The prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, with the demise of the Tang Dynasty, gradually disappeared into the tide of history.
Later, Zhao Kuangyin established the Northern Song Dynasty, and the Northern Song Dynasty was not a unified dynasty. To the north was the powerful Liao state, which occupied these vast plains of Youyun Sixteen Prefectures. With this area, the Liao state could attack the Northern Song at any time, but the Northern Song Dynasty had no natural danger to rely on, and could only rely on the artificial buildings on the plain as a point-like stronghold to resist the iron horses of the Khitans.
What's more, the infantry of the Northern Song Dynasty relied on flesh and blood to resist the attack of the Khitan cavalry, and even if they won, it was a fierce victory.
Soon after the establishment of the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin, the grandfather of the Song Dynasty, took a break from the country, and the national strength gradually recovered. Later, Song Taizu died, and his younger brother Zhao Guangyi took over the emperor's position, that is, Song Taizong.
Song Taizong had a good relationship with his brother Zhao Kuangyin, but since ancient times, the han succession to the throne has been the succession of fathers and sons, that is, after Song Taizu's death, his son should take the throne.
So why did Zhao Kuangyin's younger brother inherit the throne?
History also has doubts about this issue, it is said that on the night of Song Taizu's death, Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi and Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin were together, and some people heard movement in their rooms. Later, things were even stranger, and when she learned of Song Taizu's death, the empress of Song Taizu was very shocked and said to Zhao Guangyi in a begging tone: "The lives of our mother and son will be entrusted to you." ”
Apparently, Empress Taizu of Song had sensed the flavor of the coup, and she knew that her son would certainly be the greatest threat to the new emperor, which was the expression of trepidation.
After Zhao Guangyi succeeded to the throne as Emperor Taizong of Song, some people were dissatisfied with the new emperor, so he was eager to express himself.
After all, he had also fought with his brother in the world, and he was not a straw bag who wanted to prove himself to the people of the world. The first thing he did after he ascended to the throne was to change the era name to Taiping Xingguo. Unlike other dynasties, their era names have certain political significance, and the meaning of this era name is: to make the world prosperous, but in fact, it has not achieved peace.
Song Taizong, who was eager to succeed, showed great ambition when he first became emperor, and he also hoped that he could be like these unified emperors of the Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang Dynasties, and he wanted to unify the whole country again and become an emperor who was famous in history. After having ambition, it was time to establish a goal, and Song Taizong's primary goal was the Northern Han Dynasty, and then, to defeat the Liao state and capture the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun.
The Khitans established the Liao State, and the predecessor of the Liao State was the Khitan clan established by Yelü Abaoji, who had received the tang dynasty's canonization, and was considered a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, with a slightly lower status than the counties within the Tang Dynasty, but it was still part of the Tang Dynasty, and it can be said that the Liao State was, to some extent, an orthodox dynasty.
The Northern Song Dynasty was usurped by Zhao Kuangyin, who seized the world of Later Zhou, and Later Zhou did not have the legal system of the Tang Dynasty, in this sense, the Khitan, which was once a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, was stronger than the Northern Song Dynasty in terms of legitimacy. The reason why we want to say orthodoxy is because in ancient times, the legitimacy of a country was very important, and without orthodoxy it did not deserve the world.
Emperor Taizong of Song wanted to deal with the Liao state, not only in terms of legitimacy, but also in strength.
At that time, the ruler of the Liao State was the famous Empress Xiao, her little name was Xiao Yanyan, who sounded very gentle, in fact, Xiao Yanyan was a very capable and attractive beautiful politician. Empress Xiao's family was very prominent, and in the entire Liao kingdom, there were five empresses and more than a dozen Northern Prime Ministers, and they were political families of genuine value.
Xiao Yanyan's father's name was Xiao Siwen and he married the daughter of Emperor Taizong of Liao, Yelü Deguang, who was Xiao Yanyan's biological mother. The eldest daughter, Xiao Huren, married King Taiping, the younger daughter of Emperor Muzong of Liao, and the second daughter married King Zhao, the brother of Emperor Jingzong of Liao. Growing up in such a family with a deep background, the education of her children is definitely superior, and Xiao Yanyan herself is deeply educated and has shown a strong ability from an early age.
Xiao Yanyan's father, Xiao Siwen, was actually not much of an ability, but he still had the ability to judge the hour and size up the situation.
Once, When Emperor Muzong of Liao took Xiao Siwen and other ministers out to play, this ruthless emperor was suddenly assassinated because he had offended some people who were afraid of being killed by him. This news was very important, Xiao Siwen showed the ability to judge the hour and size up the situation, he quickly blocked the news, and promptly informed Yelü Xian, the second son of Emperor Shizong of Liao, who had a good relationship with him.
This decision was very important, because Xiao Siwen's move was clearly to let YelüXian inherit the throne, because he only informed one person who was eligible to inherit the throne, but did not notify other princes of the Yelü family who had the right to inherit. If this is the election of leaders, it is an equal election, and it is zero in terms of competitiveness.
Upon hearing this news, Yelü Xian hurriedly led his own soldiers to the place of death of Liao Muzong. Of course, with the help of Xiao Siwen, Yelüxian successfully inherited the throne of the Liao State, that is, the historical Liao Jingzong. He was very grateful for Xiao Siwen's help and trusted him very much, and as soon as he returned to the capital, Emperor Jingzong of Liao made Xiao Siwen a high-ranking official and gave him Houlu.
Later, Emperor Jingzong of Liao also made Xiao Siwen a privy councillor of the Northern Yuan, the prime minister of the Northern Province, and Shang Shuling, and crowned him the King of Wei. The so-called Beiyuan and Beifu are all the territory of the Liao, and the earliest origin of "one country, two systems" is in the Liao.
In order to better rule the Han Dynasty and the original Khitan nomadic areas, the Liao State created the "Southern and Northern Officials" system, which can also be regarded as the prototype of "one country, two systems".
The southern officials are mainly the Han inhabited areas of Youyun Sixteen Prefectures, where the traditional Han management system is used to set up counties and counties, mainly managing the Han people. The northern officials were mainly served by the Khitan nobles, mainly managing the Khitan tribes, etc., and their status was higher than that of the southern officials. It can be said that this is a very wise initiative and has great helped the stability of the Liao state.
Because of his father Xiao Siwen, Xiao Yanyan married Yelüxian, the emperor of the Liao State. Yelüxian was also a very accomplished emperor, and in the face of a devastated country, Liaojingzong carried out a series of reforms. However, due to congenital reasons, Yerushalayim's physical condition was very bad, and he was also powerless to govern the country.
As a nation on horseback, Liaojingzong could not even control horses when he was weak. This is a very good opportunity for the talented Xiao Yanyan, in the contact with her husband Liaojingzong, she learned a lot of things, but also very understanding, deeply appreciated and trusted by Liaojingzong.
When Emperor Jingzong of Liao was physically unable to handle government affairs, Xiao Yanyan was entrusted by Emperor Jingzong of Liao to handle state affairs instead of Emperor Jingzong of Liao.
At the beginning, Xiao Yanyan also needed her father's tutelage and guidance. Later, in the process of handling government affairs, Xiao Yanyan gradually grew up and became a relatively mature female politician. Emperor Jingzong of Liao was also more at ease with Xiao Yanyan, and basically entrusted the government to his beloved wife Xiao Yanyan to take care of, because this woman was the person he trusted the most.
However, another blow soon came, Xiao Yanyan's father Xiao Siwen was assassinated by political enemies, when Xiao Yanyan was only 17 years old.
Xiao Yanyan, who had lost her father, became more mature, and with her husband's encouragement and support, she fully assisted her husband in carrying out comprehensive reforms, which greatly enhanced the strength of the Liao state. And good luck also came one after another, and soon after, Xiao Yanyan gave birth to a son for Liaojingzong, which further deepened Liaojingzong's favor for her.
As the national strength became stronger and stronger, Xiao Yanyan's position became more and more stable, and even her words were the words of the emperor, of course, this was also specially instructed by the emperor. Since then, Xiao Yanyan and the emperor have had the same status, and the power of the Liao state has been completely handed over to Xiao Yanyan. At this time, the Northern Song Emperor Zhao Guangyi, who sharpened his sword, had just unified the south, which could be described as a spring breeze and full of ambition.
Ignoring the liao's warnings, Zhao Guangyi continued to attack the northwest and destroyed the Northern Han Dynasty. In the view of the Liao State, the Northern Han Dynasty can be used as a buffer zone between the Song and the Liao.
However, Xiao Yanyan thought too simply, the ultimate goal of the Song Dynasty was to unify all of China, and the elimination of the Liao State was its ultimate goal.
Of course, the Northern Han Dynasty perished under the powerful attack of Emperor Taizong of Song, Zhao Guangyi. It is said that this victory has not been achieved in the past hundred years, and at this time, except for the Liao State, the south has been unified. At this time, we should give a good reward to the soldiers and let everyone rest. However, Zhao Guangyi was already fluttering at this time, feeling that he was a god of war, and he had already made up his mind to recover Youyun Sixteen Prefectures.
After zhao Guangyi destroyed the Northern Han Dynasty, he let his troops attack the Liao state on foot for six or seven hundred miles, and this long-distance attack had exhausted the willpower and physical strength of the Song army, and when facing the powerful Liao state, it was like a lamb to be slaughtered. In order to be able to lure the enemy deeper, Xiao Yanyan tied up the sack array and wanted to eat all the Song army in one fell swoop.
When the Song army first came into contact with the Khitan army, the Khitan army "collapsed at a touch". It was a bold idea that fit well with the nomadic way of fighting. Sure enough, Zhao Guangyi's troops were deceived, and they continuously conquered many military strongholds in Youyun Sixteen Prefectures, and the Song army, from top to bottom, developed a feeling of pride, as if this was not a war but an outing.
At the Sorghum River, the Liao state began to show its true strength, and the Song army was attacked on many sides, and under the impact of the Khitan cavalry, the entire line collapsed, and countless people died. Even Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi almost died there, his leg was severely damaged, he was shot by a sharp arrow, and even, in order to survive, he did not hesitate to ride a donkey to escape.
In this battle, a large amount of equipment and grain and grass of the Song army were captured by the Liao state, and the Liao army won a complete victory.
Even, in order to really hurt the Northern Song Emperor Zhao Guangyi, the following year, the Khitan army led by Xiao Yanyan went south again, beating the Song army to the point of falling flowers and water, and also capturing several generals of the Northern Song Dynasty. At this time, Zhao Guangyi no longer dared to attack the Liao State, after all, not everyone could do such a thing as the Imperial Driving Conquest, and if he had not run fast last year, it was estimated that he would have become a prisoner.
However, Emperor Taizong of Song wanted to recover the heart of Youyun Sixteen Prefectures, but he never died. For the Song Dynasty, Youyun Sixteen Prefectures is their own destiny, the Khitan people control of Youyun Sixteen Prefectures is equivalent to stuck in the neck of the Northern Song Dynasty, the biggest weakness of the Northern Song Dynasty is here, this is the Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi is the most worried thing, and later the Northern Song Dynasty eliminated the Jin kingdom of the Jurchen clan is this reason.
Therefore, Song Taizong was determined to recover this place.
Soon, unexpectedly, the Liao state changed, Liao Jingzong died, Xiao Yanyan's 12-year-old son ascended the throne, the domestic situation was very unstable, the so-called "lord is less suspicious of the country". As soon as Emperor Taizong of Song saw that the opportunity had come, he gathered his army again, divided the troops into three, and attacked the Liao state in three directions, this year was the year of Yongxi, and this battle was also known as: the Battle of Yongxi.
Xiao Yanyan once again exerted her political and military talents, still using the old method to lure the enemy deeper. The two large armies in the east and central parts of the Northern Song Dynasty were beaten by the Khitans, and in the end, the Western Route Army of the Northern Song Dynasty was first victorious and then defeated. This time, Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi could be said to have been defeated again by Xiao Yanyan with the same tactics, and hit the face twice with the same hand. From then on, Zhao Guangyi never talked about recovering Youyun Sixteen Prefectures anymore.
In fact, the Liao State and the Northern Song Dynasty did not have such a big difference in culture.
After all, the Khitans had been Sinicized for a long time. Of course, the Khitan people had the characteristics of both the steppe empire and the Central Plains dynasty, resulting in the unprecedented strength of their dynasty and the superb art of domination. The reason why the military nobles in the Mongolian steppe did not dare to rebel against the Liao state was because the Liao state paid them Feng Lu so that they could guard the steppe with peace of mind.
In addition, the military nobles on the steppe can also use their own force to eliminate threats from forces from other directions to ensure the safety of the central plains hinterland, including the Liao State, which is also a good thing for the Northern Song Dynasty in the inland. As the upper nobility of the Liao state, which had been Sinicized, their aggressiveness had greatly declined, and they were willing to coexist peacefully with the Northern Song Dynasty.
As a result, the Northern Song Dynasty also had a stable and unambitious "good neighbor."
It can be said that if there is no "good collar" in the north, the Northern Song Dynasty will have a hundred years of stability in the future, and the north is likely to be often affected by the grassland nomads, and the Northern Song Dynasty may have long been destroyed. Later, the Jin State, which was a military tribal alliance, destroyed the Liao State, and the Northern Song Dynasty also perished, which is the best example.
If history could be repeated, I believe that the Emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty would not fund the Jurchens to destroy the Liao State, and would not let the Northern Song Lose a Best Barrier, thus leading to a great disaster that the Northern Song Dynasty was deeply ashamed of: the shame of Jing kang.
However, history cannot be repeated, everything is the inevitable development of history.
Resources:
[Song Shi Taizu Ji I, Song Shi Taizong Ben Ji, Liao History]