Late Tang

(Thanks to Xiao Feilong ぜ sword and half knife zsz for their support, thank you!)

Chang'an, coming at a gallop.

"Great victory, Qi Guogong Li Situ led the town [***] to defeat Goguryeo and the Bohai coalition forces, wiped out [-] enemies, recovered the Liaodong Peninsula and Pyongyang, and raised our Tang army! Hurry up, Qi Guogong, strong, Zhen [***] !"

On the notice wall in front of the gate of Fangshi, a middle-aged scholar with Luo Shafu's head, a moon-white robe and a gray beard, with a passionate expression, pointed at the notice with wet ink, and chanted loudly, with a melodious voice.Behind, countless people from the market gathered, and more and more people gathered around.

"Qi Guogong Li Situ? Is that the Marshal Li who led the troops into Beijing the year before last?" someone asked.

"Except for this Marshal Li, who else has such abilities. It's amazing. Datang has lost Liaodong for more than a hundred years. I never thought that Marshal Li would be so powerful. In the first battle, he beat the barbarians outside the customs and wiped out the enemy in one fell swoop. One hundred thousand, to regain the peninsula and Pyongyang."

"Where is Pyongyang?" someone asked again.

"Is this Pyongyang? I heard that it was the capital of the former Koguryo Kingdom. It is three thousand miles from Chang'an to Youzhou, and there is still two thousand miles from Youzhou to Pyongyang. It is far away from us!"

The distance of five thousand miles, in the hearts of many people, is a distance that can never be crossed.Unexpectedly, Li Situ was so powerful that he fought all the way to such a far place.

Li Shan Huaqing Palace, where the emperor Li Xuan was soaking in the hot spring pool, Zhang Tai in Chang'an Daming Palace immediately rushed to the Huaqing Palace to report the victory in person after receiving the news of the Lijiabao victory in Liaodong.Li Xuan heard that Li Jing fought a big victory in a place he had never heard of. In the first battle, he wiped out [-] Hu troops and recovered the entire Liaodong Peninsula from the mouth of the Yalu River to the mouth of the Liaohe River. When they visited Pyongyang and surrounding areas south of the Yalu River, they couldn't help but be overjoyed.

"Annihilate [-] enemies? Has the news been confirmed?"

Zhang Tai hurriedly said: "It has been confirmed that Li Situ has been making preparations since he took over the southern part of the Liaodong Peninsula last year. As soon as the Liaohai Sea melted, he quietly assembled an army of [-] troops, set off from the sea, and went directly to Goguryeo and Koguryo. The rear of the Bohai Navy caught them by surprise. First cut off the retreat route of the Bohai people and then cut off their food roads. They surrounded and did not attack for the first two months. When the enemy's food was exhausted, they were forced to break through. Turn passive into active. A series of battles were extremely exciting. The Goguryeo and Bohai people originally had the upper hand, but their army was divided into several parts. The Bohai people in Chengcheng and Fuyu were blocked to the north of the Qianshan Mountains on the line of Anshicheng. They defeated each of them, and Li Situ really used his troops like a god."

"Fight well, raise my prestige in the heaven and the kingdom!" Li Xuan, who is already 16 years old, is getting older, and he is gradually paying attention to Li Tang's state affairs.As early as when Empress Wu came to court, Li Tang had almost lost control of the land of Anton, and after the Anshi Rebellion, he completely lost control.Since Li Jing took office as the chief protector of Anton, he did not ask for a penny from the court or a single soldier, but with the strength of a town, he won successive battles and recovered the entire Liaodong Peninsula from the recovery of southern Liaoning. This is really great. Increase Li Tang's prestige.He, the Son of Heaven, also felt very excited.

"I want to reward Li Jiyu heavily!"

"Your Majesty, at the same time that Li Zhenguo sent someone to deliver the good news, he also sent someone to send a gift list. The tribute worth 500 million guan is on its way to the west. There are Silla women, Bohai prisoners of war, and Goguryeo slaves, as well as war horses, Eagle-flying sea dongqing, Dengzhou salt, as well as Dengzhou glass, fine wine, perfume and so on.”

Hearing that Li Jing sent so many offerings again, Li Xuan couldn't help laughing.Recently, although Huang Chao was driven to the south of the Yangtze River by the officers and soldiers, the rebellious thieves have made the court's tax and wealth sources black smoke. The Zhengshitang has reported that half of the states in the southeast will not be able to pay their taxes this year. Great loss.It's still Li Jing who is reliable and loyal to the emperor and patriotic.Not only helped the imperial court recover the Liaodong Peninsula, but also always sent a large amount of money and silk when he needed it.

"If all the ministers in the world were half as loyal as Li Jiyu, the Tang Dynasty would have been rejuvenated long ago, and would continue to flourish. Zhang Tai, you say that Li Jiyu is so loyal, what should I reward him with?"

Zhang Tai smiled: "Li Situ's loyalty is well known in the world, no matter how your majesty rewards you, thunder, rain and dew are your grace." After a pause, he continued, "The envoy sent by Li Situ also sent a letter of request to the Political Affairs Hall , but was rejected by Lu Xiangguo."

"What request?" Li Xuan asked.

"The thing is like this. After Li Situ recovered Liaodong, he resettled prefectures and counties in the recovered land. Currently, Liaodong Peninsula has established Jinzhou, Jizhou, Jianzhou, Anzhou, and Xiuzhou, and Pyongyang has established Cheongju. Six In addition to the two prefectures of Pingzhou and Denglai, Li Situ has temporarily promoted the officials of Kyushu and other counties, and this time he hopes that the imperial court will approve and formally appoint them."

"Lu Xie didn't agree?" Li Xuan asked.

Zhang Tai nodded, Lu Xie did not agree, it was because Tian Lingzi did not agree.Li Jing now owns the territory of nine states, plus the territory of fifteen counties in Ziqing Town, Li Jing occupies a huge territory.Although Li Jing's development in Liaodong made Tian Lingzi lower his vigilance for a while, Li Jing took the Liaodong Peninsula in less than three years, which was still beyond Tian Lingzi's expectations.Li Jing's development is too fast, and if Li Jing is given more time, Li Jing will be able to level the entire Liaodong and Liaoxi.At that time, Li Jing held a heavy army, who could really check and balance him.Tian Lingzi felt that he was deceived by Li Jing. Li Jing crossed the sea to manage Liaodong, making him think that Li Jing could not threaten him again. Who expected such a result.

Under such circumstances, he wanted to infiltrate Li Jing's territory.Li Jing wanted to appoint officials from various states and counties by himself, and he could no longer tolerate it.

Li Xuan thought for a while, and roughly understood some of the reasons for Lu Xie's refusal.He knew early on that Tian Lingzi and Li Jing were at odds, but as he got older, he began to have a better understanding of how to control his subordinates.Both Tian Lingzi and Li Jing were his important ministers. They had a fight, and earlier he hoped to resolve it and make them reconcile.But now, he felt that the discord between the two important ministers was actually a good thing for him.Li Jing and Tian Lingzi are at odds, he is the referee, and they both need the support of the emperor.And he can let the two check and balance each other.

Tian Lingzi kept whispering bad things about Li Jing in his ears, saying that Li Jing was arrogant and domineering.But Li Xuan didn't think so. Li Jing might have some shortcomings, but Li Jing's loyalty to him was still very sincere, at least until now Li Jing didn't show any disobedience.He needs Li Jing, he needs Li Jing's generous contribution, he needs Li Jing, a powerful courtier, and his soldiers.With a capable minister like Li Jing around, all the feudal towns in the world will be more respectful to the imperial court.

As for Li Jing's self-respect and disobedience, Li Xuan didn't quite believe it.He asked Li Jing to serve as the envoy of Ziqing Jiedu, but Li Jing only controlled half of the territory in Ziqing Town, and even gave up half of the territory to Wang Jingwu.If Li Jing really had the heart of disobedience, how could he give up Qingqizi and other places to Wang Jingwu, instead of developing in the Central Plains, he would develop overseas in Liaodong.

At least, when Li Shidao separatized Qingzhou, he developed towards the Central Plains and occupied the territories of the Tianping Army and the Taining Army.If Li Jing doesn't develop towards the Central Plains, it means that Li Jing doesn't have such disobedience.

"When I appointed Li Jing as the chief protector of Anton, I made it clear that the affairs of Anton were all up to him to decide. The court should support his decision on the appointment of officials from the new states and counties in Liaodong. On this matter, the Zhenhui and the Zhengshitang Gentlemen explain."

On the same day, Li Xuan drove back to Beijing. On the second day, he convened the ministers of the Political Affairs Hall, the envoys of the left and right courts of the Privy Council, the envoys of the North and South Courts of Xuanwei Academy, and the left and right lieutenants of the Shence Army in Yanying Hall to discuss the matter together.

"Li Situ regained the Liaodong Peninsula and Pyongyang, and restored most of our old land in Andong. His achievements are outstanding, and he exalts our prestige and restores our territory. I am very pleased. I have decided to reward Li Situ greatly and confer the title of King of Andong County on Li Situ! "As soon as Li Xuan sat down, he immediately uttered an astonishing sentence.

Zhu Xiangguo and the powerful eunuchs present were stunned when they heard this.

There are quite a few kings with different surnames in the Tang Dynasty, but every king with a different surname is a remarkable figure, and has the merit of recreating the Great Tang Dynasty.After the Anshi Rebellion, such as Guo Ziyi, the king of Fenyang County, and Li Guangbi, the king of Linhuai County, even ascended to the throne of Linhuai King when they were Daizong.

During Daizong and Dezong's reign, Li Sheng was said to have contributed to rebuilding the Tang Dynasty. He was first granted the title of King of Hechuan County because of the great defeat of Tubo, and later he was also named King of Xiping County for suppressing the rebellion during the Jingyuan Mutiny.Ma Sui and Hun Yu, who were contemporaries of Li Sheng, were also conferred the titles of King of Beiping County and King of Xianning County because of their meritorious devotion to heaven.

There are also some vassals with different surnames, such as Tian Chengsi, Li Huaixian, Zhu Xicai, Huaixi Li Xilie and other powerful vassals in the three towns of Hebei who are beyond the control of the court and threaten the court. .

In addition, there are some who rebelled first and then surrendered and were crowned kings. For example, when the imperial court conquered Li Shigu, the governor of Ziqing, Li Shigu's general Liu Wu rebelled first and then surrendered, and turned his back on the battle and defeated Li Shigu for the court. In ancient times, after the war, the imperial court honored him as Minister of the Ministry of Inspection and Industry, as well as a doctor of imperial history, an envoy of the Yicheng Army, and the king of Pengcheng County.

In the Tang Dynasty, there were more than 100 kings with different surnames, which can be said to be extremely large in all dynasties.However, since Xianzong, there have been very few kings with different surnames, and almost no kings with different surnames due to merit.

Those who changed their surnames with words such as "An", "Ping", "Ning" and "Ding" in their titles all had different surnames due to meritorious service, such as Li Sheng, king of Xiping County, Li Xilie of Nanping, and Ma Sui of Beiping.

The emperor Li Xuan wanted to give Li Jing a different surname as the king, and he named him the king of Andong County.Although Li Jing's surname is Li, he is not the king of Li Tangzong. He is also a king with a different surname.After becoming a king, he enjoys the same rights and treatment as the clan kings. The county king is from the first rank, but he can shade his sons to the fifth rank officials, and even his descendants can inherit the title.In the early Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong discussed feudalism with his ministers, and formulated the system that different surnames are not meritorious and not kings.

Although the current Tang Dynasty is not as powerful as it was in the past, and the title of king is not as glorious as it was in the past, but the king is still beyond the reach of ordinary people.Since the three dynasties from Xuanzong to Yizong and the current emperor, there has never been a king with a different surname.

The emperor wanted to make Li Jing the king of Andong County, the first king with a different surname since the Three Dynasties.

The generals were dumbfounded and didn't react for a while.

"Immediately draw up an imperial edict and proclaim it to the world, add Li Jing as King of Andong County, and seal [-] households with real food." Li Yan did not discuss with the ministers, but directly issued the order. "In addition, I have read the list of officials from the prefectures and counties under the Anton Governor's Mansion that Li Jing asked for. I have read all of them. The Ministry of Officials will issue an official complaint immediately." After speaking, Li Xuan got up and left.

Sitting in the hall, Tian Lingzi kept watching the figure of the Son of Heaven go away, and finally turned around and disappeared, feeling an indescribable loss in his heart.He knew that he couldn't reverse this matter! (To be continued.)