After Zhu Wen annexed Hezhong, Li Keyong was surrounded on three sides by Bianzhou forces and was in a very critical situation, so he sent an envoy carrying heavy gifts to meet Zhu Wen to express his willingness to reconcile.
At that time, Zhu Wen's wife Zhang Hui was seriously ill, and Zhu Wen had to return to Bianzhou from Hezhong, so he also sent envoys to return to Hedong and expressed to Li Keyong his intention to bury the hatchet.
Zhang Hui was a well-known virtuous wife and mother during the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties. She was highly praised in history, saying that she could "control the heart of a jackal and a tiger with her gentle virtues" and was "smart and capable, and behaved with etiquette. Although Taizu (Zhu Wen) is fierce and violent, but he is also afraid of it."
Zhu Wen obeyed her words and was very respectful. He almost killed his eldest son Zhu Youyu in vain before, but Zhang Hui stopped him. Later, he seized Zhu Jin's wife and wanted to occupy her, but it was Zhang Hui who sent Zhu Jin's wife to a nunnery. Zhu Wen had an illegitimate son while he was marching and fighting. He was afraid of Zhang Hui and did not dare to bring him back. It was not until Zhang Hui's death that he dared to take the illegitimate son to his side. A friendly reminder that this illegitimate child will do something big in the future.
Zhang Hui's influence on Zhu Wen went far beyond household affairs, and also penetrated into Zhu Wen's military command. According to records, Zhu Wen set off with his troops. If Zhang Hui felt that the trip was inappropriate, he would send someone to report to Zhu Wen, "Your wife does not agree." Zhu Wen immediately transferred his troops and returned to the squadron.
All your wife's words must be resolutely defended; all your wife's instructions must be followed unswervingly.
Zhu Wen, the murderous warlord of the feudal town and cruel and violent, was also a strict wife and afraid of his wife. This is quite cute. At this point, the same goes for his old enemy Li Keyong.
Fortunately, Zhang Hui's illness was relieved and there was no serious problem. Only then did the big stone hanging in Zhu Wen's heart fall to the ground. As a result, the plan to eliminate Li Keyong was put on the agenda again.
In March of the fourth year of Guanghua in the Tang Dynasty (901), Zhu Wen used Li Keyong's arrogant words in his letter as an excuse to launch a six-pronged army from the northeast to the southwest, and simultaneously launched a fierce attack on Hedong:
Wang Chuzhi of the Yiwu Army in Dingzhou came out of Feihukou at the northern end of Taihang Mountain;
Ge Congzhou led the Taining Army of Yanzhou and the Tianping Army of Yunzhou, and together with the Chengde Army of Zhenzhou, they left Jingxing in Taihang Mountain;
Zhang Guihou led the Dongzhaoyi Army out of Malingguan in the Taihang Mountains;
Zhang Wengong, the general of Weibo Army in Weizhou, left Xinkou of Taihang Mountain;
His uncle Cong led the main force of Bianzhou out of Tianjing Pass in Taihang Mountain;
Hou Yan led the newly surrendered Hezhong Protectorate Army out of Yindi Pass.
A great country does not care about power and tactics. Different from the vertical and horizontal campaigns in the year of Dashun, this time Zhu Wen single-handedly formed a more deterrent military force, encircled and suppressed in six directions, and pushed towards Taiyuan Prefecture.
In just ten days, the defenders in Hedong either abandoned the city and fled or surrendered. In early April, the six armies met outside the city of Taiyuan Prefecture with overwhelming force, and the beacon fires of each army echoed each other.
The Bian army repeatedly challenged the troops, causing great panic among the soldiers and civilians of Taiyuan. Li Keyong personally went to the city to resist, and was so busy that he didn't even have time to eat.
It is said that spring rain is as precious as oil. But that year, in order to thank new and old customers for their support, God held a special clearance sale and a big spring rain. It lasted for dozens of days, and many parts of the city wall collapsed. Hedong soldiers were busy repairing it to keep it intact.
Hedong generals Li Sizhao and Li Siyuan dug many "secret doors" in the city wall, that is, they dug from the inside without digging through, leaving only a thin layer of masonry on the outside. People outside the city could not detect it at all. At night, they secretly drilled it through, and then sent death squads to sneak out from the secret door and surprise the Bian army. This method is very effective.
Another Hedong general, Li Cunjin, also defeated Zhu Wen's vanguard army at Dongwoyi outside the city, boosting morale.
At the same time, the heavy rain for days also caused the Bian army to suffer enough. The Bian army gathered in large numbers outside the city. The supply of food and grass was a big problem in itself. Heavy rain made the roads muddy, making logistical supplies even more difficult. Epidemics such as malaria and dysentery broke out among the Bian army.
Forced by desperation, Zhu Wen issued an order to withdraw his troops.
In May, the six armies set up their respective camps and returned to their own towns.
Taiyuan Mansion is not a public toilet. You can come and leave whenever you want. Hedong generals Zhou Dewei and Li Sizhao led five thousand elite cavalry to pursue and kill thousands of people.
The governor of Fenzhou who had previously surrendered to the Bian Army was captured alive by Li Sizhao and Li Cunxuan and beheaded in public display. Meng Qian, the Jiedu envoy of the Xizhao Rebellion Army who surrendered to the Bian Army, took the initiative to take his whole family to Bianzhou to escape.
Li Keyong sent Li Sizhao and Zhou Dewei to launch a counterattack, went out of Yindi Pass, attacked the Hezhong area, and captured Cizhou and Xizhou under the jurisdiction of the Hezhong Protectorate Army.
The two sides exchanged punches and kicked, and the first round was completed.
Intermission.
In the first half of the showdown, Zhu Wen gained an undisputed advantage. Although he lost Cixi Province after withdrawing his troops, the overall advantage still existed.
Li Keyong did not dare to take it lightly. When the two prefectures of Cixi surrendered, Li Keyong did not dare to send people to take over as a conqueror. Instead, he gave generous gifts to the two surrendered generals and wrote in a low profile. The letter comforted the two of them, stated the pros and cons, and asked them to get back together. For fear of irritating Zhu Wen or causing resistance from surrendering troops and generals. It can also be seen from this point that Li Keyong recognized Zhu Wen's advantages from the bottom of his heart.
Both sides actively recovered, waited for cooldown, replenished BUFF, and prepared for the team battle in the second half.
At this time, Zhu Wen received a secret edict from the emperor, requiring him to immediately lead his army westward and come to Chang'an to protect the emperor.
That's right, there's trouble again in Chang'an.
【Changan Chaos】
Cui Yin became a great hero in the process of Zhaozong's restoration of chaos, especially his move to resign from Situ, which further won Zhaozong's favor and considered Cui Yin to be a role model.
Cui Yin is cunning and cunning. Of course he will not covet a nominal honorary title. What he wants is visible and tangible real power. With power, fame and fortune will naturally come naturally.
As prime minister, he also led the envoys of Duzhi, Yantie, and Sansi. He was equivalent to the imperial minister of finance and the director of salt and iron monopoly and transportation. He was the richest man in the Tang Empire.
The prime minister, the head of a hundred officials, the first brother of the civil service, and also in control of the empire's purse, what else does he need a bicycle?
However, these still cannot satisfy Cui Yin's insatiable ambition, and he is almost crazy in his pursuit of power and profit.
The first is the struggle for power.
One is to eliminate dissidents and eliminate political opponents.
For example, the second seed Lu Xun, appointed by Zhaozong, succeeded Cui Yin as prime minister when Cui Yin resigned, and was hated by Cui Yin. However, he was appointed by Zhaozong and won Zhaozong's trust, so he was even more favored by Cui Yin. Consider it a stumbling block in your official career and must get rid of it quickly.
Cui Yin grasped an excuse for Lu Xun, and that was Lu Xun's behavior when Zhaozong returned to Luan anyway. In the early morning of the first day of the first lunar month, Sun Dezhao and others ambushed Wang Zhongxian. After Lu Min heard the news, he put on civilian clothes, rode a pony, and fled in a panic from the southeast gate of Chang'an City to avoid the chaos. So Cui Yin used the topic to create public opinion, saying that Lu Min opposed Zhaozong's return to Luan.
For Lu Xun, this was a fatal slander.
As expected, Zhaozong had doubts about Lu Xi, so he asked Han Xi for his opinion.
Han Xie was Cui Yin's promoted deputy and one of the participants in the conspiracy to bring order to the chaos, so he gained Zhaozong's trust. Han Xie was upright and loyal. He did not become Cui Yin's accomplice, but defended Lu Xun. "Only Cui Yin and myself and a few other people knew about His Majesty's plot to return to his rightful position. Lu Xie did not know about it at all. He suddenly heard that the palace It is reasonable for people to panic when something unexpected happens, and it is human nature to disguise themselves and flee for their lives. If your Majesty insists on pursuing his fault, you can only blame him for being the prime minister and not having the intention to die for the country. How can you say that he opposes your Majesty's return to normalcy? Where is your position? I am afraid that someone has ulterior motives and is deliberately sowing discord. Your Majesty, please take a closer look!"
Although Zhaozong did not immediately put on small shoes for Lu Min, the grudge still took root in his heart. Even if, as Han Xie said, he could not stick to the plan and label Lu Xun as a "counter-revolutionary", Lu Xun could not be regarded as a qualified prime minister after all. I hope.
As Cui Yin wished, Lu Jin was dismissed as prime minister.
The second is to promote cronies and cultivate party members. For example, Wang Pu was recommended as prime minister.
Wang Pu came from a famous family. Several generations of his ancestors had been officials in the court. He was famous for his integrity and filial piety. Among them, his great-uncle was not afraid of power and insisted on serving Song Shenxi in the famous "Song Shenxi rebellion case" in the Wenzong Dynasty. Complaints.
The reason why Cui Yin recommended Wang Pu was not because Wang Pu was a good man, but because Wang Pu was Cui Yin's staff and subordinate. He also participated in the conspiracy to welcome Zhaozong back to Luan anyway, which was important political capital.
The third is to knock the mountain and shake the tiger.
Whether it is attacking political opponents or promoting cronies, these are all actions within the civil service. Cui Yin understood that if he wanted to gain power, he would have to fight the eunuch group.
In April of the fourth year of Guanghua in the Tang Dynasty (901), three months after returning to the throne of the emperor, Emperor Zhaozong visited the royal ancestral temple and granted amnesty. The fourth year of Guanghua was changed to the first year of Tianfu. At the same time, it was announced that Wang Ya and other seventeen families had been vindicated.
Seventeen families including Wang Ya were victims of the "Manna Incident". The "Manna Incident" occurred in the Wenzong Dynasty (November 835) and was a bloody confrontation between the civil servant group and the eunuch group. At first, the civil servants conspired to kill the eunuchs, but they were killed by the eunuchs. Many civil servants, including Wang Ya, were killed, and more than a thousand people were killed by the eunuchs.
The impact of the "Manna Incident" was extremely far-reaching. The most obvious thing is that for more than half a century, the eunuch forces have been in an absolutely dominant position in the struggle with the civil servant forces.
Nearly seventy years after the "Manna Incident", an edict was suddenly issued to redress Wang Yaping's injustice. It had far-reaching political significance and was a signal to take action against the eunuch power.
In addition to fighting for power, we must also fight for profits.
After beating the eunuch, Cui Yin couldn't wait to put his hand into the eunuch's purse, and first took back one of the eunuch's privileges - the monopoly on wine yeast.
Don't underestimate this privilege, it can be compared with the salt and iron franchise, or today's oil and natural gas, making you extremely rich.
In fact, this privilege is not explicitly stipulated, and it is not supported by red-headed documents. It is just an "unspoken rule" and belongs to the category of "you know".
This story begins with the former eunuch Yang Fugong. At that time, Yang Fugong borrowed the privilege of selling distilled koji from the Ministry of Finance for one year on the grounds of providing military pay for the Forbidden Army, and used the profits of this year to subsidize the Forbidden Army, which was equivalent to the policy allocation given by the imperial court to the Forbidden Army. . However, Yang Fugong was borrowed from Jingzhou by Liu Bei. The "one year" in the "borrowed year" became "every year". rule.
The exclusive privilege of selling wine koji belongs to the Ministry of Finance in name, but in fact it is controlled by the eunuchs. If Cui Yin wants to directly take it back to the Ministry of Finance, it will not be an easy task.
Don’t underestimate Cui Yin’s power. He did not directly take back the exclusive privilege of selling distilled yeast. Instead, he first announced the abolition of the exclusive privilege of selling distilled yeast, allowing liquor sellers to make their own distilled yeast, and then the tax department levied taxes on them. The exclusive privilege of selling wine and koji was taken back in disguise, but the eunuch had no power to fight back.
In order to ease the conflict, Cui Yin gave the eunuchs and the imperial army a three-month buffer time to dump their inventories and reduce their losses.
It was really a gentle sword, which not only hit the eunuchs, but also increased the financial revenue, won the support of Zhaozong, and the support of private businessmen, and of course enriched his own pocket. One action achieves many things, but the eunuchs and the imperial guards are the only ones who are dumb and eat Coptis chinensis, unable to express their sufferings.
