Although Li Linfu achieved his goal by pretending to be the hand of Tang Xuanzong (clearing the way for King Shou to be the crown prince), he also rode on the back of a tiger because he was burdened with the blood debt of killing one prince and two princes! When Xuanzong is alive, he will be fine, and King Shou will be fine when he becomes the crown prince and ascends the throne in the future, but he will have great merits. But if another prince becomes a crown prince and inherits the throne, he will ask him to repay this blood debt. Although the person was killed by Xuanzong, as the prime minister, he neither objected nor admonished him, and there was no difference between him killing people with his own hands.

It is said that it is natural for King Shou to be the prince at this time, but unfortunately the sky does not obey people's wishes, Concubine Wu Hui is seriously ill at this time, she has nightmares every day, dreaming that the unjustly killed Sanshu people ask her for her life. Xuanzong invited many witch doctors for her, but they were all ineffective, and she died in less than a month. The country suffered a series of funerals, so naturally the crown prince can't be canonized immediately, and the matter has been relieved.

After Concubine Wu Hui's death, Xuanzong's mind suddenly changed for some reason, and he no longer felt that Li Mao, the king of Lishou, was the crown prince, but felt that there might be a better candidate. Li Linfu did not expect this change, and he couldn't figure out what prince Xuanzong wanted to set up, if he figured it out, he would also turn the rudder with the wind and take the initiative to build a prince to Xuanzong, so as to take the credit for supporting the crown prince. As soon as Concubine Wu Hui died, he did not have the original intention of "trying his best to protect King Shou", as long as the crown prince, the future emperor, was mentioned by him. He didn't figure it out, not because he was stupid, or because there was a problem with his relationship network in the palace, but because Xuanzong himself didn't think it through. Since he can't figure it out, he can only take the old path and continue to sponsor Shouwang Li Mao. For this matter, he and Xuanzong had many secret agents in the palace, but the content of the conversation was too secretive and was not passed down on paper.

Xuanzong also suffered for a long time, and his eyes turned to Li Heng, the loyal king who has always been known for his loyalty and filial piety, and Li Heng is also older than Li Mao, in line with the rule of "establishing a successor and standing long". He vacillated among the two sons, almost hesitating for more than a year. He thought to himself that he was also old, and that his three sons were given death on the same day, and the prince could not be decided. Therefore, I am often unhappy, and my diet is reduced. Or did Gao Lishi beside him see his thoughts and asked the emperor if the imperial diet was not to be made to taste, why did the diet decrease? Xuanzong sighed: "You are my family's old slave." Don't you understand my mind? Gao Lishi said: "Didn't the emperor just make a decision for the prince?" Whoever is old among the princes will appoint whom, and who else will dare to fight? "This is the genius of Gao Lishi, he will not say who he mentions, but he can also know who Xuanzong is talking about. Only then did Xuanzong make up his mind, and in June of the twenty-fifth year of Kaiyuan (737). Officially canonized King Zhong Li Heng as the crown prince.

It's really a success, and a failure. It was Gao Lishi who helped Li Linfu get through the road to prime minister, but he gave him a slap in the face at a critical moment. In fact, after Colliers helped Li Linfu ascend to the phase, he not only stopped helping him, but also intended to oppose him. Xuanzong once said to Gao Lishi: "I haven't been out of Chang'an for ten years, and there is nothing wrong in the world." I want to hand over all the government affairs to Li Linfu, and I want to practice Taoism to prolong my life. What do you think? Colliers tactfully advised: "The power to rule the world must not be lent to others (the world cannot be a dummy), once he uses power and majesty to form a climate (prestige and strength), who dares to say a word (who dares to speak)?" Xuanzong didn't listen, and his face was displeased. Colliers knew he was talkative. Busy prostrating, self-examination said: "The old slave was fascinated by lard, and said the wrong thing, and he deserved death!" Xuanzong saw him admit his mistake and forgave him. Although this incident did not have any impact on Li Linfu, it also illustrated Gao Lishi's political position.

4. Don't get too close to me

Old Tang Book. Li Linfu said of him: "Soft-faced and cunning." Sima Guang's "Zizhi Tongjian" called him: "Soft and cunning." The meaning is basically the same, that is, his facial expression is soft, he is kind to everyone when he sees him, and he doesn't put on a show at all, but he is a fool to the emperor, and he is "cunning and scheming" to his subordinates. And what best illustrates his character is "honey in the mouth and sword in the belly". It's just that he talks about it well, but he stabs him in the back.

After he ascended to the position of prime minister, he deeply felt that it was not easy to come by, and what he was most afraid of was of course to lose. However, since the beginning of the century, the prime ministers have been changed every two or three years, especially the position of Zhongshuling (prime minister). So he came up with one of the most poisonous methods, which was to exclude those who had prestige among the courtiers and who might enter the prime minister's ranks, especially those who were famous and literary. To do this, it is not enough to rely on the power of the prime minister, but also to use "cunning".

One day, Xuanzong held a banquet in the Qinzheng Building to listen to music. After the banquet, the curtain was hung in the building and looked out, and Lu Xuan, the squire of the military department, thought that the emperor had left, so he spurred the horse to pass slowly downstairs, with an elegant and elegant demeanor. After Xuanzong saw it, he praised it and thought that he had the demeanor of a prime minister. The people around Xuanzong were all bought by Li Linfu with silver, and he immediately knew about it, so he found Lu Xuan's nephew and said to him: "Your Lord Lu has always had a very high reputation, and now there is a lack of capable officials in Jiaozhou and Guangzhou, and the emperor wants your family to go, I don't know if it's possible?" If you are afraid of a long way away, you will have to degrade the official by avoiding the crime. Otherwise, it is also a way to go to Luoyang, the eastern capital, as an official position of the prince's guest or Zhan Shi. When Lu Xuan heard this, he was really scared, and hurriedly wrote to ask to be the prince's guest or Zhan Shi. Li Linfu was also afraid that letting him serve as such a petty official would cause controversy, and Xuanzong would also be suspicious, so he first let him serve as the assassin of Huazhou. Soon after, he falsely claimed in front of Xuanzong that he was sick and could not take care of official business, and then he demoted Lu Xuan to the crown prince Zhan Shi and sent him to Luoyang. This is Li Linfu's standard technique of "honey" and "sword", which not only harms you, but also makes you feel that you owe him a favor!

Once again, Xuanzong suddenly remembered Yan Tingzhi and asked Li Linfu: "Where is Yan Tingzhi now?" This person can still be used. At this time, Yan Tingzhi was in the post of Jiangzhou Assassin. Li Linfu panicked when he heard this, and hurriedly found Yan Tingzhi's younger brother Yan Yanzhi, and said to him: "The emperor respects your brother very much, why don't you let your brother go to school, and say that he has a stroke disease (cerebral thrombosis, cerebral hemorrhage, etc.), and ask the emperor for permission to return to the capital to recuperate?" In this way, you can return to the court. Yan Tingzhi didn't know what the plan was, and sure enough, according to what he said, Li Linfu said to Xuanzong, "Yan Tingzhi is sick, and he should be given an idle official, so that he can recuperate with peace of mind." Xuanzong sighed for a long time, and then gave him an idle official of the crown prince Zhan Shi, and went to Tokyo, so he dispelled the idea of reusing him.

Li Shizhi is also from the Tang Dynasty, and is the grandson of Li Chengqian, the crown prince of Taizong, and is very talented. Started Zuo Wei Lang General. Successively served as Tongzhou Thorn History, Henan Yin, Imperial History Doctor, Criminal Department Shangshu, the first year of Tianbao (742 AD), due to the death of Niu Xianke, he became the prime minister. It is very appreciated by Xuanzong. Li Shizhi thinks that he was born in the royal family like Li Linfu, and he is still a descendant of Gaozu and Taizong, unlike Li Linfu, who is from a branch line. So he fought for power with Li Linfu. Li Linfu knew that he had encountered the biggest threat, but on the surface, he was silent and stoic. Finally used the most poisonous trick.

One day, Li Linfu pretended to be unintentional and said: "There is a gold mine in Huashan. Gold mining can enrich countries. At that time, the ten major festivals on the border increased the number of soldiers, and the military expenditure suddenly increased a lot, and Xuanzong's use in the palace was dozens of times more than before, and he faced financial difficulties. Li Shizhi, who had a rough personality and rash demeanor, didn't know what to do, so he fell into a trap. One day, when he met with the emperor, he proposed to mine the Huashan gold mine to enrich the country. Xuanzong was also very happy, so he asked Li Linfu what his opinion was. Li Linfu said: "The minister has known about this for a long time, but Huashan is where His Majesty's destiny and royal spirit lie, and it must not be excavated, so I didn't dare to tell the emperor." Xuanzong thinks that Li Linfu really loves himself. And Li Shizhi was too reckless. He said angrily to Li Shizhi: "In the future, everything must be discussed with Li Linfu first, and then come to me later." This is really a slap in the face, and it woke up Li Shizhi all of a sudden, and then he realized how terrible Li Linfu was. In the future, not only did he not dare to fight with Li Linfu in everything, but he also retired from chapter after chapter. In the fifth year of Tianbao, he resigned from the post of prime minister and retained an idle post of the crown prince. Although he retreated bravely, he did not end well, and in the end, he was hit by Li Linfu's Lianxing Prison because of several friends, and was exiled by Zhulian, and committed suicide by taking medicine in front of the door in the imperial history sent by Li Linfu to kill him.

5. Lianxing Prison

Once the loyal king Li Heng was officially canonized as the crown prince. Li Linfu is not a question of whether he is happy or not, but he feels that a catastrophe is coming. He is not afraid of the present, but of the future. The emperor is old, and he also said that he will die if he dies. Once the crown prince ascends the throne, and don't talk about the accounts of Li Ying's three brothers, it is enough to kill him on the basis that he is famous for "supporting the Shouwang faction". He felt that he was not just riding on the back of a tiger, he was simply on the back of a mad tiger. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and go all the way to the end. You have to get rid of Li Heng again and pull King Shou into the position of the crown prince.

But to engage Li Heng is different from engaging Li Ying at the beginning, King Shou is gradually falling out of favor, and Li Heng is the crown prince selected by the emperor himself, which shows that the holy family is long, and if he wants to pull him off the horse, unless he is like Yang Wei and Li Ying, accuse Li Heng of rebellion. However, it is obviously impossible to make a false accusation this time, and we can only find ways to weave some "real evidence" that can be said to be reasonable.

The ideal for him is naturally to have a ready-made case of rebellion, and he can use torture and torture to involve the prince in the case. I waited for a long time but didn't find it. This is also normal, in a peaceful and prosperous world, who is full of food and support, and has nothing to do to rebel? If you can't find it, you have to find a way to make it.

If you want to prove that the prince is rebelling, you can only start with the people around him, so that it can be convincing. He first set his target on the crown princess's brother Wei Jian. This is also an old routine, Li Ying's case is determined to be a rebellion between the prince and the princess's brother.

Wei Jian and Li Linfu are also iron buddies according to their current relationship, and they are relatives. Wei Jian's wife is none other than the daughter of Li Linfu's uncle Jiang Jiao, and Jiang Jiao is the best relationship between Li Linfu's relatives and Li Linfu, so the relationship between the two is "very strong". The word "狎" here does not mean impropriety, but intimacy. Just like Xuanzong and Jiang Jiao.

Wei Jian's father was a high-ranking official (Yanzhou Assassin History), his sister was the concubine of the crown prince Li Heng, and his sister was also married to the prince, but unfortunately died early and was given the title of Princess Huixuan. It is known as "a prosperous door" in history. Wei Jian does not blindly rely on family relationships, he is also a very capable person. What he is best at is not engaging in political struggles, but grasping economic work. During the Kaiyuan period, the economy developed rapidly, the country was rich and the people were strong, but there were also many problems. According to the "General History of China" edited by Mr. Bai Shouyi, at the beginning of the Kaiyuan Dynasty, military expenditure was only 2 million guan, but in the last year of Kaiyuan, it soared to 10 million guan, and in the last year of Tianbao, it increased by 4 or 5 million guan on this basis. According to the "Zizhi Tongjian", at the beginning of the Kaiyuan Dynasty, the military expenditure recorded in the first year of Tianbao was 12 million pieces of cloth and 1.9 million pieces of grain, which was equivalent to 10 million yuan. The second is the use of the court, the concubines and female officials in the palace are the same as the ministers of the outer court, they have their own money and lead powder for clothes, but after pleasing the emperor, the emperor wants to reward him, so he has to pay out of his own pocket. In Xuanzong's later years, the harem rewards were unfrugal, and he was embarrassed to always take them in the treasury, so he had the need to expand his income and build a small treasury by himself. Therefore, in the early years of Xuanzong, he was thrifty and diligent, but in his later years, he was extravagant and lazy. The reason is also very simple, in the early years of the Kaiyuan Dynasty, the national situation was disordered, and there was a danger of losing the country if it was not diligent in government; What he inherited was the mess left by Zhongzong and Ruizong, he was very poor, and he would go bankrupt if he was not diligent and thrifty. By the end of the Kaiyuan Dynasty and the early years of Tianbao, the economy of the Tang Dynasty had reached its peak, and Du Fu chanted: Recalling the heyday of the Kaiyuan Dynasty in the past, Xiaoyi still has thousands of rooms. The rice is fat and the corn is white, and the public and private warehouses are abundant. If you have more money, you naturally want to enjoy it, just as people now go through the entrepreneurial period and then enter the enjoyment period. And if a person wants to enjoy it, it is impossible for him to work diligently (diligent government). If you look at Tang Xuanzong from the perspective of an ordinary person, it is understandable, but unfortunately he is the emperor, and the problem is big.

Wei Jianyin's sisters and sisters were all in the palace, and he had a good relationship with the senior eunuchs in the palace, and after he understood the meaning of Xuanzong's need to grasp the economy, he adapted to the shape and changed his thinking. Xuanzong "thought he could" and promoted him to the post of Taishou of Shaanxi County and the envoy of land and water. Wei Jian made persistent efforts to collect the specialties and treasures from all over the country and transport them to Chang'an by boat to present them to Xuanzong. Xuanzong was even more pleased, and continued to be promoted to the rank of Imperial Historian and Baron Feng Weijian, and at the same time was fully responsible for the economic work (the water and land transfer envoys, the Yuanhe River and the Jianghuai South Lease and Yong Transit Disposal Envoys)...... (To be continued.) )