Chapter 2188: Peninsula Chronicle: Forty Years of Annam

Since the thirteenth year of Yongxi, when Taizong enfeoffed the vassal state, to the fourteenth year, when Liu Wenhuan arrived in Jiaozhi and formally established the Annam court, thirty-seven years had passed by the second year of Zhengtong.

Thirty-seven years is enough time for two generations to grow up. Under the management of the Annam royal house, the kingdom of Annam achieved unprecedented development—especially in the Red River Delta region, where goods were abundant and the people prosperous, with ample grain and rice, greatly supporting the rule of the Annam court.

Behind this rapid development, one must first credit the political, economic, cultural, and demographic foundations laid during the period of direct imperial rule. From Zhao Kuangyi in the early days to Kou Zhun in the later period, these capable officials of the empire all gained fame and promotion through their outstanding governance during the Annam Circuit era.

Of course, as the Empress Dowager Liu E, who had regent-governed Annam for twenty years, during her tenure, although the Annam court was rife with internal contradictions and fierce struggles, the series of policies she supported—restoring order and encouraging production—also played a huge role in promoting Annam's further development.

At the same time, these thirty-seven years also marked another leap in Annam's sinicization. By the second year of Zhengtong, the Han Chinese population of Annam (whom the local indigenous barbarians also called the Hua people) had long surpassed two million—the highest among all states. Han academies and schools had been established throughout the prefectures and counties, the official status of the Chinese language was thoroughly confirmed, and local languages, histories, customs, and so forth had been shattered under the impact of Han culture...

Only when Annam possessed such a demographic and cultural foundation, combined with a political system highly overlapping with that of the empire, could one say that Annam's sinicization was truly successful. Under this premise, no matter what direction history took in the future, Annam would remain a core development region of Han civilization.

Achieving this step required the vigorous support of the central empire in the early period, as well as the arduous pioneering efforts of countless Han officials, soldiers, merchants, and commoners—altogether, roughly seventy years had passed from beginning to end.

The difficulty of this pioneering effort was thus readily apparent.

Although the achievements were largely built on the foundations laid by predecessors, Liu E's contributions to Annam's development and sinicization could not be erased. This led to a large number of political enemies resenting and slandering her as a hen crowing at dawn, while equally many supporters held her in grateful remembrance.

Moreover, with the passage of time and the further development and enlightenment of history and civilization, evaluations of Liu E grew increasingly favorable. In later periods, the historical records of Annam even glorified her as a heroine of "world-creating, once-in-a-millennium" stature.

However, during the years of Liu E's governance, while Annam's economy, culture, and people's livelihoods developed rapidly, there were also problems that could not be concealed. For instance, the frequent and fierce political struggles—in the early period, Liu E relied on the great righteousness of the royal court and her outstanding political wisdom and skill to settle the Annam magnates led by the Zhao clan one by one.

Afterwards, she vigorously promoted secret-police politics, making the atmosphere of the Annam court perpetually unable to escape oppression, tension, and even terror. This inertia of political and factional struggle continued even after Liu Jidan assumed personal rule—the Princess Faction replacing the Empress Dowager Faction to continue the fight was the most conspicuous sign. This was clearly detrimental to the internal stability and unity of the Annam court, leaving endless harm.

On the other hand, after decades of development, the influx of large numbers of Han Chinese made them the main core ruling class of the Annam dynasty, occupying vast social resources of the kingdom—which greatly infringed upon the interests of the local indigenous people.

Among the indigenous people, those who were clever, proactive, and actively assimilated could still get a share of the pie despite their dissatisfaction, but those who clung to old ways, were obstinate and unyielding, and opposed changing customs found their living space and conditions increasingly narrow and difficult, barely able to sustain their livelihoods.

As a result, they either became bandits in the mountains, fell into slavery, or simply raised the banner of rebellion. When Chenla brazenly invaded Annam back then, it was able to trigger responses from many indigenous people within the Annam Circuit—this was the main reason.

And after several more decades, this problem had become even more severe. Therefore, during Liu E's era, the class contradictions within Annam (mainly the Han-barbarian contradiction) grew increasingly acute. Several riots or even rebellions broke out every year, and although they were all suppressed by government troops, the problems and contradictions were never fundamentally resolved—this was also one of the long-standing sources of bloodshed in the kingdom of Annam.

Another source of bloodshed lay in the northern region, especially the long-term instability in the border areas with the empire's own territory. There, barbarian forces from both Annam and the western part of Guangnan West Circuit had long been entrenched. Nominally they submitted to Han rule, but they were highly autonomous—especially after Annam's founding, they became even more active, particularly fond of bleeding the land transportation routes between the empire and Annam.

By the mid-Jianlong period, when the Dian-Qian rebellion broke out and the court suppressed it, the rebellious Yunnan barbarian tribes shifted into the Annam border region, further intensifying the chaos along Annam's northern border. This gradually developed into a festering sore at the junction of the three circuits of Annam, Yunnan, and Guangnan, greatly affecting overland exchanges between Annam and the empire.

In view of this, from the time Liu E was still regent, the kingdom of Annam had begun military cleanup operations against the northern barbarian disturbances. Some results were achieved, but the root problem was difficult to solve, because those barbarian bandits simply could not be eradicated.

Later, in view of the situation along the Guangnan border where barbarian bandits repeatedly rebelled and could not be eliminated despite repeated suppression, Emperor Shizong issued an edict, arranging from the central imperial level for coordinated joint anti-bandit and security operations between the border circuits and prefectures and the kingdom of Annam.

With mutual cooperation, the results were naturally much better than the previous independent operations. Many barbarian bandits and strongmen who had run rampant for a time were killed by government troops. After several years of bloody suppression, the arrogance of the barbarian bandits was finally crushed, and the border region enjoyed a rare period of relative tranquility.

However, such results were achieved at the cost of enormous pressure on the central imperial government and the expenditure of vast human and material resources by the two circuits and one kingdom—and such intensity obviously could not be maintained long-term.

The complex geography, demographics, and customs of Annam's northern border region all made it difficult to stabilize easily. Coupled with some local magnates of ulterior motives and divided loyalties who fanned the flames and stirred up trouble, it was hardly surprising that the region became a source of chaos for one kingdom and two circuits.

With Liu E's death, the kingdom of Annam entered an era of "joint governance between court and government." The intensification of internal court struggles also led to the resurgence of northern barbarian bandits and separatist forces in the border regions.

The northern border barbarian disturbances once again became a festering sore on the kingdom of Annam. However, to the Jiaozhi court, no matter how fiercely those barbarian tribes acted, they were merely bandits and robbers—capable of disturbing public order, but hard-pressed to amount to anything major, and far from being able to shake the rule of the kingdom of Annam.

In comparison, what the Jiaozhi court truly regarded as a threat to its very heart were Liu Jiyuan and Liu Jichu, the two brothers whom the late king Liu Wenhuan had enfeoffed to the southwestern Wen and Wan prefectures. Regarding the attitude toward these two marquises, all factions of the Jiaozhi court were essentially unanimous—especially as the threat from the two prefectures grew day by day.

By the second year of Zhengtong, Liu Jiyuan and Liu Jichu had held the two prefectures for thirty-five or thirty-six years. Over more than three decades, the two youths of bitter circumstances had reached middle age—especially Liu Jiyuan, who was now approaching the age of fifty.

However, the long passage of time had not dissolved their dissatisfaction and resentment; rather, it had deepened them. Throughout those thirty-plus years, the two marquises had constantly faced the vigilance and suppression of the Jiaozhi court—especially after Liu E had settled her opponents within the court.

Liu Jiyuan and his brother, for their part, essentially met fire with fire—recruiting soldiers, nurturing retainers, and expanding their strength. However, throughout Liu E's regency, although she at one point considered using forceful means to deal with the two marquises, in the end she never put it into actual action.

On the one hand, she was wary of internal instability; on the other, the gaze from the imperial capital region made Liu E hesitate to act for fear of hitting the rat while throwing the vase. Therefore, for a long time, she could only use political and economic means to divide and disintegrate the Wen and Wan prefectures.

By the same logic, Liu Jiyuan and his brother were also weighed down by many concerns. The Empress Dowager Liu's covenant with the imperial clansmen pressed down on their ambitions like two great mountains. When Liu E died, they had entertained the idea but barely managed to restrain themselves. When Emperor Shizong passed away and the central empire was in transition between old and new—especially after the "Crown Prince Coup" in Jiaozhi in the first year of Zhengtong—Liu Jiyuan and Liu Jichu finally made up their minds to stake everything on one throw.

The two brothers raised their armies jointly, under the banner of "executing the treacherous and upholding the royal house," gathering over thirty thousand troops from the Wen and Wan prefectures, and marched out in full force toward Jiaozhi. Forty-five years after the Chenla Rebellion, they once again ignited a great rebellion that nearly swept across all of Annam.

When the two marquises first raised their armies, it shook not only the kingdom of Annam—the chain reaction even affected the entire peninsula. Upon receiving the news, the central imperial government could not help but turn its gaze there. Its stance was beyond question: firm support for the Annam court in suppressing the rebellion. However, because Liu Weizhen had only recently ascended the throne, this support remained limited to verbal condemnation.

Liu Jiyuan and Liu Jichu had nurtured soldiers and trained troops for thirty years. Their sudden march eastward carried a certain guarantee of combat effectiveness, and in the early phase they inflicted enormous losses and shock upon Annam.

However, strong troops with decaying virtue cannot endure long; they merely displayed a moment of might. The rebel army swept through southern Annam, conquering cities and territories wherever they went, until they reached Nghe An, the seat of Hoan Prefecture, where they were finally stopped before the city walls.

As the key thoroughfare connecting Annam's north and south, without capturing this city the rebel army dared not advance northward. The defending general was none other than Zheng Quan, who had rendered great service to Princess Anping Liu Ying during the "Crown Prince Coup."

At Nghe An, Zheng Quan once again performed extraordinary feats, leading the defenders in bloody combat, holding the rebels at bay before the city walls, and buying precious time for the Jiaozhi court to assemble its rebellion-suppressing army...