Comrade Guevara
The story of the heroes of Liangshan is well-known in China, with one hundred and eight generals headed by the big leader Song Jiang, each with unique skills, under the banner of "doing the right thing for heaven" and "robbing the rich and helping the poor", they deduced a scene of heroic deeds that can be sung and cried. In fact, the Song Jiang Uprising is indeed a fact in history, but its real situation is very different from the plot of "Water Margin", and Song Jiang did not take the initiative to accept Zhao'an, but was forced to surrender after being defeated by Zhang Shuye. So, who is Uncle Zhang?
Zhang Shuye, the word Ji Zhong, a native of Kaifeng in the late Northern Song Dynasty, was born in a family of eunuchs, his great-grandfather was the famous minister of Zhenzong and Renzong Zhang Qi (official to the privy envoy, servant), grandfather Zhang Li was an official to the Xiongzhou regimental training envoy, his father Zhang Zongwang was the official to the Zhengfeng doctor, and his brother Zhang Jinguan was the direct bachelor of the Xianmo Pavilion, all of whom were famous for a while. Influenced by his elders and elder brothers, Uncle Zhang has been ambitious since he was a child, likes to talk about the art of war, and often takes it as his responsibility to clear the universe and to Jun Yaoshun, so he constantly sharpens himself for the future.
张叔夜画像
After Uncle Zhang and the crown, he did not take the road of entering the imperial examination, but was appointed to join the army as a Lanzhou recorder by virtue of his father's shadow, and embarked on the road of winning fame by relying on military merits. During his tenure, Zhang Shuye led his army to outwit Tiandu, a military stronghold between the Song Dynasty and the Western Xia, and asked the imperial court to set up Xi'an Prefecture (20 kilometers west of Haiyuan County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region), thus effectively curbing the invasion of the Northern Shaanxi region by the Western Xia and Qiang people. After this incident, Zhang Shuye showed outstanding military talent, which attracted the attention of the high-level.
Due to the meritorious defense of Western Xia, and the support of Jiang Zhiqi and others, Zhang Shuye has been prosperous since then, and has successively served as Zhizhou, Kaifeng Shaoyin, Zhongshu Sheren, and other important positions, and tired officials to the Ministry of Rites. During this period, Zhang Shuye was ordered to envoy to the Liao State, and won the first place in the banquet, which shocked and admired the monarchs and ministers of the Liao State. After returning from the mission, Zhang Shuye drew a total of five pieces of information on the mountains and rivers, cities, costumes, and rituals of the Liao State, which were presented to Huizong of the Song Dynasty, which became an important reference for the Song Dynasty's northern expedition to the Liao State and the seizure of Youyun's hometown in the future.
Cai Jing Image
However, although Zhang Shuye had outstanding talents and outstanding political achievements, and was quite appreciated by Song Huizong, this monarch was upright by nature, jealous and hateful, and always refused to attach himself to the powerful, and during his tenure in the court, he strongly advocated the elimination of "empty yellow" and other malpractices, which caused the jealousy and exclusion of Cai Jing, the minister of power, and was demoted from Beijing a few years later, and served as the governor of Haizhou again as the Huiyou Pavilion (note: Haizhou is now Haizhou District, Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province). And it was Haizhou that Uncle Zhang exterminated the Song Jiang rebels at night and became the "terminator" of Shuibo Liangshan.
Like other peasant armies, the spark for the Songjiang uprising was still rebellion against the tyranny of the imperial government. It turned out that the imperial court headed by Huizong of the Song Dynasty, in order to raise military expenses for the war against Western Xia and Liao, maintain the operation of the empire, and satisfy personal enjoyment, could only adopt a policy of looting the people in the face of financial difficulties. Among these policies were the nationalization of the waters within a radius of 800 li from Liangshanbo, and if the people wanted to fish, harvest, and cut pus in the lake, they had to pay heavy taxes, and anyone who fished without permission would be punished as thieves.
Embroidered statue of Song Jiang
The people around Liangshanbo have always lived on the lake, and they can barely eat enough to eat after working hard every day, but now they have been cut off from the source of livelihood by the imperial court, and the anger and despair in their hearts can be imagined. In November of the first year of Xuanhe (1119), in a desperate situation, the poor peasants and fishermen around Liangshanbo gathered around the powerful Song River in Yuncheng, and took advantage of the local terrain that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and openly raised the banner of rebellion against the imperial court.
According to historical records, there were 36 backbone members of the Song Jiang Righteous Army, but the specific names are unknown. Gong Kai of the Song Dynasty once listed the names and nicknames of 36 people in "Praise and Preface to the Thirty-six People of Song Jiang", which is roughly the same as "Water Margin", and may also be the earliest "blueprint" that the author Shi Nai'an referred to when writing the book. Although Gong Kai's statement is not supported by historical data, it is just the words of a family, but one thing is certain, the team composed of 36 backbones has amazing combat effectiveness, which made the Song Dynasty suffer.
The image of Liangshan heroes in picture books
Although Song Jiang raised a counter-flag at Liangshanbo, he did not take root here, but left the place after defeating the imperial army, and fought in Shandong, Henan, and Hebei. Because the Song Dynasty has been peaceful for a long time, the official army has not practiced fighting for a long time, so although the number of rebels is not large, they can beat the defenders to the ground every time, so that the Song army in Henan and Shandong is invincible ("The Song River starts from Heshuo, and turns to ten counties, and the officials and soldiers dare not infuse their fronts. For the quotation, see "Song History: Uncle Zhang's Night Biography"), which shows how strong its combat effectiveness is.
However, long-term mobile warfare also has its drawbacks: because there is no solid base area, it is difficult to ensure sufficient logistical materials and soldiers' supply, and if it cannot integrate other armed forces and loot property in various places, then what awaits the Song Jiang Righteous Army is only the defeat after the gradual attrition. And the "Waterloo" of the Song Jiang Righteous Army was Haizhou, where Zhang Shuye served as the governor.
Map of the situation of the Songjiang Uprising
In February of the third year of Xuanhe (1121), Song Jiang led his army to Haizhou, where he first grabbed more than 10 large ships on the seashore, filled them with all the plunder, and sent special personnel to defend them. After Zhang Shuye sent people to find out the intentions of the righteous army, on the one hand, he posted a list of articles and offered heavy rewards to arrest Song Jiang and others, and on the other hand, he recruited more than 1,000 death squads and set up an ambush near the seashore. After preparing to stop, Uncle Zhang sent a small group of soldiers to the seashore to lure the battle, and at the same time ambushed the elite soldiers on the seashore.
Song Jiang really hit the plan and led the main army to leave the ship to fight ashore, but it didn't take long for the ships moored on the seashore to be burned by ambushes, and the back road was cut off, and the rebels would inevitably be frightened when they saw this. Uncle Zhang saw the fire on the seashore at night and knew that the ambush had been successful, so the commander army and the death squad attacked the rebels and surrounded them to the ground. After a fierce battle, the rebels suffered heavy casualties, and the deputy marshal was also captured, Song Jiang saw that the general situation was gone, so he had to surrender to Zhang Shuye. At this point, the vigorous Songjiang Uprising ended in failure.
Zhang Shuye is the "terminator" of Shuibo Liangshan
(Song Jiang) said that it was coming, and the envoys of the uncle night coveted it, and the thieves approached the sea, robbed more than ten boats, and captured the brine. So he recruited a thousand dead soldiers, set up an ambush near the city, and sent light troops from the sea to lure the battle. Hide by the seaside first, wait for the army, and set fire to his boat. When the thieves heard it, they all had no fighting spirit, and the ambush soldiers took advantage of it, captured its deputy thief, and Jiang Nai surrendered. Ibid.
Since the Song Jiang rebels mainly fought in the Central Plains and repeatedly defeated the official army, it was tantamount to a "trouble for the henchmen" for the Northern Song court, and they must be eliminated as soon as possible. Therefore, when the news of Song Jiang's defeat and surrender reached Kaifeng, Song Huizong Longyan Dayue issued an edict to promote Zhang Shuye to the prefect of Jinan Prefecture and appointed as a direct scholar of Huiyou Pavilion. During his tenure as the prefect of Jinan, Zhang Shuye was promoted to the prefect of Longtu Pavilion and the prefect of Qingzhou Prefecture for his meritorious service in killing thousands of bandits.
Portrait of Huizong of the Song Dynasty
In the first year of Jingkang (1126), the Jin soldiers invaded the south, and Zhang Shuye asked for his cavalry in the last chapter to cut off the enemy's return route with the generals, but this proposal failed to get the approval of Song Qinzong. Subsequently, Zhang Shuye was reappointed as the governor of Dengzhou, and soon served as the governor of Nandao, responsible for recruiting troops to resist Jin. After the Jin soldiers approached Kaifeng, Zhang Shuye respected the order of Song Qinzong, led an army of 30,000 people to King Qin, and fought with the Jin soldiers under the city of Kaifeng for 4 days, killing the Jin army's fierce generals Jin Huan and Gui General, so that the enemy army was angry.
Although the Jin soldiers were defeated by Zhang Shuye several times, the main force still existed, so the danger of Kaifeng was not lifted. In view of this, Zhang Shuye suggested that Song Qinzong temporarily go to Xiangyang for refuge, and although the emperor agreed, he did not take action because he mistakenly believed the nonsense of the traitorous minister Li Bangyan and others that "Jingshi can be guaranteed". After that, Uncle Zhang stayed in Kaifeng City at night, and assisted in the defense of Beijing as a senior scholar and a member of the Privy Council, but in view of the situation that the enemy was strong and we were weak, and foreign aid was cut off, he was no longer able to save the situation of peril.
Jingkang's change situation map
In the first year of Jingkang (1126), in the leap eleventh month, Guo Jing, who was in charge of the defense of the Beijing Division, took the initiative to attack the enemy, and fled after the defeat without closing the city gate, which led to Kaifeng being quickly captured by the Jin soldiers. After the Jin soldiers captured Kaifeng, they plundered the public and private savings in the city, and exiled Song Huizong, Song Qinzong's father and son and harem concubines, royal men and women, and a large number of courtiers, craftsmen, and women to the north, which was known as the "Jingkang Change" in April of the second year of Jingkang. At this point, the Northern Song Dynasty officially perished.
Among the Northern Song courtiers who were sent north, Zhang Shuye was also among them, and was mistreated for strongly opposing the Jin State's establishment of a different surname as emperor. In protest, Uncle Zhang went on a hunger strike on his way north and did not say a word all day. When the team traveled to Baigou, the boundary river between the Song and Jin dynasties, Zhang Shuye knew that it would be difficult to return to the Central Plains for the rest of his life, and he could only be a ghost in a foreign land after that, so he was extremely sad and angry, looked up to the sky and shouted, and hanged himself that night at the age of 63. It is really embarrassing that a generation of famous generals ended up like this.
Song Gaozong Images
Finally, let's briefly describe what happened to Uncle Zhang. Soon after the fall of Kaifeng, Song Gaozong Zhao Gou ascended the throne in Yingtian, and the Southern Song Dynasty began. After Song Gaozong ascended the throne, in view of the fact that Zhang Shuye had supported the Jingshi in the battle and had the "merit" of following the two emperors of Huiqin to the north, he was awarded the title of scholar of Guanwendian University and envoy of Liquan. After the bad news of Uncle Zhang's suicide came out, Song Gaozong was extremely sad, so he issued an edict to posthumously present him as the Kaifu Yitong Three Divisions, and his nickname was Zhongwen. In the eighth year of Shaoxing (1138), Song and Jin reached a peace agreement, and Zhang Shuye's remains were returned to his homeland and buried on the shore of Poyang Lake.
bibliography
1. [Southern Song Dynasty] Anonymous: The Remains of Xuanhe of the Great Song Dynasty, Shanghai Classical Literature Publishing House, 1954.
2. [Yuan] Tuotuo: History of the Song Dynasty, Zhonghua Book Company, 1985 edition.
3. [Qing] Bi Yuan, "Renewal of Capital and Governance Tongjian", Zhonghua Book Company, 1999 edition.