Chapter 22 The Last Game: Is The Wolf Coming?

Of course, Yang Guozhong couldn't perceive everything that was coming. Yang Guozhong is now the prime minister of the empire and the Minister of the Ministry of officials. In addition, he also served as a special envoy for more than 40 times.There is a saying that when a villain succeeds, he will be rampant. Since he became the prime minister, this former little gangster has walked in the court hall horizontally. six) After Yang Guozhong came to power, among the officials of the six departments of Taiwan Province, those who had a little bit of talent and reputation were immediately kicked out of the court as long as they were not used by him; He was promoted to a high position due to his many years of seniority as an official, and his flattery and flattery to Yang Guozhong.Some people despise Yang Guozhong's employment policy, but more people strongly agree with it.Because in this world, mediocrity and sycophants have always been the majority.

It is said that Yang Guozhong had been prime minister for less than a year, and the threshold of their family was almost broken by those flatterers, so they received countless bribes, among which there were as many as 30 million pieces of silk and satin, which was even more spectacular than the national treasury. Yang Guozhong has a son named Yang Xuan, who is as ignorant as he is.In the twelfth year of Tianbao, Yang Xuan participated in the "Ming Jing" exam, but due to poor studies, his grades were naturally a mess.The chief examiner at that time was Da Xixun, the servant of the Ministry of Rites. This old man held Mr. Yang's failed test paper and looked left and right. He was really happy and worried.

The joy is that he finally has a good opportunity to curry favor with Yang Guozhong, as long as he can make Mr. Yang ascend the rank, he can save at least ten years of struggle in his official career; the worry is how to make Yang Guozhong accept his love ?If Yang Guozhong didn't know that he, Da Xixun, had done the trick, and thought that his son was admitted based on his ability, wouldn't his favor be in vain? Da Xixun decided that he should first tell Yang Guozhong about Yang Xuan's real achievements, and then let Yang Xuan be in the first place, so that he can make his favor known.Afterwards, Da Xixun ordered his son Da Xifu to find Yang Guozhong.

The next day, Da Xifu waited at the door of Yang Guozhong's house early in the morning.When Yang Guozhong went out to go to court, he saw Da Xifu from a distance, and couldn't help but feel secretly happy, thinking that his son must be at the top of the list, so Da Xixun sent his son to announce the good news.But he didn't expect that Daxi ran up to him caressingly, and said something like this: "I was ordered by my father to come here to tell the Prime Minister that your son's exam results are not satisfactory, but please rest assured, the Prime Minister." , my father will definitely not let him fail."

When Yang Guozhong heard this, he couldn't hold back his face for a moment, and suddenly became angry: "Why is my son not rich and rich, and still need you villains to sell favors?!" After speaking, he waved his whip and rode away in a hurry. Throwing Da Xifu, who was at a loss in fright, on the spot. Da Xixun never expected that he wanted to take a good flattery, but accidentally slapped the horse's leg.His son Da Xi Fu persuaded him: "Yang Guozhong relied on power and didn't take us seriously at all. We should do what we should. How can we talk to such a person?"

Afterwards, Da Xixun still had no choice but to revise the test paper, allowing Yang Xuan to pass smoothly, and let him rank first.But the favor was in vain, because Yang Guozhong and his son didn't receive his favor at all.But having said that, if you want to blame this matter, you can't blame Yang Guozhong, you can only blame Da Xixun himself. Blame his flattery skills for not practicing well. In today's Tang Dynasty, there are so many people vying to flatter Yang Guozhong, how can we get the best, the best, and the best?The most important thing is to pay attention to the way and angle of shooting, not only to shoot just right, but also to shoot without showing any traces, this is the best flattery, and only in this way can Yang Guozhong feel good.As for Daxi Xun's unscrupulous flattery, Yang Guozhong didn't take it seriously at all.

In the last years of Tianbao, Yang Guozhong's domineering and domineering power can be seen from this. However, no matter how many people in the world fear Yang Guozhong, there is at least one person who despises and disdains him extremely. That's right, this person is An Lushan. Since the tenth year of Tianbao, Anlu Mountain has also led the three towns of Pinglu, Fanyang, and Hedong, and he has become an unrestrained local emperor on the vast land of Hebei. (Tang Dynasty) Armaments were degraded, and there was a heart to belittle China." (Volume 216) However, with the rapid expansion of power, An Lushan's inner worries inevitably deepened day by day.

Because Xuanzong's age is getting older year by year, and he may lose his braids at any time. Once he dies and Prince Li Heng ascends the throne, can Anlu Mountain still sit in the three towns of Hebei so freely? difficult. Because An Lushan didn't even worship the prince in order to please Xuanzong, which was tantamount to offending the prince to death.Once the prince ascends the throne, how can he have the good fruit of Anlu Mountain? ! Therefore, An Lushan must plan ahead and be prepared for danger in times of peace. Over the past few years, An Lushan has consciously recruited a large number of civil and military generals as confidantes: Wen Youyanzhuang, Gao Shang, Zhang Tongru, etc., Wu Youshi Siming, An Shouzhong, Cai Xide, Cui Qianyou, Tian Chengsi, A Shi Na Chengqing and others.Once there is an incident in the future, these people will be the backbone of An Lushan's subversion of the world.

In addition, An Lushan also selected 8,000 warriors from the generals of the Xi, Khitan and other tribes. They served as personal guards in peacetime and death squads in wartime. As a bodyguard.According to the official statement, these people are "brave and good at fighting, and one can be worth a hundred." While actively recruiting talents, An Lushan has also been vigorously expanding its armaments.Not only did he raise tens of thousands of war horses and hoard a large amount of weapons and armor, but he also sent many caravans to trade with Zhuhu, earning millions of profits every year as military expenses.In addition, An Lushan also ordered people to secretly manufacture millions of third-rank official robes and goldfish bags...

All of this is for one purpose - to rebel and become the emperor! When Li Linfu was around, An Lushan still had fear in his heart.Now that Li Linfu died, An Lushan no longer had any scruples.As for Yang Guozhong, who was "arguable and impetuous, without dignity", An Lushan didn't take him seriously at all. An Lushan's attitude towards him is only five words - "treat him with contempt". (Volume 216) An Lushan wanted to rebel, but many people were aware of it, but no one dared to tell Xuanzong. Yang Guozhong was the first to warn Xuanzong, and he had warned more than once.

However, the reason why Yang Guozhong did this was not out of any concern for the country and the people, but purely out of a plan to secure power and position.What he was afraid of was that An Lushan's power would continue to expand, and one day he would become a pilgrimage minister, threatening his status, so he shouted in Xuanzong's ear time and time again—the wolf is coming, the wolf is coming, the wolf is coming ! But will the wolf really come? Xuanzong always had reservations about this. For a loyal and well-behaved person like An Lushan, Xuanzong didn't believe, or didn't want to believe that he would rebel. In the first month of the thirteenth year of Tianbao (AD 754), in order to prove to Xuanzong that Anlushan really had wolf ambitions, Yang Guozhong bet with Xuanzong, saying: "Your Majesty can summon Anlushan to see if he dares to come. Guaranteed, he will not dare to come!" Is An Lushan here? coming. As soon as he received Xuanzong's edict, he rushed here from Fanyang at full speed, non-stop, day and night, wearing stars and wearing moons. As soon as he saw Xuanzong, An Lushan said in tears: "This minister is a barbarian. Thanks to His Majesty's favor, he has been promoted to such an honorable position today. Therefore, he is jealous and hated by Yang Guozhong. I really don't know when I will die in his hands." hand!" Seeing his godson crying so pitifully, Xuanzong felt compassionate and immediately rewarded him with 10 million coins. From then on, Xuanzong favored this godson even more.However, Yang Guozhong's constant warnings of "the wolf is coming" were ignored by Xuanzong. Obviously, Yang Guozhong is not An Lushan's opponent at all. In the past, when Li Linfu fought against An Lushan, he could almost knead An Lushan as a dough. If you want him to be round, he will be round, and if you want him to be flat, he will be flat.But now, in the final game between Yang Guozhong and An Lushan, the positions of the two sides have been completely reversed. Yang Guozhong made frequent shots, but failed to hurt An Lushan, while An Lushan remained calm. , but he was able to play with the emperor and prime minister of the Tang Dynasty... A few days after An Lushan entered the court, Xuanzong felt that the grievances suffered by his godson were too great, and it seemed that rewarding money alone was not enough to make up for it, so he planned to promote An Lushan as prime minister, and appointed Tai Changqing and Hanlin scholar Zhang Jie Draft edict.Yang Guozhong was terrified, and immediately remonstrated: "Although An Lushan has military merits, but he doesn't know the books, how can he be the prime minister?! I am worried that if the imperial edict is issued, the Siyi will lighten me and no one in the Tang Dynasty!" It made sense for Xuanzong to think about it, so he gave up resentfully, but still conferred the post of Zuo Pushe on Anlu Mountain, and gave him one son as a third-rank official and the other as a fourth-rank official. Immediately afterwards, An Lushan made further progress and asked to concurrently serve as the director of the imperial horse and the director of the national horse herding.We have said that in the era of cold weapons, the role of war horses is no less than that of today's tanks. Therefore, it is self-evident what military value and strategic significance these two positions have. That being the case, will Xuanzong give it to him? Almost without any consideration or hesitation, Xuanzong agreed to An Lushan's request. Afterwards, An Lushan sent several cronies and ordered them to select thousands of the strongest war horses in the imperial horse prison, and quietly transferred them to other places for breeding. A few days later, An Lushan played again: "The officers and men of your subordinates have made a lot of meritorious service in the battles against the tribes of Xi, Khitan, Tie Le, Tongluo and other tribes. I request that you promote them exceptionally. The imperial court provides some blank letters of appointment, and the ministers can bring them back to the army and award them directly." If it was an emperor with normal intelligence, he would definitely be extremely vigilant when he heard such a request, but Xuanzong didn't feel suspicious at all, and immediately gave him thousands of blank letters of appointment.Later, when An Lushan returned to Fanyang, he appointed more than 500 generals and more than 2,000 Zhonglang generals in one breath, completely bought the hearts of the entire army, and completely changed the hundreds of thousands of imperial troops under his command. Became his own personal weapon. No one knows why Xuanzong indulged An Lushan to such an extent. The only explanation could only be that his brain was flooded, or that he was delusional. After the court made a lot of money, An Lushan was about to run away. The loyalty that should be shown has been shown, and the benefits that should be reaped have also been reaped. It is meaningless to stay any longer, and it will only lead to long nights and dreams. In March of the thirteenth year of Tianbao, An Lushan asked Xuanzong to return to Fan Yang. Xuanzong reluctantly took off his royal robe and gave it to Anlushan.Once upon a time, when An Lushan put on Li Linfu's robe, he felt an inexplicable fear in his heart; now, when An Lushan put on the imperial robe bestowed by the emperor, he laughed wildly... In fact, to a certain extent, An Lushan is very grateful to Li Longji, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Because this kind and generous old man not only saved his life, but also gave others everything a minister could have.Non-vegetation, ruthless Practice makes perfect?From the bottom of his heart, An Lushan actually respected and even loved this old man. However, feelings have never been a very small part of a man's life.Especially for a man like An Lushan who takes war as his career, politics as his life, and power as his goal in life, feelings are even more illusory, or a very impractical luxury.An Lushan never let things like feelings affect his will, let alone let it influence his decisions. Therefore, although he respected and even loved Li Longji, this did not prevent him from brazenly raising troops to seize Li Longji's country and subjects, and everything that belonged to Li Longji! Yes, this is not a contradiction. Because this is human nature. When An Lushan returned to Fan Yang, he walked faster than when he came to Chang'an. Worried that Yang Guozhong would gossip in front of Xuanzong again, causing Xuanzong to become suspicious, An Lushan wished he could fly back to Fan Yang immediately with his wings on. After An Lushan galloped out of the customs, he changed to the waterway and took a boat down the Yellow River. He ordered the trackers to change shifts every 15 miles. They traveled day and night without stopping for a moment. He ran back to his lair in one breath. Before An Lushan left, Xuanzong sent Gao Lishi to see him off.After Gao Lishi returned to the palace, Xuanzong asked him: "Should An Lushan be satisfied with his return to the court?" Gao Lishi replied: "Looking at his appearance, he seems a little unhappy. He must be aware that he was originally appointed as the prime minister, but he changed his mind midway, so he feels unhappy." When Yang Guozhong heard this, he immediately said, "No one knows about this matter. Zhang Xi, who was in charge of drafting the imperial edict, must have leaked the news." Xuanzong was furious, and immediately demoted Zhang Yi to be a remote Sima, and at the same time demoted his brother Zhang Jun, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, to a local prefect. Because of this incident, Xuanzong felt even more sorry for An Lushan.So from then on, whenever someone accused An Lushan of treason, Xuanzong directly tied them up and sent them to Fanyang for An Lushan to deal with.From then on, everyone in the world knew that An Lushan was about to rebel, but everyone could only keep silent. In June of the thirteenth year of Tianbao, the war between Jiannan Road and Nanzhao had lasted for several years. The Tang army was defeated repeatedly and killed as many as 200,000 soldiers. However, Yang Guozhong, who was also Jiannan Jiedushi, concealed All the news of the defeat also lied to Xuanzong about the victory.Civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty shook their heads and sighed, but no one dared to tell the truth. One day, Xuanzong and Gao Lishi were chatting.Xuanzong said: "I am old now, and the affairs of the court are given to the prime minister, and the affairs of the border are given to the generals, so why worry about my husband!" (Volume 217) Gao Lishi replied: "I heard that Yunnan has been repeatedly defeated and lost troops. In addition, all the border generals have too many troops. How will your majesty prevent them? I am worried that once there is a disaster, it will be difficult to save. How can we talk about it?" Worry-free?" Xuanzong showed displeasure, and said: "You don't need to say any more, I have my own measure." In the last years of Tianbao, Gao Lishi was probably the only one who dared to tell the truth in the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, inside and outside the court. Although Gao Lishi is a great eunuch with great power inside and outside, even the crown prince also calls him "brother", princes and ministers also call him "Weng", and all the sons-in-law call him "yeah", which can be said to be extremely honorable, However, compared with those eunuchs who took power and messed up politics after the mid-Tang Dynasty, his quality is much better.Moreover, Gao Lishi has always been cautious, except for a few words of advice to Xuanzong at critical moments, he never dared to seize power and interfere in politics. Therefore, the scholar-officials of the Manchu Dynasty did not feel bad for him, and Xuanzong always trusted him.Because of this, when all the officials were silent under Yang Guozhong's dictatorship, only Gao Lishi dared to speak out. However, even if Gao Lishi could tell the truth, Xuanzong at this time might not be able to listen to it.Even if you can listen to it, you may not take any beneficial actions. In July of the thirteenth year of Tianbao, in order to further expand his power, Yang Guozhong forced Chen Xilie, who was older than him, to resign voluntarily. hands. At that time, the Gyeonggi area had suffered from severe floods for more than a year, which led to a great famine in Guanzhong. Xuanzong was very worried. Yang Guozhong didn't want to relieve the disaster, but found a full-grained ear of rice to offer to Xuanzong, saying: "Although the rainwater There are many, but it will not harm the crops." Xuanzong saw the pleasing growth of rice ears, and suddenly turned from worry to joy. Later, Fangguan, the prefect of Fufeng (now Fengxiang County, Shaanxi Province), reported the serious disaster in the area under his jurisdiction, and Yang Guozhong immediately arrested Fangguan and took him to Yushitai to control him. Afterwards, no one dared to report the disaster any more. One afternoon in the autumn of this year, Xuanzong stood in his bedroom, looking up at the rainwater falling from the leaden sky, suddenly something moved in his heart, and then said sadly to Gao Lishi beside him: " The rain is endless, you can say all you want." Obviously, Xuanzong has realized that he was fooled by Yang Guozhong. So he wants to hear the truth now. Gao Lishi looked at the rainy sky, then looked at the aging emperor, and said softly: "Since your majesty has used power to pretend to be a prime minister, rewards and punishments are random, yin and yang are out of control, how dare I speak!" (Vol. 217) Gao Lishi said modestly that he didn't dare to speak, but in fact, these few words have already said everything that should be said. If it was a completely fatuous emperor, he would definitely be furious when he heard such harsh words.And if it is an emperor who has the courage to introspect, he will definitely take action when he hears such honest words. However, Tang Xuanzong Li Longji at this time was neither a completely stupid emperor nor an emperor who could reflect on himself, but an emperor who was both confused and sober, proud and sad, strong and fragile. Therefore, for Gao Lishi's faithful advice, his only reaction was two words - silence. Tang Xuanzong at this time seemed to know everything well, but also seemed to be ignorant of everything.Because he knows - he is old and has no power to change anything. Therefore, he can only enjoy being the emperor for a day, and let everything take its course. Therefore, he could only persuade himself not to doubt An Lushan, so as not to cause trouble for himself. Therefore, he can only be deeply immersed in the dream of the prosperous age, and let the inertia of history push himself and the empire step by step to a certain fateful end... At the same time, Yang Guozhong is taking great pleasure in consolidating his power and eradicating dissidents.In July of this year, he had just kicked Chen Xilie out of office; in August, he demoted Jing Zhaoyin and Li Xian from Chang'an; in November, he was worried about Wei Zhi, governor of Hedong and interviewer There is a possibility that he will pay homage to the prime minister, so he quickly found a crime and sent him to prison... At this time, there is still one year before the outbreak of the "Anshi Rebellion". But in Yang Guozhong's eyes, the peaceful and prosperous age will undoubtedly continue for a long, long time.Even if someone tells him that troubled times are coming soon, it may not change his extremely happy state of mind. Yang Guozhong, who was born as a gangster, his purpose in life is four words - enjoy yourself in time.No matter what position you are in, this has never changed.Yang Guozhong himself once said frankly to others: "I am from a cold family. Once I come here from the Jiaojiao House, I don't know where the tax driver is. However, I can't get my name in the end. It's not like it's very happy." (Volume 217) I was born in a poor family, and only because of the relationship of the noble concubine, I am here today. No matter what the future holds for him, anyway, I know that I will not be able to pass on a good name to the world, so I might as well put aside everything and enjoy the bliss in front of me. It is undoubtedly the misfortune of Xuanzong and all his subjects to let such a person control the government. It is undoubtedly the tragedy of history to let such a person control the direction of the empire. In the fourteenth year of Tianbao (755 AD), spring came as usual. The ice and snow melted, rivers ran, flowers bloomed, and everything recovered. Everything looks beautiful. Everything is the same as before. In the seventy-first spring of his life, Li Longji didn't know that a wolf of the north was standing proudly on the land of Yanzhao, sometimes stretching its neck to the sky and howling, sometimes grinning and looking westward.Its excited body is filled with a restless soul.Its blood-red eyes shone with the flames of death.In its sharp claws waving towards the sky, there is a desire to seize the world and tear everything apart...