Zhao Kuangyin
Huang Bao ascended the throne
Conquered the south and north to conquer the world
Coups in the past dynasties were common. "Chenqiao Mutiny, Yellow Robe Recruitment" was a successful coup initiated by Zhao Kuangyin, the supreme commander of the Forbidden Army in the later Zhou Dynasty. Zhao Kuangyin ascended to the throne without bloodshed, not only unified most of China, but also governed the country well. The reason why the economy and culture of the Song Dynasty reached another peak in the history of our country is closely related to Zhao Kuangyin's governance.
History has proven that Zhao Kuangyin was an outstanding figure who promoted historical development.
Everyone who has a cursory knowledge of Chinese history knows the allusion of "Chenqiao mutiny, yellow robes were added to the body". What we are talking about here is the story of Zhao Kuangyin using military power to launch a coup, establish the Song Dynasty, and strengthen the centralization of feudal authoritarianism.
Zhao Kuangyin was born on March 21, 927 AD, in a military family in Jiamaying, Luoyang. According to legend, with the birth of a baby, "red light surrounds the room, the fragrance lingers, and the body is golden, unchanged for three months."
When Zhao Kuangyin was born, the Tang Empire, which had been powerful for hundreds of years, had already It has been 20 years since he disappeared from the world. -The balance was broken, and what followed was long-lasting turmoil. Influenced by his family, he was fond of riding, shooting and practicing martial arts since childhood, and developed good martial arts skills.
At the age of 21, he said goodbye to his parents and wife, and with an adventurous spirit, he began to wander around the world, looking for his own career. He roamed North China, the Central Plains, and many places in the northwest, but failed to do so. , by 949 AD, he finally encountered an opportunity. On his way north, he met Guo Wei, who was serving as the privy envoy of the Later Han Dynasty at that time. At this time, Guo Wei was recruiting troops in the northeast of Daming County, Hebei Province, so Zhao Kuangyin, who was strong and proficient in martial arts, joined Guo Wei's banner.
Later, Guo Wei supported his own troops and deposed Han Yin Emperor at the request of his soldiers. Established later weeks. At this time, Zhao Kuangyin was promoted to an officer of the Forbidden Army due to his meritorious service. Later, he was trusted by Guo Wei's adopted son Chai Rong and promoted to Kaifeng Prefecture Ma Zhijun Envoy. From then on, he followed Zhou Shizong Chai Rong in the southern and northern wars, and repeatedly made extraordinary achievements. During the campaign in the Southern Tang Dynasty, he showed infinite loyalty to Zhou Shizong. For example, after he captured Chuzhou, his father sent troops to Chuzhou City in the middle of the night and asked him to open the door, but he said: "Although father and son are close relatives, the opening and closing of the city gate is a king's business." As a result, his father had to wait until dawn Just entered the city. The rulers of the Southern Tang Dynasty saw that Zhao Kuangyin was invincible and bribed him with a lot of money. Zhao Kuangyin handed over the gift of more than 3,000 taels of silver to Zhou Shizong intact, which further gained Chai Rong's trust. In 959 AD, before Chai Rong's death, he promoted Zhao Kuangyin to the post of chief inspector in front of the palace and became the supreme commander of the Forbidden Army in the later Zhou Dynasty.
In Chuzhou, what is significant for Zhao Kuangfeng is that he met Zhao Pu, the core figure who would assist him in founding the Northern Song Dynasty. This was tantamount to Liu Bei meeting Zhuge Liang. In August of that year, Zhao Kuangyin had just been appointed as the governor of Tongzhou and the commander of the capital in front of the palace. He immediately asked Zhao Pu to be the governor of the governor. At the same time, he attracted some important generals in the army to his side and formed ten brothers in a righteous society with Shi Shouxin, Wang Shenqi and others in the ancient way of sworn alliance. Zhao Kuangyin Group gradually formed.
After the death of Zhou Shizong Chai Rong, his seven-year-old son Chai Zongxun succeeded to the throne. In 960 AD, Zhao Kuangyin, who had military power, took the opportunity to launch a mutiny in Chenqiaoyi. His subordinates put a yellow robe prepared in advance on him, supported Zhao Kuangyin to replace the Later Zhou Dynasty, and established the Song Dynasty regime.
It can be said that Zhao Kuangyin Group’s established strategy is to change dynasties in a peaceful manner. It is conducive to social stability, consolidating rule, and continuing the great cause of unification that Zhou Shizong did not pursue.
From 907 AD to 959 AD, in just 53 years, the Central Plains experienced five dynasties and eight surnames and thirteen monarchs. Zhao Kuangyin, who had just easily seized the power of the Later Zhou Dynasty, was well aware of the harm to his own rule of having the military power of the Forbidden Army by others. For this reason, he was unwilling to eat and sleep restlessly. In order to make the senior generals hand over their military power, he came up with a plan. In July 961 AD, Song Taizu summoned Shi Shouxin and others to drink. He pointed out that he couldn't sleep well every day and was worried that his throne would be taken away one day. Everyone was shocked and hurriedly asked Zhao Kuangyin and others what to do. Zhao Kuangyin then gave these officials many good lands and beautiful houses, allowing them to resign and return home to spend their old age happily. This is the so-called "drinking of wine to release military power." Song Taizu calmly carried out a struggle for power while talking and laughing. This is the first of its kind among Chinese kings, and it should be said to be a civilized transfer of power.
After removing the military power of the powerful Forbidden Army generals around him, Song Taizu also abolished some important positions in the Forbidden Army, and gradually formed the Forbidden Army to be commanded by the lower-ranking palace commanders, and the guards Ma The "separation of three yamen" system in which the commander of the military capital and the commander of the infantry guard were under separate command, stipulated that the three yamen only had the power to lead troops, but not to send troops. Although the Privy Council had the power to send troops, it did not have the power to control them. The result of this mutual restraint was that military power was concentrated in the hands of the emperor. This was a major transformation of the military organization by Song Taizu. This basically eliminated the possibility of military personnel launching a mutiny. .
In order to strengthen the centralized rule, Song Taizu also gradually deprived the military, financial and judicial powers of local Jiedushi, thereby returning local power to the central government, allowing the separatist hegemony that had existed since the late Tang Dynasty. , the position of Jiedushi, who constantly competed with the central government, became an honorary title with no actual power. At the same time, in order to weaken the local military strength, he ordered the selection of elite soldiers from local soldiers to form the Central Forbidden Army. At the same time, the garrison law was established, and the forbidden troops were sent to other places and rotated every three years, resulting in a situation where the soldiers were not always commanded and the generals did not know the soldiers. The forbidden troops in the Northern Song Dynasty suppressed each other, and successfully prevented the Song Dynasty from becoming the sixth short-lived one after the Five Dynasties. dynasty.
Song Taizu initially consolidated the internal affairs, but he could not rest assured. He said to Zhao Pu: "I can't sleep. There are other people's homes outside the bed." He deeply understood that the threats to his new regime not only came from within, but also from the outside. He was determined to wipe out the heroes, change the situation of division, unify the world, and complete Zhou Shizong's unfinished business.
At that time, there were Northern Han and Khitan in the north, Hou Shu in the west, and Southern Tang, Southern Han, Wuyue, Jingnan and other countries in the south. Most of them had been peaceful for many years, their rule was corrupt, and civil strife was frequent. This is undoubtedly This created favorable conditions for the Song Dynasty to unify the world.
In response to this situation, Song Taizu adopted the strategic approach of moving south first and then north. Regarding the Liao and Northern Han Dynasties, the Northern Song Dynasty basically took a defensive stance before wiping out the separatist forces in the south. It only showed appropriate force at the border and appropriately counterattacked the invading enemies. At the same time, he made peace with the envoys sent by the King of Liao and tried to maintain the temporary stability of the northern front. For the southern countries and separatist forces, Zhao Kuangyin adopted the policy of choosing the opportunity, taking advantage of contradictions, first weak and then strong, and defeating them one by one. In 963 AD, the feudal separatist forces in Jingnan and Hunan were first pacified; in 965 AD, the Hou Shu regime was eliminated; then, in September 971 AD, the Southern Han regime was eliminated in one fell swoop; in 975 AD, the forces of the southern countries were eliminated The largest political power in the Southern Tang Dynasty. After the fall of the Southern Tang Dynasty, the remaining local separatist forces in Wuyue, Zhangzhou, Quanzhou and other places in Fujian Province also surrendered one after another due to the power of the Northern Song Dynasty. The "first south" part of the feudal unification war of "first south and then north" has basically come to an end, but what Song Taizu never forgot was to restore the old borders of the Han and Tang Dynasties, pacify the Northern Han Dynasty, and recover the 16 states of Yanyun. He sent troops to the Northern Han Dynasty twice, and the latter time he personally sent troops, but they were unsuccessful due to reinforcements from Liao soldiers. This attempt failed. Song Taizu transported the gold and silk obtained from pacifying the countries in the south of the Yangtze River back to Bianjing, established a sealing warehouse, and prepared After the five million is accumulated, the 16 states of Yanyun will be redeemed from the Khitan. If the Khitan refuses, the money will be used as military expenses and they will fight against each other. By the death of Song Taizu, except for the Northern Han Dynasty, the split situation that had lasted for decades was basically ended, and the Central Plains and southern regions realized that "the world is one family".
Although Song Taizu was an autocratic emperor who was born in the military and spared no effort in strengthening the authoritarian imperial power, as he ascended the throne, he began to transform from a soldier to a politician. On the one hand, this was his own subjective action, and on the other hand, it was also how the entire Northern Song Dynasty ruling group shaped him. He is good at listening to the opinions of ministers. The "first south then north" strategy that proved correct in the unification war was the result of brainstorming. The person who had the greatest influence on Song Taizu should be said to be Zhao Pu, an important counselor who assisted him in ascending to the throne. Although Zhao Pu's behavior after Zhao Kuangyin ascended the throne was not like that of Wei Zheng under Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, he often violated Yan Zhijian. Once, Zhao Pu recommended a person to be appointed to an official position, but Taizu disagreed. The monarch and his ministers argued with each other for two days. After Zhao Pu argued hard, Song Taizu finally understood the correctness of Zhao Pu's recommendation and readily agreed. Another time, Zhao Pu proposed to promote a person who Song Taizu disliked very much. Song Taiju disagreed, and the two sides started arguing. Taizu was furious and said, "I won't move him to an official. What can you do to me?" Zhao Pu said seriously Said: "Penalty and reward, the punishment and reward of the world, how can it be decided by your Majesty's joy and anger?"
After becoming the emperor, Zhao Kuangyin gradually realized the important role of literati in the peace years. , so he paid great attention to the use of literati and required military officials to read and study. This was his act of Qingming, so the officials of the Song Dynasty tried their best to maintain his authority. With the assistance of Zhao Pu and other ministers, he formulated a series of policies that emphasized civility over military force and measures to strengthen centralization. He applied the principles of reforming military institutions to reforming political and economic systems. It achieves a high degree of unity through internal and external restraint and centralization.
At the central level, Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty implemented a system of separation of administrative affairs, finance, and military affairs, with Ping Zhangshi under Zhongshu Menxia as the prime minister, and at the same time, he appointed Shenzhi Zhengshi as the deputy prime minister, which not only assisted the prime minister in handling government affairs, but also prevented the prime minister from monopolizing power. There are three envoys in charge of finance, known as the prime minister, and the privy envoy is in charge of military affairs. A two-level system of prefectures and counties is implemented in local areas, and the chief executives of prefectures and counties are frequently adjusted. To know the state and state affairs, and to set up general judges to check each other. In terms of finance, local financial power was cut off, transfer envoys were set up to manage local finances, and all capital expenditures were used except for expenditures. This not only ensured the central government's fiscal revenue, but also cut off the economic foundation for the rise of local vassal towns. In order to ensure the implementation of various systems, Zhao Kuangyin established a strong supervision system. The admonishers were personally selected by the emperor and became the emperor's judges and tools for supervising officials at all levels. At the same time, in order to expand the basis of rule, the imperial examination system was restored and the imperial examination system was fixed. In terms of economic development, a series of policies such as rectifying the chaotic tax system, implementing light corvee and low taxes, rewarding farmers and mulberry trees, building water conservancy projects, and prospering industry and commerce enabled the rapid recovery and development of the social economy in the Northern Song Dynasty.
In terms of employment, Song Taizu made clear rewards and punishments, and did not think about old evils. When Hou Shu was destroyed, the commander-in-chief Wang Huibin and others were greedy and brutal. Although they had made great achievements in pacifying Shu, they were demoted and punished. The incorruptible Cao Bin and the transshipment envoy Shen Yiren were specially rewarded. There was a military general named Dong Zunhai who used his power to bully Taizu of the Song Dynasty when he was wandering around the world. In the early Song Dynasty, Dong Zunhai was accused of this mistake and was summoned by Taizu, thinking that he would definitely die. At this time, Song Taizu told him: "I will not miss the old evil." He also entrusted him with important tasks and redeemed his mother who was trapped in Youzhou in the Liao Dynasty with gold. Dong Zunhai was extremely grateful, and he also guarded the border more carefully and made military exploits. While rewards and punishments were clear, Taizu did not doubt ministers at will. One day, he went to Zhao Pu's house for a private visit. Qian Jiao, the king of Wuyue, sent ten bottles of things to Zhao Pu, saying that they were from the sea. Song Taizu asked Zhao Pu to open the bottle and saw that it was full of gold seeds used to bribe Zhao Pu. Zhao Pu was shocked and knelt down to apologize, saying that he did not know that the bottle contained gold. Song Taizu said calmly: "It doesn't matter if you accept it. He thinks that all the affairs of the country are decided by you, the scholar." An incident that could have raised the issue of prison was settled like this. Not being suspicious of ministers allowed the supreme ruling group in the early Song Dynasty to maintain a stable situation. This also played an important role in Song Taizu's smooth struggle on two fronts to unify and wrest the power of the feudal towns.
In October 976 AD, Zhao Kuangyin died suddenly at the age of 50. There is a legend surrounding the death of Taizu. First, on the evening of October 20, clouds suddenly came over, and heavy snow and hail fell from the sky in an instant. Taizu immediately summoned his younger brother Zhao Guangyi of Kaifeng to the palace to have a drink and have fun, and to discuss the funeral arrangements. That night, Zhao Guangyi stayed in the palace. At five o'clock the next day, Taizu passed away. Such legends and speculations all converge to suspect that Taizu was killed by Taizong.
Zhao Kuangyin, Taizu of the Song Dynasty, ascended the throne as a warrior with a yellow robe. He conquered the south and the north and unified the world, ending the two hundred years of division that had begun in the middle of the Tang Dynasty and beginning a chapter in the history of the Chinese nation. In the new era, many of his ancestral laws, especially the centralization of authoritarian power, created conditions for the prosperity and development of the Song Dynasty. His life was dominated by martial arts, but he reversed the trend of emphasizing martial arts over literature in the past century. "Tang Zong and Song Zu are slightly less elegant." In the history of Chinese feudal society, Song Taizu can be said to be one of the few outstanding emperors.