Li Chen, the fourth-to-last emperor of the Tang Dynasty, made a lot of achievements during his reign of thirteen years, creating the "Rule of Great Middle" and was praised by Sima Guang as "Little Taizong". However, Tang Xuanzong failed to save the Tang Dynasty in the midst of turmoil, or the prosperity of his reign, but only a return to the light before the fall of the Tang Dynasty! So what did Tang Xuanzong do, and why did he fail to save the Tang Dynasty?
According to the historical records, during the reign of Tang Xuanzong, "the river huang returned to the land, and the desert dissipated the atmosphere", "the criminal administration was not indiscriminate, the virtuous energy was used, the four mountains were hundreds of mountains, the Muruo Qingfeng, and for more than ten years, the praises carried the road". According to this set of theories, the reign of Tang Xuanzong can indeed be regarded as a prosperous era, but if we analyze the specific historical data, we will find many problems! These words are nothing more than the praises of later generations to Tang Xuanzong.
First of all, there were rebellions in the town. For example, in the third year of Da Zhong, Xuzhou military rebellion; in April of the twelfth year of Da Zhong, Lingnan military coup; in May, Hunan military coup; in June, Jiangxi military coup; july, Xuanzhou military coup; thirteen years of Da Zhong, Xuzhou again military coup. Although these rebellions did not have a great impact on the Tang Dynasty, geographically speaking, these areas were all areas directly controlled by the imperial court, and the Jianghuai area was the source of taxation for the imperial court, which showed that the foundation of tang rule had been shaken.
Second, the rivalry remains fierce. In the late Tang Dynasty, there were constant struggles between the Niu Party headed by Niu Monks and Children, Li Zongmin, and the Li Party headed by Li Deyu and Zheng Qin. After Tang Xuanzong ascended the throne, he expelled the Li Party headed by Li Deyu and wantonly appointed members of the Niu Party, such as cattle monks and children, who moved north on the same day. With the gain of power of the Niu Party, the Li Party gradually declined, and although the Niu-Li Party dispute came to an end, a new party struggle followed, which aggravated the political turmoil of the Tang Dynasty.
Again, eunuchs still controlled the government. When Emperor Wuzong of Tang was seriously ill, it was the eunuch Ma Yuanzhen and others who came forward to support Li Chen as the emperor's uncle and then support him to ascend the throne. Tang Xuanzong was founded by eunuchs, so he always had a good feeling for the eunuch clique and still handed over the military power of the forbidden army to the eunuchs. After Tang Xuanzong's death, his son was also supported by eunuchs, and Xiahou Zi, the chancellor at the time, objected. The eunuchs were very arrogant, "but the descendants of the Li clan, the minister of the interior is determined."
In addition, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the contradictions between the Southern and Northern Divisions intensified. The so-called Southern Ya refers to the group of courtiers headed by the Prime Minister, and the North Division refers to the eunuch group. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, he neither weakened the eunuchs nor relied heavily on courtiers, exacerbating the contradictions between the two and sowing the seeds for subsequent unrest. At the same time, he failed to solve many social problems in the middle and late Tang Dynasty, such as land annexation and displaced people.
That is to say, during the reign of Tang Xuanzong, with his personal ability, he did achieve some achievements in some aspects, and to a certain extent, the prosperity and stability of the dynasty were realized, but in fact, the fundamental problems were not solved accordingly. "On the outside, the number of clans is chased by their commanders and cannot be ruled, and the eunuchs on the inside are able to control the fate of the country freely", freezing three feet is not a day's cold, and Tang Xuanzong cannot change this situation!
In 859, Tang Xuanzong completed his life and died in Daming Palace at the age of 50. His death is similar to that of his ancestor Li Shimin, both of which were caused by poisoning by taking Dan medicine. The so-called "rule of the Great Middle" came to an end, and with the death of Tang Xuanzong, various contradictions erupted like volcanoes, completely burying the Tang Dynasty.
References: 1. Old Book of Tang, 2. Zizhi Tongjian, 3. Reading Tongjian