History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 932: Southern Tang Relocation of Capital
[Southern Tang moved its capital]

In the first month of 960, Zhao Kuangyin established the Song Dynasty. In October, Li Chongjin of Yangzhou rebelled and sent envoys to collude with Li Jing. Li Jing had no courage to offend the Central Plains, so he politely declined. In November, Li Chongjin was defeated and burned himself to death. Li Jing sent his son Li Congyi to pay tribute to the Song Dynasty to congratulate the Heavenly Dynasty for pacifying the rebels in Yangzhou.

As expected, Zhao Kuangyin used Li Chongjin's collusion as an excuse to accuse Southern Tang of "collaborating with traitors" and then used this as an excuse to raise an army, cross the river and destroy Southern Tang.

As mentioned earlier, Zhao Kuangyin was still wavering between fighting and not fighting, so on the one hand he reprimanded the envoys of Southern Tang, on the other hand he conducted large-scale military exercises on the Yangtze River to intimidate and threaten Shengzhou on the other side, hoping that under the dual pressure of political and military forces he would force Li Jing to surrender without a fight, and thus recover Jiangnan without bloodshed.

Feng Yanlu, the envoy of Southern Tang, argued vigorously, first removing the label of "traitor" and portraying Southern Tang as a hero in the elimination of Li Chongjin. Facing the military threat from Song Dynasty, Feng Yanlu said that although Southern Tang would lose after the war, but still an old dog has some teeth, and Song Dynasty must be prepared to sacrifice tens of thousands of people, so don't push us honest people into a corner!

In the end, after repeated considerations, Zhao Kuangyin gave up the plan to cross the river. Feng Yanlu, one of the core members of the "Four Evils and Five Ghosts", successfully extended the life of the Southern Tang Dynasty for 15 years with his eloquence.

However, this military exercise still caused a huge psychological shadow to Li Jing, making this frightened bird more determined to move the capital. Shengzhou is too far from heaven and too close to the Song Dynasty.

In February 961, Li Jing moved the capital to Hongzhou.

In November 959, Hongzhou was upgraded to Nanchang Prefecture by Li Jing. By February 11, the construction period was just over a year. Its infrastructure, economic development and other conditions were obviously not comparable to those of Yangzhou, Shengzhou and other old first-tier cities. Hongzhou was not prepared to become the capital of the empire, so all the civil and military officials wanted to return home and their hearts were shaken.

After retiring from court, Li Jing would often climb to a high place and gaze into the distance, weeping as he looked towards the direction of Shengzhou.

When the relocation of the capital was discussed, only the Privy Councilor Tang Hao strongly supported it. Now, Li Jing regretted the relocation of the capital, so he wanted to use Tang Hao as a scapegoat and kill him to thank the world. After Tang Hao got the inside information, he was terrified and eventually died of excessive fright. There are also unofficial historical records that Tang Hao hanged himself.

Afterwards, Li Jing planned to hold a meeting to discuss returning the capital to Shengzhou. However, Li Jing suddenly fell ill at this time, and his condition deteriorated rapidly, so that he could not eat normally and could only drink some porridge to maintain his life.

According to "Jiangnan Wild History", Li Jing was originally going to host a banquet for his ministers in the Golden Palace to discuss the matter of returning to the capital, but suddenly he saw the wronged ghost of Song Qiuqiu rushing in, pointing at Li Jing's nose and cursing. Li Jing screamed and fell ill from then on.

In June, Li Jing wrote a suicide note in his own handwriting, instructing on his funeral arrangements. He then died of illness in Changchun Palace at the age of 6, leaving us prematurely.

In his suicide note, Li Jing expressed his wish to be buried on the spot in the West Mountain of Hongzhou. No mausoleum should be built. Simply digging a few feet of thin soil would be enough. Anyone who disobeyed his order would be considered a unfaithful minister and a filial son.

His successor was of course Li Yu, the last emperor of Southern Tang, but at this time Li Yu was still called "Li Congjia". For the sake of convenience, we will always call him by his most well-known name, Li Yu.

Li Yu could not bear to let his father be buried in such a remote place, so he disobeyed the order and brought Li Jing's coffin back to Shengzhou, temporarily placed the spirit in the Wanshou Hall, and then sent envoys to Song to express his condolences and request that his father be posthumously honored as emperor.

Upon hearing the bad news, Zhao Kuangyin suspended court for five days to show his mourning and agreed to restore Li Jing's title to the emperor. Li Jing was given the posthumous title "Emperor Mingdao Chongde Wenxiao" and the temple name Yuanzong. In the first month of the following year (962), Li Jing was buried in Shunling, Shengzhou, next to the Qinling of his father Xu Zhigao (Li Bian).

Li Jing loved literature and had a high level of attainment in poetry, which influenced Li Yu. In the History of Ci, Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty, Li Jing and his son, and Li Yi'an of the Song Dynasty were collectively referred to as the "Three Lis". The four of them are recognized as the "three great poets" in the ci world. Later generations often only remember Li Yu, but do not know that his father Li Jing was also a master of poetry.

The works of the father and son are included in "The Poems of the Two Lords of the Southern Tang Dynasty". Let us appreciate Li Jing's literary talent:

"Huanxisha:

The lotus fragrance fades and the green leaves wither; the west wind stirs up the green waves with worry.

I have become haggard and exhausted due to the passing of time, and I am no longer a sight to behold!
The drizzle dreamed of returning to Jisai far away, and the cold wind blew through the small building.

How many tears and endless hatred, leaning on the railing. "

At first glance, the words "small building", "railings" and "hate" seem to be written by Li Yu. Pity this father and son who lost their country.

The historians gave a generally positive evaluation of Li Jing's reign, saying that he was in power for twenty years and could be described as "kind, benevolent, respectful, respectful to the wise and loving the people, with the qualities of a benevolent ruler." It was just that he fought the wrong war at the wrong time, in the wrong place, and against the wrong enemy, which led to the decline of the Southern Tang Dynasty and sowed the seeds of its demise.

Note that this wrong war does not refer to the "Three Expeditions to Huainan", but the military actions of Southern Tang's active external expansion during its peak period, such as the military actions against Min and Southern Chu. The war of aggression and aggression exhausted the body, so it was unable to cope with the military attack of Chai Rong of the Later Zhou.

So the historian also recorded that after the destruction of Southern Chu, some people suggested that Li Jing take a rest and recuperate, and it would be best not to start a war again within ten years. Li Jing sighed and said, "It's more than ten years. I will never start a war in my life."

The historians felt extremely sorry about this, saying that Li Jing was heartbroken, realized his mistakes, and had made up his mind to correct them. Unfortunately, history did not give him a chance. Chai Rong of the Later Zhou Dynasty subsequently launched the Huai River Campaign. Li Jing was defeated and was forced to cede land, pay compensation, and move the capital. He was depressed and died of depression at the age of 46.

As the saying goes, a prodigal son who returns is worth more than gold. Li Jing was ready to turn over a new leaf and make a new life, but history did not give him this opportunity, which is really regrettable.

The responsibility of changing the country's destiny fell on Li Yu's shoulders. Can he take on the responsibility of reviving the Southern Tang?

Thanks to old friends "Yang Kui" and "Damahu22" for their monthly ticket support!

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(End of this chapter)