Chapter 22 Chapter 6 Mountains and rivers are still there
Chang'an was the political, cultural, military, and religious center of the Tang Dynasty, and it was also an international metropolis at that time.It has a large population, well-organized buildings, numerous scenic spots, and prosperity.Wang Wei wrote in the poem "Early Dynasty with Jiasheren": "Nine days are closed to open the palace, and all nations are dressed in clothes and crowns." He wrote the scene of the early dynasty in the palace city and the grand momentum of the emperor of the Tang Dynasty when he came to all nations.
In the second year of Kaihuang (582), Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty took the famous architect Yu Wenkai as the chief architect of the capital construction, and built the palace city and imperial city in the southeast of Chang'an in Han Dynasty.It was completed in the second year and named Daxing.After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, Daxing City was still the capital, and Daxing City was changed to Chang'an City.In the fifth year of Yonghui (654), Emperor Gaozong of Tang appointed Yan Xuande, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, to be in charge. In spring and autumn, the outer city wall of Tang City and nine city gates and towers on the east, west and south sides were successively built.At that time, the city covered an area of 84 square kilometers, roughly four times the size of Beijing, the capital of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.And the scale is grand and the layout is strict. There are 11 north-south streets and 14 east-west streets. The whole city is divided into 109 squares and east and west cities.As Bai Juyi described in his poem: "Hundreds of families are like a game of Go, and Twelfth Street is like a vegetable garden."
Chang'an is magnificent.The width of the main street running north-south and east-west is more than 100 meters, and the width of Suzaku Avenue, which is the central axis of the city, is even 155 meters, which is not inferior to any modern metropolis today.It is not difficult to imagine how the incomparable power and national power of the Tang Dynasty would have shocked their hearts when the envoys from all over the world went to the Daming Palace to pay homage to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty along the Zhuque Street, which was as wide as a square. .
However, after Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty fled in a panic, the most magnificent city in the world fell into great chaos.
After the rebels captured Tongguan, An Lushan ordered Sun Xiaozhe to lead his troops to advance from Tongguan to Chang'an.Because Xuanzong and others had already left Chang'an and fled to Shu, the rebels seemed to be in a land of no one.The situation in Guanzhong is in chaos, and the atmosphere of Chang'an in the prosperous Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty is gone forever.
On June 17th of the 15th year of Tianbao (756), Cui Guangyuan, Bian Lingcheng and others left behind in Chang'an, opened the city to surrender, and Sun Xiaozhe led the rebels into Chang'an, Xijing, easily.In this way, both capitals fell into the hands of the rebels.Recalling the past of Tang general Feng Changqing who fought bravely to protect the eastern capital Luoyang after repeated defeats, the people of the world realized the sorrow of the general's undead opponent.
At the beginning, An Lushan did not expect that Xuanzong would go west so quickly for refuge, so the army marched slowly. After occupying Tongguan, he postponed the army march for 10 days to make full preparations for attacking Chang'an.Unexpectedly, Chang'an would go down without a fight, and An Lushan was naturally overjoyed.So far, An Lushan has plundered all the weapons, armored poles, cultural relics, and books in the treasury of Chang'an, as well as the Xuanchun Yunshao Band, Rhinoceros Elephant, Dancing Horse, and the Yeting Harem.An Lushan occupied the He and Luo areas, appointed Zhang Tongru as the left guard of Xijing, Cui Guangyuan was still appointed as Jing Zhaoyin, and An Shouzhong was sent to guard Xijing.
Sun Xiaozhe is An Lushan's most trusted confidant, he likes to exercise power, and often competes with Yan Zhuang for power.An Lushan sent Sun Xiaozhe to supervise the troops of the generals in Guanzhong, and Zhang Tongru and others were under his control.Sun Xiaozhe has a rough temperament, is decisive in dealing with things, and uses severe punishments. The rebel generals are very afraid of him.An Lushan ordered the arrest of courtiers, eunuchs and court ladies, and sent troops to escort them to Luoyang every time hundreds of people were caught.
By this time, there were not a few ministers who voluntarily surrendered to Anlu Mountain, and many ministers were coerced to surrender.Among the courtiers who voluntarily surrendered, the old prime minister of the Tang Dynasty and the son-in-law
On June 18th, An Lushan was very sorry to hear that Yang Guifei's sister had been killed in Maweipo.Thinking of the execution of his son An Qingzong by the Tang Dynasty, he couldn't help hating him very much, and ordered Sun Xiaozhe to say: "Except for Chen Xilie, Zhang Jun, Zhang Yi and others who have surrendered and should come to Luoyang immediately to appoint officials, the rest of the emperor's relatives who are still in Chang'an , execute them all, and leave no one behind." In Chinese history, revenge and hatred always seem to be the main motives of the new regime.
Sun Xiaozhe had always killed people without blinking an eye. After receiving this order from An Lushan, he immediately redoubled his execution and escorted all the captured royal relatives, princes, generals, and related personnel to Chongrenfang.First set up the dead souls of Anqingzong in Chongrenfang, and then strip these people one by one, dig out their hearts and livers, and use them to pay homage to Anqingzong.Princess Huo, the concubine, the son-in-law and others were all killed, and even the baby who was still in its infancy was killed.All of Yang Guozhong, Gao Lishi's cronies, and those whom An Lushan usually hated were killed, a total of 83 people.Some had their brains removed with iron bars by the rebels, causing blood to flow all over the street.A few days later, the rebels killed more than 20 of the emperor's grandson, the princess, and the county master who were captured.
An Lushan appointed Chen Xilie and Zhang Yi who surrendered as prime ministers, and the remaining courtiers who surrendered were given official positions.So far, the power of the rebels has flourished, threatening Longzhou (now Longxian, Gansu) to the west, harassing Jianghan (now Hubei) to the south, and occupying half of the Hedong (now Shanxi) road to the north.Anlu Mountain has the potential to replace the Tang Dynasty and run rampant all over the world.
However, the generals of the rebel army were more than brave but not resourceful. After capturing Chang'an, they were full of arrogance, drinking day and night for pleasure, indulging in sex, sex, treasures and property, and no longer had the intention of attacking westward.An Lu Xinshan also loves Luoyang, indulges in wine and sex, seeks pleasure, and does not think about making progress.This provided a good opportunity for the Tang Dynasty to preserve its strength and wait for an opportunity to counterattack.
An Lushan failed to get Yang Guifei's sisters, so he focused on recruiting Liyuan disciples in the Tang Palace.During the Tianbao period, An Lushan stayed in Chang'an. Whenever Xuanzong had a big banquet, he first set up Taichang elegant music to add to the fun.The Yale class is divided into two parts: sitting and standing.Sibu musicians sit in front of the hall and play, and Libu musicians stand under the hall to play.After Gagaku, Fanle, which is mainly played by percussion and blowing, appears.Followed by Jiaofang Xinsheng and Fuxian Sanyue and Miscellaneous Operas, presented in various poses one after another.Sometimes, the ladies of the court wear novel and gorgeous clothes and go out before the banquet, singing and dancing, and charming.The great thing is that whenever the wine is in full swing, Si Nongqing will order the shepherds in charge of the elephants in the imperial garden to lead the tame elephants into the arena and perform a wonderful elephant dance.
An Lushan often participated in various banquets held by Emperor Xuanzong, and he was also very good at this. After drinking and drinking, he asked the musicians to perform in concert.In order to force the musicians to submit, they also ordered the despicable means of "threating them with their blades exposed".Then the jade flute, phoenix flute, golden bell and jade chime, jiegu, pipa and other instrumental music sang together.Either blowing or playing, or knocking or hitting, it is really clear and bright, pleasing to the ear.
An Lushan Dale said: "I was serving the banquet in the Tang Palace that day, and I have listened to elegant music several times. I was just a guest in the past, and I was still restrained. It is not as happy as being the master today. It is a pity that Li Sanlang (referring to Xuanzong) I am accompanied by a beauty (referring to Concubine Yang), but I am not as romantic as him." Someone flattered and said: "It is not easy for the emperor to choose a beauty? It is much better than the Yang sisters." An Lushan shook his head and waved his hands and said, "No, no, not necessarily, not necessarily." His words fully revealed his covetousness towards Concubine Yang's beauty.Therefore, later generations said that An Lushan rebelled, one was to become the emperor, and the other was to get Concubine Yang.
The Duan family is clever and beautiful, and has always been favored by An Lushan. His third son, An Qing'en, was born to the Duan family.After hearing this, she felt a little uneasy.At this time, An Qingxu, the second son of An Lushan, had been named the crown prince, which made Duan even more unhappy.
When the wine was half full, An Lushan praised the musicians again and said: "It's so beautiful, it sounds so good. Although the lonely family has always had great ambitions, it's just because Li Sanlang treats me very well, so I can't bear it. Thinking about Yang Guozhong's repeated plots against me, motivating me to do these things, it's the so-called richness and honor. When I was in the army, I won twenty-four counties in one breath. I think Li Sanlang didn't know how much money he spent, how much effort he used, I can't use it to teach these Liyuan students. It's a day to stay and have fun with us." These words were spoken by An Lushan when he was full of ambition, and they should be sincere. It can be seen that Yang Guozhong was indeed prompting An Lushan to rebel. played a decisive role.
After hearing An Lushan's words, the musicians in Liyuan burst into tears and bowed their heads sadly. Unknowingly, they couldn't sing or dance.Lei Haiqing, a musician, wept bitterly in the hall, scolding An Lushan for revenge and crimes, and threw the pipa in his hand towards An Lushan.Unfortunately, he failed, so he was hacked to death with random knives and "dismembered to show the public" ("Minghuang Miscellaneous Records").Later, Hong Sheng from the Qing Dynasty wrote legendary scripts, one of which was "Cursing a Thief", which tells the historical story of Lei Haiqing's scolding a thief.Wang Wei, a famous poet at that time, wrote a poem after hearing about this incident: "Thousands of households are sad and wild smoke will grow, and when will hundreds of officials go up to the sky. In autumn, the leaves of locust trees fall into the empty palace, and the head of Ningbi Pond plays the orchestra."
And Wang Wei himself did not escape the disaster brought about by the Anshi Rebellion.At this moment, he is being forced to serve as an official under An Lushan.What is even more unexpected is that the poem Wang Wei recited Lei Haiqing's deeds with emotion will become his life-saving straw in the future.The fate of people is also like the development of history, and the accidental and inadvertent actions of a certain person often play a key role.Regarding Wang Wei, there will be a special chapter to describe it later.
Xuanzong abandoned his officials and people, and fled first. Chang'an soldiers fell to the hands of the rebels without bloodshed, which marked the official end of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, but the nightmare of the Great Tang Dynasty was far from over.
Enraged by the musicians, An Lushan immediately ordered the rebels to conduct a large-scale raid in Chang'an under the pretext that the people of Chang'an had taken advantage of the chaos to rob the treasury.The rebel generals took the opportunity to plunder, and most of the people were destitute because of this.An Lushan also thought that it was difficult to solve the hatred in his heart, so he ordered the people to be tortured to extract confessions, and they were repeatedly searched and arrested.As a result, people in Chang'an were panicked, and the people missed the Tang Dynasty even more.There are often gossips among the people that Prince Li Heng is going to lead troops to retake Chang'an.Sometimes as long as one person yells "The Prince's army is coming", the people in Chang'an City will flee in all directions, and the market will be empty.Once the rebels saw dust flying in the north, they often thought that the Tang army had arrived, panicked, and were ready to flee at any time.Some heroes of the rivers and lakes in Chang'an also often secretly attacked the rebel officers and soldiers, which made the rebels' hearts fluctuate.An Lushan decreed that he should not leave Wuguan in the south (now southeast of Danfeng, Shaanxi), Yunyang (now east of Fuping, Shaanxi) in the north, and Wugong (now Wugong in Shaanxi) in the west. This made him even more frustrated and ordered Shi Siming, Ashina Chengqing and others sent troops to attack the towns controlled by the Tang army.
Every time the rebels broke through a city, they robbed the city of women, property and even clothes.Organize young and middle-aged men to carry goods for them, and kill those old, weak, disabled, sick, and young with knives, and make fun of it.Wherever the rebel army went, it brought devastating damage to the local area. Therefore, when most bureaucrats, gentry, and ordinary people heard that Prince Li Heng had ascended the throne in Lingwu County, they all rushed to join him, "one after another on the road. ".In some states and counties that were captured by the rebels, when the rebels came, the army and the people were unable to resist, so they surrendered together, saying that they would defend the city of Anlu Mountain.As soon as the rebels left, the soldiers and civilians rose up to kill the remaining rebel troops and returned to the Tang Dynasty.This has been repeated more than ten times, until the town has become ruins.It can be seen that the hearts of the people in the world are still facing the Tang Dynasty.
An important reason why the Tang Dynasty was able to come back to life later was also because of the aspirations of the people.For the people all over the world, looking back on the prosperity of the past, the Tang Dynasty is still the most ideal court in their minds, and they look forward to the court returning to its peak of glory.However, that day never came.
Notes: Waiting for the book won Xuanzong's favor and greatly encouraged Xuanzong's interest in Taoism.Li Linfu, the prime minister at the time, saw that Chen Xilie was favored by Xuanzong, and he was weak and tactful, with no practical political experience and easy to control, so he recommended Chen Xilie as prime minister.From then on, all political affairs were decided by Li Linfu, and Chen Xilie could only nod in agreement.According to court practice, the prime minister retreated home at six quarters in the afternoon.But Li Linfu said that the world is peaceful now, and there are no major events. The prime minister can go home at Sishi, and military and state affairs can be decided at his own home.Xuanzong sometimes did not go to the court, and all the departments of the court would gather in Li Linfu's house to handle affairs, leaving the court empty.Although Chen Xilie was also the prime minister sitting in the mansion, no one went to see him.After Li Linfu's death, Chen Xilie was jealous of Yang Guozhong, so he dismissed his chancellor and became the prince and grand teacher.At that time, Xuanzong wanted Ji Wen, the servant of the military department, to replace Chen Xilie.Yang Guozhong was worried that Ji Wen was An Lushan's confidant, so he firmly disagreed. Seeing that Wei Jiansu, the minister of the Ministry of Culture, was easy-going and obedient, he recommended Wei Jiansu to take over Chen Xilie's seat.
Notes: Waiting for the book won Xuanzong's favor and greatly encouraged Xuanzong's interest in Taoism.Li Linfu, the prime minister at the time, saw that Chen Xilie was favored by Xuanzong, and he was weak and tactful, with no practical political experience and easy to control, so he recommended Chen Xilie as prime minister.From then on, all political affairs were decided by Li Linfu, and Chen Xilie could only nod in agreement.According to court practice, the prime minister retreated home at six quarters in the afternoon.But Li Linfu said that the world is peaceful now, and there are no major events. The prime minister can go home at Sishi, and military and state affairs can be decided at his own home.Xuanzong sometimes did not go to the court, and all the departments of the court would gather in Li Linfu's house to handle affairs, leaving the court empty.Although Chen Xilie was also the prime minister sitting in the mansion, no one went to see him.After Li Linfu's death, Chen Xilie was jealous of Yang Guozhong, so he dismissed his chancellor and became the prince and grand teacher.At that time, Xuanzong wanted Ji Wen, the servant of the military department, to replace Chen Xilie.Yang Guozhong was worried that Ji Wen was An Lushan's confidant, so he firmly disagreed. Seeing that Wei Jiansu, the minister of the Ministry of Culture, was easy-going and obedient, he recommended Wei Jiansu to take over Chen Xilie's seat.