Chapter 13 2. The Thin Emperor and the Fat Eunuch

The emperor is not in a hurry and the eunuchs are in a hurry.The emperor's pain and happiness are all in the hands of the eunuch, the emperor has the emperor's difficulties, and the eunuch has the eunuch's joy. The so-called "you don't go to Sichuan", this statement is really true, even the emperor who has seen the world is no exception.Emperor Xizong, who left Chang'an, lived in Shuchuan for four years, and became addicted to the life in the palace in Chengdu. At the same time, he was afraid of the increasingly arrogant threat of Qin Zongquan, so he was reluctant to return to Chang'an.But staying in Chengdu is not an option, after all, the home of the emperor, the heart of the world, is in Chang'an.Under the repeated petitions of the Kanto princes, Emperor Xizong drove back to Beijing from Chengdu, Sichuan in the early spring of the first year of Guangqi (885 AD) with infinitely complicated emotions.

Xi Zong returned to the capital where he had been away for several years, and he hardly knew this land. How could this be the prosperous Chang'an in the past?Where is the capital of the leader Siyi Tang Empire?Chang'an is now devastated, with weeds overgrown everywhere, ruined walls, and vampires infested.It's really "the country is broken, the mountains and rivers are there, the city is full of spring vegetation", "the flowers splash tears when I feel the time, and the birds are frightened when I hate them". A person suffers from a serious illness, and after the initial recovery, his body is weak and his spirit is scattered.

The country has experienced chaos, and its national strength is weak, the treasury is exhausted, supplies are scarce, and people are panicked. The most important thing is the lack of money. Because the emperor needs money. It's not that the emperor himself needs to spend money, but the emperor's public and private affairs all cost money. This money must be spent. This money cannot be less. This money cannot be broken for a day. Because someone wants to spend money. Only by spending money can the emperor's standard of food, clothing and living standards not be lowered, the emperor will be comfortable when the food and daily life are well prepared, the emperor will be happy when he is comfortable, and those who serve the emperor will not have trouble when the emperor is happy. Only after serving the emperor happily can they get the emperor's favor, and only after they get the emperor's favor can they "do well" their own affairs and "get rid of" others.

So people who want to spend money are very motivated to find money. Who will look for it? The great eunuch Tian Lingzi. He has no skills in escorting, fighting, and restoring the country. The skill of flattering the emperor can be said to be the best in the world. Money is not only important, but also life-threatening. Asking for money is urging your life to redeem your life, running for your life, betting your life or even not dying. The world is exhausted, where can I find money? At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the tax system basically disappeared, and the government's economy was on the verge of collapse.The central government's finances depend on supply, while local finances depend on robbery.There are very few feudal towns that are willing to pay tribute to the central government. When the warlords are happy, they will pay more rice, flour, money and food, and if they are not happy, they will cut off the supply.Not only is there no annual payment, but also monthly payment, which made the emperor eat his last meal without his next meal.Local finances are basically plundered by warlords by force.Due to years of wars and chaos, the people are in dire straits, and the agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, sideline and fishing are all in ruins, and there are no taxable objects at all.In addition, the common people were displaced, and many types of taxes were not paid. The prefectures and counties had no choice but to set up checkpoints to collect tolls, bridge tolls, overloading fees, and head fees. Therefore, there was very little fiscal revenue that could be realized through the tax system.

Among the various sources of income, taxes and fees are the most direct subject of money, and salt and iron are the most fertile subjects of all taxes. Tian Lingzi fixed his eyes on the two big salt ponds in Anyi and Jiexian in Hezhong.Tian Lingzi, the Guanrong Envoy of the Sixth Army, ordered that the salt tax management rights of Hejie County in Anyi be directly transferred to the central government, and he also served as the envoy of salt and iron. The so-called "recovery" means that the tax revenue of these two salt ponds was originally directly under the central government. After the fall of Chang'an, it was temporarily managed by the local town of Hezhong. Self-governed.

Now Tian Lingzi wants to take the big piece of salt tax from the mouth of Hezhong, but Wang Chongrong, the Jiedu envoy of Hezhong, naturally refuses.Wang Chongrong was not completely angry at the confiscation of the Yanchi tax, it was just a blatant excuse.What's more important is that after Tian Lingzi returned to the capital, in order to re-establish his position in control of the political power, he was secretly attacking and weakening the local princes and ministers who did not cling to him. The first to suffer was Zheng Tian, ​​who was the first to serve the emperor.Situ, the minister under the door, and Tongping Zhangshi Zheng Tian "although they should spread the Yue, they still follow the law." That is to say, although the sky is high and the emperor is far away, and there is a lot of chaos, they still act according to the rules and laws, and there is no act of arrogating power. One of his words is "compared with many people, it is very rare".The great eunuch Tian Lingzi begged Wu Yuan to be a Langguan for his own judge, but Zheng Tian disagreed.Chen Jingxuan, Tian Lingzi's younger brother, thought that he had made great contributions to receiving the fleeing emperor, and planned to elevate his status above that of the prime minister.Zheng Tian cites old examples from the past to prove it. He believes that no matter how high the rank of the external "temporary prime minister" is, it cannot be higher than the real prime minister, and he argues hard.In addition to scolding Gao Pian, Zheng Tian strongly resisted the speculators in the DPRK and China, and his straightforwardness was unmatched.

Chen Jingxuan's goal was not achieved, and Tian Lingzi felt very annoyed, so the two men instigated Fengxiang Jiedu envoy Li Changfu to write a memorial to the emperor to make a suggestion: "Now the situation is messy, the military situation is complicated, and they are not under each other. It's too heavy." When Emperor Xizong heard that Zheng Tian "has a high position and weight, especially the military power is too heavy", his heart became terrified, and he dismissed Zheng Tian with only a bit of instinct and without going through the brain, and made him a prince and a prince. The vanity title, sent Lao Zheng home.Then Zheng Ningji, Zheng Tian's son, was released from the position of Minister of the Ministry of War as the governor of Pengzhou, and ordered Zheng Tian to live with his son for the elderly.

Zheng Tian, ​​who was loyal and upright and worked hard for the country, was cut off first after the country's situation recovered a little bit. It can be seen how jealous Tian Lingzi is towards these outstanding ministers of the restoration of the country, and how much energy Tian Lingzi has to play with the emperor. On the palm of the hand.Wang Duo, the big boss who was in charge of the crisis, probably died accidentally on the way to town because of Tian Lingzi's relationship with Tian Lingzi.Brothers Yang Fuguang and Yang Fugong, who were quite influential in the court, were not spared either.Yang Fuguang led thousands of people from Zhongwu Fanzhen to help the capital, united the princes and fought tirelessly with Huang Chao.But after the emperor returned to the capital, Tian Lingzi gradually excluded Yang Fuguang and Yang Fugong. Yang Fuguang died shortly after being excluded, and his elder brother Yang Fugong was demoted and kicked out of the core of Shence Army.It has been explained before that Yang Fuguang is a generous and loyal man. After his death, no one can control the generals who followed Yang Fuguang from Zhongwu to Hezhong.These generals and schools dispersed one after another, and even caused chaos, among them was Lu Yanhong.

Wang Chongrong and Tian Lingzi have never had anything to do with each other. Now that Tian Lingzi is looking for faults, Wang Chongrong is immediately aware of Tian Lingzi's insidious intentions.Wang Chongrong had just fought bloody battles, and he had the power to recreate the universe for the preservation of the capital and the royal family.Tian Lingzi was just a disaster for the country and eunuch, and he came to deprive Wang Chongrong of his interests as soon as he returned to the capital, which angered Wang Chongrong.Wang Chongrong decided to ask the emperor to argue, so he wrote letters to the emperor one by one, insisting that the management of the salt tax of the two counties should still be left in the river.Tian Lingzi believed that he was the emperor's celebrity, and he didn't take Wang Chongrong seriously, and planned to use this to get rid of Wang Chongrong and take Hezhong, an important city in the capital, into his own hands.Tian Lingzi kept telling lies in front of the emperor, spoke ill of Wang Chongrong, and suggested that the emperor transfer Wang Chongrong from Hezhong to Taining.

Where is Taining?In the distant Shandong and Jiangsu areas, let alone a small place the size of a palm, how can it be compared with Hezhong.Wang Chongrong understood that if he left the river, it would be tantamount to diverting the tiger from the mountain and the dragon from the abyss.Wang Chongrong hated Tian Lingzi so much, but there was nothing he could do about Tian Lingzi for a while.Wang Chongrong could only resist passively, throwing the transfer edict aside, and sat on his buttocks without moving his nest. In the process of redistribution and division of power, the psychological effects of all parties involved in the game are very subtle. This psychological effect is sometimes very aggressive, and can induce reactions that are several times the normal value, resulting in unusual lethality.Wang Chongrong's resistance made Tian Lingzi feel that his face and authority had been greatly challenged.Tian Lingzi originally had no intention of putting Wang Chongrong to death, but just snatching the fat from Lao Wang's hands.Now that the two have torn their skins apart, Tian Lingzi decided to solve Wang Chongrong by force.

The reason why Tian Lingzi dared to take military measures was because Tian Lingzi felt confident, and his greatest support was of course the emperor.Tian Lingzi now feels that he can almost fully represent the emperor.While flattering, deceiving, fooling and instigating the emperor, Tian Lingzi secretly made friends with some local vassals and towns.The vassals that Tian Lingzi can make friends with are generally not heavyweight players with heavy soldiers in their hands, and most heavyweight players are among Tian Lingzi's strikes.Tian Lingzi established a relationship with Zhu Mei, the envoy of Binning Jiedu, and Li Changfu, the envoy of Fengxiang Jiedu near Gyeonggi, and they were both in and out of each other.Zhu Mei and Li Changfu, the two melon-eggs, also want to use Tian Lingzi to maintain their position and climb up, opportunistically, and get a share of the new round of power struggle between the ruling and opposition parties. Tian Lingzi also has another support, he has an army, his own army.When returning to Chang'an with the emperor, Tian Lingzi brought back 54,000 Shence troops from Sichuan. These tens of thousands of people were carefully selected by Tian Lingzi, and all of them were well-developed and domineering. With the backing of the emperor, the feudal town, and the confidant Shence Army, Tian Lingzi certainly had reason to feel bold and strong.After making sufficient preparations, Tian Lingzi issued an ultimatum to Wang Chongrong. The horn of the decisive battle had already sounded, and the terrified capital was immediately shrouded in tense and terrifying war clouds.Officials and subjects couldn't figure out what went wrong, why did the emperor fight again just after he came back?And it's the official army fighting the official army.What the hell is going on in this world?In particular, the common people are in constant panic, not knowing when disasters will strike their heads. Although Wang Chongrong held a heavy army and had a high status, he was at a disadvantage in terms of momentum and ethics when confronting Wang Shi.Confronting Master Wang is tantamount to rebellion, which is a serious crime. However, after all, Wang Chongrong is a hero in troubled times, and he still maintains his due sobriety when the war is imminent.Wang Chongrong immediately sent a distress letter to his ally, Li Keyong, the Jiedu envoy of Hedong, asking Li Keyong to come and join the Qing emperor to hunt down the thieves. It's not that Wang Chongrong can't defeat Tian Lingzi in terms of military strength, but that Wang Chongrong can easily be accused of rebellion if he works alone. This hat is too heavy, and Wang Chongrong cannot afford to wear it.If Li Keyong is willing to cooperate with Wang Chongrong, the nature of the situation will be controllable, because the people of the world believe that Li Keyong and Wang Chongrong, who have made great contributions, will not rebel at the same time, and there is room for risk sharing even if there are troubles.Li Keyong also hated Tian Lingzi deeply, because the destruction of their father and son's family was the result of the old thief's mischief in the court a few years ago.What's more, Li Ke used the name of protecting the emperor and beating thieves as a teacher. He could not only claim credit for maintaining his position, but also strengthened his ally relationship with Wang Chongrong. However, the falling out between Tian Lingzi and Wang Chongrong was a temporary accident for Li Keyong. The occurrence of this incident interfered with a plan that Li Keyong was implementing.Ever since Li Keyong was assassinated by Zhu Quanzhong in Bianliang and returned to Jinyang in embarrassment, he has always been obsessed with revenge, and he has a deep heart for Zhu Quanzhong, and vowed to never destroy Bianliang.Therefore, during these days, Li Ke used one letter after another to expose Zhu Quanzhong to the court, complained to the emperor, and asked Xizong to uphold justice for him.However, the imperial court made peace with the mud and shirked responsibility for Li Keyong's request.Li Keyong was filled with indignation at the imperial court's indiscrimination of black and white, cowardice and cunning, and Zhu Quanzhong's manipulation of power and complacency.Seeing that the imperial court was unwilling to punish Zhu Quanzhong, Li Keyong decided to go it alone. He stepped up the recruitment of soldiers and horses, accumulated grass and grain, gathered all the Hus, and discussed every day to plan to attack Bianliang. At the moment when Li Keyong was rehearsing his troops and preparing his army for war, Wang Chongrong's request for help came.This incident made Li Keyong very embarrassed.Li Keyong wrote a reply letter to Wang Chongrong, in which he said: "Marshal Wang, please wait for a while, I will go and eliminate Zhu Quanzhong first, and after I come back, I will help you attack those little mice. It will be like the autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, as easy as flipping the palm of your hand." When Wang Chongrong saw Li Ke's letter, he couldn't sit still.Li Keyong didn't want to come, at least he didn't want to come right away, what's the matter?Wang Chongrong's eyebrows were burning, how could he wait any longer.Wang Chongrong hurriedly wrote another urgent letter to Li Keyong, saying: "When you come back from Kanto, Li Shuai, I will already be a prisoner of Tian Lingzi. I think it's more important to come to the Qing emperor's side to get rid of the villains first, and wait for the things here to be settled." After that, it will not be difficult to capture Zhu Quanzhong again." After repeated urging by Wang Chongrong, Li Keyong finally adjusted his strategic deployment and decided to give priority to assisting Wang Chongrong. However, Li Keyong did not send troops immediately, and still hoped that Tian Lingzi and others would retreat in the face of difficulties through psychological warfare of threats and intimidation.Li Keyong wrote to the imperial court: "Zhu Mei and Li Changfu secretly cling to Zhu Quanzhong. They are each other's front and back, and they meet together to eliminate the humble minister. The minister has no choice but to retreat. There is no way to retreat. There is no way to give up. We must save ourselves. Now the minister has summoned the Fan Han With 150,000 troops, I decided to cross the Yellow River next year to crusade against Zhu Mei and Li Changfu. This conquest is limited to Zhu and Li towns, and will not disturb the capital. Please rest assured. After I have wiped out Zhu and Li towns, I will send troops to crusade against Zhu Quanzhong Take revenge to avenge your shame." Li Ke used this tactic to really work, first of all he made clear his political stance, not only explained that the reason for leaving the army was to attack Zhu Quanzhong's party, but also stated that it was not aimed at the imperial court. When the court and the emperor saw Li Ke's posture, they felt terrified and went up and down in a mess. They knew that Li Ke used this as a "beautiful lie" and a "tenderness that could strangle people".With Li Keyong's character and personality, he will do what he says, once troops are sent across the river, the consequences will be serious.Who knew what Li Ke would do if he hit the rabbit with a grass hug and misfired his gun?The emperor sent wave after wave of messengers to Jinyang to appease Li Keyong and mediate between Li Keyong, Zhu Mei, and Li Changfu. When the situation is tense and all forces are fighting wits and courage, there are some people who don't know the heights of the sky and the depths of the earth. They are afraid that the world will not be chaotic enough, and they will add fuel to the flames, and even seek to make money out of the flames.Zhu Mei is the kind of person who urges death and urges death. Some dare to think, some dare to do, and some dare to both think and do.Zhu Mei's heart is higher than the sky, and her courage is bigger than the earth. She dreams of reaching the sky in one step and becoming an extremely human minister.Zhu Mei's wishful thinking is to borrow a knife to kill people, and use the power of the court to cut off Li Keyong. Li Keyong exchanged letters with the imperial court and started a war of words, but Zhu Mei was in a hurry. He was more anxious than the eunuch Tian Lingzi-in a hurry to start a war. In order to create an excuse to start a war, Zhu Mei quietly sent her confidants to infiltrate the capital, murdered and set fire to create chaos, and even assassinated the emperor's servants, and then blamed Li Keyong.After Zhu Mei created the terrorist activities, she spread rumors all over the city, saying that Li Keyong had sent people into Chang'an to plot evil and intend to rebel.Now a pool of muddy water has been stirred up, rumors are flying all over the sky for a while, and people in Chang'an City are in a state of panic all day long, so that they disturb each other.Originally, the pile of dry firewood and charcoal for the war had been heated up, and Zhu Mei's plotting activities were no different from a bunch of flames that flew in, and the flames of the war were ignited when they "flew up". The emperor can't sit still, he would rather believe in what he has than in nothing.Tian Lingzi properly grasped the fire, and in the name of the emperor sent Zhu Mei and Li Changfu to lead his own troops, plus the Shence Army Yifu, Yan, Ling, Xia and other places, a total of 30,000 troops, to denounce Li Keyong and Wang Chongrong.In fact, Li Keyong and Wang Chongrong may not have no intention of luring the enemy to attack first. Now that Tian Lingzi and others have declared war, Wang Chongrong and Li Keyong will not sit still. In November, it was freezing cold, Li Keyong sent troops south from Jinyang, joined forces with Wang Chongrong, and confronted Tian Lingzi and Zhu Mei in Shayuan.At this time, the two were still fighting for the political initiative, asking the emperor to kill Tian Lingzi, Zhu Mei, Li Changfu and other traitors who caused disasters to the country and the government.How could Emperor Xizong do this? Naturally, he made some mediation and asked each of them to stop fighting.Li Keyong refused the emperor's mediation, and joined forces with Wang Chongrong to attack Tian Lingzi. Tian Lingzi never imagined that his tens of thousands of treasured Shence troops had no combat experience and ability at all. The long-term pampering and lack of combat skills made these Shence troops who usually show off their might on weekdays defeated on the outside and vulnerable to a single blow.Tian Lingzi didn't expect that Zhu Mei and Li Changfu were both sharp-mouthed, thick-skinned and hollow-belly masters, and they were defeated by the Hezhong East Army as soon as they fought. The egg-to-rock war launched by Tian Lingzi ended in complete failure.Since ancient times, Tian Lingzi knows this well. He doesn't want to be a bandit, he wants to break through the predicament and continue to dominate. Don't you know that the predicament is so easy to turn over.