Heaven walks alone, and the four seasons are reincarnated. The spring breeze is warm, the summer is scorching, the autumn is high and cool, and the cold winter is slaughtering. The natural world brings people a hundred flowers blooming, lush vegetation, and pleasant landscapes, but it will also encounter gloom. The same is true of the operation of history, the rise of the Tang Dynasty and the death of the Tang Dynasty, the division of a long time must be united, and the combination of a long time must be divided.

The Tang Dynasty developed to the later stage, and at the moment of Tang Xuanzong's death, it began to decline and went into decline. At first, it was his son Tang Yizong who squandered money in life, brutally persecuted Zhongliang in the governance of the imperial court, and squandered the foundation of the Xingtang Dynasty founded by Xuanzong, the "Little Taizong". Natural disasters and man-made disasters, the people are not able to make a living, they sell their children and daughters, and the officials force the people to rebel, brewing Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao to rebel.

In 873, Tang Yizong died in the midst of the earth-shattering resistance of the people. When the fourteen-year-old Tang Xizong sat on the dragon throne, Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao rebelled in Henan and Shandong one after another. At a young age, how can you have experience in governing the country? The eunuch Tian Lingzi monopolized power, and under the pressure of the sword of the Huangchao army, he fled to Sichuan with the emperor.

When the government army fought against the powerful Huangchao army, the local troops of those imperial courts were one by one, centrifugal centrifugation, wait-and-see, and defection. Coupled with the dictatorship of the eunuchs in the south, the prime minister of the north division has no power, the bad people in the court are in charge, and the virtuous ministers suffer. If it weren't for the loyal and good man Zheng Zheng who gathered a large army in the northwest and fought hard, Huang Chao would have gained a foothold in Chang'an.

In the war, the fastest-rising new feudal town in the north was Zhu Wen, which was based in Henan, and Li Keyong, a famous general in Shatuo, centered in Shanxi. Zhu Wen took the opportunity to accept Huang Chao's subordinates, and continued to annex many small feudal towns, expanding his power, and soon became the largest warlord in the Central Plains.

Huangchao failed, and in 888, Tang Xizong also died in exile. Succeeded Tang Zhaozong. Although ambitious, he faced the intertwined dark forces of the imperial court and the self-respecting feudal towns. Helpless, power shrinks. In the Zhaozong era. The greater enemy of the imperial court was Zhu Wen. Zhu Wen was a careerist and conspirator, and finally in 903, taking advantage of the conflict between eunuchs and bureaucrats, he sent troops into the court and took Zhaozong hostage to Luoyang. In 904, he killed Zhaozong and appointed the eleven-year-old prince as Emperor Mourning. Then he almost killed the eunuchs and ministers in the court. In 907, he simply killed Emperor Wai and became the emperor in Kaifeng, with the country name Liang. A few years later, the promiscuous Zhu Wen was killed by his son Zhu Youqi. ended a disgraceful life. After 16 years, Houliang was defeated at the hands of the late emperor Zhu Youzhen.

After Zhu Wen was proclaimed emperor, various feudal towns called him emperor one after another, and China entered a great division again after the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. According to the name of the Song Dynasty, this period of history is called "Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms".

In the northwest, Li Maozhen, such an ambitious and ungrateful villain, also made Zhaozong suffer insults and suffering.

Here is written Shatuo people Li Keyong, Li Cunqiao father and son. The robber Li Keyong followed his father Li Guochang, and contributed to helping the imperial court suppress Pang Xun and the Huangchao uprising. Domineering and unreasonable. If they don't agree, they will make a big move and kill the officials of the court. He mutilated the people and died of a terrible disease. He robbed three times in the Yanmen area in the northwestern part of Shanxi, and the land was thousands of miles away. Li Cunqiao destroyed the Zhu Wen regime. After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, and then the destruction of the former Shu Wang Yan. However, he was soon killed by the servants. ended a life of sin.

Here is written Liu Rengong and Liu Shouguang, who are fighting for their wives by father and son. They were shameless, vicious, and unkind, and finally killed by Li Cunmiao.

Here it is written that Wang Jian, Wang Yan, father and son, who are emperors in Xishu. Wang Jianben was a butcher, and the township called him "the eighth king of thieves", who had the right time and place to occupy Sichuan. After his death, the ninth son, Wang Yan, ascended the throne. Wang Yan was absurd and shameless, read all the women's sex, became the king of the vocal music and died in the country, and was finally killed by Li Cunmiao on the way to release him, ending his hateful life.

The heroic names of loyal ministers are commended here: Liu Zhan and Wen Zhang, who sacrificed their lives to save the disaster, Zheng Zheng who raised troops to fight back against Huangchao in Fengxiang, Zhang Chengye, the loyal housekeeper of Li Keyong's father and son, Du Rangneng who was reluctantly betrayed by Zhaozong, Han Wei, a famous poet in the late Tang Dynasty, Youling Jing Xinmo, Zhang Juhan, the eunuch who saved Wang Yan and his party, and Li Siyuan, the emperor who was thrifty and concerned about the lives of the people.

Famous generals: Wang Yanzhang and Guo Chongtao under Li Cunqiao, and Li Cunxiao and Li Sizhao under Li Cunqiao.

The crimes of the traitors were announced here: Gao Piao, who sat on the mountain to watch the tiger fight when Huangchao approached Chang'an, the eunuch Tian Lingzi who hijacked Xizong, Chen Jingxuan, who became the envoy of the Xichuan Festival with the power of his brother Tian Lingzi, the traitorous minister Lu Yan who vigorously persecuted the loyal minister Liu Zhan, the Tang Yizong's concubine Wei Baoheng who wantonly persecuted Liu Zhan and Wen Zhang, the musician Li Keji, who flattered the horse, Yang Fugong, the eunuch who sowed discord and secretly framed his uncle, and Cui Zhaowei, the traitor who was Zhu Wen's informant to monitor Zhaozong's whereabouts and persecuted the virtuous minister Du Rangneng, and Cui Yin, Zhu Wen's sworn friend and traitor.

The ungrateful acts of the despicable villain are also written here: Qian Hao, who robbed while it was hot and was the only one in the five dynasties and ten countries who did not dare to confront the enemy country, Han Jian, who had a different ambition to depose Zhaozong and kill the eleventh son of Zhaozong, Liu Jishu, the eunuch who was finally killed by Zhu Wen, who was under house arrest and was finally killed by Zhu Wen, Kong Qian, the fifty-seventh grandson of Confucius, who wantonly looted the people's fat and people's ointment for Li Cunqing, Jiang Xuanhui, who helped Zhu Wen kill Zhaozong and was betrayed by Zhu Wen, Sun Liucan, the Liu Gongquan clan, who hated the scholar and the first scholar, Zhang Zongzao, the gray character, and Duan Ning, who became the commander-in-chief of the Houliang front by patting horses, Wen Tao, who dug up the tombs of the Tang Dynasty, Jing Jin, the hot servant, Empress Liu, who forgot her righteousness, Yelu Abaoji, the fierce and vicious Khitan founder Yelu Abaoji and his son Yelu Deguang, Wang Yan's villain Wang Zongbi, and Meng Zhixiang who betrayed Li Siyuan's court.

Here are also written about the people who secretly invested in Mingzhu: Er Zhuge and Zhu Wen's advisers Jing Xiang and Gao Jixing, Zhu Wen's wife Zhang Hui, Zhu Wen's outstanding diplomat Li Zhen, Zhu Wen's Xiao He, and Luo Shaowei, who was not guaranteed in the evening.

In 907, Zhu Wen was proclaimed emperor, ending the situation of the apparent unification of the Tang Dynasty. The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms not only ended an era, but also ended the pattern of the north as the cultural center.

This book begins in 847, when Xuanzong of Tang ascended the throne, to 907 years after the death of the Tang Dynasty, with a history of 60 years. Then in 959, five generations perished, and another fifty years of history, a total of 110 years of history. There are many clues and many characters, so for the convenience of readers, they are written in chapters. wrote Tang Xuanzong, Tang Yizong, Tang Xizong, Tang Zhaozong, father and son, Zhu Wen father and son of the fifth generation, Li Keyong father and son, Liu Rengong father and son, Wang Jian father and son, and Khitan Yelu Abaoji father and son. Therefore, the title of this book is "The Second Generation of the Five Generations of Officials in the Late Tang Dynasty".

1. Tang Xuanzong's father and son

Tang Xuanzong's name was Li Chen, and he was a good emperor at the end of the Tang Dynasty. He worked hard during his reign. Work hard for the people and do your best for the court. He was born in 810. He ascended the throne in 847 and died in 859. He was 50 years old. He was the sixteenth emperor of the Tang Dynasty, ascended the throne at the age of thirty-seven, and reigned for thirteen years. In his fifty years of life, he made real efforts to prosper the Tang Dynasty, which undoubtedly slowed down the decline of the Tang Empire. It's a pity that God doesn't fulfill people's wishes, and he can't reverse the end of the court in his early life. What's even more regrettable is that his life savings were squandered by his successor, his son Yizong. For example, Yizong's marriage to the princess was extravagant. Burying the princess is even more expensive. Emperor Yizong was also a mediocre emperor. In the denunciation of the Huangchao uprising, he fled to Sichuan. At this time, warlords from all over the country fought and grabbed territory, and the Tang Dynasty was almost defeated. When Zhaozong's younger brother Zhaozong became the emperor, he ordered not to leave the palace, and the people around him did not listen to him, and he was finally killed by Zhu Wen. The pace of the Tang Dynasty came to an end.

1. The best emperor

From Tang Dezong onwards, the things used in the palace did not need to be run by the government, and all the eunuchs directly bought and sold them to the people. The hundreds of "yellow-clothed messengers and white-shirted children" are envoys, envoys of the emperor. Minister of the Imperial Mission. The poem "Hand Holding the Paperwork" in Bai Juyi's poem "The Charcoal Seller" is exactly what happened at that time. Han Yu is more direct, he said. It's called Miyagi, but it's actually a robbery.

Book of Jin. He Wuji's Biography talks about what kind of goods the envoys are: "Wuji is pseudo-edicted. Called the envoy, there is no one in the city who dares to move. "A false envoy. There was always a bold man in the whole city, but no one dared to touch him. If it's true, how many heads do you have, do you still want to live, and dare to doubt it?

Let's take a look at Wang Yan of the Song Dynasty "Tang Yulin. "Self-renewal" said that Li Guangbi fought with the envoy, and when he heard that the judge Zhang Wei had arrived, he hurriedly threw down the ball and stood in front of Zhang Wei to say goodbye. Li Guangbi was a Khitan chieftain who followed Guo Ziyi to attack An Lushan. Guo Ziyi is the marshal of the soldiers and horses, he is the deputy marshal, the deputy envoy of Shuofang Jiedu, the prince of Jiguo, and the defeat of Shi Siming. Such a general with outstanding military achievements, who shocked Hebei, and stomped his feet, Hebei was going to be earthquaked. Being so careful with the envoy and not daring to slack off in the slightest shows that the envoy is not a simple official. By the way, the Khitans were not only the famous general Li Guangbi in the Tang Dynasty, but also Li Baochen, the envoy of the Chengde Festival after the "Anshi Rebellion".

Let's take a look at Shen Whale's "Double Beads" in the Ming Dynasty. "The Tanabata Festival: "The Tanabata night, the fight turned into a vulgar hustle, and when I heard the propaganda envoy, the trail was lurking, and the fog dissipated. "When the common people see the envoy, it is like meeting the plague god. It is his profession for these people to be officials, and prestige is his skill, and they are very energetic in oppressing the people.

In the middle of the Tang Dynasty, the emperor often sent assassins to the lower levels to run errands. Is Tang Xuanzong also like those emperors in the past, allowing the envoys to be powerful and powerful?

In 853, an envoy passed through Kip Stone in Baoji City, Shanxi Province, and an incident occurred that angered Xuanzong. The land is barren and old, the grass does not grow high, the trees do not grow much, the land is barren, and the birds do not. Not to mention that the common people lived a life of eating the last meal and not the next, even the magistrates also suffered. The local officials had nothing to entertain him, and finally managed to get a few "black cakes" for the envoy to eat.

The envoy was accustomed to being majestic, and when he saw that he was treated like this, he was furious. He picked up his horsewhip and hurried out, and when he saw the staff, he whipped it. It was useless to beg for mercy from the poor staff who delivered the black cakes, and he was still beaten down, and he couldn't get out of bed for a few days.

When the observer learned about this, he was very angry and sealed the black cakes. Then, send someone to the imperial court to Emperor Xuanzong. In the late Tang Dynasty, the observer envoy was also sent by the emperor as a local military and political governor to supervise the prefecture and county where he was located. The judge is a middle-level official temporarily sent by the emperor to assist in the work of the Jiedu envoy and the observer envoy. And the following is often talked about the festival envoy, the official position follows the old system of the Northern Zhou Dynasty and the Sui Dynasty, and he is in charge of the army in important areas. When he was appointed, the court gave him a festival, so he called the festival envoy.

Tang Xuanzong knew about this, and knew that these envoys thought that he was his father, brother and nephew in the previous dynasty, and let him do whatever he wanted. When the envoy returned to the court, Xuanzong summoned him to inquire. The envoy didn't know that someone had already reported it to the top, and he felt that he was very reasonable. Xuanzong knew that he was a fox and a tiger, bullying the people, and seriously affecting the image of the government. And he said, Do thou not know that all the places are dripping poor? They're hungry themselves, and it's nice to have black cakes for you to eat! That's all they saved from between their teeth, you're not bad! You eat too much white noodles in the palace, right? Hurt people again, you're too domineering, who gave you the power! This phrase sounds like the current fashion: who gives you the power! Did the people give it to you? In the end, Xuanzong asked him to go to Gongling to guard the tomb.

Why did that observer be so bold as to sue the Qincha? Because he knew that the emperor would definitely attach importance to this issue and give them justice.

Xuanzong did not appoint officials casually, and only those who were loyal to the imperial court and had made relatively great contributions were promoted. Although he attaches great importance to the Hanlin Scholars, he still pays attention to promoting them. He often told those Hanlin scholars that everyone should not think that if you follow him, you will be easily promoted. Therefore, he rarely gave purple clothes. In the era when he was the main leader of the country, people were proud to give purple clothes and scarlet clothes, but he just didn't want to send them indiscriminately. When he visited below, the relevant departments often prepared a few purple clothes and scarlet clothes to follow him to temporarily reward meritorious personnel. Sometimes, I don't need one for half a year, so I took it as an honor at that time.

The official uniform of the Tang Dynasty has seven grades of light green, six grades of dark green, five grades of light crimson, and four grades of deep crimson. Only those who have more than three grades can wear purple clothes. rose from the county order to the history of thorns, from green to crimson, which became a "red man". If you want to give purple clothes, wouldn't it be "red and purple"?

There is a story that Prime Minister Ling Fox intends to recommend Li Yuan as the assassin of Hangzhou. Xuanzong once read Li Yuan's poems, and there is a sentence "Only one game of chess is eliminated in a long day", and he still remembers it. Xuanzong lowered his face and said, this person plays chess every day, how can he govern one side! Ling Fox hurriedly explained that this was just the poet's pleasure, not necessarily the case. Xuanzong felt that Ling Huxuan's words were reasonable, and he was afraid that the scholars would say that he was not enlightened, so he let Li Yuan go to Hangzhou to be a assassin. Xuanzong put an end to the relocation of assassins, and he must go to Beijing to personally inspect their ability and character, and then appoint them.

Why can he accept Linghu's words? Here's a story.

On the day of Xianzong's funeral, a sudden strong wind and rain came, and all the officials and six palaces fled. At this time, only a gray-haired old man was protecting the coffin with his body. The emperor was very moved, and when he asked, it turned out to be Ling Hujiao's father. After Xuanzong became emperor, he asked the old man if he had any descendants. He was told that the eldest son of the old man was a thorn in the past, but had bad legs and feet, and had polio. The second son, Ling Hu, is in Huzhou and has talents. Xuanzong promoted Linghu from the locality, gradually promoted, and finally paid homage to the prime minister. (To be continued......)