No matter how mighty the long river of history is, every era will have its moments of prosperity and decline. This turning point is often accompanied by turmoil and change, even war and bloodshed.
For example, in the Tang Dynasty, although there was a prosperous scene of all countries coming to the dynasty, the Anshi Rebellion became a watershed in the rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty. In this mutiny, both the soldiers on the front line and the ordinary people will face the test of life and death.
The brutality of war cannot be ignored at any time and place, and for the unarmed civilians at the bottom, the hardships and sufferings of life are even more indescribable.
In the Anshi Rebellion, Chang'an City was tragically looted by the rebels, and even some generals used 30,000 innocent people as rations in order to protect the city, which was inhumane. It is often said that beauty misleads the country, but in fact, it is not the beauty that misleads the country, but the monarch who is confused by the beauty.
Just like a weapon, whether it is good or bad, it all depends on the character of the person who holds the sword. It's easy to understand, but when it comes to the need for someone to blame historians for the decline of a dynasty, it's often women who bear the brunt of it.
Bai Juyi's "Song of Long Hatred" tells the love tragedy between Tang Xuanzong and Yang Yuhuan, but behind it is the fact that Yang Guifei was forced to commit suicide.
In the Anshi Rebellion, An Lushan's rebels quickly captured Chang'an, so that Tang Xuanzong Li Longji had to flee urgently with hundreds of officials. At this moment of life and death, Tang Xuanzong chose to take Yang Yuhuan with him, although this decision made the accompanying soldiers dissatisfied.
Because the Yang family played an important role in this turmoil, the charges can be succinctly summarized as: Yang Yuhuan's beauty and talent made Tang Xuanzong's father and son obsessed with her, and they were named concubines, and several sisters of the Yang family were also canonized, and they were even allowed to enter and leave the harem freely.
With the favor of his sister, Yang Guozhong rose step by step, and finally became the prime minister above 10,000 people. However, the prime minister is a position that requires a person of merit and ability, but Yang Guozhong has no talent and no merit, which has attracted the dissatisfaction of the ministers of the DPRK and China.
If he knew how to accept it when he saw it, he might be able to get through it smoothly, but he was insatiable, used his power to cause trouble to the government and government, and derelicted his duties, which aroused the public indignation of the government and the opposition. However, Tang Xuanzong was blinded by Yang Guozhong, and did not take action to rectify the dynasty, but believed in Yang Guozhong.
During the Tang Dynasty, Yang Guozhong's authority was unrivaled, but the only one in the court who could challenge his position was An Lushan. The relationship between the two is not like Ji Xiaolan and He Shen restraining each other, but full of fierce competition and contradictions.
Compared with Yang Guozhong, An Lushan is more intelligent, he is good at pleasing the emperor, and he also has military power in his hands, which made Tang Xuanzong once consider promoting him to prime minister, but was stopped by Yang Guozhong.
An Lushan's existence made Yang Guozhong feel a huge threat, and he decided to fight against An Lushan. In front of Tang Xuanzong, he repeatedly accused An Lushan of being illiterate and self-respecting in supporting the army, and even accused him of rebellion.
In fact, this is not unreasonable, after the Tang Dynasty set up the "Jiedu Envoy" on the border, the Jiedu Envoy stationed troops on the border for autonomy and development, posing a great threat to the imperial court.
In addition to Yang Guozhong, other courtiers also told Tang Xuanzong that if An Lushan really had the heart to rebel, I am afraid it would be difficult to stop it, and hoped that Tang Xuanzong could prepare as soon as possible.
Tang Xuanzong once considered this problem, but An Lushan's acting skills were too superb. He always showed sincerity in front of Tang Xuanzong and Yang Yuhuan, and often offered treasures to them, without the slightest arrogance, which made Tang Xuanzong relax his vigilance.
Thanks to the efforts of previous generations of emperors, the Tang Dynasty had a strong army and a prosperous economy. Tang Xuanzong enjoyed it on the shoulders of his predecessors, and An Lushan already had a rebellious heart. In addition, Yang Guozhong always opposed him, An Lushan decided to raise troops, under the banner of the Qing monarch's side, claiming to crusade against the traitor Yang Guozhong, and united Shi Siming all the way from Fanyang to Hebei, which is the famous "Anshi Rebellion" in history.
Although An Lushan's offensive was fierce, the imperial army's army was not without the power to fight back. At important passes such as Tongguan and other places, the soldiers were in full battle, so that An Lushan could not succeed for a while.
The imperial army was on the home front, while An Lushan came from afar, and the supply line was long and could not last. Therefore, defensive battles were beneficial to the imperial court. However, Yang Guozhong made the wrong decision at this critical moment.
He fanned the flames in the ears of Tang Xuanzong, accusing the generals who could not hold out because they were afraid of An Lushan, and delaying time could lead to rebellion. Tang Xuanzong listened to his slander and ordered the general to go out of the city to meet the battle.
As a result, a holy decree came down, and the generals had to open the city gates and go out of the city to fight. This gave An Lushan an opportunity, which led to the loss of Tongguan and the crisis of the country's survival.
Yang Guozhong had nothing to say about this, so he could only follow Tang Xuanzong's team and flee in a hurry, hoping to have a chance to make a comeback in the future. However, the soldiers responsible for protecting Tang Xuanzong's safety did not think so.
On the way to escape, they were exhausted, lacked food and sleep, and now had to endure the appearance of traitors and concubines, and their hearts were full of anger.
The mutiny broke out in Ma Weipo, and the news of Yang Guozhong's beheading quickly reached the ears of Tang Xuanzong. At this time, Gao Lishi and others forced Tang Xuanzong to execute Yang Guifei. Although Tang Xuanzong loved Yang Guifei deeply, when life and death were at stake, he had to think about the safety of his life.
In the face of the angry crowd, he could only watch as Gao Lishi hanged Yang Guifei. At the same time, Tang Xuanzong's escape left Chang'an undefended, and An Lushan's army easily attacked the royal city.
Faced with the treasure of the city, An Lushan and his subordinates robbed frantically, without regard for the people's wishes. Any rebellious civilians were immediately killed, and the beautiful woman became their trophy.
In the face of the declining palaces and corpse-strewn people, the once prosperous capital seems to have become a purgatory on earth. Tang Xuanzong was forced to abdicate, and the crown prince ascended the throne, leading a group of loyal ministers to resist stubbornly with An Lushan, hoping to restore peace.
However, An Lushan did not relax, he led tens of thousands of soldiers and horses to attack Suiyang, leaving only Zhang Xun and less than 7,000 soldiers to hold on. Zhang Xun was both wise and brave, he sat at the city gate, calmly commanded, and successfully defused every attack of An Lushan.
With the strength of 7,000 men, they successfully stopped An Lushan's advance.
Suiyang City, the gateway to Jianghuai, was an important supply point for the imperial army, and the importance of its geographical location is self-evident. However, An Lushan was well aware of the strategic significance of this place, and he left the old, weak, sick and disabled, and lured Zhang Xun out of the city to fight with the appearance of retreat.
As a result, there was already little food left in the city, and the army was in a difficult situation. If Suiyang City is captured, the Tang Dynasty will no longer have the power to backhand.
In order to ensure a glimmer of life, the soldiers in the city are willing to swallow no matter the bark of insects or the armor of the earth. But food is still in short supply. In order to boost morale, Zhang Xun resolutely decided: order to share his concubine.
Although this order shocked the three armies, no one dared to disobey it in order to survive. Since then, killing soldiers and civilians has become the survival instinct of soldiers. Although there was a huge disparity in strength, Suiyang City, under the heroic resistance of Zhang Xun, successfully delayed the attack of An Lushan's army.
When An Lushan's army opened the city gates, they found that only a few hundred people were shivering in the city, and the powerful imperial army had received enough resources to replenish it.
The turning point of the Anshi Rebellion was in the first battle of Suiyang, and the war situation began to change. In addition, An Lushan was riddled with illness in his later years, and he could not lead the army to fight, so he could only live in seclusion, and his temper became irritable and impermanent.
His men suffered so much that they eventually plotted to get rid of him. An Lushan's death greatly reduced the strength of the rebels, and his son An Qingxu, who succeeded to the throne, was unable to shoulder the heavy responsibility and was defeated by the Tang army.
Eventually, the imperial court succeeded in clearing the rebels and recovering the country. The Anshi Rebellion, which lasted for eight years, finally came to an end.
Although the battle ended in a victory for the imperial court, its impact on the Tang dynasty was immeasurable. Under the devastation of the war, it took decades or even centuries for the Tang Dynasty to restore the economy damaged by the Anshi Rebellion.
After that, the Tang Dynasty gradually declined, and although it experienced a difficult road to revival, it was still unable to restore the prosperity of the prosperous era, and finally came to a historical end where the country changed hands.