Chapter 47 Emperor Xizong's Enthronement: Little Emperor in Troubled Times

As a precursor to the collapse of a dynasty, "the people are in dire straits, and rebellions arose" and "the emperor is fatuous, and the government is corrupt" are often intertwined. The government during Yizong's period was lackluster. Yizong has been in power for more than ten years, and many prime ministers successively appointed are either mediocre and incompetent, or corrupt and perverted.For example, Lu Yan and Wei Baoheng, the two prime ministers in the middle and late period of Xiantong, were famous in the court and the public for their greed for money and power.

In the fifth year of Xiantong, Lu Yan became a prime minister with the title of Hanlin Bachelor and Minister of the Ministry of War. He was only 36 years old at the time, and he was a young man.When he was in charge of the court, he accepted bribes wantonly, lived extravagantly and corruptly, and used his powers exclusively, fighting against dissidents, but Yizong was very fond of him and handed over all the power of the court to him.In the tenth year of Xiantong (869 A.D.), a local official named Chen Pansou couldn't get used to Lu Yan's favoritism and power, so he took the opportunity of entering the court and said to Yizong: "Please confiscate the property of Bian Xian's family, and you will be sent to the court." It is enough to supply the army with salaries and food for two years." Yizong was confused by what he heard, and asked him, "Who is Bian Xian?" Chen Pansou said, "Lu Yan's confidant."

Yizong suddenly realized that he was impeaching Lu Yan by turning a corner!Isn't this turning a corner and scolding me for being blind and inhuman? Yizong was furious, and immediately exiled Chen Pansou to Aizhou (now Thanh Hoa, Vietnam). From then on, no one dared to say anything more. Compared with Lu Yan, Wei Baoheng, another prime minister who wields power, enjoys even more honor and favor.Because Wei Baoheng's status is very special, he was the current emperor's son-in-law long before he paid homage to the prime minister. In the first month of the tenth year of Xiantong, Yizong married his most beloved daughter, Princess Tongchang, to Wei Baoheng, who was then You Shiyi.The wedding was extravagant. The emperor used all the rare treasures in the palace as a dowry for the princess. He also rewarded a mansion in Guanghua. The doors and windows were inlaid with treasures. It was made of gold and silver, and the dustpan and basket were also woven with gold thread. In addition, five million cash was rewarded, and the value of other gifts was also equivalent to five million.

Within a year of their marriage, Wei Baoheng, the consort, suddenly became the prime minister of the court.The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty were dumbfounded, saying that such a thing was unheard of.After Wei Baoheng became a prime minister, he and Lu Yan worked together and tried their best to suppress dissidents.At that time, Kang Chengxun made great contributions to the pacification of Pang Xun and was highly valued. Wei Baoheng and Lu Yan were very jealous, so they said to Yizong: "Kang Chengxun did not stay in the crusade against Pang Xun. Report to the imperial court... This kind of person really shouldn't be reused."

As soon as Yizong heard this, he dismissed Kang Chengxun's duties as the envoy of Hedong Jiedu and Tongping Zhangshi without saying a word, and demoted him to Shu Wang Fu (the teacher of Shu Wang Li Ji), and was demoted to Enzhou soon after. (now Enping City, Guangdong) Sima. In the later period of Xiantong, when Lu Yan and Wei Baoheng joined forces to cut off many political enemies, the two celebrities inevitably had internal strife in order to compete for the position of the first celebrity.Because Wei Baoheng also has the identity of a son-in-law, he finally won this contest as a matter of course.In April of the twelfth year of Xiantong (871 A.D.), Lu Yan was demoted from the imperial court and released as Xichuan Jiedushi.

Knowing that he had offended too many people over the years, Lu Yan couldn't help worrying that he would be retaliated on the way to his post, so he said to Jing Zhaoyin Xue Neng, "When I go on the road, I'm afraid that someone will give me a farewell party with rubble!" The implication is to ask Xue Neng to send troops to escort him. This Xue Neng was single-handedly promoted by Lu Yan, so he believed that Xue Neng would definitely return him a favor.Unexpectedly, Xue Neng rolled his eyes, and said in a tone: "Recently, when the prime minister went out of the city, there is no precedent for the Secretary of the Jingzhao Mansion to send guards!"

Lu Yan was ashamed and annoyed.But he really has nothing to say other than lamenting the cruelty of the world.On the day he left Beijing to take up his post, he was indeed smashed with stones and rubble on the road.Fortunately, he was prepared and was not crushed to death. After Lu Yan was pushed out of Beijing, Wei Baoheng became the only one in the court.However, before he could fully enjoy the delicacy of power, all the wealth and splendor came to an end quietly. Because the big tree that shaded him fell down. In March of the fourteenth year of Xiantong (873 A.D.), Yizong, who had always worshiped Buddhism, sent people to Famen Temple to welcome the Buddha's finger relics.The ministers advised them one after another, and even mentioned that the Buddha bone collapsed shortly after Xianzong welcomed the invitation.Unexpectedly, Yizong said: "If I can live to see the Buddha's finger relic, I will have no regrets in dying!"

At that time, no one thought that the words casually uttered by the emperor would become a prophecy. After only one summer, Yizong fell ill. On July 16, Yizong's condition suddenly worsened.It was the same as before Xuanzong's death - the empire has not yet established a crown prince.Such a moment undoubtedly once again provided the eunuch with an opportunity to show his talents. This time, the eunuchs on stage were the left and right lieutenants Liu Xingshen and Han Wenyue.They locked their eyes on Yizong's fifth son Puwang Li Xuan.Because Li Xuan was just twelve years old this year, he was very suitable to be their puppet.

On the 18th, Liu Xingshen and Han Wenyue issued an edict in the name of the emperor: make Li Xuan the crown prince and supervise the state affairs. On the 19th, Yizong Li Wei died in Xianning Hall.On the same day, Li Xuan ascended the throne as Tang Xizong. Once Yizong died, Wei Baoheng's good days would come to an end.In September, political opponents who had been suppressed by Wei Baoheng for a long time began to retaliate, accusing him one after another.Wei Baoheng was immediately demoted to governor of Hezhou (now He County, Guangxi); a month later, he was demoted to magistrate of Chengmai, Yazhou (northeast of Chengmai County, Hainan); a few days later, he was bestowed dead by the new emperor.

At the same time, Lu Yan's fate was exactly the same as his. First, he was demoted to be the governor of Xinzhou (now Xinxing County, Guangdong); His official rank was changed to exile in Danzhou (now Hainan), and he was also ordered to commit suicide a few days later. All his family property was confiscated, and his wife and children were regarded as official slaves. When the twelve-year-old Li Xuan was pushed onto the throne of the emperor in a daze, he certainly would not have realized that he had already won the two crowns of the dynasty.First, he was the youngest emperor in the more than 250 years since the founding of the Tang Dynasty; second, when he ascended the throne, it was the moment when the situation of the empire was the most serious, the most worrying, and the social conflicts were the most acute.

The exhausted imperial carriage was galloping towards the abyss, but the little emperor Li Xuan didn't know anything about it.While happily holding the rein in his hand, he looked around and looked around.Although the empire is old, in the eyes of the little emperor, the country that belongs to him is brand new, bright and colorful. From the time when he was King Pu, Li Xuan was a playful and active child.He has a playmate who stays with him day and night—the eunuch Tian Lingzi of the palace stable.With Li Xuan's ascension to the throne, Tian Lingzi, who was originally of low status, transformed into a high-ranking privy envoy. It wasn't until this moment that Lieutenants Liu Xingshen and Han Wenyue realized that they had made a serious mistake.Because they completely ignored this little "Bi Mawen", their action of supporting Li Xuan was tantamount to making a wedding dress for Tian Lingzi. After the little emperor Li Xuan came to the throne, he honored Tian Lingzi as "Father", left all the government affairs to him, and then devoted himself to all kinds of entertainment. Although his father, Tian Lingzi, was born in Bi Mawen, but he has read some books, is proficient in writing and ink, and is relatively intelligent, so he did his part to be the driving force behind the empire.After he monopolized the power, he sold officials and nobles wantonly, soliciting power and accepting bribes.He never had to go through the emperor, let alone greet the prime minister and officials.In order to show the intimacy between himself and the little emperor, every time Tian Lingzi went to see the emperor, he would bring wine and food himself, drink happily with the emperor, and chat with each other at the same time, so that everyone would know that he and the emperor had no distinction between monarchs and ministers , more like a pair of year-end friends. The little emperor inherited his father's disposition and liked to hang out with musicians and actors. The money he rewarded was tens of thousands of dollars, and the palace treasury soon ran out.Tian Lingzi helped the little emperor think of a way to make money, and asked him to send eunuchs to search for merchants' goods and treasures in the east and west cities of Chang'an.The little emperor followed his plan, and sure enough, the money was bountiful.Someone refused to accept the complaint, so Tian Lingzi ordered the Jingzhao Mansion to arrest the complainant and beat him to death with sticks. Regarding this, the prime minister and all the officials were also silent, and no one dared to speak out. Faced with the ignorant and playful little emperor and Tian Lingzi who overshadowed the sky with one hand, people can only look up to the sky and lament—— Datang was exhausted. In the second year of the little emperor's accession to the throne, that is, in December of the first year of Qianfu (874 AD), urgent battle reports from all over the country flew into Chang'an like a snowflake. The Tiande Army (northeast of Urad Front Banner, Inner Mongolia) made a report: Dangxiang and Uighur troops invaded the border. The probation army (Xuzhou, the government office) reported: Pang Xun's remaining party looted everywhere, and the prefecture and county could not stop it. Report on the border of Xichuan: The Nanzhao army rushed to cross the Dadu River three times. The Tang Dynasty's anti-river soldiers and horse envoys and the governor of Lizhou (now Hanyuan County, Sichuan Province) Huang Jing Fuli lost the battle and were defeated on the whole line; the enemy invaded and occupied Lizhou and had crossed the Qionglai Pass , the forward arrived in Yazhou (now Ya'an City, Sichuan)... At the same time, various deep-rooted social contradictions within the empire also broke out in an all-round way. In Yizong's reign, due to the extravagance of the emperor and the continuous internal and external wars, the national treasury was empty, so all kinds of taxes were accumulated day by day, making the people miserable.And natural disasters often go hand in hand with man-made disasters.In the last years of Xiantong, the Kanto region (east of Tongguan) suffered from floods and droughts year after year, and the states and counties concealed it and did not report it. No matter in any era, the patience of ordinary people at the bottom of China is the strongest in the world. If you don't push them to a corner, they will never rebel.For thousands of years, the Chinese people's understanding of life is nothing more than facing the loess and turning their backs to the sky, working at sunrise and resting at sunset, and their understanding of happiness is nothing more than one acre of land, wives and children on a kang.Only when the rulers have crushed their minimum demands, their meager hopes, will they take risks.And once they choose to rebel, the energy that erupts is devastating. In the winter of the first year of Qianfu, this destructive energy bloomed in all directions of the empire almost overnight. The name of one of the flowers of destruction is Yellow Nest. Soon, the little emperor Li Xuan and his court in troubled times will hear an earth-shattering cry—— After my flowers bloom, the flowers will kill!