Chapter 15 Paradise Lost: "Forcing the Relocation of the Emperor" Incident

In the summer of the first year of Shangyuan, Li Fuguo, who had held grudges for a long time, finally lost his temper. He said to Suzong: "The Supreme Emperor lives in Xingqing Palace, and communicates with outsiders every day. Especially Gao Lishi and Chen Xuanli, who gather together day and night to conspire, may be harmful to His Majesty. The soldiers of the Sixth Army (Forbidden Army) today are all from those days. The spirit and martial arts heroes of the school are worried about this, worried that there will be troubles. I have repeatedly comforted them and made many explanations, but it is of no avail. It seems that the situation is already very serious, and I dare not report it truthfully."

Li Fuguo said a lot, but he just wanted to hint at one point - the Supreme Emperor wanted to be restored. When Su Zong heard this, his face showed surprise, tears flashed in his eyes, and he said, "How is this possible? The emperor is merciful and benevolent, how could he do such a thing?" Li Fuguo said: "Of course the emperor didn't mean that, but those villains around him who are greedy for wealth and honor are hard to say. Your majesty, you are the master of the world. You should start from the plan of the society and eliminate disasters in the bud. How can you follow the filial piety of ordinary people?" Moreover, Xingqing Palace is mixed with the marketplace, and the walls are exposed, so it is not suitable for the emperor to live in. According to my opinion, it is better to welcome the emperor back to Taiji Palace, which is more suitable than Xingqing Palace. It can put an end to the temptation of villains. If so, the emperor can enjoy the peace of long live, and his majesty can have the joy of three dynasties (three times a day), wouldn't it be the best of both worlds!"

Suzong didn't answer. That concludes the conversation for the day.But Li Fuguo knew that if Suzong didn't speak, it meant he didn't object, and if he didn't object, it meant he acquiesced.In order to further test Suzong's attitude, Li Fuguo then did another thing of throwing stones to ask for directions. Because Xuanzong always liked to ride horses and shoot and hunt, even though he hardly went out in his later years, he still raised 300 horses in Xingqing Palace.In the name of the emperor's decree, Li Fuguo took away 290 horses at once, leaving only ten horses for Xuanzong.

Afterwards, Xuanzong looked at the empty stables and said to Gao Lishi with great emotion: "My son was bewitched by the auxiliary country, so he will not be filial forever." (Volume 221) After Li Fuguo snatched the Supreme Emperor's horse, he waited quietly for a few days. He was watching Sukjong's reaction. However, Suzong did not respond from beginning to end.Of course, this was what Li Fuguo expected and what he wanted most.A few days later, Li Fuguo led the soldiers of the six armies into the inner hall and "cryed and kowtowed" to Suzong together, strongly demanding that the Supreme Emperor be invited to live in the Taiji Palace.Suzong's attitude was the same as before, weeping and sobbing, but he didn't say a word.

Li Fuguo smiled. He knew what he had to do. On July 19th of the first year of Shangyuan, Li Fuguo once again corrected the edict and invited the Supreme Emperor to Xi Nei (the Taiji Palace is called "Xi Nei" and the Xing Qing Palace is called "Nan Nei") in the name of Suzong.Xuanzong didn't think much, and left Xingqing Palace with Gao Lishi and a few attendants. At this time, Xuanzong certainly did not expect that in this life, he would never have the opportunity to return to Xingqing Palace. When Xuanzong and his party reached Ruiwu Gate, Li Fuguo, who had been lying in wait for a long time, rushed out with 500 cavalry, and surrounded Xuanzong and others with their swords out of their sheaths.

Li Fuguo rode his horse up to Xuanzong, and said arrogantly: "The emperor thought that the Xingqing Palace was damp and cramped, so he moved to Da Nei to welcome the emperor." Xuanzong hadn't seen this kind of formation for a long time since the change of Mawei Station, and now he suddenly heard this sentence, he felt dizzy for a while, and almost fell off his horse.Seeing this, Gao Lishi immediately stood up in front of Xuanzong, shouted sharply: "How rude is Li Fuguo!" and ordered Li Fuguo to dismount. Li Fuguo had no choice but to slowly get off his horse.Gao Lishi gave him a hard look, then turned to the soldiers and shouted loudly: "The emperor ordered me to ask you all to be well!"

The 500 cavalry were stunned for a short moment, then looked at Li Fuguo again, seeing that he was silent, they put their swords into their sheaths, and then all dismounted, kowtowed to Xuanzong, and shouted long live in unison. Finally, Gao Lishi ordered Li Fuguo to lead the horse for the Supreme Emperor with him, and Li Fuguo also bit the bullet and obeyed. Although the loyal and brave Gao Lishi helped Xuanzong retain his final dignity at the critical moment, he was powerless to change Xuanzong's fate, let alone control his own.Gao Lishi knew very well that from this moment on, both he and the Supreme Emperor had become fish on Li Fuguo's chopping board!

On the same day, Li Fuguo brought Xuanzong to Ganlu Hall, leaving dozens of old and weak as bodyguards, strictly forbidding anyone to come in and out, and not allowing Gao Lishi, Chen Xuanli and all the old people in the palace to stay around Xuanzong.After doing all this, Li Fuguo led his troops away triumphantly. Later, Li Fuguo led all the senior generals of the Sixth Imperial Guard Army, put on plain clothes, and went to "plead guilty" to Suzong. It is said to be "pleading guilty", but in fact half is returning to life and half is forcing the palace.Li Fuguo's move is tantamount to telling Suzong——the emperor, I have already helped you cook raw rice. No matter what you think in your heart now, anyway, you have to express your attitude in front of all the generals of the imperial army, so that everyone can feel at ease .

At this moment, Suzong's mood must be quite complicated.As an emperor, he felt a sense of relief; but as a son, he felt a sense of uneasiness and self-blame. The reason is very simple, ever since Li Fuguo first mentioned to him that the Supreme Emperor often communicated with outsiders, Suzong had already had great doubts and fears.Just as Li Fuguo hinted, he felt that it was not impossible for the Supreme Emperor to be restored.According to Li Fuguo, among the officials who communicated with the Supreme Emperor, there were both General Habayashi in the capital and officials from Jiannan Road. Even ordinary people in Chang'an were often entertained by the Supreme Emperor.

What does this mean? Doesn't this mean that the Supreme Emperor is actively organizing forces and at the same time vigorously buying people's hearts in preparation for the restoration? What made Li Heng deeply disturbed was that although An Lushan and his son were defeated, hundreds of thousands of officers and soldiers were defeated in Yecheng, which seriously damaged the vitality of the court. The Japanese army captured Tokyo, which brought the once clear battle situation into a stalemate again.No one can predict how the future war situation will evolve.Under such circumstances, if the Supreme Emperor raised his arms with his remaining prestige, who can guarantee that there will be no crowds of responders?

Therefore, when Li Fuguo proposed to move the Supreme Emperor to Xi Nei, Li Heng actually agreed very much in his heart, but he couldn't say it explicitly, so he had to take a default attitude. However, after all, the Supreme Emperor is already seventy-six years old. It seems a bit far-fetched to say that a person still wants to regain the power of the emperor at such a dying age; and he is his father after all. It's no different from house arrest. As a son of man, Li Heng will inevitably have some uneasy conscience. Therefore, regarding the matter of "forced to relocate the emperor", Suzong was actually very conflicted in his heart.And it was precisely because Li Fuguo saw through Suzong's ambivalence that he forced him to express his position in public in this threatening way. At this point, Suzong could no longer sit on the wall.He forced a smile to the generals, and said: "Nangong and Xi Nei are actually the same. I know that all the lovers are doing this because they are worried that the emperor will be deceived by the villain. It is the so-called prevention of small things, so that the society can be safe! I have A courtier like you has nothing to fear." After Xuanzong was placed under house arrest, Gao Lishi and others could only be slaughtered by Li Fuguo. On July 28th, Li Fuguo issued an edict in the name of Emperor Suzong to exile Gao Lishi to Wuzhou (northwest of Hongjiang City, Hunan Province today), Wang Chengen to Bozhou (now Zunyi City, Guizhou Province), and ordered Chen Xuanli to become an official, and the palace maids were treated like immortals. Yuan Yuan was exiled to Guizhou (now Zigui County, Hubei Province), and ordered Princess Yuzhen to leave the palace and return to Yuzhen Temple. Yan Zhenqing, who was then Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, could not understand Li Fuguo's actions, so he united with all the officials and sent a letter to the Supreme Emperor to greet him.Of course, this move was immediately regarded as a provocation by Li Fuguo.He immediately invited Suzong to expell Yan Zhenqing from the imperial court and relegate him to be the chief historian of Pengzhou (now south of Yilong County, Sichuan). In Chang'an in early autumn, the fallen leaves began to fall. The Supreme Emperor Li Longji looked out from the window of the Ganlu Hall, and saw that the sky above his head was always black and gray, as if someone had covered it with a dirty rag. From the day he left Xingqing Palace, Li Longji seemed to have never seen the sun again. I don't know if it's an illusion, anyway, Li Longji felt that he suddenly fell into another world, a world that seemed completely strange.Whenever he was sleepless in the middle of the night, Li Longji would gently call Gao Lishi, wanting him to talk to him for a while, just like before.However, it was not Gao Lishi who came to the bed every time, but two young court ladies with strange faces. They were sent by Li Heng. There were quite a few of them, more than a hundred of them. It's a pity that Li Longji didn't know them. I don't know any of them. The strange thing is, where did Gao Lishi go? Where did he go? Li Longji thought for a long time, until the sky gradually brightened outside the window, he slowly remembered - Gao Lishi left. Gao Lishi left, it is said that he went to Wuzhou.Li Longji didn't remember where Wuzhou was, but he knew it was far away just by hearing the name.It will take at least two or three months to go from Chang'an to Wuzhou, right?Li Longji once inquired about this matter with the maids around him, but they all hesitated and evaded their words, as if it was a big secret. Well, keep it secret, keep it secret, don't tell it if you don't tell it, it's useless if you know it anyway.Could it be that he wants to report to his son Li Heng that he wants to go to Wuzhou? Hehe, stop dreaming.Li Longji smiled wryly and said to himself, even the door of Ganlu Palace can't go out, and even the Xingqing Palace which is close at hand can't go back, so why talk about Wuzhou! Whenever he thought of Xingqing Palace, Li Longji would feel that somewhere in his body was torn apart.At first he still felt pain, but then it went away.If I had to say something, it would be broken, sinking, and empty. Sometimes, Li Longji would inexplicably think of the kind of paper kites that folk children often play with.People in the world often talk about happiness and happiness, but few people can clearly explain what happiness and happiness are.Li Longji thought, when a child puts a paper kite in the sky, that moment should be joyful and happy, right? But paper kites sometimes break. When the kite and the child get farther and farther away, and finally no one can see the other, will the child's heart be broken, sinking, and empty? Is Xingqing Palace my kite? Is that piece of paradise with the fragrance of alcohol and the melodious music and music my kite? How big is the difference between a child who lost his little paper kite and an overlord who lost his little paradise? Li Longji didn't know. He only knew that a hundred Ganlu Palaces were not as good as one Xingqing Palace, and he only knew that a hundred court ladies were not as good as one Gao Lishi. By the way, Li Heng not only sent him more than a hundred court ladies, he also sent Princess Wan'an and Princess Xianyi (daughter of Li Longji) to take care of his daily life.However, princesses are different from princesses, and daughters are also different from daughters.When he was in Xingqing Palace, even if Yuzhen didn't speak, just sat quietly with him, Li Longji would feel a sense of leisure and peace of mind.But now, Wan An and Xian Yi seem to be afraid that the silence will cause embarrassment, so they talk to him non-stop all day long, and everyone is very tired in the end. Wan An and Xian Yi didn't know that some things were conveyed by silence, while some things were diluted bit by bit by a lot of words. To know the feeling of sweetness, it is enough to taste a drop of honey, not a jar of honey; but if you mix a drop of honey into a jar of water, will you still feel sweet? It's a pity that Wan An and Xian Yi don't understand. Those who don't understand include their elder brother Li Heng. He moved piles of contributions from all directions and delicacies from mountains and seas into the Ganlu Hall, saying that he wanted to honor his father, but Li Longji couldn't eat anything.He often looks at those delicacies in the world and laughs alone.After being the Emperor of Taiping for fifty years, Li Longji realized for the first time that sometimes delicacies are not food for people to eat, but decorations for people to look at. Yes, they are decorations.They were moved in by Li Heng in piles, and then piled up into a big "filial piety" character.Isn't this word for people to read? Li Heng sent more and more things, but Li Longji's appetite became smaller and smaller every day.Later, Li Longji gave up meat and became a vegetarian. After that, Li Longji didn't eat anything. Don't get me wrong, this seventy-six-year-old man is not on a hunger strike.Usually, when a person goes on a hunger strike, there must be some purpose that must be achieved.But for Li Longji, who is dying and ashamed, is there any goal that must be achieved in the rest of his life? there is none left. Li Longji told the people around him, and also told Li Heng that since he had always believed in Taoism, he now decided to practice "Bigu" in order to live forever. Of course Li Heng knew that bigu was a way of cultivation in Taoism, but he clearly discovered that his father was on a hunger strike in the name of bigu! The most convincing evidence is that from the day the Supreme Emperor announced bigu, his health has been deteriorating, and various diseases have come one after another, quickly devouring his aging body. Why did the father go on a hunger strike? The answer is simple - he is not seeking longevity, but a quick death! Why did the father want to die quickly? Li Heng naturally remembered an old saying: there is nothing more to be sad than to die. Is the father's heart dead? Li Heng didn't have the courage to face this problem.He could only find ways to meet all his father's needs after the incident of "Forcing the Emperor to Relocate".But unfortunately, this "everything" can only refer to external material needs, and cannot include spiritual needs.Yes, the happiness, happiness, dignity, and freedom that Li Longji desires most cannot be given by Li Hengji. Because these things were precisely taken away by Li Heng. Therefore, rather than saying that Li Heng is filial to his father, it is better to say that he is making compensation.But filial piety and compensation are very different.Filial piety means that I will give you what you need, and compensation means that I will give you what I want to give you. The two must not be equated.In other words, the purpose of filial piety is to make the elderly happy, but the purpose of compensation is to make oneself feel at ease. Can this be the same? When the Supreme Emperor first moved into the Ganlu Hall, of course Li Heng often went to greet him, because the so-called "morning and evening peace" is one of the main contents of filial piety stipulated by the ancients.After the old man fell ill due to a hunger strike, Li Heng went more frequently.But not long after, Li Heng himself fell ill, and his condition was not optimistic.He had no choice but to send eunuchs to greet the emperor on his behalf. From then on, Li Heng spent much more time in bed than in the court administration. During his sick days, Li Heng thought about many things.The most important thing, of course, is the matter of forcing the Supreme Emperor to leave Xingqing Palace.The more Li Heng thought about it, the more he felt guilty, and at the same time he felt a little remorse. He felt that the culprit was the damned eunuch Li Fuguo! If it hadn't been for the eunuch's repeated urging and finally making raw rice into cooked rice, he might not have made up his mind. People like Li Fuguo should be killed, keeping them is a disaster after all! However, Li Heng's intention to kill Li Fuguo can only stay in the stage of obsession, and has never been able to put it into action. It's not that he doesn't want to move, but that he doesn't dare to move. The reason is very simple, the forbidden army is in the hands of Li Fuguo, how can Li Heng move?Although Li Fuguo's military power was also given by Li Heng, it is not so easy to take it back.Because after these years of operation, the Forbidden Army has almost become Li Fuguo's private armed force.There is a saying that the county magistrate is not as good as the current one, and the soldiers of the Forbidden Army have long been tamed by Li Fuguo through various means.It is no exaggeration to say that now they fear the eunuch Li Fuguo far more than the emperor Li Heng! Thinking of the scene when Li Fuguo brazenly brought the generals of the six armies in plain clothes to force the palace on the day when he was forced to relocate to the emperor, Li Heng would feel cold limbs and trembling all over at any time. What is Tai Ah backlash? At that moment, Li Heng deeply experienced the meaning contained in this idiom. Li Heng always thought that Li Fuguo was just a knife in his hand, but now he realized that what he was holding was actually the blade, but the handle of the knife was in Li Fuguo's hand. Yes, the handle of the knife is in Li Fuguo's hand. The handle of the knife is in Li Fuguo's hand...