Among the emperors of the Tang Dynasty, Tang Shunzong Li Shu was one with quite distinctive characteristics.
1. He has been the crown prince for the longest time.
2. The time of both being emperor and emperor is very short.
3. The era name of "Yongzhen" was changed after his abdication.
4. He was the only emperor of the Tang Dynasty who left the complete Records of Shunzong.
5. The number of words added for the first time is the largest: Emperor Zhide Dasheng Da'an Xiao.
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According to historical records, Tang Shunzong Li Shu only served as emperor for 186 days, but in his short imperial career, he launched the famous "Yongzhen Innovation" in the history of the Tang Dynasty.
The Tang Dynasty inherited li xu's generation, which was already the eunuch dictatorship, the division of the feudal town, and the fall of the monarchy, and in the face of this corrupt and dark phenomenon of the Tang Dynasty, Li Xuan was determined to revolutionize the old and the new. In 805, as soon as Li Xuan ascended the throne, he could not wait to launch a top-down reform movement aimed at curbing greed, eunuchs, and feudalism, that is, rectifying the atmosphere of the imperial court, cracking down on the monopoly of eunuchs, curbing the division of feudal towns, and thus strengthening the centralization of power.
From the time of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the eunuch Gao Lishi had abused his power, and by the time of Emperor Shunzong of Tang, the eunuch had already grasped the military power. They held more unscrupulous military power, and the dictatorship and chaos became more and more serious, which greatly weakened the centralization of power. For Tang Shunzong, the most intolerable thing was the fall of imperial power, so suppressing the power of eunuchs and regaining the military power of the state became an urgent problem to be solved.
After the Tang Xuanzong Anshi Rebellion, the central government lost control of the localities, and the fanzhen once dominated one side, forming a situation in which the fanzhen was divided, directly confronting the central government. The phenomenon of local chaos in government is becoming more and more serious, so curbing the separatist forces of the feudal towns and re-establishing centralized power has also become an urgent problem to be solved. In addition, rectifying corrupt officials and corrupt officials and eliminating the unhealthy atmosphere of the imperial court are also problems that need to be solved urgently.
At that time, in the Tang Dynasty, the phenomenon of corruption was very serious, and officials of all sizes would pay tribute to the emperor in order to please the emperor, and these tributes and goods were plundered from the people, and the officials wantonly plundered the people's fat and people's anointing, harsh government was like a tiger, the people were ruined, and the corruption of the imperial court was prevalent.
So, in view of such a dark social situation in the Tang Dynasty, how did Tang Shunzong's "Yongzhen Innovation" proceed?
Speaking of Tang Shunzong Li Shu, I have to say that Li Shu is the most tragic emperor in the history of the Tang Dynasty, just in his father Tang Dezong dynasty has been the prince for more than twenty years, and, also suffered a stroke and lost his word, it was difficult to ascend to the throne, but only more than a hundred days as the emperor, he was forced to zen in the crown prince Li Chun, himself called the emperor, but unfortunately the emperor did not do a few days before he was depressed.
However, when Li Xuan was crown prince, he was very concerned about the government, and the young and promising he was determined to carry out a radical reform to save the Tang Dynasty's precarious rule. He combined with ministers who also had the ambition to change the New Deal and formed an innovative party with Wang Ling, Wang Shuwen, Liu Yuxi, and Liu Zongyuan as the core. As soon as Tang Shunzong ascended the throne, the time was ripe for these reformers to begin to carry out the Yongzhen reform with great fanfare.
Although Tang Shunzong had suffered a stroke at that time and could not speak, he reused the core members of the reform school to change the law:
First of all, the palace market and Wufang were abolished, and the people were no longer plundered and blackmailed by eunuchs for no reason;
Secondly, the system of worship was abolished, and in addition to the regular tribute stipulated, officials were not allowed to pay tribute to the emperor and were not allowed to plunder the wealth of the people in the name of tribute.
The reformers took various measures to combat corrupt officials, sanction feudal towns, suppress eunuchs, and eliminate maladministration. Although the reform achieved some success, it was strongly opposed by eunuchs, feudal lords, and corrupt officials. Ju Wenzhen and others gathered a clique of eunuchs, coerced Tang Shunzong to abdicate, and installed the crown prince Li Chun on the throne, which was the new emperor under the control of Tang Xianzong, under the influence of eunuchs, and began to wantonly kill reformers and belittled the courtiers who supported reform.
In the end, the Yongzhen innovation, which lasted for more than a hundred days, ended in failure. The cause of Tang Shunzong's death, according to the records of the Old Book of Tang and the Zizhi Tongjian, was a disease and death, and people have long believed so. However, since the 1960s, after the study of the main history and notebook novels in the historical circles, a considerable number of people believe that Tang Shunzong was assassinated to death.
So, what is the root cause of the failure of the Yongzhen Revolution?
As a leading figure in the reform, Tang Shunzong lost his voice in the stroke, lost the ability to govern, and was unable to refute the coup d'état launched by the eunuch Ju Wenzhen and others, which was the main reason for the failure of the reform. Crown Prince Li Chun had a grudge against his father Tang Shunzong, and the reforms initiated by Tang Shunzong harmed the interests of the crown prince to a certain extent. The prince was so hostile to the reformists that as soon as he became emperor, he killed all the reformers, and the reformists were severely attacked, which was also the main aspect of the failure of the reforms.
By the time Tang Shunzong ascended the throne, state power had long been in the hands of eunuchs and feudal towns, the Foundation of Tang Dynasty rule was weak, and the reformers were weak. In the case of a disparity in strength, reformers will be in a very passive situation, which is also an important reason for the failure of reform. At the juncture of reform, Tang Shunzong's physical condition was very bad, and the reformers were worried that he would soon die, so they increased the intensity of reform, and introduced 33 reform measures in just over 100 days.
The Yongzhen Reform failed, but it was a very significant reform in the history of the Tang Dynasty, and it was also a vigorous patriotic reform movement. The spirit and courage of the reform of the reformists are very admirable, and the series of reform measures they have implemented have dealt a blow to the local separatist forces, suppressed the arbitrary eunuch clique, objectively changed many maladministrations since the Middle and Tang Dynasties, and brought some benefits to the common people. During the reform period, the national economy was restored and developed to a certain extent, and the comprehensive national strength was also improved, laying a certain foundation for Tang Xianzong's ZTE situation in the future.
The Yongzhen Reform was only a flash in the pan in history, and after the reform movement was stifled, the politics of the Tang Dynasty became darker. However, we cannot deny the achievements of yongzhen reform by failure, and yongzhen reform is the demand of historical development and is of great progressive significance of the times.
Resources:
[Zizhi Tongjian, Old Book of Tang, Volume XIV, Benji 14th, New Book of Tang, Volume 7, Benji VII.