Author: Our special guest author Qian Qiuyuan
If you let everyone choose the most disgraceful emperor, many friends must blurt out: Emperor Shi Jingtang!
Since he was the emperor and still had to call himself a son, The Later Jin Shi Jingtang really had enough facelessness! Yes, he did count as one.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" >, a consensual vassal emperor</h1>
But if I tell you, in addition to the emperor, there are also "subject emperors" in this world! Which is more humiliating, less faceless, let's wait and compare.
The so-called "emperor of the subjects" means that you are essentially a courtier of others, and when you meet and even meet the holy will of others, you, the emperor of the subjects, must perform the kneeling and worship of the emperor! Hey, this humiliation rested on the Emperor of the Central Plains, it was a naked punch in the face!
And the founder of this emperor was Emperor Gaozong of Song! Although the emperor called the subject of the matter before, for example, the Southern Tang had claimed to the Northern Song Dynasty, but it was a helpless move by the Southern Tang Dynasty - the Southern Tang really could not defeat the Northern Song, in order to survive, the Southern Tang had to choose to submit, and even cut off the emperor's title and called itself the lord of the country.
However, Emperor Gaozong of Song was different, and his title of subject could be said to be completely "voluntary".
Although it has experienced the difficulties of Jingkang and successive years of wars, the Great Song Clique has indeed suffered a serious loss of national strength, but in fact, the Jin State, as an opponent, is also losing. Comparing national strength, no one has any obvious advantages!
Not only that, Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, Wu Jie, Wu Xuan and others of the Southern Song Dynasty group were all geniuses, not only guarding the land without fear, but also more outstanding than the opponent's ability, and often beating the opponent to the ground to find teeth. The balance of victory was already tilting in favor of the Song people.
But under such circumstances, Zhao Zhuo chose to surrender, and even surrendered himself as a vassal! It can be said that in order to surrender, Zhao Jiudi also struggled.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > ii, Shaoxing and Hui</h1>
The matter of declaring subjects must be said to be the Shaoxing Peace Conference in 1141 AD. In history, there are many agreements signed by the Central Plains Dynasty to the outside world, but the most humiliating one must be said to be the Shaoxing Peace Agreement.
The reason for the humiliation is because this agreement stipulates that Song will be a subject to Jin, and Emperor Gaozong of Jin will be emperor. On the birthday of the Lord of Jin and New Year's Day, Song must send envoys to congratulate him.
The meaning of this is obvious: from then on, the Great Song Dynasty was a vassal state of the Great Golden Kingdom. You, the emperor, must be canonized (even formally) by the Golden Kingdom to be effective.
On this agreement, it really did not happen in the history of the Central Plains Dynasty: although the alliance of Song and Liao was a loss, the two countries of Song and Liao were "brotherly countries", that is equal relations! The celebration and peace agreement between song and western Xia was even more a vassal of Song by Western Xia.
On the issue of face, even if it is to spend money to buy face, the Great Song Dynasty and even the Central Plains Dynasty have always had to have face! But this Shaoxing peace talks, but it cost a huge amount of money and did not want face!
Of course, in fact, only Emperor Gaozong of Song was officially "canonized" as the Emperor of Song by the Jin Dynasty. To put it bluntly, it is that the master of the Golden Kingdom has officially recognized you as a slave, and in the future, he will not appoint a puppet emperor such as Liu Yu to make trouble for you, and you Zhao Jiu brother will be at ease as a slave! Perhaps, in Zhao Zhao's heart, the stability of his throne is the first, as for what face problem, it is worth a few cents?
Not only did he say that he was a subject, but even in writing, Zhao Zhao was also very honest in his attitude toward Jin, and it was recorded in the "History of Jin" that the oath of the second year of the Jin Emperor's reunification (1149 AD) was written: "Subjects, now come to paint Xinjiang..." These two words of "subject construction" are simply familiar to Zhao Jiudi when he uses them, and there is no shame!
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > third, the comparison between the emperor and the nephew emperor</h1>
It's just that he can swallow his anger and become a subject emperor, but that doesn't mean that others can also endure! At least, his successor, Song Xiaozong, couldn't stand it!
In 1163, Emperor Xiaozong of Song launched the Longxing Northern Expedition, which was not victorious, but after this battle, the two sides re-agreed to be an uncle-nephew relationship - becoming a less humiliating nephew emperor.
Some people say that the nephew emperor is not more humiliated than the subject emperor? Hey, wrong!
Which is more humiliating? When we look at Shi Jingtang's nephew and successor Shi Chonggui, we know that after Shi Jingtang's death, Yelü Deguang came to seal Shi Chonggui, and when he saw that Shi Chonggui was young, he asked Later Jin to claim the title of vassal of the Liao State!
Although Shi Jingtang had been emperor, he had never been a subject emperor! Shi Zhonggui is hard to crane his neck and call Sun not a subject! Therefore, at least in those days, calling a subject was more humiliating than calling a son or a grandson!
Emperor Subjects, Sons, Nephews, it seems to us to be just a title, but in those years, it was bigger than the sky - because it was a matter of the dignity of a nation!
Once a nation loses its dignity, it is equivalent to being sucked out of its spine.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > fourth, ceded territory</h1>
We say that Shi Jingtang does not want to face, in addition to claiming that the emperor is too humiliated, on the other hand, he ceded youyun sixteen states, so that the Central Plains Dynasty has almost no danger to defend.
But in fact, on the cutting of land, Zhao Jiudi can be much more ruthless than Shi Jingtang: first of all, the four prefectures of Tang, Deng, Shang, and Qin that were clearly ceded are all natural good horse farms, and after cutting these places, the Southern Song Dynasty Group has not even had a place to produce horses from then on.
Speaking of this, some friends may have to say: Shi Jingtang cut 16 states, and Zhao Jiudi cut 4 states, it seems that the weight is much less!
It's a big mistake to think about it this way!
Because the signing of the Shaoxing Peace Agreement meant that Zhao Jiudi completely abandoned half of the Central Plains, the Southern Song Dynasty group could no longer even be called the Central Plains Dynasty - because most of the Central Plains was no longer the territory of the old Zhao family!
Some people may say: that area is already occupied by the Jurchens, and the Southern Song Dynasty group cannot get it back, so it is not betrayed by Zhao Jiudi.
In fact, with the situation at that time, the Southern Song Dynasty was fully capable of recovering the lost land in the Central Plains. This topic has been discussed in depth in many issues, not only because of the superior military ability of Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, Wu Jiu, Wu Xuan and others, but also because the Central Plains people at that time had a very strong sense of self-identity and belonging, they strongly believed that they were Song people, and The Jurchens were just uncultured barbarians, in other words, the ruling foundation of the Jurchens was very unstable.
In this case, if the Southern Song Dynasty group went all out to carry out the Northern Expedition, it was entirely possible for the great rivers and mountains in the Central Plains to be restored. However, the Shaoxing Peace Conference made all this a bubble.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" >5</h1>
In this regard, the later Great Confucian Wang Fuzhi said: "The Southern Song Dynasty Gaozong Dynasty had restored ministers, but (but) there was no restored king. ”
From this point of view, Zhao Zhao was betraying the entire Central Plains world, and this great gift was much richer than the Sixteen States of Youyun!
What is shameless not to face? What is traitor to the country and seek glory? Brother Zhao Jiu leads by example to show you! Compared with Shi Jingtang, Emperor Gaozong of Song was the king who did not want to be in the face.
References: History of the Song Dynasty, History of Jin
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