However, Cui Xie likes to talk nonsense and talk nonsense, which is very unrealistic and only lives up to his name.
A false name is also a "name". Ren Wan recommended Li Qi, and An Zhongjiao's party wanted to attack Ren Wan, so they sacrificed Cui Xie. Two rows of people argued endlessly in front of Li Siyuan.
Ren Wan said: Li Qi is very talented and learned.
Kong Xun said: Li Qi is indeed talented, but has moral problems (not without art, but not honest).
Ren Wan said: Cui Xie's reputation is too great. I don't know a few people named Douda, so he is nicknamed "Wuzi Monument". My knowledge is only mediocre and I have been ridiculed by the world. How can I use an illiterate as prime minister again?
Li Siyuan mediated and smoothed things over, saying, let's say no more Li Qi, no more Cui Xie, or let Comrade Wei Su, the governor of Yizhou, work harder? Wei Su has a good reputation and treated me well before. If Wei Su is not qualified (mayor to be promoted to prime minister), then Feng Dao can, right? Feng Daoshi Zhuang Zong is the secretary-general. He has outstanding talents and noble moral character. He has both ability and political integrity and qualifications. I think he can be the prime minister.
After the dynasty was dismissed, Kong Xun came out and said angrily to the people around him: "One of the major events in the world is left to his own devices, and the other is left to his own devices. Who has the final say in the country? I leave my words here today - unless Cui Cui Xie died suddenly, otherwise the prime minister must be Cui Xie! It won’t be easy for anyone to come, I said so!”
An Zhongjie went to Ren Wan privately and said, "Now that we are short of a prime minister, how about letting Cui Xie take over?"
Ren Wan did not give any face, and said: "Li Qi is rich in knowledge and talent, and is a hundred times more powerful than Cui Xie! If you abandon Li Qi and use Cui Xie, it is equivalent to abandoning emerald agate and using donkey dung eggs!"
An Zhongjie smiled "haha" but did not insist.
However, in order to prevent himself from being overturned and slapped in the face, Kong Xun worked actively, and finally made Cui Xie the prime minister.
After Cui Xie became prime minister, all his notes and memorials were ghostwritten by gunmen. He lived up to Ren Wan's metaphor of "donkey dung and egg".
According to records, one time, after work, Li Siyuan asked Feng Dao: "Is Lu Zhi still so fond of drinking recently?"
Feng Dao replied: "Lu Zhi came to my home as a guest a few days ago, and he did drink a lot of wine. I advised him to drink less. Drinking, like doing things, must be done within a certain limit. If it exceeds the limit, he will make mistakes."
Cui Xie was afraid of being treated as a mute by others, so he quickly interjected: "Otherwise, wine is food, the more you drink, the younger you become; wine is father, food is mother, drinking to death is better than being shot."
Everyone at the scene couldn't help but laugh, laughing at his superficiality and crudeness. What should the Prime Minister of the Empire say?
In An Chongjie's layout, the division of power was also his painstaking effort. Li Siyuan was illiterate, so all the memorials were given to An Chongjie, who read them to him. An Zhongjie's knowledge was about the same as that of Li Siyuan, and helping the emperor read memorials was an extremely dangerous job. So, An Chongjie thought of a way to kill two birds with one stone.
One day, An Zhongjiao reported to Li Siyuan, saying that although he was sincere and loyal, his level was limited. He asked the emperor to follow the example of the sages of the Tang Dynasty and set up ministers, ministers, etc., that is, let knowledgeable people do this work.
Therefore, Li Siyuan established the "Duanming Palace Bachelor" and appointed Feng Dao and Zhao Feng as Duanming Palace Bachelors. There are also records saying that it was Kong Xun's suggestion.
In short, the privy envoys (An Zhongjie and Kong Xun) proposed to set up Duanming Palace bachelors, which was equivalent to dividing the power of the prime minister and reducing his own responsibilities at the same time.
The above is the early political struggle of Li Siyuan led by An Zhongjie. It can also be seen as Li Siyuan being in the dilemma of weak claims. An Zhongjie came forward to organize the situation. With the help of Kong Xun and others, Li Siyuan completed the core power. reintegration and redistribution of political resources. Note that this is only the early stage of the struggle in the Li Siyuan era. In the later period, An Zhongjie lost power and there was a new round of brutal struggle.
At this point, Li Siyuan has basically completed an important part of proclaiming himself emperor - "punishing evil", which can be simply summarized in one word, kill. Kill those who must be killed (Yuan Xingqin), kill those who should be killed (Kong Qian, Duan Ning, Wen Tao, etc.), kill those who should not be killed but must be killed (princes), kill those who do not want to kill but cannot People who do not kill (Dulu Ge, Wei Shuo, etc.).
Along with the bloody political struggle, Li Siyuan also implemented a series of benevolent policies that were praised by everyone. If "punishing evil" is based on killing, then the next measures are based on "life".
2. The virtue of living well
1. Release the maid
When Li Siyuan came to Luoyang, there were still more than a thousand harem beauties left by Li Cunxu in the palace. The eunuch in charge of the harem selected hundreds of young and beautiful women and presented them to Li Siyuan.
Unexpectedly, Li Siyuan became furious and scolded: "What do I want them to do?"
The eunuch said: "The affairs of the palace cannot be run without them..."
Li Siyuan said: "To manage the affairs of the palace, you must have rich work experience. Look at them, they are so young, how can they understand?" So he re-selected a group of older palace ladies and kept them in the palace, and the remaining All were released from the palace and returned to their relatives. If they were homeless, they could follow their own wishes and marry an honest man. The court would be responsible for helping them find a successor.
The beauties from the former Wang Zongyan's harem sent from Bashu were also ordered to return to their own flesh and blood.
One of the reasons why Li Siyuan is praised is that he released the maids of the previous dynasty and did not indulge in female lust.
Of course, Li Siyuan did work hard and was not a womanizer, but we should also know two things clearly: 1. When Li Siyuan came to the throne, he was already in his sixties, a 60-year-old man. Generally speaking, he has passed the golden age of indulging in wine and sex. ; 2. Release a large number of palace ladies, mainly to reduce financial expenses. You must know that feeding more than a thousand beauties is a big expense.
2. Reduce actors, etc.
Li Cunxu indulged in drinking and debauchery, doted on courtiers, and eunuchs, and the government spent huge amounts of money. After releasing the palace maids, Li Siyuan still felt that it was necessary to further reduce the expenditure in this area, so he issued an edict: as appropriate, he would retain one hundred palace ladies, thirty eunuchs, one hundred court officials, twenty staff of the Eagle Dog House, and five royal chefs. Ten, and any extra ones will be repatriated, and all the nominal institutions in the palace will be abolished.
The above establishments can be said to be difficult and simple in all dynasties.
It is undeniable that Li Siyuan has escaped from low-level taste, but don't ignore another reason for his operation: saving money.
3. Recognition and sealing
Additional compensation will be provided to An Jinquan and others who contributed to the Taiyuan Defense War ten years ago, in recognition of their outstanding contributions in the Taiyuan Defense War.
Firstly, it can set the record straight, and secondly, it can win over a wave of supporters, such as An Shentong (nephew of An Jinquan) who supported Li Siyuan as emperor.
4. Redress the injustice
Rehabilitate Guo Chongtao and Zhu Youqian. The official titles of the two men were restored, their confiscated property was returned, and the bodies of Guo Chongtao and his son were allowed to be transported back to their hometown for proper burial.
The essence of the previous measure is the same. To publicize its goodness is to highlight Li Cunxu's mistakes. What is worth pondering is that Li Siyuan did not vindicate Kang Yanxiao.
Because Kang Yanxiao really rebelled, while Guo Chongtao and Zhu Youqian were killed without guilt. Public opinion and public sentiment were all aggrieved for Guo Chongtao and Zhu Youqian, but no one felt sorry for Kang Yanxiao. Li Siyuan could not blame Kang Yanxiao for his filial piety.
