[Zi Zhi Tong Jian 365] 9.6 The sweetheart, the sword, the jealousy of the talented man? The wild and wise man deceived the emperor

September 6th

Honey-mouthed and jealous of talented people

Ye Wuyi deceived the emperor

When Li Linfu became prime minister, it was Kaiyuan and Tianbao occasion.

The biggest characteristic of this person is that he is very jealous. Anyone whose talents and achievements were above him, or who was highly valued by the emperor, would always be brought down by every possible means. He especially hates people with literary talent. His method is to say nice things on the surface but stab him in the back. Therefore, the society says that he is "sweet as honey but with a sword hidden in his heart"! 〔742.3〕Li Linfu is the prime minister. Anyone who hopes that his achievements will be beyond his reach, that he will be favored by his superiors, or that his power will force him to do so, will be eliminated by all possible means. He is especially wary of literary scholars who may be kind to him, and who will be trapped by his sweet words. Of. The world said that Li Linfu "has honey in his mouth and a sword in his belly."

Once, Xuanzong watched singing and dancing in front of Qinzheng Tower, with a curtain hanging in front of him. Lu Xuan, the Minister of War, thought that the emperor was gone, so he got on his horse and passed downstairs with his whip in hand. Xuanzong watched him farewell, seeing his handsome appearance and extraordinary bearing, and praised him repeatedly. 〔742.3〕Changchang Chen Le was working diligently downstairs, and he lowered the curtain to watch. Lu Xuan, the minister of the Ministry of War, said that he had risen, lowered his whip and pressed the bridle, and passed downstairs.

Li Linfu’s spy had already reported this detail, and he immediately summoned Lu Xuan’s son: “Your father is a man of noble character, but now there is a shortage of talents in Guangzhou and Jiaozhou. The Holy Spirit wants to invite him, but I don’t know. Do you want to go? If you don't want to go, you have to be demoted. Otherwise, it is also a way to go to the Eastern Capital as a guest of the prince. Please consider it." [742.3] Lin Fu Changhou offered gold and silk to his superiors. You must know what you are doing. He called the disciples of Xuan and said: "I have always wanted to be respected by you. Now I have friends and borrowed talents from you. Your Majesty wants to honor you. Is that okay? If you are afraid of traveling far away, you should move to the left; otherwise, as a guest, Zhan was assigned to Dongluo, which was also the order of the virtuous people. "

In the early Tang Dynasty, Lingnan was humid and remote, and the road was far away. It was a place where people from the Central Plains were exiled and exiled. But her color changed." Lu Xuan heard the news, considered it over and over, and decided to take the last path, willing to serve as a guest of the prince. Li Linfu was afraid that others would gossip, so he changed his mind and asked Lu Xuan to be the governor of Huazhou. Not long after he took office, he actually said that he was ill and could not govern, and appointed a more boring official position of Yuanwai Tongzheng, which completely crushed him. 〔742.3〕Xuan is afraid, and invites guests and guests. Lin Fu was afraid of being popular, so he removed the governor of Huazhou. Not long after he became an official, he was falsely accused of illness and ignored state affairs. Except for Zhan Shi and other officials, he was Tongzheng.

Xuanzong once asked Li Linfu: "Where is Yan Tingzhi? This person can still be used." At this time, Yan Tingzhi was the governor of Jiangzhou. Li Linfu immediately summoned Yan Tingzhi's younger brother Yan Shenzhi and said: "The emperor misses your brother. It would be good to think of a way to come and see him. I think it would be better to lie and say that he has dizziness and go to Beijing to seek medical treatment. Wouldn't it be wrong?" Is it reasonable?"

The news reached Yan Tingzhi, and he believed it to be true, so he wrote a report and asked Li Linfu to forward it to Xuanzong. Li Linfu changed his words and said: "Yan Ting is old and suffering from dizziness. It is better to give him a casual official position so as to avoid the hard work of being a state official and let him cure his illness slowly." (742.4) He asked again Lin Fu thought, "Where is Yan Ting now? This person can also be used." At that time, he was the governor of Jiangzhou. Lin Fu retreated, summoned Ting's younger brother to harm him, and ordered him to "treat your respected brother very kindly. As a suggestion, he reported that the wind was sick and asked him to return to the capital for medical treatment." Ting followed it. Lin Fu played Bai Shangyun in his poem: "If he is old and suffers from wind and disease, it is better to give him a rank of dispersion to facilitate medicine." Zhan took up his job and raised him. [742.4] The emperor sighed for a long time; in the summer of April, Renyin thought that Zhan was in charge, and appointed Qi Huan, the governor of Bianzhou and the interview envoy of Henan, as the younger minister of Zhan. Huan also wanted to visit the imperial court, so he was tabooed.

Some people adopt a retreat strategy towards Li Linfu.

Xuanzong wanted Yang Shenjin to be the censor Zhongcheng. Yang Shenjin knew that he would not be able to succeed without going through Li Linfu's test, so he repeatedly declined the emperor's edicts. Later, he only became an admonishing doctor and escaped Li Linfu's attack. 〔743.5〕The above right praises the good doctor Yang Shenjin for knowing the affairs of the censor Zhongcheng.

At that time, Li Linfu was in power, and any official who refused to leave the house would be punished. Shen Jin dared not accept it because of his stubborn words. In May, Xin Chou took Shen Jin as the admonishment official.

Li Linfu was in charge of the affairs of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, but he had to work in the prime minister's office every day, so he left the election and examination affairs to Song Yao, the minister. [743.2] Li Linfu led the Ministry of Civil Affairs and was in the government. He appointed ministers Song Yao and Miao Jinqing to select matters.

In the Jinshi examination in the second year of Tianbao (743), tens of thousands of people took part, but only 64 were admitted. The first place was Zhang Shi, the son of Zhang Yi, the censor Zhongcheng. People were dissatisfied and there were many discussions. 〔743.2〕Zhang Yixin, the censor's chief minister, was fortunate enough to be supported by the emperor. Yao and Jin Qing wanted to join him. At that time, tens of thousands of people were selected, and sixty-four people were selected. Yi Zishi was the leader, and the discussion was boiling.

It turns out that Song Yao wanted to flatter Zhang Yi and caused trouble. Someone told An Lushan, a Hu man who was popular in front of the emperor, about this. An Lushan told Xuanzong and ordered a re-examination. Zhang Xi's hand was shaking while holding the pen, and he couldn't write a few sentences all day long, so he had to hand in a blank paper. People at that time laughed at him and called him "Yi Bai", which became an allusion. [743.2] Before this, Su Xiaoyun was ordered to report to An Lushan. Lushan spoke to the superior, and the superior summoned others to interview him. He held the test paper and could not write a word all day long. People at the time called him "Yi Bai".

When Xuanzong learned about this, he was furious and demoted Song Yao to the post of Wudang Prefect and sent him to Dashangou in today's Wudang Mountains in northwest Hubei; Zhang Yi was demoted to Huaiyang, and the other examiners were exiled to Lingnan. [743.2] Yuan was demoted to be the prefect of Wudang, Jin Qing was demoted to be the prefect of Ankang, Yi was demoted to be the prefect of Huaiyang, and Pei Fei, a doctor in the Ministry of Rites of the same examination, was demoted to the official of Lingnan.

Soon, Xuanzong wanted to recruit talents widely. Anyone who had the same strengths in the "Six Arts" could come to Beijing to take the exam. Li Linfu was afraid that these unscrupulous people would use articles to expose his crimes during the exam, so he gave the emperor advice: "Everyone in the government is despicable and stupid. If we say some dirty words and insult the eyes and ears of the Holy Emperor, we will not be ministers." The crime has been passed. It is still a first-level examination, and only after selection can there be a guarantee. "Xuanzong is confused, how can he not agree? 〔747.1〕The emperor wants to recruit scholars from all over the world, and orders everyone with a skill or above to go to the capital. Li Linfu was afraid that the grassroots people would criticize him for his evil deeds, and suggested: "There are many despicable and foolish people in the whole body, and I am afraid that some slang will taint the ears of the saints."

Lin Fu immediately ordered that the officials in various places strictly control the situation. He is really an extraordinary genius. , and then the name was sent to the Shangshu Province, where the Shangshu would re-examine, and Yushi Zhongcheng would supervise the examination, and then report to the emperor if the name was worthy of the name. The so-called guarding means that you must sing praises for the imperial court and are not allowed to expose the darkness, let alone involve Li Linfu and his gang. In the end, only a few people were sent to Chang'an. When we arrived at the Shangshu Province, the examination content did not include the "six arts", including etiquette, music, archery, imperial edicts, calligraphy, and mathematics. Instead, it was just like the examination for Jinshi. The exams included poems, poems, and essays. The essays were not correct, and no one passed the exam. As a result, no one in the country passed the exam. one person. Li Linfu was so proud that he immediately reported to the emperor: "Congratulations to your majesty, you are now the most talented person in the world!" (747.1) He ordered the county chiefs to conduct rigorous tests. Those who excelled were sent to the province in their names, and were re-examined by the commissioned minister. The censor Zhongcheng In prison, the person who is named the real person will hear the report. After arriving, all those who came tried to write poems, rhymes, and essays, but no one came up to the mark. Lin Fu went up to express his gratitude to all the talented people in the field.

Yes, if there are really talented people among the people, why can't they pass the exam? Since none of them passed the exam, didn't they miss out on a talent? This way of thinking and logical reasoning is indeed a good way to cover the sky with one hand.

Li Yong, the governor of Beihai, was a great calligrapher at that time. Like Liu Ji, Wang Zeng and others, he had a high reputation. 746.11 Zanshan doctor Du Youneighbor, his daughter is the prince Liangdi, and Liangdi's sister is the wife of Zuo Xiao's guard Cao Liuji. He is arrogant by nature, loves fame, and likes to associate with powerful men. Pei Dun, the governor of Zichuan, recommended him to Li Yong, the governor of Beihai, and Yong established a friendship with him. After a long time in the capital, he became friends with the author Lang Wang Zeng and others, all of whom were famous at that time.

Liu Ji committed a crime. In 746.11, Ji was not in harmony with his wife's family and wanted to trap him. He told his neighbors about false prophecies and rebuked Cheng Yu. Li Linfu asked the cruel official Ji Wen to deal with it. Jiwen used torture to force Liu Ji to involve Wang Zeng. In 746.11, Lin Fu ordered Cao Jiwen, a Jingzhao scholar, and the censor to kill him. This was Ji's first plan. Wen Ling Ji Lian Yin Zeng and others entered Taiwan. Zhang died outside the gate of Dali Temple.

746.12 Neighbors, Ji, and Zeng were all killed with sticks. Their bodies were buried in Dali, and their wives fled far away. There was a shock in China and abroad.

Luo Xishi was also ordered to examine Li Yong. In July 746.12, Luo Xishi, the supervisory censor, was sent to inspect Li Yong. Wang Ju, the prefect of Ye County, was demoted to Jianghua Sima for taking bribes. Ju was extravagant by nature, and both he and Li Yong claimed to be seniors. He had been away for a long time and was depressed. Li Linfu hated him because he was neglecting his talents, so he got rid of him for some reason. He was also beaten to death with a cane. 747.1 Li Yong and Pei Dunfu were both beaten to death.

Li Linfu hated celebrities and capable ministers so much that he asked Luo and Ji to follow the clues, and Luo weaved together and connected them in a series. In the end, even Prime Minister Li Shizhi was so frightened that he committed suicide. 747.1 Luo killed those who were born in Qingzhou, just like Lingnan, and killed and banished those who passed by. The counties and counties were horrified. When the ultimatum arrived in Yichun, Li Shi was so worried that he committed suicide by taking medicine. Not only are there "no sages left in the wild", there is not even a sage left in the imperial court.

Li Linfu’s son Li Xiu was appointed as a prisoner. He knew very well that things must reverse and prosperity must decline. He was very frightened. He once went to the back garden with his father and pointed at the servants who were working. Yes, it is the axis of the country, and there are enemies everywhere. Once you get into trouble, if you want to work like them, I wonder if there is a chance!" Li Linfu changed his face sadly and said sadly: "The situation has reached this point, and there is no use worrying. !" 747.12 Lin Fu was a general in charge of prison, and he was quite afraid of being full. He went to the back garden with Lin Fu, and said to Lin Fu: "My lord has been in Junxi for a long time, and the world is filled with resentment, and one day there will be disaster. So, if you want to do this, what will happen?" Lin Fu said unhappyly: "The situation is like this, what will happen next?" He fully understood that he had committed too many sins and his fate was destined. He is afraid of assassins and is extremely cautious. In the past, prime ministers usually only had a few people accompanying them when they were walking around on the street. When people and people met them face to face, they did not need to avoid them. Li Linfu is not the same. Every time he goes out, he has more than a hundred infantry and cavalry guards, and there are people on the left and right to cover him. King Wu's imperial soldiers clear the way in front. Pedestrians hundreds of steps away must immediately avoid them, even the ministers. 747.12 First of all, the prime ministers conduct themselves with virtue and do not care about power. There are only a few followers, so the scholars and the people may not avoid them. Lin Fu thought he had a lot of grudges and was always in danger of assassins. When he went out, he would ride with more than a hundred people on his left and right. Jinwu was quiet in the street, his advance was hundreds of paces away, and the ministers were hiding.

How about at home? The door is locked every night, and they live in a sandwiched wall with gates and mechanisms installed inside. Anyone who doesn't know the secret code will be crushed to death if they touch it, as if facing a formidable enemy. They often have to move to several places in one night, and their family members and guards can't figure out where to sleep. He was restless and suspicious of everything. He was even more miserable than a prisoner in prison. 747.12 The house is built with multiple gates and walls, the ground is covered with stones, and boards are placed in the middle of the walls, as if to guard against powerful enemies. They often move to bed overnight, although the family members do not know where they are.

Li Linfu was ill. Yang Guozhong, the minister of the Ministry of War and a newly wealthy man, came back from Shu and inquired about his condition at his bedside. Li Linfu said with tears: "I am going to die. You will be the prime minister. The funeral will be arranged." Please give it to you." Yang Guozhong couldn't bear to say it, and his face was covered with sweat. 752.10 Guozhongbi went to Shu, and sent an envoy to summon him back. When he arrived at Zhaoying, he paid homage to Lin Fu and bowed under his bed. Lin Fu burst into tears and said, "Lin Fu is dead, and I will be the prime minister. I will be tired of everything in the future!" The national loyal did not dare to accept his thanks, and his face was covered with sweat.

Sure enough, three days after Li Linfu's death, Yang Guozhong became the Right Prime Minister and Minister of Culture. In November 752.11, Ding Mao (24), Lin Fu passed away. 752.11 Gengshen (27), Yang Guozhong was appointed as the right prime minister and also the minister of the Ministry of Culture, and his envoys remained as before.

Unexpectedly, Yang Guozhong sent someone to hint at An Lushan and falsely accuse Li Linfu of treason. Xuanzong believed it as soon as he heard it and called the court to hear it. Li Linfu's son-in-law Yang Qixuan was afraid of being implicated, so he followed Yang Guozhong's intention and came forward to testify that the incident was true. 753.1 Yang Guozhong sent people to say that An Lushan had falsely accused Li Linfu and Abu Si of conspiring against each other. Lushan had sent Yi Que, the leader of the Absi tribe, to falsely accuse Lin Fu and Abu Si of being father and son. The superiors believed it, and the subordinates asked about it; Lin Fu's son-in-law advised the official Yang Qixuan to be afraid of being burdened, and he proved his loyalty to the country.

Xuanzong was furious and issued an edict to remove Li Linfu's official titles. All his descendants who had official positions were expelled and exiled to Lingnan and central Guizhou. Except for their clothes and food, all their homes were confiscated, and more than 50 people who were close to the Party were implicated. At the same time, he cut open Li Linfu's coffin, took out the beads in his mouth, peeled off his official uniform and ribbons, and buried him in a small coffin like ordinary people.

In 753.2, Lin Fu had not yet been buried. In the second month of Guiwei, Lin Fu's official title was reduced. His descendants who had official positions were removed from their names and moved to Lingnan and central Guizhou. They were given clothes and food, but his remaining assets were not official. His close relatives and party members were demoted. There are more than fifty people. Lin Fu's coffin was dissected, the beads were removed, the gold and purple lining was cut, and he was buried in a small coffin like a commoner.

Li Linfu served as prime minister for nineteen years and was prominent for an era. He was retaliated just after his death, which was the inevitable result of his many evil deeds. 752.11 In his later years, he relied on peace and thought that the world had nothing to worry about, so he lived in confinement, amusing himself with sex and sex, and entrusted political affairs to Lin Fu. Lin Fu favored people around him and catered to his superiors in order to maintain his favor; he cut off his words and concealed his cleverness in order to become his traitor; he was jealous of the virtuous and capable, and suppressed others in order to protect his position; he was repeatedly imprisoned and expelled from the nobles. Minister, to expand his power. From the crown prince down, everyone is afraid. In the nineteen years of the phase, the world will be in chaos, and the superiors will not be able to maintain control.