Chapter 10 Section ten

Tell the empress dowager that my parents have died since I was a child, and everyone in the village calls me that, and I don't know if I have another decent name. Your name has to be changed, and I will give you a better name.Empress Wu glanced over Feng Xiaobao hurriedly, winking at Shangguan Wan'er beside her.Although Feng Xiaobao didn't dare to raise his head, he knew that the people in the bedroom were retreating one after another, the palace lanterns and silver candles were gradually dimming, some people pulled up thick embroidered curtains, and some people brought a copper basin full of hot water to Feng Xiaobao Beside him, Feng Xiaobao felt his tense body soften immediately.Memories of the love in bed with the queen mother later became the inner basis for Feng Xiaobao to dominate Luoyang.A quack doctor who used to sell sticks and sell drugs on the street turned into the favorite of the inner palace. When Xue Huaiyi was embraced by the monks of the White Horse Temple and passed the North Gate Market, his old acquaintances stared at each other dumbfounded. Many of its secrets are unknown.Empress Wu in Luoyang Palace gave Princess Qianjin a large amount of jewelry and silk one day. She said to Princess Qianjin, "I didn't expect the medicine you gave me to be so effective. Recently, I feel like a different person. My body is smooth and my spirit is smooth." Well, the face and skin seem to be more moisturized.Princess Qianjin discovered that Empress Wu was indeed like a rejuvenated girl during that time. Empress Wu judged Xue Huaiyi's body without any scruples. Finally, she whispered affectionately to Princess Qianjin that after being a woman all her life, she just knew what it was like to be a man.Princess Qianjin covered her sleeves knowingly and smiled, while Shangguan Wan'er next to her was blushing with embarrassment at the whispers of the two old women.In the second year of Chuigong, Empress Wu once issued an edict declaring that the empress dowager would no longer be in charge of the court, and that all the power of the court was determined by the emperor.People keenly realized that this edict was just a gesture made by Empress Wu. Ruizong had always been in awe of his mother and was manipulated by her. He would never dare to take the opportunity to take back the emperor's power.Sure enough, as people expected, the indifferent and kind-hearted Ruizong had no intention of changing his puppet-like status, and begged the Queen Mother three times to change the edict and continue the purple tent title system, and the Queen Mother readily agreed.When receiving Ruizong's letter, the mother and son had a soft but stern conversation.

Someone outside attacked me and robbed the emperor's power. Now I give it back to you, why don't you want it?My mother knows very well that my children are indifferent by nature and cannot take on such a heavy responsibility. Only my mother can take care of the affairs of the country so that I can rest easy. I know your words are sincere, but I don't know if you will regret it in the future?Never say sorry.Ruizong answered his mother's temptation in a decisive tone. He saw his mother's proud smile and couldn't hide his gratification. He knew that his handover was the result of his mother's waiting. From now on, the attacks and satires on the Empress Dowager's manipulation of power will be greatly restrained from now on, and the mouths of some bloody and outspoken royal family members and courtiers will be silenced.Now it's time to talk about Yu Bao's family, the clever son of Yu Chengye's servant.The Yubao family had a close relationship with the rebellious minister Li Jingye, but the black yarn was left behind in the court's sweeping purge of Li Jingye's leftover branches. The idea, so the copper box with multi-purpose concept was born in Yu Baojia's dexterous hands.

The inside of the copper box is divided into four grids, east, west, north, and south, and each grid is equipped with a book slot.The eastern part of the box is the Yan En box painted green, which is specially set up for those who thank the emperor or self-recommendation. The red admonition box, this box opens up a way for people in the ruling and opposition circles to speak freely about the gains and losses of the government. The most striking thing is the black part at the north end of the copper box. The word Tongxuan is engraved on the black paint, revealing a gloomy atmosphere. This box opened a channel for all natural disasters and rebellions. Later, the copper box created by Yu Baojia and presented to the palace was called the informant copper box by the world. The main reason is the black Tongxuan box.Empress Wu in Luoyang Palace soon saw the plan of Yu Baojia to make copper boxes. In the first month, a huge copper box with eye-catching colors stood impressively in front of the main gate of Luoyang Palace. It is said that from the first day of the appearance of the copper box, there have been an endless stream of contributors from all over the place, forming a group of people and languages ​​in front of the gate of Luoyang Palace. big bazaar.

What is embarrassing is the fate of Yu Baojia, the creator of the copper box.Before Yu Baojia could enjoy the great gift from Empress Wu, an informant letter was stuffed into the black mystery box, which also pushed Yu Baojia into a deadly abyss of darkness. An unknown informer accused Yu Baojia of His workshop once made guns and swords for Li Jingye's rebels, and reported Yu Baojia for concealing an unpardonable crime.When Yu Linjun broke into Yu Bao's house in the middle of the night, both Yu's father and son were dumbfounded and speechless.A few days later, Yu Bao's family was beheaded at the East Gate Execution Ground. Yu Chengye, the censor, mingled with the onlookers and witnessed the tragic scene of his son's head falling to the ground. Zongheng looked up to the sky and lamented, he thought his son had obeyed the ancient saying of being clever and being misunderstood by cleverness, if he had known that he was committing suicide, he would not have let his son be this informant copper box no matter what.

However, the door of informants has been opened to officials and people all over the world. Since the spring of March, tens of thousands of people have poured in from the Central Plains and the South, and put their messy letters into the four-color copper box. They thanked the Empress Dowager Wu Zhao bestowed this megaphone to the common people, and they also firmly believed that all complaints and advice would be passed on to Empress Wu.The old eunuch who was in charge of the keys to the copper box opened the copper box twice a day, packed it in a yellow cloth bag and sealed it and sent it to the palace. It can be deduced from this that the world outside the palace is also full of hatred, conspiracy and grievances.Empress Wu went to the Bell and Drum Tower of Luoyang Palace one day, and observed with her own eyes the crowds posting and delivering letters outside the gate of the palace from the height to the distance. For some guests from afar who were dressed in ragged clothes, Empress Wu was deeply moved by the crowd around the copper box. On the bell and drum tower, Empress Wu dictated the most shocking imperial edict in her life to Shangguan Wan'er.If 30,000 of the 100,000 people are willing to inform the officials of various hidden dangers inside and outside the palace, the disasters such as Li Jingye can be killed without bloodshed.Empress Wu was meditating on the Bell and Drum Tower, and the sunshine of March poured down on her face from the canopy of feathers, giving this young-looking old woman the radiance of a sage, and it was only for a moment After thinking about it, Empress Wu asked the palace attendants to fetch the paper, inkstone and ink pens. I want to draw up an order here. Empress Wu calmly told Shangguan Wan'er that I want all the people in the world to speak to me. Asking about occupation, honor and status, you can meet with the Queen Mother at the right time. People who go to the capital of the gods to inform people from other places will be given the courtesy of a fifth-rank official during the journey. The performance is beneficial to the great plan of the country, and it is possible to be promoted to an official. If anyone's secret performance is wrong and untrue, they will be exempted from prosecution.When Shangguan Wan'er wrote down the imperial edict of Empress Wu in her graceful and smooth ink, the court ladies and eunuchs on the Bell and Drum Tower silently stared at the strategizing Empress Dowager Wu Zhao. It is impossible to capture the nimble and light thoughts of the old lady flying swallows.

The three-month edict of Luoyang Palace caused millions of common people outside the palace to be in a state of unprecedented excitement and frenzy. From Luoyang to Chang'an, from Hebei to Jiannan, the farmers who supported the plow or the craftsmen who wrought iron were all working for the Empress Dowager. The purpose of holiness applauds.The literati and ink writers all over the country not only played their own cursive books, but also were tired by the many white men who went to the capital to play, racking their brains and breaking their pen rafters. Crowds who revealed the imperial edict came to Luoyang, the god capital, from post roads from east to west, north, south, and north. It is a strange and terrible plague of locusts in the eyes of the officials to ridicule the informers on the journey as locusts.Throughout the spring and summer, Empress Dowager Wu Zhao was busy listening to the government behind the curtain. She showed extraordinary interest and patience in summoning the informants to inquire about the people's sentiments. The continuous fatigue made her beauty thin, so the eunuchs in the imperial dining room often brought ginseng soup to the Zichen Hall. .The informers who entered the Luoyang Palace were often at a loss and trembling, and the contents of their secret reports were often folk trivial matters such as employers exploiting craftsmen or rich gentry occupying wives in fish and meat villages. The queen mother behind the curtain asked Shangguan Wan'er, what did he want to say?If Shangguan Wan'er didn't understand, the Empress Dowager often smiled broadly and rewarded him with some money to let him go down. It would be hard enough for him to travel thousands of miles to Luoyang.

Empress Wu didn't think it was strange to every Shangzuo commoner. She said to Shangguan Wan'er that she listened to the government in this way. As another of her subjects retreated from the Zichen Palace, she said, so many people came to complain and inform me.I know so many things that I never heard before, so many people spread like sand under my feet, and I can find the gold I need.Empress Wu found a few dazzling golds as she wished. Suo Yuanli, Lai Junchen and Zhou Xing stood out from countless informants in the palace and became the most famous faction of cruel officials in the history of the Tang Dynasty. After a few years of prosperity under the guidance and support, I am all amazed at the old lady's way of employing people.It is said that Empress Wu especially admired Suo Yuanli's tiger-like eyes unique to Persians, which were cold, cruel and bright. These were the eyes of a man whom Empress Wu admired most.Suo Yuanli's original self-recommended target was the mule cavalry officer, because he was confident that his riding and archery skills were unparalleled in the world.But Empress Wu said that there is no shortage of generals and officials who ride horses and shoot arrows in the court. Your eyes should make rebellious officials and thieves and thieves daunted. You are a grain of gold in the sand. I believe that you will not let me down if you assume this important position.Suo Yuanli, a peddler from Persia, wore the guerrilla general's seventh-rank official crown when he came down from Zichen. Three days later, Suo Yuanli arrested more than a hundred heretics in Luoyang. Luoyang people often saw that Persian in the market. He was dressed in black and rode on a white horse, with the majesty and majesty of the unique murderous look of the people from other regions. Suo Yuanli's horse was followed by dozens of his black-clothed rangers. Some new prisoners with wooden shackles were sent to the big prison in Beishi, and their shouts and curses shook the sky of Luoyang.A small official working in the imperial court pointed to Suo Yuanli on the white horse and said that the Persians were the luckiest people. He was the first person the empress dowager looked for when recruiting talents from the people. The speaker's tone was full of envy and jealousy. , more may be confusion.

Lai Junchen's promotion plan is almost a fantasy in the eyes of Luoyang people.People heard that Lai Junchen was a death row prisoner who committed robbery. When the news spread to the prison that the empress dowager rewarded the world's informers, Lai Junchen shook the bars and yelled all day and night. I want justice, I want to inform, and The guards of the state prison were frightened by the majesty of the queen mother's decree, and did not know how to deal with the crazy Lai Junchen. The matter came to the governor of the state Dongping Wang Li Xu. Li Xu felt that this death row prisoner was ridiculous. See you, send me back to Hezhou if you see it, this lunatic will be beheaded no matter how much trouble he makes.

Dongping Wang Li Xu never expected that Lai Junchen would never return, and soon the jailer who escorted Lai Junchen to Luoyang returned to Hezhou to report that Lai Junchen was made an eighth-rank officer by the Queen Mother and stayed in Sixing Temple. Li Xu was speechless. In a trance, he slapped himself across the face.It was Lai Junchen's status as a death row prisoner who caught the attention of the Empress Dowager of Luoyang Palace.Lai Junchen cleared his robbery charges in front of Empress Wu fluently, and pointed his words at Dongping Wang Li Xu's tyrannical rule in Hezhou.Lai Junchen spoke convincingly, he seemed to see that the woman behind the curtain had stretched out a life-saving straw.Empress Wu gave many explanations for her astonishing act of promoting Lai Junchen, a death row prisoner, to court official. She said, I like his neither humble nor overbearing and fearless heart. Suo Yuanli is like a tiger, and Lai Junchen is like a snake. The court also needs several Biting snakes, more snakes, less insects.Sometimes Empress Wu said, I just like his appearance and his good Chang'an official dialect.Perhaps the most credible explanation is what Empress Wu once said when he summoned Lai Junchen, why can't death row prisoners be promoted to officials?Empress Wu seems to be talking to herself, and she also seems to be saying to Lai Junchen, if I rescue a person from the butcher knife, he will naturally be loyal to me forever.As for Zhou Xing, the magistrate of Heyang County in Mengzhou, his success in one step was the result of his adventure. As a county magistrate, Zhou Xing was not allowed to post books in the four-color copper box, but Zhou Xing took care of his eloquent comments. The article from the prison was thrown into the copper box, and things came true. The Empress Dowager Wu Zhao decided that the county magistrate of Heyang was another gold she was looking for. Lai Junchen took charge of the prison affairs together.The people in Heyang County were well aware of Zhou Xing's character and ability. After hearing the news of Zhou Xing's appointment in Luoyang, some people lamented inexplicably that the hero finally had a place to use.At the turn of spring and summer in the second year of Chuigong, Empress Dowager Wu Zhao finally felt tired and bored after meeting nearly ten thousand informants. The tide of informants sweeping the Tang Dynasty gradually subsided. When the notice of the empress dowager stopped entering the palace, thousands of people who went to Luoyang to inform were still stranded on the post roads in the east, west, north, south, and south. Those people did not get on the lucky car driven by the empress dowager Wu Zhao in time.And Suo Yuanli, Lai Junchen, Zhou Xing and others have already tried their skills on the golden car, and they have jointly created a terrifying and brilliant era of cruel officials.Spring flowers are flying in Luoyang Palace, nymphs and bees are passing by where peonies are blooming, and there are musicians practicing new songs with harps on the terraces and waterside pavilions. In the old days, the guards on night watch always took a detour when they passed the bedroom of Empress Dowager Wu Zhao.They knew that the monk Xue Huaiyi of the White Horse Temple would accompany the Queen Mother on the embroidered couch almost every night, and the seven-foot couch that the carpenters rushed to make recently was undoubtedly prepared for such a spring night.

Empress Wu's affair was a late-blooming osmanthus tree, which became rich and fragrant when she was sixty years old. Xue Huaiyi, as the old woman's darling in bed, admired her increasingly moist skin and skin. He found that the old woman was In the entertainment of mandarin ducks, she is obsessed and charming like a girl. She holds a smooth and fragrant rosewood ball in her mouth. Is it to suppress the moaning of joy or is it just a secret habit?Xue Huaiyi couldn't help dreaming about the old woman's night in the forbidden palace. Anyway, he realized that the Empress Dowager Wu Zhao is now a dead tree, and he himself is just her medicine for rejuvenation.However, Xue Huaiyi, who was arrogant and domineering, was beaten by Shangshu Zuopu and Su Liangsi one day.He and Su Liangsi met at the narrow road at the gate of the palace, and they refused to give way to each other. He thought that Su Liangsi would give him three points like others, but Su Liangsi suddenly roared and drove this filthy villain out of the palace. Su Liangsi first pushed Xue Huaiyi with his hands, and the courtiers next to him who had just left the early court rushed up and kicked Xue Huaiyi out of the palace gate.When Xue Huaiyi came out in embarrassment, he heard a harsh laughing and cursing from behind, your treasure is just a nighttime sound, how dare you show off your power during the day?Empress Wu learned about this little episode at the gate of the palace from Xue Huaiyi's complaint the next day. She asked the imperial doctor to apply absolute medicine for the bruise on Xue Huaiyi's back. Looking at Xue Huaiyi, he changed the subject and said, Huaiyi, you can't be too arrogant. The south gate of the imperial palace has always been the door for ministers and ministers to come and go. How can you, a monk, go?In the future, you will go in and out through the north gate.

Shangguan Wan'er stood beside her with her sleeves covered and snickered. She remembered a memorial made by the official king not long ago asking for the castration of Xue Huaiyi, who frequently entered and left the palace, so as not to ruin the holy place of the harem. She remembered that Empress Wu saw this After the remonstrance was played, Empress Wu laughed heartily, and Empress Wu said, "It's really rare for a king to ask for gifts. Since ancient times, the emperor has always had three thousand beauties in his harem. Is it that I have been a widow for many years and can't even support a monk?"Empress Wu smiled and tore up Wang Qiuli's memorial, her face as bright as a peach.Shangguan Wan'er understands that Yun Yuhuan's love is precious in Empress Wu's twilight years, but she also firmly believes that Empress Wu will laugh at Xue Huaiyi's grievances, and all the men next to her pillow will become the dolls of this extraordinary woman, that's all.The deep palace affairs that are hidden by the palace people are often exposed to the curious eyes of the world like red apricots who come out of the wall.Hao Xiangxian, a member of the crown prince, was told by his family boy that he had treasonous words, and Zhou Xing, the servant of Qiu Guan, who was promoted every step of the way, mercilessly sent Hao Xiangxian to the execution ground. Pointing at Empress Dowager Wu Zhao's affair in the palace, you remember, the Empress Dowager in Luoyang Palace is not your mother, she is a promiscuous whore, why don't you see Feng Xiaobao selling medicine?He asked the empress dowager to summon him to the embroidered bed in the harem.Hao Xiangxian's shouts were hoarse and frantic, causing an uproar in the execution ground, and the executioners rushed up and grabbed his throat in a panic, and chopped off Hao Xiangxian's head in a hurry.Empress Wu learned that Hao Xiangxian could no longer maintain her tolerance after hearing that Hao Xiangxian was going to be executed and made troubles. The furious old woman ordered Hao Xiangxian's body to be dismembered in the downtown area of ​​Luoyang, and the Hao family's ancestral grave was dug up and the bones of his ancestors burned. The family members were slaughtered one by one during their exile in Lingnan.Once the anger was vented, Empress Wu regained her composure. She summoned the officials of the Ministry of Punishment to question them, how could a murderous criminal like Hao Xiangxian make him talk nonsense?Won't you gag him with something?Let the matter of Hao Xiangxian pass, from now on death row prisoners will be silenced before execution.The officials of the Ministry of Punishment praised the Queen Mother's wise strategy, so the method of death row prisoner Hanmei's execution was continued in the Tang Dynasty until hundreds of years later.The four years of Chuigong was another eventful year. This year, more than a thousand craftsmen demolished the Qianyuan Hall, the majestic and magnificent main hall of Luoyang Palace. The hall was expanded into a bright hall, and the old hall and the new hall were alternated. A glorious era of the Li surname was about to fade away, and the Zhou Dynasty dreamed by Empress Dowager Wu Zhao seemed to be coming soon.In April, Wu Chengsi presented a white stone to his honorable aunt, the Empress Dowager. The white stone was shaped like a jade plate. As Cheng Si expected in advance, the empress dowager's eyes immediately shone with joy. Where did Ruishi come from?The shore of Luoshui was accidentally picked up by Tang Tongqin, a native of Luoshui.Who carved the text on the stone? Absolutely extraordinary handwriting, I think it came from the ax of heavenly craftsmanship.