Insufficient balance

  After reading this transcript, I couldn't help but think of the situation earlier. It's like this person was born with a deep-seated hatred towards our nation, and from a young age, was castrated and sent into the palace. Who knows how many others there are, but at least those who brought him into the palace are guilty. And then there are those who were close to him. What's even worse is that this guy has been hiding in the palace for many years, and in the past, had a wide network of connections. Many people are worried that he will seek death and drag others down with him. Therefore, during lunch, someone secretly hinted to me to be careful and clear my name, fearing that "this rebel's heart is set on death and deceiving the emperor and his officials".

  Are you worried about being randomly attacked? I had a sudden movement in my heart, but I remembered a thesis by a senior fellow from the online Tang Dynasty research forum during my university days. The paper said that the troubles of eunuchs' power struggles in the Tang Dynasty started with Emperor Suzong (the crown prince Xian), rose to prominence during Emperor Daizong (Xiao Bai), and the root cause of everything was actually from this famous Emperor Xuanzong himself. I have learned a lesson from these characters. In the past, Taizong set the rule that the Imperial Household Department did not have third-grade officials, but wore yellow robes, guarded the gate, and transmitted orders. The status of eunuchs was still quite low, mainly responsible for daily life: the Imperial Household Department did not establish a third-grade official, with the inner attendant as its head, ranking fourth, not in charge of affairs, only guarding the gate, sweeping the court, and serving food. During Wu Zetian's time, their numbers slightly increased. By the time of Zhongzong, there were already over a thousand people above the seventh grade. When Xuanzong promoted Li Shi to general, he was listed as third-grade or higher, and thus eunuchs gradually increased in number and gradually became prominent. This was also one of the major ills of the Xuanzong court, laying the groundwork for the troubles caused by eunuchs in later years.

  The Emperor Xuanzong's trust in eunuchs was probably due to the fact that when he was still a prince, during the succession and enthronement of Emperors Zhongzong and Ruizong, those eunuchs had helped him greatly. After ascending to the throne, he began to promote the status and power of eunuchs, just like Emperor Chengzu of Ming Zhu Di. As a result, during the Kaiyuan and Tianbao periods, there were over 40,000 palace ladies-in-waiting, more than 3,000 eunuchs wearing yellow robes, and over 1,000 people wearing purple robes. Those who gained favor would be appointed as three-grade generals, with their names listed on the gate. They held important positions in the palace, were entrusted with heavy responsibilities, and wielded great power, shining brightly throughout the land. Wherever they went, counties and prefectures would rush to offer them gifts worth tens of thousands of taels. Even for minor tasks, such as purchasing birds, they would spend several thousand strings of cash. As a result, half of the famous mansions, gardens, and fertile lands in the capital were owned by eunuchs.

  Among them, the most honored and favored were unprecedented. There were Li Jingren, Lin Zhaoyin, Yin Fengxiang, Han Zhuang, Niu Xiantong, Liu Foting, Wang Cheng'en, Zhang Daobin, Li Dayi, Zhu Guanghui, Guo Quan, Bian Licheng and other temple people who gained favor with the emperor. Some served as inner courtiers or outer governors of military regions. What they obtained was not less than tens of thousands. The first-class houses, gardens, good fields and beautiful properties in the capital were roughly equal to those of Gao Lishi.

  While Gao Lishi and others also held the position of Left Monitor Gate General, although it was just a nominal title, under the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, who was still known for his wise and capable governance, these eunuchs enjoyed great honor and favor. As a political force, they had not yet achieved much, but the Left and Right Monitor Gates and the Left and Right Thousand Bull Gates were responsible for guarding the capital city and controlling the gates of the imperial palace. When Gao Lishi took on this role, he actually paved the way for eunuchs to control the military through their positions as army supervisors and confidential envoys, thereby manipulating the emperor and dominating court politics, setting a very bad precedent.

  Moreover, it is said that the eunuch system of monitoring the military, which was plagued by many evils in later generations, also originated from the hand of this Emperor Xuanzong. Before the Kaiyuan era, although there had been instances of monitoring the military throughout the dynasties, they were occasional and not institutionalized, with mainly civil officials such as surveillance commissioners and envoys serving as monitors. However, in this dynasty, Emperor Xuanzong favored using eunuchs, not only appointing them to monitor the military but also issuing an edict in Kaiyuan 22 to make it a fixed institution for later generations, which indeed has both merits and demerits of Emperor Xuanzong.

  So what's in front of me may not be an opportunity, although I had thought about taking a risk to get rid of some people before, but as long as the emperor's favor is still there, killing one or two small men can't guarantee that there won't be another one, it's better to take advantage of the situation and create some favorable conditions, if this thing is used well, it will be a serious trust crisis.

  Having had a preliminary idea, "pass on to the Left Commander, oral records are not detailed enough, I want to review it personally again", and then pass on another Yu Hou "to invite Grand Councilor Wei Da Xiang Gong for a meeting".

  "The Emperor's expression turned iron-gray, his thick eyebrows furrowed in a scowl. The attendants around him couldn't help but tremble with fear. After a brief moment of silence, he spat out a single sentence: 'Good thief!' His voice was not loud, but each word carried a murderous intent that chilled to the bone."

  When they heard the name, those who were qualified to be among the top ten officials in the imperial court flashed a look of shock, confusion and bewilderment. Only Wei Daxiangye's expression was subtle, his eyes narrowed as if he was thinking deeply. The rest, including Zuo Sihe We E, Shilang Yu Huaizhen, had a hint of something on their minds, their eyebrows twitched slightly, their gaze shook, and they glanced sideways at Gao Lishi, whose face was pale and sweaty.

  There were those who hung their heads in silence, with a look of reverence and obedience. Some were secretly shocked, thinking to themselves that this man named Liang really had some tricks up his sleeve, how did he manage to bring out such characters? However, most people knew that these matters of offending the emperor were none of their business as outer officials, so it was better to remain silent. Only the King of Hanzhong's lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn't dare speak up.

  What happened afterwards had little to do with me. Wei Tuo's elder brother, Zuo Si Xuan Wei Ou, had been in the Secretariat since his early years and was no stranger to the people and affairs of the three inner provinces. Earlier, I had only asked him for advice on some matters related to the Forbidden City, although some things were not said, but such an opportunity was in front of him, the intentions of the Beimen scholars and the officials of the inner court had been there for a long time, if he didn't know how to use it, then he wasn't worthy of standing here.

  It's no wonder that the Emperor was extremely angry, this Long An who stayed in Chang'an was a big shot, one of the loyal ministers left behind by the old emperor before he fled. During the defense of Tongguan, he served as the supervisor and observer of Geshu Han, and he was also the first to impeach Geshu Han for using the army to gain power. In the inner court, he was one of the top officials, second only to Gao Lishi, with the title of Vice Director of the Imperial Secretariat. He had a share in several important matters, including drafting imperial edicts and proclaiming them to the people. If he were to have problems, it would be difficult for the court's military and national affairs to keep many secrets. The repeated defeats of the rebel army also made sense.

  So I didn't completely frame him, but what he did was too terrible, the problem is big. Before there was Yang Guozhong, who helped him to calm down, now Yang Guozhong has died without a whole body...

  And I didn't directly say he was a traitor, interrogating those two men who committed the crime, they wouldn't know too much. So later on, for the sake of getting to the bottom of it quickly, you could say I let them say whatever they wanted. Among them, there was indeed one who was lurking among the refugees as a spy, responsible for temporarily gathering those people and following us all the way, constantly sending out our itinerary. This led to the rebel army ambushing us at the pass. The transcript I presented only slightly emphasized their confessions, which merely mentioned that they had vaguely mentioned a certain high-ranking official residing in Chang'an. How they matched up with each other wasn't my responsibility.

  Looking at the old emperor's expression, I had expected it to some extent, but I didn't think he would take it to heart. Suddenly, a loud thud was heard, and it was Gao Lishi who fell to his knees, knocking his head loudly as if pounding "This old slave is guilty! He allowed the traitor to approach Your Majesty's presence, and even death is not enough to atone for this crime..." Wei Da Sima also let out a faint sigh, filled with regret and sympathy, but also with a hint of relief from having shed a heavy burden. In my heart, I secretly cheered, "Good job, Gao Lishi! This move has saved me a lot of trouble."

  Originally, I wouldn't be foolish enough to try to frame Gao Lishi as well. Even if I could implicate him, considering his years of loyal service and his seniority, it's unlikely that he would completely fall out with me. At most, he might be deceived by the bandits and mistakenly use a treacherous person's mistake, because for reasons known to all, he has already reached the highest position as an inner court minister. Even if he were to defect to the rebels, it's unlikely that he could obtain a higher position than he has now. Therefore, on the contrary, I would rather try to clear him of suspicion, so that he won't join forces with others for self-protection and affect my plan.

  As for others, they need to have enough influence on the emperor without being too closely related so that I can make excuses. Similarly, the equally powerful and similarly ranked Yuan Siyi has followed the crown prince to the northwest, making it inconvenient to take any action. The remaining Zhang Cheng and Yao Sheng are either not influential enough or have a close relationship with Xiaoyu, which would inevitably implicate me if anything goes wrong.

  So the remaining Bian Ling Cheng, who stayed in Chang'an and was said to have defected to the enemy, is the best target. He, who had surrendered to the enemy camp, has absolutely no way to defend himself. Moreover, even if he doesn't admit it, as a treacherous minister and son, I believe not many people will sympathize with him. This can also be considered as helping to vent the grievances of Geshu Yuan Shuai's unjust death for that still-unmasked but implicated big shot.

  No matter how furious the old emperor was later, almost smashing the imperial edict on Gao Lishi's head, and Gao Lishi kowtowed and begged for mercy. The outcome of this incident was that under the deliberate or unintentional whitewashing and framing by various officials, the old emperor's suspicion of his eunuchs escalated and expanded.

  The emperor was about to issue a decree, which would have meant that all the eunuchs on duty that night, as well as those who had previously been friendly with them, would be put to death, regardless of whether they were involved or not. However, Wei Xiang strongly advised against this, saying that at a time when the country was in difficulty, it was precisely loyal and virtuous scholars that were lacking. These eunuchs had followed the emperor on his journey and had shown loyalty and merit without fault. It would not be right to punish them all equally. Instead, they should be handed over to the relevant authorities for separate investigation and judgment, so as to distinguish between the loyal and the treacherous, and to demonstrate the emperor's magnanimity.

  It's just that I think this is where he's subtle, in his words, he only says it's not good to implicate others, but also doesn't make any substantial defense for them. If the emperor's anger kills so many people in one breath, afterwards when calm and collected, he can't help but think of some of their merits, leaving behind regret and remorse, becoming a chance to reuse others. It's better now that they've been through prison once and come out again, leaving behind some suspicion or whatever, those people will absolutely not be able to regain such favor again.

  Also, because in the past there was a case of An Lushan's rebellion being supported by insiders, and now another case of assassins colluding with insiders has emerged, even the Emperor himself does not dare to confirm how many eunuchs around him are trustworthy. There must be some who have been harboring ulterior motives since their early years, castrating themselves to enter the palace with ambitions. It is hard to believe that he could remain hidden in the palace for so many years without developing his own faction or calling out for support. Therefore, severe laws and punishments were used on those officials and eunuchs who were implicated. Even Gao Lishi was not spared, being stripped of his title as Left Monitor Gate Commandant General and having his salary suspended for a year.

  But unexpectedly, all the criminal cases were reassigned to me for secret trial, so the old emperor made a big decision and gave me full power. The entire process excluded people from the Imperial Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, and those who came with the King of Han Zhong, as well as local judicial officials. I was given free rein to do as I pleased, and a major purge of eunuchs around the emperor was carried out. The intention was to focus on results, not process, and to err on the side of caution rather than letting anyone off.

  They arrested over thirty people in one go. For these pampered and privileged individuals, it was no longer suitable to use the same methods used on fugitives; at least they had to maintain some dignity. So they employed the tactics that Cheng Xiliu and other former mountain bandits had previously used to extort ransom from wealthy merchants: separating them for individual interrogation, repeatedly comparing their testimonies, and repeatedly questioning them. They even set up a charcoal-grilled beef dish on stage, using two people to create some sound effects, but couldn't guarantee that what was being grilled wasn't actually beef, or something else entirely. After this, these pampered individuals basically confessed everything, tears streaming down their faces. Of course, the vast majority of them had nothing to do with the rebels (their greatest crime being that they had accepted favors from An Lushan, who was still in power at the time, and had spoken on his behalf years ago). They also revealed all sorts of corrupt and illegal activities they had engaged in before. And of course, there were many secrets about themselves and others that I learned for the first time, opening my eyes wide with wonder.

  Dissatisfied, very dissatisfied, can't find that kind of refreshing feeling anymore. Is there anyone who can provide some outstanding female information from this period? There are too many celebrities, which has overshadowed the charm of many people, such as Li Shier Nang.