The emperor chose to take care of the ministers, and the ultimate purpose was to maintain the imperial power and the political situation of the country smoothly and smoothly in the process of passing the throne. Therefore, in addition to being loyal to the imperial power, the courtiers selected by the previous emperor must also have the ability to assist the new emperor in taking over the country and handling the affairs of the dynasty.
This required that the chancellor must use the corresponding individual talents who could assist the new emperor.
It should be noted that the personal ability mentioned here refers to the personal ability that is useful to the emperor and the imperial rule. Although a person's abilities are objective, in the era of feudal imperial rule, these abilities will inevitably be subject to the subjective choice of the emperor. Other words
The personal ability of the minister can only be approved by the emperor and have the opportunity to be selected by the emperor and become the emperor's favored courtier
。 This personal ability, subject to the subjective choices of the emperor, was particularly pronounced when the emperor chose his ministers.
Looking at the 5 ministers selected by Emperor Xiaowu, what are their outstanding personal abilities?
Liu Yigong, the king of Jiangxia, was born into the imperial family, and when Emperor Xiaowu ascended the throne, Liu Yigong took the lead in exhorting him; by the time Emperor Xiaowu died, Liu Yigong was already the highest-ranking member of the imperial family. Liu Yigong's royal status and his position in the imperial family meant that the appointment of him as a minister of honor was of great symbolic significance. Emperor Xiaowu Liu Jun succeeded to the throne as king of the domain, and Liu Yigong's support at that time represented to some extent recognition from the imperial family and the legitimacy of Emperor Xiaowu's succession to the throne.
Therefore, before Emperor Xiaowu's death, he appointed Liu Yigong as a minister of gu orders, indicating that this legitimacy continued to be transmitted in the dynasty of the former deposed emperor Liu Ziye. In addition, Liu Yigong was good at reading the emperor's mind, and often took the lead in "saying unspeakable things" for the emperor before he opened his mouth.
This was the ability that Liu Yigong possessed that was most useful and needed for Emperor Xiaowu
。 In the thirty years of Yuan Jia's reign, Liu Yigong took the lead in persuading Liu Jun to inherit the throne, so that Liu Jun could justifiably ascend to the throne.
In the first year of Xiao Jian, after Liu Yixuan and other rebellions, Liu Yigong learned that Emperor Xiaowu had the intention of cutting the domain, took the lead in giving up power on his own initiative, and proposed to formulate twenty-four requirements that the king of the domain should abide by. Emperor Xiaowu often thought of "suppressing the brothers", Liu Xiumao, the king of Hailing in the second year of the Ming Dynasty, and Liu Shi, the king of The Tombs of the Ming Dynasty in the third year, and Emperor Xiaowu intended to limit the power of the kings more strictly, and Liu Yigong "made a preemptive discussion" after discovering the secret will.
Liu Yigong's ability to speak for the emperor enabled Emperor Xiaowu to fulfill his wishes with ease, which was naturally a skill that Emperor Xiaowu valued greatly
。 There was a great risk for members of the royal family as ministers of order, because if they were capable and ambitious, they would easily take their place when the new emperor had not yet gained a foothold, and by virtue of their royal status, it would be easier and more justified for them to usurp the throne than the ministers with foreign surnames.
Therefore, if the emperor wanted to choose a minister among the members of the imperial family, he would usually choose a member who was important but had limited ambitions, knew how to give in to the imperial power, and did not threaten the imperial power.
Liu Yigong is exactly such a role, and his ability to "know retirement" is also another element that reassures Emperor Xiaowu.
Liu Yuanjing used Wugan for emperor Xiaowu, and he participated in the Liu Song Dynasty's barbarian wars, the Northern Expedition, and the counterinsurgency wars many times, and his military achievements were outstanding. In terms of the barbaric war, Liu Yuanjing followed his father to cut the barbarians when he was young, and he was quite brave. In the 22nd year of Yuan Jia, Liu Jun served as the assassin of Yongzhou, with Liu Yuanjing as the taishou of the county, at that time there was frequent barbaric chaos in the county, Liu Yuanjing led the army to seek brute force and many gains, "the county was solemn, there was no revenge"; later, he repeatedly fought under the command of Zhu Xiuzhi and Shen Qingzhi, all of which were successful.
Liu Yuanjing also participated in the Northern Expedition of the Liu Song Dynasty and played an important role in it.
In the twenty-seventh year of Yuan Jia (450), Liu Song's Northern Expedition, Liu Yuanjing served under Liu Shi, the commander of the Western Route Army of the Northern Expedition, and Liu Shi "added (Liu) General Yuanjing Jianwei, the president of the group marshal", and was fully responsible for the command of the western route army on the front line. In the course of the war, Liu Yuanjing commanded properly and made outstanding contributions.
First of all
Liu Yuanjing was able to reasonably dispatch troops according to the battle situation and the quality of the soldiers
Under the command of Liu Yuanjing, Xue Andu, Lu Fangping, Pang Faqi, and others performed their duties and cooperated with each other, laying a good foundation for the victory of the war.
secondly
Liu Yuanjing was able to accurately judge the war situation and flexibly adjust the battle plan according to the war situation
For example, when the thorny problem of "insufficient military food" appeared in the war, Liu Yuanjing changed the marching route on the one hand, shortened the marching distance to save the consumption of military food, and personally supervised the collection and transportation of military food on the other hand, so that the soldiers had no worries.
third
Liu Yuanjing gave preferential treatment to prisoners of war, effectively consolidating the fruits of victory
After capturing Shaanxi City, the generals wanted to kill the prisoners, and Liu Yuanjing believed that Liu Song's Northern Expedition, "when Ling Rensheng led the way", so he released the prisoners of war, when the prisoners of war were captured, many Hanoi people were captured, and after being released, "all said to be long live and gone", it can be seen that this move did play a role in creating a benevolent division for Liu Song's army.
In short, under the command of Liu Yuanjing and the brave attack of the generals, the Northern Expedition Western Route Army successfully captured Hongnong, Shaanxi and other towns, and achieved the greatest results in the Northern Expedition.
In the 29th year of Yuan Jia, Liu Yuanjing led his troops to participate in the Northern Expedition for the second time, and once again "prestige was written outside the country". Liu Yuanjing has also been involved in quelling internal civil unrest on several occasions. In the thirty years of Yuanjia, Liu Shao rebelled, Emperor Xiaowu led the army led by Liu Yuanjing as the forward to negotiate, Liu Yuanjing greatly broke the forward army led by Liu Shao, and Hu San Province praised: "Guan Liu Yuanjing used military strategy, inherently victorious reason." In the first year of Xiao Jian, Liu Yixuan and others raised troops to rebel, and Liu Yuanjing served as a general of the Fu Army and cooperated with Wang Xuanmo and Shen Qingzhi to negotiate peace.
Liu Yuanjing's outstanding military leadership skills were the root of his use by Emperor Xiaowu. Shen Qingzhi was also appreciated by Emperor Xiaowu for his outstanding military ability.
Shen Qingzhi was one of the best generals in the middle of the Liu Song Dynasty, and similar to Liu Yuanjing, he also participated in important wars such as the Song Dynasty's barbarism, the Northern Expedition, and the suppression of the rebellion of the Ding Dynasty.
Shen Qingzhi was the general of the Liu Song Dynasty who participated in the barbarians for the longest time and made the greatest achievements in the barbarians.
Thirty-five-year-old Shen Qingzhi joined the army in the first year of Yongchu and began a long process of seeking barbarism, until the fourth year of Emperor Xiaowu's reign, Shen Qingzhi, who was already seventy-five years old, still led his troops to the battlefield of barbarism. Unlike Liu Yuanjing, who rose to fame in the Northern Expedition war of the 27th year of Yuanjia, Shen Qingzhi's military merit was gradually accumulated in the process of constantly seeking barbarism.
The process of Shen Qingzhi's participation in barbaric activities can be roughly divided into three stages.
In the first stage, from the first year of Yongchu to the second year of Yongchu, Shen Qingzhi served as a soldier under Zhao Bofu in Jingling Taishou to join the army and assist Zhao Bofu in his barbarism. Because of Shen Qing's outstanding ability, with his assistance, Zhao Bofu repeatedly praised him for his meritorious service.
The second stage, the nineteenth to the thirtieth year of Yuan Jia, was the most important stage for Shen Qingzhi to participate in and lead the barbaric war. In the nineteenth year of Yuan Jia, Liu Daochan of Yongzhou died, and the group was in chaos, and Shen Qingzhi assisted sima Zhu Of the Western Expedition to the barbarians. Zhu Yuzhi was imprisoned for his inability to be brutal, and Shen Qingzhi began to lead an independent army as a commander to fight for barbarism, and won a great victory.
In the third stage, that is, after Emperor Xiaowu succeeded to the throne in the thirtieth year of Yuan Jia, at this time Shen Qingzhi was already in a high position and rarely participated in barbaric activities, and after Shen Qingzhi's ten years of crusade, there was relatively little barbarism. In the fourth year of the Ming Dynasty, Xiyang Wushui man rebelled again, and Shen Qingzhi led the armies to seek peace as a county duke.
In short, Shen Qingyi participated in barbarian activities more than a dozen times in his lifetime, with outstanding merits and mighty shocks. In addition to the barbarians, Shen Qingzhi also participated in the Northern Expedition of the Liu Song Dynasty twice.
Although there is no record of Shen Qingzhi's performance in the Northern Expedition, after the end of the Northern Expedition, the northern expedition commander Tan Daoji praised Shen Qingzhi's "loyalty and loyalty" in front of Emperor Wen of Song. You must know that at that time, Shen Qingzhishang was a nobody, and he could be praised by Tan Daoji, the main general of the Northern Expedition, in such a humble position, which showed that Shen Qingzhi must have had an outstanding performance in the war.
In the twenty-seventh year of Yuan Jia, Emperor Wen of Song Liu Yilong again went on the Northern Expedition, and Shen Qing's strength advised that it was not appropriate to go north, and Emperor Wen of Song did not comply. Although Shen Qingzhi did not undertake important tasks during the Northern Expedition, his pre-war prediction of the war situation and his astute reaction in the war showed that he had a keen and accurate military judgment.
Compared with Liu Yuanjing, who made outstanding contributions in the Northern Expedition of the Liu Song Dynasty, Shen Qingzhi's performance in the Northern Expedition war was not bright enough.
In the 29th year of Yuan Jia, Liu Song again went north, and Shen Qingzhi could not advise him again, and instead of listening to his advice, Emperor Wen of Song "had different intentions and did not make the north go out", directly excluding Shen Qingzhi from the generals of the Northern Expedition. Shen Qingzhi's main contribution during emperor Xiaowu's reign was to quell the rebellion in the dingzong. In the first year of Xiao Jian's reign, Liu Yixuan, Zang Qian, and Lu Shuang rebelled, and Shen Qingzhi beheaded his main member Lu Shuang, laying the foundation for the victory of the counterinsurgency war.
In the third year of the Ming Dynasty, Liu Zhi, the king of Lingling, rebelled, and Shen Qingzuo was the commander-in-chief, leading the soldiers to fight hard for three months before finally putting an end to this rebellion
。 Although Shen Qingzhi was illiterate, his amazing talent and outstanding talent in the military made him gain a firm foothold in the Liu Song Dynasty, and also enabled Emperor Xiaowu to trust him with military affairs.
Yan Shibo's achievements in his life were not very many, and the reason why he was particularly favored by Emperor Xiaowu was because he was "good at attaching and being greatly known." Before Emperor Xiaowu succeeded to the throne, Yan Shibo was discouraged due to his status as the son of a criminal subject, and it was not until Emperor Xiaowu succeeded to the throne that Yan Shibo was reused because he was loved by the emperor.
There are only three main exploits of Yan Shibo, who are found in the history books.
First, Yuan Jia thirty years Liu Jun crusaded against the culprit, Yan Shibo participated in the plot. However, it was not until emperor Xiaowu of the First Year of the Ming Dynasty was commemorating the merits of the rebellion against Ning Chaos that he posthumously sealed Yan Shibo, "Serving wine to Yan Shibo ... It is advisable to enter into the discussion, to pre-refer to the righteous conspiracy, to be generous and difficult, and to be rewarded with special rewards." And there are no other historical materials on Yan Shibo's participation in the planning and suggestion, so it is not known whether this inscription was a special grant given to Yan Shibo by Emperor Xiaowu because of his personal feelings.
Second, in October of the second year of the Ming Dynasty, Yan Shibo led an army to repel the northern Wei invasion, and Emperor Xiaowu praised his merits: "(Yan) Shibo Xuanluo ordered the division, combined with the opportunity, Ji Shu was angry, and won the fourth victory in January..." Yan Shibo, as the commander-in-chief, may indeed command properly, but in the "Book of Wei" record, only Yin Xiaozu's name and deeds are seen."
Liu Jun attacked Yin Xiaozu to build two cities in the east of Qingshui, the general of Zhaozhen West, and the Duke of Tianshui to seal the edict
。 This historical data shows that in this battle, the general who actually fought against the Northern Wei Dynasty was likely to be Yin Xiaozu, and Yan Shibo, as the presidential commander, of course, could not completely deny his leading role, but he should not exaggerate his merits.
Third, in the third year of the Ming Dynasty, Liu Shi, the King of Jinling, rebelled, when Yan Shibo appointed qingji erzhou to assassinate shi and sent his chief Shi Ji Youjing to lead 5,000 people to quell the rebellion. In this rebellion, Yan Shibo only sent troops to participate in the counter-rebellion. After Yan Shibo served in the local government for several years, in the fourth year of the Ming Dynasty (460), Emperor Xiaowu enlisted him to return to the dynasty as a general of the Shizhong and Right Armies, and he was again appointed as a close minister of Tianzi, "pro-fortunate Longmi, Qunchen Mo ER".
Unlike Liu Yuanjing and Shen Qingzhi, who made many contributions, Yan Shibo did not accomplish much in the Xiaowu Dynasty, and after Emperor Xiaowu succeeded to the throne, yan Shibo was sent out of the domain, and his purpose seemed to be more focused on laying the foundation for his promotion.
Yan Shibo was favored and favored by Emperor Xiaowu because he was good at pandering to Emperor Xiaowu's thoughts, which was a special case among Emperor Xiaowu's five ministers
。 However, after all, Yan Shibo's behavior made Emperor Xiaowu think that he was loyal to himself, and he had to admit that this was also Yan Shibo's outstanding and useful ability.
Wang Xuanmo also used wugan as a value for Emperor Xiaowu, but compared with Liu Yuanjing and Shen Qingzhi, Wang Xuanmo's military ability was slightly inferior. During the reign of Emperor Yuanjia of Song, Wang Xuanmo strongly supported the Northern Expedition and repeatedly wrote to Emperor Wen of Song to state the strategy of the Northern Expedition, and Emperor Wen of Song praised him greatly, and appointed him as the main force of the Northern Expedition in the twenty-seventh year of Yuan Jia (450). During the battle with the Northern Wei, Wang Xuanmo's command was weak, and he was defeated, and only when he withdrew, he was caught up by the Wei army and defeated the Wei army, which was considered to save a little face.
The reason for Wang Xuanmo's failure, in addition to the objective inferior strength of the Song army to the Wei army, is also largely due to Wang Xuanmo's character problems and insufficient personal ability caused by the separation of soldiers and decision-making errors
。 So much so that the Qing Dynasty scholar Wang Fuzhi criticized: "(Wang) Xuanmo's courage, the courage to shout loudly; his plot, the chicken singing and the singing, and the plot to paint the belly of the people", which made an extremely bitter satire on Wang Xuanmo's paper talk and empty talk. However, it should also be noted that although Wang Xuanmo lost more than he won in foreign wars, wang Xuanmo also won many victories in liu song domestic battles.
In the first year of Xiao Jian (454), Liu Yixuan, Zang Qian, Lu Shuang and other rebels, Wang Xuanmo and Liu Yuanjing coordinated to fight against the main rebel forces led by Liu Yixuan and Zang Qian, and won a great victory. Husan Province praised Wang Xuanmo: "
At the beginning of filial piety, the change of righteousness and Zang Quality was relied upon
This shows that Wang Xuanmo did play a very important role in this war. Wang Xuanmo also used his wisdom to successfully revolt against Sima Heishi in Huaishang.
In the twenty-ninth year of Yuan Jia (452), the outlaw Sima Heishi gathered a crowd to riot in the barbarians, and Shen Qingzhi led an army to seek peace. At the beginning of Xiao Jian, Sima Heishi once again rebelled, and Wang Xuanmo sent envoys to "comfort the barbarians, so that they could be bound to death, and the barbarians were zhizhi Heishi and Anyang to send Xuanmo". Wang Xuanmo took advantage of the contradictions between the barbarians to successfully wipe out Sima Heishi's party members, which cannot be said to be a good strategy.
It can be seen that although Wang Xuanmo's meritorious achievements on the battlefield are not as prominent as Liu Yuanjing and Shen Qingzhi, he does have certain abilities.
Wang Xuanmo, Liu Yuanjing, and Shen Qingzhi were all veteran generals of the Three Dynasties, and they had considerable prestige in the dynasty, and in the case of Shen Qingzhi's old age and Liu Yuanjing holding a civilian position, it was a very reasonable choice to use Wang Xuanmo as a military post among the ministers of Gu Ming.