Tang Dynasty Crossing Guide: Chang'an and People's Life Manual

Chapter 30 Attention comrades who intend to enter the political world (3)
His hands are like Qu Yi, and every move must point to a courtier.

Those who are not benevolent envoys shall not be allowed to hold the country. ②
Officials at the same level who are a little less attractive than Yushi are county magistrates from other places, especially remote places.Although the county magistrate has real power, but the workload is also heavy, there is not so much time to eat, drink, have fun, write poems and chat, and go to a remote county to be an official and stay away from the political and cultural center of the capital, so the literati are not very happy.

Another level of government in the Tang Dynasty was the state. A state governed several to dozens of counties and was an administrative unit between modern provinces and cities.Officials with real power in various states, recorders and soldiers, etc., are also considered middle-level officials, but they are not popular among scholars, for the same reason as county magistrates in remote places.

When you have become a senior official such as censor, pick up relics, county magistrate, or join the army, look at your colleagues and you will find that many people are already gray-haired and waiting to retire.For most officials of the Tang Dynasty, the mid-level officials who have achieved the sixth rank in their lifetime will come to an end.Going up further, if you can reach the fifth rank or above, you will be regarded as a high-ranking official by the people of the Tang Dynasty, with a successful career and glorious ancestors.

From the fifth rank to the third rank, this is the pinnacle of some lucky ones.If you are really an amazingly talented and promising young man who breaks through the five ranks in one fell swoop, then in the capital, you may serve as Zhongshu Sheren (the secretary who drafts documents for the emperor), each minister (the person in charge of the actual work of the various ministries of the State Council), The supervisors of the various offices of the Nine Temples (heads of the departments responsible for the execution of the internal and external affairs of the imperial court), etc., may become the governors of the states, that is, the chiefs, or even the deputy positions of the frontier guards.

What?You ask the officials above the third grade?Sigh, I advise you not to understand, because the probability of becoming a third-rank official is too small. This is a rare thing in the Tang Dynasty. If you set this as your goal, you will probably struggle for the rest of your life, and you will die in depression in the end. , why bother.

①From Bai Juyi's "Gift to Fan's Works".

②From Bai Juyi's "Gift to Fan's Works".

We don’t care about those princes, clans and royal relatives who fight for their fathers and blood. Let’s just say that if you are an official who comes from a middle-level and low-level official family, if you are really talented, have a high IQ and EQ, and a little bit of luck, then after After decades of hard work, it is relatively safe to retire as a fourth- and fifth-rank official.But it is impossible to take another step to upgrade to the third rank, or even the second rank or the first rank.

First of all, those "official officials" who hold the real power and really have fixed work to do, there is no first-rank or second-rank, the highest is the third-rank, such as Shizhong (the head of the Menxia Province), Zhongshuling (the head of the Zhongshu Province) , Minister of the Ministry of Officials (the head of the Ministry of Officials of Shangshu Province), Generals of the Sixteenth Guards, etc.Moreover, when you really become a third-rank official in the capital, you will find that you are basically in a retired state, and no one really comes to ask you for work, so you just get a high salary. Just wait for death.

So what did the first and second rank officials in the Tang Dynasty do?To put it simply, all of them are honorary titles with high salaries and waiting to die. The titles of the first and second ranks include Prince, County King, State Duke, County Duke, County Duke, etc. Civil and military officials have Kaifu Yitong Sansi , General Hussars, Tejin ①, General Fuguo, etc. The nominally vacant officials include Taishi, Taifu, Taibao, Taiwei, Situ, Sikong, etc.What is even more tragic is that Shang Shuling, the head of the Shangshu Province, is a second-rank official. He originally had a serious job, but because of the Tang Kaiguo Takede years, a certain rebel boy has been occupying this position, and finally rebelled and became the emperor. From then on, everyone was afraid of being auspicious, and no one dared to be an auspicious person.

Therefore, to be a super senior official of the third rank (above) in the Tang Dynasty is not something that human beings can achieve through hard work. It is more realistic to expect the court to posthumously give one after death.Thinking about it, it is true. In the Tang Dynasty, there were tens of millions of people, tens of thousands of officials, and only [-] or [-] official positions above the third rank (excluding titles). The probability of winning a lottery is no higher.

The above mentioned the promotion path of the civil servants in the late Tang Dynasty. Some members of the group asked again, saying that if you want to cross over to become a military officer, expand the territory, and unify the country, how should you do it?
Basically we don't recommend this line very much.Even in the early Tang Dynasty when martial arts were so powerful that all nations came to the dynasty, being a soldier and fighting was a very difficult and cruel process.Don't you believe it?Then in the next section, you can try to time travel as a big soldier.

①Tejin, the name of Sanguan in the Tang Dynasty, is the second-rank official Sanguan.

References & in-depth understanding recommendations for this article:
Lai Ruihe. Grassroots civil servants in the Tang Dynasty. Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company, 2008
Lai Ruihe. Middle-level civil servants in the Tang Dynasty. Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company, 2011
The dustbin of history is full of foreign chieftains who underestimated the strength of our army

Official career of military generals in the early Tang Dynasty

In the third year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (629), you were 21 years old.This year you were selected to enlist in the army, and you went out to join the army.

You live in Liquan County, Guanzhong. Your family has hundreds of acres of fertile land, several cattle and horses, and three brothers.As early as your grandfather's generation, your family had a military name, that is, it was included in the name register of the local military government, and the men in the family had to serve in the military every year.

① Liquan County, now Liquan County, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province.

Both of your elder brothers went to war, and the second of them has not returned yet.If it wasn't for a letter from a neighbor last year, everyone thought he might have died.

Your father died on the Liaodong battlefield during the former Sui Daye period, and several uncles also disappeared in the ensuing turmoil.Counting forward, your grandfather died in the Zhou Qi attack, and it is said that your great-grandfather died in the same battle.

Since this family settled in Guanzhong, few of the men in the family could die on their own beds.

Your mother, wife and aunt calmly help you pack and prepare all kinds of necessary supplies, from horses and weapons to living utensils, and of course, food and money.You are in a daze at the equipment account issued by the Military Mansion, wondering how your family can borrow so much property.

What you need to bring yourself are: a bow, thirty arrows, and a quiver; a portable horizontal knife, flint, and knot-removing cone; a felt hat, a felt coat, and leggings; 9 buckets of fried rice and 2 buckets of rice.

You and the other nine people who are in the same military residence form a "fire".This "fire" needs to be equipped with: six horses (or donkeys, cows, for transporting materials), a Ubud tent for ten people to sleep together, a large iron pot for cooking, a manger made of cloth, a The set includes 锸,? , chisel, pestle, basket, axe, pliers, saw tools, two nail beds for weapons and equipment, and two sickles.If conditions permit, a donkey will be provided to carry the wounded and sick.The above materials are shared equally by ten people. If there are goods, goods will be paid, and if there are no goods, money will be paid.

Five "fires", that is, fifty guards, form a "team".Each team needs to be equipped with: a fire drill, a set of breast horse ropes to tie the horses, and three sets of head restraints and foot restraints to prevent the animals from wandering away.These materials are distributed equally among 50 people. If there are goods, goods will be paid, and if there are no goods, money will be paid.

Your young wife cries secretly at night, and you cry with her.But you are very clear, and your attitude is very firm, and you are willing to join the army to fight.

Do you still remember that a few years ago, the autumn wind blew through the white grass, and the sky was full of smoke and dust, and the cold current from outside the pass carried the Turkic cavalry roaring to their hometown.Although the family led the livestock in time and took as much food as possible to escape into the nearby Wubao, but when the smoke cleared and you returned home, there were only a few black beams left on the earthen wall.

All the things that were not taken away were burned. The crops in the fields were eaten by horses and then trampled. If the neighbors and fellow villagers could not hide, the Turks plundered them to be slaves and drove them to the north.

The commanding army in charge of the local military government said that the emperor sent two generals, Li Jing and Li Shiji, to lead the children of Guanlong East to attack the Turkic Jieli Khan.After defeating the Turkic people, the wolf army will never come to ruin the village again.

You say, a certain willing to go.

In addition to the joy of revenge, there are other desires secretly buried in your heart.Zhang Ada from the neighboring village was recruited into the army a few years ago. He heard that he had made great contributions in the war in Hebei Province, and now he is a general in the capital of Suwei.A distant cousin of yours also made meritorious service and received honors. Although he did not become an official and returned home, he was still a general in the military. He also asked the government for an additional 60 acres of "Xuntian". Very rich.

Carrying the equipment, clothing, food, and money that you have managed to get together on your back, and leading the horse, you bid farewell to your mother, brother, and elders, and go to the military mansion on the appointed day to answer the order.After a brief training, he received heavy equipment such as spears and armored battles from the treasury, and the commanding army personally led hundreds of guards from the mansion to the capital to fight.

You and the guards from the same country were scattered and reorganized, and the officers sent by the twelve guards of the capital led them to the battlefield.

The first war you have experienced in your life does not leave a deep impression on you.Most of the time, you are marching and walking, walking out of Guanzhong, crossing the Yellow River, arriving in Taiyuan, leaving Mayi in the north, and rushing to Eyangling... The only time you charge with a spear on the battlefield is when you have already entered the prairie A place called "White Road".I heard that there are Turkic people ahead, you and your brothers rushed forward according to the military order listening to the sound of drums, and then won without even seeing the enemy.

Later, you heard that General Li Jing led the cavalry and ran in front of you infantry, beating and scaring Jieli Khan to retreat step by step, and retreated straight into the desert.In the middle of winter, the wind and snow were overwhelming, and the people in their hometown were burning firecrackers to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Jieli Khan sent envoys to Chang’an to discuss peace and ask for surrender. I became a prisoner of your army, and the Turkic country has perished.

It turned out to be such a simple thing to fight.

Five years later, you followed General Li Jing to conquer Tuyuhun again.That battle was so tiring that you almost thought you would never come back.

The enemy is still vulnerable, just because you are marching in desolate and barren land.In the beginning, it was a mountain that could never be climbed, and then entered the uninhabited grassland for thousands of miles. In the vast blue lake, there was actually undrinkable salt water. Walking hard, you feel dizzy, nauseous, and unable to breathe.Most of the soldiers in the army are suffering from the same disease as you, but even though they are struggling and crawling, they still follow behind the 60-year-old veteran and refuse to fall behind.

Victory, pursuit, chasing snow mountains one after another, chasing into the desert ravaged by strong winds, drinking horse blood thirsty, eating horse meat raw, until you forced the rebellious king Tuyuhun to hang himself, and captured his family and generals alive Return to Beijing to offer prisoners.This is the land of the Tang Dynasty, and the corpse of the former king is the landmark.

Five years later, you, led by General Hou Junji, went to conquer Gaochang.You stand on the oasis of the Western Regions, cheering with your companions, watching the largest and most majestic trebuchets move at once, smashing the city on the high ground into powder.The old Gaochang king who once disliked the poor and weak Tang Dynasty was frightened to death, and the new king came out of the city, and you and your comrades rushed into the city to rob.

There is nothing to be sorry for, as long as your hands are quick, your legs are quick, your eyes are sick, and your ears are sharp, and before the generals finally remember to issue a military order of "Strictly No Looting", they just need to stuff their chests with as many valuables as possible.Otherwise, what is the purpose of buying so much property to join the army?

The generals count their merits fairly, and their rewards are not stingy.The rank of honor on your body is first, second, and third, and the marching positions also range from the lowest guard, to the captain, to the deputy and commander of the team of fifty people.You are a veteran, but you still only know how to march, fight, rob, and receive rewards. You are not made for an official.

You have been in the twelve guards of Chang'an Nanya, and you are the head of Youwuwei's mansion. You watch the gate and stand guard every day, and you are honored as "servant".Then you get homesick and ask to go back to your hometown during the exam to reunite with your wife and children and farm.So you lost your errand in the capital and went back to the county to become the leader of the military mansion. The former commander was called Commander, but now he has changed his name to "Lieutenant Zhechong".

Every winter for three months, you are in charge of recruiting men with military names in your prefecture to train in battle martial arts, and you also recruit some prefectural soldiers and send them to the capital to serve in the capital every year.If there is a war, you are responsible for inspecting the recruiting talisman brought by the envoy of the capital, and enlisting soldiers according to the order and handing them to him to fight.

You are already a half-official, half-civilian, respected noble gentry in the local area. Those small-scale bandit suppression, border patrols, and counter-rebellion don't need you to lead the army yourself.It is a little regrettable that I missed the battle of Nuozhenshui in the 15th year of Zhenguan (641) when British Duke Li Shiji conquered Xue Yantuo①.After General Li Jing retired due to old age and illness, the general you most admire is the Duke of England.

In the 18th year of Zhenguan (644), you feel that you can't miss this battle no matter what.

The emperor personally conquered Goguryeo.

You brought two domestic slaves, five horses, and loaded a cart with all kinds of military equipment, food, grass, money and silk, and used your own resources to enlist in the army.You followed the emperor's car and drove out of the Kanto to patrol, along the canal northward, all the way to attack the city and pull out the strongholds, and beat the Goguryeo field army so that their parents cried and fled.

You froze one of your legs in the cold autumn in Liaodong, and only one of the five domestic horses survived, and you walked back to your home in Guanzhong.

The emperor of the Zhenguan Dynasty failed to raise troops again.When he died, he was buried in your hometown.

When the weather is fine, you can sit in front of your own hall and look up to see the steep peak of Jiufu Mountain.You caress your broken leg and feel that you are old and your sons are too.

The new emperor is said to be a gentle, filial and obedient young man, but he also likes to fight.In the Western Regions and Liaodong, it is said that countless huge ships were built.You send batch after batch of sons to the battlefield every year, many of them died or became disabled, many came back with a fortune, and some stayed in the capital as servants.

①Xue Yantuo, the name of the ancient tribe.Also known as "Xue Yanxuan".One of Tiele's ministries.It was formed by the merger of Xue Department and Yantuo Department.Originally belonged to Turkic.In the fourth year of Tang Zhenguan (630), he helped Tang destroy Turks.In the 20th year of Tang Zhenguan (646), civil strife occurred and was broken by Tang Dynasty.

What makes you feel uneasy is that fewer and fewer men seem to be volunteering to be recruited.You have heard that the officers on the front line count their merits unfairly, withholding rations, extorting property, and even ordering the sergeants to die in order to swallow up their own military assets.You've heard that military discipline is becoming more and more lax. Soldiers are sick and injured, and no one cares about them. After they die in battle, their bodies are not even sent home for burial.What you do know is that it is no longer possible to apply for additional fields based on meritorious service. There are no longer any unowned fields in Guanzhong that can be granted to the people.

The new emperor has been sitting in the court for 20 years, and a thunderous news makes you furious and throwing your stick.

You can't believe your ears at all.Tens of thousands of Chinese troops fought against Tubo in Tuyuhun Dafeichuan, where you once fought, and almost the entire army was wiped out. The famous general Xue Rengui and others made peace and returned.Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, you, a veteran of many battles, have never been defeated like this since you joined the army.You believe it, your comrades believe it, the emperors and ministers of the Tang Dynasty believe it, and the foreign barbarians who are subdued by Tian Khan all believe that the Heavenly Soldiers of the Tang Dynasty created by Emperor Taizong Wen are protected by the gods and are invincible forever. of.

You angrily cursed those idiots who were defeated generals, and scolded today's young men for being useless, wanting to use yourself as a sick old man of sixty to serve in the army to avenge your shame, and you beat your nephew who came to dissuade you with a cane.Several strong men tried their best to hold you down, and your old wife poured you a bowl of soothing drink①.

Nine years later, General Pei Xingjian restored the Four Towns of Anxi.You didn't live to see that day, but you died at the age of 66, peacefully surrounded by your children and grandchildren.

One of your sons briefly took over as Lieutenant Zhechong, but he has little to do.The military government has existed in name only, the rich are unwilling to prepare their own resources to join the army, and the poor cannot afford to buy equipment at all, and would rather abandon their land and flee.People looked down on warriors more and more, and the once-prominent servants of the capital became swear words.The imperial court sent an envoy to bring a soldier talisman, and your son only replied with one sentence: "There are no soldiers to hand over."

In desperation, the imperial court could only pay for food and hire some vagrants to serve as imperial troops in the capital.As for the frontier guards, from soldiers to generals, they are increasingly relying on brave nomads and barbarians.

You have many grandsons, and some of them are smart and capable. They took the imperial examination and military examination and became officials in Beijing.Their descendants gradually became the sons of Chang'an who fight cocks, walk horses, go hunting and play ball every day.According to the rules, they should become guards when they become adults, as a step to enter the officialdom, but they all paid a sum of money to serve as their servants.

In the eighth year of Tianbao (749), the imperial court formally ordered the abolition of the military mansion.The emperor's favorite concubine Yang laughed and celebrated the birthday of her adopted son "Xisan", whose name was An Lushan.

(End of this chapter)