Li Yu, the later master of the Southern Tang Dynasty, was originally named Congjia, with the courtesy name Chongguang, and his nicknames were Zhongshan Hermit, Zhongfeng Hermit, Lianfeng Jushi and Zhongfeng Bailian Jushi. Not only did he have an unusual birthday (he was born on the Qixi Festival), but his appearance after birth was also different from ordinary people. History books call it "parallel teeth and double pupils", which means he has two sets of front teeth and two pupils in one eye. When he grew up, he was handsome and talented. He "studied the Six Classics and studied hundreds of clans." He was good at poetry, calligraphy and painting, and melodies. He was surrounded by Southern Tang literati Han Xizai, Feng Yansi, Li Jianxun, Xu Xuan, etc. Before he came to the throne, he had been living the life of a scholar with "his heart devoted to gold and stone, and his passion for poetry and poetry."
He was originally poetic, but the cruelty of the political struggle in the Southern Tang Dynasty further prompted him to choose to escape reality and devote himself to literature. His father was a kind-hearted and uncontroversial man, but he frequently broke up with his uncles because of the issue of the throne. The ministers in the court also seemed to be in harmony with each other, and his father was frowning all day long, which made him feel that he was not a good man. Not much fun. What stimulated Li Yu the most was his brother and former prince Hongji. They had a good relationship and were brothers who talked about everything. But as Li Yu grew up, he gradually began to look like a human king, especially his eyes with double pupils. This was a difference that only the legendary Shun and Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, had. Hongji gradually became jealous of Li Yu, fearing that Li Yu would compete with him for the crown prince position in the future. Li Yu was actually not interested in imperial power. He later wrote in a letter to Zhao Kuangyin: "I came out of Jiaoxiang, and my heart was sparse and profitable. I was nurtured by my father and brother. I enjoyed the sun and the moon to travel leisurely." He said in "The Fisherman" The poem also says: "A pot of wine, a rod of scales, how many people are like a farmer in the world", "A spring breeze, a boat, a cocoon and a light hook. Flowers are all over the country, wine is all over the pot, and thousands of hectares of waves are captured. free". These words are indeed a true reflection of his heart. His elder brother Hongji was suspicious of him. Although he was very sad, he was still as good to his elder brother as ever. Hongji was seriously ill because of his conspiracy, and Li Yu rushed to take care of him. Hongji was deeply moved. Therefore, before dying, Hongji confided to Li Yu the human tragedy of poisoning his uncle Jing Sui, which greatly stimulated Li Yu and made him even more disgusted with politics.
Because Li Yu was not the eldest son, and Hongji was also very capable, Li Yu never thought of becoming the king of a country. He really wanted to stay in the position of the vassal king for the rest of his life. He named himself: Zhongshan Hermit, Zhongfeng Hermit, Lianfeng Layman, Zhongfeng White Lotus Layman, all of which are full of negative worldly thoughts and escape from the world. means. However, after Hongji and his father died one after another, the power of the Southern Tang Dynasty unexpectedly fell into his hands. What's even more helpless is that the split is coming to an end at this time, and the unification of China is getting closer and closer with the accession of one person to the throne. This person is Zhao Kuangyin, a figure who was born in response to the prayers of Emperor Mingzong of the later Tang Dynasty Li Siyuan.
It is said that during the Five Dynasties, Emperor Mingzong of the Tang Dynasty Li Siyuan (867-933, a member of the Shatuo tribe of the Tang Dynasty) was diligent in governing the country and "the world is peaceful". He was praised by later generations as the master of "moderate prosperity". During a sacrificial event, he prayed with infinite sincerity: "How can I govern the world if I am a Tibetan? The world has been in chaos for a long time. May God give birth to a saint soon." Not long after, Zhao Kuangyin (927-976) became the general of the Imperial Army in the Later Tang Dynasty. Zhao Hongyin was born in the family. Zhao Kuangyin replaced the Later Zhou Dynasty and established the Song Dynasty. Fortunately, he got a good family fortune. The person who created this family business was Chai Rong (921-959), a British ruler. Chai Rong reigned for more than five years and was determined to "expand the world in ten years, support the people in ten years, and bring peace in ten years." He radically reformed politics, rectified the military, rewarded production, built water conservancy projects, melted Buddhas to mint coins, and established land taxes. He fought in the south and north, and successively captured the four prefectures of Shu, Cheng, Qin, and Feng, and 14 prefectures in the Jianghuai region of the Southern Tang Dynasty. He also attacked Khitan in the north. Without losing a single general or soldier, he recovered 17 counties in three prefectures, Mo, Ying, and Yi, in one fell swoop. , laying a solid foundation for the unification of the Northern Song Dynasty. After Zhao Kuangyin ascended the throne, he adopted the unified war strategy of "first easy, then difficult" and "first south, then north", preparing to annex the separatist regimes such as Jingnan, Southern Han, Houshu, Wuyue, and Southern Tang in the south, and finally deal with the north. The powerful enemy of the Liao Dynasty and the Northern Han Dynasty under the control of the Liao Dynasty.
The Southern Tang Dynasty that Li Yu took over was an out-and-out mess. The national treasury is not rich, and wars are frequent, and tributes have to be paid to the north. In the fifth year of Xiande of the Later Zhou Dynasty (958), after the central leader Li proclaimed himself a minister to the Later Zhou Dynasty, he sent Chai Rong millions of dollars in silver, silk, money, tea, and grain in the name of Laojun. When Li Yu first ascended the throne, he also paid 2,000 taels of gold, 20,000 taels of silver, and 30,000 pieces of gauze and silk ribbons as tribute to the Northern Song Dynasty. In order to bribe Zhao Pu, the prime minister of the Northern Song Dynasty, he gave him 50,000 taels of silver at a time. The Southern Tang Dynasty was originally a small country, and the result of such efforts was that it often could not make ends meet. In the last years of the reign of Emperor Li, minister Zhong Mo asked for a large sum of money to be minted as "Yongtong Quanhuo", one for ten, to tide over the financial crisis. After Li Yu came to the throne, he issued iron money to relieve emergencies in the second year of Qiande (964). At the same time, he also collected taxes under clever names to increase income. Later, even folk geese laying twin eggs and wicker knotting were taxed. It was really poor. Crazy! The Southern Tang Dynasty lost all its elite troops in many wars, and most of the remaining troops were exhausted and had low morale. The 14 Jiangbei states that served as strategic buffers had been lost. Once the Northern Song Dynasty troops crossed the Yangtze River, the gates of the Southern Tang capital would be wide open and there would be no danger to rely on. Originally, the Northerners were not suitable for Zhouji, and the Southern Tang navy was sharp. However, the Southern Tang navy was lured to surrender by the Northern Song Dynasty, and there were many prisoners. Zhao Kuangyin used these people to step up training of the navy, and the Southern Tang's last advantage was lost.
The ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty have always been good at wielding power.
Since the founding of the Southern Tang Dynasty, Qiqiu and Sun Sheng of the Song Dynasty have formed two parties. They have been fighting and attacking each other, causing great internal strife. Both the former master Li and the middle master Li are very annoyed. After Li Yu came to the throne, there were many talented people in the court, such as Xiao Yan, Chen Qiao, Xu Xuan, Han Xizai, Pan You, Zhang, etc. However, because Li Yu could not figure out their tempers, he could not know how to make good use of them. The most typical one is Han Xizai. Han Xizai (902-970), a native of Donghai, Shandong, with the courtesy name Shuyan, was a Jinshi of the Southern Tang Dynasty during the Five Dynasties. He specialized in writing and poetry. He was a veteran of the three dynasties of the Southern Tang Dynasty and Minister of War. He had great ambitions when he was young. When he left his hometown and came to Jiangnan, a good friend named Li came to see him off. He said to Li: "If Jiangnan appoints me as prime minister, it won't be long before they march straight into the Central Plains and pacify the Central Plains." Li Ye said: "If the Central Plains allows me to be the prime minister, pacifying Jiangnan will be as easy as searching for something." Later, when Zhou Dynasty attacked Jiangnan, he appointed Li as general and easily captured the land of Huainan. Han Xizai was never reused because he was from the north. When Empress Li first came to the throne, he was very suspicious and killed many ministers from the north. Han Xizai deliberately indulged himself in sensuality in order to avoid the suspicion of Empress Li in the Southern Tang Dynasty. Li Yu was dissatisfied with Han Xizai's dissolute behavior, so he sent painter Gu Hongzhong to sneak into Han's house, carefully observe what Han did, and then draw it for him to see. This painting is kept in the Palace Museum today, and its name is "Han Xizai's Night Banquet". What is reflected behind such a beautiful and vivid picture is the awkward state of mutual suspicion and distrust between the emperors and ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty at that time. Afterwards, Han Xizai was still not reused by Li Yu, and eventually died in desolation.
The Southern Tang Dynasty had no successful diplomacy at all. Although it is also a "distant and close attack", painting a tiger is not the opposite of a dog. The Wuyue Kingdom and the Southern Tang Dynasty were closest to each other, and the former lord Li Shi took the initiative to make amends with Wuyue Kingdom, and even went to rescue Wuyue Kingdom when it was in trouble, thus losing good opportunities to dominate the south of the Yangtze River again and again. During the reign of Li Shi, there was civil strife in Fujian. The Southern Tang Dynasty took the opportunity to seize territory, and the Wuyue Kingdom also intervened. The two countries finally turned against each other, but they did not go all out to merge. The Wu Yue Kingdom later defected to the Northern Zhou Dynasty and later the Northern Song Dynasty. Every time the Southern Tang Dynasty was attacked by the north, the Wu Yue Kingdom would take advantage of the situation and rob it, but the Southern Tang Dynasty had nothing to do. This was a "close attack". As for "distant relations", it refers to two countries in the north: the Khitan Liao Kingdom and the Northern Han Dynasty. The Khitan was the target of the Southern Tang Dynasty's efforts to make friends, but the leader of the Liao Dynasty at this time was the famous faint king King Yelu of Liaomu (931-969), known as the "Sleeping King". He was often drunk, had a cruel temper, and regarded human life as nothing. If he doesn't get what he wants, he kills people. Such a foolish king naturally doesn't care about the Southern Tang Dynasty. What King Liao Mu covets is only the gifts from the Southern Tang Dynasty. King Liao Mu also sent his uncle as an envoy to the Southern Tang Dynasty. Because the Southern Tang Dynasty did not take good care of him, he was beheaded by assassins from the Later Zhou Dynasty. King Liao Mu was furious and broke off diplomatic relations with the Southern Tang Dynasty.
Despite this, Li Yu still worked hard to take care of the country, trying to bring some changes to the lifeless Southern Tang Dynasty. In the early years of his accession to the throne, Li Yu indeed worked hard to govern and made clear rewards and punishments. He established the Longxiang Army and practiced water warfare in preparation for emergencies. Han Deba was put in charge of public security in the capital during the Jinling Beacon Fire, but he was domineering and often bullied the people for no reason. Lu Ying, the professor of the Imperial College, took exception and pulled Han Deba off his horse and beat him up. Han Deba came to Li Yu and cried. Li Yu showed no mercy and immediately dismissed Han Deba from his position. People's eyes were brightened by the Queen's straightforward method, and the incident spread all over the Yangtze River. Li Yu has always wanted to find an outstanding prime minister to help him turn the tide. He also tried to play the role of Han Xizai, but because he could not accept such a bohemian and promiscuous man as prime minister, the matter ended up being nothing. He often praised those who contributed to the country, such as Lu Zhaofu who fulfilled his mission when he entered the Song Dynasty, and Xu Ge, a bachelor of Jixian Palace, who stayed upright and selected many talents for the country. This convinced everyone in the court, and for a while people became more motivated. The atmosphere of the Southern Tang Dynasty changed, and the country also gained temporary peace.