Author: We invite the author to be a military handsome man
When it comes to the second emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty, Song Taizong, many history enthusiasts evaluate him as "shaking his head". Song Taizong's escape in a donkey cart after the defeat of the Sorghum River has become a "laughing stock" in the eyes of many historical voters. So, was Song Taizong really "the biggest loser of the Northern Song Dynasty"? In addition to the many shortcomings in military command, did Song Taizong make a positive contribution to the development of the history of the Song Dynasty? How should we evaluate Song Taizong's merits and demerits from a perspective as objective as possible?
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > military command with many bad points</h1>
To tell the truth, Song Taizong was really not suitable for commanding a war, and his military ability was far worse than that of his brother Zhao Kuangyin. The gap in military capabilities between the two is really "no harm without contrast."
In 970, the Song and Liao armies clashed in Suicheng. At that time, the Song army led by Zhao Kuangyin had only 3,000 men, while the Liao army had a strength of up to 60,000 people. What Liao Jingzong could not have imagined was that Zhao Kuangyin led 3,000 Song troops to defeat 60,000 Liao troops. Taizu's military command ability can be seen from this. If The Song Dynasty had lived for 10 more years, the Northern Song Dynasty might have restored the territory of the late Tang Dynasty.
However, the heavens did not care for Song Taizu. In 976, Zhao Kuangyin, a generation of British lords, died suddenly, and his younger brother Zhao Guangyi sat on the dragon chair, which was Song Taizong, who was called "the god of sorghum river cars" by posterity.
When this emperor first ascended the throne, he really showed his face on the battlefield, and in 978 he cleaned up the dying Northern Han Dynasty, and then he burst with confidence, regardless of the fatigue of the veterans of the Northern Han Division, he had to recover Youyun Sixteen Prefectures in one go to complete his brother's unfinished business.
Less than 10 days after the end of the Northern Han War, Zhao Guangyi led the Song army to continue north. In the face of the elite troops of the Liao Army, the Song Army rushed up and beat the Liao Army. In the first round of the Battle of Youzhou, the Liao army suffered heavy losses, and more than 500 officers and men were captured by the Song army.
From the above battles, we can see that the strength of the Song army is not bad. As long as the Song army followed the established tactics left by Zhao Kuangyin and the Liao army, the reconquest of Youyun Sixteen Prefectures was just around the corner.
However, to the surprise of many people, Zhao Guangyi's Northern Expedition failed. Not only failed, but two consecutive failures. The first time, the Song army was defeated in the Battle of the Sorghum River, and Song Taizong, who was hit by two arrows, could not ride a horse and could only escape in a donkey cart. The second time, the Song army sent 200,000 troops to attack the Liao army, but due to the very bad civilian official supervision system that hindered the normal command of the front-line generals, a good chess game that could be won was played by Song Taizong.
What is even more frightening is that during the Second Northern Expedition, Song Taizong drew a line map for the front-line generals and required all the generals to fight step by step through the formation map. But then again, the war on the front line is ever-changing, relying on the formation map to remotely control the command of the front-line troops of the Song Army, is this Zhao Guangyi's approach the same as Zhao Shuo, is it all on paper? Fortunately, in the Battle of Mancheng, the famous General Li Jilong of the Song Army withstood the pressure and resolutely did not fight according to the formation plan, and finally defeated the Liao army.
Regarding the fact that Song Taizong remotely commanded the front-line generals through the formation map, the famous minister Tian Xi suggested to the emperor, "Now to resist the enemy's attack, we should choose the general first." After the general was elected, he handed over the military power to the general and let him take full responsibility. There is no need to give him a battle map, there is no need to grant him a plan, let the general adapt to local conditions, adapt to changes, and there is no unsuccessful. Unfortunately, for this reasonable suggestion, Song Taizong, who was overwhelmed by the victory, did not adopt it.
Therefore, Song Taizong was really a "loser" in military command. The most direct consequence of the failure of the two Northern Expeditions was that the Song army changed from an offensive posture to a defensive posture against Liao. I don't know if Zhao Kuangyin would tell Zhao Guangyi in the underworld if he heard his brother blindly tossing the Great Song Forbidden Army that he had brought out with his own hands.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > second, Song Taizong's "Great Wall of Water"</h1>
So, is Song Taizong really useless in the military field? Not really. The offensive operations were not very good, and Song Taizong's defensive operations could be called a must. The "Great Wall of Water" of the Northern Song Dynasty is the most direct proof of the defense of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty.
The two Northern Expeditions failed, and the Song army turned from offensive to defensive position in an all-round way, but the defense of the Liao army still had to be done. Song Qi's advice can't be used, what should I do?
At a critical moment, a minister named He Chengju suggested to Song Taizong that from present-day Mancheng County in Hebei Province to Nigu Haikou, the tributaries such as the Daqing River along the line should be connected to more than 30 depressions to form a water defense line stretching for more than 450 kilometers. On the basis of this water defense line, the water network that has continuously excavated the river channel again, so that the depression and the lake are connected to each other, this is the Great Wall on the Water.
If it can be done, the Northern Song Dynasty can not only build a natural defense line, but also rely on the river to develop farmland and supplement war resources. Of course, the amount of work is also very large, and the difficulty is also extremely large.
However, Song Taizong, who was a layman in the war, was really unambiguous in doing this: he mobilized 18,000 troops on the spot to start construction, asking for money to give money to people, and after rapid construction, the Northern Song Dynasty established a water great wall project that stretched for thousands of miles and stretched for 7 military states. A total of 19 rivers passed, 30 moorings, and 100 boats on the river for early warning. The Song army's military expenditure on defending Hebei was greatly saved. According to the historical records, between 988 and 995, after the restoration of the Water Great Wall, the Liao army launched five attacks on the Song army, and the Song army relied on the Water Great Wall to resist five battles and three victories.
The success of the Great Wall of Water proves that Song Taizong himself has a strategic vision and execution ability. This ability made Song Taizong a staff officer or privy councillor was still very good, but song Taizong's strategic vision to become an excellent emperor had to be higher.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > third, excellent Wenzhi</h1>
Song Taizong was not satisfactory militarily, but his highlights in civil rule were quite numerous. In addition to the two big books "Taiping Guangji" and "Taiping Royal Records", which are popular among historical voters, Song Taizong made far-reaching contributions to the Northern Song Dynasty in terms of civil rule.
First, reform the way. Perhaps inspired by Tang Taizong's "good as a stream", Song Taizong was determined to be an emperor who was as good as a stream and worked hard to rule like Tang Taizong. Driven by this thinking, Emperor Taizong of Song reformed the central government's advisory apparatus. In February 988, Emperor Taizong of Song changed the name of the counselor, renaming the left and right supplementary gaps to the left and right si zhi, and the left and right relics to the left and right zhengyan, and encouraged the counselors to violate the words and direct advice. With the encouragement of Emperor Taizong of Song, outspoken officials like Kou Zhun Tian Xi emerged in the Northern Song Dynasty. If placed in other eras, officials like Kou Zhun Tian Xi may have lost their heads. However, living in the song dynasty, Emperor Taizong institutionally guaranteed that those who spoke were innocent and had full abstinence.
Second, reform the Dengwen drum system. The Dengwen drum system was an important channel for the transmission of social sentiments by the people, which was very important in ancient China. In 984, Emperor Taizong issued an edict to reform the Dengwen Drum Academy system in the Tang Dynasty. Personally try the Dengwen Drum case. Once, a grassroots official named Sun Chongwang beat the Dengwen drum and accused Cao Han of stealing the people's fat and endangering one side. Emperor Taizong of Song personally received Cao Han, and when he learned that Cao Han's greed had aroused public indignation, Emperor Taizong of Song held a meeting to consult with hundreds of officials, and finally issued an edict: Cut off Cao Han's title, and confiscate the land that Cao Han had encroached upon.
On another occasion, Song Bai, a waiter in charge of the imperial examination of the Gongyuan, only admitted 28 jinshi and more than 100 other subjects. When the list was posted, people talked about it: the exam hosted by Song Bai was unfair. Someone beat a drum to the Dengwen Drum Temple, asking the emperor to seek justice. When Song Taizong learned of the situation, he personally ordered another examination, and finally admitted more than 700 people. Without the emperor's interrogation and the Dengwen drum system, these hundreds of candidates who have studied hard for ten years would definitely be lost.
Third, reform the examination system. Song Taizong took two measures to reform the imperial examination: First, expand the number of admissions. Secondly, the examination hall test adopts the pasty name system. This system blocks the candidate's name and other information to avoid scoring the examiner when reading the paper, thereby ensuring the fairness and impartiality of the examination. The pasting system has a far-reaching impact on China's imperial examinations.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > fourth, crack down on corruption</h1>
Like his elder brother Zhao Kuangyin, Song Taizong was an emperor who hated corruption. After ascending the throne in 976, Emperor Taizong of Song used various means to pressure corruption. In 978 and 985, Emperor Taizong of Song issued two edicts stressing that corrupt officials should not be used after they were removed from their posts. How harsh was Song Taizong's anti-corruption? For example, Wang Jixun, the elder brother of Empress Taizu of Song, committed no evil deeds in local corruption and perverted the law, and even killed slaves for food, frightening the common people to dare to be angry and dare not speak. Zhao Guangyi personally issued an edict and beheaded Wang Jixun to show the public, and the people clapped their hands and applauded. The official Lu Pei accepted bribes for 190 yuan, and the eunuch Feng Yanchen sold bricks and tiles and wood, and finally was beheaded.
All in all, Song Taizong was militarily inferior, and he was very different from his brother Song Taizu. However, the construction of the Great Wall of Water can also reflect the strategic vision of Song Taizong. Emperor Taizong of song made a series of reforms in civil rule, among which the interview system, the reform speech and whistleblowing system maintained the stability of the Northern Song Dynasty for more than 100 years. Song Taizong's performance in anti-corruption is also remarkable. Therefore, the merits of Emperor Taizong of Song could not be ranked with that of Emperor Wu of Qin and Emperor Wu of Tang, but he was a qualified lord of shoucheng. Juxtaposing Emperor Taizong of Song and Emperor Huizong of the Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Huizong of Song, and Emperor Qinzong of Song is not in line with historical facts.
References: Huang Ruyi's "Iron-Blooded Song", Nie Zhaohua, Zhong Liheng's "Biography of Emperor Taizong of Song", Gao Enze's "Examination of the Great Wall of Water in the Northern Song Dynasty"
Further reading:
Li Shimin killed the crown prince and the king of Qi in order to seize the throne, but why did he spare Li Yuan, the emperor of Tang Gaozu?
When the shame of Jing Kang broke out, how could the Yang family not come out to save the country?