【Li Siyuan proclaims himself emperor 2】
On April 16, Li Siyuan appointed Kong Xun as Privy Envoy. Kong Xun immediately took the lead with Huo Yanwei and others in organizing Li Siyuan's accession to the throne.
Kong Xun and Huo Yanwei believed that the Tang Dynasty had exhausted its power and should change its name to a new empire.
Therefore, Li Siyuan widely solicited opinions on the new country name, "Tell me, what country name should we choose?"
There was a lot of discussion among the ministers, and the voice advocating changing the country's title has always been the mainstream. Li Siyuan was confused and couldn't make up his mind.
However, Li Qi, the Minister of Civil Affairs, corrected this dangerous idea in time.
Taking Datang as the country's name was the collective wisdom of the Hedong Group and the political cornerstone of the Later Tang Empire. The late emperor was originally from Shatuo. He was given the surname Li by the Li Tang royal family due to his merits, and was included in the royal family's clan. He became a member of the Li Tang dynasty. Although they had nothing to do with Li Yuan and Li Shimin, they still inherited The mantle of the Li Tang royal family is the continuation of the Tang Dynasty and the revival of the Tang Dynasty, repairing the damage caused to the empire by the red thieves and puppet Liang. This is an important political legacy. How can it be abandoned so easily?
"Your Majesty, you are also a member of the Li Tang clan. You have assisted three generations of the Li family (Li Guochang, Li Keyong, and Li Cunxu). Now you are also using the excuse of going to the country to fight against the country. Once you change the country's name, it will be equivalent to giving up the name of the royal family. It would be foolish to give up decades of conquests! And once you draw a clear line with the Li family, then the late emperor and you will be passers-by. How will the late emperor's coffin be buried? What is the legal basis of your rule?"
After some hard words, Li Siyuan finally got the idea. It turns out that these "Hour Liang Gang" do not want to see the continuation of the Tang Dynasty, because the continuation of the Tang Dynasty is evidence of the illegal existence of the Hou Liang regime, and it is also a historical stain that they cannot get rid of and are unwilling to face, so they want to take the opportunity of changing the country's name. Whitewash Houliang and yourself.
So Li Siyuan made a famous speech clarifying his attitude:
"When I was 13 years old, I followed Xianzu (Li Guochang) and made great achievements. Xianzu liked me very much and treated me as his own son. Later, I assisted Emperor Wu (Li Keyong) for nearly thirty years and was adopted as a military commander. Adopted son; and later followed the late emperor (Li Cunxu) for nearly twenty years... I participated in the research and formulation of important political policies of the Hedong Group and all important wars. Li Keyong's foundation is my foundation; Li Keyong's foundation The world is my world. How can there be any reason to separate two countries? I have decided not to change the name of the country, it will still be called Tang!"
Li Siyuan put his resume on the table. Who would be dissatisfied? I am the oldest entrepreneurial veteran of the Hedong Group. I want to be ranked second. No one dares to be ranked first.
In terms of length of service, nearly fifty years; in terms of background, I am the adopted son of Li Keyong; in terms of qualifications, I have been involved in all the decisions and battles of the Hedong Group since its founding in Taiyuan; in terms of reputation, I have long been in charge The commander-in-chief of the front army needs experience and connections...
In a word, who else should I choose as the new emperor?
Li Qi suggested that according to the practice of this dynasty (Tang Dynasty), Ruizong, Wenzong, and Wuzong were all brothers, so Li Siyuan should follow the etiquette of crown prince succession and assume the throne as emperor in front of Li Cunxu's coffin.
Li Siyuan approved.
On April 20, Li Siyuan wore zhansheng (the heaviest mourning dress among the five, made of the coarsest linen without hems, indicating that he was in extreme grief), and proclaimed himself emperor in front of Li Cunxu's coffin. All civil and military officials were present in plain clothes.
After the mourning was over, Li Siyuan changed into the emperor's attire and ascended to the Golden Palace. The civil and military officials also put on festive attire and presented edicts of support to congratulate Li Siyuan on his new job.
On April 28, Li Siyuan issued an edict to change the Yuan Dynasty to amnesty. The fourth year of Tongguang was changed to the first year of Tiancheng.
A large number of "Li Shao Support Comrade Li Siyuan and resolutely surround the new generation leadership system with Comrade Li Siyuan as the core.
For example, Li Shaozhen (Huo Yanwei), Li Shaoqiong (Chang Congjian), Li Shaoying (Fang Zhiwen), Li Shaoqian (Wang Yanqiu), Li Shaoqi (Xia Luqi), Li Shaoneng (Mi Junli), and the eunuch Li Shaohong took the initiative more than ten days ago I requested that my original name be restored to Ma Shaohong.
Li Shaobin later requested to change his original name to Zhao Xingshi, and Li Siyuan specially gave him the new name "Zhao Dejun" to show his favor.
Li Siyuan's ascension to the throne and proclaimed himself emperor only clarified the issue of the smooth transition of supreme power, making Li Siyuan politically justifiable. However, the political forces of all parties still need to be balanced, especially the pressing economic issues that still need to be resolved. Proclaiming himself emperor is only the first step in a long march of thousands of miles.
In the following operations, political issues and economic issues are closely integrated, so we no longer strictly distinguish them, but present them as a platter. What needs to be stated is that, in order to take care of the story, the previous and following narratives may not follow the chronological order. Some operations actually occurred before the proclaimed emperor.
1. Punish evil
1. Kill Kong Qian
The envoy Kong Qian was Li Cunxu's most powerful imperial cash machine. Since the Hedong Group acquired Weibo, first to supply military supplies and then to satisfy Li Cunxu's extravagant spending, Kong Qian had levied exorbitant amounts of money first in Heshuo and then across the country. They set up clever names, impose excessive taxes, and plunder people's wealth. They also nakedly plunder people's wealth by manipulating exchange rates, shearing sheep, and other means, causing public resentment to boil.
On April 14, Li Siyuan announced the charges against Kong Qian and decreed:
"Kong Qian...invaded thousands of people and deceived him in countless ways. As a result, all living beings were devastated, soldiers were hungry and cold, and the city became the devastation of the whole world, which is the most debilitating disease in the world..."
As analyzed above, everything Kong Qian did was hinted and connived by Li Cunxu. In terms of collecting money, Kong Qian openly defied the decree more than once, giving Li Cunxu the reputation of "caring for the people's strength" and "caring for the people's sentiments", creating the persona of Li Cunxu as a wise king and a saint, while silently taking the blame for the common people. This was a double act of tacit understanding between him and Li Cunxu, just like An Chongjie resisted the decree and killed Li Cunxu's family members.
Kong Qian successfully attracted the anger of the soldiers and civilians to himself, and the overwhelming curses finally killed him.
Li Siyuan ordered: behead Kong Qian, just kill him, and his family will forgive him; abolish the excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes established by Kong Qian, stop all unreasonable collection regulations; confiscate all family properties and confiscate them.
Killing Kong Qian calmed the public anger and temporarily stabilized the army; Kong Qian was just Li Cunxu's personal accountant and contained very little political energy. There was no need to worry about his family or relatives and friends causing trouble, so there was no need to kill the whole family and just punish him. Killing Kong Qian alone and pardoning his family also demonstrated Li Siyuan's kindness and generosity; the other most important sentence was the last sentence: confiscation of all family properties.
While gaining political support, it can also solve economic problems incidentally. Heshen fell and Jiaqing was full.
