I had to open a separate chapter to focus on replying, because the comments of book friends were so explosive that I felt pressured to talk about this in a more formal way.

Is there any salvation in the Tang Dynasty? I see that many people in the comment area have their own directions, which is actually quite reasonable.

Now let's talk about it in a mode of "ignoring the subjective thoughts of the rulers".

That is to say, the contingency of history is brought to the limit, An Lushan was brain-controlled and turned into a loyal minister, and the high-level leaders of the Tang Army can sacrifice their lives for the country regardless of their families, power generation and so on.

My answer is that perhaps a certain traveler can use the method of "space for time" to shrink the pace of imperial expansion in exchange for the extension of the national ancestor, and the Anshi Rebellion can also be postponed backwards in a more mild way.

But the Tang Dynasty can't go back, and the bomb will definitely explode if it should explode.

Just like the title of my book, singing an elegy in the prime is the theme. The main focus of the full text is not "small party to save the country".

The expansion of the population in the Tang Dynasty has almost reached the limit of what the land can carry, and there must be an outlet for catharsis, that is, population transfer.

So where is this exit? Someone said that the Western Regions? And then Persia, the black food or something...... It seems to be a long way, not to mention the Tang Dynasty, even modern times are probably not easy, right?

The answer given by history is Jiangnan, southern Jingxiang, Lianghuai and even Lingnan. The population, either actively or passively, is moving towards these places.

The Anshi Rebellion was a passive way that started China's second large-scale population migration, from north to south. So, in order to maintain a huge central empire, how can this historical trend be accomplished without adopting the method of the Anshi Rebellion?

When there are more people, the economy will naturally develop, and when the economy develops, it will demand an increase in political power, and if the right to govern is not given, there will inevitably be armed resistance, and finally it will become a division between the north and the south!

The Northern and Southern Dynasties are examples.

So where is the way out?

There are two answers, not one or the other, but something that must be done, and if you don't have one, you will die violently!

The first is to move the capital out of Guanzhong and abandon the national policy of developing the military economy in Guanzhong.

Second, sort out the north-south canal and re-select a capital economic circle that can carry the general trend of history.

The two are actually one, and only by sorting out this clearly can it be possible to conform to the general trend of history.

Because at that time, except for factors other than people, none of them were on the side of Guanzhong or Chang'an. The policy of the Tang Dynasty was to fight against the general trend other than people.

People can't win the sky, and they must be in awe of the heavens and the earth when they work together, let alone intrigue?

By doing both, the fall of the empire can be delayed.

Can the political structure of the Tang Dynasty do these two things?

The answer is that it can't be done, and why it can't be done, probably don't need to be said separately.

Even if the Tang Dynasty expanded wildly, the Battle of Hengros was won, the Tubo was blown up, and the Khitan was bloodied, and the ecology of the Western Regions and the Hexi Corridor was also at its limit.

In fact, at the end of the Kaiyuan Dynasty, the Tang Army took the initiative to withdraw from some desertified areas in the Hexi Corridor and downgraded the "army" to "guarding".

If Li Longji continues to be wise and martial for 50 years, the environment in the Western Regions will also deteriorate at an accelerated pace. Is there a way out for expansion? Not really.

If the Western Regions cannot be developed, Chang'an, as the capital, will have no rationality for existence, and there will be no one. The following more than 1,000 years of history have already given the answer.

After the Anshi Rebellion, the status of the North-South Canal rose sharply, from a "power line" to a "lifeline", and this vein has been until the era of industrialization.

This is the answer given by history, the heart of the great empire still returned to the section from Bianliang to Luoyang, and then because of the limitation of productivity in the feudal era, because of the destruction of the environment in the Western Regions, the empire will still be in a state of continuous contraction, and it will not be able to take the Western Regions as the core as a breakthrough.

Luoyang, which takes an extra section of the canal route, is far less convenient economically than Bianliang, and which one should be chosen in the capital area, in fact, there is not much choice for the rulers. Bianliang can, Luoyang seems to be okay, the approximate location is like this.

The Tang Dynasty has reached the limit of the expansion of the feudal empire, and if there is no revolutionary technological breakthrough, it is the upper limit of China's feudal unified empire, and this is my answer.

Since it is the upper limit, the moon is full and it is lost, and the vastness of history is the charm of historical literature, at least I think so.