The book continues above, the Great Song replaced the Later Zhou, and the grandfather Zhao Kuangyin rode in the city of Bieliang in Tokyo. Although he inherited the great treasure, the world was still divided by princes, and there was no unified mountain and river. Recalling that year, Later Zhou Shizong Chai Rong had great ambitions, was proud of the world, opened up the world in ten years, raised the people in ten years, and had the ambition of Taiping in ten years, three expeditions to the Southern Tang Dynasty, and northern expeditions to the Liao kingdom. Unfortunately, he died young and did not complete his ambitions. Zhao Kuangyin, as the founding monarch, also continued Chai Rong's cause and prepared for the unification of the country.
This was Zhao Kuangyin's governing policy in the early days of his reign. In terms of domestic politics: strengthen the centralization of power. Zhao Kuangyin was born into a family of junior officers and ascended to the throne step by step through mutiny. He was always afraid that his courtiers would use the same method to usurp the throne. There is also the famous "right to release the military with a glass of wine" in history, which is also through a gentle means to dismiss the founding heroes from their positions and avoid bloody conflicts. At the same time, the Northern Song Dynasty's "heavy literature and suppression of martial arts" was also to avoid the warriors from becoming bigger and stronger, thus threatening the regime. At that time, civilian and military officials of the same rank were often civilian officials higher than military generals. This was also criticized by later generations, resulting in the weakness of The Northern Sect's military strength, and later died in the Jin Dynasty. Economic aspect: the management of rivers, the development of nongsang, the reduction of servitude taxes, so that the agricultural population increased, crop yields doubled. If agriculture is stable and grain harvested, the country will be stable. Military aspect: the concentration of military power, the training of sailors, the preparation for the southern expedition. Cultural aspects: attach importance to the construction of books and revise the code. In terms of foreign relations: ease relations with the Northern Liao, trade with other countries. Through this period of recuperation, another powerful stage since the Tang Dynasty's Kaiyuan dynasty was reached, known in history as the "Rule of Jianlong".
Portrait of Song Taizu
Although the Northern Song Dynasty reached another stage of strength and prosperity through recuperation, the division of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms did not end. After Zhao Kuangyin established the Northern Song Dynasty, the northern and southern regions were still controlled by the remnants of the five generations of divided regimes: Jingnan Gao Baoxun held the three prefectures of Jianghan; Zhou Xingfeng occupied the fourteen prefectures of Hunan; Later Shu Mengchang had two rivers and forty-five prefectures of Hanzhong; Liu Xun of the Southern Han Dynasty held sixty prefectures of Lingnan; Li Jing of the Southern Tang Dynasty held nineteen prefectures of Jiangnan; Wu Yueqian occupied two zhejiang thirteen prefectures; and Liu Jun of the Northern Han dynasty occupied twelve prefectures of Hedong. In addition, there were Khitan (Liao) and Song dynasties. The situation of division and division hindered the economic and cultural exchanges between the north and the south and the development of social production, and also threatened the security of the Northern Song Dynasty. Zhao Kuangyin, as an accomplished emperor in history, allowed others to sleep next to the bed. This is an important person - the chief think tank Zhao Pu appeared. One day, when the snow was falling, Zhao Kuangyin came to zhao pu's mansion and ate Mrs. Zhao Pu's "three fierce stews". During the banquet, his younger brother Zhao Kuangyi was also present, and the three of them jointly discussed the policy of national reunification. Zhao Pu offered the policy of "first south and then north, easy first and then difficult". In the Later Zhou Dynasty, Sejong Chai Rong adopted Wang Pu's "Pingbian Strategy" proposition, "first easy and then difficult", that is, first conquer Jiangnan (Southern Tang), Lingnan (Southern Han), then take Bashu (Later Shu), then the land of Yanyun in the Liao State, and finally Hedong (Northern Han), and formulate a unification plan. Later, Zhao Kuangyin's unification strategy of "first south and then north, first easy and then difficult" and Later Zhou Shizong's unification strategy were in the same line. Zhao Kuangyin visited Zhao Pu at night and gained a lot.
Map of the forces divided in the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty
Now that the guidelines and policies have been decided, the next step is to implement them. Zhao Kuangyin dispatched troops and actively prepared. At that time, the head of the Hunan separatist forces, Zhou Xingsu, died of illness, and his son Zhou Baoquan succeeded to the throne, and Zhang Wenbiao of Hengzhou rebelled. Zhou Baoquan begged for help from the Song, and at this opportunity, the Song dynasty army surrendered to Jingnan in the name of Borrowing Dao, at Kehunan in 962 AD.
The Later Shu king Meng Chang wanted to rely on the geographical advantages of Shu to resist, but He Nai was still unable to stop the Attack of the Song Army, and Meng Chang surrendered in 965 AD. Subsequently, southern Tang and Wu Yue surrendered.
Only Liu Xun, the king of the Southern Han Dynasty, remained, who wanted to resist by virtue of the advantage of the water army, but finally lost to the surrender in 971 AD.
Li Jing, the lord of the Southern Tang Dynasty, explicitly submitted, and actually secretly accumulated strength to guard against the Northern Song Dynasty. Zhao Kuangyin was determined to unify Jiangnan, and after two years of preparation, he attacked the Tang Dynasty in 947. Ordering Wu Yue's water army to help on the flanks, the large army along the way was like a broken bamboo to conquer Jiangning in 975 AD, and Li Jing surrendered.
Because the Northern Han regime was dependent on the Khitans, Zhao Kuangyin's three expeditions were defeated by the Liao army. Later, after Emperor Taizong Zhao Guangyi succeeded to the throne, he formulated a strategy of besieging the city to fight for aid, first retreating from the Liao army, and then taking Taiyuan, and in 979 AD, he died in the Northern Han Dynasty.
Map of the Territory of the Northern Song Dynasty
Zhao Kuangyin's martial rule basically unified ancient China, ending the situation of five dynasties and ten kingdoms since the end of the Tang Dynasty. It has promoted north-south exchanges and played a role in promoting social economy.
Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures during the Northern Song Dynasty
However, the fact that Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures had not been recovered had always been a hidden pain in Zhao Kuangyin's heart. Because of the importance of geography, Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures have always been a place where soldiers must fight. Since the Northern Song Dynasty fixed the capital kaifeng, the Liao state iron horse directly from Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures can be directly sealed for three days. Therefore, Zhao Kuangyin ordered the planting of trees around Kaifeng City and the reclamation of paddy fields to prevent cavalry. In 976, Zhao Kuangyin led the Wen and Wu officials to tour Luoyang, the place of his birth. Considering that the situation in Kaifeng was "scattered and it was difficult to prevent maintenance", Zhao Kuangyin suddenly proposed to move the capital to Luoyang, which was strongly opposed by the Qunchen. They believe that Luoyang's infrastructure is not perfect, Kaifeng waterways are developed, and so on. Finally, Zhao Guangyi, the King of Jin, said that "there is no danger in Germany" completely cut off Zhao Kuangyin's desire to move the capital. It is precisely because of this that there is a later "difficulty of Jingkang". At this time, Zhao Kuangyin's life was also close to the end. For future events, see below.