[He is still a child]
After Tang Yizong died, 12-year-old Tang Xizong succeeded to the throne. He will shoulder the important task of restoring the empire. But he is still a child! He has endured pressure that he should not have to bear at his age.
When analyzing Nanzhao earlier, we have said that behind the young ruler's ascension to the throne is often the game between eunuchs, relatives, powerful ministers and other power groups.
Sometimes, the same power group will be divided into different interest factions, such as the dispute between the two queen mothers for the right to inherit the throne; sometimes, different forces will also reach cooperation, such as the queen mother colluding with eunuchs, or even relatives colluding with both inside and outside the feudal town.
The most typical and well-known story is of course the story of Dong Zhuo's entry into Beijing in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms". The harem, relatives, and eunuchs fell in love and killed each other, and finally seduced the general Dong Zhuo into the capital. The opening chapter vividly displays the darkness and decadence of the late Eastern Han Dynasty. The ascension of the little brat Han Xian Emperor to the throne was the inevitable result of this series of political struggles.
The 12-year-old Tang Xizong was supported by the eunuch group, and the power of the eunuchs rose. The "Controversy between Nanya and Beishi", which had been dormant for a long time, is likely to be revived.
Nanya, the seat of the bureaucracy, refers to the group of literati and officials; Beisi refers to the eunuch group.
In the Tang Dynasty, the two major groups engaged in a long-term struggle for power. The two most influential events were the "Two Kings and Eight Sima Incident" (805) and the "Ganlu Incident" (835).
The "Two Kings and Eight Sima Incident" was an attempt by Emperor Shunzong to change the situation where eunuchs had exclusive power by relying on some courtiers, but it ended in failure;
The "Nanlu Incident" was a plot by Emperor Wenzong to kill the eunuchs, but the secret was leaked and all the courtiers involved in the matter were exterminated.
After these two contests, the eunuch's status could no longer be shaken until the fall of the Tang Dynasty.
It is also worth mentioning that the correct pronunciation of "two kings and eight sima" should be "two kings and eight sima" instead of "two kings and eight sima". Among the eight people who were demoted as "Sima", there are two old friends we know well: Liu Zongyuan and Liu Yuxi.
Tang Yizong was also supported by the eunuchs, but when he came to the throne, he was already in his twenties and was no longer a child. Moreover, the prime ministers he appointed were like rats and weasels, each nest was worse than the other, like the "Baoyan Party" and others. They were so notorious that they actually covered up the ugliness of the eunuch group.
The next Tang Xizong was a 12-year-old child who was not sensible yet and was very easy to control. The hibernating eunuch group ushered in spring.
They quietly killed the powerful Wei Baoheng, which shows the huge power of the eunuch group.
During Xizong's reign, the most favored eunuch was Tian Lingzi.
Tian Lingzi was originally a horse breeder in Prince Pu's palace, with a humble position and low status. However, Tian Lingzi had read many books, was very scheming, and knew how to make Prince Pu Li Yan happy. The relationship between master and servant is very good. How good is it? Xiao Li Yan recognized Tian Lingzi as his "godfather" (father).
After Li Yan, Emperor Xizong of the Tang Dynasty, came to the throne, he handed over all major national military and political affairs to Tian Lingzi. From then on, Tian Lingzi began to monopolize power and chaos. The appointment of officials and the awarding of titles were all done by Tian Lingzi alone, without going through the emperor at all. It was no longer "cut first and then report", but "just kill but not report".
Tian Lingzi's accomplishments in coaxing children are self-taught. Every time he meets little Li Yan, he will prepare candies and snacks in advance. When he meets, he will first give delicious food to make the child happy. Then, he will take advantage of the child's playful nature to actively cultivate his wide range of interests and hobbies, and act as a veteran driver in the game. Take him to play black, take him to show off, and take him to fly.
Under Tian Lingzi's careful guidance, Xiao Li Yan quickly developed many hobbies such as goose fighting, Go, polo, singing and dancing, and became deeply involved in them.
Playing games requires money. Can you become stronger without recharging money?
Xiao Liyan knows nothing about financial management. He spends money lavishly, giving rewards to singers, musicians, and celebrity dancers, often using "ten thousand" as the unit of measurement. The extent of his crazy wealth dispersion is comparable to that of his father Yizong.
What should I do if my treasury is empty and my money is tight? Tian Lingzi came up with a clever plan: let businessmen and tourists from the east and west cities of Chang'an, the capital, register all their jewelry goods, and then transfer them to the palace to "voluntarily donate" to the emperor.
The emperor personally blocked the road and robbed him!
Someone complained to the judiciary. His fate was to be beaten to death with random sticks.
The emperor is so ridiculous, which is rare since ancient times!
Tang Xizong ascended the throne at the age of 12 and died at the age of 27, leaving us prematurely.
We sympathize more with Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty. They were not the kings of subjugation but the fate of the country. As for Tang Yizong and Tang Xizong, although they were not the kings of subjugation, they worked hard to achieve the fate of subjugation.
Yizong was in the 14th year and Xizong was in the 15th year. The father and son have been in the country professionally for thirty years. On the road to destroying the Tang Empire, they went on and on, sparing no effort.
Thirty years later, when Tang Zhaozong took over this mess, it was already beyond repair. Tang Zhaozong became a sympathetic and tragic emperor.
Now, let us turn the time back to when Tang Xizong ascended the throne and see how this 12-year-old child ruined the Tang Dynasty.
【Civil War】
In the feudal dynasty, "civilian rebellion" has always been a by-product of the times. We usually refer to the people's resistance to the imperial court as an "uprising" in general, but this is actually not very accurate, because the definition of "uprising" is "an open armed action of a progressive revolution". Only a revolution with progressive significance can be called an "uprising". uprising".
And "rebellion" and "rebellion" have a strong derogatory connotation.
The term "civilian rebellion" used in this book does not contain any subjective emotions or make any unreasonable comments on it. It only objectively describes a local mass incident. In the same way, "mutiny" is used to describe the subjugation of subordinates in the army.
The demands of civil uprisings are often very simple, and their motives are also very intuitive. It is said that the government forces the people to rebel. But their "rebellion" is not a real rebellion, and it does not necessarily have to overthrow the current imperial court. Most of the time, their "rebellion" is more like an armed rights protection or violent resistance to the law.
The general procedure is as follows: a local official is violent and greedy, and because of something that becomes a trigger, he is expelled or killed by the rebels. Then the court sends a new official to take office to appease the people, and then beheads the person who took the lead in making trouble. " Only the first evildoer will be punished, and the rest will be ignored."
Moreover, civil commotions are not always so bloody, and sometimes they are even funny.
For example, in the 10th year of Xiantong (869), in June, there was a drought in Shaanxi and Guo Road. The farmers complained to Cui Xing, the observer. Cui pointed at the big tree in the yard and said, "Look at these leaves, how green they are." ! Where did the drought come from?" Then the farmers who complained were dragged down and beaten with sticks. The angry farmers fought back and drove him away.
Mr. Cui fled all the way, his mouth was dry, so he went to a farmer's house to ask for water. The farmers recognized him. It was a severe drought and the landlord's house had no water left! So everyone actively raised funds, and soon, they raised a large glass full of fresh urine, and then enthusiastically drank it for Mr. Cui. Drink this cup to express your feelings.
The common people are still very simple. To vent their grievances, the most they can do is ask the court to replace them with a more honest official. Its scale is usually limited to one township. If it affects a county or even a state, it is considered a large scale.
Therefore, the court's attitude towards this kind of civil uprising was relatively tolerant.
In comparison, "mutiny" is a bigger deal.
The demands of mutinies are usually relatively simple, but the price is higher. In summary, they are just asking for money and power, which is simple and crude; their scale and social harm are also much greater than that of civil uprisings.
The general procedure is as follows: a deputy or subordinate stirs up the dissatisfaction of the soldiers and replaces the military leader with force; or the eunuch who supervises the army is killed, and the whole army becomes an organizational mutiny, and the separatists rule the roost.
And when the armed forces participating in the mutiny become strong enough, their asking price will rise sharply. To what price will it rise? Answer: There is no upper limit.
For example, a certain military envoy led his army on an expedition, mutinied in the middle, turned around and returned to the capital, pulled the emperor aside, put on his own yellow robe, and ascended the throne to sit in the palace.
At the end of the Tang Dynasty, there were countless civil unrests and mutinies in various places. There were big and small disturbances, such as the "Qiu Fu Rebellion" and "Pang Xun's Rebellion" mentioned above, and the small ones such as people in Shaanxi and Guo Dao feeding officials urine.
When Emperor Xizong came to the throne, he encountered the largest civil uprising in the late Tang Dynasty - the "Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao Rebellion".
