[Mingzong enters Luo 4]
Those who are righteous usually slaughter dogs, but those who are unfaithful are mostly scholars.
Li Yanqing, He Fujin, Wang Quanbin and others came to the rescue. When they saw Li Cunxu's body, they threw away their weapons, knelt down and cried bitterly, and then led their troops to leave;
After Empress Liu learned that Li Cunxu had passed away, she packed up the gold and silver, put them into brocade bags, tied them to the saddle, set fire to the Jiaqing Palace, and then led 700 cavalry with her younger brothers Li Cunwo, Yuan Xingqin and others. Escape; Li Cunque, Li Cunji and others fled into the mountains south of Luoyang;
Zhu Shouyin quickly entered the city, broke into the palace, and robbed more than thirty maids who had no time to escape. He also robbed some treasures in the palace and sent them back to his home;
The troops waiting outside the city to march eastward to Sishui also rushed into the city and looted wantonly;
Only the eunuchs and good friends collected some musical instruments, piled them on Li Cunxu's body, set them on fire, and used Li Cunxu's favorite musical instruments to send him on his last journey.
Li Siyuan had already advanced to Poppy Valley and heard about the changes in Luoyang and the news of Li Cunxu's death. He burst into tears and said to the generals around him: "The emperor is usually loved by the officers and soldiers, but he was bewitched by an evil villain. . I never thought that something like this would happen. Hey! Now I am even more incapable of defending myself. I can’t clean myself up by jumping into the Yellow River!”
The next day, Zhu Shouyin sent an envoy to inform Li Siyuan: "There is a great chaos in the capital. Soldiers and horses from all walks of life are burning, killing and looting. Please come to the capital quickly, Marshal, to save the people of Li from dire straits!"
On the third day (April 3), Li Siyuan entered Luoyang.
After Li Siyuan entered Luoyang, he did not live directly in the palace, but lived in his own home in Luoyang. He first sent troops to maintain order in the city and prohibited officers and soldiers from looting and causing chaos; he also sent people to pick out Li Cunxu's remains from the ashes and bury them together with the ashes. Coffin, temporarily stored.
When Li Siyuan was first kidnapped into Weizhou, his subordinate Hou Yi fled back to Luoyang. Li Cunxu once touched his back and cried bitterly. Now that Li Siyuan has entered Luoyang, Hou Yi tied his hands and took the initiative to plead guilty. Li Siyuan said to him: "As a subject, you are fulfilling your duties as a subject. What's your fault?" He comforted him and ordered him to resume his duties.
Li Cunxu's death made Li Siyuan very passive politically. Regardless of whether Li Siyuan really wanted to rebel, Li Cunxu's death confirmed Li Siyuan's "rebellion", and he could not be freed of the crime of forcing the emperor to death.
Li Siyuan's top priority is to clear his name. So, he said to Zhu Shouyin: "You are responsible for maintaining order inside and outside the palace and waiting for the arrival of Li Jiji. Concubine Shu and Concubine De are still in the palace. Their food supply must be doubled and there must be no sloppiness! Wait until I bring the late emperor to the palace. Bury, the country has its own master, and after the crown prince Li Jiji comes to the throne, I will return to my fief and continue to resist the Khitans in the north."
Listen to the sound of speaking, and listen to the sound of gongs and drums.
What Li Siyuan said was a loyal minister's words, which were high-sounding and touching. They were enough to show that he had no intention of treason, but only wanted to be a loyal minister of the empire and defend the empire's territory. But what about in-depth analysis?
"Don't forget, there is also Li Jiji. He is the legal successor. How can I be the emperor without him?"
As for how to interpret it, Li Siyuan's confidants need to make their own decisions.
On the same day, Prime Minister Doulu Ge led hundreds of civil and military officials to jointly petition Li Siyuan to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor. A country can't live without a king for a day. It's your destiny and the people's hope. Don't refuse and take charge of the work.
Li Siyuan patiently explained to them and said earnestly: "I was ordered by the emperor to attack the rebels. However, I encountered a mutiny and the troops I led dispersed. So I planned to return to Beijing and explain to the emperor in person, but I was Yuan Xingqin blocked the way. Misunderstanding, misunderstanding, who would have thought that things would develop to the point where they are now? I am afraid that everyone who persuades me to advance also has this misunderstanding of me. I really have no other meaning, please don’t mention this matter again. ”
Civil and military officials repeatedly tried to persuade him to join, but Li Siyuan refused. It's standard procedure.
Yuan Xingqin planned to flee to the river and seek refuge with Li Cunba, the governor of the National Guard Army in the river. His troops were also getting smaller and smaller. They just approached the Hezhong border (Pinglu County), and there were only a few cavalry left. So they were captured by the people and sent to the county magistrate Pei Jin, who turned them over to Guo. Shi Tan, the governor of the state, cut off Yuan Xingqin's feet, put them in a prison cart, and sent them to Luoyang to report his merits and receive rewards.
After Li Siyuan saw Yuan Xingqin, he angrily scolded him for sowing discord and stirring up trouble. He was especially resentful of his indiscriminate killing of innocent people and his eldest son Li Congshen, so he asked: "Why did my son fail you?"
Yuan Xingqin looked at him with angry eyes and retorted: "Why did the late emperor fail you?"
In the end, Li Siyuan beheaded Yuan Xingqin in public.
With the death of Yuan Xingqin, we can finally take a breath and look back at this "Xiao Qiang Disaster". From the Beizhou mutiny to Li Cunxu's death, there was only less than two months, and Li Siyuan was reborn. The process of transformation from a courtier to an emperor. Although this process lasted a short time, it was full of fog and had too many incredible beginnings. Like all coups, many clues were artificially destroyed, many stories were revised, and many truths were buried.
Unfortunately, only these modified ones have been circulated in the world. Even if some parts are obviously unreasonable or contradictory, we can only speculate and it is difficult to confirm or falsify.
Was Li Siyuan really forced to rebel?
He has the potential to be forced to rebel. He was the leader of Li Cunxu's "four major evils" (Li Siyuan, Guo Chongtao, Zhu Youqian, Kang Yanxiao) due to his great achievements. He also offended the eunuchs because of his loyalty and uprightness, and the eunuchs continued to slander and harm him... This is the mainstream history - that is, he was Revised historical narrative.
At that time, Li Siyuan went to the Hajj and was placed under house arrest in the capital. As long as Li Cunxu looked at him, Li Siyuan's body was elsewhere in minutes. Guo Chongtao also strongly recommended Li Cunxu to do this before entering Shu. However, Li Cunxu did not harm them. Looking at what happened to Guo Chongtao and Zhu Youqian, could it be that Li Cunxu cared about his brotherhood? How to explain Li Cunyi's death? My biological brother killed me, but my godbrother couldn't bear to harm me?
It would be unconvincing to say that Li Cunxu was not suspicious of Li Siyuan. Then...there will be another explanation: Li Siyuan is not that upright and loyal, and his relationship with eunuchs, actors, Empress Liu and other forces may not be so unfair. rapport.
The biggest question is still about Yuan Xingqin. Looking at "Mingzong's entry into Wei" to "Mingzong's entry into Luo", Yuan Xingqin's actions are really a spectacle of human confusion. It seems that Yuan Xingqin single-handedly forced Li Siyuan to rebel.
In this regard, Li Siyuan's followers explained that Yuan Xingqin was ordered to conquer the Weizhou rebels Zhao Zaili and others, but the long battle failed. After changing the commander-in-chief to Li Siyuan, Yuan Xingqin therefore framed Li Siyuan to alleviate his own responsibility for the defeat.
After the misunderstanding occurred, Yuan Xingqin cut off contact between Li Siyuan and the court, and even killed Li Siyuan's eldest son Li Congshen to force Li Cunxu to fight to the end and never compromise.
Even when Li Cunxu made it clear that he believed Li Siyuan would not rebel, and made sure to let Li Siyuan know that he believed he would not rebel, Yuan Xingqin still ignored the imperial edict, just to make things difficult for Li Siyuan.
What hatred, what resentment?
