Li Linfu saw that he was like getting on a helicopter, and he naturally panicked in his heart, so he discussed countermeasures with his henchmen and gave Wei Jian a bright rise and a secret fall. He proposed to Xuanzong and promoted Wei Jian to the secretary of the Criminal Department, but took away his concurrently held positions such as various transfer envoys and disposal envoys. He also promoted his cronie Yang Shenjin to the rank of Imperial Historian to prepare for the next step in prison.

Yang Shenjin was originally an official who would make money for the emperor better than Wei Jian, and Wei Jian's actions were still emulated by his behavior. But Yang Shenjin is very familiar with current affairs, and the emperor appointed him as the emperor in the imperial history, but he resolutely refused to accept this appointment because it was not recommended by Li Linfu, and he knew Li Linfu's unspoken rule: Any official who is promoted without his recommendation will never end well. Li Linfu saw that he was so sensible and liked it very much, so he asked him to serve as the middle of the imperial history, and asked him to monitor Wei Jian's every move.

Wei Jian is not a fool, he knows that he has been harmed by Li Linfu, but he can't say that he has suffered, and he will never say that people will harm you by giving you a promotion, right? But that's actually it. He can only secretly spit out bitterness

On the fifteenth day of the first month of the fifth year of Tianbao, Wei Jian and Hexi Jiedu made Huangfu Wei Ming night tour, and went to the room of a Taoist priest in Jinglongguan together, and happened to meet the prince Li Heng, and the three of them reminisced in the room, and were discovered by Yang Shenjin, who was then surveilled, and reported to Li Linfu. Li Linfu was overjoyed, thinking that the long-awaited opportunity had finally arrived, so he reported to Xuanzong: saying that Wei Jian was a relative of the country, and he should not collude with the Jiedu envoys stationed abroad, this must be a conspiracy to raise troops to support the crown prince and seize the throne. Xuanzong really believed his words, demoted Wei Jian to Jinyun Taishou, Huangfu Weiming to Banchuan Taishou, and soon sent envoys to kill Huangfu Weiming in Sichuan, and confiscated his family property, Wei Jian, his younger brother, and son were demoted to distant prefectures and counties. Li Linfu took the opportunity to get his political opponent Li Shizhi into this case, and he was also demoted to Yichun. By October, Li Linfu sent his cronies to supervise the Imperial Historian Luo Xizao to the penal colony of these people and killed them one by one. Wei Jian's family was not only ruined, but there were more than a dozen court officials implicated by him. In order to show his heart, the crown prince Li Heng had to write to Xuanzong and divorce his concubine Wei.

Li Linfu was in this prison because he wanted to bring down the prince. Xuanzong was not undeceived by him, but Gao Lishi tried his best to ensure the loyalty of the prince in front of Xuanzong, and Li Heng divorced Mingzhi again, and Xuanzong did not have the years of easy storage.

Li Linfu couldn't make a plan. Naturally, I had to raise two plans. Li Heng has a Liangdi surnamed Du (a low-ranking concubine), and her father and son-in-law Liu Tao do not agree. Liu Tao is a sinister and impetuous person, he somehow knew Li Linfu's thoughts, and wanted to use this matter to get promoted and make a fortune, so he falsely accused his father-in-law of rebelling against the prince. Li Linfu arrested this old man Du and put him in the royal prison (edict prison). and did not give him a chance to defend himself, so he was "given death". The unlucky Li Heng had no choice but to cut his love again and leave Du Liangdi (out of Liangdi as a concubine). Li Linfu did not stop doing anything, and killed Li Yong, Pei Dunfu and others, who were officials and ministers who he hated, in this case, and the world was full of injustice. Du Fu wrote a poem that remembered Li Yong and complained about him. However, this second plan still did not succeed, because Gao Lishi defended the prince in front of Xuanzong, although the prince's position was shaken for a while, it was still stable.

If the two plans fail, naturally we have to give birth to "three plans". To say that Li Linfu really has the spirit of "perseverance", it is a pity that things in the world are not "where there is a will, there is a way".

Soon. Li Linfu also asked Jinan not to drive Wei Lin to secretly tell Wang Zhonghe, the envoy of Longyou and Hexi Jiedu: he said that he was in Shuozhou to assassinate the history, and Wang Zhongsi was appointed as the envoy of Hedong Jiedu, and once said to himself: He (Wang Zhonghe) grew up in the palace with King Zhong, that is, the prince, when he was a child, and he wanted to raise troops to assist the prince to seize the world. Xuanzong was not confused, and immediately retorted after hearing about it, how could my son collude with outsiders in the deep palace, this must be false. Having said that, it is better to believe that there is one, and to give Wang Zhong's heir to death. Fortunately, the king's subordinate Ge Shuhan was newly favored by the emperor, and he kowtowed step by step in front of Xuanzong, weeping bitterly, and was willing to vouch for his own life. and atoned for the sins of the Lord with his own rulers. Xuanzong just demoted the king.

During this period, Li Heng had enough of Li Linfu's suffering, and he didn't understand what was going on. His hair was all white at a young age, and the palace was barren and messy, and he had no intention of cleaning it up, and he was afraid of "death" every day. If it weren't for Colliers' efforts to protect him during this period, it's really hard to say whether he would have survived.

"Again and again. and then decline, three and exhaustion", three unjust prisons in a row, but failed to shake the status of the prince, and Li Linfu had no choice. Instead, he continued to use injustice against those who posed a threat to him. This time it's mainly a nest fight.

First, Yang Shenjin launched Wei Jian's unjust imprisonment, but in the process of trying the case, he found that the emperor had no intention of changing the reserve, so he took a wait-and-see attitude. This case was mainly presided over by Li Linfu's close confidants Wang Jie, Ji Wen and Luo Xizao. Among them, Ji Wen and Luo Xizao are Li Linfu's most loyal and powerful cool officials, known as "Ji Tong Net". Later, Yang Guifei's brother Yang Guozhong was introduced. Li Linfu was very dissatisfied with Yang Shenjin's neutral attitude, coupled with the fact that he gradually gained the appreciation of Xuanzong, which posed a threat to his position as prime minister, so he deliberately got rid of him. Yang Shenjin and Wang Jie's father were originally middle cousins, and Wang Fei was his cousin, and the two had a good personal relationship, but later they had a bad relationship for some reason. Li Linfu and Wang Ji conspired to falsely accuse Yang Shenjin of wanting to overthrow the Tang Dynasty and restore the Sui Dynasty on the grounds that Yang Shenjin's family possessed "Confucian Books", and it turned out that Yang Shenjin was the great-great-grandson of Emperor Yang of Sui. Xuanzong was furious and strictly ordered to investigate to the end. As a result, not only Yang Shenjin's family and brothers were given to death, but Zhulian's ministers were all over the government and the opposition.

The "General History of China" edited by Mr. Shi Zhongwen said: "Li Linfu repeatedly went to prison, set up a separate court, took Yang Zhao as the imperial history, and jointly created unjust prisons with the cool officials Ji Wen and Luo Xizao, and squeezed hundreds of people who were condemned. At this point, Li Linfu has behaved the same as Lai Junchen. He built a hall like a glaive in his home, known as the "Moon Hall". When he wanted to attack someone, he moved in and thought of a strategy. Once he walked out of it with a smile, many families in the capital would be shattered. When his son Li Xiu saw him so mad, he couldn't help but be afraid, fearing retribution. One day I was walking with Li Linfu in the back garden, and saw a family member pulling a heavy car walking by, so I took the opportunity to kneel down and cry to Li Linfu: "My lord, one day in the future, we want to be like this person, is it still possible?" Li Linfu understood what he meant, and said angrily, "The matter has come to this, what do you say?" ”

He also has bitterness in his heart and can't say it, he has already killed a prince and two princes, and forced the current prince and the future emperor to abolish two wives, even if he reins in the precipice, he will fall into the abyss! He frantically exterminated all dissidents inside and outside the court, but he tried his best to delay the arrival of the catastrophe of extermination. And he knew that this catastrophe would come sooner or later. This point is still the most accurate view of the great Confucian prince in the early Qing Dynasty, he said in the "Reading through the Commentary": Li Linfu killed the crown prince Ying and the two kings. For the longevity of the king of land also. Concubine Wu Hui, the favor of King Shou is declining, and Lin Fu wants to cultivate personal kindness and power, and his ambition will never waver. The more you plan, the stronger you persevere, and those who can bewitch the Lord and turn it into an evil plan, especially before Concubine Hui died, took it as a cardinal for his own life and misfortune. Those who can do it can do anything. "The Cardinal of Death, Life, Misfortune and Blessing" exhausted Li Linfu's motives.

It's just that I didn't expect that before the crown prince became the emperor, a catastrophe was already coming.

It wasn't long before he encountered the most powerful resistance. Although Wang Ji was brought up by Li Linfu, he made money for Xuanzong, and his holy family was growing and his authority was flourishing, and even Li Linfu was afraid of him. It was also his bad luck that happened to implicate his brother in a treason. Originally, there was nothing to do with him, but although he was bad, he was the best for his younger brother and protected his younger brother to death. Yang Guozhong asserted that Wang Ji must have also participated in the rebellion, Xuanzong thought that Wang Ji was favored by himself and would not rebel, although Li Linfu was dissatisfied with Wang Ji riding on his neck, but he was afraid of implicating himself, so he also helped Wang Ji say good things. Yang Guozhong just wanted to use this case to deal with Li Linfu, and Chen Xilie, the left minister who had always been submissive to Li Linfu and more obedient than his son, also turned against him. It is extremely said that Wang Gong should be punished for his rebellion. Yang Guozhong used his power in the imperial history to torture and torture him, and involved Li Linfu as well, saying that Li Linfu and Wang Ji were close brothers. and secretly colluded with the general Absi to plot against him, and Chen Xilie also tried his best to support it. Although Xuanzong did not believe in it, he also began to despise Li Linfu, and his trust in him also decreased. Li Linfu has since gone downhill.

6. Was Xuanzong really deceived?

Later generations have always believed that Li Linfu blinded Tang Xuanzong in it without realizing it, so that he could be arbitrarily powerful in the court. In fact, this is a big misunderstanding. not only exalted Li Linfu, but also looked down on Tang Xuanzong.

What kind of person is Tang Xuanzong? A generation of Shengming monarchs. It is not too much to say this, until twenty-four years before the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, his actions were not inferior to those of Tang Taizong Li Shimin and Qing Shengzu Xuanye, his fault was only that he thought that he had passed the entrepreneurial period and wanted to enter the enjoyment period, but he forgot the world responsibility on his shoulders. He understands Li Linfu's character, otherwise he would not have said such precise words as "This son is jealous and jealous, and the world is incomparable". He was not completely ignorant of what Li Linfu had done, in fact most of them were aware of it, and Li Linfu did not prevent the courtiers from meeting with him, nor did he prevent him from exercising the power of the monarch. The reason why he handed over all government affairs to Li Linfu was because he needed such a prime minister.

Later generations believed that Xuanzong was deceived by Li Linfu based on two evidences: First, Li Linfu blocked the way of speech. "Zizhi Tongjian" contains: "Li Linfu wants to block the people's eyes and ears, and he has dictatorial power, so he clearly summoned all the officials to admonish: "Now that the Ming Lord is above, the ministers will be immaculate, and they will use too many words!" Don't you see the king? Eat three kinds of ingredients, and rebuke them away. What a remorse! "Supplement Que Du tastes the words of the book, and tomorrow, he will be deposed as an order. It is a desperate way to fight. This historical fact is naturally correct, but if it is said that Li Linfu only relies on one sentence, it is still too much to exalt Li Linfu. The demeanor of the ministers of the Tang Dynasty was not so lowly and intimidated by a sentence, I think it was Xuanzong's behavior that really led to this result. Yushi Zhou Zi forgave the Niu cyclamen as "not a prime minister", and Xuanzong immediately killed him. Killing chickens is for monkeys, and Li Linfu's words are just to convey the holy decree for Xuanzong. Of course, it is also out of selfishness, so that no one will speak ill of him, but this is just a matter of killing two birds with one stone, if Li Linfu dares to make such a big statement specifically to block the way of speech, and the officials are afraid and will not be impeached, how can other officials be "fighting horses" one by one?

The second is that Li Linfu shades the sages of the grass field, or "Zizhi Tongjian": If you want to seek people from all over the world, you will learn all the art of Beijing. Li Linfu was afraid that the people of the grass and the wilderness would rebuke him for his treachery, and suggested: "There are many people who are despicable and stupid, and I am afraid that there will be slang and dirty words." "It is to order the county magistrate to practice intensively, and those who are scorching and transcendent will be sent to the province by name, and the committee will be re-examined. Those who have come have tried to use poetry, endowment, and theory, but no one has reached the first. Lin Fu is the best sage of the above table.

Of course, this is a trick played by Li Linfu, but if only the wise men in the grass can "rebuke their treachery", then what did the civil and military ministers in the court do? Why can't we "denounce its wickedness"? Li Linfu did not block Xuanzong's road to "entering the virtuous", on the contrary, Yang Shenjin, Wang Jie, and Yang Guozhong were all "virtuous talents" selected by Xuanzong himself, but they were not "virtuous talents" or "relatives of Jiaofang" who made money for themselves.

On the contrary, Li Linfu did not greatly disrupt the imperial court's system of electing officials, and Sima Guang also called him and Niu Xianke "strictly follow the procedure". Li Linfu is just more rigid about the conditions for the promotion of officials, and his qualifications are not enough, no matter what kind of talent you have, he will resolutely not be promoted. But this is also a system that has been perfected by successive prime ministers.

In fact, the fundamental reason why Li Linfu was able to serve as prime minister for 19 years and dictatorship for 16 years was that he was "good at nurturing the king's desires". "Old Tang Book" contains: He has been in office for many years, tired of all opportunities, and constantly accepts the detention and inspection of ministers, it is difficult to favor favoritism, and he is self-satisfied with Lin Fu, and he is committed to it. Therefore, put an end to the words against the ear, indulge in feasting, no differentiation, not ashamed, by Lin Fu's approval.

This passage says the relationship between Xuanzong and Li Linfu very thoroughly, "wanton feasting, banquet without distinction, not ashamed" This is no longer the behavior of the Holy Son, but the same absurdity and shamelessness as Emperor Yang of Sui, but it is also a true portrayal of Xuanzong since the twenty-ninth year of Kaiyuan after getting Yang Guifei, in the palace with the concubine and her three sisters Mrs. Han, Mrs. Qin, and Mrs. Qiuguo. Even Du Fu, who was at that time, dared to ridicule Mrs. Yu Guo for "lightly sweeping the moth eyebrows towards the supreme". "Zizhi Tongjian" said that the three people's families "competed for the first house, which was extremely magnificent, and the cost of one class was more than 10 million; Established, seeing that others have overcome themselves, they will destroy it and change it. The country of Qiu is particularly arrogant. "All this money was rewarded by Xuanzong. Xuanzong wants to live such a life, if Zhang Shuo and Zhang Jiuling are in the phase, it will not work, not only will he have to fight to the death, but he will not give him so much money to squander. At that time, the emperor did not have a small treasury, and if he wanted to use the money, he had to take it from the treasury, and he had to go through the prime minister. And Li Linfu not only caters to the "gentleman's desire", but also greatly approves of it, and provides a qiē condition, that is, the so-called "good maintenance". And when Xuanzong found a better person who was "good at cultivating the desire of the king" - Yang Guozhong, he also put Li Linfu aside. (To be continued.) )