Pretending to be deaf and dumb for more than 30 years, the eunuch ascended the throne as dementia, and an imperial edict made the eunuch regret it.

In 846 AD, Tang Wuzong Li Yan, who was still in his thirties, suddenly became seriously ill, and his time was coming, while his children were still young and had not been canonized as a prince.

At that time, the hearts of the imperial court were floating, and eunuchs, military commanders, Niuli Party, consorts and other forces all planned to participate in the upcoming power struggle.

Among them, the eunuch group headed by Qiu and Ma finally won the power struggle and pushed a "mentally retarded" prince in the palace to the throne.

I want to train this prince who has been in the palace for decades into my own puppet, thoroughly grasp the affairs of state and monopolize power.

What eunuchs didn't expect, however, was that the mentally retarded prince was just playing dumb. He had been in the palace for more than 30 years, waiting for the moment to reach the top.

What makes the eunuch group collapse even more is that the first imperial edict of the prince who has worked so hard to ascend to the throne is to "operate" himself.

The emperor who endured for decades and had a legendary experience was Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty Li Chen.

In 8 10 AD, on June 22nd, the fifth year of Tang Yuanhe, thirteen sons of Tang Xianzong Spring Calendar were born with a maid-in-waiting.

Mother is a maid-in-waiting. She was an accident. Born in such an environment, Li Chen's childhood can be imagined.

According to historical records, Li Chen was often bullied by his brothers when he was a child, and his humble status naturally made him suffer silently.

Slowly, Li Chen began to become taciturn and not show his feelings. Over time, he was regarded as a "fool" by people in the palace and bullied at will.

Faced with these taunts and insults, Li Chen lived a life of resignation for more than ten years. Even when his father came to see him, he kept silent, which made Tang Xianzong very disappointed. It seems that Chen Li has really become a "fool".

This situation did not change until Li Chen grew up and was named the King of Light. Li Chen has completely become a joke in the palace, and the position of the emperor is a position he dare not expect. He just wants to pretend to be a "fool" and live in the palace silently.

Even later, Li Chen's nephew became the emperor. Li Chen has no intention of becoming emperor. He exists as a "fool" in the palace, and he stands aloof from the rest of the world and becomes the laughingstock of everyone in the palace.

One day, Li Chen's nephew Tang Wenzong Li Ang held a grand banquet in the palace, and invited many princes and loyal ministers, including Li Chen.

At the banquet, Li Ang and all the guests were as drunk as a fiddler. While pushing a cup for a change, Li Ang was surprised to see his "fool" uncle eating food silently in the corner, not drinking or talking.

Li Ang on a whim, looked at his silly uncle quipped:

"Those who attend the banquet today will be rewarded if they can make Uncle Guang (Li Chen) laugh."

Under Tang Wenzong's four questions, all the ministers came to Li Chen with wine and tried their best to amuse Chen Lixiao.

In the face of humiliation and teasing, Li Chen didn't respond at all, just quietly eating his own food alone, as if he were nothing.

Gradually, the atmosphere of the banquet was pushed to a climax, and cheerful laughter filled the whole palace.

Only two people were not affected. One of them was Li Chen in the center of the storm, and the other was Li Yan, who later became Tang Wuzong.

After this banquet, Li Chen's stupidity was once again recognized by all the people in the palace. Everyone realizes that Li Chen, the king of light, is a real "fool" and stays away from him.

However, in the Tang royal family at that time, for some people, Li Chen was by no means a useless "fool". On the contrary, he is the "treasure" that these people think all the time. These people are eunuchs.

Eunuch clique

After the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty, once the best in the world, turned from prosperity to decline and gradually came to an end.

Locally, the phenomenon of separatist regimes in various regions of the Tang Dynasty became more and more serious. On the central side, feudal centralization declined and imperial power was dispersed.

Especially in the middle and late Tang Dynasty when Li Chen lived, eunuchs and consorts had transcended the control of imperial power and became the existence that could influence the change of emperors in the Tang Dynasty.

Among them, the eunuch group headed by Ma, and Chou Shiliang is the best among them.

According to historical records, after Li Ang's death, Tang Wenzong, Tang Tang Liu Hongyi, Prime Minister Cindy Lee and others all wanted to be the current prince to supervise the country, and wait until the prince grew up to be king.

At that time, Shiliang Zhou, a powerful man with ulterior motives, wanted to foster a new prince and use him as his puppet to further master state affairs, so a power struggle came into being. ...

Finally, with the support of Chou Shiliang and the eunuch group, Tang Wuzong Li Yan, who was not qualified to inherit the throne, succeeded. It can be seen how serious the eunuch dictatorship was in the late Tang Dynasty.

However, Tang Wuzong Li Yan is not an ordinary person. Since ancient times, emperors who can be named as Wu Zong, except Zhu Houzhao of Wu Mingzong, are by no means idle.

After Li Yan ascended the throne, Chou Shiliang's influence was further expanded, and he became more and more arrogant, even daring to tell Li Yan what to do.

Chou Shiliang will kill or punish all the guards or musicians that Li Yan likes and dotes on, so as to alienate the people around Li Yan.

Faced with this situation, Li Yan adopted the practice of "an eye for an eye, treat people with courtesy" to cheat Chou Shiliang's trust and reuse Li Deyu to balance Chou Shiliang.

Finally, after three years' struggle, Chou Shiliang felt that the tide was gone, restrained his power and finally chose to retire.

Just before Shiliang Zhou left, he taught his henchmen the method of mastering power, hoping that the eunuch clique would always master the lifeblood of the Tang Dynasty.

So, Chou Shiliang is gone, but the eunuch power inside the Tang Dynasty is still huge, which is by no means something that Li Yan can do alone.

However, being able to get rid of Chou Shiliang's ability to lose face, and his strength is also highlighted at this time.

After Li Yan ascended the throne, Li Chen's life did not change, and he still lived a "fool" life in the palace.

However, for Li Yan, the existence of uncle Li Chen, a "fool", made him feel a little uneasy, and his anxiety came from that banquet.

Li Yan has always had a question in his heart: If Chen Li is really a "fool", then when people in the palace laugh, he should laugh with him.

If he is not a "fool", he can still keep a straight face in the face of such ridicule and abuse. The only explanation is that Li Chen is playing dumb.

Thought of here, Li Yan more think more afraid in my heart, his suspicion of Li Chen is more and more heavy, and even has begun to kill people.

So Li Yan began to try to kill his uncle in various unexpected ways, such as accidentally falling off his horse and accidentally pushing him down the stairs.

But to Li Yan's surprise, every time an accident happens, Li Chen can turn the tables.

On one occasion, Li Yan called all the princes, including Li Chen, to hunt in the heavy snow. In order to let his uncle die, Li Yan tampered with the horse that his uncle rode.

Sure enough, in the middle of hunting, Li Chen's horse suddenly fell down and disappeared with Li Chen in the vast snowfield.

Seeing this, Li Yan hurriedly ordered people to look for it in the vast snow.

However, after searching for several hours, Li Chen was still missing. Li Yan was overjoyed and thought that Li Chen was probably dead this time.

However, when Li Yan was happy, Li Chen limped away in front of everyone.

After this incident, Li Yan became more and more sure of the conjecture in his heart. After all, how can a "fool" survive in such a big snow and ice? There is nothing to do but be stupid.

Therefore, his heart's murder of Li Chen was even stronger. He decided not to make an accident, but to find someone to assassinate Li Chen directly.

To this end, Li Yan handed it over to a confidant around him-eunuch Qiu to do it.

When he just received Li Yan's order, Qiu refused, because he didn't know he was playing dumb and why Li Yan wanted to kill his uncle.

Moreover, as a member of the eunuch group, he knew very well what Li Chen meant to himself.

Once Tang Wuzong Li Yan dies, then Li Chen is his best support object and excellent puppet candidate.

Therefore, in the matter of killing Li Chen, the enemy secretly hid Li Chen, took him out of the palace and sent him to a temple far away from the palace to hide.

As the protagonist of this matter, Li Chen saw it thoroughly.

After decades of playing dumb, Li Chen has long understood the way to survive in the palace.

My nephew wants to commit suicide because he is afraid of taking the throne; And eunuchs want to protect themselves, but they also regard themselves as chess pieces.

Faced with this situation, Li Chen had no choice but to endure, and when the contradiction between Li Yan and the eunuch could not be alleviated, it was his reversal.

After Qiu "solved", Li Yan's anxiety gradually disappeared, and his focus gradually shifted to dealing with Qiu and Ma, two eunuchs around him.

However, even if Li Yan has experience in dealing with Chou Shiliang, he feels more and more tired in the face of the increasing number and strength of eunuch groups.

At this time, the Tang Dynasty caught up with catastrophe and rebellion. Due to overwork, Li Yan finally fell ill and died soon.

The strength of the eunuch group also developed to the point where he could not solve it.

As mentioned earlier, after Li Yan was critically ill, many forces in the imperial court began to compete for the throne, and the imperial power, consorts and Niuli Party were constantly disturbed.

The most powerful eunuch group, in order to win the "battle for the throne" completely, broke into the palace directly, forcing Tang Wuzong Li Yan, who was dying, to write a letter to his uncle Li Chen.

Listening to the arrangement of the horse, the enemy and others around him, Tang Wuzong, whose time is coming, has no choice. After learning that Li Chen was still alive, he wrote down the imperial edict and died soon.

After Li Yan's death, Qiu and Ma took the monk back, took out the imperial edict of the former emperor Li Yan, and announced the succession.

At this time, Chen Li is the uncle of two late emperors in terms of qualifications; In terms of age, it is also stronger than those young princes; On qualifications, there are letters left by the first emperor; On power, a eunuch with hands and eyes.

At that time, in the face of Li Chen's succession, the ministers and parties in the palace were silent, feeling that the Tang Dynasty was about to perish.

The eunuchs looked at Li Chen's succession and were overjoyed, fantasizing about their future life of monopolizing state affairs.

Li Chen, the only protagonist from beginning to end, took off his disguise for more than 30 years after he ascended the throne, completely reversing the overall situation.

Shortly after he ascended the throne, he promulgated his first imperial edict: limiting the eunuch group headed by Ma and Qiu and restoring their power.

When this order came out, Qiu and Ma were shocked and sorry. Why did the "fool" emperor they supported make such a decision?

They also understood Li Chen's obfuscation and why Li Yan wanted to kill Li Chen, but it was too late.

"Little Taizong" Li Chen

During Li Chen's more than 30 years of playing the fool, Li Chen never participated in any political struggle because of his "fool" status.

But in every political struggle, he can get a lot of important information from it, think about how to save the terminally ill Datang and find a solution.

He believes that to solve the current problems in the Tang Dynasty, we must first start from the central government. Only by solving the internal struggle of the imperial court and firmly holding power in your own hands can other contradictions be solved.

So, in the year of his accession to the throne, he started with the imperial court, first solved the eunuch clique that made waves, and then cleared the core of the Lee Party that rose during the Wu Zongxian period-Prime Minister Li Deyu, and gave the position of Prime Minister to Bai Minzhong of the Niu Party.

At this point, the dispute between Niu and Li, which has plagued the Tang Dynasty for many years since the An Shi Rebellion, was completely solved.

In addition, Li Chen also repented all the officials except Zheng Zhu and Li Xun in the Ganlu Revolution, which won unanimous support from all the officials.

After the struggle between eunuchs and Niu Li was not restricted, Li Chen began a drastic reform of the Tang Dynasty.

Politically, Li Chen attached great importance to centralization, reused talents, firmly held power in his own hands, and at the same time, rectified official management and attached importance to the law, which provided a stable legal environment for the people of Xuanzong in the Tang Dynasty.

Economically, Pei Xiu, assistant minister of the Ministry of Housing, was appointed as the salt and iron transshipment ambassador to rectify the grain transportation; Reduce taxes so that people can have a rest.

In addition, Li Chen has made great achievements in foreign military affairs.

Such as: breaking the north, stabilizing the north of the Tang Dynasty; Expel Tubo to the west and recover the land of Hexi; Pacify Annan rebellion and defend southern Xinjiang; Ping dangxiang, settled in the Tangut and so on. ...

It can be said that Li Chen almost saved the dying Datang by one person.

In "As a Mirror", Sima Guang commented on Li Chen like this:

"Xuanzong calendar less difficult, long practice, people's love false, unknown. Committed to civil affairs, diligent in governing the road, and strict in remuneration, so the party music is unconventional, obedient, and seeking Han, and its filial piety is very popular. "

"Therefore, the administration of Dazhong ended with the death of Tang Dynasty, and people thought it was called Xiao Taizong."

In other words, people at that time called Li Chen "Little Emperor Taizong" in succession, which was the Li Shimin in people's mind at that time.

Moreover, not only Sima Guang, but also historians of past dynasties after the Tang Dynasty spoke highly of Li Chen, thinking that he was as wise as Wendi and Taizong, and calling the Xuanzong period of Li Chen "the rule of the great and the middle" was already extremely high. And a few years ago, he was just a "fool" in the palace.

It can be seen that Li Chen's life is legendary, but he also had a tragic ending like most emperors in the late Tang Dynasty. ...

Tragic ending

In 13 years after Li Chen's accession to the throne, that is, in the thirteenth year of Emperor Taizong, Chen Li was exhausted because she was busy with political affairs, and her health was deteriorating.

In order to maintain a healthy body and continue his "rule of Dazhong", Li Chen began to follow the example of the former Qin Shihuang and others and became superstitious about the legendary elixir of life. ...

In May of the same year, at the request of Li Chen, Raymond, the imperial doctor in the palace, began to offer "elixir of life" and elixir of life to Li Chen.

Friends who know the ancient history of China know that the so-called elixir in ancient China is nothing more than an "iron pimple" made by a group of superstitious Taoist scholars with metals such as mercury, carbon, tin, lead, copper, gold and silver and various Chinese herbal medicines such as ginseng and velvet antler, so it is called "elixir".

And this so-called "elixir of life", not to mention prolonging life, is a miracle that normal people can not die after eating it.

Therefore, before taking the elixir of life, Li Chen's body can barely maintain, and after taking the elixir of life, his body went from bad to worse.

Three months later, Li Chen was terminally ill and finally died in Dazhong 13, that is, on September 7, 859, at the age of 50.

After Li Chen's death, the eunuch group suppressed by Li Chen revived again.

And all kinds of laws and achievements he promoted before his death also disappeared in the long river of history with his death.

After his death, the Tang Dynasty, which he fought for all his life, came to an end completely and irreversibly. In the 40 years after his death, the once prosperous Tang Dynasty was completely destroyed by Zhu Wen, which was distressing.

Throughout Li Chen's 50-year life, Li Chen's life can be described as legend, from a concubine to a "fool" that everyone can humiliate and laugh at, and then to a generation of wise kings who realized the rule of the great and the middle.

However, no one can change the course of history, and no one can affect the fate of the demise of the Tang Dynasty. A powerful monarch like Li Chen can only last for the Tang Dynasty for several decades.

On the other hand, the appearance of Li Chen is also a manifestation of the times making heroes.

Imagine, if there were no special circumstances in the late Tang Dynasty, Li Chen was just a concubine who could not inherit the throne. Without eunuchs who tried to escape from politics, Li Chen would have no chance to succeed to the throne.

And such a legendary person finally died in the yearning for longevity, which had to be embarrassing and surprising.