Preface
Zhao Kuangyin's "Releasing Military Power with a Cup of Wine": Power Tactics Prevail Over Soldiers? In history, there are many breathtaking strategies, and "Releasing Military Power with a Cup of Wine" can be called one of the legends.
In the era of war and chaos, Zhao Kuangyin resolved the battle for military power with a glass of wine, a feat that not only allowed him to successfully ascend to the throne, but also changed the direction of Chinese history.
However, what kind of strategy and scheming are hidden behind this power struggle, which is known as the triumph of wisdom over force? Are the generals really willing to hand over the military power in their hands, or do they have different intentions and ambitions?
The transfer of power: Zhao Kuangyin's "cup of wine releases military power"
In the turbulent years of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Zhao Kuangyin, with his extraordinary military talent and extraordinary leadership, finally defeated the Later Zhou Dynasty in the Battle of Luqiao and established the Great Song Dynasty. However, at the beginning of this new dynasty, a thorny problem was placed in front of Zhao Kuangyin: how to convince those generals with heavy troops and hand over the power in their hands?
Historically, whenever a new dynasty was established, the founding monarch faced this dilemma. Because, those generals who once fought side by side with them often wielded considerable power by virtue of their military exploits and troops.
Once a new dynasty is established, they are likely to become dissatisfied and even rebel against it. Therefore, the new monarch must find a way to bring the power of these generals back to the center. However, this is by no means an easy task. Because power is like a double-edged sword, it can both benefit and hurt people.
Once held in your hand, it is difficult to put it down easily. Historically, in the process of alternating between the old and the new powers, there have been repeated bloodsheds. All of this placed a heavy burden on the new monarch and forced them to proceed with caution.
Faced with this dilemma, Zhao Kuangyin adopted a unique and ingenious way, which was called "a glass of wine to release military power" by later generations. The two-stage initiative embodies Zhao's extraordinary political wisdom and leadership.
Remove the military rights of the generals who are close to them
At first, Zhao Kuangyin's goal was to disarm the generals with whom he had a deep revolutionary affiliation. Most of these people are the "Ten Brothers of the Righteous Society" who have known Zhao Kuangyin since childhood and fought side by side. For these people, Zhao Kuangyin took a step-by-step approach.
He told them, "There is no suspicion between the monarch and the minister, and the upper and lower are at peace." At the same time, he did not completely deprive them of their powers, but transferred them to serve as jiedu envoys in various places and continued to hold a certain amount of military power.
What's more, Zhao Kuangyin also married these old subordinates, making them feel that they are still valued and trusted. For example, Shi Shouxin's son Shi Baoji married Zhao Kuangyin's second daughter, Wang Xianqi's son Wang Chengyan married Zhao Kuangyin's eldest daughter, and Gao Huaide married Zhao Kuangyin's sister.
Through the exchange of family affection and interests, Zhao Kuangyin successfully persuaded these old subordinates to let go of their coveting of central power and serve in one side with peace of mind. This approach reflects Zhao Kuangyin's wisdom and foresight. He understood that these old subordinates, although heavily armed, had a deep revolutionary friendship with him, and if they were forcibly deprived of their power, it would likely provoke a revolt.
Therefore, he chose a more moderate approach, which both satisfied their interests and strengthened their loyalty to the central government. This not only avoided bloodshed, but also laid the foundation for the stability of the Great Song Dynasty.
Relieved the generals of the foreign domains from military power
Zhao Kuangyin faced those foreign generals who were not his cronies, but who controlled heavy troops. For these people, Zhao Kuangyin adopted a more nuanced strategy. Let's take Fu Yanqing as an example to see how Zhao Kuangyin dismantled his power.
Fu Yanqing's family background is prominent, his grandfather once proclaimed himself King Wu, and his father is Li Keyong's adopted son. He himself was an outstanding general, who had made great achievements in fighting against the Khitan invasion. At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, he was not only one of the three dukes, but also served as the envoy of the Tianxiong Army, holding heavy troops.
In the face of such a powerful opponent, Zhao Kuangyin did not take tough measures, but patiently maneuvered step by step. First of all, he gave Fu Yanqing a large amount of money to build a river embankment. However, Zhao Kuangyin attached one condition: Fu Yanqing must use his own army to carry out this project. As a greedy person, Fu Yanqing is naturally very happy.
Next, Zhao Kuangyin sent a large number of central officials to Fu Yanqing's jurisdiction on the grounds of "assisting Fu Yanqing in governing the locality". These officials soon took over the local key areas, emptying Fu Yanqing's power.
Just when Fu Yanqing was about to send troops to resist, Zhao Kuangyin's last trick worked: he had already dispatched Fu Yanqing's young and strong soldiers to other places to build projects, leaving only the old and weak family. As a result, Fu Yanqing's resistance was quickly nipped in the bud.
Eventually, Fu Yanqing was removed from his post as the envoy of the Tianxiong Festival and placed under house arrest in Luoyang, away from the center of power. Through this series of careful deployments, Zhao Kuangyin successfully disintegrated Fu Yanqing's strength, made him surrender without a fight, and handed over the military power in his hands.
This approach reflects Zhao Kuangyin's superb resourcefulness. He did not use direct force, but gradually disintegrated Fu Yanqing's strength through a series of ingenious power operations. This not only avoided bloodshed, but also made Fu Yanqing unable to resist, and finally took the initiative to hand over the military power. This flexible and changeable way of dealing with the situation once again demonstrates Zhao Kuangyin's extraordinary political wisdom.
To sum up, the key to the success of Zhao Kuangyin's "releasing military power with a glass of wine" is that he adopted a strategy that varies from person to person. For those old subordinates with whom he had a deep revolutionary friendship, he adopted a step-by-step approach to let them serve outside the country with peace of mind, and consolidated their loyalty to the central government through marriages and other means.
As for those foreign generals who were not cronies, but had heavy troops, Zhao Kuangyin adopted a more nuanced strategy, and finally disintegrated their strength through a series of means such as giving benefits, sending inspectors, and dispatching troops.
This practice of "releasing military power with a glass of wine" not only avoided bloodshed, but also set a successful example for later generations of founding monarchs. It embodies Zhao Kuangyin's extraordinary political wisdom and leadership skills, and is one of the important reasons for the stability of the Great Song Dynasty.
epilogue
The transfer of power has always been a thorny issue. However, Zhao Kuangyin successfully solved this problem in his own unique way. His act of "releasing military power with a glass of wine" not only avoided bloodshed, but also set a successful example for later generations of founding monarchs.
In the process, Zhao Kuangyin showed extraordinary political wisdom and leadership skills. He neither resorted to bloody means, nor completely deprived the generals of power, but achieved his goals through a clever redistribution of power.
It can be said that Zhao Kuangyin's move of "releasing military power with a glass of wine" is one of the important reasons for the stability of the Great Song Dynasty. Not only did it set a successful example for future generations of founding monarchs, but it also showed us a wise way to deal with the transfer of power.