Chapter 47 Chapter One
When the last gleam of the prosperous Tang Dynasty disappeared completely on the horizon of history in 906 AD, countless short-lived dynasties emerged in its place. "The Tang Dynasty has declined, five seasons have flourished, all people have changed and eight surnames, and the world has been in chaos for more than fifty years." When describing this dark age of frequent wars and chaos, historians of later generations are always unable to maintain their usual objective and calm attitude. Often full of a strong feeling of anger.Compared with the prosperity, prosperity, wealth and vastness of the Tang Dynasty, the division, turmoil, decline and chaos of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms seem to make people feel that the ancient country with a history of thousands of years has entered its end.
This is also the case. Since the Tang Dynasty, although the Chinese civilization has revived many times, the Tang Dynasty has become an insurmountable mountain and elevation in the feudal society of China. Only by looking back at history can people appreciate the golden age of that year. brilliant.
Although the brilliance is hard to come by, the concept of "the general trend of the world must be united for a long time" has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. The people of Li are living hard and persistently in the cracks of war. The nation is unified again, looking forward to the reappearance of the world.
In people's anxious and intense anticipation, the "Ming Lord" finally fell to the ground like a baby with dystocia, and really appeared in people's field of vision-this Ming Lord was none other than Zhao Kuangyin, the founding monarch of the Song Dynasty.
On the fourth day of the first lunar month in the seventh year of Zhou Xiande (AD 960), a group of soldiers who were about to go on an expedition made a noise in Chenqiaoyi, 40 miles northeast of Kaifeng. On Zhao Kuangyin, the captain of the school and the commander in front of the palace.Ever since, a founding monarch and a feudal dynasty came into being.
Zhao Kuangyin, who is only thirty-four years old, caresses the bright and noble yellow dragon robe on his body. Yesterday, he was still praying for a foothold and development. Trance as in a dream.This change was too big and too fast. Facing the kowtows and bows of the officials, he couldn't adapt for a while, and it was difficult for him to bear the majesty and airs of the emperor...
Zhao Kuangyin was born in Luoyang City on March 16, the second year of Tiancheng in Later Tang Dynasty (AD 927). His ancestor was an official of the Tang Dynasty government. His father, Zhao Jing, was an outstanding general with outstanding military exploits.Zhao Kuangyin was very intelligent since he was a child. He knew everything and learned it as soon as he learned it, but he couldn't stand the slightest restraint, like a wild horse galloping at will.His family once sent him to study in the academy, but he was not very interested in reading and writing. The reality of division made him realize that only warriors can be kings and hegemons; They are all military officers.Therefore, he regards practicing martial arts, galloping on the battlefield, and making contributions as his goal.His father named him Kuangyin, which meant to save future generations.Therefore, although Zhao Kuangyin pretended to read the poem Yun Ziyue in his mouth when he was a child, his restless soul had already "thought that there was a swan coming, and he wanted to shoot it with a bow".
As the situation became turbulent, Zhao Kuangyin moved his family to Bianjing (now Kaifeng, Henan) when he was twelve years old.Although the regime changed like a lantern and the current situation was changing, with the protection and shelter of his family, Zhao Kuangyin could live a carefree and leisurely life like other children of officials and eunuchs.But for Zhao Kuangyin, who is determined to do something, the peaceful life can only make him feel boring and bewildered.Deep in his heart, there is often an inexplicable impulse, yearning for the excitement and gunpowder of fighting outside.So, at the age of 21, Zhao Kuangyin resolutely bid farewell to his beloved wife, left the family, and started a lonely and difficult career with full of enthusiasm and martial arts.
He didn't know his ultimate purpose, nor what he was going to do, just like a duckweed drifting around.With astonishing vigor and speed, in less than two years, his lonely figure frequently appeared in Shaanxi, Gansu, Hubei, Henan and other places, and suffered a lot and suffered a lot.Even so, he has no regrets at all. If he stays at home for a long time, he will not have much promise except for ease and plainness.Hope lies in finding, and destiny lies in grasping. Zhao Kuangyin walked towards the god of luck without hesitation based on his own feelings.In order to encourage himself, he also wrote a Mingzhi poem with no literary talent but magnificent momentum on the theme of the day:
It was inspired by this lofty ambition that Zhao Kuangyin could continue to move forward and search tenaciously without any setbacks or discouragement.
In the second year of Qianyou (949 A.D.), Zhao Kuangyin, who had been wandering and searching, heard that Guo Wei, an important minister of the Later Han Dynasty, was recruiting soldiers, so he rushed to join him.So far, Zhao Kuangyin was able to find a "big tree" he could rely on, a place to settle down.
Guo Wei was born in poverty, but he was able to stand out from humble beginnings. He was appointed Minister of Gu Ming, worshiped as a privy envoy and inspector Taiwei, and later launched the Chanzhou Mutiny.In addition to the rare opportunities and soil provided by the chaotic world, it is also inseparable from his outstanding talents, clever means of winning people's hearts, and political strategies.
When Zhao Kuangyin first voted for Guo Wei, he had no one to recommend him, nor did he have any great "meeting ceremony". He could only start as an ordinary soldier, and he didn't even become a minor officer.However, as long as it is real gold, it will always shine brightly.Guo Wei, who is good at identifying talents, found that Zhao Kuangyin was a son of an official. He was talented in literature, martial arts and brave in combat.The East and West Squads are the imperial guards who directly guard the emperor, and the leader of the line is the squad leader.The official position is not big, but they often follow the emperor, and their status is very important. As long as they are diligent and loyal, they can be reused by the emperor and thus occupy important positions.Zhao Kuangyin cherishes this rare position even more, and regards it as a favorable opportunity to realize his lofty aspirations.And Guo Wei also admired Zhao Kuangyin, who was extremely intelligent and talented, and soon entrusted him with an important task, and was promoted as the deputy commander of Xingshun in Huazhou (now east of Huaxian County, Henan Province).Since then, Zhao Kuangyin has been appointed as the envoy of Ma Zhijun of Kaifeng Prefecture, Marquis of the Dianqian Duyu, the envoy of the Dingguo Army, the inspection of the front of the palace, the captain of the inspection school, and the envoy of Guide Jiedu. It can be said that his career has soared , Qing Yun straight up.
In Zhao Kuangyin's life, Zhou Taizu Guo Wei had the greatest influence on him and played a pivotal role.
When Zhao Kuangyin entered Guo Wei's tent as an ordinary soldier, or followed him as a leader, he was always regarded as a role model in his heart.Zhao Kuangyin learned a lot from Guo Wei that he couldn't learn elsewhere, from how to deal with people to how to govern the country and the people, all of them were inspired by him; The Chenqiao mutiny planned by Zhao Kuangyin later was undoubtedly a replica of Guo Wei's Chanzhou mutiny.It is no exaggeration to say that if Zhao Kuangyin hadn't defected to Guo Wei, if Guo Wei hadn't taken him in, appreciated him, and reused him, if Guo Wei hadn't been Zhao Kuangyin's leading model, then there would have been no "Song Taizu". , and it is very likely to embark on a new road that is different from the Song Dynasty and unpredictable.
Guo Wei died of illness, and his adopted son Chai Rong succeeded to the throne as Zhou Shizong.Like the deacon Zhou Taizu, Zhao Kuangyin still loyally followed the new master.Chai Rong was broad-minded, shrewd and capable, and he wanted to pacify the world. He was called the only wise monarch in the era of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms by later historians.As soon as he succeeded to the throne, he embarked on the difficult task of unifying the whole country, counterattacking the Later Han Dynasty, attacking the Later Shu Dynasty, conquering the Southern Tang Dynasty, expanding a large territory, and his reputation was greatly shocked for a while.However, Zhou Shizong unfortunately fell ill when he went north to conquer Liao and recover the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun. His son, Chai Zongxun, was 18 years old.
Prior to this, there had been rumors among the people that "checking is the son of heaven"; on the way to conquer Liao, when Zhou Shizong was reviewing the memorial, for some reason, a small wooden board of unknown origin suddenly appeared in the "document bag", on which it was impressively written There are five big characters of "check to be the emperor".Zhou Shizong, who had been perplexed and uneasy, had to be scruples.Inspections, that is, inspections in front of the temple, for the supreme commander of the imperial army.The Forbidden Army was originally a security force to defend the capital and the emperor. In order to strengthen the central government, Zhou Shizong learned the lessons of the Tang Dynasty's demise, weakened the power of the feudal towns, expanded the Forbidden Army, and transformed it into a powerful fighting force directly under the central government.In this way, it is difficult for local generals to pose a de facto threat to the central government, and Zhou Shizong relied on the main force and core force of the Forbidden Army for his southern and northern expeditions.At that time, it was Zhang Yongde, son-in-law of Zhou Taizu Guo Wei, who was in charge of inspection, and Zhou Shizong Chai Rong was only Guo Wei's adopted son and nephew. In terms of relationship, Zhang Yongde and Guo Wei were closer.In this way, Zhou Shizong had to be on guard against Zhang Yongde.In order to prevent accidents, he immediately and decisively made arrangements to remove Zhang Yongde from the post of capital inspection.So, who should fill this important position?In Zhou Shizong's eyes, the most qualified candidate is Zhao Kuangyin.Zhao Kuangyin not only obeyed him, and ran where he pointed, but also killed his relatives righteously in order to abide by the king's law.That year, Zhao Kuangyin led his troops to Chuzhou, and his father Zhao Hongyin, who was the commander of Maqiandu at that time, also led the troops to the city of Chuzhou in the middle of the night to call and open the gate.Hearing that his father had arrived, Zhao Kuangyin naturally did not dare to neglect, and hurriedly climbed up the tower to greet him. However, he did not let his father enter the city immediately. He said: "According to the regulations, the door is not allowed to be opened in the middle of the night. I cannot violate it just because you are my father." Wang Fa." At that time, his father was ill, so he had no choice but to wait until dawn while sick.Unexpectedly, Zhao Hongyin became ill because of this, and died soon after.Zhao Kuangyin has always been like this for the sake of Wang Fa. If such a person is unreliable, who else can trust him?Therefore, Zhou Shizong did not hesitate to delegate the post of capital inspection to Zhao Kuangyin.As a result, Zhao Kuangyin ascended to the sky in one step, and immediately held important military and political positions, becoming the most powerful minister in the Later Zhou Dynasty.
History always favors those lucky ones; opportunities appear in front of Zhao Kuangyin again.If it was said that there were only some hazy lofty ambitions in his heart before, then now, the truth has gradually become clear—he will not only be a powerful minister, but also an emperor who will rule the world!The world is unified, the world is clear and clear, and people return to their positions, but they can keep their own place; once the world is chaotic, those with a little ability will become restless, especially those in power. If the coach is strong, he wants to betray the emperor."The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms was an era when soldiers ruled the roost. Whoever had a powerful army could occupy a piece of land and taste like an emperor.And the generals under them, as long as their wings are full, can also turn their hands into clouds and hands into rain to overthrow the old master and change the dynasty.Everyone does the law of the jungle, and no one doubts the orthodoxy of the throne and criticizes the depravity of morality. "Government grows out of the barrel of a gun", how much effect can suspicion and criticism play?Although Zhao Kuangyin had great ambitions in his early years, he only thought about being able to stand out and accomplish a great career, but how dare he expect extravagantly for the high throne?The distance is too big, just thinking about it may make my head dizzy.But now it is different, he is only half a step away from the throne of the king who holds the military and political power of the Later Zhou Dynasty - in the eyes of his subjects, he is much more powerful than the seven-year-old Emperor Gong who just succeeded to the throne !
Isn't there a rumor that "inspection is the emperor"?Who is checking now?Zhao Kuangyin!So, let this rumor become a reality as soon as possible!
Zhao Kuangyin chose the first day of the Lunar New Year in the first year of Emperor Gong of Zhou (960 A.D.), the day when all things were revived, everything was renewed, and full of symbolic meaning, and began to stage a lively drama of seizing power.
At the beginning of the new year, people were intoxicated in the strong festive atmosphere, but they did not expect to receive an emergency military report: Khitan Liao, with the cooperation of the Later Han Dynasty, was aggressively invading the Later Zhou Dynasty!The court was in a panic all of a sudden, and Zhao Kuangyin was the most qualified to lead the army to defend against the enemy.Therefore, Zhao Kuangyin first sent the deputy capital inspector Murong Yanzhao as the vanguard to set off on the second day of the first month, and then personally led the army to fight against the enemy on the third day of the first month.The army walked for a whole day, only traveled forty miles, and set up camp in Chenqiaoyi, a small town that was neither lively nor famous at that time.Zhao Kuangyin drank a few glasses of wine at dinner, and then went to sleep peacefully.For specific things, one's own subordinates will do the tricks - this is the official art and political tradition in China since ancient times.
At dawn, a group of soldiers armed with batons, under the command of Zhao Kuangyin's younger brother Zhao Guangyi and Zhao Kuangyin's confidant and clerk Zhao Pu, suddenly broke into the post station shouting loudly: "All the soldiers have no master, and I will serve as the emperor." Zhao Kuangyin He woke up drowsily with his clothes on, as if he didn't understand what happened, a yellow robe was draped over his body immediately, followed by a group of people kneeling at his feet and shouting long live.Of course Zhao Kuangyin refused to accept it, and everyone naturally refused to agree.So again and again, Zhao Kuangyin had no choice but to make a helpless look and said: "You are greedy for wealth and honor, and embrace me as the emperor. Alas, there is really no way. Forget it, I have to obey you. But I have something to say first, you must obey me Otherwise, I will never be the emperor." Everyone naturally expressed their unconditional obedience to the order.Who would dare to disobey the emperor's promise?Zhao Kuangyin just wanted to make this play more realistic.
As soon as the supporting drama ended, the Khitan and Later Han troops who invaded the Zhou Dynasty "retired without fighting", and disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye.As a result, the expeditionary army began to return to Beijing and return home.The speed of returning to the division was much faster than the expedition, and the army had returned to Bianjing just after noon.The capital has long been under the control of Zhao Kuangyin's cronies, the senior general of the Forbidden Army Shi Shouxin, and others. Except for the general of the Inner Palace Guard and the deputy commander of the pro-army, Han Tong, who was prepared to resist and was killed, everything seemed to be in turmoil.
Entering the palace, Zhao Kuangyin first symbolically kowtowed to the little emperor on the throne to show his respect, and then the Hanlin scholar Chengzhi Tao Gu who was standing by the side took out a Zen edict from his arms like a magic trick, and spoke loudly read it out.After reading the edict, Zhao Kuangyin worshiped facing north, and he and the little emperor shifted in just a short moment—Zhao Kuangyin sat on the throne as if he was sitting on the throne, and the little emperor Chai Zongxun knelt at his feet and was named King Zheng.Then all the officials knelt down and worshiped, shouting long live.Zhao Kuangyin once served as the Jiedu envoy of the German army, and the town of the German army was in Songzhou (now Shangqiu, Henan).From the addition of the yellow robe at dawn to the end of the abdication at dusk, the Zhou and Song Dynasties successfully completed the "handover" process between them.
It was originally an earth-shattering mutiny. It only killed Han Tong and achieved great success in just one day. It can really be called a beautiful "big hand", which is better than the Chanzhou mutiny launched by his teacher Zhou Taizu Guo Wei. It's much more meticulous, rigorous, and skillful.Therefore, whenever later generations mentioned the story of "the addition of the yellow robe" in Chinese history, it seemed that it became the personal "patent" of Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin.