Chapter 397: Planning for Nanzhao
The next day, Li Heng took the initiative to find Feng Changqing to discuss matters concerning Heng said bluntly: "I heard from General Zhang that Chang Qing wants to discuss the Nanzhao issue with me?"
"Yes." Feng Changqing replied.
Li Ying asked: "Does Chang Qing think we should attack Nanzhao?"
Feng Changqing pondered, "The biggest concern of the Tang Dynasty has always been Tubo. Nanzhao can contain Tubo. If we attack Nanzhao and make them closely connected, it may be disadvantageous to the Tang Dynasty."
Li Heng asked: "So your suggestion is to attack Tubo first?"
Feng Changqing said: "I think that if we conquer Tubo first, Nanzhao will naturally submit."
From Feng Changqing's perspective, his advice was correct.
Because in Feng Changqing's view, Tubo and Nanzhao are both barbaric lands, and there is no difference in their governance. First, use the small ones to fight the big ones, and then deal with the small ones in the end.
However, the premise of Feng Changqing's advice was that Tubo must be fought.
But Li Heng doesn't think so.
Li Ying was familiar with history and knew that because it was a warm climate period, Tubo was at the peak of its national strength. There were nearly 10 million people on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. By the Qing Dynasty, there were only 2 million people, and in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were only million people.
Although, through his previous operations, the Tang Dynasty occupied Qinghai Lake and the Nine Bends of the Yellow River, advanced into Dayichuan and Mohuanchuan, and separated out Subi, Tubo still controlled at least seven million people.
Where there is population, there is combat effectiveness.
This is just one of them.
Secondly, Li Heng has not yet been able to completely solve the problem of altitude sickness caused by the Tang army's attack on Tubo. He had previously only asked the soldiers to adapt in advance, but such adaptation, on the one hand, required young and strong soldiers, and on the other hand, over time, it would damage the soldiers' bodies, which was not a long-term solution.
Third, in order to completely conquer Tubo, it is necessary to attack the Tubo capital, Lhasa. In this way, the supply line is too long, and the difficulty is completely not on the same level as attacking Qinghai Lake and the Nine Bends of the Yellow River.
In summary, if the Tang Dynasty wants to defeat Tubo, it needs to mobilize the entire country. By then, even if it can defeat Tubo, the Tang Dynasty will surely be defeated.
Moreover, the above three points are not only reflected in the aspect of fighting, but also in the aspect of governance.
Tubo had millions of people who had not been assimilated into the Han culture. The Tang Dynasty could not solve the altitude sickness, and the long transportation lines could not be managed at all.
It is difficult to fight and impossible to govern. In other words, if Tubo is conquered, the Tang Dynasty will be weak and the benefits will be negative.
So what's the point of hitting him?
Therefore, Li Heng said: "I have not thought about destroying Tubo now. As for Tubo, we only need to occupy Shibao City, Qinghai Lake and the Yellow River Jiuqu area, control Dafeichuan and Mohuanchuan, and divide them politically to ensure the safety of the Silk Road. This is enough. As for completely destroying Tubo, it will take a long time."
Feng Changqing was stunned when he heard this.
Li Heng told Feng Changqing the three points of his analysis.
After listening to this, Feng Changqing thought carefully and understood Li Heng's core demand.
The key reason why Li Heng did not attack Tubo was the issue of benefits.
Feng Changqing thought it made sense and said, "Compared to Tubo, Nanzhao has only a million people and is not as cold as Tubo. The difficulty of military operations lies in dealing with miasma and malaria. At least 30% of Tang soldiers who went to Nanzhao got sick. If we can deal with miasma and malaria, Nanzhao should be able to be conquered, and it will be relatively easier to govern."
Li Heng nodded and said, "I also have ways to deal with miasma and malaria."
Regarding the benefits of attacking Nanzhao, Li Heng did not mention one thing, which is that if the Age of Navigation is to begin in the future and Southeast Asia is to be conquered, the location of Nanzhao will be crucial.
Feng Changqing continued, "If we only take a defensive military approach against Tubo, and politically try to win it over while dividing its people internally, then we should really attack Nanzhao."
Li Ying asked, "How does Chang Qing think we should fight?"
Feng Changqing analyzed: "After all, Nanzhao and we are now maintaining a nominal peace. If we take direct action, we will have no legitimate reason to do so. I think we can start from two aspects."
Li Ying asked: "From which two aspects?"
Feng Changqing said: "First, Yaozhou and East Yunnan were originally the territory of the Tang Dynasty. Nanzhao first occupied East Yunnan, and then took advantage of the Anshi Rebellion to station troops in Yaozhou on the pretext of sending troops to help. They are not right in this regard. Second, start with Pyu, Pugan, Zhenla and other countries. Pyu and other countries were originally vassal states of the Tang Dynasty. Now Nanzhao has forcibly occupied them, and we can also help them restore their country."
Pyu and Pugan are today's Myanmar, and Chenla is today's Thailand and Cambodia.
Li Heng added: "Nanzhao is not a monolithic entity. Other barbarian tribes also have opinions about the dominance of the Baiman."
The core area of Nanzhao's rule was the Erhai Lake area, where there were a total of six Zhaos.
They are Mengxi Edict, Yuexi Edict, Langqiong Edict, Bichen Edict, Shilang Edict and Mengshe Edict.
Mengshe Zhao was located in the south of the other Zhaos and was called "Nan Zhao"
In the past, the other five ancient states were located on the east, west and north sides of Erhai Lake respectively.
When Nanzhao was unified, it formed an alliance with Baiman and merged with each other. Therefore, the political entity of Nanzhao was also called Baiman, while the other five Zhaos were called Wuman.
During the reign of Li Longji, in the 26th year of Kaiyuan, the Tang Dynasty helped Nanzhao unify the other five Zhaos. The reason was that the other five Zhaos were relatively barbaric and often plundered the Tang Dynasty border, while Nanzhao was close to the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, Li Longji wanted Nanzhao to control the other five Zhaos to ensure border security, while at the same time uniting to fight against Tubo.
It can be said that it was Li Longji who single-handedly raised Nanzhao.
However, after the unification, Nanzhao grew in power and ambition, and began to interfere in the eastern Yunnan region, which led Li Lin to lead his troops to attack.
Unfortunately, Li Lin was defeated and Nanzhao became even more powerful.
In addition to the Five Zhaos in the core area of Nanzhao, more than a dozen tribes including the Black Tooth Barbarians in the southeast and the Golden Tooth Barbarians in the southwest also had opinions about Nanzhao.
The areas of the Black Tooth Barbarians in the southeast are today's Laos, and the areas of the Golden Tooth Barbarians in the southwest are today's Dehong and Baoshan.
Feng Changqing understood what Li Heng meant and said, "This is a different time. Previously, the Tang Dynasty could support Nanzhao to unify the other five states, and now it can also support the other five states to divide Nanzhao."
"That's right." Li Heng nodded and said, "How to guard against Tubo, does Chang Qing have any plan?"
Feng Changqing said: "When Li Lin attacked Nanzhao before, Qinghai Lake and the Nine Bends of the Yellow River were still in the hands of Tubo. Jishishan, Mohuanchuan, and Suobei were also firmly controlled by Tubo, so Tubo could send troops to threaten Jiannan. But now, Qinghai Lake, the Nine Bends of the Yellow River, Jishishan, and Mohuanchuan are all in our hands, and the Suobei area has also been separated from Tubo. It is difficult for Tubo to pose a military threat to Jiannan. In addition, Wang Zhongsi is stationed in Longyou, and An Sishun is guarding Hexi. Together, they have held Tubo in Suobei. I believe Tubo will not dare to act rashly."
Li Heng said: "I want to win over Tubo and let them fight Nanzhao together."
Feng Changqing said: "I'm afraid Tubo will not help."
Li Heng said: "We don't need Tubo to help. We can win over Tubo. First, we want Tubo to stop causing trouble. Second, we want Nanzhao to feel isolated and helpless, which will dampen its morale."
"Your Majesty is wise." Feng Changqing agreed with Li Heng's words. After thinking for a while, he said, "We have to win over Tubo, help Pyu and Zhenla to restore their countries, and support the Five Zhao, Golden Tooth Barbarians, Black Tooth Barbarians and other countries to cause rebellion. If we act like this, it will probably take at least one or two years to send troops to Nanzhao."
Li Ying said: "Sharpening the knife does not delay the chopping of wood. Only by making full preparations can we win the battle with one strike."
In many battles, the outcome has actually been decided before they are fought, and military action is only the final result. Moreover, the current strength of Nanzhao is far from that of the current Khitan, so one or two years of preparation is already short.
Historically, Tubo was unable to capture Weizhou in western Sichuan, so they came up with an idea: they trained a beautiful Tubo woman and had her marry the general of Weizhou City. Over twenty years, she gave birth to two children. Twenty years later, Tubo attacked Weizhou, and the two sons acted as accomplices, so Weizhou City fell. Tubo then renamed Weizhou City Wuyou City.
Compared to this matter, Li Heng felt that this little preparation time was nothing.
Feng Changqing also knew this truth. The reason why he felt the term was long was because he wanted to achieve some results during his term and then return to the countryside.
But there was nothing wrong with Li Heng's plan, so Feng Changqing could only fully cooperate, thinking to himself, "It doesn't have to be me who will succeed."
Li Heng and Feng Changqing set the tone for the Nanzhao incident, and then summoned Gao Xianzhi, Ma Lin and Li Sheng to the court, asking them to work together with Yang Xuanlu, Wang Zhongsi, Xin Yunjing of Annan, and Hun Yu to plan their actions.
Gao Xianzhi was in charge of the overall situation.
Ma Lin is currently the Jiedushi of Jiannan. When Li Lin was attacking Nanzhao, he sent troops to support Jiannan, but was ambushed by Tubo and suffered a great loss. Therefore, he can understand Li Heng's intentions very well. After returning, he immediately began to make plans.
Li Sheng was the deputy envoy of Jiannan. Historically, he defeated the joint forces of Tubo and Nanzhao several times.
Xin Yunjing is currently the Jiedushi of Annan, and Hun Yu is his deputy. When it comes to fighting, Hun Yu is better than Xin Yunjing, but Xin Yunjing has been with Li Heng for too long, so he has more experience and higher prestige.
As for Wang Zhongsi, he was responsible for keeping an eye on Tubo.
……
In the second half of the fourth year of Ji De, basically no major events occurred, and the Tang Dynasty developed slowly in peace.
In the fifth year of Ji De, Champa rice began to be promoted in the southern region after the successful pilot projects in the previous two years. At the same time, the curved plow was promoted throughout the Tang Dynasty.
Woodblock printing gradually matured, book prices dropped, the Two-Tax System was steadily implemented, and the salt industry became increasingly developed with the mining of Zhuotong Well.
Compared with historical events, the damage caused by the Anshi Rebellion has been minimized. Li Heng brought his own team and gave the court a new lease of life. Coupled with institutional reforms and technological development, the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty has surpassed that of the Tianbao period, and politics is more than one level clearer than during the Tianbao period.
Throughout the Tang Dynasty, Li Heng was praised highly.
At the same time, Nanzhao was facing internal and external troubles.
The external threats were that Pyu and Zhenla successively rose up in rebellion against Nanzhao, and then Tubo and the Tang Dynasty held close talks, which seemed to be a sign of an alliance.
As for internal troubles, first the Heichi and Jinchi tribes in the southwest and southeast of Nanzhao rebelled, and then the other five old reactionary forces became restless and planned to unite to overthrow Nanzhao and surrender to the Tang Dynasty.
The former King of Nanzhao, Piloge, has died, and the current King of Nanzhao is Geluofeng.
After Geluofeng succeeded to the throne, he cleared out the old forces of the Five Zhaos and pacified the Jinchi, Heichi and other tribes. Externally, he occupied the eastern Yunnan region to the north, and took advantage of the Anshi Rebellion to occupy the Pyu Kingdom and Zhenla to the south, while at the same time he marched into Yaozhou.
Geluofeng's next plan was to fight with the Tang Dynasty in Yaozhou, and then take the opportunity to occupy Annan (now Vietnam, which belonged to the Tang Dynasty).
But unexpectedly, Li Heng put down the rebellion so quickly and soon began to deal with him.
In response to the chaotic situation, Geluofeng wrote a letter to the Tang Dynasty, requesting an alliance with the Tang Dynasty, trying to implement a delaying tactic.
At the same time, they acted quickly and with lightning speed, sweeping away the old reactionary forces of the Wuman Five Zhaos by both capturing and killing them.
Geluofeng's original policy towards the Wuman was to boil the frog in warm water and take his time, but this wave of instigation by the Tang Dynasty forced Geluofeng to suppress it forcefully, and the two sides started a civil war.
Eventually, the Wuman reactionary forces were defeated and their leader fled to Jiannan.
Geluofeng won the civil war.
However, when the civil war between Geluofeng and Wuman broke out, the Jinchi and Heichi barbarians in Pyu, Zhenla, and southern Nanzhao all rose up in rebellion and announced their allegiance to the Tang Dynasty.
Ge Luofeng urgently summoned his trusted aides Duan Zhongguo, Duan Quange, Feng Jiayi and other civil and military officials to discuss the matter.
The Duan family is the Baiman.
Ge Luofeng got straight to the point and said, "The situation is not favorable to us now. I plan to write a letter to request to submit to the Tang Dynasty."
"Your Majesty, you can't do that!" Duan Zhongguo advised hurriedly, "During the Tianbao period, the Tang Dynasty had 100,000 victorious troops attacking Nanzhao, but they were defeated. Although the Tang Dynasty is powerful now, our Nanzhao has developed over the years and is far beyond what it was during the Tianbao period. We can definitely fight!"
Ge Luofeng said: "Submission is a delaying tactic. As long as I can paralyze the Tang Dynasty, give me a year and I can put an end to all the rebellions. If this rebellion can be put down, all the forces will know that even if they submit to the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty cannot protect them. At that time, it will be even more difficult for the Tang Dynasty to start a war again."
Duan Zhongguo thought it made a lot of sense. He thought for a moment and said, "But the Emperor of Tang is not a fool. Will he accept our surrender?"
Ge Luofeng said: "We should return Yaozhou to the Tang Dynasty, pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty, and request to marry the Tang Dynasty princess and perform the son-in-law ceremony. This should be possible."
"That's the only way." Duan Zhongguo agreed.
Other civil and military officials also echoed it.
Nanzhao's letter of surrender was delivered to Li Heng at full speed.
At this time, it was already August of the fifth year of Ji De.
Li Heng summoned civil and military officials to discuss matters.
Civil officials such as Zhang Hao did not know that the rebellion in various parts of Nanzhao was the result of Li Heng's secret plotting by Ma Lin, Li Sheng, Xin Yunjing and others, so they were very happy to see Ge Luofeng's letter of surrender.
Zhang Hao said, "Your Majesty has blessed the whole world with grace, and people from all over the world have come to you to pay tribute. We have been negotiating with Nanzhao for several years about the land of Yaozhou, but they have not yet gotten it back. Now Nanzhao is willing to return it on its own initiative and pay tribute. This is a great joyous event. Your Majesty should immediately send someone to receive Geluofeng."
Li Heng did not answer and looked at Feng Changqing.
Feng Changqing asked: "Are you going to ignore the former vassal states of the Tang Dynasty, such as Pyu and Zhenla?"
Zhang Hao said: "Since Nanzhao has surrendered, your majesty ordered Nanzhao not to interfere with Pyu, Zhenla and other places, Nanzhao will certainly obey your order."
Feng Changqing couldn't help but smile when he heard this, and said, "During the reign of Emperor Taizong, the Eastern Turks were surrounded by enemies on all sides, and Jie Li Khan also requested to submit to the Tang Dynasty and marry a Tang princess to perform the son-in-law ceremony. What did Emperor Taizong do?"
After Feng Changqing mentioned this, Zhang Hao understood.
In 626 AD, Jie Li Khan of the Turkic empire led Turkic soldiers and lined up on the north bank of the Wei River with flags fluttering. They were only one step away from capturing Chang'an.
But three years later, in 629 AD, the Turkic kingdom fell apart and civil strife broke out.
In August of the same year, the Tang Dynasty sent an army of 100,000 to conquer the Turks.
Half a year later, in 630 AD, Jie Li Khan was taken to Chang'an and became the famous "Dance King of Chang'an".
(End of this chapter)
The next day, Li Heng took the initiative to find Feng Changqing to discuss matters concerning Heng said bluntly: "I heard from General Zhang that Chang Qing wants to discuss the Nanzhao issue with me?"
"Yes." Feng Changqing replied.
Li Ying asked: "Does Chang Qing think we should attack Nanzhao?"
Feng Changqing pondered, "The biggest concern of the Tang Dynasty has always been Tubo. Nanzhao can contain Tubo. If we attack Nanzhao and make them closely connected, it may be disadvantageous to the Tang Dynasty."
Li Heng asked: "So your suggestion is to attack Tubo first?"
Feng Changqing said: "I think that if we conquer Tubo first, Nanzhao will naturally submit."
From Feng Changqing's perspective, his advice was correct.
Because in Feng Changqing's view, Tubo and Nanzhao are both barbaric lands, and there is no difference in their governance. First, use the small ones to fight the big ones, and then deal with the small ones in the end.
However, the premise of Feng Changqing's advice was that Tubo must be fought.
But Li Heng doesn't think so.
Li Ying was familiar with history and knew that because it was a warm climate period, Tubo was at the peak of its national strength. There were nearly 10 million people on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. By the Qing Dynasty, there were only 2 million people, and in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were only million people.
Although, through his previous operations, the Tang Dynasty occupied Qinghai Lake and the Nine Bends of the Yellow River, advanced into Dayichuan and Mohuanchuan, and separated out Subi, Tubo still controlled at least seven million people.
Where there is population, there is combat effectiveness.
This is just one of them.
Secondly, Li Heng has not yet been able to completely solve the problem of altitude sickness caused by the Tang army's attack on Tubo. He had previously only asked the soldiers to adapt in advance, but such adaptation, on the one hand, required young and strong soldiers, and on the other hand, over time, it would damage the soldiers' bodies, which was not a long-term solution.
Third, in order to completely conquer Tubo, it is necessary to attack the Tubo capital, Lhasa. In this way, the supply line is too long, and the difficulty is completely not on the same level as attacking Qinghai Lake and the Nine Bends of the Yellow River.
In summary, if the Tang Dynasty wants to defeat Tubo, it needs to mobilize the entire country. By then, even if it can defeat Tubo, the Tang Dynasty will surely be defeated.
Moreover, the above three points are not only reflected in the aspect of fighting, but also in the aspect of governance.
Tubo had millions of people who had not been assimilated into the Han culture. The Tang Dynasty could not solve the altitude sickness, and the long transportation lines could not be managed at all.
It is difficult to fight and impossible to govern. In other words, if Tubo is conquered, the Tang Dynasty will be weak and the benefits will be negative.
So what's the point of hitting him?
Therefore, Li Heng said: "I have not thought about destroying Tubo now. As for Tubo, we only need to occupy Shibao City, Qinghai Lake and the Yellow River Jiuqu area, control Dafeichuan and Mohuanchuan, and divide them politically to ensure the safety of the Silk Road. This is enough. As for completely destroying Tubo, it will take a long time."
Feng Changqing was stunned when he heard this.
Li Heng told Feng Changqing the three points of his analysis.
After listening to this, Feng Changqing thought carefully and understood Li Heng's core demand.
The key reason why Li Heng did not attack Tubo was the issue of benefits.
Feng Changqing thought it made sense and said, "Compared to Tubo, Nanzhao has only a million people and is not as cold as Tubo. The difficulty of military operations lies in dealing with miasma and malaria. At least 30% of Tang soldiers who went to Nanzhao got sick. If we can deal with miasma and malaria, Nanzhao should be able to be conquered, and it will be relatively easier to govern."
Li Heng nodded and said, "I also have ways to deal with miasma and malaria."
Regarding the benefits of attacking Nanzhao, Li Heng did not mention one thing, which is that if the Age of Navigation is to begin in the future and Southeast Asia is to be conquered, the location of Nanzhao will be crucial.
Feng Changqing continued, "If we only take a defensive military approach against Tubo, and politically try to win it over while dividing its people internally, then we should really attack Nanzhao."
Li Ying asked, "How does Chang Qing think we should fight?"
Feng Changqing analyzed: "After all, Nanzhao and we are now maintaining a nominal peace. If we take direct action, we will have no legitimate reason to do so. I think we can start from two aspects."
Li Ying asked: "From which two aspects?"
Feng Changqing said: "First, Yaozhou and East Yunnan were originally the territory of the Tang Dynasty. Nanzhao first occupied East Yunnan, and then took advantage of the Anshi Rebellion to station troops in Yaozhou on the pretext of sending troops to help. They are not right in this regard. Second, start with Pyu, Pugan, Zhenla and other countries. Pyu and other countries were originally vassal states of the Tang Dynasty. Now Nanzhao has forcibly occupied them, and we can also help them restore their country."
Pyu and Pugan are today's Myanmar, and Chenla is today's Thailand and Cambodia.
Li Heng added: "Nanzhao is not a monolithic entity. Other barbarian tribes also have opinions about the dominance of the Baiman."
The core area of Nanzhao's rule was the Erhai Lake area, where there were a total of six Zhaos.
They are Mengxi Edict, Yuexi Edict, Langqiong Edict, Bichen Edict, Shilang Edict and Mengshe Edict.
Mengshe Zhao was located in the south of the other Zhaos and was called "Nan Zhao"
In the past, the other five ancient states were located on the east, west and north sides of Erhai Lake respectively.
When Nanzhao was unified, it formed an alliance with Baiman and merged with each other. Therefore, the political entity of Nanzhao was also called Baiman, while the other five Zhaos were called Wuman.
During the reign of Li Longji, in the 26th year of Kaiyuan, the Tang Dynasty helped Nanzhao unify the other five Zhaos. The reason was that the other five Zhaos were relatively barbaric and often plundered the Tang Dynasty border, while Nanzhao was close to the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, Li Longji wanted Nanzhao to control the other five Zhaos to ensure border security, while at the same time uniting to fight against Tubo.
It can be said that it was Li Longji who single-handedly raised Nanzhao.
However, after the unification, Nanzhao grew in power and ambition, and began to interfere in the eastern Yunnan region, which led Li Lin to lead his troops to attack.
Unfortunately, Li Lin was defeated and Nanzhao became even more powerful.
In addition to the Five Zhaos in the core area of Nanzhao, more than a dozen tribes including the Black Tooth Barbarians in the southeast and the Golden Tooth Barbarians in the southwest also had opinions about Nanzhao.
The areas of the Black Tooth Barbarians in the southeast are today's Laos, and the areas of the Golden Tooth Barbarians in the southwest are today's Dehong and Baoshan.
Feng Changqing understood what Li Heng meant and said, "This is a different time. Previously, the Tang Dynasty could support Nanzhao to unify the other five states, and now it can also support the other five states to divide Nanzhao."
"That's right." Li Heng nodded and said, "How to guard against Tubo, does Chang Qing have any plan?"
Feng Changqing said: "When Li Lin attacked Nanzhao before, Qinghai Lake and the Nine Bends of the Yellow River were still in the hands of Tubo. Jishishan, Mohuanchuan, and Suobei were also firmly controlled by Tubo, so Tubo could send troops to threaten Jiannan. But now, Qinghai Lake, the Nine Bends of the Yellow River, Jishishan, and Mohuanchuan are all in our hands, and the Suobei area has also been separated from Tubo. It is difficult for Tubo to pose a military threat to Jiannan. In addition, Wang Zhongsi is stationed in Longyou, and An Sishun is guarding Hexi. Together, they have held Tubo in Suobei. I believe Tubo will not dare to act rashly."
Li Heng said: "I want to win over Tubo and let them fight Nanzhao together."
Feng Changqing said: "I'm afraid Tubo will not help."
Li Heng said: "We don't need Tubo to help. We can win over Tubo. First, we want Tubo to stop causing trouble. Second, we want Nanzhao to feel isolated and helpless, which will dampen its morale."
"Your Majesty is wise." Feng Changqing agreed with Li Heng's words. After thinking for a while, he said, "We have to win over Tubo, help Pyu and Zhenla to restore their countries, and support the Five Zhao, Golden Tooth Barbarians, Black Tooth Barbarians and other countries to cause rebellion. If we act like this, it will probably take at least one or two years to send troops to Nanzhao."
Li Ying said: "Sharpening the knife does not delay the chopping of wood. Only by making full preparations can we win the battle with one strike."
In many battles, the outcome has actually been decided before they are fought, and military action is only the final result. Moreover, the current strength of Nanzhao is far from that of the current Khitan, so one or two years of preparation is already short.
Historically, Tubo was unable to capture Weizhou in western Sichuan, so they came up with an idea: they trained a beautiful Tubo woman and had her marry the general of Weizhou City. Over twenty years, she gave birth to two children. Twenty years later, Tubo attacked Weizhou, and the two sons acted as accomplices, so Weizhou City fell. Tubo then renamed Weizhou City Wuyou City.
Compared to this matter, Li Heng felt that this little preparation time was nothing.
Feng Changqing also knew this truth. The reason why he felt the term was long was because he wanted to achieve some results during his term and then return to the countryside.
But there was nothing wrong with Li Heng's plan, so Feng Changqing could only fully cooperate, thinking to himself, "It doesn't have to be me who will succeed."
Li Heng and Feng Changqing set the tone for the Nanzhao incident, and then summoned Gao Xianzhi, Ma Lin and Li Sheng to the court, asking them to work together with Yang Xuanlu, Wang Zhongsi, Xin Yunjing of Annan, and Hun Yu to plan their actions.
Gao Xianzhi was in charge of the overall situation.
Ma Lin is currently the Jiedushi of Jiannan. When Li Lin was attacking Nanzhao, he sent troops to support Jiannan, but was ambushed by Tubo and suffered a great loss. Therefore, he can understand Li Heng's intentions very well. After returning, he immediately began to make plans.
Li Sheng was the deputy envoy of Jiannan. Historically, he defeated the joint forces of Tubo and Nanzhao several times.
Xin Yunjing is currently the Jiedushi of Annan, and Hun Yu is his deputy. When it comes to fighting, Hun Yu is better than Xin Yunjing, but Xin Yunjing has been with Li Heng for too long, so he has more experience and higher prestige.
As for Wang Zhongsi, he was responsible for keeping an eye on Tubo.
……
In the second half of the fourth year of Ji De, basically no major events occurred, and the Tang Dynasty developed slowly in peace.
In the fifth year of Ji De, Champa rice began to be promoted in the southern region after the successful pilot projects in the previous two years. At the same time, the curved plow was promoted throughout the Tang Dynasty.
Woodblock printing gradually matured, book prices dropped, the Two-Tax System was steadily implemented, and the salt industry became increasingly developed with the mining of Zhuotong Well.
Compared with historical events, the damage caused by the Anshi Rebellion has been minimized. Li Heng brought his own team and gave the court a new lease of life. Coupled with institutional reforms and technological development, the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty has surpassed that of the Tianbao period, and politics is more than one level clearer than during the Tianbao period.
Throughout the Tang Dynasty, Li Heng was praised highly.
At the same time, Nanzhao was facing internal and external troubles.
The external threats were that Pyu and Zhenla successively rose up in rebellion against Nanzhao, and then Tubo and the Tang Dynasty held close talks, which seemed to be a sign of an alliance.
As for internal troubles, first the Heichi and Jinchi tribes in the southwest and southeast of Nanzhao rebelled, and then the other five old reactionary forces became restless and planned to unite to overthrow Nanzhao and surrender to the Tang Dynasty.
The former King of Nanzhao, Piloge, has died, and the current King of Nanzhao is Geluofeng.
After Geluofeng succeeded to the throne, he cleared out the old forces of the Five Zhaos and pacified the Jinchi, Heichi and other tribes. Externally, he occupied the eastern Yunnan region to the north, and took advantage of the Anshi Rebellion to occupy the Pyu Kingdom and Zhenla to the south, while at the same time he marched into Yaozhou.
Geluofeng's next plan was to fight with the Tang Dynasty in Yaozhou, and then take the opportunity to occupy Annan (now Vietnam, which belonged to the Tang Dynasty).
But unexpectedly, Li Heng put down the rebellion so quickly and soon began to deal with him.
In response to the chaotic situation, Geluofeng wrote a letter to the Tang Dynasty, requesting an alliance with the Tang Dynasty, trying to implement a delaying tactic.
At the same time, they acted quickly and with lightning speed, sweeping away the old reactionary forces of the Wuman Five Zhaos by both capturing and killing them.
Geluofeng's original policy towards the Wuman was to boil the frog in warm water and take his time, but this wave of instigation by the Tang Dynasty forced Geluofeng to suppress it forcefully, and the two sides started a civil war.
Eventually, the Wuman reactionary forces were defeated and their leader fled to Jiannan.
Geluofeng won the civil war.
However, when the civil war between Geluofeng and Wuman broke out, the Jinchi and Heichi barbarians in Pyu, Zhenla, and southern Nanzhao all rose up in rebellion and announced their allegiance to the Tang Dynasty.
Ge Luofeng urgently summoned his trusted aides Duan Zhongguo, Duan Quange, Feng Jiayi and other civil and military officials to discuss the matter.
The Duan family is the Baiman.
Ge Luofeng got straight to the point and said, "The situation is not favorable to us now. I plan to write a letter to request to submit to the Tang Dynasty."
"Your Majesty, you can't do that!" Duan Zhongguo advised hurriedly, "During the Tianbao period, the Tang Dynasty had 100,000 victorious troops attacking Nanzhao, but they were defeated. Although the Tang Dynasty is powerful now, our Nanzhao has developed over the years and is far beyond what it was during the Tianbao period. We can definitely fight!"
Ge Luofeng said: "Submission is a delaying tactic. As long as I can paralyze the Tang Dynasty, give me a year and I can put an end to all the rebellions. If this rebellion can be put down, all the forces will know that even if they submit to the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty cannot protect them. At that time, it will be even more difficult for the Tang Dynasty to start a war again."
Duan Zhongguo thought it made a lot of sense. He thought for a moment and said, "But the Emperor of Tang is not a fool. Will he accept our surrender?"
Ge Luofeng said: "We should return Yaozhou to the Tang Dynasty, pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty, and request to marry the Tang Dynasty princess and perform the son-in-law ceremony. This should be possible."
"That's the only way." Duan Zhongguo agreed.
Other civil and military officials also echoed it.
Nanzhao's letter of surrender was delivered to Li Heng at full speed.
At this time, it was already August of the fifth year of Ji De.
Li Heng summoned civil and military officials to discuss matters.
Civil officials such as Zhang Hao did not know that the rebellion in various parts of Nanzhao was the result of Li Heng's secret plotting by Ma Lin, Li Sheng, Xin Yunjing and others, so they were very happy to see Ge Luofeng's letter of surrender.
Zhang Hao said, "Your Majesty has blessed the whole world with grace, and people from all over the world have come to you to pay tribute. We have been negotiating with Nanzhao for several years about the land of Yaozhou, but they have not yet gotten it back. Now Nanzhao is willing to return it on its own initiative and pay tribute. This is a great joyous event. Your Majesty should immediately send someone to receive Geluofeng."
Li Heng did not answer and looked at Feng Changqing.
Feng Changqing asked: "Are you going to ignore the former vassal states of the Tang Dynasty, such as Pyu and Zhenla?"
Zhang Hao said: "Since Nanzhao has surrendered, your majesty ordered Nanzhao not to interfere with Pyu, Zhenla and other places, Nanzhao will certainly obey your order."
Feng Changqing couldn't help but smile when he heard this, and said, "During the reign of Emperor Taizong, the Eastern Turks were surrounded by enemies on all sides, and Jie Li Khan also requested to submit to the Tang Dynasty and marry a Tang princess to perform the son-in-law ceremony. What did Emperor Taizong do?"
After Feng Changqing mentioned this, Zhang Hao understood.
In 626 AD, Jie Li Khan of the Turkic empire led Turkic soldiers and lined up on the north bank of the Wei River with flags fluttering. They were only one step away from capturing Chang'an.
But three years later, in 629 AD, the Turkic kingdom fell apart and civil strife broke out.
In August of the same year, the Tang Dynasty sent an army of 100,000 to conquer the Turks.
Half a year later, in 630 AD, Jie Li Khan was taken to Chang'an and became the famous "Dance King of Chang'an".
(End of this chapter)
