Middle Tang（766－835）: the Tug of War: 中唐: 拔河 1

 Music:  Sound of Heart Strings

It's not your grandfather's Tang dynasty. By the mid- Tang dynasty（766－835） great changes have taken place that severely challenged the Tang as the undisputed hegemonic power in East Asia. However, the Tang at this point was still far from certain collapse and despair.

Like a bruised boxer, several of mid- Tang's vigorous emperors took on their challenges directly and at times seemed to almost brought the dynasty to an upswing again. However, in this age of uncertainty, even mere vassals may stand taller than the emperor. Where will power and fortune tilt in this age? Well, it's probably one question that everyone in this age- including many of the major figures of this era themselves would like to know.

Mid Tang: Map of the Tang dynasty in 779 shortly after the ascension of emperor Dezong of Tang.Yellow represents the Tang empire, blue represents contested western territories lost to the resurgent Tibetan Empire, red represents the highly independent military circuits under the command of ambitious and autonomous warlords called the Jiedushi. The Tang emperors at this time were not only threatened externally by repeated Tibetan incursions but also by these ruthless vassals, who at times were even brazen enough to slay the emperor's own chancellors right in the capital. 

ENEMY AT THE GATES: AN LUSHAN REBELLION
EMPERORS SUZONG ( 756-762 ) & DAIZONG ( 762-779 )

Mid Tang began with a grim problem, a monstrous conflagration that was burning across the realm: the An Lushan Rebellion. In 755, the half Sogdian, half Turkic Tang general An Lushan launched his destructive rebellion against the Tang and plunged the entire empire into chaos. Unfortunately for the Tang, the rebellion couldn't have occurred at a worse time and location. Most of the heaviest fighting took place in the densely populated heartland of the empire- in what is today's Hebei and Henan provinces  while much of the imperial armies were deployed far away in the distant frontiers. During the worst phase of the conflict, the great rebel army even captured the imperial capital at Chang An- forcing the imperial court to flee in terror.

Perhaps the most significant Tang Emperor of all, the 76 year old Xuanzong Emperor: Li Longji's long reign alone marked the period known as "High Tang" 盛唐- or the apex and golden age of the Tang dynasty. When he usurped the throne in his 20s, the Tang was in a downward spiral, but through his early vigor and diligent rule, he was able to turn the fortune of the dynasty around. Despite his wisdom and long rule, in his later years Xuanzong was unwise to trust selfish Chancellors as Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong (cousin to his favorite Consort Yang,) -which caused the An Lushan's Rebellion. 

Imperial authority was virtually destroyed during the humiliating flight. The sagely Xuanzong Emperor, whose long 43 year of reign had been recorded as the high point (and in hindsight probably the apex) of Tang power and prosperity was himself made into a refugee without a kingdom or even at times a shelter to stay. During his long torturous escape, his imperial guards mutinied at the Mawei Courier Station 马嵬驿 and slew many of the court's ministers they blamed for the debacle, including the Emperor's favorite concubine, the influential Consort Yang and her family. Thereafter, although the imperial guards eventually remained in service to Xuanzong, it was obvious that if the situation worsened, there would probably not even be a Tang left. Millions, and by some accounts tens of millions of Tang subjects would perish in the disastrous rebellion. The destructive whirlpool would not only be the whirlpool that suck in millions but also irrevocably set the stage for the rest of the Tang emperors.


REINS OF POWER- SUZONG'S POLITE COUP ( 756-762 )

An Lushan struck from his home base in the northeastern frontiers and quickly overrun the imperial heartland in the areas of modern Hebei and Henan provinces- taking the twin Tang capitals of Luoyang and eventually Chang An in rapid succession.

As the fireball of the rebellion burned through central China, something unexpected happened. When the imperial capital of Chang An was seized, Emperor Xuanzong and his Crown Prince Li Heng sped out in two separate directions- while Xuanzong took the route westward toward the sanctuary of Sichuan with his imperial bodyguards, the Crown Prince instead raced toward the assembling northern armies in the northeast. And as Xuanzong's power eroded during his flight and the situation on the front-lines worsened, the Crown Prince's worried courtiers soon began to request that he usurp his father and take up the reins of government as the new emperor.

Li Heng- Crown Prince that would eventually become emperor Suzong spent most of his life immersed in palace intrigues and lived the life of a courtly aristocrat. Because of his father's longevity, he lived in his father's shadow most of his life. He took the reins of the state in a bloodless coup which made him the overall Tang commander.

With the army at Lingwu pressuring him to take the imperial throne, Li Heng declared himself emperor on August 13 (as Emperor Suzong). When news of this reached Emperor Xuanzong in his escape, the exhausted Xuanzong assented to the this usurpation and recognized Suzong as the new emperor. Eventually taking the title of Taishang Huang (retired emperor) in exile. To make sure there would not be any confusion as to the legitimacy of his son's rule, Xuanzong eventually sent his high ministers to Suzong in order to invest him with the authority over the rest of the Tang forces.

Music: Imperial March

A MARSHALING OF FORCES- RECONQUEST

Map of the An Lushan Rebellion at the height of An Lushan's Yan (燕) dynasty (orange.) An Lushan struck from his home base in the northeastern frontiers and quickly overrun the imperial heartland in the areas of modern Hebei and Henan provinces- taking the twin Tang capitals of Luoyang and eventually Chang An in rapid succession. However, it was at this point that the Yan momentum was halted. A series of resounding victories in Henan prevented them from penetrating beyond the Yellow River, and although the aged Xuanzong emperor (blue) made his flight southward, his son raced north to the front lines and proclaimed himself the new Emperor Suzong. There, he made agreements with both the powerful Uyghur Khaganate + the Abbasid Caliphate and led the coalition to recapture both former Tang capitals. 

An Uyghur Khagan

Compared to the 4 decade long reign of his illustrious father, Suzong's reign was very brief, and only existed in the middle of the greater An Lushan Rebellion. However, Suzong assessed the powers the Tang yet possessed and made use of both the rosters of loyal generals that yet remained and also called on favors from abroad. In answering Tang's distress calls, two powers came to his aid: the Uyghur Khaganate and the Abbasid Caliphate. The Uyghur Bayanchur Khan now joined Suzong's war efforts. The Abbasid Caliphate- which the Tang had previously fought in the Battle of Talas only half a decade before, also sent an expeditionary force of 4,000 cavalry to join the Tang war effort. 

Together, the Tang-coalition forces captured both Chang An and Luoyang with great cost. Because Luoyang had served as the capital of the rebel's regime, it was brutally pillaged by the Uyghur soldiers as war loot compensation. Despite these episodes, the coalition proved effective in taking the fight back to the rebels and keeping the momentum on the Tang's side. 

VICTORY IN SIGHT- TIDE TURNED

 

Two giant figures who rose during the An Lushan Rebellion and influenced Tang politics for over three generations: Guo Ziyi and Li Mi. 

By this point, the tide has decidedly swung toward the Tang's favor. For the Yan state was plagued with a series of regicides that unravelled its statehood to its core. First An Lushan was assassinated by his son not even 1 full year after the establishment of his Yan dynasty, then, said son was slew by one of An Lushan's loyalist generals, until he himself was in turn killed by his own rebellious son. Needless to say, these series of rapid usurpations severely weakened the Yan state until the new leaders have any authority to delegate orders against the oncoming Tang attacks.

It was clear that the new Yan Dynasty would not last long, and Yan officers and soldiers began to defect to the Tang side. However, Suzong would not live to see the end of the conflict. In 762, 7 long years after the ignition of the An Lushan Rebellion, Emperor Xuanzong died, and only 13 days later, Suzong also passed away. Although the end of the conflict was near, it would see the reigns of 3 Tang emperors to finally wrap up the great rebellion.

DAIZONG ( 762-779 ) - BRAVE MEAN WORLD

The new emperor Daizong: personal named Li Chu had been one of his father Suzong's trusted commanders. While serving at his father's behalf on the frontlines, he coordinated with the Uyghurs and Guo Ziyi in taking the fight to the Yan forces and was present in the taking of the twin capitals of Chang An and Luoyang. After a small spat of court intrigue obstructing Li Chu's ascension, he emerged as the new Emperor Daizong after his father and grandfather's death.

THE HOLLOW VICTORY-  COMPROMISES

With great costs, Chang An and Luoyang were both retaken. Though the Tang had been greatly weakened at this time- Chang An was still one of the most significant cities in the world. With a population of 1 million and 3 million including the suburbs outside its walls, the city was checker-boarded by massive wards that were the sizes of several modern city blocks- each with its own wall, gates, and drum towers. In total, Chang An possessed 108 wards of roughly similar sizes, and for the rest of the 8th century would still flourish until the mid 9th century.

A well meaning but somewhat meek man. Li Chu's tenure witnessed the complete disintegration of Yan leadership. However, instead of crushing the rest of the Yan remnants one by one, he chose to pardon them and allow them to retain their lands and titles. During his reign several crises arose. His legacy was much maligned in hindsight- since most of his compromising political solutions were little more than a temporary band- aids to the systemic problems which rotted imperial prestige. Later Song dynasty historians harshly criticized him and attributed his leniency and passivity to his strict adherence to Buddhism. 

Yan would try one last sally and retake Luoyang, later Luoyang was taken by Tang forces for the second time in the winter of 762. The last Yan Emperor Shi Chaoyi attempted to flee, but was intercepted in the spring of 763. Shi Chaoyi then chose suicide to avoid capture. By this point, there was no central authority within Yan.

Music: Red Forest

Although by all means the acquisition of the twin capitals and the total disintegration of Yan leadership should have been a fated triumph, however, the Yan forces were still far from being destroyed. Even after the endless parricide and murder, even without a centralized chain of command- it still had many, many armies in the field. In 763 the various fortified provinces of Yan were still manned by powerful local commanders and their forces each still numbering well over tens of thousands. At this point, Daizong was plagued with a torturous dilemma.

Does he marshal and send the full might of his bleeding empire and throw all of them eastward to ground the Yan remnants to dust (which would undoubtedly be protracted and bloody- and have to be done one bloody battle after another, one bloody province- by- province) or would he find a way to immediately conclude the 7 year long rebellion and make better use of the imperial forces? In the end, instead of grinding his best forces down in a bloody warpath eastward, Daizong chose to pardon many of the significant Yan defectors who had offered to surrender to the Tang, allowing them to retain their armies and holdings while nominally receiving their almost- feudal submission.

COMPROMISE: THE PARDONING OF THE KEY YAN GENERALS

Two things probably guided Daizong to take this course of action. 1. the immediate conclusion of the conflict would free the Tang to immediately reassert its hold on every part of the empire that's not a Yan remnant, during which they could recover at their own leisure. 2. their are more pressing western threats that seriously demanded that the Tang soldiers to be redeployed westward. We will analyze the logic of the former while examine the latter in length in a section below about Tibet and the Western Regions.

Instead of a bloody war of annihilation, Daizong probably reasoned that so long as the much larger Tang was able to have time to regroup and wisely use the time to replenish its coffers and army, with time (and more importantly, with rejuvenated power,) it could theoretically be strong enough then to renege its allowance and force the remaining Yan remants to disarm. After all, by then, the Tang- which dwarved over them in size would have a full deck in hand, primed and ready, while the Yan defectors- despite their maxim efforts would be in a position of disadvantage because of their smaller lands and economy.

Music: Warlord

THE PROBLEM OF JIEDUSHI- WARLORDOM

A bad peace: In the post-Ān Lùshān period, in return for their surrender, several key Yan defector generals were allowed to remain in command of their armies and to govern large tracts of land as they saw fit. They became essentially feudal lords in all but name, and most merely paid lip-service to the imperial court. Though initially, the Tang emperors had nominal power to agree or veto the choice of inheritance for the succession of these military- governors, over time, these military-governors were permitted to pass their offices and fiefs directly to their children, further cementing their entrenchment into their respective regions. Worse yet, 4 of the most important of these circuits allied with each other for mutual protection against the Tang.

Daizong's mercy was not a rare form, after all, during the founding of the Tang, during the battle royale which swept across the lands, the founding emperors of Gaozu and Taizong were very liberal with pardoning whole armies of soldiers in tens- even hundreds of thousands. During their days, mercy was one of the house of Li's greatest strength. However, in this matter, mercy and magnanimity was much more harmful to the imperial house than the previous days- for unlike previous occasions, the Yan defectors did not feel they were defeated at all.

By the end of Daizong's rule, large swaths of what is today Hebei and northern Henan province would be filled with military- governors ruling many prefectures and imperial circuits under their direct personal control. These Jiedushi 节度使 were independent and had absolute power onto themselves, with most of them fielding a private army which numbered well over 50,000. 

Though Daizong probably did not realize this, and had other issues to attend to, the leniency he showed in this one moment would create much more harm later than he imagined. His allowance for the Yan defectors to remain in their local spheres would created a controversy that would last for centuries and would be responsible in unravel the dynasty altogether. For~ in the explicit permission to ALLOW the warlords to retain their independent armies well outside of direct imperial control, this created a precedence and template for their independence.

And although individual warlords might be destroyed and their lands confiscated, future ambitious men could always look to the example created here and effectively worm themselves to such positions again. Some would be so brazen as to threaten the lives of the emperors themselves and the lives of his closest ministers.  In time, by allowing such polities to exist within the empire, more would try to follow their examples and plague all future Tang emperors.

 Although nominally subordinate to the Tang by accepting imperial titles, the jiedushi 节度使 governed their territories as independent fiefdoms with all the trappings of an autonomous feudal society, they established their own family dynasties through intermarriage, collected taxes, privately raising armies, and even appointed their own state officials. What's more, several of the leading military governors in Hebei were non-Tang citizens.They allied with each other for mutual protection to prevent Tang reclamation.The most powerful of these under Li Zhengji in Shandong boasted over 100,000 men in his army.

Daizong would not have forsaw this, but only a century later, the Tang would almost be undone by these military men, and half a century after that would completely be destroyed by such men. When the Tang fell, almost every province of the empire would be ruled by ambitious vulturine warlords. Even almost 70 years after the collapse of the Tang dynasty, military governors would still be fighting each other until the Song dynasty reunited the realm by destroying most of their rivals. The memory of rampant independent warlords is one of the primary reasons the Song dynasty jealously and systematically curbed their general's powers and retained a tight centralized leash over their commanders.

COMPROMISE: A HEFTY TRIBUTE TO THE UYGHURS

When Luoyang fell, the Uyghurs were permitted to pillage the former Yan capital as compensation for their service, but even after three days of looting (including burning of several districts and crowded temples) the unsated warriors would not leave until the Tang was forced to pay an exorbitant amount of silk bolts and enormous legal privileges to the Uyghurs for their aid. Thereafter Uyghurs were designated as privileged guests and conferred many legal advantages while they are in Tang lands and staying in the Tang capital.

The huge amount of silk war bribes- on the surface framed as a fair exchange for future Uyghur payment of war horses was in reality a Tang tribute. This had proven to be a highly advantageous intervention for the Uyghurs. Not only did they gained the hand of a Tang princess in marriage, a large cache of war loot but also further tributes and legal privileges in dealing with the Tang. There after their power would expand in what is today's region of Mongolia and they would became a hegemonic power in the steppes. Comparatively, this outcome was neutral and even benign for the Tang, since the Uyghurs eventually sided with the Tang in many of Tang's future wars. What was infinitely more pressing for Daizong and the Tang was the emergence of a much greater threat from the west- the Tibetan Empire. For only months after the rebellion ended, Tibet attacked the Tang capital with its full might.

LIKE AN AVALANCHE- TIBETAN INVASIONS

In 763, only months after the last embers of the An Lusah rebellion was put out, the Tibetan empire breached through Tang's western boarders and launched an all out invasion into the Tang heartlands. Tibet, which had already seized Tang western prefectures one by one with impunity during the Rebellion, now launched a sudden direct attack on the Tang capital of Chang An itself. 

Trisong Detsen, one of the greatest of Tibetan emperors. The empire was a highly centralized state that boasted a massive army and many deadly horsemen in its ranks. Concurrent to the reign of the the warrior emperor Trisong Detsen, Tang power was severely curtailed by the An Lushan Rebellion, as such, the Tibetans took full advantage of Tang weakness and rapidly sent out attacks across the weakened western frontiers of the Tang empire. Trisong Detsen's rapid expansions and creation of vassal states was such a disruption to Central Asia's equilibrium that the Tang and the Abbasid Caliphate concluded an alliance to counter the meteoric Tibetan expansion. Throughout the Mid- Tang period, the Tibetan empire would pose as a nemesis to the Tang.

In 763 Trisong Detsen sent an army of 100,000 men (some sources say 200,000) to the border with Tang China, after defeating the forces there they continued on to take Chang an. When Daizong sought emergency aid from his provincial generals, none came to his aid, and on November 16, he was forced to abandon Chang An and flee to eastward toward the central Plains. The Tibetan forces then declared Emperor Suzong's cousin Li Chenghong: the Prince of Guangwu as the new (puppet) Emperor of Tang, but fter only 15 days they soon withdrew due to Chang An citizenry's resistance and the coming of the Tang relief column commanded by the legendary commander Guo Ziyi. Daizong was able to soon return to Chang An. 

THE FALL OF THE WESTERN REGIONS 

Haloed Tibetan warrior in heavy lamellar armor- Jokhang Temple. He wears an elaborate belt bedecked with multi- colored inlays and at his side straps a highly ornate jewel- encrusted straight cutting sword.

Despite the recovery of the imperial capital, it was only the beginning of repeated Tang defeats at Tibetan hands. In the vulnerable western regions, much Tang territory had fallen into Tibetan hands and the stranded local Tang forces were destroyed piecemeal. Before the year's end, Tang- held Kashgar was taken by the Tibetans in 763, the next year, Trisong Detsen would throw another 70,000 men to attack the vulnerable Hexi Corridor. 

Tibetan cavalry with riders covered from head to toe in armor dominated the western wars in the Gansu Corridor and the Tarim Basin. Hundreds of bloody battles were fought and with each battle, the already weakened strength of the Tang was further chipped away in attrition. The west was lost in these wars and would remain beyond contact for nearly a century until the implosion of the Tibetan Empire. 

Besieged, Tibetan infantrymen ascending siege ladders while they are greeted by an alarmed Tang nobleman with sword drawn, a militia attempting to aim his recurved bow and a Tang lady armed with a cocked crossbow. In the aftermath of the disastrous An Lushan rebellion, the western territories of Tang was repeatedly attacked by the resurgent Tibetan Empire. These attacks would overwhelm Tang defenses in the region and completely separate the local Tang settlements from the Tang heartlands. The west was lost.

The thin and vulnerable Hexi Corridor served as the neck which connected the Tang heartlands with its outlying garrisons in the west. For most of the previous century, the Tang positioned heavy garrisons along the western boarders to check the Tibetan empire and also secure its Central Asian holdings. With the disorders of the An Lushan Rebellion, the Tang was forced to recall many of the western soldiers to crush the rebellion. The Tibetans were well aware of the vulnerability and strategic importance of this corridor and repeatedly launched attacks which severed the ∞ shaped Tang territories. Because of these blows, the Tang would loose contact with its western territories and eventually loose nearly 40% of its holds of the empire to repeated Tibetan attacks. By the mid 780s, the Tibetan empire would have secured control of the Tarim Basin.

In this context is is easy to understand Daizong's logic for a swift pacification of the east in order to quickly turn toward the greater threat from the west. For the rest of Daizong's reign- and also the reigns of all of the Mid-Tang emperors, the Tang would be locked in a constant protracted war with the Tibetan empire. Many battles and hundreds of skirmishes would be fought along the western frontier of the empire. The remainder of Daizong's reign would be dedicated in coordinating and prosecuting Tang war efforts against the Tibetans.

In dealing with the various independent circuits, Daizong opted to watch them like a vulture. Whenever one of the leadering lords of a circuits would die he would attempt to isolate it and strip its holdings, however, those efforts did not came to any fruition.

Music: The Calm Before the Storm

EXIT DAIZONG

In the summer 779, Emperor Daizong died after a brief illness, after unable to attend court for 10 days, Daizong drew up his will and succumbed to his illness. Overall, Daizong's 17 year reign was one of an improviser, constantly reacting to events and meriting out remedies for the various crises that plagued the empire. He presided during the slow rebuilding of the empire from the ruins of the An Lushan Rebellion, despite the constant Tibetan attacks, internally, Daizong did manage to achieve domestic peace- of a sort. Despite occasional opportunistic forays, he and the warlords he had pardoned would maintain a state of uneased watchfulness for the remainder of his reign. His reign was one of preservation of strength at the cost of temporarily appeasements. But if he considered that he was only buying time and buying opportunities to win at a long game, he did not live long enough to see the Tang came out on top again. 

He was by no means not the best of the Tang emperors, but neither was he among the worst. He might have inherited a reduced empire compared to his predecessors, but at least his children will inherit a stabilized empire without war and chaos, and slowly growing back in strength.


REVENGE OF THE TANG EMPERORS- DEZONG ( 779-805 ) AND XIANZONG  ( 805-820 )

Whatever Daizong personally felt about relinquishing power to the Jiedushi, he did not make it known through his actions. However, his sons and grandsons would radically stir a different path. In the next chapter, we will see the sons of Daizong drastically change their treatment of the independent Jiedushi warlords.

Li Zhengji 李正己, the powerful warlord of Goguryeo descent in Shandong boasted well over 100,000 men in his army. During the reign of Daizong he incorporated many other nearby warlord's prefectures into his hold. He was a king in all but name within his domains. 

Where as the reign of Daizong was marked by acquiescence, the next group of Tang emperors' reigns would be marked by open hostility and warfare. Next chapter, we will examine 2 of the more noticeable Mid- Tang Emperors who actively kicked the proverbial hornet's next and took the fight to the warlords, with hostility so unmistakable it might as well have been a hard fist to the face.

In 781, one of the leading Jiedushi died, and the newly enthroned

emperor Dezong staunchly refused to let the dead lord's son inherit his father's 

lands. All knew then, that it was the declaration of a long awaited war.

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