After the death of Emperor Xianzong of Tang, the main contradiction in the Tang Empire was no longer the conflict between the central government and local feudal lords, but a series of bloody battles within the central government over power distribution.
Before the death of Emperor Xianzong of Tang, there was already a scene of swords and shadows surrounding the succession to the throne.
Just after the death of Emperor Xianzong of Tang, the prince who once competed with the crown prince for the throne, as well as the eunuchs who supported him, were all killed. The crown prince who rose to power was later Emperor Muzong of Tang.
Tang Mu died after four years of reign, and his son Tang Jingzong ascended to the throne. After Tang Jingzong ascended to power, he was not able to satisfy everyone, so he was killed by eunuchs after only one year in office.
This time, the eunuchs who killed the emperor were not as lucky as last time, because they had just killed the emperor and were immediately arrested and killed.
Of course, these murderers were quickly brought to justice, not because anyone was willing to avenge Tang Jingzong, but because after harming Tang Jingzong, there was an unequal distribution of spoils among the eunuchs.
The eunuchs of Tang Jingzong hoped that Tang Jingzong’s sixth brother would become emperor, but another group of eunuchs hoped that Tang Jingzong’s second brother would become emperor.
After a simple competition between two groups of eunuchs, the latter emerged victorious. Therefore, the murderer of Tang Jingzong was brought to justice at that time, and their beloved prince was also killed. If this group of eunuchs wins or reach a consensus among them, they will definitely be fine.
Tang Xianzong was killed by eunuchs, Tang Muzong was enthroned by eunuchs, and Tang Jingzong was killed by eunuchs.
Three consecutive emperors have survived under the shadow of eunuchs. After Tang Wenzong ascended to power, he inevitably felt an indescribable sense of crisis.
At the beginning, Emperor Wenzong often suffered from the excessive power of the middle people, which led to the calamity of palace prohibition due to the Yuan and Bao calendars. Under the leadership of Wang Shoucheng, who led the forbidden army and relied on his old residence, he was particularly domineering… Emperor Wenzong was known for his loyalty to righteousness and jealousy towards evil. He favored eunuchs too much, which led to his downfall. At the end of the Yuan and Yuan dynasties, the traitors of rebellion were still around him, and although he publicly displayed his superiority and falsehood, his heart was unbearable.
In this context, a person named Zheng Zhu quickly stood at the center of the political stage.
Who is Zheng Zhu? So when history books talk about him, he is just a wandering doctor in the martial arts world, constantly rising to power through various flattery methods.
Zheng Zhu, from Yicheng, Jiangzhou. The world is lowly, wandering through the rivers and lakes with square techniques.
In fact, Zheng Zhu is an image of a reclusive expert, because he possesses all the things that are standard for reclusive experts.
In short, if you are sick, Zheng Zhu will take a few pills of elixir and miraculous medicine, and Ma will cure you with the medicine; If there’s anything you can’t figure out, Zheng Zhu will give you an analysis, and you’ll immediately be enlightened; If you want to know your future destiny, Zheng Zhu will calculate a hexagram for you, and you will feel that this is a living immortal. The key is that being knowledgeable and knowledgeable gives one the appearance of a university student.
Those who possess exceptional insight and understanding, are knowledgeable in classic arts, play chess and medicine, and are particularly skilled in divination. Those who see them are all delighted.
The first bucket of gold Zheng Zhu caught was when the military governor Li Min fell ill and couldn’t be cured. Zheng Zhu quickly cured his illness.
If this is all, it can only prove that Zheng Zhu has good medical skills. The problem is that Zheng Zhu had the opportunity to meet Li Min and immediately impressed him greatly.
At the end of the Yuanhe period, he arrived in Xiangyang and was appointed as the military governor Li Min. Boiling golden bait for the people, meeting relatives, and serving in the government office. From Xuzhou, he briefly participated in military and political affairs.
We must know that Li Min is a shining positive figure in history books. In the late Tang Dynasty, Li Min’s achievements were unparalleled; His personality is also unparalleled. The only stain on his life may be his close relationship with Zheng Zhu.
Practice frugality and frugality. His younger brother, Lai Jiaxun, was a distinguished figure who played the role of a horse and lived in a secluded mansion. However, his residence was in the old courtyard of his father’s time and had not been expanded. At the beginning, Shengke conquered the capital without changing the city to Si, and Minping Cai followed suit. The wonder of fame and fortune is unprecedented in modern times. Although he was suddenly appointed as a scholar in the evening, he and Zheng Zhushan were not able to conceal his talents.
After Li Min met Zheng Zhu, he asked him to participate in the core management of the army and obeyed his words.
Faced with Li Min’s behavior, people are all against it. As a high-ranking official in the frontier, how could you place such great importance on a martial arts master? In this context, eunuch Wang Shoucheng, who was responsible for supervising the military in the military region, also went to question Li Min. Li Min said to Wang Shoucheng, ‘You don’t know Zheng Zhu, he’s a world-renowned expert.’.
Upon hearing this, Wang Shoucheng asked, ‘What kind of world-renowned expert?’? People say that you, Li Min, have first-class knowledge, but now you have been deceived by a martial arts master so much that you can’t even find the north. It’s better to meet than to be famous, and it’s better to work together than to meet!
Li Min said, it seems that you have too many prejudices against Zheng Zhu. If you have the opportunity to interact with Zheng Zhu, you will naturally know that what I said is true.
Wang Shoucheng’s attitude is very simple. Although I am not a knowledgeable person, I am really too lazy to meet this kind of martial arts master. Because that is the legendary folk science, without education or inheritance, just publishing various great discoveries every day.
But then a dramatic scene happened. Unable to resist Li Min’s request, Wang Shoucheng finally met Zheng Zhu once. However, as soon as Zheng Zhu spoke, Wang Shoucheng felt that Zheng Zhu was the legendary recluse.
So, Wang Shoucheng and Zheng Zhu talked for a whole day, but still wanted to continue the conversation. In short, I regret meeting you too late! In summary, if you don’t mind, let’s sleep in the same bed today and chat until dawn!
The next day, Wang Shoucheng quickly apologized to Li Min and made a request. Zheng Zhu is really like you said. He is an expert from outside the world. Forgive me for not knowing the truth. It seems that he is really an expert in the folk! In the future, you can let Zheng Zhu hang out with me. Although you have unparalleled prestige and high status, it is difficult for you to penetrate the Nine Forbidden Areas. It’s difficult for Zheng Zhu to fulfill his lifelong aspirations by following you; If he follows me, I can let him enter the power center of the empire.
Looking at this kind of content, one cannot help but feel that it is a legendary story written by a ninth rate novelist. The problem is, it’s written like this in history books.
Wang Shoucheng, the supervisor of the army, said in a white tone, “Of course, there are those who are extraordinary. The general will test their words.” Shoucheng initially refused to accept the offer, but after sitting down, there were many opportunities for debate, which caught his attention. Shoucheng was greatly surprised and led to the back hall, where he spoke until evening and hated seeing each other late. Xie Min said, “As the saying goes, it is true.” He was appointed as a patrol officer.
Later, Wang Shoucheng was transferred back to the central government and brought Zheng Zhu back to the central government.
Wang Shoucheng subsequently held positions in the central government that were equivalent to the role of a consul. Zheng Zhu became his confidant, so what’s the point? At first, only some small people followed the Zheng Zhu relationship, but later various high-ranking and influential people also began to follow the Zheng Zhu relationship one after another. At this time, Zheng Zhu could be considered a powerful figure in both the court and the public.
Shoucheng was appointed as the Grand Councilor and accompanied to the capital, where he received generous compensation and advice day and night. Due to the influence of Yin, he passed on bribes. The first scholar is delicate and delicate, and later officials and nobles also tend to follow.
Faced with Wang Shoucheng’s trust in Zheng Zhu, three eunuch bigwigs (the other three eunuchs among the four nobles) who were on par with Wang Shoucheng hated Zheng Zhu very much. One of the eunuch bigwigs, Wei Yuanyuan, even wanted to find an excuse to kill Zheng Zhu. Because people like Zheng Zhu, whose origins are unknown, participated in the core management of the central government and many disliked him, and the emperor at that time also disliked him very much, the people who advised Wei Yuan believed that as long as you dared to find excuses to kill Zheng Zhu, you could definitely solve this matter.
But just as Wei Yuan was planning to kill Zheng Zhu, he gave Zheng a chance to speak up because he needed to be polite with Zheng Zhu. As soon as Zheng Zhu spoke up, it was really amazing. The more Wei Yuan listened, the more he wanted to listen, to the point where the people next to him repeatedly hinted that Wei Yuan should take action, as if Wei Yuan hadn’t seen it.
Finally, Wei Yuan not only did not kill Zheng Zhu, but also sent him away as a VIP. Those who collude with Wei Yuan will inevitably exclaim that Wei Yuan’s behavior is insignificant and that we will suffer greatly in the future.
Tang Wenzong began to dislike Zheng Zhu very much. Later, when Tang Wenzong fell ill, Wang Shoucheng recommended Zheng Zhu to treat him. Once Tang Wenzong had contact with Zheng Zhu, things immediately went wrong because he also treated him as a confidant in the future.
At this point, let’s take a look at the basic political relationships of Zheng Zhu.
The military leader Li Min has a very deep connection with him. In fact, Zheng Zhu was able to step onto the political stage mainly because Li Min gave him an important opportunity.
The eunuch leader Wang Shoucheng has always regarded him as his mastermind. In fact, Zheng Zhu was able to thrive in the central government because he was always Wang Shoucheng’s agent.
The eunuch leader Wei Yuanxian also considered him a genius and was willing to treat him as a VIP; Emperor Tang Wenzong was also willing to consider him as his confidant.
Zheng Zhu’s main political relationships are not that simple.
Because when historical books mention Zheng Zhu, they often mention it together with Li Xun. Li Xun is the nephew and representative of the leader of the Niu Party, Li Fengji. Zheng Zhu and Li Xun later became close friends, at least on the surface, they were definitely good friends wearing a pair of crotch pants.
In this way, military leaders, eunuch leaders, court officials, and even the emperor all regarded Zheng Zhu as their closest person.
Our current problem is that there seem to be irreconcilable conflicts among these people, but they all regard Zheng Zhu as their confidant. Why is this?
It is probably because the contradictions between these interest groups are difficult to reconcile, so everyone believes that a manipulator is needed to mediate, otherwise everyone will fight with each other every day, and nobody’s interests can be guaranteed in the end.
And Zheng Zhu clearly stated that he can be this trader, and everyone also believes that Zheng Zhu has the ability to be this trader. So they all intentionally or unintentionally made Zheng Zhu their agent.
Without this background, we can’t imagine how Zheng Zhu became a political star loved by everyone. Because many conflicting interest group leaders, whenever they come into contact with him, they will consider him the closest person, which is quite unbelievable.
Many times, within a politically conflicted group, a relatively neutral manipulator is needed.
It’s like, there’s a cake on the table now, and everyone wants to take the biggest portion. How do we divide it?
In this context, people naturally hope to have someone who is neutral in identity and has insight into people’s hearts to take charge. Because in this distribution, it is not simply about dividing into several equal parts, but rather considering various factors and dividing into several unequal parts that satisfy everyone.
Zheng Zhu is just a grassroots leader who lacks deep-rooted power in both the court and the public. When dealing with such a person, it is easy to feel at ease. First of all, he definitely cannot lose control.
And Zheng Zhu was appreciated by many bigwigs (including the emperor), obviously because he believed that the imperial government needed a manipulator through political insight that ordinary people did not have. More importantly, he was able to make these people believe that he would become an excellent manipulator.
In this context, military tycoon Li Min not only asked Zheng Zhu to help him with his work, but also strongly recommended Zheng Zhu to eunuch leader Wang Shoucheng.
In this context, the eunuch leader Wang Shoucheng regarded Zheng Zhu as a confidant and strongly recommended him to the emperor, while also supporting his close ties with the core member of the court, Li Xun.
In this context, another eunuch leader, Wei Yuanxian, was determined to kill Zheng Zhu, but after a conversation, he was willing to treat him as a VIP, probably for similar reasons.
Because they believed that supporting Zheng Zhu would only benefit them and not harm them. But after Zheng Zhu officially took over, it was obvious that he was somewhat helpless.
To become an excellent trader, one must be transcendent. Only detachment can make all parties trust you and satisfy you. Once you have ulterior motives or clearly lean towards someone whose interests are damaged, they will have objections to you.
The problem is, when you become a trader, the most powerful faction hopes that you can become their swordsman. Can you refuse?
After Zheng Zhu became a trader, the emperor began to bribe him and hoped that he would serve him. And Zheng Zhu clearly sided with the emperor in the end, so Wang Shoucheng quickly became a sacrificial lamb.
We know that Zheng Zhu was able to climb to such a high position mainly because the eunuch Wang Shoucheng fully supported him.
However, the death of Emperor Xianzong of Tang had the shadow of Wang Shoucheng, and the death of Emperor Jingzong of Tang also had the shadow of Wang Shoucheng. And now he has power over the court and the empire’s manipulator, Zheng Zhu, whom he fully recommended to ascend to power. The emperor clearly has an indescribable suspicion towards Wang Shoucheng.
In this context, the emperor hoped that Zheng Zhu would assist him in clearing Wang Shoucheng out of the game.
After receiving this task, Zheng Zhu was obviously unable to refuse. Because Wang Shoucheng had too many political enemies, as a high-ranking eunuch, there were many competing eunuchs under him; And the courtier group also hopes that he will die soon; Now the emperor also hopes for his death, and Zheng Zhu sits in the position of the manipulator, seeming to have to quickly draw a line with Wang Shoucheng.
It’s not difficult to get rid of Wang Shoucheng.
Because the emperor only needs to promote high-ranking eunuchs who have a competitive relationship with him; If the eunuchs who had a competitive relationship with him gained power, Wang Shoucheng’s power would be weakened, and the courtiers’ group also hoped for Wang Shoucheng’s death.
In this context, as long as Wang Shoucheng’s power is weakened, the emperor can use a backhand to eliminate him. The key is that everything can still be done calmly.
But after such turmoil, Zheng Zhu was no longer the manipulator of the empire, but became a confidant of the emperor. Because Wang Shoucheng trusted and valued him so much, but he helped the emperor clear Wang Shoucheng out of the game. Which big shot would dare to believe that he would hold a knife and divide the cake with detachment in the future?
Zheng Zhu’s completion of this matter may not have had a significant impact on the distribution of interests among major interest groups, as Wang Shoucheng was just one person. After his death, his vacancy was filled by the eunuch Qiu Shiliang.
What should we do next? Zheng Zhu obviously wants to do something bigger, what exactly is he doing? We’ll talk about it next time.
