Chapter 3 The Deadly Tongue: The Showdown Between the Favorite and the Eunuch

Wang Maozhong is a person with bad background but good luck all his life. His life can be summed up in one sentence - from slave to general.Moreover, this general is not an ordinary general, but a grand general at the Duke level who is favored by the emperor! Wang Maozhong's father was from Goryeo. It is estimated that he joined the Tang army after the destruction of Goryeo. However, being a slave was not the beginning of Wang Maozhong's bad luck, but the beginning of his good luck in his life. Because his master is none other than Linzi King Li Longji.Wang Maozhong followed the king of Linzi, fighting cocks and horses all day long, flying eagles and chasing rabbits, eating delicious food and drinking spicy food, basically never suffered a day.Named a slave, in fact no less than a prince's son.Later, Wang Maozhong became a deserter in the Tang Long coup. It stands to reason that no matter how lucky he was, it would be over here, but unexpectedly, Li Longji forgave him and made him a general of the Imperial Army like other heroes.

When it came to the Xiantian coup, Wang Maozhong learned to be good, and he helped Li Longji very much. Afterwards, he paid homage to General Fuguo and General Zuowuwei, bestowed Duke Huo Guogong, and sealed five hundred households. His domestic slaves became heroes of the empire and dignitaries of the dynasty that everyone feared. In the early days of Kaiyuan, Xuanzong began to clean up the group of heroes. It is said that Wang Maozhong was also doomed, but instead of being deposed, he lived a more nourishing life than before. In the final analysis, it was his status as a "domestic slave" that saved him.Because he has been around Xuanzong since he was a child, and he has a very deep relationship with Xuanzong, and the most important thing is-people like him have no foundation in the court and no power in the political arena, so Xuanzong will not feel that there is anything threaten.

After the group of heroes was cleared out, Wang Maozhong, as one of the few heroes in the court, was even more favored. He was often called into the palace with the kings, Jiang Jiao and others, and "sat together in front of the imperial tent" to gather with the emperor feast.It is said that if Xuanzong can't see him for a day, he will be depressed and feel lost; once he sees him, he immediately smiles, and quickly invites him to drink and have fun, sometimes even all night long. The rewards Wang Maozhong received from Xuanzong included "zhuang houses, slaves, camel horses, money and silk", etc., which can be described as "invincible records" ("Old Tang Book · Wang Maozhong Biography").Wang Maozhong's official wife was originally named Mrs. Huo Guo, but later Xuanzong gave Wang Maozhong a concubine, who not only tied with the first wife in terms of title, but also shared the title.Every time they go to the palace to pay homage, the two wives always enter into a pair and share their favor. Others receive one reward, but Wang Maozhong can receive two rewards.The sons born to these two wives were awarded fifth-rank official positions at a young age, and they often played with the prince, as expensive as the descendants of the royal family.

Speaking of the honor and favor enjoyed by Wang Maozhong, there is one more thing that must be mentioned. It was in the winter of the thirteenth year of Kaiyuan (725 A.D.), when Wang Maozhong's eldest daughter was about to get married, and the civil and military dynasties of the Manchu Dynasty were vying to give gifts, all wanting to take the opportunity to curry favor with the emperor's favorite minister.Xuanzong was also very concerned, and asked him what else he needed. Wang Maozhong thanked him and said: "I have prepared everything, but there are one or two guests who cannot be invited."

The prime ministers at that time were Zhang Shuo and Yuan Qianyao.Apart from Xuanzong, the most distinguished guests are the two of them.Xuanzong said: "Isn't it just Zhang Shuo and Yuan Qianyao? What's wrong with them?" Wang Maozhong replied: "The two of them have already been invited." Xuanzong was puzzled.After thinking for a while, I suddenly realized that among the civil and military officials, the only person Wang Maozhong could not invite was probably Song Jing.This gentleman has always been upright and upright, not a dignitary, although he is no longer the prime minister, but his airs are still higher than anyone else, no wonder Wang Maozhong is in trouble.Xuanzong said with a smile: "Don't worry, I promise to help you find the guests you want."

Since the emperor personally invited him, Song Jing of course had to give it face. The next day, Song Jing was indeed invited to attend.Although among all the guests, Song Jing was the last one to arrive, and after only drinking half a glass of wine, he presumed that he was unwell and left the table early, but everyone knows that if Song Jing, who has never socialized, can make a splash, Wang Maozhong His face is already big enough.At the same time, everyone can guess that this is the emperor's help. In today's world, besides the emperor, who can invite Song Jing?Moreover, besides Wang Maozhong, who else can make the emperor come forward to help treat guests?

Wang Maozhong's position in Xuanzong's mind can be seen here. Of course, the reason why Wang Maozhong is so honored and favored is not only due to luck, but also not only due to his status as a domestic slave. Although these two factors played an important role in his fortune, if he had no outstanding contributions, it would be impossible for a shrewd emperor like Li Longji to favor him for a long time. Speaking of Wang Maozhong's contribution, it can be summed up in two words: raising horses. Since Xuanzong came to power, in addition to the title of general, Wang Maozhong also had a position called "inspecting the idle stables inside and outside the school and also knowing the supervisor and pastoral envoy".This official name is very long and a mouthful, but we can give him an abbreviation - Bi Mawen.

Yes, Bi Mawen. But everyone, don't underestimate this Bi Mawen, because its main duty is to provide war horses for the Central Guards and the Empire's border guards.In ancient times, the status and role of cavalry were equivalent to modern tanks.In modern conventional combat, it is unimaginable without tanks, and in the era of cold weapons, it is also unimaginable without cavalry. Therefore, Wang Maozhong, the ancient Bi Mawen, would be the head of the Army's General Armament Department today.From a purely technical point of view, the contribution of Wang Maozhong in this position will directly determine the strength of the imperial army's combat effectiveness.

It can be seen from this that Xuanzong let him be the Bi Mawen, not to neglect him, but to reuse him. Wang Maozhong lived up to Xuanzong's great trust. At the beginning of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, there were only 3,000 war horses from the Sui Dynasty. After nearly 50 years of careful breeding and reproduction, by the time of Emperor Gaozong Linde, the number had grown to 700,000.However, the good times didn't last long. Since the last years of Emperor Gaozong and after Wu Zhao came to power, the empire suffered frequent military defeats, and lost more than half of its war horses. By the early years of Kaiyuan, there were only 240,000 horses left.However, after Wang Maozhong took over, the number of war horses quickly rose to 430,000 in just over ten years, nearly doubling, and its contribution is not insignificant.

In order to show Wang Maozhong's work achievements and show off the empire's military strength to the barbarians, Xuanzong ordered Wang Maozhong to select tens of thousands of good horses when he sealed off Mount Tai. ("Old Tang Book·Wang Maozhong Biography"), on the way to Mount Tai showed off vividly.At the end of the conferring ceremony, Xuanzong added the title of Wang Maozhong Kaifu Yitong Sansi (Wen Sanguan first level, Cong Yipin) in recognition of his contribution to raising war horses.Since Xuanzong came to the throne, there have been only four people who have won this title: Wang Renjiao, the father of Queen Wang, Yao Chong and Song Jing, the prime ministers, and Wang Maozhong.Being able to be awarded this official with these three people shows the depth of honor and favor Wang Maozhong has received.

Wang Maozhong was so popular in front of Xuanzong, he would naturally arouse the jealousy of others. However, ordinary ministers would not be jealous of him.Because the ministers are not of the same type as him (different backgrounds), so there is no jealousy.Some of the ministers may like him, some may hate him, some will be close to him, some may reject him, some may fear him, some may look down on him, but no matter what kind of emotion, it has nothing to do with jealousy.This is the same as a man may like or hate a woman's looks, but he will never be jealous of a woman's looks. Therefore, the people who would be jealous of Wang Maozhong are most likely to be people of the same background as him, that is, people who were originally slaves to Li Longji. Who is this kind of person? eunuch. At that time, the person who was most jealous of Wang Maozhong was the eunuch leader Gao Lishi. Gao Lishi, born in Panzhou (now Gaozhou City, Guangdong Province), whose real name is Feng Yuanyi, is the great-grandson of Feng An, a general of the Sui and Tang dynasties.In the early years of the Holy Calendar of the Wu Zhou Dynasty, his family was confiscated due to crimes, and he was castrated as a slave.Li Qianli, the Lingnan striker, renamed him Lishi and sent him to the court of the Eastern Capital.Wu Zhao saw that he was clever, so he left him in the palace as an accompanying eunuch.Soon, Lishi was whipped by Wu Zhao and expelled from the palace for a minor negligence.Just when the unaccompanied warrior was about to starve to death on the street, Gao Yanfu, an eunuch under Wu Sansi, took him in and recognized him as his adopted son.From then on, Lishi took Gao as his surname and stayed in Wu Sansi's mansion to serve.More than a year later, Gao Lishi was recalled to the palace by Wu Zhao because of Wu Sansi's intercession.After he became an adult, Gao Lishi was respectful, strict in handling affairs, and good at passing on imperial edicts, so he was awarded the post of Imperial Chancellor. When Xuanzong was the king of Linzi, Gao Lishi devoted himself to him and followed him around, and soon became Li Longji's confidant and loyal servant.In the congenital coup, Gao Lishi participated in the killing of the Taiping Party, and was later promoted to the general of the Youjianmen.Since then, Gao Lishi has flourished and become more and more prominent. In the Tang Dynasty, eunuchs were always restricted.In the early Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong stipulated that no official position in the Ministry of Internal Affairs should exceed the third rank.In the Wu Zhou period, although Wu Zhao was in power as the heroine, the eunuchs still failed to gain power.It wasn't until Zhongzong's reign that the power of eunuchs gradually rose, and there were more than a thousand eunuchs above the seventh rank in the palace.In the Xuanzong era, the number of eunuchs not only increased to more than 3,000, but also their official ranks became higher and higher. It is not uncommon to see those who are promoted to the third rank general, and those who wear red (fourth rank, fifth rank) and purple (third rank and above) official uniforms There are more than a thousand eunuchs. Since the Kaiyuan period, marked by Gao Lishi's favor, eunuchs, as a powerful political force, have officially entered the historical stage of the Tang Empire-"the prosperity of eunuchs began from then on." (Volume 210) As the eunuch group gained power, civil and military officials from the central government to the local government all flattered and flattered them for fear of not being enough.All eunuchs who went to prefectures and counties to do business under the order received at least one thousand coins (one coin was one thousand coins) in red envelopes every time they went.With power and money, the life of eunuchs became more and more moist.They bought houses in long resettlement places one after another, and managed land properties, so that "the houses in the capital and the countryside in the suburbs are half of them are eunuchs." (Volume 213) What's more, some powerful eunuchs would marry wives and take concubines openly.For example, Gao Lishi married the daughter of an official surnamed Lu, who was said to be quite attractive.In short, except for being unable to have children, the lifestyle of these eunuchs in power is completely comparable to that of the officials in the imperial court, and their quality of life is even better than that. Ordinarily, Gao Lishi and others live such a chic and colorful life, there should be no reason to be jealous of Wang Maozhong. However, they are still silently, persistently, and intensely jealous. Because in the eyes of Gao Lishi and others, Wang Maozhong's favor far exceeds them. "The middle officials are jealous of him (Wang Maozhong) being more prosperous than himself." ("Old Tang Book Biography of Wang Maozhong") Also as Li Longji's early servants, it is really difficult to judge whether Wang Maozhong and Gao Lishi's favors are higher or lower.Everything can only depend on the thoughts and mentality of the parties involved.Maybe, as physically handicapped people, Gao Lishi and others subconsciously think that they should get more than others?Or, when you see others get as much as you, do you feel like you still get less? Some people say that a beggar will not be jealous of a millionaire, but he will definitely be jealous of other beggars.Perhaps, the root of Gao Lishi's jealousy lies in his and Wang Maozhong's same background. In the records of history books, there is another point that deserves our attention, that is Wang Maozhong's attitude towards eunuchs. "A mid-level official who is a high-ranking official, Mao Zhong regards him with contempt; if he is a low-ranking official, if he is disobedient, he will humiliate his own servant." ("Old Tang Book·Wang Maozhong Biography") The meaning of this passage It is: For those eunuchs of high rank and power, Wang Maozhong often regards them as air and turns a blind eye; while for those eunuchs with low ranks, Wang Maozhong always scolds and insults them, and treats the eunuchs as his own servants.All in all, two words: contempt. But why did Wang Maozhong despise eunuchs so much? To put it bluntly, it is actually because of the same origin that they have a strong desire to overwhelm each other. Simply put, it is the heart of comparison.Whether it's Gao Lishi's jealousy towards Wang Maozhong, or Wang Maozhong's contempt for Gao Lishi, in the final analysis, it is very likely that comparisons are at work.Not only did the eunuchs feel that Wang Maozhong was "more prosperous than himself", maybe in Wang Maozhong's heart, he would also feel that the eunuchs were "more prosperous than himself", so he expressed his injustice and anger through contempt. The ancients often said that they are born from the same root, so why rush each other? But the fact is often: it is from the same root that it is urgent to fry each other! The same background provides the strongest comparability, and the similar comparison makes both parties wear a pair of unreliable colored glasses, which intensify the same distorted sense of competition.Therefore, a beggar does not envy a rich man, but only other beggars. After all, people are sometimes unhappy, not because they are not successful, but because others are successful. The various conflicts and entanglements between Wang Maozhong and Gao Lishi, to put it bluntly, are nothing more than that. In fact, the reason why Gao Lishi and others are jealous and hate Wang Maozhong, but dare not speak out, is not only that Wang Maozhong has received too much favor from Xuanzong, but that Wang Maozhong has already become so proud of the favor, intentionally or unintentionally let The power in his hands has expanded infinitely. The most frightening thing is his control over the imperial army. In the mid-Kaiyuan period, in addition to many civil officials in the court who flocked to Wang Maozhong, dozens of generals of the imperial army who followed Xuanzong in the coup, such as Ge Fushun and Li Shoude, all became his die-hard fans.Among them, Ge Fushun and Wang Maozhong became relatives of sons and daughters.Relying on Wang Maozhong's power in the court, this group of people acted recklessly and lawlessly. The relevant departments of the court could only turn a blind eye and turn a blind eye, and dared not intervene at all. At this time, Wang Maozhong began to get carried away. He doesn't seem to realize that what he has done has been suspected of making cronies, and has even seriously exceeded the boundaries of his own power. Originally, the reason why these generals of the imperial army were not dealt with like other heroes was because Xuanzong felt that they were relatively simple soldiers. If they did not form a party with the court ministers, they would not be enough to have any influence on the government, nor would they be able to influence the government. a threat to imperial power.But now, they actually formed a small group with Wang Maozhong as the core. What does this mean? This clearly means that Wang Maozhong and his gang have posed a potential threat to Xuanzong! Today's Wang Maozhong is no longer the unrefined domestic slave of the past, but a hot heavyweight in the political arena of the empire. The court officials have established different forms of interest relationships with him through various channels.Under such circumstances, this group of senior generals with experience in coups regarded him as the boss. Isn't Wang Maozhong's energy unmatched?While connecting with the courtiers, while controlling the imperial army, if he develops any ambitions, what will Xuanzong use to defend against him? Whenever he thought of this, Gao Lishi would sweat for Xuanzong. However, what puzzled Gao Lishi was that Xuanzong didn't seem to care about it. No matter how "arrogant" Wang Maozhong was, he was still "everything". (Volume 213) Gao Lishi is a loyal person to Xuanzong, whether in public or private, he feels that he should warn Xuanzong, let him take strict precautions against Wang Maozhong, and it is best to eradicate him as soon as possible! Of course, Gao Lishi is cautious by nature, and the city is extremely deep. At this time when Wang Maozhongquan is favoring him, he will not do anything casually, let alone expose himself easily. So, he had to find someone to test the waters first. The person Gao Lishi found was Qi Huan (huan), who was then the minister of the Ministry of officials. This Qi Huan was the one who gave Yao Chong the four-character comment "Save the prime minister".This person is well versed in the past and the present, and he is well versed in official affairs. He was known as "the person who solves the affairs" when he was in office in Zhongshu Province, and now he is highly valued by Xuanzong.Gao Lishi chose such a person to play as a forward, and it still has a certain lethality against Wang Maozhong.At this time, Qi Huan was eager to win Xuanzong's favor, and happened to show his loyalty to the emperor through Wang Maozhong's incident, so when Gao Lishi spoke, he readily agreed. In June of the seventeenth year of Kaiyuan (AD 729), shortly after Wang Maozhong and Ge Fushun got married, Qi Huan found an opportunity to play alone, and solemnly said to Xuanzong: "Ge Fushun is in charge of the imperial army. You should marry Wang Maozhong. Wang Maozhong is a frivolous and impetuous person. He is too powerful and prone to treachery. If he doesn't get rid of it as soon as possible, it will lead to serious trouble. Gao Lishi is cautious, and he is an eunuch. His Majesty can entrust you with everything in the palace, so why use Wang Maozhong again?" In fact, Xuanzong was not unaware of Wang Maozhong's arrogance.Just a few days ago, Wang Maozhong had just asked him for the post of Minister of the Ministry of War. He was so greedy and greedy!Xuanzong was quite displeased, and rejected him immediately.Wang Maozhong was very dissatisfied with this, and Xuanzong of course also saw it in his eyes. The reason why Xuanzong did not take measures against Wang Maozhong was because Wang Maozhong had already formed a certain force in the court, and there was a large group of forbidden generals behind him to support him. If Xuanzong didn't think carefully and acted hastily, it might trigger an incident.At this time, Xuanzong was very pleased that Qi Huan was able to speak up on this matter, but this matter had to be discussed in the long run, and there was no rush. Xuanzong immediately said to Qi Huan: "I know that Xianqing is loyal to the country, but this matter is not trivial. Let me slowly consider a proper solution." Qi Huan was secretly happy, thinking that this time Shen Wang Mao Zhong was really right.In order to show his calmness and sophistication in doing things, Qi Huan also deliberately showed off, saying: "Your Majesty should be cautious, but there is a saying that goes well, 'If you don't keep secrets, you will lose your ministers, and if you don't keep secrets, you will lose your integrity'. His Majesty Wanwang It must be kept a secret." The meaning of Qi Huan's words is: If the monarch does not keep secrets, he will harm his courtiers, and if his ministers do not keep secrets, he will harm himself. Although for a shrewd emperor like Xuanzong, Qi Huan's exhortation seemed a bit redundant, but it still made sense, so Xuanzong readily accepted it. It's just that Xuanzong never expected that he kept the agreement here and kept his mouth shut, but that boy Qi Huan revealed the secret as soon as he turned around. The thing was wrong with a man named Ma Cha. This man was formerly the Cheng Cheng of Dali, but was demoted to a small local official because of a crime. Qi Huan had a deep friendship with him, so he went out of the city to see him off.When good friends break up, they naturally have to drink a few glasses of farewell wine.After three glasses of wine, Qi Huan couldn't control his mouth anymore, and told Ma Cha all about the secret agreement between him and the emperor. He does not mean that.Ma Cha, who was deeply troubled by being demoted because of his crime, listened, and suddenly a light flashed in his heart, and all his sorrow turned into surprise—isn’t an opportunity to be rewarded for his meritorious deeds and be promoted as a whistleblower? ? Ma Cha laughed in his heart: Lord Qi, Lord Qi, you are really a Guanyin Bodhisattva who saves suffering! After drinking the farewell wine, Qi Huan watched his friend go away, stood there and was sad for a while, and then returned to the city with the melancholy of parting.Ma Cha turned his head three times a step at a time, pretending to say goodbye, and waited until Qi Huan's figure finally disappeared from his sight, and immediately rushed back to the capital from another small road, and then rushed into the palace as if flying, This scene was reported to Xuanzong. Xuanzong fainted. Once upon a time there was Zhang Wei, then there was Jiang Jiao, and now there is Qi Huan!Xuanzong's surprise and anger at this moment can be imagined.Therefore, as soon as Qi Huan stepped into the house, the summoner from the palace arrived behind. When Qi Huan entered the palace to meet Xuanzong, what he saw was a face distorted by rage, and what he heard was a sudden thunderbolt: "Qi Huan! You were worried that I couldn't keep the secret, but you told Ma everything. Cha, is this what you call keeping a secret? Macha has always been frivolous, don't you, Qi Huan, know?" Qi Huan was sweating profusely, his face was ashen, and then his knees gave way, and he knelt down on the ground, kowtowing and apologizing. However, it is useless to say anything now. It's just that Qi Huan has been up and down for most of his life, but he didn't know the truth that the tongue can kill; it's only that he doesn't understand that "friends" are not only for making, but also for selling. A few days later, Xuanzong issued an imperial edict to demote both Qi Huan and Ma Cha to the ends of the earth, one as a border county magistrate and the other as a border county lieutenant, both nine Taste. On the day Qi Huan and Ma Cha sadly left Beijing, no one came to see them farewell. Although Qi Huan missed and failed to bring down Wang Maozhong in one fell swoop, Gao Lishi was not disappointed.Because, Qi Huan was just a stone asking for directions. After asking for directions, Gao Lishi could at least confirm one thing—Xuanzong had grown wary and suspicious of Wang Maozhong. Enough is enough. A tiger standing on a peak looks mighty and terrifying, but when the stones under its feet start to loosen, it is the tiger itself that should be afraid.At this time, you don't need to worry about it, just wait for the right time, give a slight push on the stone, and everything will come naturally. Therefore, Gao Lishi is very patient and not in a hurry. At the end of the eighteenth year of Kaiyuan (730 AD), the opportunity finally came.Wang Maozhong had the joy of Nongzhang again-his wife gave birth to a son again.Three days after the child was born, Xuanzong sent Gao Lishi to congratulate him. He not only rewarded a lot of wine, meat, gold and silk, but also awarded the baby a five-rank official position.Gao Lishi pretended to be happy and went to Wang Maozhong's mansion to congratulate him. When he returned to the palace and returned to the palace, Xuanzong asked him: "Is Maozhong happy?" The time has come. The time has finally come for the fatal push. Gao Lishi replied unhurriedly: "Mao Zhong hugged his baby in his swaddle and said to his ministers: 'Isn't this child unbearable to be a third-grade evil?!'" (Vol. : "Shouldn't this child be granted a third rank?!" When Xuanzong heard the words, he immediately became furious: "Wang Maozhong is a dog slave! When Webster was killed, this kid was on both sides of the head and hid without a trace. I didn't blame him, but now he dares to do it for a little boy!" The child blamed me?!" Gao Lishi laughed silently in his heart. Wang Maozhong, oh Wang Maozhong, you kid also has today! "Your majesty is wise!" Gao Lishi took a step forward and said in a low voice, "The slaves of the North Gate Forbidden Army are too powerful, and they are colluding with Wang Maozhong. If they are not eradicated as soon as possible, there will be serious trouble!" In Gao Lishi's light words, the end of Wang Maozhong and others came. In the first month of the nineteenth year of Kaiyuan (731 A.D.), Emperor Xuanzong issued an imperial edict to demote Wang Maozhong to Biejia in Dangzhou (now Shangsi County, Guangxi) on the grounds of "disloyalty" and "resentment". On the same day, Ge Fushun, Li Shoude, Tang Di Wen, Wang Jingyao, Gao Guangji and other senior generals of the Forbidden Army were all demoted to the faraway states; Wang Maozhong's four older sons were all demoted to join the army in the frontier areas; implicated. Soon, Wang Maozhong traveled to Yongzhou (now Yongzhou City, Hunan Province), was overtaken by envoys sent by Xuanzong, and was hanged on the spot. This duel between the favorite minister and the eunuch ended in the complete defeat of the favorite minister and the overall victory of the eunuch.In this victory, Gao Lishi fully demonstrated the power of the tongue.He proved to us with iron facts that the tongue is indeed the softest and deadliest weapon in the world! With the downfall of the favored ministers, the power of the eunuch group became stronger, and Gao Lishi, the leader of the eunuchs, became even more powerful at home and abroad.He had to go through all the memorials from all directions before submitting them to Xuanzong; he thought that there were some things that he could "decide" on his own without making a memorial.Xuanzong had great trust in him, and he once publicly stated: "When a Lishi is on duty (on duty), I will sleep in peace!" ("New Book of Tang·Gao Lishi Biography") After the death of Wang Maozhong, Gao Lishi stood out, so the power struggle in Xuanzong's inner court finally came to an end.But looking back at the outer dynasty, since Mount Tai was enshrined in Zen, the conflicts and disputes between the prime ministers have not subsided for almost a day.In the middle and late period of Kaiyuan for more than 20 years, the imperial court seemed to have become an unprecedentedly grand arena. The prime ministers were all as if they had been beaten with chicken blood. The prime minister had just suffered both losses and died together, and the successor rolled up his sleeves and started to fight again, which really made Xuanzong extremely anxious...