A live-streamed Chinese language lesson under the sky—the ancients were taken aback.

"Behind the red gates, meat and wine go to waste, while on the road, the bones of those frozen to death lie."

These ten words encapsulate the injustices of all human history.

Ying Zheng and Liu Che slightly shifted their gazes.

Although this is a fact they both tacitly agree on.

But revealing it so bluntly is still very impactful.

They began to think about another problem.

How should we handle the negative comments made by Tianmu?

"This poem exposes the second systemic hidden danger of the Tang Dynasty before the An Lushan Rebellion: land annexation and the widening gap between the rich and the poor."

The rule established in the early Tang Dynasty was the equal-field system.

Land was distributed to the people, who, while farming, took turns serving as soldiers in the local government.

Soldiers and farmers were united; soldiers were dispersed to local government offices, while generals returned to the imperial court.

Of the more than 600 military prefectures across the country, nearly half were located in Guanzhong. The imperial court held the core military force, and even the combined forces of the border towns could not match the central government. This was the military prefecture system, the foundation upon which the Tang Dynasty was able to stabilize the four directions.

However, by the Tianbao era, land annexation had become extremely serious.

The powerful, wealthy, and temples seized large amounts of land, leaving displaced farmers either as tenants or forced to flee.

The equal-field system became a mere shell of its former self, and the militia system collapsed as a result, because the militia system was based on the equal-field system, and farmers needed land to afford to equip themselves for military service.

With the land gone, the source of soldiers also disappeared, so the imperial court had to switch to a system of recruiting soldiers. The military governors of the border towns recruited soldiers on their own, and the soldiers' rations and pay were distributed by the military governors.

This leads to the third hidden danger: under the conscription system, soldiers are loyal to the military governors who pay them, not to the imperial court.

Li Shimin's expression turned solemn upon hearing this.

He established the equal-field system and the militia system.

Back then, in the Taiji Hall, he personally drew up the blueprint for this system, so that every farmer would have land to cultivate and every soldier would have battles to fight. In peacetime, they would be farmers, and in wartime, they would be soldiers, which would not increase the burden on the national treasury and would ensure the source of soldiers.

This was the foundation of the Zhenguan era, but Tianmu said that by the Tianbao era, this system had become a mere formality, with land being annexed, soldiers being privately supported, and border generals turning into warlords wielding military power.

Fang Xuan said in a low voice, "Equal land distribution is the foundation, and the militia system is the outward manifestation. If the foundation is lost, where will the outward manifestation attach itself?"

Once land is out of control, the entire framework of the country will crumble.

Wei Zheng's lips moved, but he ultimately did not speak. He had advised countless times to be prepared for danger in times of peace, but the defeat a century later was still more devastating than anyone could have imagined.

The voice, which had been trying to speak, became heavy. "Du Fu faced more than just this shock. When he arrived at Fengxian's house and pushed open the door, he heard not the laughter of his family, but the crying of his wife. His youngest son had starved to death."

In his poem, he wrote: "Who knew that the autumn harvest would bring such a sudden and desperate end to poverty?"

In autumn, the crops were harvested and the granary was full, but my child still starved to death.

Why? Because the grain is not in the hands of the farmers, but in the granaries of the powerful and wealthy.

Even after harvesting the crops, they still couldn't afford to eat their own food.

This was the most fatal problem of the Tang Dynasty: the gap between the rich and the poor was extremely serious, and the ability of ordinary people to withstand risks was zero.

When natural disasters or man-made calamities strike, the most vulnerable people are the first to be crushed.

In his grief over the loss of his son, Du Fu wrote a self-reflective line: "I was born exempt from taxes and never subject to conscription. Recalling those times still brings bitterness; even an ordinary person like me is filled with sorrow."

I am, after all, an official, and I have the privilege of being exempt from taxes and corvée labor.

If someone like me feels so heartbroken, how much suffering must ordinary people endure?

His own child starved to death, yet he reflected on his privileged status.

This is Du Fu; he didn't just weep for himself, he wept for all those in the world who lacked privilege.

In Liang Garden, Du Fu stared blankly at the sky. His unborn son... had starved to death?

His eyes reddened, both for the children and for the future of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Bai and Gao Shi exchanged a worried glance.

Li Bai whispered words of comfort: "Now that the celestial canopy has appeared, such a thing will surely not happen again in the future."

"Du Fu wrote this poem in November of the fourteenth year of the Tianbao era."

He had just experienced the tragedy of his young son starving to death, and he poured all the extravagance, suffering, anger, and sorrow he had witnessed along the way into these five hundred words. His voice, which seemed to hold back his words, was very soft. "And in the same month that he wrote this poem, An Lushan raised an army in Fanyang."

"The elegiac songs of a prosperous era and the war drums of a chaotic era sounded at the same time."

He let out a long breath, as if he had something to say but couldn't stop, and continued speaking.

"Next, let's look at the third poem, the second of the five poems on leaving the frontier."

This poem was written in the winter of the fourteenth year of the Tianbao era, when An Lushan had already raised an army.

Du Fu had never been to the frontier, but he knew people who had returned from there and had heard their stories.

He wrote a series of poems in the voice of a frontier soldier.

The scene shifts to the military camp in Fanyang.

The rows of military tents stood in the twilight. A young soldier sat by a campfire, sharpening his knife. His face was expressionless, and the sharpening motion was mechanical and repetitive.

"At dawn we march into the East Gate camp, at dusk we cross the Heyang Bridge. The setting sun shines on the great banner, the horses neigh and the wind whistles."

"These four lines describe the scene of marching. In the morning, they were still in the military camp at the east gate of Luoyang. By evening, they had already crossed the Heyang Bridge. The setting sun shone on the military flags, and the warhorses neighed in the wind. It is written in a magnificent and desolate style, but the key is the last few lines."

"Ten thousand tents stand on the flat sands, each unit responding to the call. May I ask who the general is? Perhaps it is Huo Qubing."

"Tens of thousands of military tents were lined up on the beach, and each unit recruited its own soldiers."

Ask who the general is, and you'll likely find it's Huo Qubing.

Huo Piaoyao was Huo Qubing, a famous general under Emperor Wu of Han.

In the eyes of ordinary soldiers, this general was as valiant and invincible as Huo Qubing.

But there is an extremely subtle detail here: "Each unit responded to the call."

The soldiers were recruited by their respective units; they only obeyed the orders of their own generals. They didn't know who the emperor was, only who their generals were.

He paused, seemingly wanting to say something, and his tone became even calmer.

"This was the most fatal hidden danger of the empire before the An Lushan Rebellion: the privatization of the army."

Under the conscription system, the soldiers in the border towns were not recruited by the imperial court, but were recruited by the military governors.

Their rations and pay were issued by the military governor, their promotions were determined by the military governor, and their loyalty was naturally only to the military governor.

Just as Liu Che was about to mock this later emperor as a fool, he suddenly sat up straight upon hearing this: Huo Qubing, a famous general of Emperor Wu of Han.

The Emperor Wu of Han who's been criticized for so long, it turns out it was me.

-

The sound from the sky continued, and a set of data comparisons clearly appeared on the screen:

"To deal with external threats such as the Tibetans and Khitans, the Tang Dynasty established ten military governors on the border, with a total military force of 49."

An Lushan held the positions of military governor of three towns—Fanyang, Pinglu, and Hedong—controlling a vast territory and commanding approximately 18 elite troops, all of whom were veterans who had fought on the frontier for many years.

And what about the central imperial guards of Chang'an? They numbered only about 8, mostly hired commoners skilled in cockfighting and dog racing, barely able to put on their armor properly, and hadn't fought a war in decades.

The scene is divided in two; on the left, the Fanyang cavalry charge into battle with unstoppable momentum.

On the right are the imperial guards of Chang'an who frequent taverns, gamble, and engage in cockfighting, so much so that they can't even ride their horses steadily.

"The power of the military governor has long been out of control. Initially, he was only in charge of military affairs, then he took charge of finance, and later he took charge of the appointment and removal of officials. A military governor is like a local emperor in his jurisdiction."

An Lushan ruled Fanyang for over a decade, controlling military, political, and financial affairs; the entire three towns became his private domain.

He couldn't stop there and came to a conclusion: "The story of 'Later Departure from the Frontier' is not about the arrogance of a general, but about the complete loss of control of the entire Tang Dynasty's border defense system."

The sword has been sharpened, but the handle is not in the emperor's hands. When it will be cut down depends entirely on whether the person wielding the sword is willing.