Since ancient times, the capital city has been a place with the best political and public security, so it is called the "best district". However, during the Tang Dynasty period, Chang'an City had a major event that shocked the world. The prime minister of a country actually encountered an assassin when he was in court. The prime minister was killed on the spot and his head was chopped off by the assassin. So, who was the assassinated prime minister, and who led the assassination? Today we will explain this case in detail.
1. The assassination of the Prime Minister
html On the third day of June 1815, before dawn, the then Prime Minister Wu Yuanheng left his mansion in Jing'anfang by carriage and horse, preparing to go to court. As soon as the group left the east gate of Jing'anfang, the lanterns opening the way were shot out. The guide shouted loudly, but unexpectedly an arrow hit his shoulder. Then, many people were killed from behind the tree. They drove away the entourage of the Prime Minister's Mansion, and then took control of Wu Yuanheng's carriage and horse, "walked more than ten steps to harm him, and removed his skull."
When the Tang Dynasty soldiers arrived, "I shined a fire on them and saw that Yuan Heng was already bleeding." At the same time, Yushi Zhongcheng Pei Du was also assassinated. He was slashed three times by the assassin. Fortunately, his attendants fought to protect him and survived. After the news came out, it caused shock to the government and the public, and officials were panicked. Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty Li Chun burst into tears and immediately announced his resignation from the court. At the same time, he issued an edict to implement vigilance throughout the city. Jinwu, prefecture, and county levels conducted a large-scale manhunt in Chang'an City.
2. Who is the mastermind
At the beginning, there was no clue in the search, but it caused panic in the society. Under such circumstances, Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty issued an edict, "Anyone who can capture a thief will be rewarded with tens of millions of dollars, and will be awarded a fifth-grade official. Those who can plot with the thief and be able to speak out against the thief will also be rewarded. It is not as good as the imperial edict and the family." Under the heavy reward, There must be a brave man! Soon after, the generals of the Imperial Guard captured Zhang Yan and other eighteen people. After a secret interrogation, they learned that they were sent by Chengde Jiedushi Wang Chengzong .
A month later, Dongdu Defense Commander Lu Yuanying arrested another group of people from the "Beijing Office" in the Ziqing area. At this point, the murder case has come to light. The main culprits are Wang Chengzong, the governor of Chengde, and Li Shidao, the governor of Pinglu and Ziqing.. As we all know, after the Anshi Rebellion, Jiedushi became the local "Tu emperor". They controlled local political power and could collect taxes and appoint officials at will. So why did they attack the prime minister?
3. The incident in Huaixi
It turned out that after Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty came to the throne, he actively rectified the government affairs and wanted to revive the glory of the Tang Dynasty , so he appointed officials such as Wu Yuanheng and Pei Du who advocated reducing the vassal status. In 814, Huaixi Jiedushi Wu Shaoyang died of illness, and the court refused to allow his son Wu Yuanji to inherit the post. Wu Yuanji colluded with vassal towns such as Wang Chengzong and Li Shidao to fight against the imperial court. At that time, the imperial court continued to win victories in the war with Huaixi. Li Shidao believed that the war could be ended by getting rid of the main war faction in the court, so he sent assassins.
After learning the truth, Tang Xianzong did not stop the war. Instead, he appointed Pei Du, who had just recovered from a serious injury, as prime minister to continue the war against Huaixi. In 817, Li Suxue entered Caizhou at night, captured Wu Yuanji alive, and executed him in November of that year. In 818, the imperial court launched another crusade against Li Shidao. Li Shidao was defeated repeatedly in battles. His general Liu Wu launched a mutiny, killed him in public, and then spread the news to the capital. Wang Chengzong was very cunning and quickly surrendered to the court and gave up two states before being pardoned by the court. He died of illness three years later.
Reference materials: 1. "Old Book of Tang"; 2. "New Book of Tang"; 3. "Zi Zhi Tong Jian"
