Entering China
There are many problems in Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty, such as rigidity and self-use, such as suspicion and suspicion, he is convinced of his own judgment and does not like to accept the advice of others, but the truth is often on the side of a few people, and it is precisely because of Yang Guang’s foresight and foresight that he laid a solid foundation for the Tang Dynasty.
During the reign of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, there were many earth-shattering projects, such as the construction of the Eastern Capital, the two patrols to the north, the repair of the Great Wall, the repair of the Grand Canal, etc., in the eyes of many people in later generations, this is the mountains that crushed the Sui Dynasty, but we can’t generalize about this.
People can do a lot of things in their lives, right and wrong, even Emperor Wen of Sui and Taizong of Tang have done a lot of wrong things, so the hat of Emperor Yang of Sui on his head must also be seen dialectically.
The Grand Canal of the Sui Dynasty was the largest project at that time, with a huge amount of work and a large amount of manpower and material resources, which was unseen in ancient times, so why did Yang Guang insist on repairing the Grand Canal?
Above_ The Grand Canal of the Sui and Tang Dynasties
- The Grand Canal of the Sui Dynasty is in the present and beneficial in the future
Regarding the Grand Canal of the Sui Dynasty, there is such a comment: “In the people of the Sui Dynasty, it is not too harmful; In the people of Tang, it is not surprising. ” The Grand Canal of the Sui Dynasty, with Luoyang as the center, north to Zhuojun, south to Yuhang, with a total length of more than 4,000 miles, the Grand Canal not only strengthened the Sui Dynasty’s military and political control over the north and south, but also facilitated the transportation of materials throughout the country, and had a far-reaching impact on the historical development of China at that time and even the whole China. The Guanlong group of the Sui Dynasty was extremely powerful, and even would restrain the imperial power and the whole country, in order to balance the Guanlong aristocracy, the national strategy needed to expand to the east and north and south, which was one of the reasons for the construction of the Grand Canal.
Above_ Bianqu, also known as the Bianhe River, also known as the Tongji Canal, is the backbone canal connecting the Yellow River and the Huai River in ancient China Yang Guang had been stationed in Yangzhou for a long time, and had a deep understanding of the material level and economic development in the south, and at that time, the main Bianqu was east-west, and there was a lack of an important waterway in the north and south. Luoyang will expand the center of power to the east, but it is still very difficult to control the north and south, and the food problem is the top priority, so the role of the Tongji Canal and Hangou lies in this, which can not only increase the control of the south, but also transport the grain from the south to the north to ensure the stable operation of the political core. It can be seen that Yang Guang is thinking deeply about the construction of the Grand Canal, which is not a brain-beating decision, and the formulation of each canal has long-term considerations.
Above_ Yang Guang (569-618), also known as Emperor Yang of Sui The Sui Dynasty enjoyed the country for 37 years, the time is too short, in Yang Guang’s view, if you want the country to be long, the Grand Canal is very necessary, maybe he is considering the safety of the Great Sui, but the Grand Canal to the Tang and Song Dynasty benefits greater. After the outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion, the north of the Yellow River was chaotic, Tang Xuanzong fled south, Tang Suzong came to Lingwu to take the throne, if you want to pacify the rebels, you need a huge amount of money and grain, these grains, to a large extent, are transported to the center through the canal, a steady stream of transportation, if there is no canal transportation, then the Tang Dynasty’s Guozuo may stop at the Anshi Rebellion.
Historical records record that “the shipping division is for the Beijing division of rice, with a total of six million stones.” Huainan 1,300,000 stones; Jiangnan East Road 991,100 stones; Jiangnan West Road, 1,28,900 stones; 650,000 stone on Jinghu South Road; 350,000 stone on Jinghu North Road; Two Zhejiang Road 1.5 million stones. Tong Xianyu, with an annual income of 6.2 million stones. ” In the Northern Song Dynasty, the grain transported to the capital through the canal every year was as much as 6.2 million stones, and the contribution of the Grand Canal to the Song Dynasty was beyond limit. The Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties, and even the Song Dynasty are all grateful to Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty for making such a great contribution to future generations, is Yang Guang really a faint monarch?
Above_ Sui Dynasty territory
- The needs of the military situation in the South
Before the reunification of the Sui Dynasty, the North and the South were in a state of confrontation for a long time, and the two sides were constantly at war, and the contradictions between the North and the South became more and more acute. Jiangnan region, since the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the punishment is not harsh, and the Jiangnan family is above the Hanmen Shu clan, after the pacification of the Chen Dynasty, of course, in accordance with the rules of the Sui Dynasty, the decree has changed, the Sui Dynasty important minister Su Wei wrote the “Five Religions”, so that the people of Jiangnan are familiar with it. On the one hand, the control of the Sui Dynasty made the people of Jiangnan very uncomfortable, on the other hand, the interests of those big families, because of the fall of the Chen Dynasty and the takeover of the Sui Dynasty, will also face a major reshuffle, and many people have risen up to oppose the rule of the Sui Dynasty.
Above_ The battle of Sui and Chen
Historical records record that “Chen’s hometown is almost the opposite, with tens of thousands of large ones and thousands of small ones, all of which have a total impact.” Execute the county order, or smoke its intestines, or eat its meat, saying: It can make Nong recite the “Five Religions” evil! ” Wang Wenjin, a native of Wuzhou, Gao Zhizhi, a native of Yuezhou, and Shen Xuan, a native of Suzhou, rebelled one after another, with tens of thousands of people on a large scale, and a few thousand people on a small scale, and some of them also set up themselves as kings and set up official offices, and many officials of the Sui Dynasty were slaughtered. Emperor Wen of Sui had no choice but to order Yang Su to be the head of the march to quell the rebellion. This kind of ideological contradiction is very difficult to resolve, and repeatedly sending troops to suppress it is not a long-term solution. In order to stabilize the south, the north has to spend a lot of manpower and material resources to quell the rebellion, and the Grand Canal perfectly solves this problem. The Grand Canal of the Sui Dynasty could transport a large number of officials, troops and materials from the south, which not only strengthened military control over the south, but also promoted exchanges between the north and the south. With the passage of time, Jiangnan will gradually adapt to the rule of the Sui Dynasty, and with the construction of Tongji Canal, Hangou and Jiangnan River, the process of integration between the north and the south has been accelerated, and the idea of unification has once again been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
Above_ Sui and Tang Canal and Cao Yun
- The need for military operations in the north
In the early years of the emperor’s reign, Goguryeo was still relatively deferential to the Sui Dynasty and would come to pay tribute every year, but after the Sui Dynasty destroyed Nanchen, Goguryeo was afraid that the Sui Dynasty would attack him, so he accumulated grass and grain, trained the army, and prepared for defensive operations. At that time, the king of Goguryeo was named Zhu Tang, and in order to avoid war, Emperor Wen of Sui wrote a letter to Zhu Tang, persuading him to continue to submit to him, Zhu Tang apologized, and soon after, Zhu Tang died, and Zhu Yuan was enthroned as the king of Goguryeo. Zhu Yuan, unlike his father, led 10,000 cavalry to invade Liaoxi soon after he ascended the throne, and the relationship between the Sui Dynasty and Goguryeo broke down.
Above_ Yang Liang (575 ~ 605), his real name is Yang Jie, and his name is Dezhang
Historical records record that “Gaozu was furious when he heard this, and ordered the king of Han to be the marshal, and the general water and land begged for it, and issued an edict to depose his title.” When the feeding and transportation were not continued, the six armies lacked food, the division went out of Linyu Pass, and the epidemic was repeated, and the Wang division was sluggish. ” Yang Liang led the army to quell the rebellion, but before the battle, there were several problems, that is, the material supply was not enough, and after leaving Linyu Pass, he encountered the plague, which can be described as a disadvantage. The soldiers and horses have not moved, the grain and grass go first, and the road to Goguryeo is far away, so a large amount of materials and grain must be needed, and transporting materials is a big problem. After Yang Liang sent troops, Goguryeo relented, but after Emperor Yang of Sui ascended the throne, Goguryeo once again cut off the tribute, and then the relationship between the two sides broke down again, so that Emperor Yang of Sui began to conquer Goguryeo. In 612 AD, the Sui Dynasty and Goguryeo went to war, and in 608 AD, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty ordered the digging of the Yongji Canal, the time is also right, the main purpose of the Yongji Canal is to use troops in the north, transfer materials, equipment, and food, with this river, the war to conquer Goguryeo can begin. Of course, in addition to Goguryeo, Turkic, Gaochang and other countries should also be guarded against, with the Yongji Canal, you can strengthen the control of the northern border and ensure the security of the country.
Above_ Plan of Luoyang, the eastern capital of the Sui Dynasty
- Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty was too anxious
Emperor Yang of Sui’s plan was good and the efficiency of execution was high, but the problem was that he was too anxious. The reason why Emperor Yang of Sui was able to carry out so many big projects at the same time was mainly because of his strong national strength, and if it was replaced by a weak country, it would not be able to support it for long. However, no matter how strong the national strength is, there is a limit, and the unlimited abuse of people’s power and the increase of taxes will still be countered after all. In 605 AD, Emperor Yang of Sui ordered the construction of Luoyang, the eastern capital, which took ten months and employed 2 million people per month. In 605, the Tongji Canal and Hangou were started one after another, in 608, the construction of the Yongji Canal began, and in 610, Emperor Yang of Sui ordered the excavation of the Jiangnan Canal. In 612 and 614, three large-scale expeditions to Goguryeo, even if the density of the huge project was so high, the Grand Canal was still completed, and Goguryeo was almost destroyed, if there was no rebellion of Yang Xuangan, Goguryeo may have been captured during the period of Emperor Yang of Sui, and it would not have been postponed to the period of Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty. All in all, Yang Guang’s plan is very good, but the implementation is too anxious, if he can stretch the time long enough and control the scale of the project, Yang Guang will definitely not bear the name of the faint king.
