The word Hunan actually appeared very early. At least during the Dali Period of the Tang Dynasty, this place was called Hunan Road.
Of course, the Hunan Road at that time did not cover all of Hunan Province, only Changsha and Shaoyang.
Hunan formed the general state and county structure of later generations, and its origin actually dates back to the Ma Chu period.
In the hands of Ma Yin, the Chu State took over Yuezhou, which originally belonged to the E-Yue Observation Envoy, Langzhou (Changde), which belonged to the Jingnan Jiedushi Envoy, and Chenzhou and Jinzhou (Huaihua area), which belonged to the Qianzhou Observation Envoy.
At this point, Hunan Province in later generations basically belonged to one political power.
However, at this time, Ma Chu had only carried out a rough integration, because throughout Xiangxi, there were still a large number of ethnic minorities called Xidong Man or Tu Man, Beijiang Man, Nanjiang Man, etc.
Most of them were divided into Dong, Miao and Tujia in later generations.
At this time, among the Xidong barbarians in Xiangxi, the most sinicized were the Xidong barbarians in Langzhou.
Before the founding of Ma Chu, Langzhou Xidongman Leiman and his sons Lei Yanwei and Lei Yangong ruled Langzhou separately. They were granted the title of Military Envoy of the Wuzhen Army by the Tang Dynasty and became an upright vassal town of the Tang Dynasty.
Lei's Wu Zhen Army occupied the prosperous land of Langzhou, recruited Yang Xingmi and others from Huainan as reinforcements, and sent troops to attack Jingzhou, Yuezhou and Tanzhou (Changsha) many times. After more than thirty years of glory, it was defeated by the two great lords Gao Jixing and Ma Yin.
Destroyed under attack.
After the fall of the Lei family, Peng Shichou, a barbarian lord located in Xizhou (Yongshun County, Hunan), began to rise again. During his most powerful period, he became the leader of the barbarians in western Hunan and eastern Guizhou.
However, although Peng Shichou is called a Tuman, he should actually be a Han. His uncle Peng Gan and father Peng Yao were both from Jizhou (Ji'an), Jiangxi.
These two men had previously gathered troops to protect themselves during the Huangchao Rebellion and became warlords in the Jizhou area.
Later, they were expelled by Yang Xingmi's forces in Huainan and fled to Ma Chu in order to protect themselves. After arriving in Ma Chu, they were arranged by Ma Yin to move to the Xizhou area to appease the local Beijiang barbarians.
Therefore, Peng Shichou was not a Xidong barbarian, but although he was born in Jizhou, he grew up in western Hunan. He lived among the Xidong barbarians in western Hunan since he was a child, and gradually became their leader.
At that time, Ma Chu's rule over the Langzhou barbarians relied on the establishment of the Wuping Army Jiedushi in Langzhou, with the clan's nephews in charge.
In Chenzhou and other places, the Peng family was in charge and comforted. Peng Shichou's cousin also married the second generation King of Chu, Ma Xifan, as his first wife, and she was the virtuous wife of Chu State.
Mrs. Xianshun was ugly but managed the household well and acted decisively. Ma Xifan respected and feared her, so the territory of Ma Chu became very peaceful.
However, soon after Mrs. Xianshun passed away, Ma Xifan lost his restraints. In order to build a large palace in Tanzhou and live a life of wine ponds and meat forests, he began to allocate large amounts of gold and silver to the barbarians in various streams and caves in western Hunan.
Peng Shichou had grown up in Xizhou and other places, so naturally he would not allow Ma Xifan to come to Xiangxi to collect taxes. Moreover, he lost the communication channel of Mrs. Xianshun, and the two sides immediately started a war.
First, Peng Shichou led tens of thousands of people from Jin, Zhong, and Xi prefectures to march eastward to attack the Chu State, seize Chu's Chen and Li prefectures, and burn and plunder the garrisons established by the Chu State in the two prefectures.
Then Ma Xifan sent Liu Qing, the Jingjiang Jiedu envoy, and Liao Kuangqi, the decisive commander, to lead the army to conquer Xizhou.
The two sides fought in the Wangcheng area. Peng Shichou's barbarian troops were inferior to the Chu army in equipment and discipline. They were defeated and fled westward in panic.
The Chu army pursued Peng Shichou to Xizhou, his home base, forcing him to retreat to the mountain stronghold and rely on the natural dangers of cliffs on all sides to resist the Chu army.
When the war reached this point, it fell into a fierce tug-of-war.
On the Chu side, first the commander of the decisive victory, Liao Kuangqi, was accidentally ambushed and died. Then Peng Shichou was defeated by Liu Qing with a fire attack. He could not hold on to the stronghold and had to flee into the mountains. He asked Meng Chang, the Lord of Shu, for help.
Rejected by Shu.
But at the same time, although Peng Shichou was a Han, he was already regarded by various Xidong barbarians as one of their own, and his prestige was not damaged by his defeat.
On the contrary, the Chu soldiers who came to attack were regarded as invaders, which provoked the various cave barbarians to resist continuously. As a result, the Chu soldiers beat Peng Shichou and forced him to hide in Tibet, but they could never eliminate him.
Seeing this situation, Peng Shichou, who was worthy of being a hero, took the initiative to surrender and sent his son to lead the subordinate chiefs Tian Hongbin, Qin Xingfang, Xiang Cunku, Luo Junfu, etc., with brocades, awards, Xizhou seals, and maps, to request the Chu State.
Surrender, take the initiative to step down for Mahifan.
Ma Xifan really couldn't fight anymore, so he agreed.
The two parties signed the historically famous Xizhou Covenant in Xizhou, which stipulated that Xizhou and other places would always be under the control of the Peng family.
Ma Chu officially appointed Peng Shichou as the governor of Xizhou. If Chu wanted to collect taxes and recruit troops here, it would need to be discussed with Peng and approved by Peng.
The Peng family summoned Mo Yanshu, the chief of Nanning Prefecture (now Huishui County, Qiannan Guizhou, Guizhou) and the Eighteen Villages.
Yin Huaichang, the chief of Duyun (now Duyun, Guizhou), and other twelve tribes of barbarians.
Zhang Wanjun, the leader of the Zangzhou barbarians, led more than 30 powerful barbarian chiefs from Dabozhou (Zunyi, Guizhou), Xiaobozhou (Zitong, Guizhou), and Yizhou (Fenggang County, Zunyi) to come.
They all made a blood alliance and surrendered to Ma Chu, respecting Ma Xifan as king, so that Ma Chu gained a large territory in western Hunan, eastern Guizhou, and southern Guizhou in name.
This is an extremely important event in Chinese history, marking that the ethnic minorities in western Hunan, eastern Guizhou, southern Guizhou, and southeastern Henan returned to the country again after the fall of the Tang Dynasty.
The Xizhou Alliance also erected a large copper pillar, which existed until later generations. The inscription on the bronze pillar clearly recorded the status of the alliance between the two parties.
Since then, under the constraints of the Peng family, the barbarians in western Hunan, eastern Guizhou, and southern Guizhou have gradually accepted the Central Plains culture, and there has been no large-scale rebellion.
By the Ming Dynasty, the people of all ethnic groups in Xidong in this area even repeatedly helped the Central Plains Dynasty send troops to put down the Japanese pirate rebellion in the southeast and resist the Manchu invaders.
The natives in southeastern Chongqing still have the tradition of officially celebrating the New Year on the 27th and 28th of the twelfth lunar month. This is because they were drafted to the southeast to fight against Japanese pirates and had no time to celebrate the New Year, so they moved the New Year's Eve forward.
When the heroine Qin Liangyu in the late Ming Dynasty led the white-pole soldiers to the expedition, they were not all Shizhu soldiers, but also a large number of Tujia soldiers from Youyang, Xiushan and other places in southeastern Chongqing.
Before Qin Liangyu, during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, the Xidong chieftains, mainly from Xizhou (Yongshun County, Hunan), often sent troops to the northeast and southeast to fight for the imperial court.
The Peng Shichou who is facing Zhang Yan now is the ancestor of the Yongshun Peng family chieftain family who was passed down for more than 800 years and went through the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties until the sixth year of Yongzheng (1728) when he was repatriated.
To this day, among the Miao, Dong, and Tujia people in western Hunan, Guizhou, and southeastern Chongqing, Peng, Tian, and Xiang all have super surnames.
At that time, the son Peng Shichou sent out to actively seek peace was Peng Shisong, who came as a tribute envoy to ask for an audience with Zhang Zhang.
Zhang Yan only summoned Peng Shisong for less than a cup of tea, and he immediately discovered that the person in front of him was one of the founders of the Peng clan chieftain in Yongshun.
Zhang Yan understood that his return to Kaifeng Mansion in Tokyo had to be postponed again.
This is the advantage of the time traveler, he knows who can be trusted and who cannot be trusted.
The Yongshun Peng family in front of him were his most trusted candidates to guard Xiangxi and Eastern Guizhou, and he could rely on them to integrate the entire western Hunan and Guizhou local chiefs.
Peng Shisong is not an ordinary person. When the Peng family was in danger, he dared to risk being killed by the Chu army and went down the mountain to seek reconciliation. How could such a person be incompetent?
Although this man is rough and does not understand etiquette and has a straight-forward temper, he is indeed as Zhang Shaodi said, respectful and grateful.
The first thing he said when he saw Zhang Yan was to distinguish the Beijiang barbarians headed by the Peng family from the Langzhou barbarians headed by the Lei and Xiang families of Langzhou.
Because Peng Shisong knew very well that there was nothing wrong with Langzhou Man helping Ma Xi'e seize power. If the Peng family had the chance, they would do the same, but looting and burning Tanzhou City would be too much.
This is a deadly feud! And in this way, whether it is after Ma Chu regains his strength or the imperial court takes control of Hunan, he will definitely be held responsible for this matter.
Zhang Yan nodded, indicating that he understood the difference between the two places. He smiled and asked Peng Shisong about the physical condition of his father Peng Shichou, and asked about ways to quickly stabilize Xi, Chen, Yi, Dabo and Nanning Prefectures.
Because the parties to the alliance between these states were Chu King Ma Xifan and the Chu State, now that Zhang Yan was about to take over the separatist power of Ma Chu, he was bound to make a new alliance with these Xidong barbarians.
Peng Shisong was greatly shocked. He did not expect that Zhang Yan did not ask how to pacify Ma Xi'e, but instead asked how to pacify the barbarians in Xidong.
Of course, Peng Shisong was also very concerned about this matter. He took the risk of leaving his two sons in Tanzhou just for the future of the Peng family.
If the Emperor of China does not agree to and abide by the Xizhou Covenant, the war will ignite again.
Zhang Yan looked at the surprised Peng Shisong and said with a smile: "Ma Xi'e is not the heir of the Chu Kingdom, and he is cruel and unpopular. I need to send a general with fifty thousand armors. Killing him is like picking something out of a bag."
On the contrary, the various places west of Xi and Chen finally obeyed Wang Hua. If they were not handled well, they would return to the mountains and forests again and rebel against the imperial court.
Didn’t the hundreds of thousands of lives injured in the bloody battle between the Erpeng family and the Ma family bleed in vain?"
When Peng Shisong heard what Zhang Yan said, he bowed his head and bowed to the ground.
"The sage really has the idea to treat the people in the creeks and caves of the South and North Rivers equally with the Han people in Tan, Yue and other states?"
Zhang Gao helped Peng Shisong up and said, "The whole world is the land of the king, and the shores of the land are the ministers of the king. As long as you Chen, Xi and other state chiefs can abide by the laws of the imperial court and obey the orders of the imperial court, why can't I treat you all equally?"
Woolen cloth?
I have no intention of driving you all to death, and you don’t want to join the bandits every year and be surrounded and suppressed by the imperial soldiers, right?"
Peng Shisong stood up and pulled Zhang Xian's sleeves excitedly, "Except for the cruel chiefs of Xidong in the west of Tanzhou, as long as they can be treated as equals by the court, they will not block trade or use salt.
If you plunder sugar, iron and other things skillfully, you will never feel rebellious."
Peng Shisong understood the implication of Zhang Yan's words, and Zhang Yan also knew what Peng Shisong was talking about, because the words used by both of them were "hao chief".
Zhang Zhang expressed his willingness to recognize the power of these powerful chiefs to command their people, while Peng Shisong pursued the equal treatment of Xidong powerful chiefs and Han officials.
There is a term in history called "returning local officials to local officials". This was in line with the trend during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but at this time, appointing local officials was the best choice.
The most important thing now is not to send officials to the lands of these ethnic minorities.
Instead, these ethnic minorities whose appearance, customs and even culture are similar to the Han people are brought into this big family.
First, let their tribal leaders get used to accepting the leadership of the imperial court and make them regard themselves as members of the imperial court.
The two sides continued to talk for a while, and Zhang Yan finally said, "I heard that Xizhou has beautiful mountains, clear waters, and outstanding people. If I have time, I really want to visit Xizhou."
Peng Shisong understood instantly and was extremely shocked at the same time. For many years, the Xidong barbarians west of Tanzhou had never received such attention from the emperor and the imperial court. He immediately expressed.
"The name of my family is Xidong Mantou, and they are actually from Jizhou. Since my ancestor King Anding (Peng Gan) came to Xizhou, he has never forgotten his identity.
If the Emperor can visit Xizhou, it will be a supreme honor for our people in Beijiang and Nanjiang.
At that time, Xi, Chen, Yi, Nanning, Big and Small Bozhou, Duyun and other states will all offer the most beautiful girls and the strongest warriors in the clan to the saint to express our loyalty."
Zhang Yan pretended to think for a while, and then nodded. Peng Shisong can't be the master of Xidongman yet. The master is still his father Peng Shichou, so he can only talk to Peng Shichou about some things.
"Well! After settling Tanzhou, I will go there. Your father is also a hero in China. He has done great service in recruiting the barbarians from various streams and caves for the imperial court. It would be a great event if we could meet him."
Peng Shisong was overjoyed. He even gave up his two sons, but now he finally got an unprecedented reward. The out-of-reach Emperor of the Central Plains was going to Xizhou.
He prostrated himself on the ground and said with tears of gratitude: "On behalf of the people of Xidong in Thirty-Seven Prefectures west of Tanzhou, I would like to thank the saint for his grace."
Seeing that Peng Shisong had reached an agreement with the emperor, Zhang Shaodi immediately came forward and said to Peng Shisong.
"Peng Erlang, the saint has given you such great honor to the Peng family, why don't you come up with some advice for the saint and get rid of that thief Ma Xi'e!"
Peng Shisong stood up with tears streaming down his face and said solemnly to Zhang Yan: "It is not difficult to get rid of Ma Xi'e. As the saint said, his cruelty is unpopular. Thirty thousand elite soldiers are enough.
But in order to stabilize Chu State, there are three things that must be paid attention to.
The first is to prevent Ma Xi'e from escaping back to Langzhou. Langzhou is where Ma Xi'e resides. The local barbarians have just helped Ma Xi'e sack Tanzhou. If Ma Xi'e escapes back to Langzhou, he will be caught out again.
That would be difficult.
The second is Yuezhou. Yuezhou is the most prosperous prefecture and county in Chu region except Tanzhou and Langzhou.
Now Tanzhou is caught in the flames of war, and it will be difficult to recover. Langzhou Xidong is so barbaric that it may disappear soon. Only Yuezhou is rich in products and has been an important town in Hunan since the Han Dynasty.
Wang Yun, the governor of Yuezhou, was the son of the famous general Wang Huan. Huan was a tiger minister of the Ma family. He was wise and brave, and loved the soldiers as much as his son. Therefore, many of the Yuezhou troops obeyed and died in Huan Ziyun's service.
In addition, Yuezhou's navy was named Yishengdu. It fought against Jingnan in the north and resisted the Tang Dynasty in the east. To capture the Chu land without the Yishengdu navy was like entering Baoshan without success.
The third one is Ma Xizhan, the military governor of Jingjiang in Guizhou. Guizhou is the gateway to Lingnan. Ma Xizhan is the only Qilin'er who is wise and brave among the princes of King Wu Xin.
He has been guarding Guizhou for more than ten years and has won the support of the people. If the saint can treat the Ma family well and recruit Ma Xizhan to surrender, he can gain the land of the ten states in Lingnan and take the opportunity to peek at the Han Dynasty in Lingnan."
It’s all useful information. This Peng Shisong is indeed a treasure. Zhang Yan is very happy!
Wang Yun, the governor of Yuezhou, was a rare navy general in Ma Chu. Historically, it was Wang Yun who defeated Ma Xihe.
But when he was almost captured alive, Ma Xiguang told him not to hurt my brother and let him go. This made Wang Yun so angry that he never supported Ma Xiguang again.
Guizhou is later Guilin. This city is to the Lingnan Pearl River Delta what Xiangyang is to the Jianghan Plain.
Once you master Guilin, you can rush directly to Guangzhou along the Lijiang River and the Xijiang River, just like Mount Tai.
In the north, Guilin can also reach the Yangtze River through the tributaries of the Xiangjiang River. Thousands of years ago, Qin Shi Huang built the Ling Canal here to connect the Xiangjiang River and the Lijiang River.
Although the Lingqu canal has long been blocked at this time, it is not difficult to clear it.
Zhang Yan rubbed his hands impatiently and asked Peng Shisong and Zhang Shaodi.
"I want to bring the Chu vassal state back to the imperial court, and Ma Xizhan will become the Chu royal family. Can he be cared for by me?"
"Okay!" Zhang Shaodi nodded affirmatively.
"Ma Xizhan is a pity that he has a son from a prostitute, otherwise he would definitely succeed to the throne of Chu.
He understands the righteousness well and has been heartbroken by Ma Xi'e's atrocities for a long time. As long as your majesty sends a court minister to accompany him south, he will definitely be able to appease him."
Zhang Shaodi was right. Historically, Ma Xizhan was angered to death by the brothers Ma Xi'e and Ma Xiguang.
As soon as he died, Guizhou fell into the hands of the Southern Han Dynasty. It was indeed Ma Chu's pinnacle of stability in Lingnan.
As long as Zhang Gao captured the Chu vassal, treated the Ma clan well, and summoned them with great righteousness, he would definitely be able to recruit them to surrender.
Zhang was relieved and immediately appointed Zhang Shaodi as the governor of Langzhou and the supervisor of the troops and horses of Langzhou, Peng Shisong as the governor of Hengzhou and the supervisor of the troops and horses of Hengzhou. The remaining generals such as Li Yanwen and Liu Yantao each received rewards.
Then Peng Shisong volunteered to sneak back to Xizhou to recruit barbarians from various Xidong caves to help Zhang Gao.
Zhang Shaodi also asked for orders, and was willing to go to Yuezhou to recruit Ma Chu, the governor of Yuezhou, and Wang Yun, the commander of the Yisheng capital, for Zhang Yan.
Zhang Zhi then sent Yang Jiye to carry the imperial edict to confer Wang Yun the title of Yueyang Bo and prepare to upgrade Yuezhou's Yisheng Navy Navy to the Forbidden Army Yisheng Town.
In order to meet the leader of the Xidong barbarians and control the land of Ma Chu, Zhang Yan had to consider the issue of guarding the land of Hunan.
But now, he really doesn't have any generals he can use.
After much thought, Zhang Hao decided to take a little risk. He promoted Luo Shande, the general of the Zhonglang of Zuo Shenwei Guard who followed him south, to Pingzhang of Jianghuai Province and commander of Wuning Guard of Xuzhou Prefecture, and ordered him to go quickly.
Xuzhou is in charge.
Then he summoned Guo Wei, who had just arrived in Xuzhou for more than two months, to come to Hunan.
Zhang Gao planned to appoint him as Pingzhang of Hunan Province and Military Envoy of Wu'an Army in Tanzhou to control Hunan on Zhang Gao's behalf.
In October, Zhang Gao ordered Zhang Zhaojiu (Ma Shacai) to lead 20,000 troops to the edge of Lishui River.
The frightened Ma Xi'e immediately sent his general Zhu Jinzhong to lead an army of 20,000 troops, and recruited 15,000 Langzhou Xidong barbarians to advance to the Li River. The two sides faced off at Xiaodukou Town, east of Lizhou City.
This place is located in Jinshi City in Hunan Province in later generations. Jinshi City is in the transition zone from the Wuling Mountains to the Dongting Lake Basin. The terrain uses Lishui as the natural dividing line.
The southwest bank of Lishui is the remnant of Wuling Mountain, and the northeast bank is the border of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River plain. The entire terrain slopes from south to northeast, and the location is extremely important. It is known as the Jiuli Gate and is the northeast entrance to the Dongting Lake Plain.
However, Zhang Gao's move was completely false. What he was most worried about now was that the Ezhou and Jiangzhou naval forces of the Southern Tang Dynasty would come to cause trouble for him. So before letting Zhang Zhao advance to Lishui, Zhang Gao once again sent angels to Jiangning.
But this time it was not a ruthless person like Pai Wang Jiulang, but a moderate person like Lu Yin.
While preparing to reprimand Li Jing for harboring Gao Baoxu and other rebels, Zhang Gao gave Li Jing gems, spices, etc., and asked him to train his navy in order to help the imperial court attack Ma Chu's Yuezhou.
This appeased Li Jing and made him feel like Nanping, Ma Chu's demise had nothing to do with him.
Secondly, it gave Li Jing an illusion that the court still trusted him, and Zhang Shengren still had to rely on him to guard Jiangnan, thus dispelling Li Jing's determination to fight to the death.
But inside, Zhang Gao continued to train his navy in Jiangling. Once the Nanping navy was completely controlled by Du Lunchixin and Zhao Yanjin, Zhang Gao would dispatch warships southward and enter Yuezhou.
Of course, it would be best if Zhang Shaodi could persuade Wang Yun to surrender.
....
In the Southern Tang Dynasty, Liu Renzhan, the governor of the Qing-Huai Army in Shouzhou, and He Jingzhu, the military governor of the Wuchang Army in Ezhou, were anxious because of Li Jing's hesitation.
As the staunchest resistance faction in the Southern Tang Dynasty, both of them believed that this was the last chance for the Southern Tang Dynasty.
If the navy could be used to control Jiangling and Yuezhou and prevent Zhou from establishing a powerful navy, the Southern Tang Dynasty could still support it.
If the Feihu Army in Nanping Jiangling and the Yishengdu Navy in Ma Chuyue Prefecture were both controlled by the Zhou Kingdom, the Southern Tang Dynasty would be doomed.
He Jingzhu followed General Li Jian of Yang Wu in his early years. Although he was not tall and ugly, he was brave and decisive, had superb shooting skills and was proficient in water warfare.
While he corresponded frequently with Liu Renzhan to discuss countermeasures, he also kept writing to Li Jing.
At the same time, he also actively started to take action. He sent his generals to risk their lives and enter Yuezhou, with the intention of recruiting Wang Yun, the governor of Yuezhou, to surrender Ma Chu for the Southern Tang Dynasty.