Preface
Zhao Kuangyin, as the founding emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty, his life was full of legend and wisdom. Among them, the story of his "glass of wine to release military power" is even more amazing.
After formulating a strategy of first south and then north, he sent troops to Jingchu and shocked the enemy in the south with a subtle strategy of destroying Yu by false means. So, how did he consolidate his internal situation and prevent trouble before it happens? How did he strategize, win by surprise, and realize the great cause of reunification step by step?
Internal and external troubles to consolidate political power
Having just ascended the throne, Zhao Kuangyin faced many threats from inside and outside. As the military commander of the Later Zhou, he single-handedly created the dynasty, but it was not easy to truly consolidate his dominance. He knew that in order to unify the world, it was first necessary to ensure internal stability.
As a result, Zhao Kuangyin began to adjust the position of the general of the forbidden army. The Forbidden Army was the elite force of the imperial court and held the actual military power in its hands. Murong Yanzhao and Han Lingkun were originally the supreme commanders of the two forbidden armies, and their prestige and qualifications were comparable to Zhao Kuangyin. Zhao Kuangyin was not too relieved about these two veterans, for fear that they would have two hearts.
So, Zhao Kuangyin adopted an ingenious strategy. He nominally let Murong Yanzhao and Han Lingkun continue to serve as commanders, but in fact handed over the real power to his cronies Gao Huaide and Shi Shouxin. Gao Huaide is Zhao Kuangyin's brother-in-law, and Shi Shouxin is his brother-in-law.
Wang Xianqi, Zhao Guangyi, Zhang Lingduo and others are also Zhao Kuangyin's cronies and important ministers. So far, except for Murong Yanzhao and Han Lingkun, all the generals in the forbidden army are Zhao Kuangyin's henchmen.
However, Zhao Kuangyin's adviser Zhao Pu was still not at ease. He suggested to Zhao Kuangyin many times that Shi Shouxin, Wang Xianqi and others be transferred to other positions. Zhao Kuangyin was always full of confidence that these people would never betray him. It wasn't until Zhao Pu pointed out that although these generals were loyal, they lacked the ability to command, and they were helpless in case of chaos among their subordinates, that Zhao Kuangyin suddenly realized.
So, Zhao Kuangyin devised a more elaborate strategy. While he was drinking and having fun, he said to Shi Shouxin and the others, everyone wants to sit in the position of the Son of Heaven, and the soldiers under your command may suddenly crown you with yellow robes. Shi Shouxin and the others were taken aback when they heard this, and hurriedly asked Zhao Kuangyin to show them a way out.
Zhao Kuangyin suggested that they give up their military power and go to the feudal town to serve as envoys and enjoy their lives. If Shi Shouxin and others were re-released, they immediately submitted a request to be relieved of their military powers. Since then, Zhao Kuangyin has controlled all the real power of the forbidden army in his own hands, eliminating the biggest hidden danger inside.
Through this series of well-designed measures, Zhao Kuangyin skillfully defused the threat from within and cleared the biggest obstacle to the great cause of reunification. He not only consolidated his dominance, but also ensured the absolute loyalty of the army, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent road to unification.
The North-South made decisions and strategized
After stabilizing the internal situation, Zhao Kuangyin began to embark on the great cause of unifying the world. At that time, the situation in the world was very complicated, in addition to the Song Dynasty and the Liao in the north, there were also the Southern Tang, Wuyue, Jingnan, Houshu, Southern Han, Northern Han and other separatist regimes, as well as small forces that seized Hunan and Quanzhang.
Zhao Kuangyin judged the situation and formulated a unified strategy of first the south and then the north. He believed that these southern countries were no longer as strong as they used to be, and they could take the opportunity to eliminate them in one fell swoop. Although the strength of the Northern Han in the north is not the strongest, the city is strong and backed by the Liao State, so it is very difficult to attack.
Therefore, Zhao Kuangyin first deployed a group of capable generals in the northern key areas to ensure that there were no worries about going south. He sent Zhao Kuangzan to guard Yanzhou, Dong Zunzhi to guard Huanzhou, Wang Yansheng to guard Yuanzhou, and so on. These generals were all close associates of Zhao Kuangyin and were able to ensure stability in the north.
At the same time, Zhao Kuangyin also set out to guard against the threat of Liao. He stationed heavy troops in important towns in the northwest, including Feng Jiye to guard Lingwu, Li Hanchao to guard Tunguannan, Ma Renyu to guard Yingzhou, and so on. In this way, the northern border has basically stabilized, and Zhao Kuangyin can go south with confidence.
As for the Northern Han Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin once also planned to attack. But in the end, he was persuaded by the advice of Zhang Hui and others, and decided to go south first, accumulate strength, and leave it for the Northern Han Dynasty in the future.
Such a decision is undoubtedly wise. Although the strength of the southern countries has weakened, they are still not to be underestimated. If the Northern Han is attacked first, it will inevitably attract the attention and intervention of the Liao State, and then the southern countries may also take the opportunity to counterattack, and then they will fall into a passive situation of two-front warfare.
In contrast, conquering the south first could not only eliminate these separatist forces in one fell swoop, but also free up his hands to concentrate on dealing with the Northern Han. In this way, they can not only avoid the interference of the Liao State, but also gradually expand their sphere of influence and lay a solid foundation for the eventual unification of the world.
Take the opportunity to send troops to destroy the enemy
Just when Zhao Kuangyin was brewing the opportunity, the civil strife in Hunan gave him an excellent opportunity. Zhou Xingfeng, the envoy of Wuping Jiedu, died, and his son Zhou Baoquan was still young, and was forced to rebel by Zhang Wenbiao, the assassin of Hengzhou.
Zhou Baoquan saw that the situation was critical, and hurriedly asked Zhao Kuangyin for help. Zhao Kuangyin saw this good opportunity and immediately ordered troops to "crusade" against Zhang Wenbiao, but in fact he wanted to take the opportunity to seize Hunan.
In order to hide people's eyes, Zhao Kuangyin also issued an edict ordering Jingnan Jiedu to send troops to Gao Jichong to send reinforcements. Gao Jichong was reluctant to send troops, but Zhao Kuangyin's envoy Ding Deyu repeatedly persuaded Gao Jichong to reluctantly agree and allow the Song army to pass through Jingnan.
After Ding Deyu returned to Xiangzhou, Li Chuyun led the light cavalry to the south overnight and went straight to Jiangling. Gao Jichong was so frightened that he immediately went out of the city to greet him, and sent all the household registration sheets to Kaifeng to express his surrender. Since then, Jingnan has been returned to the territory of the Song Dynasty.
After occupying Jingnan, the Song army's army was like a tiger with wings. Murong Yanzhao, Li Chuyun and others advanced into Hunan and defeated Zhang Chongfu and other Hunan generals in Sanjiangkou, Lizhou and other places. In the end, Langzhou was lost, Zhou Baoquan was captured, and Hunan was returned to the Song Dynasty.
Zhao Kuangyin skillfully took advantage of the civil strife in Hunan and Jingnan to win these two countries in one fell swoop, clearing the biggest obstacle to the great cause of reunification. He not only sent troops such as "false ways to cut down the people", but also was good at appeasing the people, exempting Hunan and Jingnan from taxes, and winning the hearts of the people.
This series of meticulous arrangements and ingenious operations undoubtedly demonstrated Zhao Kuangyin's outstanding political wisdom and extraordinary strategy. He not only successfully resolved the internal hidden dangers, but also took the initiative to attack, taking advantage of the weakness and taking the two major powers in the south in one fell swoop. This not only cleared the biggest obstacle to the great cause of reunification, but also won him the hearts of the people and laid a solid foundation for the subsequent road to reunification.
Meritorious service and internal friction
In the battles of Hunan and Jingnan, the outstanding meritorious ones were naturally Murong Yanzhao and Li Chuyun, the two main generals of the Song army. However, the two had a conflict during the battle. Li Chuyun has a domineering personality and has made decisions without authorization many times, and has disputes with Murong Yanzhao. The two also framed each other, and Zhao Kuangyin had to punish Li Chuyun and demote him to the history of Zizhou Thorn.
In contrast, Zhao Kuangyin is very important to Murong Yanzhao. According to historical records, Zhao Kuangyin regarded Murong Yanzhao as a brother, and even more so when he was called emperor. When Murong Yanzhao was seriously ill, Zhao Kuangyin personally sealed the medicine for him. Murong Yanzhao finally died of illness, and Zhao Kuangyin cried bitterly and was full of grief.
This internal friction reflects that even when Zhao Kuangyin's great cause of reunification achieved a phased victory, there were still quite a few contradictions in the army. Murong Yanzhao and Li Chuyun, two highly decorated generals, unexpectedly had disputes and contradictions when their military exploits were displayed. This undoubtedly brought a lot of hidden dangers to Zhao Kuangyin's great cause of reunification.
How to resolve the discord between the generals and maintain the morale of the army is a major problem that Zhao Kuangyin must solve on the road to reunification in the future. After all, even after a phased victory has been won, internal contradictions still exist, and once they get out of control, they will certainly seriously affect the process of the entire great cause of reunification.
Zhao Kuangyin must use more superb political wisdom and outstanding leadership skills to resolve these internal contradictions and unite the army's morale in order to ensure the final victory. Otherwise, even after achieving significant results, they may fall short due to internal strife.
epilogue
Zhao Kuangyin used his outstanding political wisdom and brilliant strategy to consolidate the interior and defuse the hidden dangers from the forbidden army; he strategized and preemptively struck to enter Hunan and Jingnan while he was weak; and he was also good at appeasing the people, winning the hearts of the people, and clearing the greatest obstacle to the great cause of reunification.
However, the contradiction between Murong Yanzhao and Li Chuyun also reflects that Zhao Kuangyin's army is not without barriers. How to unify the will of the soldiers and men and march toward the final victory will still be a huge test.