It stands to reason that Li Chongbao could move his army back to the court to resume his life with his brother Li Xu, but unfortunately he didn't think so in his heart. Since Yong's army marched north to Liaodong to destroy Shi Siming in one fell swoop, Li Chongbao was appointed by his father Li Siye as Youyan Jiedushi. Later, he hid in Xue Zang.
The staff system issued by Li Siye deprived Jiedushi of his power to control the army and turned him into a sinecure responsible for local administration. Li Chongbao could not find an opportunity to make contributions.
This southern expedition was a good opportunity for him to make contributions and build his reputation again. However, participating in the campaign was already picking up peaches halfway, and there was not much room for improvement. In the end, the head of Pugu Huai'en was picked up, which was not in line with the merits he had imagined. The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty also
Escaped to the depths of the vast ocean, he had no navy to pursue him.
It happened that King Nanzhao arrived with his army at this time and met Yong's army at the edge of Conglin. The Nanzhao people were armed with spears and poisonous arrows and drove the elephants forward. Yong's army was frightened by this huge beast and started to rush.
Retreat when defeated.
Li Chongbao shouted on his horse to gather the scattered army, and after retreating for six or seven miles, he brought up the artillery array. The two rows of Xuanwu cannons at the front and rear were filled with fragmentation and explosive shells respectively, and they lit the twisters at the elephants that were running quickly.
The muzzle of the gun rumbled out and sprayed out thick white smoke, and shrapnel flew across the jungle for a while.
The elephants of Nanzhao Kingdom were screamed by the cannons, turned around in a hurry and ran towards the depths of the jungle, colliding and trampling the Nanzhao soldiers behind them until they were completely routed.
The people of Nanzhao had never encountered such a thing. They thought that there were Taoist priests in Yong's army who knew witchcraft and could summon thunder and lightning in nature, so they all fled.
Li Chongbao was very proud and immediately marched into Nanzhao. If he could capture the king of Nanzhao alive and take him to Chang'an, how would his younger brother Li Xu bestow his title on the throne? The county king should also become a prince.
He ordered his soldiers to enter the jungle, but the soldiers complained that the Tang army had been completely wiped out and the basic tasks had been accomplished. There was no need for them to go through any trouble. Several generals under Li Chongbao also went to advise: "I heard that
There are so many miasmas in this jungle that most of us northerners can't bear it when we get here, and most of us will fall ill and die. During the Tianbao period, Xianyu Zhongtong led an army to conquer Nanzhao, and 60,000 to 70,000 people died."
Li Chongbao was very disgusted with such advice and said angrily: "How can I be compared with Xianyu Zhongtong? The fact that our army can destroy the Tang army shows that our army is far stronger than the Tang army. How can a mere miasma stop it? Listen to me, army.
Continue to march and destroy Nanzhao."
The Yong army continued to advance in the dense forest. It was smooth sailing at the beginning of the march. The stragglers organized by the Nanzhao Kingdom collapsed at the first touch. However, as time gradually lengthened, the acclimatization of the Han soldiers of the Yong army in the jungle gradually became apparent, and those who contracted the miasma epidemic
The number of people gradually increased.
In order to make great achievements, Li Chongbao deliberately ignored the diseases of the soldiers, urged them to advance, and ordered the people in the rear to transport grain and grass, causing a large number of soldiers and people to die on the way south. Yong's army was exhausted after approaching Dali City
Unable to fight anymore.
King Nanzhao keenly seized the opportunity to counterattack and killed a large number of Yong's troops. Fortunately, Yong's troops were tenacious and would not be defeated, but they were unable to fight anymore. The generals again advised Li Chongbao, and Li Chongbao decided to fight him again, so he led
The army bombarded Dali City, and he actually had no illusions about subduing Nanzhao.
What he didn't expect was that King Nanzhao could no longer stand it anymore and sent an envoy to the army to sue for peace. He was also willing to submit a letter of credence and pay tribute to sue for peace.
Li Chongbao was overjoyed, so he took the Nanzhao envoys back to Guangzhou. After returning to Guangzhou, he took a sea ship and went north from the mouth of the Qiantang River to Yuhang. Then he went north from the canal back to Luoyang, and from Luoyang to Chang'an.
Li Xu, who had recently ascended the throne, learned that his brother had destroyed the last force of the Tang Dynasty and had exceeded the quota. He also conquered Nanzhao and brought back the envoys of Nanzhao. He was very happy immediately and issued a decree to seal him.
Li Chongbao became the king of Yan and continued to serve as the military envoy of Youyan, stationed in Youzhou City.
Prince is the highest status a clan can obtain, and is usually awarded by the emperor to his adult sons. As the emperor's brother, it is understandable that Li Chongbao received this position, but he did not think that it was a reward given to him by the emperor, but rather
You deserve it.
After the emperor rewarded Li Chongbao, Prime Minister Xu Bin brought Wei Yingwu, a civil servant assigned to Li Chongbao to join the army, to see the emperor. Wei Yingwu took the initiative to expose the truth about the attack on Nanzhao and pointed out the heavy losses suffered by Li Chongbao during the attack on Nanzhao. This
Li Xu was quite unhappy because Li Chongbao had obviously deceived him.
Xu Bin took the opportunity to step forward and admonish: "The people of Youyan are strong and strong, and the local military forces still exist, and Youyan is an important border area in the north. Even though Emperor Taizu Wu used the staff system to deprive the Jiedushi of his power, he still sent
The king of Yan went to take control of the country, fearing that he would use his power to become powerful and collude with local soldiers to create a climate."
Li Xu thought for a moment, shook his head with a smile and said, "He is my brother. I can't trust my own brothers, so who else can I trust?"
After saying that, he decided to send Li Chongbao to Youzhou and continue to serve as Youzhou Mu and take charge of Hebei Province.
After Xu Bin walked out of the Zichen Palace, he looked at the sky and sighed: "Late Emperor, Lord, if Xu Bin disobeys your instructions, the tragedy of brothers fighting against the wall will happen."
…
After Li Xu became stable in power, he improved and deepened the two tax laws formulated by Li Siye. At that time, Li Siye was engaged in a unification war. The new tax law was not extended to the whole country, and it did not touch the powerful class. The reforms after he came to power were quite thorough.
And it seems radical. He requires that all farmed land in the country must be taxed, with no distinction between the royal family and the common people. He also requires that the tax amount be increased step by step based on the amount of land held. It is stipulated that each household owns land.
If the land is over 1,000 acres, the tax rate will be 1/30% more than the original rate.
Such a move undoubtedly touches a small number of vested interests. They can own more than 1,000 acres of land. They are basically large landowners or the powerful class. Taking advantage of the east wind of the Yong Dynasty's southern expedition, these people annexed a large number of civilian land, and
Many people donated land, making land annexation visible from the beginning.
The emperor's decree shocked the whole country. Of course, the landowners and nobles who had the most say were secretly thinking of ways to hope that the emperor could take back his order. He even found Li Xu's teacher and prime minister Xu Bin, and the result was that
He was flatly rejected by Xu Bin. He knew how strong the emperor's determination was. Just like his father, he would never give up. Xu Bin was not worried that Li Xu would lose power because of this. He knew that the rulers of new regimes usually have absolute power.
, those with vested interests attached to the new regime have not yet been fully consolidated.
These big landowners and wealthy families began to look for people who dared to resist the emperor as their agents, especially after this tax law also touched the interests of the royal family. Pei Ji, the governor of Zhuozhou, accidentally discovered that King Yan Li Chongbao was also angry because of the new tax law. King Yan
Because of his meritorious deeds, he was given thousands of acres of fertile land in Youzhou, including thousands of acres of dedicated land. According to the emperor's regulations, he had to pay more taxes than poor people and ordinary people. It is really unreasonable. Throughout the ages, how can anyone
The emperor's brother pays taxes. What kind of bastard theory is this? Li Xu has offended all his relatives, is he going to end up betraying his relatives?
In order to encourage Li Chongbao to rebel, Pei Ji successfully got close to Li Chongbao and kept giving him beautiful women and glass wine. As a result, Li Chongbao also trusted Pei Ji very much.