[The dog jumps over the wall]
On June 6, the Forbidden Army generals Yang Shouli (the adopted son of Yang Fugong) and Li Changfu fought for the road. Road rage broke out between the two, and the entourage of both sides broke out into fierce physical conflicts and beat each other with weapons.
Central officials and high-ranking local officials fought in groups. The nature of the case was egregious and the impact on society was extremely negative.
This matter cannot be handled as a general public security case, and it goes far beyond the scope of a criminal case. Group fights and armed fights are just superficial phenomena, and there is a deeper political meaning behind them.
Xizong's central court was under the control of others at this time, and was actually detained in Fengxiang by Li Changfu. There is a subtle layer of window paper between Fengxiang and the center, and they understand each other tacitly.
Li Changfu currently does not have the courage or ability to coerce the emperor to order the princes; the central government is not confident enough to settle old accounts with him.
Therefore, both parties maintained a tacit understanding that although Li Changfu detained Xi Zong, he would not interfere in the affairs of the government or dictate to the central government; Xizong did not regard this as a "detention". The two sides waited silently. When Li Changfu believed in the sincerity of the central government, he would respectfully send Xizong home. Hello, hello, hello, hello to everyone, and a happy ending.
At this juncture, central officials, or armed soldiers, had a head-on conflict with Li Changfu, which was really inappropriate and greatly irritated Li Changfu's fragile and sensitive nerves.
"The central government does not trust me and is going to take action on me!" This was Li Changfu's inner monologue.
If Li Changfu takes a risk and does something stupid, the consequences will be disastrous.
Xizong immediately sent eunuchs to mediate and eliminate the misunderstanding.
That night, the Central Forbidden Army entered the highest level of combat readiness to prevent Li Changfu from jumping over the wall in a hurry.
Sure enough, in the middle of the night, Li Changfu set fire to Xizong's palace and led his troops to attack Da'anmen.
Yang Shouli fought with Li Changfu in the street and drove Li Changfu back.
When news of the Fengxiang mutiny came, Prime Minister Du Rangneng risked his life, braved the hail of bullets, walked on the battlefield, came to the Emperor's Palace alone, and stood next to Xizong; another prime minister, Wei Zhaodu, sent his family to the barracks of the Forbidden Army as hostages. Show your determination to resist, boost the morale of the imperial army, and strengthen the will of the soldiers.
The waves were raging, and the government officials at this time were all comrades who had gone through hardships and tests of life and death, and they were all extremely loyal to Xizong. In the face of the mutiny, no one was a coward. Everyone shared the same hatred and vowed to defend Xizong to the death.
Under the stubborn resistance of the Forbidden Army, Li Changfu's rebels retreated steadily.
Emperor Xizong promoted Li Maozhen to Fengxiang Jiedushi, with the title of prime minister, and made him the commander-in-chief of bandit suppression to suppress Li Changfu's rebels.
Li Changfu retreated to Longzhou and closed the city to hold on.
Under Li Maozhen's powerful offensive, the rebels gradually became exhausted. After more than a month of stubborn resistance, the governor of Longzhou, Kaicheng, surrendered. Li Changfu was executed by his entire family.
From then on, Fengxiang Jiedushi became Li Maozhen.
【Total solar eclipse】
In February of the following spring, Xizong finally embarked on his journey home and returned to Chang'an. In order to seek good luck, on February 22, Tang Xizong announced the amnesty of the Yuan Dynasty, changing the fourth year of Guangqi to the first year of Wende (888).
The wandering emperor, who had been in exile for many years, returned to his homeland, and with the amnesty of the Yuan Dynasty, the country and the country would usher in a new atmosphere.
Sure enough, new weather followed. On March 1st, there was a total solar eclipse.
The Son of Heaven, the reddest red sun in the hearts of the people of the empire. In that feudal era, when people believed in the telepathy of heaven and man, the sun's light was blocked, which was usually regarded as an ominous sign for the emperor. The emperor must reduce his meals, stop singing and dancing, avoid the main hall, and repent piously.
People spent the day in panic.
The next day, March 2, Xizong's old illness relapsed.
On March 5, he became seriously ill.
On March 6, he passed away.
The Tang Empire completely slipped into the abyss of eternal destruction during the reign of Emperor Xizong, and even the successors, Emperors of the Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty, could not help.
However, historians could not bear to blame Tang Xizong too much.
Tang Xizong was less than 12 years old when he came to the throne. He was young and ignorant. Not to mention superior intelligence, to a certain extent, he was not even mediocre. His intellectual development was slightly delayed (Emperor Chongdu). He grew up in the inner courtyard of the palace and was ignorant of worldly affairs. Under the malicious inducement of Quan Gaotian Lingzi, he indulged in playing. It was precisely because of his mediocrity and suspected mental retardation that he was selected by the eunuch group to become emperor.
From the day he ascended the throne, Tang Xizong was a veritable puppet emperor.
When he became an adult, he gradually understood the truth, and Tian Yi's party also became full-fledged. After awakening, Emperor Xizong was alone and unable to fight against Tian Yu. He could only shed tears in despair, feeling deeply that he had failed his ancestors and the country, and could only cry to the young eunuchs around him.
Xizong struggled painfully under Tian Lingzi's clutches, dominated by fear and despair, and suffered from anger, helplessness, loneliness, regret, self-blame... and was mentally tortured. The long period of displacement also wore down his body.
Finally, at the age of 27, he passed away in Chang'an, the capital, due to ineffective medical treatment, and left us prematurely.
【The end of the field】
When Emperor Xizong was seriously ill, the most promising successor was the emperor's younger brother, Prince Ji, Li Bao. Because he was the oldest, wise and studious, he was completely different from the young and dull Emperor Xizong. All civil and military officials unanimously supported Li Bao, the auspicious king, hoping that he could turn the tide and help the building to collapse.
However, unexpectedly, Xizong, who was critically ill, issued an edict to let King Shou Li Jie inherit the throne.
Amid the astonishment of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, the eunuch Yang Fugong had already sent his capable subordinate Liu Jishu to welcome the longevity king Li Jie into the palace. Everyone suddenly realized, but it was too late.
Yang Fugong abolished the elders and established the younger ones, monopolizing the support and support. He wanted to follow in Tian Lingzi's footsteps, experience the feeling of having power in the government, and live the life he once hated the most.
Li Jie changed his name to Li Min as usual, and later changed his name to Li Ye, which will be the future Zhaozong of the Tang Dynasty, and will be called Zhaozong in the following article.
Emperor Zhaozong was 22 years old at the time. He was in great health, ate deliciously, had pretty features, and a dignified body. He was studious and inquisitive. Although he was pushed to the stage of history as a political pawn by the eunuch Yang Fugong, he was still highly regarded by his ministers. High hopes of reviving the empire.
Zhaozong was devastated by the decline of the empire, and especially hated the eunuch group's interference in government affairs. Eunuchs are a cancer in the heart of the empire. If we want to restore the ancestral foundation, we must ruthlessly attack the power of eunuchs.
Zhaozong's deep hatred for the eunuchs included both national hatred and private goods.
As early as eight years ago (880), Huang Chao invaded Chang'an, and Emperor Xizong traveled to Shu under the coercion of Tian Lingzi. The then 14-year-old Zhaozong (Longevity King Li Jie) was also in the escape team with the princes. Due to the hasty escape, there were not enough horses for riding, so the young princes could only walk cross-country in a marathon, which was an unbearable hardship for the pampered young princes.
Zhaozong was so exhausted that he couldn't walk anymore, so he lay down on a big rock by the side of the road to rest. Tian Lingzi arrived from behind and urged them to get on the road.
Zhaozong looked at Tian Lingzi miserably and almost begged: "My back aches and my legs are cramping. Please give me a horse..."
Before he finished speaking, Tian Lingzi scolded sharply: "Where the hell can I find a horse for you?"
In the high mountains, there are no horses, only riding whips. Accompanied by the loud reprimand, Tian Lingzi swung the riding crop in his hand and hit Zhaozong hard.
"Let's go!"
Tears welled up in Zhaozong's eyes. He didn't dare to say anything and buried the humiliation silently in his heart. At that time, Tian Lingzi was at the peak of his power and at the peak of his life. Not to mention the most worthless emperor's younger brother and prince, even the life and death of Emperor Xizong himself was in the palm of Tian Lingzi's hands.
This whip strengthened Zhaozong's determination to eradicate the eunuchs, and also planted the seeds for Tian Lingzi's tragic ending.
