A crisis arose on the southern border of Houliang. Due to the "Ling independence" element Liu Yan founded the country and proclaimed himself emperor, vast lands such as the southern part of Guangdong and Guangxi, northern Vietnam, and Hainan Island were separated from the control of Houliang, causing the territory of Houliang to be severely reduced.
These areas, including Mayin in Tanzhou and Gao Jichang in Jingnan in the two lakes area in the north, Wang Shenzhi in Fujian and Qian Liu in Hangzhou in the east, which are the circles under the character "8", have always been nominally subordinate to Houliang. In fact, it enjoys a very high degree of autonomy, but as long as it does not openly break away from the Later Liang and continues to serve the Later Liang Zhengshuo, then this nominal affiliation is also a political asset of the Later Liang.
Liu Yan's bold independence got off to a bad start in South China, which to a certain extent played a role in promoting the emergence of the "Ten Kingdoms". Since then, the separatist forces in Huainan, Fujian, Hubei, and Hunan have established states and proclaimed themselves emperors, and the "Ten Kingdoms" situation has emerged.
Although Wang Jian's former Shu regime preceded Liu Yan's Southern Han regime, Wang Jian never belonged to the Later Liang Dynasty. He was never a "pro-Zhu faction" from the beginning to the end. He and Huainan, Hedong, and Fengxiang became the powerful enemies and opponents of the Later Liang Dynasty. Therefore, Wang Jian's proclaiming himself emperor would have minimal harm to the Hou Liang regime.
Liu Yan is fundamentally different from Wang Jian. Liu Yan inherited Liu Yin's mantle, and Liu Yin obtained the land of Lingnan precisely with the support of Zhu Wen, and has been in the "pro-Zhu faction" camp for a long time. From the perspective of the Later Liang Dynasty, Wang Jian's proclaiming emperor was an external matter, while Liu Yan's proclaiming emperor was an internal rebellion.
Faced with the open rebellion of the separatist forces in the country, the central government of the Later Liang Dynasty was helpless and had no choice but to do anything, which caused the Later Liang Dynasty to lose face.
Liu Yan's act of proclaiming himself emperor inadvertently allowed the whole world to see clearly that the Hou Liang regime was strong on the outside and strong on the inside (Li Cunxu of Hedong made it clear to the world that the Hou Liang regime was not very strong on the outside).
Therefore, although there was no direct conflict between Hou Liang and Liu Yan of the Southern Han Dynasty, just a few words of shouting in the air, Liu Yan's proclaimed emperor was extremely harmful to the Hou Liang regime. It can even be said to have accelerated the disintegration of the Hou Liang Empire and accelerated the collapse of the Hou Liang Empire. perish.
【The founding of Daliao】
The world is full of reincarnation, no matter who the heaven bypasses. When Houliang encountered a crisis in the south, the Hedong Group also fell into a serious crisis in the north, and this northern crisis was affected by the combined efforts of both internal and external forces.
Relying on its strong comprehensive strength and the outstanding political wisdom of its rulers, the Tang Empire built an international (Asian) order with the Chinese civilization of the Central Plains as its core, and gained widespread recognition and support from surrounding ethnic groups.
What needs to be emphasized in particular is that whether it was the strong Han Dynasty, the prosperous Tang Dynasty, or other periods, Chinese civilization has never claimed hegemony, bullied the weak, or pursued hegemony. It is not like a certain country today that acts as the world's policeman. He wears a garb, shouts slogans of safeguarding peace, and calls himself a beacon of the world, but he does the most despicable and filthy deeds.
The Tang Empire can be regarded as a typical example of the "external expansion" of Chinese civilization. With its advanced science and technology, political system, and cultural heritage, the Chinese civilization was sincerely admired and worshiped by the relatively backward ethnic groups around it. They then yearned for it and took the initiative to use the Chinese civilization as a mentor to learn from the political system, culture, science and technology of the Central Plains, and actively Accept Chineseization.
In other words, the Tang Empire's status as "regional hegemon" and "world leader" was not achieved by conquest by force, but by its own charm, which won the active submission of other nations. The vassal-vassal relationship between the Tang Empire and the surrounding ethnic groups was naturally formed.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Tang Dynasty has pursued a policy of leniency and restraint towards surrounding ethnic groups and has refrained from political discrimination and racial discrimination. The openness and tolerance of the Tang Dynasty has been rare since ancient times and needs no elaboration.
In terms of regional affairs, the Tang Empire shouldered an unshirkable responsibility. To sum up, it was to maintain the regional balance of power. To be fair, the Tang Empire is not a white lotus. Maintaining the status quo and maintaining the balance of power is also beneficial to the vital interests of the Tang Dynasty. If they are allowed to annex and attack without mediation or persuasion, then a powerful tribe will emerge to unify the northern nomads and form a nomadic force with strong military power and high willingness to fight, and then move south to invade the Central Plains.
Looking through historical records, this is indeed a historical pattern that has been repeated again and again. Whenever the Central Plains falls into turmoil and civil strife, they will lose control of the ethnic minorities in the north. A powerful nomad will appear in the north in a very short period of time, complete the integration of the grasslands, and then continue to invade the south, becoming a serious problem for the emerging dynasties after the stability of the Central Plains. Foreign aggression, such as the Han Dynasty and the Huns, the Song Dynasty and the Khitan, the Ming Dynasty and the Mongols.
Therefore, out of consideration for its own safety, the Tang Empire also had to actively mediate regional affairs, protect vulnerable groups, and prevent the emergence of regional hegemons. For example, the "Nanzhao" mentioned above used heavy bribes and other unfair means to make the Tang Dynasty be misled by treacherous ministers and allow it to complete the unification of the six imperial edicts. After that, Nanzhao became a serious problem for the Tang Dynasty. As for becoming the trigger for the demise of the Tang Dynasty.
Although it made mistakes regarding the "Nanzhao" issue in the south, the Tang Empire never took the northern nomads lightly, because the northern nomads have been an eternal nightmare for the Central Plains and Han Dynasty since ancient times. "Beware of the Northern Tatars" is deeply imprinted on every In the genetics of the Han people.
During the Tang Dynasty, the nomadic peoples in the north were very diverse. Some of the more influential ones were the Dangxiang, Uighur, Tiele, Khitan, Xi, Shiwei, Mohe (the same pronunciation as "Mohe"), Bohai Mohe, and Lin (the same pronunciation as "Mohe"). "Xi"), Uluohun, Shatuo, Tuyuhun and so on. Among them, each ethnic group is divided into different tribes, such as the "Nine Surnames of Tiele" and the "Eight Tribes of Khitan", and each tribe is divided into multiple clans, such as the Yelu clan of the Khitan Diera Tribe.
It can be seen from this that on the northern grasslands at that time, there were many nomadic peoples with numerous tribes and sects, so they did not pose a threat to the Tang Empire, and they all needed to trade with the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty would also gain from them. profit.
As the Tang Dynasty declined, its control over the northern nomads gradually dissipated. As a result, the nomads who lost control also returned to the most primitive law of the jungle, the law of the jungle. For example, the Khitan, Yelu Abaoji unified the "eight tribes of Khitan", twisting the entire Khitan nation into one, and quickly launched annexation wars against other northern nomads such as Xi, Shiwei, and Mohe, and quickly became the overlord of the grasslands with overwhelming force. .
The turmoil in the Central Plains not only provided opportunities for self-integration for the grassland peoples, but also provided a large number of talents. At that time, many Han people fled to the northern grasslands to escape the war. Among them were diligent farmers, craftsmen with ingenuity, and scholars with literary, Taoist and military skills.
The influx of a large number of refugees from the Central Plains has brought sufficient labor force, advanced technology and culture to the northern nomads, added infinite vitality to the grassland, and accelerated the evolution of grassland civilization.
Let’s take Khitan as an example.
The reason why the Khitans were able to quickly unify the grasslands under the leadership of Yelu Abaoji was not only due to Yelu Abaoji's talent and strategy, but also the continuous help of refugees from the Central Plains. For example, long before Yelu Abaoji became the leader of the tribe, the Khitans learned to smelt iron from refugees from the Central Plains and had their own handicraft industry. Nomads can smelt iron and become more powerful than a tiger.
As mentioned above, when Yelu Abaoji encountered civil strife and was forced to step down by the other seven leaders, Yelu Abaoji put forward a condition for his resignation, which was that he was allowed to live with the Han people under his rule, build a city and live in self-exile. This can also reflect from the side the large number of Central Plains refugees in Khitan (at least in the Diela tribe) and the close relationship with the chief (Yelü Abaoji).
The person who helped Yelu Abaoji establish the country and proclaim himself emperor and made outstanding contributions to the prosperity and stability of Khitan was a Han Chinese who fled to the grassland for refuge. This person enjoys a lofty status in Khitan. Both "History of Liao" and "Khitan Chronicles" have high praise for him. One of his famous measures was unprecedented in ancient and modern times, and it has been learned and absorbed by our New China. An incident that happened to him was adapted into a classic play known to women and children.
This legendary figure is Han Yanhui, Yelu Abaoji's number one adviser.
