During the Two Song Dynasties, not only were there always wars abroad, but even domestic turmoil was constant. It is also because of this that the later Water Margin will use the Song Dynasty as the background of the times. Although the Water Margin is fictional, the peasant revolt of the Song Dynasty is real.
Moreover, in the history of the Song Dynasty for only more than three hundred years, there have been more than 400 peasant uprisings. This is indeed very rare in the era when rebellion was a capital offense.
More reasons are because the life of the peasants in the Song Dynasty was really difficult, and after it was difficult to survive, they naturally only had to take a risky road. And so many peasant uprisings did not cause the Song Dynasty to collapse from within, also because the Song Dynasty's governance methods were very effective. The main attitude towards the rebel army is not to suppress, but to recruit security.
First, take the method of outsmarting
1. Wang Xiaobo and Li Shun revolted
This uprising occurred in the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, when the Song Dynasty had begun to experience the phenomenon of poverty and weakness. The initiator was a poor peasant living in Shuzhong, but the reason was very simple, it was caused by the uneven distribution of wealth in society.
These poor peasants worked daily, but the living standards of the rich were too different. In this way, it is easy to produce contradictions between classes, and Wang Xiaobo took this opportunity to put forward his own slogan: "I am sick and rich and uneven, and now I am Ru Junzhi."
The uprising had a slogan, and soon ten hundred were passed on. More and more poor peasants joined the uprising in order to have a fairer life. And the repression organized by the local gentry not only failed to resolve the uprising.
On the contrary, the enthusiasm for the uprising became more intense, and it officially entered the stage of armed resistance. Although the initiator Wang Xiaobo was killed in the middle of the process, Li Bo soon stood up as the new leader and continued to lead these peasants forward with this slogan.
2. The establishment of The Great Shu
The Song Dynasty sent troops to carry out the crusade for more than a year, but not only failed to resolve the rebellion. On the contrary, the power of these peasant rebels gradually stabilized, and even established their own political power "Great Shu".
At this time, it was no longer as simple as the first few peasants, but reached the level of tens of thousands of people. Began to have its own army and as a productive populace. Seeing that this country china was about to continue to develop, the central government of the Song Dynasty had to make compromises.
3. Take the initiative to speak peace
Therefore, the minister Zhang Yong was finally appointed as an envoy to suppress the rebellion. He did not rely on force to suppress the rebellion, as the previous army did. Rather, it is to treat these rebellious masses in a relatively peaceful manner. The first is to give preferential treatment to the captured prisoners, who are not directly killed but given land to cultivate.
At the same time, it helped those who had not yet had time to participate in the uprising, and distributed food to them in order to win the hearts and minds of the people to prevent the further growth of the rebel army. In the end, not only did they not punish the troops who participated in the uprising, but they were given a certain living space and could continue to live a life of farming with peace of mind.
In fact, these people are not the most vicious people, but prefer to cultivate the land in a down-to-earth manner than to desperately grab money. As a result, the rebel army was quickly satisfied, and finally the reconciliation was completed under negotiation between the two sides. By this point, the uprising had been going on for four years and had finally been resolved.
2. The uprising successfully transformed into a "heavy minister" of the imperial court
There is also this uprising, which may be the prototype of the story of the Water Margin. That is, the uprising led by Song Jiang also took place in Liangshan. They were originally also private households under the mountain, but because they were oppressed by the government and the gentry, they had nowhere to go.
Therefore, he chose to go up the mountain and fall into the grass as a coward, and he conceited himself as a haojie, robbing the rich and helping the poor as his own responsibility. Whether it is an ordinary mountain thief or some corrupt officials, they are the targets of their attacks. And after receiving the ill-gotten gains of these people, they distributed them to the poor peasant households in the surrounding areas and received their support.
For the armed forces of Song Jiang, the crusade must have cost a lot of troops. Moreover, the mountains and forests at that time were very dangerous, and it was difficult to do a thorough search.
This time, Song Dynasty officials used a very good method, that is, Zhao'an. It was declared to the outside world that these people brought by the Song Jiang had meritorious service in defending the country, so they were given certain official positions. And orders were given to continue to the counterinsurgency squad.
In ancient times, being an official was a very honorable thing, and the leaders of the rebel army easily agreed. So these people, who had previously distressed the Song Dynasty army, actually began to take the initiative to fight for the country's counterinsurgency.
The imperial court also took advantage of this opportunity to let Song Jiang and others fail. Taking advantage of the decline in the prestige of their rule, the rule of this regime was completely dismantled.
Second, the reasons for adopting a non-confrontational strategy
1. The military strength is insufficient, and the ability to suppress the rebel forces is insufficient
And there is a reason why the Song Dynasty has always maintained this all-negotiable attitude. The first was because the war abroad was fierce at that time, and there were not enough troops to wipe out other countries.
Since the strong attack is more than enough, it can only stabilize the domestic forces first. Thus there was this scene of the imperial court endorsing the rebel army, which showed the pressure of the rulers of the two Song Dynasties.
2. Song Dynasty scholar doctor "benevolent government"
Secondly, because in the Song Dynasty, most of the officials were readers, and most of the readers respected Confucius as a teacher. And what Confucians care about most is benevolence. Therefore, every time the rebellion is countered, the commander will feel guilty about helping these people survive.
Although the ruling class of the Song Dynasty adopted a non-military confrontation strategy in dealing with the popular uprising, it also reflected the governance wisdom of the ruling class.
But popular uprisings are not empty, they are socially motivated by certain social reasons for the people to rise up as a banner, rise up and rebel against the rule, although this more peaceful way of dealing with it can keep society stable for a period of time
However, behind the changes are more social contradictions and conflicts between classes, and the most important thing that the ruling class must pay attention to is the inability of officials to keep their work in peace, and the excessive oppression of the people by the ruling class.
These are the fundamental factors that led to the civil unrest. Only when these problems are solved can the root causes of popular unrest be fundamentally solved, and can society develop steadily in a longer-term situation.
Reference: History of the Song Dynasty