Chapter 17 10. New Country, Old Weather

Li Cunxu has conquered the world through untold hardships and battles, but how can the world be governed?Since the name of the country is Tang, let's follow the practice of Li Tang in the previous dynasty.The key is to do it according to the Tang Dynasty 20 years ago, or according to the Tang Dynasty 200 years ago. War is the means of politics, and politics is the end of war.Wars are always over, but politics must go on. After more than ten years of war between Tang and Liang, the people's livelihood on both sides of the Yellow River has been withered, and people's lives have been wiped out.There is no justice, no people's livelihood, no ideals in this kind of war between princes and hegemony, only self-interest.The only wish of the common people is to survive, and the only result is that the fruits of labor will be plundered and confiscated. The only hope is that the war will stop as soon as possible, and they don't care who wins the war.The soldiers don't know who they are fighting for, they only know that they want to save their lives in every battle, and their wish is to win one day earlier and disarm and return home one day earlier.

Since the disintegration of the Li and Tang Dynasties, the world has fallen into chaos, and the chaos of the princes and towns has gradually evolved into the separatist side of the political kingdoms in various places.After several struggles, the remote regimes have gradually achieved a relative balance of power, and the regional situation has tended to be stable.As long as it can be stabilized, people's livelihood and the economy will be able to recover, and places with political stability and lighter taxes will show prosperity. Due to the inextricable feud between Zhu and Li, the two larger militaristic groups fought endlessly.These two militaristic groups are precisely located in the center of China, so that their struggle affects the nerves of the world.

Now that Hou Tang defeated Hou Liang, the two energy groups became one.From the perspective of energy dissipation, the Later Tang Dynasty after the unification of the Central Plains seems to be the most powerful regime.In fact, on the contrary, Hou Tang is the weakest.Be it the Liang country or the Tang country, they have exhausted their efforts, consumed and even overdrawn all the humanistic spirit and economic wealth of the Central Plains, leaving only a chicken feather. This is Li Cunxu's world. What should Tang Emperor Li Cunxu do at this time? What is the major event before Tang Guo?

I checked a lot of information, but I didn't find a clear strategic policy program proposed by Li Cunxu after he took over the Central Plains.He's just following his gut. At this time, the territory of the Later Tang Empire was vast, extending from the Great Wall in the north to Hanshui in Longxi in the west, Huaibei and Hubei in the south, and the Bohai Sea in the east.I think there are at least some of these issues that are the top priority, recuperating and recovering the economy, clarifying the political order and bureaucratic system, resisting the Khitan that is increasingly invading southward, alleviating the conflicts between various groups in the Jinliang territory caused by successive years of war, and striving for a favorable diplomatic environment.However, Li Cunxu, the heroic emperor of the Tang Dynasty, seemed to be born for war, and his bones are full of genes of war stars.Besides fighting, Li Cunxu's hobbies are hunting, watching and acting.Fighting, hunting, and acting almost constitute Li Cunxu's life.

Li Cunxu doesn't want to be unwilling to deal with other things. Li Cunxu is completely a war machine. He was born for war. Without war, he seems to be unable to find his direction and feeling.He is at a loss as to how to govern the world that he has gained through hard work, as if all he enjoys is the process of obtaining the world, and he doesn't know how to deal with the result.He regards the world as a child's play. Li Cunxu didn't have any new ideas or methods for governing the country. He basically restored the old system of Li and Tang in the previous dynasty, which magnified the corrupt habits that have been declining since Li, Tang and Zhu Liang.

After the Tang Dynasty dominated the Central Plains, the world was shaken, and the surrounding princes were all inquiring, speculating, waiting and testing this emerging post-Tang regime, preparing to adopt appropriate strategies to get along with this behemoth. At the beginning, all the vassal states were very nervous, full of fear of the imposing Later Tang Dynasty. Li Maozhen, a veteran warlord, is the only one left among the militarists of his time, but Li Maozhen at this time is not what it used to be.Under the successive years of blows from King Jian of Shu, Li Maozhen's territory became increasingly narrow, and she could barely make ends meet, completely losing her former arrogance.Fortunately, for the strategic purpose of Li Cunxu's campaign in the Central Plains, the relationship between Li Maozhen and Hedong has always been peaceful, and the two are in a semi-cooperative state.

Hearing that Li Cunxu ruled the world in the Dingdu capital of Luoyang, Li Maozhen hurriedly wrote a letter to express his congratulations, and sent his son to the court to worship.Li Cunxu gave Li Maozhen enough face. Not only did Li Maozhen be named King Qin from King Qi, but he also treated him with the etiquette of his uncle's generation. Xu Wen of Wu State was very nervous about Li Cunxu's sudden destruction of Liang, and regretted that he did not fully help Later Tang to attack Zhu Liang.However, Prime Minister Yan Keqiu had a different opinion. He said: "I heard that Li Cunxu, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, had just dominated the Central Plains. As long as you treat him with humility and courtesy, don’t fight with him, and do your best to protect the environment and the people, and wait and see what happens.” During his contacts with the court of the later Tang Dynasty, Wu Guo lowered himself and took the initiative to write official documents with the etiquette of a feudal town to the court, deliberately keeping a low profile .

Regardless of the objections of Minister Liang Zhen, Hubei Gao Jixing entered alone to congratulate Li Cunxu.Li Cunxu was very happy and treated Gao Jixing generously.After living in Luoyang for a few days, Gao Jixing couldn't stand it anymore, because the opera eunuchs around Li Cunxu relied on his master's favor, asking Gao Jixing for money endlessly.Gao Jixing couldn't swallow the bad breath, so he asked Li Cunxu for leave to return to the feudal town.Li Cunxu originally disagreed, but later he was so scrupled that he should use this to show his trust and generosity to the feudal towns all over the world, so he agreed to Gao Jixing's return to Jiangling.

After returning to Jiangling, Gao Jixing said to Liang Zhen: "His grandma, there were two major mistakes in this trip. It was my mistake to go to Luoyang on my own initiative, and it was Li Cunxu's mistake to agree with me to go back to Jiangling. Later Tang won the land of Henan after hundreds of battles. The Emperor Tang said arrogantly to the numerous heroes that he created it all by himself. If he is so self-confident and occupies the world's outstanding achievements, then no one else has any credit? It's strange that he doesn't care about the feelings of his subordinates and doesn't care about his virtue. Besides, Emperor Tang was obsessed with hunting, singing and dancing every day, and ignored political affairs, so how could there be long-term peace and stability. We don’t have to worry about being annexed by the Later Tang!” With these judgments, Gao Jixing hurriedly recruited troops, bought horses, gathered grass, stored grain, and built a city.

Small and remote countries can now see the faults of Li Cunxu in the later Tang Dynasty. A sharp analysis of the faults in his political system shows the seriousness of his problems. In a word, the original wise and mighty King Jin has been dazzled by the huge victory, and has become the arrogant and foolish Emperor Tang. How can a person and such a big man become so fast?In fact, there is nothing strange about it. As long as you are a human being, you have weaknesses that are difficult to overcome by yourself.Li Cunxu is also a human being, and the heavyweights such as Zhang Chengye, Li Cunshen, Zhou Dewei, etc. who could advise him and correct him have all left.In the absence of supervision, this megalomaniac's weakness and wanton mentality are multiplied.

Let's first talk about the people's livelihood and military supplies of the Later Tang Empire.For an iron-blooded military country, people's livelihood and military supplies are the two biggest things.Since the establishment of the state in the later Tang Dynasty, they have been busy with wars, scraping three feet of land for armaments, and the common people are overwhelmed.Coupled with natural disasters and man-made disasters, agricultural production failure, population loss, and barren land, an agricultural country lost its financial and material resources.On the other hand, the country maintains a huge army, and the army needs military supplies and food to maintain its operation, otherwise there is a possibility of mutiny.However, the rulers of the Tang Dynasty did not provide effective solutions to these two contradictions. Li Qi, Minister of the Ministry of Officials of the later Tang Dynasty, demonstrated the relationship between the army and the people of an agricultural country in a few words. He said: "In ancient times, living within one's means was a basic principle. In the year of floods and droughts, there will be no financial tension. In modern times, the state has adopted the method of collecting taxes from farmers to support the army. It is impossible to have a situation where farmers are rich but the military supplies are insufficient, or farmers are poor but the military supplies are sufficient. Now , even if we can’t cut various types of taxes, land rents, discounts, apportionments, etc., it’s time for farmers to recuperate.” Li Qi pointed out that the "three rural" issues are the foundation of this country, and they need to be carefully cared for. They should not be used for fishing in dry marshes, hunting for deforestation, or killing chickens for eggs.However, the ruling class in the later Tang Dynasty did not adopt his opinion, because they could no longer extricate themselves. The rulers of the later Tang Dynasty have been deeply trapped in relying on exorbitant taxes to alleviate the financial crisis and cannot extricate themselves, getting deeper and deeper, and cannot turn back.This is the same as smoking opium. The more you smoke, the more addicted you become, but the poorer you become, even if you are poor, you still want to smoke. After the founding of the Tang Dynasty, it was not only necessary to maintain the operation of a huge military machine, but also to support the consumption of a huge bureaucratic system with the royal family as the spire. Where does the money come from?Grab from farmers. Who are robbing? There are three groups of people who rob money. The first batch of military governors, state governors, and county magistrates. They rely on national laws and local regulations and even powerful powers to get the moon first, and gather the harvest of farmers, handicraftsmen, and businessmen first.The second group is the government's financial system. They rely on the chaotic old laws of the Li and Tang dynasties, the old systems of Zhu and Liang, the new laws of the new Tang Dynasty, and the regulations of the financial department to search for the second crop from farmers, handicraftsmen, and businessmen.The third group is the emperor and the people around the emperor. They rely on the imperial power to directly ask for it, and the wool comes from the sheep. Their demands are once again passed on to farmers, handicraftsmen, and businessmen in the name of special contributions and donations. In this way, it is not enough for farmers to pay rent and tax for the next year's seeds, for handicraftsmen to sell their production machinery and tools, it is not enough to collect taxes, and for salt and iron merchants to take out all the income from private work, it is still not enough to save their lives.The contradictions intensified rapidly, and the common people suffered so much that they dare not speak of their suffering.The low-level officials in prefectures, cities, and counties can't bear it anymore. They are also the executors and victims of the exploitation of this huge country.Many local grassroots officials questioned the rationality and authority of tax laws and regulations, and some places even refused to pay. Where did all the money collected go? The first place to go is to support the emperor and the royal family. The second place is to support a huge bureaucracy. The third destination is to enter the private pockets of various people with pets, power, status and influence. The fourth destination is the army. Emperor Li Cunxu of the Tang Dynasty liked hunting, regardless of wind and rain, spring, summer, autumn and winter, he often went out hunting with a team of guards, guards of honor and dogs.It doesn't matter whether you can catch pheasants, wild boars, wild deer, etc. What Li Cunxu needs is this pastime.His hunting activity is a high consumption and a huge waste, which does not create any productivity.The farmland and cottages were disturbed by his hunting activities, and the common people were in dire straits.The guards are not well served, and they may be beaten or even lost their heads because of lagging behind. They are also miserable. Watching theater, fighting, and acting are another hobbies of Li Cunxu.In the palace, there are often singing and dancing, playing, playing, playing and singing. There are repertoires every day and a stage every night.The royal family has a huge theater troupe, and these actors are paid very high, well-clothed and well-fed, no less than the status of official officials. Due to the tight finances of the Tang State, the prime minister and the Zuyong transfer envoy often worried about allocating income and expenditure, so they had to reduce the normal financial subject expenditure.Cuts can be made everywhere, but royal expenditure must not be reduced.In order to protect royal consumption.Tang Emperor Li Cunxu actually created two treasuries, one called the foreign treasury, which was used for the country's military, political and financial management, and the other called the inner treasury, which was used for the emperor and his family's expenses.These two "pants" can be described as unprecedented and shocking. Even though there is a powerful financial search system to support the royal family's consumption, there is still a big money fan in the royal family, and this person is Empress Liu.This Empress Liu is not Concubine Liu, but a beauty Li Cunxu acquired when he was in Weizhou.Empress Liu was born as a poor and lower-middle peasant. She ate bran and swallowed vegetables since she was a child, and she was fed up with hardships and tortures.Once she flew up to the branch and became the mother of the country, she finally saw money, and kept her eyes wide open every day to collect money. Wherever she could see, she would reach out and ask for money to make offerings. As long as she could see valuable things, she would try her best to get them. , stored in the harem.Empress Liu was never picky about collecting money, she brought everything from gold, silver and jewellery, to needles, threads, vegetables, radishes and dates.Empress Liu has amassed so much money, but it is not used much. It is mainly used to publish Buddhist scriptures and reward monks and nuns. Giving and accepting bribes is a bad ethos in officialdom.In the later Tang Dynasty, this trend reached a new peak.Whether it was the old Ministry of Hedong or the officials Zhu Liangxin took refuge in, they all offered bribes openly, and they paid hundreds of thousands or hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.The targets of bribery ranged from Concubine Liu, Empress Dowager Cao, Empress Liu, to princes and ministers, down to actors and eunuchs around the emperor. When officials from other places came to Beijing, they would bring gold, silver, money, and local specialties in big carts and small carts, and send them around in big and small bags, entertaining guests and giving gifts.Everyone benefits from each other, everyone benefits from it, and they don't shy away from it.Whoever has more money in the management can reap great benefits, take up a fat job, get promoted in official ranks, get close to the emperor, and consolidate his position. The bribes received by Guo Chongtao, the powerful prime minister, can actually support the needs of an army.He also plausibly justified himself for accepting bribes: "Giving and accepting bribes is a bad habit in Zhu Liang, and it will be difficult to change all at once. If I don't accept their money, they will feel uneasy, and they may become suspicious and start rebellion or something. That would be a big deal." Accepting bribes is for the sake of the country and the country, and it is justified and convincing. After the emperors, queens, royal family, dignitaries, actors and eunuchs have accumulated their consumption, it is the army's turn to get what's left between their teeth.Except for a few regular armies that are fighting, most of the troops lack clothing and food, and their food and salaries are often insufficient or even deducted.Even if Li Cunxu followed Li Cunxu to conquer the world and made outstanding achievements in the imperial guards, he did not get many chances of being promoted and making a fortune.Not only is the supply of troops in remote areas seriously insufficient, but the income of some garrison troops in the imperial city of Luoyang is also very low.At the worst time, people starved to death in the soldiers' homes. After talking about Houtang's financial situation, let's talk about the employment. Under normal circumstances, when the emperor wins the world, the first step is to add officials and ranks to those who have meritorious service. This is not only to achieve the purpose of stabilizing people's hearts through the redistribution of benefits, but also to further play their roles in new positions. When Li Cunxu was emperor in Weizhou, he entrusted a group of civil and military officials, which established the basic team of the Later Tang Empire.But later these people were replaced by dead and dead, and after they entered the Central Plains, the original team was already incomplete.In particular, middle and low-level officials do not have many opportunities for promotion. It is a very complicated matter to promote cadres. First of all, we must create various positions according to actual needs, and then carry out echelon promotion in the vertical direction according to a certain professional sequence, merit, performance, and reputation. Stability and comparability to the same level.Make those who have been promoted and those who have not yet been promoted be convinced, let those who are already in place get benefits, let those who are not yet in place see hope, and look left and right to compare and balance each other.Only in this way can the order and operation of a huge bureaucratic system be maintained, and the cohesion centered on the imperial power be maintained, so that it is possible to stimulate the work enthusiasm and enthusiasm of the majority of cadres and workers.Otherwise, it may lead to ideological confusion in the bureaucracy, confusion of interests, and even sharp potential conflicts. Li Cunxu often bestowed a feudal town or a state on actors or wrestlers very easily.For example, once in fighting sports, Li Cunxu fought against a fighter, but the fighter did not dare to use his full strength. Li Cunxu felt that it was not enough, so he asked the fighter to work hard.But the fighter still didn't dare.Li Cunxu stepped up in a daze, wiped the sweat off his cheeks, and told the fighter that if he could win, he would give him a hard time.The fighter used all his strength when Li Cunxu said so.The two wrestled together and rolled on the muddy ground, but Li Cunxu was defeated and slightly injured.This was beyond the expectation of the young and aggressive monarch. He was greatly embarrassed, but he was too embarrassed to break his promise, so the matter was delayed.After taking over Luoyang, Li Cunshen returned to Beijing from the post of Jiedu envoy of Youzhou due to his old age and sickness. Li Cunxu thought of fighting and gambling in the feudal town again.He found the fighter, and fulfilled his promise carelessly, conferring such an important position as Jiedushi of Youzhou to the fighter. There is an actor named Zhou Za, who can deeply understand Li Cunxu's mind, and he can make Li Cunxu love him both in and out of the play.After crossing the Yellow River, when the army was in disorder, Zhou Za was separated from the large army and wandered among the people of Liang.It is estimated that this Zhou Za is indeed outstanding in his skills. He has some connections in Liangdi's show business circle, and he can enjoy himself in other places. He was taken in by two local artists of the same industry. After Li Cunxu settled down in Luoyang, he began to want to watch or act in a play.But Zhou Za's absence made Li Cunxu not think about tea and food, and felt that any show was boring.Suddenly one day, Zhou Za appeared, and he found the palace occupant by himself.Li Cunxu was very excited to see Zhou Za, and the two hugged and gnawed at each other.Li Cunxu said excitedly that he thought he would never see Zhou Za again.Zhou Za also said excitedly that if it wasn't for the rescue of two artist friends from Liang, he really wouldn't be able to see the emperor.When it came to the emotional part, Zhou Za burst into tears. Li Cunxu said without hesitation: "Xiao Zhou, I want to reward them well, and give them a lot of gold, silver and jewels." Zhou Za said, "Your Majesty, it is not unusual for them to have obtained a lot of property from the false Emperor Liang on weekdays. They want to try what it's like to be a state official." Li Cunxu pondered a little and said, "It's easy to handle." Li Cunxu was about to issue an order to appoint an official, but was stopped by Prime Minister Guo Chongtao.Guo Chongtao said: "Your Majesty, those who won the world with you are all heroes and outstanding people. Now that you have just finished your work, and the appointment of officials and titles has not yet begun, you first reward these two people who have no size. Disappointed. Besides, one of these two people is the conductor of the royal theater troupe, and the other is a tree planter in the royal garden, what ability can they take care of the place?" It was hard for Li Cunxu to be stopped by Guo Chongtao.After holding back for a year, these actors could not hold back Li Cunxu's ears every day, so Li Cunxu finally sealed these two people as governors of two states.As soon as the news came out, the world was in an uproar. Many people who have experienced many battles have not yet obtained a town and a county. It is unreasonable for these two boys to become state officials just by talking about it! Li Cunxu treated the people around him with kindness, and he treated the officials loyal to the Zhuliang Empire very generously, without any rules.As long as they are loyal and loyal, they will be given the title of cadre above the middle level, regardless of their morality and ability.Zhang Quanyi was promoted to the title of minister.For a person like Duan Ning, Li Cunxu not only gave him the royal surname Li Shaoqin, but also made him the military governor of Taining.Let Zhao Guangyin, a former Tang Dynasty survivor who can only talk and talk when he is idle at home, become the servant of Zhongshu and enter the rank of prime minister.Let guilty people like Yuan Xiangxian and Wen Zhaotu continue to happily serve as military envoys.Let Li Shaobin (Zhao Dejun), who has very little qualifications, serve as a recruiter to the north to fight against Khitan. As for the old heroes of Xun, many of them were suppressed because of their high merits. For example, Li Siyuan and Li Cunshen were repeatedly squeezed out by Guo Chongtao, and Li Cunxu was also afraid of their status.A large number of lieutenant generals in the army were not promoted and rewarded, such as the eight thousand silver guns and the imperial guards.There are also many civil servants and Guo Chongtao fighting for power and profit, suppressing each other, and it is always difficult to put the right person in the right position.In the army, only Li Shaorong (Yuan Xingqin) had a grand status and was fully trusted by the emperor.Among the civil servants, only Guo Chongtao was under one man and more than ten thousand, and his power was overwhelming. Another reason for the panic among civil and military officials is that the power of the harem, eunuchs, and actors is thriving, and their words are formidable.Taking advantage of their close relationship with Li Cunxu, they often tell stories and intervene in personnel arrangements and government affairs.The military commanders and advisers who were once all-powerful did not dare to compete with these forces outside the system, and often retreated or offered money to cater to them. There is a heavyweight figure in the later Tang bureaucracy, he is Guo Chongtao.Guo Chongtao is a powerful civil servant who has risen after Zhang Chengye. This person has insight, strategy, methods, and character. A typical representative political figure of the era. Guo Chongtao, a person from Yanmenguan in Daizhou, once worked under Li Kexiu's tent, and was famous for his honesty and ability.After Li Kexiu died, Guo Chongtao became Li Keyong's coach.There is nowhere to look up the specific job content of this position.After Li Cunxu succeeded to the throne of the Jin Dynasty, the person who served as the middle gate envoy was repeatedly convicted because he could not guess the master's intentions. Later, no one was willing to do this job.Li Cunxu wanted to appoint Meng Zhixiang after several envoys.Meng Zhixiang was also unwilling to do this job, so he slipped away with excuses.Li Cunxu said that it’s okay if you don’t dare to do it, but you must recommend a capable one.After much deliberation, Meng Zhixiang recommended Guo Chongtao to Li Cunxu. The position of Zhongmen Envoy is basically equivalent to the office director in today's society. It is a position with complicated affairs and concentrated contradictions. If you do ten things well, no one will say that you are good, and if you fail in one thing, you may cause trouble to your upper body.After Guo Chongtao served as an envoy to the middle gate, he was like a fish in water, and he worked very smoothly. He was quick-witted, capable, easy to deal with, and tireless. He was highly valued by Li Cunxu.Since then, especially after Zhang Chengye's death, Guo Chongtao's ability and role in participating in important military and state affairs have been clearly brought into play. He assisted the King of Jin in strategizing, and jointly decided many major events such as sending troops to attack Zhang Wenli, building a city in Majiakou, and attacking Kaifeng via Yunzhou. After Tang Zhuangzong Li Cunxu destroyed Liang, he commented on the merits of civil and military officials, and strongly recommended Guo Chongtao to be the first.Guo Chongtao was appointed as Shizhong, Jiedu Envoy of Chengde Army, Privy Envoy, and the official was the first assistant of the court.Guo Chongtao is also very grateful for the trust of the leaders. At the same time, he is very professional and takes serving the country and governing the world as his own responsibility.Raise financial revenue, measure operational expenses, recommend and promote officials at all levels, stabilize the thinking of Zhu Liang scholars, preside over the operation of the huge empire, and correct Li Cunxu's sudden mistakes.Guo Chongtao can be said to be busy with everything, working around the clock. Guo Chongtao is very capable in his work, but he is also very good at playing tricks.In order to consolidate his position and curb the rise of military leaders, he successively squeezed out Li Cunshen and Li Siyuan to serve as officials in other places, trying not to let them have the opportunity to participate in major political affairs.For his fellow civil servants, he also gave priority to recommending obedient and honest people with not very bright IQs and those with low physical energy. In Weizhou, the boastful Zhao Guangyin was "promoted" to be the deputy prime minister, the sluggish Wang Zhengyan was "introduced" as an envoy, and the former prime minister, Dou Luge, was "shackled into a high cabinet". Eunuchs meddling in politics was a major political malpractice in the late Tang Dynasty.After Zhu Quanzhong became emperor, he nearly wiped out the eunuchs, and handed over the post of privy envoy, which had been occupied by eunuchs, to competent civil officials after reform, basically eliminating the evil of eunuchs from the system.After Li Cunxu established the Later Tang Dynasty, he not only restored many systems of the previous Li Tang Dynasty, but also restored the eunuch system, allowing eunuchs to divide part of the prime minister's power again, and sent eunuchs to serve as local military supervisors.The eunuch's arrogance revived. Guo Chongtao hated eunuchs very much. In the process of pursuing power and ruling, he tried his best to suppress and suppress eunuchs, so he offended many people around the emperor. Because Li Cunxu loves "art", he raised a lot of singing, dancing and acting.These actors not only influenced Li Cunxu's entertainment life, but also infiltrated into the administrative management system, colluding internally and externally, accepting bribes and asking for entrustments, tipping off information, and interfering with the normal court governance order. Guo Chongtao hated this deeply, especially he was firmly opposed to the appointment of actors as central and local real positions. Guo Chongtao has a high position and authority, and he is a powerful faction, knowledgeable, quick-tempered, and never procrastinating, but sometimes he is self-willed and hasty in decision-making.Because Guo Chongtao takes the world as his own responsibility, dares to do things, does not rub the sand in his eyes, and is not afraid of offending others, this makes his political environment full of dangers and bury many hidden dangers.Eunuchs, actors, and oppressed officials blew light on Li Cunxu every day, saying that Guo Chongtao was good and bad. After a long time, Guo Chongtao couldn't stand it anymore.A lie repeated 10,000 times can become the truth.Li Cunxu trusts him, but he may not be able to resist the attack like water dripping through stone. In order to protect himself, Guo Chongtao offered to resign to Emperor Zhuangzong Li Cunxu of the later Tang Dynasty, saying that his power was too concentrated, and he voluntarily asked to step down as prime minister and become a magistrate in Chengde Fan Town so that he could spend his old age in peace.Li Cunxu tried his best to persuade Guo Aiqing to stay, saying that Guo Aiqing doesn't mind, I trust you, don't worry, do it well and continue to work. Although the emperor asked to stay, Guo Chongtao still strongly demanded to resign.Li Cunxu was upset, thinking that Guo Chongtao was deliberately avoiding responsibility and avoiding work.Guo Chongtao was afraid that the emperor might suspect that he had a double heart, so he didn't dare to persist.In the end, the two compromised, and Li Cunxu gave Guo Chongtao an iron coupon to avoid death.Guo Chongtao continued to work. The role of the iron coupon to avoid death is to symbolize the emperor's full trust. To take a step back, if the guarantee is not complete and one day the emperor gets confused and wants to kill Guo Chongtao, he can take out the iron coupon to block it to ensure a chance of survival. One day, Zhuangzong Li Cunxu found Guo Chongtao and said to him, "Guo Aiqing, I want to conquer Shu."