The Tang Dynasty's festival envoy, how did this once glorious system finally become the "cancer" of the empire? You must have heard of the Tang Dynasty's feudal towns and festivals, and these terms are always full of wars and power struggles in the history books. At the beginning, it was to defend against foreign enemies and protect the frontier, but why did the Tang Dynasty split in the end?
The Tang Dynasty, a prosperous dynasty in history, was once terrified by the small surrounding countries with its powerful military power. However, behind the power often hides a crisis, no, the emergence of the Jiedu system, originally to deal with the constant border wars, gradually evolved into a time bomb within the empire.
The original Jiedu envoy was established during the Xuanzong period of the Tang Dynasty in order to strengthen the border defense. At that time, wars on the border were frequent, and the Central Plains frequently dispatched troops, which was not only costly, but also inefficient. As a result, Tang Xuanzong set up a number of Jiedu envoys such as Shuofang, Hedong, and Youzhou, which were not only responsible for the military, but also responsible for administration and finance, which can be described as half of a country.
Originally, these envoys were directly appointed by the central government, and they had absolute loyalty to the central court, and often returned to the court as officials through military merits to realize the beautiful vision of "going out and entering the prime minister". The good times didn't last long, and as time went on, the problems gradually came to light.
First of all, the concentration of military power and local power made the Jiedu envoy have too much power. For example, An Lushan not only held the military power of the three towns, but was also given the administrative power of Hebei and Longyou. Too much power inevitably made people disagree, which eventually led to the Anshi Rebellion that shocked China and the rest of the world.
After the Anshi Rebellion, the control of the central Tang Dynasty dropped significantly, and the feudal towns followed the example of An Lushan and began to seek independence. In order to consolidate their position, these envoys often resorted to the recruitment of local troops and the increase of taxes, which made them more and more powerful, and the authority of the central government became weaker.
You may ask, why not use the royal family as envoys to strengthen the control of the central government? There are complex considerations for the balance of power. On the one hand, most of the children of the royal family lived in the deep palace and lacked military and administrative experience, making it difficult for them to be qualified for such important positions that required the management of the military, government, and finance. On the other hand, sending the children of the royal family to the local area may also trigger the desire to usurp the throne, after all, supporting the army and self-respect was a common means of fighting for power and throne in ancient times. As a result, the central government of the Tang Dynasty was more inclined to appoint generals who were capable and ambitious, but did not belong to the imperial family, in order to maintain the rule of the empire.
Such a strategy did not go as the emperor had hoped. These knots often begin to have their own little abacus after gaining a certain amount of power. Through local taxation, private soldiers, and even trade with foreign tribes, they gradually formed small kingdoms that were almost independent. The existence of these small kingdoms seriously weakened the authority of the central government, making the late Tang Dynasty regime exist in name only.
This decentralization of power not only led to the collapse of the centralized system, but also made Tang politics even darker and more corrupt. In order to safeguard their own interests, local envoys often resort to various means to win over and bribe officials of the central court, and the disease of political corruption comes from this. And these corrupt political environments also laid the groundwork for the later melee of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.
This is the process by which the system turns from prosperity to decline. From the beginning of defending against foreign enemies, to the later self-expansion, it eventually evolved into a cancer within the empire. The power of the Jiedu envoy was once an important force in the Tang Dynasty to stabilize the frontier and develop the economy, and it also became a key factor in the decline of the Tang Dynasty.
Moreover, this abuse of power is not an isolated phenomenon, but has become a common phenomenon in the late Tang Dynasty. By controlling the local military and finances, the Jiedu envoys actually had the ability to replace the central government. Many of them no longer valued the orders of the imperial court, and even openly rebelled, which made the chaos of the Tang Dynasty inevitable.
Do all concentrations of power lead to similar results? Will the decentralization of power prevent a recurrence of such tragedies? These questions are not only a reflection on history, but also a kind of enlightenment for the present and future governance.
Through an in-depth understanding of the Tang Dynasty's temperance envoys, it can be clearly seen that the rise and fall of a country is closely related to its political system. The historical trajectory of the change of the system, from the initial demand for border defense to the final flood of power, tells us that reasonable checks and balances of power and effective political supervision are the key to maintaining the long-term peace and stability of the country.