The imperial army was definitely going to lose in this battle, but no one expected it to be such a disastrous defeat.
Before Li Maozhen could launch an attack, the Imperial Guards dispersed. Li Maozhen marched directly to Chang'an City without spending a single soldier.
It is obvious that among the 30,000 forbidden troops, Li Maozhen's influence also penetrates.
Incited by Li Maozhen's party members, the people of Chang'an once again gathered outside the palace and requested that the "culprit" Du Ranneng who started the war be killed.
Prime Minister Cui Zhaowei secretly fanned the flames, saying that Du Renneng was the mastermind behind the war and had nothing to do with the emperor.
Li Maozhen garrisoned the army to the west of Chang'an and went up to the imperial court. He demanded that "the emperor should be on his side and Chao Chao should be punished." He must kill the "war criminal" Du Rangneng to express gratitude to the world.
In the palace, Zhaozong had mixed feelings. He wanted to kill the thief, but was unable to save his life and felt deep pain.
The Prime Minister Du Rangneng beside him paid a deep tribute and said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I have long expected this day. Please use my life to help Your Majesty get out of trouble."
Regret, shame, self-blame... Emperor Zhaozong shed tears like rain. He regretted not listening to the good advice of his loyal ministers. He failed to resist the humiliation and suffered the consequences. He also wanted the loyal minister Du Rangneng to take the blame for himself with his life...
What Zhaozong was crying about was Du Renneng, himself, and his country of the Tang Dynasty. Because of this failure, it was announced that all Zhaozong's efforts since he ascended the throne were in vain.
After this difficulty, the fruits of the previous victory against the eunuchs were stolen by Li Maozhen, the government would be controlled by Li Maozhen, and Zhaozong would become Li Maozhen's puppet.
Zhaozong was defeated, completely defeated, and completely defeated. Previously, Zhaozong's real power was "Mayor of Chang'an", but now he can no longer even be the chief steward of the palace.
Zhaozong cried so much that he beat his chest and beat his feet, almost unable to control himself. In the end, I could only bid farewell to Du Ronneng with tears in my eyes, "Farewell to you!"
On the same day, the imperial edict demoted Du Rang to be the governor of Wuzhou (now Wuzhou City, Guangxi Province), and exiled the eunuch Ximen Daguanren (Ximen Junsui), the supervisor of the imperial army, to Hainan Island, and the other two main eunuchs, one was exiled to Hainan Island and the other was exiled. to Vietnam.
The victory or defeat on the battlefield is only the first stage of the contest, and the post-war liquidation work is also an undercurrent of competition.
Li Maozhen immediately expressed dissatisfaction with the verdict and asked Zhaozong to reconsider.
In the alliance under the city, Zhaozong had to give in. He issued an edict to behead three eunuchs, including the high official Ximen, and then demoted Du Rang to be the chief minister of Leizhou (now Leizhou City, Guangdong Province). He also sent an envoy to plead with Li Maozhen, saying that it was the three eunuchs who had tricked him into sending troops, not Du. Make things possible.
Of course Li Maozhen knew that Du Ranneng was the scapegoat, but what Li Maozhen wanted to kill was not Du Ranneng, but the court's face and Zhaozong's majesty. I, Li Maozhen, must kill whomever I say to kill, and the Emperor cannot keep him.
In the end, Zhaozong tearfully issued an edict to death Du Rongneng and Du Honghui (Du Rongneng's younger brother).
Du Renneng's father was Du Shenquan, the prime minister of the Yizong Dynasty. He actively rescued Sizhou during the "Pang Xun Rebellion" mentioned above and protected Huainan from thieves; his great-uncle Du Yuanying was the prime minister of the Mu Zong Dynasty; his seventh generation ancestor was the founding father of the Tang Dynasty. The hero Du Ruhui, together with Fang Xuanling, is known as "Fang Miao Du Duan", and his portrait is in Lingyan Pavilion.
During the counterattack of "Li Yun's Rebellion", Du Rangneng actively rescued the civil and military officials who had been wronged. He saw it in "Du Rangneng's List". As a result, he died unjustly, but no one rescued him. It's really sad.
At this point, Li Maozhen achieved a comprehensive victory and completely controlled the court. Every breath and every move of the imperial court depended on Li Maozhen's face. All civil and military officials and eunuch groups attached themselves to Li Maozhen, and used Li Maozhen to threaten Zhaozong. If they were not satisfied, they would report to Li Maozhen. Li Maozhen immediately went to court to insult and threaten Zhaozong.
Zhaozong issued an edict to restore Li Maozhen's title of Fengxiang Jiedu Envoy, and he also led the Jiedushi Envoy of Shannan West Road. As a result, Li Maozhen suddenly owned the land of Fengxiang, Shannanxidao, Wuding, and Tianxiong towns and fifteen states, and became the most powerful feudal lord in Kansai.
Li Maozhen's little follower, Wang Xingyu, the envoy of Jingnan Jiedu, also took the opportunity to blackmail the court, asking for official positions and titles, and received a gold medal for immunity from death.
【The end of Tianyang】
Zhaozong's initial chess game still had two unfinished games: Tian Lingzi and Yang Fugong.
Tian Lingzi and his brother Chen Jingxuan have been detained by Wang Jian of Xichuan. Wang Jian kept going to the court, asking for the execution of these two thieves.
Faced with Wang Jian's memorial requesting Tian Lingzi's death, Zhaozong not only refused to approve it, but instead issued an edict to pardon Tian Lingzi and appointed him as the supervisor of the Hunan Army.
This is the brilliance of Zhaozong.
People with a long-term vision will not be distracted by petty gains, let alone indulge in the pleasure of revenge. Emperor Zhaozong was wise and powerful. In the face of national interests, personal honor and disgrace were not worth mentioning.
Let’s take a look at what the masters have done:
Tian Lingzi and Chen Jingxuan have lost power and are no longer a threat to the Tang Dynasty. However, they are still alive to contain Wang Jian of Xichuan. In addition, they can also be used to balance Fengxiang and Li Maozhen.
Li Maozhen kept going to court to plead for Tian Lingzi.
The essence of Li Maozhen's plea for Tian Lingzi was also a political conflict. The reason is simple, because I expected that you would kill him, so I begged for mercy, so that you would owe me a favor after killing him.
Zhaozong passed the political cost of killing Tian Lingzi to Wang Jian, issued an edict to pardon Tian Lingzi and Chen Jingxuan, and prohibited Wang Jian from killing them.
Tian Lingzi and Chen Jingxuan were stumbling blocks on Wang Jian's path to dominance, so Wang Jian was the one who really had to kill Tian Jian.
By pardoning Tian Lingzi, Zhaozong could not be harmed by killing Tian eunuch, but could benefit from killing Tian eunuch, killing two birds with one stone.
As expected, Wang Jian besieged Pengzhou in the northwest, guarded against Li Maozhen and Yang Fugong in the northeast, and was still thinking about Dongchuan in the east... How could he still hide Tian Gong in his arms? So Chen Jingxuan was arrested on the charge of "collaborating with the enemy and conspiring to rebel", and Tian Lingzi was arrested and imprisoned on the charge of "collaborating with Li Maozhen secretly".
Tian Lingzi knew that his time was coming, so he tore the silk into strips and tied it into thick ropes. He said to the executioner: "I was once the supreme commander of the imperial army, and there are certain things to be done to kill me. Polite!" and then patiently taught the executioner how to hang himself.
Facing death, Tian Lingzi showed amazing calmness and remained calm until his death.
Chen Jingxuan had long expected that such a day would come. From the day of surrender, he hid a bottle of poison in his belt and was ready to commit suicide by taking poison at any time. However, before his execution, when he untied his clothes, he was surprised to find that the poison had disappeared.
Only then did Chen Jingxuan lamented Wang Jian's sophistication and ruthlessness. After surrendering to Chengdu, he was surrounded by Wang Jian's spies. Even his personal attendants were instigated by Wang Jian to rebel, and they penetrated everywhere! This bastard of thieves is really good at what he does!
Not long after Tian Lingzi and Chen Jingxuan died, their old buddy Yang Fugong also came to the end of his life.
Li Maozhen captured Yang Fugong's last stronghold, Langzhou. Yang Fugong, Yang Shouliang, Yang Shouxin and others fled in a hurry. They planned to cross Shangshan and join his old friend and comrade-in-arms Li Keyong from Hedong.
Halfway through the journey, he ran out of food and was unbearably hungry, so he begged for food from the people along the way. As a result, he was bumped into by a patrol of the Zhenguo Army, and was then escorted to Han Jian, the Zhenguo Military Envoy.
Since he was captured alive, logically he should be taken to Chang'an for trial. Perhaps this was Han Jian's original plan, but the accident still happened.
