How did Tang Suzong, who had zero presence, turn the tide during the An Lushan Rebellion? Next, the History Encyclopedia editor will take you to a detailed understanding of the historical truth. Let’s take a look together!
In this long history, if a dynasty rises in the world, it will naturally be destroyed; This is the experience of our thousands of years of history. So, if a dynasty is going to perish, is there an emperor who can save the dying dynasty? Of course there is. In the history of ancient dynasties in our country, there was an emperor who saved the country from being overthrown when it was about to be destroyed by other nations! What dynasty is this? Who is this emperor?
During the reign of Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty was already in a declining trend. The Tang Dynasty had already lost its prosperity during his reign. However, he made efforts to prolong the history of the Tang Dynasty, which delayed its downfall.
Before he ascended to the throne, the history of the Tang Dynasty was very chaotic. An Lushan openly opposed the Tang Dynasty, leading to the An Lushan Rebellion. However, the Tang army was unable to resist An Lushan’s army. Moreover, when the rebels arrived, some city officials simply gave up resistance and opened the door to the city for the rebels. This led to the easy conquest of many cities by the rebel army, and Luoyang and Chang’an were also occupied by the An Lushan rebels.
One year after the An Lushan Rebellion, Li Heng succeeded to the throne and became the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. At such a critical moment, he showed no concern for his coronation ceremony. He casually ascended to the throne. Afterwards, he quickly dispatched a general to lead his army and call up a rebel army. In order to recover the rebellion as soon as possible, Tang Suzong tried every means possible.
In order to obtain the assistance of the Khitans, Tang Suzong promised to exchange land for gold and silver. It was with the support of the Khitans that Li Yi led his army to successfully defeat the rebel forces. At this moment, the Khitans hoped to immediately receive what the Tang Dynasty had promised. However, Li Yi said that now is the best time for rehabilitation, and we should first stabilize the overall situation. As for the conditions promised to them earlier, they should wait until the situation stabilizes before fulfilling their commitment. Li Yi’s approach was praised by Emperor Suzong of Tang Dynasty. After a brief renovation, Li Yi led his troops to Luoyang again.
In the process of advancing, Guo Ziyi’s concept of the “smart zone” was utilized to select a group of soldiers with strong archery abilities to launch ambushes. During the war, they pretended not to be able to defeat the rebels and lured them into the ambush circle, successfully causing them to suffer heavy losses. The rebel leader panicked and fled when he saw the situation was not good, and Luoyang was thus recaptured.
In the confrontation, thanks to the efforts of generals such as Li Yi and Guo Ziyi, but also because of the imperial command of Tang Suzong, they were able to perform to the extreme.
And the Tang Dynasty was also able to quell the An Lushan Rebellion caused by Emperor Suzong’s fearlessness in the face of danger, which enabled the Tang Dynasty, which almost led to the downfall of the An Lushan Rebellion, to continue to survive.
Although the change of dynasties is a normal historical development law, this turning point also tests the ability of a generation of emperors. If it weren’t for Tang Suzong’s courage, perhaps the Tang Dynasty in current history would never have existed after Tang Xuanzong. The Tang Dynasty can also be considered one of the longest periods in history, which ultimately stems from the contributions of more than just emperors such as Emperor Suzong of Tang.
Although Tang Suzong’s achievements in history may not be well-known, he saved the Tang Dynasty from the An Lushan Rebellion and enabled the Tang Dynasty to continue to survive. This achievement may not be able to catch up with many emperors. Therefore, in the entire history of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Suzong of Tang should be regarded as an emperor with great achievements, who single handedly turned the tide, but he was rarely praised and too low-key, which led to people’s neglect.