This article is a series of 210 intensive readings of Chinese history, and 20 consecutive years of "Sui and Tang History" (click on the blue character to view the previous part), welcome to watch.
During the reign of Emperor Muzong and Emperor Wenzong, Niu Monk Ru and Li Fengji successively served as prime ministers. The rulers are stubborn and stealing, political corruption, and local moderation makes it even more arrogant. However, after Emperor Wuzong ascended the throne, Li Deyu became chancellor, and he supported Emperor Wuzong of Tang in reviving the imperial program, and a new political situation emerged during the Huichang years.
01, Li Deyu's moral government
Li Deyu was originally a local official who cared about the people's diseases. In the second year of Changqing (822), he served as an observer of western Zhejiang, and asked the imperial court to reduce part of the burden on the peasants in western Zhejiang, and demolished more than 2,500 temples and temples. In August of the third year (829) of Emperor Wenzong's reign, he was recruited as a soldier and was ostracized by Li Zongmin, and in October of the following year, he was appointed as an envoy to The Jiannan Xichuan Festival.
When Li Deyu arrived in Chengdu, he was most concerned about the safety of the Xichuan border defense. As soon as he arrived, he conducted a thorough investigation of Nishikawa's defense problems. He not only went deep among the warriors, but also contacted ethnic minorities, specifically investigating the mountains, cities, guanliang, dangerous roads, and wide and narrow distances between Xichuan and Nanzhao and Tubo.
After more than a month of investigation, he had a thorough understanding of the situation around Nishikawa, and then, based on the results of the field investigation, drew up two kinds of maps: one was the map of the southern border defense situation, and the other was the western border defense situation map, which was used as the basis for strengthening the defense of Xichuan.
Second, the reorganized and training troops, laying off more than 4,000 old, weak and disabled soldiers, recruiting more than 1,000 new soldiers, and a total of 30,000 or 40,000 border defense troops. At the same time, every 200 households, a Dingdang was drawn as a xiongbian army (militia) for strict training. These people work in agriculture in peacetime and serve as soldiers in wartime, which not only strengthens combat readiness, but also does not increase the burden on the people. Then, Li Deyute hired Anding people to make armor, hezhong people as bows, and zhejiang people to make crossbows, and equipped the Xichuan troops with the most elite weapons in the country.
On the other hand, Li Deyu built the city of Cane Yicheng according to the border defense situation in Xichuan to prevent the invasion of Nanzhao on the Qingxi Pass side. In the triangle of Xichuan, Nanzhao, and Tubo, the Imperial Insult City was built to guard the junction of the two major defensive areas. The city of Rouyuan was established in the west to prevent the invasion of Tubo.
After more than a year of dismal operation by Li Deyu, the situation in Xichuan has improved significantly, not only the social economy has gradually developed, but also the border defense has been very consolidated.
In May of the fifth year of Taihe (831), Li Deyu negotiated with the Nanzhao authorities to release more than 4,000 people, including Xichuan craftsmen and monks. On the other hand, the Tubo Uighur general Xi Yimou voluntarily surrendered, so that Victoria (northwest of present-day Wenchuan, Sichuan), which had fallen for 42 years, was recaptured.
Victoria is the throat of Xichuan to Tubo, and recovering Victoria is of great strategic significance to defend against Tubo invasion. However, because the chancellor at that time, Niu Monk Ru, had prejudices against Li Deyu and was jealous of his high prestige, he ordered the abandonment of Victoria and handed over the plot to Tubo, who was killed by Tubo.
The above are the main achievements of Li Deyu when he was a local official.
02. Quell the rebellion of Liu Shu
After the first year of Huichang (841), Li Deyu served as the prime minister of the Tang Wuzong Dynasty for 6 years, and held the military and political power of the whole country. In view of the political shortcomings of the late Tang Dynasty, he carried out major reforms, which brought about a new situation in the Wuzong period.
First of all, it put down Liu Shu's rebellion, consolidated national unity, and reversed the long-term situation of internal weakness and external strength.
In April of the fourth year of Huichang (844), Zhaoyi Zhenjiedu killed Liu Congzhi. His nephew Liu Shu was not mournful and prepared to "stay behind" for himself. At that time, Emperor Wuzong of Tang convened a conference on Yanyingdian to study the liu shu issue. Most of the ministers attending the meeting advocated acquiescing to Liu Shu's independence, but only Li Deyu resolutely advocated safeguarding the unity of the country and cracking down on Liu Shu's separatist and separatist activities. He believed that the five prefectures under zhaoyi town were close to the capital, and if he was allowed to divide it, he would threaten the imperial court at any time. On the other hand, for a long time, Zhaoyi has always belonged to the imperial court, and if it is left unchecked, it will inevitably affect the whole country in the future.
Tang Wuzong asked him: In what way to subdue Liu Shu? If a war breaks out, is there any certainty of victory for the imperial court?
Li Deyu said: Liu Shu dared to oppose the imperial court, he wanted to rely on the support of the three towns of Heshuo, and if the three towns of Heshuo did not cooperate with him, Liu Shu personally could not do anything.
Li Deyu proposed two steps to attack Liu Shu: First, he sent a special envoy to Heshuo in person, and made it clear to King Yuankui of Chengde and Wei Bo He Hongjing that the three towns of Heshuo had served as emissaries for generations since Emperor Daizong, and had been serving as emissaries for nearly a hundred years. At present, the imperial court still recognizes this situation and does not interfere. Zhaoyi Town was different from the situation in Heshuo, it had always belonged to the imperial court, and Liu Shu would never be allowed to split.
Secondly, the special envoys of the imperial court should put forward clear requirements for the envoys of the three towns to divide labor and cooperate with the imperial court in the campaign to pacify Liu Shu. Because Xingzhou, Cizhou, and Luozhou were adjacent to Heshuo, Wang Yuankui and He Hongjing were entrusted to take the place of the imperial court to recover, and after the thief was pacified, there would be a heavy reward. As for the two prefectures of Ze and Lu, they were directly captured by the imperial court.
The second step is to organize armed forces from all over the world and attack from all directions at the same time to surround and annihilate Liu Shu.
Li Deyu's thief-breaking strategy was supported by Emperor Wuzong of Tang, who expressed all his efforts to eliminate Liu Shu's rebellion, regardless of who was not allowed to obstruct the battle plan to eliminate Liu Shu.
At the beginning of July of that year, the four-way army against Liu Shu marched to the front. After the victory of Wang Yuankui's army in attacking Yaoshan Banner, he conquered Xingzhou in August, and Emperor Wuzong of Tang issued an order to commend him.
Li Deyu then sent Wang Zai to assist Wei Bo he Hongjing's army in attacking Ci Prefecture (磁州, in modern Ci County, Hebei).
Li Deyu found that Li Yanzuo, who was in charge of capturing Luzhou, was ineffective in battle, and immediately transferred Shi Xiong as an envoy of Jin Daijiedushi and replaced Li Yanzuo.
After Shi Xiong's army entered the position, it led its troops across wuling, then broke through the hill village, and made rapid progress.
In December of that year, Yang Ben rebelled in Taiyuan, temporarily thwarting the campaign to pacify Liu Shu. After the Spring Festival of the fourth year of Huichang, the Hedong Army eliminated Yang Ben's rebels, recaptured Taiyuan, and concentrated its forces against Liu Shu.
At that time, Liu Shu's troops were plundering the people's wealth, and internal unrest, while parts of it were occupied by the imperial court's crusading army, the situation was very difficult, and Liu Shu's defeat was already decided. The defender of Xingzhou (邢州, in modern Xingtai, Hebei) killed four of the generals in the city and surrendered to Wang Yuankui. The Luozhou general Wang Zhao surrendered to He Hongjing. The Cizhou defender An Yu heard that Luo and Xing prefectures had been occupied by the crusading army, and also laid down his weapons.
In August of that year, Zelu's enemy Wen had all surrendered, and Liu Shu's generals Guo Yi and Wang Xie killed their masters to welcome the crusading army into the city.
By this time, the 13-month rebellion of Liu Shu had finally been put down.
As a result of the victory of the imperial court's crusading army, 5 prefectures and 31 counties were recovered, thus consolidating the unity of the country and preventing the expansion of the separatist situation.
In this counterinsurgency war, Li Deyu abolished the eunuch's right to command the army, so that the commanders on the front line could give full play to their role and not be restrained; they also had a correct operational plan, grasping the combat situation of both sides in several battlefields at any time and adjusting the operational arrangements in a timely manner; the rewards and punishments were strict, and the meritorious personnel were encouraged in a timely manner, so that the war was won.
03. Fight back against the Uighurs and stabilize the frontier
Second, the war against the Uighurs was organized, and victory was achieved, and the security of the border area was defended.
The Uighurs, located in the Valley of the Seling River (present-day Selenge River), have grown in power since the 8th century. During the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang court united with the Uighur nobles to help quell the civil unrest.
After the Anshi Rebellion, although the Uighurs withdrew, they forced the Tang Dynasty to trade in silk horses and tea horses, and implemented unequal exchanges: one horse was exchanged for 40 silk horses, moving tens of thousands of horses, and in exchange for many old and thin horses. The Tang dynasty treasury was thus empty, and the price of horses could not be repaid for decades. In addition, the Tang court also had to return 20,000 silks every year as a reward to help Tang recover the two capitals.
During the reign of Emperor Wuzong of Tang, the Uighurs were defeated by the Tang Dynasty, and the nation was divided into several parts, some defecting to Tubo, some surrendering to the Tang Dynasty (such as Singing Mos), and some active in the areas of Tiande and Zhenwu (present-day Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and northern Linger), peeking into the Tang Border Region in order to get a ride.
In July of the second year of Huichang (842), Ujie Khan openly made unreasonable demands and demanded a large amount of cattle and sheep grain from the Tang court. Prime Minister Li Deyu replied in a righteous and stern manner: "We use cattle to cultivate the fields, but we have never been allowed to slaughter them, and the number of sheep is very small and cannot be supplied. If grain was needed, three thousand stones could be provided, which had to be exchanged for horses. “
Wujie Khan read the reply of the Tang court, and not only did not change his attitude, but on the contrary intensified his efforts, making territorial claims to the Tang dynasty, claiming to borrow the border frontier outpost Tiande City.
Tiande City was the northern gateway of the Tang Dynasty and a strategic place. Ujko Khan's request was rightfully rejected.
In August of the second year of Huichang, Ujie Khan ordered the Uighur army to brazenly cross the top peak and burst into Datong River (大同川, in modern Yuhe, Shanxi), and bing Linyun Prefecture (present-day Datong, Shanxi), plundering tens of thousands of cattle and horses east of the river.
In view of the situation in the border area at that time, Prime Minister Li Deyu immediately made specific arrangements to counterattack the Uighurs. First of all, Chen, Xu, Xu, Ru, and Xiangyang troops were immediately dispatched to Taiyuan and Tiande to prepare for a counterattack. Secondly, in September, Li Deyu appointed Liu Huan as the envoy to fu The Uighurs, Zhang Zhongwu as the envoy to the east, and Li Sizhong to the hexi general to recruit the Uighur envoys, and all the large armies marched north through Taiyuan, and ordered Liu Tuntun to march through Yanmen Pass to strengthen the defensive force.
In August of the third year of Huichang, the Uighurs invaded Zhenwu in a big way. The Tang general Liu Huan sent Shi Shixiong and Duzhi to lead 3,000 cavalry to lead Wang Feng as the forward, and Liu Huan led a large army behind the palace. Shi Xiong's army dug tunnels to sneak into the Khan's tooth tent and launched a fierce attack, defeating the Uighurs and killing Hu Shan.
Ujie Khan was shot by the Tang army and fled with hundreds of horses, the Uighur soldiers lost their commander, and the whole army fell into a state of chaos. The Tang army took the opportunity to launch a large-scale counterattack, and as a result, it beheaded the enemy by more than 10,000 ranks, surrendered more than 20,000 people, and won a complete victory in the counterattack.
This war was the greatest victory in the defensive battle of the border area after the Anshi Rebellion, which not only defended the security of the north, but also strengthened the prestige of the Tang army and greatly boosted morale.
04. Tang Wuzong destroyed the Buddha
Third, crack down on monastic landlords and consolidate centralized power. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Buddhist forces suffered a fatal blow, but since Emperor Wen of Sui, the rulers have tried to revive and develop Buddhism. The Tang Dynasty continued to use Buddhism, and after Wu Zetian came to power, the power of Buddhism developed rapidly.
The expansion of Buddhist power, on the one hand, wastes private resources, and at the same time, due to the expansion of monastic land and the increase of monks, it will inevitably reduce the source of state taxes. Therefore, since the founding of the Li Tang Dynasty, most of the far-sighted politicians have opposed Buddhism, among which famous figures include Fu Yi, Di Renjie, Xin Dieno, Yao Chong, Li Shuming, Peng Yan, Han Yu, and so on.
However, before Tang Wuzong, Buddhism was only refuted theoretically, with little practical effect. By the time of Emperor Wuzong of Tang, the anti-Buddhist struggle had reached a new stage. This is because after the Anshi Rebellion, the power of Buddhism continued to expand, and the monastic landlords controlled a large amount of land and labor, seriously undermining the source of state tax revenue and servitude.
In addition, during the Wuzong period, two large-scale battles were carried out, and for nearly two years, a large amount of manpower and material resources were consumed, which caused great difficulties in the state finances.
In order to solve the above difficulties, it is necessary to destroy monasteries, liberate labor force and confiscate monastic assets.
In this regard, Li Deyu has practical experience: he demolished more than 1,400 temples in western Zhejiang; during his tenure as an envoy to Nishikawa, he destroyed thousands of temples and temples and distributed the land of the monasteries to the peasants.
In the fifth year of Huichang (845), Li Deyu popularized the experience of destroying Buddhism in western Zhejiang throughout the country. Tang Wuzong resolutely supported Li Deyu's idea of destroying buddhism, sent Yushi to separate the inspectors, and after several months of struggle, more than 44,600 monasteries, zhaoti, and Lanruo were demolished throughout the country, 200,500 lay monks and nuns were returned, 150,000 slaves were taken, and hundreds of thousands of hectares of land were confiscated.
A large number of fat fields were sold to the household department, and the middle and lower areas were distributed to the monks, nuns and slaves who returned the world, 10 acres per person, and the farmers became two tax households.
The destruction of the Buddha during the Huichang period was actually a struggle between the Tang government and the monastic landlords for land and labor. As a result of this victory in destroying Buddhism, the tax sources of the Tang government were expanded and the Centralization of power by the Tang Court was consolidated. In the last year of Huichang, there were 4955151 taxpayers in the country, more than twice as many as in the "Yuan and Zhongxing" period, and 1/3 more than in the Muzong period.
This was the country's heyday after the Anshi Rebellion.