【Periphery of the periphery】
Zhu Wen was approaching Fengxiang, and the declining Kansai Group was unable to confront him head-on. They could only use the political card in their hand - Zhaozong, to "hijack the emperor to order the princes" and pretend to order the heroes of the world to mobilize troops to serve the king.
Li Keyong of Hedong responded happily, but was "surrounded by Taiyuan", so that he doubted his life and never dared to make mistakes again; Wang Jian of Xichuan, in the name of King Qin, actually embezzled Shannan; the Jianghuai duo were troubled by internal troubles (Xu Xu Rebellion) ) constraints...
During this period, another young comrade actively helped Zhu Wen further clear up the periphery. He was Feng Xingxi, the military governor of Jinzhou Zhaoxin.
Feng Xingxi was originally a junior officer in Junzhou. During the Huangchao Rebellion, he was both wise and brave. He captured and killed the bandit leader Sun Xi, saving Junzhou from bandits. He then became the governor of Junzhou and became the governor of Junzhou. Liu Jurong, the governor of Shannan at the time, commended him to Junzhou. The governor of the state has since stepped onto the stage of history and started a glorious life.
At that time, Emperor Xizong escaped from chaos and was lucky to be in Shu. As an important transportation hub for Xiang, Han and Shu, Junzhou had an extremely important geographical location. At the same time, it had high mountains and complex terrain, and the tribute from the world had to be transported to Shu through here, so it was A large number of bandits and robbers spawned west of Junzhou, specializing in robbing emperors. They gathered in the mountains and forests, and their activities were rampant. Not long after Feng Xingxi took office, he wiped out all of them.
Similarly, there is no specific description of the process of suppressing bandits in the history books. We can try to expand on this: These bandits are very bold. They do not rob homes like small bandits, but specialize in robbing the emperor and the tribute shipped to the court. They have a big appetite, courage, and strength. It is difficult to say that they have no protective umbrella behind them. . In other words, these bandits are most likely played by certain warlords. This situation is not uncommon, but it is more common in the assassination of political figures such as Prime Minister Wang Duo, Uncle Wang Gui, Quasi-Prime Minister Wang Tie, etc.
Such a gangster group seems unshakable, but as long as the protective umbrella behind it is found out, it can be done without any effort.
Obviously, Feng Xingxi did not join in with them and eradicate them one by one, or recruit peacefully. In short, he chose to pave the way for the imperial court.
This move earned him the appreciation of the imperial court, who promoted him and rewarded him generously.
Later, Fengxiang Li Maozhen got involved in the Shannan area and sent his adopted son Li Jizhen to capture Jinzhou west of Junzhou. At that time, Li Maozhen had just debuted, and her strength and reputation were very limited. Feng Xingxing immediately sent troops to drive away Li Jizhen and took Jinzhou into his own hands, and was appointed as the Zhaoxin Defense Envoy with his headquarters in Jinzhou.
Later, during the "Movement to Defeat Yang", Feng Xingxing bet on the right thing again and defeated Yang Shouliang's troops in Jinzhou and Shangzhou, and was promoted to Zhaoxin Jiedushi.
If Feng Xingxi didn't do it deliberately, it can only be said that he was extremely lucky. Every time the court disliked someone, he would step on him.
Choosing to side with Zhu Wen this time was due to his hard work.
Also due to the convenient location, the envoys sent by the eunuch Han Quanhui to East China would all pass through Jinzhou, and planned to use Jinzhou as a gathering place for King Qin's troops. In this way, Feng Xingxiang would be involved in this dispute, and he would still be held hostage by the Kansai and eunuch groups.
Faced with the eunuch's forcible binding, Feng Xingxun knew that he could no longer stay out of the matter, although this had been his code of conduct and the secret to a stable life for many years. At this point, Feng Xingxi made his own choice. He wanted to hug Zhu Wen's thigh tightly and draw a clear line with the precarious eunuch party.
Feng Xingxing detained and killed all the more than 20 eunuchs sent by the Kansai Group, and then sent their heads and all the "imperial edicts" and "imperial orders" they carried with them to Zhu Wen, and sent the deputy envoy of Jiedu to personally Jin met Zhu Wen and expressed his allegiance. From then on, he stood firmly under Zhu Wen's wings.
In fact, even if these envoys arrived in the Jianghuai area, they returned without success. The Jiang and Huaihe heroes were unable to escape, while the other minor characters were neither able nor willing to travel all the way to conquer Zhu Wen.
However, Feng Xingxing's action of intercepting and killing the mission still has extremely far-reaching political significance. This was Feng Xingxing's initiative to submit a petition. Although Feng Xingxing's territory was small and his strength was limited, his geographical location was very important. , is the transportation throat of Xiang, Han and Shu, and is the southern gate of Chang'an.
Afterwards, as Zhu Wen rose to prominence, Feng Xingxing knew that he had made the right bet, so he assisted Zhu Wen more loyally and wisely, and also taught his son to be loyal to Zhu Wen wholeheartedly.
Zhu Wen also liked this handsome man who knew current affairs very much. He was awarded the title of Prince of Changle County for his merits. After his death, he was awarded the posthumous title of "Zhongjing" as Taifu.
The low-key and sharp Feng Xingxing helped Zhu Wen further clear up the outside world and gained a lifetime of glory.
Wang Jian of Xichuan was named King of Qin, but in fact he usurped the territory of the Kansai Group; Li Ke of Hedong had more intentions than strength; the two heroes of the Jianghuai River were hampered by internal troubles; Feng Xingxi, who was at home, became Zhu Wen's guard dog...
Life for the Fengxiang eunuchs was difficult.
[Driving in Fengxiang]
After the eunuch Han Quanjie took Zhaozong hostage to Fengxiang, the Uighur tribe sent an envoy to express their willingness to send troops to help the Tang Dynasty quell the civil strife. Zhaozong was so hungry that he planned to agree to bring in foreign aid.
Han Xie strongly objected, saying that Rong and Di had human faces and animal hearts and could not be trusted! These foreign mercenaries have always coveted the prosperity of the Central Plains. When they see our cities in decline, our armaments in disrepair, and our frequent civil strife, they will definitely be ready to bring trouble to the Central Plains.
Zhaozong suddenly came to his senses and hurriedly replied, "They are just a few small bandits, no need to worry, thank you."
Although Han Xi was promoted by Cui Yin and worked with Cui Yin to kill the eunuch Liu Jishu, quell the "Shaoyangyuan coup", and welcome Zhaozong anyway, he did not become Cui Yin's ally, but was loyal to Zhaozong wholeheartedly. When Cui Yin planned to kill the eunuchs, he openly opposed it with a clear-cut banner. When the eunuchs forced the emperor to move westward, he did not stay in Chang'an with Cui Yin. Instead, he pursued the emperor overnight and took the initiative to surrender to Fengxiang. Di and Zhaozong stood together, sharing life and death.
Zhaozong's "Fengxiang Government in Exile" urgently needed to form a team of civilian officials, but ready-made retinue officials such as Han Xie were excluded from the core power circle. Because what the eunuchs needed was a civil service group that served eunuchs rather than Zhaozong.
Unsurprisingly, the eunuch Han Quanjie carried out a purge campaign in Fengxiang.
The first is to attack political opponents.
For example, Han Xi, although he opposed Cui Yin's execution of the eunuchs, his starting point was to consolidate imperial power, not to protect the eunuchs, so Han Xi was also among the eunuchs' attacks. Han Xi's job was to help the emperor draft edicts (Hanlin Chengzhi). The eunuch Han Quanhui arranged two eunuchs in the Hanlin Academy to monitor the Hanlin scholars and prevent them from discussing state affairs. They were also responsible for reviewing the edicts they drafted to prevent them from discussing state affairs. "Nonsense".
Another example is Lu Guangqi. When Zhaozong first arrived in Fengxiang, he had just been promoted (general clerk, concurrently judge of the three divisions, moved to the left to admonish the officials, and participated in political affairs), but he was removed from all real power and was given the empty title of prince and Taibao. , stand aside.
The second is to promote cronies.
Among the few retinue officials who took the initiative to defect to Fengxiang, there were also individual opportunists, such as Wei Yifan.
Wei Yifan very smartly bet his money on the Eunuch Party and the Guanxi Group, and actively bribed Han Quanhui, Li Maozhen and others. Han Quanhui and Li Maozhen were also eager to find agents of the Civil Service Group, so the two sides hit it off and each got what they needed. , Wei Yifan was promoted to prime minister by Rocket.
One day, Zhaozong had a banquet with his ministers. After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Li Maozhen, Han Quanhui and others quietly slipped away. Zhaozong suddenly asked Wei Yifan, "Why am I so lucky to be here on patrol?"
Wei Yifan panicked and hesitated: "I'm out here, so I don't know."
Zhaozong was very angry and continued to ask questions.
Wei Yifan simply pretended to be deaf and mute and ignored it.
Zhaozong was furious, "How dare you stare and tell lies in front of me?" There was silence at the wine table, and Zhaozong said sternly: "Since you have become prime minister through unfair means, you should govern impartially. If you dare to act recklessly, I will You will be dealt with according to law!"
Later, Zhaozong turned around and whispered to Han Xie (but everyone could hear it): "He should be beaten twenty times. How can such a person be worthy of being prime minister?"
Wei Yifan raised his glass and toasted Zhaozong to relieve the embarrassment.
Zhaozong also chose to ignore it and did not raise his glass in response.
What Wei Yifan did next will always be remembered in history. He directly put the wine glass on Zhaozong's mouth and truly "drank wine" and said, "Drink up!"
Wei Yifan relied on Han Quanhui and Li Maozhen behind his back. He deceived the emperor by pretending to be powerful, and he will be infamy for thousands of years!
Wei Yifan became prime minister through bribery, so he naturally had to work harder to make his money back. During his tenure, Wei Yifan accepted and demanded bribes unscrupulously, which was one of the main reasons why Zhaozong hated him.
Unfortunately, Wei Yifan's mother died just four months after he became prime minister. According to the usual practice, Wei Yifan asked Ding's mother to observe mourning for her mother for three years and was not allowed to hold any official position during this period.
Wei Yifan couldn't afford to wait for three years, and his "investors" couldn't even afford to wait. These bribers would line up in long lines every day, blocking the door to defend their rights and demanding Wei Yifan return the bribe money. The noise and noise are overwhelming.
Wei Yifan was eager to come back, so he jumped up and down with the eunuchs and Li Maozhen, asking to be re-appointed as prime minister in order to fulfill his "investment promise."
Under pressure from the eunuchs and Li Maozhen, Zhaozong had no choice but to ask Han Xi to draft an edict recruiting Wei Yifan to return to serve as prime minister.
Han Xie decisively refused, "I would rather cut off my wrist than draft this edict!" He also wrote in an edict, pointing out that Wei Yi and Fan Ding's mother had only been worried for two months, so ordering him to come back was really shocking and harmful to the country!
This is not Han Xi's fuss. Under the feudal etiquette system, there are strict regulations on "Ding You mourning". It is not just at the moral level, but has laws to follow. It has risen to the legal level. The laws of the Tang Dynasty There is a clear stipulation, according to "Tang Lv Shu Yi": Those who change mourning clothes in advance during the period of mourning will be "retired for three years."
Don't simply understand it as the current "three-year prison sentence." Although the meaning is relatively close, the punishment of this "three-year prison sentence" is much more severe than that of "three-year prison sentence."
After the Sui Dynasty, a new "Five Punishment System" was gradually formed, which was divided into whipping, rod, disciple, exile and death. Depending on the severity of the case.
Under the "prison sentence", there are five levels, namely one year, one and a half years, two years, two and a half years, and three years. "Three years' imprisonment" is the maximum penalty in "imprisonment". If the crime is more serious, it will be punished by "exile", that is, exile; if it is more serious, it will be punished by death without explanation.
During the "prison sentence", you need to work in the place where you are serving your sentence, such as a mine, and there are clear requirements for the daily results of your work.
Therefore, just taking off the mourning clothes in advance will lead to a maximum punishment of "imprisonment". It can be seen that the ancients attached great importance to Ding You's mourning, and it was not just as simple as public opinion condemnation.
In addition, let's look at two legal provisions: If you "forget about mourning and have fun" during the mourning period, and continue to play music and dance, you will also have "three years of apprenticeship"; even if you "listen to music" and stop to watch others dancing, you must also "Eighty sticks", "stick punishment", a big bamboo board hits the back, buttocks, and thighs. The starting price is sixty, and each time it is increased by ten, there are five levels in total, and the top level reaches one hundred.
For national civil servants, the relevant requirements are even more cumbersome and strict. But Wei Yifan, whom Ding's mother was worried about, actually wanted to return to his position, which was simply unforgivable. Therefore, Han Xi refused to draft the edict.
The two monitoring eunuchs of the Hanlin Academy were furious and issued death threats to Han Xie, "Do you want to die?"
Han Xie didn't want to accept this trick at all. He was too lazy to follow the two eunuchs' nonsense, so he took off his clothes and fell asleep.
The two eunuchs were so angry that they were trembling, but they were helpless.
Death can only have power on those who are afraid of it. It is a reward for those who sacrifice themselves for charity and justice.
