A Study On The "Two Wang And Eight Sima Event" From The Financial Perspective

The sick Li Song ascended the throne when he was sick in the first month of805.He attached enough importance to some people,including Wang Shu-wen,Wang P'i,Wei Chih-i,Liu Tsung-yüan,Liu Yü-hsi and so on,who had been solicited when he still acted as the crown prince.The talents gathering around Li song took a series of reform measures in the fields of politic,economy and society to rectify the bad measures in the period of Tang Te-tsung for the maladministrations of Te-tsung's reign.In terms of finance,the state's treasury ran out in the late period of Chen-yüan.a portion of the local financial power was out of control of the central government,as well as the central financial revenue had been greatly reduced.At the same time,Te-tsung himself encouraged that the goods from military governors offered as tribute.As a result,The Public Revenue was trespassed by Te-tsung by this means.The income of under the control of eunuchs can be well matched state treasury.The eunuch's financial power has expanded by managing the Emperor's personl palace treasury.For the fiscal mess under the reign of Te-tsung,Li-song,crown prince,had certain knowledge.Li-Song secretly made contacts with a group of young talents who were innovative in financial affairs and gave a hand in their official careers so as to make preparation in the future from 799 to 801 at the suggestion of Wang Shu-wen.Te-tsung passed away in the first month of 805,then Li-song who was suffered from wandering arthritis accessed to the throne with difficulty.After that,Wang Shu-wen's partisans took over the government.Under the guiding principles of returning the financial resources to the central government,they implemented a series of financial measures at the central and local governments,as well as made the finance and taxation under the control by the central government again.These measures went against the financial interests of military governors and eunuchs.Besides of that,because of the Wang clique's way of carrying out reforms through monopolizing financial power,it made financial power could not be taken charge by prime ministerexclusively,which against the prime minister's will that finance should be brought under the unified management of the central government since Tai-tsung reign.As a consequence,the Wang's clique was defeated by the opposition of eunuchs,military governors and ministers.