"Modesty" is probably a virtue that the ancient emperor group lacked the most, and when there was an emperor between the Northern and Southern Song Dynasty, he was very modest.
The Song Dynasty was a very special dynasty, hundreds of years before and after, only two famous ministers were killed, one was Yue Fei, and the other was Zhang Bangchang. Compared to other dynasties, it is obvious that there are too few killings.
The reason is very simple, after Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin took the country, he left a last word, that is, my children and grandchildren should treat ministers well and not kill indiscriminately.
If the officials of the Great Song Dynasty make mistakes, let's not kill them, at most they will be removed from their posts and exiled. Once people have the intention of repenting and behaving well, they can also be forgiven and even reinstated.
For example, Su Dongpo, a politician and writer, was exiled four times in his life, and after each exile, he could be reactivated, and he was not beaten to death with a stick.
Even during the reign of Song Gaozong (the 14th year of Shaoxing), the three old ministers Zhao Ding, Zhang Jun and Li Guang, who opposed Qin Hui, were only exiled to other places.
Qin Hui is notoriously ruthless, if anyone goes against him, he will definitely be knocked to the ground and stepped on one foot, so that he will never be able to turn over.
Although Qin Hui is vicious, he can't physically eliminate his opponent, because Huizong is unwilling - his ancestors have his last words, and he can't come nonsense.
Despite this, under the pressure of the Golden Vulture and under the operation of Qin Hui, Gaozong still killed Yue Fei, the pillar of the country.
Yue Fei was killed because he advocated resisting Jin, recovering the lost territory by force, and then welcoming Huizong and Qinzong back to the court. This touched Gaozong's bottom line, Qinzong was the legitimate emperor before he was captured, and after he returned, Gaozong was not allowed to abdicate?
Of course, Qinzong also said that after we go back, we will not interfere in politics, and we will be quite content to be a Taoist priest for the rest of our lives. But the later Ming Yingzong also said something similar, wasn't it also a restoration later?
Even if the former emperor did not want to be restored, a group of ministers would try their best to promote a coup d'état in order to become the father of the restoration of the country, and Yue Fei became a thorn in Gaozong's side and was killed by Qin Hui on "trumped-up" charges.
At this time, Song Gaozong obviously forgot the legacy of his ancestors to the clouds. However, this does not mean that Song Gaozong will be desperate to kill the minister casually.
In his 35 years of reign, he only killed two ministers. In the very turbulent times of the confrontation with the Jin State, this kind of open-mindedness is already very rare. You must know that Emperor Chongzhen at the end of the Ming Dynasty had 18 important ministers. In contrast, Gaozong was much more "merciful".
In addition to Yue Fei, Song Gaozong also killed one person, and that was Zhang Bangchang.
What did Zhang Bangchang do to make Song Gaozong go against Taizu's last words and kill him?
Very simply, Zhang Bangchang was an "emperor", an emperor supported by the Jin people.
To use an inappropriate analogy, this Zhang Bangchang's experience is somewhat similar to Wang Jingwei during the Republic of China, both of which were "set up separately" under the support of foreign invaders.
The difference is that Zhang Bangchang was supported by the Jin people, and after thousands of years of integration, the Jin and Han people are all part of the Chinese nation. And Wang Jingwei was supported by the Japanese invaders, and Japan was a typical alien invader.
Of course, in ancient times, there was no such concept of the Chinese nation as we do in modern times. In Song Gaozong's view, as long as he becomes the emperor, it is a rebellious act, which is absolutely not allowed, and it is normal to kill Zhang Bangchang. Zhang Bangchang is not a rebellion, but also a trespasser, and he has become a puppet emperor on an equal footing with him, which is indeed excessive.
However, in Zhang Bangchang's view, he died too unjustly, more unjustly than Dou E.
Let's look back a thousand years ago to see what happened at that time, and to see whether Zhang Bangchang was wronged or not.
Zhang Bangchang was born in 1081 in Dongguang, Hebei. At the age of 19, he was admitted to the Jinshi. Su Dongpo is 20 years old, Wang Anshi is 21 years old, and Fan Zhongyan is a 26-year-old Jinshi. It can be seen that Zhang Bangchang is very smart and knowledgeable, and can be said to be a genius.
In the fourth year of Daguan (1110), the 29-year-old Zhang Bangchang went to Goryeo with Wang Xiang, the secretary of the military department, as a Zhongshu Sheren.
It is said that when the Koreans saw Zhang Bangchang's dignified appearance and full of wealth, they liked him at that time, and they had to leave him behind and be an official there. Zhang Bangchang shook his head again and again and said, I am from the Great Song Dynasty, the emperor has trained me into a talent, and I want to go back to serve the motherland. It can be seen that Zhang Bangchang was still patriotic at that time.
Zhang Bangchang is not only patriotic, but also jealous and hateful. According to historical records, he abhorred corruption. Once, in front of Tong Guan, he pointed his nose and scolded him for being corrupt and perverting the law, which encouraged unhealthy trends.
Tong Guan is a veteran of the Three Dynasties, he has been in command many times, and has also won victories, the official to the captain, the power is overwhelming, the famous Fangla Uprising, in fact, was not suppressed by Song Jiang in the novel, it was Tong Guan who led the troops to get it.
Such a powerful eunuch, Zhang Bangchang dared to be tough in person, which shows that he is really jealous and hateful, and he is still very courageous. Therefore, he became a role model for scholars, and everyone respected him very much when they saw him, and they gave him a thumbs up.
Yu Qian of the Ming Dynasty wrote a poem called "Song of Lime", which has such a famous sentence: "You are not afraid of broken bones, you must leave your innocence in the world."
Although Zhang Bangchang has never written a "lime" poem like Yu Qian, he must have loved his feathers and left his innocence in the world.
How could Zhang Bangchang, who was upright at the beginning, forget his original intention and become a "traitor" in the future?
It turned out that the Song Dynasty had always emphasized literature over military force, and the army lacked combat effectiveness.
Besides, at this time, the Song Dynasty had been established for more than 60 years, and several generations had not fought a war. At that time, the people of the Northern Song Dynasty lived in a peaceful environment, put their swords and guns into storage, and put their horses in Nanshan. In the grasslands of the north, there was a nomadic Houjin, who quietly rose up and began to expand abroad.
The nomads were very strong in combat, and as an agrarian people, the people of the Song Dynasty could not defeat others. In the first year of Jingkang (1126), the army of the Jin State invaded the south, and the momentum was like a bamboo. Song Huizong was a literary emperor who didn't understand military affairs at all, he was flustered and frightened. At the critical moment, he actually picked his son and let the prince Zhao Huan take over in advance, and he went to be the emperor himself.
Qinzong had no political experience and no determination to turn the tide, so he ordered Zhao Gou, the king of Kang, to be the plenipotentiary and Zhang Bangchang to negotiate with Jin as the deputy representative.
Zhang Bangchang believes that since he is negotiating on behalf of the Great Song Dynasty, the emperor must give himself an explanation. For example, what is the bottom line of negotiation and what concessions can be made.
However, Qinzong didn't say anything, just said you go, and you'll know when you get there.
In fact, Song Qinzong had secretly explained to the Jin people, taking Zhao Gou and Zhang Bangchang as hostages, paralyzing each other, and planning to attack the Jin country.
Sure enough, before Zhang Bangchang arrived at the Jin State, his butt was still firmly seated, so Qinzong sent a general named Yao Pingzhong to attack the Jin camp.
Yao Pingzhong's sneak attack was unsuccessful and was quickly repulsed. What is certain is that Qinzong knew about this, or he made the decision. It can be seen that Qinzong did not take Zhang Bangchang's life seriously at all, nor did he take the safety of his younger brother Zhao Gou to heart.
The Jin people were furious, put the knife on the necks of Zhao Gou and Zhang Bangchang, and said: "You Nanban are too unauthentic, while talking about peace talks, you will give us this hand, you must be killed!" ”
Zhang Bangchang was so frightened that he couldn't possess his body, but he quickly calmed down and explained: "It's the people below who are doing it, our emperor definitely doesn't know about it, he doesn't take me seriously, and his younger brother." ”
This logic is impeccable, so to speak, the Jin people will believe it for the time being, and then Zhao Gou was released, and Zhao Shu, the king of Su, was sent as a hostage, but Zhang Bangchang was still detained in the Jin camp.
A few months later, Wanyan Zonghan launched another major attack on the Song Dynasty, and Zhang Bangchang was forced to accompany him. When Song Dynasty officials learned about it, they impeached Zhang Bangchang one after another, saying that he was a traitor.
Zhang Bangchang was also dismissed from his post as a representative of the Great Song Peace Talks and demoted to a scholar of the Guanwen Temple.
In the second year of Jingkang (1127), the shame of Jingkang occurred, the Jin soldiers broke through Kaifeng, the two emperors of Hui and Qin became prisoners, and the Northern Song Dynasty was declared extinct.
At this time, the lives of Huizong and Qinzong fell to the bottom, but Zhang Bangchang ushered in his own spring.
On this day, the Jin people suddenly told Zhang Bangchang that he wanted him to be emperor in the occupied area.
Why did the Jin people marry the land they had obtained through bloody battles and let Zhang Bangchang rule?
It turned out that the post-metal was a nomadic people, who were only interested in gold and silver treasures and the necessities of life, and lacked interest in land that could only be cultivated and not grazing. They are a people on horseback, who call the four seas home, and have no experience in governing the Central Plains.
In this regard, they are not as good as the previous Liao Dynasty, which has become a semi-nomadic and semi-agricultural people, knows how to run the country, knows that land can make money, and has a strong desire for land.
But since they occupied so much land, they didn't want to throw it away casually, so they let the Han people be puppet monarchs to help them govern, and collect taxes by the way.
People with vision have suggested that a person surnamed Zhao should be appointed as the emperor, Jin Taizong disagreed, saying that such a thing is to bury hidden dangers for ourselves, in case this emperor is disobedient, what should we do with us?
At this time, Zhang Bangchang, who felt more obedient, became the only candidate.
If Wang Jingwei was replaced by the later generations, he might gladly accept it, but at this time, Zhang Bangchang expressed his opinion: he disagreed.
In order to become an emperor, others need to pin their heads to the waistband of their trousers, fight everywhere, and die for life. Zhang Bangchang, the emperor, was sent, why didn't he do it?
He was sober and knew it was a hot potato. At this time, although the Northern Song Dynasty perished, the army was still there, and there were fierce generals like Han Shizhong, Yue Fei, and Zhang Jun, who were gearing up to recover the lost territory.
When the time comes, what will you do? will definitely be guillotined and beheaded all over the house.
On March 1 of the second year of Jingkang, when the Baiguan class welcomed Nanxunmen and let Zhang Bangchang ascend the throne, he coincidentally fell "ill". Jin Taizong didn't agree, and continued to exert pressure, saying that if he didn't agree, he would keep pestering you, so that you couldn't live in peace. Despite this, Zhang Bangchang did not give in, and he didn't do anything to kill me.
They did what they said they would do and went on a hunger strike.
Jin Taizong was furious and said, "You are limited to ascending the throne within three days, otherwise, I will order the slaughter of the city and kill all the people." ”
After the captured ministers heard about it, they cried and begged Zhang Bangchang, for the safety of the people, you still agree, who will go if you don't go to hell? Zhang Bangchang listened, so he had to grit his teeth and agree. On April 20, 1127, Zhang Bangchang ascended the throne in Kaifeng and became the emperor, with the country name "Da Chu".
At the enthronement ceremony, the minister burst into tears, and Zhang Bangchang also burst into tears. This is the enthronement, it is simply a funeral.
Although Zhang Bangchang became the emperor, he was still trembling, always worried that he would be settled by the Song Dynasty.
He took a lot of measures to prove that he was still a minister of the Song Dynasty, and that this emperor was not something he would do willingly. For example, he did not work in the Zichen Hall and the Vertical Arch Hall, because that was where Qinzong worked. He set up his office in the Wende Hall, and placed his desk and chairs facing west, without wearing a dragon robe or sitting on a dragon chair.
We all know that the emperor's dragon chair is placed in the south direction, so there are sayings of "facing the south and the king" and "facing the south to call the emperor". When he had a meeting with the minister, he didn't dare to call himself "I", but called himself "Yu". The official documents he promulgated were not called holy decrees, but "handwritten letters".
All these are leaving a way back for themselves, saying that they are still the courtiers of the Great Song Dynasty, not the emperor. Not only that, when Huizong and Qinzong followed the Jin people back to the north, he wore his usual clothes to see him off, kowtowing and saluting, completely like a courtier.
As soon as the Jin army withdrew, Zhang Bangchang immediately granted amnesty to the world and announced that he would welcome Zhao Gou back. When he did this, some people disagreed, saying that you have already been proclaimed emperor, will Zhao Gou forgive you when he comes?
Despite this, Zhang Bangchang still resolutely took out the Great Song Guoxi, let King Kang ascend the throne, and asked Empress Yuanyou of Song Zhezong to hang the curtain.
And he wrote in his handbook that I was forced to become the emperor, in order to save the people of Limin, in order to protect the Great Song Dynasty, it was an expedient measure, but there was no other idea. - "So those who are reluctant to follow the Jin people to push Dai want expedient to relieve the country's difficulties for a while, dare to have other cares?" ”
On the day of his reign, Zhang Bangchang also made an astonishing move, lying on the ground and crying, Your Majesty, you kill me, the minister is guilty.
Zhao Gou hurriedly stepped forward to help him up and said, how can you be guilty, you are not only not guilty, but you are also a great hero. You have maintained order, the people have been spared from being ruined, and you have also asked the Jin people not to destroy the Zhao family's social affairs, all of which are credits.
After Zhao Gou ascended the throne, he named Zhang Bangchang as the king of Tong'an County, Taibao, Fengguo Army, and Taifu, ranking as the third duke, and also participated in dealing with national affairs.
Don't look at the politeness in front, after the situation stabilized, Zhao Gou still attacked Zhang Bangchang.
The reason is very simple, after he ascended the throne, the newborn calf was not afraid of tigers, and he reused the main battle faction Li Gang and others to recover the lost territory. After Li Gang made a comeback, he naturally wanted to point the finger at Zhang Bangchang, the representative of the main peace faction, saying that this kid should be killed.
But Gaozong did not kill Zhang Bangchang immediately at that time, after all, Lao Zhang, who ascended the throne, made a lot of efforts, if he killed at this time, wouldn't it be said that he crossed the river and demolished the bridge? Therefore, he did not kill anyone, but only ordered Zhang Bangchang to be demoted to the deputy envoy of the festival.
Gaozong did not kill Zhang Bangchang, not because he didn't want to kill, but because he was afraid that people would say that he was ruthless and unrighteous. He wanted to slow down and wait until he got the handle.
Sure enough, Zhang Bangchang really let Zhao Gou pull out his pigtails. It turned out that when Zhang Bangchang was in the palace, the Jin people once gave Zhang Bangchang, Huizong's concubine and Jinggong's wife, Li Chunyan, and made him a pseudo-queen. Whether anything happened between the two is unknown to outsiders.
After returning to the Song Dynasty, Zhang Bangchang still corresponded with Mrs. Li, which allowed Gaozong to seize the evidence. According to the seniority, Mrs. Li is Zhao Gou's little mother, how can the emperor tolerate it?
This statement comes from Song Gaozong, and some people think that it is purely "unwarranted". Do you think, Zhang Bangchang is a scholar, don't you know the truth that the emperor's woman can't touch.
In order to prevent the emperor from catching him, he had made so many efforts before, if he touched Huizong cheese, wouldn't his previous efforts be wasted?
In any case, Gaozong still "edicted Bangchang for the crime" and chose to behead Zhang Bangchang. Zhang Bangchang only served as the emperor for 30 days, and he did a lot of foreshadowing, explaining that he was forced, but in the end he could not escape death.
Looking back on this period of history, some people say that Zhang Bangchang is too wronged, and like Yue Wumu, he says that Gaozong is too black. Some people also said that Zhang Bangchang was to blame for himself, and he was innocent of his death.
Reference historical materials: "Jingkang Chronicles", "Records of the Years since the Establishment of Yan", "History of the Song Dynasty/Biography of Zhang Bangchang"