The most deadly war in history was not the World War, but the An-Shi Rebellion more than 1,200 years ago. This war reduced one-sixth of the world’s population at that time. How cruel was the An-Shi Rebellion? Next, let’s take a look. During the Tianbao period of China’s population history statistics, the Tang Dynasty officially recorded 60 to 70 million people. At that time, the world’s population was just over 200 million. In 2009, the population was more than 16.9 million, which shows that the nearly eight-year Anshi Rebellion has reduced the household registration of Datang by two-thirds.
So how did such a brutal war come about? And why does it cause so much damage? These all start with An Lushan, the leader of the rebel army. The ancestor of An Lushan was a Sogdian nobleman in the Western Regions. He was rewarded by the Tang Dynasty and granted Xin’an. He is proficient in nine languages, well versed in human nature, and can speak articulately. While busy fighting to build military exploits, he is busy managing officials at all levels to climb up and down, and soon became the commander of three military regions, with a total of 185,000 troops under his command. .
At that time, the total strength of the frontier army in the Tang Dynasty was 490,000, and An Lushan alone controlled one-third. In front of Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei, he was a simple and loyal godson, and a dexterous man who could dance Hu Xuan dance. Big fat son, Tang Xuanzong trusted and reused An Lushan so much, why did An Lushan rebel? The first was the death of Li Linfu, the Right Prime Minister at the time. When Li Linfu was alive, he effectively restrained the power in the hands of Jiedu envoys in the vassal town by means of system design and personnel arrangement. An Lushan was very afraid of Li Linfu. However, with the death of Li Linfu, and Soon after his death, he was liquidated by some people. The rapid disintegration of the system design and personnel arrangement he originally used to contain Jiedushi in the vassal towns laid the groundwork for the Anshi Rebellion.
The second reason is that Yang Guozhong, the successor of the right minister, and An Lushan were at odds with each other, and the relationship between the two reached the point of incompatibility. An Lushan had become one of the most powerful figures in the Tang Dynasty at that time. There is no way of knowing when An Lushan decided to rebel against Tang, but it is certain that An Lushan also understands in his heart that as long as Yang Guozhong often grinds his lips in front of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, one day, his Sanfan Jiedushi will It is difficult to end in a good life. It is better to fight back instead of sitting still. In November 2014, Tianbao, An Lushan rebelled under the banner of a crusade against Yang Guozhong by a secret edict. In December, he occupied Luoyang and claimed himself as Emperor Xiongwu. Holy Wu.
In June 15, Tianbao, after the rebels captured Tongguan, they drove straight into Chang’an, and Chang’an fell. However, at this time, a crack appeared in the An Lushan rebels. In the first month of 757, An Lushan was murdered by his own son. In September, Tang took Guo Ziyi back to Chang’an. , Tang Suzong Li Heng returned to Beijing, and changed his reign name to Qianyuan in the second year. Since the rise of An Lushan, the Tang Empire was in crisis. In order to raise military expenses to fill the financial gap, in July of the first year of Qianyuan, Tang Suzong listened to the imperial court who also served as the history of money casting. According to the suggestion of the fifth Qi in the history, the Qianyuan Chongbao coin was officially cast and circulated in parallel at the price of one Qianyuan Chongbao and 10 Kaiyuan Tongbao.
Qianyuan Chongbao is the earliest coin in China with Chongbao as its treasure. In September of the second year of Qianyuan, the Tang Dynasty faced the heavy pressure of military expenditures, and the national finance was facing collapse. The face text is still Qianyuan Chongbao, and Guo Chonglun is on the back. Its price for Kaiyuan Tongbao is as high as 1 to 50. Fifth Qi’s issuance of Chongbao money is a failure. Then from 760 to 762, the Tang Dynasty government continuously adjusted the ratio of Qianyuan Chongbao and Kaiyuan Tongbao, and finally restored to 1:1 Qianyuan Chongbao also lost the meaning of big money, and gradually shrank to small flat money.