【Heroes in Troubled Times】
We often say that "the strong Han Dynasty prospered the Tang Dynasty". The two dynasties do have many similarities, which makes people sigh. Historical stories may not repeat themselves, but historical laws will repeat themselves again and again.
For example, both dynasties had the problem of eunuchs disrupting government affairs, and both faced the embarrassing situation of being powerful at the local level but not at the center. This resulted in the separatist situation of powerful princes and warlords, and both had a peasant uprising that swept across the country...
In short, if you are familiar with the Three Kingdoms, you will have a strong sense of time travel when reading the stories of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. Many stories are just different in the names of people and places. History is always surprisingly similar.
Below I will list two simple tables to analyze the top reasons for the collapse of the empire from a God’s perspective:
A brief list of the emperors in the late Eastern Han Dynasty (emperor, age of accession, age of death, power behind them):
Emperor Shang, 0.25 years old, <1 year old; supported by the Queen Mother;
An Di, 13 years old, 32 years old; maternal relative;
Infant Emperor, unknown, died after reigning for 206 days; maternal relative;
Emperor Shun, 11 years old, 30 years old; eunuch;
Chongdi, 2 years old, 3 years old; maternal relative;
Emperor Zhi, 8 and 9 years old; maternal relative;
Emperor Huan, 15 years old, 36 years old; maternal relative;
Emperor Ling, 12 years old, 33 years old; maternal relative;
Young Emperor, 13 years old, was deposed after 5 months in power, and was forced to commit suicide at the age of 24; maternal relative;
Emperor Xian, 9 years old, reigned for 30 years, surrendered to Cao Pi, and died of illness at the age of 54.
Among them, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty seemed to have reigned the longest and had the longest lifespan, but there is no need to go into details about this famous puppet emperor.
At this point, through these shocking figures, we can have a profound understanding of the eight words "At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the world was in chaos".
A bunch of brats, basically ten-year-old primary school students (excluding Emperor Han Shang who ascended the throne just over 100 days after his birth and died less than one year old, setting a double record in history for being the youngest to ascend the throne and the youngest to die). Those who are supported by relatives or eunuchs must be puppets controlled by these big bosses behind the scenes, and become pawns in the political struggle between eunuchs, relatives, and powerful officials. Whether these short-lived emperors died of natural causes, I dare not speculate.
Let’s look at the last years of the Tang Dynasty:
Mu Zong, 25 years old, 30 years old; eunuch;
Jingzong, 15 years old, 18 years old;
Wenzong, 18 years old, 31 years old; eunuch;
Wuzong, 26 years old, 32 years old: eunuch;
Xuanzong, 37 years old, 50 years old; eunuch;
Yizong, 26 years old, 41 years old; eunuch;
Xizong, 11 years old, 27 years old; eunuch;
Zhaozong, 21 years old, 38 years old; eunuch;
Among the eight consecutive emperors, only one, Tang Jingzong, was not supported by eunuchs. Although he was not supported by eunuchs, he was killed by eunuchs.
Moreover, except for Tang Xuanzong, who ascended the throne at the age of 37 and lived to die at the age of 50, the other emperors also ascended the throne between the ages of 10 and 20, and none of them lived longer than 41 years old.
A hotbed of troubled times, very intuitive. The top crisis in the Eastern Han Dynasty came from relatives, while the top crisis in the late Tang Dynasty came from eunuchs.
Qiu Shiliang, the famous eunuch of the Tang Dynasty, once said earnestly to his junior eunuchs: "Do you know how to serve the emperor? You cannot let the emperor be idle, because when the emperor is idle, he has to read books, read memorials, and meet with ministers. , listen to political opinions. We must use extravagant games to make him happy and disinterested in politics, so that major political affairs can fall on our heads." Many eunuchs in the future regarded the teachings of this senior as their code of conduct, and thus reached the pinnacle of power.
Li Wen, who made his debut in Dabao at the age of 26, has the energy of a young man, the surging passion of a young man, and his ambitions and ideals.
The Tang Dynasty in front of us is already experiencing a renaissance. However, there are also whirlpool rocks hidden under the imperial wheel. This is a severe test for the helmsman, and the fate of the empire is at stake.
The young Li Wen was very ambitious and determined to carry forward his father's career and bring the empire back to the prosperous days of Kaiyuan and Zhenguan.
Just when he took the throne, the challenge came.
Qiu Fu in eastern Zhejiang gathered a crowd to riot.
Qiu Fu, who was a private salt dealer, initially gathered five hundred hungry people to riot. After a small victory over the official army, his reputation became great. Neighboring ruffians and scoundrels came to join him. The mob gathered, numbering in the thousands, and the thieves' force was huge. .
The local government's armaments were depleted and there were less than 300 active soldiers, so they could only urgently recruit new soldiers. However, the officials in charge of recruiting soldiers accepted bribes and only recruited less than 200 old, weak, sick and disabled people.
As a result, a fierce battle broke out between five hundred officers and soldiers and thousands of thieves. The bandits set up an ambush in the north of Sanxi in advance, and secretly built a dam upstream to store water, lowering the water level to a level that could be crossed on foot, and then formed an array south of Sanxi.
The officers and soldiers who came to suppress them fell into the trap and waded into the water to chase the "fleeing" bandits. After chasing to the middle of the river, the bandits broke open the dam, and the water surged in. At the same time, the ambush soldiers rushed out and made dumplings of the officers and soldiers. Almost the entire army was wiped out, and all three leading generals died heroically.
Qiu Fu's bandit army became famous in one battle and soon grew to 30,000 troops. Qiu Fu was so proud that he thought that the official army of the Tang Dynasty was no good, so he announced the change of Yuan Dynasty and established the Yuan Dynasty as "Luoping". This small victory has already made Qiu Fu dream of becoming an emperor.
The Eastern Zhejiang Observatory realized the seriousness of the matter and quickly sent a request for help to its neighbors. Neighboring roads sent him a total of 700 reinforcements. These 700 reinforcements received an allowance that was more than ten times the standard, but it was still too little and they were unwilling to sacrifice their lives.
"We have few people. We have to use them on the edge. How can we put them in the outer city? We should concentrate on protecting the top local leaders." Therefore, 700 reinforcements were arranged at the inner city government office.
"We live in a sparse place, and we need your local soldiers to be our guides and lead the way." The so-called local soldiers are basically the fish that slipped through the net in the last battle. As soon as they heard that they were asked to lead the way, they would either pretend to be sick or stay in bed. Just pretend to be injured after falling from a horse, or ask for a promotion first... So the seven hundred reinforcements had a legitimate reason to refuse to go to the battlefield.
The Eastern Zhejiang Observation Envoy invited not 700 reinforcements, but 700 living ancestors. It seems that Qiu Fu's problem cannot be solved locally. The only option is to petition the central court and invite heavenly soldiers and generals.
Within the imperial city of Chang'an, Emperor Yizong of the Tang Dynasty convened the ministers to discuss choosing a commander to quell the chaos. Unexpectedly, Prime Minister Xiahouzi did not recommend a military general, but recommended a civilian official - Wang Shi. In this regard, Xiahouzi's explanation was that the eastern Zhejiang region has high mountains and far seas, and inconvenient transportation, so it is better to attack wisely rather than by force. Although Wang Shi is a Confucian official, he has shone brightly as the Protector of Annan. He has subdued the barbarians and is famous far and wide. If he is asked to go to eastern Zhejiang to fight against thieves, he will definitely succeed immediately!
Wang Shi, a prominent family, will be introduced later, so I won’t go into details here.
Annan, today's northern Vietnam, was the territory of the Tang Dynasty at that time, bordering the barbarians to the south. The sky is high and the emperor is far away in this area, and the situation is complicated. Regional separatists and rebels are ready to move, threatening the integrity of Datang's territory at all times. Before Wang Shi took office, this area had not paid tribute to the central government for a long time, and the situation was not optimistic.
Wang Shi used a combination of strength and softness, suppressing the separatists with a tough attitude, safeguarding the territorial integrity of the motherland, and safeguarding the sovereignty of the Tang Dynasty; he also actively improved relations with neighboring barbarians and eased the regional situation.
The barbarians were frightened by the power of the Tang Dynasty, and they were grateful for the gentleness and generosity of the Tang Dynasty. They bowed their heads one after another and took the initiative to pay tribute. The southern border of Datang was consolidated. The area around Rongguan (now Guangxi) also began to pay tribute to the central government again.
Suppressing Annan has become one of Wang Shi's three major achievements in life.
Now, Wang Shi was about to accomplish his second great feat - quelling Qiu Fu's rebellion.
