Chapter 211 Chapter 210 Xuanzong Li Chen

Tang Xuanzong was originally named Li Yi, and changed his name to Li Chen after he ascended the throne. He was the son of Tang Xianzong Li Chun.In the sixth year of Huichang (846 AD), he was crowned as the 16th emperor of the Tang Dynasty and reigned for 13 years. In the first month of the sixth year of Huichang Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty, the subjects of the Tang Empire had just celebrated the grand and enthusiastic Lunar New Year, and the entire city of Chang'an was still full of festive scenes.However, there was a tense and serious atmosphere in the palace. The joy of the New Year did not wash away Tang Wuzong's illness. Prime Minister Li Deyu saw that Wuzong was dying, and was very anxious about who would inherit the throne.

Tang Wuzong had five sons: the eldest son, Li Jun, was named King Qi; the second son, Li Xian, was named King Yi; the third son, Li Qi, was named King Yan; the fourth son, Li Yi, was named King De; He was named King Chang.Since these five sons were still young, Wu Zong never registered as a prince, and Wu Zong never mentioned this matter when he was seriously ill.Eunuch Ma Yuanzhi and others saw that Wuzong was seriously ill, so they took advantage of the opportunity of not having a crown prince, and actively prepared to choose an heir, so that they could control the emperor and monopolize the government in the future.After some plotting and planning, they decided to make Wuzong's uncle Guang Wang Li Yi the heir to the throne.Therefore, Ma Yuanzhi and others pretended to pass on the imperial edict, saying that the prince was too young to be in charge of the court, and Li Yi, the king of Trinity, was the uncle of the emperor and had full power to handle state affairs.Although Prime Minister Li Deyu and others were surprised by this, they thought it was Wu Zong's personal order and dared not refute it.In fact, Wu Zong was unconscious at this time.In March of the sixth year of Huichang (846 AD), Emperor Wuzong died.Ma Yuanzhi and others succeeded to the throne by Li Yi, the king of Guangguang, and changed his name to Li Chen. He was named Dazhong and was known as Emperor Xuanzong in history.

Xuanzong Li Chen had a severe stutter since he was a child. It was difficult to see him speak at ordinary times, and he saw things differently from ordinary people. He was like a dementia.The eunuch Ma Yuanzhi and others supported him as emperor precisely because they thought he was stupid and believed that he would be easy to control in the future.Unexpectedly, after he came to the throne, he received the ministers and handled government affairs, and his dementia disappeared.Only then did the eunuchs and court officials suddenly realize that he is a scheming person, and that he is faking his foolishness.

Xuanzong succeeded to the throne in the name of the emperor's uncle. He did not recognize himself as the heir of Tang Wuzong, but regarded himself as the direct heir of his father Tang Xianzong.He accused his elder brother Mu Zong of being rebellious, and even his three sons Jingzong, Wenzong and Wuzong were also rebellious.Therefore, after he ascended the throne, he immediately denied all the policy policies of Tang Wuzong period, expelled Li Deyu, the prime minister of Tang Wuzong, and his party, removed Li Deyu and Li Rangyi from their positions as prime ministers, and replaced them with members of the Niu Party, which was opposed to the Li Party group. Bai Minzhong was the prime minister.

Bai Minzhong was the cousin of Bai Juyi, a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty. He entered the central government on the recommendation of Li Deyu, but he belonged to the Niu Party faction. Therefore, after he became prime minister, he began to retaliate against the Li Party group headed by Li Deyu.Bai Minzhong first instigated his party member Li Weiluo to fabricate charges, and demoted Li Deyu, who had been dismissed, to Dongdu (now Luoyang) to stay behind, and then to Chaozhou Sima. In the first month of the second year of Dazhong (848 AD), he was demoted to Yazhou Sihu joined the army until Li Deyu died in Yazhou (now Chongshan, Hainan).At the same time, Bai Minzhong also criticized other members of the Li party group, even the supporters of the Li party.

While belittling the Li Dang group, Bai Minzhong greatly promoted and reused the members of the Niu Party who were demoted by the Li Dang group during Wuzong's period or restored their official positions.As soon as he accepted the position of prime minister, he promoted Niu Sengru, the leader of the Niu Party, who had been demoted by the Li Party, to be the governor of Hengzhou.At the same time, the sentence of exile of Li Zongmin, an important member of the Niu Party, was revoked, and he was transferred to Sima in Chenzhou (now Yongxing, Hunan).In the first year of Dazhong, Bai Minzhong transferred Yang Sifu, the governor of Chaozhou, to be the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and in the second year, he transferred Li Jue to be the Minister of the Ministry of Households.After this series of activities, almost all members of the Li party group and their supporters were expelled from Kyoto, or demoted to border states or exiled; while members of the Niu party group were not only promoted, but also became senior officials in the central government.

Bai Min served as the prime minister of the Communist Party of China for 6 years. After him, the prime minister who was reused by Tang Xuanzong was Ling Huxiao, who was also a member of the Niu Dang group.Therefore, during the entire period of Tang Xuanzong's reign, the Niu Dang Group always held the power of the central government, and they faithfully implemented Tang Xuanzong's policy of administration. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty loved Confucian scholars and paid attention to those who had achieved fame through the imperial examinations, and believed that only these people had real talents and real learning.During his reign, every time he went to the court to summon a newly appointed official, he would first ask if he had any fame and whether he had been selected as a Jinshi.If the summoned officials answered that they were famous, Jinshi or Juren, Xuanzong would be overjoyed, talk happily, and even put other things aside, and talk to the summoned officials on the spot about the poems and proses they made during the exam and the names of the examiners, and sometimes even record the names of these officials and their poems and articles on the pillars of the palace for future browsing.If he heard that someone was excellent in talent and learning but failed to be selected, Xuanzong would sigh for a long time, and silently leave the court and return to the palace.

Xuanzong was very concerned about and attached great importance to the imperial examination system. During his reign, he often dressed in ordinary people's clothes, dressed up as ordinary people, and paid private visits to the people to listen to people's opinions on imperial examinations.In order to expand the scale of imperial examinations and select more talented people, Xuanzong also further improved and modified the imperial examination system.In February of the first year of Dazhong (847 A.D.), Wei Fu, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, reported to Xuanzong the admission of Chen Jinshi. It mentioned that there were three people, Feng Yanqing, Cui Zhuo, and Zheng Yanxiu, who had both ability and political integrity. They should have been admitted as Jinshi , but because their father and brother held important official positions in the court, they were not admitted according to the usual practice.After reading it, Xuanzong thought that this practice limited the selection of talents, so he ordered the Ministry of Rites to re-examine these three people. If they pass the exam, they can be admitted as Jinshi. , As long as you have real talents and learning, you can be selected.In addition, Xuanzong also mercilessly punished those who violated the imperial examination system and resorted to deception in order to advance to official positions.In March of the ninth year of Dazhong, the Ministry of Rites leaked the test questions when it was taking the examination of Hongci Juren, and was impeached by Yushitai.Xuanzong attached great importance to this matter, and immediately issued an edict to punish the officials in charge of the examination by demotion, dismissal, and fines, and disqualified all 10 candidates who had been admitted, and forged hall seals, hall posts, and substitutes. Officials such as Huang Xuzhi, who took the exam and took bribes, were executed according to law.Xuanzong's handling of this incident had a great influence on the ruling and opposition parties, and to a certain extent, it cracked down on the phenomenon of selfishness and fraud in the imperial examination.

Xuanzong believed: "An important aspect of governing a country well is that the monarch can be discerning and cautious, and select and appoint officials correctly." When he came to the throne, he began to reform and improve the system of selecting officials.In the past, the Ministry of Officials selected officials only based on their family background. Xuanzong believed that this could not select people with real talents.In order to change this situation, Emperor Xuanzong issued an imperial edict: "Allow observers, governors, geniuses and different politicians to try out, and then decide to formally appoint or remove them according to their actual abilities during the trial period." The increase or decrease is also listed as the standard for official promotion. It is stipulated that when the term of the observer and governor expires, if the number of households in the prefecture and county under their jurisdiction increases to 1,000, they will be promoted; no longer serve.In the first month of the first year of Dazhong, Xuanzong issued an edict and pointed out: "The foundation of government is to select officials who are close to the people. Officials from various central ministries who serve as advisors to the emperor must be selected from local officials, because these people understand the sufferings of the people and have the ability to govern the people. Political experience.” Xuanzong asked the prime minister to first check whether he had served as the county magistrate before recommending and recommending admonishing a doctor, giving advice to Shizhong and Zhongshu Sheren, or not, otherwise he would not be recommended.Even if you have served as the magistrate of the county, if there are illegal circumstances such as corruption and bribery during your tenure, you cannot recommend it.At the same time, Emperor Xuan also made clear regulations on the working time of local officials in view of the frequent transfer of local officials at that time.For example, the county magistrate must have served in a place for 3 years before he can be transferred, so as to avoid the trouble of welcoming and seeing off the local people.

Not only that, Emperor Xuan also personally took charge of the assessment of the governor of the state, stipulating that the governor of the state must be assessed by the emperor himself before he takes office, and then the appointment and dismissal will be decided.In order to grasp the situation of each state so as to assess the history of the governor, Xuanzong also specially ordered Wei Ao, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, to secretly edit a book about the household registration and fields, mountains and states, customs and customs of each state, and named it "Punishment Language".Once, Xue Hongzong, the governor of Dengzhou, went to Beijing to meet Xuanzong, and said to Wei Ao after he retired: "The emperor knows so much about the situation in Dengzhou, it's amazing!" Wei Ao found out what Xuanzong said after asking. These are all things recorded in the "Punishment".

Xuanzong also had strict requirements on his relatives. Zheng Guang, the younger brother of Xuanzong's biological mother, Empress Dowager Zheng, used to be a town guard in Hezhong. He was transferred to the commanding army of Youbayashi, a relatively low-ranking member of the capital, and no longer served as a local official.The Empress Dowager Zheng asked Xuanzong to arrange a good official position for Zheng Guang many times, but Xuanzong only gave the uncle generously, and never gave it to a good official. In addition to internal affairs, during Tang Xuanzong's reign, he also recovered Hexi, which was one of the most brilliant achievements in his life.After the Anshi Rebellion, from Tang Suzong to Tang Wuzong, every emperor inevitably had large and small civil wars during his reign, and border troubles often occurred.The 13 years of Tang Xuanzong's reign were relatively peaceful, with no external troubles and no internal wars. He also recovered the Hexi area (now the area west of the Yellow River in Gansu, also known as the Hexi Corridor) that had been occupied by Tubo slave owners since the Tang Dynasty. ), re-opened the Silk Road from the Central Plains to the Western Regions and the connection with Central Asian countries.The western border of the Tang Dynasty was stabilized and consolidated again.Tang Xuanzong issued an edict to restore the Hexi Jiedu Envoy in Shazhou, known as the "Guiyi Army", and appointed Zhang Yichao as the Minister of the Procuratorate and the General of the Jinwu Guard, the Jiedu Envoy of the Guiyi Army, and the observation envoy of the 11 prefectures. The operation and management of the Hexi Corridor. Among the emperors of all dynasties, Tang Xuanzong was regarded as respectful, thrifty, kind, and approachable.He can name all the servants in the palace and knows what to do.Someone in the palace was sick. When Xuanzong knew about it, he not only sent an imperial doctor to see him, but also went to visit him in person, and rewarded the patient with some items in private as comfort.Usually with the ministers, Xuanzong always behaved respectfully and respectfully, as if treating guests, but when listening to the ministers, he was serious and majestic, and never showed any irritability or laziness.After the event was over, Xuanzong immediately returned to his usual amiable and courteous manner. The emperor and his ministers talked about some happy jokes, or talked about the feasts in the palace. The atmosphere was harmonious and warm.When the ministers retired, Xuanzong warned everyone earnestly: "I hope you will do your best. I am often worried that you will live up to my expectations, so that our monarchs and ministers will not be able to see each other again." Xuanzong is so approachable, The majestic and inviolable characteristics made the ministers respect him and fear him.The prime minister Linghuyu once said to his friend: "I have been prime minister for ten years, and I can be called the emperor's favorite person, but every time I go to court, there is never a time when I don't sweat." During Xuanzong's reign, he paid great attention to frugality. He usually wore washed clothes in the palace, and only changed into new clothes when he summoned the ministers. easier.In the past, when the emperor traveled, he had to spread the ground with precious medicinal materials such as borneol (borneol) and turmeric. Xuanzong thought this was too extravagant and wasteful, so the edict was withdrawn.Under the leadership of Xuanzong, the ministers all advocated frugality, and formed a good atmosphere in the officialdom. During the 13th year of Emperor Xuanzong's reign, historians said that he was discerning and cautious, selfless in usage, respectful and thrifty, loving people and things, and possessed a style of chastity, comparable to Tang Taizong Li Shimin.Judging from the several generations of emperors in the middle and late Tang Dynasty, Xuanzong can be regarded as a relatively wise monarch.During his reign, the social situation has indeed improved to a certain extent, the country has stabilized, and political and economic aspects have developed, especially the social and economic development is the most obvious.According to the "New Tang Book", in the thirteenth year of Dazhong, the national treasury was sufficient, all kinds of goods were piled up like mountains, and the number of coins in the household department was almost incalculable.The same is true for the states, and some states have accumulated as much as 3 million yuan.However, because Xuanzong believed that he was wise and discerning, he believed that his own opinions must be correct, and everything depended on his own likes and dislikes.For example, Xuanzong was very disgusted with Li Deyu, the prime minister during Tang Wuzong's period, thinking that he was a person who was reused by Tang Wuzong and a traitor, and he was repeatedly reprimanded.The admonisher Ding Rouli wrote a letter to persuade him, and Xuanzong thought that Ding Rouli was disobedient to his will, and immediately demoted him as a county captain. Tang Xuanzong, who was self-confident and shrewd, was very suspicious.Before he came to the throne, he had always doubted the cause of his father Tang Xianzong's death, thinking that he was murdered by his elder brother Tang Muzong and his biological mother Queen Mother Guo in conjunction with eunuchs.Therefore, after Xuanzong ascended the throne, he began to punish those who he considered to have killed Tang Xianzong. First, he forced Queen Mother Guo to death, and then killed the eunuchs and other suspected officials around Queen Mother Guo, and accused Tang Muzong of being a He rebelled and killed Tang Muzong's East Palace officials when he was the prince. Xuanzong had 11 sons in total.The eldest son, Li Wen, was granted the title of King of Yun, but not Xuanzong's favorite.Xuanzong liked his third son, Li Zi, and wanted to make him the crown prince, but he was afraid that such a disorderly establishment of the crown prince would lead to remonstrance from his officials, so he never raised this matter.When Pei Xiu was prime minister, he asked Xuanzong to appoint a prince early. Xuanzong said unhappily, "I'm not old yet. If a prince is appointed, won't I be regarded as an idler?"It wasn't until Xuanzong was seriously ill that he secretly ordered the three privy envoys Wang Guichang, Ma Gongru, and Xuanhui Nanyuan envoy Wang Jufang to make the third son Li Zi the crown prince.But the eunuch Wang Zongshi and others falsely proclaimed the imperial decree, Li Wen, the king of Yun, as the crown prince, and executed Wang Guichang, Ma Gongru, and Wang Jufang for the crime of coercion and lawlessness. With the gradual aging of Xuanzong's body in his later years, the superstitious thoughts of begging for longevity continued to grow.In the eleventh year of Dazhong (857 A.D.), he sent people to Luofu Mountain to welcome Taoist Xuanyuanji into the palace, and asked Xuanyuanji for the secret of immortality.Xuanyuanji told him that as long as he is not close to women, does not eat meat, has the same sorrow and happiness, and shows kindness, he will naturally live a long life, and there is nowhere to seek for a long life.But Xuanzong still did not give up, and continued to seek the magic of immortality. In the end, he misbelieved the lies of the charlatan Li Yuanbo, and took the golden stone elixir refined by Li Yuanbo, but the more he ate, the worse his health became.In August of the thirteenth year of Dazhong, Xuanzong died of acute toxicity due to taking too much elixir, gangrene on his back, and died at the age of 50. He was buried in Zhenling (now Zhongshan, Jingyang County, Shaanxi Province), and was posthumously named "Shengwuxian". Emperor Wenxiao", the temple name is "Xuanzong".