In the first year of the Northern Song Dynasty (960), Zhao Kuangyin launched the Chen Qiao Mutiny, seized the Power of Later Zhou, and established the Song Dynasty. But just after a hundred days of this nascent dynasty, it ushered in the rebellion of the former heroes. The former Later Zhou Zhao's rebel army jiedushi made Li Jun and Huainan Province jiedushi make Li Chongjin, because they were dissatisfied with Zhao Kuangyin's seizure of power, they successively raised troops in Luzhou and Yangzhou. In order to protect his own fruits, Zhao Kuangyin resolutely decided to personally march. This pro-sign effect was remarkable, but it still took Zhao Kuangyin a lot of time.
Zhao Kuangyin, who had returned from counter-rebellion, was deeply worried about this. From the establishment of the Later Liang Empire by Zhu Wen in the first year of Later Liang Kaiping (907) to the birth of the Great Song Empire in the first year of Jianlong (960), in just 53 years, the Central Plains has gone through five generations and eight surnames and thirteen emperors. The Water Margin quotes a small poem in the opening wedge, "Zhu Lishi Liu Guo, Liang Tang Jin Han Zhou." The fifteen emperors who have all come and sowed chaos and fifty autumns are precisely a high summary of this chaotic history.
As the founding emperor and as a military general who seized power, Zhao Kuangyin understood the decisive role of military power in the rise and fall of the dynasty. He could not forget how he used his military power to change from soldier to emperor step by step. He also couldn't forget how he had betrayed Chai's trust and used the strength of chai's troops to bring down Chai's.
For him, therefore, his new goal is to adopt the most effective means to eliminate the possible hidden dangers of military power and consolidate his rule.
In order to exchange the minimum price for a firm grasp of military power, Song Taizu came up with a roundabout and effective method of "releasing military power with a cup of wine".
He used several free drinks to create a favorable environment for himself and also gave the heroes a step. With soft without hard, Enwei and Shi, the good drama of releasing military power with a glass of wine finally ended perfectly.
The reason why this play is perfect, the timing is the key. At that time, the world was initially determined, and no general had the strength to compete with the emperor, and the people who did not submit to the orders would only lead to the disaster of killing.
Therefore, even if Zhao Kuangyin adopts such a seemingly gentle approach, he can achieve the expected effect very well.
In addition, the right to release the army from a cup of wine is not a forced purchase and sale, but a temptation. Zhao Kuangyin moved out of the beauties, mansions, and fertile fields to help the ministers make plans. And to get all this, it is only to return to him the military power that originally belonged to the emperor. The ministers only needed a little thought to understand the stakes, and naturally they went down the steps.
After regaining military power, Zhao Kuangyin launched military reforms. He dismissed the post of "Inspection in Front of the Palace" and divided the leadership of the Central Forbidden Army into three, under the command of the so-called Three Guards. In fact, the military power fell into the hands of Zhao Kuangyin. Because the commanders he used were all low-ranking generals, and they had no foundation and real power. As a result, the central military power is no longer a threat to the imperial family, and Zhao Kuangyin's purpose of releasing military power with a cup of wine has been achieved for the most part.
After that, his eyes were on the edge again. The emissaries who were originally stationed on the frontier also came to his feast, and the good drama of drinking wine and releasing military power was staged again. After several banquets, the military power of the whole country returned to Zhao Kuangyin's hands. Since the middle of the Tang Dynasty, the political situation of the weak and the strong has been changed little by little at Zhao Kuangyin's banquet.
The story of the release of military power by a glass of wine has been circulating for thousands of years, but it has long been doubted due to the lack of evidence. Of course, people are mainly suspicious of the overly dramatic plot of "a glass of wine". However, song Taizu's retraction of military power was a foregone conclusion.
A series of political and military system reforms in the early Song Dynasty greatly strengthened the degree of centralization of power, which is proved by a large number of historical materials
。
Another hot topic in this story is how people evaluate the role of "the right to release the military from the glass of wine". The indiscriminate killing of heroes by the founding emperor almost became an iron law formed to consolidate power, and Song Taizu eliminated possible threats through peaceful means and without harm. Song Taizu's move was obviously superior.
But on the other hand, "to prevent malpractice and to make a law of nation-building" is also regarded as killing a thousand enemies and inflicting eight hundred self-inflicted wounds. In the 319th year of the Song Dynasty, although great civil unrest did not occur during the period, it was indeed common for border passes to be anxious.
Almost all regimes, when they were founded, were always at a small peak in military power. What's more, the Great Song Dynasty was a smooth transition from the Later Zhou Dynasty, when its military strength ranked first in the five generations. However, after the establishment of the Song Dynasty, the military strength quickly deteriorated, and the beginning was a glass of wine to release the military power. The Song 'Annei Strategy'' governing policy led to the outflow of a large amount of money and materials, which led to the collapse of the national economy and aggravated the degradation of military power.
In addition, from the time of the release of military power from a cup of wine, a kind of atmosphere also spread among the courtiers: since the emperor was ready to guard against the rebellion and seizure of power, the first priority of the courtiers should be to show loyalty and protect themselves.
Under the influence of this unhealthy atmosphere, both the political and military affairs of the Song Dynasty suffered considerable negative impacts.
Song Taizu's original intention was to maintain his rule, but unfortunately his plan was only half successful. The Northern Song Dynasty did stabilize quickly, but the crisis behind the policy also took the opportunity to take root.