Emperor Dezong

Emperor Dezong – Tang Dynasty

Emperor Dezong of Tang was born with the name Li Kuo. He was Emperor Daizong’s eldest son and one of the Tang Dynasty emperors. His rule lasted for 26 years, and was the longest reign in the Tang Dynasty.

In the beginning, Dezong was a frugal and diligent ruler of the Tang Dynasty. He attempted to reform the government’s finances by introducing a set of new tax laws.

Emperor Dezong tried destroying the powerful warlords of the region and the consecutive mismanagement during those campaigns. However, doing so resulted in different rebellions that almost crushed him and the Tang Dynasty.

After those incidents, Emperor Dezong cautiously dealt with the governors of the region, leading to warlordism becoming unchecked. And due to his trust over the eunuchs led to the rise of their power.

In addition, Dezong of Tang was known for his paranoia regarding officials wielding power. So later in his reign, he avoided granting much authority to the chancellors of that time.

Early Life

Li Kuo was born in 742 at the Crown Prince’s Palace at Chang’an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty. He was the eldest son of Li Chu or the Prince of Guangping, and his mother was Consort Shen. Later, he was named the Prince of Fengjie, Tejin being his honorific title.

During the Anshi Rebellion that started in 755, Emperor Xuanzong fled to Chengdu with his songs, including Li Chu.

Li Kuo’s exact locations were not stated in historical accounts, but he was likely with his father. That time, Consort Shen and a lot of palace women were abducted by the rebel Yan forces. She disappeared during the rebellion and was never found.

In 764, Li Kuo became crown prince and eventually ascended the throne.

Dezong of Tang’s Rule

After Emperor Dezong took the throne, he carried out a couple of actions in less than a year. It was to set out policy differences with his father.

Dezong of Tang also suspected chancellor Chang Gun of being too powerful. With that, he had the chancellor exiled and replaced with Cui Youfu. The latter suggested that Yang Yan was also made chancellor of the empire.

The Tang Dynasty emperor, at some point, released the animals in the imperial menagerie. As for the ladies in waiting, they were all sent out of the palace. During his rule, he even ordered to have the eunuchs serving as imperial messengers stop receiving gifts during his reign.

The military governor of the Xichuan Circuit, Cui Ning, ruled for over a decade, and only nominally follows imperial authority. Due to his actions, he was detained at Chang’an, and from there, the imperial government took back the rule over Xichuan.

Yang suggested a couple of things to Emperor Dezong. One was to reform the tax system to lessen the tax burden on farmers and landowners. It was also when they included merchants into the taxation system.

This was known as the Law of the Two Taxes.

In addition, Dezong of Tang even considered campaigns to recapture the western areas that were lost to the Tufan. This was during the Anshi Rebellion.

Yet when he placed Li Huaiguang as commander and in charge of this project, issues started. Then eventually, a mutiny of soldiers began at the Jingyuan Circuit.

Although things went smoothly, Emperor Dezong ended up losing interest in the government in the latter part of his rule. He then started confiding only in his trusted eunuchs, whose powers eventually grew at the court.

Issues during Emperor Dezong’s Reign

Dezong had three mismanagements during his reign, resulting in repercussions for future Tang Dynasty emperors.

The Attempt to Eliminate Military Governors

During the early times of Emperor Dezong’s reign, he attempted to limit the power of Jiedushi or regional military governors. It was to prevent them from taking control of huge border areas of the Tang empire.

He removed all of the military governors in his state. As a result, the military governors saw Dezong as a threat. Soon, they formed an alliance to revolt against the central government, ending up in an internal military coup.

The Eunuchs and the Tang Dynasty Emperor

Dezong of Tang saw the eunuchs rising in power during his father’s reign. In fact, his father succeeded the throne with the aid and support of eunuchs.

However, Dezong eventually saw the danger of heavily relying on eunuchs. As a result, he kept them at a distance when he ruled.

In 782, he was driven by revolutionary military governors out of his capital, and he couldn’t solve the situation. This changed his view on the eunuchs.

Frugality to Greed

Emperor Dezong started ruling the empire by issuing edicts by prohibiting wasteful government expenses. He also limited monetary contributions from local government officials and abroad.

However, a lot of unfortunate events like revolts occurred, forcing Dezong to flee to Chang’an. Eventually, he reversed his edicts and accumulated money by bribery or extortion.

Death of Emperor Dezong

In 804, Emperor Dezong’s son Li Song suffered a stroke during winter, paralyzing him and making him unable to speak. As a result, Li Song wasn’t able to visit his sick father. After a few months, Dezong died due to his illness and depression.

Li Song succeeded Dezong of Tang as Emperor Shunzong.