Author: Our special guest author Nine Fish Pavilion
At the time of the prosperity of the country, from time to time to conquest abroad, a large number of civil engineering, may be able to lay a great foundation, but also bring a heavy burden to the people, and when the country is defeated, there will be a series of military disasters, and it is still the people who are devastated. ”
In the last years of the Tang Dynasty, the division of feudal towns had long become a stubborn disease, incurable, and the disaster of eunuchs also made the emperors miserable, in addition, peasant uprisings occurred one after another, the most arrogant of which was huang chao, a discouraged candidate.
First, the rebel army invaded Chang'an, and the scenery of Huangchao was unlimited
Huang Chao's family has been selling illegal salt for generations, so the family foundation is also quite thick, in order to change the court, Huang Chao decided to take a meritorious name, but many times failed the exam, which made Huang Chao resentful. Immediately, Huang Chao decided to make a career in the chaotic world, so he and Wang Xianzhi provoked an anti-flag.
Because the people of Shandong could not survive under heavy taxes, coupled with the continuous disasters and famines in various places, Huang chao La Zhuangding's career was very easy, and soon developed to tens of thousands of people. Along the way, Huang Chao attacked the city and pulled out the village, and the momentum was like a bamboo, Luoyang, Tongguan, and even Chang'an.
Upon learning of the attack of Huang Chao's army, the eunuch Tian Lingzi took Emperor Tang out of the Golden Light Gate and fled to Shudi. The last time Huang Chao came to the capital, it was to catch the exam, and this time he came to be the emperor.
Near the evening, Huang Chao's vanguard troops entered Chang'an City, and Tang Jinwu's general Zhang Zhifang led hundreds of civil and military officials to meet Huang Chao. A golden yellow palanquin was sitting in it from far to near, and the surrounding rebels were wearing red brocade robes, shawls were scattered, and they were holding sharp weapons.
Then there was a steady stream of people, followed by a large group of cavalry and horses, and heavy vehicles almost blocked the street, and looking into the distance, the army stretched for thousands of miles, and there was no end in sight. This scene not only shocked the officials of the imperial court, but even the people watched from the sidelines, but the people were not waiting for the teacher of benevolence and righteousness, but another huge disaster.
Shang Rang, the second-in-command of the rebel army, told the people: "The Yellow King raised an army, originally for the people, not as li did not love Ru Cao, Ru Cao but lived in peace and fear. In fact, Huang Chao did restrain his subordinates, but the rebel army had already developed a habit along the way, and when they went to one place, they burned and looted, and when they saw the prosperity of Chang'an, could they not be moved?
Soon, the rebels began to plunder Chang'an, once the beginning, Huang Chao could not restrain it, after all, everyone followed you to get rich, and when they got to the place, they did not let everyone rob it, who gave you their lives, and the leadership of the rebel army had to resign themselves to it.
Historical records record that "for a few days, each went out to plunder, the dream market was wanton, the streets were full of murder, and the nest could not be forbidden; especially the officials were hated, and all those who won were killed." ”
The rebels were also from poor backgrounds, but at this time they turned into demons and extended their black hands to all kinds of people in the capital. At this time, Chang'an became a purgatory on earth, and soldiers were indiscriminately killing, robbing, robbing young women and eldest daughters in the streets, and with the passage of time, the streets of Chang'an were full of corpses.
Historical records record that "the trapped Beijing master, into the Chunming Gate, ascended to the Taiji Hall, thousands of palace women greeted and worshiped, called the Yellow King." Chao Xi said, "Providence!" ”
The most unfortunate thing is that the gentry are not only plundered, but they do not even have a living mouth. At this time, Huang Chao could not take care of so much, in addition to the supreme glory, he also got a large number of beautiful palace women, making his eyes shine and overwhelmed. Thousands of palace women knelt on the ground, calling themselves the Yellow King, and Huang Chao couldn't help but accept them all according to the order.
When the rebel army entered the city, the Manchu Dynasty Wenwu surrendered to the Yellow Nest, and those palace women who had no power to tie the chicken, in order to survive, could only commit themselves to thieves, endure humiliation and unbearable.
Second, desperate, Huang Chao died in the Wolf tiger valley
Huang Chao was immersed in a great sense of accomplishment, at the same time, he also made two serious mistakes, first, Tang Chaozong escaped, Huang Chao did not send troops to pursue, giving Tang Ting a chance to breathe; second, Huang Chao carried out a great purge of the Tang Dynasty clan and the scholar class in Chang'an, and it was impossible to get the support of the scholar class and lose important help.
In 881, Emperor Wuzong of Tang ordered emissaries from all over the country to go to Jingqin, and after a brief tug-of-war, the rebel army began to retreat, and then Zhu Wen surrendered to Tang, and Li Ke, a Shatuo, inflicted heavy damage on the rebel army many times. Within a few years, the Yellow Nest had fallen from heaven to hell.
Historical records record that "in June, Shi Pu sent Chen Jingyu and Shang Rang to chase after the Wolf tiger valley, nesting and plotting, saying that Lin Yan said: "I want to please the traitors of the country and wash the imperial court. If you take my head and offer the Son of Heaven, you will be rich and noble, and you will not benefit others." ”
In 884, under the pursuit and killing of the Tang army, Huang Chao plummeted from hundreds of thousands of horses to more than a thousand people and was forced to retreat to the Taishan Tiger and Wolf Valley. Seeing that the general trend was gone, Huang Chao knew that whether he surrendered or not, he would undoubtedly die, so he asked his nephew Lin Yan to cut off his head and take it to receive the reward.
Lin Yan couldn't bear to do it, and Huang Chao pulled out his sword and fell to the ground, but Huang Chao was not dead. Lin Yan then drew his sword and cut off Huang Chao's head, but Lin Yan's fortunes were not good, and when he encountered the Shatuo Bo Wild Army, the Shatuo people did not stop doing two things, killed Lin Yan and took them away together, and these heads became the spoils of the Shatuo people.
Third, Huang Chaoji's concubine was captured, and Emperor Tang was inward-looking
The Huangchao Rebellion was suppressed, and Tang Xianzong, who had fled to Shu, finally breathed a sigh of relief, and Huangchao's head was sacrificed, including dozens of Huangchao's concubines, who were also originally palace women and were forced to commit themselves to Huangchao.
At the captivity ceremony, Tang Xianzong ascended the Great Xuanlou, faced dozens of Huang Chaoji concubines, and began his performance: "You are all the children of rich and noble families, and you have been favored by the imperial court for generations, why should you commit yourself to thieves?" Tang Xianzong, who had been tortured by eunuchs and feudal towns for many years, finally hardened his temper, and when Tang Xianzong thought about it, these weak women must only be able to swallow their anger, but he thought wrong.
A woman in the front row suddenly stood up and said to Tang Qizong: "Thieves are rampant, the country's millions of troops cannot resist, the imperial court has been exiled to Shudi, and today His Majesty blames these weak women, so what are the princes, nobles, and generals who surrendered?" ”
Emperor Tang was dumbfounded by this sentence, and in anger, Emperor Tang ordered the women to be executed at the market. The people knew that these women were not easy, so they sent a lot of wine and told them that when they died drunk, they would not be miserable.
Everyone scrambled to drink, and only the woman who talked to the emperor not only did not drink nor shed a tear, but when it came to the execution, she calmly died. At a critical juncture, Tang Shuzong fled to Western Shu, and the princes and nobles surrendered to the thieves, did these weak women have a choice? In order to survive, they can only commit themselves to the Yellow Nest, is this still necessary to distinguish between right and wrong?
Tang Qizong's fig leaf has long been torn off, in addition to liking polo and being good at entertainment, it seems that there is no advantage in Tang Qizong's body, even if the Huangchao Uprising is put down, the fate of the Tang Dynasty's imminent demise is difficult to recover, for this, Tang Xianzong is also difficult to blame.
References: Zizhi Tongjian Vol. 256, New Book of Tang, Liechuan No. 150