"The Twelve Hours of Chang'an" made the Tang Dynasty Chang'an prosperous world earn a wave of eyeballs, and the background of the film is the Tang Dynasty grand image of the "rule of kaiyuan". However, after the Anshi Rebellion in 755, the power of the Tang Dynasty began to decline from prosperity to decline, with many feudal towns and local supporters respecting themselves. However, after the Middle Tang Dynasty, there was such an emperor, he tried to imitate the merits of Emperor Taizong and Xuanzong, and during his reign, the Tang Dynasty once showed a Zhongxing atmosphere, which was Tang Xianzong's "Yuan and Zhongxing".
First, the country's power declined, and after the chaos of Anshi
Since Emperor Xuanzong, the eight-year-long Tianbao Rebellion has greatly damaged the Tang Dynasty's vitality, and local warlords have begun to become more and more stubborn, forming a confrontation with the imperial court, and there are eunuchs in the country, left politics, foreign court party disputes, Tubo, Hui and other border troubles. By the time of Emperor Dezong's reign, there was also the Rebellion of the Four Towns and the Change of Jingyuan in the local domain, which caused Emperor Dezong to flee the capital again, and Emperor Dezong fled with Emperor Xuanzong for the first time to take refuge in Sichuan and Shu, which caused the prestige of the imperial court to fall to the point of failure.
The headache of the town has caused the local people to suffer, and the central government has also suffered. The annual tax revenue of the imperial court stopped at the Eight Provinces of Jiangnan, mainly supplied by the Jianghuai region. Before Emperor Xianzong, Emperor Shunzong also came to the "Yongzhen Reform" to try to eliminate the centralization of power in internal affairs. However, the unfortunate Shunzong was pushed down by the internal struggle of the court, and the reform was also too hasty, and the reform was completely overthrown in more than 100 days. Under the pressure of the eunuch Jia Fanzhen, Shunzong had to give "Yongzhen Nei Zen" to the crown prince, and Tang Xianzong finally took the stage.
Second, the selection of talents to change the government, the initial revitalization of the program
Faced with the severe situation of the division of the country and the decline of the royal family, Xianzong was not discouraged, nor was he as impetuous as his predecessors, and he consulted with his courtiers on the strategy of governing the country, first carrying out a series of internal political reforms, and then formulating a strategy of conquest. Emperor Xianzong often stayed up late to read the actual texts, and he liked to read Emperor Taizong's "Emperor Fan" the most, so as to summarize historical experience. Shi Zaixianzong worked overtime day and night to approve and read the folds, and he had the spirit of "lying down and tasting the guts", vowing to put an end to the chaos and create another unification.
The way to govern lies in winning people, and Xianzong has deeply grasped its essence. He diligently sought meritocracy and carried out heavy responsibilities, and the prime ministers such as Du Huangsheng and Li Jifu were mostly famous ministers who advocated a peaceful domain and were quite strategic, and the government gradually became clear, and it became a fashion to recommend talents. Zaichen made a clear decision and formed a strong decision-making center. In order to protect the country and make fewer mistakes, Xianzong also humbly accepted advice and was as good as a stream. Emperor Xianzong's layoffs were also very severe, and those officials who were in the position of vegetarian food were all replaced, up to the prime minister, to save money for the imperial court.
In terms of financial management, Xianzong led by example, first refusing to use luxury goods and then reducing the harem. The imperial court also gave a large-scale reduction in salaries to civil servants, which effectively alleviated the financial burden of government operation. However, Emperor Xianzong did not skimp on property, and the drought in the south should allocate money to relieve the disaster without a reduction. In view of the shortcomings of the previous two tax laws, Emperor Xianzong sent Li Xun and others to rectify the jianghuai finances and prepare a large amount of silver for the imperial court, after all, the conquest was fought against the economy.
In addition to the internal affairs left by Emperor Dezong, the borders of Yuan and the early yuan were also on fire, and the capital caoyun was also controlled by the Qiang clan. On the one hand, Emperor Xianzong inherited Emperor Dezong's strategy of "northern peace and Hui, southern and southern Zhao", and took advantage of the conflict between Dashi and Tubo in Central Asia to effectively reduce tubo's threat to the border. On the other hand, it spent money to build water conservancy projects, restore the smooth flow of water transport in Jiangnan, promote the development of agricultural production in Jiangnan, and ensure the rear financial source base for the war against the clan.
Third, several times to enlist the domain, the first appearance of ZTE
After making full preparations, Emperor Xianzong immediately began the practice of conquest. When Emperor Xianzong took the throne and first rebelled against Xichuan, Liu Pei rebelled, and at that time, the imperial court was the main warrior and the voice was there, and Emperor Xianzong tried to defy the public opinion, listened to the strategy of the prime minister Du Huangsheng's crusade, and used the Divine Strategy Army to make Gao Chongwen command the imperial court army, and sure enough, he was able to get Sichuan Shu in less than 1 year. At the same time as Liu Pi's rebellion, Xia Suijiedu made Yang Huilin also use force against the imperial court, and Emperor Xianzong decisively ordered a crusade to clean up Xia Sui.
Zhenhai Jiedu made Li Qi very arrogant, he had already been on the court during the Shunzong period, but Xianzong just wanted to send troops to conquest, Li Qi's own backyard was on fire, his nephew united with local soldiers and horses to make the nest rebel, Li Qi was sent to Chang'an in less than a week to parade and show the public. After dealing with these little minions, Xianzong immediately turned his target to ziqing, Chengde and other feudal towns in huaixi, and the rebellion in huaixi was also a key battle in Xianzong's "Zhongxing" industry.
From the ninth year of Yuan He to the twelfth year, this battle was fought for 3 winters, and the process was much more difficult than the battles of Xichuan and Zhejiang. This was mainly because the Huaixi Domain was deeply rooted, and it had been in charge since the time of Emperor Daizong, and it had been 35 years since the time of Emperor Dezong, when he had conflicts with the imperial court, and when Emperor Xianzong used troops. The townsmen were not convinced, and sent assassins to kill Wu Yuanheng, the current chancellor, and tried to plot to wash Luoyang in blood, but fortunately the matter was exposed and did not succeed, which directly made the matter bigger.
Emperor Xianzong first mobilized six troops to fight on the Huaixi and Chengde fronts, but in the first 1.5 years when there was no progress in the war, the imperial army repeatedly lost on the front line. The lesson of reality led Emperor Xianzong to use the suggestion of "taking Huaixi first, and then taking Hengji" to destroy the Hebei camp first, and then concentrate on dealing with Huaixi. The stalemate in Huaixi took a turn for the worse after Li Yu was appointed as the emissary of Jiedushi. Li Yu seized the fighter plane of the storm and storm attack and captured Cai Prefecture in one fell swoop, and Huaixi declared surrender.
The deterrent effect of this victory was very good, and the town of Hebei Lost Its Geographical Support and fell one after another. The following year, towns from Chengde to Ziqing successively submitted. Lu Long jiedushi was very sensible, afraid that he was the next target to be rectified, and quickly returned to his fate. Since then, the "Three Towns of Heshuo", which has the longest history of division, has also returned to the embrace of the imperial court. The Zizhi Tongjian records that "the prestige of the imperial court has finally risen," and the country has seen a unified situation that has not been seen for decades.
Fourth, a short-lived prosperity, a flash in the pan
Emperor Xianzong ascended the throne at the age of twenty-eight, ambitious and enterprising, and the national strength of the Tang Dynasty improved to a certain extent during the Yuan he period, which was also called "Yuan and Zhongxing" by historians. The New Book of Tang raised him to the level of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Xuanzong, believing that the Tang Dynasty for more than three hundred years had passed on twenty emperors, and there were only three emperors who could be handed over, including Emperor Xianzong. Tang Xianzong turned the tide when the Tang Dynasty was in decline, so that the country was reunified, and Xianzong was the "Lord of Zhongxing".
However, the "Yuan and Zhongxing" ultimately did not save the fate of the Tang Dynasty. Tang Xianzong gradually swelled up since Zhongxing, thinking that his merits were particularly high, and began to disobey advice, spoiling eunuchs like his predecessors, using inhuman people, and the government was corrupted completely. In his later years, Emperor Xianzong built civil engineering, built palaces, and offered Buddha bones, and was eventually foolishly destroyed by his foreign relatives. During the reign of the next Emperor Muzong, the tang dynasty, which had become prosperous, once again declined. After the Middle Tang Dynasty, "Yuan and ZTE" was only a short-lived prosperity, and since then there has been no ZTE in the Tang Dynasty.
Tang Xianzong made great efforts to govern in the early stage, which made the Tang Dynasty short-lived ZTE, and he was expected to recover the achievements of the "rule of Zhenguan", but in his later years, Xianzong changed his style of painting greatly, and did not adhere to the diligent political theory of the dynasty, so that the Tang Dynasty ZTE was no longer there. In ancient China, there was no shortage of feudal emperors like Xianzong, but fortunately, Chinese civilization removed its dross and passed down their positive side. Today, it is precisely under the inheritance of this spirit of inspiration and diligence that our country has moved from rising to becoming rich and strong, standing tall among the nations of the world.
Reference materials:
Old Book of Tang
New Book of Tang
Zizhi Tongjian