Chapter 35 The life-and-death battle between the prime ministers

It's New Years in a blink of an eye.On the first day of the first lunar month, Wenzong Yuxuanzheng Palace was changed to "Kaicheng". The unbearable nine years of Taihe passed like this, but Wenzong never came out of the shadow of the "Nanlu Change". This year, Li Ang was actually very young, only twenty-seven years old.According to common sense, this age should have been full of vigor and vigor, but at this time Li Ang seemed a little depressed and prematurely aging. No wonder.After experiencing so many setbacks and failures, no matter how much vigor and edges there are, they must all be worn out.

Although Li Ang was not happy in the past, at least he was more interested in the polo match between the Shence Army.But since this year, Li Ang has reduced the number of polo matches by sixty-seven. Even if he holds one or two banquets occasionally, he never has a smile on his face. When living idle, Li Ang was even more depressed.The attendants on the left and right saw that he was always alone, sometimes wandering and watching, sometimes sighing alone, and rarely took the initiative to talk to others. Li Ang seemed to have aged within one year.Although his physical age is still very young, he has irretrievably entered into a psychological old age.

Careful attendants found that only when the eyes of the emperor occasionally glanced over a certain place on the bookshelf, would there be a trace of the old look in his eyes.However, that look is also extremely weak and fleeting. There was a book in the place where the emperor focused his attention. It was a book that had been dusty for a long time. Since the "Manna Change", the eunuch group headed by Qiu Shiliang has basically controlled the government with one hand, and its arrogance is even worse than that of Wang Shoucheng at the beginning.During this period, Li Shi, Zheng Tan, Li Guyan, and Chen Yixing entered the prime minister successively.They have nothing to do about the fact that the eunuchs are in power, and they only want to be wise and protect themselves.

At the end of the second year of Kaicheng (837 A.D.), Li Guyan was released as the envoy of Xichuan Jiedu.Among the remaining three prime ministers, only Li Shi, the servant of Zhongshu, was quite tough.Although he did not dare to openly contest with the eunuchs, he would at least maintain some rules and regulations of the court within his ability. But just because of this, Li Shi became Qiu Shiliang's thorn in the side and thorn in his flesh. On the fifth day of the first lunar month in the third year of Kaicheng (838 A.D.), Li Shi rode his horse to the court. He had just walked halfway when he suddenly shot a few cold arrows from a dark place, and his left and right entourages were frightened.Li Shi was shot with an arrow.Fortunately, the assassin was not good at shooting and missed his vitals.Li Shi hurriedly covered his wound and patted his horse and ran home, but as soon as he ran to the gate, another assassin rushed out from the slanting stab and slashed at him suddenly.

If this knife hits, Li Shi will be the second Wu Yuanheng. Fortunately, Li Shi's reaction was quick. He swung his whip and lashed the horse's butt fiercely. The mount suffered from pain, and he jumped forward with all his strength. Li Shi saved his life just like that. After learning that Zai was assassinated, Wen Zong was greatly astonished, and immediately ordered the imperial army to send troops to guard him, and at the same time ordered the yamen at all levels to arrest the assassin with all their strength.However, officials at all levels have been busy all day, but there is no sign of the assassin.

After the news of Li Shi's assassination spread, all civil and military officials in the Manchu Dynasty became frightened. Go up personally. The whole capital was panicked, and it was not until a few days later that it slowly returned to normal, but the two assassins never got caught. However, the fact that the case has not been solved does not mean that no one knows the truth.In fact, Li Shi knew better than anyone else that there was no one who wanted to take his life except Qiu Shiliang. Afterwards, the more Li Shi thought about it, the more afraid he became. Since Qiu Shiliang wants to kill him, he will never give up easily. If he fails once, he will come a second time or a third time... If he can hide from the first day of the junior high school but not the fifteenth day, it is better to resign and leave than to be afraid every day. .

Afterwards, Li Shi repeatedly submitted his resignation. Although Wenzong knew that Qiu Shiliang was the mastermind behind the case, he was helpless.Don't say there is no evidence, even if there is, he would not dare to do anything to Qiu Shiliang. On the 17th day of the first lunar month, Emperor Wenzong issued an edict to release Li Shiwai as Jingnan Jiedu envoy. At the same time, Yang Sifu, minister of the household department and envoy of salt and iron transportation, and Li Jue, servant of the household department, joined the prime minister's team. With the appearance of these two people, the once-disappeared Niu-Li faction has made a comeback.

After Li Guyan and Li Shi left office, the remaining two prime ministers Zheng Qin and Chen Yixing belonged to Li Deyu's party.Li Guyan, who was a bully party, was worried that the government would be controlled by the Li party, so before he left, he tried his best to recommend Yang Sifu and Li Jue to Wenzong.Yang Sifu's father, Yang Yuling, was the examiner who admitted Li Zongmin and Niu Sengru in the third year of Yuanhe. After Yang Sifu and Li Jue entered the photo, Li Dang's Chen Yixing was very upset.Every time government affairs were discussed, he deliberately quarreled with Yang Sifu.In order to express his dissatisfaction, he even resigned on the grounds of foot disease.However, Wenzong did not agree to him.

Chen Yixing was so tense, Yang Sifu was naturally not to be outdone.So as soon as he became a prime minister, he tried his best to get Li Zongmin, the leader of the Niu Party, to return to the court.Of course, Yang Sifu also knew that Zheng Qin and Chen Yixing would definitely obstruct him, so instead of directly raising the issue to Wenzong, he resorted to a roundabout tactic - to communicate with the eunuch first, and then let the eunuch greet Wenzong. Yang Sifu's trick was very effective, because at this time Wenzong basically dared not say anything to the eunuchs. At a court meeting a few days later, Wen Zong offered to propose that Li Zongmin had been released for several years, and he should be called back to serve as a court official.

When Zheng Qin heard this, he immediately stepped out and played loudly: "If your majesty is sympathetic to Li Zongmin being demoted too far, at most he can only transfer to the inland, and he must not use it again. If your majesty must use it, please let the minister leave." Before Zheng Qin could finish speaking, Chen Yixing immediately answered, "Li Zongmin used cliques to create chaos in the past, why does Your Majesty care about such a villain?" Yang Sifu sneered: "Master Zheng, Lord Chen, it's best to be moderate in life, and don't use your own likes and dislikes as the standard for everything."

Seeing that the two sides were fighting at once, Wen Zong hurriedly smoothed things over: "Well, why not give Zong Min a state first." "Your Majesty!" Zheng Qin was in a hurry, "This is too generous for him. I think that at most, he can only be appointed Sima of Hongzhou (now Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province)." Li Dang is so domineering, of course Yang Sifu doesn't need to be polite to them.He then loudly accused Zheng Tan and Chen Yixing of engaging in party disputes.Zheng and Chen stared at each other, and immediately put their hats back.As a result, the court meeting that day turned into a war of words.Both sides tear their faces apart and scold each other loudly.The emperor and the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty were dumbfounded, and suddenly felt like they were in the vegetable market. After a long time, Wen Zong said weakly: "That's it, give Zong Min a state." Seeing that the Son of Heaven had made up his mind, Zheng Tan and the others resentfully shut up. After the end of the court that day, Wen Zong kept sighing and complaining to his courtiers: "As a prime minister, but arguing like this, do you think it's okay? Is this okay?" The courtiers were speechless, so they could only comfort the emperor by saying that Zheng Tan and the others were acting like this out of loyalty, and they acted like this in a moment of anger. When Wenzong heard this, he could only shake his head and smile wryly. loyalty? Yes, it can only be understood as loyalty.In the ten years since I took the throne, I have seen this kind of "loyalty" regardless of everything for the benefit of the party, and of course I am not surprised. On the ninth day of February, Emperor Wenzong issued an edict to promote Li Zongmin from Hengzhou Sima to Hangzhou Governor. This unpleasant page has finally been turned, but the vicious struggle between the two parties within the prime minister's team has intensified since then and has not subsided for a moment. "Li Guyan, Yang Sifu, and Li Jueshan, so they were introduced to Dazheng to exclude Zheng Qin and Chen Yixing. Every time the government was discussed, right and wrong arose, and the superior (Wenzong) could not decide." (Volume 246) It is basically a joke to say that such a ruling team can govern the country well. In the three years since its founding, Wen Zong was not only troubled by the vicious fight between the prime ministers, but also by his unworthy prince. The prince's name is Li Yong, the eldest son of Wenzong, who was registered in the sixth year of Taihe.After his mother, Concubine Wang De gave birth to him, she was jealous of another woman, Concubine Yang Xian, and fell out of favor, and was slandered to death by Concubine Yang Xian soon.Li Yong lost his mother since he was a child, so he naturally lacked discipline, so he hang out with a bunch of servants and eunuchs every day, and he knows how to eat, drink and play, and rarely spends time studying. Wenzong successively sent several highly respected ministers to be teachers to the prince, but it was ineffective.Concubine Yang Xian took the opportunity to blow the pillow wind to Wenzong, adding fuel and vinegar to arrange the prince's fault. In September of the third year of Kaicheng, Wenzong finally couldn't bear it anymore, so he called the chief ministers to a meeting in the Yanying Hall, counted all the bad deeds of the prince, and planned to abolish him. Deposing the prince is no small matter, and the ministers expressed their opposition: "The prince is young, so he should be allowed to correct his mistakes. The prince is the foundation of the country and should not be easily shaken." Wei Wen, who had been a teacher for the prince, said bluntly: "Your Majesty did not educate him well. He, is it only his fault that caused him to sink to this point?" It was the son's fault for not teaching his father, Wen Zong felt that he was wrong, and saw that none of the ministers supported him, so he had to give up resentfully. However, although the crown prince can not be abandoned, the group of young people in the East Palace cannot be lightly spared.In order to make an example to others, Wen Zong then severely punished the eunuchs and maids around the prince, killing and exiling dozens of them at once. Wen Zong originally thought that the prince could learn a lesson and change his past, but he didn't expect that the prince didn't take it seriously at all, and he still went his own way, indulging in sensuality day and night.What Wenzong never expected was that just one month later, on the seventh day of October, Prince Li Yong, who was only in his teens, died suddenly. At the moment when he heard the bad news, Wen Zong was so shocked that he couldn't say a word for a while. Not only Wenzong, but also civil and military officials in the Manchu Dynasty felt that this matter was too strange, and they all waited for the emperor to investigate the cause of the prince's death. However, to everyone's surprise, the emperor didn't do anything, but buried the prince hastily. How is this going?Why did the dignified prince die unexplainably but no one cares about it?What does it mean that the Son of Heaven behaved so abnormally? People are deeply confused.However, the emperor's silence at least revealed such a message to the government and the public, that is-there is deep water behind the sudden death of the prince. Perhaps, behind this case is not only the jealous and ruthless Concubine Yang Xian, there may be another group of people standing behind. That is the eunuch. People still remember that a month ago, the emperor killed a group of eunuchs in the East Palace in a fit of anger. Although these eunuchs were of low rank and were just cats and dogs, they might still cause dissatisfaction and revenge from the eunuchs in power. If the prince was really killed by Concubine Yang Xian or the eunuch (or the two together), then the reaction of the emperor Li Ang can be easily explained.To put it bluntly, Li Ang may not be indifferent to the death of the prince, but—powerless. In the summer of the fourth year of Kaicheng (839 A.D.), the contradictions between the prime ministers became more and more acute, and gradually developed to the point of being irreconcilable, and finally came to a general outbreak. The fuse of the conflict was a sentence from Wenzong Li Ang. One day in April, Wen Zong praised Du Zhi Du Ji in a casual chat, and Yang Sifu and Li Jue immediately elected Du Ji as Minister of the Household Department.They did this firstly to cater to Shangyi, and secondly, they also wanted to establish a personal favor and seek personal favor in front of Du Yi. Chen Yixing was also there at the time, and then said with a sneer: "Whoever the emperor wants to promote, he has his own opinion, why bother you two? Since ancient times, countries have been defeated because their power was manipulated by their subordinates." The implication is that Yang and Li attempted to evade the emperor. Li Jue said tit for tat: "Your Majesty once said to me that a sage monarch should have no doubts about his appointments and no doubts about his appointments; when choosing a prime minister, one should be cautious, but once one is chosen, one should not doubt it casually." Chen Yixing sneered and remained silent. A few days later, Wenzong discussed political affairs with the four prime ministers again, and Chen Yixing started the conversation again, emphasizing that authority should not fall into the hands of his subordinates.Li Jue said angrily, "According to Mr. Chen, it means that someone among the prime ministers is stealing His Majesty's authority? To show my innocence, I am willing to resign as prime minister." Zheng Tan smiled and said, "Master Li, don't be too excited, Mr. Chen is just discussing the matter. According to Zheng's opinion, in the first and second years of Kaicheng, the government is indeed relatively clear. In the past two years, it seems that it is not as good as before. " Yang Sifu was furious: "According to what you said, in the first two years when the two of you used things, the government would be clear; in the past two years, it's my turn to be in power with Master Li, and someone will steal the authority?" As he spoke, he suddenly turned to face the emperor After bowing, "I'm guilty, from now on, I dare not enter Zhongshu Province again!" After finishing speaking, he walked out of the hall without looking back. Wen Zong was dumbfounded, and quickly sent eunuchs to call Yang Sifu back, and comforted him, "It was Zheng Tan who made a slip of the tongue just now, so why should Aiqing do that?" Although Wen Zong's words comforted Yang Sifu, he unexpectedly offended Zheng Tan. Zheng Tan immediately said sourly: "This minister is dull by nature and clumsy with his tongue. I didn't aim at Mr. Yang just now. But his reaction was so violent, obviously I can't tolerate this minister." Yang Sifu was still angry, he gave Zheng Tan a hard look, and said to Wenzong: "Since Zheng Tan said that political affairs are not as good as each year, it is not only the minister who is to blame, but even you, the emperor, are at fault for your virtue! " When Wen Zong heard this, he really felt that Zheng Qin's words just now included him, and he suddenly felt uncomfortable. The court meeting of the day broke up unhappy.Afterwards, Yang Sifu went to the court three times in a row, asking for his resignation, and did not go to court for several days.Wen Zong had no choice but to send eunuchs to his house several times, said a lot of good things, and finally kept him. A few days later, Yang Sifu finally came back to work reluctantly, but at the same time, he asked the eunuch to convey his attitude towards Zheng Tan—if there is him, there is no me, if there is me, there is no him, your majesty can figure it out! Now that the conflict has intensified to such an extent, Wenzong can no longer get along with each other. On May 16, Wenzong had to dismiss both Zheng Tan and Chen Yixing.Zheng Tan quit shooting for the right servant, and Chen Yixing stopped serving as the servant of the Ministry of Officials. So far, this life-and-death battle between prime ministers finally ended with the defeat of the Li party and the victory of the Niu party. Yang Sifu and Li Jue were greatly relieved. However, they were not happy for long. Because, at this time, the emperor Li Ang is not long in the world.After Wenzong died and the new emperor came to the throne, the two former prime ministers were the first to suffer.