Jiang-Huai crossbowmen and the political situation in the Tang Dynasty

The rise and fall of Jiang Huai crossbowmen in the Tang Dynasty can be divided into three periods:The first period lasted from the early period of the Tang Dynasty to the prime of the Tang Dynasty,in which the political situation was stable,so Jiang Huai crossbowmen did nothing else except making wars on the rebellions of Nanman with Yang Sixu ;The second period was in the middle part of the Tang Dynasty,in which they resisted the military forces in the north, controlled Lingbiao,safeguarded the Tang's fiancial resources in the Southeast and took part in the imperial court's wars on putting down the rebellions of military farces,for which they won themselves the name of “best soldiers in the world”;The third period was in the late Tang Dynasty,in which Jiang Huai crossbowmen gradually declined under the attack of peasant wars and their position was replaced by horsemen.As the military pillar of the Tang Dynasty in its rule over the southeast the rise and fall of Jiang Huai crossbowmen had a close relation with the fate of the Tang Dynasty.