The rulers of the ancient feudal ruling dynasties were replaced frequently, and the sun and moon changed frequently. Every renewal needs to be instigated, rebelled, and many battles are needed. Every uprising or rebellion may be due to internal troubles, or it may be due to external troubles, or it may complement each other. Every turbulent battle requires a leader who leads a large group of subordinates to revolt and rebel together.
First, the type of rebellion
The nature of rebellion in ancient times may generally be divided into two major types, one is the rebellion instigated by the internal ruler, that is, the army is about to rebel; the other is the peasant army's uprising. The beginning of the demise of a dynasty was largely due to the brutality or incompetence of the rulers of the dynasty at that time, which made the people unhappy, and the people would revolt one after another.
Therefore, the demise of a dynasty usually begins with a peasant uprising, ending with a general overthrowing the regime and becoming a new generation of rulers. The only real peasant uprisings in the entire historical feudal dynasty that could succeed were Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gao, and Zhu Yuanzhang, the ancestor of the Ming Dynasty. The rest were eventually replaced by the general's successful rebellion.
Later generations also often compared Liu Bang with Zhu Yuanzhang, feeling that they were extremely similar, and may also be consistent with the way they were all peasant uprisings that eventually succeeded in banning the previous dynasty, and the way they treated heroes after their success.
In addition to these two people who were indeed successful in the peasant revolt, the other rebellions of the fall of the dynasty were eventually successfully banned by the generals with the support of soldiers. In fact, why should the general rebel and the soldiers follow the rebellion together? And why is it that the rebellion of the generals is easier to succeed than the peasant uprising?
Second, the masses are divided
Any general who outlaws a dynasty rebellion has his own unique background, and here are a few typical examples. The first is the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms that occurred in the early Western Han Dynasty. After Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gao, established the Han Dynasty, he formulated the law, and every prince and grandson of Liu surnamed Liu would seal a fief when he reached adulthood.
Let them each return to their fiefdoms to become kings, so that these princes with the surname Liu have their own independent small kingdoms. As time passed, these princely states grew stronger and stronger to compete with the central power of the Han Dynasty. It was not until the time of emperor Jing of Han that the Rebellion of the Seven Kings, headed by Liu Hao, the King of Wu, finally broke out.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, when the masses were divided, it was a heyday of the most frequent general rebellions. Since the founding of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there have been powerful state and county officials and strong and prosperous families. In the process of quelling and suppressing the Yellow Turban Uprising, they continued to strengthen their military and political strength. So that by the time the armed forces of the later years had reached the strength of the military and political power of a state, with the strength of semi-division,
Enough to compete with the central power of the imperial court. Coupled with the fact that eunuchs or foreign relatives who have been in power for many years in the imperial court began to be slaughtered, and the central government began to be vacant, this is definitely a good time for people and horses from all walks of life to rebel, and whoever can occupy the position first will win, which will create a struggle for power by various generals.
The founding monarchs of the four dynasties of Chen, Liang, Qi and Song during the Southern and Northern Dynasties were all born as generals. Heroes of the times, they led their own army of soldiers, overthrew the rule of the previous dynasty and established a new dynasty of their own. The ethnic class contradictions in the chaotic period were quite fierce, and the generals were too powerful in their military power, resulting in the precarious dominance of the kings, and the replacement of old and new dynasties was very frequent.
The situation in the north was slightly better than in the south, and the Northern Wei Dynasty began to move from Northern Qi, Northern Zhou, and later to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and power was basically concentrated in the hands of the Guanlong nobles for succession. If they could get the full support of the Guanlong nobles, whoever had a great chance of winning would be great. Therefore, this group group was the target of internal competition at that time.
Third, the times create heroes
The reason why the generals rebelled more easily than the peasant rebels, and the success rate was higher than the peasant uprisings, was because from the background of the generals' own positions, they also belonged to the ruling class, and they were either princes with independent kingdoms or haojie who dominated one side. This also makes them decide to rebel, and their soldiers must also swear to follow the reason.
Moreover, there are two favorable conditions for their rebellion: First, they have their own independent territory, the economic and agricultural development is completely up to speed, and there is no need to worry about taxation and servitude. Militarily, it has its own army building, equipped with weapons, and will not lag behind in recruiting soldiers and horses, and its military discipline is strict and well-trained, and it can completely compete with the imperial army.
Second, the soldier's self-consciousness is firmly controlled, and he has followed his general for a long time, subtly forming a sense of reverence for the general. In the independent territory, the general is regarded as the ruler, and the consciousness of one glory and one loss has been formed. So this is also the reason why the general rebel soldiers also have to swear to follow to the death.
summary
After experiencing so many chaotic dynasties in a long period of war, the Song Dynasty began to pay special attention to the concentration of central military, political and financial power. The rulers of the Song Dynasty adhered to the principle of "strong central and weak local". However, due to the weakness of local forces in the later period, it led to turmoil in the frontier, which laid the groundwork for the "Difficulty of Jingkang".