Chapter 16 3. The Prosperity of Anlu Mountain
Anlu Mountain, Zahu in Liucheng of Yingzhou (Zhilong City, now Chaoyang, Liaoning), nicknamed Zhaluo Mountain.His mother, Ashide, was a Turkic witch. An Lushan's father died when he was young, and he lived with his mother in the Turkic family.His mother later married An Yanyan, the elder brother of the Turkic general An Bozhu.An Lushan also assumed the surname of An, and its name was Lushan.
Not long after An Lushan followed his mother to the Turkic tribe, internal strife broke out in the tribe, and the tribe fled in all directions.An Lushan and his stepfather's elder brother's son, An Sishun, fled to Youzhou (Jixian County, southwest of today's Beijing) together. He ran a small business first, and soon became a Yalang (trading middleman) because he knew six ethnic languages. ).During his tenure as Hushi Yalang, An Lushan was not only good at handling various disputes, but also dared to fight against the villains at that time, so he soon became famous in Youzhou for his bravery and fighting skills.At the same time, Su Gan, a fellow villager and friend of An Lushan, also served as the inter-market Yalang. Su Gan later changed his name to Shi Siming.Soon, the two felt that there was no future in serving as Yalang, so they joined the army and served under the tent of Zhang Shougui, the Jiedu envoy of Youzhou, as generals who caught life.From this time on, An Lushan officially joined the establishment of the Tang army and began to eat the emperor's salary.At this time, even he himself could not have imagined that 20 years later, he would turn the Great Tang Empire upside down.
During his tenure as a Zhuosheng general, An Lushan often led light cavalry to attack the Khitans who were enemies of the Tang Dynasty.Because he is familiar with the mountains and rivers along the border, Anlu Mountain can often make extraordinary achievements.He once led three or five cavalrymen under his command to capture dozens of Khitan alive and return.Jiedu envoy Zhang Shougui was very surprised by this, and he looked at him differently from then on.In addition, An Lushan was cunning and treacherous, and was good at guessing people's hearts. Zhang Shougui favored him, so he adopted him as his adopted son.
In March of the twenty-fourth year of Kaiyuan (736), Xi and Khitan rebelled, and Zhang Shougui sent An Lushan to crusade. "Lushan advances bravely and lightly", but was ambushed by Xi and the Khitans, and was beaten to annihilation. An Lushan fled back to Youzhou alone.Zhang Shougui beheaded Anlu Mountain according to the military law.Before his execution, An Lushan shouted: "If the doctor doesn't want to destroy Xi and Khitan evil, how can he kill Lushan!" ("Zizhi Tongjian Volume 214")
Zhang Shougui has a generous temperament, and he also cherishes the bravery of Anlu Mountain.It's just that the military order was like a mountain, and after pondering, he wrote a paper and sent it to Chang'an to be disposed of by the court.Zhang Shougui did this purely to save An Lushan's life.Because at this time, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty was not only not stupid, but was widely recognized as an outstanding ruler, with a friendly attitude and consideration for his subjects.
After An Lushan was escorted to the capital, he first met Zhang Jiuling, then Zhongshuling (Prime Minister).As early as 3 years ago, Zhang Shougui sent An Lushan to the court to perform affairs. Zhang Jiuling had a bad impression of An Lushan, thinking that he had the opposite. People." Now that there is an opportunity to get rid of hidden dangers, Zhang Jiuling will naturally not let it go, so he criticized Zhang Shougui's memorial: "In the past, Rangju killed Zhuang Jia, and Sun Wu killed the palace concubine. It is not appropriate to avoid death." The order was executed according to military law.
However, things turned out as Zhang Shougui had expected: After reading Zhang Shougui's report, Xuanzong believed that An Lushan was a rare talent who should be pardoned and allowed him to perform crimes and meritorious deeds, so he just ordered An Lushan to be removed from office as a general rule. Soldiers serve in front of the army, "generals in white".Zhang Jiuling said again: "Lushan loses the law and loses his teacher, so he must be punished by the law. And the ministers see that his appearance is opposite, and if he doesn't kill it, it will be a future trouble." ("Zi Zhi Tong Jian Volume 214") Insist on asking to kill An Lushan.Xuanzong said: "You should not harm Zhongliang by thinking that Wang Yifu knew Shile."
In fact, the example Xuanzong used to refute Zhang Jiuling is logically untenable, because in the allusion of "Wang Yifu knew Shile" in history, Wang Yifu did not misunderstand the person, and the facts proved that he did have a unique vision.In the Jin Dynasty, Shi Le had great ambitions when he was young. He once went to Luoyang to sell goods with the merchants in this city. Wang Yan was surprised by his voice and appearance, and thought that this "hu chick" had great ambitions.Wang Yan, styled Yifu, was a Taiwei at that time, and he liked to talk about Lao Zhuang, and the meaning of his discussions could be changed at any time.After Shi Le raised an army, Wang Yan was captured by Shi Le, and even persuaded Shi Le to proclaim himself emperor, trying to survive, but was killed by Shi Le.
Although Zhang Jiuling fought repeatedly afterwards, Xuanzong finally pardoned Anlu Mountain, leaving hidden dangers for the subsequent Tianbao Rebellion.In this way, An Lushan got a blessing in disguise. Although he temporarily lost his official position, he left a deep impression on the emperor's mind and became a well-known figure in the ruling and opposition parties, which created extremely favorable conditions for his future prosperity.
After returning to Youzhou, Zhang Shougui looked at An Lushan more differently, created various opportunities for him to make meritorious service and atone for his crimes, and also made him responsible for receiving various personnel sent by the imperial court to Youzhou.An Lushan was smooth by nature, flattering and slick, good at spying on people, and tried his best to curry favor with and bribe officials from the court.Soon, An Lushan won a lot of praise from all sides of the court.
In the same year, Sugan, like Anlu Mountain, started to work.
Rugan, Turkic people.According to historical records, Su Gan was emaciated since he was a child, almost all his hair fell out, he was hunched over, with one shoulder shrugged, and his eyes and nose were out of place.When he grew up, his appearance became better, and he was famous for his bravery and resourcefulness in battle, so he became friends with An Lushan.
Soon, Sugan was desperate because he owed money to the government, and fled to the Xi tribe area in the north, where he was caught by the Xi tribe.The Xi people have always been xenophobic and prepared to kill this outsider.Su Gan was quick to gain wisdom and said loudly: "I am the envoy sent by the Tang Dynasty to make peace with King Xi. If you kill me, you will cause a catastrophe of extermination." Although the military power of the Tang Dynasty was not as powerful as that of Emperor Taizong at this time, it was still very powerful.Seeing Su Gan's serious appearance, the people of the Xi tribe believed it was true, and dared not easily offend the envoy of Tang Dynasty, so they sent him to see King Xi.When Sugan saw King Xi, he bowed his head and did not bow down.Although King Xi was very angry, he was afraid of the power of the Tang Dynasty and did not dare to be rude to Sugan. He received him as a distinguished guest and decided to send someone to follow Sugan to pay homage to the Tang emperor.Sugan said to King Xi: "Although the number of people you sent is quite large, most of them are shallow people. How can such people go to see the emperor of Tang Dynasty? I heard that you have a very talented man named Suo Gao, why don't you let him go?" King Xi obeyed Sugan's advice and sent Sogao with 300 people to follow Sugan to pay homage to the Tang emperor.When the group approached Luping, Sugan secretly sent someone to inform Luping's guard Pei Xiuzi first, and reported in a serious manner: "The elite soldiers sent by the Xi people are coming soon, and they say they are paying homage to the Son of Heaven. , actually came to attack Lu Ping, you should be prepared to strike first and kill them." Pei Xiuzi believed Sugan's words and laid an ambush in advance.After the envoys of the Xi clan entered Luping, Tang Fubing rushed forward and killed all the Xi clan and his party, leaving only Suo Gao.
Sugan escorted Suogao to Zhang Shougui.Zhang Shougui saw that Suogao, who was known as the most talented among the Xi people, was arrested, he was very happy, and thought that Sugan had made great contributions to the Tang Dynasty, and immediately praised Sugan in his memorial to the court.Under Zhang Shougui's full sponsorship, Xuanzong summoned Sugan, and after talking with him, he called him a genius in the world, and conferred on him the post of General and Prefect of Beiping on the spot, and gave him the name Siming.
Shi Siming was able to face danger without fear and adapt to the situation. This kind of courage is rare even in the Tang army, which is full of fierce generals.This also shows the depth of Shi Siming's talent and strategy.After the Anshi Rebellion broke out, he became Datang's second most powerful enemy after Anlu Mountain.
After An Lushan and Shi Siming each had a near-miss experience, their official career began to flourish.But Zhang Shougui, the Jiedu envoy of Youzhou who discovered the two, began to go downhill.
In June of the twenty-seventh year of Kaiyuan (739), the Xi and Khitan tribes who were attached to the East Turks continued to invade the Tang border.Under the guise of Zhang Shougui's order, Zhao Kan and Baizhenduoluo, generals of Youzhou Town, asked Wu Zhiyi, an envoy of the Pinglu Army, to lead troops to attack Xibu in the north of the upper reaches of Huangshui (now Xiliao River, located in the north of Ongniud Banner, Inner Mongolia today).Wu Zhiyi was unwilling to fight, and Baizhenduoluo pretended that the emperor made a book to force him to fight.Wu Zhiyi was forced to lead his troops into battle, winning first and then losing.When Zhang Shougui heard the news, he concealed his defeat and reported his victory.After the incident was leaked, Xuanzong ordered Niu Xiantong to investigate.Zhang Shougui heavily bribed Niu Xiantong, blamed Baizhenduo for his defeat, and forced him to commit suicide.
Originally, the matter ended here, but at this time Niu Xiantong was deeply favored by Xuanzong, jealous of other eunuchs, and jointly exposed the matter.Xuanzong was furious when he learned the truth, and ordered Niu Xiantong to be killed.Another eunuch was in charge of the execution, and "tied Niu Xiantong to the grid. He was so miserable that he probed his heart, amputated his hands and feet, and picked the meat to eat. If the meat is gone, he will die." ("New Book of Tang Volume 207 Biography of Eunuch Yang Sixu") the death was very tragic. Zhang Zhaoyuan and Jia Wei, who majored in Tang history during the Five Dynasties and Later Jin Dynasties, were also horrified when they described this historical fact, saying "it is so cruel" exclamation.Zhang Shougui, on the other hand, was relegated to the governorship of Kuozhou (now southeast of Lishui, Zhejiang Province) because of his past meritorious deeds. He died of gangrene on his back within a few days of his appointment.
Zhang Shougui was a famous border marshal in the Tang Dynasty during the Kaiyuan period. He has been guarding the border for a long time. He fought against Turks, Tubo, and Khitan many times. , to be the minister of the world's tigers." ("Old Tang Book Volume 103 Biography of Zhang Shougui") Zhang Shougui took office as the Jiedu envoy of Youzhou for less than two years, and he repeatedly defeated the Khitan by means of a combination of military strikes and alienation. It has greatly stabilized the situation on the northern border of Youzhou, and stabilized the chaotic situation in Youzhou for many years.Xuanzong was very satisfied with Zhang Shougui's ability to stabilize the situation in such a short period of time, and planned to make him prime minister, "Shangmei Zhang Shougui's merits, I want to think of him as a prime minister" ("Zi Zhi Tong Jian Volume 214").But it was opposed by Prime Minister Zhang Jiuling.Xuanzong was not reconciled, and wanted to "pretend to use his name instead of taking up his post".Zhang Jiuling also dissuaded him, saying: "Shougui was the only one who broke Khitan, and your majesty will be the prime minister; if Xi and Jue are completely destroyed, what official will reward them?" Xuanzong gave up.Although Zhang Shougui was not named prime minister, his status in the hearts of the emperor and ministers is self-evident.Gao Shi, a famous frontier poet in the Tang Dynasty, had "Yan Ge Xing", in which "the smoke and dust of the Han family are in the northeast, and the generals of the Han Dynasty are ruined and thieves. The man's self-esteem is rampant, and the emperor gives him color very much" is a recitation of this matter.
After Zhang Shougui's death, Anlu Mountain went straight up.In the twenty-eighth year of Kaiyuan (740), he served as the envoy of the Pinglu Army.On March 9th in the twenty-ninth year (741), he was added as an official.At that time, Zhang Lizhen, the censor Zhongcheng, came to Pinglu as an interview envoy in Hebei.An Lushan deliberately flattered Zhang Lizhen and tried his best to bribe him.Zhang Lizhen returned to the court and praised An Lushan highly. Therefore, Xuanzong appointed An Lushan as the governor of Yingzhou, serving as the envoy of Pinglu army, knowing the soldiers and envoys of the left chamber, and the deputy envoy of water conservancy and land transportation of Duzhi Yingtian. The governor of Bohai and Heishui and the governor of Hue.On the sixth day of the first lunar month in the first year of Tianbao (742), Fenpinlu was established as Jiedushi Town, and Anlushan was appointed as General Zuo Yulin, and the staff was appointed as the same official and the prefect of Liucheng County. The censor doctor, the interview and disposal within the management, etc. envoys.In the second year (743), An Lushan entered the court, "played the purpose of symmetry", Xuanzong rewarded him heavily, and added him as a general of hussars.In March of the third year (744), he was awarded the long history of Fan Yang in Anlu Mountain, and served as Fan Yang Jiedu Envoy, Hebei Interview Envoy, Pinglu Jiedu Envoy, and other positions remained as before.Hu people served as generals, leading Jiedushi, and then concurrently leading Jiedushi, etc., starting from Anlu Mountain.In the same month, An Lushan took office, and Emperor Xuanzong ordered Zhongshumen to be under the third rank, the chief official Wailang, the assistant minister of Xusi, and the imperial censor Zhongcheng Zujian in the pavilion of Honglu Temple.In five years (746), Xi Jianhou, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, was the emissary to dethrone in Hebei. He returned from a tour and praised An Lushan for his integrity, selflessness, integrity, and law-abiding.On the twenty-fourth day of the first lunar month in the sixth year (747), he was granted the title of An Lushan and a royal doctor.
When An Lushan went to the capital to meet Xuanzong, he tried every means to flatter him, appearing to be foolish on the outside, but cunning on the inside.After going to the court, An Lushan first said: "I have grown up with Fanrong, and there is no special material to use. I would like to die as Your Majesty." Xuanzong didn't answer, but he liked it very much in private.
Xuanzong ordered the prince to come out to meet An Lushan, and An Lushan did not bow down to the prince.People around Xuanzong questioned him, and An Lushan replied: "I am a barbarian. I don't know the law, and I don't know what official position the prince is?" Xuanzong said, "He is the future emperor." An Lushan said, "I am a fool. People, only know that there is His Majesty, but not that there is a crown prince." The left and right ordered An Lushan to meet the prince quickly, and An Lushan bowed down.Xuanzong believed that An Lushan was honest and loyal to the emperor, so he liked him more and appreciated his simplicity.See "The Deeds of Anlu Mountain" written by Yao Runeng, a Tang Dynasty native.
In the first month of the seventh year of Tianbao (748), Emperor Xuanzong rewarded Anlushan Iron Coupons.In May of the ninth year of Tianbao (750), Xuanzong bestowed Anlu Mountain as Dongping County King.From then on, a precedent for a general in the Tang Dynasty to be crowned a king was set.
In his later years, An Lushan was quite obese. It is said that he weighed 350 catties, and his belly hung down to his knees.Once when An Lushan met in court, Xuanzong pointed to his big belly and said with a smile: "What is in your belly, so huge?" An Lushan replied casually: "There is nothing else, only one loyal to your majesty." heart." Xuanzong was even more delighted when he heard this.
Because of his weight, when An Lushan walked, he always had to lift his body with his shoulders from left to right to move.And every time Xuanzong asked him to dance "Hu Xuan Wu", his movements were as quick as the wind, which is surprising.An Lushan rode a stage horse to the capital. Platforms were built in the middle of each post station along the way for him to change horses, which was called "doctors change horses platform".If he didn't change horses in time, the horse he was riding would be crushed to death by his weight.In order to buy the horses that An Lushan rode, the people at the post station used five-stone earth bags to test them. If they could carry them, they bought them at a high price, and raised them for An Lushan to ride.In addition, a small saddle should be placed in front of the saddle to put An Lushan's belly.
An Lushan went to Chang'an many times to participate in court and official activities, which made him fully aware of the corruption and weakness of the court.Every time An Lushan passed by the court, he always looked sideways from the north and the south, and took a long time before entering the palace.It can be seen that he has already begun to have thoughts about the splendid rivers and mountains of the Tang Dynasty in his heart. He feels that the world is promising and the court can be bullied, so he can't help but have a secret ambition.
As mentioned earlier, at the beginning of the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, the strategy of controlling courtiers and generals was implemented with strong cadres and weak branches, and the strong base and weak end.Choose loyal and kind ministers to sit at the border gates to prevent the self-respect of the soldiers. It is also stipulated that the courtiers are not allowed to serve as the commander-in-chief of a certain border for a long time, let alone the ministers in the court are not allowed to lead the commander-in-chief of the border at a distance, or the commander-in-chief of one side can also serve as the commander of the other side. Shuai Guan.Those ministers who have made military exploits and enjoyed a high reputation during their tenure at the border can enter the court as prime ministers.As for the generals, like Ashinasheer, Qibi Heli, etc., who not only have the ability to command the army, but also have the strategy to plan and win the victory thousands of miles away, and those who have made great contributions to the court cannot be alone. To serve as the commander-in-chief of the border, the imperial court must send a Han minister as the commander-in-chief, and let them be the deputy.
In the Kaiyuan period, Xuanzong wanted to conquer the different races in the frontier. In order to make the border commander understand the situation and form a powerful conquest military group, he did not change the frontier commander for more than ten consecutive years, and let the prince and prime minister lead the frontier army remotely.When Li Linfu came to power, in order to consolidate his status and prevent border marshals with both civil and military skills like Wang Zhongsi from entering the court and depriving himself of his favor, he suggested to Xuanzong to appoint Fan generals as border marshals. The life and fighting customs of other foreign races in the frontier, as well as being brave and good at fighting, can enable the imperial court to complete the great cause of reunification as soon as possible.The overjoyed Xuanzong thought that Li Linfu's words were justified.He planned to let Fan general serve as the border commander.When Xuanzong made this decision, An Lushan had just been appointed as the military envoy of Pinglu.
Li Linfu's move was of course to consolidate his own power, but it also revealed his contempt for the generals, thinking that the Hu people could not do big things.The relationship between Li Linfu and An Lushan is also quite delicate.
When An Lushan first met Li Linfu, relying on Xuanzong's favor, his attitude was negligent and quite disrespectful.Li Linfu saw it, but remained calm.At that time, the doctor Wang Hao was also in charge of his affairs, and he was as famous as Yang Guozhong. Li Linfu called Wang Hao for an excuse and asked An Lushan to stand aside.At that time, Wang Yu held more than 20 positions and was extremely favored. When he saw Li Linfu, he could only humbly worship him and smile all over his face.Li Linfu questioned Wang Hao very carefully, and Wang Hao answered with a hundred times respect.An Lushan's eyes widened unconsciously, and his attitude became respectful.The more cautious Wang Chi spoke, the more respectful An Lushan's attitude became.Li Linfu saw the change in An Lushan's attitude, so he said to An Lushan with confidence: "General An's visit to Beijing this time has won the emperor's favor. I am very happy. The general must do his own thing and serve the court. Although the emperor is old, but The prime minister is not old." Hearing Li Linfu's words, An Lushan was deeply afraid.
In August of the ninth year of Tianbao (750), Xuanzong entrusted An Lushan with the post of Hebei Dao interview and disposal envoy, and went out to patrol the border so that he could enjoy peace with Concubine Yang in the palace.An Lushan, who was full of ambition, had no choice but to leave Chang'an, the capital, and return to the town reluctantly.Not long after returning to the town, in order to cater to Tang Xuanzong's great success and gain more favor for himself, An Lushan thought hard and came up with a trick: under the guise of appeasing the Xi clan and Khitan, he called the tribal leaders to the military camp for a banquet.Anesthetics were put into the wine for the banquet. When the Xi people and the Khitan people who drank the medicinal wine had no resistance, a group of ambush soldiers like wolves and tigers rushed out and attacked the Xi people and the Khitan people like cutting melons and vegetables. People hacked and killed.And cut off the heads of more than a dozen tribal chiefs, put them in boxes and sent them to Chang'an, and rewarded Tang Xuanzong for their merits.When Xuanzong saw this, he felt even more that with An Lushan at the border for a day, he could sit back and relax and enjoy peace and happiness in the capital.
Xuanzong was so overjoyed, which indirectly contributed to the warlike atmosphere of the border generals.In order to invite credit and rewards, An Lushan invited the two tribes to invade and plunder wantonly, and often provoked wars against foreign races.Many tribes at the frontier were in danger and began to have second thoughts about the Tang Dynasty.
In the process of Xuanzong appeasing, reusing, and wooing An Lushan, Concubine Yang Guifei played a rather lively role.An Lushan heard that Concubine Yang was favored by the Sixth Palace and knew her important role in Xuanzong's side, so he tried his best to curry favor and asked Concubine Yang to be his adoptive mother.At that time, Yang Guifei was only 29 years old, while An Lushan was 45 years old.
When An Lushan came to worship, he always worshiped Concubine Yang first and then Xuanzong.Xuanzong felt strange and asked him why.An Lushan replied: "Hu people come first from their mothers to their fathers, so I worship the imperial concubine first." After hearing this, Xuanzong Longyan was very happy, thinking that he was simple and honest, with no city in his heart, so he was not on guard against him.Every time he entered the palace, not only did Concubine Yang Guifei sit with him in person, but he also ordered the five brothers and sisters of the Yang family to become brothers with him to show their closeness.
In order to comfort An Lushan, who has "hard work and great achievements", Xuanzong also specially ordered the court to build a mansion in the capital for An Lushan.In this temporary mansion built for Anlu Mountain, all the utensils and sundries were made of high-quality materials, and gold and silver utensils accounted for most of them.Even so, Xuanzong was afraid that An Lushan would be dissatisfied, and earnestly warned the officials who supervised the construction of the Anfu: "You must have sufficient supplies. The barbarian has a big vision, so don't let him laugh at us."
When An Lushan arrived in Chang'an with 8,000 Khitan captives and dozens of carts of rare birds and treasures, Xuanzong went to Wangchun Palace in person and waited for An Lushan to pay homage.And the Yang brothers and sisters led many servants and drove countless luxurious cars and sedan chairs to greet them in the water.Even on that day, between the palace and the water, the crown covered the fields, and the followers blocked the way, which set off an upsurge of victorious generals triumphantly returning to the court.
An Lushan, who could not fill his desires, took the opportunity to play Xuanzong and said: "My ministers have been at the border for a long time, and many of them in Beijing have taken care of them. Now I have been granted a house by my father and emperor. I want to take the opportunity to entertain guests in the new mansion to repay the kindness of the gentlemen. But I am afraid The ministers refuse to show their face. I beg the emperor to order the ministers to go to the banquet in order to repay the wishes of the sons and ministers." So Xuanzong personally issued an edict ordering all the courtiers below Prime Minister Li Linfu to go to the banquet.The purpose of An Lushan's doing this is to show the officials: "Although Li Linfu is in charge of your life and death, he is only equal to me. You should be afraid of me."
Li Linfu was compelled by Tang Xuanzong's edict, although he had to reluctantly go to the banquet, but during the banquet, he spoke sarcasticly to An Lushan from time to time, like an old woman peeling bamboo shoots, peeling off layers of An Lushan's camouflage inadvertently, leaving Anlushan Lu Shan's ambitions were exposed one by one.An Lushan felt like sitting on pins and needles, like a thorn in his back, terrified, dripping with cold sweat, and dared not show off to Li Linfu anymore.But Li Linfu didn't want to be an enemy of An Lushan, he just wanted to show off his prestige and let him bow his head and obey his orders.Therefore, after the banquet, I talked with An Lushan alone to comfort him.Although Li Linfu went to the banquet to destroy the prestige of Anlu Mountain, so that he did not dare to be too domineering, but Tang Xuanzong's special favor did make Anlu Mountain's power fall into the government and the public, and he dreamed of something wrong.
Since then, every time Li Linfu talked to An Lushan, he could guess An Lushan's true thoughts, and An Lushan was secretly shocked.An Lushan was good at flattering, coaxing Xuanzong into obedience, being arrogant and rude to the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, and insulting courtiers at will, but he was afraid of Li Linfu alone.As long as Li Linfu opened his mouth to speak, even though it was the severe cold, An Lushan would still be dripping with cold sweat.Li Linfu asked An Lushan anything, but An Lushan didn't dare to hide anything, and regarded Li Linfu as a god.
Li Linfu also had his own little calculations, and he didn't dare to offend An Lushan easily. Seeing An Lushan's dissatisfaction, he couldn't help but secretly complacent, and then he gave both kindness and power.Gradually, the relationship between the two became close, and An Lushan affectionately called Li Linfu "Shi Lang".When An Lushan people were in Fanyang, whenever they sent people to report to the court, they would ask Li Linfu to greet him.When the person who played the incident came back from Chang'an, the first question he asked was nothing else, but "how is Shi Lang?"An Lushan once said to those close to him: "I, An Lushan, was born and died. I am not afraid of the sky and the earth. I am not afraid of today, but I am afraid of Li Xianggong." The jealousy of Li Linfu can be seen.These words also revealed the situation at that time: the emperor was busy enjoying himself, and Li Linfu was in control of the government. Could he not be afraid?In view of this, many people in later generations believed that An Lushan's subsequent rebellion was due to the fact that Yang Guozhong, who succeeded Li Linfu as prime minister, could not pull and beat him like Li Linfu, using both kindness and power. Big.
Although An Lushan is a barbarian, he knows the truth that "someone in the court is good at being an official".He sent Liu Luogu, his confidant, to stay in Chang'an, the capital, to spy on and investigate every move of the court, and to promptly report various developments of the court to Pegasus.Li Linfu's memorandum and Xuanzong's plan to appoint a Fan general as the border commander, of course, were quickly notified to An Lushan.When An Lushan learned of this situation, he was overjoyed. He stepped up his efforts to bribe Zhang Lizhen and other court officials who were patrolling Youzhou. .And in time, he confessed his loyalty to Xuanzong: he told Li Linfu that he only wanted to be the prime minister, and he didn't dare to hold books or offer ink to the prime minister.Therefore, Xuanzong was further satisfied, and Li Linfu felt at ease.In this way, An Lushan made steady progress all the way, until he was given an iron certificate and was named a king.
An Lushan's rapid rise to prosperity is not only related to An Lushan's cunning and treacherous personality, good at acting on occasion, but his appearance gives people a straightforward and honest impression; it is also inseparable from the selfishness, narrowness, and jealousy of Prime Minister Li Linfu; Xuanzong's great success is directly related to partial listening and partial belief.Under the circumstances at that time, An Lushan appeared at the right time.Who would have expected that the darling of the Tang court would cause the Tang Empire to decline from prosperity to decline, from prosperity to collapse.
The first day of the first lunar month in the tenth year of Tianbao (751) is An Lushan's birthday.The birthday presents given by Emperor Xuanzong included 36 pieces of utensils, including a gold-flowered large silver basin, a gold-plated silver cover bowl, a sea of wine from Jinping, a horse brain dish, and a jade belt. Tongue grates, ear grates, rhino horn combs and many other items.An Lushan was also called into the palace. Concubine Yang wrapped Anlushan in a big swaddle made of brocade, and let the palace people lift it up in colorful sedan chairs. The cheers were earth-shattering.Xuanzong sent people to ask what they were doing, and the people who went came back and reported: "It was the noble concubine who washed his son An Lushan for three days, and wrapped him up after washing, so he was so happy." Xuanzong went to watch in person, I was very happy, so I rewarded Concubine Yang Guifei with gold, silver, and things for washing her children, and they left happily.From then on, the officials called An Lushan Lu'er, allowing him to come and go freely without restriction.Since then, An Lushan often went in and out of the harem, drinking and eating with Concubine Yang, and sometimes laughed and played with Concubine Yang in the harem all night.
The relationship between An Lushan, Xuanzong and Yang Guifei became closer after the absurd farce, so that there are often unofficial stories about the ambiguous relationship between An Lushan and Yang Guifei, and they played all night long.Jiang Yikui, a man of the Ming Dynasty, recorded in "Yaoshan Tangwaiji": Once Concubine Yang was drunk, she lifted her clothes, "slightly exposed her breasts, and the emperor said to her: 'Ruanwen freshly peeled chicken head meat.'An Lu Shan said at the side: "Smooth and condensed like crisps on top of stuffing." The emperor laughed and said: "The letter is Hu'er, but I only know crisps." This shows the intimacy of the three.It is said that An Lushan rebelled later, and one of the main purposes was to compete for Concubine Yang.
An Lushan deliberately pretended to please Xuanzong and the imperial concubine, and Xuanzong was also confused by his loyal and honest appearance, indulging in singing and dancing day and night, unaware of An Lushan's hidden evil intentions.
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