Chapter 23 The struggle for power: Li Fengji, the fisherman who makes a profit

Faced with Pei Du's fierce memorial, Mu Zong adopted an attitude of pretending to be deaf and dumb. Because it was a multiple-choice question, he didn't know what to do for a while. Pei Du was furious, and within a few days, he played the second watch again—three times before and after, the content was exactly the same. Of course Mu Zong was upset, but at the same time he was helpless. It seems that if Pei Du is not given an explanation, the situation in Hebei will be out of control.In the end, Mu Zong had no choice but to dismiss Yuan Zhen as a Hanlin bachelor, transferred him to be the minister of the Ministry of Industry, and at the same time dismissed the privy envoy Wei Hongjian as the envoy of the bow and arrow storehouse.

On the surface, Yuan Zhen seemed to be alienated by the emperor.Actually, things are not that simple.Because Mu Zong's move is purely an expedient measure, and it is even more impossible for Yuan Zhen to give up the contest for phase easily. In the spring of the second year of Changqing, the situation became more and more unfavorable to Pei Du.Although there is no restraint from Yuan Zhen, the war situation in Hebei still does not see any improvement. Coupled with the problems of objective factors such as bad weather and shortage of food and grass, even if Pei Du intends to kill the thief, he is still powerless.

At such a time, Yuan Zhen would certainly not be idle.He urges Mu Zong to stop the army, Zhaoxue Wangting to join, and end this hopeless war.At the same time, news of Tian Bu's suicide and Shi Xiancheng's self-reliance came from Hebei. Mu Zong gave up completely, and immediately issued an edict to recognize the three towns in Hebei. A few days later, that is, on February 19th, the second year of Changqing, Mu Zong dismissed the mediocre Prime Minister Cui Zhi as Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, and at the same time ordered Yuan Zhen to be the minister of the Ministry of Industry.

Yuan Zhen, who has been tossed and turned in his official career for many years and experienced several ups and downs, has finally become an extremely prosperous and a minister. Just a few days later, Mu Zong issued another edict, appointing Pei Du as Sikong and Dongdu to stay behind. Pei Du used to be the inspector Sikong, but now he has become a regular, it seems that the emperor's grace is mighty.But anyone with a discerning eye can see that what Mu Zong did was to show respect externally and seize power internally.Not only lifted Pei Du's military power, but also let him go to Luoyang to sit on the bench.Moreover, Mu Zong's appointment was most likely caused by Yuan Zhen behind the scenes.

All the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty felt wronged for Pei Du, and they all went up to Mu Zong, saying: "The current situation is still tense, and Pei Du has generals and all-round talents, so he should not be placed in an idle position." Under the pressure of public opinion, Mu Zong had no choice but to change Pei Du as Huainan Jiedu envoy.However, the courtiers still generally opposed it, thinking that Pei Du should stay in the court and not go out. Mu Zong knew that Pei Du's mass base was good, but it was beyond his expectation that it was so good.At the end of March, Mu Zong had to withdraw his order again, and dismissed the prime minister Wang Bo, who had been criticized by the current theory, as Huainan Jiedu envoy, and appointed Pei Du as the prime minister, allowing him to stay in the court to assist the government.

So far, Pei Du and Yuan Zhen are basically on a tie—neither of them can prevent the other from being photographed, and at the same time, neither of them can bring the other down. Since the two are evenly matched, and they are already in the same dynasty, even if they can't meet each other with a smile, at least there is no need to fight to the death.However, the temporary cessation of the dispute between Pei and Yuan does not mean that the Muzong court will be calm from now on. Because Pei and Yuan are definitely not the only ones who want to be prime ministers. Soon, another person eagerly joined the game.

This person's background is not small. Not only was this person the same as Pei Du, he had served as the prime minister of the Xianzong Dynasty, with profound qualifications and extensive connections, and he had also served as the prince's attendant. He was regarded as the mentor of Mu Zong Li Heng, and he had a competitive advantage that ordinary people could not match.With this person's strong intervention, this power struggle surrounding the position of the prime minister is destined to have another wave, and it will become more complicated and confusing than before. This new player who made his debut is Li Fengji.

Li Fengji was the prime minister in the last years of Yuanhe, and he was in the same class as Pei Du.At that time, because Emperor Xianzong entrusted Pei Du with the important task of pacifying Huaixi, Li Fengji committed the same problem as Yuan Zhen, and frequently played tricks behind his back in an attempt to prevent Pei Du from making contributions.After Xianzong found out, he was expelled from the court in a rage and demoted to Dongchuan Jiedushi (transferred to Shannan Dongdao Jiedushi a few years later). Li Fengji stumbled, so he put the account on Pei Du's head, and vowed to get revenge one day.In the spring of the second year of Changqing, Pei Du and Yuan Zhen met each other almost at the same time, and Li Fengji immediately realized that his chance to make a comeback had come.

In Li Fengji's view, Pei Du and Yuan Zhen are sworn enemies. Although there is a truce on the surface, it is absolutely impossible to turn the fight into friendship.Therefore, as long as they create troubles to intensify their conflicts, and let them fight to the death and lose both, he can enjoy the benefits of the fisherman in the fight between the snipe and the clam, and regain the lost prime minister. Of course, if you want to get back into phase, you have to go back to Chang'an first. For this reason, Li Fengji immediately sent his nephew Li Zhongyan to the court to manage, and soon made friends with the power eunuch Wang Shoucheng, who was the privy envoy at the time, and opened a fast channel to return to the court.In March, under the active operation of Wang Shoucheng, Li Fengji was recalled to the court and became Minister of the Ministry of War.

The first step is done.Next, what Li Fengji had to consider was how to intensify the conflict between Pei and Yuan. While Li Fengji was thinking hard, the spy he sent to monitor Yuan Zhen suddenly sent a piece of top-secret information, which immediately made him smile. This information is obviously related to the Hebei war. At that time, although the imperial court pardoned Wang Tingcou and appointed him as Chengde Jiedu envoy, Wang Tingcou still did not retreat and still wanted to take the wealthy Shenzhou as his own.The guard of Shenzhou, Niu Yuanyi, who had been besieged for more than half a year, was in urgent need frequently, which made the court very distressed.Under such circumstances, if someone can break the siege of Shenzhou, it will undoubtedly be a great achievement.

One day in March, a courtier named Yu Fang approached Yuan Zhen, claiming to have a way to lift the siege of Shenzhou and rescue Niu Yuanyi. At this time, although Yuan Zhen had already become the prime minister, there were many people in the court who disapproved of him, and he was about to do one or two important things to establish his prestige, when he heard Yu Fang's words, he hurriedly asked him what good strategy he had. Yu Fang pretended to be mysterious with a smile, and said: "There is a way, but the prime minister must have the authority to make changes, so that this plan can be successful." Yuan Zhen glanced at him: "What's the 'Tong Quan Da Bian' method? Tell me about it." Only then did Yu Fang reveal all his tricks.He approached Yuan Zhen and said in a low voice: "Your official has two followers, one named Wang Zhao and the other named Yu Youming. It's not difficult to rescue Niu Yuanyi, but they can't leave empty-handed, they must take something with them." "what?" "We must give them 20 blank commissions from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Officials, and let them act according to their own circumstances, so as to lure those arrogant soldiers to surrender and ensure the success of the counter-intrigue." "Twenty blank letters of appointment?" Yuan Zhen sneered, "Do you know what this is?" "The lower official knows, that's why I had something to say earlier, and I need your lord to make changes." Yu Fang said calmly. Yuan Zhen knew very well that Yu Fang was implying that he used the prime minister's power to get the twenty blank commissions.Although this is not a major event, it is an act of breaking the law and discipline. If it is exposed, it will definitely be a big scandal, and it will be very unfavorable to him, the new prime minister.But then again, if this happens, it will undoubtedly be a huge political capital.With this credit, in the future, in front of the emperor and all officials, his waist will definitely be strong enough. To do, or not to do?this is a problem. Yuan Zhen pondered for a long time, and finally decided to take a gamble. Of course Yuan Zhen at this moment would not know that if he continued with this gamble, his reputation would be ruined and he would regret it for the rest of his life. The spy sent by Li Fengji was obviously a professional expert, and he immediately learned the content of Yuan Zhen and Yu Fang's secret conversation. However, getting information is one thing, how to use it is another.In the guiding spirit of muddying the water and making things bigger, Li Fengji decided to slightly modify the information, and then disclosed it to Pei Du, asking him to fight Yuan Zhen to the death. One day in May, an unexpected visitor came to Pei Du's house.The man's name was Li Shang, and he didn't explain where he came from, but just told Pei Du mysteriously: Yuan Zhen conspired with Yu Fang to send assassins to kill you. Pei Du was a person who broke through the storm, of course he wouldn't listen to the wind and the rain, and he was also wary of this guy with unknown origin, so he just laughed it off after hearing it, and didn't take it seriously. Li Fengji was naturally very annoyed that Pei Du was so calm and relaxed.He thought it over and over again, and finally he simply instructed Li Shang to go to the Imperial Army to report this matter to the sky. When the news spread, the ruling and opposition parties were in an uproar. Mu Zong immediately ordered Yu Fang to be arrested and handed over to the three courts for joint trial.As a result of the interrogation, the so-called buying murder to kill people is of course a fiction, but the conspiracy between Yu Fang and Yuan Zhen cannot be hidden.After reading the file of this case, Mu Zong was very disappointed with Yuan Zhen—the dignified prime minister is so eager for quick success, unscrupulous, and law enforcement and breaking the law, how can he be an example for all officials? On June 5th, Mu Zong angrily issued an edict to dismiss Yuan Zhen from his position as prime minister and demote him as governor of Tongzhou; Obviously, the result of this kind of treatment of 50 big boards each is unfair, so when the imperial edict was issued, the admonishing officials complained for Pei Du one after another: "Pei Du is innocent and should not be exonerated; but Yuan Zhen, as the prime minister, has Conspiring with Yu Fang, the punishment is too light!" However, Mu Zong was unmoved and still insisted on the original sentence. So far, the struggle for power in Mu Zong's dynasty has finally come to an end.Both Pei Du and Yuan Zhen were eliminated, while Li Fengji reaped the benefits of being a fisherman and got his wish to be on the stage. Facts have proved that in this political game, neither Pei Du, who is highly respected and has made outstanding achievements, nor Yuan Zhen, who is full of talent and flexibility, is no match for Li Fengji in terms of power struggle. For the sake of power, Li Fengji can do anything and everything, so he can have the last laugh. After Yuan Zhen was demoted to Tongzhou, he was so angry that he gave Mu Zong a memorial, trying his best to show his loyalty to the imperial court.He said at the end of the memorandum: "If the minister is not dead for the rest of his life, if he returns, he dare not see the sky any more, but he must hear the sound of the bells and drums in the capital again. Although the minister is covered with loess, he has no hatred for Jiuquan!" ("Old Tang Book Biography of Yuan Zhen") Yuan Zhen described himself as pitiful, just to arouse Mu Zong's compassion. However, when the performance table was presented, it was like a mud cow falling into the sea, and there was no response at all.In the end, Yuan Zhen finally realized that in this life, he would never have the chance to hear Chang'an's "Sound of Bells and Drums" again. Ten years later, Yuan Zhen died as governor of Ezhou at the age of fifty-three.