【coup】
In early November of the third year of Guanghua of the Tang Dynasty (900), Zhaozong went out to the city to hunt. He drank heavily at night and became extremely drunk.
The next day, the palace door did not open on time.
The eunuch Liu Jishu ran to the prime minister's office and found Cui Yin. He said that if the palace gate was not opened at this time, something must have happened. As the commander of the imperial army, it was my duty to enter the palace for inspection. In order to avoid suspicion, I asked the prime minister to come in person. Accompany, supervise, and guide my work to prove my innocence.
Later, the eunuch Liu Jishu led a thousand soldiers of the imperial army, accompanied by Cui Yin, to cut open the palace gate and forcefully broke into the palace.
After a brief investigation, it was found that a sensational case did occur in the palace last night: the emperor was drunk last night and killed several personal eunuchs and maids.
Cui Yin was shocked.
The eunuch Liu Jishu pulled him aside and said: "How can the emperor rule the world with such virtue? It has been done since ancient times to abolish the dark and establish the bright. After all, it is for the sake of the country's country, what do you think?"
A few words, concise and concise.
Just when Cui Ying heard a thunderbolt from the blue, he was struck by five thunders again. Unprepared, he felt dizzy, his eyes were black, his steps staggered, and he almost collapsed.
The Imperial Guards on the side hurriedly stepped forward to support him.
Only then did Cui Yin come to his senses, and saw a thousand heavily armed Forbidden Army soldiers surrounding him, holding swords and guns in their hands, glaring at him fiercely. Cui Yin only dared to echo.
Therefore, the eunuch Liu Jishu mobilized the imperial army to the Jinluan Palace and summoned all civil and military officials for an emergency meeting. At the meeting, the eunuch Liu Jishu announced the shocking case of Emperor Zhaozong's drunken murder, and forged the order of Queen He, saying that the imperial doctors Che Rang and Xie Yun instigated the murder. Now that the emperor is mentally unstable, he can only let the crown prince first Preside over the country.
Then he drafted a memorial requesting the prince to supervise the country, and had all officials circulate it and sign it.
Under the coercion of force, Cui Yin and hundreds of civil and military officials signed the memorial in order according to their official positions.
The eunuch Liu Jishu has experience in supporting new kings. As early as last night, he had arranged for smart and capable confidants to "escort" the prince Li Yu into the palace. The soldiers of the Shence Army shouted long live after seeing the prince.
Later, Liu Jishu and Wang Zhongxian led the Imperial Army into the Xuanhua Gate and entered the Ideological and Political Hall, killing everyone they saw. Most of the victims were palace maids.
At that time, Zhaozong was sobering up in the Qiqiao building. Suddenly, he saw soldiers coming in with swords. He was so frightened that he fell from the bed to the ground (shocked and fell under the bed). Then he got up and ran away.
Liu Jishu and Wang Zhongxian rushed forward, grabbed Zhaozong's arm, forced him to the bed, and told him to sit still.
A maid flew to report to Queen He. Empress He didn't care about dressing up, and ran over. Regardless of her propriety, she knelt down to the two eunuchs and prayed: "Don't let the emperor be frightened. If the two commanders have any orders, just ask."
Liu Jishu took out the joint memorial from his arms and said: "Your Majesty is tired of the dragon chair. All civil and military officials unanimously asked the prince to supervise the country and invite your majesty to the East Palace to take care of himself."
Zhaozong was puzzled and said: "Yesterday I drank and chatted with you, and we had a lot of fun. What happened today?"
Queen He quickly stopped Zhaozong and said, "Your Majesty, just listen to them."
Liu Jishu winked at the young eunuch and said, "Drag him out!"
The young eunuch dragged Zhaozong out of the Ideological and Political Hall.
Queen He shouted from behind: "The commander-in-chief is devoted to assisting the government, please let your majesty rest in peace and recuperate!"
Zhaozong also completely sobered up and shouted quickly: "Yes, yes, yes, I am sick. I have been sick for a long time and can no longer work. Let the prince supervise the country." So Queen He hurried to get the jade seal passed down to the country.
Liu Jishu nodded and ordered the young eunuch to put Zhaozong down. Then he walked up to the shocked Zhaozong with his hands behind his back. He pointed the whisk he carried with him at the tip of Zhaozong's nose and severely reprimanded Zhaozong for his fault:
"If you don't listen to me at a certain time, whatever you do is a crime." Every time you list a crime, use a whisk to draw a line on the ground in front of Zhaozong.
The emperor of the Tang Dynasty was actually scolded by an eunuch who pointed at his nose and stamped his feet, and "did not stop until dozens". Zhaozong was almost able to play Go in front of him. Since Emperor Taizong, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty was humiliated and humiliated unprecedentedly for more than two hundred years.
Until Queen He arrived holding the imperial seal, she knelt down to Liu Jishu again and asked him not to scare the emperor, saying that she would obey his orders in everything. Liu Jishu then stopped scolding Zhaozong, took the imperial seal, and ordered the eunuch to help Zhaozong and Queen He onto a cart, while the remaining dozen personal attendants walked together to Shaoyangyuan (East Palace).
Liu Jishu locked the gate with his own hands, and ordered people to melt the iron into molten iron and pour it into the keyhole. He then sent his confidant Li Shiqian to lead the Shence Army to surround Shaoyang Courtyard airtightly. Every move Zhaozong made inside must be reported promptly. , the emperor's food and drink, one said that it was delivered through a small hole in the window, another said that it was a dog hole in the wall... The attendants who delivered the meal and delivered the message were also searched in all directions.
As for other items, not to mention weapons, even scissors and embroidery needles must not be sent in; Zhaozong wanted some money and silk to reward his attendants, but they were rejected; Zhaozong wanted pen, ink, paper and inkstone to write Calligraphy and painting to kill time were also ruthlessly rejected because Zhaozong could use them to write secret edicts.
When Zhaozong was imprisoned in Shaoyangyuan, he did not bring any change of clothes, and clothes, bedding and other materials were not allowed to be brought in because Liu Jishu was worried that Zhaozong would bite his fingers, tear his clothes, and write blood letters and clothing edicts.
Zhaozong and his concubines and princesses could only "serve as slaves during the day and at night". In the middle of the night, I faced the cold wind and washed my clothes naked. After washing, I wrapped them wet around my body. It was the eleventh month of the lunar calendar, and it was about to enter the twelfth lunar month. The political prisoners in Shaoyang Yuan were so cold that they could be heard wailing bitterly from a distance.
Afterwards, Zhaozong couldn't help but feel sad when he recalled this humiliating past. According to his own words:
"Every time there is a string, I will not accept it. If you ask for paper and pen, you will be afraid of writing an edict, and if you ask for a knife and awl, you will think it is a sharp weapon, humiliating all kinds of things, and searching it in and out. I wear the clothes I wear during the day and wash them at night. When it is freezing, it will be cold. Suffering is the best... A piece of money cannot be penetrated, and a piece of silk is hard to find... If you describe the crime, it is hard to find a pen..." - "Old Book of the Tang Dynasty: The Chronicles of Zhaozong"
Liu Jishu falsely conveyed the imperial edict and ordered Prince Li Yu (only 8 years old) to inherit the throne and change his name to Li Zhen. Zun Zhaozong was the Supreme Emperor and Queen He was the Supreme Queen. Shaoyang Courtyard was renamed Wen'an Palace.
Subsequently, Liu Jishu used both kindness and power to consolidate his new regime.
[Liu Jishu New Deal]
The eunuch Liu Jishu launched a palace coup through conspiracy and conspiracy, and installed an 8-year-old puppet prince on the throne. He was eager to gain recognition from both inside and outside the court, so Liu Jishu's series of dazzling measures can be sorted out into two aspects: the central and local aspects.
First, in the central government, the eunuch Liu Jishu adopted the old method of giving both kindness and power.
Liu Jishu greatly rewarded all civil and military officials, including promotions, promotions and salary increases. He also awarded a large number of rewards to the officers and soldiers of the Forbidden Army. He used bribes to "coat up the superiors and subordinates" in order to gain everyone's support.
This is its "favor", and as for its "power", it is very cruel and bloody.
Naturally, there was a political purge after the coup. The targets of Liu Jishu's purge were naturally "pro-Zhaozong elements." For example, Zhaozong's favorite attendants, palace maids, witch doctors, monks, Taoists, and alchemists... were all beaten to death with sticks. Usually, the execution took place at night, and after dawn the next day, ten corpse trucks would transport the corpse from the palace.
In the first few days, there were indeed ten carts full of corpses. Later, the number of victims decreased, and sometimes there were only one or two corpses in one cart. However, Liu Jishu still used ten carts to pull them out in order to use this shocking sense. Stimulate to create a scary atmosphere.
Among the list of victims, the most famous is the only remaining prince, Li Yi. He was the eighth son of Emperor Yizong and the younger brother of Xizong and Zhaozong. He was granted the title of King Mu in the 13th year of Xiantong. Historical records record that the eunuch Liu Jishu killed King Mu Li Yi after the coup, but Han Jian created the "Sixteen Houses Massacre". Among the eleven princes killed in Shidi Valley, there was one "King Mu", so Li Yi was killed in Xiantong After being granted the title of King Mu in the thirteenth year (872), the title should be changed. Later, after Zhaozong was rehabilitated, he posthumously conferred the title of "Prince Gongai" to his younger brother Li Yi.
Of course, the one Liu Jishu wanted to kill most was Prime Minister Cui Yin, but he did not dare because Cui Yin's backer was Zhu Wen of Bianzhou. So we can only take away his real power and marginalize him.
In the local area, Liu Jishu could only use "en" instead of "power".
The Guanxi Group is an old ally of Liu Jishu's eunuch party. After the "Three Towns Conquered the Palace", the eunuch forces became the spokesperson of the Kansai Group. Especially after Zhaozong came to Huazhou, the eunuch forces have become the Kansai Group ( An extension of Zhenguo Hanjian). Han Jian regarded Liu Jishu as his own son.
So after the coup, Li Yu, a scholar who was going to Beijing to take the exam, happened to pass by Huazhou, so he wrote a letter to Han Jian, the military governor of Huazhou Town, explaining to him the righteousness of the monarch and his ministers, urging him to be diligent to the king and eradicate the traitors. . However, Han Jian only rewarded Li Yu generously, but did not send a single soldier to Wang Qingjun's side. This is a portrayal of the collusion between the Kansai Group and the eunuch forces.
Scholar Li Yu only knows benevolence, justice, etiquette, wisdom and trust, but he does not understand politics.
Apart from the Kansai Group, the one Liu Jishu feared the most was Zhu Wen of Bianzhou, the strongest vassal in the Central Plains. In order to win over Zhu Wen, Liu Jishu sent his adopted son Liu Xidu and his personal attendant Li Fengben to visit Zhu Wen and made him his brother. He even lied to him and said that he was willing to hand over the Tang Dynasty to him in order to gain his support. Liu Jishu also asked Li Fengben to forge the edict of Emperor Zhaozong, and coaxed and deceived Zhu Wen into supporting the new emperor.
The Kansai group protects the body internally, and the Dongqiang vassal externally takes care of it. This is Liu Jishu's wishful thinking for his external policy.
Liu Jishu's next plan was to "kill all the officials, kill the emperor, and use the prince to control the world." Note that it is not "to use the emperor" but to use the prince.
Will he get his wish? I'm afraid this depends on the attitude of Zhu Wen, the most powerful vassal in the Central Plains.
