When the rebellion in the north is over, the land of the south is generally peaceful, with no war and no chaos.
Southern Tang Dynasty, Jiangning Mansion, Jinling. This largest and most prosperous city in the South is still prosperous. Since the troubled times of the Tang Dynasty, under the management of the separatist forces of the Wu and Tang dynasties, there has been no major war for thirty or forty years.
Very rare.
Both sides of the Qinhuai River are densely covered with shops and merchants. Alongside Jinling City, the surrounding area has a developed economy and a prosperous culture. Even though news of wars and turmoil continue to come from the western border of the Northern Kingdom, this place still has a prosperous scene.
The Mid-Autumn Festival has just passed, and there is still a festive aftertaste of the festival inside and outside Jinling. It has been peaceful for a long time, and the atmosphere of the entire city is filled with a sense of enjoyment, from the high-ranking officials and nobles to the common people. Although Jinling
There are rich people, there are also poor people, there are paupers, but even the beggars in the market seem a little leisurely.
Jinling City was built into a city. Although it has a long history and profound heritage, it has experienced several ups and downs. The imperial city was expanded on the basis of Yang Wu's Jinling Mansion Office. It is not small in scale, luxurious and magnificent.
A large carriage drove slowly down the long flat street, heading towards the south gate of the imperial city. Judging from the decoration of the carriage and the purple and yellow clothes, the owner of the carriage must be a royal nobleman. Inside the carriage, there was a young man
The man has a broad face and a serious demeanor, and his purple python robe exudes a strong sense of nobility.
He is the eldest son of Emperor Li Jing of the Southern Tang Dynasty and King of Yan Li Hongji. He is not very old, but he already has a slightly thick stubble. There is a look of contemplation on his calm face, and he touches his neatly trimmed beard from time to time.
stubble.
Last year, his uncle Li Jingsui was appointed as the emperor's younger brother. After the appointment was passed down from brother to brother, he, the emperor's eldest son, was sent to Yangzhou, the eastern capital, and later moved to Runzhou. Although Li Hongji was young, he always had great ambitions.
Coupled with the youthful spirit, I was very unconvinced. This time I returned to Beijing from Runzhou, not only to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival together, but also to "send troops" for the Northern Expedition.
Previously, before Li Shouzhen plotted a rebellion, he had secretly communicated with the Southern Tang Dynasty. When Li Shouzhen rebelled, he sent envoys to Jinling to invite troops. In response to this matter, whether to send troops or not, the Southern Tang monarchs and ministers
They also attached great importance to it and held several court discussions, but as usual, the DPRK was divided into two factions, with disagreements and constant bickering. The discussions lasted for more than a month, and the Mid-Autumn Festival has passed, but there is still no result...
"The important military matter has been postponed to this day. All the ministers in the Manchu Dynasty are just dead people. They are extremely incompetent. What's the use of keeping them?" Thinking about the situation of the court collected in the past two days, Li Hongji suddenly became violent and fierce.
He smashed the wall of the compartment and cursed with a cold expression.
The carriage stopped suddenly, as if frightened by the movement inside the carriage. After stopping for a while, there was still no movement. He opened the curtain and yelled out: "Why did you stop?"
Li Hongji has always been a kind-hearted person, but in fact he has a very impatient temperament and is prone to outbursts when he is slightly unsatisfied.
The guard who was driving the carriage quickly reported: "Your Highness, the Emperor's Crown Prince, is driving ahead of you."
It was such a coincidence that Li Hongji's expression flashed with an unfriendly change, he leaned out, stepped on the shaft of the car, and jumped to the ground. At the side street, a more luxurious car was parked there, with a kind-faced man.
The young man in colorful clothes, with the support of the guard, walked slowly down to the car. When he saw Li Hongji, he showed a humble smile and said hello: "Hongji."
"Uncle Emperor." Li Hongji cupped his hands, his attitude was neither salty nor cool. The uncle and nephew looked very unfamiliar: "Uncle Emperor wants to enter the palace too?"
"Your Majesty has summoned you, so I dare not neglect you." Li Jingsui replied, still smiling.
Li Jingsui appeared to be modest, courteous, calm and easy-going, but in Li Hongji's eyes, he became even more repulsive. He just couldn't stand the elegant and easy-going appearance of the emperor's uncle, and thought he was just pretending.
"If Hongji is in a hurry, you can go ahead." Feeling Li Hongji's coldness, Li Jingsui stretched out his hand and said.
"The emperor's brother is in front, how dare I go beyond the rules?" Li Hongji didn't look like he had any trouble with the city. He responded calmly: "It's better for the emperor to invite you first."
After a simple exchange, the uncle and nephew were extremely alienated. Li Jingsui had a gentle temperament and always maintained his demeanor. However, when he turned back to the car to drive, he sighed silently and looked very worried.
Li Jingsui's image in the eyes of others was that of a humble and courteous man, with a gentleman's demeanor and no desire to fight for power. In the year since he became the emperor's younger brother, he was always worried and kept a low profile. If the emperor Li Jing had no ambition
That's all for the future, but with Li Hongji, a grown-up prince, especially since his temperament was grown up from a young age, he has deep concerns in his heart.
In the Qinzheng Hall, as everyone gathered, after the service, the debate about sending troops began again. An old minister with toothless teeth was the first to go out, hunched over his waist, and said in a weak voice: "Your Majesty
, the Northern Army is strong, and the Tang army is not used to land warfare, and has not had a confrontation with the Northern Army for many years. Now, the Liu family has settled in the Central Plains, and although Li Shouzhen has rebelled, the situation is unclear, so we cannot act rashly..."
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The person who spoke was Li Jianxun, a minister of the Southern Tang Dynasty. He was very old in his seventies, and his words were no longer useful. He was still worshiped as a servant of the family, Tong Ping Zhangshi. What he said was an old man's talk, and the northern soldiers were strong.
, the situation is undecided, etc., the attitude is very clear, that is, they do not agree to send troops.
As soon as he said this, someone immediately refuted it, and the reason was the same old one, which was to talk about the North conquering the Central Plains and restoring the old. This kind of slogan has been shouted in the Southern Tang Dynasty for a long time, and it is very vain.
The Khitans were shouting when they destroyed the Jin Dynasty, the Liu family was shouting when they entered the Central Plains, they were shouting when Hou Shu was attacking the key points, and now that Li Shouzhen has rebelled, he can still use them to express his political attitude. That is, the slogans were shouted loudly, but they have never been implemented.
During the past two years of the turbulent changes in the Central Plains, the Southern Tang Dynasty, in addition to offending the Han Dynasty, the most active thing they did was to send Nanben to surrender.
After Liu Chengyou made great efforts to suppress bandits and put an end to chaos in the country at the age of 18, there was no follow-up.
The courtiers of the Southern Tang Dynasty were very literary. Some were good at poetry, some were good at writing, and some were talented and quick in thinking. Such arguments would often end after they started. This has always been the case.
Emperor Li Jing was sitting on the throne at this time. He liked to discuss articles and poetry with his ministers, but the political affairs of the dynasty always made him upset, especially when the whole dynasty was full of arguments.
"That's enough!" Finally, he couldn't hold it back, his voice was sullen, he glanced at the ministers in the palace, and couldn't help but sigh in a low voice: "If Feng Zhengzhong and Han Shuyan were here, why would I be troubled like this?"
Li Jing was just saying this out of emotion, but if those two people were really in court, they would probably have a more serious quarrel. The two people he mentioned about Feng and Han were the former prime minister Feng Yansi and Zhongshu Sheren Zhigao Han Xizai
.These two people are Li Jing’s most favored ministers.
In the past few years since Li Jing succeeded to the throne, two factions have basically formed in the Southern Tang Dynasty. One faction is dominated by the founding fathers of Song Dynasty, such as Qiqiu, Feng Yansi, Chen Jue, etc., and the other faction is dominated by scholars such as Han Xizai and Jiang Wenwei who traveled south from the Central Plains.
People dominate, and the two factions fight fiercely.
However, he is not in Jinling at the moment, and has been demoted to another place by Li Jing. In the previous campaign to conquer Fujian, Li Jing originally had the idea of stopping troops to recruit the remnants of the Wang family in Fuzhang, but Chen Jue, who was the privy envoy at the time, changed his fate.
He sent troops, together with Feng Yanlu, Zha Wenhui and other Tang generals, to conquer Li Renda who had seized Fuzhou. As a result, Wu and Yue sent troops to attack from both sides, and the Tang army was defeated.
This was something done by Song and Feng Yidang, so naturally they had to wipe their ass. Thanks to the mediation, Chen Jue, Feng Yanlu and others were saved from death. Especially Chen Jue, who tried his best to attack and was defeated. Such a serious crime
, but they were demoted. Naturally Han Xizai, Jiang Wenwei and others were dissatisfied and impeached Song Qiqiu and Feng Yansi for causing harm to the country and the army, causing them to be demoted as well.
Naturally, Song and Feng were unwilling to give in, and then they found an excuse to impeach Han Xizai and Jiang Wenwei. Li Jing couldn't bear his annoyance and simply demoted them.
The dispute between the two parties has come to an end for the time being. However, although they are separated, the forces of the two parties are still fighting fiercely in the court. Party struggle seems to be the main contradiction in the Southern Tang Dynasty. In comparison, Chu
The battle for position can only be described as mild. King Yan Li Hongji is still in his infancy and cannot make any waves yet.
"What do you think, the emperor's brother?" Li Jing took a deep breath and asked Li Jingsui.
Li Jingsui glanced at the ministers from the two factions who were clearly divided, with a tangled look on his face. After thinking for a while, he bowed: "The war is fierce and dangerous. I think it is better to wait and see again before making any decisions."
"If we continue to wait and see, the situation in the Central Plains will be determined, and it will be too late to make any decisions by then!" As soon as he finished speaking, a young and powerful voice refuted.
Li Jing frowned, glanced at Li Hongji, and saw that he was out of the queue, looking like he was not ashamed of his talk. He had always been unhappy with this impetuous son, who was not like himself because of his lack of elegance.
Of course, Li Hongji didn't look that way, and stated his thoughts directly, saying loudly: "Your Majesty, our country has deep enmity with the Central Plains, and there are frequent disputes on the border. If we don't take advantage of the predicament there and send troops out of Huaihe, the northern troops will inevitably invade the south one day!
The princes have been arguing over this matter endlessly, without taking any practical measures. In my opinion, the best time has been missed. If we don't take action, this matter will no longer need to be discussed!"
As soon as he said this, the expressions of all the officials in the court changed. This King of Yan was really young and energetic.
"Let's put this matter on hold for now. Let me think about it and withdraw from the court."
In the end, no result could be reached, and Li Jing returned to the palace in low spirits.
If Li Jing's original thoughts were followed, of course he still had the intention to send troops. At present, the Southern Tang Dynasty's national power was at its peak. Even if he had a peaceful temperament, he was still a monarch, and he still had the ambition to expand the territory. The previous time, he took advantage of the rebellion in Fujian to send troops to annihilate it.
Defeating the Wang family and gaining control of Fujian was a great improvement to his reputation, of course not counting the subsequent defeats.
However, every time I hear conservatives talk about objective factors such as the strength of the Northern Army, the instability of Fujian, and the threat from Wu and Yue, I feel intimidated again.
In the palace, he thought about it for a long time and hesitated. Finally, that night, Li Jing made up his mind and issued an edict to send out troops. Zhenhai Jiedushi Li Jinquan was sent to the north to recruit envoys, and he led 30,000 troops from Huainan to the northern expedition to aid relief.
In the middle of the river, another 10,000 forbidden troops were sent from Jinling to the north.
Less than half a day after the edict was issued, news came from the north that the Han emperor personally sent a hundred thousand troops to march west to suppress the rebellion. Li Shouzhen had been destroyed by the Han army six days ago, and the city was destroyed and people died.
After hearing the news, the whole court fell into silence, and then the conservatives who had just been suppressed rose up and actively urged the emperor to stop the army. Li Jing was obviously very surprised by the fighting ability of the Han army. After being persuaded by everyone, he humbly accepted the admonishment.
, hurriedly ordered the officials to go north with gold medals to summon back the envoys who delivered the imperial edict, and only issued an edict to strengthen the border defenses in the prefectures and towns along the Huaihe River.
In addition, he drove Yan King Li Hongji back to Runzhou again.