Editor's note: Some time ago, the National Day military parade, the appearance of various weapons, neatly military appearance, showed China's strong national defense strength. So, in ancient times, how was the military parade conducted? Here, through the historical records of the Tang Dynasty, let's talk about the regulations and examples of the Military Parade of the Sheng Tang Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, the military parade was called the Tao Wu. The military parades of the Tang Dynasty generally took place in the mid-winter month of each year, which coincided with the time of agricultural leisure. A military parade is held outside the capital. First of all, it was necessary to request a military parade eleven days in advance by the superior, and then, after the emperor agreed, the military department accepted the edict to prepare for the parade. The generals of the various armies were ordered to select elite troops to participate, and to prepare the venue for the martial arts, which was generally 1,200 steps long and wide, and had passages everywhere for admission. Infantry and cavalry barracks were also built, for a total of six armies, and the left and right compartments were divided into three armies, headed by the north. Three hundred steps apart between the left and right armies, five pillars of the marker, and fifty steps apart between the columns, as the boundary between the two armies' march to stop. In addition, a field was opened in the north wing, facing the south. Three days before the lecture on martial arts, Shang She was enshrined in the North Wing.
On the day before the lecture on martial arts, the generals and soldiers of the parade gathered in the palace to train, and the flag was used as a military gate, just like the color of the direction. Colorful tooth flags were erected in the middle and in the four corners of the venue. Under the generals, each has a commander. The general rode on horseback in armor and taught soldiers to practice. The young soldiers of each army are in front, the elderly are in the back, and the queue turns around in reverse. The tall ones take bows and arrows, the short ones take the spears, the strong ones take the flags, the brave ones take the hammers, drums, knives, and rafters to move forward, followed by the hammer soldiers, and the ones with bows and arrows are at the end. Soldiers watch the flag and the golden drum command and act, before speaking of martial arts, let them be familiar with the flag, the dispatch of the golden drum. Kneel with the flag in place, raise the flag, advance when the drum is struck, and stop at the sound of gold.
▲Heavy infantry of the Tang Army
On the day of the military parade, before dawn, the whole army was under martial law for ten minutes, all the soldiers were armored at five minutes, the infantry was lined up in a straight line, the general stood under the drum, and the six armies each had twelve sides of the drum, one for the plutonium, and four for the big army. Seven minutes before dawn, a martial law was beaten, the waiter opened the palace gate and the city gate, five moments, the second martial law, the waiter held up a wat board to play "please martial law in the palace". Subsequently, the civil and military officials who participated in the lecture arrived first, all dressed in official clothes, and the division was responsible for preparing for the small driving honor guard, and the second moment, the third martial law, the guards each supervised the team and the hammer to enter in turn, and displayed in the palace court.
▲ The Forbidden Army of the Tang Dynasty in the Twelve Hours of Chang'an
Then the emperor came to the parade site in a leather car, and the soldier Shangshu was guided by the guards on horseback, and the car entered from the north gate and reached the north of the two armies to stop, facing south. The Yellow Gate Attendant asked the emperor to get off the bus, and then entered the Palace, and the Bingbu Shangshu stopped in the east and faced the west. The leader led the small chariot, the knight stood around the emperor's station, and the guards stood left and right in front of the palace, headed by the north. Officials above the level of nine pins were all dressed in official uniforms, standing ten paces from the guards in the east and west directions, with both sides headed by the north. Emissaries and pilgrims sent from the states were gathered outside the north gate in advance, with emissaries from the east and south standing in the east and the west and north standing in the west. When the emperor was about to arrive, the ceremonial officer said, "Goodbye." All those in power are to bow twice. After the emperor entered the palace, the gurudwara led the people of the states, the hongxu led the guests, the ones from the east and the south stood in the northeast of the palace, the west and the north stood in the northwest, and the spectators stood around the emperor's station outside the knight's honor guard, and then the parade officially began.
▲ The emperor's leather car
First of all, the trumpet of the army is blown three times, and the Chinese army will pass the order with a drum, and the left and right armies will beat the drum. After beating the drum three times, there was a flag and all the infantry knelt down. Generals above General Guoyi. Each of them was concentrated in the middle of his own army, and the general of the left army stood in the east of the drum and faced west. The general of the right army was the opposite. The generals of the two armies swore an oath to teach people to fight, and the advance and retreat were the same as military law. There is a constant reward for using life, and there is a constant punishment for not using life, but it is not reluctant! ''。 The generals would stand to his south, with both wings facing north, and listen to the oath of the general. The three armies on the left and right each passed the oath with two long histories, Zhenduo passed the oath, and the generals of each Guoyi respectively told the oath to the headquarters, the whole army beat the drum and shouted the oath, and the division raised the flag, and the various armies got up and marched. After reaching the first marker, the front row knocked on the pillar, and the whole army stopped. The drum was beaten three more times, and there was a flag, and the whole army knelt down. After beating the drum again, there was a flag raised, and the whole army got up, and after rushing to the second pillar, they stopped and began to change the formation.
▲Floor plan of the martial arts venue
The Eastern Army beat the drum again and raised the green flag in a straight line; the Western Army also beat the drum and raised the white flag in a square formation to respond. In the second round, the Western Army beat the drum and raised the red flag in a sharp formation, while the Eastern Army raised the black flag in a curved formation to respond. In the third round, the Eastern Army beat the drum and raised the yellow flag in a circle; the Western Army raised the Green Flag in a straight line to respond. In the fourth round, the Western Army beat the drum and raised the white flag as a phalanx, and the Eastern Army used the Red Flag as the sharp formation. In the fifth round, the drumming of the Eastern Army was made of black flags, and the Western Army held up yellow flags as a circular formation. The two armies each displayed five formations with blue, black, yellow, white, and red flags. Where there is a formation, the flag is raised first as a guest army, and then the flag is raised as the main army. Each time the formation changed, the two armies each sent fifty sword and shield men to fight, the first and second challenges the two sides to take turns to make a state of bravery and cowardice, the third challenge to make a state of equal strength, and the fourth. Five challenges to win or lose. Each time the position is changed, the one who beats the drum first must first change to a straight formation and then change other formations. After five rounds of positional change, both armies were lined up in a straight line. The drum was beaten three times, the flag was cast, and all the infantry knelt down, shouted, beat the drum and got up, and the left and right armies ran in unison to the middle pillar, beat the drum opposite, and then withdrew, and each time they retreated to a pillar, they had to listen to the drum and kneel down, and then resume the formation.
▲ Cavalry out of battle
At this time, the infantry drill was over, and the attendant knelt down and began to play "Please watch the cavalry", and the contractor said "yes". The cavalry of the two armies came out, as in the previous infantry process, except that there was no need to kneel. Each team challenges eight knights. After the end of the five fronts, the relevant personnel vigorously beat the drum, and the cavalry on both sides advanced, went to the central pillar to strangle the warhorses and stopped opposite each other, and carried out a horse or weapon engagement exercise. All weapons engaged in combat require rigorous training before, and no blade may be used to injure the opponent. After the drill, the knights lined up in an entire line. The attendant said, "The servant said something, after the ceremony, please return." "The parade is officially over. The emperor left by car accompanied by the general Qianniu Wei, the martial law was lifted, and the soldiers returned in their own teams. In the first and middle periods of the Tang Dynasty, great importance was attached to the conduct of martial arts activities, and in the Tang Laws and Regulations, volume 16, "The Law of Unauthorized Prosperity", it was stipulated that "those who do not violate the deadline for the reading of the great collections shall have one hundred rods, three days plus one class; Commander-in-chief offender, plus second class. That is, those who are sent to the line and violate the deadline, each minus one grade. "Strict laws and regulations are used to ensure the smooth implementation of martial arts."
According to the Records of the Yuangui of the Imperial Household and the Tang Huijiao, there were twelve large-scale martial arts activities in the Tang Dynasty, including three times by Gao Zu, twice by Emperor Taizong, three times by Emperor Gaozong, once by Emperor Xuanzong, once by Emperor Suzong, and once by Emperor Daizong. The size of the site above is a normal rule, but in fact the site will be much larger. The largest lecture on wu was held by Tang Xuanzong at the foot of Lishan Mountain in the first year of the new century (the second year of Shi Zaitian should be the first year of the new century), using 200,000 troops, and the golden light of the armor illuminated the heavens and the earth, and Li Longji personally stood in front of the battle in a military uniform and holding a large hand, and the sound was tremendous. The people of Chang'an and the scholars rushed to watch, so that the surrounding roads were completely blocked.
Such a huge scale, naturally prone to some problems, the military department Shangshu Guo Yuanzhen was ordered by Tang Xuanzong to be beheaded because of his untidy military appearance, thanks to the prime minister Liu Youqiu and Zhang Shuo's intercession to forgive. In bad luck, Tang Shao and the right Jinwu general Li Mi were directly beheaded. Because of the severe punishment behavior, some soldiers lost order, and only Xue Ne and the Huan army were strictly organized and unaffected, even if the light horses of the Tang Xuan Sect gathered the two in front of the barracks, they were not allowed to enter. Quite the style of zhou yafu's small willow camp at the beginning. For this reason, Tang Xuanzong rewarded Xue Ne, who ruled the army strictly and neatly, and also broke the Tubo 100,000 in the subsequent Battle of Wujie.
▲ Tang Xuanzong Lishan military parade
The last few military parades appeared in the Suzong Dynasty and the Daizong Dynasty, after the military parade, the armies set out to fight a decisive battle with the Anshi rebels, the parade is more to stimulate the morale of the troops, to stimulate the spirit of "sacrificing one's body to the country, seeing death as a sudden return". In the later Middle and Late Tang Dynasties, there were many domestic feudal towns and financial difficulties. The turbulent situation and difficult finances made it difficult to continue the military parade, although occasionally ZTE, large-scale military parades did not appear again, and the military activities that demonstrated the strength of the Tang Dynasty in the first and middle periods disappeared.
The New Book of Tang And Li Lezhi (礼樂志) commanded the general Jian Junshi (陳簡士) to take 1,200 steps in addition to the ground, and to go out four times for the peace gate. It is also a camp area of six infantry and cavalry, and the left and right compartments are each three armies, heading north. Three hundred steps in the middle, five tables, and fifty steps between the tables, are the sections of the second army's advance and stop. Don't be in the north wing, south direction. On the first three days, Shangshe was enshrined in the imperial palace.
The New Book of Tang dynasty and the lilezhi states first gathered people and pilgrims outside the north gate, the east and south stood in the east of the road, and the west and north stood on the west of the road and went north. The ride is coming, and the offering is called: ''Bye bye''' All those in power say goodbye. The emperor enters the second place, the guru leads the states to make people, the hongxu leads the guest, the east and south stand in the northeast of the great sub, the west and the north stand in the northwest, and the spectator stands around the outside of the knights of the capital, and then speaks of martial arts.
The Eastern Army raises the green flag as a straight formation, and the Western Army also drums and raises the white flag as a phalanx in response; the Sub-Southern Army raises a red flag as a sharp formation, and the Northern Army also drums up a black flag as a curved formation to respond to it. The second eastern army drum raised the yellow flag as a round array, and the western army also drummed and raised the green flag as a straight line to respond. The second western army drum raised the white flag as a phalanx, and the eastern army also drummed and raised the red flag as a sharp array in response. The second eastern army drum raised the black flag as a curved array, and the western army also drummed and raised the yellow flag as a circular array in response.
The Tongdian Li Ninety-Three talks about martial arts, and the servant kneels and says: "'The servant has said a certain word, talking about the martial ritual, please return. ''Crouching, booming. The emperor surrendered to the imperial court, and the guards were as usual. The Emperor ascended, the Tai servant Qing Li Granted Sui, ascended, the right ascension of the car, and the general of the Qianniu Dynasty accompanied him. The Yellow Gate Attendant played please Luan Driving to lead, the following such as the dome to return the palace ceremony, but do not make a trumpet, do not bump into the Guest. The strictness was lifted, and the soldiers were returned. Tomorrow the group of officials will live as if they were others.
On October 13 of the second year of the first year, the Book of The YuanGui (陳府元 Turtle) was born under Mount Li. 200,000 conscripts, gold armor, shine in heaven and earth. The great array was in Changchuan, sitting in and out, and was tempered by the sound of golden drums. The emperor took the robes, held the big hammer, stood in front of the battle, and vied the universe. Chang'an Shishu, running throughout, filling the road.
This article is the original manuscript of the Cold Weapons Research Institute. The original outline of the editor-in-chief and the author of the Divine Strategy Army, soldiers and horses, shall not be reproduced by any media or public account without written authorization, and the violators will be investigated for legal responsibility.