The emperors of the Song Dynasty did not have any particularly outstanding ability to govern the country, unlike the Tang Dynasty, they were brilliant and talented, and every emperor did something, and even created a peaceful and prosperous world.
The Song Dynasty was very unstable, because during the Song Dynasty, external worries and internal troubles were very serious, officials were corrupt and redundant, and foreign enemies often attacked the Central Plains from the south.
In such an environment, the chaotic world produced heroes, China's national hero, the famous anti-Jin general Yue Fei came into being, under his leadership, the Song Dynasty defeated the enemy army, recovered the lost land, and the prestige of the Yue family army was far and wide.
Song Xiaozong
However, such a hero was saddled with false accusations because of the emperor's incompetence and the treacherous schemes of his courtiers, and he died with regret.
The wrongful conviction was finally rehabilitated more than two decades later. After Emperor Xiaozong of Song ascended the throne, he immediately rehabilitated Yue Fei's unjust case. Later, he worked hard for this country and used his busy life to complete the great cause of restoring the Central Plains, and his merits and his tolerant and loving character were praised by future generations.
This Song Xiaozong was the "first" of the Song emperors, and what he did was to extend the life of the weakened Southern Song Dynasty for a hundred years.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="7" > weak national strength</h1>
Emperor Gaozong of Song was faint and incompetent, and by the time he reigned, the country's strength was already weak, and the people were often displaced and starved. The people's lives were not good, and their lives were miserable.
After the death of the liang general Yue Fei, the armament force was even more vulnerable, and even the workshops that made weapons for the barracks changed from thousands to hundreds. Moreover, it is still old and crippled, and if a foreign enemy suddenly attacks, even the weapons are not prepared enough.
Even some elite soldiers did not even have winter cold clothes, and they could not believe that the defense line of this dynasty to defend the country could be so weak.
If there is not even an army of soldiers who can go into battle to kill the enemy, let alone deal with foreign enemies, it is not certain how long the Song Dynasty can develop smoothly.
Song Gaozong left this mess to clean up for Song Xiaozong, who saw that the national strength was so weak and was determined to use a "murderous" means to change quickly, in a vain attempt to use the fastest way to pull the country up from the mire, and this "murderous" means was to fight corruption.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="14" > official corruption</h1>
One of the prominent problems in the officialdom of the Song Dynasty was official corruption. It can be said that there are no officials and no greed, but it is because of corruption from top to bottom, from the inside to the outside, and the crazy exploitation of the people that the national strength is weak, even the armaments of the army are not fully prepared, and the people are burdened by heavy taxes, hungry and dead, and clothed.
Song Xiaozong knew that this dynasty could not change without first cleaning up these corrupt officials.
His top priority, the first thing to do, is to fight corruption. In order to put power in a cage, it is first necessary to repair and strengthen, this shaky supervision system, to restore the evaluation of officials, and to emphasize the performance of officials.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="17" > official assessment</h1>
The Song Dynasty originally had a strict system of appraisal of officials, but because of the corruption of so many years, it was difficult to return, and this inspection system had long been forgotten by everyone.
Officials buy and sell officials in the official field, and officials are faint and incompetent, but through favoritism and fraud, they obtain high-ranking officials, and power flows among these people, and talented people have no chance to step into the official field.
Emperor Xiaozong of Song ordered the restoration of the original official evaluation system and strict implementation. The appointment of an official needs to have an appraisal document, which records the performance of the official, and when the official is about to leave office, he is judged whether he is promoted or demoted according to the political performance. If officials forge documents or conceal them, they will be severely punished.
Still
Song Xiaozong attached great importance to the achievements of officials, and if he found that officials were corrupt, he would punish and rectify them mercilessly. And he knew that the officials were clear and honest, had good political achievements, and would personally reward them.
Under such a strict implementation of the appraisal system, corrupt big corrupt officials have been dismissed and punished, and some small corrupt officials do not dare to be greedy again. Official corruption has had a clear effect.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="39" > remove redundant officials</h1>
The phenomenon of redundant officials in the Song Dynasty was very serious, everyone sharpened their heads and squeezed into the center, and everyone was reluctant to go to the local government to become officials. There is a serious shortage of people in some important places, and there are also some posts that are too small for officials and small things that no one wants to do. As a result, the central government is seriously saturated and the localities are seriously lacking.
Song Xiaozong was very dissatisfied with this situation, and he ordered that he must make achievements at the local level before he could be promoted to the central government. If even local petty officials are unwilling to take up posts, why should the central government take on important affairs? After Emperor Xiaozong of Song ordered it, a large number of officials were laid off in the heavily saturated central government.
After the removal of redundant officials, the officials in the official field are no longer as idle as before, lying down and counting money. The missing magistrates were also filled, and these magistrates worked hard to make political achievements in order to be promoted. They did not dare to be corrupt and attached importance to the people's evaluation of them, and the local officials' governance also improved, and the people's lives were not as difficult as before.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="27" > change of ethos</h1>
In addition to the officials who were still in office at that time, some officials who had already made enough money and resigned and returned home, Song Xiaozong did not let go. He strictly grasped corrupt officials, and he did not spare any of these big corrupt officials.
It was precisely because of the Northern Song Dynasty that the official website of greed was opened up, which accelerated the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty, and in the Southern Song Dynasty, Song Xiaozong would never allow this situation to occur again.
After Emperor Xiaozong of Song strictly grasped corrupt officials, the atmosphere in the court changed greatly, and officials were no longer as greedy as before.
Officials gradually became clearer, and even as soon as they found that their colleagues around them were corrupt, they immediately reported them, and officials were ashamed of bribery, and politics finally improved, no longer the muddy officialdom before.
The improvement of the atmosphere in the official arena means that the politics have improved, and it is even easier to rectify some other problems at this time.
Every appropriation can be put into practice, not in the pockets of officials. Most of the officials were also talented people who contributed to the development of the dynasty.
silver
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="37" > continue for a hundred years</h1>
The mess left by Emperor Gaozong of Song's fainting and incompetence was developed in the hands of Emperor Xiaozong of Song. If it were not for the fact that Song Xiaozong's anti-corruption was so "ferocious", perhaps the country would have been eaten away by these corrupt officials and officials, leaving only an empty shelf, or if it could not be attacked by foreign enemies, it would have fallen sooner or later.
Under the administration of Song Xiaozong, grain production increased, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and the national economy and people's livelihood were all good, no longer as depressed as before. However, the official field is clear, the officials do not dare to be corrupt and dare not bribe, and the strength of the army has also made great progress, with a good enough and strong armament, and it also has the ability to deal with foreign enemies.
Song Xiaozong relied on his own strength to continue the life of this weakened Song Dynasty for a hundred years, precisely because of his diligence, although the Song Dynasty did not achieve the great cause of recovering the Central Plains, but the Song Dynasty was far stronger and went further than before.