The character Yuanzai is a real existence in history, as he was the prime minister of the mid Tang Dynasty. It can be said that the first half of Yuan Zai’s life was very inspiring, but in the second half, he embarked on a path of no return. Yuan Zai was born into a poor family, but was diligent and eager to learn at a young age. Later, he passed the imperial examination and embarked on his own path to officialdom. Yuan Zai once helped the emperor eliminate two powerful officials, Li Fuguo and Yu Chao’en, and thus gained the trust of Emperor Tang. However, after that, Yuan Zai also embarked on the path of monopolizing the court and became increasingly arrogant, which led to his disgust by Emperor Daizong. In the end, his entire family was executed.
Speaking of Ailei, few people may know who he is. But when it comes to the popular drama “Chang’an Twelve Hours” featuring Yuan Zai, many people are filled with hatred.
As a villain in the drama, Yu Ailei portrayed this character with great depth. Seize every opportunity to gain power and benefits, adapt to the wind, and try every means possible. When the situation suddenly changes and danger arises, he transforms into a shrinking turtle, retreating everywhere and switching freely between the two. But in the spare time, he still can get the heart of Yun Xiu, the capital’s expensive queen, and can say unfashionable love words, which makes the daughter to be faithful to him and promise him a lifetime.
In real history, Yuan Zai also existed, but not as expected, he took his lunch box early and became a prime minister for a period of time. But as expected, they ended up with their homes being raided and their entire homes being executed.
The Yuan Zai in history is a process of grassroots growth that has become more ancient, without the prominent family background of “Li Bi”. From a young age, he received guidance from famous teachers and the people he interacted with were all officials of the current dynasty. Bathed in the upper culture and influenced by the highest education of this empire, there are no detailed records in history about his parents or ancestors. It is only recorded that he was born in Fengxiang Qishan. After his father passed away, his mother remarried to a person named Yuan Jingsheng and changed his surname to “Yuan”. However, there is no historical record of what Yuanzai’s original surname was or how his biological father passed away, so we have no way of knowing today.
In this family, life is far from wealthy, and there is no way to know whether Yuan Zai’s childhood was happy or not. What impact did this childhood have on his future life. But perhaps it was the poverty of his youth that made him unable to satisfy his wealth after reaching high positions in the future, and he unleashed his greed to the extreme.
Young Yuanzai was extremely diligent in his studies, studying diligently and reading extensively. Combined with innate intelligence, I am quite interested in Taoist doctrine. Having acquired considerable knowledge at a young age can be considered as achieving success in learning. In an era where all things are inferior, only reading is superior. After reading, one can achieve fame and fortune, realizing the dream that every scholar dreams of. But at that time, there was no current education system, and not all talented people could show their talents and unleash them. After achieving academic success, Yuan Zai walked from his remote home to the local examination site to participate in the imperial examination, but the results were not satisfactory and he fell from grace.
Until the early years of Tianbao, as an emperor who highly respected Taoism. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang ordered the appointment of four scholars, namely Mingzhuang, Lao, Lie, and Wen. It was this opportunity that Yuan Zai utilized his own strengths and achieved high school in one fell swoop. From then on, he embarked on his official career and began his journey of officialdom.
After Yuan Zai entered the court, his first position was Xinping Wei. After experiencing poverty and failing multiple exams, Yuan Zai seized every opportunity to climb up the court. His desire for fame led him to resort to some extraordinary measures. At that time, Emperor Xuanzong no longer had the ambition he had in his early years and was unwilling to devote himself to managing state affairs. The emperor’s laxity has led to a lack of harsh and honest advice around him, and instead, he is filled with flattery and eloquent language. Beauty in the arms, relieving worries. Under the eunuch’s attendants, they do not listen to tedious matters. At this time in the court, eunuchs were in their prime.
The big car flies dust, and the pavilion is dark in the afternoon. More gold in the middle and high prices, even the opening of a mansion. When encountering cockfighting on the road, the hat is He Huihe. The sound of dry rainbow in the nose made pedestrians wary.
The arrogant eunuch group was disliked by many people, but it also became the best choice for many people to hold their thighs. The eunuch Li Fuguo became his target. During the An Lushan Rebellion, it was strongly recommended that Li Heng’s mercenaries go north, and later in Lingwu, Li Heng was enthroned as the emperor, known as Tang Suzong. So when Li Heng ascended to the throne and was rewarded for his achievements, he was highly praised and promoted to the position of Prince’s family magistrate, wielding military power. And he was given the name Li Fuguo, abandoning the original name Li Huguo, and for a while, he completely surrendered to the court and the public.
The eunuch’s wife happened to have the surname Yuan, and Yuan Zai continued with this, forcefully associating himself with the Yuan family. It was with this relationship that Yuan Zai officially joined Li Fuguo’s team, was appreciated by him, and was promoted. With the strong support of Li Fuguo, Yuan Zai was officially supported to serve as the Chancellor of the Imperial Secretariat, who was actually the prime minister at that time.
Just as Yuan Zai’s power and reputation were rising day by day, Emperor Suzong suddenly passed away, and the new emperor Li Yu succeeded him as Emperor Tang. The accession of the new emperor made Li Fuguo even more arrogant and conceited, unable to tolerate others, and even did not regard the emperor as important. In the end, he was dissatisfied with the new emperor’s reign and was eliminated. The sudden downfall of the backing did not drag down Yuan Zai, thus cutting off his official career. Yuan Zai, who had long been involved in the officialdom, not only relied solely on the mountain of Li Fuguo, but more importantly, he had already bribed the people around the emperor, understood his preferences, and controlled all of his joys, sorrows, and happiness.
So, after Li Fuguo’s incident, the emperor not only did not punish Yuan Zai, but also trusted him even more, and even handed over all the positions held by Li Fuguo before his death to him. But there was another person in the court who was under the same Yuan Zai regime, and that person was Yu Chao’en. Like Li Fuguo, he was also a eunuch, and the favor of the emperor and the military power in his hands made him more capable of doing whatever he wanted. All these actions ultimately caused Emperor Daizong’s annoyance, but he was also afraid of the military power in Yu Chao’en’s hands and his followers in the court, and could not take action for a long time. At this moment, Yuan Zai, who seized the opportunity, volunteered and offered himself. In the end, under the plan of Yuanzai, the emperor worked together to win the favor of Yu Chao’en.
After this incident, Yuan Zai no longer needed to rely on anyone’s power in the court, and there was no opponent who could rival him. Yuan Zai realized his desire for power, and the position below tens of thousands of people finally belonged to Yuan Zai.
From entering the officialdom to wielding great power. Yuanzai experienced two springboard jumps, each achieving a perfect takeoff and landing. But the danger of the officialdom behind him forced him to be full of determination. Today’s comrades will not know whether they are enemies or friends when the sun rises again. Smooth like him, spinning around in the intricate court, desperately searching for his place to stand. Seeking the fastest shortcut for fame and fortune. Little people work hard to climb the officialdom.
Behind the despicable behavior of Yuan Zai, there is another side that we rarely see.
In terms of political situation, since the end of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, eunuchs have been rampant, causing chaos in the court and stirring up unrest within the court. The calamity of eunuchs has also become a topic that cannot be skipped when analyzing the reasons for the gradual decline and decline of the Tang Dynasty. However, during the reign of Emperor Daizong, the calamity of eunuchs was much lighter than in other dynasties, and the contribution of Yuan Zai was indispensable.
In addition, since the An Lushan Rebellion, the power of the feudal lords has been increasingly expanding, and they have repeatedly challenged the rule of the Central Plains dynasties, which has had a great impact on the rule of the Tang dynasty. In this struggle, as Yuan Zai, who was already in power at the time, he was very supportive of the anti enemy activities. He sat in the court and actively cooperated with the needs of the soldiers fighting outside.
In the process of fighting against Tubo, he saw the importance of Yuanzhou and wanted to move troops to Yuanzhou. He strongly advised the emperor and drew a map to show the emperor the importance of this place. At the same time, secret personnel were sent to conduct on-site inspections and plan the construction of defensive cities. At that time, Emperor Daizong was already dissatisfied with Yuan Zai and did not follow his advice. This put the Tang Dynasty in a passive state for a long time during the war with Tubo, consuming a large amount of Tang’s national strength. The instability in the rear left the Tang Dynasty with no time to attend to internal military governors. The proposal to form an army and expand the power of the Tang army was also rejected by the emperor.
Rebellion broke out everywhere, smoke of gunpowder gradually rose, but the Central Plains dynasty lacked soldiers and generals. How long can the once prosperous Central Plains dynasties hold on in such a situation. In addition, prolonged internal and external wars have caused huge loopholes in the national treasury. In order to solve the financial problem, Yuan Zai promoted Liu Yan to be in charge of financial affairs. Liu Yan dredged the Bian River, allowing hundreds of thousands of stones of grain to be transported into Guanzhong and the capital city every year, alleviating the situation of sharp decline in grain production and soaring grain prices in Guanzhong after the war.
In addition, during the period when Yuan Zai presided over the government affairs of the court, the rental income collected by the court decreased repeatedly. At the same time, the government adjusted the standard of registered residence tax collection and raised the standard. The people who pay household tax are not only the ordinary people, but also the main households, landlords, princes and nobles. Yang Yan inherited and developed this tax law in later generations. That is the landmark Two Tax Law in the history of China’s tax system. When later generations mention it, they will only remember Yang Yan’s great achievements and Liu Yan’s laying the foundation, but who remembers the guide Yuan Zai?
Yuan Zai’s voice and shadow will never appear in this chorus of praise. In addition to these achievements, under the influence of Tang culture, Yuan Zai also had a great love for poetry. In private, he has had dealings with many poets, including the top ten talented scholars of Dali. Although his literary status cannot be compared with that of the Song Dynasty, he cannot surpass Han Meng and others. But at that time, there were also people who made great statements, and these people all had very good personal relationships. The Complete Tang Poetry even includes his poems.
As an official, Yuan Zai’s efforts were indeed underestimated. However, Yuanzai is like a white paper splashed with ink, mixed with black and white, and ink has slowly soaked most of the paper.
After Yuan Zai rose to power through power and means, he no longer had to be controlled by others and seek survival in the midst of adversity. The position below one person and above ten thousand people made him let go of his guard and caution. From a poor boy from a humble background to the glorious power he currently possesses. Let him no longer resist the temptation of money, a kind of greed breeds from the bottom of his heart and grows recklessly. Relying on his position as prime minister, he plundered wealth recklessly. Selling official positions and titles turns the selection of national talents into a series of money and power transactions.
Lingnan Jiedushi Xu Hao wanted to become an official in the capital city, so he searched for rare treasures from all over the world and presented them to Yuan Zai. Not long after, Yuan Zai appointed him as the chief attendant of the Ministry of Personnel and squeezed out Yang Wan, who had previously held this position and could not tolerate Yuan Zai’s behavior. At that time, there was even a popular saying in the officialdom that if you wanted to become an official, you could just find Yuan Zai.
Yuan Zai used his power tactics to crazily accumulate wealth for himself. During his more than ten years in power, Yuan Zai gathered countless treasures and assets from all over the country. In addition to these jewels, Yuan Zai also invested heavily in building houses in Chang’an Chenzhong. The houses he built in Chang’an occupied three areas: Daning, Anren, and Changshou. It should be noted that under the Fang City system, Chang’an had a total of 109 Fang, and Yuan Zai alone occupied three Fang, which shows the large scale and high level of corruption.
In his private residence, Yuan Zai also built a courtyard using gold and silver as components, specifically to store the treasures he had collected from across the country. In addition, a garden was also built in the eastern capital of Luoyang for personal enjoyment. After its confiscation, this garden could be directly used as a royal garden, which shows the luxury of the garden.
In addition to a large amount of real estate, Yuan Zai also pays great attention to food, clothing, and expenses. There are over a hundred maids and servants in the family, and everyone is dressed in silk and satin, far exceeding the average person. Xue Yaoying, the beloved concubine at home, cannot bear heavy clothing due to her light body. Yuan Zai specially ordered someone to obtain the Dragon Silk Robe for her, which was no more than two or three taels in one outfit and could not be easily grasped. In terms of diet, the cost of each meal is equivalent to half a year’s income for a middle-class family. During the raid, he even found 60 tons of pepper from Yuan Zai’s house. The price of this seasoning was enough to make people sweat with just a few grains in a meal at that time, but Yuan Zai hoarded 60 tons at once.
When one person achieves enlightenment, chickens and dogs ascend to heaven, “Yuan Zai brought his own relatives with him during his period of extreme greed. Yuan Zai’s wife Wang Yunxiu was the daughter of the Hexi Jiedushi Wang Zhongsi, and silently supported him from behind when Yuan Zai was still a minor official. But reason and calmness were slowly eroded by the flames of money and power, and during the rampant plundering in the Yuan Dynasty, Wang also joined in. She indulged her sons Yuan Bohe and Yuan Zhongwu in accepting bribes and plundering the wealth of the people. The Yuan family worked together to eradicate corruption.
The credit for helping the emperor eliminate eunuchs in his early years made Yuan Zai feel unmatched. Unexpectedly, he gradually lost his regard for the emperor, which violated his greatest taboo. In addition, due to Yuan Zai’s insatiable greed, many people have already been dissatisfied with his various crimes. After being reckless for so long, punishment has finally come.
In March of the twelfth year of the Dali era, Emperor Daizong, who could no longer bear it, finally ordered General Wu of the Left Jin Dynasty to arrest Yuan Zai and his wife, children, and followers at the Political Affairs Hall. After the interrogation, facing the ironclad evidence of years of crimes, Yuan Zai chose to confess without hesitation. Finally, Yuan Zai and his wife and children were sentenced to death. Even married daughters were filled into the harem as maidservants. In the end, all the treasures collected by Yuan Zai were confiscated, leaving nothing behind but taking away the lives of the entire family.
The autumn judgments of the Tang Dynasty were generally carried out near Wannian County. On this day, Yuan Zai sat in a prison cart, swaying along the way, surrounded by onlookers. The countdown to life seemed to be ringing louder and louder.
Looking at the angry gaze of the crowd outside the prison cart, his eyes gradually became unfocused, and he saw in a blur that his former self was also a passionate young man and a scholar full of spirit. There was also a determination to serve the country and the people. But he doesn’t know when, perhaps he failed repeatedly, perhaps he was a eunuch’s henchman, or perhaps he was a dazzling array of treasures.
He himself doesn’t know where he started to go wrong in his life, step by step leading astray. He only remembers himself gradually becoming satisfied day by day, and then feeling empty day by day. What kind of life did you live in this lifetime. The sudden neighing of the horse forced him to withdraw his consciousness and look up to find that he had already arrived at the execution ground. He looked at the official who was about to execute him and only said, ‘I wish to die soon.’ The executing official did not answer him, but only said, ‘The prime minister must be slightly insulted, don’t take offense.’ After that, he took off his socks and stuffed them into Yuan Zai’s mouth.
Yuan Zai, who once roamed the court and the public, was ultimately beheaded and killed with dirty socks in his mouth.
