Fang Qing Uprising

During the reign of Emperor Daizong of the Tang Dynasty, "white tax" was imposed to recover the "arrears" of eight years of taxes on the Jianghuai River during the Anshi Rebellion. Pang Jun, the governor of Shezhou, also imposed an exorbitant tax on tea and salt. Coupled with the severe drought in the south of the Yangtze River in 762, the disaster in Shezhou was particularly severe and the people suffered terribly. At that time, Fang Qing gathered tens of thousands of hungry people in Shezhou to raise troops and occupied Qiupu Wushi Mountain, creating the first "Dongkou" mountain model. In 763, he united with Chenzhuang and combined 50,000 troops to control many states and cut off the Yangtze River water transportation. In 765, Fang Qing captured Shezhou, killed Pang Jun and established Changmen County. However, in 766, the Tang general Yuan Xi suppressed the rebellion. The local tyrants and princes in Xuanzhou were cut off from food routes, Fang Qing died in battle, Chenzhuang surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, and the uprising failed. The Fang Qing Uprising pioneered strategies such as mountain fortresses and blockade of the Yangtze River in an attempt to build a political power. However, due to food shortages and weak religious ties, failure prompted the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty to establish Chizhou and suspend "white taxes", which also exposed the Tang court's military dilemma.​