subvert the late Tang Dynasty

So Zhu Zhen sat in Xuzhou, and Zhu Wen went to the court to ask for the appointment of Zhu Zhen as the governor of the Probation Army.To put it bluntly, Zhu Wen's greeting to the imperial court is to save the imperial court's face. Otherwise, the current feudal towns are attacking each other, whoever takes down who belongs to them, and the big bosses in Chang'an don't have the slightest temper if they don't greet the imperial court. The gangsters in North Korea and China can control nothing more than Chang'an and nearby Huazhou, Tongzhou and other places.

But the current emperor Tang Zhaozong Li Ye didn't think so. He had just ascended the throne not long ago and was preparing to make a big splash and start a career.To be honest, Li Ye's intentions are good, and his personal talent is not to be said. It's a pity that he was born at an untimely time.If he had been born in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, he might have been able to become a wise emperor of the Zhongxing Tang Dynasty, but it is a pity that he was born in this end of the world. In this era when the imperial power does not go abroad, his fate can only be a tragedy.

The emperor's ascension to the throne is a big event. Not long after he ascends the throne, there will be a large-scale activity of offering sacrifices to the heavens.Worshiping the sky is a big event, and preparations must be made a month or so in advance, including certain rules about what kind of clothes people will wear.

But the difference this time is that the clothes Li Ye decreed for the eunuchs such as the Shence Army lieutenant and the left and right privy envoys are all legal clothes, that is, crown clothes and swords, which are the same as the court ministers of Chinese and military.Li Ye's special care for the eunuchs can be regarded as a great gift to the eunuchs, but this has never happened before. Of course, the ministers disagreed. The officials and others joined the petition, wanting Li Ye to take back his order, but Li Ye just said indifferently: "Although what you say is reasonable, you have the right to do things. Don't get involved with these little things and hinder the great gift!"

Seeing that Li Ye was determined, there was nothing they could do. Although Li Ye could not control those feudal towns, he was still the emperor in Chang'an, and these ministers still had to look at his face.But they didn't know that Li Ye, the emperor, was supported by Yang Fugong. Yang Fugong replaced Tian Lingzi as the lieutenant of the Shence Army and was in charge of the imperial army. Chang'an and the surrounding imperial army were under his control, including the guards of the imperial city. .

Yang Fugong also served as a privy envoy, and he was the authentic head of the eunuch. He was originally the cousin of Yang Fuguang, who had made great contributions during the Huangchao Rebellion, and was himself a powerful figure among the eunuchs. , Yang Fugong was suppressed by Tian Lingzi until Tian Lingzi lost power, and Yang Fugong was called up by Tang Xizong.

Yang Fugong is indeed capable, and his wrists are also strong. He relies on Yang Shouliang, the adopted son of his cousin Yang Fuguang who is serving as Jiedu envoy in Shannan West Road, and his adopted sons Yang Shouli, envoy of Tianwei Army, Yang Shouxin, envoy of Yushan Army, Yang Shouzhen, envoy of Dragon Sword Army, etc. , the combination of internal and external, it can be said that the power is overwhelming.In addition to his support for Li Ye, Li Ye of course had to reciprocate when he ascended the throne. The smart Li Ye knew that this was an indispensable step. In fact, he also wanted to see how Yang Fugong was and whether he was a loyal minister.Li Ye thought that if Yang Fugong was really a loyal minister, he should refuse, but to Li Ye's disappointment, Yang Fugong didn't intend to refuse at all.

During the grand sacrifice ceremony to heaven, Yang Fugong was dressed in a fine dress and stood with the ministers of civil and military affairs. He was clearly a minister of power. Where could there be a shadow of an eunuch?Li Ye presided over the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven with a solemn expression. When he got off the altar, all the civil and military personnel kowtowed collectively. Li Ye inadvertently glanced at Yang Fugong who was kneeling on the ground, and a trace of hatred flashed unconsciously in his eyes.

At this moment Li Ye knew that Yang Fugong was the same as Tian Lingzi, and his desire for power was even stronger than Tian Lingzi.

A few days later, one afternoon, Li Ye called Yang Fugong to chat alone, and asked Yang Fugong, whether intentionally or not, "I heard that Aiqing raised many godsons, all of whom are brave generals in the three armies. I am so happy and congratulated. If you want to raise a few brave generals who are good at fighting, Yang Aiqing will find some good seedlings for me, and I will adopt them as adopted sons, at worst, I will give them the surname Li."

Yang Fugong knelt down as soon as his legs softened. He knew it was Li Ye who was beating himself up, reminding himself not to be too arrogant, he, the emperor, was still watching.

Who is Yang Fugong?The person who can survive all kinds of power struggles around the emperor, and finally becomes the highest eunuch in the Shence Army lieutenant is the best among smart people. Of course, he knows what the end of being suspected by the emperor is.Tian Lingzi was so beautiful back then, didn't he also go to Xichuan to join Chen Jingxuan in despair after being suspected by the emperor?

Now Emperor Zhaozong appoints Prime Minister Wei Zhaodu as Xichuan Jiedu Envoy to lead the Western Expedition. Three armies, Bizhou Inspector Wang Jian, Dongchuan Jiedu Envoy Gu Yanlang, and Shannan Xidao Jiedu Envoy Yang Shouliang, attacked Xichuan. On the contrary, Wang Jian's army was as powerful as a broken bamboo. , Shan Xingzhang, the general who defeated Chen Jingxuan one after another, gained tens of thousands. After Shan Xingzhang retreated to Meizhou, he saw that things could not be done, and he even took refuge in Wang Jian.

It is only a matter of time before the city of Chengdu is destroyed. Once the city of Chengdu is destroyed, the brothers Chen Jingxuan and Tian Lingzi will undoubtedly die.If the emperor is really suspicious of him, his fate will not be much better than Tian Lingzi's. Although he has a few powerful godsons, although they have some prestige in the army, they are all generals who really have the strength to sit in command On the other side was Yang Shouliang, the adopted son of his cousin Yang Fuguang, the Jiedu envoy of Shannan Xidao.

If there is such a day, I'm afraid I can only rely on Yang Shouliang. Yang Shouliang has received great kindness from his cousin Yang Fuguang. Since Yang Fuguang's death, Yang Shouliang has treated Yang Fugong like a father. Although it is to repay Yang Fuguang's great kindness, But why is it not to take advantage of Yang Fugong's power in the court?

Yang Fugong didn't want to imitate Tian Lingzi, so when he saw the emperor getting angry, he immediately knelt down and said, "This old slave is convicted. In fact, this old slave is only thinking about the country. After all, Tian Lingzi's confidantes are many among the imperial guards stationed everywhere. In order to be able to suppress them well, the old slave had to do some necessary favors to win over some capable generals, and I don’t want the emperor to be suspicious, so please punish the old slave.”

Yang Fugong's words burst into tears, and he didn't know that he thought it was true at first glance, but who is Li Ye?Growing up in the imperial palace, a place full of intrigues and deceptions, how can you not see through such tricks?But if you see it through, you can see it through. After all, Yang Fugong is now in charge of the imperial army and has made great achievements in supporting him. Li Ye is not good at him, and immediately said: "Lieutenant Yang, let's live. In fact, that's what I said, and I didn't blame the Qing family. mean."

Yang Fugong heard that the emperor's tone eased a little, and he felt a little settled, but he was still a little uneasy, and his heart was up and down, after all, as a eunuch, although he was in charge of the imperial army, he could control the safety of the emperor, and he could even control the life and death of the emperor at any time.But Yang Fugong is a smart man. If this kind of thing is done, all the feudal towns in the world will definitely attack. They just find a reason to invade Chang'an, looting wantonly, and condemn themselves as a traitor. Don't talk about wealth Well, losing your head is a minor thing, maybe you will be Ling Chi, fighting for some immediate benefits, it's not worth it!

Yang Fugong is a very cautious person. He doesn't have too much ambition. To be a lieutenant in the Shence Army and a privy envoy is already a top eunuch for an eunuch.Is it possible to usurp the throne?I'm a eunuch, I have no heirs, and I'm already very old, what's the use of usurping the throne?It's better to enjoy the old age in peace and prosperity.

Yang Fugong said submissively: "The old slave knows that the emperor is a wise king, and wants to work hard to govern, but now the Tang Dynasty is no longer what it used to be. It is really easier said than done to rejuvenate the Tang Dynasty!"

Hearing Yang Fugong's words, Li Ye felt a little uncomfortable. After pondering for a long time, he still sighed and said: "Yang Zhongwei, pass on my oral order, and I have given Yang Shouli, the envoy of the mighty Tianwei Army, surnamed Li and named Shunjie, to serve as the commander of the Navy. Jiedushi..."

Although Yang Fugong didn't want the emperor to poach his own corner, after all, the emperor had a golden mouth, and Yang Fugong could only kneel down to accept the order. At this moment, Yang Fugong suddenly realized that no matter when, he would never become Tian Lingzi, and Tang Zhaozong would not It's not like Tang Xizong who is a monk who hits the clock for a day.This Tang Zhaozong Li Ye is determined to rejuvenate the Tang Dynasty!

Yang Fuguang thought well. He had thought about it for a long time. He just wanted to rejuvenate Datang, but it was not a matter of one or two sentences to actually do it. It would take a lifetime of hard work to achieve the goal!Even if you dedicate your whole life to it, it may not be possible to achieve it.

Li Ye is very clear about this point. Tang Xianzong Li Chun is an example. At that time, it was the middle Tang Dynasty, and the separatism of feudal towns was not as strong as it is now. Tang Xianzong worked hard to govern, enrich the country and strengthen the army, and promoted many talented generals. State" story is widely circulated.Later, Tang Xianzong pacified some feudal towns that dared to confront the imperial court. For a time, feudal towns from all walks of life paid tribute to the court one after another, creating a scene of peace and prosperity.But it was Tang Xianzong who rejuvenated the Tang Dynasty who reused eunuchs in his later years, but was killed by the eunuchs in the end.

Of course, Li Ye, who is the ruler of the Li Tang Dynasty, is very aware of these things, but at this time, he did not dare to force Yang Fugong too much. It is not impossible for one to die from a sudden illness. In the history of the Li Tang royal family, such things are not uncommon. The emperors killed by eunuchs are not one or two. Even the emperor's abolition is determined by the eunuchs. , not because of anything else, just because they control the violent machine of the Forbidden Army.

That's why Li Ye spoke kindly to Yang Fugong on the one hand, and on the other hand showed his kindness to the important generals of the Forbidden Army. He bestowed the name of Li Shunjie on Yang Shouli, the general of the Forbidden Army, and promoted him to Zhenhai Jiedushi. He knew that he couldn't remember this kind of thing, step by step, as long as he persisted, the day of Zhongxing Datang should not be far away.

But he still didn't understand that the current Li Tang was no longer under the control of their Li family. Zhen Haijun had changed hands several times since Zhou Bao's death. .Now Sun Ru has captured Runzhou and Changzhou again, and Yang Xingmi has also joined in. The three groups of people are fighting fiercely in several rich counties and counties in Zhenhai.Li Ye didn't know about this at all. When he thought about it, since there had been no Jiedushi Zhou Bao since the death of Zhenhai Jiedushi, wouldn't it be over if the court sent one there?

Such a naive king, wanting to rejuvenate the Tang Dynasty, is simply easier said than done!