Chapter 38 The Change of Jingshi: A Catastrophe That Falls from the Sky

On the third day of October in the fourth year of Jianzhong, the weather was extremely cold, and Chang'an City was shrouded in misty rain and snow. On this day, Yao Lingyan, the Jingyuan Jiedu envoy who was transferred out of the pass, led 5,000 soldiers through the capital. The soldiers were exhausted after trekking in the freezing weather for many days.In this listless team, there are also some half-grown children.They were the children of soldiers, and they had nothing to eat in their hometown anyway, so they simply followed their father and brother to avoid starving to death at home.In addition, the soldiers also want to get a few more heads to make up the number, so that they can share more rewards to support their families.

According to the usual practice, when the troops leave the town to fight in other places, the imperial court will give them extra rewards. However, their expectations fell through. When the Jingyuan army arrived at the outskirts of Chang'an, Jing Zhaoyin Wang Hong, who was in charge of receiving them, only provided them with an extremely simple meal: the rice was brown rice with skins on, and the dishes were only a few plates of green vegetables, even a piece of meat. No, let alone any extra rewards. Everyone's hearts ignited with anger. They started complaining, and a commotion ensued.Someone kicked over the food and yelled: "We are about to die at the hands of the enemy, but we can't even eat a full mouthful. Why should everyone use their lives to fight Bai Jian? I heard that there are two treasure houses in the palace, Qionglin and Daying. The pile of gold, silver, cloth and silk is as high as a mountain, why don't you rob it!"

As soon as the soldiers responded, they immediately put on their armors, carried the military flags, and flocked to Chang'an City with loud gongs and drums. A catastrophe fell from the sky like this. At that time, Jiedu envoy Yao Lingyan was bidding farewell to the emperor in the palace. Hearing the news, he galloped out of the palace and encountered mutinous soldiers in Changleban (east of Chang'an).Before he could open his mouth to stop, someone shot an arrow at him.Yao Lingyan was so frightened that he lay on his horse's back, rushed into the chaos with his mane in his arms, and shouted hoarsely: "You have made a big mistake! Are you afraid that you will not be rich and rich if you have made great achievements in the Eastern Expedition? Why did you do such a thing of extermination? ?”

But at this time, Jiedushi's words no longer have the slightest binding force.The rebels forcibly surrounded Yao Lingyan and rushed towards Chang'an noisily. When Emperor Dezong heard that Yao Lingyan was powerless to stop him, he hastily ordered to give each of the Jingyuan soldiers two bolts of silk.Unexpectedly, the envoy who delivered the order was shot to death by the oncoming mutinous soldiers as soon as he walked out of the city gate.Dezong sent eunuchs out of the palace again to comfort, and the rebels had already rushed to Tonghua Gate (the first gate in the northeast of Chang'an).Before the eunuch could open his mouth to announce the decree, he was chopped into meat paste by the irrational soldiers.Dezong was terrified, and ordered twenty carts full of gold, silver and silk to be given to them.

Sadly, this no longer works.At this time, the rebels had rushed into the city, their eyes were green, and their only target was the treasury in the palace, they didn't pay attention to the mere twenty carts of treasure. The people in Chang'an were terrified by the sudden commotion, and they ran in panic, fleeing for their lives.The rebels shouted: "Don't be afraid, we won't rob you of your property, and we won't ask you to pay inter-frame tax and Moqian tax!" When the common people heard this slogan, most of their fears were relieved immediately. Not only that, the common people even gave birth to a trace of rejoicing.If this group of rebellious soldiers really put this slogan into action, then they would not be called rebellious soldiers, they would simply be "righteous soldiers" who will do justice for the heavens and eliminate violence and bring peace to the people!

Later, Emperor Dezong sent Prince Pu Wang Li Yi and Hanlin scholar Jiang Gongfu to appease them, but at this time the rebels had already rushed outside the Danfeng Gate of the palace, and they might break in at any time. The hope of peacefully resolving the mutiny was very slim. At the same time, tens of thousands of Chang'an people gathered around to watch the excitement. Realizing that the danger was imminent, Dezong Li Shi hurriedly ordered the imperial army to assemble urgently. However, Emperor Dezong Li Shi issued several orders in a row, but no imperial guard came to escort him.The eunuchs Dou Wenchang and Huo Xianming who were in charge of delivering orders ran several times, and finally they all came back with a sad face to report——Your Majesty, there are no soldiers to dispatch!

Li Shi was dumbfounded. what happened?The imperial court has supported this group of pampered forbidden soldiers for many years, but now that a catastrophe is imminent, there are no soldiers to transfer? In fact, Li Shi needn’t be surprised, because he did have quotas for the Imperial Army drawn on paper and paid on time every month, but he didn’t have actual serving Imperial Army soldiers. why? The answer is simple: Bai Zhizhen, the envoy of Shence Army, is not the capable official in Dezong's imagination, but a mediocre person who dereliction of duty and bribery! Aware of the dangers brought about by the eunuchs in the Su and Dai dynasties in charge of the imperial army, Dezong Li Shi took back the military power of the imperial army from the eunuchs as soon as he came to the throne, and handed it over to Bai Zhizhen, who he thought was more trustworthy.Dezong thought that in this way, he could completely control the imperial army, so that he would no longer be manipulated and coerced by eunuchs.

However, Dezong never expected that although Bai Zhizhen did not turn the Forbidden Army into a tool to coerce the emperor, he turned the Forbidden Army into a nominal shell. Over the years, on the one hand, Bai Zhizhen has concealed the number of deaths of the Shence Army's Eastern Expedition, and on the other hand, he has accepted bribes from rich children and used their names as substitutes.Although these market children are registered in the military and receive their monthly salaries and various subsidies as usual, they spend their days doing business in the commercial port of Chang'an, and have never been in a military camp for a day.

Duan Xiushi, Secretary of Agriculture, once noticed Bai Zhizhen's dereliction of duty, and also advised Dezong: "The forbidden army is not good, and the soldiers are seriously insufficient. If there is a change, the court will not be able to deal with it." But Dezong always trusted Bai Zhizhen, and advised him On deaf ears. Today, Dezong Li Shi finally tasted the bitter fruit he planted himself-"Shang (Dezong) summoned forbidden soldiers to ward off thieves, but no one came." (Volume 228) Just when Dezong was at a loss, the rebels had already smashed open the palace gate, swarmed in, and their shouts were earth-shattering.Dou Wenchang and Huo Xianming hastily summoned more than a hundred eunuchs, surrounded by Dezong, prince, concubine, kings and others, and fled from the north gate of the Forbidden Garden in a hurry.

At this moment, the emperor Li Shi suddenly felt a kind of emotion that he had never felt before - in times of crisis, eunuchs are the most caring! When such sentiments come from the heart of the emperor, we have every reason to believe that in the near future, the central imperial army of the Li and Tang dynasties will return to the eunuchs, and a new round of eunuchs will follow. It will also be staged again and again! Perhaps, this is the fate of the empire. Perhaps from the moment the Anshi Rebellion broke out, the Tang Empire was doomed to be unable to escape such a fate. Dezong's party was preceded by King Pu Li Yi and followed by Prince Li Song. When they passed through the Forbidden Garden, they happened to meet Guo Shu, the son of Guo Ziyi, and dozens of servants hunting here.As soon as Guo Shu saw the embarrassment of the emperor, he hurried forward to escort him; at the same time, Linghu Jian, an envoy of the Youlongwu Army who was teaching archery in the barracks, also came to follow with more than 400 soldiers after hearing the news.

Dezong Li Shi escaped from Chang'an surrounded by these people. He was the third emperor in the history of the Tang Dynasty who was forced to flee the imperial capital after Xuanzong and Daizong. And this sudden change of Jingshi was the most serious setback that Dezong Li Shi had suffered since he came to the throne, and it was also the most unforgettable shame in his imperial career. The twilight gradually covered the land in front of him, and gradually covered Chang'an behind him.Dezong Li Shi rode his horse and galloped between the boundless sky and the earth, his whole body was filled with a painful depression. This is the depression deep in the soul of an emperor who is ambitious but unable to return to heaven. This depression is destined to permeate his life. After Dezong and others fled hastily, most of the officials in the capital and most of the princes and princesses of the royal family did not have time to escape.Only Prime Minister Lu Qi and Guan Bo, Hanlin scholar Lu Zhi, Jingzhao Yin Wang Hong, Shence military envoy Bai Zhizhen, household servant Zhao Zan and others escaped one after another, and caught up with the emperor and his party in Xianyang. Subsequently, a great riot broke out in Chang'an City. The mutiny soldiers rushed up to the Hanyuan Hall cheering, shouting: "The emperor has escaped, we can seek wealth for ourselves!" Then they rushed into the treasury and looted wantonly.Some rioters also took the opportunity to rush into the palace to rob property. Those who failed to break into the palace robbed openly on the street. The riot lasted all night, and all the gold, silver and treasures of the palace were looted. After looting the treasury, the rebels were full and satisfied.But the question is: what to do next?They poked a big hole in the sky all at once, how should they deal with the aftermath? Yao Lingyan, the envoy of Jingyuan Jiedu, was greatly troubled by this. He didn't want to rebel at all, but he participated in the entire mutiny under the coercion of the rebellious soldiers, which is really wronged.But he also knew that since the matter had come to this point, as Jiedushi, he could hardly escape the blame, even if he had ten heads, it would not be enough to chop off.Therefore, the only way for him to save his life now is to make mistakes! Since there is no way to retreat, there is only one way to go to the dark. Why is it called a road to the dark? It's very simple, find someone to come out to be the emperor - establish a new dynasty! The person Yao Lingyan found later was Taiwei Zhu Xi who was under house arrest at home at the time. Zhu Xi is the brother of Zhu Tao, the Jiedu envoy of Youzhou. He has successively served as the Jiedu envoy of Youzhou, Longyou, and Jingyuan.Originally, Zhu Xi's status in the court was relatively high, but since Zhu Tao, Tian Yue, Wang Wujun and others jointly launched a rebellion, Zhu Xi was deprived of his power by the court and sent back to his private residence, which is like house arrest. Zhu Xi originally thought that his life was over like this, but he never dreamed that at the time when he was most depressed and lost, these old subordinates of Jingyuan went to Chang'an to start a mutiny, and then came to support him again. Make him emperor! Is this really a blessing, a joy from heaven! At that moment, Zhu Shi's heart was beating wildly, and his whole body couldn't help but trembled. If you can live the addiction of being an emperor once in this life, then this life will be worthwhile, and you will die without regrets! In the middle of the night, Zhu Xi entered the Daming Palace with the support of the rebels, boarded the Hanyuan Hall, stayed in the hall that night, and called himself "the Sixth Army of Quanzhi". In fact, it is not that no one expected Zhu Xi to usurp the throne.On this day, when Dezong fled in a hurry, Jiang Gongfu, a Hanlin scholar, knelt in front of Dezong's horse and tried his best to persuade him, saying: "Zhu Xi once served as the Jiedu envoy of Jingyuan, but was abandoned at home because of Zhu Tao's rebellion. I have had objections for a long time. I have advised Your Majesty before that if you can’t trust this Zhu Xi after all, it is better to get rid of him as soon as possible to avoid future troubles. Now that Your Majesty is leaving Beijing, once the rebels support him, his power will be hard to contain. I hope Your Majesty will make a decisive decision. !" However, Dezong only cared about fleeing for his life, and did not listen to Jiang Gongfu's advice at all. On the fourth day of October, Dezong and his entourage fled from Xianyang to Fengtian (now Qianxian County, Shaanxi); on the fifth day of the lunar month, some civil and military officials arrived one after another, and General Zuo Jinwu Hun Yu also led his troops to Fengtian.Hun Yu was brave and good at fighting, and with his arrival, the hearts of Emperor Dezong and the people in exile gradually settled down. At the same time, a farce of usurping the throne and enthroning also began in Chang'an City.A group of followers headed by Guangluqing Yuanxiu persuaded Zhu Xi one after another and encouraged him to proclaim himself emperor.Later, Fengxiang and Jingyuan generals Zhang Tingzhi and Duan Chengjian led their troops to seek refuge.Zhu Xi thought that he was favored by everyone, so he began to issue orders to all officials, and set up six armies to serve as guards. On the seventh day of October, the ministers who fled to Fengtian one after another urged Dezong to strengthen the defense of Fengtian in case Zhu Xi sent troops to attack.When Lu Qi heard the words, he was filled with righteous indignation and said: "Zhu Xi's loyalty is unmatched by all civil and military officials in the Manchu Dynasty! I would like to guarantee the lives of the whole family, and Zhu Xi will never rebel!" Dezong thought so. However, on the second day after Lu Qi vowed to guarantee Zhu Xi, the ambitious Zhu Xi slapped Lu Qi severely with his actual actions. On the eighth day of October in the fourth year of Jianzhong, Zhu Xi entered the Xuanzheng Hall, proclaimed himself Emperor of Qin, and changed his name to Yingtian.The next day, Zhu Xi appointed Yao Lingyan as Shizhong and Guannei Marshal, Li Zhongchen as Sikong and Shizhong, Yuan Xiu as Zhongshu Shilang, Tongping Zhangshi, and Duan Duzhi. The rest of his courtiers were also appointed. In addition, Zhu Xi also made Zhu Tao the emperor's younger brother, and sent someone to send a letter to Zhu Tao, saying: "The Sanqin area (central part of Shaanxi) will be pacified in a few days, and the north of the Yellow River depends on you to wipe out the remnants of the enemy. I will meet you in Luoyang." Zhu Tao was ecstatic when he received the letter, and immediately circulated the letter in the military mansion, and at the same time copied many copies of the ultimatum, making no secret of his complacency. After the establishment of the puppet dynasty, the catastrophe of Li Tang's clan came to an end. Yuanxiu persuaded Zhu Xi to destroy all the Li Tang clans who were stranded in the capital, so as to eliminate the hope of the world, and at the same time kill them to establish their prestige.Zhu Xi thought it was very reasonable, so he ordered the massacre of 77 Li Tang's county kings, princes, and grandsons. At the same time that Chang'an fell, Xiangcheng, which had been besieged for several months, also fell into the dilemma of having no food inside and no reinforcements outside. Ge Shuyao had no choice but to abandon Xiangcheng and retreat to Luoyang.Li Xilie immediately occupied Xiangcheng.Later, Li Huaiguang, Ma Sui and others who were confronting the rebel towns in Hebei also received the imperial edict issued by Emperor Dezong from Fengtian.When the Jiedu envoys suddenly heard the news that Chang'an had fallen and the emperor was in exile, they all looked up to the sky and wept bitterly.A few days later, the envoys withdrew from the battlefield one after another: Shuofang envoy Li Huaiguang and Shence both knew that military envoy Li Sheng led his troops to help Fengtian, Hedong envoy Ma Sui led his troops to retreat to Taiyuan, Heyang envoy Li Jia He led his troops back to defend Heyang (now Mengzhou City, Henan), and Li Baozhen, the envoy of Zhaoyi Jiedu, also led his troops to retreat to Linming (now Yongnian County, Hebei). Sudden by this major change, the government army of the Tang Dynasty had to switch from active offense to strategic defense. On October 13, Zhu Xi personally led an army to capture Fengtian, preparing to wipe out Emperor Dezong and his court in exile in one fell swoop. Emperor Dezong Li Shi never expected that he would inherit Li Tang Sheji with the ambition of clarifying the universe and revitalizing the rivers and mountains, but only a few years after he took the throne, the world has become a mess—the flames of rebellion not only ignited It burned in all directions of the empire, and burned directly under his nose! Li Shi smiled wryly and said to himself: Now, even your own life is at stake, so why talk about clarifying the universe and revitalizing the rivers and mountains? Zhu Xi's rebel army tried their best to attack Fengtian. Hun Yan and others led the crowd to defend to the death and fight day and night. Generals of the Tang Army Lu Xiqian, Gao Chongjie and others died in battle one after another. Fengtian City was in danger... Since the Anshi Rebellion was put down, the Tang Dynasty has never encountered such a serious crisis. Can the Empire survive this crisis? Can Dezong Li Shi escape this catastrophe from the sky?