Before the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty had always been in a situation of strong national strength, "the palace was opened in nine days, and all the nations were crowned with crowns." This poem completely presents the prosperous scene of the Tang Dynasty being worshiped by all countries.
However, after the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty turned from prosperity to decline, its national strength declined, and its prosperity did not return to the past. Although this catastrophe led to the decline of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty after the Anshi Rebellion lasted for 150 years, and 150 years is quite a long time for a dynasty.
So, how did the Tang Dynasty survive for 150 years after the Anshi Rebellion? In fact, it was because the Tang Dynasty central government controlled three places.
The cause of the outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion
The Anshi Rebellion broke out during the Tianbao period of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, also known as the Tianbao Rebellion. At that time, Tang Xuanzong was very fond of Yang Guifei, and every day he and Yang Guifei indulged in the sound and color of wine, had no intention of going to the government, and even ignored it.
Because Tang Xuanzong's favor was too much, Yang Guifei's family had a terrible power in the palace, especially after Yang Guozhong became the prime minister, embezzled and accepted bribes, abused his power, resulting in an uneven distribution of the imperial court's power, resulting in a phenomenon of forces from all sides wanting to move.
Also because of Tang Xuanzong's indulgent and hedonistic profligacy, his daily expenses with Yang Guifei were huge, just buying rouge gouache for Yang Guifei every month, and the ring jewelry reached 3 million taels of silver, plus other entertainment construction, the amount of silver money was simply breathtaking.
The cost of this pen will be drawn from the treasury, and even the most abundant treasury will be hollowed out.
The decadence and profligacy of Tang Xuanzong made the Tang Dynasty regime weaken day by day, and the national treasury deficit was very severe, so that the politics and economy of the society at that time went straight downhill, and the national strength was no longer as prosperous as before. It was also for this reason that the Hu people were given the opportunity to rebel against An Lushan.
At that time, An Lushan, in the name of revenge against the traitor Yang Guozhong, marched south to Luoyang. After An Lushan captured Taiyuan and other places, when someone reported to Tang Xuanzong that An Lushan had rebelled, Tang Xuanzong actually thought that the people who came were telling lies, and still indulged in love with Yang Guifei and ignored them.
An Lushan's army was so strong that it soon captured Luoyang, and at this time Tang Xuanzong hurriedly fled with Yang Guifei to Ma Songpo. The ministers who accompanied her believed that Yang Guifei was a red-faced disaster, and it was she who confused Tang Xuanzong, making him ignore the government and covet pleasures, so as to cause the image of the subjugation of the country, so the ministers asked Tang Xuanzong to kill Yang Guifei. Forced to do so, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang hanged Yang Guifei at Ma Songpo.
Soon after, the crown prince Li Heng, surrounded by other generals, became Emperor Suzong of Tang. Then there was a rebellion within An Lushan, and his son An Qingxu beheaded An Lushan under a knife, and Li Heng took the opportunity to recover Lost Land such as Luoyang. Subsequently, An Qingxu was killed by An Lushan's subordinate Shi Siming, and Luoyang fell into his hands under Shi Siming's attack, and Shi Siming called himself "Emperor of Great Yan".
After capturing Luoyang, Shi Siming was killed by his son within a few days of emperor Yan. After Shi Chaoyi killed his father, he did not expect that Datang would send troops to surround and suppress him, and he chose to commit suicide when he had nowhere to escape. In this way, Luoyang once again returned to the hands of the Tang rulers, and the seven-year-long "Anshi Rebellion" was also declared over.
The Tang Dynasty after the Anshi Rebellion
Under the rule of Emperor Taizong, Emperor Gaozong of Tang, and Wu Zetian, the Tang Dynasty reached its peak in economic and military capabilities, and its national strength was always the strongest subordinate to the countries in the four seas, until the opening of the Tang Dynasty.
If it is said that during the reign of Tang Xuanzong, the national strength of the Tang Dynasty was turned from prosperity to decline, then after the Anshi Rebellion, the national strength of the Tang Dynasty has been in a weak state.
The Anshi Rebellion caused the people of the Tang Dynasty to suffer from war, and the people had no intention of building their homeland under the condition of fear, so the people's living standards were low and their social and economic development could not be improved.
In addition, the central government was not centralized, the society could not advance towards the road of unification and harmony, and the Tang Dynasty after the Anshi Rebellion could no longer achieve its former prosperity.
However, this did not prevent the Tang Dynasty from continuing for 150 years.
Three places under central control
In fact, the Anshi Rebellion was a phenomenon in which the border and the central government competed for the right to rule, but in order to reward the meritorious ministers who had quelled the Anshi Rebellion, the central government set up the post of Jiedu envoy in the interior, which led to the phenomenon of the Tang Dynasty dividing the towns.
However, the Tang Dynasty's feudal division was not a real division, it was only described as a division, because only one place was divided, and other places could be said to be completely controlled by the central government.
After the damage caused by the war, the Tang Dynasty had a new idea and understanding of the centralized system, and the rulers re-established the feudal system in order to avoid the dispersion and non-concentration of power caused by the division of the feudal towns, and then fiercely grasped the political power in three places, allowing the Tang Dynasty to continue for 150 years.
The first place is the Guanzhong area. After the outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion, the gates of Guanzhong were wide opened, and Turpan and other local exiles invaded Chang'an's important political lands, making Chang'an a place of war and chaos for a time.
In order to disperse the rogues, the central government established eight clan towns in the Guanzhong area, but most of these clan towns belonged to foreign clan towns, that is to say, they belonged to foreign peoples, not directly from the central government, and they could not reach the level of trust entrusted by the regime.
In order to control the loss of political power in foreign clan towns, the central government adopted methods such as removing officials and dividing up territory, and even cultivated direct troops of the central government in the Guanzhong area, all in order to weaken the power of the clan towns and achieve centralized power.
The second place is the Jianghuai area. The Jianghuai region was a fertile land during the Tang Dynasty, and when famine broke out in the Sui Dynasty, grain was transported from the Jianghuai region to Chang'an. Therefore, the Jianghuai region was different from other places where the feudal towns were divided, and it had a pivotal position for the central government of the Tang Dynasty.
After the Anshi Rebellion, most of the merchants in the north fled to the Jianghuai region to continue to serve as merchants, and the economy of the Jianghuai region was able to develop, and the people's living standards were high and the materials were abundant.
However, after the war, the Guanzhong region was short of materials and needed a large amount of grain supplies, and the Jianghuai region was undoubtedly the best supply place, so the Tang Dynasty could only control the Jianghuai region under the central government in order to obtain great power in the transportation of materials.
The third place is the Henan region. In the past, the Henan region was divided from the south of the Yellow River to the north of the Huai River, and the Henan region, as an important transportation hub between the north and the south, was the waterway for transporting materials in the Jianghuai region. If you want to transport materials to Guanzhong, then the Henan region has become a must-pass place, that is, a necessary place, and it must be a necessary place in the central Tang Dynasty.
During the reign of Emperor Dezong of Tang, there were six feudal towns in the Henan region, and the central government of the Tang Dynasty controlled these six knots under the regime, making Henan, the lifeblood area, the exclusive territory of the central Tang Dynasty.
epilogue
After the Tang Dynasty central government controlled the three regions of Guanzhong, Jianghuai, and Henan, it firmly grasped the local government in its hands, minimizing the harm of the division of the feudal towns, and allowing the Tang Dynasty to survive for another 150 years after experiencing the Anshi Rebellion.
I have to say that after the Tang Dynasty has been severely damaged, it is really a very difficult thing to find a new breakthrough in the control of the regime, and because of this, the Tang Dynasty has become an enduring topic in people's mouths.