This prime minister is Yuan Zai, the prime minister of that period. During his reign, he was a powerful minister after Li He and Yu Chaoen.
Born in poverty, Yuan Zai loved reading and reading extensively, especially Taoism. At that time, the imperial examination was the only way out for poor students, and Yuan Zai failed repeatedly. Finally, he took part in the policy examination held by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, seeking talents who were proficient in Taoism before he was admitted to the official position.
Yuan Zai was born smart, so Tang Suzong had a good impression of him. After the Anshi Rebellion, Tang Suzong returned to Chang 'an and Yuan Zai was appointed as a doctor.
When he was seriously ill, he was in charge of eunuch Li. Because Yuan Zai and Li's wife were of the same ancestry, they were trusted by Li and later served as prime ministers.
During this period, Li's influence grew. Finally, Dai Zong couldn't stand it anymore, so he deposed him and sent an assassin to assassinate him. After Li's death, Yuan Zai succeeded to the throne as the world marshal.
Yuan Zai secretly befriended the eunuch Dong Xiu, and through these eunuchs, he could even learn the contents of the secret order. Only in this way can we understand the emperor's thoughts and deal with them. Ministers are always interested in their own ideas, and emperors naturally prefer to reuse them, so Yuan Zai went further.
At that time, the eunuch Yu Chaoen was too overbearing and looked down on the emperor. Yuan had previously participated in the assassination of Li and discussed with him to eradicate Yu Chaoen. He became the confidant of Daizong.
After Yu Chaoen's death, the court was controlled by Yuan Zai. Since then, Yuan Zai has been autocratic and corrupt, even to the point of explicitly accepting gifts from officials.
The Yuan Dynasty built two mansions in the north and south of the capital, which were magnificent and crowned with hundreds of officials, while the villas in the south of the city were bigger, with many servants and prostitutes. Tang Daizong knows all this, but he wants him to have a happy ending, considering that Yuanzai has been with himself for so long.
So I called Yuan Tsai quietly and advised him not to embarrass everyone again. However, Yuan Tsai doesn't want to turn over a new leaf at all. He used to be like this. Finally, Tang Daizong was angered, ordered his dismissal and detention, and searched Yuan Zai's mansion.
Property, the soldier came back to tell Yuan Zai how much gold, silver and jewelry he had. Tang Daizong nodded flatly, indicating that he knew. But when people said the words "800 stone pepper", Tang Daizong flew into a rage.
He not only ordered Yuan Zai to be beheaded and exiled with the party, but also sentenced Yuan Zai's family to death. Still not convinced, I ordered someone to dig Yuan Zai's ancestral grave, split the coffin and dump the body.
Isn't pepper a seasoning for cooking? What's the special significance for Tang Daizong? How can you send someone to open the coffin and whip the body as soon as you hear the pepper?
Pepper is really only a condiment in modern times, but it was very precious in those days because of the difficulty in transportation, and it was called black gold. 800 tons is equivalent to 64 tons now, which shows its value. No wonder Tang Daizong was shocked on the spot and killed someone.
But then again, Zai Yuan's hobby is to keep 800 peppers at home. You can't eat it all your life. Better than gold and silver!
A Qing Ding's book Shi Tian commented on this matter. His life span is 60 years old, and he can be happy for more than 40 years except for the old and the young. In other words, if you want food and clothing, you won't eat 800 stone peppers. Only stupidity begets greed, and greed becomes stupidity. Although gold accumulates, it can't save the umbilical cord, and the risk of lining three holes is difficult to solve. It's a pity for this friend.
It was Yuan Zai's greed that saved 800 stone peppers and finally died.