Tang Dynasty Sect: Ming Jun? Abuse of power and disorderly government.
Influenced by literary works, Li Yu of the Tang Dynasty has always been known for his image of both morality and intelligence. In terms of personal morality, he is generous, benevolent, loyal to love, and has a touching "Pearl Legend".
In terms of talent, he quelled the Anshi Rebellion and rebuilt the glory of the Tang Dynasty with his own hands.
Li Yu: What is the true face of the emperor? Later generations awarded him the "undeniable" temple number of "Shizong", and it seems that the twenty-two emperors of the Tang Dynasty, except for Li Yuan and Li Shimin, Li Yu is unmatched.
However, the voices of criticism of Tang Dynasty Sect have never stopped, they believe that Li Yu is neither talented nor virtuous, and even believes that he is directly responsible for the decline of the Tang Empire.
So, which one is the true face of the Tang Dynasty Sect? Let's start with his identity. Li Yu is the eldest son of Tang Suzong, and his biological mother is a palace maid who was punished into the palace as a slave.
It stands to reason that he was not qualified to inherit the throne in the first place.
Tang Suzong's two sons-in-law were forced to divorce their biological mother Wei Shi due to Li Linfu's suppression, became concubines, and lost the opportunity to inherit the throne. The two sons born to his second wife, Empress Zhang, were too young to shoulder the responsibilities of the state, and finally Li Yu became the heir to the throne as the eldest son.
However, the queen has a biological son but is not a prince, and this situation often ends in cannibalism, which is full of dangers.
After Li Yu ascended the throne of the Tang Dynasty, Empress Zhang and her young son were brutally killed, and these four sins were attributed to her attempt to depose Li Yu. Although Empress Zhang is seriously blackened, I have analyzed it in detail in previous articles, and if you want to know more background information, you can check out my old works.
According to historical records, Empress Zhang wanted to abolish Li Yu, but was unfortunately killed by Li Fuguo, and Li Yu ascended the throne in a thrilling situation.
After my analysis, I came to the conclusion that Empress Zhang originally intended to unite with Li Yu to eradicate Li Fuguo, but Li Yu secretly colluded with Li Fuguo to arrest and kill Empress Zhang.
The reason for this is very simple, that is, Empress Zhang, as a strong woman and a concubine, poses a direct threat to Li Yu's status as a prince; And Li Fuguo was a eunuch who could serve as an ally.
In the end, Empress Zhang was killed unsuspectingly, which shows that Li Yu and Li Fuguo were well prepared, and the so-called Empress Zhang conspiracy rebellion was a kind of planting.
Although the history books portray Empress Zhang as a vicious image in order to emphasize the legitimacy of Li Yu's throne, there is still a fact that cannot be ignored: Li Yu killed his own mother-in-law with his own hands.
And what is even more creepy is that Empress Zhang's 6-year-old son Li Tong also died under mysterious circumstances, and the cause of death is unknown. I don't want to describe this event in detail, but you can savor it yourself.
During the Tang Dynasty, the status of eunuchs was extremely high, and they not only had important political influence, but could even influence the abolition and life and death of the emperor.
Although Tang Xuanzong also favored eunuchs, even Gao Lishi could not directly intervene in court politics. By the time of Tang Suzong, Li Fuguo occupied an important position, but he still needed to influence the emperor to achieve control of the imperial court.
Emperor Zong of the Tang Dynasty became the first emperor to truly give full power to eunuchs and give them the status of scholars and doctors. Li Fuguo always wanted to seek the position of prime minister, but was blocked during the Tang Suzong period.
Tang Dynasty Zong not only promoted Li Fuguo to prime minister, but also canonized him as the king of Bolu County, making him the first eunuch in history to be crowned king and worship the prime minister. What's even more surprising is that the Tang Dynasty Sect even respected Li Fuguo as the "Shang Father".
Later, the Tang Dynasty appointed the eunuch Cheng Yuanzhen as the prime minister, and made Yu Chaoen the commander of the Shence army. Ever since the Shence Army was in the hands of the eunuch clique, the emperor's life was in the hands of a group of slaves.
After the Anshi Rebellion was pacified, the Tang Dynasty had the opportunity to revive the Tang Dynasty, but he made a mistake in employing people, allowing traitors to be quite virtuous and mediocre to ascend to the throne, resulting in a miasma in the court. In history, there was Fang Du Zhishi, there was Yao Song and Kaiming, and the fate of a dynasty often depends on the use of monarchs.
The officialdom of the Tang Dynasty shows the decay and depravity of the last dynasty, and it is really difficult for people to identify with his name of "Ming Jun".
The decision of the Tang Dynasty Sect led to the division of the feudal towns in Hebei, which seriously eroded the centralization of power in the Tang Dynasty and finally brought the Tang Empire to its demise. After the Anshi Rebellion, the decision-making mistakes of the Tang Dynasty Sect made the three towns of Fanyang, Chengde, and Weibo form separatist forces, and their control over the entire Hebei region was greatly weakened.
This phenomenon of secession not only undermined the unity of the Tang Dynasty, but also gave birth to more separatist forces, and finally led the Tang Empire to decline.
If you ask, although the Tang Dynasty Sect made many mistakes, and may even be the key mistakes that led to the demise of the Tang Dynasty, why do people still call him Ming Jun?
Then, it would be unfair if we completely denied the Tang Dynasty Sect, because he made outstanding contributions to quelling the Anshi Rebellion and rebuilding the Tang Empire. The Anshi Rebellion lasted for more than seven years, and on the surface, the counterinsurgency work was mainly completed by Tang Suzong, who had only caught up with the final stage.
However, this is not the case. As the marshal of the world's soldiers and horses, Tang Dynasty Zong not only participated in the whole process of counterinsurgency, but also was the highest military decision-maker.
Tang Dynasty Zong Li Yu's marshal of the world's soldiers and horses was not a false position, but a real position, and his marshal's office was the counterinsurgency headquarters. He personally participated in major battles such as the Battle of Xiangji Temple and the Battle of Luoyang, and saved the empire with his own hands.
Although he may have made some mistakes, later generations were very tolerant of him and even took the initiative to defend him. So, how should we fairly and comprehensively evaluate the Tang Dynasty Sect?
In my opinion, Tang Dynasty Sect is not a mediocre monarch, but it is not a Ming monarch either. His intellect is mediocre, and when it comes to moral character, his performance is mixed.
Although Tang Dynasty Sect has a tolerant side, he also has a yin side. For example, immediately after he ascended the throne, he announced the rehabilitation of Li Ying, Li Ju, Li Yao, Li Yan, Li Qi and other kings, which was a sign of tolerance.
However, when he faced the death of Fugu Huai'en, he publicly stated that Huai'en did not have the intention of rebelling, but was delayed by the people around him, and took his mother to the capital to raise him, which seemed a bit yin.
Overall, Tang Dynasty was not a bad emperor, but he also did not display impressive leadership and high moral qualities.
Hitting the Golden Branch" is a well-known drama among the people, which tells the story of the Tang Dynasty Sect dealing with the crisis of monarchs and ministers with a broad mind. Other of his actions, however, left people confused and speechless.
For example, in order to get rid of Li Fuguo, he actually sent someone to assassinate him; In order to get rid of Cheng Yuanzhen, he pretended to be a thief. As an emperor, he could have been above board, but he took measures that did not see the light of day.
Emperor Jiaqing expressed strong contempt for this, saying: "With the respect of the Son of Heaven, it is a shame to act as a thief. Mr. Lu Simian used the word "Yin Owl" to highly summarize the atrophy psychology of the Tang Dynasty.
As for the cause of Empress Zhang and Li Tong's deaths, whether Empress Zhang was in turmoil or Li Yu was playing a conspiracy, it seems to be very clear now.
Tang Dynasty Emperor was a very knowledgeable emperor, he could see many things clearly and had a keen insight. However, he has a fatal weakness, and that is indecision.
He seems to have been timid by nature, lacking the decisiveness and courage expected of a king. Although he has long been aware of Yuan Zai's ** power, he always dodges because of his lack of decisiveness, as if he has an "ostrich spirit", and he will only make a move when he has to do so.
Some people think that his style of action is similar to the "technique" of the Legalists, that is, the desire to capture and indulge. However, the price of using national interests as bait to carry out "indulgence" is too great.
I think this may be more due to the character flaws of the Tang Dynasty. The division of the three towns of Heshuo is the embodiment of this shortcoming. Hebei is the hardest hit area of the Anshi Rebellion, and people's hearts are also the most difficult to contain.
General Anshi has an army in his hands, and if not handled properly, it could cause new unrest. These two questions are indeed very thorny, and they are also the most tests of the political wisdom and courage of the emperor.
The way the Tang Dynasty handed over Hebei to General An Shi was like a person who was afraid of trouble, not tidying up in the face of a messy room, but choosing to pile up the garbage together, and then close the door, pretending not to see it, and it would be fine.
It's not about solving a problem, it's about running away from it, it's an irresponsible attitude. Therefore, I can draw a conclusion: the seemingly noble bloodline of the Tang Dynasty Sect actually nourishes a shrunken and incompetent subject.