In ancient times, many emperors liked to use the word "Ren" when choosing temple numbers. In their view, the word "benevolence" can not only reflect their tolerance, but also show the beautiful ideal of ruling the country with benevolence.
For example, Zhao Zhen of Song Renzong, Zhu Gaozi of Emperor Mingrenzong, and Emperor Jiaqing of Qingrenzong all used "Ren" as their temple names.
As we all know, Zhao Zhen was the fourth emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, and although he had no military achievements, he really embodied a "ren" character.
In fact, Emperor Renzong did not have no military acumen, but there was no room for military talent at all. Under his careful governance, the economic level of the Song Dynasty reached an unprecedented peak. According to the research of later scholars, the prosperity of the capital city during the Song Renzong period has comprehensively surpassed that of Chang'an City in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty. It can be seen that after Emperor Renzong implemented the word "ren" into the concept of governing the country, the politics of the imperial court was very clear.
The emperor was enlightened, and the important ministers he chose were also concerned about the people of Li. Only in this way can there be a group of officials who serve the country and share the worries of the emperor. Because the emperor is merciful, officials can know everything and say everything, and they don't have to worry about whether they will be killed.
In the second year of Jiayou (1057), the young and vigorous Su Rui satirized Emperor Renzong in the examination paper of the imperial examination, attacked the government, and said that the Great Song under Emperor Renzong was useless. When the examiners saw this test paper, they were furious, and they immediately wrote to Renzong, demanding that the candidate be severely punished and set an example.
However, Song Renzong said lightly: "The imperial examination is originally to select upright talents for the imperial court, but I think this is a person who dares to speak out." The ministers looked at each other after hearing this, and they all thought that Emperor Renzong was too tolerant.
At that time, the iron-faced and selfless Bao Qingtian was not soft in the face of corrupt officials and corrupt officials, even if he saw the emperor's relatives and relatives, he dared to use a three-headed knife to correct the other party on the spot. Imagine if it were not for the emperor's reasonableness, how could the minister dare to act in this way? With the assistance of the wise men inside and the soldiers guarding the border passes, the people can live and work in peace and contentment. In such a situation, no one wants to fight at all.
In addition, Emperor Renzong's benevolence was deeply appreciated by even the monarchs of neighboring countries. At that time, Goryeo was nominally a subordinate of the Song Dynasty and paid tribute to the Song Dynasty every year. However, the king of Goryeo saw that Injong was too good at talking, so he constantly reduced his tribute. Therefore, when the ministers of the Song Dynasty saw that Goryeo dared to act in this way, they went directly to Injong and requested that an army be sent to attack Goryeo and give the goryeo kingdom a little color.
Unexpectedly, Injong only said gently: "This matter is only the sin of the king of Goryeo and has nothing to do with the people of Goryeo." If he sent an army, he would not necessarily capture the king of Goryeo, but he would definitely hurt the people of Goryeo. Under Emperor Renzong's insistence and opposition, the matter was thus settled.
Later, when the king of Goryeo heard about this incident, he regretted his wrongdoings and could not help but admire the magnanimity of Song Injong.
In fact, Song Renzong was not only kind to the ministers, but also very good to the retinue around him.
Once, when Renzong was walking and looking back, his entourage did not understand what was going on. After that, Emperor Renzong's pace continued to speed up, striding towards the palace. After returning to the palace, Emperor Renzong gasped and said to the concubines, "Quick, quick, pour water on the concubines, the thirst is broken." So the concubines asked strangely, "Why doesn't Your Majesty drink the water in the hands of his entourage?" ”
Renzong drank a few sips of water in pain, and then explained, "I looked back several times and found that they had forgotten to bring tea. If they brought it up, they would be punished. It can be seen that as an emperor, it is also very rare to be able to be so considerate of the followers around him.
Although the treasury of the Great Song was very abundant during the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, he still did not forget the hard and simple style.
Once, the palace ministers paid tribute to the emperor with a hairy crab. Looking at this delicious food, Song Renzong couldn't help but ask about the price of this dish. Therefore, in order to highlight the preciousness of the dish, the minister kept saying that crabs were not easy to come by. But Song Renzong was very angry after hearing this, thinking that this was a waste, so he didn't eat a bite.
Imagine that as an emperor who is high above, he does not eat crabs because he is worried about the price, which is really surprising and admirable.
In the eighth year of Jiayou (1063), Emperor Renzong died of illness. After hearing The news of Emperor Renzong, the people of the Great Song Dynasty wept bitterly, and even the beggars on the street spontaneously bought paper money to pay tribute.
At that time, after the envoys of the Song Dynasty spread the news to the Liao State, the Emperor of the Liao State, Yelü Hongji, was even more sad. He shook the hand of the Song envoy and said emotionally: "Song and Liao, there has been no war for forty-two years, and I am about to forget the appearance of weapons." I want to build a crown tomb for Emperor Renzong as a way to send my condolences. ”
Perhaps, Emperor Renzong did not succeed in opening up the land, but his benevolence was known to the whole world. For a moment of mercy, anyone may be able to do it. However, the only emperor who could always rule the country with benevolence was probably Song Renzong. In addition, in the era of Song Renzong, many outstanding figures emerged. For example, among the "Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties" selected by the Ming Dynasty, six of them were the Northern Song Dynasty people Su Xun, Su Shi, Su Rui, Ouyang Xiu, Wang Anshi, and Zeng Gong, all of whom appeared on the historical stage during the reign of Emperor Renzong.
Another example is the famous politicians in Chinese history, all of whom appeared in the era of Song Renzong, among whom there were Fan Zhongyan, Fu Bi, Han Qi, and others who presided over the "New Deal for celebrating the calendar," as well as Wang Anshi, Zhang Huan, Lü Huiqing, and other members of the new party who led the "Xifeng Reform Law," and Sima Guang, Lü Gongzhuo, Fan Chunren, and Su Rui, who led the "Yuanyou Reformation," who were all representatives of the Renzong era.
It can be seen that the era of Renzong was really full of talents.
Resources:
["Continuation of Zizhi TongjianChang", "The End of the Chronicle of the Song Dynasty", "The Chronicle of the Eastern Capital"]