Chapter 202 Chapter 201 Suzong Li Heng

In the winter of the fourteenth year of Tang Tianbao (755 A.D.), the Anshi Rebellion broke out.At that time, there was a long period of peace in the country, the military equipment was slack, and the people did not know how to fight for generations.The rebel army was in full swing all the way, and the officers and soldiers collapsed.When the news reached the imperial palace, the Tang Dynasty had already lost half of the land east of Tongguan. Tang Xuanzong was in a state of panic. After fleeing from Chang'an to Mawei Post, he had to part with his loved ones and hanged Concubine Yang to death.It was called "Maweiyi Mutiny" in history.

The people hoped that Xuanzong would not go west, but Xuanzong refused, and asked Prince Li Heng to appease the people.The father, the common people knocked on the horse and went to the prince Li Heng: "We are willing to lead our children to follow His Highness to destroy the bandits and take Chang'an. If His Highness enters Shu, who will be the master of the people in the Central Plains?" The prince's sons Li Tan, King Jianning, Li Chu, King Guangping, and their cronies Eunuch Li Fuguo also held this opinion.With the support of everyone, the prince finally decided to stay to quell the rebellion, regain lost ground, part ways with Xuanzong, and go north to Lingwu.Xuanzong continued to flee westward, and divided the 2,000 men of the rear army and the flying dragon stables to the prince. On Jiazi Day in July 756, Prince Li Heng took the throne in Lingwu.

Tang Suzong Li Heng, first named Sisheng, later renamed Jun, Yu, and Shao, was the third son of Tang Xuanzong.Originally, the position of the prince was not in Li Heng's turn.Among them, there is also a court battle for favor and succession. Xuanzong had a total of 30 sons. He had been emperor for a long time and had many favorites.The first crown prince established by Tang Xuanzong was Li Ying, whose mother was Concubine Zhang Li, who was originally a prostitute.Later, concubine Wu Hui favored the harem, and the birthday king Li Mao, in order to let him inherit the throne, instructed her son-in-law, the captain Yang Hui, to slander the prince Li Ying, the king of Hubei, Li Yao, and the king of Guang, Li Ju.Xuanzong listened to the slander and killed three sons in one day.However, Concubine Wu Hui did not benefit herself by harming others, and soon died, and Shou Wangmao's dream of being a prince came to naught.Because Li Heng was old, he was established as the prince in 738 AD, and he could be regarded as a fisherman.

However, it is not a good thing for Li Heng to become the prince. He immediately became the target of public criticism in the court struggle.Prime Minister Li Linfu climbed the dragon and attached the phoenix. In order to please Concubine Wu Hui, he suggested Lishou Wang Mao to be the crown prince.Later, Yang Guifei and Yang Guozhong's brothers and sisters were infested.In this way, Li Heng lived in the position of prince in fear for 18 years.When the Anshi Rebellion broke out, he left Xuanzong to stand on his own, and finally ended this period of fear. After Suzong ascended the throne in Lingwu, he took Du Hongjian and Cui Yi as the personnel of Zhizhongshushe, and Pei Mian as the assistant of Zhongshu and Tongping Zhangshi.When the system was first established, there were less than 30 civil and military officers, and the areas directly controlled were only Hexi, Longyou, Hue, Fufeng, Tianshui and other places.Although the scale of this imperial court in exile was small, at the time when the capital fell, the emperor fled, and the world had no master, it finally brought down the signboard of the Tang court. , gave them a glimmer of hope to recover the Tang Dynasty.

For example, Yan Gaoqing, the prefect of Changshan, heard that Suzong had come to the throne, and he used wax pills to worship Lingwu.Knowing that the restoration of the country is hopeful, all the Taoists tried their best to stick to Chang'an.The common people look forward to Suzong's recovery of Chang'an day and night, and incidents of heroes in Gyeonggi attacking An Shi's officers and soldiers continue one after another.Although the Anshi Group conquered Chang'an, due to the people's resistance, its influence was only in a small area around Chang'an. In May of the first year of Zhide (756 A.D.), Linghu Chao, the general of Anshi, surrounded Yongqiu, and Zhang Xun, the guard, defended to the death. He repeatedly defeated the rebels, preventing them from moving forward.In the following year, An Qingxu sent Yin Ziqi to attack Suiyang with 130,000 troops. General Xu Yuan asked Zhang Xun for help. Xun and Yuan joined forces with only 6,800 soldiers. The two supervised the soldiers and fought hard day and night to defend Suiyang. help absolutely.There were more than 400 battles before and after, and 120,000 enemies were killed.When Suiyang fell, Anshi Group had already lost Chang'an and was unable to move southward.At the same time, Anshi's rebel generals Wu Lingxun and Tian Chengsi successively led their troops to attack Nanyang, and the defender Lu Jiong held on for a year.After the fall of Nanyang, Xiangyang was surrendered.Zhang Xun guarded Suiyang and Lu Jiong guarded Nanyang, which blocked Anshi's rebels from going south, guaranteed the Tang Dynasty's material supply, and prevented the Jianghuai area from being trampled by the rebels.

After Suzong came to the throne, he began to mobilize various soldiers and horses to discuss Anshi.Hexi Jiedu envoy Li Siye and Anxi Marching Sima Li Qiyun successively sent troops to Lingwu, and Guo Ziyi also led an army of 50,000 from Hebei.In order to publicize the army, he sent people to Huihe and the Western Regions to invite troops.As a result, Suzong's army began to flourish.Suzong took Li Chu, the prince of Guangping, as the general of the world's soldiers and horses, and Li Guangbi as the minister of the household department. The northern capital (now Taiyuan, Shanxi) stayed behind to defend Hedong.With Fifth Qi as the branch envoy of Wudaodu in Shannan, Jianghuai rent transfer was collected for military supplies.

However, Suzong had neither the ability to manage the world nor the ability to know people and do things well.Under the condition of insufficient preparation, he listened to the false words of Prime Minister Fang Guan and asked him to command the army and regain Chang'an.As a result, Tang Jun suffered a crushing defeat. In the second year of Zhide, the situation improved slightly.Guo Ziyi led his army to conquer Hedong County, which is located between the two capitals, and took the initiative.Soldiers from Longyou, Hexi, Anxi, and the Western Regions gathered in Fengxiang, and Jianghuai Yongdiao also moved to Yangchuan and Hanzhong.Suzong took Guo Ziyi as the deputy marshal of the world's soldiers and horses, and planned to regain Chang'an again.

Prior to this, An Lushan had been killed by his son An Qingxu. After Qingxu became emperor, Shi Siming was stationed in Fanyang with heavy troops and refused to obey orders.An Shi Group split. In September of this year, Huairen Khan of Huihe sent his cotyledon guard to lead 4,000 elite soldiers to Fengxiang to help pacify Anshi.In the same month, Tang's army of 150,000 troops, with Li Siye as the front army, Guo Ziyi as the middle army, and Wang Sili as the rear army, fought against Anshi's 100,000 troops in the west of Chang'an.The battle was fierce.The two sides fought fiercely for half a day, the Anshi army was defeated, and the Tang army took advantage of the victory to regain Chang'an.Guo Ziyi broke another 150,000 Anshi Army in Shaanxi.Seeing that the general situation was over, An Qingxu fled back to Hebei in a hurry, and the Tang army recovered Luoyang.

Anshi Group lost its two capitals, An Qingxu was stationed in Ye County, and Shi Siming, who was stationed in Fanyang, was fighting against each other, and the conflict became increasingly fierce.In order to preserve his strength and try again, Shi Siming once surrendered to the Tang Dynasty.In the first year of Qianyuan (758 A.D.), Guo Ziyi, Li Guangbi, Li Siye and other envoys of the Nine Festivals led an army of 600,000 people to attack An Qingxu in Ye County.Under such a favorable situation, Suzong made another fatal mistake. He did not set up a marshal, but only used the eunuch Yu Chaoen as an envoy to watch the army and control the army.At this time, Shi Siming rebelled against Tang again and sent 130,000 troops to rescue An Qingxu.Due to the disunity of the Tang army's orders, the eunuch Yu Chaoen was self-righteous and did not listen to the general's advice. In the Battle of Anyang, the Tang army was defeated by Shi Siming, and the armored battle and horses were abandoned.

In the second year of Qianyuan, Shi Siming killed An Qingxu and claimed to be Emperor Dayan. After stabilizing the interior, he made a comeback and captured Luoyang and nearby counties.Shi Suzong sent Li Guangbi to replace Guo Ziyi as deputy marshal.In the second year of Shangyuan (AD 761), Shi Siming defeated Li Guangbi in Mangshan, took advantage of the victory to attack Chang'an, and was killed by his son Shi Chaoyi on the way.Shi Chaoyi proclaimed himself emperor in Luoyang, and the rebel army became more divided. Since then, they have no power to attack the Tang Dynasty. Although Suzong's dynasty did not completely wipe out Anshi's power, he finally supported the dilapidated mess of the Tang Dynasty at a time of crisis, recovered the two capitals from Anshi, and restored the rule of the Tang Dynasty.However, during Suzong's reign, many serious mistakes and future troubles were left behind.

The first is to borrow Uighur soldiers to quell the rebellion.Suzong once agreed with Huihe that on the day when Chang'an was regained, all the treasures and silks of his children would be returned to Huihe, which provided a legal excuse for Huihe to burn, kill and plunder. The second is to connive at the domineering behavior of local arrogant soldiers.Pinglu Jiedu envoy Wang Xuanzhi died, and his general Li Huaiyu promoted Hou Xiyi as Jiedu envoy. Suzong also aggrieved and admitted the fait accompli.As a result, the imperial court's orders were not strict. In the future, arrogant soldiers and fierce generals will be chased and killed at will, and Jiedushi will be abolished. Furthermore, listen to slander, without forethought.Suzong's reign was supposed to put an end to the Anshi Rebellion and prevent the military disaster from spreading to the next generation.However, Suzong himself had neither the great talent and general plan to calm the chaos, nor could he decisively adopt the correct opinions, so he missed many good opportunities.Before regaining Chang'an, counselor Li Mi suggested that Li Guangbi be sent out of Jingxing from Taiyuan, Guo Ziyi from Feng Yi out of Hedong, and Suzong led his troops to Fufeng to contain the rebels from all walks of life, so that the enemy would travel thousands of miles and be exhausted.Then he sent King Jianning to lead the army to attack from the Great Wall and Li Guangbi from the north to the south. First destroy the Anshi Group's lair, and then mobilize the army to attack it. It can completely defeat and eliminate the rebels.For such a visionary strategic plan.Suzong didn't accept it.As a result, although the Tang army regained the two capitals, it made the rebels calmly retreat to Hebei, and the roots were not clean.After Shi Siming killed An Qingxu, Suzong realized that Li Mi's plan was available, and planned to use Guo Ziyi to command 70,000 Taoist soldiers to capture Fan Yang from Shuofang, and to attack Li Guangbi back and forth, so that Shi Siming suffered from the enemy.But for such an important military decision, he listened to the eunuch Yu Chaoen's slander and stopped halfway, which made the plan to completely eliminate An Shi once again come to naught. There is also the situation of opening up the eunuch's monopoly.Suzong traveled northward from Mawei and stayed behind to attack the Anshi rebels. The eunuch Li Fuguo immediately participated in political affairs, and then gradually exercised his power.Later, Li Fuguo served as Minister of the Ministry of War, and it was even more difficult to deal with.Most of the local Jiedu envoys belong to him. After being appointed, they have to go to his home to thank him.Prime Minister Xiao Hua prevented him from being prime minister, but Li Fuguo forced Suzong to remove Xiao Hua from the position of prime minister.Regarding his domineering behavior, Su Zong was helpless. First, he tolerated and perfunctory, and then dared to get angry and dare not speak out. Li Fuguo's use of power only succeeded in collusion with Suzong's Empress Zhang.Ever since Emperor Suzong stayed to attack the Anshi rebels, the Zhang family, who was still the prince Liangdi at that time, had been by his side all the time.Suzong went north to Shuofang, every night when he rested, Zhang Liangdi always stood outside to cover Suzong's retreat in case of emergency.Suzong came to the throne in Lingwu, and Zhang Liangdi got out of bed to sew a battle suit just three days after giving birth.Because of Zhang Liangdi's outstanding performance at this stage, she was extremely favored by Emperor Suzong.As soon as the situation improved, she developed a desire for power.Tang Xuanzong, who fled in Sichuan, gave her a seven-treasure saddle.Li Mi persuaded Suzong that now that the world is falling apart, he should show people his frugality. Emperor Liang should not ride on this saddle. Please remove the pearls and jade on the saddle and pay them to the treasury officials for collection. They can be used to reward meritorious soldiers in the future.Suzong adopted Li Mi's suggestion, and Li Tan, the king of Jianning, was very pleased. From then on, Zhang Liangdi held a grudge against Li Mi and King Jianning.Eunuch Li Fuguo saw that Zhang Liangdi was favored, and like him, he hated Suzong's counselor Li Mi and King Jianning, so the two worked hand in hand, became each other's front and back, and did many bad things. They first went forward in front of Suzong and said: "King Jianning wished to be a marshal and murder King Guangping." Suzong was deeply afraid that the disaster of seizing his heir would appear around him, so he gave King Jianning to death regardless of injustice.When Suzong left Xuanzong, his sons Li Chu, king of Guangping, and Li Tan, king of Jianning, followed him.He is wise, decisive and talented.Suzong originally wanted to use him as the marshal of the world's soldiers and horses, but he appointed King Guangping because of the presidency of King Guangping.King Jianning had no complaints about this. Instead of brothers competing for fame and fortune, they got along very well with King Guangping.By killing King Jianning, Li Fuguo and Zhang Liangdi have removed a major obstacle to their monopoly. Later, when Zhang Liangdi was promoted to Concubine Shu, and Concubine Shu was made Empress, she intensified the accusations, spread rumors, and framed King Guangping.However, the sky failed. Her eldest son Li Chu died unfortunately, her other son Li Tong was young, and Guangping Wang Li Chu made great contributions, so her plot did not succeed. In the second year of Suzong Zhide (757 AD), Xuanzong returned to Chang'an from Sichuan and lived in Xingqing Palace.Li Fuguo conspired with Empress Zhang again and urged Suzong to drive Tang Xuanzong out of Xingqing Palace and move to Taiji Palace. In this way, Empress Zhang and Li Fuguo worked together for several years, and the cowardly Suzong had to let him go.In the first year of Baoying (762 A.D.), Emperor Suzong was seriously ill. Empress Zhang and Li Fuguo turned against each other in order to fight for power.She first wanted to use Prince Li Chu to get rid of Li Fuguo, but was rejected by the prince.Later, Fu Jiashi was in the palace and summoned the prince to enter the palace, intending to kill the prince.Cheng Yuanzhen, Li Fuguo's party, reported to Fuguo, and Fuguo took the lead in launching the attack, leading his soldiers to intercept the prince and arrest more than a hundred members of Empress Zhang's party.Empress Zhang heard about the change and fled into Li Heng's bedroom to hide.Li Fuguo led troops into the palace to force Empress Zhang out of the palace.Frightened by this, Li Heng's condition suddenly turned serious, and he died in the Hall of Eternal Life that day.Li Heng served as emperor for 6 years and was 52 years old.