【Three Tragedies in Luoyang】
The symbolic beginning of this political purge was the "Jiuquchi Massacre". Zhu Wen operated remotely and pressed the terrifying button.
In the second year of Tianyou in the Tang Dynasty (905), the ninth day of February was the "She Day" for worshiping the God of the Land. It was an important event for the ruling class in the feudal era. The emperor would hold a grand sacrificial ceremony on this day to pray for a good harvest.
Zhu Wen ordered his confidant Jiang Xuanhui to take advantage of the "Community Day" to hold a banquet in the Jiuqu Pond in Luoyang Palace and invite all the princes to the banquet. During the banquet, all the princes were strangled to death and their bodies were thrown into Jiuqu Pond. The princes who died were all the princes of Zhaozong, brothers and sisters of the current emperor Ai, including Li Yu, the king of virtue whom Zhu Wen could not forget.
The "Jiuquchi Massacre" is even worse than the "Sixteen Houses Massacre" caused by Han Jian. Zhu Wen was even more blatant and unscrupulous. Not to mention that he didn't carefully look for excuses beforehand, and even didn't even say a perfunctory word afterward. The location of the murder was also within the palace.
If there is a little bit of caution, it is that Zhu Wen has an alibi, and it is still Jiang Xuanhui, a close confidant, who takes the blame for him.
In broad daylight, murders were committed in the palace, and the victims were a large number of royal blood. Is there anything else that Zhu Wen doesn’t dare to do?
Later, the shameless scholar Liu Can, who clung to Zhu Wen's thigh, guessed Zhu Wen's intention, and began to actively frame and exclude dissidents, and listed the other three prime ministers Pei Shu, Dugu Sun, and Cui Yuan as the top targets.
In March, three prime ministers were dismissed simultaneously. Later, the three people enjoyed the treatment of being demoted again and again, and committed suicide in search of gifts. Along with those who were demoted and sentenced to death, there were also former prime minister Lu Kuang, ministers of the Ministry of War Wang Zan, Zhao Chong, etc.
Lu Xun was active in all the political struggles of the Zhaozong Dynasty and appeared as a victim; Wang Zan and Zhao Chong were the loyal and upright talents recommended by Han Xie to Zhaozong. At that time, they were also unable to become prime ministers because of Zhu Wen's obstruction. However, Zhu Wen Still unwilling to let them go, especially Zhao Chong, who had retired with the false title of Prince Taibao, still failed to escape the bad luck.
Those who were demoted and ostracized were either high-ranking, prominent family members, or highly educated senior intellectuals, a total of thirty people. They were gathered by Zhu Wen in Baimayi outside Huazhou, and they were all massacred. It was known as the "Baimayi Disaster" and "Baimayi Massacre" in history.
At the scene of the massacre, Zhu Wen's think tank Li Zhenyouran said: "This group of people is usually aloof and arrogant, and often calls itself a 'clear stream'. Now it is time to throw them into the Yellow River and turn it into a 'turbid stream.'" Zhu Wen listened. , laughed "haha", and then threw all the bodies of the victims into the Yellow River aside.
The distinction between clean and dirty officials has existed for a long time. By the end of the Tang Dynasty, "clear flow" had become the self-promotion of the civil servant group, while "turbid flow" had basically become synonymous with eunuchs.
Facing the unjust victims, Li Zhen did not show the slightest mercy, but mercilessly insulted the victims.
The narrow-mindedness shown by Li Zhen comes from the dark side of his heart. In his early years, Li Zhen took part in the imperial examinations many times, but failed repeatedly. His inferiority complex turned into hatred. Li Zhen harbored a deep-seated hatred towards officials who were Jinshi and above.
Nowadays, Zhu Wen is extremely powerful. As Zhu Wen's right-hand man, Li Zhengou takes advantage of his power and vents his inner darkness wantonly. Whenever he came to Luoyang from Bianzhou, he would find various reasons to demote central officials. He would treat central officials like slaves, bossing around and yelling at them. Central officials were always frightened in front of Li Zhen and did not dare to express their arrogance. Behind his back, they gave him the nickname "Owl" (sounds the same as "Chi Xiao", commonly known as an owl, often used to describe greedy people) .
Liu Can and Li Zhen, either because of their birth or education, have psychological dark sides due to low self-esteem. As their power continues to expand, their distorted personalities finally vent their inner narrowness and insignificance in the most extreme form of expression - killing. .
In addition to the "Jiuquchi Massacre" and "Baimayi Massacre", Zhu Wen also personally carried out the "Telling a Deer to a Horse Case". Unlike Zhao Gao, Zhu Wen killed those who echoed the sentiment.
One time, Zhu Wen and his staff and guests were traveling and rested under a big willow tree. Zhu Wen suddenly had an idea and blurted out: "This willow tree can be used as a car hub."
The hub is the ring in the middle of the wheel, used to connect the wheel and the axle. In that era without bearings, the hub had to be made of hard and wear-resistant wood, and willow was soft and could not be used as a hub at all.
Zhu Wen's words obviously went against the basic common sense of life, so most of the staff and guests remained silent. Only a few sycophants echoed, saying that the leader was right and forward-looking.
Before they finished filming, Zhu Wen changed his face and scolded them: "You intellectuals like to talk, confuse right and wrong, and play tricks on others. The hub must be made of elm wood, how can you use willow wood?" He turned around and glared at the guards, "What are you waiting for?"
As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of warriors strode forward like tigers entering a herd of sheep, grabbed the hair of the sycophants, and beheaded them on the spot.
This is the allusion that Zhu Wen left for future generations, "it should be the hub of a car", which is comparable to "referring to a deer as a horse". Due to public perception, I still call it a case of calling a deer a horse.
The "Jiuquchi Massacre", "Baimayi Massacre" and "Telling a Deer to Be a Horse" are typical representatives of the political purge carried out by Zhu Wen after he killed Zhaozong. I call them together the "Three Luoyang Massacres", among which " "Luoyang" is not the actual place where the case took place, but uses its role as the capital to illustrate this bloody change in the top power circle.
If you want to discuss the rise and fall of ancient and modern times, please only look at the city of Luoyang.
【Place vase】
With the purge of dissidents by Zhu and Wen's party members, a large number of vacancies appeared in the central court. Of course, this was the moment for Zhu and Wen's group to share the fruits of victory. At the same time, in order to take into account the food and appearance, a few vases still needed to be placed.
The imperial court promoted Yang She, the minister of civil affairs, to the position of prime minister.
"Zizhi Tongjian" states that Yang She is the grandson of Yang Shou, the prime minister of the Yizong Dynasty (She, the grandson of Shou). However, "Old Book of Tang" and "New Book of Tang" clearly state that Yang She is Yang Shou's nephew.
Yang Shou, the prime minister of Yizong Dynasty, was stoned into a well by Wei Baoheng because he offended the eunuch Yang Xuanjie (Yang Fuguang's adoptive father), and was eventually tortured to death, as mentioned above. Yang Shou has two half-brothers: Yang Fa and Yang Jia, and a younger brother Yang Yan.
Yang Shou's brothers and nephews all became Jinshi and became famous all over the world. Among them, Yang Yan had two sons: Yang She and Yang Zhu. So Yang Shou is Yang She's uncle, not his grandfather.
The Yang family has many knowledgeable and upright people:
Yang Fa: "he became a Jinshi and was outstanding". He was highly regarded by Emperor Xuanzong. He was demoted for his outspoken advice. After being demoted to the local area, he still made outstanding political achievements and was "famous for his ability in politics"; his son Yang Cheng, "he also ascended to the rank of Jinshi, and there are talents... who have shown their official positions";
Yang Jia: Historical records use a side detail to highlight his character. According to records, when he was buried, more than a thousand people spontaneously saw him off;
Yang Shou's three sons: Yang Jian, Yang Ju, and Yang Fu were all promoted to Jinshi;
Yang Yan: During the Wuzong Dynasty, five candidates, including Yang Yan, were suspected of having a "trust relationship" and "taking the back door" when they were promoted to Jinshi. They brought the matter to the emperor. Emperor Wuzong personally re-examined and wrote "Yang Yan alone can reach the imperial examination." ", the remaining four people fell", which shows Yang Yan's profound cultural foundation; his son Yang She became a Jinshi in the second year of Qianfu (875); Yang Zhu became a Jinshi in the second year of Zhonghe (882).
Yang Shou was the only stain on the Yang family, but Yang Shou was demoted and died somewhat unjustly. This has been detailed in the previous article, so I will not go into details here. I will only talk about his nephew Yang She.
The imperial court appointed Yang She from a family of officials to serve as prime minister. He was a political vase. Yang She knew this very well. When he received the news that he had been promoted to prime minister, he did not feel any joy. Instead, he cried with his family, as if he had received the news. The sad news of the whole family being executed. Yang She cried and said to his son Yang Ningshi: "Our family is unfortunate! You will definitely be implicated in this."
Like Yang She, almost all loyal officials and scholars were unwilling to serve as officials in the court, so they fled in large numbers and hid in the mountains and forests. The imperial court ordered all states and counties to forcibly repatriate them. Among them, Li Deyu's grandson Li Yangu was among those recruited.
Li Deyu, the leader of the "Li Party" in the "Niu-Li Party Struggle" and a veteran in the political arena, is much more famous than Yang Shuo. Li Yangu has therefore become one of Zhu Wen's top vases.
Li Yangu lived in Pingquan Village at that time, which was thirty miles away from Luoyang. Before the imperial edict was delivered, Luoyang issued the personnel appointment letter first, cutting it off first and reporting it later. They couldn't even wait for the thirty-mile round trip, which shows that Zhu Wen's group is hungry for political vases.
There is also a vase, Sikong Tu.
Sikong Tu, whose words indicate the saint, was a Jinshi in the Yizong Dynasty, a poet and poetry critic in the late Tang Dynasty. "The Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty" contains three volumes of his poems, and his poetry theory work "Twenty-Four Poems" is an immortal work. It is a monument in the field of poetry theory.
When Huang Chao invaded Chang'an, one of his younger brother's slaves joined Huang Chao's grass army and persuaded Sikong Tu to also serve Huang Chao. Sikong Tu did not submit to join the bandit, but resigned and went into seclusion. Later, I heard that Emperor Xizong was in Fengxiang, so he went to see him. Soon after, Xizong fled to Chengdu again, but Sikong Tu couldn't follow him, so he went into seclusion again. After Zhaozong ascended the throne, Sikong Tu became an official again, but unfortunately he fell seriously ill and was relieved of his duties and went into seclusion again. After that, Zhaozong summoned him several times. Sikong Tu was well aware that the emperor's power was on the sidelines, and he was unwilling to help the emperor to abuse him, so he always refused to enter the court because of illness.
Sikong Tu's official career was full of ups and downs. Generally speaking, the time he spent retiring from office and going into seclusion was much longer than the time he spent serving as an official. He basically stayed in seclusion. His poems were basically completed during his period of seclusion, so most of his poetry style describes the leisurely mood of seclusion in mountains and rivers. He is indifferent to fame and wealth, and has a sense of the realm of seeing through the world of mortals.
"If there are worries in poetry, you must be careful, and don't be unfair to the poetry."
Sikong Tu's life experience may not be prominent enough, but he was a cultural influencer and Internet celebrity scholar at the time, and he was naturally the target of the Zhu Wen Group.
Facing the call from the imperial court, Sikong Tu still refused to go forward because of his illness. However, Liu Can used both soft and hard tactics, and Sikong Tu was deeply afraid of causing the destruction of his family, so he had no choice but to go to Luoyang. But Sikong Tu was sincerely unwilling to join in with the thieves, so he hatched a plan.
Sikong Tu was nearly seventy years old, so he pretended to be old and frail, deliberately slurred his speech, and answered questions incorrectly. He showed severe symptoms of Alzheimer's. He was trembling and even the wat board slipped to the ground.
When Liu Can saw this, he was greatly disappointed, so he withdrew his appointment and expelled the bad old man from Luoyang. Sikong Tu was able to escape and continue to live in seclusion. Two years later, Zhu Wen killed Emperor Ai and ended the Tang Dynasty. Sikong Tu was so sad and angry that he went on a hunger strike and died in the Tang Dynasty at the age of seventy-one.
