The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 3 A Saint Should Love Himself

"So, this turmoil started from the struggle for power between the Ximen and Yang families."

At dawn, in the deep palace of Zi Ting Yuan, Saint Li put down the bowl of water he had drunk, wiped his mouth, and said.

"You all..." The black-veiled imperial concubine Zhao, who came from a famous family, knelt on the futon. It was so cold that she couldn't speak clearly. "In fact, no one inside or outside the palace thought that Yang Fugong would rebel, and he had no reason to rebel. The Yang family has protected the emperors for generations, and it was his brother's expeditions to the east and west that put down the nest of thieves... But later, Tian Lingzi was driven away, and the eunuchs lost their authority, and the previous fragmented situation returned. Among them, the Ximen family has been entrenched in the palace for 150 years since Lingwu, and their power is extremely strong. The late emperor hated the Ximen brothers, so he pushed Yang Fugong to share power with them. Yang Fugong is on good terms with Li Keyong, so the Ximen family dare not act rashly..."

With such a secret, Li Ye didn't care whether he would appear to be mentally retarded, and asked tentatively: "Then I was wrong to listen to Ximen's words and demote Yang Fugong?"

"This..." Zhao paused. It was indeed wrong, but it would be rude to tell the king directly whether he was right or wrong.

"As for being disgraced, isn't tonight enough? Anyway, we've already made a fool of ourselves, you may speak freely." On the other side, several concubines saw that the saint was deep in thought and shameless...so they simply added to the discussion one after another.

It turns out that after the mid-Tang Dynasty, eunuchs also formed aristocratic families, which were passed down from generation to generation. For example, the outstanding ones such as Ximen and Yang firmly occupied the important military and political positions such as Privy Councilor, Military Commissioner, and Lieutenant of the Two Armies, and were called the Four Nobles of the Forbidden City. Power is limited. When one party gains power, the power of other parties will decrease. After Tian Lingzi was expelled, Yang Fugong took over.

After the death of the previous emperor, Yang Fugong appointed a new emperor and took over the military and political power, just like a second emperor. The other eunuchs were naturally jealous and secretly plotted against him. Yang Fugong became more and more arrogant, and he made rewards and punishments without following the system, eliminated dissidents at home, and formed vassal states outside. The emperor's uncle offended him and died suddenly in the river. For political enemies who were leaving their posts, he let thieves rob them on the way and robbed all their money. A prime minister, an old man in his twilight years, was left to sleep in the open and walk home. Everyone who heard about it was angry.

The emperor was treated as if he were nothing, and he even walked past the emperor in a sedan chair in the palace. After a long time, the previous incarnation could not stand it anymore, so he found a corner where no one was around to complain to the ministers. When Yang found out, he was scolded again. The emperor was scolded by his servants, and his previous incarnation was a stubborn person who could not stand being wronged, so he became more and more angry. The contradiction undoubtedly gave those with ulterior motives an opportunity to fan the flames. A few days ago, the Ximen brothers, who had been watching for a long time, went to the emperor together with the eunuchs and said they could help get rid of this guy. You are bold to issue the edict, and we will support you. Yang has soldiers, don’t we have any!

The predecessor was immediately tempted, but the tens of thousands of troops under his command were not vegetarians, so he took a step back and let Yang Fugong go to Fengxiang to supervise the army. If the eunuchs left the palace, it would be like giving up half of their lives. How could Yang agree? Thinking about it, he worked day and night for the country and never had a day off, and he was the emperor himself...

As a result, Yang was immediately furious at being backstabbed, and then killed the messenger who brought the imperial edict, publicly embarrassing the emperor. No one would know if someone cursed the emperor in the palace, but if someone did something like this in such an occasion, who wouldn't point fingers at him?

In other words, the demotion of Yang by his predecessor was the fuse for his sudden attack tonight.

So the previous question has an answer - demoting Yang was a major political mistake.

The more Li Ye listened, the clearer it became, and he felt lucky... You have to know that he asked these concubines because there was no one else to ask, and he thought of giving it a try, but he didn't expect to gain such a reward. These concubines were of low status, and it was not easy for them to be watched like the emperor. They often got more secrets and sometimes looked at things more comprehensively. As for what Li Ye gained?
It was precisely during the Ximen family's struggle for power.

The trigger for Yang's rebellion was resentment that the emperor didn't see it, but he must have known that if no one backed him up, how could the puppet emperor have the courage to "rebel"? Therefore, Yang's core intention tonight was obvious - to kill Ximen's people, this was the fundamental reason.

Otherwise, why did Yang Fugong only put him under house arrest here instead of abolishing him directly? Most likely, it was because he was blocked from entering, so he could only ask his lackeys to help him prevent Li Ye from falling into the hands of others. Thinking of this, Li Ye knew that his life was temporarily saved.

Unexpectedly, just when he was breathing a sigh of relief, several female imperial concubines broke the news again.

"By now, if nothing unexpected happens, the Yang family should have been fighting with the Ximen family and others in various places in Chang'an. We just need to wait until dawn to decide the winner. If the Ximen family wins, they will become the second Yang family, and it may be the same as the story of the previous generation. If they lose, the situation will be very urgent."

Li Ye was speechless. Could it be that the best outcome would be for other eunuchs to use him as a punching bag?
"unless……"

"Unless what?" Li Ye asked.

He was in low spirits and wiped away her tears. "Unless Li Shunjie enters the palace to protect the emperor. He is Yang's adopted son. Fortunately, the emperor secretly plotted to win his heart early. Now, he has offended Yang and is no longer favored by Ximen. The only person he can rely on is the emperor."

"Where is he?"

"It is said that Yang Fugong wanted to enter the Yanxi Gate, and he should stop the rebel army here. But..." The woman in black veil took over the conversation, haggard and helpless: "But, he is a warrior. Four years ago, the late emperor went to Fengxiang in the west, and he fought with the Qi army, and the rebel army once broke into the palace. He was also bloodthirsty, and many of his subordinates were killed. When he entered and left the court, he was surrounded by soldiers and armor, and he entered the palace with swords and shoes, but he did not call himself a minister when reporting to the emperor."

They looked at each other in silence, and Li Ye was completely helpless.

To cheer up, we need respectful ministers as brothers, but in the poor environment of the late Tang Dynasty, are there still honest people?
How can this country be revived?

"Whoosh!" Li Ye suddenly heard some buzzing sounds mixed in with the sound of rain, like the sound of a sharp arrow breaking through the air.

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!" Several arrows hit the window and drilled deep inside before consuming all their kinetic energy.

Outside the Daming Palace, there were murders everywhere, and arrows even shot into the palace and hit the Purple Courtyard where the emperor was imprisoned. Several concubines were so scared that their faces turned pale, and they almost thought that another bloody coup was going to happen.

"The bandits want to kill the emperor, protect him!" Dense footsteps were heard, and the sounds of swords and bows were drawn. Li Ye was just about to listen carefully to what was going on, but then there was a deafening shout of killing. It was unknown which troop had started fighting with the Shence Army guarding him.

"Imperial edict to punish the traitorous ministers! Yang Fugong is doomed!"

"Whoever enters the Purple Courtyard first and captures the Saint will be rewarded with a title of nobility by the imperial court!"

Li Ye felt dizzy. Why were they trying to kidnap him again?
……

Outside the Yanxi Gate, Yang Shouzhen took the lead, turned around and rushed into the palace, followed by a large group of warriors who were fighting and retreating.

Ugh!
Yang Shouzhen was filled with remorse, as he thought that the Tianwei Army had less than 10,000 soldiers and Li Shunjie did not reward them enough, so they would definitely not be his match.

Unexpectedly, Ximen Chongsui and his eunuchs also sent troops to help in the battle and joined hands to oppose his adoptive father!

"The Tianwei Army is chasing us, let's go!" the guard caught up and said anxiously.

"Incompetent!" Yang Shouzhen scolded, "You all wear fine clothes and ride fine horses, and receive rewards several times higher than others, but you still can't take down Li Shunjie. What's the point of your foster father raising you? What's the point! You are just a bunch of rotten fish and shrimps! How can we report to the emperor now?"

The guards did not answer, but just hugged Yang Shouzhen and fled for their lives.

This time, Yang Shouren led the troops to besiege the palace with great confidence, but in the end, the flowers were gone and the spring was gone. How could Yang Shouren dare to see Yang Fugong again? "Go to Huyi!"

At Zitingyuan, the Shen Ce Army guarding this place barely held out for a while, but after seeing the eunuchs running away, they also dispersed. Li Shunjie stopped at the corridor with a long spear in hand and asked, "How is the Saint?"

"They are frozen, frightened, and dizzy. Concubine Shu and others are crying inside, very sad." The staff said, "I think the public sentiment is turbulent, and the royal family is suffering. It is not appropriate to let the emperor go to war again. Just provide food and clothing to comfort the emperor, which is the way of a minister."

"What the hell are you talking about! I fought off the bandits, so I'm not a minister?" Li Shunjie pretended not to hear and asked, "Where is the prime minister?"

"The left and right Shen Ce armies heard about the battle at Yanxi Gate and wanted to start a rebellion. They were gathering at Kaiyuan Gate and would go out to plunder the warehouses of Yanzi, Daying, and Feixian at dawn. The old thief sent messengers to appease them, but they refused to listen. Liu Chongwang, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, has already rushed to quell the rebellion, but there is no news about other prime ministers."

"and then?"

"I don't know. I'm afraid he was killed by the rebels."

"Ignore it!" Li Shunjie threw the cleaned spear to his personal guard and looked at the ruined palace where the saint was imprisoned: "Now that the rebel army is defeated, release the saint. I want to see the emperor and ask him to issue an edict to deprive the old villain of his official position and call on all officials and people to root out the evil."

Bang bang bang!
The doors and windows were broken open in no time. The leading soldier violently kicked the door open, and a group of warriors as ferocious as wolves and tigers rushed in.

“This is the saint!”

"My men have defeated the bandits, will the emperor give you a reward?"

"Tsk, the saint's concubines are so beautiful. I wonder what it feels like to play with them."

"Greetings, Your Majesty, hahaha!"

The soldiers looked at the emperor's family locked in the corner and whispered to each other with smiles.

The emperor's face turned pale and blue when he was told by a group of rough men that his wife was very smooth in front of him.

The black-veiled woman's face tightened, and she walked up to Li Ye holding the broken knife and said to the soldiers, "Where is your military envoy now?"

"I'm here, who are you?" The warriors made way for Li Shunjie to come out.

"Zichen Palace's Secretary Yan Zhao."

Zhao bowed and said, "The military envoy is here to protect the emperor. That's good. Yang Fugong and Ximen Chongsui are the ones who specialize in military power and are obsessed with power. They attack and kill each other, and they take the emperor as a hostage. Now that the Yang family has been defeated, the other eunuchs are still aggressive. I still ask the military envoy to send troops. If you can eliminate this great harm for the country, it will be a blessing for the country. The military envoy has nothing to report, and the officials will..."

She paused and glanced at the emperor.

Li Ye understood and nodded his head, promising: "After the matter is done, I will grant you any request you may have."

"I don't mean that!"

Li Shunjie interrupted with a wave of his hand, impatiently saying: "The old thief has harmed me, and now I just want to kill his whole family! Does the saint have a scholar by his side? Quickly draft an edict and let me mobilize the troops to fight him. The old thief's army is in turmoil, and a hasty attack will fail! Wait until his head is hung at the gate of the country, and the eunuchs will be afraid."

The woman in black veil shook her head helplessly when she heard this, and Li Ye was stunned and speechless.

I thought a "loyal minister" had come to restore order, but who would have thought that he would give orders to the emperor instead...

"What if we can't defeat them?" In silence, Zhao said thoughtfully: "Although Yang has defeated the Yanxi Clan, the foundation is still there."

"Since I have already fought back, why should I just sit back?" Li Shunjie asked with eyes wide open, his voice resonating through the building: "Today, there are only ministers, not thieves. Otherwise, the old dog will recover, gather troops and attack me, and I will be dead in no time. Where will I stay then? If the eunuchs use their power to bully me, who will come to help me?"

"If the sage does not grant me a title, I will go to the Southern Court to ask the Prime Minister."

After finishing the call, he turned and left without waiting for a reply, holding a knife and a stick, leaving Li Ye confused.

"We, the ministers, are killing the bandits, and the consequences are unknown. A sage should take care of himself." The aide warned Li Shunjie and then left.

……

Li Ye looked solemn.

The historian said: Eunuchs participated in politics only in the Han, Tang and Ming dynasties. During the Han dynasty, the young ruler and the old servants formed an alliance to seize power. During the Ming dynasty, the emperor was insatiable in his desire to dominate the world, but the people did not support him, and the ruler and his ministers were alienated, so he had no choice but to use eunuchs. During the Tang dynasty, the emperor was powerful, and he controlled the military and threatened the world.

——"On Reading Tang History in Shiquge"

"The eunuch politics of the Tang Dynasty is unimaginable. After the middle Tang Dynasty, eunuchs were always divided into two or more factions, fighting and killing each other. This was determined by the system and was also influenced by the national conditions where military men were domineering and untrustworthy. However, in terms of controlling the emperor, manipulating military and political affairs, and cracking down on the power of the vassal states, the eunuchs maintained a high degree of consistency. Their power was even inherited from generation to generation, forming a complex group. This forced the eunuchs of the Tang Dynasty to face a serious problem: if they lost power, they would lose everything. Therefore, in times of crisis, eunuchs needed to ensure the continuation of imperial power in order to continue the vested rights of the family. In the face of the separatist regimes, frequent rebellions, and the precarious situation of the country, the rulers also had to rely on eunuchs to protect themselves. This deformed relationship further fueled the arrogance of the eunuchs. So overall, their power changed inversely with the decline of the Tang Dynasty's rule, and their cruelty reached its limit in the late Tang Dynasty."

——"A Study on the Power of Eunuchs in the Middle and Late Tang Dynasty"

"The failed coup on the night of September 15, the second year of Dashun made the new rulers of the Tang Dynasty realize that eunuchs are hateful, but with their power, the central authority can still be guaranteed. Under the premise of not offending eunuchs, the emperor's life will not be threatened. However, the brutal atmosphere formed by the long-term military uprising has directly and greatly shaken the Tang Dynasty's regime. The Jiedushi was coerced by the lower-level soldiers, and if he made a mistake, he would lose his life. The emperor was coerced by the Jiedushi, and he would raise troops to punish him if his orders were slightly not to his liking; the soldiers sought the Jiedushi to satisfy their own desires, and the Jiedushi sought the court to satisfy the soldiers' desires. The hearts of the soldiers are becoming more and more arrogant. When the whole society exists, serves, and wraps up the soldiers, it is destined that the regime will be destroyed by the soldiers. The world is in chaos, and when the ministers are full, the king will be exhausted."

——Reflections on the Rise and Fall of the Tang Dynasty

(End of this chapter)