Li Min entered Caizhou on a snowy night

Hello everyone, this is the editor of History Encyclopedia. Today, I will tell you the story of Li Min’s snowy night in Caizhou. Welcome to follow.
In 817 AD, under the cover of a snowstorm, Tang Dynasty general Li Min led a surprise attack on Caizhou, taking down Wu Yuanji’s lair in one fell swoop and ending the four-year Huai Xi Rebellion.
But if we consider this pacification war as a game of chess, Li Min is only the key executor, and the manipulators behind it: Tang Xianzong and Prime Minister Pei Du are even more crucial. In short, it is a perfect demonstration of the harmonious combination of emperors, ministers, and individuals.
Tang Xianzong, who persisted in using troops in the western Huai River despite public opinion
After ascending to the throne, Emperor Xianzong of Tang deeply abhorred the situation of regional separatism since the An Lushan Rebellion and aspired to pacify the interior. Before the rebellion in Huaixi, he had already taken over the Sichuan envoy Du Liu Pi.
In 814 AD, the military governor of Huaixi, Wu Shaoyang, passed away. His son, Wu Yuanji, did not wait for the court’s orders and instead raised troops to defend himself, leading to a rebellion. In the second year, the Tang Xian faction sent 16 troops to attack Huai Xi, but due to the dispersion of their forces, the generals engaged in infighting, resulting in little progress and even repeated casualties.
At the same time, after the imperial court deployed troops, Wu Yuanji sought help from Li Shidao, the military governor of Ziqing, and Wang Chengzong, the military governor of Chengde. Out of concern for the loss of their lips and the coldness of their teeth, Li and Wang submitted a request to release Huai Xi, but Tang Xuanzong ignored it.
In order to shake the determination of the court, Li Shidao and Wang Chengzong sent a large number of assassins to the capital to carry out rare assassination and arson incidents in history. The most shocking thing is that Prime Minister Wu Yuanheng was killed on his way to the court and his head was taken away; Pei Du was seriously injured; In addition, a large amount of supplies were burned in the Huainan area, and the German army also rose up to resist the court; In 816 AD, the Western Route Army of the imperial court suffered a major defeat in Tiecheng.
Faced with such a chaotic situation, both the court and the people were in a state of panic, and most of the courtiers suggested canceling the military campaign against Huai Xi. But if we retreat at this time, it will inevitably have a domino effect, and the situation of regional separatism will become uncontrollable. Therefore, Emperor Xianzong, against public opinion, constantly mobilized troops and appointed Li Min, the son of famous general Li Sheng and Crown Prince Zhanshi, as the commander-in-chief of the Tang army in the western region.
In May 817 AD, Emperor Xianzong of Tang ordered the cessation of military action against Chengde, concentrated efforts to pacify the Huai River West, and sent Prime Minister Pei Du to supervise the front line. Just six months later, Li Min entered Caizhou and Wu Yuanji was captured.
It can be said that Emperor Xianzong’s persistence was the greatest guarantee for the pacification of Huai Xi.
Tang Xianzong’s most favorable supporter and think tank – Pei Du
Pei Du was a famous strategist and politician in the mid Tang Dynasty, as well as the strategist and confidant of Emperor Xianzong’s pacification campaign. Even though he almost died in assassination, he did not waver in his belief in helping the court pacify the feudal lords. In addition, he was ordered to rush to the front line in the face of danger, suppressing the conflicts between eunuchs and generals, which was the key to the court’s victory.
After the An Lushan Rebellion, in order to counter the military power of the feudal lords, the Tang court set up a forbidden army in the central government and arranged eunuchs around to lead the army. At the same time, during the military campaign, eunuchs in the palace were also arranged to accompany and supervise the troops. These supervisors not only monitor whether the generals have ulterior motives, but also frequently intervene and command when facing challenges, causing delays in a large number of fighter jets; At the same time, whenever they achieved victory, the eunuchs eagerly presented the imperial court with good news and vigorously promoted their achievements; If defeated, the generals will be subjected to various forms of humiliation.
In this situation, the army was divided from top to bottom, and coupled with the mutual disobedience and coordination of various troops, the Tang army had not won the fierce battle with Huaixi for nearly four years. In order to reverse this situation, Prime Minister Pei Du voluntarily went to the front line to lead the overall situation. In May 817 AD, Emperor Xianzong of Tang sent him as the military governor of Zhangyi to supervise the army in western Huai.
After Pei Du arrived at the front line, he coordinated the entire army, and the generals were able to control the military command from then on, starting to win repeatedly. On the northern route, General Li Guangyan, who was recommended by Pei Du, was even more successful in connecting. Wu Yuanji was forced to mobilize troops and send a large number of main forces to the northern front, which provided an opportunity for Li Min on the western front to launch a surprise attack on the heartland of Wu Yuanji.
After pretending to be a pig and eating tigers, killing enemies and attacking hearts, Li Min became a famous general
As mentioned earlier, Li Min was the son of the famous general Li Sheng and the Crown Prince Zhan Shi.
Li Sheng was a famous military strategist in the mid Tang Dynasty. In 781 AD, he led his army to suppress the rebellion in the three towns of Heshuo; In 784 AD, Chang’an was recaptured and the rebellion of Zhu Long was quelled. During the rebellion in Huaixi, although Li Min only served as the Crown Prince’s official, he had long been trusted by the father and son of Emperor Xianzong of Tang for his talent and insight.
After arriving at the front line, Li Min immediately demonstrated his unique style of leading the army, in short, pretending to be a pig and eating a tiger.
At that time, the Tang army had just been defeated, and they were timid and afraid to fight, with people’s hearts changing. Upon seeing this, Li Min deceived the soldiers and said, “The emperor knows that I am weak and timid, so he sent me to comfort everyone. As for fighting, I have no knowledge at all, and everyone can rest assured.” After a period of time, not only did the army gradually stabilize, but the Huai West Army also really thought that Li Min was a coward and had no guard against him.
But at this time, Li Min gradually established control over the army while secretly planning a surprise attack on Wu Yuanji’s stronghold in Caizhou. However, for the hinterland of Huaixi, the imperial army and horses had not been in contact for decades, and it could be said that they were unfamiliar with the land. Li Min decided to buy people’s hearts first, sow discord and decompose the enemy.
Through his series of tricks and the combination of grace and authority, the fierce generals Ding Shiliang, Chen Guangqia, Wu Xiulin, Dong Changling, Deng Huaijin, and Li You under Wu Yuanji defected to the court one after another, and the morale of the soldiers in Huaixi was weakened.
On October 10th of the same year, Li Min took advantage of the weather conditions of wind and snow, and under the premise of blocking information from the outside world, ordered the former Huai Xi fierce general Li You, who had surrendered to the court, to lead a vanguard of 3000 soldiers, himself to lead 3000 soldiers as the central army, and Li entered the city and led 3000 soldiers to the rear, heading straight to Caizhou. On the evening of the 12th, the Tang army attacked the inner city, and Wu Yuanji surrendered. The Huaixi army in various places gave up resistance one after another. The battle of pacifying the Huai River, which lasted for several years, came to an end with the victory of the court.
The saying goes that timing is not as good as geographical advantage, and geographical advantage is not as good as human harmony. The Tang Dynasty’s suppression of the Huai Xi Rebellion was a perfect demonstration of the harmonious combination of emperors, ministers, and generals. If this momentum is maintained, perhaps the situation of regional separatism can be completely resolved. Unfortunately, after a series of victories, Emperor Xianzong of Tang gradually gave up his ambition, and his loyal minister Pei Du was deposed. The political situation in the court was chaotic, and the decline of the Tang Dynasty was ultimately difficult to reverse.