Look at the History of the Song Dynasty with you (28): Chai Rong's death from illness, the sigh of the Han people

Text | Ning Caichen

1, the sword refers to Youyan

In order to conquer the Khitans, Chai Rong prepared for more than half a year, and on March 28, 959, Emperor Chai Rong of Zhou Shizong issued an edict to personally conquer the Khitans. The Yiwu army made Sun Xingyou send troops to Dingzhou in advance to strengthen the guard of Shanxi Road and prevent the Northern Han Dynasty from making trouble.　

The guards du Yuhou Hantong led the vanguard of the water and army, and all the generals of the Later Zhou Dynasty, including Li Chongjin of Huainan, moved closer to Cangzhou, and Chai Rong raised the strength of the whole country to conquer the Khitan and was determined to win.　　

On April 16, Chai Rong resisted Cangzhou, the army marched quickly, he did not rest, and led tens of thousands of cavalry to the Khitan border that day. They walked wild mountain roads for cover. The next day, Chai Rong appeared under the city of Ningzhou (青州, Inc.), and Hongjin, the assassin of Shi Wang, was so frightened that he did not dare to resist and surrendered directly.　　

Chai Rong ordered Han Tong to deploy for the army, and Zhao Kuangyin to deploy for the water army, and the land and water advanced at the same time, directly approaching the three passes.　　

Three passes, Yijin Pass, Waqiao Pass, Sikou Pass, and called three passes, no less than three passes, it is difficult to reach Youzhou.　　

Ever since Shi Jingyao ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun to the Khitans, it had always been the Khitan who had passed through Sanguan and invaded Han territory from north to south, and no Han army had taken the initiative to attack, from south to north, to Sanguan.　　

Chai Rong is to rewrite history. When the Later Zhou army attacked the three passes, the Khitan defenders who had no defense at all scattered, Chai Rong personally arrived at the pass, and the Yijin pass guards finally Yanhui surrendered.　　

To the west of Yijin Pass, the waterway narrowed, chai Rong abandoned his boat and landed on the shore, reloaded his warhorse, and quickly advanced towards Waqiao Pass. At sunset that day, the army slept in the wilderness, and Chai Rong and the soldiers slept together.　

The next morning, when the sun rose, Chai Rong lifted his spirits and ordered Zhao Kuangyin to challenge Waqiao Pass, Zhao Kuangyin led his troops to the pass, and The Waqiao Pass guard Yao Neibin surrendered.　　

Stationed at Waqiao Pass, Chai Rong took a break, and before he attacked the Sikou Pass, Liu Yangxin, the assassin of Mozhou, and the general of the Sikou Pass sent envoys to surrender on their own initiative.　　

On May 1, the invincible Li Chongjin also arrived from Huainan, and reinforcements from all sides of the Zhou Dynasty were in place, and the momentum was huge. The Liao state of Yingzhou stabbed Shi Gao Yanhui under pressure and voluntarily surrendered. At this point, all the lost land south of Sanguan was quickly recovered by Hou Zhou.　　

In just one month and two days, the Border Guard of the Liao State returned to the wind and no one dared to resist, and Chai Rong recovered seventeen counties and 18,000 households in Sanguan in one fell swoop, which was an unprecedented victory for the Han people in the middle and late Tang Dynasty.　　

However, this victory, there are no heroes, even Zhao Kuangyin, who previously conquered the Southern Tang to show his bravery, did not have the opportunity to perform, and the Liaoguo Guannan Shou general did not give you the opportunity to perform at all, and when he saw that the situation was not right, he immediately surrendered.　　

On May 2, Chai Rong feasted at Waqiao Pass, the generals, in front of youzhou (near Guang'anmen, southwest of present-day Beijing), the first of the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun, taking Youzhou, restoring Yanzhao, and Zhongxing Handi!　　

Chai Rong did not expect that what responded to him was a silence, including the invincible Li Chongjin.

2. Swim against the current

Chai Rong was a little surprised, and someone reported the latest military information: the king of the Liao Kingdom, Yelü Shulu (Han name Yelü Jing), no longer drank and hunted, and he personally led the khitan elite cavalry to the vicinity of Youzhou, at this time, north of The Tunbing Yanshan, the Khitan forward troops would soon reach Waqiao Pass.　　

Only now will they face the real Khitan army. Most of the people who encountered in the front were Han guards, who were not loyal to the Khitan or Later Zhou, and they only wanted to keep one side safe.　　

Now it is different, the real confrontation between the Han and the Khitan is coming, this is a contest of life and death, and no one will easily surrender. These post-week awards are actually bottomless in their hearts. After all, since the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Han people have only lost and not won in the face of ethnic minorities.　　

Previously, Later Tang Li Cunxun had defeated Yelü Abaoji, but it was the Shatuo who defeated the Khitans and had little to do with the Han.　

Moreover, in the eyes of the generals, in thirty-two days, almost no bloodshed, the soldiers recovered the seventeen counties of the three prefectures of Yannan Sanguan, which was already an unworldly achievement. There is no need to be tough with the Khitans, just accept it when you see it.　　

Take it when you see it? There is no such word in Chai Rong's dictionary, chai Rong has the great cause of unification in his heart, and if he wants to complete unification, how can he not defeat the Khitans? Moreover, this Northern Expedition was not originally a sneak attack, but a national force to send troops, that is, to fight a decisive battle with the Khitans.　　

Chai Rong was indignant: "Riding on the victory and driving for a long time, it is like a broken bamboo, how can it be dropped out"?　　

Chai Rong immediately ordered that The vanguard command li chongjin to lead the army first, and Li Chongjin encountered the Khitan vanguard north of Waqiao Pass, a fierce battle, killing hundreds of enemy rangers and capturing Gu'an, which was only one hundred and twenty kilometers away from Youzhou.　　

The next day, Chai Rong went to Gu'an Yongding River to inspect the military situation, ordered the bridge to be built quickly, and the next day the army passed. Yerushalayim (Chinese name Yelü Jing), you don't need to come, I will take the initiative to attack, you wait, we have a decisive battle.

3. Sudden illness

However, that night, on the evening of May 3, 959, Chai Rong fell ill.　　

There is also a legend about Chai Rong's illness: the next day he was about to fight a decisive battle with the Khitans, and Chai Rong watched the majestic army marching in front of him to the battlefield, and he was agitated, and he rode up a high slope "stationed in Ma Gaofu to watch the Sixth Division".　

How exciting this is! The local father and elder raised wine to welcome him, and he asked in passing, "What is the name of this place?"　　

The fellow replied: "Your Majesty, according to ancient tradition, it is called 'Sick Dragon Terrace'." ”　

Chai Rong was stunned, went downhill, and suddenly fell ill that night and was bedridden.　　

This is the old routine of Chinese legends, such as the Shang Dynasty Wen Taishi died in the Absolute Dragon Ridge, pang Tong of the Three Kingdoms died in Luofengpo, Pei Yuanqing died in the late Sui Dynasty, and Li Mi died in the Broken Mi Stream.　

We do not engage in feudal superstitions, nor do we believe in legends. The real situation is that Chai Rong became emperor at the age of 34, and he is ready to spend ten years to open up the world, ten years to rest with the people, and ten years to devote himself to peace.　　

Since the beginning of the succession, Chai Rong has not stopped. For more than 5 years, he fought in Gaoping, Huaidian, Lower Qinfeng, and Pingguannan. In addition to battlefield conquest, as the emperor of a poor country, he also had to rectify the institutions, strengthen the administration of officials, reclaim wasteland, reduce the tax burden, build water conservancy, dredge rivers, and suppress the culture of lying flat in monasteries.　　

Some people will say that these things do not need Chai Rong to do, he just needs to send the task down, and the people below will do it. Wrong, many of these policies involve a struggle with vested interests, a struggle that cannot be carried out by decree alone, but requires an iron fist, political wisdom and strong determination.　

Reform, whether it is a state or a company, at any time, is a difficult thing to do. Because no matter how great the reform, there are opponents, and among these opponents may be your relatives, your friends, your superiors, subordinates... They are standing opposite you at the moment.　　

In the middle and late period of the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a great reform that was extremely shocking in ancient Chinese history, and at that time, we will carefully appreciate the difficulties of the reformers.　　

Now back to Chai Rong, less than 5 and a half years, the battlefield consumed Chai Rong's body, a series of reform policies consumed Chai Rong's painstaking efforts, coupled with his impulsive, angry personality, his body has already called the police. Maybe he knew it himself, and maybe that was one of the reasons why he suddenly changed his strategy of first south and then north. After all, the Southern Tang Dynasty was already close to Jinling City, and Chai Rong's sudden collection of troops would never be just because the Liao Emperor Yelü Shulu (Yelü Jing) was a strange person, and he wanted to give me this opportunity.　　

The more likely reason is that the south is no longer afraid, and he hopes that in his lifetime, he will pacify the north for his children and grandchildren and recover Yanyun, so that the Central Plains Dynasty can be worry-free.　

Less than 5 and a half years, 4 and a half years before his 10-year plan to open up the territory, he should have had plenty of time, and Chai Rong suddenly accelerated his pace, which could not help but arouse people's suspicions.　　

In fact, he was already ill before he went out on the expedition, because there are recitals as evidence: "It is not too late to carry out the Northern Expedition after the Eucharist is a little safe."　　

Chai Rong ignored the recital, perhaps he already knew that he might not have much time. Therefore, I hope that in the last period of my life, I will do more things for my children and grandchildren and for the Han people in the future.　　

Chai Rong was ill, and with the hard persuasion of the ministers, he had no choice but to return to Beijing to recuperate. Before leaving, he ordered Han Lingkun to deploy for Bazhou and Chen Sirang to deploy for Xiongzhou, and each of them to garrison Erzhou. And told them, be sure to keep it, I will come back as soon as I am well.

4. The hero ends

On May 8, Chai Rong led his troops back to the south, and on the way back, another incident occurred. One night, Chai Rong took the sick to read the chapter, and suddenly found a leather bag with a piece of wood in it, and the five words "Point inspection to be the son of heaven" were written on it.　　

According to the "History of the Old Five Dynasties", "One day, (Zhou Shizong) suddenly got a tree in the middle of the ground, two or three feet long, like a person who revealed things, and the whole title cloud on it: "Point inspection to do", the viewer can not guess what is also." ”　　

According to the old five generations of history, this piece of wood only has three words written "point inspection to do", and everyone can't guess what he means.　　

It is more likely that in order to embellish the legitimacy of Zhao Kuangyin's seizure of the throne, the descendants added the word Tianzi to the back. Because, Zhao Kuangyin's official position before doing the Heavenly Son was to inspect in front of the palace.　　

Therefore, the first possibility about this piece of wood is that it was originally a coincidence, and the meaning of the words on the wood is a mystery, and no one knows. There is even whether there is this piece of wood or not.　　

There is also a possibility that someone wants to frame Zhang Yongde, who was in front of the palace at that time.　　

So, who is this person? Some people have concluded that according to the motivation theory of who benefits and who is responsible, it may be Zhao Kuangyin. This is a bit of a nonsense, first of all, Zhao Kuangyin's official position at that time was not high, although he repeatedly made great achievements when he conquered the Southern Tang, but his starting point was too low, his age was still young, although he was already on a rocket-style promotion, but he had not yet entered the circle of the first group, and it was not his turn to overthrow Zhang Yongde.　　

Second, Zhao Kuangyin and Zhang Yongde had a very good relationship, Zhang Yongde's official position was at the same level as Li Chongjin's, ranking among the two major military generals, how could Zhao Kuangyin frame his own patron instead of framing Li Chongjin?　　

Third, Chai Rong even dared to destroy the Buddha, he could easily believe such a piece of wood, this clear-eyed person looked at it, that is, someone planted a bribe to frame, do not steal chickens and do not become erosion of rice. Zhao Kuangyin had been following Chai Rong for a long time and would not do such a stupid thing.　　

If it must be said that someone framed him, then Li Chongjin is the most suspicious. Li Chongjin, Nephew of Guo Wei; Zhang Yongde, Guo Wei's son-in-law.　　

Isn't that a bit of an impression? Li Congke, Li Siyuan's righteous son; Shi Jingyao, Li Siyuan's son-in-law. Looking at the relationship between those two people, we know that Zhang Yongde and Li Chongjin have a good relationship.　

Zhang Yongde is a well-known honest man, very humble to others, except for Li Chongjin. Zhang Yongde often beat Li Chongjin's small report in Chai Rong's ear, but Li Chongjin was a man with more than enough courage and martial arts, and there were too many problems in other aspects. Zhang Yongde's small report is basically a fact.　　

The most serious one, in November 956, after Chai Rong's first southern expedition withdrew his troops, he left Li Chongjin in charge of front-line affairs, and Li Chongjin was very passive because he did not regard the people of Jiangbei as his own, and the arsonists robbed. Zhang Yongde actually sent emissaries to Beijing with a "secret watch" to play Chai Rong, and Li Chongjin had ulterior motives.　

As a result, Chai Rong didn't see what kind of person Li Chongjin was, he still didn't understand. Neither pursuing nor mediating, it does not matter at all. Chai Rong's meaning is very clear, don't make trouble, concentrate on work.　

However, because of this secret performance, the atmosphere on the battlefield became tense, and Li Chongjin's people and Zhang Yongde's people began to be hostile. The enemy is the Southern Tang Dynasty, the enemy has not yet been destroyed, but his own people are on the right side.　　

Li Chongjin saw that the situation was not good, took the initiative to bow his head, ran to Zhang Yongde's military camp single-handedly, and had a drink with Zhang Yongde in front of Zhang Yongde's men. Say brother, don't think that the private grudge between the two of us will affect the major affairs of the country, I'm afraid that at that time you and I will not be able to eat and leave. The crisis barely survived, and it cannot be said that this time, Li Chongjin did a very manly job.　　

However, don't think that Li Chongjin will have a vendetta because of this, so forget it. Li Chongjin is not a person who complains with virtue, that is what a saint does, Li Chongjin is just a military general. Therefore, if someone really framed Zhang Yongde this time, then Li Chongjin is most likely.　　

Because, in terms of military generals, he and Zhang Yongde are the most respected and are relatives of the emperor and the state. The Son of Heaven is sick, and whoever can share the worries of the Son of Heaven still has to rely on his own family.　　

Chai Rong put the wooden sign aside, as if nothing had happened. When he went back to pass through Lanzhou, he was unusual, shutting himself in the palace to think about things. After a long time, the ministers outside panicked, what is wrong with the emperor, there is no news at all.　　

The ministers collectively came to Zhang Yongde: "The world has not yet been settled, this place is too far from the capital, in case something happens, the world is not necessarily whose." You hurried to persuade the emperor to leave for Beijing quickly.　　

Zhang Yongde felt that the ministers were right, so he really went into the palace and told Chai Rong what the ministers said. After Chai Rong listened, he looked at Zhang Yongde quietly and asked, "Who made you say these words?"?　　

Honest man Zhang Yongde directly admitted that this is what everyone thinks. Chai Rong looked up and down at Zhang Yongde and thought to himself, this person is a fool, and he doesn't know that he was shot by others. Some ministers dare to say to the emperor in front of the emperor that you are not in good health, in case you die on the road, can this be done?　　

Chai Rong sighed, "Unfortunately, I see that your face is poor and thin, not enough to be this rich man!"　　

Zhang Yongde didn't know what this meant, only Chai Rong knew, and we guessed.　　

The first possibility, Chai Rong breathed a sigh of relief, point to be a tianzi, make a yarn, as far as your brain is concerned, you can still be a tianzi. Whoever minister dares to ask the Son of Heaven whether he is alive or dead is the Son of Heaven in his prime?　　

The second possibility, Chai Rong sighed, this person has no brain, he was directly used as a gun, such a person, how can the big things behind him be entrusted to him!　

Anyway, after that, Zhang Yongde's post of inspection in front of the palace was removed, and he was allowed to go to Liaozhou to be a jiedushi envoy.　

On the same day, Chai Rong got up and returned to Beijing, and returned to Kaifeng on May 30. On June 2, Chai Rong's already weak body was hit again, and his daughter died suddenly. Chai Rong's previous family members were all killed by Liu Chengyou, and this daughter was 4 or 5 years old. Oh my God! Why do you treat Chai Rong like this, Chai Rong is sad and desperate!　

Zhu Yuanzhang's evaluation of Zhou Shizong: The king of the three generations can do it sometimes, the Han Dynasty has its time and does not do it, and Zhou Shizong does not have the time to do it.　

Yes, Chai Rong's whole life has been another day of rebellion, five generations and ten kingdoms, and after that, it is destined to be an era of the rise of ethnic minorities and the great integration of nationalities. Only when ethnic minorities are strong can they accelerate ethnic integration. Later history, whether it was Liao, Jin, or Mongolia, under their rule, it was not that they were integrating the Han people, but that they were integrating with the Han people.　

However, no matter what, Zhou Shizong was a great master. Song Shenzong Zhao Yan commented on Zhou Shizong, and Sejong Cheng's entrepreneurship and meritorious hero also. In the year of heavenly leave, his deeds can be compared to that of Han Gaozu.　　

Song Shenzong also wanted to be a great master, but unfortunately, Zhao Hao did not have Chai Rong's Wentao martial strategy after all, and the most exciting reforms in the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty ended in failure.　　

Anyway, it's better to be active than to lie flat!

Chai Rong, in less than 5 and a half years, broke the high level; Fu Qin, Feng; Take Jiangbei; Ke Yannan, soldiers arrived at Youyan. JuntianFu, Expand Kaifeng, Xingshui, Compile History Books, Revise calendars, Open Examinations, Restrict Buddhism...

He achieved the extreme that a king could do, but unfortunately, the time did not take the year off, and the successive blows made Chai Rong unable to hold on any longer. On the evening of June 19, 959, Chai Rong died at the age of 39.　

Ten years to open up the world, ten years to rest with the people, ten years to strive for peace. What a good wish, but Heaven did not even give Chai Rong a 10-year anniversary. When he succeeded to the throne for 5 years, 5 months and 1 day, Chai Rong left with endless regrets.　

This is not just Chai Rong's tragedy, but the entire Han people sighing!

【Original article, please indicate the source, author】

References: Zizhi Tongjian, History of song, History of the Five Dynasties, Biography of Su Dongpo, Record of Taizu, Eighteen Emperors of the Song Dynasty, etc.