Daming Super Dimension Company, President Zhu Yuanzhang!

But the Southern Tang Dynasty was able to prosper for many years in troubled times, so it was definitely not an easy bone to chew.

From the winter of the second year of Xian De to the fifth year of Xian De, a period of three years, the Later Tang Dynasty finally perished.

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "The war between Later Zhou and Later Tang lasted for a long time."

"The first time Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou personally led an expedition, he started the war from Huainan. He appointed Xiang Xun to stay in Tokyo, and Wang Pu and Han Tongquan to assist. Before and after the war, Emperor Shizong asked the local people to return home and continue their lives. However, the Later Zhou army was not good at water battles, so they had to summon young men to build a floating bridge and launched the Battle of Wokou. After the victory of this battle, many Southern Tang soldiers were captured."

"Afterwards, Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou ordered Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, to attack Qingliu Pass. Zhao Kuangyin and Huangfu Hui fought against each other, and he captured Huangfu Hui alive and successfully conquered Chuzhou. When the Emperor of Southern Tang saw this, Li Jing sent someone to deliver a letter to Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou, expressing his willingness to treat Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou as a brother and to pay treasures as military expenses every year, hoping to withdraw the troops. Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou ignored it."

"Zhou Shizong sent troops to attack Yangzhou after learning that the Southern Tang Dynasty had no defenses, and ordered that the people should not be harmed. There was even a mausoleum of the Southern Tang Dynasty royal family here, and Zhou Shizong sent people to guard it together with the Li family."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng were very amazed.

"There is such a gentleman."

Who wouldn't praise an emperor who values ​​the people, behaves like a gentleman, and can strengthen the country?

Li Shimin thought of Emperor Ai of Tang with disgust in his eyes. It would be too much for his descendants to notice it.

"Don't forget, Southern Tang is the descendant of your Li family." Zhu Yuanzhang deliberately reminded.

Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng's faces changed instantly. They completely forgot about their identities as the emperor of Southern Tang.

"You don't have to tell me! Xiao Ran, you go ahead and continue."

Taking a deep breath, Li Shimin didn't want to listen to Zhu Yuanzhang and looked at Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran said, "The Southern Tang army suffered repeated setbacks. Li Jing fled Jinling and sent people to offer gold, silver and jewelry to request a withdrawal."

"Among the officials sent by Southern Tang, Zhong Mo and Li Deming were known for their eloquence. Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou knew that they were here to lobby, so he met them with fully armed soldiers. After Emperor Shizong's words, the two dared not speak again."

This aroused the curiosity of everyone present except Zhu Yuanzhang.

Li Cunxu was the first to ask, "What did Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou say?"

"He mentioned that the Southern Tang emperor claimed to be a descendant of the Miao people of the Tang royal family. He was separated from the Later Zhou by the Huai River, but they had never gotten along well. He even went to the Liao Kingdom instead of the nearby one. This was a collaboration with the barbarians. He demanded that the Southern Tang emperor personally apologize before he would withdraw his troops."

Li Shimin raised his eyebrows and appreciated it even more. "Well said! The Liao people are barbarians. Cooperating with them is simply a disgrace to our Tang Dynasty."

"The way this Emperor Taizong of Later Zhou speaks and acts suits my taste." Xiao Ran said with a smile, "Chai Rong, Emperor Taizong of Later Zhou, is a rare wise ruler."

"The Emperor of Southern Tang fled, and Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou ordered the King of Wuyue to station troops on the border with Southern Tang. However, Wuyue was in disharmony, and due to various unexpected events, Wuyue sent troops to Changzhou. At this time, the army of Later Zhou arrived in Yangzhou, and no one resisted after entering the city. All the generals and officials set fire to the city and fled, and some even turned into monks and hid in temples."

"The Later Zhou army conquered Ezhou and Taizhou. In a panic, Emperor Li Jing of the Southern Tang asked the Liao army for help, but the letter was intercepted. Then the army of Wuyue began to attack Xuanzhou, but the Later Zhou army continued to advance and captured Guangzhou, Shuzhou, etc. In desperation, Emperor Li Jing of the Southern Tang sent envoys to negotiate with Emperor Shizong of the Later Zhou, removing his emperor title, ceding six Zhous, and paying tribute of one million gold and silk every year, begging the Later Zhou to stop the war. However, Emperor Shizong of the Later Zhou was unmoved. The envoys of the Southern Tang proposed to return to Nanjing to persuade Li Jing to cede the entire north of the Yangtze River, and obtained the consent of Emperor Shizong of Zhou."

"But when the Southern Tang envoy said that the Later Zhou army was strong and praised Emperor Taizong of Later Zhou, and at the same time proposed to cede the north of the Yangtze River, Li Jing was unhappy. Some people in the court even thought that the envoy was exaggerating the facts and said that Li Deming was selling out his country for personal gain. In a rage, Li Jing beheaded Li Deming and displayed his head to the public."

Li Shimin was silent.

At this moment, he really wanted to say that Emperor Li Jing of Southern Tang was not a descendant of his Li family.

Sensing the emotions of Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng, Xiao Ran coughed twice and tried to appease them, "Every family has a few incompetent emperors."

There is nothing wrong with this.

Zhu Yuanzhang glared at Xiao Ran angrily, "Hurry up and tell me your story!"

"At the same time, Wuyue conquered Changzhou. Li Jing was worried that it would attack Runzhou, so he appointed Chai Kehong as the General of the Right Guard, and together with Lu Mengjun, the governor of Yuanzhou, he supported the local Southern Tang army. But at that time, the main force of the Southern Tang army was all north of the Yangtze River. Chai Kehong had few soldiers and armaments, and he had grievances with various officials in Runzhou, so it seemed that he had no chance of winning."

Xiao Ran shook his head. The internal officials were still able to cause trouble in a war that concerned the survival of Southern Tang. They were just a bunch of good-for-nothings.

"Chai Kehong arrived in Changzhou and pretended to receive the envoy Qiao Kuangshun who had been sent to Wuyue. After landing, he went straight to the Wuyue military camp. Unexpectedly, he led the enemy directly to the general's camp, and the general Wu Cheng escaped alone. Chai Kehong continued to garrison Xuanzhou. Wuyue general Lu Yanzhu failed to capture it after a long siege and chose to retreat within two days."

"Xuanzhou was stable, and Chai Kehong requested support for Shouzhou, but died on the way. Li Jing sent Qi Wang Li Jingda to lead troops to resist the Later Zhou army, and Honglu Qing Pan Chengyou went to Quanzhou and Jianzhou to recruit brave generals. Soon, the Southern Tang army rushed to Taizhou. Seeing this, the Later Zhou army immediately retreated. The Southern Tang reoccupied Taizhou and sent people to garrison. Then the Southern Tang army turned to attack Yangzhou. Later Zhou Shizong immediately sent generals to assist and sent Zhao Kuangyin to station in Liuhe. Later Zhou Shizong personally arrived at Shouchun City to attack, but failed to capture it for a long time."

"It was raining heavily at that time, and the food supply for the Later Zhou army could not be transported. At this time, a minister suggested that Zhou Shizong go east to Haozhou to supervise the battle. Not long after, Han Lingkun defeated the Southern Tang army in Yangzhou and captured the Southern Tang generals alive. Where Zhao Kuangyin was, Wang Jingda, the King of Qi of the Southern Tang, led 20,000 troops to camp more than 20 miles away from Liuhe. A few days later, the Southern Tang sent troops to attack Liuhe, and Zhao Kuangyin led his army to counterattack successfully."

"The successive victories of the Later Zhou army allowed Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou to return to Daliang with peace of mind. He issued an amnesty in the Huainan area and abolished the harsh taxes and labor service imposed by the Southern Tang. However, the Southern Tang began to fight back, and the Later Zhou army repeatedly failed in its campaign, and most of the states that had been conquered were taken back."

"The first expedition of Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou to the Southern Tang Dynasty failed."

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly added, "During the retreat of the Later Zhou, the two armies fought several times, and the Southern Tang stopped north of the Yangtze River. In addition, the Southern Tang Emperor Li Jing found an opportunity to write letters to provoke the Later Zhou generals but failed."

"The Later Zhou army besieged Shouchun City for a long time. When they learned that Southern Tang had reinforcements stationed in Zijin Mountain, they attacked again. Then Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou received a victory report from the generals on the front line and prepared for a second expedition." (End of this chapter)