Chapter 9 Four, Ge Shu night with a knife
In Xuanzong's reign, with the emergence of the Eastern Turks, the Eastern Turks rose again.At this time, Xuanzong was fascinated by the majesty of his great-grandfather Taizong "Tian Khan", and was very keen on Kaibian.For this reason, border generals often provoke wars against alien races to invite military exploits.
Xuanzong once sent General Xue Na (son of Xue Rengui) to go on an expedition, and this western expedition is the prototype of the novel "Xue Dingshan's Expedition to the West".Facing a powerful opponent, Mo Chuo Khan avoided the truth, first fought against the Ba Yigu tribe who belonged to the Tang Dynasty, and returned with a big victory.But on the way, Mochuo was suddenly assassinated by one of Ba Yegu's soldiers, Jie Zhilue.The silent army was in chaos, and they dispersed in a hurry.Jie Zhilue calmly cut off Mo Chuai's head and handed it over to Tang Jun.The legendary nature of history is no less dramatic than that of novels.And in the history books, there are many examples where chance determines the direction of history.
After a new round of power struggle, Vija became the khan of the Eastern Turks, and won a complete victory in the first round of large-scale battles with the Tang army. He rose to fame and became an idol and a national hero in the minds of the Turks.After that, the Eastern Turks and the Tang Dynasty began a long-term tug-of-war, and the time of war and peace depended on the situation at that time.Vija Khanga asked several times to marry the princess of the Tang Dynasty, but he never got consent.The Eastern Turks completely perished in the fourth year of Tianbao (745), which was entirely caused by internal struggles for power.Vija Khan's wife led the crowd to surrender to the Tang Dynasty.At the same time, Tubo began to rise, posing a serious threat to the Hexi Corridor, the Western Regions, and Jiannan.
When it comes to the war between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo, one has to mention Ge Shuhan.Geshuhan, a member of the Geshu tribe in West Turkic.Turks are used to taking the name of the tribe as their surname, so everyone in this tribe has the surname Geshu.Ge Shuhan was born in a wealthy family, and his father, Ge Shu Daoyuan, was the leader of the Geshu tribe and served as the deputy chief protector of the Anxi Metropolitan Protectorate in the Tang Dynasty.The mother, Yuchi, is the daughter of the king of Khotan (now southwest of Hotan, Xinjiang).
Ge Shuhan's father is the tribal leader, and his mother is the princess of Khotan. The family is rich and powerful, and he has developed a bold, chivalrous and alcoholic character.He is generous and generous, and he likes to drink and gamble.His entire youth was spent in a life of nothing to worry about, and he has been doing nothing.When Ge Shuhan was 40 years old, his father Ge Shu Daoyuan died in Chang'an.Ge Shuhan followed the customs of the Central Plains and went to Chang'an to keep a filial piety for his father for three years.Because he had nothing to do all day, Captain Chang'an looked down on him very much.It was only then that Ge Shuhan "raged and broke his integrity, and went to Hexi with his sword", and ran to Hexi in a fit of anger, and became a small officer under the Hexi Jiedu envoy Wang Yu.
Soon, Wang Zhongsi, who was good at discovering talents, succeeded Wang Ji as Jiedu envoy, and promoted Ge Shuhan to Yajiang.Ge Shuhan is fond of reading, and is especially interested in "Zuoshi Chunqiu" and "Hanshu".Because he is well versed in righteousness, donates righteousness to donate money, and is a man of loyalty, he is quite popular among soldiers.
In the sixth year of Tianbao (747), Wang Zhongsi once again promoted Ge Shuhan as the deputy envoy of the Great Fighting Army.At the same time, Li Guangbi, a Khitan native, was promoted to serve as military envoy of Hexi and Chishui military envoy, to be jointly responsible for managing Tubo.The Dadou army was stationed in Dadouba Valley (in the southeast of Minle County, Gansu today, Biandukou at the junction of Gansu and Qinghai provinces), which is the shortcut from the Hexi Corridor to Qinghai.Because of his meritorious service in defense, Ge Shuhan was promoted to General Zuoweilang.At that time, Tubo harassed the border areas, and Ge Shuhan led his army to fight against them.The Tubo army was divided into three teams, and rushed down from the mountain to attack one by one.The long spear in Ge Shuhan's hand was broken, so he took half of the spear to meet him.From then on, Geshu Hanwei became famous far and wide.After the war, Ge Shuhan was awarded the title of General of Youwuweiyuanwai, deputy envoy of Longyou Jiedu, military envoy of Guanxi, and envoy of Heyuan Army.
Longyou is the area to the west of Longshan, Liupanshan and east of the Yellow River in Gansu today.Guanxi is today's Hangu Pass or the area west of Tongguan.Before Ge Shuhan took office, every time the wheat was ripe, Tubo sent a large number of troops to the Jishi Army (now Qinghai Guide) to rob wheat, and arrogantly called the Jishi Army "Tubo Wheat Village".Due to the great power of Tubo and the uncertainty of whereabouts, the Tang army had no one to defend at that time.Ge Shuhan was very angry when he heard about it, and immediately made elaborate arrangements.First send generals Wang Rare and Yang Jinghui to lead troops and horses to set up an ambush in the southeast valley.When the harvest season came, Tubo sent 5,000 cavalry to grab the wheat.After arriving at the Jishi army camp, Tubo thought that the Tang army was still huddled in the city and did not dare to fight, so they let their horses off their armor and began to go into the fields to harvest wheat.At this time, Ge Shuhan personally led the elite cavalry and rushed out of the city.The Tubo army was caught off guard and hurriedly mounted their horses to fight. As a result, more than half of them were killed or injured, and the rest fled.When they fled to the southeast valley, Wang Rare, Yang Jinghui and others ambushed all over the place and wiped out the Tubo remnants in one fell swoop.The battle was a complete victory, and none of the 5,000 Tubo cavalry escaped.From then on, Tubo no longer dared to come to grab the wheat.
Ge Shuhan has a slave named Zuo Che, who is only fifteen or sixteen years old, but has extraordinary physical strength.Every time he played, he followed Geshuhan closely.Ge Shuhan is good at using a gun. Whenever he catches up with the enemy, he puts the gun on the enemy's shoulder first, and then yells.When the enemy turned his head in shock, he took the opportunity to stab the throat, picked up the enemy's corpse to a height of more than five feet, and then fell to the ground.The left chariot immediately dismounted and beheaded the enemy.The two masters and servants have been cooperating in this way, and they have a tacit understanding.Seeing this, the enemy soldiers were all terrified.See "Old Tang Book Volume 104 Biography of Ge Shuhan".Su Shi, a great scholar in the Song Dynasty, wrote a poem about this:
"I found half a gun by the side of the road, so why open a furnace to cast a spear and halberd. How to use it in my ears, it will make you lose your soul."
Ge Shuhan once led his troops to pursue the enemy, but because the horses were frightened, they were trapped in the river.At this time, three Tubo generals came to stab him, and he shouted loudly, and the three generals were too frightened to move.Soon the rescuers arrived and killed all three generals.This shows the prestige of Ge Shuhan.There is a "Geshu Song" written by "Xixiaren" which is widely circulated in the Longyou area: "The Big Dipper is high, and Geshu carries a knife at night. Up to now, I have seen the horses, but I dare not pass Lintao." The trust and praise of the common people to Goshuhan.This five-character quatrain was later selected into "Three Hundred Poems of Tang Dynasty" compiled by the hermit of Hengtang.
During Xuanzong's reign, he liked Bian Gong very much.In July of the sixth year of Tianbao (747), Wang Zhongsi, the Jiedu envoy of Hexi and Longyou (governing Shanzhou, now Ledu, Qinghai), went to attack the strategically important Shibao City (also known as Iron Blade City, in present-day Huangyuan, Qinghai) southwest).However, Wang Zhongsi has always taken it as his mission to secure the frontier, and believes: "The stone fortress is dangerous and solid, and the whole country of Tubo will defend it. If the army is under the fortress, tens of thousands of people will die, and then things can be done. I am afraid that the gains are not as good as the losses. Please Suspend troops and feed horses, watch the quarrel and take it, the one who is above the plan." ("Old Tang Book Volume 103 Biography of Wang Zhongsi") Wang Zhongsi's attitude aroused Xuanzong's dissatisfaction.
In October of the same year, the overjoyed Emperor Xuanzong sent his general Dong Yanguang to attack Shibao City and asked Wang Zhongsi to cooperate.Wang Zhongsi had no choice but to go out to the army, but he did not actively help.Dong Yanguang was worried about the emperor's punishment because he failed to conquer Shibao City, so he pushed all the responsibility on Wang Zhongsi.Prime Minister Li Linfu has always been afraid of Wang Zhongsi's growing fame and worrying that Wang Zhongsi will enter the pilgrimage to worship the prime minister.Xuanzong hated the courtiers and the crown prince the most (he didn't think about it, the crown prince was his own son, and the throne would belong to the crown prince sooner or later. There will be a special chapter on the delicate relationship between father and son under the imperial power), Wen Zuo was furious, Immediately recall Wang Zhongsi to the court and put him in prison for interrogation.
After Xuanzong summoned Wang Zhongsi to the court, he also called Ge Shuhan to the court because he had heard of Ge Shuhan's name for a long time.Before Ge Shuhan entered the court, he didn't know the real purpose of Xuanzong summoning him, and thought it was because of his boss Wang Zhongsi's imprisonment.Someone advised him to bring more gold and silk with him, and rescue Wang Zhongsi with a camera.Ge Shuhan said frankly: "If the way of straightness still exists, the prince will not die unjustly. If he is about to die, what is the use of bribery!" These words are righteous and extremely generous, and the people around him are deeply impressed by his magnanimity.So, Ge Shuhan carried only one package and went to Chang'an alone.
On the way to Beijing, Geshuhan must not be in a good mood.His old boss is in prison awaiting trial, and his future is uncertain.
In November of the sixth year of Tianbao (747), Tang Xuanzong summoned Ge Shuhan in Huaqing Palace.The two talked very speculatively, and Xuanzong decided to replace Wang Zhongsi with Ge Shuhan.Therefore, Ge Shuhan was appointed Hongluqing (official position in charge of minority affairs), concurrently the prefect of Xiping (ruling the western capital, now Ledu, Qinghai), took the imperial censor Zhongcheng, and acted as the deputy ambassador of Jiedu Zhidu Yingtian in Longyou. Know the festival of Longyou.
Soon, the officials who interrogated Wang Zhongsi sentenced Wang Zhongsi to death in order to cater to Shang's wishes.Ge Shuhan was very surprised when he heard the news, and asked to use his official title to redeem the sin of the king's loyal heir.Xuanzong didn't listen at all, stood up and planned to walk into the inner palace.Ge Shuhan kowtowed and followed him, "with generous words and tears" to avenge Wang Zhongsi's grievance.Xuanzong was quite moved when he saw that Ge Shuhan's sincere heart came from his heart, so he absolved Wang Zhongsi of the death penalty and demoted Wang Zhongsi to be the prefect of Hanyang (now Hanyang, Hubei).A year later, Wang Zhongsi died of depression in office.After this incident, everyone in the court praised Ge Shuhan, praising him as a loyal person.Ge Shuhan not only saved Wang Zhongsi's life, but also won an excellent reputation, and he has since become a very powerful official in the frontier.
In the seventh year of Tianbao (748), Ge Shuhan adopted the "step by step" strategy of military towns and built Shenwei City in Qinghai Lake.Because the city was built in front of the Tubo army, the Tubo army felt pressured, so they attacked with all their strength.Soon, Shenwei City was attacked and destroyed by the Tibetans.After Ge Shuhan recaptured Shenwei City, he built Yinglong City on Longju Island in Qinghai Lake, echoing Shenwei City.Subsequently, Ge Shuhan changed the passive defense of the Tang army to an active offense, and conquered the strategically important Shibao City in one fell swoop.Then, taking Shibao City as the forward position, they continued to push the battlefield to the hinterland of Tubo, and finally regained the land of the nine bends of the Yellow River that had been lost for many years.In the battle with Ge Shuhan, Tubo was able to launch a counterattack at the beginning, but later it could only be exhausted and unable to fight back. In the end, it could only "see the horses so far, but dare not pass Lintao".At that time, Tubo was the most difficult neighboring country for the Tang Dynasty.In the end, Ge Shuhan made the Tang Dynasty win an all-round victory in the war against Tubo.
Ge Shuhan ruled the army strictly, "the three armies are all deterred."When attacking Shibao City, Gao Xiuyan and Zhang Shouyu, the vanguard officers and lieutenants in charge of the siege, were almost beheaded by Ge Shuhan because they failed to complete the task. Later, the two captured Shibao City within the grace period and saved their lives.The reason why Ge Shuhan can achieve great achievements is inseparable from his strict military management.
Ge Shuhan's galloping heroic demeanor and brilliant achievements have been recited by great poets Li Bai, Du Fu, Gao Shi and Yuan Zhen.Li Bai has "Comments on Virtue and Emotions on Doctor Shu":
In the twelfth year of Tianbao (753), Emperor Xuanzong granted his brother Shuhan the Duke of Liang, granted 200 Shishi households, and officially appointed him as the Jiedu envoy of Hexi.Soon he was promoted to be the king of Xiping County.At this time, Yang Guozhong and An Lushan were fighting for favor. After Yang Guozhong learned that Ge Shuhan had conflicts with An Lushan, he tried every means to expand Ge Shuhan's power to compete with An Lushan.In the thirteenth year of Tianbao (754), strongly recommended by Yang Guozhong, Xuanzong worshiped his elder brother Shu Han as the prince Taibao and imperial envoy doctor.The alliance between Yang Guozhong and his rival Ge Shuhan really put An Lushan under great pressure, which directly prompted him to speed up the pace of rebellion.
In the fourteenth year of Tianbao (755), the king of Tubo died of illness.Tubo sent envoys to request the establishment of friendly relations with the Tang Dynasty.The Tang Dynasty also sent envoys to Tubo to mourn the old king and canonize the new king.At this time, on the western border of China, the Tibetan threat seemed to have been contained.Ge Shuhan contributed a lot to this.However, with the Anshi Rebellion, a large number of Tang Dynasty troops were transferred internally, and a new chapter in the history of China's relationship between Tibet and Tibet was about to be opened.
It is particularly important to mention here that the Shence Army, which later had a major impact on the politics and society of the Tang Dynasty, was also created by Ge Shuhan.In the thirteenth year of Tianbao (754), Ge Shuhan asked to set up Taoyang, Piaohe (both today's Lintan West in Gansu Province) and the Shence Army in the place where the nine songs were opened, and Lintao prefect Cheng Ruqiu and Tao Yang Taishou, acting as a strategic military envoy.At this time, the Shence Army was only an army stationed at Lintao City, which belonged to the Longyou Jiedushi, but after the outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion, a fundamental change took place.The Shence Army was ordered to help and participated in the anti-insurgency battle. After the war was settled, the Shence Army had to stay in the imperial court because the original station had been occupied by Tubo, and gradually developed into the imperial army of the Tang Dynasty.Afterwards, the Shence Army participated in the pacification of the separatist regimes many times, resisting foreign aggression, and grew into a powerful force in the Tang Dynasty.However, because the military power of the Shence Army was controlled by the eunuchs, this led to a situation where the eunuchs were in power, and even the abolition of the emperor was often decided by the eunuchs.
In order to effectively guard against Turks and Tubo, the Tang Dynasty vigorously strengthened the border garrison.Especially since the mid-Kaiyuan period, military victories fueled Xuanzong's ambitions for external expansion, and he had already given up his early frugality and restraint.With the long-term and continuous expansion of the war, the war is not entirely about defending the frontier but has an expansionary nature.This is what is said in the history books, "The intention of opening the frontier is not enough, and the best soldiers are all stationed in the north, making the power of the world more important."
After the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the Fubing system was implemented.The Fubing system was created by Yu Wentai in the Northern Wei Dynasty. The Fubing system in the Tang Dynasty has its own particularity, which is quite rare in the history of ancient Chinese military systems.On this point, it can be compared with the military production of the Han Dynasty: the Han Dynasty put soldiers in agriculture, and all farmers were soldiers; the Tang Dynasty can only say that all soldiers are farmers, that is to say, every soldier has to farm, but not all farmers Everyone has to be a soldier.
In the Tang Dynasty, the population of the whole country was investigated and counted, and the population of the whole country was divided into nine classes according to the economic situation of each family.People of the lower third class are not eligible to serve as soldiers.As compensation, the imperial court will exempt the families of soldiers from rent and adjustment.In this way, serving as a soldier is a symbol of status, so rich people are willing to serve as soldiers, this is Fubing.The government soldiers own fields and land, work in agriculture on weekdays, practice in slack, prepare their own weapons and supplies when they are recruited, and take turns to defend the capital and defend the border, so there is no need for the imperial court to pay for the army.The Fubing system can somewhat reduce the hardships of military service for the people, and has little impact on production.So, how was the Fubing system destroyed?
The government soldiers from all over the country have to take turns to stay in the capital for one year.During the Zhenguan period, Emperor Taizong Li Shimin often taught these soldiers riding and shooting in person. The soldiers all felt honored and were willing to contribute to the country.Later, the world was peaceful, and the soldiers in the capital guard had nothing to do, and they were gradually reduced to the hard work of the dignitaries, and were despised by others. Therefore, when the soldiers came to the next round of guards, they tried every means to escape.
Let's talk about the soldiers on the border.The Fubing was originally a three-year generation, but because of frequent border wars, the garrison period was extended.As mentioned earlier, the government soldiers were all wealthy people, and when they arrived at the border, they often carried a lot of silk (silk was used as currency in the Tang Dynasty), which was their pocket money.When the border generals saw the idea of wealth, they tried every means to embezzle the soldiers' property and force the soldiers to serve hard labor.In this way, due to the corruption of the frontier generals and the corruption of the court, no one was willing to be a soldier anymore, and a large number of soldiers fled.This situation happened during the Xuanzong Dynasty, which was the period when the Tang Empire was at its peak.
Under such circumstances, the Tang court had no choice but to stop enlisting government soldiers and began to implement the recruitment system, which was actually mercenaries.The Tang Empire had strong financial resources at this time, and the government had the financial resources to hire people to serve as soldiers.The recruited soldiers were given military weapons, clothing and food by the imperial court, and they served in the army for a long time.At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, there was a talk about recruiting soldiers. With the destruction of the government soldiers, recruiting became more and more popular.During the Kaiyuan period of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the guards in the capital, the garrison troops in border towns, and even the local armed forces basically served as recruits.The guardian of the capital was Chang Cong Suwei, who was later renamed Shiqi (彍yinkuo, each order learns archery, and everyone draws their bows).Those who guard the border are called athletes. They have served for a long time, and they are also called long-term soldiers or Long March athletes.There are united soldiers in the local area.
The government military system is implemented, the local forces are dispersed, and the central government holds heavy troops.However, under the recruitment system, most of the recruits recruited by the central cavalry were street rogues, vulnerable to a single blow.The local united forces are poorly equipped, small in number and weak.Only the military strength of the border towns is strong, so that "the strong generals and elite soldiers all gather in the west and north, and China has no weapons."The number of garrisons on the frontier is increasing day by day, forming a situation where the outside is more important than the inside.The vast majority of these recruited soldiers are Fan people.It was the large number of ethnic minority Fan people who were used as soldiers and generals without taking any precautionary measures that caused the subsequent "Anshi Rebellion" to be out of control.
The Jiedushi system was formed under such circumstances.The term Jiedu appeared earlier, which means temperance and scheduling.Jiedushi became an official title in the second year of Emperor Ruizong Jingyun (711) when He Ba Yansi was the governor of Liangzhou and served as Hexi Jiedushi.Jiedu envoys are dispatched posts, and their official offices are called envoys and shogunate. The shogunate posts include civilian posts such as Jiedu deputy envoys and military posts such as Duzhi soldiers and horse envoys. Each envoy leads several states and is the highest military officer in the region. , The military, political, and financial powers within the general jurisdiction are under the jurisdiction of the states and counties within the jurisdiction.People with outstanding reputations can often enter the court as ministers, so Jiedushi has a very important position.
Xuanzong successively set up Anxi, Beiting, Hedong, Hexi, Shuofang, Fanyang, Pinglu, Longyou, Jiannan Jiedu envoys and Lingnan Wufu Jinglue envoys, establishing a complete defense system.From Kaiyuan to the first year of Tianbao, there were a total of ten towns, as follows:
(1) The Shuofang Jiedu envoy governed Lingzhou, and Anbei Shanyu Erdu Hufu belonged to it, defending the Turks.
(2) The Jiedu envoy of Hexi ruled Liangzhou and cut off the traffic of Tubo and Turks.
(3) Hedong Jiedu envoy, governing Taiyuan, and Shuofang as horns, prepared to defend Turks and Huihe.
(4) The Jiedu envoy of Longyou ruled Shanzhou and controlled Tubo.
(5) Anxi Jiedu Envoy, who governs the Western Capital Protectorate and governs the countries in the Western Regions.
(6) Beiting Jiedu envoy, governing Beiting Duhufu, defending the rest of the Turks.
(7) Fan Yang Jiedu envoy, governing Youzhou, controlling Xi and Khitan.
(8) Pinglu Jiedu envoy, who governed Yingzhou, belonged to the Anton Duhufu, and was in charge of Fushi Wei and Mohe tribes.
(9) Jiannan Jiedu envoy, ruled Yizhou, resisted Tubo in the west, and Fuman Liao in the south.
(10) Lingnan Jiedu envoy governs Guangzhou, Annan Duhufu belongs to it, and subdues the countries in the South China Sea.
The defense system set up by Xuanzong is relatively strict in terms of external defense. They can cooperate with each other and serve as horns for each other.But the system is one thing, and its implementation is another.The biggest problem is that the general has been in office for a long time and does not change defenses on time.Due to the abolition of the Fubing system and the implementation of the recruitment system, being a soldier has become a profession at that time (similar to today's mercenaries).However, the frontier soldiers stationed in one place for a long time and did not change for a long time, they gradually became the private forces of the local Jiedushi.Soldiers only know generals, but not emperors.This undoubtedly increased the possibility of frontier generals supporting themselves and provided the necessary conditions for them to cause chaos.In the later period, the situation evolved that one person concurrently served as the governor of several towns, and the crisis became more serious.
Prime Minister Li Linfu's frontier strategy aggravated this crisis.In order to hold the prime minister alone, he not only controls the court officials, but also spares no effort to guard against the border commanders.
Since Tang Xing, military commanders have used loyal and famous ministers, and stipulated that they will be appointed soon, not remote, and not concurrently in command. "The generals of the four barbarians are not dedicated to the post of generals, but all use ministers as envoys to control them."These famous officials often became prime ministers directly from the position of Jiedushi.The so-called "going out and entering the phase" refers to this situation.During the Kaiyuan period, famous officials such as Guo Yuanzhen, Xue Yi, Zhang Jiazhen, Zhang Shuo, Du Xian, Xiao Song, Li Shizhi, etc., were directly promoted by the generals to become prime ministers because of their contributions to the border areas.Promotion from border generals has always been an important principle in the selection of the Tang Dynasty.
In order to consolidate his power as a prime minister, Li Linfu wanted to eliminate the root cause of being a prime minister.In the sixth year of Tianbao (747), Li Linfu made a statement to Xuanzong: "With your majesty's great talent and general plan, the country is rich and powerful, but the Tibetans have not been wiped out because they are cowardly and incapable of fighting with civil officials. If your majesty really wants to wipe out the four It is better to use a military officer, and a military officer is not as good as a Hu general. Hu generals are born with great strength, raised on horses when they were young, good at riding and shooting, and practice battle formation when they grow up. This is their nature. If your majesty appeases them Win over them, appoint them as generals, and let them fight to the death for the court, then Yidi will not be difficult to deal with."
The appointment of foreign generals was not Li Linfu's invention. There was a precedent during the Zhenguan period of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty, but it was completely different from Li Linfu's ulterior motives at this time.During the Zhenguan period, Emperor Taizong used Ashinasheer, Qibi Heli and other generals from the Abbots. These people fought bravely for the Tang Dynasty and made great achievements in battle.However, the Tang court also took great pains when using the generals, and often used Han officials to restrain them so as not to be detrimental to the court.Li Linfu's suggestion is that Fan will be the border coach and appoint them the military and political power.This is entirely Li Linfu's selfishness.The vast majority of the generals do not know Chinese characters, so no matter how great their achievements are, they are neither possible nor qualified to serve as prime minister. In this way, Li Linfu can fundamentally prevent the road of becoming a prime minister.It is a pity that Xuanzong, who was once heroic and decisive, did not see through Li Linfu's treacherous intentions, so he adopted this suggestion, and successively promoted An Lushan, Gao Xianzhi, Ge Shuhan and others as border commanders.This has to be said to be Xuanzong's biggest military mistake.Among these generals, Xuanzong used Anlu Mountain for the first time, and his respect and favor for Anlu Mountain reached an incomparable level.
The situation at this time, the distribution of troops is more important than the inside, and the outside is more important. All the ways are making use of the barbarians and the like, and the elite troops are concentrated on the northern border.Among the many generals, An Lushan was the most domineering, serving as three Jiedu envoys, and did not move for more than ten years, which eventually led to the "Anshi Rebellion".Historians believe: "Lushan's overthrow of the world was all due to Lin Fu's conspiracy to retain his position." ("Zizhi Tongjian Volume 216")
The power of the Jiedushi is also growing. They not only command the troops, but also gradually master the local civil affairs, wealth, and criminal law powers. Fu" ("New Book of Tang, Volume 50, Bingzhi"), which undoubtedly became the most suitable soil and breeding ground for the subsequent local separatist forces.On the surface, these Jiedu envoys obeyed the orders of the imperial court, but in fact they obeyed and disobeyed.In order to win over his subordinates, he often asked the court to award a large number of titles to his subordinates.With more officials and more salaries, the military expenditure of the imperial court greatly increased.
During the Tianbao period, the crisis of Datang no longer came from the threat of external enemies, but from the forces of internal border defense.In the first year of Tianbao, 490,000 of the 570,000 troops in the country were stationed in border towns, and the troops stationed inside and outside the capital were only one-sixth of the frontier troops.The situation where the outside is more important than the inside has become the most dangerous undercurrent in Datang.This undercurrent, when Anlushan Enyu was the thickest, began to stir around the corner.
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