As an unprecedentedly glorious dynasty, the tragedy of the Tang Dynasty's demise is shocking. The killing of the emperor, the strangulation of nine princes, and the throwing of the bodies of his cronies into the river to rot are all horrific details that make us wonder: How could a once powerful dynasty come to such a bleak end? What was the reason for this unprecedented catastrophe?
The origin of the Yellow Nest Uprising
It is said that Huang Chao was born in a family of businessmen and has a solid family background. But he has been enlightened since he was a child, and at the age of 5, he was able to talk to his elders eloquently, and he knew poetry and songs well. In addition to cultural accomplishments, Huang Chao is also outstanding in martial arts, and he is excellent in equestrian swordsmanship.
Huang Chao, who has always had great ambitions, was determined to devote himself to his career at a young age. However, due to bad luck, he fell again and again, and finally fell to Sun Shan, and left Chang'an City with resentment. After returning to his hometown, Huang Chao had to take over the family business and become the leader of the Salt Gang.
Who would have thought that this turning point would become the beginning of the fall of the Tang Dynasty.
In the first year of Qianfu, floods and droughts occurred one after another throughout the country, coupled with the corruption and incompetence of the imperial court, and the people were displaced. Just when the people were struggling to make a living, a smuggler named Wang Xianzhi first raised a counter-flag in Changyuan County. After Huang Chao heard the news, he joined Wang Xianzhi's rebel army with his friends and nephews.
At first, Wang Xianzhi's "grass army" was only a small guerrilla force, but in just a few months, they captured Caozhou, Puzhou, Yunzhou and other places. Wang Xianzhi thus proclaimed himself a "great general" and called on more poor people to join him, pointing out that the "corruption and perversion of the law" of the imperial court was the root cause of the disaster.
Sure enough, the ranks of the rebel army grew rapidly. Those homeless people who were homeless due to natural disasters joined Huang Chao's command one after another, seeing him as a lifesaver. In the blink of an eye, Huang Chao's army had grown to tens of thousands.
In the face of the officers and soldiers sent by the imperial court, the rebel army of Huangchao won many battles and soon defeated them completely. After breaking through the prefectures and counties one after another, Huang Chao went straight to Luoyang City. For a time, the officials in Luoyang City panicked and fled in all directions, and the imperial court had no one to command the army to suppress it.
In this battle, which was later called the "Battle of the Emperor", Huang Chao completely occupied Luoyang, clearing the biggest obstacle for his uprising.
The Yellow Nest army is victorious
After the battle of Luoyang, Huang Chao did not stop there. Taking advantage of the fact that the imperial court was in turmoil, he quickly reorganized his army and issued a manifesto, openly accusing the imperial court of "prohibiting the assassination of historical property, and ordering the stolen goods of the county", and calling on more poor people to join the ranks of the uprising.
As soon as the proclamation came out, Huang Chao's army was strengthened, and it took only a few months to capture Guangzhou. After that, he led the army all the way north to Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty.
In the face of Huang Chao's fierce attack, the court was helpless. Someone came up with the official position of promising Huang Chao to be an envoy of moderation, waiting for an opportunity to get rid of him. However, Prime Minister Lu Xi advocated direct resistance, but was unfortunately rejected by the young emperor Li Yi. In the end, Lu Xian had to pretend to be seriously ill to escape the conflict.
Just when the government and the opposition were in dispute, Huang Chao's army had broken through Tongguan and approached the city of Chang'an. Seeing that there was no resistance from the imperial court, the common people warmly welcomed the arrival of the rebel army.
In 881 AD, Huangchao completely occupied Chang'an and formally established the Great Qi regime here. In order to consolidate the New Deal, he executed a large number of bureaucrats and royal relatives, even newborn babies were not spared. At the same time, he confiscated the property of the rich in Chang'an City and relieved the poor, thus winning the support of more people.
However, the good times of the Yellow Nest were short-lived. Although he succeeded in seizing power, the rebel army was mixed with a number of hooligans and grasshoppers, who were just as vicious and ruthless to the common people. In addition, Huang Chao himself was intoxicated with the joy of victory for too long, and failed to completely purge the remnants of the imperial court, giving Tang Xizong a chance to breathe.
Soon, Tang Xizong reorganized the forces of the counteroffensive in Chengdu and rebelled against General Zhu Wen under Huang Chao. Under the internal and external attacks, Huangchao was finally forced to withdraw from Chang'an and move to Henan.
In the following years, Huangchao's rebel army and the imperial army fought repeatedly in Henan and Shandong, but they failed to achieve a decisive victory. Until June 884, Huang Chao was killed by a traitor on the way to escape, and the uprising was completely lost.
Imperial Court Decay
If you want to talk about why the imperial court was defeated in the face of Huangchao's uprising, you have to start with the emperor Li Yi of the current dynasty.
Li Yi was originally the eldest son of Tang Yizong, and at the age of 12, he was canonized as a prince because of the support of eunuchs. When Yizong died, Li Yi became the new monarch of the Tang Dynasty under the manipulation of the eunuchs.
It can be said that he is young and lacks experience, and Li Yi was idle, mediocre and incompetent at the beginning of his ascension to the throne. He was obsessed with polo, indulging in it all day long, neglecting governance. The government is naturally controlled by the eunuchs, from military affairs to the people's livelihood, and the eunuchs say the same.
Just when the people of the court and the people were disheartened, the uprising of Huangchao was like a thunderbolt from the sky, and the court was in chaos. In the face of the retreating army, Li Yi was at a loss, so he had to listen to the advice of the eunuchs around him, promised Huang Chao a heavy reward, and tried to recruit him into the court as an official.
However, where is Huang Chao so easy to dismiss? He angrily rebuked Wang Xianzhi: "Everyone has sworn together to pacify the world, and if you become an official now, you will abandon our brothers in an unrighteous land!" It can be seen that Huang Chao's ambition is far more than that.
Naturally, the negotiations of the imperial court were in vain. Huang Chao's army rushed straight to Chang'an like a fierce beast, and no one in the imperial court could fight back strongly. In the end, Li Yi had to flee to Chengdu with his cronies and eunuchs in an attempt to regroup.
At this juncture, Huangchao captured Chang'an and established the Great Qi regime. In order to consolidate the rule of the new dynasty, he executed a large number of bureaucrats and royal clansmen, even newborn babies.
The decay and incompetence of the imperial court, coupled with the swiftness of the Huangchao Rebellion, made this once powerful dynasty crumbling and nearly falling out in just a few years. If it weren't for the appearance of Zhu Wen later, I am afraid that the Tang Dynasty would have perished, and there would never be a day to turn over.
Zhu Wen usurped power, and the Tang dynasty was ruined
Although Huang Chao was eventually killed, his revolt was far from over. In this turbulent wave, Zhu Wen, a general who originally followed Huang Chao, took the opportunity to rise up and became the culprit who really destroyed the Tang Dynasty.
At first, Zhu Wen was just a pawn who followed Huang Chao. However, in the Battle of Chang'an, he was rebelled by Li Yi of Tang Xizong and became the vanguard of the suppression of Huangchao. With his superior strategy, Zhu Wen quickly routed Huang Chao's army and forced them to withdraw from Chang'an.
In the following years, Zhu Wen repeatedly performed miraculous feats and prospered in official fortune. However, power is a bane after all, and it makes Zhu Wen overly ambitious. Soon, he rebelled against Li Yi and led his army straight into the river.
In the face of Zhu Wen's attack, Li Yi was already overwhelmed. He has reigned for more than ten years, but he has long been devastated by the war and is frail and sickly. In the end, Li Yi had to give up the throne to his younger brother Li Ye, and he stepped down from seclusion.
But where would Zhu Wen stop there? His ambitions went far beyond that. Soon, Zhu Wen's army captured Fengxiang City, captured Li Ye, and made him a puppet emperor in his own hands.
Since then, Zhu Wen has become the highest person in charge of the government. He not only forced Li Ye to move the capital, but also brutally killed him before he set out on the expedition. In order to completely cut off the foundation of the Tang Dynasty, Zhu Wen even induced Li Ye's nine princes to drink and have fun at a banquet, and while they were drunk, he ordered someone to strangle them to death, and their bodies were thrown into the river.
After that, Zhu Wen was even more out of control, killing all the remnants of the Tang Dynasty. In 907 AD, Zhu Wen finally ascended the throne as emperor and changed the name of the country to Daliang.
end
In this way, a once strong and powerful dynasty finally came to an end under the double blow of internal and external troubles. Although the uprising of Huangchao failed, it became the fuse for the collapse of the Tang Dynasty, thus completely changing the course of history.