Chapter 31 share the supreme power of the empire

Once Changsun Wuji fell, the catastrophe of the Changsun Group's doom really came. Under Empress Wu's instruction and Gaozong's support, Xu Jingzong began to chase after the victory. On the one hand, he wanted to implicate and expand the scope of attack. Just after Changsun Wuji was expelled from Chang'an, Xu Jingzong said: "The reason why Changsun Wuji rebelled was because Suiliang, Liu Xi, Han Ai and others were behind the instigation; Empress), conspired to commit poison; in addition, Yu Zhining has always been Changsun Wuji's best friend." As soon as the memorial was published, Gaozong's edict for chasing and demoting came down immediately.Xuan Suiliang, who had died of illness, was deprived of his official position and title, Liu Xi and Han Ai were dismissed from office, and Yu Zhining was dismissed from his post; Chang Sun Chong, the son of Changsun Wuji and the consort of the secretary supervisor at that time, was married to Taizong's daughter. Princess Changle) and others were also expelled from official status and exiled to Lingnan; Xuan Suiliang's sons Xuan Yanfu and Xuan Yanchong were exiled to Aizhou (they were killed by the people sent by the imperial court halfway); He was demoted to be the governor of Hongzhou (now Nanchang, Jiangxi).

In May, Sun Quan, the elder brother of Changsun Wuji, was exiled in Juanzhou (now Xichang City, Sichuan). Not long after he arrived at the demotion office, the local county magistrate ordered him to be beaten to death with sticks in order to flatter the ruling party in the court.Later, Changsun Quan's nephew Zhao Chiman (his aunt was Han Ai's wife) who was the governor of Liangzhou (now Wuwei City, Gansu Province) was arrested and tortured after being escorted to the capital; Zhao Chiman refused to plead guilty and was executed immediately. Killed, thrown the body to the west of the city, no relatives dared to collect his body for him, and in the end a friend named Wang Fangyi took the risk of being imprisoned and buried him. (This Wang Fangyi later followed Pei Xingjian to gallop the Western Regions, and finally pacified the Western Turks, becoming a famous general of a generation.)

In July, the imperial court once again ordered the censor to go to Gaozhou (now northeast of Gaozhou City, Guangdong Province), Xiangzhou (now Xiangzhou County, Guangxi Province), and Zhenzhou (now Sanya City, Hainan Province) to take the exiled Changsun En (Changsun Wu Ji's younger brother), Liu Xun, and Han Ai were re-arrested and escorted back to Chang'an in shackles and chains. At the same time, they ordered the prefectures and counties to confiscate their local properties. At the end of July, Gaozong Li Zhi ordered Li Ji, Xu Jingzong, Xin Maojiang and others to retry the case of Changsun Wuji's conspiracy.

The matter has already developed to this point, is there any need for a new trial? Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the emperor's decision was actually a death sentence for Changsun Wuji. Xu Jingzong immediately guessed the emperor's mind, so he ordered Yuan Gongyu, the scholar, to go to Qianzhou to "return without fear" (Volume 200). Of course, Yuan Gongyu also knew that the so-called "recovery" was just a cover, and he knew very well what the real mission of this trip was.So as soon as he arrived in Qianzhou, Yuan Gongyu couldn't wait to show his trump card to Changsun Wuji - now, you have to die to thank the world!

When the eldest Sun Wuji with disheveled temples tremblingly threw a white silk onto the beam, he wondered if the curse that Wu Wang Li Ke uttered six years ago would ring in his ears. When the conclusion of the conclusion of the coffin was closed, the history books made such an evaluation of Changsun Wuji's ending: "Wuji was convicted of being loyal and loyal, and everyone mourns. They don't know that Liu Jie and Wu Wangke were framed before, and Daozong was harmed in vain. Skynet If you don’t leak it, it’s better not to die!” ("Old Tang Book Biography of the Clan")

"The sons of Emperor Taizong, Wu Wangke and Pu Wangtai are the most virtuous. They all argue and understand with high talents. They are jealous of the eldest grandson Wuji, and separate father and son. They suddenly become wolves. But Wuji ruined the family. Isn't it a retribution for evil?!" ("Old Book of Tang·Biography of Taizong's Masters") After solving Changsun Wuji, Gaozong no longer had any scruples, simply overturned the former imperial edict, and sent envoys to execute Liu Xi and Han Ai. (Li Zhi just issued an edict a few days ago, ordering the censors from all walks of life to escort Liu, Han and others back to the capital.) The envoy then rushed to Xiangzhou to kill Liu Xun; when another envoy arrived in Zhenzhou, Han Ai Having died in the demotion office, the envoys immediately dug the grave and opened the coffin, and returned to Beijing to return to life after checking that he was dead.

At the same time, the imperial court confiscated all the properties of the three families of Changsun Wuji, Liu Shi, and Han Ai, and exiled all their close relatives to Lingnan, with the men as slaves and the women as maidservants.A few days later, Changsun Xiang (changsun Wuji's nephew), who had been demoted to Changzhou when he was Minister of Industry, was sentenced to hang for communicating with Changsun Wuji during this period. In August, another thirteen courtiers were demoted due to the influence of Changsun Wuji and Liu Shi; in addition, the governor of Hongzhou, Gao Xingshi, was relegated to the governor of Yongzhou (now Yongzhou City, Hunan), and Yu Zhining was demoted to Rongzhou (now Yongzhou City). Rong County, Sichuan) governor; subsequently, nine more relatives surnamed Yu who served in the court were relegated.

The political cleansing in the fourth year of Xianqing, no matter in terms of scope, intensity or brutality, was even worse than the Fang Yiai case created by Changsun Wuji in the fourth year of Yonghui. Those who should be beheaded, those who should be hanged, those who should be relegated, those who should be exiled... Forgive none! The downfall of Changsun Yidang declared the end of the post-Zhenguan era. In this thrilling power struggle and the game between the monarch and his ministers, Li Zhi and Wu Mei, a loving couple and political partners, finally completely defeated their powerful opponents and won an out-and-out victory.

At this moment, Li Zhi and Wu Mei's tense nerves for several years finally relaxed. In order to celebrate the victory, they decided to leave Chang'an, go to Luoyang, the eastern capital, to have fun, and then return to the queen's hometown-Bing (bing) state (now Taiyuan, Shanxi). In the winter of this year, Gaozong Li Zhi ordered the eight-year-old Prince Li Hong to supervise the country, and then set off for the Eastern Capital with Queen Wu Mei.Unexpectedly, as soon as the emperor and his party left Tongguan, courtiers chased after them and told them that the young prince was depressed and crying all day long because he missed his parents, so that the courtiers didn't know what to do.When Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu heard this, they couldn't bear it immediately, and immediately ordered the prince to come to meet them, and they simply stopped supervising the country, and the family had a good time.

In Li Hong's short and unfortunate life, Xianqing's four-year winter trip undoubtedly left him with indelible happy memories.Sitting in the spacious and comfortable car, he looked at the vast snow-covered world outside and the strange-shaped icicles on the pines and cypresses on both sides of the road. He was filled with indescribable excitement and joy.Along the way, the royal father and the queen mother hugged him tightly from left to right, which made him feel unparalleled happiness and warmth. How Li Hong wished that the carriage could go on like this forever. Until that murderous night seventeen years later, when the crown prince Li Hong collapsed at the banquet in the Qiyun Hall of the Hebi Palace, and when a mouthful of blood kept pouring out of his mouth, Li Hong seemed to still be able to see it, clearly In the fourth year of Qing Dynasty, the carriage full of joy and happiness was still walking slowly in a crystal clear world, and it would never reach the end.

In the spring of the fifth year of Xianqing (AD 660), the emperor and his party set off from Dongdu for Bingzhou. This is obviously a homecoming specially arranged by Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi for Empress Wu Mei. On a sunny day, Empress Wu held a grand banquet in Bingzhou Yamen, inviting all relatives, old friends, and neighbors to attend; reward.Later, Emperor Gaozong and Li Zhi issued another edict, conferring the title of "junjun" on all women over 80 years old in Bingzhou. On this day, Empress Wu Mei once again proved to the world with her actions that "one person attains the Tao, chickens and dogs ascend to heaven" is an irrefutable truth. In October of the fifth year of Xianqing, it was more than a year since Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi regained power from Changsun Wuji. Before he could taste the taste of monopolizing the court, the greatest misfortune in his life happened to him involuntarily. he is sick. What makes Li Zhi feel painful is that this is not a common cold and fever, but a very serious wind disease.The so-called wind disease is commonly referred to as apoplexy, which belongs to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and is also a family hereditary disease of the Li Tang royal family. The main cause of the deaths of Gaozu Li Yuan and Taizong Li Shimin was this wind disease.In the history of the Tang Dynasty for more than 200 years, this terrible genetic disease will continue to be attached to the body of one Li Tang emperor after another like an evil spirit that cannot be dispelled. Wind disease is a chronic disease that basically cannot be cured. It can only be treated with drugs for a long time. Moreover, the patient must not be overworked and must be recuperated for many years.This was undoubtedly a major blow to Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi who had just regained power and wanted to revive the court.What made Li Zhi even more depressed was that when he got sick, the symptoms seemed to be more serious.It is said in history that it is "wind-dizzy, head-heavy, unable to see", that is, dizziness, headache, and due to blood stagnation in the brain, it compresses the optic nerve, causing severe vision loss and even intermittent blindness. In the year when he became ill, Li Zhi was only thirty-three years old, and he was at the age of vigorous energy, but this damned genetic disease made him seem to be thirty years old all of a sudden.Li Zhi was very distressed by this, but he was helpless.Whenever a hundred officials were in charge, Li Zhi, who was powerless, had to ask Empress Wu to attend the court together to assist him in adjudicating government affairs. In this way, Wu Mei, who was in the middle palace just now, received the favor of heaven again.Unexpectedly by herself, the hand of fate pushed her to the center of the political arena. But Wu Mei quickly entered the role. She is intelligent by nature, quick to respond, coupled with profound literary and historical literacy, natural enthusiasm for politics and high understanding, all of which make her appear calm and comfortable when dealing with government affairs.Emperor Gaozong and Li Zhi were very satisfied with the Queen's performance, "From then on, political affairs were entrusted, and the power was controlled by others" (Volume 200). From then on, Empress Wu began to share the supreme power of the empire with her husband Huang logically. This year, Empress Wu was thirty-seven years old. Power is the most addictive spiritual opium, especially for a woman like Wu Mei. She seems to have been born with an extreme power hunger.Once that kind of passion for life and death swept over her heart a little bit, the further desire for power would instantly fill every nerve ending in her. In the spring of the second year of Longshuo (AD 662), something happened in the court of Li and Tang that surprised both civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty. This is to change the name of the official office and the name of the hundred officials. Emperor Gaozong issued an edict and announced that from now on: Menxia Province will be the east stage, Zhongshu Province will be the west stage, Shangshu Province will be the middle stage; Cheng is Suji, Shangshu is Taichangbo, and Shilang is Shaochangbo; the remaining twenty-four divisions, Yushitai, nine temples, seven supervisors, and sixteen guards all have corresponding new names, but their functions remain the same. As Empress Wu Mei began to officially intervene in the government, Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi was quite relieved, but at the same time, he also had a faint worry.He discovered that this queen, who was resourceful, energetic and decisive, seemed to have followed the old path that Changsun Wuji had walked to a certain extent, and she was showing signs of inflated desires and deceiving the emperor! Such a discovery displeased Emperor Gaozong and Li Zhi, and also caused cracks in the originally gluey relationship between him and Empress Wu. In addition, since the downfall of Changsun Wuji, Li Zhi felt that his authority as the emperor had been greatly restored and improved, and the civil, military and prime ministers of the Manchu Dynasty basically bowed to him and obeyed his orders.However, there is only one exception. This person is Li Yifu. As we all know, when Li Zhi and his wife fought against the eldest grandson, this Li Yifu has always played the role of vanguard, and he can be said to be a loyal thug of the emperor's camp.But in the past few years, Li Zhi found out with regret that Li Yifu is not so much his confidant, it is better to say that this guy is just the queen's eagle dog. This guy thinks that he is surrounded by the queen, and he hardly pays attention to the emperor.And the reason why he dared to be so arrogant was because he believed with full confidence that the emperor was also held in the queen's hand. In the spring of the third year of Longshuo (AD 663), Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi finally decided to take Li Yifu into surgery.He wanted to let this kid taste the fury of thunder, and at the same time, he also used this way of knocking mountains and shaking tigers to warn the queen-the authority of the emperor is absolutely inviolable! Of course, if Gaozong wanted to take Li Yifu's knife, he would definitely need some legitimate reasons. Fortunately, such a reason is not difficult to find, because since Li Yifu became prime minister, he has hardly done any good deeds. The things he has done can only be described in two idioms. One is called Bad Spots. One is called Heaven's Wrath and People's Complaint. At the end of the sixth year of Yonghui, Li Yifu entered the power center of the empire with the title of "Shen Zhi Zhengshi" as the Minister of Zhongshu.After many years of official career, Li Yifu finally climbed to the highest branch of the imperial political arena as he wished, and finally he can have a panoramic view of the "whole tree" scenery and overlook all living beings.Perhaps it is because the desire that has been suppressed for many years needs to be vented urgently, so once Li Yifu gained power, he began to "use his favorite things" and act recklessly. In the autumn of the first year of Xianqing, a Luozhou woman named Chunyu was detained in Dali Temple Prison for committing a crime. Li Yifu heard that this woman was quite beautiful, and immediately salivated and lusted after her, and immediately decided to get her. . In order to get Chunyu, Li Yifu put pressure on Dali Cheng Bizheng, who was in charge of the case, to fabricate false evidence to help Chunyu get rid of the charges, and planned to take her as a concubine after Chunyu was released from prison.Unexpectedly, Dali Qing Duan Baoxuan discovered what Bi Zhengyi had done when he was reviewing the files. He immediately arrested Bi Zhengyi and reported the case to the emperor.Gaozong Li Zhi immediately ordered Liu Rengui to interrogate Bi Zhengyi. Li Yifu was afraid that Bi Zhengyi would shake him out, so he forced him to commit suicide in prison. After Bi Zhengyi was forced to commit suicide, Emperor Gaozong ordered a secret investigation and learned that Li Yifu was behind the case.However, since the Changsun Group had not yet collapsed at that time, the Li Yi Mansion was still of great use value, so Gaozong turned a blind eye and ordered Dali Temple to hastily close the case. Not long after, Yu Shi Wang Yifang impeached Li Yifu again, but Emperor Gaozong openly defended him. Not only did he not pursue Li Yifu's crimes, but he demoted Wang Yifang to Laizhou Sihu on the grounds of "slandering the minister and his words are not rude". In the spring of the second year of Xianqing, Li Yifu was promoted to Zhongshuling again, officially entering the ranks of prime ministers.Relying on his high position and power, with the support of the emperor and the queen, Li Yi's mansion became more and more confident. Not only did he wantonly embezzle and accept bribes, sell officials and nobles, but even his mother, wife, son, and son-in-law openly acted as brokers for power and money transactions. "Its family is like a city, with many cliques and cliques, and it moves the government and the public" (Volume 200). At that time, Du Zhenglun, who was also the order of Zhongshu, thought that his qualifications were older than Li Yifu's, and he couldn't understand what he did, so he never gave him a good face; in the eyes.The two sides became grudges from this, and since then there have been conflicts no matter how big or small.In October of the third year of Xianqing, the two sides became incompatible. Du Zhenglun sent people to monitor Li Yifu and secretly collected evidence of his crimes;Subsequently, the two sides confronted each other publicly in front of Emperor Gaozong, desperately exposing each other's scars.Gaozong listened to it, it seemed that the buttocks of both of them were not very clean, and finally he simply used the "minister's discord" as an excuse to beat the two of them 50 times each-relegating Du Zhenglun to Hengzhou (now Hengxian County, Guangxi) As the governor, Li Yifu was demoted as the governor of Puzhou (now Anyue County, Sichuan). Just because of a quarrel, Gaozong demoted two prime ministers. At first glance, it seems that the punishment is too heavy, but it is not difficult for those who are interested in finding out that the real reason for Li Yifu's demotion is not "discord among ministers", but the following two strip: One, he played too much after he was favored. Don't talk about how he was corrupt and broke the law, just talk about the things his family did. Just catching one of them is enough to relegate him to exile. Second, the reason why Li Yi's mansion was able to flourish was simply because the emperor wanted to use him to deal with Changsun Wuji; and by the end of the third year of Xianqing, the Changsun party had already been expelled, leaving only one polished commander, Sun Wuji, Gaozong. Basically, the winning ticket is already in hand, and of course there is no need to keep this greedy and lustful Li Yifu who corrupted the court.As for Du Zhenglun, it was purely because of bad luck—Gaozong was about to take a knife on Li Yifu, but he happened to bump into it by himself, and Gaozong used him as a "sword" by himself. Of course, Li Yifu knew better than anyone else the real motive of Gao Zong's rabbit dead dog cooking. So he hated Gaozong from then on. However, what made him feel fortunate was that Empress Wu Mei did not abandon him. After Li Yifu was demoted to Puzhou, the queen still sent people to condolences every now and then, and hinted to him that he would return to the capital to take power again soon. (Volume 200: "Although Yifu is outside at that time, the queen always protects it.") In August of the fourth year of Xianqing, that is, a few days after Changsun Wuji hanged himself in Qianzhou, Li Yifu returned in a grand manner, and he served as the Minister of the Ministry of Officials and the third rank of Tongzhong Shumen as soon as he returned to the court. Li Yifu couldn't help being grateful to the queen, and became more and more loyal from then on, vowing to die for the queen. Of course, he only died for the queen. Because Gaozong Lizhi is no longer among his allegiances. In his opinion, from now on, as long as he clings to the queen's thigh desperately, his power will last forever and his wealth will last forever.What made him even more overjoyed when he returned to the court this time was that the empress actually let him take charge of the personnel affairs of the official department. For Li Yifu, who has always used selling officials and nobles as a way to earn money, what could make him more excited than this? Therefore, as soon as Li Yifu returned to Chang'an, his "Li's Specialty Store" reopened, specializing in official seals and black yarns of the imperial court, with clearly marked prices, no deception.All of a sudden, the businessmen flocked up and down one after another, and the business of Li Yi's mansion suddenly became more prosperous than before.The upright people in the government and the opposition poked him in the back one after another, but he was not ashamed and went his own way. All of this was naturally seen by Li Zhi Gaozong. Originally, under the protection of the queen, Li Yi's mansion swaggered back to the court to restore the prime minister, which already made the emperor Li Zhi unhappy; now this damned Li Yi's mansion has not changed its bad habits and resumed its old business, treating the bureaucracy as its own shop. How can Li Zhiyi not be filled with indignation by openly selling official seal black yarn there? But anger is anger, Li Yifu is the Queen's man after all, Li Zhi didn't want to deal with him at first, just hoped that he could restrain himself a little.One day in the spring of the third year of Longshuo, Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi specially called Li Yifu to have a conversation, and said kindly: "Your son and son-in-law have behaved very disorderly and have done many illegal things. I even covered it up for you. These things are public, you better warn them and stop doing it." Gaozong's words were actually very polite, and he saved enough face for Li Yifu, but he never thought that this bold Li Yifu would not buy him at all. Li Yifu's face suddenly changed on the spot, his face turned red and he said thickly: "Who told His Majesty this?" When Gao Zong heard it, he immediately became angry: "You just need to tell me if there is such a thing, why bother who told me?" Li Yifu's face was gloomy, and he was speechless for a while. But his next move made the emperor furious again, and at the same time completely ruined his power and wealth. Li Yifu glanced at the Son of Heaven, a sneer flashed across his lips, he turned around suddenly, and walked away without farting. Faced with the emperor's accusations and warnings, Li Yifu not only did not admit his mistakes at all, but turned against the emperor, and even slapped his ass and left. What kind of problem is this? This is disobedience, treason and immorality! Seeing the back of Li Yifu walking away proudly, Li Zhi suddenly felt blood welling up. The reason why Li Yifu is so arrogant is because he has the queen behind him! At this moment, Li Zhi made up his mind to clean up Li Yifu. Not only because of his disobedience, but also because he is a pawn of Empress Wu.If this chess piece is not removed, Li Zhi will not be able to deter the queen; if he does not deter the queen, Li Zhi will be in danger of becoming a shadow emperor again! Therefore, the end of Li Yifu has arrived. In the late spring of the third year of Longshuo, when Emperor Gaozong was about to attack Li Yifu, an onmyoji named Du Yuanji suddenly told Li Yifu: Your house is shrouded in ominous atmosphere, and you may be imprisoned. It should be said that this sorcerer surnamed Du still has two brushes, because his prediction of Li Yifu is indeed very accurate.But what is full of irony is that the solution he proposed later, not only did not help the matter, but accelerated the demise of Li Yifu. Du Yuanji said to Li Yifu: You should accumulate 20 million (200,000 yuan) in the house to resolve the disaster.Li Yifu was convinced of this, and began to intensify his accumulation.In order to collect 20 million yuan in time, he could only sell his officials desperately.There were not so many customers in a short period of time, so he asked his sons and sons-in-law to cast their nets everywhere.Soon, his son Li Jin attracted a bunch of new clients, one of whom was Changsun Wuji's grandson Changsun Yan. Li Jin sold an official position of Sijin Supervisor (cong Liupin) to Changsun Yan for 700,000 yuan (700 yuan). Originally, the actions of the Li family father and son had been monitored by Gaozong, but now Li Jin dared to sell Wusha to the descendants of the criminal minister's eldest grandson Wuji. Made a report. While selling his official position wantonly, Li Yifu often dressed in micro-clothes and ran to the east of Chang'an City together with Du Yuanji, "climbing the ancient tomb and waiting for his mood", probably to observe whether the ominous atmosphere above his mansion has been resolved .After several times of close monitoring by the relevant departments, he was accused of secretly spying on the celestial phenomenon, "There are different pictures in the shadows" (Volume 200). Li Yi's mansion was already full of bad records, and now the emperor has caught several ready-made handles, of course he deserves to die.In April of the third year of Longshuo, Li Zhi ordered Li Yifu to be arrested and imprisoned. He ordered Liu Xiangdao, the chief criminal officer (Shangshu of the Criminal Ministry), to conduct a joint trial with the imperial censor, and at the same time be supervised by Sikong Li Ji. As a result of the trial, the evidence is conclusive, and Li Yifu's crime is unforgivable.Li Zhi immediately issued an edict to expel Li Yifu and his son from the official status, exile Li Yifu in Xunzhou (now Xichang City, Sichuan), exile Li Jin in Zhenzhou (now Sanya City, Hainan), and all other sons and son-in-laws were also removed. State (now Jimsar County, Xinjiang). When the villainous Li Yifu collapsed, everyone in the government and the opposition applauded.A folk writer with a very entertaining spirit immediately wrote an article anonymously and posted it all over the streets and alleys of Chang'an. The title of the article is - "Marshal Liu Xiangdao of the Hejian Road Marching to Break the Tongshan Thief Li Yifu Lubu". The reason why Liu Xiangdao, the presiding judge, is called "Marshal of Hejiandao Marching Army" is because Li Yifu's title is "Hejian County Duke". ", which means that Li Yifu is a thief who lies on the mountain where copper coins are piled up and specializes in amassing. Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, countless officials have been relegated by the court, but it seems that only Li Yifu has been written such a funny and sarcastic notice, which shows the depth of his crime and the great anger of the people. However, everyone knows that Li Yifu is the best friend of Empress Wu. He was kicked to Puzhou by the emperor a few years ago.Indeed, Empress Wu Mei really wanted to protect Li Yifu, but after all, his official reputation was too bad and the people were too angry, Wu Mei couldn't help worrying that she would be tired by him, and finally gave up on him helplessly. Three years later, Emperor Li Zhi enshrined Zen Taishan and issued an edict to amnesty the world, but those who were exiled far away were not included in the pardon.And Li Yifu happened to be a person who was exiled far away, so he became sick from worry and anger, and died of a disease in the demolition office. After hearing the news of Li Yifu's death, people's hearts fell to the ground. (Volume 201: "Fleeing from Yifu, the court officials are worried about his return, and when they hear of his death, everyone's hearts are at ease.")