the ousting of Empress Wei's faction by the Imperial Prince Li LongJi in AD 710, and subsequently renamed as Long Wu (龙武, literally Dragon Martial). Only descendants of pioneers of the Tang Empire were selected into the Long Wu Guards. In time, the appeal of serving in the Imperial Guard units waned, and many scions of influential clans resorted to hiring proxies to serve on their behalf. Thus, the quality of the "aristocratic" Long Wu guards levelled with that of the "commoner" Yü Lin guards. Shen Wu (Divine Martial) Guards By the time An Lushan revolted in AD 755, enrollment in the Imperial Guard units had declined to such an extent that there were only a thousand guardsmen escorting Emperor Xuanzong during his flight from the capital. Emperor Xuanzong officially abdicated in favour of the Crown Prince Li Heng, who had to raise his own army in AD 757, which became known as the Shen Wu (神武, literally Divine Martial) Guards. Entry requirements had to be lowered when they could not recruit enough men from families of Court officials. Shen Ce (Divine Stratagem) Army During the An Shi rebellion, the loyal jiedushi Geshu Han brought his garrison from the northwestern border with Tibet to the central plains to rally to the emperor. Due to politicking, control of this army came under the eunuch Yu Chao'En, and was subsequently known as the Shen Ce Army (神策军), literally Divine Stratagem Guards. This unit was instrumental in assisting Emperor Daizong recover the Imperial capital Chang'an from Tibetan invaders in AD 763, and thus gained prominence and became the mainstay of the central authorities' military force. The soldiers enjoyed better remuneration than those from other units. This led to other imperial military units to seek to come under its banner, expanding its numbers greatly. As a result, other Imperial Guard units declined. Control of the Shen Ce Army fell into the hands of the palace eunuchs who used it to control the Tang emperors. Later on, the Shence Army deteriorated into little more than local bullies in the vicinity of the capital. Quality declined sharply as recruitment fell in numbers and they were unable to withstand the rebel forces of Huang Chao in AD 880. In AD 903, after Zhu Wen deposed the last Tang Emperor and massacred the eunuchs in Chang'an, the last of Tang Imperial Guard units came to an end. References