Is Tang Xizong well-known to everyone? Next, the History Encyclopedia editor will bring you relevant articles
Tang Xizong was a rather absurd emperor of the Tang Dynasty. During his reign, the phenomenon of regional separatism within the Tang Dynasty was very severe, and each regional power was in their own hands. Therefore, the actual power that came into the hands of the court was very limited.
At the same time, in 875, farmers led by Huang Chao and Wang Xianzhi launched a peasant uprising, and the rebel army attacked all the way, even sweeping through half of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty faced the danger of imminent destruction, but Emperor Xizong of Tang did not take it seriously and remained immersed in his own pursuit of pleasure.
So what happened to the fiefdoms? At the beginning, the Tang Dynasty began to appoint military governors, whose main role was to oversee the military affairs of a region and also to undertake the task of resisting foreign enemies. But in the mid to late Tang Dynasty, due to their distance from the capital city, military governors began to occupy one side and treat them as their own territory, forming a situation of regional separatism.
The situation of regional separatism plunged the vast number of farmers into dire straits. As a result, farmers led by Huang Chao and Wang Xianzhi began their uprising and even reached the outskirts of Chang’an in 880 during the Guangming period. Upon learning of this, Emperor Xizong of Tang was shocked and led his ministers to flee wildly to Sichuan and other places. Upon hearing this news, the then governor of Xichuan, Chen Jingxuan, immediately welcomed Emperor Xizong of Tang,
At first, Chen Jingxuan was just a commoner who bought Shaobing (Baked cake in griddle). How did he become a thrifty envoy and become the leader of a clan?
Now we have to talk about Tian Lingzi. Tian Lingzi was the most popular eunuch around Emperor Xizong of Tang Dynasty, and he was also the younger brother of Chen Jingxuan. Therefore, under the influence of Tian Lingzi, Chen Jingxuan became the General of the Left Jin Dynasty. The story of him rising from the position of General of the Left Jin Dynasty to the position of Jiedushi is sure to make everyone laugh.
Due to the prevalent situation of regional separatism in the Tang Dynasty, and as a prominent figure around the emperor, Tian Lingzi also hoped to cultivate his own power. Therefore, he set his sights on the three regions of Xichuan, Dongchuan, and Shannan Xidao, and recommended his trusted aides Chen Jingxuan, Yang Shili, Niu Xu, Luo Yuan, and others to Emperor Xizong of Tang, hoping that three of them would serve as military governors for each of these three regions.
But when faced with the four recommended by Tian Lingzi, Tang Xizong did not raise any objections at all. Instead, he proposed a very ridiculous election method, which was to let these four people participate in a polo match together, and the three winners would be the military governors of these three places. How ridiculous is this?
Moreover, at that time, the Tang Dynasty could only control ten states, and separating these three places completely disregarded the imperial court! So after the results came out, Chen Jingxuan was appointed as the Jiedushi of Xichuan, Yang Shili as the Jiedushi of Dongchuan, and Niu Xu as the Jiedushi of Shannan Xidao.
According to historical records, Emperor Xizong of Tang was a very incompetent emperor who loved gambling. He often gathered nobles and aristocrats to participate in games such as betting on geese and playing polo. He had fun all day long and ignored the affairs of the court. He even told people around him that if polo was included in the imperial examination, he would definitely become the top scorer. This is so ridiculous.
Fortunately, Emperor Xizong of Tang passed away relatively early. Otherwise, if polo were included as a part of the imperial examination, it would have been a laughingstock.
Although Tang Xizong behaved absurdly, he was also very pitiful. When he succeeded to the throne, he was only 12 years old, but Tian Lingzi had been following Tang Xizong from childhood to adulthood, and his actions had a great influence on Tang Xizong. At the time when Tang Xizong was developing his worldview, he was constantly led by Tian Lingzi into a situation of seeking pleasure. With such a small person providing incorrect guidance on Tang Xizong’s growth path, it was easy to lead him astray. In the end, he also gained the reputation of a foolish ruler.
Relying on gambling on football to determine the fate of the country, how could the Tang Dynasty not perish?
If he had had a wise person to guide and enlighten him at that time, would it have been a different situation? So it is said that those who are close to vermilion are red, while those who are close to ink are black. Choosing a true friend is very important.
