This article is an intensive reading of Chinese history serial 230, "Five Dynasties History" serial 10 (click here to view the previous part), welcome to watch.
As we said earlier, Wu and the Southern Tang Dynasty are in the same vein, and the name is two countries, but in fact, it is just a change of name. The Southern Tang Dynasty emperor Li Sheng (徐知诰) controlled the state affairs of Wu for a long time, and in the last years of Wu's reign, the nominal supreme ruler Yang Pu did not have real power. In the second year of the Later Jin Dynasty (937), Li Sheng was enthroned by Zen, but in name only one person.
Li Sheng did not change his surname at the beginning, only to a single name, and the country name was not called Tang, along the name of Wu Fengqi, called Daqi, and changed the third year of Wu Tianzuo to the first year of The Rising Yuan. He made the capital Jinling, and changed Jinling (Wu took Shengzhou as Jinling Prefecture) to the western capital Jiangning Prefecture, and Yangzhou as the eastern capital.
In the third year of the Sheng Yuan Dynasty (939), he recognized Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's son Yong Wangxuan as his distant ancestor (it is said that Emperor Taizong of Tang's son Wu Wangke was a distant ancestor), "also" surnamed Li, changed his name to Sheng, and the country name was Great Tang. Like the Zhu evil clan of the Shatuo clan in the Central Plains, he claimed to inherit the orthodoxy of the Tang Dynasty.
However, his actions had nothing in common with Li Cunxun of the Later Tang Dynasty.
01. The merits and deeds of the Southern Tang Dynasty Liezu
Li Sheng continued to carry out a policy favorable to the development of production, announcing that all those who avoided chaos and moved into the Tang Territory would be given food according to their mouths, and those who were willing to cultivate land would be given land and exempted from 3 years of field labor; they would be sent to survey the fields and determine the amount of taxes according to the degree of fertility of the land.
All those who are transferred, conscripted, or have other enrichments are apportioned according to the proportion of taxes and money, and the high amount of tax is more often distributed and the low amount is less, and the people's burden is more reasonable.
Compared with the Later Jin and Later Han dynasties in the Central Plains, this is obviously much more advanced. Later, the Song Dynasty took Jiangnan and also followed this method.
Li Sheng also implemented measures to reward production, planting 3,000 mulberry trees within 3 years, rewarding 50 horses; each 80 acres of reclaimed land, the reward was 20,000 yuan, and the tax was exempted for 5 years.
Li Sheng himself lived a very frugal life, often wearing shoes made of pu, grooming utensils were shoddy iron tools, and only a few old and ugly palace people served around him.
Li Sheng himself did not pay attention to enjoyment, but he did not hesitate to pay a pension for the families of those who died for the country, and issued a pension for 3 years.
He has adopted a peaceful approach to neighbouring countries. Therefore, from the comprehensive point of view of all aspects, among the feudal rulers, Li Sheng is really a rare figure.
In the seventh year of the Southern Tang Dynasty (943), Li Sheng died of poisoning because he sought immortality and served the Golden Dan offered by the Alchemist. At this time, the territory of the Southern Tang Dynasty, after forty or fifty years of recuperation, was rich and abundant, and few other regions could compare. Dechang Palace stored more than 7 million yuan of weapons, and the government's financial resources were very sufficient, and its territory included a vast area east of the Yangtze River east of Ezhou (present-day Wuhan), facing off with the Central Plains countries, as if it were a pattern of the North and South Dynasties.
This better situation is the achievement of Yang Xingmi (Emperor Kaiguo of Wu), Xu Wen (Wu Zaixiang, Li Shengyi's father), and Li Sheng's creation of business, of which Li Sheng is the most prominent. During the period when he was in power, there were almost no battles.
There are two reasons for this, one is that he himself hates war; the other is that Yang, Xu, and Li started their own businesses, and after the regime was in hand, they all attached great importance to internal defense. Judging from the situation at that time, it was also necessary.
When Xu Wen was alive, he seized the power of the Yang clan, as well as the power of other generals of the Yang clan. Li Sheng is Xu Wen's righteous son, and he also has a contest with Xu Wen's own son. He himself became the prime minister of the State of Wu. From prime minister to emperor, he did not allow others to serve as the southern Tang prime minister for a long time. Li Jianxun was a virtuous minister, and as soon as he was in power, he was deposed.
Li Sheng even had to guard against the prime minister, of course, he could not let the military generals hold the power of the army, and the secret of not using soldiers was here.
02, the Battle of Fujian showed the shortcomings of the main body
After Li Sheng's death, his son Li Jing took the throne and changed his name to Yuan Baoda that year. Li Jing was known as the Southern Tang Dynasty Lord (Yuanzong) for filling in the words.
We certainly don't fight Li Sheng, but we don't think the Southern Tang shouldn't fight at any time. In the era of division and division, it is impossible to move toward reunification without fighting a war.
Before the Later Zhou Dynasty, the Central Plains were in chaos, and from the perspective of the whole country, the Southern Tang Dynasty was a powerful and powerful country with a stable political situation. If the Southern Tang Dynasty can work hard and be promising, even if it is impossible to unify the north and the south, as long as it can unify the south, it can also make a major contribution to the great cause of reunification.
Therefore, Li Jing had plans to expand his territory at this time, which was entirely deserved, but his problem was that "so those who do it are not also."
Let's first look at the Battle of Fujian. In December of the second year of Bao Da (944), the Southern Tang Dynasty saw civil unrest in Fujian and ordered Cha Wenhui and BianHao to lead troops from Jiangxi into Fujian and attack Jianzhou (建州, in modern Jian'ou, Fujian). The people around Jianzhou hated the civil war in the State of Min, opposed the harsh policies of the State of Min, scrambled to cut wood to open the way, and welcomed the Tang army.
In the third year of Baoda, the Tang army conquered Jianzhou in mid-August and destroyed the state of Min. Soon, the defenders of Ting, Quan, and Zhangzhou also surrendered one after another.
However, after the victory of the Tang army, it plundered in Jianzhou and almost burned down the palace houses. The climate was not coincidental, just in time for low temperature and heavy rain, many people froze to death. The people of Fujian were greatly disappointed. However, Li Jing, the lord of the Southern Tang Dynasty, did not punish the generals because of their merits.
At this time, Fuzhou still had remnants of the Min state. Li Jing did not know how to use soldiers, and did not allow the generals to take advantage of the threat of victory and take Fuzhou with one blow. It was not until June of the fourth year of Bao Da (946) that chen jue was sent to Fuzhou, and with "three inches of uncorrupted tongue", he summoned the defending general Li Hongyi and persuaded him to enter the dynasty in Jiangning Province.
Li Hongyi knew his intentions and saw him with a straight face. Chen Jue was so frightened that he did not dare to mention the matter of wanting him to join the DPRK. Chen Jue also went to Jianzhou (present-day Nanping, Fujian), sent troops without authorization, attacked Fuzhou, and suffered a great defeat.
Southern Tang had to increase its troops and attack Fuzhou. Li Hongyi was unable to support himself, so he asked Wu Yue for help. Wu Yuebing's combat effectiveness was not too strong, but it was enough to deal with Tang Bing. In the fifth year of Baoda (947), the Southern Tang army was defeated under the city of Fuzhou and lost a large number of military equipment.
The materials stored in the warehouses of the jiangxi states were almost consumed to the extent of nothing after this war.
The Southern Tang not only suffered heavy losses, but also lost the opportunity to take action against the Central Plains. During the fourth and fifth years of Bao Da (946-947), the Khitan entered the city and Shi Jin perished, which was the moment of chaos in the Central Plains. Shi Jin's Mi Prefecture (西州, in modern Zhucheng, Shandong) assassinated Shi Huangfuhui and Di Prefecture (棣州, in present-day southeast of Huimin, Shandong) led their men to defect to Southern Tang; many rebel leaders in Northern Huaibei asked for assistance from Southern Tang.
The Southern Tang Dynasty originally regarded itself as a descendant of the Tang Dynasty, and at this time, lighting up this signboard can play a very appealing role, and if it is properly taken, it is not absolutely impossible to aspire to the Central Plains.
Han Xizai, a member of the Yu clan, was originally a native of Beihai(present-day Weifang, Shandong), a member of the Central Plains, who had passed through the Later Tang Dynasty, and fled to Jiangnan because his father was killed by Later Tang Mingzong Li Siyuan. Before leaving, he said to his friend: "If Wu Ruo uses me as a picture, he should drive for a long time to fix the Central Plains." ”
Han Xizai only saw this opportunity in the 21st year of Jiangnan, and Shangshu requested that an army be sent, pointing out that if the Khitan lord returned to the north and there was a lord in the Central Plains, things would not be easy to handle.
However, the Southern Tang Dynasty was first tripped by the Fujian incident and could not act, and then suffered a major defeat in Fuzhou, killing more than 20,000 people, losing vitality, let alone talking about the Central Plains in Beiding.
03, become a minister of the Later Zhou
Let's look at the Battle of Hunan.
In the ninth year of Baoda (951), the Ma brothers in Hunan fought for the country, the generals were in a state of war, and the last ma Xichong, who was established by the generals, was afraid of being killed by his subordinates, and asked the Southern Tang to send troops to protect them. Therefore, the Southern Tang sent Bianhao to take Tan Prefecture (潭州) (present-day Changsha) from Jiangxi, and Liu Renzhan from Wuchang to take Yue Prefecture and destroy Chu in one fell swoop.
The Southern Tang Dynasty emperors were so happy that they forgot about it. Li Jing thought that "the world is one family" and was just around the corner. Wei Cen would actually say at the banquet: "Your Majesty will set the Central Plains, and beg Wei Bo to be a moderate envoy." Li Jing actually agreed, and Wei Cen immediately knelt down to xie en. They have obviously forgotten the hardships of the Battle of Fujian.
But there are also sober-minded people who have already sent a message to former prime minister Li Jianxun and said worriedly: "I am afraid that a great calamity will start from here!" His prophecy soon became a reality.
When the Southern Tang Dynasty destroyed Chu, it was already in the first year of the Later Zhou Taizu (Guo Wei) Guangshun (951). The following year, the old Hunan general Liu Yan and others rebelled against Tang, and the Tang army was quickly driven away.
Why is it so easy to lose? There was a general named Sun Lang, who first defected from Huaibei to Southern Tang, and then rebelled against Tang in Hunan. He said: "Lang has been in Jinling for several years, and he has seen his political affairs, and there are no virtuous ministers in the dynasty, no good generals in the army, no distinction between loyalty and loyalty, and improper rewards and punishments. "Sun Lang's personality is not advisable, but it is quite reasonable to say.
Tang used the border pickaxe to take Hunan, and then used him to defend Hunan. The border picks are not cruel and can do good things, but they are by no means good. He participated in the battle to conquer Jianzhou, and was known as the "Bianfozi" because he could save the lives of his captives. When he entered Tanzhou, the military discipline was strict, and the shops on the street could be opened as usual. In the famine in Hunan, he sent grain to the Ma family to relieve the hungry. The people of Tanzhou call him "Bian Bodhisattva".
Li Jing lost Hunan, and he was extremely frustrated and did not want to fight with soldiers. However, the Later Zhou Dynasty had become stronger, and the Southern Tang Dynasty was inevitably under pressure from the Central Plains Dynasty.
In the fifth year of later Zhou Xiande (958), Li Jing, in the situation of repeated defeats, gave up the land north of the Yangtze River, abolished the imperial title, changed his name to "Lord of the State", and used Later Zhou Zhengshuo instead, not even using his own era name.
Li Jing, the lord of the Southern Tang Dynasty, died in the second year of the Song Dynasty (961). During the reign of the famous poet Li Yu (Later Lord) (961-975), the Southern Tang dynasty was merely a vassal of the Song Dynasty.
The above is a brief process of the rise and fall of the Southern Tang Dynasty.
04, failed to adapt to the current situation, defeat becomes inevitable
Let us further ask: Why did this great state that could make a difference go into decline? Where is the "non- and non-also" of "so the walker"?
According to the author's opinion, the reason is that the guidelines and policies of the Southern Tang government cannot meet the needs of the times.
The advantage of Li Sheng's policy was that the people were given the opportunity to recuperate, but the disadvantage was that conditions were not created for the unification of the north and the south. He paid attention to guarding against his generals, and as a result, he weakened the national power.
Lord Li Jing is versatile, good at riding and shooting, working on poetry, and writing eight points (Lishu) in Jiangnan. But what the times needed was an experienced, able to judge the situation, and a military talent, and the lord was an excellent Hanlin scholar, but not a qualified emperor. He changed the policy of not using soldiers in Liezu, but did not implement the policy corresponding to the use of troops, and the most important thing was that he did not implement the policy of discovering talent and reorganizing the army and the economy.
We believe that Jiangnan is not without talents, in the confrontation with the Later Zhou, Liu Renzhan insisted on holding Shouzhou for several years, and Chai Kehong led thousands of old and disabled people to save Changzhou and defeat Wu Yuebing, all of which were outstanding, but they were not people who had always been valued.
Feng Yanmi, the chancellor whom the director of the central government used for the longest time, was a famous lyricist, not a capable minister who governed the country. The Wild History's "Fishing Rock Talk" refers to Feng Yanmi and his brothers Yanlu, Wei Cen, Chen Jue, and Cha Wenhui as the "Five Ghosts", which is likely to be a tactic of the enemy and may not be in line with the facts. However, Yan Mi did not have the talent to rule the world, but there was no doubt.
What we can conclude is that the Southern Tang dynasty, headed by literati and scholars, did not implement the policies needed to revitalize the national power, so when the Later Zhou and Northern Song Dynasties rose, it inevitably ended in decline.
Of course, the Southern Tang Dynasty made considerable contributions to the revitalization of culture. We will explain this situation in another chapter on the culture of the five generations.
Classic General History of China (16 volumes) ¥168 purchase
The content of this article is compiled from the "Five Dynasties History" of the Chinese reading book "Classic Chinese General History" jointly created by China International Broadcasting Publishing House and "Reading History".
There are 16 books in the complete set of "Classic Chinese General History", namely: "Xia Shang History", "Western Zhou History", "Spring and Autumn History", "Warring States History", "Qin and Han History (Part I)", "Qin and Han History (Part 2)", "Three Kingdoms History", "Two Jin And Northern And Southern Dynasties History", "Sui and Tang History (Part 1)", "Sui and Tang History (Part 2)", "Five Dynasties History", "Song Dynasty History", "Yuan Dynasty History", "Ming Dynasty History", "Early Qing Dynasty History", "Late Qing History".
This set of books was carefully compiled by more than a dozen older historians born in the first half of the last century and took several years to compile. From the historical migration of xia and shang to the late Qing dynasty, the panoramic depiction of 5,000 years of Chinese history is professional and authoritative, and it is easy to understand, suitable for all ages, passing down classics, and it is worth learning and cherishing.