[Zhaozong was killed]
On the evening of August 11, the first year of Tianyou in the Tang Dynasty (904), Jiang Xuanhui sent his subordinate Shi Tai and a hundred others to break into the palace at night, claiming that there was an urgent military situation and they wanted to report it to Zhaozong face to face.
The entire palace, Luoyang City and inside and outside were all Zhu Wen's confidants. The group of people walked through unimpeded and came directly to the door of Zhaozong's palace.
The person who opened the door for them was one of Zhaozong's concubines, Pei Zhenyi. Seeing the heavily armed soldiers, Pei Zhenyi asked: "Why do we need to lead troops to report the military situation?"
Shi Tai raised his knife and slashed Pei Zhenyi to death.
Jiang Xuanhui took a step forward from behind and asked sharply: "Where is the emperor?"
Another concubine, Zhaoyi Li Jianrong, held her hand on the railing on the verandah and shouted: "Just kill us, don't hurt the emperor!"
Zhaozong had just fallen asleep and was awakened by the noise outside. Before he could put on his clothes, Jiang Xuanhui, Shi Tai and others rushed into the bedroom and started chopping with knives without saying a word.
Zhaozong jumped up from the bed, wearing only his pajamas, and staged "The King of Qin Runs Around the Pillar" in the bedroom. Shi Tai caught up with him and chopped him down with a knife.
Zhaoyi and Li Jianrong jumped on Zhaozong and blocked his sword, killing both of them.
Later, the rebels planned to kill Queen He. Queen He knelt down to Jiang Xuanhui and begged for mercy, saving her life.
Jiang Xuanhui was not moved by sympathy, but wanted to use Queen He as perjury.
At dawn the next day, Jiang Xuanhui received an oral message from Queen He, saying that a major criminal case had occurred in the palace last night. The concubines Pei Zhenyi and Li Jianrong had killed Emperor Zhaozong; Prince Hui Li Zuo was granted the title of crown prince, renamed Li Tie, and supervised the regency of the country.
Immediately afterwards, he falsely conveyed that Empress He ordered Li Jie to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor in front of Zhaozong's coffin.
Zhaozong died at the age of 38 after being killed. There was a feeling of terror inside and outside the palace, and no one dared to cry.
On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Li Zhi sat on the dragon throne and accepted the ceremony of kneeling three times and kowtowing nine times from the officials, and officially became the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. At the age of 13, he was known as Emperor Ai of the Tang Dynasty in history.
Two and a half years later, Emperor Ai ceded Jiangshan Sheji Chan to Zhu Wen, and the Tang Dynasty came to an end. Later, Emperor Ai, who was only 16 years old, was also killed by Zhu Wen.
He is not the king who will perish his country, but he should be the one who is destined to perish his country. This should be the most concise evaluation of Zhaozong. Ouyang Xiu clearly pointed out in "New Book of Tang" that "not all countries that have been subjugated since ancient times have been stupid, mediocre and tyrannical kings." He deeply regretted the unfortunate experience of Emperor Zhaozong.
Emperor Zhaozong loved reading and valued Confucianism. He was determined to revitalize the Tang Dynasty, restore its former glory, and maintain the elegant legacy of Huichang. However, the two stubborn diseases of eunuchs and vassal towns have penetrated deep into the bone marrow and are difficult to recover from. The fruits of "Huichang Zhongxing" and "Dazhong Zhi" have been exhausted by Yizong and Xizong. What Zhaozong inherited was a mess full of holes and terminal diseases. Even if Taizong is resurrected, he will not be able to recover.
However, Zhaozong did not give up. At the beginning of his accession to the throne, he severely attacked the eunuch forces and fished in troubled waters among the complicated vassal towns to disintegrate local separatist forces and consolidate central power.
As for its failure, some people believe that Zhaozong misemployed people.
There is no doubt that the Zhaozong Dynasty contributed three prime ministers to "The Biography of the Traitorous Minister", namely Cui Zhaowei, Cui Yin, Liu Can, as well as Jiang Xuanhui, Zhang Tingfan, Shi Shucong, and Zhu Yougong. Although these four came from the Zhaozong Dynasty, But he was not a minister appointed by Zhaozong. Although he was also listed in "The Biography of Traitors", he could not be attributed to Zhaozong.
Zhaozong was thirsty for talents and wanted to rely on the civil service group to defeat the eunuchs and vassal towns. As a result, there were only a few people who could really be used. Instead, a group of delusions and careerists stepped onto the political stage. Zhaozong's civil service line was frequently slapped in the face, so much so that Cui Yin was born, who dragged the empire into the abyss of eternal destruction.
The "Old Book of Tang" also pointed out Zhaozong's mistakes in employing people, saying that Zhang Jun, Zhu Pu, and Zheng Wei were the most unreliable, and they were simply ridiculous (the three of them were particularly ridiculous, and they were the monsters at the end of the season).
And fishing in troubled waters between vassal towns is even more frantic on the verge of death. There is a poem to prove it:
"The emperor is a sheep, and all the feudal lords and towns are tigers and wolves.
Attract wolves to drive away tigers, store tigers to guard against wolves,
How about Tang Zuo? A cool song. ”——Namo Stinky Egg
Strengthening the local area and weakening the center is the way to constant chaos. In this game of power redistribution, any external manifestation is the result of a deeper game. With the power grab as the core, the forces of all parties exchange bargaining chips and ultimately reach a balance. Among them, the imperial power represented by Zhaozong was actually at an absolute disadvantage and was basically ignored. The chips in its hands were valuable but not marketable, and it was impossible to become the final winner.
In short, Zhaozong inherited a fatal headwind situation.
If I had to nitpick, alcoholism would be Zhaozong's only flaw. But the bad habit of alcoholism also has a reason. After experiencing countless failures in political struggles, Zhaozong, who was physically and mentally exhausted, deeply felt that he wanted to kill thieves and was unable to save his life. His brothers died tragically in the "Sixteen Houses Massacre", so he resorted to drinking to relieve his sorrow. .
Not lustful, not playful, he devoted himself to reviving the Tang Dynasty, but was mercilessly ravaged by the cruel reality, and his will and belief suffered unimaginable pain.
Overall, Zhaozong was a tragic emperor who deserved respect and sympathy.
Zhu Wen left Luoyang before, on the one hand to avoid Zhaozong's plot, and on the other hand to deliberately create an alibi. After receiving the news that Zhaozong had been killed, Zhu Wen was "so shocked" that he fell from his seat to the ground, and then burst into tears and wailed, "These gang of dog slaves betrayed me and made me bear the eternal infamy of regicide!"
This scene is not Zhu Wen's original work, but a tribute to Sima Zhao.
Zhu Wen arrived in Luoyang, went to Zhaozong's mourning hall, fell to the ground and cried bitterly, expressing deep remorse for failing to protect the emperor. Then he met with the new emperor Ai Emperor and swore that this was definitely not his intention, and demanded that the culprit of the regicide be thoroughly investigated and justice be restored to the world.
The so-called "justice" means finding a suitable scapegoat. Zhu Wen consulted his confidant Li Zhen.
Li Zhen bluntly said that it must be Zhu Yougong and Shi Shucong.
One is his adopted son who has been with him for the longest time, and the other is his "direct lineage" confidant. Zhu Wen really couldn't bear it, "Can I change him to someone else?"
Li Zhen said in a non-negotiable tone: "Emperor Jin Wen of Jin killed Gaogui Township (Sima Zhao killed Cao Mao) and blamed Cheng Ji. Because these two people are the king's confidants, so only by killing these two people can the king be freed. Otherwise... Your Majesty, will you subdue the law yourself?"
At that time, Luoyang was suffering from drought and food shortage, and the price of a bucket of rice soared to 600 yuan. However, Zhu Yougong and Shi Shucong's subordinates committed illegal acts of plundering people's food, and the people in the city hated these two men very much.
So Zhu Wen arrested the two men, and then reported to Emperor Ai to impeach Zhu Yougong and Shi Shucong, the senior officials responsible for protecting Luoyang City, saying that they could not restrain their subordinates and caused chaos in the capital. Zhu Yougong was demoted to the position of Sihu in Yazhou (now Qiongshan City, Hainan Province), and his uncle Cong was demoted to the position of Sihu in Baizhou (now Bobai County, Guangxi).
The old rule is to save the travel expenses of Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan Island and directly order suicide (suicide in search of gifts).
The old rule is that the executioner will help "suicide".
Zhu Wen paid tribute to Sima Zhao, and Zhu Yougong and his uncle Cong were paid tribute to Cheng Ji. However, Shi Tai, who killed Zhaozong with his own hands, was granted the title of governor of Dizhou "in return for his contribution to the rebellion."
When Zhu Yougong was dying, he looked up to the sky and cursed Zhu Wen: "You betrayed me to silence the world. Can you deceive the world, can you also deceive the ghosts and gods of heaven and earth? People are doing it, and God is watching. If you do such a thing, , I will have no children or grandchildren in the future, and I will not die a good death!"
After cursing Zhu Wen, Zhu Yougong turned to his former comrade and today's supervisor Zhang Tingfan and said: "Brother, my today is your tomorrow, just wait and see!"
Zhu Yougong's curse was fulfilled. That month, Zhu Wen's virtuous wife Zhang Hui suffered a recurrence of her old illness and soon passed away; her eldest son Zhu Youyu also died of a sudden illness.
After regicide, Zhu Wen felt the pain of losing his wife and son. In grief, news came from the south that Guangzhou, under the rule of Huainan, rebelled against Huainan and joined Zhu Wen. It was surrounded by troops sent by Yang Xingmi and asked Zhu Wen for rescue; Ezhou also asked Zhu Wen for help.
Zhu Wen took advantage of the situation to play a card that had been brewing for a long time: Southern Expedition!
