Zhao Kuangyin was born into a declining family. He experienced hardships in his early years and knew well the sufferings of the people at the bottom of society. He is determined to improve society through his own efforts. Later, his ambition paid off, and he finally became the first emperor of the Song Dynasty. However, when he became rich, he didn't forget his true colors, so he was simple and well-behaved. His daily life is simple and his clothes are simple. For example, when he was in the imperial court, his clothes were all brocade, others were mostly silk, and some of them, like ordinary small officials' clothes, were often washed and put on again, and rarely changed into new ones.
Zhao Kuangyin's inner palace is the simplest of all dynasties. There are only more than 50 eunuchs and more than 200 ladies-in-waiting. However, Zhao Kuangyin thought too much and fired more than 50 people who left the palace voluntarily. The decoration in the palace is so simple that even the curtains are made of cheap green cloth. The emperor's car is an old sedan chair with many colors, which has been used for many years.
After Zhao Kuangyin proclaimed himself emperor, the Northern Han regime was not unified into the territory of Dasong. So Zhao Kuangyin attacked the Northern Han Dynasty three times in Kaibao for one year, two years and nine years. Once, on the way to conquer the Northern Han Dynasty, it coincided with Valentine's Day in China. Zhao Kuangyin gave it to his mother and wife in Bianjing: Empress Dowager Cixi paid three times, while Empress Dowager Cixi always paid half.
For mothers and wives, the situation of daughters is even worse. Once, Zhao Kuangyin's daughter Princess Yongqing Palace met her father. The princess is wearing a new coat covered with peacock feathers sewn with gold thread. Blue as a blue lake, green as jade, shining in the sun. But as soon as my father saw her, he said, "Take off this beautiful dress and never wear it again."
Hearing her father's words, the princess didn't understand. He squeezed his mouth and said, "There are many green feathers in the palace. I am a princess. I just need some clothes. What's wrong? "
Song Taizu said sternly, "Because you are a princess, you can't enjoy it. Think about it. As a princess, you show off everywhere in such gorgeous clothes, and others will follow suit. In the past, Qi Huangong in the Warring States Period liked to wear purple clothes. As a result, the whole country followed suit, making purple cloth several times more expensive.
Today, you have gold thread and peacock feathers on this dress, which is very expensive. Do you know how much it costs to make one? How much money will the whole country waste if others follow your example again? It is said that your position and life are already superior, so I don't know when you were born. We should cherish it very much. How can we lead extravagance? '
After listening to her father's criticism, the princess had nothing to say. She kowtowed to apologize and sincerely admitted her mistake, and said that she would learn from her father in the future and not waste money.
Song Taizu's spirit of saving money for the world really made the Song Dynasty accumulate a lot of wealth at that time. Shortly after the establishment of the Northern Song Dynasty, 32 state coffers were filled with gold and silver.
However, Zhao Kuangyin, which is extremely thrifty to herself and her relatives, is generous in safeguarding national interests, especially stability. After a long battle, he witnessed many encounters with soldiers and scenes where many people could not live in peace. After he ascended the throne, he tried to avoid all bloodshed and opposed the use of force to solve the problem. He believes that the lives of non-commissioned officers and the people are the most precious, and money can solve them. He will never use force. In this respect, he is also one of the most generous emperors in history. For the sake of domestic stability, he practiced culturalism and restricted the expansion of military commanders. Faced with the threat of a strong enemy on the border, he spared no effort in the war, but tried his best to accumulate national wealth and buy territory with money to avoid the exchange of troops between the two sides. For example, he wants to buy back sixteen counties from Qidan in the form of "preparing for redemption".
For the sake of national stability, Song Taizu is also generous, spending a lot of money to buy stability. For example, he was relieved of his military power after drinking a glass of wine and exchanged money for the military power of an army general. Let the arrogant generals go home and spend the rest of their lives. This is many times better than other dynasties killing the founding heroes for peace and security.
Governing the country naturally depends on competent officials. In order to win the loyalty of ministers and consolidate the imperial power, Song Taizu donated a large sum of money. For example, when Shi Zhong was ill, Song Taizu personally gave 220 goldsmiths, 2,020 silversmiths, 2,020 pieces of silk and 2 million dollars. Zhao Pu, the father of our country, was ill, and Zhao Kuangyin sent 5,200 pieces of silver and 5,000 pieces of silk, which were far from the amount and value of the gifts given by the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager.