Rebirth of the Viking King

Chapter 499 18 The Origin of Concubine Xue (2)

Before Tang Shunzong "Li Song" succeeded to the throne, he served as the crown prince for 25 years.

By the time he succeeded in taking the throne in AD 805, the crown prince was already 44 years old.

Li Song was an emperor who clearly did not conform to the mood of the times. For this country that is facing external and internal troubles and is about to fall apart, Li Song is too traditional and too "moderate".

During his 25 years as a prince, he had witnessed with his own eyes the troubles and disasters that the feudal rebellion had brought to the country, but this pedantic emperor still firmly believed in the Confucian principle of "ruling the world with benevolence and righteousness".

The minister commented on him as "kind, filial, generous, benevolent and kind-hearted". However, as we all know, this sentence translated means "except for the benevolence of a woman, she has no great ability."

Frankly speaking, as an emperor, Li Song is still much better than some wastes who are dissolute and ignorant of government affairs.

He is an open-minded and good student who is involved in various skills such as woodworking and forging, but he is best at writing. His good calligraphy skills were rarely rivaled in the palace. Whenever Emperor Dezong composed poems for ministers and military governors of Fangzhen, he would always order the prince to write them.

However, in times of trouble

In troubled times, "mediocrity" can also become a sin.

It's just mediocrity. The more serious problem is that Li Song is still a sick man. In 804, he suddenly suffered a stroke and lost the ability to speak. At the same time, Tang Dezong, who was in his twilight years, also fell ill.

Before his death, Tang Dezong Li Shi's only hope was to see the prince again. It's a pity that the prince is also seriously ill at this time.

Until Lao Wang died of illness, the two were unable to meet.

When Dezong died of illness, Tang Shunzong "Li Song" ascended the throne in accordance with the imperial edict. One can imagine the attitude of the "Legalist mentors" of the Manchu Dynasty towards this 44-year-old, sick and moderate emperor.

After taking the throne, the abilities displayed by the new emperor fully met the ministers' expectations for him.

Due to a stroke, loss of voice and difficulty in mobility, he had to promote the prime minister to handle the affairs of the government for him. Li Song, who has firmly believed in "Confucianism" throughout his life, would naturally choose a perfect saint in the eyes of Confucius.

He chose "Wang Wan (pi)" and "Wang Shuwen" who were the leaders of the "Confucian school" in this era.

Later generations will refer to these two people as the "two kings".

Frankly speaking, the two kings, as great scholars of the time, do have the determination to benefit the world. However, regardless of their origins (both of them came from poor families and came from the borders of the empire), or their political backgrounds (at this time, the "Confucian school" in the palace had been almost completely eliminated, they had no allies or confidants), they were all useless. .

Li Song, who was well-read in history books, believed that he was following the example of his ancestors and found the crouching dragon and phoenix chicks from the barren mountains like Uncle Liu. However, the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty did not think so.

These two people are not even Jinshi.

The emperor's move was almost equivalent to recruiting two illiterate people.

**

Perhaps it was because he came from among the people that King 2 had seen with his own eyes the harm caused by the separatist regime of feudal towns to the people at the bottom.

They imitated the Confucian sages, established sects and taught disciples throughout their lives. They did not accept gold or silver, were not greedy for fame, and lived an ordinary life no different from the common people at the bottom.

Precisely because they had never been immersed in the big dye vat of "rights", the two of them did not have any of the hypocrisy and arrogance in Chang'an officialdom.

They have been honest and upright throughout their lives and have read the books of saints, giving them a loftier sense of mission and political ambition than most officials.

After entering the palace, when they saw that the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty were composed of roosters, dogs, and thieves from the "Legalist school", a feeling of "everyone is filthy but I alone am pure" suddenly came to their hearts.

They may lack experience and strategy, but they definitely lack vigor and courage.

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

However, at this time, the core differences between "Confucianism" and "Legalism" were completely exposed.

After the Legalists came to power, whether they were "establishing a strict calendar", or "purging enemies by any means necessary", or "treating the people as livestock", they were like the stubborn hounds at the center, always serving the ruling class efficiently.

The law was only for the common people.

The nobles are judges, always standing outside the law.

But once the "blade of reform" of this group of Confucian scholars was swung, it pierced the hearts of those with vested interests!

The two kings put on a posture of dying together. Their first target was the emperor's relative, the Taoist king "Li Shi" who was Jing Zhaoyin at the time!

There are three reasons for choosing him.

1. This person has always imposed excessive taxes and was hated by the people of Chang'an. He was able to perfectly complete the first step in the core idea of ​​"Confucianism": "making the people love the emperor."

2. Taoist king Li Shi is the fifth generation grandson of Tang Emperor Li Yuan, a true royal relative!

Operating on him can show the world that our "Confucian school" is the real light in this long dark night, that we are not afraid of power, and this time of reform, we only fight tigers, not flies!

3. Finally, this move also officially announced the return of the Confucian school to the Legalist disciples of the Manchu Dynasty.

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

We will not be like those sneaky Legalist disciples who repay the gold and silver of the nobles at their original price and divide the coppers of the common people 30-70!

Seven days later, Wang Shuwen issued an edict in the name of Shunzong Li Song, listing all the crimes of Jingzhao Yin Li Shi and demoting him to the position of governor of Tong. As soon as the edict was issued, the whole city of Chang'an immediately began to boil.

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

In despair, Wang Shuwen finally sent the imperial army to escort him out of the city.

There is no need to continue to humiliate an enemy who has been defeated.

People can not escape from doing wrong?

Being in a big dye vat, it wasn't entirely his fault that he became like this. If Li Shi can change his mind in Tongzhou, King 2 will also give him a chance to start a new life because of his surname.

**

If overthrowing Li Shi only made the people of Chang'an rejoice, the second goal of the two kings would completely detonate the city.

They want to get rid of the bad government in Chang'an City that has continued for 60 years!

Eunuchs purchased daily necessities for the palace. This activity was called "palace market". However, what the people of Chang'an knew well was that these eunuchs were all acting in the name of buying talents, and in fact they were using tricks to plunder!

During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, eunuchs even knew how to buy goods at low prices from merchants with approval slips from the palace.

By the time of Daizong, no approval slips were taken.

Whatever is needed, the eunuchs will directly snatch it in the name of "Li Family of the Tang Dynasty".

This is not the most extreme thing. During the Dezong period, when the "Legalist School" came to power, this group of eunuchs would not only rob goods, but also collect "money for entering the palace" and "travel and horse fees."

The common people not only had to bear the daily necessities needed in the palace, but also had to bear the "carriage and horse fees" and "passing fees" for "transporting their own goods" into the palace.

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

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

Seeing the eunuchs in the palace being like this, the servants couldn't be idle.

The servants in the palace also used the name of the palace to extort money all day long. The people of Chang'an complained and the courtiers repeatedly remonstrated, but Dezong turned a deaf ear.

The reason is actually very simple

This is perfectly in line with the basic policy of the Legalist school of "the art of controlling the people".

Legalist teachers believe that people cannot be rich, they must be made poor, so that they lose all choices and must rely on the state to survive.

Only in this way can we become obedient people.

As soon as the decree to eliminate the bad government 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 is coming.