Emperor Wuzong of Tang (formerly known as Li Yan), the fifteenth emperor of the Tang Dynasty, the fifth son of Emperor Muzong of Tang and li heng, was also the younger brother of Emperor Jingzong of Tang and Emperor Wenzong of Tang. Tang Wuzong was an emperor with a deep temperament and a brave plan. During his reign, he made great efforts to govern and achieved many achievements, and later generations called the period of Wuzong's rule "Huichang Zhongxing".
Tang Wuzong Li Yan
Although Tang Wuzong performed well, the existence of Emperor Wuzong in history was not high. The New Book of Tang adopts the evaluation method of first Yang and then suppressing Wuzong, and it is too Yang. The Old Book of Tang wrote a praise at the end of many emperors' Benji to summarize his life, but there was no such praise at the end of the Wuzong Benji. The Zizhi Tongjian simply does not express an opinion on The life of Emperor Wuzong. It can be seen that these official revision history books do not seem to have any good feelings for Tang Wuzong, and most of them believe that Wuzong relied on a chancellor Li Deyu to achieve "Huichang Zhongxing". In comparison, his next emperor, Tang Xuanzong, had a much higher sense of existence, and the Old Book of Tang praised him for "being old to the present, singing the song of Ming jun." The Zizhi Tongjian records that After Emperor Xuanzong's death, he praised him even more.
Xuanzong is clear-sighted and assertive, selfless in his use of the law, from the flow of advice, cherishing official rewards, being respectful and frugal, and loving the people's things, so the government of the great middle, the death of the Tang Dynasty, the people think of Yongzhi, called the Little Taizong - "Zizhi Tongjian"
Tang Xuanzong Li Chen
It can be seen that in terms of reputation, "Little Taizong" Tang Xuanzong is much better than Tang Wuzong, since Wuzong's sense of existence in history is so low, then why would it be Changzhongxing? With this question in mind, the author will unfold the short but extraordinary life of Tang Wuzong for you.
Imperial power is in turmoil, dormant in the mansion, love to travel
In the fifteenth year of Yuan He (820 AD), Tang Xianzong died at the hands of the eunuch Chen Hongzhi.
From the beginning of Xianzong's unnatural death, bad luck continued to come to the side of the Li Tang royal family. Tang Xianzong's successors, Muzong and Jingzong, were indulgent and did not hesitate to pay tribute to officials, and the appointment of unknown people was unknown. During the reign of these two emperors, the town of Heshuo was completely out of control, the eunuchs' power was not great, and the partisan disputes intensified.
Next on the scene was Tang Wenzong Li Ang, the emperor who immediately introduced a series of policies to benefit the people as soon as he came to power, and looked like a good emperor. But his indecisiveness, lacking the decisiveness of a king, certainly could not last long in that chaotic world. Sure enough, in a palace coup, he was completely controlled by the eunuch Qiu Shiliang and others, and was subject to "house slaves" from then on. He died of depression five years later in 840 AD.
From 820 to 840 AD, the Tang Empire experienced the death of four emperors. The rotation of the emperor will inevitably lead to turmoil in the imperial power. And all this chaos, Li Yan looked at them one by one, but he could not do the rest except in the Sixteen Houses (the living quarters of the emperor's relatives), because in the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the position of the prince had always been very awkward, except for cockfighting and lackeys, that is, to participate in some court gatherings.
Li Yan of Tang Wuzong was always an "active member" in imperial circles, and the Zizhi Tongjian records that Tang Wuzong was quite arrogant (Wuzong Qihao). It can be seen that when he was in the mansion, Li Yan had a leadership temperament. In addition, Li Yan also loves to travel, and while traveling, he can also see the local people's feelings. The arrogant Li Yan did not forget the major events of the country at any time, and in the face of the ever-changing situation, Li Yan looked on coldly and waited for the opportunity to come.
The first ascent of the great treasure, strengthen the imperial power
The era belonging to Li Yan finally arrived, and on the eve of Tang Wenzong's death, a group of eunuchs headed by Qiu Shiliang supported Li Yan as the "Emperor's Brother", and on the fourth day of the first month of the fifth year, Tang Wenzong died and Li Yan ascended the throne for Tang Wuzong. Tang Wuzong, who had just ascended the throne, could be said to have taken over a weak imperial power and a mess in the world. However, this did not bother Tang Wuzong, and he quickly sorted out a series of plans, the first of which was to strengthen the imperial power.
Qiu Shiliang
1. Believe in Taoism and emphasize the legitimacy of succession.
From the beginning of his rise to power, Tang Wuzong never hesitated to express his admiration for Taoism to people, not only rewarding Daoists for building dojos, but even personally teaching Dharma hoops. The author believes that in addition to personal beliefs, it may also be to strengthen imperial power. In fact, before his death, Emperor Wenzong of Tang intended to make Li Chengmei, the younger son of Emperor Jingzong of Tang, crown prince, but the eunuchs wanted to gain more power. In this way, Tang Wuzong's succession seemed to have a feeling of "improper position".
Taoism can be said to be the state religion of the Li Tang Dynasty, and the Tianzi of the Li family have always regarded themselves as the descendants of Lao Tzu, the ancestor of Taoism. Then, if Tang Wuzong advocates Taoism, he can not only satisfy his own beliefs, but also correct his own position to a certain extent, which is quite a bit of a divine grant of kingship.
2. Use Li Deyu and vigorously appoint members of the "Lee Party"
Soon after Emperor Wuzong of Tang succeeded to the throne, he transferred Li Deyu, who was then an envoy to Huainan Jiedushi, to the central government as a servant under the door, tongping Zhangshi. In the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the official position plus the name of Tongping Zhangshi was considered to be the prime minister, and the prime minister was respected by the attendants under the door, so it is not difficult to see tang Wuzong's love and trust for Li Deyu, and just after succeeding to the throne, he appointed Li Deyu as prime minister, which shows that Tang Wuzong paid attention to observing the competent minister when he was a prince, and this selection of Li Deyu was by no means a whim. During the reign of Emperor Wuzong of Tang, the two men have always been able to trust each other and have survived many crises together.
Ming Xiang Li Deyu
The "Niu Li" two parties of the Tang Dynasty originated in the Tang Xianzong dynasty, and the dispute between eunuchs in the Tang Dynasty intensified from the beginning of Muzong, and reached its peak during the Tang Wenzong period, the two sides dismantled each other, delaying many major military and state affairs, especially the members of the "Niu Party", and the dispute over the portal was far greater than the national interests. After Tang Wuzong came to power, most of the members of the "Lee Party" were reused, while most of the members of the "Bull Party" were placed idle. In this way, it can be done upward and downward, avoiding prevarication.
3. Limit eunuchs, and leaders who dare to take responsibility are good leaders
Neither the party strife nor the clan town could pose an absolute threat to imperial power under the circumstances at that time. Eunuchs, on the other hand, were four emperors of Emperor Wuzong of Tang, three of whom were supported by eunuchs (Tang Xianzong, Tang Muzong, Tang Wenzong), and two were killed by eunuchs (Tang Xianzong, Tang Jingzong). Pondering the extreme fear, it was urgent to restrict the eunuchs.
Compared with Tang Wenzong's one-net strategy, Tang Wuzong's strategy was much more advanced. He and Li Deyu seized on the loopholes in the eunuch group itself to divide and encircle. In fact, the eunuch clique in the late Tang Dynasty has never been monolithic, and within them, there have always been two factions of "elder faction" and "upstart faction". These two factions have been incompatible between fire and water in the middle and late Tang Dynasty. Emperor Tang used the upstart eunuch Yu Zhao'en to take over Li Fuguo. Emperor Wenzong of Tang used Qiu Shiliang to defeat Wang Shoucheng. However, these two emperors did not look at the choice of the object and did not know how to use the power of the prime minister, which led to the "nouveau riche" eunuchs who immediately became the "elders" and continued to threaten the imperial power after gaining power.
Tang Wuzong and Li Deyu seized on this characteristic of the eunuch clique and set out to promote the eunuchs of the upstart faction, while the eunuch Qiu Shiliang of the elder faction adopted the method of explicit ascension and secret surrender. The clever Qiu Shiliang soon smelled the danger. It was decided to kill Li Deyu with a salary, or even to carry out another coup d'état to massacre the civilian clique. So he spread rumors to the army that Li Deyu was preparing to cut the army's food and salary. When Tang Wuzong heard this, he was furious. Immediately sent envoys to send an edict to the left and right Divine Strategists:
There was no such thing in the edict at the beginning. And the edicts are all out of mind, not by the prime minister, and Andrew said this!
There is no edict to cut the grain wages at all, and even if there is, it is completely out of the meaning of the Yuan, what is your intention in imposing on the prime minister? This is Tang Wuzong, who dares to take responsibility when things happen, and sometimes, the evaluation of good leaders and poor leaders depends on whether this leader has the courage to take responsibility for his subordinates. Writing here, I can't help but think of Tang Wenzong at that time, every time there was a big event (such as the song Shenxi case and the change of Ganlu), he blamed all the charges on the head of the minister and did not want to offend the eunuchs, but he did not know that sometimes the loss of shirking responsibility is far greater than the loss of courage to take responsibility, and a person who even betrays his teammates can not talk about making the enemy respect.
Tang Wenzong Li Ang
Tang Wuzong's series of actions finally made Qiu Shiliang realize the reality, and finally retired after three years in Huichang. Since then, eunuchs have not been able to set off excessive storms in the Wuzong Dynasty.
Domineering slashing, protecting the border and the people
After temporarily resolving the problem of eunuchs interfering in politics and party infiltration in the imperial court, Tang Wuzong began to address external threats. Specifically, two main things were done.
1. Ping Zhaoyi
When Emperor Wuzong was in power, the tianxia clan towns were generally relatively stable, and the central imperial court always followed the "Heshuo Story", and the three towns of Heshuo took care of military, finance, and civil affairs. But for the rest of the clan towns, if there are those who dare to be independent, they will immediately send troops to requisition.
In the third year of Huichang, Liu Congzhi (also known as Zelu Jiedushi) died of illness, Liu Congzhi intended to stand on his own like the three towns of Heshuo, so after his death, his nephew Liu Shu established himself as the Zhaoyi army and planned to divide one side, the Zelu area where the Zhaoyi army was located was very important, and the eastern Part of Heshuo's important town of Chengde Weibo, the west of the River, close to the Jing division, Tang Wuzong could not accept its independence under any circumstances. Therefore, Tang Wuzong sent an army to the Zelu area to prepare to wipe out the Zhaoyi army in one fell swoop. The outcome of this counterinsurgency war seemed easy on the surface, with Tang officials and troops winning a series of victories, the rebel general Liu Shu being killed by his generals, and the counterinsurgency war declared victory. But it's actually far more complicated than it looks.
First of all, on the eve of the war, whether the war is or not has been constantly discussed by the ministers, and there are many people in the DPRK and China who hope for a peaceful settlement. In the end, Li Deyu comprehensively analyzed the importance of this battle from the perspectives of people's hearts, military hearts, and politics. Emperor Wuzong of Tang immediately defied public opinion and fully supported Li Deyu's battle plan.
More importantly, the victory of this war also had a lot to do with strengthening imperial power, balancing eunuchs and local power. The counterinsurgency war in the middle and late Tang Dynasties has never been a simple military issue, but also a political game, a game of imperial power and the power of the feudal town, and a game of imperial power and eunuch power.
In this counterinsurgency war, the troops of both the inland and heshuo were united in their efforts to obey the dispatch of the central imperial court.
In addition, in the past, whenever the imperial court fought, the eunuchs would dispatch elite men and horses to their own soldiers, and they would command the generals, and the credit for victory would be attributed to themselves, and if they were defeated, they would be handed over to the leading generals, which seriously reduced the combat effectiveness of the army. In view of this situation, the imperial court made a stipulation that for every thousand troops, the eunuchs of the supervising army could draw ten people as their own soldiers, and could not rush to attack and push. Avoid the previous drawbacks, so the combat effectiveness of the army is greatly improved.
It can be seen that at this time, the imperial power was completely above the eunuchs and local powers, and it was not so much a military victory as a victory of the imperial power.
Schematic map of the town of Tang Dynasty in the middle and late Tang Dynasty
2. Return the Falcon
The Uighur Khaganate, formerly known as the Uighur Khaganate, was known for its ability to do business, and was once indispensable. After the Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty, the Hui Khanate sent troops to support the Tang Dynasty. Overall, the relationship between the two sides is not bad. However, by the time of Emperor Wuzong of Tang, the internal weakness of the Hui Khanate, coupled with the blows of foreign tribes, was torn apart. One of the tribes was exiled to the Tang border.
At this time, although the Uighurs were fragmented, they still had an army of 100,000, and this homeless army had unlimited destructive power. Tang Wuzong and Li Deyu were careful to deal with them, and they had always been justified and accepted the Uighurs who intended to move south. The ulterior motives of the Uighurs were resisted. Eventually, the Uighur Wujie Khan's army invaded the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and Tang Wuzong gathered forces to fight with it, and finally destroyed the Uighur Khaganate. In dealing with the Uighur Khaganate, the Tang Dynasty achieved benevolence and righteousness, first saluted and then soldiers, and finally achieved thirty years of peace in the north, paving the way for Tang Xuanzong to finally recover the Hehuang region.
Rectify the administration of officials and pay attention to the people's livelihood
1. Strengthen the management of officials
1.1. Limit the shade of the door and adjust the way to enter the business
Tang Wuzong knew very well that the quality of the official rule could determine the rise and fall of a country, and the way to enter the army was very important for the official rule. So during the reign of Emperor Wuzong of Tang. Efforts were made to limit the second generation of officials who did not learn and did not learn any skills to rely on the door shade to enter the army, and for the poor children, as long as they only met the standards of learning, they would be awarded positions.
Tang Dynasty Imperial Examination
The glitz and glitz of the scholar was particularly evident in the late Tang Dynasty, and in view of this problem, Tang Wuzong stipulated that the scholar must pass two examinations, and the granting of official positions was also regulated to avoid the situation of misalignment.
1.2. Tailor officials
In the late Tang Dynasty, the problem of redundant officials was very prominent. Liu Yunzhang, a famous minister of the late Tang Dynasty Yizong and Emperor Yizong, wrote in his "Book of Direct Advice" that "the state is broken nine times" One of them is that "there are more people who eat Lulu, but fewer people lose taxes." It can be seen that the phenomenon of national redundancy at that time was very heavy.
In view of the serious problem of redundant personnel in the late Tang Dynasty, Tang Wuzong and Prime Minister Li Deyu actively cut redundant personnel, and eventually cut down thousands of redundant officials, which greatly alleviated class contradictions.
1.3 Enact heavy laws and show no mercy to corrupt officials
In view of the problem of rampant official corruption at that time, Tang Wuzong and Li Deyu adopted a fair law enforcement and strict law enforcement practice, and never tolerated criminal officials. The "YuanGui of the Book" records:
Huichang First Year First Month Edict: Imperial court punishment should be uniform, officials sit on stolen goods, it is not appropriate to have special, internal and external civil and military attaches are guilty of thirty horses of stolen silk, and all are punished according to the extreme law.
It can be seen that Tang Wuzong treated officials strictly. The author believes that in the late Tang Dynasty, although the world was not chaotic, chaos had emerged, and the chaotic world should be used to re-enact. Moreover, officials are law enforcers, know the law and break the law, and should have been guilty of one degree, so the author Wuzong is positive about the use of heavy punishments for corrupt officials.
2. Restrictions on Buddhism
The problems of low taxpayer ratio, heavy money and light goods, and fierce land annexation have always existed in the middle and late Tang Dynasty. In response to this problem, Tang Wuzong decided to crack down on Buddhism. In fact, Emperor Wuzong was not very friendly to Buddhism from the beginning of his reign, and even abolished a large number of monasteries in the fifth year of Huichang. Only one monastery was allowed to be preserved in Shangzhou, and only ten monasteries could be preserved in Chang'an and Luoyang, and each monastery could only have 10 monks (later added to 30). The land occupied by the monasteries was confiscated, and the monks of the monasteries were all reclusively reclusively became the two taxpayers of the state, and even the monks from foreign countries who came to study in the Tang Dynasty had to return to the secular. The Buddhist statues enshrined in the monasteries melted money to alleviate the currency crisis caused by the shortage of copper supplies. The blow to Buddhism was so severe that the movement was called "Huichang Dharma Difficulty" by Buddhists.
It will be difficult to change the law
An analysis of a low sense of presence
Through the above description, we can find that Tang Wuzong was a very outstanding emperor, and his achievements are also obvious to all. Objectively speaking, his achievements are also higher than those of "Little Taizong" Tang Xuanzong. So why did Tang Wuzong's sense of existence in history not match Tang Xuanzong's? In my opinion, there are four main points:
First, the successor is not on his own side
After Emperor Wuzong's death, he was succeeded by Emperor Wuzong's uncle Li Chen of Tang Xuanzong. According to historical records, the relationship between Tang Wuzong and Tang Xuanzong was not good. More importantly, Tang Xuanzong succeeded to the throne as emperor with his uncle, which was even more unjust, and Tang Xuanzong relied on pro-"qiu" eunuchs to succeed to the throne, and the political achievements of overthrowing Emperor Wuzong became inevitable. In other words, whether it is public or private, Tang Wuzong's political achievements and political image will be overthrown, and naturally there will not be much good reputation.
Second, Li Deyu's brilliance is too great
Li Deyu, as the first minister of the late Tang Dynasty, is indeed radiant, and the modern scholar Liang Qichao listed Li Deyu with Guan Zhong, Shang Martin, Zhuge Liang, Wang Anshi, and Zhang Juzheng as the six sages of the feudal period, which shows the strength of his personal ability. Compared to Li Deyu's star, Wuzong was inevitably a little dim. However, the attitude of the previous emperors toward Li Deyu was either outward, or not used, or half-used, and only Tang Wuzong really reused Li Deyu. In contrast, Tang Wuzong's employment level can be seen.
Third, "extinguishing the Buddha" is too much
It can be said that Buddhism won the hearts of the people during the Tang Dynasty. Of course, Buddhism did compete with the Tang government for social resources during that period. There are also many secular families who have fled into the empty door in order to avoid taxes, and Tang Wuzong's original intention was not bad.
However, the prevalence of Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty had its own laws, and Buddhism had its mass base in the Tang Dynasty. And much of the wealth that Buddhism has is based on donations from its followers and some legal means. If we rush to "destroy the Buddha," we will first trample on the laws of the Tang Dynasty. Moreover, the monasteries of the Tang Dynasty were also an institution for the scholars to work and study, and many people who did not have money could go to the monasteries to study and study, they only needed to help the monasteries to copy and write scriptures or do some chores to eat and live in the monasteries for free. For example, Wang Bo, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, was poor as a teenager, and studied in the Mulan Courtyard of Huizhao Temple, and eventually lived in the official residence of the prime minister. It can be said that the monastery provided an opportunity for these poor students, and when these poor students one day won high school, they would naturally be grateful to the monastery. And Wuzong's direct and rude "annihilation of the Buddha" is certainly unpopular. In fact, the most criticism of Wuzong by later generations is his crude "annihilation of the Buddha."
However, its method of desperately removing the floating map is very sharp. - New Book of Tang
The prime minister who studied at the temple, Wang Bo
Here I would like to say an aside, Tang Wuzong can completely conduct a strict examination for the "quasi-monks" who intend to enter the monastery, and only by passing the examination can they become monks. In addition, strict examinations are conducted for monks within the monastery, and those who do not care about the Dharma are excluded. In addition, heavy penalties are imposed on those who want to avoid taxes through monasticism. For the land of the temple, two taxes can be appropriately extracted, as long as it is reasonable, and there is a law to follow, it is beneficial to the country, and religion is respected.
Fourth, treat officials strictly, and the double standard of history book evaluation
Finally, and most importantly, Tang Wuzong treated officials too strictly. Although the treatment of officials was strict, it was a fortunate thing to treat the people of the Tang Dynasty, and it was a pity that the right to write history was not in the hands of these Tang Dynasty people, but in the hands of those who had resources. Here, we have to admire Emperor Xuanzong's propaganda ability. The author has consulted an edict from Emperor Xuanzong of Tang in the fourth year of his reign, which reads as follows:
The excitement of stealing starts from inadequacy, light on human life, heavy on other goods, killing and injuring many people, and obediently educating...
Tang Xuanzong's meaning is obvious, Tang Wuzong's punishment of officials is too strict, killing and injuring too much, contrary to heaven and... As for whether Emperor Xuanzong was right or not, this kind of edict that openly defended corrupt officials was at least not flattered by the author. It's just that the writing of the history of Tang is precisely these people who are officials, and perhaps, the history books sometimes lack objectivity.
summary
After Tang Wuzong succeeded to the throne, he strengthened his imperial power in just a few years, and it was not too much to call him a generation of male lords. But sometimes history evaluates a person with "colored glasses" for various reasons. This requires us to think more about ourselves in reading books, look at problems dialectically, peel back the cocoon, and restore the true face of historical figures.