Chapter 27 entertainment to death

In the first month of the second year of Baoli (826 A.D.), Pei Du finally returned to Chang'an in the common expectation of the government and the public.At about the same time, a strange folk song suddenly spread like wildfire, and it spread throughout Chang'an within a few days. The folk song sang: "The little boy in Feiyi has his stomach full, and there is a mouth in the sky to be expelled." Everyone can see that this is aimed at Pei Du. "Feiyi" is equivalent to "Feiyi", which together form the word "Pei"; the word "belly" in "Tanqifu" can refer to "belly" (du), so the first half of the sentence refers to Peidu; The half-sentence "there is a mouth in the sky" is combined to form the word "Wu".The meaning of the whole ballad is alluding to Pei Duping's extermination of Wu Yuanji in Huaixi.

If you just read this folk song, you might think that it is praising Pei Du's achievements in flattening the feudal town.However, things are not that simple. Because, along with the ballad, there is also a rumor. Compared with the ballad above, this rumor is much more lethal. Rumors say that there are six high slopes stretching from east to west in Chang'an City, which are very similar to the "Liu Yao" hexagram in the "Qian Hexagram".The images of the six lines are named "Ninth Day, Ninth Second, Ninth Third, Ninth Fourth, Ninth Fifth, and Upper Ninth" from bottom to top, and Pei Du's mansion is located on the fifth high slope.What does this mean?

This means——Pei Du's house is the "ninth and five nobles". The Chinese all know that the ancient emperors had a nickname called "Ninth Five-Year Zun". It can be seen that "Ninth Five-Year" is a special term for the real dragon emperor, and no one should use it without authorization. Once there is suspicion of infringement, he will be in big trouble. Therefore, combining this rumor with the ballad above, the information that some people are trying to reveal to the world cannot be more obvious.That is--Pei Du has both the merits of flattening the feudal clan and the "Ninth Five-Year Mandate". Isn't it logical for such a person to want to be the emperor?

Just as this rumor with ulterior motives was spreading in Chang'an, a man entered the palace to meet the emperor while the iron was hot.He said to Jingzong impatiently: "Pei Du's name should be prophesied, and his house occupies Okahara. He came without calling, and his purpose can be seen." (Volume 243) This person is Li Fengji's best friend Zhang Quanyu. Seeing Zhang Quanyu explaining the rumors so enthusiastically, Jingzong couldn't help muttering in his heart: it is somewhat plausible to say that Pei Du "occupied Okahara", but it is pure speculation to say that he "came here without calling".He obviously returned to Beijing following my secret edict, so how could he have any intentions?But you, Zhang Quanyu, have a big problem.You are so enthusiastic about explaining the rumors, don't you feel a little bit rich here?What is your peace of mind?

Anyone with a discerning eye can actually understand Zhang Quanyu's intentions.Wei Chuhou, a scholar of the Imperial Academy, told Jingzong bluntly: Maybe this Zhang Quanyu is the instigator of the rumors. In other words, Wei Chuhou was implying that Jingzong—Li Fengji Bacheng was the mastermind behind this matter.Although Jingzong is a playful emperor, he is not stupid, so he also thinks this possibility is very high. In Jingzong's opinion, if Li Fengji really did this, then this trick is too bad, which is enough to prove that Li Fengji is a despicable and insidious villain. If such a person continues to control the government, it will definitely not be a good thing.On the contrary, Li Fengji spared no effort to frame Pei Du, which objectively proved Pei Du's value to the court, and also showed that Pei Du's talent was not in vain.

So, just one month later, Jingzong made the decision to order Pei Du to reunite. In February of the second year of Baoli, Li Fengji's party's plan to frame Pei Du fell through, and Pei Du was recalled to the court and reinstated as Sikong and Tongping Zhangshi. Li Fengji knew that he was finished. He never dreamed that he had planned so many things, which not only contributed to Pei Du's reunification, but also accelerated the end of his career as a prime minister. In November, Li Fengji, who had been in charge of the government for four years, was expelled from the court and sent out as the Jiedu envoy of Shannan Dongdao.

Although Jingzong did not do anything wrong, and still let him hang the honorary title of "Tongping Zhangshi", Li Fengji understood that once he left the political center, this false title was not so much an honor to accompany him through the rest of his life, but a kind of honor. Said it was a kind of tribute for him to look back on the past. In the political contest that ran through the Mu and Jing dynasties, Li Fengji, a scheming master, won a lot of money for a time, but was eventually eliminated. However, the elimination of the villain does not mean the victory of the gentleman, and Pei Du, who has returned to the phase, does not have much joy.

Because the grown-up emperor Li Zhan's enthusiasm for the entertainment industry has not only not diminished at all, but also has the potential to intensify.In addition, his favor for eunuchs is the same as before.To some extent, the lifeblood of the Tang Empire is still in the hands of Wang Shoucheng and others. Over the years, the political situation in the DPRK and China has become worse and worse, and the Sifang Fanzhen is still domineering. The "Yuanhe Zhongxing" that I worked hard with Xianzong at the beginning has long since withered.Even though Pei Du still has the old ambition to serve the country, he still feels powerless in the face of the empire that is riddled with holes and hard to return.In the days to come, Pei Du knew that the only thing he could do was to check and balance the eunuch group as much as he could.

In the first year of Li Zhan's accession to the throne, although he hated going to court, he still dared not fail to go to court, at most he was late.But from the second year onwards, he started skipping tickets, he didn't even go to the court, he hung around with the eunuchs all day long, had fun, and had no restraint. He went to the court no more than two or three times a month. His face is rarely seen. In the second year of Baoli, although Li Zhan was already eighteen years old, he played crazier than before. He was fond of all kinds of sensuality, and he was proficient in all of them. Among them, "playing polo" and "arm wrestling" were the best.

It is said that Tianzi's competitive level in these two events has already ranked among the top players at that time.For this reason, the Forbidden Army and all the Taoists in the world offered strong men to the emperor one after another for training and competitions. Of course, none of them were Li Zhan's opponents in the end.So Li Zhan specially offered a reward of 10,000 yuan, and ordered the eunuch to recruit experts who could compete with him.Soon, more athletes came from all directions to accompany the emperor day and night, and compete with him at any time. Of course, most of the Hercules who were summoned are very clear about the competitive principle of "friendship first, competition second", and most of the time they will show that they are slightly inferior to the emperor, but there are also some who are negligent for a while. If they almost win the emperor, they will suffer, and they will be exiled to the frontier and their property will be confiscated.

At the same time, the eunuchs around the emperor will also suffer, and they will be whipped from time to time. The eunuchs were all in danger, hated and afraid. Such a situation seems very familiar to people. Yes, Jingzong Li Zhan at this time can easily remind people of Xianzong Li Chun back then. Everything is so familiar... The emperor Xianzong, who was moody and punished indiscriminately, was killed by eunuchs.This matter is not clear to the outside world, but it is an open secret among the eunuchs, old and young, in Daming Palace.Now, Jingzong Li Zhan treats the eunuch as a wrong person, what kind of fate will he encounter? On the eighth day of December in the second year of Baoli (826 A.D.), Emperor Li Zhan returned to the palace late at night after a day of hunting outside.But he didn't want to finish it, so he summoned Liu Keming, the eunuch in charge, Su Zuoming, the general of the imperial army, and others to drink together. The emperor drank heavily and soon became drunk.He stood up unsteadily and went to the inner room to relieve himself. Liu Keming, Su Zuoming and others exchanged glances. Everything is tacit. Su Zuoming followed the emperor into the inner room quietly...Suddenly, Liu Keming threw down a wine glass, all the candles in the hall were extinguished, and there was a muffled sound of a person falling heavily on the ground in the darkness. Li Zhan is dead. This young emperor who was only eighteen years old continued to entertain until his death. After killing the emperor, Liu Keming and others immediately forged an imperial decree, saying that Lu Sui, a Hanlin scholar, drafted a posthumous edict, ordering Jiang Wang Li Wu (the sixth son of Xianzong) to preside over military and state affairs. On the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, the imperial edict was issued in the palace, and Li Wu, the king of Jiang, went to the outer corridor of the Zichen Hall to receive the prime minister and all civil and military officials. This sudden change caused the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty to look at each other, puzzled.They couldn't believe it no matter what, how could the young emperor who was full of vitality die overnight? No one knew what happened in the emperor's bedroom on that dark and windy night yesterday.In the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, there is only one person who knows this well.He is the privy envoy Wang Shoucheng. As one of the masterminds who murdered Emperor Xianzong back then, Wang Shoucheng knew very well the real reason for the emperor's sudden death.Obviously, the eunuch Liu Keming and others did exactly the same thing as he did back then, and their purpose is self-evident, that is to support a new monarch and control the government. Realizing this, Wang Shoucheng did not dare to delay, and immediately summoned Yang Chenghe, the right privy secretary, Wei Congjian, and Liang Shouqian, the lieutenants of the left and right Shence (the four eunuchs in power, known as the "four nobles" by the time), and held a meeting. After urgent consultations, the "four nobles" decided to act before Liu Keming and others. On the ninth day of December, the imperial army was dispatched in full force.Blood splattered inside the Daming Palace.Liu Keming's party and Jiang Wang Li Wu were all killed.On the same day, Wang Shoucheng and others personally rushed to the Sixteen Houses (the residence of the Li and Tang royal family) to welcome Jiang Wang Li Han into the palace... The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty hadn't recovered from the sudden death of the emperor, and they were stunned again by what they saw. Jiang Wang Li Han was the second son of Mu Zong Li Heng and the half-brother of Jing Zong Li Zhan. He was eighteen years old and only a few months younger than Li Zhan.When a group of heavily armed Forbidden Army soldiers, led by eunuchs, rushed him into the palace involuntarily, the pale-faced Jiang Wang Li Han didn't know what happened, nor did he know what the group of people wanted him to do. But he soon knew—they were going to make him emperor. Until Jiang Wang Li Han stood on the Golden Luan Hall and saw the empty throne suddenly open his arms to him, he still couldn't believe that all this was true. But it is true. Early the next morning, the eunuchs embraced Li Han and came to the outer corridor of the Zichen Palace. Just like yesterday's Jiang Wang Li Wu, they received the prime minister and civil and military officials as the crown prince. On December 12th of the second year of Baoli, with the support of the eunuch group headed by Wang Shoucheng, Jiang Wang Li Han ascended the throne as emperor, and changed his name to Li Ang, which was Tang Wenzong. At the enthronement ceremony of the new emperor, Wang Shoucheng kept staring at the face of the new emperor Li Ang with a half-smile. Such gazes have a lot of meaning—— Today, I gave you the whole country; tomorrow, what will you give me in return? During the ceremony, the new king, Li Ang, kept his eyes fixed on him, and seemed to be concentrating on it. However, he only read Wang Shoucheng's treacherous smile from the corner of his eye—— I know, I will give you what should be given to you.You opened my road to the emperor, and you have the power to make decisions, so I will give you all the wealth and honor you dream of. However, there is one thing you need to be clear about. This Li Tang Jiangshan is the inheritance left by my father and brother, not a gift that you, a slave, can give away casually.So one day, I'll give you something you don't want too. That is - punishment. A slave who violated the superior and abolished the establishment without authorization deserved the punishment.