Since Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty succeeded to the throne, he attacked and destroyed the Eastern Turks in the north, stabilized the northern border of the Tang Dynasty, and launched a series of wars in the west, thereby basically establishing a defense system south of the

Foreword

Since Tang Taizong succeeded to the throne, he attacked and destroyed the Eastern Turks in the north, stabilized the northern border of Datang , and launched a series of wars in the west, thus basically establishing a defense system south of the Tianshan Mountains. By the time of Emperor Gaozong, the Tang Dynasty's sphere of influence further expanded. After the complete destruction of Goguryeo, it also completely wiped out the Western Turks. At this time, in the Tang Dynasty, except for Tibet in the southwest, there were almost no other powerful countries. Rival .

In terms of territorial control, the Tang Dynasty at this time had surpassed any previous dynasty. However, behind the seemingly beautiful scenery of , the problems of the Tang Dynasty also began to appear in . Unlike modern society, transportation in ancient society was inconvenient, and how to control a large territory was a major problem in all dynasties.

▲Datang Territory Map

The Tang Dynasty’s solution to this problem was to set up Jiedu envoys to "defend the western border", which began the history of Jiedu envoys Zhenbian . By the time of the Xuanzong dynasty, the Jiedushi system had achieved unprecedented development as the territory of the Tang Empire reached its peak. The Jiedushi system not only pushed the prosperity of the Tang Empire to its peak, but also became an important driver of the Tang Dynasty's decline. The origin and fall of

all stem from the ambition and arrogance of Emperor Xuanzong of Ming Dynasty and Tang Xuanzong. While achieving his great achievements, he not only dug a deep pit for himself to bury his wise men, but also pushed the Tang Dynasty into an abyss of eternal destruction.

The birth of the Jiedushi system

1. The hidden worries of the Tang Dynasty at its peak

After experiencing the military heyday of the Taizong Dynasty, Emperor Gaozong tried his best to maintain this strong momentum. Although judging from the performance, it has indeed made brilliant achievements, but the military strength of the Tang Dynasty has generally experienced bottlenecks and even declined. The reasons for this are mainly reflected in the lack of new generals and the gradual disintegration of the military system.

▲Tang Gaozong

With the death of Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu proclaiming herself emperor, the political situation of the Tang Dynasty became increasingly turbulent. In the fourth year of Jinglong, Li Longji, the son of Li Dan, joined forces with Princess Taiping to launch a coup, supported Li Dan's restoration, and Li Longji was established as the crown prince. During this period, the Tang Dynasty's foreign war performance was unsatisfactory. At the same time, border pressure increased and the situation worsened.

2. The Jiedushi system that responded to the situation

The severe situation on the western border is mainly reflected in the fact that the confrontation between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo failed. In the battle of Dafeichuan, the Tang army lost more than 100,000 elite troops. In the third year of Yifeng, Li Jingxuan led 180,000 troops and was defeated by Tubo in Qinghai. The failure of the two wars directly led to the intrusion of Tibetan forces into the Western Regions, and the Anxi Protectorate was even forced to be abolished.

In the second year of Jingyun, the Tang Dynasty, in order to prevent Tibet's constant attacks and harassment, Ruizong appointed Heba Yansi as the governor of Liangzhou and the governor of Hexi Jiedu . The Jiedushi system officially entered the stage of history, and Hexi vassal town also became the first vassal town in the Tang Dynasty. "From then on, after Kaiyuan, Shuofang, Longyou, Hedong, and Hexi towns all had Jiedushi "

2, the pattern of vassal towns before the " Anshi Rebellion"

entered the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. Tubo, Turks , Xi, Khitan , Tu Qishi and Nanzhao around the Tang Dynasty frequently visited the border, causing constant smoke on the border. . In order to deal with severe border threats, Emperor Xuanzong successively established ten military governors and three military governors in the border areas, which are known in history as the "Nine Military Districts of Kaiyuan" .

▲The ten major Jiedushi vassal towns established by the Xuanzong Dynasty

The establishment of Jiedushi vassals by the Xuanzong Dynasty followed two basic principles. One was based on the size of the border threats faced, and the other was the relationship between the vassal towns under the jurisdiction of the Jiedushi. Mutual restraint.

Hexi and Longyou Jiedushi were established mainly to guard against the powerful Tubo in the west; Youzhou and Pinglu Jiedushi were established to guard against the Khitan and Xi in the northeastern part of the Datang Empire; Shuofang, Hedong Jiedushi was established to defend against the Turks located on the northern border; Anxi and Beiting were established as part of Tang Xuanzong's plan to manage the northwest, and at the same time to defend against the Tubo, Turkic, and Tuqi forces, as well as to conquer the Great Empire. Established for food.

The purpose of establishing the Jiannan Jiedushi, located in the southwest of the Tang Dynasty, is recorded in "Old Book of Tang Dynasty Geography 1" as "to resist Tubo in the west and support barbarians in the south", that is, while resisting Tibetan harassment, it also appeases various minority groups in the southwestern region. tribe. Considering that the threat from the southwest was relatively small and the Jiedushi's powers were not heavy, other Jiedushi were not established to check and balance.

▲Tang Bo Confrontation Picture

It can be seen that after the Tang Empire reached its peak of military power in the Taizong Dynasty, Emperor Xuanzong once again spread the prestige of the Tang Dynasty to all directions by establishing the Jiedushi system during his early reign. On this occasion, not only did Emperor Xuanzong's achievements catch up with Taizong, but the Tang Dynasty also reached its peak, and the peak of the ancient Chinese feudal dynasty reached its peak at this time.

During this period, although the vassal town where the Jiedushi of the Tang Dynasty was located had a vast territory, compared with the later vassal towns, the biggest difference was that the vassal town at this time did not form a separatist force, but was dominated by the Tang Dynasty The central government firmly controls .

Stir up the world: The rise of feudal towns

On the ninth day of November in the fourteenth year of Tang Tianbao, he served as the governor of Fanyang, Pinglu, and Hedong and Anlushan. He led 200,000 troops to attack Yang Guozhong. as an excuse to raise troops in Fanyang. The "Anshi Rebellion" broke out. This eight-year war dealt a heavy blow to the Tang Dynasty. Although under the leadership of Emperor Suzong and Li Heng, the rebellion was successfully suppressed in the end, the Tang Dynasty could never go back, and the historical curtain of "separated feudal lords and towns" began.

1. The pattern of vassal towns after the "An-Shi Rebellion"

The segregation of vassal towns and the proliferation of vassal towns were the outstanding features of the overall political form in the middle and late Tang Dynasty. However, the separatist regime of the feudal towns at this time was different from what ordinary people understood. First of all, vassal-zhen separatism is not an indivisible solidified vocabulary. It has both vassal-zhen and separatism . In layman's terms, it means that not all vassal towns are separatist. At this time, the separatist vassal towns are only a small part of all vassal towns, accounting for only about one-sixth in number.

▲The Anshi Rebellion

types are roughly divided into four categories. One is the "Heshuo separatist type" represented by Hebei's three towns . These three towns are mainly controlled by the former Anshi generals and have very strong independence. Secondly, is called "Central Plains prevention and containment ", with the six towns of Xuanwu, Wuning, Zhongwu, Zelu, Heyang and Yicheng as typical examples. Their main task is to defend The first type of vassal town protects the safety of the Tang Dynasty and also assumes the responsibility of protecting the southeastern water transportation.

The third type is the "border control type" , which is divided into two parts: the northwest frontier and the southwest frontier, including Fengxiang, Daning, Shannanxi, Xichuan and other seventeen towns. This type of vassal towns is mainly for defense against Tibet and the Established for the minority groups in the Southwest.

The fourth type is called the "Southeast Financial Source Type", including nine towns including eastern Zhejiang, western Zhejiang, Huainan, and Jingnan. They were the source of wealth for the Tang Dynasty and the key vassal towns to maintain the survival of the Tang Dynasty.

It is precisely because of the existence of different types of vassal towns that can well explain why the Tang Dynasty could still last for more than 150 years after the Anshi Rebellion. But it is undeniable that compared with the feudal towns before the Anshi Rebellion, the relative independence of the feudal towns at this stage is much stronger.

2. The pattern of vassal towns after the " Huangchao Uprising"

In the fifth year of Qianfu of the Tang Dynasty, Huangchao, a salt merchant, launched a rebellion, which was known as the "Huangchao Uprising" in history. Although the Huang Chao Uprising failed, the balance between the three parties that maintained the Tang Dynasty, namely the central court, the palace eunuchs and the local vassal towns, was completely broken. The power of the courtiers and eunuchs declined rapidly, and the local vassal towns completely realized the dominance of one .

▲Huangchao Uprising

At this time, the vassal towns were roughly divided into five major types. One was "Henan type" , which was based on the vassal towns in Henan Province. In the process of continuous annexation to each other, they were gradually included in Zhu Wen's sphere of influence, and later became The core area of ​​the Houliang regime in the Five Dynasties; the second is the "western type", which includes the northwest and southwest vassal towns centered on Chang'an. Although it has a close relationship with the Tang court, after Emperor Ai was kidnapped to Luoyang, the It divided into two camps, Fengxiang and Xichuan, and finally became the Qinqi and Qianshu regimes of the fifth generation of ; the third was the "Hedong type", which was born out of the "Central Plains long-term containment type" feudal towns. Under the control of Ke Yong, it gradually developed into the Five Dynasties and Later Tang Dynasty regimes; the fourth is the "Heshuo type" . This type of vassal town was not affected by the uprising and war, and the development of each other waxed and waned, and some grew. They were stronger vassal towns, and some were gradually annexed by other vassal towns; the fifth was "southern type" . Since this type of vassal town was the farthest from the center of power in the Tang Dynasty and had the deepest degree of local independence, it later gradually expanded into the south during the Five Dynasties period. Governments.

Under the huge impact of the "Huangchao Uprising", the pattern of vassal towns in the late Tang Dynasty underwent tremendous changes. As the imperial court's control over the vassal towns declined rapidly in the late Tang Dynasty, the power of each vassal town began to expand rapidly, and a large number of people similar to Zhu emerged. Wen and Li Ke used this to establish a strong vassal state.. This also became the last straw that broke the back of Datang.

The Fall of the Tang Dynasty: History irreversibly rushes to Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

In the fourth year of Tianyou (907), Zhu Quanzhong, who rose to prominence by suppressing the rebel army until he was crowned king and prime minister, seized the throne of Emperor Ai of the Tang Dynasty through "abdication" Emperor, officially proclaimed himself emperor on behalf of the Tang Dynasty and founded the country.

▲Zhu Wen

The Tang Dynasty, which lasted for 289 years, officially ended its mission. This vassal system created by Emperor Xuanzong, after helping the Tang Dynasty dominate the world, also completely brought the Tang Dynasty down from the altar, and was eventually eliminated in the smoke and dust of history.

Summary

The vassal system itself does not matter whether it is good or bad. It is just a means of governing the country. What's wrong with lies with the people who use it. The Ming Emperor Tang Xuanzong was worthy of being a British ruler in the first half of his reign.. However, seeing that he had created an unprecedented heyday, he was so proud and complacent that he began to be lazy and lazy in governance. Jiedu caused the supervisory system to begin to collapse, giving Hu General An Lushan a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rebel against the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang emperors after in the middle Tang Dynasty had lost their ambition to control the mountains and rivers, only wanted to live in peace, so that the Tang Dynasty was doomed , and was eventually swept into the trash can of history in the wave of feudal rule. What is left to future generations are only the familiar words "prosperous Tang Dynasty" or "separated feudal towns". History began to move irreversibly from the vassal pattern through the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms to the reunification of the Northern Song Dynasty.

References

"The Impact of the Huangchao Uprising on the Pattern of Fanzhen in the Late Tang Dynasty"

"Central Power and Regional Groups"

"New Results in the Study of Fanzhen - Preface to "Research on Fanzhen in the Tang Dynasty""