Chapter 27 7. The Southern Han Dynasty was destroyed like a broken bamboo

When wars continued in the north, and the emperor's dragon chair was passed around like drums and flowers in the hands of generals with different surnames, the south maintained a rare calm, and the relatively stable political situation of each country allowed the economy to develop by leaps and bounds.Compared with the stability of other regimes handed down from father to son, the political situation in the Southern Han Dynasty was relatively turbulent.From the end of the Tang Dynasty, Liu Qian, the governor of Fengzhou, was entrenched in Guangxi. After Liu Qian died, his eldest son Liu Yin succeeded him. He died three years later and was passed on to his younger brother Liu Yan.During Liu Yan's reign, relying on the strength of scholars, he also hired a large number of scholars by opening courses and recruiting scholars, which made the Southern Han Dynasty develop rapidly, occupying large areas of land such as Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan, and taking Guangzhou as its capital. , began a reign that lasted for decades.When Liu Yan died, his two sons, Liu Bin and Liu Sheng, killed each other in order to seize the throne, which became the most turbulent period during the continuation of this regime.

In the long-term development process, the ruling power of the Southern Han Dynasty has always been passed on in the hands of the surname Liu, which largely avoided the occurrence of power-seizure wars, and the rulers also absorbed the reasons for the rapid change of regime in the north and controlled the generals. Vigorously promoted scholars to become officials.This kind of measure prevented the Southern Han Dynasty from having a situation where generals were in power, but it gradually weakened the country's military capabilities.Coupled with the fact that Liu Yan and his successors were very cruel, they built large-scale construction projects and abused torture, and the people suffered unbearably.After Liu Sheng's son Liu Yi succeeded to the throne, the regime of the Southern Han Dynasty gradually fell into the quagmire of eunuch monopoly.At this time, Zhao Kuangyin had won the ruling power of the Central Plains, and started his plan for the southern expedition. After capturing Jingnan and Houshu, his next goal was the Southern Han Dynasty.

Unlike Meng Chang of Later Shu and Li Yu of Southern Tang who were proficient in poetry and prose, Liu Yi of the Southern Han Dynasty was an emperor who was proficient in crafts. Since he succeeded to the throne at the age of sixteen, he has sent tens of thousands of people to the sea every year to collect pearls for him to weave various kinds of pearls. An exquisite handicraft.At the same time, he also has a strange habit, thinking that those courtiers who have wives and children will not be loyal, so if someone wants to be an official, he must be castrated first, regardless of the general and the champion.Even the monks and priests who talked about Zen with him could not escape this disaster.Therefore, the eunuchs Gong Chengshu and Chen Yanshou were the most important in the Southern Han Dynasty. Liu Yi only knew how to play with his concubine Lu Qiongxian every day, and left all military and state affairs to them.And because he was very cruel, he formulated various tortures to treat courtiers. If he was dissatisfied, he would have his skin and intestines removed. Everyone in the courtiers was in danger and did not dare to tell the half truth to the government.In this chaotic situation, when the Song Army sent troops only 30 miles away from Hezhou, someone reported the news to Liu Yi, saying that the Song Army had already attacked.

At this time, the halls of the Southern Han Dynasty were full of eunuchs who only knew how to plunder the people's wealth, but they couldn't find a general who could resist the Song army.Liu Yi hurriedly asked Gong Chengshu: "Now that the Song army is suppressing the country, what should we do?" Gong Chengshu said calmly: "Your Majesty is an immortal from the sky who came to save the people from suffering. The mere Song army is nothing to be afraid of. I will invite Taoist priests to repel them." Liu Yi also believed in such absurd statement.Gong Chengshu recommended Guo Chongyue, a sorcerer, and asked him to pray to ghosts and gods day and night, and asked the heavenly soldiers to retreat from the Song army.But such a method is obviously impossible to retreat the enemy. Soon after, the Song army surrounded Hezhou.Seeing this, Liu Yi could only ask Gong Chengshu to think of another way.

Chen Yanshou saw that Gong Chengshu was fighting for favor, so he hurriedly recommended his general Wu Yanrou, saying: "This man is good at fighting, he is a rare and brave general, and he will definitely be able to repel the Song army." The desperate Liu Yi only asked Wu Yanrou to lead more than 10,000 troops to Hezhou, hoping that someone could lead the army to fight and did not go to the assessment. He continued his days of debauchery and brutality. Song Army Commander Pan Meihe and General Yin Chongke led a mighty team all the way to the Southern Han Dynasty. They didn't encounter any obstacles and soon arrived in Hezhou. This result made them very surprised, but they were happy not to fight.A few days after the siege of Hezhou, news came that Wu Yanrou was leading an army to help. Pan Mei said to Yin Chongke: "The Han army is said to be brave and good at fighting, and is best at fighting on water. We are all the Northern Army. We are tired from the journey. We should Avoid its edge."

Yin Chongke said: "Among the troops of the Song Dynasty, most of them are from the north. Water warfare is indeed not our advantage. Wu Yanrou led the army to help Hezhou. It must have come from the water. We can lead them to land and fight again. I believe they will It is no longer our opponent." Looking at the besieged Hezhou who had no ability to resist, Pan Mei said: "It will be a matter of time before Hezhou is taken, and there is no need to rush it in the past few days. Nanxiang is not far from here. It must be a must for the Han army to come to support from Guangzhou." If we want to land there, we will retreat 20 miles, wait for them to land, and then carry out a surprise attack."

According to this plan, Pan Mei and Yin Chongke led the army to retreat. The Han army thought that they had heard that reinforcements had arrived, so they retreated in fear.After Wu Yanrou heard about it, she also proudly said: "Song Jun is just pretending, as long as he hears my name, he will back away. This trip will definitely drive them back to Bianliang!" Under the influence of this kind of pride, Wu Yanrou led the Han army to land from Nanxiang. Who knew that the Song army had already ambushed here. As soon as they landed, they were killed by the ambushes. More than half of them were lost, and the main general Wu Yanrou was also killed.

Liu Yi, who was still waiting for the good news in Guangzhou, jumped up and down anxiously when he heard that Wu Yanrou was defeated.Chen Yanshou and others also experienced the bravery of the Song army, and began to feel fear. After Pan Mei defeated Hezhou, he came straight to Guangzhou. Liu Yi said to Chen Yanshou in a panic: "I usually give you all the treasures, and I hope you can make contributions to the country at the critical moment. Now the Song army is about to attack. Guangzhou is here, if I don't protect it, where will the glory and wealth of you people be!" Chen Yanshou, Gong Chengshu and the others looked at each other in blank dismay, not knowing what to do, they had long since lost their domineering and scheming ways of persecuting others.

Seeing this, Liu Yi sighed and said: "Since I came to the throne at the age of sixteen, I have given you countless benefits every year, and I have never asked you for anything in return. Now it is a matter of life and death, and I only ask you to repay me once. Can't you promise me?" Such helpless words are uttered from the mouth of a generation of monarchs, which cannot but make people sigh.In desperation, Gong Chengshu and others had no choice but to recruit warriors from the army, forming an army of 30,000 people, and elected a young general Pan Chongche to lead this army to meet the Song army.

Pan Chongche led an army of 30,000 to intercept in Heshui, and Pan Meidong advanced to defeat the Han army, even Kelianzhou and Shaozhou.Seeing this result, Liu Yi was almost desperate, so he could only dispatch the main force of the Forbidden Army stationed in Guangzhou to stop the Song Army. Chen Yanshou and others persuaded: "Without the protection of the imperial guards, the capital will be in jeopardy!" But Liu Yi said: "If the Song army's offensive cannot be stopped, even if this team stays in the capital, it will not be able to keep me alive. I have no choice but to do this!"

Li Chengwo, the leader of the forbidden army, led the last force of the Southern Han Dynasty to form an elephant formation in an attempt to stop the Song army with surprise soldiers, but was broken by Pan Mei with a strong crossbow.This time, the more than 100,000 main forces of the Southern Han Dynasty were all wiped out. The flustered Liu Yi realized that his dynasty had come to an end, and there was no general in the court to choose from.Guo Chongyue didn't know how to march and fight at all, so he used bamboo and wood fences as a camp defense, but was finally destroyed by Pan Mei's fire attack. When the news of the defeat of the Han army came, Liu Yi, who had nothing to do, hurriedly mobilized dozens of ships, loaded all the treasures and concubines he had collected, and tried to escape by floating in the sea.Coming to this situation was not the most tragic moment for him, because his most trusted eunuch Le Fan quietly drove the boat away without waiting for him to board.The helpless Liu Yi had no choice but to beg for surrender from Song Ying. Zhao Kuangyin has always been confident about the great defeat of the Southern Han Dynasty this time, because he knows that a regime like the Southern Han Dynasty is already strong from the outside but powerful from the inside. Although it occupies a large area of ​​land, its chaotic internal affairs have long made this dynasty useless. It can be destroyed. From Liu Yin's occupation of Guangxi to Liu Yi's final defeat in the Southern Han Dynasty, this dynasty has gone through sixty-five years, which can be said to have run through the entire Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.Although the rule of the Liu royal family became more and more brutal from generation to generation, the flames of war did not reach here until the army of the Song Dynasty appeared, and it was completely recovered.During Liu Yi's rule, the local economy was dilapidated.In order to satisfy the ruler's luxurious life, heavy taxes have overwhelmed the people.When Zhao Kuangyin took over here, it can be said that production and life have been destroyed.The arrival of the Song army sounded the death knell for the demise of the Southern Han Dynasty, but it brought good news to the common people. After Liu Yi was captured, he was sent to Kaifeng, the capital of the Song Dynasty. Zhao Kuangyin praised his ingenuity. The pearl jade dragon he made surprised even the well-informed Song Taizu, surpassing the most dexterous craftsman in the palace.Zhao Kuangyin said with a smile: "If you can use this thought to govern the country, how can you perish?" Becoming a ruler through succession often fails to appreciate the hardships of founding a country. Therefore, even if you have outstanding talents, you will not devote yourself to diligence, but indulge in sensuality and use your wisdom on these strange skills.In terms of IQ, Zhao Kuangyin and Liu Yi are both standing on the same starting line, but because they set different goals and practiced in different fields, Zhao Kuangyin can become the founding monarch of a generation, while Liu Yi is only It's just that he can become a subjugated king with skillful hands better than craftsmen.