"If Di Qing and Yue Fei's generation, covered for tens of hundreds of years, have few and one to look at, and there is no successor, then they are related to the safety of their survival."
In the end, the two Song Dynasties in the north and south, there are only a few famous generals. In addition to Yue Fei in the Southern Song Dynasty, there were also Han Shizhong and others who could compete. When it comes to the military generals of the Northern Song Dynasty, most people first think of Only Di Qing.
There are also many people who believe that Di Qing is the only general in the Northern Song Dynasty who can get his hands on it. In his lifetime, he defended his family and defended the country, attacking Western Xia in the north and Breaking Nong Zhigao in the south. But in the end, it ended up depressed because of the distrust of the emperor and the courtiers.
In fact, in addition to not being trusted, there is also an important reason for him to be a "thief with an army".
(1) Wear crimes and make meritorious contributions, and be equipped as an army
Lieutenant Gao shouted, "You thief with your army, and look at the faces of the generals, forgive you for your sins today." In the novel "Water Margin", the name "Thief With Army" appears repeatedly. Matching the army, as the name suggests, is to distribute the army.
And thief, of course, means demeaning. That is, whenever someone makes a mistake, they will be sent to the army.
Di Qing entered the military camp when he was sixteen years old because of his brother's fight, and later Qingyun went straight up. As a result of the dissatisfaction of many ministers in the DPRK and China, coupled with the old tradition of heavy literature and suppression of martial arts, Di Qing's later years were very bleak.
1. If you do not accept them as soldiers, you are afraid of theft
History of Song
"Or to recruit natives to be established in the regiment, or to take the children of the battalion, to obey the army, or to recruit hungry people to supplement the city, or to serve in the form of guilty, although it is not a way, and the strong will move to the janissaries, and the weak will be the van army."
The military strength of the Song Dynasty was weak, and passers-by were well known, in fact, in addition to the national policy of "ruling the world together with scholars", there was also a very important reason for the problem of the source of soldiers.
In the military camps of the Song Dynasty, it can be said that they include all kinds of heroes of the three religions and nine streams.
Some of these people are because their fathers and brothers are in the barracks, and some are recruited victims. Others, who made mistakes, were sent to the army, which is what this article calls a thief's army. The highest ranking of these is the Forbidden Army.
They are all regular troops, while the other branches of the army can be counted as cannon fodder.
The military camp in the Song Dynasty was like a large shelter, and the people came from all walks of life. Many of them are old, weak, sick and disabled, and some are widows, widows and lonely people, and their combat effectiveness can be imagined.
The reason why prisoners or the elderly were taken in was because the imperial court was afraid that they would breed trouble in society.
2. Anti-theft, do not precede the recruitment of civilians as soldiers
Whenever a natural disaster occurs, a large number of victims appear. The ancient rescue conditions could not be achieved, and at this time people would steal for the most basic conditions of survival. In order to prevent trouble, they were all taken into the barracks.
And those who are idle on weekdays, but like to be brave and fierce, will naturally be absorbed.
Just like Di Qing, that's it. It is a good time, if they are all put in prison, first of all, the problem of food and clothing must be solved. Secondly, in ancient times, social security was chaotic, and many prisons still needed to be built. correct
Because of this, they came up with the unprecedented decision to let the criminals enter the military camp and build battle merits to avoid punishment.
"Fortunately, Wen Wen's cheeks are worthy of being in Jiangzhou."
The body is skinny, the parents are subjected, and after they are convicted, they will be tattooed on the face like Song Jiang in the novel. In fact, this was a great punishment in ancient times.
First of all, this is to kill the body and filial piety to parents; secondly, after being released from prison, people who see the tattoos on their faces preconceivedly will think that they are evil people.
(2) Using punishment as a soldier will kill two birds with one stone
To match the army, in fact, to put it bluntly, is to fill the army of labor prisoners. This is not unique to the Song Dynasty, it has appeared as early as the Time of the Han Dynasty. There is a saying in ancient times
"A good man is not a soldier, a good sticker does not hit the nail"
In particular, the front line of the Song Dynasty was tight, and no one was willing to send their husbands or sons to the battlefield with no eyes.
"Water Margin" is a novel written by the Ming Dynasty, and there were indeed many such phenomena at that time. In the canonical history, it is generally called the matching army, and it is rare to add thieves.
1. Contemptuous titles as a sign of humiliation
Whether it is a military or a thief, it is just a title.
The Song Dynasty's emphasis on literature and light on martial arts led many literati and doctors to regard military generals very low. Coupled with the distrust of the emperor himself, it is difficult for people to throw their heads and sprinkle their blood to repay the battlefield. The one who commits the crime is different. They themselves lost the right to be good people of the Great Song Dynasty, and naturally handed over their lives and deaths to the state.
In this way, these criminals can be used well. First of all, they would have to serve hard labor, and they would certainly work the battlefield to reduce their sentences. Secondly, most of them are cunning and cunning, and some of them are physically strong. Therefore, it can improve the combat effectiveness of the army.
But problems will also arise, because everyone is free and loose in their daily lives, and it is very difficult to grasp the discipline of the army. And these people come from all walks of life. he
Their personalities are also very obedient, otherwise they cannot be arrested and charged with the army because of a momentary impulse.
If an army does not have iron discipline, it is difficult to achieve victory on the battlefield.
The reason for the Song Dynasty's repeated failures in foreign wars was ultimately the result of the interaction between the problem of the source of soldiers and the contempt for military generals. Therefore, during the Northern Song Dynasty, it was difficult to come out with famous generals.
Even if there were, it would be difficult to escape the brutal political struggle. Those warriors and masters who were talking about swords in the court would not tolerate the military generals being in high positions and would clamp them down in various names.
2. Low status, slavery
"Born Di Gong, Auxiliary Saint Tui Zhong." Compassion is fierce, and jealousy is fierce. ”
Di Qing was able to achieve such a high level of achievement by virtue of his superb imperial archery skills. Many mediocre people have a very low status in the barracks. From the word "thief", we can see that the world despises them so much.
According to the records in the "Wu Wensu Official Collection", the allocation of troops was mainly in the van army, of course, in the forbidden army. Most of them played the role of a horse chase, serving the regular army, and they were the first to fight on the battlefield.
Most of the troops are those with relatively minor crimes, and the state is worried that they will not be able to catch Zhuang Ding, so it is just two things to kill two birds with one stone to replenish the source of troops.
Transform those who endanger social order into tools for maintaining their own rule. The auxiliaries were like slaves, and if there was a discord with their master, they would be punished according to the crime of master-servant discord.
If the battalion and the pawn commit a crime, they will be guilty of a first degree. For the court of the Great Song Dynasty, charging the army with labor reform prisoners can be said to be a hundred benefits and no harm.
It is just that in terms of combat effectiveness and management, there will always be problems of one kind or another. Moreover, this phenomenon was not unique to the Song Dynasty. Like the Tang Dynasty, it would also engrave words on the faces of prisoners and then issue them to the army.
In fact, engraving is also a kind of mark. If someone escapes from the battlefield, it is convenient for the imperial court to continue to look for it.
In the feudal period, there were no human rights in itself. Moreover, those who violate the criminal law of the state are naturally punished.
(3) Degrading status and losing honor
Among the teenagers, the two were the most unbearable, and they were also intimidated, and they scolded each other, and Zhiyun said: "It must be a military thief." ”
Many people have many misconceptions that calling all armies thieves will make them lose their sense of honor as soldiers. In fact, it is not, because they themselves are not recruited normally, but they have only converted labor service into military service. A thief here, in addition to a thief in a broad sense, also means "bad."
1. The crime is on the top, deliberately suppressed
The meaning of matching the army is to send the pawns to the side because of the exile. This can be regarded as a form of meritorious service, but the combat effectiveness of most people is very weak.
The Song Dynasty always deliberately suppressed the development of the army, and even if there were good soldiers but no good generals, they could not improve their combat effectiveness.
In short, a thief is a contemptuous title.
Let those who have sinned and been exiled pay attention to their identity at all times.
At the same time, it is also a wake-up effect on the forbidden army. Because they are also soldiers, the status of the forbidden army is much higher, and they must also feel the sense of crisis at any time.
Since the Yongjia Rebellion, the end of the dynasties has been greatly dominated by their own warlord usurpers. What's more, Zhao Kuangyin was a military general usurping the throne. Therefore, after the establishment of the Zhao and Song Dynasties, they have been guarding against the army.
From the side, the song dynasty's military policy was not at all to resist foreign insults, but to limit their development everywhere.
The literati of the Song Dynasty completely turned the army into a shelter.
The upper echelons were unable to take care of the elderly, the sick and the disabled or those who suffered natural disasters, so they were crammed into the barracks on a whimsical basis.
At the same time, those who were convicted and convicted were also all enlisted in the army and served as pawns. These people will not pursue the sense of honor of the soldiers, but just be a monk for a day and hit the clock for a day.
2. Class solidification, overall contempt
"Qingzhi Zhi Gaoye, courtiers are called Qingwu people, not enough to be alone, it is advisable to unify them with heavy subjects."
Di Qing, who was born in the thief's army, is actually a good example. In the early years, in order to build the foundation of the Great Song Dynasty, he fought against the Western Xia in the northern region. Later, he was re-negotiated with a celebratory calendar, negating his years of merit.
Guangxi Nong Zhigao began to rebel again, but the Song Dynasty did not have good generals available. This happened during the time of Emperor Renzong, who was also known as the Prince of Benevolence. In this Heavenly Dynasty Kingdom, if there was any one person who could be qualified for the post of counter-rebellion, it would not be Di Qing's turn.
Even if the counter-rebellion, everyone is very distrustful of him.
Under heavy resistance, Di Qing still won. This was followed by the addition of officials to the knighthood, whose abilities and merits could fully serve as his privy councillor. However, because he was a "thief with an army", there was an uproar in the government and the public.
Those officials who entered the army by virtue of scientific research began to write letters, and the last generation of famous generals ended up depressed.
In fact, these are not looking down on Di Qing, but looking down on his identity.
A thief with an army can be crowned a marquis, isn't it the greatest disrespect to these students who are studying hard in the cold window? This kind of thinking, which now seems absurd, is a true portrayal of the courtiers.
epilogue:
The fate of the thieves is mostly very miserable, and some of them will act as pawns and some will become vans. That is, laborers who build trenches or build water conservancy on the battlefield. Because I have made mistakes before, even the greatest merit cannot be erased.
From the point of view of the army itself, there is no problem, and the fault is that the Song Dynasty was too heavy on literature and suppressed martial arts, which led to the later Jingkang Change and the Battle of Yashan.
bibliography:
Water Margin
History of the Song Dynasty