Regarding the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty, there have been many reflections in successive dynasties. This article mainly focuses on combing through the various mistakes of the Northern Song Dynasty in handling the relationship between Liao and Jin.
First, the success of lianjin to destroy the Liao was a fluke
In September of the first year of the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song (1111), Zheng Yunzhong and the eunuch Tong Guan envoyed Liao, and there was a Yan man Ma Zhizhi who saw Tong Guan, saying that the Liao Dynasty would perish, and that they could join forces with The True Daughter to take yan land and get Tong Guan's appreciation. In the fifth year of Zhenghe (1115), Ma Zhi returned to the Song Dynasty from the Liao Territory, changed his name to Li Liangsi, and offered the joint jin to destroy the Liao. Emperor Huizong summoned him and gave Li Liangsi the surname zhao.
At that time, Dazai Zheng was in the middle of opposing the strategy of joining forces with the Jurchens, and accused the Taishi Cai Jing of not keeping the peace treaty between song and Liao. Cai Jing pushed the responsibility to Emperor Huizong: "The will has been decided, how can it be depressed?" Zheng Juzhong said angrily:
"Let millions of beings be destroyed, and make it public, and it is unknown how the public day will be!"
In the autumn of the seventh year of Zhenghe (1117), the Liao people Gao Yaoshi traveled from Haidao to Dengzhou and reported that the Jurchens had occupied most of the Liao. In May of the following year, Tong Guan went to Pingyan Ce. In August, the Song court sent an envoy to the Jin Dynasty. In December, Yan Akuta sent people to the Song court with national letters and gifts. In March of the second year of Xuanhe (1120), the Song court sent people to attack Liao. Ah Kuan Ta said to the Song envoy:
"The Khitan has no way, I have been killed, it should belong to the Khitan Prefecture, all my family's fields." In order to feel the kindness of the Emperor of the Southern Dynasty, and Yanjing was originally a Han Dynasty, Yanyun and the Southern Dynasty were granted. ”
Ah Kuan ta asked for half a million yuan.
In addition, the two sides agreed to attack the Liao Dynasty, the Song army to attack Yanjing, and the Jin army from The Pine Forest in Pingzhou to Gubeikou, if it could not be done, it would be difficult to implement the agreement. At the same time, the two sides sent troops, bounded by Gubei Songting and Pingzhou East Yu pass, so as to avoid the two armies from meeting each other and causing conflict. In July, Ah Kuanta also sent emissaries to the Song court with the letter of state, promising to cede Yan land to the Song Dynasty, and asking the Song court to transfer the coins lost to the Liao to the Jin people, not to make peace with the Liao, and to attack according to the agreement, otherwise the original treaty could not be executed.
At the beginning of the fourth year of Xuanhe (1122), the Jin army captured Liaozhongjing. Emperor Tianzuo of Liao fled to Xijing. Yelü Chun established himself as emperor in Yanjing. In April, the Jin army took Xijing, and the Tianzuo Emperor went west to Western Xia. Tong Guan sent people into Yanjing to recruit and surrender. Yelü Chun ordered the people to take out the portraits of Song Zhenzong and Song Renzong, and blamed the Song people for violating the contract, but was willing to be a vassal of the Song Dynasty. Tong Guan, because he had a pact with Jurchen and could not make peace with Liao, ordered the Song army to attack Yanjing, but was defeated by the Liao army. Later, the Liaozhuo Prefecture defender Guo Yaoshi led the Changsheng army to 8,000 elite troops to surrender to the Song. The Song army occupied Zhuo and Yi prefectures. At this time, the policy of the Song court was: if the Song army took advantage of the victory to enter Yanjing, that is, did not let the Jin army enter the customs; if it could not take Yan, it invited the Jin people to enter the customs. Ma Kuo, who had repeatedly sent envoys to the Jin state, believed that the Jin people should not be allowed to enter the customs, and Zhao Liangsi believed that Song was incapable of taking Yan, and advocated using the old coin to lure jin people to take Yanjing for Song.
In late October, Tong Guan ordered the Song army to attack Yan again and lose again.
In December, Jin Guo finished Yan Aku to attack Yan. The monarchs of the Yanjing and Liao states fled, and the guards opened the door and surrendered.
In the fifth year of Xuanhe (1123), the Song and Jin signed a treaty. The Jin people let Yanjing and the six states, and the Song people basically transferred the old coins of the Lost Liao to the Jin Kingdom, plus Yanjing in lieu of tax money, and the other provisions were roughly the same as the Song Liao Oath. The oath also stipulates that "secret spies are not allowed to seduce the border people." In April of the same year, Tong Guan and Cai You led the army into Yanjing. The Government and the opposition celebrated wildly, believing that the goal that Taizu and Emperor Taizong had not achieved had now been achieved.
The diplomacy of the United Jin Dynasty and the destruction of the Liao Dynasty has come to an end. Song and Jin joined forces to attack the Liao Dynasty, and Song had no merit at all, but still received Yanjing and Liuzhou, which was a great achievement that Song had never achieved since the founding of the country. However, it is quite a fluke to gain benefits without meritorious service. Moreover, when the Song people saw the military strength of the Jin people, they should also reflect on and review, and from then on strive to enrich their armaments and improve national defense facilities. It is particularly important that the treaty of equality with Jin was not easy to come by, and the Song should absolutely keep its oath to Jin and respect the peaceful relations between the two countries, just as the patriarchs did to the Liao Dynasty.
But Emperor Huizong of Song did not do this.
Statue of Emperor Huizong of Song
2. Emperor Huizong of Song was dazed and broke the oath
In August of the same year, when Song Jin signed the oath, Yan Akuta died, and his brother Wu Begmai succeeded to the throne.
In November, Jin besieged Pingzhou with his army. The cause is: After the former LiaoXingping (Pingzhou) Festival made Zhang Jue demote Jin, the Jin people appointed him as the Envoy of the Linhai Festival, Zhiping Prefecture. After the Jin people returned Yanjing to the Song people, Zhang Jue rebelled against Jin, killed Zuo Qigong, the chancellor of Jin Yanjing, and others, and submitted Pingzhou to the Song Dynasty. Emperor Huizong of Song, who had been successfully knocked unconscious, violated the treaty and accepted Zhang Jue, making a serious mistake. Zhao Liangsi opposed the acceptance of traitors in spite of the oath of "not recruiting traitors", but the imperial court allowed Zhang Jue to be a hereditary emissary.
Therefore, he did not want Song Ting to hand over Zhang Jue.
Song Ting had no choice but to kill a prisoner who looked like Zhang Jue and gave the first rank to the Jin people, but was recognized by the Jin people. In the end, the Song court had to execute Zhang Jue and give the first rank to the Jin people. The Song Dynasty accommodated traitors, apparently violating the peace treaty and giving the Jin Dynasty an excuse to send troops. Guo Yaoshi, who was attached to the Song Dynasty, declared: "The Jin people want to get Zhang Jue, the Song Dynasty is about to hand over Zhang Jue, if the Jin people ask to get Guo Yaoshi, the Song Dynasty will also hand it over, right?" Guo Yaoshi's Changsheng Army thus disintegrated.
In October of the seventh year of Xuanhe (1125), Emperor Taizong of Jin completed the edict of Wu Beg to buy the Song Dynasty. Marshal Jin issued a letter to Zhongyuan condemning the Song people for betraying their alliances (referring to Yin Na Zhang Jue, breaking the oath), luring the officials and people of the Jin Dynasty, and not paying the old coins, so the righteous teachers were punished by heaven. In late November, Hui li did not capture Jizhou. At the beginning of December, the government did not attack Yanjing, Guo Yaoshi surrendered, and the Song army's defense line collapsed. In mid-December, the Song court sent emissaries to make peace. Emperor Huizong of Song issued an edict against himself, deposed Hua Shigang, and ceded the throne to the crown prince Zhao Huan, known as Emperor Qinzong. He left Fenjing for Jiangnan.
In the first month of the first year of Jing Kang (1126), He Libu led an army across the Yellow River and attacked Beijing. The Song court sent emissaries to negotiate with the Jin army. He did not hesitate to persuade the Song court, denouncing the Song Dynasty for betraying the alliance and recruiting Zhang Jue, pointing out that the Song army was "a man who did not know the number of soldiers and refused to let me skillfully recruit strong and brave soldiers". The Song court then sent an emissary, Li Tang, to see him and leave. Before leaving, Emperor Qinzong expressed his willingness to pay three or five million yuan. Li Tang and Li Li did not make an alliance under the city, ceded the three towns of Taiyuan, Zhongshan, and Hejian to Jin, and honored the gold lord as his uncle, and paid 5 million gold, 50 million silver, 10,000 cattle and horses, and 1 million silk satin. The emissaries of the Jin Dynasty brought an oath to the Song court to make peace.
Third, Song Qinzong still wavered after signing the alliance under the city
Emperor Qinzong formed an alliance with the Jin people, ceded the three towns of Hebei and Hedong, and increased the number of coins. This humiliation and peace, and the relationship between the nephew and uncle became with Yan Wu Begmai. The Song Dynasty could still call itself the Great Song Dynasty, but lost its equal status. In addition, the Song court took Zhao Shuo, the King of Kang, and Dazai Zhang Bangchang as hostages. On the tenth day of the first month, Zhang Bangchang and King Kang sent envoys.
After the Jin soldiers retreated, the reinforcements of Zhao Shidao and Yao Pingzhong arrived at the Beijing Division, and the main warrior Li Gang and others opposed the peace and did not allow the land to be cut. On the night of February 1, Yao Pingzhong led 10,000 people on foot and horseback to rob the Jinbing Village and failed, fearing that he would be executed and fled. Without questioning him, Emperor Qinzong dismissed Li Gang and Seed Master Dao, who were in charge of the battle.
However, the ministers of the main battle still asked li gang to be used. On February 5, Chen Dong, a student of tai, wrote a letter, and the military and civilians gathered unexpectedly, and tens of thousands of people protested, cursing Li Bangyan and others, killing and injuring more than 20 internal servants. Emperor Qinzong was forced to make Li Gang the Right Hand of Shangshu and the Imperial Envoy of the Four Walls of the Capital, and ordered people to say goodbye to the State Letter and the Shu, and still issued an edict to cut off the three towns. Jin Jun's class division. On February 17, Jin Bing crossed the river north.
However, the government and the public still believe that the three towns should not be abandoned. So, within a few days, the policy was repeated. On March 16, Emperor Qinzong issued an edict to hold the three towns. In April, Emperor Huizong of Song returned to Jingshi. At this time, the various armies arrived in Beijing one after another, and the minister thought that he could resist the Jin people, but refused to cut the land. Zhao Lun, a Yan man in the envoys of Yan Muhan, told the Song emissaries that the Liao general Yelü Yu was dissatisfied with the Jin people and could rebel. The Song Dynasty prime ministers Xu Churen and Wu Min believed it to be true, but they gave the wax book to Zhao Lun to bring, but Zhao Lun handed the wax book to Sticky Han, who was furious and sent someone to question Song Ting.
In July, Emperor Qinzong of Song sent another envoy to request that Jin Shuai be exempted from the three towns, and the tax revenue of the three towns was used as the annual coin. Sticky Han did not allow it, saying, "If you do not cut off the land of the three towns, you must not make peace." In the same month, Cai Jing fell ill and died, and the Song court sent officials to kill Tong Guan and Zhao Liangsi. In August, Li Gang begged to go. In September, the Golden Soldiers invaded again. Sticky Han attacked Taiyuan, and the Song generals who were ordered to hold the three towns failed.
In November, Guanyan and Wanyan Muhan crossed the Yellow River separately. On the fourteenth day, Emperor Qinzong summoned hundreds of officials to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of cutting off the three towns. Fan Zongyin took the lead in advocating the cession of land, saying that since he had promised to cut it, he could not lose faith. Thirty-six people, including He, Mei Zhili, Sun Fu, Lü Haowen, Hong Jiao, Qin Ju, and Chen Guocai, opposed it, believing that Hebei was the limbs of the world, and that the world was the world of the ancestors, not the world of Emperor Qinzong. However, Emperor Qinzong decided to cut off the land and sent emissaries to hand over the three towns in front of the Sticky Khan army. Sticky Han told the emissary that the three towns were no longer a problem, because he had decided to use the Yellow River as the boundary: "Yesterday the envoy was sent to Beijing, so that the Yellow River was bounded. The affairs of the three towns do not need to be discussed. ”
Subsequently, the two armies of the Jin Dynasty besieged Fenjing together. The leap began the siege of the city in early November. On the twenty-fifth day, jin soldiers entered the city and Beijing fell. On November 30, Emperor Qinzong was forced out of the city. Jin Shuai Sent People to Ask For a Surrender Form from Emperor Qinzong, who was forced to surrender the table, and the content was revised several times by the Jin people, which mentioned that "the officers and troops only retreated, and the oath was taken again."
Emperor Qinzong begged the Jin people to save the Zhao clan. Emperor Qinzong and the two Jin Shuai discussed peace, and Muhan wanted to take the Yellow River as the boundary, and then asked Emperor Qinzong to return to the palace. At this time, the Jin people had no intention of abolishing the Zhao and Song regimes, and they began to demand the Song government's literature and military weapons, and vigorously searched for gold and silver treasures, various craftsmen and books in Kaifeng City, as if planning to loot the wealth and bring it back to the northeast. When Qinzong was released back to the city, "he would watch the spring breeze embrace the yellow ochre, and the people would sing and rejoice."
Statue of Song Qinzong
Fourth, the Jin people rebuked Emperor Song for breaking the treaty and established Zhang Bangchang as emperor
But later the Golden Man changed his mind. According to a report by Fu Yun, who later sent an envoy to the Jin dynasty in the first year of Jianyan, Jin Shuai's attitude of resignation was relatively mild, advocating the preservation of the Zhao court, but Sticky Han changed his strategy after listening to the objections of the Yan Wu Room, and wanted to abolish the Zhao clan and establish a different surname.
The courtiers in the capital made a final effort, and twice sent a letter to the Jin Marshal's Palace to explain that Tong Guan, Zhao Liangsi, Wang Yi, and others had been punished for their false incidents, and Emperor Huizong listened to the traitorous ministers, while the young lord was mistaken by the ministers, and asked Jin Shuai to save the new lord, or to choose a sage among the children of the Zhao clan. However, Jin Shuai ordered the emissaries to urge Song Chen to establish a different surname as the new lord. In the end, the group of ministers had no choice but to elect Zhang Bangchang.
On March 7, Marshal Jin made Zhang Bangchang the Emperor of Dachu, both at Jinling. When the Jin invaded northern China, they repeatedly stated in a letter of resignation that their actions were because The Hui and Qin Emperors broke the covenant, and once again condemned the Song Dynasty in the document of Zhang Bangchang:
"Since the Father has no way before him, and the Son has not broken in the back, he will command the master and the people to cut down the sins and hang the people."
This is an emphasis on the legitimacy of their military actions. The Jin Marshal's office lied Zhang Bangchang's "Imperial Decree on the Death of the Song Dynasty", which explained to the officials and people of the Central Plains that the Jin Dynasty gave Song a lot of kindness, and concluded an oath with the Song Dynasty, which was originally reconciled for a long time, but the Song people broke the covenant and betrayed the alliance, so they used troops against the Song. After the Song Lord's inner meditation, he wept and asked for peace, willing to cut off the three towns and conclude a new covenant, but "the oath has not dried, and the covenant has changed." This shows that the Jin people could not tolerate the Zhao clan and had no intention of land, so they established another regime south of the Yellow River as the Ping Domain of the Jin State.
Zhang Bangchang's regime was actually a more unbearable puppet than the Later Jinshi Jingyao, and the Jin people used him to clean up the mess after the fire in order to plan further plans in the future.
On April 1, the Jin class master, the captive Emblem and the Second Emperor of Qin, escorted hundreds of officials, scholars, concubines, palace women, eunuchs, craftsmen, ceremonial books in the palace and the government, and a large number of gold and silver treasures collected from the north. The Jin people also robbed the people, "Chinese men and women, those who drive north, do not worry about more than 100,000." When the capital was besieged, due to the lack of food, "corpses were crossed on the road, and the rate was taken to eat, and those who were not exhausted in the interval were also stripped away." The Jin army retreated, plundering everywhere, "killing people like hemp, smelling for hundreds of miles", leaving the puppet Zhang Bangchang to manage the northern China after the disaster.
Fifth, reflect on the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty from the diplomatic level
The fall of the Northern Song Dynasty, there are many commentators.
Ye Shi, a native of the Southern Song Dynasty, believed that other countries should not be untrustworthy, and that it was a wrong policy to unite the Jin Dynasty and destroy the Liao. Another Southern Song Dynasty man, Zhen Dexiu, on the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty, made ten major mistakes: the great evil of the government and the government; the great evil of the military and government; the great fear of the heavenly precepts (catastrophe); the lack of sympathy for people's words; the destruction of loyalty and jealousy; the abuse of villains; the deception of the superior; the wanton conquest and tyranny, and the people's lack of livelihood; the appointment of non-talents (Tong Guan's envoys); and the destruction of the Liao. Zhen Dexiu did not believe that the knot of Zhang Jue and Yelü Yu was the root cause, and believed that even without the Zhang Jue incident, the covenant would still be difficult to protect. As a minister loyal to the Song Dynasty, Zhen Dexiu naturally avoided discussing the emperor's faults.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Wang Fuzhi severely criticized the emperors of the Song Dynasty. Regarding the death of the Northern Song Dynasty, Wang Fuzhi especially blamed Emperor Huizong for leading the Northern Song Dynasty to the fall of the country. On the disaster of Jingkang, Jin Yudi, a modern man, believes that there are three reasons: first, peace and war are uncertain; second, Emperor Huizong has no skills to let the world be heavy; and third, armaments are ruined. It is also said that it is far from the old and new parties to coax each other, ignoring the affairs of the state.
According to the general trend of the last years of the Northern Song Dynasty, after the Song court recovered Yanyun, if on the one hand it could govern the newly acquired land and people, on the other hand, enrich the national defense, and reorganize the army and economy, it could at least temporarily maintain peaceful relations similar to that between the Song and Liao. However, the faint-hearted Emperor Huizong was overwhelmed by the joy of restoring Yanjing, and in addition to celebrating major events, he did not actively plan to recover the territory, clean up the order after the war, and stabilize the people of the Yanjing area.
Therefore, the reason for the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty can be said to be mainly due to the incompetence of the monarchs, Cai Jing, Tong Guan, and others who were so happy to do great feats, the west tried to pacify the Xia Kingdom, and the north wanted to destroy the Liao Dynasty, resulting in the Song Dynasty's manpower and material resources not being able to cope with such a loss. Militarily, the attack on Liao Yanjing failed, and the Jin people saw the weakness of the Song army. In terms of diplomacy, the joint Jin Dynasty and the destruction of the Liao dynasty are not necessarily the wrong strategy, but since this strategy is to be implemented, all parties should cooperate, especially at that time, the Jin people had no intention of entering the Central Plains, and since the peace treaty was concluded, the Song Dynasty should abide by the peace treaty with the Jin Dynasty as it had previously observed the peace treaty with the Liao Dynasty. But the rulers actually broke the peace treaty that had just been concluded, accommodated the rebellion, and gave the Jin people an excuse to march in.
At this time, the Song Dynasty seemed to have been completely paralyzed politically and militarily. However, he hoped to unite with the emerging Jurchens to destroy the Khitan in one fell swoop and recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, and finally performed a failed tragedy of rash military adventures under the condition that the national strength was not sufficient. (Source: Tencent News)
This article is excerpted from the Diplomatic History of the Song Dynasty, written by Tao Jinsheng and published by Chongqing Publishing House in 2021, and has been authorized by the publisher. The original text is long and abridged. Size headings are the result of editing.
About the Author: Jinsheng Tao: Renowned historian, Ph.D. in History, Indiana University. He has taught at National Taiwan University, National Taiwan Normal University, Soochow University, Western Michigan University, University of Arizona, and Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is committed to the study of song, Liao, Jin history and Chinese history, frontier history, and social history. He is the author of "Research on the History of Song and Liao Relations", "Treatise on the History of The Jurchens", "Northern Song Dynasty Scholars: Family Married Life" and so on.
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