Hanshu. The Five Elements Chronicles clearly recorded: "(The Qin Dynasty) revived Afang, but died before it was completed." "Historical Records" also has such a record: "Afang Palace has not been completed; become, and want to change the name of the order. As a palace house, so the world is called a palace of a house. ”

This shows that Afang Palace was actually not built at all, and naturally it would not be burned down by Xiang Yu.

Despite this, the magnificent "A Fang Gong Fu" is still a milestone work in the history of literature. "A Fang Gong Fu" amazed Cui Yun, the chief examiner of the year.

Wu Wuling took the opportunity to say: "Please ask Lord Shilang to order Du Mu as the champion"

"I'm sorry, there's already someone!"

"Third place is fine!"

"I'm sorry, but there's already someone!"

"If you can't do it, you will be fifth!"

Cui Yun fell into endless silence.

"If you can't finish fifth, then please give it a try! Let's see who's more talented! ”

Wu Wuling's implication is that it is actually condescending to win the fifth place in the examination with Du Mu's unique literary talent.

This ultimatum-like sentence made Cui Yun finally agree to Wu Wuling's request.

Under the active efforts of Wu Wuling, the talented Du Mu only won a fifth place.

The game in the shadows began long before the exams began. The exam is just a formality, because many rankings are already scheduled before the exam!

Among the subjects of the imperial examination, Jinshi was the most popular among scholars in the Tang Dynasty. Jinshi is known as "thirty old Ming Jing, fifty young Jinshi" saying. At the age of 50, Jinshi and the first can still be called "Shaojinshi", which shows the fierce competition in the examination.

For the very few who succeed in reaching the other side of victory, the real test has just begun.

The first and first grades of the Jinshi are awarded to those who have come from the upper rank of the ninth rank, while the vast majority of those who have been second and first are only awarded to those who have come from the lower rank of the ninth rank.

The biggest difference between the Tang Dynasty tribute examination and later generations is that it only gives administrative rank and does not directly give official positions. Of course, you can also participate in subject selection or the system held from time to time, but these two paths are more difficult.

Selection is not only based on individual talent, but also on social connections and personal background.

Because there are many monks and few porridges, it often takes many years for Jinshi and the first to get an official and a half-job, and of course, there are also people who have never waited for the opportunity to become an official in their lives.

Han Yujinshi, one of the eight masters of the Tang and Song dynasties, and the queen "made three moves in the ministry, and the death could not be achieved". Han Yu is still like this, not to mention the others?

For the Han people and the first people who have no background, they are like flies lying on the glass, with light in front of them but no way out.

In stark contrast to the imperial examination is the shade of the door. After Li Longji learned that his favorite vassal Wang Mao Zhong was happy to have a noble son, he immediately gave his infant son Wupinguan.

The normal way of transfer in the Tang Dynasty was to take the four examinations, that is, to advance to the first level in four years, although of course this system was never seriously enforced.

Rule-breakers are often rule-makers or close associates, as they are generally not easily punished by the rules when they break them.

Officials in the Tang Dynasty were not for life, and their terms of office expired until they were reassigned to the imperial court.

After the implementation of qualifications, officials need to be suspended for a period of time after the expiration of their term of office, that is, they will be laid off pending reassignment. Whether you are really suspended and when you will return to work depends on the attitude of the leader towards you.

Even without considering the influence of qualifications, according to the promotion rate of one rank in four years, if a Jinshi and the first person from the lower rank of the ninth rank want to reach the administrative level of Wang Mao Zhong's youngest son, it will take sixty years.

Of course, for most officials, if they do not have outstanding talents, outstanding political achievements or excellent backgrounds, they will not be able to overcome the hurdle of reaching the sixth grade.

Recommendation is undoubtedly a shortcut to a fast career. Many hermits who live in seclusion in Zhongnan Mountain can quickly complete the gorgeous transformation from people to officials once they are recommended, but if you want to take this "Zhongnan shortcut", the recommender is very important.

Xuanzong Li Longji once issued an edict: "Qing officials and military generals above the fifth grade will supervise the assassination of history, and each will cite one person." ”

After the implementation of qualifications, officials need to be suspended for a period of time after the expiration of their term of office, that is, they will be laid off pending reassignment. Whether you are really suspended and when you will return to work depends on the attitude of the leader towards you.

Even without considering the influence of qualifications, according to the promotion rate of one rank in four years, if a Jinshi and the first person from the lower rank of the ninth rank want to reach the administrative level of Wang Mao Zhong's youngest son, it will take sixty years.

Of course, for most officials, if they do not have outstanding talents, outstanding political achievements or excellent backgrounds, they will not be able to overcome the hurdle of reaching the sixth grade.

Recommendation is undoubtedly a shortcut to a fast career. Many hermits who live in seclusion in Zhongnan Mountain can quickly complete the gorgeous transformation from people to officials once they are recommended, but if you want to take this "Zhongnan shortcut", the recommender is very important.

Xuanzong Li Longji once issued an edict: "Qing officials and military generals above the fifth grade will supervise the assassination of history, and each will cite one person." ”

The recommender must be a middle and high-level official of the fifth grade or above, and must be a clean official. Officials in the Tang Dynasty were divided into "clean officials" and "turbid officials". A clean official is a popular position that is valued by leaders, has a convenient promotion, and has a great future, similar to the leading cadres of today's General Office, Organization Department, and other units.

An Lushan, a little-known Hu person, let alone get the appreciation of these high-ranking officials, it is difficult to meet these people.

These officials who hold the power to recommend are also subject to the quota limit, although each nomination may not necessarily be limited to one person, as in this edict, but the limited number of nominations is an indisputable fact. They are cautious about the use of their power to recommend, and the people they recommend are either brilliant and well-educated people or moving moral role models.

An Lushan has neither the talent to learn from the past and the present, nor the exemplary deeds of earth-shattering ghosts and gods, and he is still a Hu man who is outside the mainstream culture, so this shortcut is undoubtedly a dead end for him.

Compared with the imperial examination, the door shade and the recommendation, "entering the stream" is undoubtedly the most realistic, the most difficult, but also the most helpless way for the majority of Han children to enter the office.

Rely on your own talents or connections to find an errand in the yamen first. These unranked people at the bottom of the yamen constituted a huge class of officials. The greatest ideal of these officials is to finally seek a half-official position, so as to complete the transformation from "outside the stream" to "inside the stream".

In order to achieve this goal, these officials have to look at the face of the leader, look up to the leader to snort, run and break his leg, wear out his mouth, bend over tiredly, and boil his head white, and may not be able to do so. If the official Xu can be lucky enough to obtain such a junior official from the lower rank of the ninth rank (roughly equivalent to the deputy section level), he will definitely be grateful.

It is difficult for these officials who have entered the official career to develop in their official careers, because they lack the right to speak in the bureaucratic system, so the vast majority of them are also nine-rank officials all their lives!

"Men are afraid of entering the wrong industry, and women are afraid of marrying the wrong man." As a humble Hu man with no background, relying on military merits to enter the government is undoubtedly the best career choice for An Lushan. An Lushan not only chose the right path in life, but more importantly, caught up with a good time to make contributions.

If An Lushan lived in the Taizong Dynasty, he might be a little-known petty officer for the rest of his life. The reason why An Lushan soared was because he was lucky to catch up with the "troubled times" that were rich in combat heroes.

Many people will think that how can the prosperous era of Kaiyuan be chaotic? This is because the stability and prosperity of the interior conceal the turmoil and chaos in the frontier.

Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty succeeded in establishing the Governor's Mansion and the Prefecture of Detention in the minority areas. The chiefs of the large tribes conferred the position of governor of the prefecture, and the chiefs of the smaller tribes conferred the title of governor of the prefecture, and these positions were held by the chieftain's family by hereditary.

This policy of "one country, two systems" did not change the original tribal management model, but also placed the attached ethnic minorities under the jurisdiction of the Tang Empire.

Tang Taizong Li Shimin used his political wisdom to make the frontier shape more and more stable, and he was also embraced by various ethnic groups as the "Heavenly Khan".

After Li Shimin's death, the intervention of Wu Zetian, Empress Wei and Princess Taiping made the political situation in the Tang Dynasty continue to be turbulent. The ethnic minority tribes that were once attached to the Tang Dynasty rebelled one after another. The system of fetters and prefectures established by Tang Taizong with great efforts is declining.

As the situation in the border areas has become increasingly tense, the original political and military management system has become more and more unable to meet the needs of the new form of political struggle.

Delegating power and reaping power has always been a difficult choice before the emperor. Delegating power can do things, but it will also cause trouble; Collecting power can be peaceful, but it is difficult to do things.

Although the Governor's Office or Protectorate, a permanent military organization on the frontier of the Empire, had direct troops and assumed the function of stabilizing the situation in the Dìng region, it did not have full authority to mobilize and freely command all the armies in its jurisdiction.

Whenever there was a heavy battle, the imperial court set up a marching chief or a marching chief for unified scheduling. As soon as the war ended, the marching chief or the general manager returned to the DPRK to take up his post, but as the military struggle in the frontier became more and more intense and complicated, the war became more and more protracted, so the marching chief or the marching commander, which was originally a temporary dispatch, was unable to complete the mission and return to the DPRK for a long time. A series of issues such as the payment of wages, the transfer and continuation of social security, the living of husband and wife, and the schooling of children have come to the fore.

In this context, the festival degree came into being.

In April of the second year of Jingyun (711 AD), He Bayan served as the governor of Liangzhou and served as the envoy of the west section of the river. The imperial court granted the Jiedu envoys the power to control and dispatch all the armies in their jurisdiction, and they could "act cheaply" according to the form of struggle. The extensive establishment of the Jiedu envoys undoubtedly made the empire's frontier policy completely changed from the establishment of the Taizong Dynasty to the establishment of the Taizong Dynasty as the main political policy and military conquest as the supplement.

Li Shimin, who grew up in the flames of war, was well aware of the true meaning of surrendering without a fight, while Li Longji, who had no real war experience except for participating in the palace coup, was keen on conquest by force. His joyful personality undoubtedly brought wrong policy orientation to the generals of the border towns, and also plunged the empire into the quagmire of war from which it could not extricate itself, but the continuous wars opened the door to the promotion of the generals. At the same time, Jiedu has given more and more say in the promotion of middle and lower-ranking officers.

Although An Lushan chose the right path and caught up with the right time, his road to the army was still tortuous and bumpy, and there were many dangers.

The thrilling ups and downs of the Huan Sea

An Lushan was fortunate to become a captive general under Zhang Shouqi, and his main duty was to capture prisoners. The career of "North Drift" has undoubtedly opened a new page in his life history.

The station of Youzhou Jiedu Envoy (also known as Hebei Jiedu Envoy) is in Youzhou. The seat of Youzhou was located in Jixian County (now Xicheng District, Beijing). Tang Youzhou City is basically located within the second ring road of today's Beijing. This is a prime location where every inch of land is valuable!

An Lushan, who abandoned business and joined the army, is undoubtedly lucky, because he doesn't have to worry about his household registration, his house, his car, his tickets, and his husband and wife's separation, because as long as he fights well, he will have a good fight!

For An Lushan's military career during this period, only a few strokes have been left in the history books.

It is only said that An Lushan, who is brave and good at fighting, once led five cavalry to capture dozens of Khitan cavalry. The overjoyed Zhang Shouqi continued to increase the number of sergeants under An Lushan, and An Lushan also repaid the trust of the leaders with one victory after another.

Looking at the relevant records in the history books, it seems that An Lushan did not achieve any impressive achievements in his early military career, but only participated in a few battles, captured a few prisoners, and later relied on whiskers and bribes to rise step by step. Is there really nothing worth writing about in An Lushan's military career?

Absolutely! It's just that the historian deliberately erased his heroic deeds, because the right to speak history is always in the hands of the victors!

This is not uncommon in the history of our country, because those who "change" history are often also those who "adapt" history. History is like a little girl who is dressed up and dares to be angry. The victors of history often portray their political opponents as brutal or cowardly.

History can be covered up but difficult to erase, and the reason why An Lushan stood out in just three years and grew from an obscure low-level officer to a senior general of the empire must have achieved good results. An Lushan must be indispensable in a series of military victories achieved by Zhang Shouqi during his tenure, but there is no record in the history books!

Zhang Shoujue's arrival came at a time when the situation in the northeastern frontier was at its most tense. Khitan officer Ke Tugan is like a terrible ghost that has always haunted the Tang Empire.

The brave and strategic, Ke Tugan is a figure in the Khitan tribe who can even influence the deposition of the tribal chieftain.

Mr. Zhang's predecessors had been helpless against military provocations, and had even been beaten to the ground by him. The audacious Ke Tugan finally meets his terminator, Zhang Shouqi!

The arrival of the battle-hardened Zhang Shouqi did not make Ke Tugan restrain himself, because at this time he had never thought that his end was coming step by step.

Zhang Shouqi "attacks frequently, and every battle is successful." In this great victory, An Lushan indulged in his military talents and laid a solid foundation for his future promotion (to be continued. )