Anshi Rebellion
In February of the Tenth Year of Tianbao (751), An Lushan concurrently served as the Jiedushi of Fanyang, Pinglu and Hedong towns, commanding nearly 200,000 border troops. An Lushan rewarded himself for his crimes, and he became increasingly arrogant. He also saw that the world's armaments were slack, so he began to rebel and seize the highest position of power. In April, Nanzhao rebelled against Tubo, and Jiannan Jiedu envoy Xianyu Zhongtong led his troops to conquer. The Tang army was defeated and more than 60,000 people died in the battle. Xianyu Zhongtong only escaped with his life. Soon, Gao Xianzhi, the Jiedushi of the Fourth Town of Anxi, fought against the then Arab Empire in Talos (now Zhambul, southeast of Kazakhstan), and the Tang army was defeated again.
In November of the eleventh year (752), Li Linfu died, and Xuanzong succeeded him as prime minister with Yang Guozhong, who also led more than 40 envoys. From then on, Guozhong exclusively decided the affairs of the state, and everyone below the rank of minister was under his command.
In November of the fourteenth year of Tianbao (755), Anlushan and his general Shi Siming sent out troops and 150,000 troops including Tongluo, Xi, Khitan, Shiwei and others, known as Two hundred thousand, against Fan Yang (the administrative seat is now southwest of Beijing). The Anshi Rebellion broke out. After hearing the news, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty immediately transferred Anxi Jiedushi envoy Changqing to Fan Yang and Pinglu Jiedushi envoys, and recruited 60,000 troops in Luoyang, the eastern capital, to guard the Heyang Bridge (south of Mengxian County in today's Henan Province). Then Jinwuwei General Gao Xianzhi led the capital's 50,000 troops and garrisoned them in Shaanxi County (the administrative seat is now northwest of Sanmenxia, ??Henan Province). In December, the Anshi rebels occupied the eastern capital, and generals Feng and Gao Er retreated to Tongguan. Soon, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty mistakenly listened to the slanderous words of the eunuch Bian Lingcheng and executed Feng Changqing and Gao Xianzhi. The Longyou Jiedushi envoy Ge Shuhan, who was sick at home, was reassigned as deputy marshal of troops and horses, leading 80,000 troops and stationed in Tongguan. At this time, the officials and people of the seventeen counties in Hebei, led by brothers Yan Gaoqing and Yan Zhenqing respectively, had more than 200,000 soldiers, cutting off the communication between Fanyang and Dongdu, putting Lushan in trouble.
In the first month of Deyuanzai (756), An Lushan was proclaimed Emperor of Dayan in Luoyang. Soon, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty sent Guo Ziyi, the military governor of Shuofang, and Li Guangbi, the military governor of Hedong, to lead their troops eastward from Jingxing (to the northwest of Jingxing, Hebei Province today) and join forces with Yan Zhenqing's troops to manage Hebei. Zhenyuan County (now Luyi, Henan) ordered Zhang Xun to lead the army and civilians to defend Yongqiu (now Si County, Henan), defeating the rebels many times and ensuring that the Jianghuai River was not lost.
In May of the same year, Ge Shuhan was forced to send troops under severe coercion from Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guozhong. As a result, Lingbao was defeated and Tongguan fell. The rebels broke through the dangerous passes of Tongguan and advanced towards Chang'an. In June, Tang Xuanzong, Yang Guifei, Yang Guozhong's brother and sister, some ministers, princes, and more than a thousand soldiers of the Forbidden Army left the west Yanqiu Gate of the Forbidden Garden and fled to Shu. When they arrived at Maweiyi (in today's Xingping, Shaanxi Province), the imperial army mutinied, killed Prime Minister Yang Guozhong, and forced Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty to hang Concubine Yang.
With the support of some ministers, Taiyu Li Heng went north to Lingwu (now southwest of Wuzhong, Ningxia). In July, Li Heng ascended the throne as Emperor Suzong of Tang Dynasty in Lingwu. In August, Suzong summoned Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi's troops from Hebei to Lingwu, and combined with the Huihe cavalry to prepare for a large-scale counterattack. In the first month of the second year of Zhide (757), An Lushan was killed by his son An Qingxu. In September, Guo Ziyi led the Tang army and Uighur cavalry to regain Chang'an. Then, the eastern capital was recovered. An Qingxu retreated to Ye County (the administrative seat is now Anyang, Henan Province). In September of the first year of Qianyuan (758), Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty dispatched Guo Ziyi of Shuofang, Lu Jiong of Huaixi, Li Huan of Xingping, Xu Shuji of Huapu, Li Siye of Zhenbeiting, Ji Guangchen of Zhengcai, Cui Guangyuan of Henan, Li Guangbi of Hedong, and Wang Sili of Zelu of Guannei, etc. Jiedushi led 600,000 troops to attack Anqingxu. The eunuch Yu Chaoen was also appointed as the envoy to observe the military affairs, coordinate and direct the war. In October, the Tang army besieged Yecheng, and An Qingxu asked for help from the rebel general Shi Siming who stayed behind in Fan Yang. In March of the second year (759), Shi Siming led 130,000 troops to help and met the official army in Anyang, Hebei. Before both sides could lay down their weapons, strong winds arose, flying sand and rocks, and the sky and earth became dark. The officers and soldiers of both armies were frightened. The official army fled south and the rebel army retreated north. Soon, Shi Siming led his troops to the south of Yecheng. An Qingxu went out of the city to express condolences, but was executed by Siming. The rebels returned to Fanyang, and Siming claimed to be the Emperor of Dayan.
In April of the first year of Shangyuan (760), Shi Siming led his army southward and captured the eastern capital. In February of the following year, Shi Siming was killed by his son Shi Chaoyi. Chaoyi ascended the throne and changed the Yuan Dynasty to show his sage. In April of the first year of Baoying (762), Suzong of Tang Dynasty was seriously ill and died. Empress Zhang conspired with Li Xi, the king of Yue, in an attempt to kill the authoritative eunuch Li Fuguo. When the incident was revealed, he was killed. Suzong died of fright. Prince Li Yu ascended the throne and became the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. In October of the same year, Emperor Daizong of the Tang Dynasty appointed King Yong Li Shi as the marshal of the world's troops and horses, and Shuofang Jiedu envoy Pugu Huai'en as the deputy marshal. He commanded the Tang army and the Huihe army to recover Luoyang. Shi Chaoyi fled to Fanyang in the north. In the first month of the first year of Guangde (763), Emperor Daizong of the Tang Dynasty, Shi Chaoyi fled to the vicinity of Guangyang (now northeast of Fangshan, Hebei). He hanged himself because of the rebellion and separation from relatives. His generals Li Baochen, Li Huaixian and Tian Chengsi surrendered one after another and were successively appointed as the military envoys of Chengde, Youzhou and Weibo towns, which were the three towns of Hebei. The eight-year Anshi Rebellion ended.
The Anshi Rebellion brought great disaster to Du Fu, and also made him a giant in the history of Chinese poetry. Guo Moruo said in "Gemini Constellation in the History of Poetry": "The great poet Du Fu (712-770) was living in such an era of rapid changes. His life was just like the rapid changes of the times, as if he had fallen from the sky to the earth. From 75 From five years later until his death, the fifteen or six years he spent were basically a wandering life, a life of hunger and cold, and a life of worry.
But in this kind of life, he got close to the people and became one with them. This gave him the opportunity to realize the nature of class society under the feudal system. "The wine and meat stinks in the rich family, and the bones on the road are frozen to death", such a famous saying that has been resounding through the ages cannot be produced in this kind of life. The Anshi Rebellion brought huge disasters to the Chinese people in history, but it also brought us a great poet. Du Fu would not have become Du Fu if he had not lived through the Anshi Rebellion, if he had not breathed with the people and endured hardships. There are more than 1,400 of his extant poems, about 90% of which were written after the Anshi Rebellion. His early works were both small in quantity and not of high quality. From this perspective, the Anshi Rebellion was a blessing among misfortunes for Du Fu, and it was also a blessing among misfortunes for Chinese culture. Du Fu, who was bought with endless blood and tears, has always been cherished by the Chinese people and will always be cherished in the future.
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