As for the south, as the strategic direction of the Han Dynasty, the direction of focus was naturally ups and downs. Since the war in the north ended with the victory of the Han Dynasty, when the Han court turned its attention to the south, the few remaining forces felt great pressure, mainly the Southern Tang Dynasty and Southern Guangdong Province, especially the Southern Tang Dynasty.
The imperial court became more and more aggressive, while the Southern Tang Dynasty retreated step by step. Although it knew the Han Dynasty's ambition to unify, the imperial court did not dare to disobey it, did not dare to resist before it launched troops, and did not dare to lack annual tribute. The entire Southern Tang Dynasty was completely in a state of waiting for death. From top to bottom, everyone was in a mood of despair. Because of despair and knowing that it was inevitable, they gradually degenerated and sank.
After the Huainan War between the Han and Tang Dynasties, the Jiangbei scholar group headed by Han Xizai was in power for a period of time. They implemented strict reforms and cracked down on the powerful, big landowners, officials and businessmen, and achieved certain results, and the national finances were also improved.
During those years, although the national power of the Southern Tang Dynasty was weakened due to the loss of Jiangbei, overall it was relatively stable. It had a foundation in Jiangnan and did not cut off its ties with Jiangbei. The economy also enjoyed a period of prosperity.
During that time, in addition to meeting the annual tribute, the Southern Tang Dynasty also accumulated a lot of money and food to develop its military and expand its armaments. The Runzhou Army, the leader of the Southern Tang Army's combat power, was trained by Lin Renzhao during that period. The common people have benefited from this, land annexation has been suppressed, and social conflicts have been alleviated. However, the price is that the conflicts at the top have become increasingly acute, and the powerful, bureaucrats, and landlords whose interests have been harmed have completely united.
Therefore, the good times did not last long. As the leader of the Tang Dynasty, Li Jing, gradually indulged in pleasure, there were many hidden dangers in the succession problem. The Feng brothers and the southern gentry came back to use, and Zhong Mo and other bureaucrats who were interested in the north were working together. A series of This situation cast a heavy shadow on the power of Southern Tang Dynasty.
Until Li Hongji's murder of his uncle broke out, as a political close person, Han Xizai was implicated and completely lost power. The Feng brothers came to power again, which officially declared the fragile stability and prosperity of the Southern Tang Dynasty to be shattered. All policies that were unfavorable to the nobility, bureaucrats, landlords, and merchants were abolished, and Han Xizai's reform achievements were ultimately wiped out.
From top to bottom, everything has returned to its previous state, and because of the general trend, it has become even crazier and more extreme. After losing Jiangbei, the economic complementary balance between Jiangbei and Jiangnan was broken, and the country's increasingly heavy burden was completely passed on to ordinary people. In just the past few years, the once prosperous and prosperous land of Jiangnan was still producing high yields of food and cloth, but the people at the bottom were becoming increasingly miserable and had great resentment.
As far as Li Jing was concerned, it was not that he had not seen the results of the reform, so why did he change his mind and abandon Han Xizai and let Jiangnan scholars take power. Such a choice cannot be evaluated simply by ignorance.
The more profound reason is that Li Jing also saw the risks. The establishment of the Southern Tang Dynasty benefited from the support of scholars and landlords in the south and north of the Yangtze River, and the powerful were its flesh and blood. It has always been the scholars in the south who were stronger than the Tang Dynasty. In the north, with all the Jiangbei states lost, the situation of strength and weakness is even more obvious. When the bureaucrats, nobles, landlords, businessmen and other vested interests in Jiangnan united, even Li Jing was intimidated.
If there were another monarch with a firm will and tough skills, he might be able to withstand these pressures and defend the achievements of the reform. However, Li Jing is not the same. He is labeled as weak and has no courage to do big things.
Therefore, when the powerful conservative force launched a counterattack, Li Jing retreated and chose to abandon Han Xizai, thus starting the decline and decline in the years before the end of the Southern Tang Dynasty. The rivers were declining and the ancestral temple was about to be destroyed.
It was under this situation that Han Xizai traveled south for more than thirty years. His official career was bumpy, with several ups and downs. Although he had great ambitions, he finally had nothing to achieve, and he turned to indulgence and no longer interfered with political affairs. The volume "Han Xizai's Night Banquet", which has left such a great reputation in history, was also painted by Gu Hongzhong during this period and came out ahead of schedule.
Perhaps feeling guilty, after learning about Han Xizai's condition, Li Jing specially rewarded him with a lot of property and selected several beautiful maids from the Tang Palace to serve Han Xizai in the Han Mansion. Moreover, he stopped the Jiangnan scholars from liquidating Han Xizai. In this way, Li Jing will probably feel better.
However, Li Jing could not see the final decline of the Southern Tang Dynasty. He died of illness in the Tang Palace in the winter of the 13th year of Qianyou's reign in November. For Li Jing, this may also be a kind of relief. At least, the name of the king of subjugation will not fall on him.
Prince Li Congjia, with the support of Jinling ministers, successfully succeeded to the throne that year and changed his name to Li Yu. This eternal Ci Emperor officially entered the stage of history. However, for Li Yu, this was obviously not a good thing. Facing the rolling torrent of history, as an unqualified helmsman, he controlled a leaky broken ship and struggled to move forward in the turmoil.
Compared with Li Jing, Li Yu's situation after taking office was more difficult, and his control over the court situation was also weaker. The government is in chaos, the people's livelihood is suffering, and the situation is getting worse. However, he also did a few things, such as adhering to the policy of being deferential to the Central Plains court and sending envoys to the emperor when he took the throne. In order to meet the annual tribute input, he continued to impose heavy taxes on the people, which made the people of Jiangnan increasingly resentful.
At the same time, he also abandoned those deceitful behaviors and completely regarded himself as a vassal of the Central Plains and the lord of the Jiangnan Kingdom. He followed all the etiquette and regulations and obeyed them. Li Yu tried to use this attitude and behavior to win the favor of the imperial court and avoid conquest by the great powers.
Of course, anyone who understands knows that this won't do anything. In the fourteenth year of Qianyou's reign, on the occasion of Liu Chengyou's thirtieth birthday, he lowered his authority and invited Li Yu, the leader of the Jiangnan Kingdom, to come to Beijing, but was rejected again.
Li Yu's reason was that he had just succeeded to the throne and the country was not yet peaceful, so it was inconvenient to leave without authorization, so he only sent envoys with heavy gifts to celebrate Liu Chengyou's birthday. The main reason was that he didn't dare and was afraid of being detained. Li Yiyin had learned from the past, so he refused at the risk of offending the Han Emperor.
For Li Yu and Jinling, they knew that the country was about to perish, but there was nothing they could do. However, if he were asked to voluntarily surrender and offer land, he would not make that choice until the last moment.
The young ruler of Jiangnan, faced with the country's perilous situation, did not cheer up. He was embarrassed by the corruption of state affairs, and finally handed over military and political affairs to ministers, and lived in the palace, enjoying the romance. In the more than a year since he was in office, he rarely interfered except for affairs involving the Han Dynasty. Instead, he was immersed in art and lingering in love, and he also left a lot of courtly words. Perhaps, only when the Han army moves south can he suddenly wake up...
The emperor's throne was easier to change, the reformists were completely depressed, and the military suffered another blow. The biggest blow came from the death of Ezhou Jiedushi Liu Renfan. Liu Renfan had always been the defensive pillar of the upper reaches of Jinling. His death caused Jiangnan to lose a commander and a city. .
Jiangnan generals were already in decline, and by the fifteenth year of Emperor Qianyou's reign, only one Lin Renzhao was left as a usable general. Fortunately, Li Yu listened to the suggestion, transferred Lin Renzhao from Nanchang Prefecture to the north, and handed over the Yangtze River defense line to him. However, when the Han army went south, Lin Renzhao could not help him.
Compared with the precarious situation in the south of the Yangtze River, the south of Guangdong is not peaceful either. Liu Yuan was lewd and brutal, witches and officials wielded power, the politics were dark and chaotic, the people were in dire straits, and the voice of resentment filled the land. When a country is about to perish, there must be monsters. This is the most true portrayal of the Southern Guangdong Kingdom.
Here, I have to mention the disputes between Han and Guangdong. At first, Liu Yuan wanted to proclaim himself emperor, but received severe reprimands and warnings from the Han court.
Faced with the threat of the Han Emperor's decree, Liu Yuan was furious because of his youthful spirit and ignorance. Not only did he ignore the dissuasion, he expelled the imperial envoys. In August of the twelfth year of Qianyou, he restored the throne in Prince Xing's Mansion and ascended the throne. Emperor, and at the same time cut off all contact with the Central Plains.
Such an act of slapping the central government in the face naturally made Liu Chengyou furious, and he directly ordered the Han army from Hunan to go south in two directions, targeting southern Guangdong. Along the way, with Pan Mei as the general and an army of 10,000, he went south from Quanzhou to attack Guizhou; along the way, with Cao Bin as the general, he sent an army of 10,000 and went south from Chenzhou to attack Shaozhou.
Judging from the mobilization of troops, the Han Dynasty did not contribute a single force. The scope of mobilization was only in Jingna Lake. It was only intended to teach Nanyue a lesson and prepare for the subsequent capture of Lingnan. Although angry at Liu Yuan's behavior, the Han Dynasty court still maintained its rationality, and Liu Chengyou also restrained his anger.
Even so, Pan Mei and Cao Bin made Nanyue suffer a lot. Guangdong can also arm an army of 100,000 people. Although the combat effectiveness is poor, the troops are there. This may be Liu Yun's fearless confidence.
Facing the Han division's crusade, the Guangdong side naturally responded forcefully. His response measures mainly had three characteristics: first, the Han army came in two groups, and he also dealt with it in two groups; second, the eunuchs led the army; third, he was eager to fight and faced the Han army head-on.
In order to deal with the invasion of the Han army, Liu Yu mobilized a total of 60,000 troops from various places. Guizhou lost four games in a row, and Shaozhou lost three games in a row. As a result, Guizhou was lost in the west, and Shaozhou in the east was defended. However, Lianzhou was captured by Cao Bin, with nearly 40,000 casualties.
If it weren't for the lack of troops and lack of successors, Pan and Cao would have taken the opportunity to destroy the Guangdong Kingdom. Pan Mei also took the opportunity to report to the court, saying that the Guangdong army was weak and the people did not follow it, so please increase the number of troops and destroy it. At that time, Liu Chengyou was really tempted, but after comprehensive consideration, he still gave up. Instead, he sent a reply to let him rest on the spot to save his years. Being outnumbered is not without its cost.
Liu Yuan, on the other hand, was awakened by the news of his successive defeats. In panic, he finally accepted the advice, repaired his watch and sent envoys to sue for peace, and at the same time quickly removed his imperial title.
Seeing his interest, the Han court also agreed, but increased the amount of annual tribute. Compared with Jinling, Guangdong's annual tribute pressure has not been great. This time can be regarded as a lesson. As for the lost city land, there is no reason to return it.
Liu Suan, the emperor of Southern Guangdong, had been emperor for less than four months, and he was considered to be addicted to the emperor, but the price was the loss of troops, land and tribute, and he was ridiculed for a while.
When talking about the south, there is another force that I have to mention, and that is the Dali Kingdom, which is located in the southwest. When the imperial court turned its attention to the south, it took the initiative to send envoys to Tokyo to establish friendship, hoping to become friendly neighbors.
It has been twenty-five years since the Duan clan of Dali left the country, and it has been passed down to the fourth generation, Duan Sicong, who is in office. All along, I have been playing my own game. However, when the world situation is changing drastically, how can I be alone.
Especially after the Han Dynasty destroyed Meng Shu, he had to be vigilant. In addition, Wang Quanbin was sharpening his sword in the southwest, how could he not panic. If a weak country cannot be humble and fearless when faced with a strong country, it is not far from being destroyed.
