History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 8 "Annam War" (Part )
Cai Jing deceived the emperor and lied about military intelligence, which eventually led to Nanzhao's invasion of Annan. Comrade Cai Xi died a heroic death in the war, and his entire family of 70 people were brutally massacred by Nanzhao.

After Cai Jing took office as the governor of Lingnan West, he continued to be corrupt and abused his power, extorting the people's wealth, and revealed his more abnormal and perverted side. He was fond of torture such as burning with fire and slicing, and liked to kill people. Not long after, he was expelled by a mutiny in the army. Fearing that his crimes would be exposed, he privately carved official seals, forged court documents, and illegally recruited troops in an attempt to retake Lingxi, but suffered another disastrous defeat.

In the end, all of Cai Jing's crimes could not escape justice and he was exiled and died in Yazhou.

Cai Jing was a monk in his early years. He was well-read and had profound literary attainments. He was appreciated by Linghu Chu, who had a unique vision and was a great talent. He advised Cai Jing to return to secular life and enter the world. Cai Jing then returned to secular life and took the imperial examination. As expected, he passed the examination and became an official. In addition to Cai Jing, Linghu Chu also discovered a talented person, the famous Li Shangyin.

"Complete Tang Poems" includes three poems by Cai Jing, one of which "Ode to Zigui" is the most famous, because one of the lines "Condensed into tears in front of the purple frontier wind, startled the heart in the dream of Red Mansions" is regarded by many experts and scholars as the source of the title of "Dream of Red Mansions".

Coincidentally, there was a great talent and calligrapher in the late Northern Song Dynasty, also named Cai Jing. Those who have read "Water Margin" must be familiar with him. He was the leader of the six treacherous ministers in the Northern Song Dynasty, and a treacherous minister who was more hateful than Gao Qiu. Both Cai Jings had deep attainments in literature and poetry, and were also treacherous ministers who committed ten unforgivable crimes.

Duan Wenchu, Li Tao, Cai Jing and others caused endless damage to the country, which eventually led to a long-term tug-of-war between the two countries in the Annan region and plunged them into the quagmire of war.

Prime Minister Du Chong gave advice to Emperor Yizong of Tang and advocated a peaceful resolution of the conflict with Nanzhao. He first sent an envoy to offer condolences and told Shilong that if he was willing to change his name, the Tang Dynasty would grant him an imperial title.

Shilong's name is taboo. It violates the taboos of both Emperor Taizong Li Shimin and Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji, so he is "the king of kings with two taboos". For this reason, he is often called "Chilong" in the history books of the Tang Dynasty.

The proposal is very good, and both sides can save face without losing face.

However, the rapid deterioration of the war situation ultimately led to the failure of the envoy to be delivered.

In fact, even if the envoys were delivered, the war would not end, because the initiative of the war did not lie with the Tang Dynasty, but with Nanzhao.

Please recall my wording just now. The brutal and wanton taxation by the Tang Dynasty border generals was an internal cause of the "rapid fall" of the Annan region, not the internal cause of the "outbreak of war" in the Annan region.

The "Annam War" is not an accidental incident, nor is it an escalated version of regional conflict. It is a logical necessity.

Emperor Yizong of Tang does not need to take the blame for this, and the Tang Dynasty does not need to blame itself either.

We need to know our enemy as well as ourselves. We only need to take a look at the domestic situation of Nanzhao to immediately understand why this war was a logical necessity.

Shilong, the newly enthroned ruler of Nanzhao, was 16 years old. At 16, he was still a child! People who were sensitive to history and politics could guess the truth just by looking at this number. That's right, the young ruler ascended the throne, power fell into the hands of others, and the regent ministers were all powerful in the court...

Behind the 16-year-old Shilong is a powerful official who has the final say over everything. This powerful official is Wang Shadian.

Wang Shadian was originally a Jiedushi of Nanzhao (Nanzhao also set up Jiedushi according to the system of the Tang Dynasty). In 816 AD, he killed the Nanzhao king Quan Longsheng and enthroned his younger brother Quan Lisheng, and from then on he monopolized power. In 823 AD, the 22-year-old Quan Lisheng died suddenly, and Wang Shadian enthroned his younger brother Quan Fengyou. In 859 AD, Quan Fengyou died, and Wang Shadian enthroned his son Shilong.

By this time, Wang Shadian had been at the core of power in Nanzhao for more than 40 years, and he was so powerful that he could cover the sky with one hand. After Shilong came to power, Wang Shadian still controlled the Nanzhao regime as the regent.

Cao Cao in the late Han Dynasty and Oboi in the early Qing Dynasty were both far behind and felt inferior to him.

Just like Emperor Xian of Han and Emperor Kangxi, the young Shilong was unwilling to be a puppet at the mercy of others, and eliminating Wang Shadian became Shilong's top priority after coming to power.

Although Shilong was young, he was experienced, mature and scheming. His approach was a combination of Emperor Xian of Han and Emperor Kangxi: first he won over those who hated Wang Shadian, especially the nobles who held military power, and secretly formed an "anti-Wang Shadian united front" (Emperor Xian of Han issued an imperial edict to attack Cao Cao). After careful planning, he set a trap to lure Wang Shadian over, and then killed him with one strike (Kangxi captured Oboi).

If he just eliminated the powerful ministers, it would not be enough to show Shilong's great talent and strategy. It is easy to kill a powerful minister, but it is even more difficult to regain the power that has been divided by the ministers for a long time.

After eliminating the powerful ministers, Shilong made full use of the contradictions between the nobles and nobles, checked and balanced them, and gained power through political games. In the end, he gained the upper hand and consolidated the royal power. Founding a country and becoming emperor was his political chess move. The political status of the whole country was improved, the whole people benefited, and he gained widespread support and countless fans.

In order to divert domestic political conflicts, improve his own reputation and consolidate his ruling position, Shilong then launched a foreign war.

The choice of war targets also reveals Shilong's wisdom and courage.

Before Shilong ascended the throne, Nanzhao had just sent troops to help Pyu (now Myanmar) defeat Shizi (now Sri Lanka). The supreme commander of this brazen military action of interfering in the internal affairs of another country was General Duan Zongbang.

It was also at the time of triumph that Duan Zongbang tricked Wang Shadian into welcoming the golden Buddha together, and while Wang Shadian was worshipping the Buddha, he hacked him to death with a knife.

If he continued to use military force against the South Asian countries, it would undoubtedly enhance Duan Zongbang's reputation. It was hard to guarantee that Duan Zongbang would not become the second Wang Shadian.

Shilong was ambitious and domineering. He did not pick on the weak, but instead directed his attack directly at his former suzerain state, the world's most powerful country at that time - the Tang Dynasty.

In addition to gaining prestige through foreign wars, he could also cultivate his own followers in the army, thereby regaining military power. In particular, he could disintegrate Duan Zongbang's power in South Asia.

Therefore, launching a war against the Tang Dynasty was an option that would achieve multiple goals at once for Shilong.

This is the fundamental reason for the outbreak of the "Annam War". War is the continuation of politics.

The "Annam War" lasted for seven years.

During this period, Shilong continuously increased the number of troops, from the initial thousands to 30,000, from 30,000 to 50,000, and finally up to 200,000! Some records also say it was 300,000. In short, he basically used all the strength of the country.

Shilong also achieved brilliant military results. He once incorporated Annan into the territory of Nanzhao and set up the "Annan Jiedushi".

Finally, in October of the seventh year of Xiantong (866), the Tang Dynasty recovered Annan and drove the Nanzhao invaders out of Tang territory. The "Annan War" ended.

The result of this war was also rather ironic, in that there were no losers.

The Tang Dynasty maintained its sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity and won;

Shilong also achieved its strategic goal and did not lose.

Nanzhao's great general Duan Zongbang was killed by the Tang Dynasty in this war. This was an unexpected surprise for Shilong.

At this point, the Nanzhao Kingdom formed a situation in which the military and civilians across the country were closely united around the centralized power system with Comrade Shilong as the core, working together and having one mind.

In the early stages of the war, Nanzhao was in a favorable situation and even had an overwhelming advantage over the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty had no intention of "playing dumb". On the one hand, its military presence in the region was weak, and on the other hand, it was due to strategic misjudgments by high-level officials. There was also another factor that constrained it, which was the fire in the backyard - the military rebellion in Xuzhou.

Thanks to "Book Friend 20180121110920727" and "Police Officer Benjamin" for their recommendations!
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(End of this chapter)