Chapter 3 Fanzhen: The galloping horse (Part 1)

Looking from the two ends of history to the middle, during the twenty years of Emperor Dezong's reign in Zhenyuan, the Tang Empire was like a carriage driving in the chaotic night, looking lifeless and exhausted.Although the world is no longer as chaotic as it was during the Jianzhong period, there is no sign of any improvement in all aspects of the empire.The middle-aged Dezong Li Shi is like every successful king in history. He muddles around and muddles through the land left by his ancestors. He has neither the wisdom nor the ability to make it shine again in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. As for being stupid enough to knock it over by mistake.

The carriage of the Tang Empire staggered forward in the dark relying on inertia. If the empire is a horse-drawn carriage, then the rebellious feudal towns are a group of fierce horses that pull the empire to gallop wildly.Despite the bridles on their heads and the yokes on their bodies, they often hop around, making the old empire dangerous and almost overthrown.In the first year of Zhenyuan, although quite a few feudal towns were still untamed and went their own way, there were no major disturbances after all. Only the two fierce horses "Xuanwu" and "Zhangyi" were the craziest. Dezong's court was overwhelmed with coping, and it was a headache.

The chaos in Xuanwu Town (the governing place in Bianzhou, today's Kaifeng City, Henan Province) began in the eighth year of Zhenyuan (792 A.D.).In April of this year, Liu Xuanzuo, the envoy of Xuanwu Jiedu, died of illness. Dezong carefully solicited the opinions of the Xuanwu military, saying: "Is it possible to transfer Shaanxi and Guo to observe and send Wu to take over?" The Xuanwu military said yes, and Dezong heaved a sigh of relief, and quickly ordered Wu Min to take office. Unexpectedly, just as Wu Min was halfway there, Liu Xuanzuo's son-in-law and his bodyguards suddenly staged a mutiny. They supported Liu Xuanzuo's son Liu Shining as his heir, killed several civil and military officials who were inclined to the imperial court, and hijacked the eunuch who was stationed in Xuanwu by the imperial court. , Coercing the court to issue a formal letter of appointment.

Dezong hurriedly asked Prime Minister Yu Ji.Dou Shen, the prime minister at the time, said: "Most of Xuanwu's generals secretly attached themselves to Pinlu (Ziqing) Jiedu envoy Li Na. If the imperial court refused, I am afraid that Xuanwu would become one with Pinglu." Dezong was worried that the rebellion among the feudal vassals would recur during the Jianzhong period, so he had to calm down and officially appointed Liu Shining as the envoy of Xuanwu Jiedu. However, even though Dezong wanted to calm things down, Xuanwu has not been peaceful since then. Because Liu Shining, who came to power by relying on mutiny, could not convince the public at all.Liu Shining is a typical "second-generation official", fatuous and promiscuous, cruel by nature, and perverted.It is said that tens of thousands of people are brought with them every time they go out to hunt, which is more than other people's soldiers, and they always go to far away places to fight. It takes several days to go back and forth, which makes the soldiers who follow Word.

Liu Shining knew very well that many generals were dissatisfied with him, especially Li Wanrong, who knew the military envoy.This person has always won the support of soldiers and is always a threat to him.Therefore, not long after Liu Shining came to power, he deprived Li Wanrong of his military power. Of course Li Wanrong will not sit still. On December 10th in the ninth year of Zhenyuan (793 A.D.), Liu Shining led more than 20,000 people out of the city to hunt early in the morning. More than a thousand people claimed that the imperial court had ordered Liu Shining to enter the imperial court, and appointed him Li Wanrong as the empress, who would take over the military power of Xuanwu from now on.

Just when the soldiers were dubious, Li Wanrong said again: "Anyone who executes the edict will be rewarded with thirty cents each."Immediately afterwards, Li Wanrong took over the entire Xuanwu army in the same way, and then ordered the city gates to be closed, and sent someone to tell Liu Shining: "The imperial court ordered you to go to the capital, and it is best to leave immediately. The head, passed on to the capital." Liu Shining was dumbfounded. He knew that this Li Wanrong was a scourge, but he didn't expect him to do it so soon. Liu Shining gritted his teeth in hatred, but there was nothing he could do.Although he still has more than 20,000 people under his command, these people came out with him to hunt, not to fight.If a war really started, these people would most likely not listen to him.Besides, Liu Shining also had self-knowledge, if he really wanted to fight Li Wanrong, he was still too immature, and he had no chance of winning at all.

There was no way out, so Liu Shining had no choice but to take 500 trusted cavalry into the court obediently, and the other 20,000 soldiers immediately turned around and ran back to Bianzhou.When Liu Shining reached the Eastern Capital, all the trusted cavalry had run away, leaving only a few servants and concubines around him.After arriving in the capital, Dezong immediately issued an edict to him, ordering him to stay in the mansion of the capital obediently, mourning his father, and strictly forbidding him to come and go freely. Just after Xuanwu stopped for more than a year, it broke out again, which made Dezong feel really dizzy.He asked Lu Zhi, who was still in court at the time, what to do.Lu Zhi believed that although Liu Shining's expulsion was the will of Xuanwu's people, Li Wanrong's expulsion of Jiedushi had not been approved by the court; in order to be serious about discipline, capable ministers should be sent to inspect Xuanwu immediately, and then act accordingly.

But after much deliberation, Dezong decided to compromise.He said to Lu Zhi: "If it drags on, the situation will probably get worse. I plan to appoint a prince as Jiedu envoy, let Li Wanrong act as the deputy, and the appointment certificate will be issued immediately." I don't know if Li Shi has ever heard the phrase "Once bitten by a snake, ten years afraid of well ropes", if so, he must know that this sentence is referring to him.Since the vassal rebellion in the Jianzhong period, Li Shi has become a bird of fright through and through.No matter which feudal town had a mutiny, and no matter who seized military power in any way, the last method he adopted was almost always to compromise and let it go.

Now he said that he would send a prince as Xuanwu Jiedu envoy, but in fact he was a remote leader in name.Everyone knows that this "remote leadership" trick is just a fig leaf that Dezong used frequently. Of course, Lu Zhi did not agree to a compromise, so he went to the siege one after another, saying: "Today's generals in the feudal towns are self-sufficient and do whatever they want. If the imperial court allows the soldiers to subvert the commanders at will, usurp power, and even give them legitimacy, then who would not What about them as an example? In the face of huge interests, everyone will be tempted, if this kind of disaster is allowed to grow, sooner or later there will be irreparable chaos!"

However, now Dezong can't listen to anything.As long as the feudal town does not rebel against the imperial court and overthrows Li Shi's throne, he can agree to any conditions. Later, Emperor Dezong issued an edict, appointing Li Chen, the king of Tong, as the envoy of Xuanwu Jiedu, and Li Wanrong as the queen. In April of the following year, Xuanwu general Han Weiqing and others launched another mutiny.Li Wanrong personally led troops to put it down, and told Dezong afterwards that Liu Shining was the mastermind behind the incident.De Zongxuan exiled Liu Shining to Chenzhou. Since Li Wanrong quelled the riot, he had made a contribution to the imperial court. Dezong hurriedly used this as an excuse to tear off the fig leaf of Li Chen, the king of Tong, and officially appointed Li Wanrong in May of the eleventh year of Zhenyuan (795 AD). He is the envoy of Xuanwu Festival.

Dezong hoped to use his repeated compromises in exchange for Xuanwu's stability, but this crazy "fierce horse" never made him worry.In June of the twelfth year of Zhenyuan (796 A.D.), Li Wanrong suffered a stroke and was paralyzed, unconscious.When the news reached the imperial court, Dezong immediately panicked again, so he had to call the eunuch Huo Xianming to discuss it. The emperor did not go to the prime minister when he encountered problems in the feudal town, but went to the eunuch. What is the reason? The reason is very simple, since Lu Zhi was dismissed as Prime Minister, his successors are mediocre and vegetarians who only know how to do things according to orders and have no ideas when encountering things, so Dezong dare not count on them.In contrast, the eunuchs have gained more and more power to speak over the years. As early as the first year of Xingyuan (AD 784), that is, after the pacification of Zhu Xi and the restoration of Chang'an, Emperor Dezong Li Shi handed over the imperial army to the eunuchs Dou Wenchang and Huo Xianming.The civil servant Bai Zhizhen who embezzled the military pay disappointed Dezong too much, and Dou and Huo had made great contributions in escorting the Jingshi change, so since then, Dezong's view of eunuchs has completely changed. Since taking over the Shence Army, the power of Dou Wenchang and Huo Xianming has expanded rapidly.In the mid-Zhenyuan period, Dou Wenchang and Huo Xianming, who had been operating for many years, were already in power.According to history, at that time, "the generals of the vassals and towns sent out more magical troops, and there were also those who came out of the Qing Dynasty in Taiwan Province." (Volume 235) Since most of the generals in the feudal towns came from the sects of Dou Wenchang and Huo Xianming, and now there is a problem with the feudal towns, of course Dezong can only find these powerful eunuchs in power. As soon as Huo Xianming heard that there was a vacancy in the feudal town, he immediately recommended Xuanwu General Liu Mu to Dezong.He assured Dezong that this man was extremely brave and would be able to hold back those arrogant soldiers.Dezong was overjoyed, and quickly promoted Liu Mu to be the Sima of the Xuanwu Marching Army, and ordered him to act as the agent of Xuanwu's military administration. Dezong thought that in this way, there should be no troubles in Xuanwu, but things are not that simple. Since the Anshi Rebellion, the feudal towns all over the world have long regarded the position of Jiedushi and the corresponding territory as hereditary.Right now, although Li Wanrong is sick in bed, his son is still alive and kicking, how can you allow your court to interfere? In late June, the Xuanzhao eunuch dispatched by the imperial court arrived in Bianzhou. Just after Liu Mu’s edict of appointment was announced, Li Wanrong’s son, Li Nai, the military envoy of Xuanwu, instructed his soldiers to shout: “Soldiers and horse envoys have worked hard, but they have won If there is no reward, what is he, Liu Mu, who can be a marching commander!" Then he drew his sword out of its sheath and surrounded Liu Mu and Xuanzhao eunuchs. Liu Mu is actually a softie, not as brave as Huo Xianming boasted.Seeing that the situation was not good, Liu Mu was so frightened that his face paled. He quickly pretended to have a stroke, fell to the ground with an ouch, and was carried out hurriedly. Immediately afterwards, Li Nai connived at the rebels and killed several generals who were not attached to him, in an attempt to support the soldiers and stand on their own. However, the praying mantis catches the cicada, and the oriole follows.Li Nai did not expect that there was another person who had already set his sights on the Jiedushi's throne. This person is Deng Weigong, who was the Marquis of Xuanwu at that time.Just when Li Nai connived his subordinates to rebel, Deng Weigong had joined forces with Ju Wenzhen, the eunuch who supervised the army, and dispatched troops to surround the Jiedu envoy's mansion. After a brief confrontation between the two sides, Li Nai, who was young and lacked military experience, was defeated.Deng Weigong immediately arrested him and escorted him to the capital for questioning.Li Wanrong also had his braids up a few days later. Xuanwu chaos became a pot of porridge, which made Dezong very troubled.In desperation, he had no choice but to order Dong Jin to stay behind in Dongdu and rush to Bianzhou, and concurrently serve as the Xuanwu Jiedu envoy nearby. This Dong Jin was an old minister who was prime minister in the same dynasty as Dou Shen.This person has a gentle nature and has always been aloof from the world. He was basically just a decoration in the court, and he is already seventy-three years old at this time.Dezong's illness went to the doctor in a hurry, and Dong Jin was caught on the crater. Isn't this killing him? Deng Weigong almost laughed out loud when he heard that the imperial court had sent a man who was about to enter the earth to be the Jiedu envoy.Can this old guy still stand up to the toss?Even if he dared to come, it was just for display, Xuanwu still has the final say! Deng Weigong thought smugly. In July of this year, Dong Jin arrived in Bianzhou.Sure enough, as Deng Weigong expected, this kind-hearted old man immediately handed over the military and political power to him after taking office, and he was always polite to him, and then hid in Jiedushi's mansion, never leaving the gate. It's just like an apartment that comes here to retire. Deng Weigong laughed. Since Dong Jin is a useless decoration, why don't I get rid of him and get a justifiable Jiedushi to do it? Deng Weigong immediately formulated a secret plan, preparing to gather more than 200 cronies, launch a mutiny to kill Dong Jin, and then force the court to formally appoint him as Jiedushi.However, Deng Weigong, who thinks he is smart, never expects that although Dong Jin is old, he is not so old that he is ignorant and slaughtered by others. Since he took office as Jiedu envoy, although Dong Jin never left home, he seemed to keep his ears to the outside world, but in fact, he had already placed an eyeliner beside Deng Weigong, monitoring his every move at all times.So as soon as Deng Weigong conspired, Dong Jin immediately got the news. In November of this year, before Deng Weigong acted, Dong Jin arrested him and more than 200 of his subordinates, beheaded all his followers, and finally sent Deng Weigong to the capital. Older gingers are more spicy.No one thought that Dong Jin, who seemed cowardly and ineffective, could hide his secrets and strike late. Even Dezong was overjoyed. However, the good times didn't last long.In the spring of the fifteenth year of Zhenyuan (799 A.D.), Dong Jin died of illness at the age of 76. The selection of Xuanwu Jiedushi once again caused Dezong a headache. After some weighing, Dezong finally "sourced materials locally" and appointed Xuanwu Marching Sima Lu Changyuan as Jiedushi. Dezong did not misjudge the person this time, Lu Changyuan is indeed a very talented person.However, Dezong overlooked one point. Talented people are divided into two categories, one is more talented but humble, and the other is more talented and more proud. Unfortunately, Lu Changyuan belongs to the latter. Because Lu Changyuan is proud of his talent, mean and ungrateful, he is very unpopular.After Dong Jin's death, Lu Changyuan had just taken over the military administration, and before he was officially appointed, he publicly declared: "The discipline in the army has been corrupted for a long time, and it should be rectified with severe punishments!" When Xuanwu soldiers heard this, they were immediately panicked. It should be said that Lu Changyuan's thoughts are correct, but he can only mess things up by being so outspoken.Soon, someone suggested that Lu Changyuan should follow the practice of various feudal towns, and before succeeding as Jiedushi, he should give out some money and goods to reward the soldiers.Unexpectedly, Lu Changyuan was furious, and said sharply: "How can I be like those separatist warlords in Hebei who want to buy people's hearts with money in exchange for festivals?" Later, Lu Changyuan instructed his general Meng Shudu to lower the treatment of soldiers in disguise. All these things finally completely angered these arrogant soldiers. In February of this year, Xuanwu soldiers rioted again, beheaded Lu Changyuan and Meng Shudu, and chopped their bodies into pieces and devoured them.The eunuch Ju Wenzhen hurriedly asked Liu Yihuai, the governor of Songzhou (now Shangqiu City, Henan Province) for help.Liu Yihuai immediately led his troops to Bianzhou, and quickly quelled the riot. In mid-February, Dezong, who was too lazy to think about it, pushed the boat forward and appointed Liu Yihuai as Xuanwu Jiedu envoy, and gave him the name Quanliang. At the beginning of September of the same year, Liu Quanliang died, and Xuanwu generals supported Han Hong, the military envoy of Duzhi, to stay behind.Dezong didn't even think about it, and issued a letter of appointment a few days later, using Han Hong as the Jiedu envoy. In just seven years, five consecutive mutinies broke out in Xuanwu Town.After six or seven appointments as Jiedu Envoy, Han Hong, the new Jiedu Envoy, could not help but feel a sense of impoverishment. He realized that if he wanted to secure the throne of Jiedushi, he must strictly enforce military discipline; and if he wanted to enforce military discipline, he must kill the violent spirit of these proud soldiers and generals. But, wasn't that why Lu Changyuan lost his head?If I still do this now, wouldn't I be repeating the mistakes of Lu Changyuan? Han Hong's answer was that this matter was done with hands, not with words, no one who beat gongs and drums, no one who beat the grass to startle the snake. In the spring of the sixteenth year of Zhenyuan (800 A.D.), after some secret investigations, Han Hong locked in a general named Liu E.It is said that this person has always been violent and has been at the forefront of all mutinies. He is a typical rebel activist.If this person is not eliminated, there will be no way to enforce military discipline or suppress people's hearts.Afterwards, Han Hong deployed heavy troops at the gate of the camp, called Liu E and more than 300 members of his followers together, and summed up their crimes in eight words: "The numbers are pre-empted, and they are self-reliant." Hack them all. On the day of the execution, it is said that the ground at the gate of the barracks was stained red with blood. In fact, for Han Hong, whether there is conclusive evidence that Liu E and his men are indeed "rebel activists" is not important.The important thing is that Han Hong needs these hundreds of lives to make an example to the monkeys and to establish his prestige by killing them. Facts have proved that Han Hong's goal has been achieved. Since then, during Han Hong's more than 20 years as Xuanwu Jiedu Envoy, there has never been a mutiny in his jurisdiction, and no one even dared to shout in the barracks. Xuanwu Town, which had been rebellious and troubled for many years, finally subsided in Han Hong's hands, and Dezong was relieved. However, at about the same time, another feudal town suddenly set off a bigger wave, which plunged Dezong into deeper anxiety and anxiety.