From thrift and diligence to extravagance, Emperor Huizong completed this transformation in more than a year. He was generous, often a thousand dollars, without hesitation, and the limited treasures of the state were destroyed in his careless rewards. His favored courtiers are first of all the reward houses, which often cost hundreds of thousands of taels, and if they are to be repaired beautifully, they must be millions.
Emperor Huizong gave the chancellor's mansion to Gyeonggi for the first time in the twenty-fifth year of his reign, and all of them were luxuriously built. The second is to reward the field, whether the subordinate has merit or not, as long as he is in a happy mood, with a big stroke of the pen, a large area of fertile land has become someone's private property. This kind of gift is all over the sea. Of course, the most common is to reward gold and treasure. For example, Cai Jingguan to the prime minister, a very popular subject, no official to move, so he gave the Tianzi a square jade belt for public opinion. During the Xuanhe period, princes, princesses, and other close relatives entered the palace and received gold belts. The state's annual tea tax revenue is only more than one million taels, but the money rewarded to Li Derou for building the fasting house is five million taels at a time, and the gold and silver medals and gold medals of the Taoist priest Lin Lingsu are also of great value.
The lotus silk lamps collected by the court were extremely valuable, and Emperor Huizong gave them to the eunuch Liang Shicheng without hesitation. The place where the treasures of the Song Dynasty were hidden was in the Xuanhe Hall, and there were many kinds of treasures, which were collected successively from the taizu Zhao Kuangyin after the founding of the country, and the emperors before Emperor Huizong attached great importance to these treasures, and the secrets were not revealed, not to mention the rewards given to his subordinates at every turn. One of them, the Northern Pearl alone, was worth three million taels, and Emperor Huizong took it with his own hands to reward his favored concubines and attendants, and countless others. Emperor Taizong ordered the craftsmen to create thirty gold belts, one for his own use, the other reward to the general Cao Bin, and the remaining twenty-eight pieces were stored in the treasury, which were extremely precious, and had never been used from Zhenzong to Zhezong. After Emperor Huizong ascended the throne, as long as he was happy, he ordered people to take out the golden belt and reward his subordinates, and Tong Guan, Cai You, and others all received the golden belt.
During the Jing Kang period, the Jin people invaded the Capital Division and demanded a large amount of gold and silver, but because the treasury had been squandered by Emperor Huizong, Emperor Qinzong had no choice but to issue an edict saying: "Regardless of whether there are officials or non-officials and people of color, etc., those who have been rewarded by Emperor Huizong with gold belts, each of them shall pay the official palace from Chen according to the number of articles given, and shall not conceal it." If there is a person who is hidden, he will be severely punished if he is allowed to report it. "From this record, it can be seen that Emperor Huizong rewarded the excessive amount of gold belts, regardless of the size of the official position, and whether it was the official or the people, as long as he was happy, he rewarded it at will, so much so that there was no bottom book to audit, and he only relied on his own statement to accept the official.
Rewarding money and goods is only one aspect, and what is even more fatal is that Emperor Huizong's officials are even more abusive. It is often good and bad, mud and sand, and arbitrary, so that upright people are humiliated by being officials. Instead, those eunuchs, Taoist monks, and rogue rogues dragged Zhu Hongzi and became prominent figures in the DPRK. In particular, eunuchs were quite favored in the Huizong Dynasty, and many people held knots in their hands, held high positions of authority, and were full of arrogance. During the Xuanhe period, eunuchs to Taibao Shaobao and Jiedu emissaries abounded. For a period of time, almost all the power of the hundred divisions and the upper and lower levels belonged to the castration temple, and even their slaves were on their toes, and one by one, the robes appeared on the scene and became the officials of the imperial court.
Eunuchs were like this, and the other official titles were all in disarray and indiscriminate. During the period from Chongning to Xuanhe, the world was in peace, the officials were redundant, the fish and dragons were mixed, and there were more than eighty people in the festival alone. Although the festival is a false title, it is higher than the prime minister, and gives the honor guard, called jingjie. At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, it was only used to reward those who had high merit and high merit, and the number was very small, and ordinary people did not have the opportunity to receive this honor, even if they asked for it, the Son of Heaven would not be with him, but when he arrived at Emperor Huizong, it was flooded. Others, such as the Staying Queen, The Observation and haruka-gun Assassination History, numbered to several thousand, and the number of bachelors and pending systems was as high as one hundred and fifty. The officials of the three provinces and the Privy Council are indecent, and there are those who are also the masters of the Middle School (Sending Lu Officials) and the Doctors. From July of the first year of Xuanhe (1119) to March of the second year of Xuanhe (1120), in less than a year, there were more than 5,000 people who moved to the official and discussed the rewards, and even those who had only entered the career path for two years and were promoted ten times.
What is even more ridiculous is that during the years of Zhenghe and Xuanhe, officials promoted to the rank of attendant (in the Song Dynasty, officials such as the Imperial Court Bachelor, the Zhi Bachelor, the Pending System, the Hanlin Bachelor, the Zhishi Zhong, the Six Shangshu, and the Six Shilang were the attendants), regardless of their ability and political achievements, they all first let the reckoners calculate their five elements and then appoint them, almost a child's play. It is no wonder that the officials at that time wanted to be promoted, they all went to the warlocks, as long as they quarreled with the spring breeze and said a few kind words, promotion would not be a problem, who would be willing to work hard to love the people? Emperor Huizong sometimes took the opportunity to appoint the same official several times a day, and the contradictions between the previous and subsequent official positions made the executors confused, and the chaos in the government was beyond reproach.
Emperor Huizong squandered his treasures and abused official positions, which caused concern among the upright courtiers. The aforementioned Huainan transit made Zhang Gen shout: "Now that everything is in ruins, we should save money, and the top priority is to reduce the cost of civil construction." His Majesty rewarded the minister with a mansion, which cost as much as a million taels, and the twenty states under the jurisdiction of the minister only handed over 300,000 taels to the treasury a year, which was not enough to build a mansion. The ministers already have a mansion, and His Majesty still has to add to the icing on the cake, and this money comes out of the already poor people. Even if they are like Zhao Pu of the Taizu Dynasty and Han Qi of the Reign of Emperor Renzong, they all have the merit of making decisions and decisions, and they have not heard of the act of giving the first, so please be cautious about this. Secondly, such as the pastoral and the mansion shop, although they do not spend more money than the reward house, they accumulate more and should gradually reduce. As for the golden bunting, it should not be wasted. Another example is the belt, although the difference is only worth a few hundred taels, but it also condenses the blood and sweat of the people, and now the servants and servants can get it, and they are all available, and they are mixed with the secretaries of state, and people cannot distinguish between the wise and the foolish, which is a shame for the imperial court. Although Emperor Huizong knew that Zhang Gen's advance was a rumor of loyalty, he simply ignored it. Officials were defeated, the Manchu Dynasty was raped, the upright men or the rapids retreated, or they lived in the forest spring to be with the smoke and waves, and the Northern Song Empire was eventually overthrown.
Cai Yun, a chancellor of emperor Huizong and son of Cai Jing, said in his book "Discussion on the Tiewei Mountains": "During the years of Daguan, Zhenghe, Haiyu feasted, and Siyi expressed friendship to the Song Dynasty; The weather is also abnormal, the wind and rain are smooth, the home is sufficient, there is nothing between the government and the opposition, every day pays attention to etiquette, celebrates auspiciousness, and can be called the taiping and prosperous world. Meng Yuanlao, the author of "Tokyo Dream Hualu", who lived in Beijing during the Chongning period, described the prosperous scene of Tokyo at that time in the preface of "Tokyo Dream Hualu", saying: "The peace is long, the characters are prosperous, and the children of the hair are weeping, but Xi Encouragement, the old man of Ban Bai, does not know how to do go, the seasons are different, and each has its own viewing: the lantern night and the moon, the snow flower, the beggar ascends to the height, and the teaching pond youyuan." The qinglou painting pavilion, the embroidery bead curtain, the carved car racing in the sky 118 Song Huizong Street, the BMW racing on the royal road, the golden cui dazzling, Luo Qi fluttering incense. Xinsheng smiled skillfully at Liu MoHuaqu and orchestrated it at the tea house liquor store. Eight wildernesses contend, all nations salty. Set the treasures of the four seas, all return to the city; The peculiar smell of huihuan district is in the kitchen. Flowers full of roads, he limited spring travel; Drums are noisy, and there are several night feasts. "What a peaceful sight!
The sea rose to peace, the world was uneventful, Emperor Huizong ascended the throne as a teenager, had no experience in governing the country, and he gathered a group of traitors around him, and soon he fell from a young and promising emperor to a faint prince. Cai Jing's son Cai You once advised Emperor Huizong: "The so-called lord of man, when he takes the four seas as his home, the peace as entertainment, and the geometry of his life, how can he work in vain!" Only the traitorous courtiers induced Tianzi to be extravagant and lascivious and enjoy themselves in time, and When Emperor Huizong heard Cai You's words, he not only did not rebuke him, but nodded his head and said yes.
Huizong has long lived in the deep palace, the terrace is hidden, the pavilion is magnificent, the jade axis toothpick in the house, the Han Ding Qin Yi, although magnificent, but after a long time, he is also bored, he very much wants to experience the small bridge flowing water, thatched grass hut of the southern scenery, so the lower Zhaoyuan is imitated in Jiangsu and Zhejiang customs, built white houses, the top is not painted, such as the village house wild shop, gather rare birds in it, for Huizong to play. Whenever the night is quiet, the birds and beasts cry, and the sound resounds throughout the wilderness, making people feel as if they are in the middle of the mountains and forests, and their hearts are relaxed, and their honors and disgraces are forgotten.
Despite the beautiful scenery in the palace garden, Emperor Huizong was still not satisfied, and whenever the flowers were on the night of the moon and the beautiful scenery, he took Tong Guan, Cai Jing, Gao Li, and Yang Jian and a gang of traitors to the imperial city to find fun. He even set up a city store in the palace to make the palace women sell alcohol. When he was happy, Emperor Huizong even dressed up as a flower child, wearing a tattered dress, carrying a wooden stick, holding a broken bowl in his hand, and begging in the palace garden, without any monarchy. He also often drank with his courtiers for a long night, stayed up all night, and sought pleasure. Emperor Huizong also played haiyou with Cai You in the palace ban, and the two junchen competed for the appearance. They often performed military dramas, in which there were two roles of joining the army and the eagle, and Huizong played the role of joining the army for a funny performance. Whenever he appeared, Cai You teased and said, "Your Majesty is a good Emperor Of The Divine Sect!" Emperor Huizong gently struck him with his staff and said, "You are also a Sima Cheng Xiang!" "TangTang Tianzi plays a good man, who still has the heart to govern the country!"
Every year on October 10 is The birthday of Emperor Huizong, known as the Tianning Festival, when all states and counties will wish the birthday of the Son of Heaven as usual. In addition to the money paid to the ministers and the money saved by the governors, the superintendent of the roads was allowed to pay money and goods to the ministers as money for the birthday. The people who host the birthday feast take the opportunity to make a big fuss and squander money, and a regular feast costs hundreds of thousands of taels. States and counties compete with each other, and the scale of birthday celebrations is getting bigger and bigger, and spending more and more money. Kyoshi is a vastly populated place, and the birthday is larger and more densely organized.
On the same day, Officials above the missionary lang led by Zai Zhi of Shangshu Province went to Xiangguo Temple to participate in the feast of the Holy Feast, and then went to the Capital Hall of Shangshu Province to give a banquet, and some officials of too low rank had no chance to participate in these banquets, and could only wish the birthday of the Son of Heaven in their own homes. On October 12, Zaizhi, the prince, the clan chamber, and the hundred officials entered the palace to celebrate the birthday of Emperor Huizong. When the music was not made, the musicians of the Jiying Hall On the upper floor of the mountain first imitated the sound of animals and birds, suddenly like yellow orioles singing in the green willow, suddenly like the chicks whispering in the nest, suddenly like the roar of the tiger shaking the mountain, suddenly like the ape crying between the treetops, the music in mid-air, the sonorous and chirping, the luan and phoenix soaring, the inside and outside solemn, do not lead the neck, concentrate and listen. Hundreds of officials at all levels sat under the upper corridor of the hall, and Emperor Huizong gave nine glasses of fine wine, and the Qunchen Mountain shouted long live, and then drank happily. The wine vessels are all precious, and the ministers sitting on the palace use wine glasses made of pure gold, and the officials sitting under the porch use wine glasses made of sterling silver, which is extremely luxurious.
The emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty were all good at enjoying the lanterns on the Shangyuan Festival, and the Lantern Viewing on the Shangyuan Festival became a carnival activity for the dignitaries and nobles of Tokyo. But the extravagance is beyond the emblem!
The Northern Song Dynasty poet Chao Chongzhi has two poems, "Rumor Jade Girl" and "Shanglin Chun Slow", which describe the prosperity of the lights of the Shangyuan Festival.
Rumor Jade Girl Cloud:
Overnight the east wind blew away the residual snow of the willow branches. The smoke in the royal building is warm, and the zheng'ao mountain is knotted. The drums are late, and the phoenix is returning to the palace. A thousand doors lit, the Ninth Street wind moon. Everyone in the embroidery pavilion swims, sleepy and resting. Smile and make up the face, and half open the curtain. Jiao Bo said to the person, hand twisting YuMei low. Encounters are often, in the upper yuan season.
"Shanglin Spring Slow" cloud:
The hat falls on the palace flowers, the clothes provoke the royal incense, and the phoenix comes late at the beginning. The crane descends and flies, the dragon plays candles, and the end door is lit by ten thousand branches. The city is full of cars and horses, to the bright moon, who sits idly. Ren travels wildly, and allows him to be forbidden to the street, and does not wear a golden lock. Yulou people, secretly throwing fruits, under the zhen curtain, smiling spring shirt Yuanna. Vegetarian moths wrap around, cicadas flutter sideburns, and weeping willow plums. Nightshade drank away, but won, and the green warp was doubled. When he returned drunk, he retraced and combed through the window.
There is also a poem that describes the pomp and circumstance of the time: peace and tranquility, and the peace and smoke on all sides. Guotai Min'an, who said that Yao ShunYu soup is good. All the people looked up at the Caidu Gate, and the dragon lanterns and phoenix candles looked at each other. I can only listen to the teaching workshop miscellaneous drama, laugh and laugh beautifully. In front of the Treasure Palace, the spell water book spell breaks the demon. Dream closer to the depths of the bamboo forest, Shengpeng Island. Sheng song, Emperor Naiwu, do not wait for the Lantern, the scenery comes. Only afraid of the month, the clouds are not guaranteed.
The Song Dynasty poet Liu Changshi also has a unique description of the Shangyuan Festival, two of which are: the snow in front of xuande building has not melted, and He Zhengren sees the red color of the mountain. Nine Qu photographed the moon, and Wanjing blew incense and fine wind. The complex road is far away, the dark is connected, and the fifth royal palace of the lord of Binh Duong. The sound of the phoenix is cold and shallow, less than the second heaviest of the bead curtain. I remember that when I was in its heyday, human emotions and matter were self-hectic. The curtain curtain of the family returns late, and everywhere the building platform is late. In the flower market, people are fascinated, and the state east has no time to look at the west of the state. The people of the capital have only been to the night of the lights, and have gone to the pond in front of the bottle.
The luxury of the facilities in Huizong Palace is also breathtaking. During the Xuanhe period, Su Shi's son Su Shudang was summoned to the palace to paint, and after he entered the palace, he did not dare to look up, and had never seen such a wide and deep tall house. It was June, and the heat was unbearable, sweating like rain, but the ice in the palace was like a mountain, like smoke spraying out, and the chill was bone-chilling. The candles used in the palace are also unique in the world. During the years of Zhenghe and Xuanhe, the palace used to use Heyang flower candles, although bright, but there was no fragrance, so it was replaced by dragon saliva and brain chips poured into the candle, lit two lines, displayed hundreds of sticks, not only brilliant and bright, but also fragrant. Later, after Emperor Gaozong fixed the capital lin'an, he also emulated Emperor Huizong, but in the end he was inferior to his father, and he said to his mother Empress Wei: "How can I be richer than my father!" ”
Emperor Huizong also delusionally wanted to live forever, and Shou Qi Tiandi followed the example of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's order Xu Fu to find the elixir of immortality, and during the years of Zhenghe, he found a different person and refined the elixir of immortality. After the dan medicine was refined, he did not dare to take it suddenly, so he found a person with a humble official position to try it. The man did not dare not follow, who knew that just swallowed, he felt that the chest was irritable and abnormal, for a moment, there was smoke coming out of the mouth, and he rushed home to help him, and he had cried out for his life.
Emperor Huizong was so luxurious that the normal revenue of the state treasury naturally could not meet his needs, so he set up many institutions to exploit the common people, such as the Ying Fengsi, the Imperial Life Center, the Camp Office, the Suzhou and Hangzhou Construction Bureau, the Imperial Former People's Ship Office, and the Xingxing Bureau. These institutions are huge in structure and have a large number of personnel, and corrupt officials and corrupt officials are up and down, and the pony is adulterous and unscrupulous, resulting in a sharp increase in expenditure.
Zuo Zangku was in charge of the financial income of various localities, and then distributed feng lu to officials and soldiers throughout the country, which for a long time stabilized at the level of 360,000 taels per month. By the time of Emperor Huizong, the monthly expenditure was as high as 1.2 million taels, several times more than in the past. Yu Ceshang, who had served in the Household Department and was later transferred to the official Shangshu, requested that the expenses be waived. He said: "When the subject was in the household department, he saw that the capital (the ancient common name for the capital city, here referring to Kaifeng) was six million taels per year, which was about the same as the number of offerings from the heavens. "The money that the whole country provides every year is only enough to spend on the capital city." The state's financial management was chaotic, and the revenue of the national treasury was originally divided into imperial money and goods, imperial court money and goods, and household money and goods, most of which have now become forbidden private wealth.
Unable to make ends meet, the finances were stretched thin, so the rulers did everything possible to collect from the common people, in addition to banning iron goods, minting ten dollars, and increasing the price of the pickles, they also had the ingenuity to add town gates to collect taxes in the prefectures and counties near the capital, which was tantamount to an open fire to fight and loot. Other nameless taxes are even more numerous, causing the world to wither and the people to complain.
In the last year of Xuanhe Shangshu Zuo Cheng Yuwen Chu Zhongshang, due to the limited tax revenue and huge expenditure, the people were uneasy and moved around, "The upper class of people in Shaanxi abandoned their property and moved to Beijing, while the rich people in Henan abandoned their property and moved to Sichuan and Shu." Hebei yi is known for its richness, and now silkworm weaving is wasted; Shandong is frequently hit by heavy water, and the cultivation is lost. The others are only concerned with squeezing, without pension, and the grain has not yet appeared, and is already planning to sell grain to pay off the debt, even if the taxes have been paid this year, and the taxes of his year have not been paid." "Ren is deeper in the mountains, and there should be no way to avoid conquest." This is nothing less than a picture of the displacement of blood and tears! In this way, Emperor Huizong based his happiness on the suffering of the people.
[Excerpt from: "Emperor Huizong of Song" Ren Chongyue / by Yuelu Book Club]