Chapter 15 2. The value of mediocrity
Why did Xuanzong accept Yao Chong's suggestion that "the prime minister should not serve for a long time" and implemented a system of frequent prime minister rotation, but when it came to Li Linfu, it was abolished because of people?This Li Linfu, who is recognized as a mediocre and traitor by later generations, what kind of ability does he have to be able to dominate the position for 19 years?
Li Linfu, a brother slave with small characters, was a descendant of the imperial family in the Tang Dynasty, and the great-grandson of Wang Shuliang, the eldest son of Pingsu in the early Tang Dynasty.In terms of seniority, he is still a generation higher than Xuanzong.However, because of the distant blood relationship, Li Linfu no longer has hereditary titles, and the clan blood did not bring him glory at all.Li Linfu was able to enter the official career, or thanks to his uncle Jiang Jiao.Jiang Jiao made friends with him sincerely when Xuanzong was a feudal lord, and after Xuanzong ascended the throne, Jiang Jiao was granted the title of Secretary and Superintendent, with great favor.There is a precious fruit tree planted in front of the harem palace, and Xuanzong often went to enjoy it when its leaves were in full bloom.One day, Jiang Jiao sighed and said, "It's really a beautiful tree." After Xuanzong heard this, he immediately said with a smile on his face, "Since Qing loves this tree, let's plant it in your house to enjoy!" It was awarded to Jiang Jiao.Jiang Jiao successively accepted the rewards from Xuanzong, including horses and curios, which are innumerable.Because of his uncle's love, Li Linfu has been raised in Jiang's house. He has seen the charm of power since he was a child, and he is full of infinite longing for power.
At that time, Prime Minister Yuan Ganyao was in power and married Jiang Jiao.Li Linfu took the opportunity to curry favor with Yuan Qianyao's son Yuan Xu, and through Yuan Xu's back door, he asked for the post of Si Men Lang Zhong.Yuan Ganyao didn't think much of Li Linfu, and thought: "The position of a doctor needs to be filled with talents and virtues. How can I take up this position if I'm a rogue brother?"
Li Linfu suffered a great setback in seeking an official, not only because Yuan Qianyao was honest and upright, but also had a lot to do with the system and historical background at that time.At that time, the politics were clear, Xuanzong paid great attention to rectifying the administration of officials, reduced many redundant officials, and changed the bad habit of indiscriminately conferring titles.In the second year of Kaiyuan (714), it was also stipulated that talented and knowledgeable officials in the capital should be selected to serve as governors and governors in the local area; if the governors and governors serving in the local area have achievements in political affairs, they should be transferred to the capital city to serve as governors. official.It has changed the bad habit of the past dynasties to emphasize officials in Beijing and despise foreign appointments.Xuanzong also personally tested the newly appointed county magistrates in the palace, dismissed 45 of them who failed in court, and demoted the two officials who presided over the selection of officials.In such an atmosphere, it is no accident that Li Linfu suffered setbacks.He can only lie dormant in the dark, waiting for time.
Li Linfu was hit by this, but he did not stop his drilling.A few years later, he was promoted to be the Secretary of the State, and the official rank was down from the fourth rank, and he was promoted to the administrative affairs officer of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.In the fourteenth year of Kaiyuan (726), under the support of Yu Wenrong, the censor Zhongcheng, he became the minister of the Ministry of punishment and had the power of life and death.Then he was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of officials.The official rank of the Minister of the Ministry of Officials is the fourth rank, and he is in charge of the appointment and dismissal of officials and has real power.
According to historical records, Li Linfu gives people the impression that he is approachable and pleasant, but he "hurts him in the shade and does not show his words".People at the time believed that he was proficient in power and tactics and had reached the peak of his game. Not only ordinary people were frightened by it, but even the treacherous and cunning were afraid.In particular, he pretended to be very friendly to people on the outside, but he did not show any signs of slander in secret. The world said that he "has honey in his mouth and a sword in his belly".This is the origin of the idiom "mouth honey belly sword".
After Li Linfu got into the Ministry of Officials, Emperor Xuanzong's elder brother Ning Wang Li Xian once privately asked Li Linfu to see Li Linfu, took out a list of 10 people, and asked him to give priority to selecting these people to become officials.Li Linfu didn't ask whether he was good or bad, and agreed without hesitation, and only made one request to King Ning: "I would like to show fairness to one person." next winter election.In this way, Li Linfu not only won the reputation of "justice", but also took advantage of the situation to curry favor with King Ning Li Xian.It can be said to kill two birds with one stone.There are many more things like this.
At that time, Concubine Wu Hui favored the harem, trying to make her son King Shou the crown prince.Li Linfu found out the inside story, and revealed to Concubine Wu Hui through the eunuch: "May the King of Longevity be long live." seized the opportunity of history.After that, Concubine Wu Hui often praised Li Linfu in front of Xuanzong, and Xuanzong was very impressed with Li Linfu, which laid the foundation for him to become prime minister in the future.
In the twenty-first year of Kaiyuan (733), Prime Minister Pei Guangting died.Li Linfu immediately came forward through Pei Guangting's wife to seek a favor.Mrs. Pei is the daughter of Wu Sansi, who was kind to Gao Lishi.Unofficial history records that Mrs. Pei had an affair with Li Linfu, and Mrs. Pei begged for Li Linfu in front of Gao Lishi.Gao Lishi was in power at the time, and refused to be good to his old master.However, Gao Lishi was cautious, and the selection of a candidate was a major event. He didn't dare to mention it to Xuanzong easily, but just waited for the opportunity in secret.Soon, Xuanzong decided to appoint Han Xiu as his prime minister.Gao Lishi immediately told Mrs. Pei the news.After Li Linfu knew about it, he immediately played to Xuanzong and recommended Han Xiu as his prime minister.
After Han Xiu became prime minister, he was very grateful when he heard that Li Linfu recommended him, so he recommended to Xuanzong: "After Li Linfu, the minister of officials, becomes the clan, he has both talents and virtues, and he is also a prime minister!" Concubine Wu Hui often whispered to Xuanzong, Xuanzong had a good impression of Li Linfu, and now a new prime minister recommended him, so he appointed Li Linfu as the servant of the Huangmen, and then he was promoted to the Minister of Rites, the third rank of Tongzhongshu, and then the Minister of the Ministry of War.In this way, history made a small joke. Li Linfu actually joined the cabinet as a white wolf with empty gloves.The dream came true so easily, which made Li Linfu set his sights on the position of chief assistant, the highest position among the prime ministers.
The prime ministers at that time also included Zhang Jiuling and Pei Yaoqing.When Zhang Jiuling knew that Xuanzong was going to appoint Li Linfu as Prime Minister, he directly advised him to dissuade him, saying: "If Your Majesty chooses Li Linfu as Prime Minister today, I am afraid that there will be no peace in the country in the future!" in political affairs.However, whenever political affairs were discussed, the two prime ministers, Zhang Jiuling and Pei Yaoqing, had to argue with Xuanzong about everything.This made Xuanzong quite unhappy, but it was not easy to reveal anything, but he did not listen to the suggestions of Zhang Jiuling and Pei Yaoqing so much, and still insisted on appointing Li Linfu.Li Linfu caught the emperor's subtle emotional changes towards his ministers. While he was doing his best, he began to look for opportunities to squeeze out Zhang and Pei.
Every time they went to court, the two prime ministers, Zhang Jiuling and Pei Yaoqing, gave way to Li Linfu a little bit, and Li Linfu was in the middle, with a look of satisfaction between his brows.When people saw this scene, they exclaimed, "One eagle holds two rabbits", thinking that the two of them would eventually be framed by Li Linfu.
Shuofang Jiedu made Niu Xianke very successful in governing the army.After Xuanzong knew about it, he wanted to use Niu Xianke as his minister, and planned to seal his household.After Zhang Jiuling heard about this, he discussed with Li Linfu: "The award is a major event of the country, and it can only be given to famous ministers who have made great contributions. Niu Xianke is just doing it on the sidelines, but if you do a better job, can you immediately award it? Would you like to be rewarded with Mr. Li?" Fight for it in the imperial court!" Li Linfu agreed without hesitation.When he went to court the next day, Zhang Jiuling argued hard.Li Linfu remained expressionless and said nothing.Zhang Jiuling's stubbornness angered Xuanzong. After more than 20 years of peace, the emperor could no longer listen to any harsh words.In a rage, Xuanzong left the court.But Li Linfu took the opportunity to play and said: "Xianke has the talent of a prime minister, and the post of minister is a great talent and a small use. What's wrong? Jiuling is a literary official, too limited by the ancient meaning, and it loses the generality; moreover, the world In your Majesty's world, why not use one official for your majesty?" Xuanzong was overjoyed when he saw that a minister supported him, so he named Niu Xianke the Duke of Longxi County.And praised Li Linfu for being a prime minister and not authoritarian.From then on, Xuanzong deliberately alienated Zhang Jiuling.
Li Linfu once recommended Xiao Min as the servant of the household department.Xiao Min is ignorant, and once when he was "going together to celebrate the funeral" with Yan Tingzhi, the servant of Zhongshu, he mispronounced a word in public.Yan Tingzhi felt deeply sorry, so he complained to Zhang Jiuling.Zhang Jiuling was serious about everything, so he impeached Xiao Min for his ignorance and demoted him as governor of Qizhou.Li Linfu resented Yan Tingzhi because of this, and just happened to hit the door on his own initiative.
Yan Tingzhi once divorced his wife, and his ex-wife later remarried to Wang Yuanyan, the governor of Weizhou.Wang Yuanyan was imprisoned for embezzlement.The ex-wife had no choice but to ask Yan Tingzhi for help.Probably out of compensatory psychology, Yan Tingzhi immediately tried his best to rescue Wang Yuanyan.Li Linfu sent someone to sue Xuanzong, saying that Yan Tingzhi had favored Wang Yuanyan privately, so he should sit together.Zhang Jiuling defended Yan Tingzhi, thinking that there should be no personal affair.Xuanzong said: "You don't know, although you leave, you have selfishness." The emperor said so, and Zhang Jiuling was inconvenient to intercede, so he had to ask Pei Yaoqing to rescue Yan on his behalf.However, Li Linfu took the opportunity to say: "Yaoqing and Jiuling are cronies." Xuanzong had already intended to belittle Zhang Jiuling, and he was happy to have an excuse, so he took advantage of this case to dismiss Zhang and Pei as prime ministers and demote Yan Ting. Governor of Luozhou.
After the court dismissed, Li Linfu watched the two old ministers go away, very proud, and asked strangely: "Where are the left and right prime ministers?" When the ministers on the side heard it, they were all chilled and terrified.Li Linfu was immediately promoted to Zhongshu Ling, and finally became the head of the officials.
Soon, Li Linfu assisted Concubine Wu Hui to frame Prince Li Ying.Xuanzong was still hesitant about how to deal with the prince, so he summoned Prime Minister Li Linfu to discuss.Li Linfu just said lightly: "This is your Majesty's family matter, and it is not appropriate for ministers to intervene." Li Linfu's pretentious words prompted Xuanzong to make a decision.Soon, Prince Ying, E Wangyao, and Guang Wangju were abolished as common people and given to death.People all over the world are saddened by it, and they call it the "Three Common People".However, unexpectedly, Concubine Wu Hui became sick from fear because of seeing the evil spirits of the three common people, and died that year.The death of Concubine Wu Hui instantly wiped out Li Linfu's great contribution to the deposed prince Li Ying.For his own benefit, he stepped up to urge Xuanzong to make King Shou, the son of Concubine Wu Hui, the crown prince.Xuanzong hesitated because of the unjust death of the prince, and had trouble sleeping and eating.Knowing the difficulty, Gao Lishi said, "Who dares to speak up if you want to grow up!" Finally, Xuanzong made up his mind to make his third son Zhong Wang Li Yu (later renamed Li Heng) as the prince.Li Linfu missed a move, but he didn't stop there. After that, many incidents of framing Prince Li Heng happened, which will be discussed in the following chapters.
Tell a few more interesting stories about Li Linfu.
Li Linfu has 6 daughters, and he opened a horizontal window on the wall of the living room.Whenever a son of a nobleman came to his house, he would let his six daughters peep through the window and choose a husband freely.This not only shows the generosity and tolerance of a feudal patriarch, but also is in line with the free and unrestrained atmosphere of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
Some of Li Linfu's cousins had a son.When a child is born, it is customary to express congratulations. "The Book of Songs Xiaoya" "Sgan" has "a man is born, a bed for sleeping, a garment for clothes, a Zhang for a play"; Therefore, later generations called the birth of a boy "Nongzhang Zhixi" and the birth of a daughter "Nongwa Zhixi".Li Linfu was vulgar and illiterate, and said in his letter that he "knows that there is a celebration of playing deer".The dignified prime minister used "Zhang" as "deer", which was a joke for a while.
Li Linfu has a special hall in his home, shaped like a crescent moon, known as "Moon Hall".Whenever he wants to reject and frame a certain minister, Li Linfu lives in the "Yuetang", racking his brains and thinking that no one should disturb him. If he comes out of the hall ecstatically, there must be a political enemy who will "family" Broken."Out of the need to combat dissidents, Li Linfu also deliberately cultivated a group of cruel officials as cronies.He used Ji Wen and Luo Xixi, who had been criticized by Xuanzong as "a bad person, I don't need it", as his confidantes.Ji Wen and Luo Xishi tried the prison cases in full accordance with Li Linfu's will and created many unjust cases.None of Li Linfu's political enemies who fell into the hands of Ji and Luo could escape bad luck, so people at that time called it "Luo Tongji's net".
Li Linfu is treacherous, but he hides it.If you meet him for the first time, you still feel respectable and amiable, but after a long time, you will find that he is unfathomable.Every time Li Linfu plays, he must first bribe the eunuchs and concubines in the harem, and even the cooks and maids of the palace also entrust a lot of money to serve as eyes and ears.In this way, Li Linfu knew Xuanzong's every movement and stillness like the palm of his hand.In order to be able to be a traitor and a sycophant without any scruples, Li Linfu resorted to accusations and tried his best to "put an end to words, cover up cleverness, and become a traitor."He once summoned all the admonishers of the imperial court and blatantly satirized the admonishers to keep their mouths shut.Bu Que and Du Jing ignored it and insisted on writing a letter to talk about politics.In order to make an example to others, Li Linfu immediately dismissed him as an order.Since then, "the admonishers all hold salary and support, and no one dares to speak out."
Li Linfu is also "good at nourishing the king's desire".After the death of Concubine Wu Hui, Xuanzong took over Yang Yuhuan, his daughter-in-law.As the chief assistant, Li Linfu remained silent and let him do what he did.When Xuanzong believed in Taoism in order to seek the art of longevity, Li Linfu also "give up his house as a temple to celebrate the holy birthday" to win the emperor's favor.In order to ensure Xuanzong's extravagant consumption, Li Linfu even did not hesitate to change economic laws and increase taxes to gather wealth.At this time, Emperor Xuanzong was old and neglected state affairs, entrusting all government affairs to Li Linfu.Li Linfu's long-term behavior of doing as he pleases did not attract powerful counterattacks from his political opponents. On the contrary, he was able to hold power until his death.
Li Linfu had many grievances, and his son Li Xiu was very worried and fearful about it.One day, Li Xiu accompanied Li Linfu to the back garden and saw a servant pulling a heavy load.Li Xiu pointed to his servant and said to his father: "A person has been in the critical axis for a long time, and the world is full of hatred and hatred. Once disaster strikes, I want to be better than this person!" ("Zi Zhi Tong Jian Volume 215") Li Linfu was very upset when he heard this, and said: "The matter has come to this point, what else can we do?" It can be seen that he is very clear in his heart, so he is always worried about being plotted by the assassin.The former prime minister "Zou never had a few people", but when he came to Li Linfu, "there were more than a hundred people on the left and right, Jin Wu was quiet on the street, the front was hundreds of steps away, and the ministers avoided."He didn't sleep well at night. "When he lived, he closed the walls again, used stone urns as the ground, and put boards in the middle of the walls, as if to guard against the enemy. He moved the bed repeatedly overnight, although his family didn't know where he was."Making his own family so complicated and mysterious that even his family members are on guard against him shows his inner weakness.
At this time, Xuanzong only cared more and more about his own family affairs, more and more indulged in the gentleness of the country, and felt tired of politics.As a result, Li Linfu's dominance over the court was far more comprehensive than that of his predecessors.One day in December of the third year of Tianbao (744), Xuanzong was happy for a while, and showed off to his cronies and eunuchs: "Since the twenty-fourth year of Kaiyuan until now, I have not been out of Chang'an for nearly ten years, and the world is fine. If I want to live high and do nothing, Take it easy and entrust Li Linfu with all the political affairs, what do you think?" Gao Lishi felt that it was not normal for Xuanzong to ignore political affairs and let Li Linfu act arbitrarily, which would be detrimental to the court, so he kindly reminded: "The emperor's hunting tour is an ancient system. Your Majesty should persevere. Besides, the power of the world cannot be transferred to others. Li Linfu is already powerful, who dares to do anything to him? Who can do anything to him?" Gao Lishi has no ill feeling towards Li Linfu, all his starting point is to protect Xuanzong's position, He has been keenly aware of the potential threat of Li Linfu's monopoly on power.But Xuanzong didn't take it seriously, and couldn't accept Gao Lishi's judgment on Li Linfu.Gao Lishi saw it and knew that what he said was not in line with the emperor's mind and offended the emperor.He immediately fell to his knees and blamed himself: "The old minister is crazy, and he deserves death for speaking out lies." From this incident, Gao Lishi learned a very profound lesson.From then on, he no longer dared to speak deeply about the affairs of the world, nor did he dare to speak deeply about Xuanzong's gains and losses.
It can be said that Li Linfu already has power in the court, and no one in the court can compete with him, even the crown prince Li Heng fears him like a tiger.However, one person is beginning to rise and quickly threatens Li Linfu's position as prime minister.This person was Yang Zhao, who was later renamed Yang Guozhong.
Before Yang Zhao made a fortune, he was addicted to gambling and had many bad behaviors. Because of his affair with Concubine Yang's sister (later Mrs. Guo Guo), he was despised by his tribe.When Yang Yuhuan was canonized as a noble concubine, Yang Zhao was gambling heavily in the casino.At that time, Jiannan Jiedu envoy Zhang Qiu Jianqiong heard about this and sent someone to summon Yang Zhao urgently.Yang Zhao felt suspicious and fearful.Zhang Qiu Jianqiong received Yang Zhao as a guest of honor and called Yang Zhao "brother".Yang Zhao was so flattered that he was at a loss for a while, but later he found out that his cousin made the imperial concubine and proclaimed him an official, so he couldn't help being overjoyed.
As soon as Yang Zhao arrived in Chang'an, the capital, he was awarded the Jinwu soldier Cao Canjun and the free stable judge.Zhang Qiu Jianqiong was also recalled to the imperial court because of Yang Zhao's mediation, and served as the secretary of the household department and the doctor of imperial history.Since Yang Zhao often goes to and from the casino, he is too calculating.Every time the feast was passed on in the ban, Yang Zhao was in charge of the Xipu Wenbo (a scorebook for entertainment activities), and he was always in good condition, which made Xuanzong admire him, and praised: "It's really the talent of Du Zhilang!" In this way, Not long after Yang Zhao arrived in Chang'an, he was promoted to supervisory censor, and gradually gained Xuanzong's favor.
In the seventh year of Tianbao (748), Yang Zhao suggested that Xuanzong sell the grain and cloth in stock in various states and counties, buy them as light goods and send them to the capital, and rent land taxes in various places to buy cloth and send them to the capital.He often told Xuanzong that the treasury is now very full, which is rare in ancient and modern times.Therefore, Xuanzong led a hundred officials to visit Zuo Zang in February of the new year. He was very happy to see that it was so, and gave Yang Zhao a purple gold fish bag, who was also the Minister of the Taifu, to be responsible for managing money and food.In October of the ninth year (750), Yang Zhao asked to change his name to show his loyalty because of the word "Golden Sword" on the prophecy, and Xuanzong bestowed the name "Guozhong".
When Li Linfu framed Prince Li Heng, Yang Guozhong worked very hard to please Li Linfu.In fact, Li Linfu hated a scoundrel like Yang Guozhong very much. Because of Yang Guifei's relationship, he was more polite to him.The two sang together and used each other.With the help of Mrs. Guo Guo, Yang Guozhong knew Xuanzong's movements and preferences like the back of his hand, and every time he acted, he would be in line with Xuanzong's wishes, and he was deeply loved by Xuanzong.In less than a year, he has held more than 15 positions and became an important minister in the imperial court after Li Linfu and Wang Yu.The rise of Yang Guozhong was unexpected by Li Linfu. When he realized it was too late, Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong started a power struggle.
Li Linfu was scheming, and Yang Guozhong felt uneasy, for fear that Li Linfu would frame him.So he went to the table and asked to lead Jiannan Jiedu envoy, but stayed in Chang'an, the capital.Ji Wenben and Luo Xishi are both Li Linfu's confidantes, known as "Luo Tongji Wang". At this time, he saw that Yang Guozhong was getting more and more favored by the emperor, so he took refuge in Yang Guozhong and made suggestions for him.Yang Guozhong and Ji Wen planned to frame Wang Chi who was attached to Li Linfu.
Wang Ji is filial to his mother and loves his younger brother Wang Jian very much.But Wang Jian has lived under the protection of his elder brother for a long time, and his heart is dark. He is very jealous of his elder brother's power and vows to surpass Wang Ji one day.Wang Jian was friendly with general Xing Yu.In April of the eleventh year of Tianbao (752), the ambitious Wang Jian conspired with Xing Yu to lead a coup d'état with more than 10,000 Youlongwu troops.Unexpectedly, the plan was leaked, and Xuanzong asked Wang Yu, the censor doctor, to handle the matter.Knowing that his younger brother Wang Jian was involved, Wang Chi deliberately postponed the case, and only sent the county captains of Wannian and Xianning to arrest the rest of the party.At this time, Yang Guozhong led the army to suppress it, and Xing Yi also led the party to fight against him with bows, arrows and broadswords.During the fierce battle, Gao Lishi arrived with 400 Flying Dragon Armored Cavalry, and the situation took a turn for the worse. Xing Yi was beheaded by officers and soldiers in the chaos, and the rest of the party were killed and injured.Wang Jian was captured and killed with a stick. His brother Wang Chi was implicated and also given to death.
After Wang Chi's death, Yang Guozhong was in charge of all his duties, and Yang Guozhong had power all over the world for a while, just as Du Fu wrote in a poem: "Yanghua snow falls to cover white apples, and blue birds fly to hold red scarves. The popularity is unmatched. Shen Mo approach the prime minister to be angry!"
Yang Guozhong took advantage of the opportunity to chase after him, and told Xuanzong many times that Li Linfu and Wang Yu had formed a party for personal gain, and Xuanzong began to distance himself from Li Linfu.Li Linfu hated it very much.Under Ji Wen's planning, Li Linfu's cronies Xiao Jiong and Song Hun were all expelled from the court with excuses, and Li Linfu had nothing to do.Under the internal and external attack of Yang Guifei and Yang Guozhong, Li Linfu's failure was inevitable.But he was really not reconciled. After going through so many storms, he was finally defeated by a scoundrel who made his fortune through nepotism.
Soon, the situation turned around and began to develop in favor of Li Linfu.Nanzhao invaded the border of Tang Dynasty.Yang Guozhong was leading Jiannan Jiedu envoy at that time, and he should go to quell the rebellion.Li Linfu believed that this was a godsend opportunity, and he could take this opportunity to send Yang Guozhong abroad.
This is exactly what Yang Guozhong was worried about. He was afraid that Li Linfu would take the opportunity to frame him when he was away on an expedition, so that he would have no chance of returning to the court.After Yang Guozhong retired from the court, he ran to the harem to refute the matter to Xuanzong, and even Yang Guifei personally interceded.Yang Guozhong originally thought that he could refuse the matter, but Xuanzong believed that Yang Guozhong could be named prime minister after he went to the expedition and made military exploits. He comforted Yang Guozhong and said: "Qing is temporarily in Shu to deal with the military. "Zizhi Tongjian Volume 216") Yang Guozhong had no choice but to embark on the journey of conquest, uneasy along the way, always worried about the situation in Chang'an, for fear of changes.Because he knew very well that Li Linfu was superior to him in talent and wrist.
God helped Yang Guozhong!Not long after Yang Guozhong left Chang'an, Li Linfu fell ill.Xuanzong sent an imperial doctor to diagnose and treat Li Linfu, and gave Li Linfu many delicacies.Li Linfu fell in love with the scene and couldn't help crying.Xuanzong wanted to visit Li Linfu, so he came to Jiangsheng Pavilion, held a red scarf in his hand, looked into the distance, and summoned Li Linfu.He also sent a fast horse to recall Yang Guozhong.Yang Guozhong was overjoyed when he saw the edict, and immediately turned his horse's head and ran back to Chang'an. The journey was like a spring breeze, and his mood was completely different from when he went out to fight.After Yang Guozhong returned to Chang'an, he visited Xuanzong, and went to Li Linfu's bed before changing clothes and washing the dust.When he saw Li Linfu, his legs softened and he knelt on the ground.When Li Linfu heard that Yang Guozhong was coming, he tried to struggle to sit up, but in the end he failed, so he had to lie on the bed to meet Yang Guozhong.Yang Guozhong was afraid that Li Linfu was treacherous, so he didn't dare to look up at him.Li Linfu said weakly: "I am a dying person. After I die, I will be a prime minister. Please treat my children and grandchildren kindly, and I will entrust you with the affairs behind me!"Yang Guozhong hastily declined his thanks, and couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat.This incident quite vividly demonstrated the relationship between Li Linfu, Xuanzong and Yang Guozhong, as well as various subtleties.
In November of the eleventh year of Tianbao (752), Li Linfu died in pain.In this round of battle with Yang Guozhong, Li Linfu failed, losing to the person he despises the most, maybe he will not rest in peace when he dies.
In the first month of the following year, when Li Linfu's bones were still cold, Yang Guozhong and An Lushan conspired to report that Li Linfu and Abusi had conspired against each other.Xuanzong believed it without doubting it, and "the officials asked according to the instructions".Li Linfu's son-in-law, Yang Qixuan, admonishing doctor, was afraid of being implicated, so he testified according to Yang Guozhong's intention.February.Xuanzong decided to "reduce Lin Fu's officials and ranks; those whose descendants have officials will be removed, and they will go to Lingnan and central Guizhou".He also split open Li Linfu's coffin, dug out the pearls and jade contained in his mouth, stripped off the golden and purple court clothes, and buried him in a small coffin according to the common people's ceremony.Li Linfu, who used to be a great minister, only ended up being betrayed by his relatives.
Li Linfu has been the prime minister for 19 years, and his biggest feature is dictatorship.He once summoned an admonition officer and said: "Now that the Lord is in power, the officials are obedient, but you don't need to talk too much. You don't see the horses in the ceremonial guard, and you eat third-grade horse feed, but you can't bark. Once you bark, you will give it to me." Take it aside, what a regret!" In the sixth year of Tianbao, Emperor Xuanzong issued an edict to invite people from all over the world, and those who have mastered one skill or above can go to the capital to take the exam.Li Linfu ordered the prefectures and counties to strictly select the test, and the people who submitted the report were asked to re-test strictly by the Ministry of Officials. As a result, none of them passed the exam.Li Linfu even congratulated Xuanzong and said: "There are no sages left in the wild." It means that all capable people in the world have already become officials in the court.The Tang Dynasty set up three provinces and six ministries, and there were usually five or six to a dozen prime ministers, but Li Linfu rejected others and monopolized power alone for 19 years.
After the Anshi Rebellion, Xuanzong fled to Sichuan for refuge.At that time, Suzong had already proclaimed himself emperor, and Xuanzong was regarded as the Supreme Emperor.Every time Suzong appointed prime ministers and other important ministers, he always sent someone to report to Xuanzong.When Xuanzong had nothing to do, he talked with Pei Shiyan, the official next to him, about the newly appointed people of Suzong, and gradually talked about the former ministers.Xuanzong's comments on the previous prime ministers, from Yao Chong to Song Jing, are all acceptable.At that time, in the eyes of many people, Xuanzong was considered old and confused.Pei Shiyan probably also had the same view. He never thought that Xuanzong could still look like a torch, so he was surprised and admired at the same time.Later, Pei Shiyan tentatively asked Xuanzong what he thought of Li Linfu.Xuanzong said angrily: "This man is jealous of the virtuous and capable, and he is incomparable in the world." Pei Shiyan was taken aback, stunned for a long time, and then asked: "Since your majesty knows, why do you want to appoint him?" .
There is a Chinese saying: "The prime minister can pull a boat in his stomach." It means that the prime minister's talent is important, but more important is his mind and tolerance.Li Linfu is such a jealous person, why does he think that he has been in love for 19 years and his favor is not fading?Of course, Li Linfu is skilled in power and is well-known in the world for being good at "talking with honey and swords", and he will do anything to seek officials and keep his position.However, in the final analysis, the reason lies in Xuanzong himself.It can be said that Li Linfu's exclusive power during the Tianbao period was exactly what Xuanzong requested.In the early years of Tianbao, Xuanzong was getting old, gradually tired of the political affairs in the country and the court, and wanted to pursue pleasure.When Gao Lishi dissuaded him on the grounds of preventing the power from falling, Xuanzong became angry.After that, Gao Lishi did not dare to express his position easily in political affairs.It can be seen from this that Xuanzong's "the king will never go to court early" is the direct reason for his appeasement and fostering of traitors to Li Linfu.Important historical figures can neither be free from the constraints of the actual situation at the time, but they can also accelerate or delay the historical process. These two aspects cannot be underestimated.
However, Xuanzong ignored political affairs for more than 20 years, but he was still very clear about the major events in the court.He is tired of political affairs, but he is not confused. It is just that he is really unwilling to rectify vigorously, so as not to waste his time indulging in sensuality.Prime Minister Li Linfu's arbitrary and exclusive power was hated by the people all over the world, Xuanzong knew it very well.But he still insisted on appointing Li Linfu, which shows that Li Linfu has considerable use value.When Li Linfu was in power, he did play the objective role of acting as Xuanzong's agent, overseeing all officials, and suppressing the imperial court.
When talking with Pei Shiyan, Xuanzong never mentioned the rebellion that ruined Li Linfu's reputation. It can be seen that he knew very well that Li Linfu was just a powerful minister, not a traitor.During Li Linfu's reign, he was deeply hated by literati and bureaucrats for catering to his wishes, forbidding speech, being jealous of the virtuous and capable, and repelling dissidents.However, Li Linfu is in the position of a prince, and he is diligent in everything. He handles official affairs, adds rules and disciplines, and has his own laws. Li Linfu handles the general political affairs of the court in an orderly manner.In particular, An Lushan was very afraid of Li Linfu, and this relationship played an important role in maintaining the stability of the court.So when Yang Guozhong framed Li Linfu for rebellion, everyone in the world thought Li Linfu was wronged.Xuanzong couldn't be more clear about these things.His feelings towards Li Linfu were quite complicated. To evaluate Li Linfu, he couldn't make it clear in one or two sentences, so he kept silent and should not say what Pei Shiyan said.
Li Linfu is indeed mediocre.A mediocre person, like a virtuous one, is also born in response to the times and has its own value.It's just that it is a value for the emperor, but a disaster for the people and the country.The evil consequences of Li Linfu's dictatorship did not disappear with his death. In the past 19 years, the court has become accustomed to his strong control.He died, and there was no longer a minister in the Tang Dynasty who could control the entire court.But Xuanzong, the former British lord, still didn't want to take care of things.Under the circumstances at that time, due to Li Linfu's vigorous exclusion, there was indeed no one in the court who was worthy of being a prime minister.Xuanzong has been lazy for a long time, and he doesn't want to bother to choose a capable prime minister for Datang.Under balance, Xuanzong chose the most trouble-free path-appointing the imperial concubine's cousin Yang Guozhong as prime minister.This decision, which relieved the emperor's worry and effort, undoubtedly brought Datang into an even more painful abyss.
Regarding Yang Guozhong, he can't even be called mediocre.Although Yang Guozhong is good at court politics and has a huge influence on Xuanzong because of Yang Guifei's nepotism, his talent cannot be compared with Li Linfu at all.Yang Guozhong once said: "I am a little humble, and I have made a lot of achievements by favoring women. In my lifetime, since it is impossible to get a good reputation, I can only have extravagance and desire to enjoy myself in time!" Yan's "the sun is setting and the journey is far away, so go backwards and do it backwards" is exactly the same.In Xuanzong's reign, Yang Guozhong was the most negligent political figure.During his official career, he was only busy fighting with two major political enemies, one was Li Linfu and the other was An Lushan.After Li Linfu died, he aimed his spearhead at Anlu Mountain.With one's own anger, causing trouble and disrupting the government.I won’t use a special space to talk about him here, and I will mention it one after another when I talk about Anlu Mountain later.
Three years after Li Linfu's death, in November of the 14th year of Tianbao (755), An Lushan rebelled in the name of "Zhu Yang Guozhong", which was known as the "Anshi Rebellion" in history.If Li Linfu didn't die, he would definitely continue to be a phase.With his means, An Lushan will definitely not dare to rebel.As for Yang Guozhong, he should continue to be busy fighting with Li Linfu, and he has little chance to provoke An Lushan to rebel.This is the accident of history.
Notes:
Notes: