Chapter 20 Yuyang Nao came agitatingly

In 755 A.D., Anlu Mountain rebelled against the Tang Dynasty, and 150,000 people from Yuyang (near today's Jixian County) went south to capture Luoyang, and then captured Chang'an the following year, forcing Xuanzong Li Longji (that is, Tang Minghuang) to flee to Shu. A watershed from prosperity to decline.Some historians believe that it was 135 years since the Tang Dynasty and the Sui Dynasty in 618, and 151 years since the end of Tang Zuo (906 AD).The stages of prosperity and decline are roughly equal in length. I went to school when I was a child, but I heard the story of Concubine Yang before I read An Lushan's life experience and his rebellious deeds.The main reason is that Bai Juyi was selected in the Chinese textbook.When the teacher recited "Late bells and drums, long nights, Geng Geng Xinghe is about to dawn", the cadences are changing, even if the heart is hard-hearted, I am afraid that I will shed tears of sympathy.Coupled with the exaggeration of the literati throughout the history, such as "The Song of Everlasting Sorrow", which is parallel to the white poems, is called "Tianbao Ten Years (751), the Lishan Palace for the Summer Palace, the autumn and July, the eve of the meeting of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, in the middle of the night, The concubine waited on her alone, standing on her shoulders, because she looked up to the sky and felt the matter of the cow and daughter, and swore to each other closely, wishing that the world would be a husband and wife, and when they finished speaking, they held hands and wept", the plot was sad and bizarre.Another five years later, the tragedy of "the six armies did not express their resignation, and died like a crescent horse" added to the emotional weight of the story.Even in Chongqing during the Anti-Japanese War, there was a rehearsal of Huang Zi's work by the National Conservatory of Music in 1942.The author is also the author of "The Scorched Earth War"-at this time, the situation of the enemy's bombing and the spread of the war is completely ignored.Within two hours, the teachers and students of the Conservatory of Music on stage and the audience in the audience re-experienced the love between a monarch who was "full of talents, especially familiar with rhythm" and his concubine who was "beautiful in appearance and good at singing and dancing" 1,200 years ago. A lingering plot of sorrow and hatred for life and death in the future.After all, any golden rule must allow one or two exceptions!This time, the concert was not attacked as an escape from the current reality of the great enemy's current national fortune, giving up everyone's wartime positions, and sympathizing with a lone husband who only cared about his own well-being and a country evildoer who turned the country upside down.

In fact, "humanism" is a common character of human beings. Since Bai Juyi's poems have this character, no matter whether the stories he narrates violate the current policy or not, they cannot be banned.Even though the solemnity of the traditional Chinese autocratic government and the rigidity of Taoists are still passed down through the ages, they can also be passed down to this day through the War of Resistance. But Bai Juyi was not a serious historian after all.Even Chen Hong's "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" also admits that Bai "poems are more than love".Therefore, it can only be used as a Chinese textbook, and it is not appropriate to introduce history subjects.Although the Bai poem was written in 806, it has only been 50 years since I went to "the soil under the Mawei slope, and Yu Yankong died", which is not far from the narration.

Bai Juyi did not mention that when the Maweipo tragedy happened, Tang Xuanzong was nearly seventy-one years old (or seventy-two in Chinese tradition), and Yang Guifei was thirty-eight years old.Under the conditions of today's good looks, a woman who is thirty-eight years old cannot be considered too old, but in the Middle Ages, it is difficult to have the attractive force of "a lotus like a face and a willow like an eyebrow". It can be seen that Bai Shi let his emotions be unrestrained and romantic doctrine color.As for the age difference between the two parties in the poem, it is because she was called "Taizhen Concubine" before she was conferred the title of Noble Concubine in 745, and before that she was "Shouwang Concubine".It turned out that Li Hao, the longevity king, was not only Xuanzong's own son, but also the son of his beloved concubine Wu Hui. It was once proposed that he might be established as the heir of Xuanzong.So Yang Yuhuan was indeed his own legitimate daughter-in-law before being favored by Xuanzong Li Longji. "Old Tang Book" does not mention this important relationship.Only said: "In the twenty-fourth year (AD 736), the concubine Hui passed away. The emperor mourned for a long time. There are thousands of people in the back court. Those who are unsatisfactory, or play Xuanyan, who is beautiful and beautiful, should be summoned. The concubine is dressed in Taoist clothes. , the name is Taizhen. After entering and seeing, Xuanzong was very happy, and he did not expect to be old, and he was treated like a concubine Hui." It was not until Ouyang Xiu and others in the Song Dynasty that they wrote "New Book of Tang" that "beginning as the concubine of longevity".It is recorded in the twenty-three years of Kaiyuan (735-736 years) that "December Yihai, the daughter of Yang Xuanyan, the sihu of Shuzhou, was the concubine of Shouwang".According to calculations, she was about seventeen years old at the time, and it had been at least a year since she married Li Mao before being summoned by Xuanzong (because Concubine Wu Hui also died at the end of the year). "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" states that "Zhao Gaolishi (eunuch) searched the outer palace secretly, and got Yang Xuanyan's daughter in Shoudi".If this happened not long after the death of Concubine Wu, Yang Yuhuan may have maintained an ambiguous relationship with Xuanzong for at least seven or eight years in the name of "female Taoist priest" and "Taizhen Concubine".Because it was not until the fourth year of Tianbao (745) that the official records called "Ce Taizhen Concubine Yang a noble concubine".

However, Xuanzong's "incest" was never the focus of the problem, and the longevity king Li Mao did not have any setbacks in the future.The Longwu Army (the Imperial Forest Army serving as the attendant) forced the emperor to hang his beloved concubine to Gao Lishi in Maweipo. First, because of her, Xuanzong's life was corrupted to the point of wandering around in desolation.In the second case, because she used her elder brother Yang Guozhong as Prime Minister, most of An Lushan's problems were provoked by him, and he should be responsible for them if they were out of control in the future.Regarding the latter, there are many factors involved in the national defense of the Tang Dynasty. Let’s talk about it in the next section "Smoke and Dust in the Nine Layers of the City", and now we will talk about court life.

"New Tang Book" said: "Tianbao (Xuanzong's second year name, which began in 742, and was formerly known as "Kaiyuan") was dedicated to the prosperity of the army outside, and the imperial concubine inside, the more expensive it was." "Book" was completed in the Northern Song Dynasty, and the author's moral stance was stronger than that of "Old Tang Book", and he spared no effort to criticize Yang Guifei's family.The book says that when the emperor goes to the Huaqing Palace every October for the winter, the concubine's brother and sisters are lucky to follow, "the leftovers fell into the boat, and the rows were scattered in the road, and the fragrance was heard for dozens of miles."That is to say, the jewels, jewelry, shoes and socks were thrown around all the way, out of control, which is obviously an exaggeration.

This kind of accusation also involves a problem that often occurs in Chinese history: Is the royal family living extravagantly a sign of "corruption" and will lead to the ruin of the country and family?We know that in Chang'an in the eighth century, there was indeed a peaceful atmosphere. Senior ladies wore printed silk clothes, their hair was tied in a bun, and various colors were applied outside the eye sockets, just like today's Eye-Shadow, that is, women also play polo. (Polo), playing small music. In various seasons, there are always thousands of tug-of-war performers at a time, which is much more modern than that of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.Could it be that these humanistic factors should not exist at all, and one must regress to the earthen steps of Maoci, where the emperor wears clothes, eats poor food, and the empress and concubine don’t drag their clothes on the floor, and even poor people can feel comfortable?If we still follow the traditional standpoint when we talk about history today, how can we cater to the current modernization?And how can Chinese history be connected with world history?

It can be seen that there is still an important historical link that has not been raised: the predecessors thought that everything was a moral issue, but during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, Tang Minghuang and Li Longji, an extremely serious technical problem had arisen. In 754 A.D., the year before the Anlushan rebellion, the Ministry of Household Statistics counted more than 9.6 million households across the country.Compared with the more than three million in the early Tang Dynasty, this is of course a significant improvement, and the reason is not that the population suddenly tripled.Instead, in the early seventh century, the land equalization system began. In principle, the household registration on the booklet was added, and the land was granted to the country.Regardless of whether it is the land already owned by the registered household registration, or the land granted by the government after redistribution, when the lower-level government collects taxes from the people, it must ensure that they have land, so in addition to the initial registration of more than 3 million Outside the home, it will be very difficult to increase in the future.For example, in 652 of the Gaozong Dynasty, about a hundred years before the rebellion at Anlu Mountain, only 150,000 households were added throughout the year, accounting for about 4% of the registered households at that time.On the other hand, the land equalization system, rent-yong modulation, and government-army system have many flaws, but they still maintain a relatively easy-to-handle lower-level organization.We can also imagine that from Empress Wu to the early years of Xuanzong, the Second Empire relied on the framework design based on this simple mathematical formula to extend its actual authority from a basic core Guanlong area and eastern Luoyang to all parts of the country. A slow and steady exercise that has been practiced over the years.The electoral system promotes newcomers regardless of family background, and it takes a long time to be effective. In the Tang Dynasty, the so-called "civilization" and the so-called "three civil servants, three civil servants, three singers, and then the appointment of officials" were completed from spring to summer. .This especially requires that the civil affairs and financial matters at the lower levels are kept simple and similar, so that the central government can assign official positions in batches.Therefore, it is appropriate to cooperate with the aforementioned inter-frame design.

In 723 A.D., Emperor Xuanzong appointed Yu Wenrong as an "envoy to persuade farmers" to implement the so-called "encompassing household policy".The principle is that if the current version of the account is unknown, if it is not an escape, it is a customer, and they will not investigate the past, and they will all be ordered to surrender.After registration, you will be exempted from taxation for six years, and you will only be admitted to the government with a light tax.This method was successful, "Zhu Dao Kuo has more than 800,000 customers, and Tian is also known as it."It just encountered a lot of bureaucratic opposition.Should people who evade taxes and taxes be allowed to break the law?Is it tyranny to encourage them to surrender without penalty and light tax?This problem should be explained according to the characteristics of the bureaucratic organization at that time.Traditional bureaucratic politics has extensive jurisdiction on the surface, but it does not have a deep grasp in reality. Its administrative efficiency relies on pressure from top to bottom instead of following economic principles.The bureaucrats live in the city, there are few subordinate staff, and they cannot often experience various situations in the countryside, and they are most afraid of abnormalities. Can be exempted for six years, potentially creating countless entanglements.In short, this structure is fundamentally different from modern organizations in that it lacks the supervision and support of non-governmental commercial organizations to bear part of its administrative expenses and oblige it to implement it in accordance with the provisions of the law.This is also one of the main reasons why the control of a large number of farmers can only be dealt with collectively and with predetermined mathematical formulas.So far, there have been problems with the rent-yong regulation in the Tang Dynasty. Mergers are prevalent, people migrate, and editions are disordered. Yuwenrong's method is a last resort, but it still produces different difficulties in various places when it is implemented.

However, in the last 30 years of Emperor Xuanzong's period, the household registration increased from more than 7 million to 9.6 million, which has already caused considerable difficulties for the bureaucracy. There are a lot of documents everywhere, and many matters cannot be decided unless the senior officials personally accept them.As taxes increased, Wei Jian increased the efficiency of supervision and transportation.Wei Jian is the elder brother of the Crown Princess. If this person was born in modern Europe, he would be an expert business manager.In 741, he served as a water and land transfer envoy, so he modified the waterways and dug a man-made lake outside Chang'an City. He also gathered ships to display the products in the Jianghuai South China Sea. Add to the fun, just like a modern commercial exhibition.Only in this way, he created an organization that is half official, half business, and neither official nor business. In addition to the existing political system, he also made the existing accounting system irrelevant, and the materials imported were generally consumer goods.

That’s not to mention, there are still Yang Shenjin and Wang Gong who are criticized by traditional historians for “stripping off and benefiting from the above”.Yang Shenjin was the great-great-great-grandson of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty. In 738, he served as a cashier in the Imperial Palace Zhitaifu.He believes that the goods paid by local governments are often water-stained and damaged, so it is not as good as "lightly paid", that is, to change precious and small-quantity items to pay.That is, if the benefits are stripped off, the converted price is only beneficial to Chang'an, not to the place where the payment is made.Moreover, since the materials have been changed from commonly used objects to precious items, the government's revenue has actually been converted into palace consumption and rewards to ministers and relatives within the budget.In 750, Wang Gong led more than 20 envoys as the imperial historian and Jing Zhaoyin.He also continued Yang Shenjin's method, and a certain tax had been suppressed, so he arbitrarily collected travel fees. As a result, he controlled a large amount of supplies in Chang'an.Although the concubines in the Tang system also had official ranks, their makeup fees were the same as their salaries. After passing through Wang Gong's manager, "the annual income is huge" and "for the emperor's private money", they no longer go through the government.

At the same time, we should also pay attention to the fact that a large number of businesses have not started and cannot be started at this time.Waterway transportation is monopolized by the government, and the currency system is not on track. There is a "money shortage" everywhere, and the private minting of copper coins is unbearable, let alone the enforcement of commercial laws.Most of the above-mentioned people's ability to make extraordinary achievements is due to the vacuum of business.So they have to quote private individuals in Chang'an and various places.Yu Wenrong had 19 "persuading farmers and judges" to patrol the country. Wei Jian's "Gangdian Boatman" was also involved in the dispute. " and "removal of ministers" have actually combined judicial, legislative and administrative powers, which is equivalent to engraving the so-called "economic tsars" in the West (but the economic tsars in Europe and the United States only care about one thing for a while).Therefore, in his yamen, "the committee of documents, the officials competed for the word to enter the show office, and the one who failed after several days".Since they created another system, decided everything on their own, and claimed credit in front of the emperor, they would definitely conflict with ordinary bureaucrats. In the later period of Xuanzong, Li Linfu served as the prime minister for 19 years. This person was called "Sword of Honey and Belly", but he did things in an orderly manner and in accordance with Xuanzong's intentions, so he was trusted by the emperor.There was more than one prime minister in the Tang Dynasty. Shizhong, Zhongshuling, and Zuopushe were all prime ministers. They used to be in the form of a committee.However, Li Linfu tended to monopolize the government with the power of the right prime minister.So there was a rift with everyone between public and private.When Xuanzong was in ruins, countless bizarre cases occurred in the court, involving warlocks, private servants, relatives, and border generals. Because Wei Jian was involved with the prince, he intended to establish the prince and abandon Xuanzong, which caused the prince and Concubine Wei to divorce. To show my heart.Because Yang Shenjin mentioned that there was a conspiracy to restore the Sui Dynasty.As a result, apart from Yu Wenrong's early death, Wei Jian was banished and killed in exile.Both Yang Shenjin and his brother were given death, and Wang Gong was also given death because of his brother's rebellion.All the above cases involved Li Linfu behind the scenes. It's just that Li Linfu conflicted with everyone with personal grievances, but he couldn't recreate a bureaucratic group system.The wealth of the Tang Dynasty, outside the folk economic system, reluctantly supported an urban culture with the royal family as the main body. Although there were a lot of resources but no reasonable collection and distribution system, the outcome was still not a blessing for the country.Xuanzong had fifty-nine children, and he built the "Ten Kings' House" and "Hundred Suns Court" in the northwest corner of Chang'an.Li Linfu also has fifty children. "Old Tang Book" said that he was "the best garden water cave in the capital". "New Tang Book" also said that he was "extravagant in chariots, horses and clothes", and "raised the desire of the emperor", so that he "maintained virtue", and included him in the "Biography of Traitors", which can be regarded as a moral criticism.But apart from this, it has never pointed out a technical problem in traditional Chinese society: this is the premature political system, which lacks the depth of structure and the flexibility to deal with the situation, and can only make the country develop from a low-level environment to a moderately prosperous one.Once the humanities are developed and the economy breaks through a certain limit, they will be at a loss, and they can only say that the ministers who "talk and benefit" are all bad people.Moreover, the "accumulated" income is indeed spent indiscriminately, and the random scattering of pearls and jade is an exaggeration, but it is said that there are as many as 40,000 court ladies. Yang Guozhong succeeded Li Linfu as prime minister, and also inherited this situation, and also had a rift with the crown prince, who was later Suzong.General Longwu in Maweiyi was Chen Xuanli, who had contacts with the crown prince. He hoped that Xuanzong would abdicate as the emperor and let the crown prince create a new situation. He did not want the emperor to enter Shu and be at the mercy of Yang Guozhong.It's just that he connived at the sergeant's rebellion, but he couldn't talk about the many twists and turns.On the other hand, the rebellion in An Lushan was provoked by Yang Guozhong, and Yang Guozhong's high position was due to the nepotism of Concubine Yang Guifei.So even Bai Juyi's poems have to say that what Yuyang Drums shocked was not military plans and financial budgets, but colorful clothes and feathers.