Chapter 19 Chapter Nineteen: The Splendor of Shizong Chai Rong in the Later Zhou Dynasty

Counting the ancient Chinese emperors in detail, if you really want to comment on "the most in history", then there should be the fiercest, the most ruthless, the most poisonous, the most absurd, and the most intelligent... But it will be the turn of Zhou Shizong Chai Rong , can only use one word - injustice. He worked hard to conquer the country, but in the end he was taken advantage of by another emperor, who started a dynasty on his laurels.He is like an outstanding revolutionary fighter who has gone through the 25,000-mile long march, but he has not waited for the liberation of the whole country.What he can't compete with is the most helpless thing in human beings - life span.Du Fu has a poem that "die before leaving the teacher, often makes the hero burst into tears".It is about the legendary Zhuge Liang, but no matter how you look at it, it seems to have predicted the life of the future hero Chai Da.

Let us clear away the fog of history, look at the path of this hero, and feel the impermanence of life. Since life is impermanent, we should first ask the origin of the hero. In terms of origin, since ancient times, emperors were either noble or commoner, but Chai Rong's family background only reveals two words - dilapidated. He is from Xingzhou, Hebei, originally a son of aristocrats, but in his generation, the huge property and status have all disappeared. Fortunately, an aunt married the right person and became the wife of the general Guo Wei of the Later Han Dynasty. Forced by life, Chai Rong defected to his uncle Guo Wei's army when he was 7 years old.

His prudence and kindness, his courage and cleverness at critical moments, gradually, Guo Wei also admired this humble nephew.In Guo Wei's army, his status rose steadily, from a small soldier to a partial general, from a partial general to Guo Wei's adopted son, and finally became Guo Wei's most important figure.Chai Rong followed Guo Wei to fight in the north and south, and civil strife broke out in the Later Han Dynasty. After a lot of fighting, Guo Wei, a general, sat on the throne of the emperor and changed the name of the country to Zhou.In this power storm, Guo Wei's family members were all killed by the Emperor of the Later Han Dynasty, and they became "extinct accounts".In this way, 31-year-old Chai Rong became the only legal "heir" to Guo Wei's throne.From the poor son of the family to the crown prince, it seems that God is taking care of him.

Can you be lucky?From a soldier to a general, one has to climb up with real swords and guns step by step, and rush out of the dead. Chai Rong is exactly like this. The only luck is that he followed the right person.During the Five Dynasties period, during the wars in the north, bandits were either brutal and easy to kill, or ridiculous, but Chai Rong's master, Guo Wei, was indeed a resounding hero. It was also under the leadership of Guo Wei that the northern state of Zhou recuperated. He cared about the people, appointed talented people, enriched the country and strengthened the army, and divided China in an era. Finally, the best regime emerged. It is a pity that there are no holidays, and Guo Wei only became Three years later, the emperor died.

In fact, there is no need for Guo Wei to regret. History has arranged for a better ruler - Chai Rong, to complete the unfinished business for him. The 34-year-old Chai Rong sat on the throne of power in this way, but it was really not the time, because what he took over was a mess. The Northern Han regime occupied Shanxi and colluded with the Khitan people to separate themselves. The Khitan, the backer of the Northern Han Dynasty, was more like a cunning beast, sitting and watching the Han regime's cannibalism, waiting to reap the benefits of the fisherman.In southern China, regimes such as the Southern Tang, Wuyue, and Later Shu occupied large and small lands, almost all of which were the most prosperous economic belts in China at that time.Chai Rong's state of Zhou, although seemingly the most powerful among all heroes, is actually surrounded by great powers and occupies the Central Plains, making him the target of everyone's criticism.

The interior was even worse. During the three years of Guo Wei's reign, although he practiced strict savings and resumed production, the northern land had suffered from wars and turmoil, and his vitality had only just recovered.The generals from all walks of life harbored ulterior motives. During the wars of the Five Dynasties, those who led the soldiers had developed the habit of falling with the wind. The so-called loyalty and righteousness were all on the same side. Guo Wei knew about the atmosphere, but he didn't have time to rectify it, so he left it to Chai Rong. Before Chai Rong's throne was firmly established, the Northern Han Dynasty came to his door. Hundreds of thousands of troops colluded with Khitan, the border was in a hurry, the courtiers were panicked, and all kinds of troubles were in a mess. The foundation left by Guo Wei's bleak management seemed to be in danger.

Chai Rong was very calm. Amidst the chaos, he figured out the solution to the problem - fight the Northern Han first, defeat the Northern Han, shock the world, and all the troubles will be solved.So, personally enlist! Personal enlistment?It's easy to say, it's easy to win, and it's easy to say if you lose. The Northern Han Dynasty is not terrible. What is terrible is the Khitan behind the Northern Han Dynasty. Didn't the seemingly majestic emperor of the Later Tang Dynasty be forced to commit suicide by the Khitan? ?The calves of the generals who were used to being fools began to tremble again.Feng Dao, the head of the civil servants, first jumped out to object, probably because he thought that Emperor Chai Rong would not last long, so he actually laughed at Chai Rong in court.Chai Rong is very calm, do you object?derogatory!

The veteran of the Five Dynasties, Feng Dao, who was used to being a fool, was dismissed just like that. Chai Rong also sent a signal: in extraordinary times, whoever dares to back down will not be forgiven! Hundreds of thousands of troops set off on the road anxiously. Although they were shocked for a while, everyone still had their calculations in their hearts. Not too much. Chai Rong quickly showed his prowess, of course, by dealing with his own people first. The commander of the pro-army made Zhao Chao the unlucky one first.He proposed to withdraw troops, Chai Rong said nothing, off!The outstanding general was imprisoned in this way. Although it was kind, it shocked the whole army.

As a result, the various armies finally reached a consensus that if they don't win, they will be finished. If they want to run away, they have to be the backup first. No matter what, let's fight to the death with all our strength. The two armies met in Gaoping, and the war began.The Khitan people carry forward their fine tradition of sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight, and sit and watch the Han people kill each other to the death.But the Northern Han army was indeed fierce. Relying on the superiority of their numbers, they rushed up and rushed up. Chai Rong's right-wing army quickly collapsed, and the generals of the right-wing army turned against the Northern Han.For a while, the Zhou army was in chaos, and the emperor of the Northern Han Dynasty was full of ambition, waiting to see the scene where the corpses of the Northern Zhou army lay across thousands of miles.

At this time, a man personally led an elite soldier, braved the hail of bullets and rushed towards the Northern Han army formation. The defeated Northern Zhou army was first stunned, and then shocked again. It was their emperor, Chai Rong, who rushed forward. The emperor has rushed, so why should we refund?Beat the fuck up. The defeated army regrouped, and the fleeing soldiers once again turned their heads to face each other. Zhou Jun re-invigorated his morale and stabilized his position. At the critical moment, it was Chai Rong who personally led elite troops to attack the Northern Han Central Army. , It was like a dagger stabbing the Northern Han army in the chest. The Northern Han army, who was determined to win, was defeated.

The rout, the hasty rout, hundreds of thousands of Northern Han troops being slaughtered like lambs, the Khitan people watching the battle couldn't believe their eyes: what kind of character is this, one person can turn the whole battle situation around.Such a hero may only come out once in hundreds of years. Before they could figure it out, Zhou Jun had already finished cleaning the battlefield, pointing his sharp saber at the Khitan army formation: Do you want to try it?Try something, run!Tens of thousands of Khitan troops fled in a blink of an eye, and the invincible Khitan army was defeated before the Central Plains army!This is the first time in decades since Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. The Battle of Gaoping is very inconspicuous in Chinese history, but it has epoch-making significance for the troubled times of the Five Dynasties. It caused a major blow to the Northern Han Dynasty, and it was no longer possible to compete for the Central Plains. The precarious Zhou regime also stabilized the situation. , and the important task of unifying the world also fell on the Zhou regime. It is worth mentioning that, at the most critical moment of the battle, a general rushed out with Chai Rong and stabilized the front line. This person later became the emperor, and he was Zhao Kuangyin.The Battle of Gaoping not only fulfilled the important task of the Northern Zhou Dynasty to unify the world, but also achieved the success of another completer. History is really a wonderful screenwriter. Chai Rong understands that this is just the beginning, unifying the world is only the first step in his plan, and there is still a dream hidden in his heart. This is exactly his 30-year plan: 10 years of unification, 10 years of nourishing the people and enriching the country, 10 years of chasing down powerful enemies, and dominating the world. This is a dream that is enough to excite the Chinese people today. He was born in a rough background and has gone through hardships. He is used to seeing the suffering of the people in the Central Plains in the flames of war, the faces of warlords in melee, and the sorrow of Khitan's iron hooves raging in the Central Plains. Now, it is time for someone to end all this. Not only did he want to be an emperor, he didn't just pursue the glory of unifying the world. What he pursued was to build an empire as powerful as the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Under the background of separatist regimes and wars at that time, this seemed impossible, but he did step by step. did. The first is personnel reform.After the Battle of Gaoping, the Northern Zhou Dynasty began to purge the courtiers while stabilizing the situation, and many arrogant soldiers were dismissed.He even vigorously rectified the administration of officials, punished corruption, cracked down on tyrants, and used preferential policies to encourage farmers to reclaim wasteland and produce. What Guo Wei did not finish, he did it, and he did it better. This was followed by army building.The first is to eliminate redundant soldiers and establish a strict selection system for soldiers and officers. A large number of old, weak and remnant soldiers are disarmed and returned to the fields, which not only increases the labor force, but also strengthens combat effectiveness.To establish the absolute leadership of the central government over the military, soldiers are destroyers, but he is a builder. His whole set of political and military systems has almost established the embryonic form of the Chinese political system in later generations. The most important thing is a unified strategy.The unification of China has always been based on "first the south and then the north" or "first the north and then the south". Chai Rong has done the smartest one. During his reign, the Northern Zhou Dynasty successively launched attacks on various regimes in the south and seized large tracts of rich land in Jianghuai and Sichuan. To seize the Sixteen States of Youyun, first remove the external threats, and then complete the internal unity. This seems very incomprehensible, isn't it generally easy before difficult?But at that time, the southern regime was powerless to resist unification, and the only strong enemy was the Khitan who occupied the sixteen prefectures of Youyun. Fat meat, mouth-to-mouth delicacies are also lost. After 5 years of careful preparation, the Northern Zhou Dynasty became prosperous and strong, and the army was elite. Hundreds of thousands of troops marched by land and water, pointing directly at the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, which had been occupied by the Khitan for several years.Probably still intimidated by the might of the soldiers in the Battle of Gaoping, the Khitan fled in anticipation. Later Zhou's army recovered ten counties in Guannan and marched straight to Youzhou. However, history turned at this moment. Chai Rong, who was sick from overwork, fell ill. Under great grief, he had no choice but to withdraw his troops.In 959 AD, Chai Rong, the hero of a generation, died of illness in Kaifeng.According to historical records, when the common people heard about it, they all wept. When an emperor dies, there are always tears, but I believe that the tears this time are the most sincere. In this way, the Khitan escaped their most powerful opponent, and the only loophole in Chai Rong's life: the nationalization of the army was not fully completed in his lifetime, which also gave his subordinate Zhao Kuangyin the opportunity to usurp the throne.After that, the yellow robe was added, Zhao Kuangyin seized the throne, and established the foundation of the Song Dynasty for 300 years.But the irony is that the Song Dynasty has never been able to recover the sixteen prefectures of Youyun. The Song Dynasty emperor, who owns Chai Ronghao's family background, did not have the courage of him, so the land of the Han family finally fell into the hands of the Khitan. It is not an exaggeration to leave a grudge through the ages. But the emperors of the Song Dynasty were lucky, because Chai Rong had prepared everything for them to unify the country.A prosperous and powerful country, a powerful army, and a centralized political system. Today, everyone admires the economic achievements of the Song Dynasty, but Chai Rong, as the founder, has been ignored by historians. What has been ignored is his 30-year-old power great dream. A song praising Kangxi's achievements sang "I really want to live another five hundred years", and as a person who understands the history of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, I sometimes really want to pray: God, if you can change history, please live again Give Chai Rong 30 years, so China is lucky, China is lucky. Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty, once lamented to Zhao Pu that if Chai Rong was still alive, he would never rebel and would be a loyal courtier. I admit that Zhao Kuangyin is also a hero, but I also believe that what he told the truth that time.