Chapter 11 Chapter 10 The Second Empire: Breakthroughs, but Unfinished Business

The early Tang Dynasty in the 7th century was the most brilliant page in the history of China's autocratic era.While the empire's external prestige was growing day by day, its internal organization, according to the standards of the time, was also close to perfection, so its self-confidence grew day by day. This is also a period of creating systems.The land equalization system initiated by Tuoba Wei was re-promulgated, and the cultivated land continued to be owned by the state in principle.According to the law of the Tang Dynasty, every adult man is given 100 mu of land, of which 80 mu is divided into mouths, which will be returned to the government when he is old; 20 mu is the world's inheritance, which can be inherited by his family, and the household registration is fabricated every three years.Along with the land equalization system, there is also a uniform taxation system. Tax obligations include three items: rent, yong, and transfer.Taking 100 mu of land as the base, the proportion of taxes and duties mentioned above is considered very light. Therefore, in the first 100 years, the registration of households continued to increase, and the national warehouses became more and more abundant. There was a harmonious scene between the upper and lower levels.

The Fubing system was established immediately after the household registration. Its principle is to choose farmers as soldiers, and the time of service is different from that of the frontier defense. It is adjusted according to a complicated but regular method.Since each middle Zhechong Prefecture can send 1,000 troops, it should not be a problem for the 634 Prefecture to recruit 500,000 troops in a short period of time. The situation of the Xiongnu and Rouran (Creep) invaded the frontier is a thing of the past, and the powerful nomadic people are called the Turks. It is said that their name appeared in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and it was found in historical records in the Sui Dynasty. , has become a general term for all ethnic groups in the entire language family.But in 630 A.D., after the Tang general Li Jing defeated the Turks, the Turks promoted the emperor of the Tang Dynasty (who himself also had Turkic blood) as "Tian Khan".Huihe, another Turkic-speaking nation, surrendered without a fight.Tubo is a Tibetan nationality, and its king got married because of the marriage of Princess Wencheng.Only Goryeo refused to accept the restraint of the Tang Empire and resisted for a long time. By 668 AD, Pyongyang was occupied by the Tang army.

The central government of the Tang Dynasty set up six departments of officials, households, rites, soldiers, criminals, and workers.At this time, there is no cabinet system, but there is already a considerable organization and order in the division of officials.Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties—this book refers to it as the Second Empire in connection with the Song Dynasty—there is a basic difference from the official system of the Han Dynasty, that is, the central government dispatched local officials, except for a few regions, to the prefectures and counties.The conquest of the Han Dynasty has not been used so far.The Sui Dynasty had begun a public civil service examination system, and the Tang Dynasty then adopted it at its discretion, but the triennial general examination became a regular rule in the Song Dynasty.This kind of public examination is enough to break the family monopoly in the past.The appearance of woodblock printing around AD 600, due to the standardization of reading materials for exam preparation, may have been influenced by this.Only in this way, the Chinese people will be subject to bureaucratic control more and more in the future.In the Tang Dynasty, there were 18,805 institutional positions in the civil service group, plus other auxiliary personnel, copywriters and military officers, the total number of salaried persons was 368,668, which was an extremely impressive number in the Middle Ages.The total population of China on that day may be 50 million.

The expansion of the early Tang Dynasty also extended to the interior of China (according to the existing territory).The development of the South has already been advanced due to the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and in the future this undertaking will absorb part of the vitality of the Second Empire.The Sui Dynasty is famous in history for creating the Grand Canal regardless of people's lives.Whenever a project begins, its mobilization reaches out to women and young children.Canals, sometimes hundreds of miles long, can be completed in less than a year with the investment of millions of workers.The original city may be abandoned.And another city was built on the bank of the new canal, and the canal connecting the Yangtze River and the Yellow River finally extended to the North China Plain.This kind of project that does not sympathize with the suffering of the people, coupled with the failure of the conquest of Goryeo, made the collapse of the Sui Dynasty as rapid as its prosperity.Yang Guang, the second emperor of the Sui Dynasty, was talented, but he did things without thinking.The waterway and transportation network he operated benefited from the subsequent dynasties, and it was both deep and far-reaching.Although the income provided by the south in the early Tang Dynasty was not as high as that of most of the country, the immigration also reduced the pressure on the overpopulated areas at that time.The development of the south also implies progress and hope. Therefore, today's Guangzhou and Quanzhou have become ports for international trade in the Tang Dynasty.The development of Taiwan by the Chinese began in the 7th century.

The reconstruction of Xi'an in the Sui and Tang Dynasties constituted a planned city with a grand vision.Six miles from east to west and five miles from north to south, the city of Chang'an built 1,000 years ago has an area eight times that of Xi'an today, and its north-south road is 500 feet wide.When Japan operated Nara and Kyoto in the 8th century, they not only imitated Chang'an's design and constructed it on a smaller scale; they also thought that the names of Suzaku Gate and Suzaku Avenue (formerly the name of Jinling Street) were elegant and eulogizing, and they also adopted them in the same way. .

The Tang Dynasty carried the color of cosmopolitanism.The Li family of the royal family claimed to be of Chinese aristocratic Chinese descent. However, during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, their ancestors served in different races and often intermarried with families of ethnic minorities. not terminated.It may also be due to the mixed blood factor that the emperor can justifiably be called Tian Khan.When the Chinese emperor was at his height, the Indian princes on the Ganges accepted his suzerainty: an Assarmian usurper was brought to Sian for trial; envoys came from Korea and Japan; the Chinese capital had Syrians, Arabs, Persians, Tibetans and Annanites came to settle.Guozijian, that is, a national university, has foreign students from these countries, and the most enthusiastic ones are Japanese. Some of them are like the cultural counselors of the embassy today, and they have lived in China for decades.After they returned to China, they made concrete contributions to Japanese culture, imitating the Tang system in many aspects—from the design of copper coins to women’s hair buns, from the interior layout to the game of Go—from now on, Japanese cultural relics have a strong mainland color .Korea and Vietnam have the same tendency, but not as eagerly as Japan.

When the Tang Dynasty had self-confidence and a sense of security, freedom of religious belief was extremely guaranteed.In 645 AD, the eminent monk Xuanzang returned from India after 16 years away from China. Li Shimin, the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty, personally received him.On that day, Long Yan was very happy, and the imperial edict passed on the decree, which enabled Xuanzang to have various assistants and various conveniences to translate 657 Sanskrit classics into Chinese.The entrepreneur Li Yuan built a Taoist temple in 624.Another decree in 638 permitted the spread of Nestorian Christianity.As for the involvement of Zoroastrianism, few people mentioned it, but their monks in Xi'an temples also received the same treatment as civil servants of the fifth and seventh ranks.

How did this period of glory and contentment end?In the simplest terms, this ideal country cannot continue because of the gradual arrogance and irresponsibility of the leadership.The number of servants at court increased beyond control.By the middle of the 8th century, that is, in terms of the number of people participating in music and entertainment in the palace, there were as many as 10,000, and the number of court ladies may double.Civilian groups not only increased in number but also inflated their salaries, while the quality of the emperor and his ministers decreased.In each of the above cases, the opposite direction has so far been taken.In 751 AD, the Chinese army was defeated by the Arab coalition forces in Central Asia. Even the ethnic minority troops in the southwest forced the Tang army to retreat in a hurry, and Tubo also rebelled. In the ninth century, there was a tendency for frontier generals to rise up and become warlords; there were peasant riots in the interior.The eunuchs of the Tang Dynasty were still unknown at this time, and later they would monopolize power within the court and even abolish the monarch.At the same time, the concentrated wealth of Buddhist monasteries also makes the country uneasy.In the 840s, a series of anti-Buddhist actions occurred continuously. In the imperial edict of 845, 4,600 monasteries were destroyed and 260,500 monks and nuns were forced to return to secular life.

This kind of reversing situation is wide-ranging and deep.Some historians believe that the Tang Dynasty can be divided into two periods of observation.It seems that the rebellion at Anlu Mountain in 755 AD was close to the midpoint of the entire dynasty, and it can be regarded as a watershed from prosperity to decline.Thus, there were 137 years of greatness and prosperity in the first period, followed by 151 years of destruction and chaos. Of course, it is impossible for a great empire with great achievements to decline from prosperity overnight; In the middle of the eighth century, a series of deeds seemed to break the continuity of the dynasty. It can be seen that there are still some factors behind the scenes that have not been mentioned.Here, from a macro perspective, we have the right to put aside the rebellion at Anlu Mountain in 755, and start with the founding of the Tang Dynasty in 618 AD, so as to maintain the depth of historical perspective.

Among the Chinese emperors, Li Shimin can be regarded as the most attractive person.At the end of the Sui Dynasty, there were many bandits, and Shimin encouraged his father Li Yuan (the Duke of Tang at that time) to take the opportunity to proclaim himself emperor. He was only 16 years old at the time.Until the age of 24, he made the most military exploits at the juncture of consolidating the court and cutting down the heroes.He has compassion and curiosity, and he is not afraid of danger or tiresome.He often directs the battle directly, and sometimes negotiates with the enemy generals by riding outside the vanguard.From the standpoint of a political figure, he followed him with a group of think tanks (mostly scholars with vision).Although the system of the Tang Dynasty roughly followed the precedents of the Sui Dynasty, the detailed rules implemented in it were produced by Li Shimin's manager.He reigned for 23 years. As mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, the system of the Tang Dynasty was close to perfection from the perspective of the time, and most of the achievements should belong to this young monarch.In addition to the name, Li Shimin is actually the founder of the dynasty.

A major feature of the central government of the Tang Dynasty was the "three-province division of labor".The Ministry of Finance is in charge of the six ministries and carries out regular business; the Ministry of Finance and Economics can be regarded as a design department, presiding over the drafting of important edicts and reforms related to the system; the Ministry of Finance can be regarded as a kind of review agency, whose officials review various official documents , correct mistakes, and sometimes propose investigations in government affairs.The various regulations promulgated by the imperial government of the Tang Dynasty are divided into four major items: law, order, form, and form. The general law refers to the criminal law, the order refers to administrative instructions, the form refers to the regulations in the yamen, and the form refers to the detailed rules for execution ( Because of the different thinking and habits at that time, the above is only a sketch of what it looks like today).This difference in weaving is suitable for the order arrangement when rebuilding the empire.When the Japanese implemented this system in their country, it was called "law politics". It's just that it's not hard for alert readers to see at a glance that this system is completely different from the so-called "checks and balallces" in the West.Within the Li-Tang government system, there were no constitutive factors representing the interests of constituencies; therefore, an independent judiciary could not emerge on such a basis.No matter how enlightened Tang Taizong Li Shimin was, his government was inevitably an autocratic system.It's just because of the discipline of Confucianism that today's emperor has created some internal supervision methods to guard against himself.It is recorded in historical records that Li Shimin said to himself angrily after a discussion with his ministers: "One day I will kill this old farmer!" His queen asked him what he meant. He often exposes the mistakes of the imperial court in public.This time the empress was quick to respond, and when she was changing into her court clothes, it was truly a blessing for the community to congratulate her on having such a loyal minister who was not afraid of death.But this story also exposed the rationalization of Li Tang's regime, and his position was extremely narrow.It represents the willpower of the emperor, but it is a kind of moral character in people, not the strength of organizational structure. However, we cannot say that Chinese people are inherently intolerant of representative politics.As we mentioned in the previous chapter, the Han Dynasty used a system of recommendation to bring hundreds of officials from various regions, but representative politics had no way to start, because each of the small self-cultivating farmers at the bottom had only a small piece of arable land, while the peasant households in the whole country had millions of In other words, if assets are used as the criterion for election, it is tantamount to admitting mergers, which means turning small self-cultivated farmers into tenant farmers.According to past experience, if this trend continues, the clans will seize the tax sources of the great empire, rigidify the bureaucracy, and thereby disintegrate the country.The Tang Dynasty had implemented imperial examinations to select scholars, and also controlled the personnel power at the grassroots level of the government, which only made people feel that Confucian moral concepts were indispensable for its governance. But moral governance is always inseparable from autocracy.If the emperor uses moral integrity as a facade, it will be very difficult for him to ascend the throne.Conversely, if you want to fight against it, it is even more extremely dangerous.All these emphasize that morality is an absolute quality, which can neither be divided nor bargained for. If it is entrusted with the highest official position in the world, it will never be allowed to be followed by others.This rigid ruling will be tested one after another in the Tang Dynasty. Many modern readers admire Tang Taizong Li Shimin's humanism, but they can't help feeling horrified when they read the story of him murdering his brothers to reach the throne.Although Li Shimin worked hard to conquer the country, he was the second son of Tang Taizu Li Yuan. Once his position in the Tang Dynasty was stabilized and consolidated, extreme tension arose between him and his eldest brother, the prince Li Jiancheng.The quarrel between the two spread to all officials, which worsened the relationship between brothers and guests.Se-min's entourage insists that he will be murdered if he doesn't act.In fact, in 626 AD, Li Shimin designed an ambush to kill him, and he shot his brother to death with a bow.Li Yuanji, the younger brother who always protected his elder brother, also died under Li Shimin's entourage.After this incident, Li Shimin executed all 10 sons of Jian Jiancheng and Yuan Ji, and then forced his father to abdicate and ascended the throne himself. The wise monarch has repeatedly justified his cruel actions in various names, but he never concealed them.The history of this fratricide can be seen in the history of the Tang Dynasty, and it is juxtaposed with Li Shimin's many successful deeds. Historians cannot doubt his achievements.If we ignore this story, or simply understate it in a subtle way, we may obscure the truth of the Chinese monarchy, fail to understand its own contradictions, and thus obliterate historical continuity.And the following story of Empress Wu cannot be told in an objective manner.Many readers of this book must have at least heard the name of Wu Zetian. She ruled China as a heroine 1100 years before Catherine II of Russia. Wu Zetian was born in a famous family. Her father participated in the military operations of Emperor Taizong Li Shimin in the early years, and later became the Minister of the Ministry of Industry and the governor of Jingzhou.She was selected as a "talented person" when she was young, but she is actually equal to a court lady, and she is also an unnamed concubine.Historians describe her as having a remarkable beauty, which cannot be seen on existing plates.But there is no doubt that she is extremely talented, has read a lot, and is especially known for her strong willpower. After Li Shimin's death in 649 AD, Empress Wu Zetian entered the temple as a nun; Li Shimin's son Li Zhi (later known as Emperor Gaozong) visited the area, and she was accepted as Zhaoyi, that is, a lower-level concubine. A year later, the queen was deposed. Wu Zetian was established as the queen, and it seems that she was around 30 years old at this time.Therefore, two of the three founding emperors of the Tang Dynasty were her husbands, and the following 17 emperors were all her descendants without exception. Empress Wu was able to gain real power because Gaozong Li Zhiyu was 34 years old. Historical records called him "bitter wind disease". It seems that high blood pressure hindered his vision.Empress Wu was not only interested in state affairs, but also had the ability to do politics because she read a lot.In 674 AD, she and Li Zhi were called the "Emperor and Empress", also known as the "Two Sages", and they already had the title of "co-sovereign". Ten years later, Li Zhi died, and she actually ruled the world.Her first son died early; the second son obviously did not cooperate with her and was ordered to commit suicide by her; the third son Li Xian was established as emperor, but was abolished in only one month, and has been imprisoned for 14 years since then; His son Li Dan resigned from the throne again and again out of fear.Wu Zetian also ordered the killing of her daughter Princess Taiping's son-in-law, but she thought her daughter was like herself and loved her very much. In the first six years, Wu Zetian ruled the country as the empress dowager of the Tang Dynasty.In 690 A.D., she called "Revolution Tang Ming" and created a "Zhou Dynasty" (she said that the Wu family originated from King Wen of Zhou), and she herself was not the empress dowager but the "emperor".Before she died at the age of 81 in 705 AD (some say she was 83), she had been emperor for 15 years.At this time, many Tang princes attempted to raise troops to rebel.When she retaliated, dozens of descendants of Li Tang and hundreds of their followers were executed.Her secret agents have great powers to deal with political prisoners, and the rebellion plan is also expanded to expand the net. It was not until she was old and ill that the strategy of restoring the Tang Dynasty succeeded.The throne was inherited by her third son, Li Xian, and later by her fourth son, Li Dan.Her "benji" status in the history of the Tang Dynasty cannot be deleted, and there is no other example in the entire Chinese history that is close to Wu Zetian's experience and deeds. From the 8th century to today, there has not been a true biography of Empress Wu.Obviously, telling her story convincingly requires a lot of speculation.A woman's revenge in a male society cannot be ignored.But Empress Wu also admired the decisive style of men.She once told a courtier Ji Suo that there are three things to make a horse, an iron whip, an iron rod, and a dagger.If the whip is not accepted, the head will be cut, and if the whip is not accepted, the throat will be broken.Then she said that she made a man like a horse.Until old age, she talked about Tang Taizong Li Shimin with a respectful and loving tone.Di Renjie served as governor, and later served as Pingzhangshi. He was already an important minister in the court.Wu Zetian often let the beautiful boy "Fu Fan Shi Zhu, dressed in beautiful clothes" have fun with her in Yanju.But her speech officer dared to impeach them, pointing out that "Your Majesty has long been kind with the hairpin, and cannot bear to increase the punishment." The so-called "hairpin thinking" refers to the love between the temples and the toes.In addition, there was a lucky Xue Huaiyi, who was ordained as a monk by Empress Wu to go in and out of the forbidden center.This person was once criticized by Su Liangsi, the left minister of Wenchang, on his cheeks.Later, Huaiyi sued Empress Wu, and he was forbidden to go in and out of the north gate, and not to go to the south gate to touch the prime minister. These stories could have been dealt with by novelists and romantic writers, but if these anecdotes were omitted, the integrity of Chinese history in the seventh and early eighth centuries would also be affected.In other words, many of the joyful and terrifying affairs of Li Shimin and Wu Zetian at that time were related to the system of the Tang Dynasty. If we go back through the circuitous route, we can see that these chapters are still in line with the rebellion at Anlu Mountain in 755 AD. From the records of Empress Wu, we can see the stupid actions of Tubo, Turks and Khitan, but these foreign troubles on the border were finally put down.Severe droughts have occurred several times.One of Empress Wu's innovations was the palace examination. Those who took the examination were led to the throne and asked by her personally.Secret service politics was a feature of her Yuyu period, but it was the dignitaries who were threatened by it rather than ordinary people.She is also an informer in public places with her brass knuckles.In 697 AD, her spy chief Lai Junchen himself was executed, and the terrorist policy was slightly lax.However, apart from the above items, it is difficult for us to cite any creative aspects of policy and organizational facilities during her dictatorship.Wu Zetian's so-called revolution brought a woman's choice. She likes gold, blue and white, so her eyes on the flag in the center have a fresh sentiment.She also renamed many official offices according to "Zhou Li". The number of the cabinet is used as the name of the central organization. But is the above-mentioned actions enough to almost overthrow a major dynasty?Even split the Queen Mother's own family?What basis does history allow such an old woman of dubious status to become the ruler of the most famous and most populous country in the world for 21 years, both in name and in substance?If Wu Zetian had a bad reputation condemned by traditional standards, how could she be praised by people with different backgrounds, such as Lu Zhi, the formal and prudent prime minister of the Tang Dynasty at the end of the 8th century, Li Zhi, a deviant thinker in the Ming Dynasty, and Li Zhi, a deviant thinker in the Ming Dynasty, and Li Zhi, who discussed history in the form of notes in the Qing Dynasty? Zhao Yi, all complimented her with one voice? Before answering these questions, we must clearly see that the traditional government of Confucianism is not only an organization, but also a discipline, so it is not structured in a compact way.In the Tang Dynasty, the implementation of the land equalization system was partly due to its ability to turn centuries of turmoil into tranquility.When this plan was implemented, although the distribution of small fields could not be as ideal as the figure, it produced millions of small owner farmers in the countryside.It's just that once such an arrangement is condensed and fixed, it cannot be adjusted on a large scale.Not only is it impossible to promote the economic interests of a certain class or region, but the government also lacks the organizational capacity to supervise private individuals to engage in such work.What's more difficult is that the problems faced by the government rarely have clear solutions.There is no way to solve the problem of nomads.Floods and droughts and disasters can only be planned when the situation is imminent.Apart from water conservancy and land reclamation, there is no other management that can benefit both the ruler and the ruled.Moreover, the peace has lasted for a long time, and the government has no substance. After the Tang Dynasty obtained the right to appoint magistrates, the number of official documents increased.Generally speaking, its content is more and more formalized.That is to say, in the Sui Dynasty, there was a saying that "the old officials hugged the calf to death".Compared with the modern government of the West, the latter has organized private interests parallel to the government; these interests are sufficient to challenge the government, require the government to provide services, and they also bear part of the administrative costs (but even in the West these things have to wait at least appear after 1000 years).The bureaucracy of the Tang Dynasty lacked a parallel private organization, and its execution depended on the bureaucracy's reputation.The lower-level issues are often very important, but they are always scattered, and the upper-level administrative tools are often formalized and perfunctory.For the system to work, pressure can only be applied from above. Officials of the Tang Dynasty themselves pointed out that the tools used by the court to govern the country were nothing more than criminal law and personnel power.By the time of Empress Wu, judging from the revealed cases, fraud and fraud must have been quite common.For example, the official army in Hebei could not resist the Khitan invasion.Afterwards, the officials punished the people for the crime of collaborating with the enemy, and sentenced them to death. All these situations require the central government to be alert and able to intervene forcefully in order to prevent them. In sum, despotism is not by the despot's choice.The tragedy of China is that before its local organization and technical equipment had a large scale, there was a unified empire, because there was no effective middle class between the top and bottom, and it was all dependent on the despots and their personal talents. Make up for it. There are many reasons for Wu Zetian to obtain the status of dictator.It now appears that when she made decisions for Emperor Gaozong Li, she had reached an irreversible position.In 675 AD, the proposal to make her regent was rejected by the opposition of the ministers.The brutal policies she later displayed only reflected the dangers she once faced herself.The basic dogma of Confucianism is self-restraint and yielding to others, but the final judging power comes from the dragon chair, which depends on the degree of self-restraint of the current day.The contradictions among them are enough to give super politicians unlimited opportunities to make offensive and defensive decisions between advance and retreat.This is also a central theme of Chinese political history.At this juncture, Li Shimin and Wu Zetian have something in common: they both know how to take the initiative and act first.If historians think that they sacrificed their families to accomplish a super great cause or it is exaggerated, but at least it seems that the real entrepreneurs of the Tang Dynasty-Li Shimin and Wu Zetian, who called himself emperor after his mother, both knew the essence of totalitarianism, which is the highest level. Names and positions cannot be restricted or restricted by any conditions. Empress Wu's revolution cannot be compared with what we call revolution today.Because of the limitations of technical capabilities, Wu Zetian did not give up the traditional Chinese state.But her single-handed operation was still a real reform, the results of which were seen in subsequent generations.She liquidated the princes, grandchildren, and important courtiers of the Tang Dynasty, and wiped out the influence of the nobility, who would otherwise have dominated the court.Even though she did not transform the administrative organization, the new force of this organization gushed out because of her.She replaces the old with the new, allowing a group of young and capable bureaucrats to enter office. Many newcomers promoted by her will mature and be promoted in the future, and will show their edge during the reign of the following monarchs.By the time Empress Wu Zetian returned to the west, her empire had not faced any real crisis, so her rebellion was considered a success. When An Lushan led his troops to Xi'an from the vicinity of present-day Beijing, the Tang Dynasty was approaching the midpoint of its destined destiny, and Empress Wu had passed away 50 years ago.On the surface, it seems that the number of registered households in the Tang Dynasty has increased from about 3 million households in the mid-7th century to 9,619,254 households in the mid-8th century.Although we cannot be sure of the actual significance of these figures, at least we can assert that the financial management and statistical compilation of the Tang Dynasty were facing a state of decline.Corruption is not at the heart of everything.The expansion of private estates and the expansion of monastic estates were not the only obstacles to reform.The most basic reason is that the land granting method of equal land cannot be compared with the population.Generally speaking, the development and growth of the economy is full of dynamics and regional characteristics, which exceeds the ability of the country to intervene in statistics at that time.In many cases, the Li Tang government has not tried to ask. It was not until the facts were far beyond the original interim design that the government sent personnel to search everywhere for unregistered households. These households were usually made to surrender. Initially, tax exemption was granted for a period of time. , and only part of the payable amount will be paid in the future.The new tax was also enacted outside of the existing mix of rent adjustments.Different officials went everywhere to repair and repair an unsustainable system, so the system became more and more disorganized.In a word, one of the frequent and continuing miracles in Chinese history occurred in the middle of the Tang Dynasty. This imperial court has revived and flourished an empire destroyed by war, but this imperial court cannot maintain the prosperity it cultivated by itself.The embarrassing situation was even more obvious in the Tang Dynasty.When it first started, its rural population was organized by a very simple formula, which, because of its simplicity, was given full latitude to the bureaucracy.When complex situations arise in the future, it will be more difficult to correct, so the manager of the bureaucracy has already become stereotyped. Traditional historians condemn the extravagance of court life.When Anlu Mountain drove southward, the warehouses between Xi'an and Luoyang were full of supplies.The pomp of the imperial palace was even more criticized.We reviewed the materials of the day and saw that every festival in Xi'an, there are as many as thousands of court ladies tug-of-war.Although in the 8th century AD, women with a good life had eye sockets colored like what is called eye shadow today.Various frames and models attest that they wear printed silk fabrics, perform polo games, and play chamber music.There is no doubt that they are part of urban life.It is not difficult for idealists to point out that such expenditures should have been applied to national defense.But such a proposal sounds to us like shutting down the New York Symphony Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera so that the Vietnam War can be won.Even if such a proposal is passed, there is no proper payment system to carry out the reallocation of its manpower and materials. In 755 AD, the reigning monarch was Li Longji, the grandson of Empress Wu.He was nearly 72 years old at the time and had been in power for 43 years.His beloved concubine Yang Guifei is 38 years old and has been in front of the emperor for more than ten years. Both of them are good at music and easily emotional with each other.Their story has a legend often punctured by excitement.They spend the winter in Huaqing once a year, and since then they have added a kind of charm to the tourist destination.What made the plot more complicated was that Xuanzong Li Longji used Yang Guozhong, the elder brother of the imperial concubine, as his minister. He always said that An Lushan had a tendency to rebel, and traditional historians said that An Lushan's rebellion was provoked by him. An Lushan is a general of mixed blood in the frontier defense.He grew up in today's Rehe, which belonged to the border of national defense in Tang Dynasty.At the beginning, he worked as an interpreter in the occasions of foreign exchanges, and later joined the miscellaneous troops of the border guards, so he was able to get a rapid promotion.An inspecting imperial envoy reported his experience to the emperor. In 743 AD, he came to Xi'an and was summoned by the emperor.Since then, he has the status of a general, and he has three local Jiedu envoys in one person, and he is in charge of all civil and military affairs in the territory.Past history books have attacked the mistakes of the policy at that time, and they have tried their best to point out the ignorance of such an inversion of power.However, a careful examination of the historical evidence shows that when the operation of the same border area required constant adjustments throughout the region, it could no longer be supervised by a central bureaucratic organization. Countless warlike tribes appeared in the grasslands in the 8th century AD. In a nutshell, what Lattimore called the cyclical nature of the grasslands was a by-product of the cyclical nature of inland China.That is to say, the Tang Dynasty went from prosperity to decline, China tended to split from unity, and the tribes in the grasslands did the opposite.However, from the historical sites we have considered, it shows that when the Tang Dynasty devoted itself to the development of water transportation and rice culture, the situation on the northern frontier was more favorable to armed nomads.From Empress Dowager Wu Zetian to Xuanzong Li Longji, the Tang Empire's border policy was largely passive.Occasionally, China's military force has a sudden performance, and it wins victory, restores the lost Shangdi, and guarantees the safety of commercial routes.The rampantness of Tubo, Turks, and Khitan can be suppressed temporarily.However, China also had serious failures during this period.Moreover, after each confrontation, it still ends in the way of paying tribute to the pro.In the past few decades, there has never been a single attack of annihilation war, no large-scale all-out offensive, and no permanent plan.It is just that we have to admit that taking the above steps in this era is not suitable for the overall situation. During Li Longji's long-term Yuyu period, the frontier defense has been reorganized.On the surface, the national defense line has nearly 500,000 soldiers and 80,000 horses.The supply of grain and cloth to the front also increased.However, judging from the contradictory situation in the documents, there has been a big discrepancy between the actual situation ahead and the report sent to the capital Xi'an, so whether the above figures are true is extremely doubtful.What is even more doubtful is that even if the above-mentioned manpower and material resources are all allocated as described, and the points on the defense line are divided and consolidated, in many places, it is still difficult to deal with the mobile cavalry of the nomads. When An Lushan became a problem, the northeast corner of the defense line became a place for the entry and exit of Koreans, Khitans, and another Turkic people (Tatabi). The local population was diverse and the situation was fluid.The situation of economic development has not yet been officially investigated, let alone regulated by the government.Generals in various places can only provide necessary supplies to their subordinates according to the situation, and usually deal with nearby tribal peoples to achieve their goals.People like An Lushan, who are fluent in several languages ​​and alert, are talents that the palace urgently needs to rely on to manage the border areas.In fact, An is not the only fan general.And after the Anlushan rebellion and peace, the Tang Dynasty continued to use such minority generals.With these facts as the background, it is not difficult for us to assert that An Lushan started from scratch and won the official position of Jiedushi at the price of loyalty to the court.His filial devotion to Xi'an included a devotion to the emperor himself, which can attest to the truth of this statement. Of course, this is not an exciting atmosphere compared with the early years of the dynasty.Just imagine that when the land equalization system was implemented, the government soldiers were able to complete the task, and the whole country showed a rough but real style.When the prestige of the Tang Empire was intimidating from far and near, as long as the conscripted soldiers were sent to the frontier towns, it was enough to make the warlike tribes dare not think twice. Today, in addition to the huge military budget, the frontier generals are also from mercenaries, and their tasks are professionalized. As a result, the overall development is very different from that of civilian organizations.The latter is still resolutely standing on the position of balance and symmetry, although due to changes in the situation, members of the civil service organization have already had various conflicts and strife. The rise of An Lushan can only stir up conflicts between the two parties.Because he is regarded as capable, he is given more arbitrary power, and thus he is even more irreplaceable, so everything develops into a spiral.When his jurisdiction and power expanded one after another, the emperor also gave An a variety of favors and allowed him to build a magnificent residence in Xi'an.According to historians, Xuanzong Li Longji even asked An to call himself his father and Concubine Yang Gui his mother.But Yang Guozhong, the elder brother of the latter, firmly insisted that An Lushan would turn against him sooner or later.Logically, this cannot be said to be an incorrect estimate; however, since there is no appropriate countermeasure, just talking about it like this will force An Lushan to have to go against it.When he finally took this step, he took the name "Qing Junfang".The result is that all kinds of hidden weaknesses of the dynasty are exposed all at once.The so-called commercial prosperity in the inland, in fact, the export of the south to Xi'an is nothing more than consumables, which only make the region earn back part of the tax paid to the capital.The circulation of goods has never been exchanged between the two parties, so military actions that disturb commerce cannot arouse the reaction of the masses (if the entry and exit of commerce affect the livelihood of a large number of people, they will not take such military actions lightly if they are excited) it's over).The so-called Beijing Army is nothing more than a guard of honor in the palace.Temporary mercenaries only recruit some vagrants from the market and have no intention of fighting.To deal with the rebel army, the government sacrificed strategic considerations because of political needs.In the second summer, Xi'an was threatened, so the emperor, his beloved concubine, her brother-in-law who was the prime minister, and a large group of princes and grandchildren of the so-called Six Palaces took refuge in the direction of Sichuan.Less than a hundred miles away from the gate, the escorting sergeants rebelled. They killed Yang Guozhong first, and secondly concubine Yang Guifei. Xuanzong Li Longji had no choice but to hang her to death.The sad journey of this worried king to Sichuan shows the lack of real connection between the capital and the rural ends.玄宗和护驾军士的对话，证实了我们的观点：唐朝的帝制，可算是一种极权的产物，只是它的基础无非儒教之纪律。当这纪律败坏时，此极权也无法维持。 安禄山的叛变被敉平，他的儿子安庆绪和其他番将的变乱也终被解决。可是唐代朝廷从此未再重新掌握到过去所把持的中央威势。在剿荡以上叛变的时候，政府不能不倚重边区的杂牌队伍，有的算是中国人，有的则属于少数民族。实际这也是在小处一再隐忍妥协，而将问题延搁。只是安禄山和他的效尤者也无能力，甚至缺乏组织上的逻辑去推翻李唐政权，或者统一北方。唐代的后期可说生存在一种不稳的平衡之中。 唐朝组织的基本法包括均田制，跟随着而来的租庸调税制和府兵并未明令废止，只是任之用进而废退。公元780年总算产生了一项新法规。所谓“两税”从现有的土地持有人手上征收，而放弃了有名无实的均田人户。这办法没有全国标准，中央政府不过将数额分配于各道（较以后之省为小，较州为大），责成地方官作内部分配。实际上全国三分之一的道，大多数在北方，从未缴税于中央。即是南方，缴纳的品物也采取一种进贡的形式，主要在使地方首长得到中枢的借重，而算不上执行国家权责。 地方上各自为政的情形与以后150年共始终。可是这与第二帝国成立之前的分裂局面不同。华族大姓与上述的发展全不相关，舞台上主要的人物为军人，可是也没有继续不断的战事。叙述这段历史时，我们可以参考赖孝和（Edwin Reischauer）教授所说：“此中的情节必有相对性。”唐初的壮丽繁华经过夸张的铺陈；说到后期的凋零和败坏也可能说得过度。事实上地方分权也可以从不同的角度来看。譬如说成德镇下辖4州，在今日河北之东南，即始终由同一个王家掌握超过100年，这就不是不稳定的征象了。魏博镇的何进滔于公元829年由军人推戴才由中央承认任节度使，下辖7州跨于今日河北河南之间。传统历史也说他深得民心，是以能将职位传至子孙。这种发展证实了一个亘古不变的一般原则：谁有能力征税，谁就能掌握税收所及的地区。这时候管理注重地方上的特殊情形，以代替由一种抽象观念组成的大帝国，其管制的范围缩小，行政的效率必较前提高。 可是一个孱弱的中央，也有它的缺点。公元763年吐蕃入寇，在西安市掠夺；765年他们又和回纥在郊外集结，准备再来一次洗劫。唐将郭子仪时年70，不顾本身危险，单骑无武装地来到回纥阵营之前。过去他曾率领唐帝国的少数民族部队，这次他也获得成功，他以口语重申中国天子“天可汗”的地位，使回纥首领再度罗拜称臣。回纥既已归服，吐蕃被孤立，只好拔营离去。在这情形之下，郭子仪个人的英勇受到崇拜，可是他的壮举与盛唐的情形比较已是今不如昔。试想初唐帝国借着一个异民族的力量压倒另一个，把自己的权威扩充到一千英里以上的国界边境外去，这已是无可比拟了。事实上自安禄山叛变之后，黄河上游以西的地区已永远被吐蕃占据，边境冲突也经常发生。787年的谈判失败之后，吐蕃部队俘获了一万多中国人交付与其部落为奴。当通过一段峡谷之前，这些吐蕃人让俘虏东向父母之乡辞别，史籍上提及有好几百人哭昏过去，也有不少人跳崖。唐朝又以和亲政策让家公主嫁与回纥酋领（如肃宗李亨之女宁国公主，宪宗李纯之女太和公主）。这几位年轻女人在胡人毳幔之下别唐使“悲啼眷慕”的事迹，至今读来令人心折。 9世纪内大规模的民变出现，当中最著名的乃是黄巢。虽说他的故事经过再三的讨论，我们对他的身世仍无定论。《旧唐书》和《新唐书》里面的两篇“黄巢传”，就有很大的出入。两传同叙他以贩盐为业，一传把他说得声望低微，好像走私负贩的模样；另一传则说他家里世代经营，颇雄于赀。这中间的差异，显示其中详情可能永为读者之谜。公元875年，黄巢响应另一个流寇运动，从此被人注意。当日中央的力量衰弱，地方政权又缺乏各单位间协定才使他坐大。虽然一再受创，他也仍然能够卷土重来。他从华中向东南移动时，揭橥打破官僚的贪污无能为标榜，一面收容匪盗；一面感化官兵。公元879年他入广州，至此已集结50万人。可是他也在此间遇挫。他原希望朝廷招安，让他为广州节度使，此计未成，加以军中疫疾流行。一种阿拉伯文的资料说他在广州屠杀12万回教徒、犹太人、基督徒和被斯人，可是中国方面的资料无此记载。 黄集被迫北撤之后，他于公元880年入西安，据说他拥有兵众60万人，西安也被他占领了两年多。起先他还企图争取一般市民，可是一入国都，黄巢被自己所设的陷讲困住，从此失去流动性，于是被忠于唐室的几个部队集中攻击，对方也有突厥语系的部队。黄的给养既成问题，他就更大开杀戒，因之他和居民的关系日益恶化。883年的年初，黄巢离西安东去。884年夏天，这流寇的领袖和他几个随从在今日山东境内授首，于是这场在中国历史上影响长远的民变至此才得结束。 黄巢的故事暴露了中国长期左右为难的地方。一个有效的中央政府财政开支极高；可是若没有负责的中枢，其结果也不堪设想。如果摆在美国的地图上，黄巢流窜的路线有如从美国的中西部进军佐治亚，又西南行而入新奥尔良，北去入田纳西，又再度自西向东，经过维吉尼亚、马里兰和肯德基之各部，最后还以曲折之行道通过伊利诺而入爱荷华的德蒙因。换言之，超过南北战争时谢尔曼突入南方的好几倍。黄巢渡过长江4次、黄河两次。这位历史上空前绝后的流寇发现唐帝国中有无数的罅隙可供他自由来去。各处地方官员只顾得本区的安全，从未构成一种有效的战略将他网罗。可是黄巢在各处来往，不应当认作土匪行径的最高纪录。他之能统率大军纵横南北，表现出构成一个大帝国的纪律依然存在，所需要的是构成大帝国的新逻辑将各种因素组合起来。当黄巢揭竿而起的时候，距安禄山之反叛又已130年。唐帝国的低层机构已经发育成长，超过当初的设计很多，已不是现有的高级权威所能管制。 虽说黄巢没有只手摧毁唐朝，这朝代也在他造反之后崩溃。兹后各州向宫廷所缴纳的税收愈来愈少，这朝代只挣扎着约20年。公元904年朱全忠——过去是黄巢手下的将领后来降唐，至此命令唐朝皇帝和他同去洛阳，此乃朱自己以军阀的姿态可能确实控制的地盘。于是距他篡唐而代之的行动只差一步。两年之后，他终采取了这步骤，正式结束了288年前李渊和李世民所建立的王朝。 公元906年之后，西安再未曾成为中国的国都。当中国即将进入本千年之际，情况愈为明显，国都必须接近经济条件方便之处。中国的重心已移至东边。东南区域尤以土地肥沃水道交通便利而有吸引力。即使化外的游牧民族，也以当中获有农业经验者占优势。自然之选择已使东北为他们理想的基地，远超过干旱的西北，那是吐蕃、突厥繁盛之区。所以中国多数民族与少数民族在今后400年的争斗中，采取一种南北为轴心的战线，与西安渐渐远隔。这座古老的国都，也已在历史中充分的表现过它上下浮沉的经历了。