When it comes to An Lushan, many people will think of the "Anshi Rebellion" that shocked the Tang Dynasty. This once commanding border general finally died at the hands of his most trusted subordinates. What's the story?
An Lushan came out of the frontier and was a foreigner, but with his military talents, he was an official to Fanyang during the Xuanzong period of the Tang Dynasty, and he was also quite powerful in the court. It's just that this big man doesn't have a good temper, is tyrannical and cruel, and often whips his subordinates. There is a little eunuch named Li Zhu'er next to An Lushan, and it is said that he was castrated alive by An Lushan because he looked at An Lushan's female pet a few more times. Since then, Li Zhu'er has hated and feared An Lushan.
Although An Lushan was cruel to his subordinates, he trusted Li Zhu'er very much and promoted him to a cronie. Li Zhu'er was obedient to An Lushan on the surface, but hated him in his heart. In 757 A.D., An Lushan raised an army against the Tang Dynasty, known as the "Anshi Rebellion". This rebellion dealt a devastating blow to the Tang Dynasty and brought An Lushan's power to its peak.
However, the sky is unpredictable. An Lushan indulged in wine all day long, and his body became weaker and weaker. Coupled with his tyrannical personality, many subordinates are dissatisfied with him. An Lushan's son, An Qingxu, was also dissatisfied with his father's dictatorship and secretly plotted to usurp the throne.
An Qingxu knew that if he wanted to eradicate his father, his own strength alone was not enough, so he decided to win over Li Zhu'er. This villain, who has been tortured by An Lushan for many years, has long hated An Lushan, and after learning of An Qingxu's plan, he immediately agreed to join, determined to personally end the enemy's life.
On the third day of the first lunar month in 759 AD, on the third day of the Lunar New Year, a bloody coup d'état was quietly staged in the night. Li Zhu'er took advantage of An Lushan's drunken and sleepy sleep, holding a sharp knife, and quietly sneaked into his bedroom. Looking at the once invincible tyrant, but now he is fat and festering, the hatred in Li Zhu'er's heart has reached its peak. He stabbed An Lushan in the heart, ending the tyrant's life.
After An Lushan's death, his son An Qingxu succeeded to the throne. And Li Zhu'er's status in the rebels has also risen. However, rebellion is not a long-term solution. In 763 AD, the Tang Dynasty army, led by Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi, finally put down the Anshi Rebellion. And An Qingxu and Li Zhu'er, who are the leaders of the rebels, also cannot escape death.
The story of An Lushan and Li Zhu'er is a historical chapter full of tragedy. It reveals how betrayal and revenge can eat away at one's humanity in a game of thrones. An Lushan's tyranny has achieved his own power, but it has also laid the root of the curse. And Li Zhu'er's revenge, although it ended in the enemy's life, it was also doomed to his own tragic end.
At the same time, the Anshi Rebellion also became a turning point for the Tang Dynasty from prosperity to decline. This turmoil not only greatly damaged the national strength of the Tang Dynasty, but also made the situation of feudal towns increasingly serious, and finally caused the chaos of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. In a sense, An Lushan and Li Zhu'er are the epitome of that turbulent era, and their stories also herald the end of an era.
After the death of An Lushan, a powerful figure, the political situation of the Tang Dynasty did not calm down, but ushered in a more turbulent period. An Lushan's son, An Qingxu, inherited his father's power and became the new leader of the rebels. On the other hand, different voices also appeared within the Tang court, and the main battle faction that supported the suppression of the rebellion and the main peace faction who advocated peace launched a fierce debate in the court.
At this juncture, Li Zhu'er, who has been planning behind the scenes, has once again become a key figure. He knew very well that although An Qingxu inherited his father's power, he was far from having the courage and prestige of his father. As a result, Li Zhu'er began to lay out in secret, on the one hand, he encircled An Qingxu's henchmen, and on the other hand, he secretly colluded with the main peace faction of the Tang Dynasty to try to influence the direction of the war.
In 762 AD, the famous Tang Dynasty general Guo Ziyi led his army to regain Chang'an, and the rebels were forced to retreat to Tongguan, and the situation began to reverse. Seeing that the general trend had gone, Li Zhu'er decided to abandon the darkness and turn to the light, and took his soldiers and horses to take refuge in Guo Ziyi. In this way, with the help of Li Zhu'er, the Tang army finally put down the Anshi Rebellion in 763 AD, and An Qingxu was also killed in the rebellion.
On the surface, Li Zhu'er seems to have once again stood at the forefront of history and became a hero of the rebellion. But in fact, his heart has long been eaten away by power and desire. On that battlefield without gunsmoke, Li Zhu'er relied on his wrist to play with the power of life and death of the powerful, and trampled one opponent after another. However, such days did not last long, and Li Zhu'er did not escape the curse of the power game after all, and was killed in a palace coup a few years later.
Although the Anshi Rebellion was put down, the national strength of the Tang Dynasty had already suffered a devastating blow. During the rebellion, hundreds of people were displaced, the land was barren and the economy withered. To make matters worse, the division of feudal towns intensified, and local warlords competed for the title of emperor, which made the authority of the central Tang Dynasty extinct in name only. In 907 AD, Zhu Wen rebelled, deposed the last emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Tang Ai Emperor, and established the Later Liang, the Tang Dynasty finally died, and the troubled times of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms also kicked off.
From the death of An Lushan to the fall of the Tang Dynasty, in just 150 years, the Central Plains was full of gunsmoke and wars. And in this game of power, how many little people like Li Zhu'er struggled to survive in the torrent of history, and were finally ruthlessly run over by the wheels of the times. They may be just one of the many beings, but their joys and sorrows also constitute the background color of that history.
When we look back on this past, we should think more about how we can keep our inner conscience and integrity in the face of the temptation of power and desire. After all, history has proven countless times that those who blindly chase power are eventually eaten up by power and end up in disrepute.
The story of An Lushan and Li Zhu'er tells us that power is important, but more important is not to forget the original intention and stick to the truth. Only in this way can we find the way forward in the chaotic world and write our own life epic.