In the history of Song Dynasty, disputes with neighboring countries have always been a headache for rulers. Whether the northwest came out from time to time to beat a chaotic Tangut or the north threatened Qidan, it was a problem that the Song Dynasty wanted to solve but failed to solve. Zhao Kuangyin's tough rule and Zhao Guangyi's previous Northern Expeditions all ended in failure, causing losses. Song Zhenzong, seemingly weak and conservative, successfully reached a peace agreement with the Khitan and the Tangut, so that a large-scale war did not break out in the Northern Song Dynasty for more than 100 years, thus creating the only prosperous time in the Song Dynasty.
His successor, Song Renzong, has always adhered to the attitude of "Buddhism" in governing the country. He has been in office for 42 years. Surprisingly, his death caused a shock in the capital. Businessmen went on strike, students, even beggars and children cried for him. People in Kaifeng spontaneously dressed in white linen rushed to the front of the palace to burn paper money for Song Renzong. Even the intrepid Khitan monarch learned the news of Song Renzong's death, grabbed the hand of the messenger of the Song Dynasty and wept bitterly, and also made a dress for Song Renzong in the territory of Khitan.
What did Song Zhenzong do to make the Song Dynasty peaceful for a hundred years? What is extraordinary about Song Renzong? He became the most popular emperor in the Song Dynasty. Today's article will help you solve these mysteries.
First, Song Zhenzong and Zhao Heng made two compromises.
Zhao Guangyi lost nearly 300,000 elite troops in the Song Dynasty in the battle between Yongxi Northern Expedition and Lingwu City. Because countless people died in the war, the domestic economy was depressed, almost returning to the level at the beginning of the founding of the Song Dynasty. At that moment, Zhao Guangyi died suddenly and Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng succeeded to the throne.
When the new king ascended the throne, there were countless problems to be solved, but troubles still appeared one after another. First, there was a rebellion in Sichuan, which took nearly a year to put down successfully. Then the Yellow River burst and flooded the whole Jiangbei Plain. While the imperial court was employing people, Prime Minister Lv Duan and General Zhang Yongde died one after another. A broken pillar made the imperial court chaotic. Counter-insurgency, river governance, while selecting candidates, but also always beware of the northern Khitan, which is a mess that Song Zhenzong and Zhao Heng have to face.
When Zhao Heng was having a headache, the Tangut people in the northwest sent a peace document to the Song Dynasty, but there were different opinions in the court. The "main battle" and "main peace" factions disagreed and quarreled. You may feel strange when you hear this. Obviously, the Tangut people came to make peace. Why don't you agree? Mainly because only equal regimes were qualified to make peace at that time. At that time, the Tangut was nominally a vassal state of the Song Dynasty and was not qualified to make peace with the Song Dynasty. There is only surrender and surrender between the suzerain and the vassal state. You know, in the Zhao Guangyi era not long ago, no matter what the war situation was, as long as the Tangut pleaded guilty, they had to take the initiative to change their names to show their recognition of the status of the sovereign state of the Song Dynasty. For example, Li, the leader of the Tangut at that time, had a China man named Zhao Baoji. However, after Zhao Heng ascended the throne, the Tangut people sent people directly to make peace, which was tantamount to denying the suzerain status of the Song Dynasty, but also a challenge to Zhao Heng.
However, Zhao Heng's reaction was very calm. He not only agreed to the Tangut peace, but also offered extremely generous terms. He not only acknowledged the legitimacy of the Tangut occupation and Yinzhou, but also gave the remaining three states in the five difficult states to the Tangut, and officially named Li as our difficult time. This means that all the efforts of Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Guangyi dynasties were in vain, and the Tangut restored the ownership of Dingnan five states in the ancestral period.
Seeing this, you may think that Zhao Heng is either stupid or not smart. He gave up the territory won by the two emperors so easily. Doesn't he know that as an emperor, he must fight for every inch of land in order to keep the territory wonderful?
Don't worry, before saying he is weak, let's see why Zhao Heng made such a decision. Wuzhou in Dingnan is located in the middle of Hetao Plain, and there is still a certain distance from the northwest border of Song Dynasty. From the border of Song Dynasty to the five states of Dingnan, there is desert in the middle, which is also the activity site of Tangut cavalry. Although Wuzhou in Dingnan was the birthplace of the Tangut, it was a chicken rib to the Song Dynasty. Even if we capture South Wuzhou, it's useless. Not only are they harassed by the Tangut cavalry from time to time, but they also hoard heavy troops at the border for emergencies. As the saying goes, it is easy to defend the city, but it is difficult to occupy Dingnan Wuzhou, but it is just a few cities. However, the cost of maintaining it is a bottomless pit. Zhao Guangyi suffered a crushing defeat in Xixia. Two of the five cities have been lost, and the remaining three cities are more difficult to defend. What's more, in the Song Dynasty, there was the Yellow River to be ruled, the Sichuan rebellion to be flattened, and the only remaining troops to recuperate against the Khitan. Therefore, Zhao Heng is not stupid or incompetent. It was just the most cost-effective choice he had to make under the national conditions at that time.
This was the first compromise made by Zhao Heng, and it was very difficult to solve the Tangut issue. North Khitan began to station troops on the border, and the Song Dynasty reacted quickly. Also formed a whole150,000 army against the Khitan. 1004, Emperor Qidan and the Empress Dowager made a personal expedition, bypassing the heavy forces of Dingzhou Song Dynasty and directly killing at the gates on the north bank of the Yellow River. What concept? Zhaozhou and Kaifeng are only separated by a river, and the war situation is opened at their own doorstep. Ministers even quarreled. The hawk asked Zhao Heng to go on a personal expedition to boost morale, and the hawk has already started to think of fleeing to the south. Finally, the hawks led by Kou Zhun won, and Song Zhenzong and Zhao Heng marched into Zhaozhou personally, which greatly boosted Song Jun's morale and blocked the impact of the Qidan army's repeated sieges.
Let's take a look at the strength comparison between Song Dynasty and Qidan in this war. The main force of the Khitan is about 300,000 people, the main force of the Song Dynasty is about100,000 people, and the northern border has100,000 border guards to support it. Li Jilong and Shi Baoji, veterans of the Song Dynasty, were in charge of arranging troops, and LiLin Xiao, the backbone of the Khitan, was shot to death by an arrow. The Khitan went deep into the territory of the Song Dynasty, and logistics supply was a huge expense. Relying on the natural barrier of the Yellow River and the solid Zhoucheng, the Khitan cavalry could not move forward, and Song Jun could not defeat the Khitan cavalry. The two armies were once deadlocked.
At this time, the Khitan proposed peace talks to the Song Dynasty, and Zhao Heng sent Minister Cao Liyong to the Khitan Camp for negotiations. After repeated bargaining, peace talks were finally reached at 1005, and the two countries agreed to become brothers. Zhao Heng and Song Zhenzong became his brothers when they grew up, and Emperor Yelu Longxu of Qidan became his brothers. Secondly, the Song Dynasty also provided the Khitan with10.2 million silver and 200,000 silk "military sponsorship fees" every year. The two countries set up a trade fair on the border, and the Khitans could not rob it, nor could they cheat it in the Song Dynasty, so as to achieve a fair trade. These three agreements were called "the alliance of the Yuan Dynasty" in history.
When you see the contents of this peace negotiation, you may immediately think of a series of treaties that humiliated the country and the country signed by the court in the late Qing Dynasty. They are also reparations and open trade. Except for ceding land, they seem to be no different from those treaties. But in fact, the Song Dynasty did not suffer in the peace talks. Why do you say that? The Song Dynasty fought against the Khitan, and the annual military expenditure was 52 million, not including casualties. The 102,000 pieces of silver and 200,000 pieces of silk of the Ehime League were nothing to the Song Dynasty, and the profit at the fair alone was more than twice this figure. Secondly, the end of the war between the Song Dynasty and the Khitan can also avoid the huge financial pressure brought by years of heavy military presence. Without financial pressure, you can reduce taxes and enjoy the same interest as the people.
This is the second compromise between Song Zhenzong and Zhao Heng. At this point, he finally coaxed away the Tangut and became a brotherly country with Qidan, and there was no war in the northern front for nearly a hundred years. This peaceful situation is very important to the development of the Song Dynasty. In just over 20 years, the registered permanent residence in Song Dynasty increased by 4 1.7 million, and the wealth increased by nearly 68 times. This wealth is equivalent to four times the total amount in the twenty-three years of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty, and even three times that in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, Zhao Heng created the only prosperous time in the Northern Song Dynasty in 167, which was called "the rule of Xianping" in history.
Second, the inaction of Song Renzong Zhao Zhen.
1022, Zhao Zhenzong died in Zhao Heng, and his son Zhao Zhen succeeded him, known as Song Renzong in history. Compared with san huang before the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin expanded its territory and Zhao Guangyi expanded its territory. Although Zhao Heng's fighting capacity is weak, his achievements are remarkable. However, Zhao Zhen of Song Renzong is very mediocre, with no talent, no strategy, and no military merit. The reason why he spoke so highly in history is actually mainly because of the word "benevolence" in the temple number, that is, good temper.
How good is Song Renzong Zhao Zhen's temper? At that time, Bao Zheng served as the censor. When he came to power, he made many suggestions face to face, even his spittle splashed on Zhao Zhen's face, but Zhao Zhen didn't blame him. Instead, he wiped his face with his sleeve and listened carefully to Bao Zheng's advice. On one occasion, Bao Zheng wanted to win the third secretary Zhang Yaozuo, but Zhang Yaozuo was Zhao Zhen's favorite concubine and uncle, and there was no big fault in his political achievements, so Zhao Zhen had to reduce him to our time. But that's it, Bao Zheng is still not satisfied. He broke into the imperial court with seven famous ministers and Zhao Zhen's theory, and put it in other dynasties, but it was a crime of decapitation. Even in Song Dynasty, when his speech was loose, he could not escape the fate of being demoted as an official, but Zhao Zhen not only failed to punish them, but also listened to Bao Zheng's advice and withdrew his resignation from Zhang Yaozuo.
One more thing, when Zhao Zhen succeeded to the throne, he was only thirteen years old and could not lead the government. The queen mother Liu E listened to politics. At that time, a courtier named Cheng Lin, in order to please Liu, gave her a photo of the Wu Dynasty and suggested that she should follow the example of Wu Zetian in the Tang Dynasty and abolish the young son of heaven. On the contrary, Empress Liu thought it was a negative ancestor, and sternly refused. After Zhao Zhen came to power, someone impeached Cheng Lin, but Zhao Zhen just laughed it off. He thinks that Colin is very talented and can do great things. Instead of holding a grudge against Cheng Lin, he was promoted many times, which made Cheng Lin become a third secretary, an official assistant minister and a politician all the way.
Song Renzong Zhao Zhen's "benevolence" is not only a blessing to ministers, but also a blessing to scholars and people in the Song Dynasty. He stipulated that if candidates have doubts about the test questions or are not sure about their own knowledge, they can go to the teacher's examiner to change the previous formality that candidates can only answer questions in a small room.
For the people, he actively supported commercial development, completely abolished the curfew that had existed since the Tang Dynasty, and made the night market in the Song Dynasty prosperous for some time. There are not only local merchants in Kaifeng, but also vendors from neighboring countries such as Qidan, Tubo and Uighur, which is as lively as today's International Food Festival. In addition, in other feudal dynasties, the buildings in the whole country were very low and were not allowed to exceed the height of the palace. However, there is no such regulation in Song Renzong. There is a restaurant called "Fan Lou" in Kaifeng City, which is five stories high and more eye-catching than the Imperial City. It has no official background, but it has the right to produce wine licensed by the state. Every night was very lively and became a famous landscape in Kaifeng at that time.
Because of his tolerance, during his 42 years in office, numerous famous ministers and generals appeared in the Northern Song Dynasty, including Fan Zhongyan, Bao Zheng and Zhong, who are familiar to us. There are also many flowers in literature, including Liu Yong, Yan Shu, Ouyang Xiu, Huang Tingjian and Cheng Hao. Even in the neglected fields of science and technology, there are talents like Bi Sheng, Shen Kuo and Wang. Many famous ministers, such as Wang Anshi, Sima Guang and Lv Gongzhu, were active in Song Shenzong, Song Zhezong and early Song Huizong, and they were also cultivated by Renzong. Therefore, there is a saying in history that "three generations of Renzong Jinshi benefited".
Seeing this, you may have questions. If the emperor really doesn't care about anything, and the court is so big, everyone will express their opinions. Isn't that a riot? As a matter of fact, Zhao Zhen, a Song Renzong, was always relaxed with his courtiers but not out of control. He respects the suggestions and opinions of every courtier, but once North Korea shows the trend of cliques that affect national affairs, he will immediately make moves. For example, in the process of carrying out the New Deal, Fan Zhongyan just waited and saw at first, divided into supporters and opponents, and quarreled every day. However, once the problems in the New Deal were confirmed, he acquiesced in the impeachment of Fan Zhongyan and others by the DPRK-China opposition, and he hid behind the scenes from beginning to end and never made a clear statement.
During the reign of Injong, Zhao Zhen never publicly praised or criticized any courtiers in the court, which seemed insignificant, but it was the key to avoid party strife and maintain stability. As an emperor, what you like, what you hate, who you support and who you oppose should not be discovered by courtiers. Once they know it, someone will cater to it, be opportunistic in politics, use the hand of the emperor to suppress political enemies, and find someone to please the emperor in materials. If the emperor's attitude is impartial, the courtiers will naturally have no intention of fighting for power and profit, and the remaining disputes will only be a collision of views and will not harm the national interests.
This is Song Renzong's way of controlling the country. He treats people kindly, but at the same time he firmly controls the brake switch. Therefore, there are four truths in Renzong: Fu Bi is the real prime minister, Ouyang Xiuzhen is the bachelor, Bao Zheng is the real suggestion, and Ai Hu is the real gentleman. The prime minister has the right, but he does not abuse it. As a staff officer, Bachelor Hanlin is conscientious and suggests being clean and capable. Ai Hu's original Hu Xue, which combines Confucian classics and practice, was designated as the "imperial academy Law" and promoted to the whole country. Officials gain if they don't seek personal gain. Therefore, Renzong once really shared the same interest with the people, which is why people mourned spontaneously after Zhao Zhen died in Song Renzong. He gave the people the most prosperous era and really satisfied their desire: not to toss.
Third, the joint efforts of civilian military commanders.
The prosperity of any dynasty is inseparable from the efforts of civil servants and military commanders. Here, I choose the three most representative ministers in the period of Zhenzong and Renzong to see what they have done.
First of all, let's take a look at Kou Zhun in the Zhenzong period.
1004, at the beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty and the Khitan War, most courtiers were very pessimistic. The shadow of Zhao Guangyi's defeat of three hundred thousand made them afraid of the Khitan fighters from the bottom of their hearts. Qidan went all the way south, and the Song Dynasty suffered repeated wars and defeats. The main peace faction headed by Wang Qinruo advocated that Zhenzong moved south to avoid the invasion of Liao, while Zhao Heng had no military experience, and it was even more frightening to see the Qidan cavalry threatening. At this time, Kou Zhun was the only one who stood up, not only denouncing the ministers who advocated moving the capital in the imperial court, but also putting forward one solution after another in view of the bad situation at that time: on the one hand, the soldiers and horses sent by the imperial court could meet each other; On the other hand, recruiting militiamen went deep behind enemy lines and attacked the Khitan barracks and grain transportation routes, which disrupted the military deployment of Khitan and delayed the pace of the Khitan cavalry going south.
When the Khitan fought in the county seat, he urged Song Zhenzong and Zhao Heng to make personal expedition. After arriving at the gate of Named State, Zhenzong dared not cross the river, but only wanted to be stationed in a small town on the south bank, which was firmly opposed by Kou Zhun. In order to make Shinchan give up the idea of escape completely, Kou Zhun asked the imperial commander to let Gao Qiong and his imperial guard directly carry Shinchan's imperial chariot to the North Shore battlefield. Soldiers at the front line saw the morale of Zhenzong and successfully resisted the siege of Qidan cavalry many times.
Without Kou Zhun's insistence and his military talent, Song Zhenzong would have moved to the south, and his morale would have collapsed with the emperor's escape, so he was not qualified to make peace with the Khitan. "The shame of Jingkang" may have been staged in advance, and the life span of the Northern Song Dynasty will be greatly shortened.
Secondly, we are going to talk about Fan Zhongyan in the Renzong period.
You must be familiar with the name Fan Zhongyan. He became one of the most famous politicians in the Northern Song Dynasty, not only because of the well-known phrase "worrying about the world first", but also because of his outstanding military achievements and political achievements.
1038, the Tangut was officially renamed Xixia. For the convenience of narration, we will continue to use the name of the Tangut in this article. 104 1 year, the Tangut invaded the Song Dynasty and Song Jun was defeated. Fan Zhongyan was appointed as a civil servant and led troops to crusade against the Tangut in the northwest frontier. After Fan Zhongyan came to power, he did not blindly act recklessly, but after analyzing the national conditions of the Northern Song Dynasty and the Tangut, he determined a comprehensive strategy for the Tangut: focusing on defense, consuming the national strength of the Tangut with the great economic strength of the Northern Song Dynasty, and gradually counterattacking.
Fan Zhongyan adopted the suggestion of the military commander Zhong, blocked the border between the Northern Song Dynasty and the Tangut, connected towns and villages, and formed a tight blockade. We also selected able-bodied men from the local Orion, laid off the old, weak and redundant soldiers in the mainland, and finally selected18,000 people to become the main force of the border guards. 1042 When the Tangut attacked, it was found that Song Jun had formed a solid border defense system, and the Tangut cavalry made several phone calls outside the city gate without success. 1044, the two sides finally reached a peace agreement and the northwest was stable. Fan Zhongyan won the final victory at the least cost.
Fan Zhongyan's genius lies in his understanding of the essence of military and political affairs in the Song Dynasty from the very beginning. The so-called "attacking the middle and defending the middle" is specifically to build a village. This method was basically used in China in the past. As long as we move forward, it will become a moving Great Wall, expanding to the territory of the Tangut bit by bit. Every time it is built, it has formed an integrated operational system of attack and defense, eroding the territory of the Tangut bit by bit. As a civil servant, he restrained more than 100 thousand Tangut cavalry on the northwest line. At that time, there was a ballad saying, "There is a faction in the army, and the western thieves were frightened when they heard it." The school here is Fan Zhongyan.
In addition, Fan Zhongyan initiated the first institutional reform in the Song Dynasty, which was called "Qingli New Deal" in history. The New Deal pointed out more than ten important problems faced by the Song Dynasty, such as the lack of transparency in official promotion and military reform. Although the New Deal was implemented for more than a year, it ended in failure, but it sounded the alarm for the later emperors and courts. Later, Wang Anshi's reform in Zongshen period also borrowed some ideas and measures from Qingli New Deal.
After talking about two civil servants, let's finally look at a military commander, when Zhong is here.
Zhong was a general hand-picked by Fan Zhongyan during the military affairs in Northwest China. At that time, the Northern Song Dynasty was at war with Xixia in the west, and there was no danger of defending the western regions. Song Jun, which is dominated by infantry, is not mobile enough to fight in open areas. After discovering this, the bell played on the court, hoping to rebuild the abandoned city on the border to resist the Tangut cavalry. After getting permission, Zhong built a city while fighting, chiseling 150 feet, but met a stone. Workers think that stones can't be cut through, and cities without water are not at all. Zhong did not give up, but asked the workers to dig out a dustpan of gravel and pay 100 yuan. In this way, after three days, he finally got the spring water. The city was named Qingjian City and became an important stronghold for Song Jun to block the Northwest Tangut.
In addition, Zhong also actively recruited Qiang people around him, established a family army with strong fighting capacity, and skillfully used deviant means to get rid of two confidant generals of the Tangut Emperor. The Tangut people suffered several defeats in succession, and they dared not go near the area where Zhong was in charge for several years.
abstract
First, we talked about two compromises between Song Zhenzong and Zhao Heng. One is to return the five difficult States to the Tangut, and the other is to sign a peace agreement with Qidan. On the surface, the Song Dynasty lost its land and paid reparations, but gained peace for nearly a hundred years. The economy of the Song Dynasty developed rapidly, resulting in the first and only prosperous period of the Song Dynasty, "the rule of Xianping".
Secondly, we talked about Song Renzong Zhao Zhen's inaction and Song Renzong's ability to control others. He was kind to others and tolerated the faults of his officials, but he did not lose control of the court. Instead, he trained many famous officials, Fukuzawa three generations.
Finally, let's talk about three famous ministers in the period of Zhenzong and Renzong. Kou Zhun's insistence made the Northern Song Dynasty's national movement last for decades, while Fan Zhongyan and Zhong's achievements in the northwest also made the Tangut dare not provoke the East frequently. Although the Qingli New Deal presided over by Fan Zhongyan ended in failure, it sounded the alarm for the Song Dynasty and became one of the important references for Wang Anshi's political reform.