Chapter 26 Alliance of Chanyuan

In the summer of 1987, I went to Harbin to participate in an international conference on the history of the Ming Dynasty. Personally speaking, this also fulfilled a long-cherished wish. I went to the Northeast in 1946. I went to Changchun, but I only regretted not being able to reach the north.This time I went to Heilongjiang Province, and I was lucky.In the past, when I encountered the terms "Songhua River" and "Huanglong Mansion" from various reading materials, I already felt attached to them.And the life of our generation has always been bumpy and tormented by the 918 Shenyang Incident.It is a kind of comfort to be able to see the stability and foundation of this area in my lifetime.And looking down from the railway line, the scenery in many areas, with large-scale cultivated land as the background, is mixed with various rows of trees, and the red brick houses with chimneys are structured into various villages. Similar to the mood of some European countries.The more than 20 miles of Harbin-airport driveway are absolutely neatly lined with trees, which is the only thing I have seen in my travels both at home and abroad.It is said that the population of Heilongjiang was less than 10 million at the end of the War of Resistance, but today it is 33 million.Among them, the Han nationality accounts for 96%, so even if the minority nationalities may have local problems, it is not important in proportion. All these developments have confirmed the rationality of what I said in the long-term and medium-term history.

The point of my argument is not to advocate the "chauvinism" of the great Han.The emergence of nationalist racism and chauvinism as a firm and pervasive belief is a phenomenon of modern society.At the beginning of the Hundred Years' War between Britain and France, it was purely a conflict between dynasties and states. It was not until the end of the war that the sentiment of nation-states began to rise; Germany and Italy did not become modern countries until the nineteenth century.There is a good reason why the Chinese do not attach importance to nationalism. The book "Mencius" mentioned that Shun was "a man of the Eastern Yi" and King Wen was "a man of the Western Yi", which must be read by scholars who take the imperial examination.Traditional historians are like the writers of the "Book of Wei", who even pointed out that "the Yellow Emperor had twenty-five sons, some of whom were listed among the Hua, or those who punished the barren clothes." That is to use a legendary basis to emphasize The Chinese and foreign families indirectly support the rationality and legality of the ethnic minorities entering the Central Plains.The "Book of Wei" is also one of the twenty-four histories.

Under this tradition, the so-called Han people in today's China are themselves a kind of historical hybrid. Apart from being able to show their differences through their special characters in comparison with the ethnic minorities, it cannot be said that they have maintained the Han people from beginning to end. uniqueness of its origin.It also means that today's British are the first colonized aborigines and Italians, Danes, Germans, and French mixed races. Moreover, the most important development in China's history of the past thousand years was the long-term armed conflict between the Han majority and other ethnic minorities in North China.This kind of conflict is not trivial. For many people, it is not only a matter of life and death, but also a point of difference between being righteous and giving up morality. It also produced such epic deeds as Wen Tianxiang and Shi Kefa.Their struggle was definitely not due to a momentary impulse, which cannot be written off by future generations.Just from today’s standpoint, we cannot fully maintain the views of the majority ethnic groups in the past and obliterate the influence of ethnic minorities on Chinese history (so far there is a Chinese Ethnic History Society in Harbin and the Chinese Liaojin Khitan Jurchen Research Association).The reason for this is very simple. The common intermarriage of various ethnic groups in China has a long history. Even the author of this article and the vast majority of readers have no way of confirming that they are Han people before the second century AD, or Tang people. It was the Tang Dynasty before the ninth century.It is difficult to argue that it is the successor of the mixture of the majority and the minority.

Based on the above standpoint, we believe that the idea of ​​Chinese nationalism was determined after the Opium War.It was not until foreign powers stopped treating China as a country that the Chinese felt the need to organize a modern country.We write history, but also based on this kind of consideration. The long-term and medium-term historical rationality mentioned at the beginning of this text is that in the conflict between agricultural society and nomadic society, the early nomadic people tend to have the upper hand, probably because their tribal organization is close to military mobilization.But after they defeated the majority ethnic groups, they were easily assimilated by the Han people.Because they cannot use a mobile organization to constantly control a fixed society.Therefore, the Khitan's Liao and Jurchen's gold, every time they conquered the capital of China, they plundered books, calendars, stone scriptures, bronze figures, Mingtang engravings, Taichang music scores, legal objects, armored staffs, and palace concubines and eunuchs. Deliberately imitate to promulgate the calendar to coordinate agricultural production, maintain the bureaucratic group system with various rituals, and support an urban culture with the prosperity of the palace.That is to say, the automatic "sinicization" is intentional or unintentional.At the same time, under the same area, the precision work of agriculture can support a large number of people, and the non-nomadic production mode is comparable.Today there are 34 ethnic minorities in Heilongjiang, but the total population is only 1.25 million, which is also due to the development of this natural trend.

This book takes the continuous progress in time as a clue. When it comes to the Northern Song Dynasty, there is a title of "Chanyuan Alliance" at the beginning.Since what I wrote is "big history" and the situation after the cut-off is clear, why bother to propose a term that ordinary readers seldom hear?Here I also want to point out: re-examining history with a long-term and long-distance attitude does not mean completely ignoring the minor details in history.Sometimes the levels and procedures between these subtle details can greatly affect the future development, but it needs to be carefully selected and considered.Jiang Fucong once said that the alliance between Song, Liao and Chanyuan "affected the Chinese intellectual circle and the entire history of China".Our generation was educated before and after the Anti-Japanese War. Back then, the national destiny was as silk as silk, and we were most afraid of retreating midway. There was a saying that "peace is a traitor", and we blindly avoided peace talks in history.Under such circumstances, we cannot forget that until the western power spread eastward, the theme of Chinese history was the conflict between the majority and the minority.Because mobilization affects the finances and taxation of both parties, it also affects the state system and social conditions.All of this can also be talked about from the Chanyuan Alliance.

Chanyuan is near Puyang County, Henan Province today. In the Northern Song Dynasty and today, it is only a day's journey from the north bank of the Yellow River. It is only more than 200 miles to Kaifeng, the capital of the Song Dynasty.Zhenzong Zhao Huan, the third emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty, negotiated peace with Liao Dynasty of Khitan here in 1004 AD.As a result, the Liao soldiers withdrew to the north and returned to their pre-war state.The Northern Song Dynasty admitted that it would lose 100,000 taels of silver and 200,000 bolts of silk every year, in the name of "helping the military with the appropriate climate".The two sides also exchanged "oaths", treating each other as equals, and agreed that "all the cities of the two dynasties can still be preserved, and everything will be as usual, that is, the city gods will not be built and the rivers will be opened."This treaty is also valid forever, so we jointly declare that "the quality is from the gods of heaven and earth, and it will be reported to the ancestral temple and the country. The descendants will guard it together and pass it on endlessly. With the alliance of Chongqing, we can't enjoy the country. It is a lesson to heaven, and we should kill it together."Both parties in the book refer to Zhao Huan as the "Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty", and Yelu Longxu, the leader of the Liao Dynasty, as the "Emperor of the Great Khitan", not Liao.Generally speaking, historians have rumored that the two parties were brothers during the alliance, and the Emperor Song called the Empress Dowager of Liao an aunt, but this title is not found in the affidavit.

The Chanyuan Alliance has been a subject of repeated debates in Chinese history. Some people who read history believe that the Song Dynasty could not conquer Khitan in one go at the beginning of the founding of the country. It not only recognized the existence of the Liao regime, but also opened the source of "year coins". The "accumulated weakness" of the Song Dynasty in the future will only make the situation worse.Those who emphasized the Chanyuan alliance pointed out that the soldiers had attacked Chanyuan (state) city that day, and Kaifeng was only a short distance away. Some courtiers had suggested moving the capital and persuading Zhenzong to conquer Jinling or go to Chengdu. Only those who advocated tough policies Kou Zhun got the support of Bi Shi'an, who was the center of planning, and surrounded the emperor in Chanyuan to conclude this peace treaty. After that, Song and Liao will not add soldiers for 120 years.Moreover, dealing with Khitan with silk silver has always been the policy of Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin. Before the peace treaty was signed in 1004, Zhenzong had planned to bear the amount of one million years old coins, but later he was able to settle the matter with 300,000 yuan, which was unexpected.And the most important harvest of the covenant is that there is no land cede.Shi Jingtang ceded the "Sixteen Prefectures of Youyan" and Khitan in 936 AD, including the two prefectures of Yingmo. Song insisted that the Khitan called it "Guannan". During the peace talks, it was once claimed back, but was rejected by the Song Dynasty.Because later Zhenzong's yearly coins were delivered to Xiongzhou every year, which was the border between the two countries, so in the negotiation of the peace treaty, the Southern Dynasty did not have nothing to gain.

From the perspective of big history, this kind of debate has only partial significance. If you look at it from a long-term perspective, it is the development from the tenth century to the early eleventh century, which opened up a long period of competition in the future.Khitan's Liao and Jurchen's Jin used the same regime derived from animal husbandry, combined with a new agricultural foundation, and competed with the Southern Dynasties for the territory of North China based on today's Northeast and Rehe.The Southern Dynasty of Zhao Song was confident that it could defeat the opponent with the economy and resources in the south. This attitude was fully expressed by Zhao Kuangyin's statement that "if you buy a Khitan head with 20 bolts of silk, its elite soldiers are no more than 100,000".This long-term struggle not only affects the progress of each dynasty, but also has a close relationship with the appearance of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties in the future. Even if the Japanese created "Manchukuo", it was still an attempt to restore the ancient state with a history of thousands of years. They found a new excuse in the subject matter and used it as a tool for their development to the mainland.

It is also the operation of these thousands of years of history, and it is not like the common people say that only the minorities with low education level are melted by the majority with high education level.While both sides were fully mobilized, the competitive and extroverted character of China's "Second Empire" since the Sui, Tang and Song Dynasties failed to find a way out and was forced to give up.Instead, the introversion and non-competition of the "Third Reich" Ming and Qing Dynasties emerged, which is a later story. What remains to be examined at the moment is why the Khitan and the Northern Song Dynasty reached an evenly matched situation in the early eleventh century.Only this balance of power can make the Chanyuan Alliance possible.

When describing the experience of Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, I have already mentioned that although he hoped to regain the territory of the north, he took the premise of unifying the south first throughout his life.The planning for the north began with Emperor Taizong Zhao Guangyi.He conquered the Northern Han Dynasty (from Taiyuan, Shanxi to the north) in 979 AD, which was also the last country of the "Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms".During the battle, the Khitan Liao sent troops to assist the Northern Han.Therefore, once the Northern Han Dynasty was leveled, the Lord of the Song Dynasty moved his army to attack Khitan, and continued to advance to the outside of Xizhimen in today's Beijing.After the war between the two sides, the Song army collapsed. "Song History" called "failure", and "Liao History" said that "the Lord of Song only escaped with his own body, and fled to Zhuozhou by stealing a donkey cart."The Song army made a comeback the following year and was defeated in Mozhou (today's Renqiu).Taizong's third attack on Khitan was in AD 986. In addition to the frontal attack, he also launched a large-scale lateral offensive in Shanxi, but it was ultimately unsuccessful.

These three battles have a common feature: the Song army always wins first and then loses.When fighting on the periphery and on the flanks, the Khitans did not give up their calm posture even though they were defeated.The main force of a Song army moved deep, and it was not until the Liao army dealt them a head-on blow. The battle was very tragic, and senior generals on both sides were often killed, seriously injured and captured.The Song army was defeated many times due to the lack of food and drinking water, and sometimes the supply line was cut off by the Liao army.After winning the complete victory, Khitan did not organize a large-scale counterattack.After recovering lost ground, harass the enemy with only a few troops. Several unofficial historical sources indicate that after three defeats, Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi decided not to attack Khitan, but to pursue peace talks.In addition, he died in 997 AD, which is said to be the result of the arrows fired in previous battles.Moreover, the official records also say that Jurchen once wrote a letter to ask for Khitan, but the Northern Song court refused to allow it, which was the basis for Jurchen to join the Liao Dynasty in the future.Moreover, Xixia also married Liao, rebelled against the Southern Dynasty, and eventually became a strong enemy of Zhao Song. It turns out that China made great progress in the development of the Western economy between the Tang and Song Dynasties, and the northern minorities also made similar progress in their business operations in the north.When Abaoji (later called Liao Taizu by the Liao people) proclaimed himself emperor (907 A.D., that is, the day when Zhu Wen took over the Tang Dynasty), the Goryeo Uighurs and China’s Wuyue had paid tribute, and Khitan characters were produced in 920.He not only set up city walls, but also captured Han people many times to enrich his base areas in the rear (plundering population was the norm during the war that day, and it was also practiced in Zhao and Song Dynasties), and even the shops and workshops gradually imitated the Chinese style system.After Emperor Taizong Yelude won the sixteen prefectures of Youyan, he greatly expanded the northern and southern courts set up by Taizu, that is, according to the principle of "the northern government ignores the people" stated in the "History of Liao" Use the organizational structure of the tribe to govern the following states and counties.And "Nanya does not dominate the soldiers", in the area south of the Great Wall, a Chinese-style bureaucracy presides over Dingfu, but the civil administration and the military are separated.It also allowed the Khitan people in the south to "obtain Han officials from Han Yi and listen to marriage with Han people".Their armaments are also compiled as "palace guards" and "walking camps" based on the "account clan" of the Khitan and Xi people.The Han people call it "transfer", and each county has a certain quota, which belongs to each "oruduo" (palace). Under this system, the Liao Kingdom is all soldiers. "Anyone who is over fifteen years old and under fifty years old is a member of the military".The strength of Khitan soldiers and horses is mostly due to the fact that their normal organization is similar to that in wartime. It is just like the "History of the Liao Dynasty" Bingwei Zhi said "beginning to hear the imperial edict, gather household members, promote household force, and verify the registration of all people." However, its interior is simple. Uniform, effective execution.And their lower-level organization, "Each regular army has three horses, foragers, and one guard for the barracks".His horses, bows and arrows are all prepared by themselves.It is also known as "people and horses do not give food and grass, and they are sent out every day to raid grass valleys and ride around to plunder for it."The Liao army claimed to have 500,000 cavalry in Yeludeguang, so the above measures may not be maintained on a regular basis.But its organization is crude, and its adaptability to simple rural society is unquestionable.In contrast, Zhao Song adopted the recruitment system, and its logistics was coordinated, and most of the supplies were transported from the south of the Yangtze River.Its appearance is new and fashionable, but there are many impracticalities in promoting it in a country composed of rural society."Tens of thousands" of raincoats and tents piled up in Kaifeng's warehouse during Zhao Guangyi's time were damaged, which shows that his military supply system was too complicated, and the social conditions of the day were not sufficient to support it.Judging from various indications, the Northern Song Dynasty felt that the people's burden of fighting the Khitan was not easy to support. "Song History" stated that after the failure of the Northern Expedition in 986, the imperial court "sent envoys to all the people and horses in the city" in the following year.At that time, Khitan did not allow horses to enter the Song Dynasty, and the government was short of horses, which shows the embarrassment of the people. In 1004, the Chanyuan alliance became a fact. While collecting the remains of the war dead, the imperial court also stopped the increase of money in the south of the Yangtze River and stopped the people from flying. However, the Khitan adopted a strategic defensive position, fought on the inside, defeated the Song army, and made expeditions to the enemy's territory. "History of the Liao Dynasty" Bing Weizhi has long left behind a principle of "no deep penetration, no attacking the city, no cutting of timber, but within three hundred miles outside the boundary, waste and gathering are not allowed to be planted". The battle in 1004 was presided over by the so-called wise and wise Empress Dowager Xiao (all Khitan descendants use Xiao as their surname).She has been in dictatorship for many years, can control the generals of the Khitan royal family, and also uses them to surrender, so she can take the greatest risk.However, on that day, the Liao army took Anguo from Suicheng and went to Yongnian, Jixian County, and deployed in Qingfeng and Guancheng (the above are all using today's place names for reference), and went deep into the enemy's territory for 700 miles. Next, it seems that there is only an attitude of being the first to win, and there is no determination to fight the Northern Song Dynasty to the death.What's more, Xiao Talin, who commanded the battle, was killed in battle again, so a peace negotiation is what they can only wish for. Therefore, the Chanyuan Alliance is a product of geopolitics, which means that the two competing systems once maintained a balance of power in the region.Only under the influence of this geopolitics, when we travel in Shenyang, Changchun and Harbin today, we still feel the shadow of hundreds of thousands of years of history still appearing behind our heels from time to time.