Chapter 18 4. Pass on Zen
Spreading Zen is not a new thing, but every time it is full of turbulence and danger.Spreading Zen seems to be the most respectable way, as to whether it is so, only whoever uses it knows.
One thing that Zhu Quanzhong didn't expect was that the power he had seized was not very easy to use, at least not as easy to use as he had imagined.Zhu Quanzhong was very irritable.Forced the palace first, moved the capital later, murdered the old emperor and replaced the younger emperor. After a lot of trouble, Zhu Quanzhong, who had kidnapped the emperor, found that it was still difficult to order the princes.Because the small princes were in awe of him and obeyed him, and they could give orders without the order of the emperor. The big princes such as Wang Jian, Yang Xingmi, Li Keyong, and Li Maozhen, on the contrary, left the court just like that. listen.
In September of the second year of Tianyou, Zhu Quanzhong took the general Yang Shihou as the vanguard, led the army as the Chinese army, and defeated Zhao Kuangning and Zhao Kuangming in Hubei.Zhao Kuangning fled to Huaiyang and took refuge in Yang Xingmi.Zhao Kuangming fled to Sichuan and took refuge in Wang Jian.On the way back to Kaifeng, Zhu Quanzhong heard that Yang Xingmi was seriously ill, so he temporarily decided to send another army to conquer Huainan.Jing Xiang dissuaded Zhu Quanzhong and said: "It was not easy to take over Xiangyang and Jiangling in such a short period of time, and achieved two great victories. Now all the heroes are staring at us, we must cherish the hard-won prestige, so as not to act hastily. Mistake." Zhu Quanzhong refused to listen, thinking that this was a god-given opportunity to take advantage of the victory to expand the results of the war, and insisted on conquering Guangzhou and Shouzhou in Huainan.Unexpectedly, the Huainan generals who guarded Guangzhou and Shouzhou were very strong, and they held the line of defense and refused to retreat an inch.What's worse is that it has been raining continuously for days, and the Bian army who has been working hard to attack far away is soaked in muddy water every day, and most of their combat effectiveness is tortured by the sky.Zhu Quanzhong suffered heavy losses and returned without success.This time, the battle that was originally expected to be icing on the cake not only failed, but turned into a mess.Zhu Quanzhong's three major expeditions to Huainan all failed miserably when he had an overwhelming military advantage. This made Zhu Quanzhong, a military strongman, very distressed, and he could not accept the reality of failure anyway.The military defeat made Zhu Quanzhong even more irritable and violent.
Although Zhu Quanzhong took advantage of the danger to attack Huainan and failed again, Yang Xingmi, the hero of Huainan, came to the end of his life.In that era, disease was more terrifying, helpless and lethal than war. Any powerful hero or bear, if he got a disease, even a disease that seems very common today, would be tortured to death.Yang Xingmi died of illness in November 905 AD due to ineffective medical treatment.The southeast half lost a world-renowned hero, and Huainan was temporarily caught in internal troubles and civil strife.
Sergeant Wei Bo in the north has always been tough. It is very common for father and son brothers to be hereditary soldiers, and the interpersonal relationship is intricate.After the death of the old warlord Luo Hongxin, in order to stabilize the Wei Bo army, Zhu Quanzhong transferred Luo Shaowei, the son of the former Wei Bo Jiedu envoy Luo Hongxin's son Tianxiong Jiedu envoy, to Wei Bo Jiedu envoy.Some low-ranking soldiers rebelled, and then the Tianxiong Army also rioted.Zhu Quanzhong personally led the army to conquer, and it took half a year to pacify these two turbulent areas.
After stabilizing Wei Bo and Tianxiong, Zhu Quanzhong focused on Liu Rengong, the last soft persimmon.Liu Rengong occupied the land of Cangzhou in Youzhou, which directly threatened Wei Bo's safety.The current Liu Rengong is no longer the Liu Rengong of previous years. He is no longer prestige. Although he still has a lot of territory, his momentum for external expansion has dropped significantly.In Liu Rengong's territory, Cangzhou was the closest to Xuanwu, so Zhu Quanzhong decided to conquer Cangzhou first.Unexpectedly, Liu Rengong asked Li Keyong for help, and Li Keyong sent troops to attack Luzhou to "encircle Wei and rescue Zhao".As a result, the battle situation was complicated, and the three parties had stalemate for nearly a year without any results. This planned Northern Expedition failed to make progress, and Zhu Quanzhong was forced to return without success again.
The Southern Expedition to Huaiyang and the Conquered Youcang suffered consecutive setbacks. Under the pressure of fearing a chain reaction and the separation of the towns, Zhu Quanzhong became more urgent to spread Zen and proclaim himself emperor. He planned to use this to make the feudal towns with different hearts completely give up on the restoration of the Tang Dynasty. .
Is it easy to abdicate and pass on the throne?
But Zhu Quanzhong hadn't read any books, and he didn't understand the necessary and false red tape.
Procedures are also important.
Form, form, without form, there is no potential.
Zhu Quanzhong was anxious and angry.
It was Jiang Xuanhui and Prime Minister Liu Can who personally promoted Zhu Quanzhong to spread Zen.The two discussed and discussed, writing manuscripts and formulating plans day and night.Both of them knew that although the pace could be accelerated, the progress could not be overstepped, otherwise it would be difficult for the people inside and outside the court and the people of the world to accept it.
Jiang Xuanhui's procedure for spreading Zen is nothing more than a replica of Wang Mang and Cao Cao's old play. First, Zhu Quanzhong was promoted to a noble rank, and he was promoted all the way to the point where he could not be further promoted, directly approaching the throne of the emperor.These traders who usurped the throne forced the little emperor to issue an edict, making Zhu Quanzhong the prime minister and ranking above all the officials; they also incorporated 21 feudal towns into a territory called the Wei Kingdom, and made Zhu Quanzhong the King of Wei; and then crowned Zhu Quanzhong nine tin.
Zhu Quanzhong was annoyed as soon as he heard this plan. Why are you so talkative and want to be the king of Wei first?Isn't the king of Wei Cao Cao?Isn't my King Liang pretty good?Why do you want to learn from Cao Cao?Cao Cao usurped the Han, and after all the hard work, he finally didn't dare to act too hastily, and he didn't dare to try the law himself.After all, hundreds of years of heavy history of the Han Dynasty are there, and it is not just about bringing down the last weak emperor.Cao Cao, a man of culture and martial arts, is well versed in the truth, but Zhu Quanzhong, who was born recklessly, just doesn't understand the twists and turns of the ups and downs of history.
Zhu Quanzhong did not want to learn from Cao Cao.
Zhu Quanzhong felt that learning Cao Cao was too troublesome.
Zhu Quanzhong has his own way.
Zhu Quanzhong completed the change of dynasty by killing people.
Zhu Quanzhong scolded Jiang Xuanhui severely and urged them to speed up the operation.Jiang Xuanhui was one of the important counselors who followed Zhu Quanzhong in the army. His qualifications were earlier than Jing Xiang's. He helped Zhu Quanzhong mediate the conflict between the Bian army generals, planned Zhu Quanzhong's strategy for the central court, and handled major events such as moving the emperor to the east.Jiang Xuanhui is a thoughtful person. From his past experience in handling affairs, it can be seen that he is familiar with the rules of the game in feudal politics.Therefore, he did not agree with Zhu Quanzhong's eagerness to be emperor.
According to historical records, "Quan Zhong said: 'Ru Cao cleverly told me about my affairs to frustrate me. If I don't accept Jiuxi, I can't be the son of heaven!" Xuanhui said: "Tang Zuo is exhausted, and the destiny belongs to the king. Everyone knows it. Xuan Hui, Liu Can and the others dared to be unethical, but now Jin, Yan, Qi, and Shu are all my strong enemies. Wang Jun accepted Zen, but his heart was not convinced, so he had to make the most of the righteousness, and then take it, if he wants to be king Create a career for generations to come.’” It should be said that Jiang Xuanhui tried his best to persuade Zhu Quanzhong not to act too hastily after comprehensively weighing the situation in the world and the political environment. To be an emperor needs to master the fire.But Zhu Quanzhong couldn't listen to and couldn't understand Jiang Xuanhui's rhetoric. Not only that, but he also became suspicious of Jiang Xuanhui, thinking that he was going to betray him.
Under Zhu Quanzhong's pressure, Jiang Xuanhui discussed with Liu Can, Taichangqing Zhang Tingfan every day, but they couldn't think of a faster and more direct solution.
When Jiang Xuanhui was in full swing planning to spread Zen, Liu Can's political opponents falsely accused Zhu Quanzhong that Jiang Xuanhui had an affair with Empress Dowager He, deliberately obstructed the spread of Zen, and intended to restore the Tang Dynasty.
Zhu Quanzhong has already repaired all the palaces in Kaifeng, and he is gearing up to be stationed as emperor, and his eagerness is fully exposed.Zhu Quanzhong had long been dissatisfied with the inefficient planning of Jiang Xuanhui and others. After being informed by Liu Can's political opponents, Zhu Quanzhong immediately ordered Jiang Xuanhui to be executed, and the dead body was dragged outside the capital to be burned in public.Before dying, Jiang Xuanhui scolded full of sarcasm: "Zhu Quanzhong, even if you sit on the dragon chair, you are still a warlord." Poor Jiang Xuanhui has been Zhu Quanzhong's confidant and bureaucrat for many years, and he has worked for Zhu Quanzhong for most of his life. The fate of death.Other members of the usurper team did not escape Zhu Quanzhong's bloody hands.Zhu Quanzhong demoted Liu Can and Zhang Tingfan first and then executed them.Zhu Quanzhong killed those who worked hard one by one. As a result, people's hearts were terrified, and no one dared to come out to do this scolded and knifed job for Zhu Quanzhong.
Zhu Quanzhong killed the emperor, ministers, princes, and cronies one after another, bloody with swords and knives, and pressed hard at every step, but these actions are really puzzling.If it is centered on usurping the throne, then he should establish the most extensive alliance, at least to consolidate his own side. Why did he kill so many cronies who worked for him?Is it just to kill people?It seems not so simple.Zhu Quanzhong is very cunning, but Zhu Quanzhong's political strategy is not sophisticated.Killing Jiang Xuanhui and other cronies is really not wise. Not only did it not promote the process of usurping the throne, but it caused conflicts within the Zhu Bian Group. Who would take such a big risk to act for Zhu Quanzhong?This is Zhu Quanzhong's pattern, the pattern of a warlord who rises by licking blood. His understanding of politics is "those who follow me prosper and those who oppose me perish."Zhu Quanzhong not only believes that killing people can threaten those who do not obey, and that by creating a terrifying environment, he can force the emperor down to the courtiers to submit, but Zhu Quanzhong also believes that wealth and wealth can be found in danger. Since his debut, he has always held this belief. Any high-ranking official who comes to the throne is bought in blood, so he doesn't worry that no one will do things for him. As long as the temptation to get promoted and get rich is strong enough, there will be others who will stand up to do things for him.
That being said, although Zhu Quanzhong was in a hurry, he did not make haste, and the matter of spreading Zen was put on hold for more than a year.
In the first month of 907 A.D., under Jing Xiang's various plans, Xue Yiju, the imperial historian, came forward to deal with the little emperor and Zhu Quanzhong.Learning from Jiang Xuanhui's lesson, Xue Yiju didn't move out of the rules and regulations, but went straight to the point and directly asked the emperor to abdicate the throne to Zhu Quanzhong.Zhu Quanzhong is quite satisfied with this plan.Zhu Quanzhong finally waited for the time to pick peaches.
Although Zhu Quanzhong was impatient in his heart, he still refused on the surface, and deliberately put on a show.In Chinese history, this kind of ostentatious drama is often staged. The protagonist never hides it in the process of chasing the goal, but often at the last moment when success is in sight, these big-shot protagonists suddenly become embarrassed, humble, and coy, and shyly refuse to reach out. To pick up the fruits of victory.
The more Zhu Quanzhong refused, the more people persuaded him to come in. The Manchu civil and military ministers persuaded him to come in, and the prime minister led hundreds of officials to Zhu Quanzhong's mansion to persuade him to come in, but Zhu Quanzhong refused again.As a result, ministers, vassals, and even Lingnan Hunan wrote memorials and letters to persuade them to advance.Of course, this is all the result of Jing Xiang's directing.Those who decline and refuse always leave half a sentence on their lips, and those who persuade and recommend are already sweating profusely.People of all colors from top to bottom performed very successfully in this fake show, and they were extremely busy.The little emperor was so frightened that he couldn't do anything about it, and the ministers who persuaded him to come in were really exhausted.
March is the season when peach blossoms are in full bloom.The little emperor sent Zhongshu Ling Zhang Wenwei as the official envoy, and Su Xun, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, as the deputy envoy, responsible for delivering the gold booklet; Yang She, a servant, was appointed as the official envoy, and Zhang Ce, a Hanlin scholar, was the deputy envoy to deliver the Imperial Seal ; Xue Yiju, a doctor of imperial history, was sent as the official envoy, and Zhao Guangfeng, the minister Zuo Cheng, was appointed as the deputy envoy to escort Jinbao; Send it directly to Zhu Quanzhong.After arriving in Kaifeng, Zhu Quanzhong couldn't hold back his excitement when he looked at the colorful documents, but he tried his best to hide his dark face, pretending to be modest and said: "I don't have any merits, it all depends on your support." Zhang Wenwei, Yang She's face was flushed red and he couldn't answer.Only Xue Yiju could barely utter a few words: "Your Majesty, your Derby is better than the Three Emperors, and your merit is better than Yutang. This is what everyone expects." Zhu Quanzhong was so elated that he no longer refused, and sat on the dragon chair of the Golden Palace.
Although Zhu Quanzhong didn't know what earth-shattering feats the Three Emperors and Yutang had done, or even whether they were figures from hundreds or thousands of years ago, he always heard the civil and military officials speak and shut their mouths to the former emperors. Flattering with this, I knew in my heart that this was a great flattery, and I felt very refreshed after hearing it.Zhang Wenwei and Xue Yiju asked Zhu Quanzhong: "Your Majesty, do you want to make a dragon chair again?"
Zhu Quanzhong said: "No need. It will take a long time to make another one. The one brought by Chang'an will do. Just replace the ornaments with new ones."
Sitting on the dragon chair moved from Chang'an City, Zhu Quanzhong accepted the worship of all officials. Amidst the sound of singing, Zhu Quanzhong became the emperor of Liang Kingdom.
Zhu Quanzhong was fifty-five years old this year.
When there is a big happy event, it is inevitable to eat, drink and rub.On the same day, Zhu Quanzhong hosted a grand banquet for civil and military officials.
After the banquet with all the officials, Zhu Quanzhong had another banquet with his clan relatives.
Zhu Quanzhong was very happy today, it was a good day, he was in a particularly good mood, and he drank a lot and enjoyed himself.When the wine was half drunk, they called together relatives and friends to gamble and play.
When everyone was in high spirits, Zhu Quanyu, Zhu Quanzhong's eldest brother, suddenly grabbed a piece of jade and threw it into the basin. Accompanied by a sharp breaking sound, jade fragments flew across.Zhu Quanyu was stupid, straightforward, mediocre and incompetent. In the first few years, Zhu Quanzhong found him the post of Shannan Jiedushi, and he had just retired the year before last.The old man Zhu Quanyu was breathing alcohol, squinting at Zhu Quanzhong and scolding: "Zhu San, you are just a grassroots person in Dangshan. You were cynical when you were young and couldn't do any serious work. You first followed Huang Chao as a thief, and later the emperor reused you. You are already very rich and honored to be the governor of the four towns, why did you suddenly destroy the land of the Tang Dynasty for three hundred years?
Zhu Quanzhong's killings were decisive and prohibited, and he was never ambiguous, but he was very respectful to his mother and elder brother and did not dare to make mistakes.Being disturbed by Zhu Quanyu, Zhu Quanzhong's cheeks puffed up, and he was angry in his heart and dared not contradict him, besides, Zhu Quanyu was justified even though he was drunk.All of a sudden, the bustling scene seemed to have been poured with cold water, and everyone lost interest. Zhu Quanzhong ended the banquet with a gloomy face.
There are no two suns in the sky, and there are no two monarchs in the country.
Zhu Quanzhong became the emperor, what about the original little emperor?
Zhu Quanzhong sent the little emperor to Caozhou and ordered people to keep him under strict supervision, but he was actually under house arrest. He arranged the emperor's residence into a wall full of thorns, just like the current prison.Even so, Zhu Quanzhong did not forget the little emperor. Not long after he ascended the throne, Zhu Quanzhong sent someone to poison the little emperor to death.This is the usual home of a subjugated king.
The little emperor can't be called a faint king. It can be said that he is basically a dispensable person to Tang Shi, and there is not much for people to criticize and ridicule.Then Yizong, Xizong and Zhaozong must be regarded as foolish emperors, right?It is not certain whether they are unconscious or not, because at least their IQs are still sound, but it is true that they must have no intention or powerlessness in state affairs.
The faint king at the end of the empire was not the root cause of the country's subjugation and government, nor was it necessarily the gravedigger of the empire's collapse.Because the faint king is also a product of the flaws of the system, and the flaws of this system have actually been planted long ago.
The system flaws in the late Tang Dynasty can basically be attributed to Xuanzong, who was the instigator.Once a flawed system is designed, the later "faint monarchs" are basically unable to repair the shortcomings of these systems. Instead, they show extraordinary enthusiasm and creativity in strengthening the system's shortcomings. Perhaps this is the "faintness" of the "faint monarchs".Except for a wise and powerful man like Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, there is basically no successor who can build a benign self-adjustment mechanism under the established framework to turn things around and turn the tide.
It is unrealistic to pin the hope of saving the dilapidated mess of the late Tang Dynasty on Mingjun. Even if the emperor is wise enough, he must have strong enough physical and psychological qualities to be able to fight unyieldingly with all kinds of stubborn and cunning forces. In this way, success or failure is difficult to reverse.
The political structure of the late Tang Dynasty was basically based on the four-party game between the power of the imperial power, the power of ministers, the power of eunuchs, and the power of feudal towns. The intricate relationship between mutual distrust, division of self-interest, and checks and balances between power groups is constantly being cut and messed up. Once a certain factor is alienated and strengthened beyond the equilibrium state, this mess will be torn apart, torn apart, waiting for new connections and connections. Construct.The emperor is just a representative of one of these intricate relationships, and he has long been unable to represent the world.
It is even more unrealistic to pin the hope of saving the dilapidated mess of the late Tang Dynasty on the sages and ministers. Guo Ziyi is just a hero with exaggerated force, not a minister who can control chaos.Li Guangbi could only sigh and evade in the face of party disputes.All other ministers belong to a certain political faction. Narrow party disputes will always replace the ruling philosophy, and the reality of party uniformity and dissent will distort the correct program that has not been verified.Cui Yin's jealousy of eunuchs seems to be right on the heels of the current situation, but the current problems are far from this one. He can't even fight the eunuchs, so he talks about how to help them.
In addition, what other powers can help a dynasty consciously improve and repair itself?
So Tang's downfall is inevitable.
The Li Tang royal family is over, and the Li Tang royal family is destroyed.The strange thing is that in the whole world, no one stood up to avenge Emperor Li Tang, and no one wanted to revive the Tang Dynasty. They were all watching the collapse of the centuries-old Tang Dynasty with cold eyes.
In fact, it is not surprising that the common people have been oppressed and exploited by the imperial court, and have long since lost their patience for affection and obedience to the imperial court and the royal family.
The feudal vassals and towns only focused on grabbing territory and expanding their influence. No one cared about the safety and fortune of the imperial court, and the imperial court did not give any real favors and benefits to the feudal princes and feudal towns.
The civil and military ministers in the court only know how to fight for power and profit, and muddle along, treating the emperor as a seesaw or a doll, with no loyalty and integrity left.
Even if the middle and low-level officials and wealthy children had learned some literary and martial arts, many of them joined the staff of the feudal towns to find new opportunities to get promoted and make a fortune. The court lost the supply of fresh blood.
Therefore, the existence of Emperor Zhaozong is just a blinding rag. Under the cover of it, the Li Tang court and the Li Tang world, which had already fallen apart and rebelled against their relatives, lingered on.Zhu Quanzhong tore off the rag with ease, thus ending the Li-Tang Dynasty.
Another thing happened in this year. At the same time that the Li Tang Dynasty was replaced by Zhu Liang, the eight Khitan tribes in the north were integrated into one, and the most powerful Yelu Abaoji became the emperor of Khitan.From then on, the Khitan stepped onto the stage of history with a unified and powerful face, and launched a stalemate struggle with the Han Empire in the Central Plains for nearly 300 years, which became the nightmare of several dynasties of the Han Empire.
The Khitan, a nation with a long history, was originally a descendant of the Donghu caste.The ancestors of the Khitan were defeated by the Huns and scattered to the Xianbei Mountains.During the Northern Wei Dynasty, they fled to the south of Huangshui and the north of Huanglong, about the present Liaoyang area. Later, these tribes got a name for themselves, called Khitan.Most of the territory occupied by Khitan is in a cold place, bordering Goryeo to the east, the Xi tribe to the west, Yingzhou Linhai to the south, and Mohe and Shiwei to the north.The Khitan have always been nomadic for a living, living on water and grass on thousands of miles of land, without a fixed place.Khitan is divided into eight tribes, of which the Dahe clan is the strongest and occupies a leading position.For hundreds of years, Khitan was in the stage of slavery and semi-primitive society.Due to the strength of the Turks in the north, the Southern and Northern Dynasties and the early Tang Dynasty once dominated the northern and western deserts for hundreds of years.Due to the close relationship between Khitan and Turkic living environment, Khitan is much weaker than Turkic in terms of strength, especially in the battle of plundering the Tang territory. Therefore, Khitan has been subject to Turkic for most of the history before the unification.For a while, Khitan was also a vassal of Li Tang.In the second year of Kaiyuan, some tribes of the Khitan defected to the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji of the Tang Dynasty gave the Khitan Danshu iron coupons, expressing mutual trust and repairing forever.In fact, it is impossible to repair forever. The relationship between Khitan and Li Tang was ups and downs later, and the main reason was the competition for border material resources in Youzhou.After the failure of An Lushan's conquest of Khitan, the Li and Tang Dynasty gradually weakened. They had almost no power to attack and manage Khitan and let it develop. At this time, Khitan also began to gradually become stronger.At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the tribe to which Yelu Abaoji belonged became stronger and gradually replaced the Dahe clan. In 907, the eight tribes were unified in one fell swoop. The Khitan society began to enter the kingdom system and entered the development stage of feudal society.
Li Ke's hegemony strategy is King Qin, and he is on the side of the emperor in big matters. This is his experience and lesson.
Zhu Quanzhong's line of struggle for hegemony is to occupy territory, and Zhu Quanzhong believes that only with his own territory can he have everything.If one's own road is widened, others will naturally be out.So at the beginning, Zhu Quanzhong was not interested in the emperor.
Li Maozhen's line of struggle for hegemony is to coerce the emperor to make the princes. He is close to the water, and he always wants to attack the emperor.
Wang Jian's line of struggle for hegemony is to carve up the world and occupy Sichuan.
Strictly speaking, Yang Xingmi has almost no idea of hegemony and hegemony, but just wants to have a piece of land that he has the final say on.
Qian Liu's strategy is to build a good relationship with everyone, live in a corner, and the most important thing is to survive.
Liu Rengong's strategy is to die after the addiction.
In the ups and downs of decades, only Zhu Quanzhong's strategy was effective, not only laying down the territory but also holding the emperor hostage, and finally changed the dynasty and generation.
Zhu Quanzhong's self-directed abdication was just the last straw, which crushed the weakened camel of the Tang Dynasty.
With the snap of Zhu Quanzhong's fingers, the empire collapsed.
If you play it, you will play it.
Don't play white and don't play.
Is it a white bullet?