Chapter 201 Chapter 200 Xuanzong Li Longji

Tang Xuanzong (685-762 AD), also known as Tang Minghuang, named Li Longji, was the grandson of Empress Wu Zetian and the third son of Ruizong Li Dan.Reigned from 712 to 756 AD.During his reign, the Tang Dynasty reached its heyday, and the famous "Kaiyuan Prosperity" appeared in history; it also led to the Anshi Rebellion in the last year of Tianbao, which made the Tang Dynasty turn from prosperity to decline. Li Longji was born in the first year of Chuigong (685 A.D.), when it was the world of Wu Zhou. As the prince of Li Tang, he had no choice but to endure the turbulent ups and downs in the court.According to historical records, Longji had great ambitions when he was young, and he often called himself "A Man" in the palace, but he was not valued by the Wu family. When he was 7 years old, he routinely went to the court to hold a sacrificial ceremony. General Wu Yizong of the Jin Dynasty yelled at his entourage. Longji immediately reprimanded him: "My family's court, what are you doing? How dare you force me to ride?" It is said that after Wu Zetian knew about this incident, he looked at him differently.In the second year, Longji was named the king of Linzi County.In the first year of Shenlong (705 A.D.), Zhang Jianzhi forced Wu Zetian to abdicate and supported Zhongzong Li Xian.At this time, Longji once served concurrently as Biejia of Luzhou (now Changzhi County, Shanxi Province).

After Wu Zetian's death, Tang Zhongzong was weak and cowardly, and the power was in the hands of his wife Queen Wei and daughter Princess Anle.Zhang Jianzhi and other heroes were all demoted, Prince Li Chongjun and others were killed, and Wu Sansi and other remnants of remnants quickly emerged. Empress Wei also invoked his elder brother Wei Wen to take power, connived Princess Anle to sell officials and nobles, and built temples and Taoist temples wantonly. Enslaving the people can be said to be a bad government.In the fourth year of Jinglong (710 A.D.), Zhongzong was poisoned by his wife and daughter.Empress Wei plans to emulate her mother-in-law Wu Zetian as the second empress in history.At this time, Li Dan, the fourth son of Wu Zetian, still had considerable influence, and Longji, the third son of Li Dan, was also quietly accumulating strength. Determined to put it to death.But Li Longji was by no means an idler. Before Empress Wei could do anything, he conspired with his aunt Princess Taiping to launch a coup, and led the Yulin army Wanqi to attack the palace first, and wiped out Empress Wei and his party members.Later, Princess Taiping came forward and restored Ruizong Li Dan's throne.Longji was also established as the prince because of his meritorious service.

Ruizong was also a cowardly emperor who was willing to be at the mercy of Princess Taiping. Princess Taiping relied on her merits in supporting Ruizong to build up her personal influence and influence the government.At first she thought that Longji was young, so she didn't care about him. Later, she saw that Longji was very decisive, which was not good for her monopoly, so she targeted Longji.She created public opinion that the current prince is not the eldest son and should not be established. If established, there will be future worries, and she plots to abolish him.Longi's position is not stable.In the first year of Xiantian (712 A.D.), Ruizong abdicated to the crown prince, and Longji took the throne, but the appointment and removal of officials above the third rank and major military administration were still decided by Ruizong.During this period, the relationship between Longji and Princess Taiping was extremely tense. It could be said that their swords were on the verge of breaking out.A duel between the two sides is inevitable.

On July 3rd of the second year of Xiantian, Xuanzong took the lead and led his stable and herdsmen to suppress Princess Taiping and dozens of party members. Officials who were attached to Princess Taiping were all deposed.So far, the turbulent situation has stabilized, and Li Longji has gained full power.It is the year, changed to Yuan Kaiyuan. Xuanzong Li Longji's throne was hard-won, and the situation he faced after taking office was also very severe.The long-term palace coup has weakened the power of the central government, officials are corrupt, and officials are redundant.In the third year of Kaiyuan (715 A.D.), Xuanzong clearly declared: "If you don't promote indiscriminately, you will not be in vain." He advocated appointing people on their merits, and most of the prime ministers he used became famous politicians.

Yao Chong is a well-known virtuous prime minister, capable of handling affairs.Before he became prime minister, he made 10 suggestions to Xuanzong, to the effect that he should not be greedy for frontier merits, open up his voice, reward and praise ministers, not accept gifts except taxes, not let the emperor's relatives and eunuchs monopolize power, etc.Xuanzong agreed to everything, thus establishing the policy of Kaiyuan administration. At that time, some wealthy households often used the method of becoming monks to avoid taxation. Yao Chong found out more than 1,200 fake monks at one time and ordered them to return to vulgarity.It also prohibited all officials from interacting with monks, nuns and Taoists, and suppressed the power of monastery landlords developed during Wu and Wei.Wang Xiantong, the uncle of Yudi brother Xue Wang Liye, violated the common people. He asked Xuanzong for approval and punished him according to law.

At the beginning of Kaiyuan, locust plagues occurred successively in the north and south of the Yellow River.The locusts flew like clouds to cover the sun, and the grass was exhausted where they landed.The previous dynasties also encountered locust plagues. Due to ineffective hunting, it often caused a tragic scene of thousands of miles of red land and corpses everywhere, resulting in skyrocketing prices, unstable people's hearts, and political turmoil.Therefore, Yao Chong paid great attention to the extermination of locusts, and urged the counties to catch and kill them in time, and the government rewarded the control of locusts.As a result, the locust plague was effectively stopped. Although the locust plague continued for years, no major famine occurred in the disaster area.

Song Jing succeeded Yao Chong as prime minister, and he also paid great attention to the selection of talents so that all officials could be competent.Once when the Ministry of Officials selected candidates, his distant uncle Song Yuanchao explained his relationship with Song Jing to the selection officials, and wanted to get a good job. He knew it and told the Ministry of Officials not to give Song Yuanchao an official position. Zhang Jiuling is also a virtuous minister of Kaiyuan.He is from Cantonese. At that time, Lingnan was regarded as a remote place, and it was not easy for people there to become high officials.He suggested that the selection of talents should be cautious, and the attitude of discussing talents in the official department should be extremely fair.When he was in power, it was already in the late Kaiyuan period, and Xuanzong was lax. Whenever he saw Xuanzong made any mistakes, he always tried his best to persuade him.

Xuanzong not only paid attention to the appointment of virtuous ministers, but also attached great importance to refreshing the administration of officials and rectifying the bureaucracy.In this regard he took many measures.One is to reduce redundant staff and streamline the organization.In response to the abuse of excessive bureaucracy since Empress Wu, he eliminated thousands of foreign officials, examiners, and inspectors in one fell swoop, greatly streamlining the bureaucracy, improving work efficiency, and saving financial expenses.The second is to restore the system of admonishers and historians participating in the prime minister's deliberations.During the period of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, the emperor discussed with the prime minister, and allowed admonishers and historians to participate.This can reduce the disadvantages of government affairs and has its positive effects.However, after Wu Zetian joined the government, Xu Jingzong and Li Yifu were promoted to be prime ministers. "The government is too private", and they dare not make the government public.Xuanzong ordered to restore the system in the Zhenguan period.The third is to pay attention to the selection of county magistrates.Xuanzong said: "Counties and counties are the foundation of state power, and county magistrates are the vanguard of the ruling team. I always pay special attention to this kind of official position, and treat it differently from other official positions." Whether those who are proficient in the way of governing the country, those who have excellent test scores will be appointed, and those who are poor will be dismissed.The fourth is to implement a strict assessment system to check the performance of local officials as a basis for dismissal.It is stipulated that in October every year, according to the customs of inspectors and envoys to patrol the provinces, observe the gains and losses, divide the achievements of local officials into five grades, and then report them to the Minister of Officials for a detailed review, reducing the phenomenon of local officials corrupting the law.Fifth, strict rewards and punishments.Xuanzong believed that those who are good must be rewarded, so they are encouraged, and those who are guilty must be punished, so they are punished.The rewards and punishments of the imperial court during the Kaiyuan period basically carried out this spirit.

Xuanzong's reform policy was mainly implemented through lower-level officials. Xuanzong's ability to pay attention to employing people was a very important reason for the emergence of the "Kaiyuan Reign". In the first half of Xuanzong's reign, not only great achievements were made in Wenzhi, but also in martial arts.Before Xuanzong ascended the throne, the border defense crisis was very serious.In the first year of Long Live Tongtian (AD 696), Li Jinzhong, a Khitan slave owner, took advantage of ethnic conflicts to incite his tribe to rebel and captured Yingzhou.Immediately afterwards, the 12 prefectures under the jurisdiction of the Yingzhou Dudufu, including Lianchang, Shi, and Xian, also fell one after another.Wu Zetian sent Wang Xiaojie and other organizations to fight back, but they were defeated and almost the entire army was wiped out.Since then, the Khitan nobles often plundered land frantically and harmed the northern people.

As for the west of Yumen, in the third year of Chang'an (703 A.D.), Uzhile, a Turkic slave owner and aristocrat, captured Suiye Town, one of the four towns in Anxi.Uzhile then attacked Beiting Protectorate, and forcibly occupied some places in the west of Beiting.This not only undermined the unity of the country, but also blocked the "Silk Road", which seriously affected the foreign trade of the Tang Dynasty. In the northern region, at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the Turks were defeated, the north and the south of the desert were unified, and the Shanyu and Anbei Protectorates were set up to govern the vast areas from inside and outside the Great Wall to Lake Baikal.Thereafter, the situation north of the Great Wall remained relatively stable for decades. However, at the end of the seventh century, Yunzhou (now Datong City, Shanxi), the northern gateway of the Tang Dynasty, was captured by the Turks.Since then, there is no danger to the south of the Great Wall.In the first year of Hongdao (AD 683), the Turks attacked Weizhou (now Yu County, Hebei Province) and Dingzhou (now Ding County, Hebei). The Beidu Protectorate was temporarily set up in the same city until the beginning of Kaiyuan.

From the above situation, by the time Xuanzong ascended the throne, Suiye and Tingzhou in the Western Regions, the north of Yunzhou in the north, and the 12 states in western Liaoning had all been occupied by Turkic and Khitan slave-owner nobles, and the people of Longyou and Hebei were often plundered and raped. massacre.The peaceful situation on the border of the Tang Dynasty was destroyed. After Xuanzong came to power, he took a series of measures in order to completely solve the border area problem, consolidate the Tang regime, and maintain unity: In order to improve the combat effectiveness of the army, Xuanzong reformed the government military system.The Fubing system has become useless under the situation of the collapse of the land equalization system. Peasants continue to flee and the source of troops is difficult.After the Gaowu period, the atmosphere of advocating martial arts gradually disappeared, most of the soldiers in the government did not change on time, and teaching and learning were abandoned.When Xuanzong arrived, the soldiers fled and the military mansion was empty.In the eleventh year of Kaiyuan (723 A.D.), Prime Minister Zhang Shuo suggested hiring soldiers.Xuanzong immediately ordered that 120,000 soldiers be recruited from the pass to serve as guards, named "Chang Cong Su Wei", or "Long March Athletes", thus replacing the government soldiers' rotation of guards since the Tang Dynasty.This was a major reform of the military system from recruitment to employment at that time.After more than ten years of practice, the mercenary system was implemented nationwide in the 25th year of Kaiyuan.Since then, people from all over the country no longer have to suffer from the hardships of guarding the border, and can concentrate on production.Mercenaries can not only absorb the unemployed in the society and ease social conflicts, but also can be stationed in various places and strengthen training, which has a positive effect on improving the quality of the army and increasing combat effectiveness. Xuanzong also took various measures to rectify the army.He promulgated the "Military Training Edict", ordering the Northwest Army Town to increase the number of soldiers, and to carefully select and strengthen military training, and not to be used for other services.He also sent the minister of the Ministry of War, Bei Mi, and the Taichang Qing, Jiang Jiao, to Junzhou to supervise and inspect the implementation of the edict and deal with specific matters. When Xuanzong came to the throne, there were only 240,000 military horses left.Xuanzong appointed Wang Maozhong, the imperial servant, as the envoy of the internal and external stables, who specialized in this work. By the thirteenth year of Kaiyuan, the army and horses had increased to 430,000, and the number of cattle and sheep had also increased accordingly.In order to solve the problem of military rations, Xuanzong ordered to expand the Tuntian area.On the border defense line of thousands of miles in the northwest and in some areas north of the Yellow River, a huge garrison area was set up. After the above preparations, in the fifth year of Kaiyuan (717 A.D.), the Tang army recovered all 13 states including Yingzhou, which had been occupied for 17 years. Xuanzong sent Song Qingli as the governor to rebuild the defense of Yingzhou.Bayegu to the north of the Great Wall, Tongluo, Huihe and other places also announced the abolition of the title of separatist regime. In cooperation with the Tang government, the Tang government restored the Anbei Protectorate and unified the north of the Great Wall. The solution to the problem of the Western Regions was carried out in two stages. The first stage began in the 27th year of Kaiyuan. Xuanzong sent Qixi Jiedu envoy Gai Jiayun to defeat the Turks. The Tang army stormed Suiyecheng. The Tang army took him prisoner, so Suiye Town, which had been occupied for 37 years, came under the jurisdiction of the Tang government.The second stage is to defeat Ye Fan and Xiao Bolu and reopen the portal of the "Silk Road".In the early years of Kaiyuan, the Khan of Xiaobolu in the Western Regions (north of today's Kashmir) went to the Tang Dynasty to ask for surrender, and the Tang government set up the Suiyuan Army there.Later, King Xiao Bolu married the princess of Tubo, attached himself to Tubo, and became an enemy of Tang Dynasty.Xuanzong sent Gao Xianzhi, the deputy governor of Anxi, to defeat Tubo, capture King Bolu and send him to Chang'an.This made Tang Guowei excited.After the victory in this battle, the 72 kingdoms of Fuma (Rome) and Dashi (Iran) were all shocked and surrendered.The Tang Dynasty re-opened the passage to Central Asia, which not only maintained the unity of the country, but also facilitated foreign economic and cultural exchanges. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty paid attention to the development of social economy and adopted a series of measures during the Kaiyuan period, resulting in an unprecedented prosperity in the economy. Before Xuanzong ascended the throne, due to the extortion by the government and the annexation of the lands of the big tycoons, the burden on farmers who averaged the land became heavier and heavier, and they were often unable to maintain their own survival and simple reproduction.After Xuanzong came to the throne, he had to fight against the powerful and powerful families who sheltered the working population and destroyed the land equalization system.Take land and labor from their hands. Although some powerful families were punished at the beginning of Kaiyuan, the intensity of the blow was still too small.From a national perspective, there is still a large amount of land and labor occupied by powerful families.They invaded farmers' land, called "foreigners' land".What's more serious is that they turned the escaped households into "private households" and did not pay taxes to the country, which affected the country's fiscal revenue.Under such circumstances, Xuanzong used four years from the ninth year of Kaiyuan to the thirteenth year of Kaiyuan to carry out a campaign to inspect fields and include households across the country.Emperor Xuanzong appointed Yu Wenrong as the envoy to overturn the land and persuade farmers across the country, and set up ten envoys and judges to persuade farmers.Split up and go to all parts of the country to check on the dark and powerful customers.All the inspected land was confiscated and distributed to landless peasants according to the land equalization system.For the "off-account" population, they will all be registered and naturalized on the spot.As a result of checking land and including households, the central government added 880,000 households, and the land also increased greatly.At the end of the year, millions of dollars were collected from customers. Since Emperor Zhongzong of the Wu Zhou Dynasty, Buddhism has developed viciously.Dayun temples are set up in all states of the country.Monastery monks were greedy, not only annexing land, but also evading taxes.And there are more than one temple built, and tens of billions of money are wasted; there are 100,000 people who save people endlessly, and rent-free mediocrity.Make the country's output multiplied and its income reduced several times.Xuanzong issued an edict in the second year of Kaiyuan to eliminate monks and nuns all over the world. At that time, there were more than 12,000 monks and nuns all over the country.Xuanzong also ordered that it is strictly forbidden to build new Buddhist temples, cast Buddhist statues, and copy Buddhist scriptures.At the same time, noble officials were prohibited from interacting with monks and nuns, which dealt a great blow to Buddhist influence. In the early days of Xuanzong's ascension to the throne, he encouraged himself by thrift in life.He also dismissed the maids, and destroyed the Tianshu built by Empress Wu and the stone platform erected by Empress Wei to show his break with the bad government. During the Kaiyuan period, due to the literary and martial arts of Xuanzong's monarchs and ministers, a relatively clear political situation was formed, and the grand occasion of "Kaiyuan rule" appeared. The peaceful scene of singing and dancing gradually made Tang Xuanzong intoxicated, and his enterprising spirit of governing the country was completely lost.By the first year of Tianbao (742 A.D.), Xuanzong had been emperor for 30 years. He gradually indulged in extravagance, indulged in sensuality, and neglected political affairs. He could no longer listen to honest advice and direct advice as in the Kaiyuan period. The "upright" Han Xiu and Zhang Jiuling dismissed their chancellors one after another, and the treacherous and sycophant Li Linfu was appointed as the Zhongshuling to hold the power alone.From then on, evil forces began to gain the upper hand in the court.In the eleventh year of Tianbao (752 A.D.), Li Linfu died of illness, and Yang Guozhong became prime minister. The politics became darker, and the country's situation has since flourished and declined. Li Linfu was good at catering to Xuanzong's will.In October of the twenty-fourth year of Kaiyuan, Xuanzong wanted to return to Chang'an from Luoyang. Prime Ministers Zhang Jiuling and Pei Yaoqing thought that the autumn harvest was not over, and they might disturb the people along the way, so they suggested rescheduling.But Li Linfu said to Xuanzong after the second prime minister withdrew: "Chang'an and Luoyang are His Majesty's east and west palaces, and they can come and go at any time. Why choose a time? Even if it hinders the farmers' harvest, as long as they are exempted from taxes." Xuanzong I was very happy to hear it, so I obeyed.Zhang Jiuling dared to fight hard when things happened, and Xuanzong hated him.Li Linfu took the opportunity to slander, and finally replaced him as prime minister.Since then, the ethos of "keeping one's body and position, never speaking out" has ruled the court.When an admonisher makes a statement, he must first tell Li Linfu, and then report it to the emperor.Those court officials who did not agree with him were all framed by conspiracy.He put an end to words, was jealous of the virtuous and capable, and he spoke nicely, but secretly hurt people. Therefore, people said that he had "honey in his mouth and a sword in his belly". Li Linfu's power is growing day by day, while the government's corruption is getting worse day by day.Xuanzong didn't know the traitor, so he thought he could, and even wanted to entrust the state affairs to Lin Fu. In the twenty-fourth year of Kaiyuan, Xuanzong was depressed all day because of the death of his beloved concubine Wu Hui.There are thousands of beauties in the palace, but none of them care.At this time, someone said that Concubine Yang's body was unparalleled in the world, so he ordered the eunuch to bring her into the palace to serve wine.Concubine Shou Wang is intelligent in nature, knows rhythm, sings and dances, and is especially good at flattering.Xuanzong felt as if he had found a treasure, and he suddenly became worried, so he looked for pleasure and had nothing to do. Shouwang Li Mao is the son of Xuanzong and the biological son of Concubine Wu Hui. The affair between the 56-year-old emperor and his 22-year-old daughter-in-law is obviously unethical and a big scandal.Xuanzong asked Concubine Shou to ask herself to be a female Taoist priest and live in Nangong. She was given the name Taizhen, and Nangong was renamed Taizhen Palace.Xuanzong took away his daughter-in-law, and married his son a girl surnamed Wei as a concubine to show his comfort. When Yang Taizhen entered the palace, her favor increased day by day, and within a year, she was more powerful than the empress.Xuanzong was accompanied by beauties, and since then he has no interest in political affairs.In the fourth year of Tianbao (745 AD), Yang Taizhen was canonized as a noble concubine. At this time, there was no queen in the harem, and Concubine Yang was the actual queen.Xuanzong regards the noble concubine as his heart and soul, and praises her as the "flower of interpretation". Even her family generously rewards her without hesitation. The imperial concubine is good at dressing, and there are as many as 700 weaving and embroidery workers serving her.The noble concubine rides a horse, and the powerful eunuch Gao Lishi personally holds the bridle and gives the saddle to her.The imperial concubine grew up in the southern country and liked to eat fresh lychees.Litchi is easy to lose, and the color and taste will change after four or five days away from it.In order to offer fresh lychees quickly, Xuanzong ordered to open a tribute road thousands of miles from Lingnan to Chang'an. There were post stations along the way and fast horses. The lychees were transported to Chang'an without changing the color and taste. The king favored him, courtiers and officials were all doubly flattered, competing to offer exotic delicacies and utensils to noble concubines.Sometimes thousands of plates of delicacies are delivered at a time, and the value of one plate is worth more than the property of ten medium-sized families.There are also special food inspectors in the palace to appraise the delicacy of various foods, which is really striving for perfection.The contribution of the military and political chief of Lingnan won the favor of the imperial concubine, so she was promoted to three ranks in a row.The chief of Guangling followed suit and was promoted to the court minister.As a result, civil servants and military generals all pay attention to the harem to please the noble concubine. One person attains the Tao, and the chicken and dog ascend to heaven.The Yang family became prosperous because of a daughter who was favored, and became the crown of the monkey.The eldest sister of the noble concubine was named Mrs. Han, the second sister was named Mrs. Guo, and the third sister was named Mrs. Qin. Her elder brother Yang Yu was named a fourth-rank high-ranking official. With more than ten positions, the power is all over the world. After Li Linfu's death, Yang Guozhong was able to monopolize power.Like Li Linfu, he followed Xuanzong's thoughts.Xuanzong was warlike, so he immediately launched a war against Nanzhao, and lost 200,000 troops.A year of heavy rain caused disasters, Xuanzong asked about the disaster, he asked someone to get some big ears of millet to show Xuanzong, saying that although the rain was heavy, the harvest was good.Xuanzong actually believed it.Yang Guozhong forbade his subordinates to report the disaster, and Fang Guan, the prefect of Fufeng, reported the disaster and asked for help. He was furious and ordered him to be handed over to the judiciary for punishment.In addition to being the prime minister, Yang Guozhong also led more than 40 envoys, and he also specialized in judging the branch and the Ministry of officials, giving orders all day long, handling political affairs indiscriminately, selecting and appointing officials in secret, forming parties for private gains, and bribing public affairs.Therefore, the politics of the Tang Dynasty were even more murky. From the twenty-fourth year of Kaiyuan (736 A.D.) to the Tianbao period, the treacherous prime minister was in power and the imperial concubine was in favor. Xuanzong became increasingly stupid, politics became more corrupt, and the crisis behind the prosperity intensified.The first is the disintegration of the land equalization system, the number of private households that bear rent and taxes is shrinking, while the expenses of the imperial court are increasing, and the fiscal deficit is increasing day by day.The imperial court sent officials to levy violently, and even pre-levied 30 years of rent and tax, which accelerated the poverty of the people, and the social foundation on which the Tang Dynasty relied was shaken.Secondly, after the government military system was destroyed, the recruitment system became more and more corrupt.The Central Plains has been at peace for a long time, and the social custom is ashamed of being a soldier. Most of the soldiers recruited by the capital are scoundrels and street vendors, who have no combat effectiveness. Nevertheless, Xuanzong launched a series of unjust wars.Bian Jiangquan did not hesitate to fuel the flames and stir up troubles in order to get promoted.These wars have killed or injured a large number of people of all ethnic groups, consumed a large amount of social wealth, and greatly deepened class and ethnic conflicts. In the 25th year of Kaiyuan, the Tang government forced Hexi Jiedu envoy Cui Xiyi to attack Tubo in Qinghai, which broke the reconciliation between Tang and Tubo, and also destroyed the peaceful life of the Han and Tibetan people.In the early years of Tianbao, the famous general Wang Sizong concurrently served as the envoy of the four towns of Hexi, Longyou, Shuofang, and Hedong, and his prestige was extremely high.Xuanzong ordered him to attack Shibao City in Tubo, but he refused, so he was dismissed from office.The successor Ge Shuhan captured Shibao City. There were only a few hundred guards in the city, but the Tang soldiers lost tens of thousands.Both Han and Tibetan people are victims of the war. Southwest is also bleeding.Nanzhao Wangge Luofeng took his wife to visit the Tang officials, and took the opportunity to insult Zhang Qiantuo and extort property.Ge Luofeng couldn't bear it anymore, and angrily mobilized troops to kill Zhang Qiantuo.Jiannan Jiedu envoy Xianyu Zhongtong took advantage of the problem and launched an attack immediately. Ge Luofeng sent someone to explain and demanded a truce, but Xianyu Zhongtong refused to listen.Ge Luofeng had no choice but to lead his troops to fight, defeated the Tang soldiers, and made an alliance with Tubo.Xianyu Zhongtong had always colluded with Yang Guozhong, so Yang Guozhong covered it up for him and recruited troops in Xijing, Henan, and Hebei.The people refused to serve as soldiers, so Yang Guozhong sent officers and soldiers to arrest them and sent them to the army with flails.From the tenth year to the thirteenth year of Tianbao, more than 200,000 Tang soldiers died in battle or disease. In the tenth year of Tianbao (751 A.D.), the Tang army suffered two major defeats. One was that An Lushan led 60,000 troops to attack Khitan, and most of the troops were killed or injured.The second is the defeat of Gao Xianzhi's Central Yaros City.After that, another major rebellion "Anshi Rebellion" occurred in the country. In the late Kaiyuan period, the government army system was destroyed, and the recruitment system came into being.Under the Fubing system, the guards served in turns, and no special soldiers were allowed. After the recruitment system was implemented, the troops in border towns expanded, and the troops around the capital decreased. In the early Tang Dynasty, the frontier generals all used loyal and famous ministers, who served soon, did not take remote positions, or held other positions concurrently.In the early days of Kaiyuan, Xue Na, Guo Yuanzhen, Zhang Jiazhen, Zhang Shuo, Xiao Hao, etc. also entered the prime minister from the border.Although many generals who were born in Hudi were loyal and brave, they could not specialize in the post of generals. During the expedition, they were all controlled by ministers, which was necessary to prevent the warlords from separatist regimes.In the late Kaiyuan period, due to changes in the situation, Bianshuai often served consecutively for more than 10 years, and some also served as Jiedushi for several towns.They have their land, their people, their armor, and their wealth.But General Hu's power is mainly caused by Li Linfu bewitching Xuanzong as the prime minister. Xuanzong once considered the most reliable question of who to hand over military power to.Wang Sizong also served as the Jiedu envoy of the four towns. He was falsely accused of wanting to support the army and honor the prince. Xuanzong dismissed Wang Sizong as an official and handed it over to the judicial authority for punishment.Xuanzong was not at ease when those who had connections with princes and ministers had military power, for he was deeply afraid that they would form cronies and endanger his throne.When Xuanzong was in a difficult situation, Li Linfu came up with an idea: use a barbarian as the commander-in-chief.The reason is that the Hu people are brave and good at fighting, and there is no complicated social relationship in the Central Plains. They are isolated and have no party, and they don't know Chinese, so they are more reliable than Han.In fact, Li Linfu had other plans in mind.He believes that Hu Jiang's education level is not high, and he cannot become a prime minister by general, so his own position will be stronger.Under Li Linfu's persuasion, Xuanzong successively promoted An Lushan, An Sishun, Ge Shuhan, Gao Xianzhi and others to become generals.In the sixth year of Tianbao, most of the Jiedu envoys were generals. An Lushan is a mixed-race Hu from Liucheng (now Chaoyang, Liaoning). Because he is proficient in six languages, he became a "Hushi Yalang" (translator).Later, he joined the army under Zhang Shougui, the Jiedu envoy of Youzhou, and gradually became a senior general because of his bravery and combat skills.In the first year of Tianbao, he served as the envoy of Pinglu Jiedu. In the tenth year of Tianbao, he also led the three towns of Pinglu, Fanyang and Hedong.He gradually gained Xuanzong's trust by deception, flattery, bribery and other means.On the surface, he was very loyal to Tang Xuanzong, but in fact he was ambitious and coveted in order to get his way. An Lushan actively expanded his influence in Fanyang, using frustrated Han cultural ruffians Yan Qing and Gao Shang as counselors to comfort brothers and national fighters who surrendered or captured, making them willing to die for them.An Lushan selected another 8,000 elite men as the main force of its army.In the thirteenth year of Tianbao (754 A.D.), in order to buy people's hearts and cultivate confidantes, he promoted 500 generals from Xi, Khitan, Jiuxing, Tongluo and other clans to generals, and more than 2,000 Zhonglang generals.In the second year, 32 Hu generals were used to replace Han generals. In this way, the generals of the army were basically all Hu people.He also accumulated food and grass and raised tens of thousands of war horses.The army under his command has exceeded the army stationed in Chang'an in number. Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guozhong were indulging in lustful wine and sex, and they were not prepared for any response.Xuanzong was so lost in the decadent life.Xuanzong was also reminded of An Lushan's wolf ambitions at that time.Zhang Jiuling once said that those who will disrupt Youzhou in the future must be Hu Chu.An Lushan violated the law, Xuanzong protected him, Zhang Jiuling objected, pointing out that if An Lushan was not killed, there would be future troubles, Xuanzong refused to listen, but promoted him, making him more feathered.Xuanzong's son Li Heng also said that Anlu Mountain must be rebelled, but Xuanzong still didn't believe it, and he was so self-willed.On the issue of An Lushan, Xuanzong's stupor in his later years was fully exposed. On November 9th, the 14th year of Tianbao, An Lushan raised troops in Fanyang and launched a rebellion, targeting Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty.The military equipment in the Central Plains has been slack for a long time, and the elite soldiers and generals are all placed in the northeast and northwest towns.Wherever the rebel army arrived, the counties and counties in the Central Plains were unable to resist, and most of them fled.An Lushan led 150,000 troops, the sky was covered with dust, the noise shook the ground, and the road was unstoppable.On the second day of December, the rebels had crossed the Yellow River in Lingchang (now southwest of Hua County, Henan). When the news of An Lushan's rebellion spread to Chang'an, Xuanzong thought it was a rumor.After getting the confirmed news, all civil and military officials in the Manchu Dynasty panicked.Yang Guozhong boasted that the rebels would undergo internal changes, but within 10 days, An Lushan was determined to be killed by his subordinates.In panic, Xuanzong took this nonsense as a life-saving straw. At that time, Feng Changqing, the envoy of Anxi Jiedu, was in Chang'an, so Xuanzong sent him to Luoyang to recruit troops to resist.Then they recruited some soldiers in Chang'an, together with the original forbidden army, gathered 50,000 troops, handed them over to Gao Xianzhi to lead, and stationed in Shanzhou.At the same time, envoys were sent to the towns of Shuofang, Hexi and Longyou to dispatch troops.However, although Feng Changqing is resourceful and Gao Xianzhi is good at fighting, but they are all led by mobs, unable to resist the attack of the rebels.Soon, Tang Jun was forced to withdraw from Luoyang.Feng Changqing retreated to Shanzhou, and Gao Xianzhi retreated to Tongguan to prevent the rebels from breaking into Guanzhong.Because they were defeated by the rebels, and the superintendent ordered them to falsely accuse them of shaking the morale of the army and stealing food and grass, Xuanzong ordered them to be beheaded. Xuanzong killed Feng Changqing and Gao Xianzhi, and only Ge Shuhan, the former Hexi Longyou Jiedu envoy, was left among the generals in the court. He was well-known, so he was sent to guard Tongguan.Ge Shuhan was familiar with the military, brave and resourceful, and had a grudge against An Lushan, so he was the most suitable candidate at that time.The troops from the towns in the northwest also marched to Tongguan one after another.There was a stalemate on the Henan front. At this time, the momentum of the rebels' long-distance drive stopped, and An Lushan's life was not easy.Yan Gaoqing, the prefect of Changshan (now Zhengding, Hebei), and Yan Zhenqing, the prefect of his cousin Pingyuan (northeast of the present-day Shandong Plain), raised troops and contacted 17 counties in Hebei, cutting off the connection between the front line of the rebels and Fan Yang's lair.In the first month of the first year of Zhide (756 A.D.), An Lushan proclaimed himself Emperor Dayan in Luoyang. He occupied only 6 counties in Hebei and a piece of land east of Tongguan in Henan.Although the rebel general Shi Siming captured Changshan and captured Yan Gaoqing and sent him to Luoyang to kill him, but soon, Shuofang generals Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi led the army out of Taihang Mountain and recovered Changshan, defeating Shi Siming repeatedly.Armed groups assembled by the Henan people themselves responded to Guo and Li's army.Lu Jiong, governor of Nanyang, Henan Province, Xu Yuan, governor of Suiyang, and Zhang Xun, the commander of Zhenyuan, also raised troops to fight against the rebels, blocking the way for the rebels to go south.An Lushan was in a dilemma. The situation was favorable to the Tang government, but Tang Xuanzong not only failed to develop a favorable situation, but instead demolished himself.Tongguan is naturally dangerous, with narrow roads, easy to defend but difficult to attack.Tang Jun dug three trenches outside the pass, each two feet wide and one foot deep.Cui Qianyou, the rebel general, stationed troops in Shanzhou and wandered for half a year. He could only look at the pass and sigh, but could not attack.Ge Shuhan is determined to wait for the danger.Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi also said that Tongguan should only be held firmly, and advocated using Shuofang soldiers to attack Fan Yang first, capture the family members of the rebels, and cause them to collapse.Judging from the situation of the battle in Hebei at that time, this was possible.But Xuanzong actually listened to Yang Guozhong's slander, thinking that Ge Shuhan had missed a good opportunity by holding back his troops, so he continued to force Ge Shuhan to send troops.In June of the first year of Zhide (756 A.D.), Ge Shuhan was forced to send troops to fight the rebels, but he was defeated.General Huo Ba Guiren and others captured Ge Shuhan alive and surrendered to the rebels. Tang Xuanzong had no choice but to appoint the remaining officials in the capital, together with the imperial concubines, sisters, princes and grandsons, servants in the palace and several ministers in the court, escorted by thousands of forbidden troops, quietly left Chang'an and went southwest, intending to flee to Shu County for refuge.When they arrived at Maweiyi (now Xingpingxi, Shaanxi), the soldiers clamored forward and demanded to eliminate the Yang family, which was a disaster for the country and the people.Yang Guozhong was killed by soldiers.The soldiers also asked Xuanzong to kill the noble concubine to appease the world's grievances. Poor Concubine Yang, who was "loved by three thousand people", was hanged to death on the way to escape. Chang'an fell about ten days later.Xuanzong was about to continue fleeing westward from Maweipo. The elders of the villagers blocked the way and asked to stay, but Xuanzong refused to listen, and the people could not, so they asked the crown prince to stay.Crown Prince Li Heng then went north to Lingwu (now southwest of Lingwu, Ningxia). Because Xuanzong on Mawei Slope had already ordered the crown prince to succeed, Li Heng accepted the invitation of the ministers, proclaimed himself emperor in danger, and regrouped Force, began to counterattack An Lushan. An Lushan rebelled in the 14th year of Tianbao and captured two capitals successively. In the third year, he was killed by his son An Qingxu.An Qingxu became emperor in the second year of Zhide.Soon Chang'an and Luoyang were recovered by the Tang army.In the third year, he was killed by Shi Siming, the deputy general of An Lushan.In the second year of Qianyuan (759 A.D.), Shi Siming was first called the King of Yan and then the Emperor.In the third year, he was also killed by his son Shi Chaoyi.Shi Chaoyi became emperor in the second year of Shangyuan (AD 761). Two years later, he was defeated and hanged himself. At the end of the second year of Zhide (758 A.D.), when the Tang army recovered the two capitals, Xuanzong returned to Chang'an from Chengdu.When passing by Mawei post, I was touched by the scene, saddened, and worshiped the tomb of Concubine Yang Gui.After arriving in Chang'an, Xuanzong lived in Xingqing Palace.Suzong Li Heng came to greet him from time to time, and he sometimes went to Daming Palace to visit Suzong.General Chen Xuanli of Zuo Longwu and eunuch Gao Lishi have been guarding and serving Xuanzong.Suzong also asked the children of Liyuan to play music, sing and dance every day for his entertainment.But this life didn't last.Xuanzong often wandered upstairs and waited and watched. When people passed by here, when they saw Xuanzong, they often knelt down and shouted "Long live".Xuanzong often entertained guests with wine and food downstairs, and entertained generals Guo Ziyi and Wang Mian upstairs, and gave them many things.Xuanzong had no intention of making a comeback, but it aroused Suzong's suspicion.As a result, the contradiction between father and son became acute. Xuanzong lived to be 77 years old and had been emperor for 44 years. He had 30 sons and 30 daughters.Among so many sons and daughters, he has a preference.He dotes on Concubine Wu Hui and has long wanted to abolish the crown prince Li Ying and establish the son of Concubine Wu Hui's son Shouwang Li Mao.In April of the twenty-fifth year of Kaiyuan (737 A.D.), Concubine Wu Hui's son-in-law Yang Hui falsely accused Li Ying, Li Yao, and Li Ju of discussing conspiracy together, and Xuanzong gave these three sons to death.Prince Li Ying was Xuanzong's second son. After his death, according to his seniority, the eldest son Li Cong, King Qing, was the first. However, he was once scratched in the face by a wild animal while hunting. Being an emperor was unsightly, and his moral ability was mediocre.Then it was the turn of the third son, Sujong Lee Hyung.Under the struggle of the courtiers, Xuanzong reluctantly made Li Heng the prince after more than a year of careful consideration.Later, in order to cater to Xuanzong and Concubine Wu Hui, Li Linfu always wanted to abolish Suzong and Lishou Wang Li Mao became the prince.Helpless, Emperor Suzong was very cautious, made no major mistakes, and had some courtiers actively protect him, and turned danger into safety several times, so the status of the crown prince was considered to be preserved.Therefore, he had long held grudges against Xuanzong.After Suzong was established as the prince, his desire to be emperor became stronger and stronger.Later, with the support of his son Li Tan and eunuch Li Fuguo, he proclaimed himself emperor in Lingwu.After Xuanzong returned from Sichuan, what he did in Xingqing Palace had already aroused Suzong's suspicion: Did Xuanzong want to restore the throne?He wanted to take corresponding countermeasures, but was afraid that someone would say that he was unfilial, so he was very anxious.At this time, Li Fuguo offered him a plan. Li Fuguo knew Suzong's complicated psychology and wanted to make extraordinary achievements to consolidate Suzong's favor for him.He said to Suzong: "The emperor lives in Xingqing Palace and communicates with outsiders every day, and Chen Xuanli and Gao Lishi conspired against His Majesty. Now the soldiers of the Six Armies are all heroes of spirit and martial arts, and they are all restless about this." Suzong pretended Weeping, he said, "The holy emperor is kind, how could he have other ideas?" Li Fuguo said, "Even if the emperor has no other ideas, there are villains who are always in his ears to encourage him. Your majesty is the master of the world, and you should think about the country." How can it be limited to ordinary people's filial piety! Besides, Xingqing Palace is connected to the alley, and the walls are also low, which is not suitable for the emperor to live in. Taiji Palace is strict, please move him to live there, so as to prevent villains from being in his身边说三道四，上皇能安享晚年，陛下有时也可以去探望，岂不更好。”李辅国的这番话正中肃宗下怀，便默许了。上元元年（公元760年）七月的一天，李辅国传旨，请玄宗游览太极宫，但当玄宗从兴庆宫走到睿武门时，预先埋伏好的士兵突然冲了过来，把他拥簇到了太极宫甘露殿，就此住下。肃宗对玄宗还是不放心，又把高力士流放到巫州（今湖南黔阳县），命令陈玄礼退休，只给玄宗留下几十名卫士，而且都是老弱病残。 处在这样的逆境中，玄宗更觉寂寞、凄凉，郁郁寡欢，连饭也吃不进了，弄得憔悴不堪。上元三年四月五日，玄宗死在太极宫神龙殿，时年77岁。死后葬泰陵，谥为“大圣大明孝皇帝”，庙号“玄宗”。