Although Zhao Kuangyin took over the Later Zhou Dynasty, although it was a relatively powerful country during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, it was still only one of many divided regimes, and it was surrounded by strong enemies. The main enemies at the beginning of the founding of the Song Dynasty were of course the Khitan in the north and the Northern Han supported by the Khitans, while the southern part of the Song Dynasty also had as many as seven separatist regimes, namely the Later Shu, the Southern Tang, the Southern Han, the Wuyue, the Nanping, and the Wuping Army and the Qingyuan Army. Zhao Kuangyin, who has the ambition of "restoring the old frontiers of the Han Dynasty and tang dynasty", finally chose the unified strategy of "first south and then north, first easy and then difficult", so how was this strategy formulated, and what are the advantages and disadvantages?
In fact, during the reign of Emperor Chai Rong of Zhou Shizong, he had already heeded Wang Pu's advice and designated a unified strategy of "first south and then north", so soon after he took the throne, he first used troops against Later Shu, and then three conquests of Southern Tang, and later because Southern Tang united with the Khitan in the north and tried to form a north-south attack on Later Zhou, Chai Rong had to turn to attack north, but unfortunately fell seriously ill on the way. Therefore, we can assume that if Chai Rong did not die prematurely, he may continue to maintain the strategy of "first south and then north", the specific reasons are described below, let's first look at the story of "Snow Night Decision":
Zhao Kuangyin said that after the emperor, he was very fond of micro-service private visits, and in addition to observing the people's feelings, he often appeared coldly at the door of a certain minister. Therefore, after the ministers left the dynasty and returned home, they did not dare to take off their imperial clothes and change into plain clothes, lest Zhao Kuangyin be caught off guard one day. One night, when it was snowing heavily, Zhao Pu thought that Zhao Kuangyin would not go out again, but unexpectedly, when Zhao Pu was just preparing to loosen his clothes, there was a rapid knock at the door. After opening the door, he saw Zhao Kuangyin standing in the snow and said, "Emperor Guangyi will also come over later." ”
Zhao Pu asked Zhao Kuangyin, it is so late, how can you still be interested in coming out to tread on the snow? Zhao Kuangyin said: "I am surrounded by other people's territory, so I can't sleep for a long time. So Zhao Pu said: "It seems that Your Majesty thinks that the territory of the Great Song Dynasty is too small, and now that there is a lot of war, it is a good time for you to conquer the south and the north, but I don't know what your plans are?" Zhao Kuangyin said: "I have long wanted to recover Taiyuan", Zhao Kuangyin said that Taiyuan refers to the Northern Han Dynasty located in the northwest of the Song Dynasty, with a small territory but relying on Khitan forces to frequently enter the Kou. Zhao Pu said, "This is not quite what I thought, so why not first sweep away the weaker countries in the south, and then take the land of the northern projectiles?" Zhao Kuangyin said, "That's exactly what I thought, I just tested you." As a result, Zhao Kuangyin, Zhao Pu, and Zhao Guangyi reached a strategic consensus of first going south and then north, first easy and then difficult.
After that, although Zhao Kuangyin had personally conquered the Northern Han Dynasty, the main spearhead was still aimed at the south, and during his reign, he successively leveled the five separatist regimes of Nanping, Wuping, Houshu, Southern Han, and Southern Tang, and after Emperor Taizong Zhao Guangyi took the throne, he unified Wuyue and Zhangquan, and finally personally conquered the Northern Han to unify the Central Plains. However, during this period, the national strength of the Liao state was also rising dramatically, and in Taizong's several Northern Expeditions, the Song Dynasty ended in great defeat, and since then completely lost the opportunity and ability to take the initiative to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.
Therefore, later generations often wonder whether Zhao Kuangyin's "first south and then north" is wrong. In fact, we can analyze it from another perspective: the Khitan at this time was the only superpower in Asia, and the economic and military volume of the later Zhou Dynasty was very difficult to compete with (an important reason for the smooth Northern Expedition of Zhou Shizong was that he did not directly engage the Khitan regular army). If Zhao Kuangyin decides to fight against the Khitan Iron Horse, he must first let the newly established Song Dynasty come out of the ruins of war, so he must first develop the economy and accumulate strength.
The most efficient means of economic development in times of war and chaos is to directly seize from the enemy. Therefore, it is necessary for both Chai Rong and Zhao Kuangyin to use troops against the south first: First, the southern regime is scattered and the political situation is unstable. Secondly, Sichuan occupied by the Later Shu, Liangguang occupied by the Southern Han, and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River occupied by the Southern Tang Dynasty have long been the most economically prosperous areas.
So, how is the "first south, then north" strategy implemented? In the face of the seven separatist regimes in the south, who did Zhao Kuangyin take first to test the knife? If you want to know what happened next, please pay attention to the next lecture on the "Compendium of the Eighteenth Emperor of the Song Dynasty" of "The Death of Shu Mengchang after the Destruction".