The Legend of Shushan Xuanjian

Chapter 774

Qutang is noisy and the twelve beaches, the roads among them have been difficult since ancient times.

Long-term hatred is not as good as water, waiting for waves to rise on the ground.

——"Nine Poems of Bamboo Branch Ci" by Liu Yuxi (Tang Dynasty)

……

Bai Fu said to Xiu Cai: "Xiu Cai, can you check out Liu Zhan's resume?"

The scholar said: "In the files of the Ministry of Officials and the Ministry of War, there are very few files about Liu Zhan. Judging from the existing files, Liu Zhan joined the army from Chen Liu and was promoted to the governor of Songzhou in a few years, which can be described as expensive.

It is speculated that Liu Zhan should be a local general in Henan who emerged in the Anshi Rebellion.He first joined the King of Qin as Chen Liu joined the army, and later served as the governor of Ruzhou because of his meritorious service in combat.

After the defeat of Yecheng by the nine major governors, in May of the second year of Qianyuan, the imperial court appointed Xu Shuji as the governor of Bianzhou, concurrently serving as the governor of Hua and Bian; Xu Shuji's deputy envoy.

The area of ​​Hua and Bian under the jurisdiction of Xu Shuji was the forward position for the Tang army to prevent Shi Siming's army from going south, and Huazhou, which is on the verge of the Yellow River, was the bridgehead in this front.

Therefore, Liu Zhan, who was the governor of Huazhou, also held the post of deputy envoy at that time, which shows that the imperial court attached great importance to him.

However, Liu Zhan was soon transferred to Songzhou, another important town slightly south, so we did not see Liu Zhan's army during Shi Siming's southward battle in September, and we did not have a more accurate assessment of his ability to lead troops in battle.

Judging from the military newspaper sent by the scouts in front, Liu Zhan had a bad relationship with his superior Huaixi Jiedu Envoy Wang Zhongsheng.But whether Liu Zhan felt rebellious because of this is not necessarily clear. "

Iron Hammer said to the scholar: "Why haven't I heard of the position of 'Jianghuai Governor' before?"

Xiucai said: "'Jianghuai Dutong' belongs to the original creation of today, and it was first placed in the first year of Qianyuan. In December of this year, when the Tang army and An Qingxu were fighting fiercely in Yecheng, Your Majesty took Li Yudu, Minister of the Ministry of Household Unified Huainan, Jiangdong, Jiangxi Jiedu, Xuanwei, observation, disposal and other envoys.

When the imperial army was fighting fiercely with the rebels in the north, His Majesty adjusted the military and political settings in the Jianghuai area, and added the title of Jianghuai capital to the various envoys of the Jianghuai region. The intention is very clear:
First of all, it echoes the siege of Yecheng by the nine major governors of Henan Province.

Secondly, began to pay attention to and overall plan the military deployment of the Jianghuai River, which is "funded by soldiers and food, with two ears in the south of the Yangtze River".

Or, even if the purpose of setting up the Jianghuai capital is not to support Henan Province, at least it can prevent the rebellion of Yongwang Li Lin from happening again in the Jianghuai area.

Iron Hammer said to Bai Fu: "Since the Jianghuai Metropolitan Command is responsible for controlling the Jianghuai towns, then the person holding this position must be unusual?"

Bai Fu nodded, and said: "Jianghuai Governor Li Qiao is Li Tang's family. When Xuanzong was lucky to Shu, he was Xuanzong's heroic escort, and he was the prefect of Shu County and the interview envoy of Jiannan Jiedu.

When Xuanzong was in Chengdu, Guo Qianren, the general of the Tang army, plotted chaos.It was Li Yao and Chen Xuanli, the envoy of the Sixth Army of the Beiya Army, who put down the rebellion.

However, another identity of Li Yao is more noteworthy. He is the brother of the former prime minister Li Xian.

When An Lushan rebelled, one of the two brothers defected to His Majesty, and the other was loyal to Xuanzong.

Li Xian of His Majesty Kuang Yi later became the prefect of Fengxiang.

After the recovery of the two capitals, the two emperors both returned to Luan, and the Li brothers were also promoted to the royal doctor because of their special achievements in serving the two emperors.

In December of the first year of Qianyuan, Li Yao was appointed by His Majesty as the first governor of the Jianghuai River.In March of the following year, his younger brother Li Xian was promoted from Jing Zhaoyin to prime minister.Your Majesty has shown great kindness to Li Xian, and most of the military and state affairs are decided by Li Xian alone.

The Li brothers were in the outer town and the court, and they became the most important and trusted ministers of His Majesty at that time. "

The scholar said: "That makes sense. It was Huaixi Jiedu envoy Wang Zhongsheng who provoked Liu Zhan, but it was Jianghuai governor Li Qiao who dealt with Liu Zhan.

Considering that Liu Zhan has a strong army, and Wang Zhongsheng's main duty is to guard against Shi Siming, if the court asks Wang Zhongsheng to punish Liu Zhan, it is likely to be detrimental to countering the rebellion.

At present, in the Jianghuai region, apart from Wang Zhongsheng, only Li Yao is His Majesty's confidant. The rest, such as Tian Shengong and Shang Heng in the eastern part of Henan Province, are either rebel generals who surrendered to the imperial court, or local rebel leaders in Henan Province. Your Majesty obviously They cannot be relied on to deal with Liu Zhan.

From this point of view, the imperial court can only place the heavy responsibility of punishing Liu Zhan on Li Yao. "

Bai Fu waved his hand and asked, "Xiucai, have you read the "Examination of Xie Zhexi Jiedu Envoy" played by Lord Yan Zhenqing to the court in June of the second year of Qianyuan?"

The topic suddenly changed from Liu Zhan to Yan Zhenqing, and Xiucai looked at Bai Fu confusedly for a while without knowing why.

Bai Fu got up, paced in the hall, and said: "Liu Zhan raised his troops to go south in November of the first year of Shangyuan (760), and Master Yan Zhenqing was in charge of the Western Zhejiang Festival in the second year of Qianyuan (759). Year) from June to the first month of the first year of Shangyuan (760).

In the "Table of Xie Zhexi Jiedu Envoy", Master Yan has this sentence: "I will send you to the original way today, and take the Dutong Jiedu Observation Envoy Li Qiao to deal with it, and then I will go to Shengzhou, that is, I will repair the armored soldiers. Follow the generals and observe the vital points in case of danger. .Fake Your Majesty's heroic power, follow His Majesty's fair principles, work hard with one heart, and answer God's mercy. '"

The scholar was taken aback, and said, "Could it be that your majesty had a plan to get rid of Liu Zhan in the second year of Qianyuan?"

Bai Fudao: "I checked the transfer order for the appointment of Mr. Yan as the minister of the Ministry of Punishment from the files of the Ministry of Household Affairs. There is such a note in it: 'In June of the second year of Qianyuan, Yan Zhenqing, the governor of Raozhou, was appointed as the governor of Shengzhou, serving as the governor of the West Road of Zhejiang Province. The envoy was also the defense envoy of Bodu in the Song Dynasty. Liu Zhan's rebellion had been revealed, and Yan Zhenqing was concerned about his invasion of Jiangnan, so he chose generals to train soldiers and seize weapons for land and water warfare. The general envoy Li Yao took Yan Zhenqing as a premature plan, because of the secret melody .Your Majesty ordered to pursue him, but before he arrived in Beijing, he paid homage to the minister of the Ministry of Punishment.'

In terms of the location of West Zhejiang, Master Yan's "Xie Zhexi Jiedu Envoy Table" "repair armored soldiers, caress the generals, observe the key points, in case of emergency" is probably not a preparation for facing Shi Siming.

Moreover, if Master Yan's subsequent "orderly division, five-blade sharpening, water and land combat preparations, and additional repairs with time" is to deal with the threat of the rebels going south, then Li Yao, the governor of the Jianghuai River, probably will not think that Master Yan's move is too early. ’, suspected of ‘excessively guarding against the public’, and secretly reported to His Majesty, he was transferred away from the west of Zhejiang, and Hou Lingyi, the governor of Hangzhou, was the governor of Shengzhou, replacing Master Yan as the governor of West Zhejiang Province and the military envoy of Jiangning.

It can be seen from this that Lord Yan seems to know that Liu Zhan is going against him, and also knows the plan of His Majesty and Li Yao against Liu Zhan.

Master Yan's imperial obeisance to the governor of Shengzhou and his subsequent admission to Beijing are related to the pre-arrangement of war preparations in order to plan Liu Zhan. "

The scholar said in amazement: "Bailong, you can deduce the situation so clearly by relying on some clues in the courtier's memorial without going through the military newspaper, aren't you too aggressive?"

In Bai Fu's mind, General Wang Zhongsi's voice and smile flashed by.

Bai Fu took a deep breath, temporarily putting down his memory of General Wang Zhongsi.

Bai Fu went on to say: "At the same time, according to the records of the Ministry of War, in the second year of Qianyuan, the imperial court set up five armies in Danyang of Runzhou, Jiangning of Shengzhou, Changzhou of Suzhou, Yuhang of Hangzhou, and Caishi of Xuanzhou in the east of Jiangxi. The state established the Nanchang Army.

Just like the rebellion of Yongwang Li Lin back then, the establishment of the county army was by no means accidental.In particular, there must be reasons behind the establishment of multiple armies in the same area at the same time.

From this, we can roughly speculate that Master Yan went out of the town of West Zhejiang in the second year of Qianyuan (759) to prepare for waterway warfare and to plan Liu Zhan.

Combined with the scholar's statement on Liu Zhan's resume, Huazhou was the front line of the battle between the Tang army and Shi Siming. One month after Liu Zhan was appointed as the governor of Huazhou, he was suddenly transferred to Songzhou.Most likely because the imperial court did not trust it.

If this conjecture is true, then we will find that the theory that Liu Zhan's rebellion was caused by his contradiction with Huaixi Jiedushi Wang Zhongsheng is problematic.

Because in May and June of the second year of Qianyuan when His Majesty transferred Liu Zhan to the governor of Songzhou and appointed Lord Yan Zhenqing as the governor of Zhejiang Province, the imperial court had not yet appointed Wang Zhongsheng as the governor of Huaixi. months later.

So, who first predicted that Liu Zhan might rebel?
After all the calculations, I'm afraid there are only two people: Li Yao, the governor of the Jianghuai River, and Xing Yanen, the eunuch of the Huaixi Supervisory Army!

The origin of Li Yao, the capital of the Jianghuai River, has already been mentioned just now, and it is Li Tang's clan.

This eunuch Xing Yanen is also terrible.Since His Majesty ascended the throne, Li Fuguo was the highest-ranking eunuch in the palace, and Xing Yanen was once the highest-ranking military supervisor in the Tang army.

At the beginning of His Majesty's arrival in Lingwu, Xing Yan'en was the envoy who ordered for His Majesty to pursue the soldiers and horses of Shuofang and Hedong in Hebei.In His Majesty's first battle against the rebels after ascension to the throne—the battle of Chen Taoxie, Xing Yanen was also the supervisor of the army.In fact, Xing Yanen's initial status was even higher than the eunuch Yu Chaoen.

It was just because of the failure of Chen Taoxie's battle that during the battle of Yecheng, His Majesty appointed Yu Chaoen instead of Xing Yanen, who was more prestigious, as the military observer of the Nine Great Jiedu Envoys.

However, Xing Yanen was able to continue to serve as the military supervisor of Huaixi Jiedushi, and he was able to present strategies and influence His Majesty in the matter of Liu Zhan, which shows that he is still a favored minister whose status cannot be underestimated.

After Wang Zhongsheng took office, Wang Zhongsheng, who was eager to take sole control of Huaixi military power, stood on the same side with Xing and Li because of his interests.

As His Majesty's confidantes, Wang, Xing, and Li jointly plotted against Liu Zhan, which affected His Majesty and the court's judgment on Liu Zhan. "

Speaking of this, Hawkeye also understood, slapped his thigh, and interjected: "In other words, Liu Zhan was forced to rebel. It seems that the court made a mistake in judgment, but in fact it is exactly the opposite. Behind it is a clear strategy of the court:
That is, the imperial court, which relied on local generals to quell the rebellion and revive the Tang Dynasty, actually did not trust these generals, and was even full of suspicion and suspicion, and was always on guard against these local generals who held military power.

When necessary, the imperial court will even suppress these local generals at the expense of weakening its own military power.

Therefore, although on the surface, the direct fuse of Liu Zhan's rebellion was the conflict between the generals of the army, but in the final analysis, I am afraid that it is because His Majesty is worried that the local generals will become big, so he tried his best to curb their mentality. "

Anlu Mountain almost overthrew the entire Li Tang with the three towns in Hebei alone. Today, a certain Jiedu envoy has great military power overnight, and may also have the ambition to become emperor.

Therefore, His Majesty is more willing to trust eunuchs, and even hand over the terrible power of military power to eunuchs.This is by no means a whim, but the result of careful consideration.

These slaves have been with the emperor day and night for many years, and in any case, they make the emperor feel more at ease than those generals who fight and kill. "

Bai Fu nodded, and said: "That's right, as long as the slanderers grasp the veins of His Majesty, they will be able to get rid of the generals who hold the military power in a fair and dignified manner!"

Luo Tuoer shook Dou Da's head and muttered: "What are you talking about, do you mean that Xiao Bailong can't go to Jianghuai to lead the army to fight?"

Iron Hammer flicked Luo Tuo'er on the forehead, and spat: "Luo Tuo'er, as the saying goes, tall people don't have brains, so it's you!
If Bailong didn't find out the treacherous ministers, and rashly led troops to Jianghuai to quell the chaos, the next person to be falsely accused of treason would be Bailong! "

Luo Tuoer said: "Isn't Bailong the emperor's son-in-law? The emperor doesn't even trust his son-in-law, does he?"

The scholar snorted coldly, and said: "Once the emperor suspects such a thing of self-respect and rebellion, it is impossible to argue with it. Not to mention the son-in-law, even brothers, siblings, and biological sons are not spared.

Not to mention the emperors of all dynasties, Li Lin, the king of Yong, and Li Tan, the king of Jianning, have died in such things since the present dynasty. "

Lone Wolf squeezed the copper wine jue in his palm into a copper ingot, heaved a sigh of relief, and said, "Every mouth can make gold, it's hard to tell who is loyal and who is evil!
Back then, General Cai Xide was outspoken and disliked what Gao Shang and Zhang Tongru did, so he repeatedly spoke to An Qingxu, thus offending Zhang Tongru, who was soon killed by Zhang Tongru on random excuses.

General Cai was utterly loyal and devoted himself to assisting An Qingxu, but he was tricked by others, that's how he was framed by a traitor.

Bailong, we must guard against it! "

Bai Fu squinted his eyes and smiled, and said: "Jianghuai is a game, a game of killing people. Please enter the urn, and kill yourself immediately.

However, he has a plan, and I have a wall ladder.It is not certain who will set up the game for whom.Now that you have seen through their strategy, you might as well follow the strategy and let there be a game within the game! "

　bibliography:
　　"Crisis and Reconstruction—Tang Empire and Its Local Princes", Li Biyan, BJ Normal University Press, published in January 2015

　　
　
(End of this chapter)