Introduction: Speaking of personal understanding, in fact, there is no such thing as first north and then south and first south and then north. Both Chai Rong and Zhao Kuangyin made the most correct judgment on reunification based on the actual situation at that time. However, both Chai Rong of the Later Zhou Dynasty and Zhao Kuangyin, the grandfather of the Song Dynasty, died relatively early, and they died prematurely before they had time to integrate the resources around the Central Plains. By the time of the Northern Expedition of Emperor Taizong zhao Guangyi of song, the monarch Yongxi, who was not considered an immediate emperor, the song dynasty suffered a crushing defeat and almost buried all the elites. Not to mention the solution to the Khitan reconquest of Youyun, the offensive and defensive posture after this war changed, and the Northern Song Dynasty could only passively defend. In fact, Chai Rong's unified way and Zhao Kuangyin's way are in the same line, and there is no contradiction at all. Because Later Zhou Shizong Chai Rong also executed the south and then the north, the real conquest of the Khitan had reached the sixth year of Chai Rong's lifetime. How can this be said to be north first and then south?
The regrets of the Later Zhou Dynasty Emperor Chai Rong and the Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin two generations of Hundred Battles Emperors
At the end of the Five Dynasties and the beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty, two emperors who were dismissed almost changed the fate of the Central Plains Dynasty, and they both had the ability to create the basic emperors of the Great Unification Dynasty. One was Chai Rong, the first Emperor of the Fifth Dynasty, and Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the Great Song Dynasty. Unfortunately, Chai Rong died of a serious illness on the Khitan front of the Northern Expedition; another emperor who knew the soldiers, Zhao Kuangyin, was in his prime after unifying the south, but unfortunately died with the unknown sound of candle shadow axes. Both emperors had the opportunity to take advantage of the Khitan's unstable foothold in Youyun and the political turmoil to lead the elite of hundreds of battles to retake Youyun and create an immortal imperial cause. Unfortunately, Heaven did not bless people, and Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi, who was not very proficient in military affairs, suffered a crushing defeat in the Northern Expedition of the Khitans. Not only did it bury the elite cultivated by the Later Zhou and Song dynasties, although the Implementation of the Policy of Controlling Literature and Martial Arts could only be passively defended in the south. The incorporation of Youyun into the Central Plains Dynasty was forced to be postponed for hundreds of years. In essence, whether it is Chai Rong or Zhao Kuangyin's unified approach, it is based on the principle of first easy and then difficult, and there is no difference between first north and then south or first south and then north.
Later Zhou Shizong Chai Rong's way of unification was still easy before difficult, except for the Battle of Gaoping, which was only in the sixth year of Xiande's lifetime, taking advantage of the opportunity of the Khitan internal opportunity to take the Opportunity of the Northern Expedition to take two states and three passes
It should be said that the first battle fought between Chai Rong and the Khitan was passive, which was the Battle of Gaoping. The reason for the Battle of Gaoping can be traced back to the feuds of the Later Zhou Dynasty Han. When the Later Han Emperor Liu Chengyou killed the chancellor for pro-government, Guo Wei was forced to raise an army to replace Han Lizhou. Later, Liu Zhiyuan's younger brother, Liu Zhiyuan of Han Gaozu, made Liu Chong, the Emperor of Hedong, rely on the Khitan to claim the title of emperor. It still uses the Qianyou era name of the Later Han Dynasty, and the history is called the Northern Han Dynasty. Obviously, the Northern Han regime and later Zhou had a feud with each other, so in the early years of Later Zhou, they joined forces with the Khitan to attack Zhou and were repelled.
When Guo Wei died in the first year of Chai Rong's succession to the throne, the Northern Han Dynasty once again joined forces with the Khitan to send troops in a vain attempt to destroy the Zhou dynasty in one fell swoop and restore the Han Dynasty. This battle is very critical, and it can be said that there is a danger of the destruction of the country and the extinction of the species. Sejong Chai Rong personally took yashi to supervise the battle, and the morale of the Later Zhou army was greatly boosted, and the combined forces of the Northern Han and Khitan were defeated in one fell swoop. In one fell swoop, the impression of the Central Plains Dynasty on the Khitan was reversed, and at the same time, Zhao Kuangyin and others stepped onto the stage of history.
After the Battle of Gaoping, the Northern Han and Khitan did not dare to look south for a long time. Later Zhou Shizong Chai Rong was able to carry out reforms and strengthen the army, looking at the world. Although the Later Zhou Dynasty was powerful, after all, it was the land of the four wars with Shu and Southern Tang in the south; khitan and northern Han in the north. Later Zhou was always facing the risk of a two-front battle, and at this time, the Southern Tang Dynasty was at its peak and posed a great threat to Later Zhou. At this time, Tang Yuanzong Li Jing reigned, and the territory of Min Tunchu reached its peak. Moreover, the territory of the Southern Tang Dynasty covered the rich land of fish and rice in Jiangnan, and in terms of strength, it was already on par with houzhou. At the peak of the Southern Tang Dynasty, it had jurisdiction over 35 prefectures, a population of about 5 million, and a developed economy and abundant products. History records that "the years are more abundant than the year, and the soldiers have more than enough food." As shown in the following figure:
As the saying goes, if you allow others to snore next to the bed, it is impossible for you to rise in the Southern Tang in the later weeks, so you must attack the Southern Tang. Weaken the Southern Tang, at least occupy the prefectures and counties north of the Yangtze River, otherwise the threat of defending against the Later Zhou is too great. At the same time, the chancellor Wang Pu suggested annexing the separated states: "The way to attack should be changed first." Therefore, Chai Rong still adopts the south first and then the north, after eliminating the rear look. In order to defeat the Southern Tang, it must cut off its wings. Therefore, the Southern Tang alliance Hou Shu became the key target of Chai Rong's attack, which led to the defeat of Hou Shu and the capture of the four states of Qin, Feng, Cheng, and Jie. Chai Rong then used troops against Southern Tang to occupy the states of Northern Jiangsu for many years, and Li Jing, emperor Yuanzong of Southern Tang, was overwhelmed and forced to submit to The Later Zhou (Southern Tang destroyed Southern Tang and exhausted the fourteen prefectures of Huainan in Northern Jiangsu). After the conquest, Zhou not only lifted the threat, but also reached the peak of the territory. The Southern Tang lost the territory of the Chu State and was completely beaten back to its original form. Later, the Great Song Dynasty destroyed the Southern Tang in a year' time, and in addition to the incompetence of Li Yu, the lord of the Southern Tang Dynasty, the Later Zhou also played a major role in weakening the Southern Tang.
In the fifth year of Xiande, Chai Rong ended his conquest of the Southern Tang Dynasty, which turned his attention to the north. At this time, less than a year after Chai Rong's death, the Khitan was in turmoil and rebellion. Chai Rong, who had no worries about the time and place, attacked the Khitan in the sixth year of Xiande. Due to the psychological superiority established by the Battle of Gaoping, the Later Zhou army lianke erzhou three passes (recapture Yingzhou, Mozhou, Yizhou). Unfortunately, in the process of attacking Youzhou, he was seriously ill and forced to withdraw his troops, and died of illness in the same year.
Therefore, if you carefully comb through the unified vein of Chai Rong of the Later Zhou Dynasty, you will find that the way is still easy first and then difficult, that is, first south and then north. There is no such thing as a north and then a south, and it was on the basis of Chai Rong's unification strategy that Zhao Kuangyin, the ancestor of the Song Dynasty, completed the unification of the Great Song Dynasty.
Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin's promotion of the south and then the north eventually unified the south, but unfortunately there was no time to carry out a duel against the Khitan and it became the norm to live in a remote corner.
The Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin began to understand things, and successively experienced the Khitan annihilation of the Tang (Zhao Kuangyin was 9 years old), the Khitan annihilation of the Jin (Zhao Kuangyin was 20 years old) and the Battle of Gaoping. He had a clear understanding of the combat effectiveness of the Khitan army and the national strength of the Khitan in the ascending period, and it was impossible to defeat the Khitan head-on with the strategic depth and accumulation of strength in the Yellow River Valley. Only after integrating the forces of the Ten Kingdoms and unifying the South could we find an opportunity to fight a decisive battle with the Khitans. Here are Zhao Kuangyin's real thoughts:
"Since five generations, China has been plagued by wars and misfortunes. If you first take Xichuan, and then you will take the south of Jingguang Jiangnan, then the country will use it richly."
Therefore, Zhao Kuangyin set up a package library to accumulate wealth while unifying the south with troops, or ransomed or used as military funds to attack and retake Youyun Sixteen Prefectures. At that time, the Khitan was in the most chaotic and corrupt period of the reign of Emperor Muzong of Liao, and the heavens were angry and resentful, and the people rebelled and rebelled. Zhao Kuangyin, the grandfather of the Song Dynasty, thought that he would have this opportunity, and after reunification, he took advantage of the opportunity of Emperor Muzong of Liao's reign to retake Youyun. Unfortunately, history will not be so perfect, and Liao Muzong was killed before the Northern Song Dynasty destroyed the Southern Tang. Zhao Kuangyin took advantage of the chaos to launch a battle against the Northern Han Dynasty, but also failed. After Zhao Kuangyin unified the south, the Khitan lord had already reached the reign of The Lord of Zhongxing, Liaojingzong Yelüxian. At this time, the Khitan national strength basically reached its peak, and not only did it gain a foothold in Youyun and other states, but also the degree of attention was unprecedented. So from this point of view, the Song Dynasty has completely lost the hope of recapturing Youyun. The Yongxi Northern Expedition launched by Emperor Taizong of Song and Zhao Guangyi could only end in vain with the loss of the elite.
brief summary:
Therefore, the conflict between Chai Rong's first north and then south and Zhao Kuangyin's first south and then north mentioned by the subject does not exist, and the unified thinking and context of the two are the same. It is all based on stability, and it is possible to recover the clouds only when the forces of the ten countries are seriously looking for fighters. Even the Later Zhou Dynasty Emperor Chai Rong's Northern Expedition to khitan was a good opportunity to choose (the Khitan political situation was turbulent, as shown in the figure below), rather than confronting the Khitan and not being the work of the wise.
I am the emperor of history, welcome your attention; if there is a flaw, the axe is right.