Don't look at the Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin is a military general, but he is also a heroic emperor, and he is still very clear about the various problems faced by the Northern Song Dynasty. During the reign of Song Taizu, on the one hand, he carried out internal reforms, and on the other hand, he carried out foreign wars to achieve the unification of the world. A few months before his death, Zhao Kuangyin, the grandfather of the Song Dynasty, had planned to realize a strategic plan, and if he could realize this plan, then there would definitely be no "Jingkang Change" in the Northern Song Dynasty.
It happened in March 976, when Zhao Kuangyin, the grandfather of the Song Dynasty, led hundreds of officials to Luoyang, which was his birthplace and the western capital of the Northern Song Dynasty. Seeing that the palace in Luoyang was still magnificent, Zhao Kuangyin was very happy, so he told Wen Wuqunchen a plan that had been brewing in his heart for a long time, which could also be said to be a strategic plan that affected the fortunes of the Northern Song Dynasty, that is, to move the capital to Luoyang, "born in Luoyang, happy with the local style, taste the meaning of moving the capital."
However, Zhao Kuangyin did not expect that after he proposed the plan to move the capital to Luoyang, he was actually opposed by many officials! Li Fu, who served as a living man, wrote to the emperor and proposed eight difficulties in moving the capital, "Jingyi withered and was a difficult one." The palace is not finished, and the two difficulties are also. The suburban temple has not been repaired, and the three difficulties are also. Hundreds of officials are not prepared, and the four difficulties are also. The people of Kiuchi are in difficulty, and the five difficulties are also. The military food is not enough, and the six difficulties are also. Barriers are not set up, and the seven difficulties are also. Thousands of rides, summer from the line, eight difficulties also. ”
However, Zhao Kuangyin ignored it, and after completing the sacrifice activities, he still stayed in Luoyang, and had no plan to return to Kaifeng. At this time, Li Huaizhong, who was the commander of the left and right carriages of the Iron Horse, also stood up, and he was a senior general of the Forbidden Army, and he said to Song Taizu: "There are canals in Tokyo, and there are millions of people in the rivers and rivers and huaimi, and hundreds of thousands of troops have been sent down. His Majesty is here, will he take it? And the heavy troops in the treasury are all in the big beams, and they have been solid for a long time and cannot be shaken. If the capital is moved, the subject will not see it. ”
However, Zhao Kuangyinran did not respond at all, and he was bent on moving the capital to Luoyang to realize the plan in his heart. In the case that the advice of the group of ministers was ineffective, Zhao Guangyi, the king of Jin, came forward, believing that "the move to the capital was not convenient". Zhao Kuangyin immediately replied: "Moving to Henan is not over, and it is long time to move to Chang'an." It can be seen that in Zhao Kuangyin's mind, Luoyang is not yet the final capital, and his ultimate goal is to move the capital to Chang'an!
Zhao Guangyi prostrated his head and cut his advice, and Zhao Kuangyin said the reason for his relocation of the capital, "I will move west without it, and I want to go to the army according to the victory of the mountains and rivers, follow the stories of Zhou and Han, and then settle the world." "Originally, Kaifeng was located in a plain area, with no danger on all sides, and could only rely on a huge army to maintain the tranquility of the capital. In this way, it will create the problem of "redundant troops". Although during Zhao Kuangyin's reign, the problem of redundant troops was not so obvious, he had already anticipated it.
There were dangers of mountains and rivers in the Guanzhong area, and Chang'an was the ancient capital of the Thirteen Dynasties, and Zhao Kuangyin wanted to eliminate the problem of "redundant troops" by moving the capital and relying on the dangers of mountains and rivers. However, Zhao Guangyi said: "There is no danger in Germany! After listening to his brother's words, Zhao Kuangyin did not say anything more, and his plan to move the capital was shattered. When Zhao Guangyi left, Zhao Kuangyin, the grandfather of the Song Dynasty, said to his attendants: "The words of the King of Jin are solid and good, and this aunt obeys them." Within a hundred years, the people of the world have been exhausted. ”
Unexpectedly, Zhao Kuangyin's words became a proverb, because the Northern Song Dynasty continued to take Kaifeng as the capital and pursued a policy of being subject to internal and external weaknesses, the number of troops increased sharply, there were 190,000 people in song Taizu, 350,000 people in Song Taizong, 430,000 people in Song Zhenzong, 820,000 people when Song Renzong, and the total number of troops in the country was actually one million. Don't look at the large number of troops, but the combat effectiveness is very low, they greatly depleted the national strength of the Northern Song Dynasty. The Kaifeng area had no danger to defend, which eventually led to the "Jingkang Change".
References: 1. "History of Song"; 2. "Continuation of Zizhi TongjianChang"