The short videos I watched from all dynasties

Li Ranran thought that since she had already finished watching the first part, she might as well finish watching the rest. It was only a two-minute-long mashup anyway...

So I opened [The Darkest Moment in Chinese History 2] and prayed silently in my heart that there would be no more quarrels in the comment section.

(The video shows the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. In addition to the Han people, the crowds coming and going in Chang'an City also attracted Hu people from all directions, as well as foreign guests and foreign merchants.)

【An Lushan Rebellion】

[The "Anshi Rebellion" broke out in 755 AD, the 763th year of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's Tianbao reign, and finally ended in AD when Shi Chaoyi, the son of Shi Siming, committed suicide.

Before the An-Shi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty ruled over the world and governed many ethnic groups. It gave ethnic minorities a relatively equal status. Except for the prime minister, all other court positions and key positions in national defense and military affairs were open to ethnic minorities. It regained control of the Silk Road and took the initiative in trade, allowing Chinese silk, tea, porcelain, etc. to flow to the Western Regions and Europe in exchange for cash crops such as gold, silver, jewelry, and wine. Chang'an also naturally became an international metropolis at the time.

There were hundreds of thousands of Turks, Tibetans, Khitans, Persians, Goguryeos, Arabs, Japanese, and Romans walking in Chang'an, doing business or serving as officials. The characteristics of the Hu people, such as being tough, open, free and energetic, were also reflected in the Tang Dynasty at that time.

The year before the An-Shi Rebellion, there were about 5292 million taxpayers controlled by the court. Together with hidden households, tenant farmers, slaves, soldiers, monks and other uncounted people, historians speculated that the national population should be 8000 million. Five years after the An-Shi Rebellion, this number dropped sharply to 1700 million. This war severely damaged the vitality of the Tang Dynasty. According to rough statistics, about 3000 million people were displaced and died in the war or famine during this turmoil that lasted more than seven years.

An Lushan and Shi Siming started an uprising in Fan Yang, marched southward to Hebei, captured Luoyang and then Tongguan, approached Chang'an, and Xuanzong fled.

This was a comprehensive and profound shock from top to bottom. No one was spared. The once prosperous Tang Dynasty was now in mourning. Almost the entire middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River were deserted and thousands of miles of desolation. After the "An Lushan Rebellion", the Tang Dynasty went from prosperity to decline, and its glory was gone. It was difficult for it to revive again. 】

＜Come in if you pass by and curse Li Longji first…＞

＜The influence of the An-Shi Rebellion was very great. After the An-Shi Rebellion, there was no longer the atmosphere of tolerance and harmony between the Hu and Han peoples in the early Tang Dynasty. The emperor and the military governors distrusted and suspected each other. After the domineering military regimes of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, this also led to the Song Dynasty and the middle and late Ming Dynasty adopting the policy of suppressing the military with civil officials, and the civil officials controlled the army.＞

＜Strictly speaking, the Tang Dynasty had already begun to decline during the Wu Zhou period, and the bad policies had already begun to show in the late period of Emperor Gaozong. The prosperity of Emperor Xuanzong's early years can only be regarded as a revival of the Tang Empire. The An-Shi Rebellion was the outbreak of the malpractices of the first hundred years of the Tang Dynasty. It was because Emperor Xuanzong made too many tricks in his later years. He liked to micro-manage, which turned what was originally just a "Seven Kingdoms Rebellion" like the Han Dynasty into an irreversible situation of the great Tang Dynasty's decline from prosperity.＞

＜Why are there still people whitewashing Li Longji? He should have died twenty years earlier! ＞

＜At this time, the Tang Dynasty was still young and on the rise. I feel that the An Lushan Rebellion was more due to poor decision-making and poor execution.＞

＜During the An-Shi Rebellion, there were many people who were frustrated in the court. Although the Tang Dynasty implemented the imperial examination system, it was still controlled by the aristocratic families. Children from poor families had no chance to make a living and could only serve in various border towns... Therefore, the An-Shi Rebellion was not easy to fight. There were many capable people among An Lushan and Shi Siming＞

＜The An-Shi Rebellion is closely related to the Hebei family＞

＜It is said that Li Longji created a prosperous era, but Du Fu wrote: "The rich enjoy wine and meat, while the poor freeze to death on the streets." This was true even in prosperous times, so what should the common people do during wars?＞

＜Throughout history, there has only been one true grassroots person, Zhu Baba, but after he became emperor, he also became a member of the new ruling class…＞

＜When a country prospers, its people suffer; when a country perishes, its people suffer.＞

＜Xuan: bright in front and dark in the back＞

＜Li Longji's life: a god in the first half and a devil in the second half＞

＜To put it simply, the country changed from open to conservative after the An-Shi Rebellion.＞

＜Li Longji should bear absolute responsibility for the Anshi Rebellion＞

＜The An-Shi Rebellion directly ended the prosperous Tang Dynasty in the middle and late stages＞

＜If Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was replaced by Emperor Taizong of Tang, these things would never happen＞

＜Let alone if Li Shimin came, even if the young version of Li Longji was left there, it would not be the final result…＞

＜Alas, forget it, Li Longji should have died earlier. If he died earlier, he could have been on the same level as Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Wu of Han, and Emperor Taizong of Tang. But the An-Shi Rebellion made him despised by everyone. No wonder people who like Li Longji or hate him all hope that he will die 20 years earlier.＞

＜Let’s talk about the impact of the An-Shi Rebellion, which made the middle and late Tang Dynasty unworthy of a name…＞

＜Now when we mention Tang, we think of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Heaven has blessed all nations, and the Tang Dynasty is shining! ＞

＜The An Lushan Rebellion seems ordinary, but because many literati and poets wrote about it, it seems to have had a huge impact…＞

＜Personally, I think the An-Shi Rebellion did have a great impact, but it cannot be said to be the darkest moment. How could the Five Barbarians’ Invasion of China, the Mongol Invasion, and the Qing Dynasty’s Entry into the Central Plains not be the darkest moment?＞

＜Compared to the An Lushan Rebellion, I think the Five Barbarians' Invasion had a greater impact on the entire Chinese nation.＞

……

The comments section of this video has deviated from analyzing the impact of the An-Shi Rebellion to debating whether or not the An-Shi Rebellion was the darkest moment.

No way, no way, no way, is there really someone who can empathize with the ancient emperors???

Li Ranran was very confused and said: You should go back with those people who want to travel back to the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties...

----

Tang Dynasty, 23rd year of Kaiyuan

At this time, Li Longji was still diligent and ambitious. After the sky curtain appeared, he not only ordered his ministers to record it carefully, but also often discussed the matter with his ministers afterwards.

When the video started playing on the sky screen, Li Longji invited several trusted ministers to watch it together and exchange opinions with each other.

Everything was fine before. Even when the Five Barbarians invaded China, Li Longji could still sigh to Zhang Jiuling, "The people are having a hard time."

Zhang Jiuling advised, "Your Majesty should follow the example of Emperor Taizong and 'use history as a mirror.'" He then added, "You should practice frugality and never be inferior to the people's ability!"

The second half of the sentence is Zhang Jiuling's euphemism for Li Longji being too extravagant during this period, which is not what a wise ruler should do.

As expected, Li Longji's face suddenly changed when he heard this. He was originally hoping that Zhang Jiuling would praise him instead of saying that he was not a wise ruler.

Li Linfu seized the opportunity and said to him, "Master Zhang, now is a peaceful and prosperous time. The people live and work in peace and contentment. The Tang Dynasty is thriving. Your Majesty has been working hard for a long time. Isn't it possible for you to enjoy the happiness with the people?"

Zhang Jiuling disliked people like Li Linfu who were ignorant and only cared about their business. Li Linfu was also jealous of Zhang Jiuling's character, and the two of them competed secretly.

Li Longji said perfunctorily to Zhang Jiuling: "Well, I understand." But he did not want to change it.

Until then, the screen began to play the An-Shi Rebellion, starting with [In 755 AD, the th year of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the An-Shi Rebellion broke out. ]

"Tang? Which unfilial descendant in later generations caused this!!!" Li Longji's anger was real. After all, he had worked hard to bring the Tang Dynasty to its current height and he was quite satisfied and contented. He even fantasized about meeting Emperor Taizong a hundred years later and how Emperor Taizong would praise him.

When the video reached the end, Zhang Jiuling felt something was wrong. "An Lushan, Shi Siming?"

Li Longji himself also came to his senses. An Lushan failed to conquer Xi and Khitan in the 21st year of Kaiyuan and was to be executed. Zhang Jiuling then tried his best to persuade him not to let this villain go, and even asserted that An Lushan had wolfish ambitions and would rebel in the future, but in the end he pardoned him...

"So, Xuanzong? It's me?!"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible. I have created a prosperous era comparable to the Zhenguan era. There will never be a rebellion in the Tang Dynasty."

"Impossible, impossible, the sky is deceiving me!!! It's a lie to confuse the people!!!"

Li Longji still had a fluke mentality at this time, maybe he would be dead by then and it was the prince's incompetence that caused the Anshi Rebellion. Sure enough, the prince was incompetent and had to be deposed. Li Longji's mood changed, I am the emperor, I am a saint, the people all admire and praise my merits!

But he was immediately slapped in the face.

The comments section of Tianmu was full of the three words "Li Longji", and everyone said that they would rather die 20 years earlier. How dare they? How can these people in later generations curse me like this!

Li Linfu and others saw that Li Longji was in a bad mood and did not dare to comfort him.

Only Zhang Jiuling said to Li Longji: "Saint, the An-Shi Rebellion has not yet occurred. We are still in Kaiyuan instead of Tianbao. Now that we have learned about the future changes, we should take precautions and solve the problem."

Li Longji came back to his senses and looked at Zhang Jiuling with emotion, "The Prime Minister is truly the pillar of the Tang Dynasty. I will never be a fleeing emperor!"

The land was deserted and desolate. Zhang Jiuling could not imagine how miserable the future would be...

Bones are exposed in the wild, and no roosters crow for thousands of miles. The Tang Dynasty, which is still a peaceful and prosperous era, will become a chaotic era in a few decades.

Li Linfu knew that he had missed a good opportunity and was secretly upset. He immediately expressed his determination and said, "When prosperity comes, the people suffer; when decline comes, the people suffer. Tianmu is right. We are willing to sacrifice our lives for the saint! To protect this prosperous world."

Although Zhang Jiuling disliked Li Linfu, as long as he was on the right path, he would not go against him.

“When a country prospers, the people suffer; when a country perishes, the people suffer.” Li Longji recited this sentence and asked someone to copy it down and hang it in the study to remind himself at all times.