vrcanaries Chapter 112 Wen Jifu: Oh, it's my turn to cause trouble!
Chapter 112 Wen Jifu: Oh, it's my turn to cause trouble!
AD 200
At this time, Cao Cao's camp
Cao Cao, sitting at the head of the table, had his brows furrowed in a deep frown.
Sima Zhao's intentions are obvious to everyone!
Who is this Sima Zhao? But if Miss Lin says that, he must be a bad person!
I just wonder if he has any connection with Ma Yi!
……
Back to the live stream
Lin Ke continued, "Emperor Zhezong of Song appointed Cai Jing and An Dun to be in charge of this case."
"And Wen Jifu also became an important figure in this case, after all, it was all because of his letter."
"I wonder if Liu Zhi, who was persecuting Wen Jifu back then, ever imagined that the tables would turn and it would be Wen Jifu's turn to cause trouble for him!"
Liu Zhi of the Northern Song Dynasty: ...
"When Cai Jing and An Dun came to ask him, Wen Jifu mentioned something that was enough to enrage Emperor Zhezong and could also put Liu Zhi to death."
Wen Yanbo said: "When my father was dying, he dismissed his attendants and told me that Liu Zhi had once thought about deposing Emperor Zhezong."
Wen Yanbo: You're such a dutiful son!
"But there's a problem: when Wen Yanbo died, both Liu Zhi and Liang Tao had already lost power. Where did they get the audacity to carry out something that amounted to a rebellion?"
A Ming Dynasty soldier: Good heavens, wouldn't it be brainless to actually do that?
A scion of a prominent family in the Tang Dynasty: Or is Wen Jifu simply seeking revenge?
"There is another version of this record. It is said that Wen Yanbo only realized this when he was dismissed from his post as Pingzhang Junguo Zhongshi during the Yuanyou reign. He also told his son Wen Jifu about it when he was on his deathbed."
"Then another question arises: if Wen Yanbo knew all along that Liu Zhi was planning something, why didn't he say anything beforehand, instead pretending not to know and keeping it to himself until the very end?"
"This is probably what I can't understand either, but once this was brought up, Wen Jifu couldn't stop himself. After all, if this were true, wouldn't it mean he was deceiving the emperor?"
“If this is false, then Wen Jifu is making a false accusation. There’s no reason for him to want to drag Liu Zhi down with him, is there?”
"However, we don't know what Wen Jifu was thinking when he said that, but Cai Jing and An Tao, who were looking to cause trouble, were immediately excited when they heard this, and hurriedly asked if there was any evidence to prove that Liu Zhi wanted to do this!"
"Now I really understand, they must really dislike Liu Zhi."
A gossip-loving person from the Ming Dynasty: So how many mortal enemies did Liu Zhi actually have?!
A master brewer from the Tang Dynasty: To be an official like this is truly unparalleled!
……
"So, did Wen Jifu's answer satisfy them? Obviously not. This guy just replied with a few words: There is no evidence at all."
"I wonder if Cai Jing and An Dun will be so angry they'd want to beat him up if they heard that."
"Regardless, with this start, we have to keep investigating. However, no matter how Cai Jing and An Dun investigated, they couldn't find a single clue, let alone direct evidence."
"As mentioned before, during the Southern Song Dynasty, many people blamed Wang Anshi for the country's downfall, and many historical materials from the Southern Song Dynasty deny Wang Anshi's position. Therefore, there are not many historical records about this case, and it may have been edited out."
So, is this really true?
A Ming Dynasty soldier: Is he kidding me?! He's saying this without saying anything!
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty: It caused quite a stir, but it ended abruptly!
……
"And it wasn't that no one studied this matter during the Song Dynasty. After all, it's quite rare to see a case that caused such a stir but ended up being handled so poorly."
"This man is called Shao Bowen, the son of Shao Yong. Everyone knows Shao Yong, right? He studied the I Ching and the Eight Trigrams, and authored works such as 'Plum Blossom Poems' and 'Huangji Jingshi'."
"Shao Bowen believed that Wang Anshi's reforms led to the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty and the relocation of the Song court to the south. Therefore, he thought that the Tongwenguan prison case was a conspiracy by Xing Shu."
"He orchestrated the whole thing. Here's what happened: First, he sent Gao Zunyu's son, Gao Shi, to the capital to plead for his father. Then, he sent Cai Que's son, Cai Wei, with Wen Jifu's letter to stop Emperor Zhezong's carriage at Feng Jing's funeral. Is that appropriate? Doesn't it show a bit of disrespect for the deceased?"
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty: Haha, have you even considered how Feng Jing feels?!
Feng Jing of the Northern Song Dynasty: Don't mention it!
"However, this conjecture cannot stand up to scrutiny. The Tongwenguan prison was held in August of the fourth year of Shaosheng, while Feng Jing had died four years earlier. The timing doesn't match up."
"So this isn't the so-called truth. Later, when Emperor Zhezong saw the investigation report, he already disliked Empress Dowager Gao and that group of old factions. Now that he knew they were suspected of trying to depose him, he would dislike them even more!"
"Therefore, the eunuchs and palace officials who were favored by Empress Dowager Gao were all sent to prison. But no matter how Cai Jing used torture and coaxing, these palace officials remained absolutely loyal to Empress Dowager Gao. Zhang Shiliang, who was unwilling to be humiliated, shouted: 'The Empress Dowager cannot be falsely accused,' and then committed suicide."
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty: I feel like I won't get any information out of him!
A spoiled brat from the Tang Dynasty: Is this some kind of false accusation?!
A farm girl from the Han Dynasty: Oh, how tragic!
……
"And this period involved not only Empress Dowager Gao and a few other eunuchs; history shows that a large number of eunuchs and palace maids were murdered."
"Empress Meng, handpicked by Empress Dowager Gao, was also deposed. Liu Zhi and Liang Tao, who were exiled, also died in Lingnan. However, there are records suggesting that their deaths were unnatural."
"At this point, the New Party's revenge against the Old Party had reached its most brutal level."
A peasant girl from the Tang Dynasty: It's too bloody! So violent!
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty: So this whole thing is aimed at the Empress Dowager Gao and those old faction members?
An official from the Han Dynasty: Is it possible that you received instructions from Emperor Zhezong?
……
"Shortly afterward, Cai Bian and Zhang Dun submitted another memorial requesting the removal of Empress Dowager Gao from her position as Empress. How did Emperor Zhezong respond to this?"
"Historical records state: The emperor was quite suspicious. However, it is said that the draft edict was prepared later, which shows that Emperor Zhezong did indeed consider deposing his grandmother as empress, but was hesitant."
"As the emperor, he couldn't possibly be unaware of the consequences of doing this. Moreover, the Song Dynasty at that time ruled by the principle of filial piety. If he had done this, he would definitely have been torn apart by those literati. But what's puzzling is that his first reaction was to hesitate!"
"I wonder what he went through in the palace that led him to hate Empress Dowager Gao to this extent. Perhaps his ascension to the throne was not smooth, or perhaps Empress Dowager Gao did something to him?"
"In general, the years before King Cheoljong assumed personal rule left him with mostly heavy memories, which is why he sought revenge in this way after he came of age."
"It's a pity that the historical records are incomplete, and there's no way to understand the truth of what happened back then."
Emperor Shenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Xu: ...My poor child!
Judy, the Grand General Who Conquers the North: If the succession was not smooth, then we can understand why he did this!
Big Han Liu Zhuzhu: His dad probably never expected to die so young!