Cai Jing deceived the emperor and lied about the military situation, which finally caused Nanzhao to invade Annan. Comrade Cai Xi died heroically in the war, and his whole family of 70 people was also massacred by Nanzhao.
After Cai Jing took office in Lingnan West Road, he continued to take bribes and pervert the law, plundering people's wealth and wealth, and revealed his more deformed and perverted side. He was fond of torture such as cannon, burning, lingchi, and killing. Soon after, the troops mutinied and were expelled. Fearing that his crimes would be exposed, he secretly carved official seals, forged court documents, and recruited troops illegally and illegally. He wanted to recapture Lingxi, but he suffered a disastrous failure again.
In the end, Cai Jing did not escape justice for all his crimes and was demoted to death in Yazhou.
Cai Jing was a monk in his early years. He was well-read in poetry and books, and had profound literary attainments. He was appreciated by Linghu Chu. Linghu Chu had a unique vision and was a great talent in the world. He persuaded Cai Jing to return to secular life and join the secular world. Cai Jing returned to secular life and took part in the imperial examination. Sure enough, If you ascend to the rank of official, your official career will be prosperous. In addition to Cai Jing, Linghu Chu also discovered a talented man, the famous Li Shangyin.
"Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty" contains three poems by Cai Jing. One of them, "Yong Zigui", is the most famous because one of the lines, "The tears in front of the wind condensed into purple plugs, shocking the heart of the Dream of Red Mansions" is regarded by many experts and scholars as the most important part of "Dream of Red Mansions". Source of book title.
Coincidentally, there was a great talent and calligrapher in the late Northern Song Dynasty, also named Cai Jing. Those who have read "Water Margin" must be familiar with him. He was the first of the six traitorous officials in the Northern Song Dynasty and was even more hateful than Gao Qiu. Both Cai Jingdu and Cai Jingdu were profoundly accomplished in literature and poetry, and they were both heinous and traitorous ministers.
Duan Wenchu, Li Zhuo, Cai Jing and others destroyed the country endlessly, and finally the two countries fought a long-term tug of war in the Annan region and fell into the quagmire of war.
Prime Minister Du Cao made suggestions for Tang Yizong and advocated a peaceful resolution of the conflict with Nanzhao. The advance messenger expressed condolences and told Shilong that as long as he was willing to change his name, Datang would give him a life title.
Shilong, the name is taboo. At the same time, he violated the taboos of Taizong Li Shimin and Xuanzong Li Longji, "the king of double taboos". It is for this reason that he is often called "Chief Long" in the history books of the Tang Dynasty.
The proposal is very good, both sides have steps to go without losing face.
However, the sharp deterioration of the war situation eventually led to the failure of the messenger to be delivered.
In fact, even if the messenger is delivered, the war will not end. Because the initiative in the war did not lie with Datang, but with Nanzhao.
Please recall what I said just now. The excessive taxation and wanton behavior of the Tang Dynasty border generals was an internal cause of the "rapid fall" of the Annan region, not the internal cause of the "outbreak of war" in the Annan region.
The "Annan War" is not an accidental event, nor is it an upgraded version of regional conflicts. It is a logical inevitability.
Tang Yizong did not need to take the blame for this, and Datang also did not need to blame itself.
To know oneself, one must also know the enemy. We only need to take a look at Nanzhao's domestic situation and we will immediately understand why this war is logically inevitable.
Shilong, the newly ascended lord of Nanzhao, was 16 years old. At 16 years old, he is still a child! People who are sensitive to history and politics can make a pretty good guess just by seeing this number. That's right, the young master ascended the throne, the power fell to the side, and the power of the regent was overturned...
Behind 16-year-old Shilong, there is also a powerful minister hiding all the power. This powerful official is Wang Cuodian.
Wang Cuodian was originally a military envoy of Nanzhao (Nanzhao imitated the system of the Tang Dynasty and also had military envoys). In 816 AD, he killed the leader of Nanzhao, Quan Long Sheng, and supported his younger brother Quan Li Sheng. He has been in power ever since. In 823 AD, Quan Lisheng died suddenly at the age of 22, and Wang Cuodian supported his younger brother Quan Fengyou; in 859 AD, Quan Fengyou died, and Wang Cuodian supported his son Shilong.
At this point, Wang Cuodian has been at the core of Nanzhao's power for more than forty years. It can be said that he has power over the government and the public, covering the sky with one hand. After Shilong came to power, Wang Cuodian still controlled the Nanzhao regime as regent.
Cao Cao in the late Han Dynasty and Ao Bai in the early Qing Dynasty both fell behind and felt inferior.
Like Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Kangxi, the young Shilong was unwilling to be a puppet at the mercy of others, and eradicating Wang Cuodian became Shilong's top priority after he came to power.
Although Shilong is young, he is mature and scheming. His approach was also a combination of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Kangxi: he first attracted those who were hostile to Wang Cuodian, especially those with military power, and secretly formed an "anti-Wang Cuodian united front" (Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty issued an imperial edict against Cao Cao). After careful planning, he set up a trap to trick Wang Cuodian over, and then killed him with one blow (Kangxi captured Obei).
Just getting rid of powerful officials would not be enough to demonstrate Shilong's talent and strategy. It is easy to kill a powerful minister, but even more difficult to regain the power that has been divided by ministers for a long time.
After eradicating the powerful ministers, Shilong made full use of the contradictions among the nobles and nobles, checked and balanced the left and right, and gained power through political games. In the end, the fishermen benefited and consolidated the royal power.
Founding a country and proclaiming himself emperor was a clever political move on his part. The political status of the whole country has been improved as a whole, benefiting all the people, gaining widespread support and attracting countless fans.
In order to divert domestic political conflicts, improve his reputation, and consolidate his dominance, Shilong's next step was to launch a foreign war.
The selection of war targets also reveals Shilong's wisdom and courage.
Before Shilong came to the throne, Nanzhao had just sent troops to help the Pyu Kingdom (now Myanmar) defeat the Lion Kingdom (now Sri Lanka). The supreme commander of this military operation that blatantly interfered in the internal affairs of other countries was General Duan Zongbang.
It was also at the time of the victory that Duan Zongbang deceived Wang Cuodian to welcome the Golden Buddha together, and while Wang Cuodian was worshiping the Buddha, he hacked him to death.
If we continue to use troops against South Asian countries, it will undoubtedly enhance Duan Zongbang's reputation. There is no guarantee that Duan Zongbang will not become the second Wang Cuodian.
Shilong was ambitious and arrogant. He did not pick on the soft persimmons, but directly targeted the Tang Dynasty, his former suzerain country and the most powerful country in the world at that time.
In foreign wars, in addition to gaining prestige, they can also cultivate their own party members in the army, thus regaining military power. In particular, it can disintegrate Duan Zongbang's power in South Asia.
Therefore, launching a war against the Tang Dynasty was Shilong's choice to achieve multiple goals with one stone.
This was the fundamental reason for the outbreak of the "Annan War". War is a continuation of politics.
The "Annan War" lasted for seven years.
During this period, Shilong continued to increase military investment, from the initial few thousand to 30,000, from 30,000 to 50,000, and finally as high as 200,000! There are also records saying it was 300,000. In short, it was basically all the efforts of the whole country.
Shilong also achieved brilliant results. He once included Annan in the Nanzhao territory and set up the "Annan Jiedu Envoy".
Finally, in October of the seventh year of Xiantong (866), the Tang Dynasty regained Annan and completely drove the Nanzhao invading army out of the territory of the Tang Dynasty. The "Annan War" ended.
The result of this war is also quite paradoxical, that is, there is no loser.
Datang safeguarded its sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity and won;
Shilong also achieved his strategic goal and did not lose.
Duan Zongbang, the general of Nanzhao, was killed by Datang in this war. It can be regarded as an unexpected surprise for Shilong.
At this point, the Nanzhao Kingdom has formed a situation where the military and civilians of the country are closely united around the centralized power system with Comrade Shilong as the core, working together in the same boat and working as one.
In the early days of the war, Nanzhao was in a favorable situation and even had an overwhelming advantage over the Tang Dynasty.
Datang had no intention of "acting like a pig". On the one hand, it was the weak military presence in the region. On the other hand, it was the strategic misjudgment of the high-level officials. There was another constraint, that is, a fire in the backyard - the military chaos in Xuzhou.
