The grievances between Datang and Nanzhao were not groundless.
When the two countries were friendly, Nanzhao sent foreign students to Datang every year for further study. The Tang Dynasty selected a nearby location and placed the foreign students in Chengdu for unified management.
In order to demonstrate the prosperity of our great country, and to allow foreign countries to feel the mighty grace of our emperor, foreign students enjoy high standards of living and high-quality teachers, and all fees are free. Datang is willing to pay for this.
Nanzhao was like a spring breeze and admired the Tang Dynasty so much that he paid tribute every year and came to court every year. His descendants and descendants would always be Tang officials for generations to come!
Wake up.
This is just a good show directed by Datang for itself, a game of self-deception, a business of losing money and making money.
In addition to showing off, the main purpose of accepting foreign students is cultural export. Let the next generation of the barbarians realize their cultural backwardness and poverty, and realize the power and development of the Central Plains civilization. The huge contrast is enough to make the younger generation doubt life, and thus yearn for the Central Plains civilization, devote themselves to Sinicization, and become "Tang Dynasty" "Powder" and "Jingtang" elements.
However, Datang's "peaceful evolution" had little effect. These foreign students were obviously "barbarian loyal" elements carefully selected and trained by the barbarians. After completing their studies, they all chose to return to China to build their hometowns and contribute to the rise of Nanzhao.
A group of international students graduated, and a new group of international students came again, and the cycle continued for more than fifty years. Datang paid huge economic losses and precious educational resources for this, but it did not get lambs kneeling to breastfeed and crows feeding back.
What about Nanzhao’s surrender and paying tribute? Of course there is a scene of paying tribute every year and coming to court every year. However, this is a loss-making business.
Nanzhao's tribute envoy brought some worthless local specialties and sent them to Chang'an to express his loyalty. Sending goose feathers from thousands of miles away is a light gift but heavy with affection. Our country is vast and rich in resources, and we have inexhaustible supplies of gold, jade, pearls, and silk. Of course, we must adhere to the spirit of reciprocating what we receive and give back gifts in multiples.
There is another principle for returning gifts: rain and dew should be shared equally. All envoys who come to pay tribute, whether they are the leader or the entourage, each have a share.
Tribute missions were often large in scale, ranging from dozens of people to hundreds of people... Paying tribute to the Tang Dynasty became the most popular investment channel at that time, with huge profits and no loss.
Barbarians and people of all races from the surrounding countries all rushed to Chang'an, kowtowing and shouting "Long Live Long Live" to express their loyalty.
Chang'an City was in a prosperous time, and the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty was intoxicated by the sight of all nations coming to court, and could not extricate himself for a long time.
Du Tai, then the military governor of Xichuan, cut through this veil and stated the interests and consequences for Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. Finally, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty ordered that the quota and financial subsidies for overseas students in Nanzhao be greatly reduced; the number and number of tributes from Nanzhao were restricted.
The leader of Nanzhao, Quan Fengyou, was furious and wrote a letter to curse the Tang Dynasty. He also withdrew his overseas students and stopped paying tribute. At the same time, conflicts began to arise on the border and invaded the borders of Datang.
The rift between the two countries began to become apparent.
AD 859, the thirteenth year of Dazhong in the Tang Dynasty, and the twentieth year of the Nanzhao Apocalypse. Tang Xuanzong passed away, and coincidentally, the leader of Nanzhao, Quan Fengyou, also passed away.
In the same year, 26-year-old Tang Yizong and 16-year-old Shilong took up the positions of top leaders.
As usual, the Tang Dynasty sent a mourning messenger to deliver the sad news of Emperor Xuanzong's death to Nanzhao. This incident became the trigger for a large-scale war between Nanzhao and Datang.
Shilong, the newly succeeded lord of Nanzhao, listed two crimes against Tang Dynasty for being rude:
One, your father is dead, and so is my father! Let us go to mourn, why don't you give me condolences?
Second, your edict is for the late king, not for me. Look, it says "Dear Quan Fengyou" on the top of the head, not "Dear Shilong". Sorry, I don't dare to collect this package and refuse to sign for it. Please ask me to sign for it.
According to custom, after the death of the leader of Nanzhao, the Tang Dynasty, as the suzerain state, would send senior officials to serve as memorial envoys, and Chang'an would also stay away from court for three days to express condolences.
But Shilong's excuse was really weak. Nanzhao didn't offer condolences, and Tang Dynasty didn't even know that Quan Fengyou was dead, so how could he offer a memorial ceremony? It is even less possible to appoint a new king.
Perhaps Nanzhao sent a messenger to express condolences. The two deceased kings died too coincidentally, and there was a time difference due to long distances and poor communication.
In short, Shilong went with the flow and took advantage of the misunderstanding caused by this time difference. Since he has not been appointed by the superior country, he will just cut himself off from China. As a result, Shilong changed the country's name to "Dali Kingdom" and its original name to "Jianji", calling himself "Emperor" and refusing to recognize the vassal relationship with the Tang Dynasty.
At the same time, Nanzhao sent troops to capture Bozhou. Border conflicts escalated, and the situation on the southern border of Datang deteriorated sharply.
This was the "foreign trouble" that Tang Yizong faced when he ascended the throne.
Soon after, the Qiu Fu rebellion in eastern Zhejiang subsided, and the Annan Protectorate also reported a report to recapture Bozhou. All ministers came to the court to congratulate him, and Emperor Yizong of Tang Dynasty granted amnesty to him, as mentioned above.
Tang Yizong obviously underestimated the nature of this border conflict, and even more underestimated the ambition of the 16-year-old Nanzhao young leader.
There were serious loopholes in Datang's control over the southern border.
The sky is high and the emperor is far away here, and its stability largely depends on the personal abilities of the frontier officials. Not everyone can possess Wang's strategy and conduct.
For example, Duan Wenchu, the military envoy of Yongguan, ate up the garrison troops stationed in Yongzhou in Guangzhou, Guizhou and Rongzhou in one fell swoop. This allowed Nanzhao to easily capture Yongzhou.
Previously, the Tang Dynasty had six thousand permanent troops stationed in Annan. The former Annan Protector Li Zhuo dismissed them all and outsourced the defense work to a local chief Li Youdu, which saved the court six thousand garrison military expenses as his political achievement.
Nanzhao successfully instigated Li Youdu's rebellion through marriage alliances and official appointments, so Li Youdu led his troops to rebel.
During his tenure, Li Zhuo also blatantly violated the central government's ethnic policy of "restraining people and embracing softness" and oppressed local ethnic minorities. They bought and sold by force in border trade, exchanging a bushel of salt for a cow. Intensifying ethnic conflicts became another internal cause of the rapid fall of the Annan region.
Regional conflicts intensified, national defense was empty, and the only foreign mercenaries they could rely on turned against the establishment. Datang fell into an extremely passive situation at the beginning of the "Annan War" and collapsed as soon as the team started.
The imperial court transferred Hunan Observation Envoy Cai Xi to replace Annan's Economic Envoy Wang Kuan. Cai Xi mobilized a total of 20,000 soldiers from the two lakes and various Taoist forces and marched to the Annan front.
It happened that Cai Jing, the concubine of the left, came to the Lingnan area to guide the work. Cai Jing did not want to see Cai Xi perform meritorious service (it was forbidden to attack meritorious service), so he interfered with it, deliberately sang the opposite and lied about the military situation. He reported that the Annan area was just a small border friction and conflict, and falsely accused Cai. They are making a fuss out of trivial matters to gain fame and waste food and grass. Please don't mobilize the army and don't waste money.
Cai Xi argued hard, saying that Nanzhao had been spying on Annan for a long time, and that this time it was a well-prepared large-scale aggressive war, and it was by no means a minor border friction. He asked Mr. Cai to leave at least 5,000 troops no matter what.
Cai Jing was the "Concubine of the Zuo" at that time. He was in the fourth rank and was subordinate to Zuo Chunfang. He was an official of the Crown Prince. He was a member of the "Prince Gang" and could be simply and crudely understood as an alternate member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee. One of his main responsibilities was " "Refuting the Right and Starting the Announcement", translated, means "having the final right of interpretation". Therefore, Cai Jing crushed Cai Xi in all aspects. In the end, Cai Jing's conspiracy succeeded and ruined Cai Xi's plan to increase the number of troops stationed. He was promoted to Lingnan West Road Festival because he "clearly observed everything" and saved a large amount of military expenditure for the court. Degree envoy.
