As we all know, the "AnShi Rebellion" was identified as the key point of the Tang Empire's transformation from prosperity to decline, but there are many opinions about the reasons and strength of An Lushan's daring to launch a rebellion and "rebellion". Some people feel that An Lushan represents the power of the Fan soldiers and generals since the Northern Dynasty, and has enough military power to oppose the center of the empire. Another part of the population believed that An Lushan was nothing more than a feudal official, a political speculator, not enough to crush the empire.
Any judgment that deviates from the conditions of the time is a hooligan!
An Lushan in the movie "The Legend of the Demon Cat"
Today, we will understand how much capital An Lushan had at that time, and dared to let him take risks!
The most fundamental reason is that the change of the military system has given the speculators the opportunity
Originally, when the Tang Empire was established, it inherited the military system of the "Guanlong Clique" and was full of desire for military expansion. This "Guanlong clique" is actually the military and political legacy left after the Wuhu Chaohua and after the Mixture of the Xianbei Dynasty and the Han Dynasty. It was the military force integrated by He Bayue in the Guanlong region, and they settled in Guanzhong, mixed Hu and Han, and intermarried with each other to form a military and political clique. There were two systems that continued from the Northern Wei Dynasty with the "Guanlong Clique" to the Tang Empire— the Juntian system and the Fu military system.
Tang Dynasty architectural restoration map, the then Folding Chong Mansion may be like this
The equalized field system can be understood as the state allocating unowned land to farmers according to the number of people to cultivate. And these peasants became prefectural soldiers, and the main institution of the prefectural military system was called "Folding Chong Fu", which was responsible for the selection and training of prefectural soldiers, who were ploughing the fields, training in the gap between farmers, and fighting in wartime. As long as they are provincial soldiers, the whole family is exempt from military service. Such an army, the state basically does not spend money.
The cap of military expansion and the reduction of unowned land began to change the original military system. The severe land annexation during the Wu Zetian period eventually completely collapsed the Juntian system. Eventually, with no soldiers available, Tang Xuanzong began to innovate and changed the military system to a conscription system, recruiting "professional soldiers" to guard the vast frontier. Under the purpose of all considerations for war, the moderation was born.
In the middle and late tang empire, the main force of the Central Northern Ya Forbidden Army, the "Divine Strategy Army", the restoration honor guard of modern people
Because the changes in the military system triggered a series of institutional reactions, because the conscription system brought great financial pressure to the country, the finances often failed to supply the frontier on time. Therefore, the power of the thrifty envoy began to involve military and political, financial and other aspects.
Before An Lushan's rebellion, the Tang Empire was divided into ten places:
The location and name of the ten major festivals of the Tang Dynasty Tianbao period are marked according to the tang dynasty administrative map
An Lushan was already holding the position of emissary in three regions (Pinglu, Fanyang, and Hedong).
The important reason is that the international environmental impact gives speculators time and space
In the early days of the establishment of the Tang Empire, the "Guanlong Clique" began to divide and disintegrate, but some excellent experiences such as the prefectural military system were retained. At that time, the Turks were extremely powerful, and when the world was undecided at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, various local forces established good relations with the Turks, including the Li family in Shanxi, Dou Jiande in Hebei, and so on. It was not until after the Tang unified the Central Plains that the Turks began to disperse internally, and the Tang Empire quickly intervened in the steppe regions.
Since then, the Tang Empire has begun a golden period that can influence the trade routes in the north. However, during the Wu Zetian period, it was disturbed by the nepotism of Empress Zhou, and a large number of wu surnames and nobles served as commanders, causing a large number of military disasters in the Tang Empire. It was not until the time of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang that trade routes were controlled by force again.
Wu Zetian in Di Renjie's Heavenly Empire
But at this time, the international trend and the Li Shimin period, there were new changes. The rise of uighurs and Tubo forces in the western region made it very dangerous to take the trade route of the Hexi Corridor from Chang'an. The Tang Empire had to divert trade routes from the Hetao region to the Ordos Plateau, so that it would go west to Bukhara and Samarkand, and east to Liaodong and Bohai.
To the north of the traditional Silk Road there is also the Steppe Silk Road
In the north during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang there were two powerful military groups. One is An Lushan, which was already the emissary of Pinglu, Fanyang and Hedong before the rebellion. The other was the Hexi forces led by Wang Zhongsi and Ge Shuhan, who controlled the empire's hexi, Shuozhou, and Longyou provinces. Tang Xuanzong's imperial skills in Chang'an were always regulated, and the strength of either of the two military groups in the north of the empire was obviously exceeded, which could cause damage to their own authority.
An Lushan took the opportunity to develop better
However, due to the strength of the Tibetan and Uighurs, the border defense pressure was huge, and the western part even had to engage the Arab-Persian forces, which made the western garrison consume a huge amount. In contrast, an Lushan, however, quietly thrived on the grassland trade route. The military balance in the north was thus upset.
-- The open pattern gives speculators the opportunity to develop
As mentioned earlier, the Tang Empire originated from the "Guanlong Clique", and one of their characteristics was that they were easy to produce an army that could fight, were very good at absorbing various technologies, and were very willing to absorb any individual or group of armed forces because of the inheritance system that was not completely linked by blood relations. This is also one of the reasons why the Tang Empire opened up.
Due to the change in the center of gravity of trade routes, the importance of the northern steppe peoples such as the Turks and Sogdians to the Tang Empire increased. Even if some people were no longer pureLy Sogdians, they seized the opportunity to rise.
The Turks and Sogdians began to join the empire's army in the north
Just like An Lushan, along with this group of steppe peoples, they also encountered opportunities for development. The first half of An Lushan's life was like most people in that era. His father was a Sogdian from Central Asia, his mother was a Turkic witch, and his father died at an early age. An Lushan remarried with his mother into a Turkic family. The experience of his youth allowed An Lushan to be fully trained, and he also mastered Sogdian and Turkic languages and could also communicate with the Khitan and Xibu.
The number of foreign officials in the Tang Dynasty was enormous
With his own skills to work for the Tang Empire, An Lushan gradually mixed with the highest position of most foreign soldiers. This is not only the creation of the background of the times, but also the driving role of the established national policy of the empire. The Tang Empire has long adopted different methods of governance for foreigners and domestic residents.
The Empire welcomed foreigners to the Tang very much, as they could bring trade, different management and military techniques, often valued and treated well by the Empire. They can marry here, but wives cannot follow them abroad. In fact, this also reflects that the Tang Empire's policy towards domestic residents was often regarded as pure "means of production".
Xuanzang's Western Heavenly Scriptures are actually acts of smuggling
It is worth mentioning that the people under the control of the rulers of the Empire could not even take the initiative to communicate and do business with the outside world. The Xuanzang "Western Heavenly Scriptures" that we are familiar with is actually an act of "smuggling".
The confrontation between the civil and military officials of the imperial court gave the speculators a reason
During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the Tang Empire had just emerged from the military chaos of nepotism with Empress Wu. A number of emerging groups of civil officials began to rise, and they did not belong to the traditional "Guanlong clique"; nor were they "Shandong forces"; they did not belong to the "Southern Shi Clan", they were the imperial power consorts represented by Yang Guozhong.
"Lady Yu Guo You Chun Tu", Lady Yu Guo is the third sister of Yang Guifei, and she is prominent under the protection of Yang Guifei. Committed suicide during the Anshi Rebellion
After the death of Li Linfu, who was able to suppress everyone, Yang Guozhong conspired with An Lushan to frame him for rebellion. This allowed Yang An and Yang to ascend to the core of power, but then the two began to stage a game of power struggle. Because of his military achievements, Yang Guozhong, who had no advantage, constantly "denounced" An Lushan's rebellion. The contradictions between them further intensified, and Tang Xuanzong could no longer reconcile the balance between the two, and finally An Lushan launched a rebellion in the name of "getting rid of Yang Guozhong".
The speculator fails because the situation is not what he imagined
With An Lushan's rise, breaking the previous balance, all his advantages changed.
Speculator An Lushan faces the fate of defeat
Although An Lushan belonged to the Northeast Fan General Group of the Tang Empire, he had already broken away from the Fan General clan and began to join the army with Zhang Shoujue. It can be said that he has always relied on the institutional convenience within the Tang Empire to obtain status promotion. Such An Lushan regarded him as a foreign general in the civilian official group, and he was not of the same kind in the foreign group. Therefore, there are very few foreigners in An Lushan's confidants, and most of them are also Han Chinese. This led to the fact that An Lushan actually had no political foundation at all, even if he conquered Luoyang and Chang'an, but as long as the emperor of the Tang Empire was still there, it was difficult for him to do anything.
In the movie "The Legend of the Demon Cat", Yang Guozhong has been beheaded
And "Yang Guozhong", who used the excuse of An Lushan's army, was also executed as a "political burden" along with "Yang Guifei" in Ma Songyi. And the homes of the "Great Yan" foreigners he so-called established also had no mass base. So quickly, he lost public opinion.
When Tang Xuanzong and his party fled to Bashu, grain and grass were transported from the original Grand Canal to Luoyang-Chang'an, and diverted to bashu by the Yangtze River, avoiding the grain and grass crisis after the fall of Luoyang. The imperial inland garrison also blocked the rebel army at Suiyang under the leadership of Zhang Tour, and held on to it. After Emperor Suzong of Tang ascended the throne, he went to Shuofang, and the military group in the northwest came to the aid of the east to counterattack the rebels. The Northwest military clique and the Fan generals, who were already at odds with An Lushan, became the main force in countering the An Lushan rebels.
Zhang Patrol dragged the rebels to his death at the Battle of Suiyang
There were also new changes in the international situation, the western forces of the Tang Empire began to retreat, Tubo was frightened by Guo Ziyi's suspicious soldiers, the Uighur army joined in counterinsurgency, and even the royal families of Guizi and Khotan also joined the counter-rebellion with their own troops. The Northwest Hexi Corridor and the Western Region, which were originally border-tight, have gained temporary stability. This trade route became more active, and An Lushan lost its trade route.
Through the efforts of Suzong, Daizong, Guo Ziyi, Li Guangbi and others, the Anshi Rebellion was finally ended.
The Anshi Rebellion gave the Tang Empire a painful blow
The development of the An Lushan clique was fundamentally brought about by the reform of the military system after the land annexation of the Tang Empire; it was also the result of the evolution of the international situation and domestic political struggles. In fact, An Lushan's rebellion was unlikely to succeed, and once the balance of the situation was broken, his advantages disappeared. Tang Xuanzong originally thought that An Lushan did not dare to rebel, but he could not stand the speculators' gambles.
The devastation of the Anshi Rebellion was enormous, and the dominance of the Empire was no longer so secure. The moderation system, which already had political risks, became even more terrifying in the remaining time of the Tang Empire. An era of feudal division began.
An Lushan, which fell into the abyss of history
An Lushan, a political opportunist, also fell into the abyss of historical shame with his gamble.