Chapter 499 8.18 The Origin of Concubine Xue (2)

Chapter 499 18 The Origin of Concubine Xue (2)

Tang Shunzong "Li Song" served as the crown prince for 25 years before he ascended the throne.

When he succeeded to the throne in AD805, the crown prince was already 44 years old.

Li Song was an emperor who was obviously out of step with the times. For this country that was on the verge of collapse due to external troubles and internal turmoil, Li Song was too traditional and too "moderate".

During his 25 years as the crown prince, he witnessed the disasters and disasters brought to the country by the rebellion of the feudal lords, but this pedantic emperor still firmly believed in the Confucian principle of "ruling the world with benevolence and righteousness".

The ministers' evaluation of him was "kind, filial, generous, benevolent and kind-hearted", but it is well known that this sentence translated means "except for womanly kindness, there is no great ability".

To be honest, as an emperor, Li Song is still much better than some wastes who are licentious and ignore state affairs.

He was a good student who was open-minded and eager to learn. He had dabbled in various skills such as woodworking and forging, but he was best at writing. His handwriting was rarely matched in the palace. Whenever Emperor Dezong wrote poems to give to ministers and governors, he would always ask the prince to write them.

However, it was a time of turmoil

In times of turmoil, "mediocrity" would also become a sin.

It would be fine if he was simply mediocre, but the more serious problem was that Li Song was actually a sickly person. In 804, he suddenly suffered a stroke and lost his ability to speak. At the same time, Emperor Dezong of Tang, who was in his twilight years, also fell ill.

Before his death, Emperor Dezong of Tang, Li Shi, only hoped to see the prince again. Unfortunately, the prince was also seriously ill at this time.

Until the old king died of illness, the two did not meet.

When Emperor Dezong died of illness, Emperor Shunzong of Tang "Li Song" ascended the throne according to the will. One can imagine what attitude the "Legalist mentors" in the court had towards this 44-year-old, sickly and mediocre emperor.

After ascending to the throne, the ability demonstrated by the new emperor was in line with the ministers' expectations of him.

Because of his aphonia and mobility problems caused by a stroke, he had to promote the prime minister to help him manage the government. Li Song, who firmly believed in the "Confucian School" all his life, would naturally choose a perfect saint in the eyes of Confucius.

He chose "Wang Pi" and "Wang Shuwen", the leaders of the "Confucian School" in this era.

Later generations called these two people "the two kings".

To be honest, the two kings, as great Confucian scholars of the time, did have the determination to benefit the world. However, no matter their origins (both of them were from humble backgrounds and came from the border of the empire), or their political backgrounds (the "Confucian School" in the palace had been almost completely purged at this time, and the two had no allies or confidants), they were all useless.

Li Song, who had read a lot of history books, believed that he was following the example of his ancestors, just like Liu Huangshu, who found the dragon and phoenix in the barren mountains, but the civil and military officials in the court did not think so.

These two people are not even Jinshi.

The emperor's move is almost equivalent to recruiting two illiterates.

**

Perhaps it is precisely because they are from the people that the two princes have witnessed the harm of the separatist regimes to the lower classes.

They imitated the Confucian sages, opened sects and taught disciples throughout their lives, did not accept gold and silver, did not covet fame, and lived an ordinary life that was no different from the lower classes.

It is precisely because they have never been immersed in the big dye vat of "power" that the two have no hypocrisy and arrogance in the officialdom of Chang'an.

They have been honest and upright all their lives and have read the books of saints, which makes them have a higher sense of mission and political ambition than most officials.

After entering the palace, when they saw that the civil and military officials in the court were all the chicken-crowing and dog-stealing people of the "Legalist School", a feeling of "everyone is turbid and I am the only one who is clear" suddenly came to their hearts.

They may lack experience and strategy, but they are definitely not lacking in sharpness and courage to burn their boats.

After Shunzong came to power, the two immediately won over a large number of passionate and sincere Confucian scholars and began to carry out drastic reforms in the palace.

However, at this time, the differences between the "Confucian School" and the "Legalist School" were completely exposed.

After the Legalists came to power, whether it was "establishing a strict calendar" or "eliminating enemies by any means" or "treating people as livestock", they were like loyal hounds, always serving the ruling class efficiently.

The law is only for civilians.

The nobles are judges and always stand outside the law.

Once the "reform blade" of this group of Confucian scholars was swung, it pierced the heart of the vested interests!

The two kings put on a posture of burning everything together. Their first target was the royal relative, the Dao Wang "Li Shi" who was the Jingzhao Yin at the time!

There are three reasons for choosing him.

1. This person has always been tyrannical and extortionate, and is hated by the people of Chang'an. Toppling him can perfectly complete the first step of the core idea of ​​"Confucianism": "Make the people love the king".

2. Dao Wang Li Shi is the fifth-generation grandson of Emperor Gaozu of Tang Li Yuan, a true royal relative!

Starting from him can show the world that our "Confucianism" is the real light in this long dark night. We are not afraid of power, and this reform will only hit tigers, not flies!

3. Finally, this move is also a formal announcement of the return of Confucianism to the disciples of the Legalists in the court.

The country is in danger, but we still have the backbone of the Tang people and the basic principles of being a parent official!

We will not be like those stealing disciples of the Legalists, who will return the gold and silver of the nobles at their original price and divide the copper coins of the people into 30% and 70%!

Seven days later, Wang Shuwen issued an edict in the name of Emperor Shunzong Li Song, listing a number of crimes committed by Jingzhao Yin Li Shi and demoting him to Tongzhou Changshi. As soon as the edict was issued, the whole city of Chang'an immediately became boiling.

Thousands of people waited in front of Li's house day and night, hiding stones and eggs in their sleeves, waiting for the moment when he walked out of the gate.

In desperation, Wang Shuwen finally sent the imperial guards to escort him out of the city.

There was no need to continue to humiliate the defeated enemy.

Who can be without fault?

Being in a big dye vat, it was not entirely his fault that he became like this. If Li Shi could undergo a reform in Tongzhou, the two kings would give him a chance to start a new life for the sake of his surname.

**

If toppling Li Shi was just to make the people of Chang'an happy, the second goal of the two kings would completely detonate the city.

They wanted to get rid of the bad policies that had continued in Chang'an for 60 years!

Eunuchs bought daily necessities for the palace, and this action was called "palace market". However, the people of Chang'an knew that all these eunuchs were in the name of buying, but they were actually robbing and plundering!

During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, the eunuchs still knew to buy at low prices from merchants with the palace's approval slips.

During the reign of Emperor Daizong, the approval slips were no longer taken.

Whatever they needed, the eunuchs would directly rob in the name of "Li Family of Tang Dynasty".

This was not the most excessive. During the reign of Emperor Dezong, when the "Legalist School" came to power, this group of eunuchs would not only rob goods, but also collect "entry money" and "travel fees".

Not only did the people have to bear the daily necessities needed in the palace, but they also had to bear the "travel fees" and "gate fees" for "transporting their own goods" into the palace.

This is no longer "unfair", but blatant robbery.

If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked.

Seeing the eunuchs in the palace like this, the servants could not sit idle.

The servants in the palace also extorted money all day long under the name of the palace. The people of Chang'an complained and the court officials repeatedly advised, but Dezong turned a deaf ear to it.

The reason is actually very simple.

This perfectly conforms to the basic principle of the Legalist School's "art of controlling the people".

The Legalist mentors believed that the people could not be rich, but must be made poor, so that they lost all choices and had to rely on the country to survive.

Only in this way can they become obedient citizens.

Once the decree to eliminate bad policies was announced, the people of Chang'an were naturally jubilant.

However, the Confucian scholars at this time did not know that they had offended the royal family, the eunuch group, and the Legalist School, which was the absolute main force in the palace.

A storm was about to sweep in.