[One emperor and one courtier]
The 12-year-old King Li Yan ascended the throne and inherited the throne.
At the funeral of Tang Yizong, the person who cried the most sadly was not his son Li Yan, but his son-in-law Wei Baoheng. Wei Baoheng was crying for the late emperor, but he was crying in his heart.
As the saying goes, when a son cries for his father, it is shocking; when an uncle cries for his father-in-law, a wild donkey farts.
The days when he could make clouds and rain with his hands will be gone forever, although he only enjoyed it for less than three years.
The new emperor Li Yan was supported by the eunuchs, but he was actually a puppet of the eunuch group.
In the late Tang Dynasty, there were not only partisan battles among courtiers (such as the "Niu-Li Party Struggle"), but also battles between the civil service group and the eunuch group (such as the "Nanya Beisi Struggle"), which became the two major conflicts within the imperial court. Stubborn illness.
Especially the eunuch group, they are close to the water, first come first, and have a unique advantage in supporting the new king. For example, this Li Yan was supported by the eunuchs.
Through a series of political struggles, Wei Baoheng gradually unified the civil servant group, and then he would inevitably conflict with the eunuch forces. And he far underestimated the power of the eunuch group.
One emperor and one courtier. It’s time to liquidate the “Bao Research Party”.
Two months after the new emperor ascended the throne (September), he demoted Prime Minister Wei Baoheng to be the governor of Hezhou (now He County, Guangxi).
In October, Wei Baoheng was demoted to the magistrate of Chengmai County in Yazhou (now Qiongshan City, Hainan Province). Guangxi is still too close. You have to cross the Qiongzhou Strait to go to Hainan Island, and you are not the mayor (provincial governor) of a prefecture-level city, but the county magistrate of a remote small county.
When Wei Baoheng belittled his political opponents, he liked to belittle them again and again, in a series of critical attacks. Now, the eunuch group is treating the other person the same way as the other person, giving him a comeback.
Moreover, the eunuch group was always better than their masters. Not long after, Ci Wei Baoheng committed suicide.
At the same time, Wei Baoyi, Wei Baoheng's younger brother, was demoted to be the Sima of Binzhou (now Binyang County, Guangxi); another confidant, Liu Chengyong, was the Sima of Fuzhou (now Fuling District, Chongqing City).
You may not be familiar with Liu Chengyong, but when it comes to his father, Liu Yuxi, everyone knows about him.
In November, Lu Yan, a former key member of the "Professional Research Party", was transferred from his job and transferred from Xichuan to Jingnan.
In December, he demoted Jingnan Jiedu envoy Lu Yan to be the governor of Xinzhou (now Xinxing County, Guangdong Province). Your journey is not complete without visiting Guangdong and Guangxi.
A month later, an edict was issued to deprive Lu Yan of all his official titles and exile him to Danzhou (today's Danzhou City, Hainan Province) indefinitely.
Please note that this is exile, not demotion. Even though he was demoted from the State Council to the Street Office, he was still an official. Exile is a punishment and a prisoner.
Lu Yan walked halfway and was imprisoned in Jiangling in response to the imperial edict. In just two days, his hair and beard all turned gray (at the age of 45), and the handsome guy he once turned into a bad old man overnight. The ups and downs of life.
The eunuchs played with these literati and officials, and they were very skilled and consummate.
Soon, a new edict was issued: Luyan was ordered to commit suicide. All the family property was confiscated, and his wife and children were made slaves.
Lu Yan's cronies, such as the extremely wealthy Bian Xian, were also captured and executed.
I saw him building a tall building, and I saw him falling down.
The once arrogant "Professor Research Party" was completely eradicated.
Officials who were previously demoted after being framed by the "Baoyan Party" have also been rehabilitated and have been given a new lease of life, for example:
He was promoted to Cong and became the governor of Shannan East Road, and also served as prime minister from afar;
Liu Zhan was promoted to Minister of Punishment;
Xiao Yu, Zheng Tian, Wang Duo and others were also vindicated and recalled to the Central Committee.
[Good people don’t live long, but evil people live for thousands of years]
Three years ago, Liu Zhan was implicated in defending the imperial doctor and was demoted from the capital. The people at that time were all sad and regretful.
Now, the injustice has finally been vindicated and it can be reopened. The people of Chang'an spontaneously organized, donated funds and crowdfunded a warm welcome ceremony, with dramas and acrobatics, which was more lively than the New Year's Eve.
After Liu Zhan heard about it on his way back, he changed the date of his return to Beijing and took other paths to return to Beijing secretly.
At the beginning, when everyone was silent, he dared to speak out. It was not because he did not understand the unspoken rules in the officialdom, nor was he unaware of the despicable methods of treacherous officials and villains. He just did not want to follow the trend of others and join in the evil deeds. He understands that although the people are "spontaneous", if he is too high-profile, accepts it readily, or even dares to wave his hands and say "Hello, comrades, comrades, thank you for your hard work" when accepting the cheers of the masses, then his political career will be ruined. It must come to an end here, and maybe, the lives of the whole family will also come to an end here.
Keeping a low profile and avoiding them is not only to protect yourself, but also to protect these innocent and kind-hearted people.
In February of the fifteenth year of Xiantong (874), Liu Zhan returned to Beijing, and a good day ushered in May: Prime Minister Pei Tan passed away.
As a result, the imperial court continued to promote Liu Zhan to prime minister.
Another prime minister in the court, Liu Ye, was trembling with fear. Because when Liu Zhan was demoted, Liu Ye was worried that he would become the target of the "Baoyan Party", so he took the initiative to move closer to the "Baoyan Party" and joined forces to frame Liu Zhan.
Liu Zhan became Liu Ye's petition to the "Baoyan Party". As a result, Liu Ye won the trust of the "Baoyan Party" and was soon promoted from the Minister of the Ministry of War (the lower fourth rank) to the Minister of Rites (the third rank) and prime minister.
Liu Ye, a remnant of the "Baoyan Party", was worried that Liu Zhan would counterattack, and he was in constant fear.
In early August, Liu Ye hosted a banquet for Liu Zhan to reminisce about the past and communicate with each other. After the banquet, Liu Zhan suddenly fell ill after returning home and died on August 15.
Everyone said that Liu Ye poisoned the wine and food.
Liu Ye has the motive and time to commit the crime, but this cannot be used as evidence. The chain of evidence is incomplete and conclusive.
Liu Zhan's death has become an eternal mystery.
In October, the imperial court demoted Liu Ye to Huainan Jiedu Envoy and demoted him from the imperial court.
Liu Ye is the nephew of the great poet Liu Yuxi.
Liu Ye's father, Liu Sanfu, was also a child prodigy. He was highly appreciated by Li Deyu (the leader of the "Li Party" in the "Niu-Li Party Struggle") and was promoted numerous times. Liu Yuxi, who was the governor of Ruzhou at that time, took the initiative to share the same clan with Liu Sanfu, and wrote poems for Liu Sanfu as gifts, calling each other "concubine". Therefore, Liu Yuxi was Liu Ye's uncle.
Liu Ye was also a child prodigy. He could compose poems at the age of six or seven, and was deeply loved by Li Deyu. Li Deyu asked him to be his son's reading companion. Later, Li Deyu lost power and Liu Ye became a helpless ghost.
At this time, Liu Zhan promoted him to Zuo Shiyi and became a Hanlin bachelor. Liu Zhan is another nobleman of Liu Ye.
After Li Deyu's death, no one in the court dared to complain for the "Niu Party" and "Li Party". Only Liu Ye, during a general amnesty in the countryside by Emperor Yizong of the Tang Dynasty, came to Li Deyu to seek mercy from the saints. He has the image of a righteous man who knows how to repay his kindness.
Then why did he retaliate with kindness and frame Liu Zhan, who promoted him? We also need to brush off the dust on the surface and peek into the inner truth.
Li Deyu was dead at that time, and the "Li Party" disappeared and would not cause any waves. At this time, being generous to his heirs can not only demonstrate the emperor's great kindness, tolerance and kindness, but also avoid triggering political risks. Isn't it killing two birds with one stone?
When the new emperor ascends the throne, he needs to show the image of a benevolent king to the world. It is an excellent opportunity to show concern for the remaining heirs of the "Li Party".
The prime minister at that time, Linghu Gui, was a remnant of the "Niu Party" and was usually regarded as the later leader of the "Niu Party". When he was the prime minister of the DPRK, he granted amnesty to the whole country many times, but "Li Dang" was not included in the amnesty.
That year, Linghu Fu had just resigned as prime minister, left the central government and went to a local area to serve as the governor of Huainan. Liu Ye took advantage of this opportunity to express his grievances for the "Li Party".
For example, nowadays, we usually see some descendants and disciples crying loudly at the funerals of their fathers and masters. Don't think that they are really filial sons and filial piety. Filial piety in ordinary times is filial piety, and filial piety at funerals is performed for others to see.
It is not difficult for us to understand that Liu Ye repaid Liu Zhan's kindness with hatred.
Liu Ye's story is not over yet, and his fate will be mentioned later.
The new emperor Li Yan ascended the throne and eradicated treacherous ministers and rebellious parties. The wronged people were finally vindicated and the whole country rejoiced.
In November, the year name was changed to "Qianfu", so "the fifteenth year of Xiantong" was changed to "the first year of Qianfu".
The officials celebrated the amnesty of the Yuan Dynasty.
An old friend of the people of the Tang Dynasty also extended his lofty greetings to the new emperor in a special way: Nanzhao invaded the border again!
