【Poor Yang Movement】
In the second year of Dashun of the Tang Dynasty (891), Zhaozong's uncle Wang Gui requested to be appointed as the local military governor, and Zhaozong asked Yang Fugong for his opinion.
Yang Fugong quoted scriptures and expressed his objection, "If you give birth to a wealthy Han Dynasty, think twice about endangering the Tang Dynasty." He pointed out that the descendants must not be worshiped. If your Majesty really loves his uncle, give him other official positions and cannot let him be a local vassal town, otherwise there will be endless troubles. .
"Chanlu Qinghan" refers to the descendants of the Western Han Dynasty, Empress Lu's two nephews, Lu Chan and Lu Lu; "Sansi Wei Tang" refers to Wu Sansi, the nephew of Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty. They had all threatened the rule of the royal family.
Zhaozong followed the trend and left his uncle Wang Gui in the court.
This Wang Gui is the younger brother of Queen Mother Gongxian (Queen Yizong). After learning that Yang Fugong was causing the obstruction, Wang Gui went to Yang Fugong and scolded him, and then confronted Yang Fugong tit for tat in the following work.
Only then did Yang Fugong realize that he had been tricked by Zhaozong. The emperor was deliberately trying to divide and deprive himself of his power. So he followed the prescription and took the medicine. After Wang Gui criticized and educated him with dirty words, Yang Fugong said that he realized his previous mistakes and took the initiative to help Comrade Wang Gui win a position as the military governor of Qiannan.
Wang Gui curled her lips and grinned, and took office swaggeringly. When they reached Jibaijin (now Zhaohua Town, Guangyuan City, Sichuan Province), Yang Fugong ordered Yang Shouliang, the military governor of Shannan West Road, to scuttle the ferry and drown Wang Gui's family and staff. Afterwards, Yang Shouliang reported that it was an accident.
The assassination of Zhaozong's uncle became the straw that broke the camel's back, and the "Operation Yang Movement" began.
Zhaozong issued an edict to appoint Yang Fugong as the supervisor of Fengxiang Army.
This is Zhaozong's first step.
Fengxiang is located in the west of Chang'an and is the west gate of Chang'an. Although Yang Fugong was asked to go from the center to the local area, it was not too far after all, and it was not considered a "distribution" and was relatively mild. After Yang Fugong arrived in Fengxiang, Zhaozong could demote him again and again, gradually weakening his power.
Yang Fugong was slightly better than Zhaozong when it came to playing power, and this little trick couldn't be hidden from him. Yang Fugong rebelled against General Yijun and directly applied for retirement on the grounds of old age and illness.
Generally speaking, the emperor will reject the retirement application of the minister, "I love you, you are the pillar of the country and my right-hand man. The country and the country cannot do without you, and I cannot do without you... Just work hard for two more years."
Then the courtiers would go to court again and again, saying that they were old, weak, blind, deaf, and had poor legs and feet, and it was really difficult for them to shoulder the emperor's high expectations...
At this time, the emperor will say, the country really can't live without you. Let's do this. Aren't your legs and feet inflexible? I'll give you a pair of crutches. Aren't you blind and deaf? I'll allow you to stay closer to me when you go to court. Aren't you physically weak? You are allowed to go to court at intervals, and you can take unlimited sick leave... In short, you, old man, must not retire.
In the end, the old minister could only cry that he was dying and would die in a few days. He hoped that the emperor would be merciful and let his old bones die in his hometown. There was a special term called "begging for bones".
At this time, the emperor would reluctantly agree to the retirement request of his ministers. When the ministers completed the retirement procedures, the emperor would personally visit and express condolences.
This is the general procedure for resigning and retiring.
Yang Fugong tested Zhaozong by resigning. If Zhaozong followed the routine and falsely expressed his intention to stay, then Yang Fugong could legitimately continue to stay in the court, and the imperial edict to transfer Fengxiang to Fengxiang would have ended without any problem.
Zhaozong replied: Get out of here!
Zhaozong happily agreed to his retirement application, without even the most basic courtesy and hypocrisy of monarchs and ministers.
After receiving the edict granting his retirement, Yang Fugong understood that the relationship between the emperor and his ministers could no longer be restored. Yang Fugong sent his confidant Zhang Wan to intercept and kill the envoy delivering the edict to demonstrate to Zhaozong.
After retirement, Yang Fugong still lived in Chang'an. His house was close to the "Yushan Camp" of the Forbidden Army. The person in charge of Yushan Camp was his adopted son Yang Shouxin, who often visited him.
As a result, some people accused Yang Fugong and Yang Shouxin of plotting evil and intending to rebel.
Zhaozong personally boarded Anxi Tower, gathered the Imperial Army, and ordered Yang Shouli and Li Shoujie to lead their troops to attack Yang Fugong's house on the grounds that Yang Fugong had assassinated the envoy who sent the imperial edict.
The "Operation Yang Movement" has entered a new stage, shifting from political games to military contests.
Zhang Wan led his servants to resist desperately. After receiving the news, Yang Shouxin also hurriedly led his troops to rescue. Yang Shouli and others could not conquer it.
The Forbidden Army officers stationed in the imperial city were eager to wait for the order, and then rushed out of the imperial city. Under the banner of attacking Yang Fugong, they plundered the east and west cities of Chang'an City. This kind of dirty work was also an unspoken rule at that time. Whether it was the central imperial army or the local warlords, they were all incompetent in fending off the enemy and disturbing the people. When a cannon was fired, they could get thousands of taels of gold, but they could also rob money, food, and women. Son!
Prime Minister Liu Chongwang arrived in time and told them that the emperor was personally supervising the battle on the east side of the street. You are the Royal Guards. You should report to Anxi Tower at this time to kill the traitors of the imperial court and make achievements. You must not covet the small profits in front of you and attract infamy!
After some earnest teachings, the soldiers of the Forbidden Army changed their ways and shouted long live the mountain. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Liu Chongwang, they went to reinforce.
Yang Shouxin's troops immediately dispersed when they saw a large number of reinforcements from the Forbidden Army. Under the protection of Yang Shouxin, Yang Fugong took his family and fled to Xingyuan Mansion, where he went to another adopted son, Yang Shouliang, the governor of Shannan West Road.
To the south of the Qinling Mountains and Dashan Pass, and to the north of Xichuan and Dongchuan, there are Wuding Jiedushi Yang Shouzhong, Shannan West Road Jiedushi Yang Shouliang, Longjian Jiedushi Yang Shouzhen, and Mianzhou Governor Yang Shohou... The vast land is closely united in The "Yang faction" forces with Yang Fugong as the core were armed to protect themselves.
A paradoxical scene happened again: Zhaozong called for an emergency stop, and the "Destroy Yang Movement" that had just started was suddenly put on the brakes by Zhaozong.
Emperor Zhaozong did not take the approach of exterminating Yang Fugong who was entrenched in Shannan West Road and Tian Lingzi who was detained in Xichuan. He seemed to want them to go into exile and fend for themselves.
When we connect the previous and later historical materials and review them from the beginning, we will find that the so-called "Operation Yang Movement" should be regarded as the 2.0 version of the "Opposition Movement". It is an integral part of Zhaozong's plan to eradicate the eunuch cancer and is a deliberate conspiracy. For a long time, the power was gradually returned to the emperor's hands through the suppression of the eunuchs.
Zhaozong did it. Quan Jiantian Lingzi and Yang Fugong were driven out of the court successively. More importantly, the military power of the Forbidden Army was gradually restored to Zhaozong's hands.
Zhaozong never wanted to physically destroy the eunuchs, but to take back the power in the hands of the eunuchs. In Zhaozong's view, although the "Yang faction" forces were still entrenched in the Shannan area, the "anti-Yang movement" had come to an end with the imperial court's victory.
