From the beginning of the Han Dynasty to the establishment of the Song Dynasty, the seizure of the throne by strong subjects was the most common way to change dynasties.
The Western Han Zen gave way to Wang Mang, the Eastern Han Zen gave way to Wei, the Wei Zen gave way to the Jin, the Jin Zen gave way to the Song (Southern Dynasty), and the Song Qi Liang Chen were all "Zen concessions" who "painted gourds in the same way". Sui's status came from the Zen concessions of the Northern Zhou Dynasty; after Tang Liyuan entered Chang'an, he also had to support Emperor Gong of Sui first and then force him to "Zen Concession", and had to go through the "process"; Tang Zen gave way to Hou Liang; Later Han "Zen position" was in Later Zhou; and Later Zhou Zen was located in Song.
Qin and Xin (Wang Mang) were overthrown by peasant uprisings, and Later Liang, Later Tang, and Later Jin were destroyed by "enemy states", and the above-mentioned dynasties were unstable in foundation, the country was not long, and the vast majority of other dynasties died in "strong subjects".
From the Song Dynasty onwards, this situation changed significantly.
Song died in the "enemy country", Yuan died in the peasant uprising, Ming died in the peasant uprising (Chongzhen) + "enemy country" (Southern Ming).
Although the Qing Dynasty was eventually forced to retreat by the powerful minister Yuan Shikai, it was not actually a "usurpation", because the Qing Emperor only gave way to the "republic", and Yuan Shikai himself could not become an emperor, and later he could not become an emperor himself.
It seems that the Song Dynasty was indeed a watershed in ancient times.
All this must start with Zhao Kuangyin, the founder of the Song Dynasty.
Starting with Zhao Kuangyin, several generations of Song Emperors made various reforms, which greatly reduced the probability of powerful subjects seizing power.
Adjust the forbidden army to eliminate threats that override the "system"
Zhao Kuangyin himself was "yellow robe plus body" as a general of the Forbidden Army.
The reason why he was able to seize power was also due to the "precautionary plan" of Chai Rong of the Later Zhou Dynasty.
At that time, the legend of "point inspection as the son of heaven" was widespread, and Chai Rong was worried that Zhang Yongde was inspected in front of the palace, so he let Zhao Kuangyin, who had a gap in seniority and fame at that time, do the inspection in front of the palace.
In addition, Chai Rong also established a system of mutual checks and balances, trying to maintain the balance of power and stabilize development.
Results... Zhao Kuangyin still seized the world.
This shows that the forbidden army is close to the center of gravity of power, and once the forbidden army has an affair, all "systems" will become decorations.
At the same time, it also shows that the key to maintaining the absolute loyalty of the forbidden army is not to use anyone to serve as the general of the forbidden army (of course, this is also very important), but to eliminate the threat of some excessive power positions in the forbidden army.
When he first seized power, in order to maintain stability, Zhao Kuangyin personally controlled the front army of the palace, and the important positions of the guards were all controlled by the "brothers" who supported him.
After the situation stabilized slightly, Zhao Kuangyin "released the military power with a glass of wine" and transferred several brothers out of the key posts of the forbidden army, and key posts such as the commander of the Ma Infantry Army and the deputy commander were left vacant for a long time.
In this way, the two senior posts of the front of the palace and the deputy head of the palace were cut off, and the three senior posts of the horse infantry in the guards were reduced.
The most powerful posts were eliminated, the less important posts were reduced, and the other less senior posts were all filled by those with less seniority.
In this way, the forbidden army generals can no longer threaten the imperial power, and the weakened forbidden generals can only obey the "system".
The Son of Heaven's complete control over the powerful forbidden army is the basis for maintaining imperial power!
Prior to this, "strongmen" controlled the forbidden army, and threats to imperial power occurred frequently.
When Cao Shuang and Sima Yi were vying for power, the appointment and dismissal of key posts in the forbidden army was often the key to holding power.
During the Tang Dynasty, eunuchs who controlled the Divine Strategy Army could depose the Son of Heaven.
Since the adjustment of the Song Dynasty, it is difficult for strongmen to completely control the forbidden army.
Whether it was a strong minister or a eunuch, no matter how long his dictatorship lasted, when the Son of Heaven was determined to eradicate it, he had no power to fight back.
Strong cadres and weak branches weaken local strong subjects
After "releasing the military power through a glass of wine", Zhao Kuangyin was still unsteady in his heart, so he asked Zhao Pu: For decades, the emperor has changed ten surnames, and the military revolution has not stopped, what is the reason for this? What should be done to build a long-term plan for the country like a soldier in the world?
Zhao Pu proposed that the five generations of military revolution were unremitting because: the town of Jiezhen was too heavy, the king was weak and the subject was strong; the local authorities were special, resulting in the failure of centralized power.
Immediately, Zhao Pu put forward three policies: to seize his power a little; to control his money valley; and to collect his elite troops.
Slightly seized his power, and some of the key administrative powers of the local government were taken over to the imperial court.
Reduce the number of prefectures (revenue and expenditure counties) that are also under the jurisdiction of the clan towns; reclaim the power of local officials to live and kill (review judicial power); set up "roads" to strengthen surveillance.
To control its money valley is to recover the financial power of the localities.
Except for the recurrent expenses, all were handed over to the imperial court by the transfer envoy; the imperial court appointed the supervisor to be responsible for the exploitation and use of key resources such as the salt industry; and the establishment of changping envoys and granaries for officials.
To collect its elite troops is to reorganize the army, and the elite are all collected as forbidden troops, leaving only the old and weak as van troops in the localities.
In addition, more disciplines have been introduced. The army takes turns to change, no longer under the command of a certain general for a long time, breaking the relationship of "soldiers are generals".
"Soldiers are generals, financial independence" is the precondition for the ancient army to become a military law.
In general, even before the Song Dynasty, rulers sought to avoid the emergence of a military law of "military generals, financial independence".
However, due to the high degree of financial and administrative freedom of local officials, if they have the heart, they can still use the power in their hands to develop the army.
Therefore, before the Song Dynasty, even when the dynasty was strong, there were still cases of local officials raising troops to rebel.
Since the reform of the Song Dynasty, not only have many key administrative and financial powers been transferred to the central government, but local officials have been strictly monitored, and the "degree of freedom" has been greatly reduced.
Therefore, since then, except for the chaotic government of the Yuan Dynasty and the kings of his own domain who were divided by Zhu Yuanzhang, the example of local troops raising troops to resist the imperial court has become extremely rare.
In this way, such a situation as Cao Cao, Li Yuan, and the Five Dynasties Jiedushi was basically eliminated.
A tight and robust military system
On this basis, the Song rulers began to reform the military system.
Its basic structure is as follows: The soldiers under the heavens are based in the Privy Council and have the right to send troops but not the weight of holding troops; the soldiers and horses of the Beijing Division are generally in the three marshals, and they have the weight of holding troops but not the right to send troops; and the command of the commanders and commanders of the troops stationed in various places is the right to command operations, but they are temporarily appointed, and "they must not be exclusively assigned."
In this way, the unified military organs and the unified military officials were divided into three parts of a flat column, which checked each other and ensured that the military power was concentrated in the body of the Son of Heaven alone.
In fact, the system itself is not particularly innovative.
At least the Sui and Tang dynasties' military system was also a similar system of mutual decentralization and checks and balances.
However, the military system of the past was not stable.
For example, the Tang Dynasty's military system, "soldiers and farmers as one", was based on the equalization of the field system, once the economy developed and the land was annexed, this system also collapsed, and the dynastic army could only rely on generals to recruit troops, and it could not avoid "soldiers as generals".
After the Song Dynasty, the successive dynasties "professionalized" military personnel from the beginning, and even in the case of serious land annexation, the imperial court could also raise a "warp-controlled army" through state finances.
Therefore, the system of "economic and military control" can still maintain basic operation, although it will be weakened by the long period of time, but it will not disintegrate, and it can still assume the most basic requirements for maintaining rule.
Therefore, the powerful ministers of later generations, no matter how meritorious and powerful they are, cannot control the world's soldiers and horses, and do not have the basis of force to directly force the Son of Heaven to "Zen position".
Use literature to make weapons
All dynasties after the Song Dynasty (except yuan) generally adopted the policy of "using literature to control weapons".
The local officials appointed by the imperial court were basically civilian officials; even those who commanded the battle were mostly civilian officials.
Pure military attaches, even if they are outstanding, will encounter "career bottlenecks" early and it is difficult to go further.
Therefore, military generals not only could not be difficult to control, but even were discriminated against and oppressed by civilian officials, and even famous generals like Di Qing could not escape this fate.
Military attaches have been in the military for a long time, but they are subject to civilian officials, and even if they have made many meritorious contributions, their merits and reputations are also after the literati and their subjects.
The natural ability of literati who can make meritorious achievements is not something that can be summarized by "students rebelling, not succeeding in ten years", but they are still difficult to stumble.
Later Zeng Guofan as an example.
Zeng Guofan built an army and gathered his subordinates, all of which took the traditional Confucian monarchical thought as a call.
After the southeast is pacified, it is naturally impossible to immediately "shake the arm and exhale".
In contrast, the warriors of the late Tang Dynasty and the generals could use excuses such as "unfairness in the imperial court" and so on, "the prince will have a kind of hu".
Supervision system
The perfect supervision system of the Song Dynasty was also often able to stifle "misdeeds" in the cradle.
In the central government, the Song Dynasty set up two supervisory bodies, the Imperial Court and the Imperial History Platform. At the local level, supervisors, or "outer platforms," were set up above the road, and supervisory duties such as general judges were set up in fuzhou.
Before the Song Dynasty, Most Taiwanese officials were appointed or recommended by the Prime Minister, so they were mostly "those who have no courage to speak out about the faults of the Prime Minister".
Since then, most of the officials of these supervision departments have been personally controlled by the emperor, and the two supervision systems have jointly supervised officials at all levels.
Moreover, the imperial court would also issue indicators to the inspectors, which had to be inspected every month.
Therefore, officials at all levels are subject to strict supervision, not only is it difficult to hide "wrong" actions, but even some normal actions will be supervised and impeached.
By the Ming and Qing dynasties, the rulers had strengthened all kinds of open and undisclosed surveillance, so that the words and deeds of hundreds of officials were in control.
In some TV dramas, the emperor summons his courtiers and casually "smashes" a bunch of reports and impeachment folds, which are basically not things that can only be done by "artistic processing".
Therefore, it is difficult to see a situation like an "yin animal" for decades like An Lushan's.
In addition, after the Song Dynasty, there were also restrictions on power such as "Xiang Quan", but in fact, the division of power by "JunXiang" began in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and in ancient times, very few people (only Wang Mang) engaged in "peaceful seizure of power" by relying only on the power in the dynasty and China, so it was not expanded in detail.
The end of howe society
From the Western Han Dynasty to the Tang and Song dynasties, the power of the Shijia Hao clan was very strong.
These clans had a strong economic foundation, political connections and even military strength, and had great energy in state affairs, and could even be said to be one of the "shareholders" of the imperial court.
Since they are "shareholders", it is still possible to become a "chairman" if they can get the support of many "shareholders".
The basic strength that the Sima family was able to usurp the throne relied on was the support of the family clan.
However, by the time of the Song Dynasty, the Hao clan had been destroyed by successive rulers and insurgents, and the society had entered a "civil society".
After the Song Dynasty, high-ranking officials were basically from the same imperial examination. (At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Zuo Zongtang, a famous minister who was ranked viceroy, was still somewhat ridiculed for not having the meritorious name of Keju, and was so angry that he resigned to go to Keju, but was dissuaded by Cixi.) This shows how "rare" the absence of a meritorious name is among senior officials. ）
These people did not have a strong foundation, and their status came from the "appreciation" and "gift" of the imperial court.
Therefore, in the imperial court, they were completely "hit workers".
At the same time, after the end of the Hao society, the emperor is the only "shareholder", and the world is the royal "sole proprietorship".
If you want to seize the country, you can only go out and "start a business" like Li Zicheng and Hong Xiuquan, or you are an "outsider" like Kublai Khan and Huang Taiji, and you want to seize power and usurp the throne from within, which is impossible.
Cost: Another way to die
With the strengthening of imperial power after the Song Dynasty, the usurpation of the throne by strong ministers has become rare.
For the feudal dynasty, however, they were simply "a different way of dying."
In addition to the threats within the ruling clique, the feudal dynasty also had to face threats from outside the ruling clique, or peasant uprisings at home, or armed blocs outside the frontier.
Prior to this, even if the dynasty declined, it was rarely directly overthrown by external pressures.
No matter how powerful the Xiongnu and Turks were, they could not enter the Central Plains; and the vigorous peasant revolt, even if it swept across the world, could not directly change the dynasty.
This is because the warriors and magistrates in the ruling group often have a certain strength to solve problems after the imperial power is weakened.
However, after eliminating the external crisis, the victors within the ruling clique will eventually bury the old dynasty.
Therefore, before further strengthening the centralization of power, Zhao Kuangyin believed that external worries can be prevented if they are not on the sidelines, but they are adulterous and evil, and they are deeply feared.
In his view, as long as the hidden dangers of seizing power within the ruling clique are eliminated, other problems will not harm the fundamentals.
Since then, however, problems external to the ruling clique have become "fundamental problems."
The two Song dynasties were founded for more than 300 years, and they were also beaten for more than 300 years, and finally they were destroyed by the Mongolian Yuan.
The Mongolian Yuan dynasty was founded for nearly a hundred years, and was finally buried by the peasant revolt.
The founding of the Ming Dynasty for more than 200 years was first overthrown by the peasant revolt, and later moved to the south of the Southern Ming and was quickly wiped out by the Qing army entering the customs.
In the nearly 300 years since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, it was repeatedly deceived by the great powers in the later period, and finally it was powerless to deal with the Wuchang Uprising, and finally collapsed. (Again, Yuan Shikai only took the opportunity of the Wuchang uprising to force the Qing Emperor to abdicate with a republican momentum, and he himself did not have the conditions to replace the Qing Emperor as the son of heaven, which is not the same thing as the common usurpation of the throne by powerful ministers in ancient times.) ）
For the feudal dynasties, they were just "changing the way they died".
After the Song Dynasty, the seizure of the throne by "powerful ministers" was basically eliminated.
The main reason for this is that "the environment is good" and "the emperor is refined".
The environment is good. The Hao society was over, the royal family was the only "shareholder" of the imperial court, and the other officials were pure "workers" and did not have the basic conditions to directly "replace them".
"The emperor is refined". After more than 1,000 years of development, various ways of "seeking the dynasty and usurping the throne" have been staged, so that the rulers can find a suitable way to "prevent micro-gradualism" and ensure imperial power.