After several southern invasions, although the Jin State failed to gain a foothold in Jiangnan, it disrupted the ruling order of the Southern Song Dynasty in Jianghuai, and various independent and semi-independent armed forces began to gradually encroach on the Jianghuai region.
Faced with this situation, Fan Zongyin, a zhongshu sherman, made it clear that for now, the only way to restore the feudal town system was to those military leaders north of the Yangtze River, as long as they were willing to hang the banner of the Great Song Dynasty, they would seal the places of several of their states and let them legally divide one side.
When the roads of Jiangbei and Jinghu were pirated, the largest numbered to tens of thousands of people, and the prefectures and counties were controlled. If the power of the imperial court cannot be controlled, and the thieves cannot reach it, they will be guarded by local tycoons, rout generals or regents, and they are all bound. Zong Yin thought that these were all rabble-rousers, and if they were anxious and desperate to resist the officers and troops, they could be punished analytically, and if they were stolen, they could be gradually controlled.
At first glance, Fan Zongyin's suggestion is really absurd, because once the situation of the division of the town is formed, it may aggravate the crisis of the central government of the Southern Song Dynasty, and even if the central government of the Southern Song Dynasty temporarily survives the current crisis, how will it solve the problem of the division of the town in the future?
You must know that the problem of the division of the town has plagued the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties for a total of two hundred years.
Therefore, when Fan Zongyin made this suggestion, it was immediately opposed by most people.
But the question is, given the situation at the time, is there anything practical to do without restoring the feudal system?
It should be known that whether the central government of the Southern Song Dynasty recognized it or not, the situation of the division of the feudal towns had already emerged. In this context, the restoration of the clan town is nothing more than a smooth water.
If you are not even willing to do this Shunshui people's feelings, then the imperial court and these big soldiers may not have to talk about it.
Most of the courtiers thought it was impossible, zong yin said: "If the counties of today are ten thieves, then the power of the town will be ruined." If the imperial court does this, the grace will be returned. ”
And in theory, dividing the feudal town has three advantages.
The first advantage was that when military leaders seized territory north of the Yangtze River, the central government of the Southern Song Dynasty usually recognized their legitimacy and encouraged the civilian bureaucracy and gentry to cooperate with them.
If these military leaders were ready to go south of the Yangtze River to seize territory, the central government of the Southern Song Dynasty would characterize them as rebels and send the central army to surround and suppress them.
In this way, most of the military leaders north of the Yangtze River will not cross the river casually, and the stability of the area south of the Yangtze River can be guaranteed.
The second advantage is that once there are many military leaders flying the flag of the Southern Song Dynasty in the area north of the Yangtze River, it will become a buffer zone between the Song and Jin, and it will be relatively difficult for the Jin army to invade the south.
In the past, when the Jin army invaded the south, most military leaders liked to play the trick of exchanging space for time and retreating, because these territories belonged to the Great Song Dynasty.
And once these territories are completely owned by the military, they will try to defend their bases and will not play those tricks easily.
The third advantage was that after the restoration of the feudal system, it would be more difficult for military leaders to annex and expand. Because after dividing the feudal towns, which military leader dares to annex other military leaders everywhere, the central government can legitimately contact the major feudal towns to attack him.
When the crowd rises, the most terrifying thing is to start the annexation war. Because after a series of merger wars, more and more powerful military leaders will certainly be created, and at that time, what kind of restraints and orders will the central government of the Southern Song Dynasty take to restrain them?
As long as the annexation war cannot be carried out, a dozen or twenty or thirty military leaders stand side by side, and a few occupy a state, the government wants to fight between them, left and right, and the difficulty will be relatively low.
In this regard, just by looking at the situation in the late Tang Dynasty, we can understand that the feudal towns have existed for more than a hundred years, but no fanzhen can shake the rule of the Tang Dynasty until the Yellow Nest appears and completely breaks the balance.
On the other hand, if the feudal towns are not divided, there will be three drawbacks to this.
The first drawback is that since the division north of the Yangtze River will be characterized as a rebel, the division south of the Yangtze River will also be characterized as a rebel. When the leaders of the major armies had the opportunity to go south to divide the territory, they naturally did not talk politely with the central government of the Southern Song Dynasty.
The second drawback is that because the self-respecting military leaders do not have a legal and stable territory, they will naturally habitually move around, and it is possible to make the whole south and even the whole world into a pot of porridge.
By that time, the Jin Army's attempt to launch the fourth, fifth, and even Nth southern invasion would be relatively smooth. Under the pressure of the Jin army's repeated invasions to the south, the central government of the Southern Song Dynasty was likely to lose sight of one or the other, and it was always unable to develop steadily, and many military leaders with suspicious intentions were likely to take advantage of the fire and robbery and follow the Jin army into the Jiangnan region for development.
The third drawback is that if the military leaders who support the army and respect themselves do not have a legal and stable territory, they will naturally be more unscrupulous and wanton, and the central government of the Southern Song Dynasty also lacks a justifiable reason to unite most of the military leaders and interfere in this merger war.
There is a fourth drawback, if the central government of the Southern Song Dynasty is unwilling to recognize the vested interests of military leaders, and the Jin State is willing to admit it, these military leaders will inevitably fall to the Jin State.
After some deliberation, Zhao Zhuo accepted Fan Zongyin's proposal and invented a position called "Zhenfu Envoy", which was the official name of the central government of the Southern Song Dynasty for Fanzhen.
As the Southern Song Dynasty restored the feudal system, the proposer Fan Zongyin also began to be reused, and was promoted to chancellor soon after, when Fan Zongyin was only thirty-three years old.
The emperor decided to do it, so he thought that it was a phase, and Zong Yinshi Chinese New Year's Eve three.
The central government of the Southern Song Dynasty set more rights for military leaders than the feudal towns of the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties: in their own jurisdiction, the feudal towns could have independent political, economic, personnel, and military powers, and as long as they were honest and obedient, the central government also allowed their descendants to inherit the relevant powers.
First, Fan Zongyin said: "The county official Xu Peizhi of Guannei Prefecture, the zhi and tong orders the handsome ministers to have a bad name, and the imperial court judges and dispenses with the award, and when the army is prosperous, obey the cheap." His teachers and subjects were not promoted by the imperial court, let alone removed from the generation. If you can hold the throne of the outer court, you will make great achievements and be allowed to inherit it. ”
Jia Zi (甲子), edict: "In the name of the town of Fu, he is the messenger of the incorruptibility of quitting." There are people and societies, and they must be despotic in the realm; they are full of food and soldiers, and they are exclusively recruited outside the country. If it is diverted to its financial use, it is necessary to abolish the bureaucrats, or to hear about it, and nothing will be reported. But the light of the dragon shall be enjoyed for life, and the merits of the martyrdom shall be passed on to the descendants forever. ”
We must know that the middle and late Tang and Five Dynasties of the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties of the Tang Dynasty did not acquire such power in everyone's minds, at least the central governments of the Middle and Late Tang Dynasties and the Five Dynasties never formally made similar commitments.
If you go down according to this line of thinking, then when future generations mention the word "feudal town division", the first thing that comes to mind should not be the middle and late Tang Dynasties and the Five Dynasties, but the Southern Song Dynasty.
But the miraculous thing is that although there are such convenient conditions, the division of the southern Song Dynasty's feudal towns did not last long, and only after three or five years or so, the large and small clan towns in various places were almost cleaned up by Zhao Zhao.
Why was the problem of the southern Song Dynasty's feudal town pattern so easily solved?
According to the heroic view of history, it is natural that the military leaders of the middle and late Tang and five dynasties were all chaotic courtiers and thieves, while the military leaders of the Southern Song Dynasty were loyal and filial pieties; the emperors of the middle and late Tang and five dynasties were all stupid, while the Southern Song Dynasty's Zhao Zhuo had a superb level of power and scheming.
These statements cannot be said to be completely incorrect, but they obviously do not go to the point.
According to the materialist view of history, it is because the environment of the middle and late Tang, the Five Dynasties and the Southern Song Dynasty is different, even if Zhao Zhuo prescribes rich conditions, the military leaders will not be able to restore the glory of the previous feudal town.
In the middle and late Tang Dynasty and the Fifth Dynasty, although the central government was weak, the foreign races in the north obviously did not have the strength to invade the south on a large scale, and the military leaders could safely survive in the cracks.
However, during the Southern Song Dynasty, the Jin Dynasty was the undoubted No.1, and although the Southern Song Dynasty was weak, it was also the no.2 that was beyond reproach, and the two great powers did not have a tacit understanding of the division of the north and the south at this time, and the Jin State always wanted to unify the world.
In this context, the military leaders are caught between these two great powers, and even if the conditions for division are superior, they have no chance to engage in division.
To put it bluntly, the central government of the Southern Song Dynasty released all its power, but could the military leaders take over? If they can't hold the territory of the Song Kingdom, can they defend their own territory? Obviously impossible.
The times are always developing, and the methods that have been feasible in the past one or two hundred years may not be feasible in modern times.
The most typical example is that in the nearly three hundred years of the two Jin Dynasties, the kings, foreign relatives, and tycoons alternately threatened the imperial power, and many people would habitually pat their heads and say: As long as the centralization of power is not solved?
However, the fact is that in that nearly three hundred years, no Haojie has been able to achieve complete centralization, and his decrees are often extinguished by people.
However, when Yang Jian appeared, three times five divided by two, the major separatist forces were dealt with, and a unified Sui Dynasty was established.
According to the heroic view of history, it is naturally because Yang Jian is invincible, surpassing the heroes of the past three hundred years.
However, according to the materialist view of history, it was because the world at that time already had the conditions for reunification again, and even if there was no Yang Jian, there would still be Li Yuan and Li Shimin.
From the general situation, the division of the southern Song Dynasty's feudal towns was bound to be difficult to last for a long time, but how did Zhao Zhuo specifically do it?
Fan Zongyin was the youngest prime minister of the two Song Dynasties, but his own talent did not surpass that of his predecessors or future generations of prime ministers, and the reason why he could become a prime minister in a short period of time was that Zhao Zhuo was making arrangements for the elimination of the feudal town in the future.
Fan Zongyin has no special talent, nor does he have deep qualifications, And Zhao Zhuo's appointment of him as prime minister is to convey a message to the outside world: Fan Zongyin's proposal is very good, and those who say good things about Fan Zhen in the future will be reused!
This bought Zhao Shuo precious time, and as the reorganization of the Central Army of the Southern Song Dynasty was nearing completion, Zhao Shuo's attitude began to change.
Since Fan Zongyin is the prime minister, then daily government affairs must inevitably intervene, and Zhao Shuo's response to this is: But all those promoted by Fan Zongyin will be deposed within a few days of coming up.
Over time, Fan Zongyin felt that the ambition in his chest could not be exercised, so he asked Zhao Zhao to resign. Zhao Zhuo acted reluctant to let him go, but secretly impeached Fan Zongyin.
After another period of time, Fan Zongyin finally couldn't hold on, so he repeatedly asked for his resignation, and Zhao Zhuo finally nodded in agreement. Fan Zongyin died of illness shortly after, at the age of thirty-seven.
When Fan Zongyin fell, Zhao Zhuo immediately began to turn his policy, often intentionally or unintentionally hinting: Shuo had originally opposed the establishment of a town envoy, but somehow, he was actually blinded by Fan Zongyin, and now that the culprit has been caught, we must start to correct the chaos!
During Fan Zongyin's three or four years in power, more than twenty generals were awarded the post of Zhenfu Envoy, including Yue Fei, who was the seventeenth Zhenfu envoy of the Southern Song Dynasty court.
When Zhao Shuo took a stand, the biggest reaction was Li Cheng and Kong Yanzhou and others, who jumped up and down, hoping to contact more people to unite and resist Zhao Shuo's words and untrustworthy people, but there were few responders.
Slightly worse were Guo Zhongwei and Zhang Yong and others, who did not actively move closer to the central government of the Southern Song Dynasty, but also did not do anything too hot, and put on a wait-and-see posture.
Yue Fei, Zhao Li, Liu Wei and other zhenfu envoys were very clever, and they immediately moved closer to the central government of the Southern Song Dynasty, expressing unconditional support for all the decisions of the central government. Among them, Yue Fei's attitude was the best, and he was even willing to send his mother, wife and son to the central government of the Southern Song Dynasty as hostages.
If the court of The Mongol Court allows him to come to this place, the beggar will hold the flying mother, wife and second son hostage.
Yue Fei's behavior made Zhao Zhuolong yan very happy, and in the campaign that followed Zhang Jun to encircle and suppress Li Cheng, Yue Fei showed outstanding military ability, so Zhao Shuo granted Yue Fei the post of deputy commander of shenwu.
What level of position is the shenwu vice-military command equivalent to? It's hard to say. Because the official position of control and control is roughly equivalent to what we now call manager and general manager. What level of position do you say this is? It's hard to define.
However, judging from the situation at that time, Yue Fei's position as a town governor was about a miscellaneous division-level post (or a division-level fan town), and this Shenwu deputy army commandery was only about a regimental-level post of the central army.
On the surface, Yue Fei's level was reduced.
However, ZhenFu made this position very popular, but for the central government of the Southern Song Dynasty, this was not a position belonging to his own people, and there was no future to speak of. Although the Shenwu vice-military command system was of a lower rank, this was obviously the beginning of Yue Fei's formal entry into the ruling order of the Southern Song Dynasty.
A few months later, Yue Fei was promoted to the post of commander of the Shenwu Vice Army, which was about the division-level general of the Central Army, which showed that Zhao Zhuo at this time was still working hard to co-opt Yue Fei: Since you are willing to move closer to Yue Fei, Yue Fei will not let you suffer the grievances of the reduction of your position, even if it is a superficial reduction. Weren't you a town messenger before? Now promote you to the rank of metropolitan ruler!
It should be known that Zhang Jun, who led Yue Fei a few months ago, was only a metropolitan ruler; Han Shizhong, who shined in the "Miao-Liu Mutiny," was also only a metropolitan ruler.
PS: For the military and political positions in the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty, I just interpret them in a popular way according to my own understanding, or there are mistakes, and you are welcome to correct them.
After roughly talking about the rise and fall of the Southern Song Dynasty' zhenfu envoys, let's introduce the relevant personnel in detail.
The first group of the Southern Song Dynasty appointed eight envoys, namely Zhai Xing, Zhao Li, Liu Wei, Zhao Lin, Li Cheng, Wu Yi, Li Yanxian, and Xue Qing.
The second group appointed six zhenfu envoys, namely Chen Gui, Xie Qian, Cheng Chang, Chen Qiudao, Fan Zhicai, and Feng Changning.
The third group appointed three zhenfu envoys, namely Guo Zhongwei, Kong Yanzhou, and Yue Fei.
The fourth group appointed more than a dozen zhenfu envoys, the more famous of whom were Wang Yan, Sang Zhong, Zhang Yong, Dong Xian, Niu Gao, Zhai Chun, and Li Heng.
Among these envoys, Zhao Li, Xue Qing, Li Yanxian, Liu Wei, and Zhai Xing were killed on the battlefield, Li Cheng, Kong Yanzhou, and Feng Changning surrendered to the enemy, Dong Xian, Niu Gao surrendered to the enemy and then returned to the central government of the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhang Yong was forcibly reorganized, and Sang Zhong, Guo Zhongwei, and others were killed.
Judging from the people at that time, Yue Fei was not the most outstanding one. If Yue Fei died at this point in time, then his position in the history books is estimated to be similar to that of the above-mentioned people.
Even if they were as strong as Yue Fei, they could only get this kind of treatment, which also proved that the Southern Song Dynasty's zhenfu envoys were not nameless juniors, let alone ignorant and incompetent people, and in the chaotic world, they could not do it by anyone.
This also proves that the Zhenfu envoys in the Southern Song Dynasty were not weaker than the military leaders in the middle and late Tang And Five Dynasties periods, and the reason why they quickly withdrew from the stage of history was mainly due to the times.