Chapter 20 3. The emperor of the Tang Dynasty who fled in a hurry
Tongguan is the gateway to Chang'an, the capital city.According to the system of the Tang Dynasty, from Tongguan to Chang'an, a beacon battlement was set up every 30 miles, and each beacon fire was set off once at dawn and dusk, which was called "Ping An Fire".After Ge Shuhan was stationed at Tongguan, he lit a beacon every night at critical moments, and transmitted it to Chang'an one after another through the beacon towers along the way to report that Tongguan was still there and Chang'an was "safe".This Fire of Peace has become a beacon that everyone in the capital has been looking forward to since Anlu Mountain raised its troops to the south.
After the fall of Tongguan, there is no danger to defend in the pass, and the door of Chang'an is wide open. It is only a matter of time before the fall of the capital.Therefore, the defense envoys of Huayin, Feng Yi (now Dali, Shaanxi), Shangluo (now Shangxian, Shaanxi) and other counties in the east of Tongguan to Chang'an all abandoned their counties and fled.Chang'an is already at stake.
On the day Tongguan fell, the subordinates of coach Shu Han went to Chang'an to report that Tongguan was in critical condition.At that time, the Tang court didn't know much about the battle situation on the front line, and Xuanzong didn't realize that the disaster was approaching, so he didn't summon the messenger, but sent Li Fude and others to lead the supervisory herdsmen to Tongguan for reinforcements hastily.At night, Xuanzong didn't see the beacon fire reporting safety all day, so Xuanzong felt afraid.If the fire of peace does not burn, it is obvious that there is no peace.This is not a fact that the authorities can hide.As a result, the hearts of Chang'an City began to fluctuate, and everyone felt the dullness of the coming rain, and began to exchange various hearsay rumors in a restless state.
On the tenth day of June in the 15th year of Tianbao (756), Tang Jun, who was defeated from Tongguan, had already fled back to Chang'an to report that Ge Shuhan's army had fled across the board.Xuanzong was so frightened that his soul flew out of the sky, and he hurriedly called Prime Minister Yang Guozhong to discuss.Yang Guozhong persuaded Xuanzong to flee to Shu because the Yang family came from Shu and had a large amount of property there. He also said complacently: "I used to serve as Jiannan Jiedu envoy. After Anlushan rebelled, I ordered Jiedu envoy Ask Cui Yuan to secretly prepare supplies in case they go to Jiannan in case of emergency. Right now, it is difficult to rescue the nearby fire, so it is better to go to Shu to take refuge first." The majestic emperor of the Tang Dynasty flees, it will be a joke through the ages.Xuanzong hesitated for a long time before saying, "Let's discuss tomorrow!"
After Yang Guozhong returned home, he notified his sister Mrs. Han and Mrs. Guo Guo overnight to pack up all the valuables and prepare to flee west.At the same time, Mrs. Han and Mrs. Guo were sent to the palace to meet Concubine Yang. Concubine Yang came forward to persuade Xuanzong to take refuge in the middle of Shu.
On June 11th, Yang Guozhong summoned all the officials in the court and asked them what plans they had.All officials looked terrified.Some ministers suggested that Xuanzong send troops to conscript himself, and some ministers suggested that he should conscript troops to serve the king, but these were not practical countermeasures, and could not solve the immediate urgent need.What's ridiculous is that Yang Guozhong started to cry bitterly at this time, and he blamed Xuanzong righteously and sternly, saying: "It has been 10 years since Lushan was accused of rebelling against the law, and he did not believe it. Today's incident is not the fault of the prime minister." ( "Zizhi Tongjian Volume 218") means: It has been ten years since people complained about An Lushan's rebellion, but the emperor always did not believe it. It is not the prime minister's fault that things have developed to this point .Yang Guozhong's words clearly implied that it was Xuanzong's fault.After hearing this, Xuanzong was speechless.The officials were also speechless.
At this time, Chang'an Shimin had already learned the exact news of the fall of Tongguan. Everyone was running around in shock, not knowing where to go. The city was depressed and in chaos.
In the early morning of June 12, Yang Guozhong, who had not slept all night, rushed to the palace.At this time, the court hall was empty without a single minister.After waiting for a long time, only a few ministers came here, and the number of officials in the upper court was less than one-tenth of the usual.The other ministers were busy using various methods to find a way out for themselves.The ministers present were also panic-stricken and asked the prime minister what countermeasures he had.Yang Guozhong said he didn't know.Soon after, Xuanzong sent eunuchs to summon Yang Guozhong to the inner hall alone, and had a long secret talk.Afterwards, Xuanzong personally boarded the Qinzheng Building and wrote a book saying: He must personally lead troops to conquer Anlu Mountain.He also appointed Wei Fangjin, Jingzhaoyin, as the official censor and concurrently as an envoy; Cui Guangyuan, the Shaoyin of Jingzhao, was appointed as Jingzhaoyin, and also stayed behind in Xijing; the eunuch Bian Lingcheng was in charge of the keys of the palace.
The civil and military officials were somewhat baffled by Xuanzong's arrangement, and they couldn't help discussing it secretly.Those who knew the content of the book did not believe that Xuanzong would go out in person.On the same day, Xuanzong moved from Xingqing Palace where he usually lived to Daming Palace.
On June 13th, a small number of ministers entered the court.The leak in front of the palace was still there, and the guards of honor were still standing there neatly.However, as soon as the palace door was opened, the palace people inside rushed out in a panic, with extremely panicked expressions.Only then did the civil and military officials know that the emperor, the imperial concubine and others had disappeared.The emperor of the Tang Dynasty, who had expressed his intention to conquest himself the day before, left his subjects and fled alone!No wonder, Xuanzong wanted to move to Daming Palace in advance, just because Xingqing Palace was facing the street, and the comings and goings were eye-catching, so it was inconvenient to escape.
After the civil and military officials understood it, there was a rush inside and outside, and it was extremely chaotic.The news quickly spread throughout the streets and alleys of Chang'an, and this prosperous city immediately fell into great chaos: princes, nobles, and common people fled for their lives.Small people in the mountains and fields scrambled to enter the palace and the residences of princes and nobles, stealing gold, silver and treasures.Some people set fire to the Zuozang Daying Treasury.Some people even rode donkeys into the hall.This person has probably been fascinated by the imperial palace for a long time, and wants to take the opportunity to see what the mysterious imperial palace looks like.In the chaos where everyone was scrambling to escape for their lives, this person could still have such an idea, and his whole heart was to satisfy the wish in his heart, which can be called a strange person.It is a pity that the origin of this person's name is not recorded in the history books.See "Zizhi Tongjian Volume 218" for details.
Some princes and grandchildren were so panic-stricken that they would stand by the side of the road and cry loudly.Du Fu's poem "Ai Wang Sun" describes this matter:
In the poem, it first describes the chaos in Anshi and Xuanzong fled to Chengdu in a hurry, then narrates that the princes, grandsons and relatives hid themselves from the chaos, and then wrote that the country was in chaos and the generals ruled.In his poem, Du Fu said that the princes and grandchildren were displaced during the war and suffered all kinds of sufferings. He not only expresses deep sympathy, but also implicitly advises the rulers to be prepared for danger in times of peace, and not to blindly seek pleasure, so that their children and grandchildren cannot take care of them. It is really sad. Alas.This poem is old-fashioned and magnificent.Later generations commented on this poem and said: "The whole article is full of sorrow and cherishment, it is full of sorrow, it seems chaotic, it is broken and repeated, there is not a word of negligence, and there is no word of death. It is really written with spirit."
At this time, Cui Guangyuan was the chief executive of Chang'an City, and Bian Lingcheng was the chief executive of the court.When the two heard the news, they hurriedly led people to the Dayingku in Zuozang to fight the fire, and recruited people to act as deputy government and county magistrates to guard them respectively.In the chaotic situation, Cui Guangyuan had no choice but to kill more than 10 people, before the situation finally stabilized.Seeing the rebel soldiers pressing down on the border, Cui Guangyuan immediately sent his son to see Anlushan, and Bian Lingcheng also presented the keys of the palace gates to Anlushan.See "Zizhi Tongjian Volume 218" for details.
Bian Lingcheng was the eunuch who slandered Xuanzong and caused Xuanzong to kill Feng Changqing and Gao Xianzhi in anger.At that time, he slandered that "Changqing used thieves to shake the crowd, while Xianzhi abandoned Shaanxi for hundreds of miles", and he himself, when the rebel army was about to arrive, voluntarily surrendered to flatter him.Bian Lingcheng was deeply trusted by Xuanzong, and after the Anshi Rebellion, he has been serving as the supervisor of the army.It's just that Xuanzong knew how Bian Lingcheng had surrendered to the enemy, and how he would feel when he thought about killing Changqing and Gao Xianzhi because of Bian Lingcheng's words.
Regarding Cui Guangyuan, there will be a very exciting show in the future.
Where did the emperor of Tang Dynasty go?It turned out that when Xuanzong openly issued the edict of personal conquest, he also issued a secret edict to General Chen Xuanli of Longwu, ordering him to prepare the army and select more than 900 good horses at the same time to be used in the middle of the night.In the middle of the night on June 12th, Chang'an City was still in silence. Xuanzong led his concubine Yang Gui, Yang Guozhong's brother and sister, Prince Li Heng and other princes and grandsons, Tongping Zhangshi Wei Jiansu, imperial historian Wei Fangjin, and Longwu General Chen Xuanli. Important figures such as Gao Lishi, the palace supervisor, and the general Gao Lishi secretly sneaked out of Yanqiu Gate and fled westward.Except for the soldiers of the Sixth Army, there were no more than a hundred officials, relatives and friends accompanying him.Most of the officials and the royal family were abandoned in the capital and ignored, even including the concubines, princesses, princes and grandsons living outside the palace.Xuanzong's once favorite concubine Jiang Caiping was one of these forgotten people.After that, she died at the hands of the rebels who entered Chang'an.
The emperor of the Tang Dynasty wanted to leave quietly like a thief, for fear of being found out.When Emperor Xuanzong entrusted Mount Tai to the east, all civil and military officials, relatives of the emperor, and chiefs of the four barbarians followed suit, and the chariots and horses lined up for hundreds of miles.It's such a shame now!The prosperous Tang Dynasty has become history, but history is so ruthless.
When a group of people passed the Daying Warehouse in Zuozang, Yang Guozhong requested that the warehouse be burned to prevent a large amount of stored cloth from being obtained by the rebels.Xuanzong was in a miserable mood, and sighed: "the rebels have no money when they come, and they will definitely collect it from the people. It's better to leave it to them to alleviate the suffering of the people." After passing the bridge, Yang Guozhong ordered people to burn the bridge to stop the rebellion Army's pursuit.When Xuanzong knew about it, he said: "The officials and the common people are fleeing for their lives. Why should they cut off their way of life!" He immediately sent Gao Lishi to lead people to put out the fire, leaving a bridge for the people behind to escape.
Xuanzong had sent the eunuch Wang Luoqing to various places along the road first, and asked the officials to prepare for reception.When they arrived in Xianyang, the eunuch Wang Luoqing and Xianyang county magistrate had already fled.Then eunuchs were sent to recruit, but neither the officials nor the people came.The fleeing emperor was so hungry that he could only satisfy his hunger with the cakes bought by Yang Guozhong temporarily.The accompanying eunuch finally found the local people and explained the situation to them.The people sent some rough rice mixed with wheat beans.The princes and grandchildren are usually pampered and pampered. Where have they eaten such a meal, but they are so hungry that they don’t care about their dignity. They don’t have bowls and chopsticks, so they eat with their hands.
Xuanzong ordered people to give money to the food delivery people according to the price, and comforted them with kind words.The common people wept bitterly when they saw that their emperor was in such trouble.Xuanzong was deeply moved, and the old tears were endless.At this time, an old man named Guo Congjin squeezed in front of the car and said to Xuanzong: "An Lushan has been planning a rebellion for a long time, and some people went to the court to report his conspiracy, but your majesty often kills these people. It made An Lushan's treacherous plan succeed, so that His Majesty fled. That's why the emperors of the past made sure to extend visits to loyal and good people to widen the audience. I still remember that when Song Jing was the prime minister, he dared to offend Yan Yan and remonstrate directly, so the world was safe and sound. But since then, the ministers in the imperial court have been taboo to speak out, just blindly flatter and please His Majesty, so His Majesty does not know what happened outside the palace gate. Admonishers, but the nine levels are serious and deep, and there is no way to reach them. If it hadn't been for An Lushan's rebellion, how could I have met His Majesty and told him face to face if the matter had reached this point!" Xuanzong was speechless, and it took a long time before he bowed his head in despondency He sighed and said, "This is all due to my confusion, but it's too late to regret."
At this time, the accompanying sergeants hadn't eaten yet, so General Longwu Chen Xuanli asked the sergeants to go to the nearby villages to beg for food.All the sergeants deeply resented Yang Guozhong, thinking that he was the chief culprit of all these sufferings.Chen Xuanli also dared to be angry with Yang Guozhong but did not dare to speak out.
However, the hatred of all of them is not as strong as that of Prince Li Heng.What is the prince thinking?Mostly, he recalled the tragic situation in which he was forced to divorce twice in order to protect himself even though he was a crown prince.
Xuanzong had many heirs, with 59 children, including 29 sons and 30 daughters.In the fourteenth year of Kaiyuan (726), Emperor Xuanzong ordered to build a royal residence for the kings in the northeast corner of the palace, known as the "Ten Kings Residence" in history.In this way, when the prince grows up in the palace and gets the title, he does not go out of the palace to establish his own family like the previous princes, but lives in the ten king's house, and the daily necessities are provided by the court.Xuanzong's measures can effectively manage and supervise the actions of the princes, which is a sign of the decline of the status of the kings.Later, because there were too many princes and grandchildren, the Ten Kings House was not enough to live in, so the Baisun Court was built near the Ten Kings House. ("Old Tang Book Volume 107 Biography of Xuanzong's Masters")
Xuanzong treated his descendants like this because he was afraid that they would interfere in politics. Of course, he was not only worried about interfering in government affairs, but the key point was that he was afraid that these descendants would take his throne.This tactic of Xuanzong's centralized management has indeed completely prevented the possibility of rebellion by powerful and ambitious princes.However, there was one thing Xuanzong didn't expect.After the An Lushan rebellion, Xuanzong fled in a hurry. Most of the princes and grandchildren in the Ten Kings' House and Baisunyuan were slaughtered by the rebels who invaded Chang'an before they could escape.
Under Xuanzong's strict supervision, life was even more difficult for Li Heng, who was the prince at that time.The fifth year of Tianbao (746) was a year full of disasters for Prince Li Heng.In this year, Li Heng's relatively peaceful life was broken.As the prince of the Tang Dynasty, he couldn't even keep his wife, so he had to resort to divorce to protect himself, which is really incredible.Things have to start with Huangfu Weiming.
Huangfu Weiming was a general of the Tang Dynasty.In September of the eighteenth year of Kaiyuan (730), Tubo sent envoys to make peace because it was repeatedly defeated by the Tang army.After Huangfu Weiming knew about it, he told Xuanzong about the benefits of the marriage.But Xuanzong said: "Zanpu tasted my book and was arrogant, so why not let it go!" It means that Zanpu once wrote a letter, and his words were rude and could not be forgiven.In this regard, Huangfu Weiming explained: "Zanpu was still naive at the beginning of Kaiyuan, and An Neng wrote this book! It is almost impossible to deceive His Majesty's ears. If there is something wrong on the border, the officials will be able to steal officials because of fate. It's a thing to claim meritorious deeds in order to get the lord. This is the benefit of treacherous ministers, not the blessing of the country. The soldiers are puzzled, spending thousands of dollars every day, and Hexi and Longyou are hereby impoverished. Your Majesty ordered an envoy to visit the princess, because Make an appointment with Zanpu. Let him be a courtier and proclaim himself a minister, so that he can rest from the border troubles forever, isn't it a long-term strategy to resist the barbarians!" ("Zizhi Tongjian Volume 213")
The analysis of these words was reasonable, and Xuanzong was delighted after hearing this, so he sent Huangfu Weiming and his servant Zhang Yuanfang to Tubo together.When the two arrived in Tubo, they explained their intentions to Zanpu Chide Zuzan and Queen Jincheng (adopted daughter of Tang Zhongzong).Chide Zuzan readily agreed, and the Tang Dynasty and Tubo countries repaired the old ones.In the 21st year of Tang Kaiyuan (733), Tang and Tibet sent envoys to form an alliance, and set up a stele to define the boundary in Chiling (now Riyue Mountain, Huangyuan, Qinghai), and engraved the inscription of the alliance on the stele.The Monument of the Tang-Tibet Alliance is still preserved in the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa.
Shortly after the peace talks, Huangfu Weiming served as Zuo Weilang general because of his meritorious service, and later served as the censor and Changchun Palace envoy ("Tang Huiyao Volume 59").After that, he was promoted all the way, and in the last years of Kaiyuan, he served as the Jiedu envoy of Longyou.
In November of the first year of Tianbao (742), the Tubo army invaded the Longyou area. Huangfu Weiming immediately led the army to meet it and won a complete victory in Qinghai.On December 27, the Tubo general Mang Buzhi led more than 30,000 troops to fight against Huangfu Weiming's troops.Wang Rare, the vanguard cavalry general of the Tang army, took the lead to confront Langzhidu, the son of Tubo Zanpu.Langzhi was picked off his horse by his spear.The Tubo army was in chaos.Huangfu Weiming took the opportunity to command the Tang army to take advantage of the situation to cover up and kill more than 5,000 people.
Soon, Huangfu Weiming discovered that every time Tubo invaded the Longyou area, they used Hongji City (now Guide West, Qinghai) as an outpost, and determined to eliminate this hidden danger.In April of the second year of Tianbao (743), Huangfu Weiming personally led troops and horses from Xiping County (now Ledu, Qinghai Province), traveled a long distance for more than a thousand miles, and suddenly launched an attack on the Tubo army stationed in Hongji City.Because the Tang army came from afar, they took the city by surprise.
In the early years of Tianbao, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty liked Bian Gong, and Bian Shuai often won official titles for his meritorious service in fighting against Tubo.Huangfu Weiming fought repeatedly against the Tubo army and was eager to make contributions. He decided to lead his army to attack Shibao City (also known as Iron Blade City, southwest of Huangyuan, Qinghai).
Shibao City is a strategic place in Tubo, the terrain is dangerous, easy to defend but difficult to attack.In fact, as early as March in the seventeenth year of Kaiyuan (729), Shuofang Jiedushi and Xin'an Wang Liyi used long-distance raids to capture Shibao City.However, in December of the twenty-ninth year of Kaiyuan (741), due to the negligence of Gai Jiayun's defense in Hexi and Longyou Jiedu, Tubo captured Shibao City again.
After Huangfu Weiming's soldiers arrived at Shibao City, they immediately began to attack the city.The Tubo defenders guarded against danger.After hearing the news, Tubo sent a large army to help, and joined forces with the defenders inside and outside, severely injuring the Tang army.Chu Xu, the deputy general of the Tang army, was killed in battle, and Huangfu Weiming had no choice but to retreat.
Soon after, Huangfu Weiming went to Beijing to present the spoils of war against Tubo to Tang Xuanzong.Huangfu Weiming used to be Prince Li Heng's staff, and he was quite nostalgic. When he found out that Prime Minister Li Linfu was monopolizing power and was vigorously pushing out Prince Li Heng, he was very dissatisfied with Li Linfu, so he persuaded Tang Xuanzong to dismiss Li Linfu during his resignation.He also proposed that the minister of the Ministry of punishment has the talent of a prime minister and can be used.Huangfu Weiming's intervention made the secret contest between Li Linfu and the prince suddenly an open secret.
After Li Linfu learned of Huangfu Weiming's words and deeds, he held a grudge and decided to take revenge.Taking advantage of the prime minister's favorable status, he began to arrange counterattacks and accelerated the steps of action.At this time, Yang Shenjin became a member of Li Linfu's team against the Prince's Group.
Yang Shenjin is a descendant of the Sui royal family, the great-great-grandson of Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty.It is said that the Sui Dynasty was destroyed by the Tang Dynasty, and the two surnames Yang and Li were incompatible with each other.However, during Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, due to the strong national power, consolidated political power, and open-mindedness, he was eclectic when appointing people as officials, and seldom took into account family background. famous.Li Linfu felt that this person was useful, promoted him exceptionally, and intended to let him replace Wei Jian in the prince group.
On the night of the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month in the fifth year of Tianbao (746), the wind was clear and the moon was bright. Prince Li Heng went on a trip, and took the opportunity of watching lanterns to meet Wei Jian in a hurry in the market.Xuanzong tabooed the relationship between the royal family and foreign ministers, and once issued an edict: "The clan, relatives, and son-in-law are not allowed to return unless they are close relatives; those who are in charge of divination and fortune-telling are not allowed to enter the homes of hundreds of officials." (Zi Zhitong Jian·Volume 212) This is why the meeting between Prince Li Heng and Wei Jian was also sneaky and shady.Afterwards, Wei Jian hastily met with Huangfu Weiming for a night tour, and together they went to Jinglong Taoist Temple in Chongrenfang in the city.
Yang Shenjin, who had been closely following him, immediately went up for impeachment, saying that Wei Jian had a private meeting with the border general, which violated the national law.Li Linfu also immediately played, saying that Wei Jian and Huangfu Weiming would support the prince's coup.Huangfu Weiming and Wei Jian were imprisoned because of this, and Li Linfu asked Yang Shenjin, Yang Guozhong, Wang Yu, Ji Wen and others to testify together.Xuanzong also suspected that Wei Jian had conspired with Huangfu Weiming, but there was no conclusive evidence.On the 21st, Emperor Xuanzong issued a letter to reproach Wei Jian for his ambitions in seeking an official position, and he was convicted of "incessant work" and was demoted from the Minister of Criminal Affairs to the prefect of Jinyun County (now Jinyun, Zhejiang).Dozens of people were implicated, and the Weiss family was wiped out.Huangfu Weiming dismissed Hexi and Longyou Jiedu envoys for the crime of "dividing the monarch and his ministers", demoted him to be the prefect of Bochuan County (now Zunyi, Guizhou), and lost his family.In the sixth year of Tianbao (747), Huangfu Weiming was killed.
Xuanzong did not easily involve the crown prince, this treatment was only limited to punishing Wei Jian and Huangfu Weiming's personal faults, and did not target the crown prince Li Heng in any way.Huangfu Weiming's military power was handed over to Wang Zhongsi, Shuofang and Hedong.Wang Zhongsi has a close relationship with Prince Li Heng, which is well known in the court.This result caused Prince Li Heng to be out of danger, and Li Linfu was helpless.
However, things suddenly changed.It turned out that after Wei Jian was demoted, his younger brothers Wei Lan and Wei Zhi wrote a letter to complain for their elder brother. In order to achieve their goal, the two even cited Prince Li Heng as a witness.As a result, things suddenly became complicated, and Tang Xuanzong Longyan was furious.Worried about disaster, the crown prince, Li Heng, was terrified all day long. He immediately made a statement, stating that he had nothing to do with the brothers Wei Jian, and resolutely asked for a divorce on the grounds of "disharmony" with Concubine Wei. Attitude.Tang Xuanzong allowed Prince Li Heng to divorce Webster.Wei Shi was abolished as a commoner and became a nun. It is said that he met Li Heng by chance later, but he was also like a stranger.
In this round of fighting, although Li Linfu succeeded in eradicating Wei Jian and others, the prince's forced divorce made the ambitious Li Linfu temporarily frustrated.He took the opportunity to further implicate Wei Jian in the case, and a large number of innocent water officials and boatmen in the Jianghuai area were thrown into large prisons, and the prisons were overcrowded.The magistrate took the opportunity to blackmail, causing many prisoners to die in prison.This major case involved extensive and protracted time, and it was not concluded until the death of Li Linfu in the eleventh year of Tianbao (752).Yang Shenjin, who made the first contribution in the case of bringing down Wei Jian, saw that Li Linfu was full of resentment, and deliberately alienated him, but he did not know that he committed a political taboo, and was soon framed by Li Linfu, and the whole family was forced to commit suicide .
At the end of the fifth year of Tianbao (746), Prince Li Heng's concubine Du Liangdi (the internal officials of the East Palace have concubines, Liangdi, and Baolin three levels, as well as many maids. Sanpin)'s father, Du Youlin, got into a lawsuit, and another big case was brewing.Du Youlin was then Doctor Zanshan, a fifth-rank official, and an official of the Prince's East Palace.Du Youlin had a daughter (Du Liangdi's sister) who married Cao Liuji, a guard of Zuo Xiao.Cao Liuji was wild and careless by nature, and he liked to associate with noble and handsome men. He became good friends with Pei Dunfu, the prefect of Zichuan, Li Yong, the prefect of Beihai, and Zeng, the author of Lang Wang.Li Yong likes extravagance and doesn't care about small things. During his tenure, he sought wealth and hunted freely. He was accused of corruption many times and was repeatedly criticized.He is good at composing monuments and calligraphy.Many people came to visit with gold and silk, just to get his articles and calligraphy.
Father-in-law Du Youlin and son-in-law Cao Liuji have very different temperaments. Du Youlin can't accept Cao Liuji's arrogance and wildness, while Cao Liuji laughs at Du Youlin's pedantic and cowardly.In this way, the grievances between the two became deeper and deeper, and they even hated each other.One day, the two quarreled again over a trivial matter.Relying on his seniority, Du Youlin severely reprimanded Cao Liuji.Cao Liuji had always been lonely and arrogant. In a fit of anger, he wrote a false complaint, which just fell into Li Linfu's hands.
Cao Liuji sued Du Youlin for the crime of "deadly claiming to be a prophecy, handing over the East Palace, and denouncing Chengyu".The crime was so serious that the prime minister, Li Linfu, excused the seriousness of the case and directly interrogated him with personnel appointed by him.Cao Liuji reported on his father-in-law, Du Youlin, for a simple reason, but it was just revenge. Who knew that Li Linfu would not let go of the matter, and involved Li Yong, Wang Zeng and a group of people, and finally Prince Li Heng was also involved.When Xuanzong heard that the prince was involved, he immediately ordered Jingzhaofu to interrogate officials from Yushitai.The case soon became clear, and it turned out that it was Cao Liuji who played the trick.However, Li Linfu instructed his subordinates to instigate Cao Liuji to make a false accusation, first to expand the case, and then to cite Li Yong as a witness, so that the case was suddenly expanded to local officials, and there was a tendency to abolish Prince Li Heng sooner or later.
Xuanzong maintained a cautious attitude in view of the political turmoil after his grandmother Wu Zetian.However, he did not extend the loan to the lower-level officials. Because Cao Liuji and Du Youlin were related to the royal family, they were exempted from death, sentenced to death, and demoted to Lingnan.However, the process of carrying out the cane punishment is often different from person to person. Under Li Linfu's instruction, Du Youlin and Cao Liuji both died under the heavy cane.Because Li Yong was implicated, Li Linfu ordered someone to go to Beihai to kill him with a stick.Li Yong was over 70 years old.Someone once said to Li Yong before: "A king is like a general and Mo Xie, it is difficult to compete with him, but he will eventually lose his ears." ("Zi Zhi Tong Jian Volume 215") Unexpectedly, it came true.
The case of Du Youlin made Prince Li Heng very disturbed. He watched his father-in-law and others die unjustly, but there was nothing he could do.Fate often plays tricks on people, sometimes even very cruel.Li Heng loved Du Liangdi very much, but he had to take off his clothes to avoid the fire.In order to show his innocence, he sent his confidant eunuch Li Fuguo to announce his decision to divorce Du Liangdi.Du Liangdi was moved out of the East Palace and deposed as a commoner.At this time, Du's family was dead, exiled and exiled, the situation was very miserable.According to unofficial history records, Li Fuguo figured out that the prince could not forget Du Liangdi's subtle thoughts, and quietly made some arrangements for the homeless Du Liangdi.The prince Li Heng was very grateful for this act of sending charcoal in the snow, so that after the prince became emperor, he immediately gave Li Fuguo supreme power.
Two major cases, two marriage changes, the prince Li Heng suffered great physical and mental trauma, and his spirit was greatly stimulated, gradually becoming sluggish and haggard.Once, when the prince entered the palace for an audience, Xuanzong found that his son, who had not yet reached middle age, had gray hair and looked old and haggard, as if he had entered his twilight years.Xuanzong was very shocked that he was his own son after all, so he couldn't help feeling a little bit of sympathy.After the prince withdrew, he asked Gao Lishi about the prince's situation. Gao Lishi truthfully told the court about the situation against the prince, and greatly appreciated Prince Heng's benevolence, filial piety and prudence.Xuanzong listened thoughtfully.
Later, in order to comfort Prince Li Heng, Xuanzong arranged a new marriage for Prince Li Heng.Judging from this incident, even though Xuanzong was dissatisfied with the prince, he still had no intention of abolishing the prince. This is probably the real reason why the prince was able to escape from death several times in Li Linfu's traps.
The Zhang family married by Crown Prince Li Hengxuan was a woman with a strong background, and she was later the empress Zhang who was involved in politics.Zhang was born in a family of relatives.Grandmother Dou is the younger sister of Xuanzong's mother, Empress Dowager Zhaocheng (that is, Concubine Dou De of Ruizong, who was posthumously named Queen Zhaocheng Shunsheng after Ruizong was restored).When Xuanzong was a child, his mother, Concubine Dou De, disappeared for no reason (actually she was secretly executed by Wu Zetian), and there was no bones left. It was this aunt Dou who raised him.Therefore, Xuanzong always had special feelings for Aunt Dou, and immediately named her Mrs. Deng Guo after he ascended the throne.Aunt Dou's five sons were also made high officials, and the youngest son, Zhang Quying, married Xuanzong's daughter, Princess Changfen.
Zhang was first selected as Prince Liangdi.Zhang Liangdi was eloquent and eloquent, so she won the favor of Prince Li Heng.From this marriage, Prince Li Heng also somewhat felt Xuanzong's hint, and he was not as depressed as before.But he is still cautious and careful everywhere.Once, the Shangshi Bureau, which was in charge of meals in the palace, made a table of sumptuous dishes, including a roast leg of lamb. Xuanzong asked Prince Li Heng to cut the lamb.After Li Heng cut the leg of lamb, his hands were covered with oil stains, so he took advantage of the opportunity to wipe the oil stains on the pancake next to him.Xuanzong was very upset when he saw it, but he didn't attack it on the spot.Li Heng saw Xuanzong's displeasure, but pretended not to realize it.After he wiped his hands clean with the cake, he picked up the grease-stained cake unhurriedly, and began to eat with big mouthfuls.Xuanzong was so surprised that he couldn't help but smile, and said to Li Heng: "Fortune should be cherished so much." Therefore, his attitude towards the prince changed greatly.
However, Li Linfu's attitude towards the prince remained the same, and he was determined to get rid of the prince soon.Although Xuanzong had a good impression of the prince, he let Li Linfu do what he did. It can be seen that deep down in his heart, he was still worried about the prince.Indulging Li Linfu in dealing with his own son in this way actually implied a warning to the prince.
In the tenth year of Tianbao (751), Zhang Liangdi gave birth to her son Li Bi (later named King Xing), and Prince Li Heng's face became a little more happy.Soon, Li Linfu died of illness, and Li Heng lost one of his biggest opponents.It's a pity that Prince Li Heng has not been happy for a long time. Yang Guozhong succeeded as prime minister and is still Prince Li Heng's deadly enemy.Since then, Li Heng and Yang Guozhong have been fighting openly and secretly for a long time. On the surface, they seem to be calm, but in fact they are full of dangers.This situation did not improve until the Anshi Rebellion broke out in 755 AD.There has always been a saying that the Maweiyi mutiny was secretly supported by Prince Li Heng.
Fundamentally speaking, Xuanzong did not believe that the powerful ministers framed the prince several times, because Li Heng was the prince for a short time, and he had not allowed the prince to communicate with the courtiers, so the prince did not form a power in the court .However, the reason why Xuanzong dealt with those involved very severely, and generally executed them, was also to warn the prince and courtiers so that they would stop thinking about getting married.
Xuanzong also changed the system that the crown prince lived in the East Palace.Since the Eastern Han Dynasty, the East Palace has been synonymous with the crown prince.However, after Emperor Xuanzong entrusted Mount Tai to the east, he no longer allowed the prince to live in the East Palace, but moved to the "Bieyuan" where the emperor lived, changing the old system that had been followed for hundreds of years, which naturally created great psychological pressure on Li Heng. .
Li Heng spent his career as a prince on thin ice.Although it is said that the powerful ministers repeatedly made troubles, if it wasn't for Tang Xuanzong's ambiguous attitude, how would those powerful ministers dare to attack the prince?In the depths of Li Heng's heart, apart from being in awe of his father, he is still in awe, but now, he doesn't even have the slightest respect.He will never forget his concubine Webster's sad expression when she became a nun.That innocent and helpless demeanor often pierced his heart and made him restless for the rest of his life.
During this flight to the west, Prince Li Heng became more and more aware that the current timing was extremely unfavorable to Yang Guozhong, and if he was a little careless, a catastrophe would befall this idiot prime minister.What's ridiculous is that the self-righteous Yang Guozhong didn't realize that the sword was hanging above his head, and he shouted at the sergeant all day long, pretending to be a prime minister.Dissatisfaction and anger were written on the faces of Chen Xuanli's soldiers.All this naturally fell into the eyes of Prince Li Heng.
In the middle of the night, the escaped Xuanzong and his party arrived at Jincheng Guanyi (now Xingping, Shaanxi). The county magistrate and county residents also fled early, but the food and utensils were all there, so the soldiers could eat.At that time, among the officials who followed Xuanzong, many took the opportunity to escape, and Yuan Siyi, the eunuch's internal servant, escaped in the dark.There were no lights in the Jincheng station, and people slept on each other's pillows, regardless of their status, and they slept together, and the aristocratic aristocrats of the royal family were swept away.
That night, Wang Sili, who escaped from Tongguan, caught up with Xuanzong and his party.Only then did Xuanzong know that Ge Shuhan had been captured, so he appointed Wang Sili as the Jiedu envoy of Hexi and Longyou on the spot, and ordered him to go to the post immediately to collect scattered soldiers and prepare to go east to fight against the rebels.
As for what Wang Sili did that night besides meeting the emperor, there is no record in official history.However, it was Wang Sili who once tried his best to encourage the coach Shu Han to kill Yang Guozhong to thank the world, and even took the initiative to ask Ying to do it himself.And Yang Guozhong had known about the conspiracy, and would definitely try to murder Wang Sili in the future.Wang Sili knew this very well.At this time, Wang Sili's hatred for Yang Guozhong changed from pleading for the world to protecting himself.When Wang Sili entered and exited Jincheng, he was bound to meet Chen Xuanli, the Great General of Longwu.All kinds of evidence show that these two people must have had a secret conversation on the subject of Yang Guozhong, and maybe they also talked about the specific plan to deal with Yang Guozhong.Some unofficial histories even vividly recorded the dialogue between Wang Sili and Chen Xuanli, and believed that Li Fuguo, the servant of Prince Li Heng's confidant, also participated in this secret meeting.On the second day after Wang Sili left, a mutiny took place led by Longwu General Chen Xuanli, which made the obscure Mawei Station a famous place through the ages.
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