Chapter 11 Section ten

Empress Wu nodded and smiled. This was the first time she showed her goodwill in front of Wu's clan. It is conceivable that this indistinguishable Luoshui white stone won the favor of Empress Wu. Figure, and engraved three jade seals of the Holy Mother of God, imitating the characters of Baishi.Empress Wu said, Ruishi comes from Luoshui, and it is God who uses Luoshui to show his holiness, and I must obey God's will.The turbulent and muddy Luoshui was praised by Empress Dowager Wu Zhao as the Holy Land of Shenchuan. Fishermen on both sides of the strait were forbidden to fish in Luoshui. All that can be seen here and there are broken and discarded fishing nets.The fall of Chuigong's four years was another eventful one.The tyranny of the empress dowager Wu Zhao by the descendants of the emperor surnamed Li scattered all over the place seems to be unbearable. The passion for recovering Li Tang Zhitian made the young vassals take risks and start brewing a huge war.Right in the city of Yuzhou, Li Zhen recruited 7,000 soldiers and set up camp to fight Luoyang Palace to the death.However, just as the vassal princes elsewhere guessed while watching the situation, Yue Wang Li Zhen was single and weak, and the result could only be to repeat the mistakes of his son Li Chongzhi.The 100,000 officers and troops sent by Empress Wu surrounded the city of Yuzhou completely. Li Zhen became helpless during the siege of the city. Tang's banner looked so gloomy and weak on the towers of Yuzhou City, the struggle of their father and son would surely become the laughing stock of Luoyang palace people.It is said that Li Zhen led dozens of family soldiers to defend the city with bows and arrows, but soon emptied the quiver. Amid the sound of arrows, Li Zhen knelt down to Chang'an in the west and wept. He prayed for the protection of the gods of his late father Taizong, But Taizong's spirit has not appeared for a long time, Li Zhen finally picked up a jug of poisoned wine, doomed, it is better to let me go down to Huangquan to wait for Wu Zhao's evil ghost, Li Zhen picked up the jug and drank it down.When the news of Li Zhen's father and son's demise spread to Luoyang Palace, Empress Dowager Wu Zhao was neither sad nor happy, and her expression was still dignified. Li Zhen and his son were just two floating fish on the water, and there were more than two sinking fish in the depths of the water?Empress Wu said that the deepest waters are the major troubles of the rebellion. Recently, I seem to hear the sound of the vassal kings gnashing their teeth and gearing up every day.Empress Wu first ordered the supervisory censor Su Xuan to investigate the evidence of the conspiracy of the kings, but Su Xuan's investigation has not progressed for a long time, which made the empress dowager very impatient, so she dismissed Su Xuan from his important position halfway, so the important task fell to Qiu Guanshilang Zhou again. Xing's shoulders.Zhou Xing's talent and courage as a death judge are incomparable. Within ten days, he invited Li Yuanjia, the king of Han, Li Lingkui, the king of Lu, and Li Ju, the Duke of Huang, to invite me to the court. How the royal family spent the last few days in Luoyang, Zhou Xing’s method of investigation and interrogation is undoubtedly mysterious and peculiar, the four royal families either cried or laughed, or remained silent or scolded Zhou Xing, but in the end they ended up in the same way. A rope was found on the beam of their respective cells, so their final suicide methods were also uniform like their blood, and they all hanged themselves by hanging ropes.Some people were worried that the suicide of the four royal family members would lead to no results in the investigation and interrogation, but Zhou Xing said confidently that there was already a result. He committed suicide in fear of crime. This is the result. I believe the Empress Dowager will not object to this result.

For four years, the clans surnamed Li who have spread all over the country have seen the cold wind blowing from Luoyang Palace. However, Empress Wu in Luoyang Palace always acted first, and they found that the black net that Empress Wu had woven for many years had spread rapidly towards the heads of the royal family.Almost all the royal family with the surname Li outside Luoyang became people in the net. People later recalled that during the short two years from the fourth year of Chuigong to the first year of Tianshou, many royal families surnamed Li looked like a forest on fire, and some kind of mysterious and blazing flame chased them. Among the few survivors, Yi Xun, the son of Ze Wang Li Shangjin, recorded the death files of all the royal family in his displacement.

sun King Li Zhen of Yue destroyed his family, son of Shangdang County Chen killed his family Huang Guogong Li Zhu: Pepansong* King Li Yi destroyed his family Fan Yanggong Li Ai survived three sons Li Rong, Duke of Dongguan, survives with a son Li Jun, the king of Lingling County, killed his family, and Li Jie, the Duke of Li, survived with a son Li Wei, Prince of Runan County, has a surviving son Li Mi, the Duke of Guanghan, killed his door Li Zhen, the Duke of Wenshan, killed Li, the King of Guangdu Zheng Wangli Surviving two sons The second son of Li Cong, King of Yiyang, survived

Chu State Duke Li Miemen Xiangyang County Gong Li Xiu Miemen Liang King Li Xian Miemen Jianping County Duke Li Qin Miemen Shu Wang Li Yuanming Miemen Yuzhang Wang Li survived a son Nan'an Wang Liying survived with a son The long roster of the deceased, the Duke of Li Zhao, was regarded as an incomplete statistic by later generations. In those two years, people lost interest in the continuous death pattern of the royal family with the surname Li. It is a strange political plague, all of them have almost committed the same unforgivable crimes - treason and rebellion, and what amuses the common people is that the glorious surnames of the dead were changed by the Empress Dowager Wu Zhao to the surname of 虺, what is 虺?Some scholars patiently explained that it was a dirty and poisonous reptile.The autumn and winter of the four years of arching are the seasons of killing people. Tomb officials and craftsmen guarding the tombs of Zhaoling and Qianling said that they saw the spectacle of the dead under the tomb rushing to the top of the tomb. Shaking, and Empress Dowager Wu Zhao in Luoyang Palace woke up screaming from a nightmare one night, she asked the maids to light up every lamp in the bedroom, and asked the maids under the brocade couch with the mood of a dream, Who has been sobbing in my ear all night long?The maids gently hinted that the sobbing sound was just an auditory hallucination in the empress dowager's dream. A momentary look of bewilderment appeared on the tired empress dowager's face, followed by silence. The empress dowager covered her face with a red gauze, and her voice Hoarse and quiet, nothing, probably the voice of some ghosts.The madness of killing the royal family once moved Empress Wu's close servant, Shangguan Wan'er, with compassion. She suspected that Zhou Xinglai's treasonous confessions from the royal family were the result of torture or forced confessions, but Empress Wu always avoided such topics. Once she pointed to the crabapple tree in front of the Zichen Palace and said, it's time for the gardeners to prune the branches. If the old branches are not removed, how can there be new fruits?Wan'er, how can a talented woman like you not understand such a simple truth?Shangguan Wan'er actually knew the empress dowager's strategy of pruning the branches and not asking about the disease, but when the person pruning the branches made it clear, her slender heart still trembled.Once upon a time, her father, Shangguanyi, also died under the pruning knife used by this old woman. At that time, she was still a baby in her infancy. The image of her father was illusory, but the history of her father's feud with Empress Wu was always remembered by Shangguan Wan'er. Yu Xin, that was a lesson learned from the past, Shangguan Wan'er became a popular person around Empress Wu because of her talent, appearance, understanding, gentleness and gentleness.Has the hatred of killing the father resolved into awe and loyalty?This is a doubt that people have when analyzing the intimate relationship between Empress Dowager Wu Zhao and Shangguan Wan'er.

The blood of the royal family pervading the sky of the Tang Dynasty condensed and dried up little by little, and the thrilling murder stories quickly became plain and detached words in the history books.Nothing can stop Empress Dowager Wu Zhao's dream from coming true.On New Year's Eve, the magnificent and majestic Ming Hall was topped off and completed. In the light of the winter sun, people feel that the huge hall exudes an inhuman and illusory atmosphere, just like a mirage in the desert of the Western Regions.Empress Dowager Wu Zhao walked around the 300-foot Mingtang, sighing three times at each step. The palace people raised their eyes to look at the golden plaque of the Vientiane Shrine hanging high above the Mingtang, and then looked at the happy old woman who lingered. With a similar sense of mystery, the Vientiane Shrine and the Holy Mother of God are integrated into one in this winter, and it will become a symbol of the Wu family era standing in Luoyang Palace.

On the day when the Vientiane Shrine was completed, Empress Wu had a grand banquet for all the ministers. The place where the lanterns were put on was filled with toasts, interlaced singing and dancing, and the group dance scene carefully planned by the ceremonial and music officials was even more breathtaking.A hundred beautiful girl dancers performed the Shengshou Dance personally arranged by the Empress Dowager. When the colorful sleeves were flying, the flowers were like spirits in the wind, and the flowers of Sheng, Shou, Qian, Gu, Dao, Tai, Bai and Wang were successively arranged. , Huang, Di, Wan, Nian, Bao, Zuo, Mi, Chang and other sixteen auspicious characters.One hundred skilled musicians played joyful palace music dances with sheng, xiao, qin, pipa, five-stringed strings, konghou, Jiegu and Hujia.A hundred young and vigorous dancers presented a lively and interesting five-party lion dance, playing with lions with golden balls and entertaining people with acrobatics.

After the banquet, the Empress Dowager Wu Zhao ordered the south gate to be opened to let the people of Luoyang enjoy the beauty of the Vientiane Shrine. Countless people rushed in from the south gate, and the hungry beggars went to the court to find the leftovers of the palace banquet. People who came to see the new scenery of the palace in the name of Mu Mingtang whispered under the high platform of the giant hall. They had the impression that the Mingtang had a thatched roof and yellow mud walls, but the Mingtang of the Empress Dowager was magnificent with dragon columns and phoenix eaves. With the dazzling resplendent aura, a small official from the Ministry of Industry was puzzled and said, "Where is this Mingtang in the Western Zhou Dynasty?"It is clearly the Yao Palace of King Zhou of Yin.I thought that Jianmingtang was advocating the style of incorruptibility, but it turned out that it was selling dog meat under the guise of sheep.His companion reminded him that such an occasion is appropriate to observe and not to comment, and he was careless to let the spies of the guerrilla general overhear. Unexpectedly, the little official surnamed Zhang couldn't stop talking, and his resentment immediately turned to Xue Huaiyi, the builder of Mingtang. What is Xue Huaiyi?It is really absurd for the imperial court that the Holy Land of Mingtang was allowed to be built by such ignorant rats at will.The clerk from the Ministry of Industry who spoke sneered, unaware of the strange expressions of the two strangers who looked like traders behind him. It was only after he walked out of the palace that he suddenly realized that his quick tongue had caused trouble. He saw several black-clothed catchers Waiting for him in a secluded place, the petty official named Zhang, desperate to escape, told his companion, it's not good, I really hit a wall of disaster, and I met Lai Junchen's poisonous hands, and I will definitely die if I catch him.When the black-clothed captor rode his horse and approached, the little official surnamed Zhang suddenly knelt down and yelled, it was that bright hall that killed me, why didn't I drink and sleep at home, why did I come to see this damn bright hall?Pedestrians in the past were all huddled by the side of the road and watched, even on such a day full of celebration atmosphere, they did not feel strange about the scene of arresting people on the street.I don't know when it started, but the sound of the horseshoes of the policemen in the streets and alleys of Luoyang continued day and night.The era when Empress Dowager Wu Zhao came slowly to the position of empress was also the era when cruel officials dominated the situation. Later generations of literati and scholars believed that they were parallel lotus flowers in a pool of muddy water. Abandoned those cruel officials, the cruel officials thanked each other for helping the old woman realize her dream of being an emperor?Is it because the cruel officials held high the sword bestowed by the old woman with confidence and released their bloodthirsty nature and homicide habit?One will find that the two interpretations of history are as inseparable as the juxtaposed lotus. "Old Tang Book."The Legend of Cool Officials" records the names of eleven cruel officials with different ranks, they are Zhou Xing, Suo Yuanli, Lai Junchen, Qiu Shen, Wan Guojun, Wang Houyi, Lai Zixun, Hou Sizhi, Fu Youyi, Guo Ba and Ji Xu."Luo Zhi Jing" co-authored by Si Xing Juan Lai Junchen and Wan Guojun is a wonderful book. The essence of the book is how to make innocent people guilty, from informants, forgery of counter-claims to punishment in court. Trial, point-by-point analysis, concise and to the point, many frustrated people who had nowhere to go found a shortcut to official career from the "Luo Zhi Jing" during the Chui Gong years. It is an unrivaled spectacle that the biter dies without resting his eyes.

However, the book "Luo Zhi Jing" does not exhaust Lai Junchen's unrivaled talent as a cruel official. Lai Junchen, who has been a prisoner for several years, also has amazing imagination in creating torture instruments and punishments.Lai Junchen's idea of ​​killing chickens by his servants gave birth to a new idea of ​​punishment, which was later used by the criminals to hang the prisoners' hands and feet on the beams, and the criminals could turn the prisoners into A crazy spinning top.Pulling out the donkey's prong is an inspiration that Lai Junchen occasionally saw a donkey trying to break free from the tether. Foreign Junchen also created more than ten kinds of new punishments with beautiful names, such as fairy offering fruit and jade girl climbing ladder.

Lai Junchen's contribution to the Ministry of Punishment lies in the famous ten shackles. The wooden shackles that have been used in the past dynasties are in the hands of Lai Junchen, each of which has a unique style.Undoubtedly, the strange names of the ten great flails also carry Lai Junchen's distinctive style characteristics: Ding Baimai, breathless, sudden roar, inheritance immediately, loss of soul and courage, reality is the same as the opposite, opposite is the truth, dead pig worry, begging is death, Seek to break the house. Lai Junchen often lingered in the torture room. He said to his prisoners, if you are in my hands, you are not afraid that you will not confess, and you will not plead guilty. I have ten shackles, how many shackles can you pass?Even if you have passed ten shackles, I still have ten punishments, how many sentences can you pass?Every severe punishment can kill you, but you only have one life, so you should confess and plead guilty.Whether it is a thief or a robber or a suspect in conspiracy, there is no sophistry and resistance in the hands of Lai Junchen. The news from the lobby of the Ministry of Punishment made Lai Junchen another legend.The yamen of the imperial court is also pervasive in a certain lead-colored suffocating air. In the extraordinary era when false accusations are common, courtiers have made wills for their families in advance, and saying goodbye to their wives and children every day may be A farewell.The courtiers were like frightened birds, and they said nothing in the court hall and the court. Behind the haggard and dignified look was a wavering suspicion and vigilance.