"Yu Yang Mo came agitatedly and broke the song of the neon clothes and feathers." On the ninth day of November in 755 AD, a mighty army rushed directly to the city of Chang'an. It was the three towns of the dynasty who made An Lushan at the head. Since then, an eight-year turmoil has begun. As for why An Lushan betrayed the imperial power of the Tang Dynasty, the world speculated. Some people say that it is greed and vain attempts to swallow the country; Some people say that it has been planned for a long time and is ambitious; Some people also said that they were helpless and forced to be helpless. What caused this important minister to fight against the water and start killing?
The emperor was mediocre and neglected An Lushan's wolf ambitions
It is said that during the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, the emperor Tang Xuanzong at that time was in the prime of life and was suave. He controlled the government and government, and the national strength gradually flourished, and the culture was brilliant. However, the good times did not last long, and after the prosperity of the Kaiyuan Dynasty, Xuanzong gradually showed a mediocre state.
There is such a past incident that witnesses the absurd style of Xuanzong. One year, the eunuch Zhang Qu was favored during the court, so he was unscrupulous and extravagant. He bought land in Luoyang, the eastern capital, built mansions, and did everything. Zhang Qu even directly interfered in political affairs, and his actions almost became a "country within a country". The magistrate impeached Zhang Qu for his crimes, and Xuanzong not only did not punish him, but instead issued an edict to reward the magistrate, and allowed Zhang Qu to continue to do whatever he wanted. It can be seen how deeply Xuanzong connived at such mediocre eunuchs.
Later, Xuanzong was confused by Yang Yuhuan, the favorite concubine, and he couldn't see her true face clearly. The government and the opposition all slandered Yang Yuhuan for being insidious and cunning, tyrannical and domineering. Wen Bin and other ministers repeatedly demanded that Yang Guifei be dismissed. Xuanzong blindly protected his shortcomings and ignored them. It wasn't until he took refuge in Luwangpo that Xuanzong reluctantly removed Yang Yuhuan from the position of favorite concubine.
Not only that, Xuanzong listened to slander and regarded virtuous ministers as enemies. In the middle of the Kaiyuan Dynasty, the virtuous minister Zhang Khan was exempted from the crime and was summoned to the imperial court. Xuanzong once specially summoned Zhang Cambodia to prepare for his favor. Unexpectedly, Xuanzong was separated again, suspecting that Zhang Cambodia was too arrogant, and even sent him into the cold palace, and was finally forced to commit suicide. Good ministers are like this, they can't keep the heroes, and the national strength will naturally decline.
It is necessary to know that An Lushan and other feudal towns are brave and good at fighting, which is related to the combat power of the imperial court. But Xuanzong was so ignorant of his subordinates, and naturally lost the heart of a general like An Lushan. If you want to know the reason for An Lushan's army, you have to see it from Xuanzong's mediocrity.
The imperial court gained power, and Yang Guozhong pressed forward step by step
Li Linfu has been in charge of the prime minister for 19 years and is an out-and-out doer. At that time, he advocated the establishment of the feudal envoy system, the purpose of which was to consolidate the frontier with the help of the brave and good fighting of foreign generals such as An Lushan and Geshuhan. Tang Xuanzong relied on Li Linfu and listened to his plans for all major events in the DPRK and China.
In order to control military power, Li Linfu carefully set up a set of strict systems. He deployed internal generals to secretly monitor the actions of the envoys of the outer towns, in a vain attempt to nip dissidents in the bud. An Lushan and others were even more heavily guarded, for fear that they would rebel and rebel with heavy troops. Li Linfu's series of measures did effectively suppress the spirit of An Lushan and others.
The authority of the world is as small as a sesame seed, and it will change hands in the blink of an eye. Once Li Linfu drove the crane to the west, the court and the central government were controlled by the ownerless lord. The successor to the position of prime minister was Yang Guozhong, a relative of Xuanzong's biological mother, Yang. Since then, the struggle between the government and the opposition has been raging.
Yang Guozhong took precautions against An Lushan, fearing that his intentions would be wrong. He made suggestions to Xuanzong more than once, asking for a weakening of An Lushan's military power. And An Lushan was also at this time, determined to no longer endure and turned over.
Yang Guozhong first suggested to Xuanzong that An Lushan enter Beijing to meet and secretly spy on An Lushan's mental skills. When An Lushan arrived in Beijing at the edict, Yang Guozhong sent people to search his place in Beijing all night, intending to find evidence of rebellion. It's a pity that nothing was found, and it was in vain.
Although Tang Xuanzong also scrapped the resolution to summon An Lushan to Beijing halfway, Yang Guozhong still kept extinguishing. He did not hesitate to retaliate and secretly colluded with others to deal with An Lushan's private soldiers and horses. Once, Yang Guozhong instructed some of his cronies to take refuge in Ge Shuhan's soldiers to make a rebellion, completely severing the connection between An Lushan and Ge Shuhan.
What's more, Yang Guozhong actually broke the jar and broke it, and he was determined to wear small shoes for An Lushan. He used both soft and the one hand, he made Xuanzong cut off the supply of grain and grass to An Lushan; On the other hand, by appointing a virtuous general, Qinyou Ministry, he strictly monitored An Lushan's every move. Although An Lushan is aggressive, competitive, brave and fearless, but under such pressure from the imperial court, I am afraid it will be difficult for him to live in peace.
Resentment accumulates, and the Anshi Rebellion is inevitable
The struggle for power is intensifying, and the government and the opposition are cloudy. Since Yang Guozhong came to power, the DPRK and China have been divided into two camps. In addition, wars are still frequent, the frontier is urgent, and the people are miserable. All this has brought a deep sense of crisis to An Lushan.
Open the history books, and you can see all kinds of signs before the outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion. For example, in the area of Fanyang and Hedong, the displaced people are withered and the countryside is barren. The local fathers and elders were tired of running for their lives, and the abandoned children wept and wailed. The same is true for frontier garrisons. Soldiers are displaced and homeless. Moreover, the border army has been stationed for many years, and there is a lack of money, so it has cut off the way of life.
For An Lushan's pro-soldiers, this situation can be described as worse. They have followed An Lushan for many years, and although they have made outstanding achievements in the past, now they are only left out in the cold. Not only that, but the imperial court also repeatedly squeezed their military salaries, resulting in no food and clothing. This made the forbidden army, which was extremely loyal at first, also began to waver in their loyalty to the imperial court.
What's more, An Lushan himself was almost at the end of his rope under the siege and suppression of Yang Guozhong. The imperial court strictly investigated and sent General Qinyou to watch with heavy troops. The soldiers from all walks of life gradually lost their trust in An Lushan's command, followed the imperial court and betrayed their lord. The power struggle has reached a fever pitch, with the two sides locked in a protracted standoff.
At this point, the resentment in An Lushan's heart has long been backlogged. He knew that if he continued to obey the orders of the court, he would die sooner or later. In order to survive, for dignity, and to protect his subordinates and families, all this was a forced choice to oppose Tang. Therefore, in the autumn of 755, An Lushan finally rose up and went straight to the capital Chang'an. And along with it, there were also the elite divisions of the envoys of the feudal towns such as Geshuhan.
Thus, a great chaos began. The root cause of the outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion is that the government and the opposition are difficult to calm down and the resentment is difficult to eliminate. And the power struggle is about to break out, and bloody rain is inevitable.
Supporting the heirs and the successor caused disputes
Although the Anshi Rebellion broke out, it did not subside. In the troubled times, the government and the opposition ministers added a new dispute - the dispute between the crown prince. Since ancient times, the change of dynasties has been inseparable from people's consideration of the identity of the prince. Datang is no exception.
If you want to talk about the cause of all this, you have to start with Tang Xuanzong's biological mother Yang. When Tang Suzong was in power, he issued an edict to posthumously call Niangniang Yang as "Queen Zhen". But who would have thought that when Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty arrived, this nickname was vetoed by Xuanzong and changed to "Empress Zhaoren".
As soon as this incident came out, the government and the opposition were in an uproar. After all, posthumous advice is the highest courtesy to the late emperor's biological mother, how can it be capricious? People of insight have believed that Xuanzong must have other plans. Sure enough, Xuanzong's next series of fraudulent methods made people more convinced of this speculation.
For example, Xuanzong issued an edict not long after, and used the "Book of Filial Piety" as a model to compile the so-called "Huangji Palace Note". Among them, content such as "Abolishing the Queen's Deed" strives to exaggerate the importance of the roles of the imperial concubine and the biological mother. Some wise men directly denounced the "Emperor's Palace Note" for ignoring morality, which is to show the great rebellion.
In addition, Xuanzong also tried his best to support Li Dan, the son of the side concubine Yuanzhang, to serve as the prince, and never mentioned the name of the crown prince Li Chongcui. Even later, when he took refuge in Luwangpo, Xuanzong imprisoned the crown prince Li Chongcui in the cold palace, while Li Dan was favored by him. The government and the opposition reacted strongly to this and complained a lot. It can be seen that Xuanzong deliberately placed the position of the prince in Li Dan, which caused panic among the people in the court.
In order to consolidate her power, Yang Guifei also took advantage of the situation to fight against dissidents. She slandered the royal woman Li for conspiring to commit crimes, resulting in the imprisonment of Li Chongcui's mother and son. The position of the prince finally sat on Li Dan completely. This matter caused a lot of trouble between the government and the opposition, the elders of the pavilion could not confront each other, and the palace was full of clouds. In the end, it caused an earth-shattering riot in which the archers of the Royal Guards became chaotic.
This series of disputes was the final fuse and ignited the fuse of the Anshi Rebellion. The dispute between the prince and the prince began with the selfishness and greed of the government and the opposition, and eventually led to a catastrophe. It can really be said that it is the root cause of man-made disasters.
Shocked the government and the opposition, the Tang Dynasty went from prosperity to decline
At the beginning of the Anshi Rebellion, An Lushan raised troops and directed his troops at Chang'an Jingshi. In just a few months, Hebei, Guanzhong, and Hedong all fell. The first good district of is not guaranteed, and the Tang Dynasty is shaking up and down.
Tang Xuanzong was shocked when he heard the news. People who have lived in the deep palace for a long time and are arrogant and promiscuous can hardly imagine that there will be such a great change. He had to leave the Forbidden Garden overnight, and led his cronies and officials from the outer court to leave Chang'an in a hurry and take refuge in Shaanzhou. All the way to escape in a hurry, there were countless luggage, surrounded by royal concubines and maids, and thousands of gold and silver treasures. Along the way, the central and Shuo Fang, everywhere saw the sound of cymbals and cymbals.
When he took refuge in Wangzhou, Tang Xuanzong was also not at peace. Every day there was a rumour, and the royal guards were even more uneasy. In the middle of the night, there were swords and soldiers, and there were many people who fled outside the Tianbo Mansion wall. Even so, Tang Xuanzong still went his own way, greedy for wine all day long, and was extravagant. Since An Lu's army was approaching the city of Wangzhou, he suddenly woke up and led the people to retreat to the Zhongnan Mountains overnight.
This time of refuge, the civil and military forces of the dynasty all had the risk of survival. There are ministers and eunuchs inside, who are afraid of An Lushan's sharpness and turn their backs on the Lord and abandon those who flee; Outside, there is a temperance to make the warlord, lead the troops to Chang'an, and be a conciliator. The entire country has almost reached the point where it will be taken by others, and the palace will be taken by outsiders. There are even some palace people and concubines, who followed Xuanzong to avoid chaos to Zhongnan Mountain, and were also killed and thrown into the wilderness on the way. It can be said that this evacuation ended without a problem, and the casualties and losses were extremely great.
It was not until the end that Xuanzong led his troops to hang the curtain on Luwangpo and began to regroup. Unexpectedly, this evacuation lasted for more than eight years, and it was difficult to attack for a long time, and there was no stalemate. At the same time, in order to protect themselves, Yang Guozhong and other ministers of the government and the opposition were also in a panic and fled in all directions, with no time to look east. Some people even joined forces with Li A and other generals with foreign surnames, took huge sums of money from their private pockets, recruited troops, and set up their own doors. All this contributed to the Tang Dynasty from its heyday to decline in just a few years.
Eight years of turmoil have caused so much harm that it is truly tragic. In the front, there were relatives and concubines to help the funeral road, and then there were clan relatives who fled for their lives. Since then, there has been only a wolf smoke in the Tang Dynasty, and the people are struggling to make a living. The prosperous era is gone, and the palace is also full of devastation.