As for the south, as the strategic direction of the Han Dynasty, the direction of focus was naturally ups and downs. Since the Northern War 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.
It mainly covers the southern Tang Dynasty and southern Guangdong Province, especially the Southern Tang Dynasty.
The imperial court became more and more aggressive, and 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,
Completely falling into a state of waiting for death, from top to bottom, everyone is in a desperate mood. Because of despair, knowing that it is inevitable, they gradually degenerate and sink.
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 attacked 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 capabilities, was trained by Lin Renzhao during that period. Li Min
The 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 serve. In addition, Zhong Mo and other bureaucrats who were interested in the north were working together, and a series of
This situation cast a heavy shadow on the Southern Tang Dynasty.
It wasn't until Li Hongji's murder of his uncle broke out that Han Xizai, a close political associate, was implicated and completely lost power. The Feng brothers came back to power, officially declaring the fragile stability and prosperity of the Southern Tang Dynasty to be shattered. Everything was not conducive to the nobility and bureaucrats.
The policies of landlords and merchants were all abolished, and the results of Han Xizai's reforms 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 complementary balance between Jiangbei and Jiangnan has been broken economically, and the country's increasingly heavy burden has completely
Passed on to ordinary people. In the past few years, the originally 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 is concerned personally, it is not that he has not seen the results of the reform, so why did he change his mind and give up Han Xizai and let Jiangnan scholars take power. Such a choice cannot be evaluated simply as 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 Jiangnan and Jiangbei, and the powerful were their flesh and blood. It has always been the southern scholars who were stronger than
In the north, with all the states north of the Yangtze River lost, the situation of strength and weakness is even more obvious. When the bureaucrats, nobles, landlords, businessmen, and other vested interests in the south of the Yangtze River united, even Li Jing was intimidated.
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If it were a 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 was not like that. He was labeled as weak and weak, and he did not have the 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, and he had great ambitions. In the end, he could not stretch himself, turned to indulge in sex, and no longer interfered with political affairs. And he left a mark in history.
The famous volume "Han Xizai's Night Banquet" was also painted by Gu Hongzhong during this period and came out ahead of schedule.
Perhaps out of guilt, 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.
Li Jing's liquidation action against Han Xizai would probably make her feel better.
However, Li Jing could not see the final decline of the Southern Tang Dynasty after all. He died of illness in the Tang Palace in the winter of November of the 13th year of Qianyu. For Li Jing, this may also be a kind of relief, at least, the title of the king of subjugation
It won't 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 blessing. He faced
It is the rolling torrent of history. As an unqualified helmsman, he controls a leaky broken ship and moves forward with difficulty in the turmoil.
Compared with Li Jing, Li Yu's situation after taking office was more difficult, and his control over the government situation was also weaker. The government was in chaos, the people's livelihood was suffering, and the situation was even worse. However, he also did a few things
, for example, adhering to the policy of being deferential to the Central Plains court, he sent envoys to the imperial court 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 regarded himself as a vassal of the Central Plains and the lord of the Jiangnan Kingdom. He followed all the etiquette and obeyed them. Li Yu tried to win the favor of the court through such an attitude and behavior, so as to avoid the conquest of the great powers.
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Of course, anyone who understands knows that this will not have any effect. In the 14th year of Qianyou's reign, on the occasion of Liu Chengyou's 31st birthday, he lowered his power and invited Li Yu, the leader of the Jiangnan Kingdom, to come to Beijing, but he was rejected again.
Li Yu's reason was that he had just succeeded to the throne and the country was not peaceful yet, so he could not leave without permission, so he only sent envoys with heavy gifts to congratulate Liu Chengyou on his birthday. The main reason was that he did not dare to be detained for fear of being detained. Li Yiyin was a lesson learned from the past, so he took the risk.
At the risk of offending the Han Emperor, he refused.
For Li Yu and Jinling, they knew that the country was about to perish, but they had no choice but to do anything. However, if they were allowed to surrender and offer land on their own initiative, they would not make that choice until the last moment.
The young ruler of Jiangnan did not cheer up when faced with the perilous situation of the country. He was embarrassed by the corruption of state affairs, and finally handed over the military and political affairs to the ministers, and stayed in the palace, enjoying the romance. In the more than a year of his reign, in addition to involving the
Apart from the affairs of the Han Dynasty, he rarely interfered. Instead, he was immersed in art and lingering in love. He also left a lot of court words. Perhaps, only when the Han army marched south, he could suddenly
Wake up...
The throne was changed, the reformists were completely depressed, and the military also suffered another blow. The biggest blow came from the death of Ezhou Jiedushi Liu Renfan. Liu Renfan had always been a defensive pillar in the upper reaches of Jinling.
, his death caused Jiangnan to lose a commander-in-chief and a city.
Jiangnan generals were already in decline, and by the fifteenth year of Emperor Qianyou's reign, there was only one Lin Renzhao left who could be used as a general. Fortunately, Li Yu followed the advice and transferred Lin Renzhao north from Nanchang Prefecture, leaving the Yangtze River defense line to him. However,
When the Han army marched south, how could Lin Renzhao, a mere Lin Renzhao, be able to take advantage of it?
Compared with the turmoil in the south of the Yangtze River, the country of South Guangdong is not at peace either. Liu Yuan was lewd and cruel, witches and officials were trying to control their power, the politics were dark and chaotic, the people were in dire straits, and the voices of resentment filled the land. When the country is about to perish, there must be monsters, and this is South Guangdong.
The most authentic portrayal of the country.
Here, I have to mention the disputes between Han and Guangdong. At first, Liu Yuan had the intention of proclaiming 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 a slap in the face of the central government naturally made Liu Chengyou furious, and he directly ordered the Hunan Han army to go south in two directions to attack southern Guangdong. Along the way, with Pan Mei as the main general, leading an army of 10,000, they went south from Quanzhou to attack Guizhou; all the way, Cao Cao
Bin was the commander-in-chief and sent 10,000 troops 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 Jinghu. It only intended to teach Nanyue a lesson and prepare for the subsequent capture of Lingnan. Although it was angry with Liu Suan's behavior, the Han court still
Maintaining reason, Liu Chengyou also restrained his anger.
Even so, Pan Mei and Cao Bin also made Nanyue suffer a lot. Guangdong can also arm an army of 100,000. Although the combat effectiveness is poor, the strength is there. This may be Liu Yun's fearless confidence.
In the face of the Han army's crusade, Guangdong responded forcefully. Its 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,
, eager to seek battle, faced the enemy head-on with the Han army.
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 battles in a row, and Shaozhou lost three battles in a row. The result was that Guizhou was lost to the west and Shaozhou was lost to the east.
It was defended, but 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 could have taken the opportunity to destroy the Guangdong state. Pan Mei also took the opportunity to report to the court, saying that the Guangdong army was weak and the people did not support it, so please increase the number of troops and destroy it. At that time, Liu Chengyou was really
He was tempted, but after comprehensive consideration, he still gave up, and instead asked him to rest on the spot for the sake of his future. Being outnumbered and outnumbered is not without 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 it can be regarded as a lesson. As for losing it
There is no reason to return the city land.
Liu Suan, the emperor of Southern Guangdong, had been emperor for less than four months, and he had become an emperor. However, the price was the loss of troops, land and tribute, and he was ridiculed by others for a while.
When talking about the south, there is another force that I have to mention, and that is the Dali Kingdom, which lives 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 founding of the Duan family in Dali, and it has been passed down to the fourth generation. The reigning leader is Duan Sicong. He has always played his own game, but when the world situation is changing drastically, how can he be alone.
Especially after the Han Dynasty destroyed Meng Shu, they had to be vigilant. In addition, Wang Quanbin was sharpening his sword in the southwest, so how could he not panic? If a weak country cannot be humble and fearless when facing a strong country, it is not far from being destroyed.