Chastity Layman

"I will never allow a country within a country to exist!"

Li Shimin showed his arrogance.

"Your Majesty praises that the Tang Dynasty really cannot allow the existence of people in the middle of the country, but I still think that it is not appropriate to use large-scale troops against Lingnan at the moment!"

"Why?" The emperor frowned and looked at Qin Lang puzzled.

"Your Majesty, the most taboo thing in war is to fight on two fronts. Now that the imperial court is preparing to use troops in Mobei, how can we fight again in the south of Lingnan at this time?" One northern grassland, one south of five mountains, this kind of battle is not easy to fight.

"I have never paid attention to those chieftains in Lingnan. I just couldn't get rid of them before! I have given them many chances. Even if they are naturalized and taxed, they are only allowed to pay half of the tax, but these people How can I allow him to daydream about separatism and becoming king?" In Li Shimin's eyes, places like Lingnan are barbaric and backward, and the local soldiers in Lingnan pose no threat to the imperial court.

As long as the imperial court sends troops, they will definitely be able to put them down in one battle.

This is also based on history. During the Sui Dynasty, the imperial court sent troops to fight against the slang and Liaoren rebels in the southwest and Lingnan many times. Return the capital of the king of Yi.

For the Central Plains Dynasty, the real threat to the south was never their army, but the climate and miasma over there.

"I know that your Dalang's wet nurse is Feng An's daughter-in-law, but you shouldn't speak for them!" The emperor accused Qin Lang.

"I would never dare to abolish the public for personal reasons. Although the Xian family is Feng's wife, she is only my son's nurse. How dare I influence the national policy because of this? What I said is only seeking facts for the sake of the country."

"Then your reason? Fighting on two fronts is not a reason. The imperial court is not afraid of fighting on two fronts." Li Shimin said domineeringly.

There is no urgent threat to the north of the Tang Dynasty now, and the offensive and defensive forces have changed. Therefore, the most elite soldiers of the Hundred Wars in the Tang Dynasty are indeed able to spare their bodies and divide their troops to the south. When soldiers go south, that is really a dimensionality reduction blow.

But Qin Lang had his own considerations.

"Your Majesty, I object to directly sending troops to Lingnan, but I am still worried that this move will be too simple and rude, which will easily arouse the uneasiness of the entire Lingnan people, and even lead to a great rebellion in Lingnan if they are used by those who want to."

"Furthermore, since Lingnan returned to the imperial court in the fourth year of Wude, although there have been frequent rebellions and wars, after all, generally speaking, it is limited to a small area of ​​Lingnan. The imperial court has not been in Lingnan in recent years As a result, at least the control of Guizhou, Guangzhou, and Jiaozhou has achieved some results."

"That's why I believe that for Lingnan, it should be divided and transformed, and softness should be used to control rigidity."

The Lingnan area is far away from the Central Plains and separated by the Nanling Mountains, so its internal natural and cultural environment has always been complicated.

When the Sui Dynasty conquered the Chen Dynasty, Mrs. Xian, who was the master of the Xian and Feng families, chose to lead Lingnan to join the Sui Dynasty, which saved Lingnan from a war.

For decades in the Sui Dynasty, the management of Lingnan was relatively effective. For example, the two key points of Guangzhou and Guilin, as well as Jiaozhi, all strengthened their influence. These are the core of Lingnan.

Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Central Plains Dynasty has been using these cores to control Lingnan.

Guilin is the gateway from the Central Plains to South of the Five Ridges. There is Lingqu from the Xiangjiang River across Lingnan to the Lijiang River, and then along the river to Guangzhou. And Guangzhou is also a large coastal port, an important port from the Central Plains to Lingnan from the sea, and an important port leading to Jiaozhou. It has always been a trading port.

As for Jiaozhou, it is not only a big port, but also the core of controlling Guangnan.

However, at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the imperial court lost the support of the Central Plains, and the Han and Slang forces from all over the Lingnan area took advantage of the opportunity to separate one side, forming large and small semi-independent kingdoms.

After defeating Xiao Xian, the Tang Dynasty quickly pacified the south of the Yangtze River, and then took advantage of the situation to enter Lingnan. unified.

Because of the complicated situation in Lingnan, after all parties joined, the imperial court actually basically recognized the power of all parties in Lingnan, and bestowed the positions of general manager and governor.

Even because there were eight major separatist forces in Lingnan at that time, the imperial court set up nine general management offices in Lingnan. These nine general management offices were established based on the eight major forces at that time plus Guangzhou.

The imperial court directly controls Guangzhou, while the remaining eight general administrations are all those local separatist forces.

For example, Li Xizhi was awarded the governor of Guizhou, Qiu He was awarded the governor of Jiaozhou, Li Junnan was awarded the governor of Dezhou, Li Guangdu was awarded the governor of Nanyinzhou, Chen Zhilue was awarded the governor of Kangzhou, Yang Shilue was awarded the governor of Xunzhou, Ning Changzhen was awarded the governor of Qinzhou, Feng An He was awarded the governor of Gaozhou, the governor of Gangzhou Feng Shihui, the governor of Donghengzhou Deng Wenjin, the governor of Nanyue Prefecture of Ning Daoming, etc.

Among the eight general managers, Li Xizhi and Qiu He were originally Lingnan local officials in the Sui Dynasty. For example, Li Xizhi was originally the prime minister of Shi'an County in Guilin, and Qiu He was the prefect of Jiaozhi County.

They were originally the power of the Central Plains court. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, they led the army and the people to defend themselves.

On the other hand, Ning Changzhen, Feng An, and Chen Zhilue represent the most powerful Han people in Lingnan. The families of these people almost moved from the north to the south during the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Later, he was placed in Lingnan to guard.

For generations, they intermarried with the Xian family, the leader of the slang tribe. With the help of Xian's influence among the slang people, they rapidly expanded their power. The home was not affected either.

Feng Ang also served as an official in the court. Yang Guang conquered Goguryeo in the Sui Dynasty and served as a general. After the Sui Dynasty, he returned to Lingnan to recruit troops and rule the roost separately.

Chen Zhilue was the first strongman in Lingnan to submit to the Tang Dynasty. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, he had recruited 10,000 soldiers to join Yang Guang's Xiaoguo Army to guard the emperor.

Later, after Yu Wenhua and Jiangdu killed Yang Guang, they led the brave fruit army back to the north and west. Chen Zhilue led his children to follow, and was defeated by Qin Qiong in the battle with Wagang, so he led his troops to Wagang. Because of this, he descended to Tang Dynasty.

Soon after, Li Yuan sent Chen Zhilue to lead his troops back to his hometown in Lingnan as the advance army for Tang to enter Lingnan.

And Yang Shilue is a wealthy Chaozhou family, and he was the general of the Chaozhou governor in the Sui Dynasty.

Of course, in addition to these chief executives, there are also many handsome men such as Tan Dian.

The land of Lingnan, although it entered Lingnan from the Qin Dynasty and established prefectures and counties, the actual control is not strong. Shortly after the Qin army entered Lingnan, Qin Shihuang collapsed, and the Qin general Zhao Tuo took the opportunity to separate Lingnan to stand on its own. In the Han Dynasty, it was conquered and merged into the Central Plains, but it was still not an official state and county, and there was no tax.

The main reason is that the land of Lingnan was originally controlled by various ethnic groups in Baiyue. In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, these natives were called slang or Liao people. They were numerous and powerful. Generation after generation of Han people migrated to the south, but they were still only a minority in number.

However, with the support of the Central Plains, it has also established a foothold in the south of the Five Ridges, and even formed many wealthy Han families that have been around for hundreds of years.

Generally speaking, the situation in Lingnan is very complicated. The largest number of ethnic groups are locals, while the highest status are Han Chinese powerful families, and some areas controlled by the Central Plains imperial court are also mixed in, so the current situation of Lingnan is formed. up.

Li Shimin previously abolished the General Manager's Mansion and merged with the Governor's Mansion. As a result, Lingnan is now a mess. These tyrants are fighting each other, but they have a tacit understanding to take the opportunity to invade or drive out the imperial court.

Li Shimin also had no choice, so he said that he wanted to send troops to attack them. It really wouldn't work by ordinary means.

In the entire Lingnan area, up to now, Datang has not set up a Zhechong Mansion.

However, the imperial court inherited the power in Lingnan during the Sui Dynasty, and still directly governed the Guangfu, Jiaofu and Guifu.

"Your Majesty, Qiu He and Li Xizhi in Lingnan are all from the Central Plains, and they were also officials who were stationed in Lingnan during the previous dynasty. They have a heart for the court. These people can be trusted and relied on, and they can be called their own people, because they Rooted in the Central Plains, it is different from other Lingnan chiefs."

"Feng An, Chen Zhilue, Chen Longshu, and Ning Changzhen are representatives of the Han chieftains in Lingnan. These people are actually inseparable from the Central Plains court, so these people can be used."

Feng An and the others are representatives of the Lingnan Han people. If they want to maintain their status and control the large number of slang tribes under their jurisdiction, they must take advantage of the power of the Central Plains Dynasty, and even need the official titles conferred by the Central Plains Dynasty to manage those barbarians. .

After such an analysis, the only ones that the imperial court really had to deal with first were the barbarians. Most of these scumbags were forced to retreat to the mountains by the Han chieftains. They formed large and small tribes and alliances with Dongzhai as their organization. , Their relationship with the Han chieftains is divided and harmonious, and wars are often fought over land or tribute taxes.

Surrender when it hurts, forget the pain when the scar is healed, and continue to beat the drums and blow the horns to do it.

It is also often used by the powerful chieftains of the Han people and becomes cannon fodder in the battle for the interests of these powerful chieftains.

"Your Majesty, send someone to appoint Feng An as an official, and ask Feng An to send troops to attack Tan Dian, the leader of the slang rebel army. First let them bite dogs, and then the imperial court takes advantage of the opportunity to send troops to Guangzhou, Guilin, and Jiaozhou to set up military palaces."

Qin Lang's idea is not to be an enemy of all Lingnan people, not to classify them all as rebels, but to divide and woo them, and use barbarians to control barbarians.

Let Feng An, who is pro-Tang, come out to fight Tan Dian, who rebelled against Tang. At the same time, the imperial court directly sent troops to Lingnan's own direct-administered area to strengthen its strength.

"The former Lingnan Ninth Governor's Mansion was reorganized as the Dudu's Mansion and the subsequent Dudu's Mansions. Only the three mansions of Guangzhou, Jiaozhou and Guizhou were retained. The Jiaozhou Metropolitan Mansion was changed to the Annan Metropolitan Guard Mansion, and the Guangzhou Metropolitan Mansion was upgraded to the Guangzhou Metropolitan Governor's Mansion. government."

The rest of the governor's mansions are all abolished, and a round of withdrawal of dozens of states of different sizes in Lingnan will be carried out.

Take the opportunity to remove those forces who previously rebelled against Tang and covertly against Tang directly from their official positions and titles, and let Feng An, Chen Longshu, Ning Chun, and Chen Zhilue go to fight, and then send Qiu He and Li Xizhi, the former The Lingnan officials in the court recalled the court and sent another reliable and capable general to take over.

"I suggest that Lingnan Road can be divided into Guangdong, Guangxi, and Guangnan, with Guangzhou, Guizhou, and Jiaozhou as the capitals."

Guilin is the bridgehead from the Central Plains to the South of the Five Ridges. This must be in the hands of our own people. Although Li Xizhi is also facing the imperial court, he is a member of the former court after all, so he still needs a more reliable and more capable past guard.

Jiaozhi is the core of the Beibu Gulf area. Qiu He is also loyal, but he is already old, so he still has to send a young and strong person to go there.

Not to mention the importance of Guangzhou, it is the core of the eastern part of Lingnan, so it must be promoted to the Metropolitan Government.

Splitting Lingnan into three areas with three cores is not only to strengthen control, but the small division is conducive to control, and it is also the land of Lingnan. These three places are also separated geographically, such as the Yunkai Mountain between Guangdong and Guangxi. It is high, but it stretches for more than five hundred miles, and it really prevents the traffic between the east and the west.

At this time, Guangxi and Jiaozhi didn't even have land access, and they basically relied on sea routes. The Ning family had always controlled this route before.

Control the Guilin bridgehead, then go down the river to Guangzhou, and then arrive at Jiaozhou by sea. If this route is controlled, the imperial court will also control Lingnan.

From another point of view, Lingnan has always been separated from the Central Plains, so they should not be allowed to continue as a whole. They must be dismantled, so as to benefit the Central Plains and strengthen their actual leadership.

The emperor pondered for a while, thinking carefully.

What the emperor thought of was a conquest like a plow court sweeping a hole, and suppressing it with force.

But Qin Lang said that doing so may not have any good effect. The complicated situation in Lingnan is there. Instead of thinking about solving it in one battle, it is better to be honest and strengthen your basic position in Guanggui and Jiaosanfu. As for other places, you can Drive away tigers and wolves.

Let Feng An, who is pro-Tang, and the Han chieftains send troops first to get rid of the slang commanders like Tan Dian. After all, these slangs have no closeness and loyalty to the Central Plains court.

When tigers and wolves are fighting and both losers, it will not be too late for the court to take action. At that time, the court will conscript Feng An and others into the court, or make a swap, or cancel their soldiers. Can they object?

If he dares to object, the court will punish him at that time.

Feng An and others had just finished fighting the slangs, and now they had to turn against them, the slangs would not follow them, and even the imperial court could recruit those slangs, and use them to fight Feng An and them again.

If Feng An does not dare to rebel, then the imperial court will carry out the new policy step by step, merging states and counties, dispatching officials, deploying military government, abolishing native soldiers, checking the population, and collecting taxes for naturalization...

This is boiling frogs in warm water. Feng An and others will only become more and more incapable of rebelling against the court until they are no longer capable and are dismembered by the court.

"You speak so well, I want you to go to Lingnan." Li Shimin said with a smile.

Qin Lang was startled, isn't this cheating?

He didn't really want to go to Lingnan. In this era, Lingnan was really synonymous with barbarism and backwardness, and it was also the place where the court officials were relegated to exile.

For the officials of the Central Plains, the greatest pain is being demoted to the Lingnan Changliu people, and they will not be able to return to the Central Plains for life.

Seeing Qin Lang's nervous appearance, the emperor laughed.

"I'm just talking casually, don't worry, you just made great achievements in Saibei, how could I drive you to the plagued land in Lingnan?"

"You recommend some suitable candidates for me!"