The Huangchao gang's sphere of influence was compressed into an isolated city, but the struggle situation did not allow the Tang army to be blindly optimistic. Because along with the compression of the sphere of influence, the concentration of grass thieves has also increased unprecedentedly. The population density of Chang'an has reached an incredible level.
Chang'an is home to hundreds of thousands of thieves. The temple is small and the wind is strong, and the pond is shallow and there are many bastards.
As population density increases, the primary problem it faces is food shortage. The price of food in Chang'an City is outrageous: a bucket of rice costs thirty guan.
What is the concept?
In the early Tang Dynasty, the price of a bucket of rice was about 4 cents. One year there was a good harvest, and a bushel of rice sold for only 2.5 cents. This is a time of peace and good times. If it is war or famine, it is a different matter. However, "different discussions" only cover a few hundred articles, and those that reach a thousand articles are extremely rare.
One thousand guan is one guan, and thirty guan is thirty thousand.
In the second year of Zhonghe of the Tang Dynasty (882), the price of rice in Chang'an hit a record high.
This price is beyond the reach of ordinary people. Either eat dirt or starve to death.
As a result, Huangchao Group found a new ingredient - people. As a result, human trading became the most prosperous trading activity in Chang'an City. A large living person could be sold for hundreds of dollars, and the price was determined according to fat or thinness.
Under the temptation of huge profits, the Tang Dynasty official army also participated in it, going to the mountains to hunt down the fleeing people, and then sold them to the Huangchao Group.
Before the Huangchao Group invaded Chang'an, a scholar who went to Beijing to take the imperial examination was stranded in Chang'an due to illness. He witnessed with his own eyes what the Huangchao Group and the Tang Dynasty's official army did. After that, he successfully escaped from Chang'an and came to Luoyang. After a year of polishing, Combining his own experience, he created a long poem that recorded this large period of history.
This scholar's name is Wei Zhuang. His epic masterpiece is the famous "Qin Fu Yin". It is another monument after Du Fu's "Three Officials and Three Farewells" and Bai Juyi's "Song of Everlasting Sorrow". It is also related to "The Peacock Flies Southeast". " and "Mulan Ci" are also known as "the three wonders of Yuefu".
This narrative poem is like a picture scroll, describing the beginning and end of the Huangchao gang's takeover of Chang'an, which is the story we mentioned above. It is very exciting, but due to space limitations, it is impossible to transfer the full text. Only some words and sentences are excerpted for appreciation:
"On the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month of Gengzi the year before last..." In the first year of Guangming (880), in the Gengzi year, Huang Chao conquered Tongguan and invaded Chang'an;
"Every family bleeds like a spring, and injustices are heard everywhere..." This paragraph uses a writing technique similar to "Buy horses in the east market, buy saddles in the west market, buy bridles in the south market, and buy long whips in the north market." It describes the tragic experiences of women in the neighborhood: the beautiful woman in the east neighbor was kidnapped by grassroots soldiers, the chaste and martyr girl in the west neighbor was killed on the spot, the new daughter-in-law in the south neighbor had her head missing, the woman in the north neighbor took off her makeup and ran away, but was burned to death in the beam. superior……
"The hair is unkempt, the face is unkempt, the eyebrows are still red...the clothes are upside down and the language is different, and the words on the face are engraved with praise... He also wears a flower hairpin on his short hair, and wears an embroidered quilt without taking off his court clothes. He holds an elephant wat turned upside down to represent the Three Lords, and wears a goldfish upside down to represent two histories. Went to the court hall in the morning to hear the music, and came to the wine market in the evening to see the noise."
This paragraph is a snapshot of the core leadership of Huang Qi's regime. They are unkempt and look like red-browed thieves. They speak foreign dialects, have tattoos on their faces, wear monkey hats, and imitate human appearances, wearing hairpins and holding wats. They wore goldfish bags and goldfish bags, but they didn’t grow their hair. They held the wat board upside down and wore the goldfish bags upside down. They didn’t know what the joke was. They also went to the court for meetings during the day, and after the court, they came in small groups. The disco party in the bar... Where are the members of the Central Committee? They are clearly a group of demons dancing wildly.
"One dou of gold and one dou of millet... Shang Rang eats wood bark in the kitchen, and Huang Chao cuts human flesh on the machine." This is the situation we just mentioned. There was a food shortage in Chang'an, and even Huang Chao and Shang Rang could only eat human flesh plus grass roots and bark to satisfy their hunger.
Seeing that the two armies were about to reach a stalemate in Chang'an again, Wang Chongrong was very worried, fearing a long night and many dreams.
The eunuch Yang Fuguang also considered the seriousness of the problem. Unlike Wang Chongrong's long sighs, Yang Fuguang found a way to solve the problem-restarting Li Keyong.
Li Keyong, son of Li Guochang, was from Shatuo. During the "Pang Xun Rebellion", the imperial court recruited Shatuo cavalry to quell the rebellion. Shatuo chief Zhu Xie fought bravely and made countless meritorious deeds. He was rewarded based on his merits and was promoted to the Zhenwu Army Jiedushi, and was given the name "Li Guochang".
After Li Guochang went to the town, he became arrogant based on his merits and was good at killing court officials. The imperial court was in the midst of serious internal and external troubles, and could only tolerate Li Guochang's domineering behavior.
Li Guochang and his son took advantage of the situation. Fortunately, the Central Plains was troubled, which gave rise to the evil intention of separatism and dominance.
In the fifth year of Qianfu (878), Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chaocao's army ravaged the country, seriously affecting the imperial finances, and famine broke out in the Daibei region, causing serious problems in logistical supplies.
The defense envoy of Datong at this time was Duan Wenchu. This prince had a bad record in Annan of taking advantage of the troops and exploiting the garrison. Now he returned to his old business and drastically reduced the supply of food and other materials to the troops, which caused great resentment in the army.
General Li Jinzhong (what an ironic name) secretly united Xue Zhiqin, Kang Junli, Li Cunzhang and other generals to plot a mutiny and supported Li Guochang and his son as their leaders.
In February, Li Jinzhong and others incited soldiers' dissatisfaction, launched a mutiny, executed Duan Wenchu Lingchi, and then elected Li Keyong to preside over military affairs. Li Keyong went to the imperial court and claimed that "Datong defended and stayed behind".
In that era, this was a typical routine for mutiny. Expelling or executing the chief, and then claiming to be the "remaining queen", he would go to the court and report on his work. The imperial court would most likely adopt a conciliatory attitude, go along with the current situation, formally issue a letter of appointment, acknowledge the mutiny, and after a year and a half, "stay behind" would become a regular official.
Contrary to Li Keyong's expectations, the central government, which had been tortured by the grassroots army, rejected his request.
As a result, Li Guochang and his son sang a double act with the court.
Li Guochang went to the imperial court, severely rebuked his son's rebellious behavior, and asked the imperial court to send another Datong defense envoy. He also said that if Li Ke used this little bastard to disobey his orders, he would personally lead his troops to attack him and kill his relatives in righteousness. He would never do it to protect him. Dog son and let down the favor of the Tang Dynasty!
As expected, the imperial court appointed Lu Jianfang as the new Datong Defense Envoy, and asked Li Guochang to tell Li Keyong that as long as he was obedient and did not cause trouble, the imperial court would definitely arrange for him an official position that would satisfy him.
Lu Jianfang went to the town, but Li Keyong refused to accept him.
So the imperial court made another move and directly defeated the Li family and his son's army: Lu Jianfang and Li Guochang moved to each other's towns. Let Lu Jianfang go to Zhenwu and Li Guochang go to Datong.
It depends on whether Li Guochang can leave, and whether Li Keyong can accept it.
A piece of paper revealed the hypocrisy of the Li family and his son.
Li Guochang could no longer pretend, so he tore up the edict in person, killed the eunuchs who were overseeing the army, and officially raised the flag of rebellion.
The Shatuo rebels, led by Li and his son, went south to attack and plunder, aiming directly at Taiyuan Prefecture in Hedong. War broke out in Hedong.
The imperial court mobilized Zhaoyi Army, Lulong Army, Tuguhun and other tribes to support the Hedong Army.
This "Shatuo Mutiny" and the "Huangchao Uprising" echoed across the Yellow River from the north to the south.
In February of the first year of Guangming (880), the Hedong army was defeated by the Shatuo rebels, and they launched a mutiny and killed Kang Chuangui, the governor of Hedong. At the end of the same year, Huang Chao settled in Chang'an.
Therefore, one of the reasons why Huang Chao was able to flourish south of the Yellow River was that Shatuo Li Ke used the rebellion created in the northern part of the Yellow River, which seriously restricted the energy of the imperial court.
After Kang Chuangui died, Prime Minister Zheng Congdan served as the governor of Hedong and took command to quell the rebellion.
Under Zheng Congchan's dispatch and command, the army finally defeated the Shatuo rebels. Li Guochang and Li Keyong led the remaining troops to flee north and seek refuge with the Tatar tribe.
Helianduo, the chief of Tuyuhun, bribed the Tatars and wanted them to kill two Li men just like Gongsun Kang of Liaodong killed two Yuans, in order to pay tribute to "Guo Jia's legacy to determine Liaodong."
However, the Lis and their sons are not Yuan brothers. Li Ke was proficient in bow and horse. He could kill two birds with one arrow at the age of 13. His archery skills were superb and his martial arts skills were unparalleled. Therefore, when traveling with the Tatar tribal chiefs, he deliberately showed off his martial arts skills. He often performed horse whip shooting from a hundred paces away, which was even more exaggerated. It's shooting pine leaves. The Tatar chiefs were driven by force and did not dare to act rashly.
Li Keyong took advantage of the situation and invited the Tatar tribal chiefs to drink and dine.
While drinking heavily, Li Keyong suddenly burst into tears and cried bitterly. The Tatar chiefs asked him what was on his mind, which actually made the seven-foot-old man cry.
Li Keyong said: "My father and son devoted themselves to serving the country, but they were slandered and forced to go into exile here. Now, I heard that the Huangchao grass bandits have crossed the Huaihe River and will cause great trouble to the Central Plains in the future. By then, the court will definitely forgive my sins. Let my father and son exchange their merits for their crimes. At that time, our father and son will work together to go south and make great achievements! Who wants to live in the desert for the rest of his life? "
He embellishes what he does. At the same time, he expressed two meanings tactfully: I will not covet the Tatars, I am committed to the Central Plains; on the day when we go south to hunt down thieves, we can justifiably rob.
As a leader, you must learn to hold meetings, both in general meetings and in small meetings. The general assembly talks about big talk, benevolence, morality, and national justice; the small conference talks about petty talk, about men stealing and women prostitutes, and personal interests.
A gentleman is likened to righteousness, and a villain is likened to benefit. After all, there are very few moral models, saints and gentlemen who are truly free from vulgar taste and do not seek to benefit others for themselves.
Therefore, as an individual who takes care of himself, of course, he can only talk about justice. If he is a team leader, he must take into account the feelings of ordinary people.
The Tatar chiefs were relieved after hearing these heartfelt words.
Sure enough, within a few months, Huang Chao invaded Chang'an and claimed the title of emperor.
Emperor Xizong favored Shu and asked Fengxiang and Zheng Tian to take on the important task of stopping Huang Chao and regaining the capital. Zheng Tian sent a message to all directions, calling on all the feudal vassals in the world to raise troops to serve the king.
