .However, Zhu Wen felt the crisis and knew that keeping Zhaozong would be bad for him.Before he led his troops to the west to challenge Li Maozhen, he was worried that Emperor Zhaozong would change, so he invited his confidant Jiang Xuanhui to give him an opportunity. On the night of Renyin on August 11th in the first year of Tianyou (904), Zhu Yougong, the commander of Zuolongwu, Shucong of the commander of Youlongwu, and Jiang Xuanhui, the privy envoy, led a hundred people to the inner palace, claiming that there was an urgent military matter to meet Emperor Zhaozong.The gatekeeper Pei Zhen didn't know it was a fraud, she was killed by soldiers rushing in as soon as she opened the palace gate.Jiang Xuanhui left ten soldiers guarding each gate, and rushed all the way to the Jiaodian courtyard where the emperor's bedroom was located.Mrs. Zhenyi opened the courtyard door and said to Jiang Xuanhui, "Jizuo shouldn't bring soldiers here!" Before she could finish speaking, she was hacked to death by the soldiers.Jiang Xuanhui rushed to His Highness with someone, and asked loudly: "Where is the Supreme?" Zhaoyi Li Jianrong said outside the door: "The court envoy (referring to Jiang Xuanhui) don't hurt the official's family, rather kill me." Zhaozong was half drunk and half awake at the moment, Hearing that something was wrong, he immediately got up from the bed and fled out of the palace with only his clothes and bare feet.Soldiers have already entered the pepper hall with swords.Zhaozong fled for his life around the pillars in the hall, but was chased by soldiers and killed with a sword. He was only thirty-eight years old.Zhaoyi and Li Jianrong wanted to protect the emperor with their own bodies, but they were also killed together.Empress He begged hard, and Jiang Xuanhui spared her life.However, she didn't live long. In September, Jiang Xuanhui falsely handed down an edict from Empress He, and made Li Wei, the ninth son of Emperor Zhaozong, Emperor Ai of Tang Dynasty.Emperor Ai was only thirteen years old when he came to the throne, so he was naturally a puppet.In October, Zhu Wen returned to Luoyang. He pretended to be shocked by Zhaozong's death. He lay down in front of the coffin and wept bitterly, saying: "The slaves have wronged me and made me notorious for all generations!" Wait for others to commit suicide to thank the world.After his death, Emperor Zhaozong was buried in Yanshi, Henan, becoming the first emperor of the Tang Dynasty to be buried outside Guanzhong. It is said that when Li Maozhen rebelled, among the actors who fled to Chang'an with Emperor Zhaozong, there was a monkey man who took a macaque with him.This monkey is alert and understands human nature. It can hold a whip and drive, wear a hat and boots, live with the shift, and please all officials.Emperor Zhaozong liked this clever macaque very much, and bestowed it with a scarlet robe (the color worn by fourth-rank officials in the Tang Dynasty), known as "Sun Gongfeng".Zhaozong's move attracted the laughing and scolding of Luo Yin, a later poet: "Twelve or three years is the trial period, and the five lakes are full of smoke and moon. How can you learn to enshrine your grandson, and the king will be ashamed when you smile." After Zhaozong's death, this macaque Owned by the new owner Zhu Wen.But the macaque was extremely loyal and refused to serve the new master. He jumped and fought against Zhu Wen many times, and was finally killed. Although Emperor Zhaozong died, he still had a group of sons.Zhu Wen once again gave instructions to his confidant Jiang Xuanhui face to face.Jiang Xuanhui then held a banquet in Jiuquchi, and invited Zhaozong's nine sons to the meeting.When the wine was half drunk, the ambushes came out everywhere, hanged all the nine kings, and threw their bodies into the Jiuqu pool.As a royal family, he is also helpless in troubled times. Soon after, Zhu Wen's counselor Li Zhen (nicknamed "Owl") hated the courtiers because he failed the Jinshi examination, and said to Zhu Wen: "These courtiers usually pretend to be noble and call themselves 'clear streams', so it is better to throw them into the turbid stream." Zhu Wen Wen killed more than 30 courtiers in the middle of the night and threw their bodies into the Yellow River.The princes and gentry in the court were empty.Empress He was also killed, leaving only Emperor Ai in the entire Li and Tang royal family. In March of the fourth year of Tianyou (907), after some false refusals, Zhu Wen, who was the Marshal of the Tianxia Army and Horses and King of Liang at that time, accepted the "Zen throne" of Emperor Ai. ) is the capital of the country, known as the Back Liang in history.The Tang Dynasty officially perished. Emperor Ai was first demoted to King Jiyin and moved to Caozhou (now Heze, Shandong) north of Bianjing.Since Li Keyong of Taiyuan, Li Maozhen of Fengxiang, and Wang Jian of Xichuan still worshiped Emperor Zhengshuo and refused to recognize Zhu Wen's Liang Dynasty, Zhu Wen was worried that the support of various towns would make the deposed emperor a time bomb around him, so he simply did not do anything. On February 21, the fifth year of Tianyou (908), Emperor Ai, who was only 17 years old, was poisoned to death.He was buried as a king in Dingtao Township, Jiyin County (now Dingtao County, Shandong Province). From then on, starting from Houliang created by Zhu Wen, Houliang, Houtang, Houjin, Houhan, Houzhou, five dynasties successively, Chinese history entered into a chaotic period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.This is another period of great chaos and division since Qin Shihuang unified China, following the Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Sixteen Kingdoms.This is a period when violence decides everything and the sky is dark. Large-scale wars can be seen everywhere.China is full of mourning, and the people are in dire straits, shrouded in a gloomy mist.It wasn't until 960 A.D. that General Zhao Kuangyin of the Later Zhou Dynasty launched the Chenqiao Mutiny, added a yellow robe, and established the Song Dynasty, which ended the dark age of division for about half a century after the Tang Dynasty.