Chapter 31 1. Respect yourself and others: Drinking wine releases military power

The rulers of all dynasties have different management styles, showing the characteristics of the times they lived in, and the Song Dynasty, as a very eye-catching dynasty in the long history of China, also showed its unique characteristics during its rule of more than 300 years , That is: Advocate Wen Yanwu.And this ruling characteristic was also continued in the Song and eighteen dynasties. Zhao Kuangyin, who came to the throne with the help of his confidant generals, deeply realized that the reason for the troubled times since the Five Dynasties was precisely the dictatorship of generals.In the later period of the Five Dynasties, another characteristic was highlighted, that is, the veteran generals who led the forbidden army in the central government had a better chance of overthrowing the rule than those who had heavy troops stationed outside the town. Zhao Kuangyin himself came from this road.Therefore, after pacifying Li Yun, Li Chongjin and others, Zhao Kuangyin fell into deep worry, how to effectively control the generals and avoid the establishment of his own Their achievements were buried in their hands and became a first-class problem.After careful consideration, Zhao Kuangyin decided to make some adjustments to the veteran generals who held great power in the Forbidden Army.

The adjustment of the generals of the army started with his most trusted people. Zhao Kuangyin dispatched Murong Yanzhao and Han Lingkun, who had a high reputation in the Forbidden Army, to lead the troops outside without being able to make a difference; Shi Shouxin and his brother-in-law Gao Huaide served as the highest officers of the Guards' Army Division and Dianqian Division; at the same time, Wang Shenqi was appointed as the commander of the Dianqian Capital, and his younger brother took over Wang Shenqi's previous position - Dianqian Duyu Hou.All these positions are the most critical in the two divisions of the Forbidden Army, and Zhao Kuangyin was relieved to let his relatives and friends take them up.

Seeing that he could completely control the forbidden army, Zhao Kuangyin proudly said to Zhao Pu: "Since the end of the Tang Dynasty, the emperor's surname has changed eight or nine times in the past few decades. The long-term war has made people miserable. Now the Song Dynasty takes over the world. , the Zhao family becomes the son of heaven, and everything is under my control, so the world will be peaceful!" Zhao Pu said: "Peace in the world is something that everyone is looking forward to. Now that the people can not be attacked by the flames of war, everyone is grateful for His Majesty's merit."

Zhao Kuangyin said: "I only hope that this kind of peace can continue for a long time, so that the people can enjoy peace forever." Zhao Pu suddenly said: "Your Majesty's expectations are understandable, but if you want to establish a long-term national peace and security, you need to spend a lot of effort to achieve it." Zhao Kuangyin said: "The reason why the world was prone to chaos in the past was because the military power fell, which led to the fact that the towns, military governors, and generals were all capable of overthrowing the royal power. Now I have learned the lesson and let people close to me take important military positions. The generals are all my confidantes, is there anything to worry about?"

Zhao Pu said: "If we want to pacify the soldiers of the world and build a long-term stability of the country, it is important to get rid of the ills of the Five Dynasties, but these alone are not enough." Zhao Kuangyin hurriedly asked: "Then what else?" Zhao Pu said: "The ruler is weak and the ministers are strong, which is the root cause of instability. Therefore, if we want to make the world stable, we must make the ministers weak and the ruler strong." Zhao Kuangyin said: "In your opinion, how can we be strong as a king?" Zhao Pu said: "It's nothing more than three things: take away their power, control their money and crops, and recruit their elite soldiers."

As soon as this remark came out, Zhao Kuangyin was shocked, and hurriedly dismissed all the people around him, and said to Zhao Pu: "Now that you have settled down, cutting power too aggressively may cause the generals to resist. I understand what you mean Now, you don’t need to say any more, lest others hear it and arouse the suspicion of the monarch and his ministers.” Zhao Pu said: "I believe you all remember how His Majesty wore the yellow robe back then. I'm just afraid that this scene will happen again." Thinking of the situation when the generals supported him back then, Zhao Kuangyin was very clear about what Zhao Pu said, thinking of these, he couldn't help but shudder.I believe that no incumbent would like to see such a situation, and Zhao Kuangyin is no exception. He does not want history to repeat itself, and he will play the replaced role.

From the perspective of "exposing yourself to others", in order to ensure that what you do will not be imitated, and to hold the power in your hands tightly, Zhao Kuangyin carefully arranged a banquet.One night in July 961 AD, Shi Shouxin, the commander of the guards and the army, Wang Shenqi, the commander of the front of the palace, Gao Huaide, the deputy commander of the front of the palace, Zhang Lingduo, the Marquis of Yu of the horse infantry, and Zhao Yanhui, the commander of the infantry, were invited. People, drink with yourself. The monarch and ministers at the banquet seemed to be much more relaxed than those above the court because of the "combat friendship".Zhao Kuangyin dismissed the attendants on the left and right, raised his wine glass and said, "I can have the world because you are helping me, so I must toast you this glass!" Then he drank the wine in the glass.After all the generals also toasted and drank, Zhao Kuangyin suddenly showed a sad look and said, "I have always remembered your merits and virtues, but sometimes I can't help complaining."

When everyone heard this, they were very puzzled, Shi Shouxin asked: "Your Majesty is the Lord of the world now, why do you complain?" Zhao Kuangyin said: "Although I am the emperor now, I can't sleep every night. It's better to be a Jiedu envoy, and I can sing and sing every night easily and happily!" Shi Shouxin asked again: "Why is Your Majesty unable to sleep at night?" While stroking his dragon chair, Zhao Kuangyin said to everyone: "I am sitting on this chair now, who is not envious? Who is not willing to sit?" When all the generals heard Zhao Kuangyin's sudden words, they were all shocked: Could it be that His Majesty suspects someone who is planning to rebel?They all hurriedly put down the wine cups in their hands, knelt down in front of Zhao Kuangyin's seat and asked, "Why did Your Majesty say that? Now that the world is at peace, who would dare to disagree!"

Zhao Kuangyin still said depressedly: "It's not that I don't worry about you, I know that you are all loyal to me, but I'm just worried that your subordinates are greedy for wealth and status, and maybe they will put a yellow robe on you at any time. Even if you don’t want to be an emperor, it’s hard for you!” As generals who have followed Zhao Kuangyin for many years, Shi Shouxin and Wang Shenqi know that Zhao Kuangyin is not a person who can say anything casually, which also means that once he opens his mouth to say something, he must have thought it through carefully.With this remark now, everyone understands that Zhao Kuangyin is worried that someone will follow suit what he did back then. Although he keeps saying that he does not doubt everyone, since he said this, it means that everyone is within the scope of his worries. Such suspicion is not just for a courtier. People can afford it.Wang Shenqi hurriedly said: "Your Majesty is so stupid that I didn't think of this step, but I don't know what to do. Please show me a clear way."

Zhao Kuangyin shook the wine in his glass, and said to everyone calmly: "Life is like a passing moment, why are you waiting to fight with me? Isn't it just wealth and gold? Isn't it to let the children and grandchildren live a good life! Since this is the case, you might as well stop bothering to lead troops, choose a good place, and buy good land and beautiful houses to entertain yourself in your old age, which can be regarded as establishing a permanent career for your descendants. In this way, you and I There can also be a lot less suspicion between the monarch and his ministers, and everyone lives in peace, isn't it a good thing?"

Everyone hurriedly said: "Your Majesty is thoughtful! Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!" The analysis during the meeting seemed simple, even reduced to vulgarity, and the starting point of admonishing them on the grounds of enjoying their old age seems to be inconsistent with the mentality of these people who want to make meritorious deeds.But in fact, this is exactly what Zhao Kuangyin designed after getting along with them for a long time. It is also such a starting point that caters to the minds of these generals and cooperates with Zhao Kuangyin's imperial pressure, so that they quickly accept this proposal.What Shi Shouxin and the others wanted from birth to death on the battlefield was nothing more than prosperity and glory in old age. As for the dream of being an emperor, they may have thought about it, but they also knew that the possibility of this was very small.Since we can have the guarantee of prosperity, why continue to fight for this small possibility?That's why Zhao Kuangyin moved them on the grounds that "life is short, it's better to have fun in time".These people came from the wars of the Five Dynasties, and they are well aware of the seriousness of the jealousy of the monarchs and ministers, because many bloody wars were caused by jealousy.Zhao Kuangyin's win-win plan does not rely on his cunning, but his wisdom. Shi Shouxin and others asked Zhao Kuangyin to resign on the grounds of old age and sickness the next day.Zhao Kuangyin naturally approved them one by one, and gave them a lot of money in the name of providing for the elderly. This task of "releasing military power with a glass of wine" was finally successfully completed. For this matter, there have always been different opinions, but most of them are appreciative.It is all due to the ruling form of "family world" in ancient Chinese feudal society, which led the emperor to regard the world as his own private property. Therefore, he will not show mercy to anyone who has the threat conditions. It is a common practice to kill all the heroes who have assisted him.Regardless of whether they have ambitions to rebel or not, they must be killed with a preventive mentality.In ancient times, there were only two or three monarchs who did not kill heroes, and Zhao Kuangyin counted as one, so his approach won a lot of praise. Since Zhao Kuangyin released the military power of military generals, the Song Dynasty established an important guiding ideology. He was cautious about the appointment of military generals. Those who held important positions in the army were either civil servants or young generals with no deep roots. .But whether it is civil or military, both are great weapons of the country. If a country is to achieve long-term stability, the two must complement each other, and the relationship between them is inseparable.Throughout the Song Dynasty, the military has always been relatively weak, and has been threatened by the surrounding Liao, Jin, Mongolian and other minority regimes from beginning to end.Although the entire Zhao Song Foundation has been standing for more than three hundred years, it is also precarious and crumbling, leaving the impression of poverty and weakness on later generations.