What is history: it is the echo of the past to the future, the reflection of the future on the past. - Hugo
In the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Zhou Shizong Chai Rong was known as the first sage, but half a year after his death, Zhao Kuangyin launched the Chen Qiao Mutiny, attacked Kaifeng, and established the Song Dynasty.
Within a year's work, the vast territory that originally belonged to Hou Zhou belonged to Zhao Song. Although there were also Zezhou Li Jun and Yangzhou Li Chongjin rebelling during this period, most of the feudal towns were passed on.
Since the Anshi Rebellion, for one or two hundred years, there have been many feudal towns, supporting soldiers and respecting themselves, but only superficially submitting to the imperial court. Even if Zhao Kuangyin took Kaifeng, it would only defeat the Later Zhou imperial family, so why didn't the world fall into a scuffle like the previous dynasty again?
It must be admitted that Zhou Shizong was indeed talented.
Compared with other kings of the same era, he promoted good governance and many reforms, especially the strategy of strong cadres and weak branches, which had a major impact on the later Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin. It was precisely with Zhou Shizong as a reference that Song Taizu was able to formulate a "cup of wine to release military power", to cut the power of the feudal towns, and to first go south and then north, and finally to deal with the Khitan state strategy.
However, Zhou Shizong's reign was too short, from his ascension to the throne as emperor to his death from illness, but only five years.
In the past five years, he has conquered the north and the south, repeatedly mobilized troops, although he has also expanded his territory and established a great cause. It is precisely because of the repeated military revolutions that have caused domestic labor, he worries day and night, and develops a violent personality, often torturing his courtiers without saying a word.
Therefore, when Zhou Shizong was alive, the princes of the world were still jealous of his power; once they returned to the west, all the princes of all walks of life were eager to move, and all of them had a rebellious heart.
Compared with Zhou Shizong's irritability and widowhood, Zhao Kuangyin, the grandfather of the Song Dynasty, appeared open-minded and benevolent, knowing people and being good at responsibility. Even in the face of former enemies, they can be magnanimous and meritocracy.
When Zhao Kuangyin was young, he traveled abroad and came to Suizhou, where he assassinated Dong Zongben, and zhao Kuangyin's father was an old acquaintance, and he also saw that Zhao Kuangyin was young and promising, and he was quite important to Zhao Kuangyin.
Zhao Kuangyin is also indeed talented, whether it is a school competition or a marching formation, he can always win the applause of the whole hall. In a short period of time, Zhao Kuangyin became an idol of the generals in Suizhou.
Dong Zongben had a son named Dong Zunzhi, he was similar in age to Zhao Kuangyin, originally Dong Zunzhi was the first prince of Suizhou, respected everywhere he went, surrounded by flowers and applause all day, who expected Zhao Kuangyin to come and steal all his limelight. Dong Zunzhi was inevitably angry in his heart, so Dong Zunzhi tried every means to humiliate Zhao Kuangyin, and even sent someone to assassinate him.
Zhao Kuangyin had a good look, and after escaping the crisis, he took the initiative to leave Suizhou.
More than ten years later, Dong Zunzhi succeeded his father as the Assassin of Suizhou and became a prince with a heavy army. He was a little complacent, who expected that once the wind and clouds changed, Zhao Kuangyin transformed into Song Taizu.
Zhao Kuangyin, who claimed to be empress, summoned Dong Zunzhi to the capital, and Dong Zunyi remembered the past years and was terrified, thinking that Zhao Kuangyin would definitely clean up after himself. Who expected that after arriving in the capital, Song Taizu actually promoted Dong Zunzhi and made him an envoy of the Tongyuan Army.
Dong Zunzhi's mother was taken captive by the Khitan and could not be searched for for many years. Song Taizu also sent an envoy to the Khitan and spent tens of thousands of taels of silver to redeem Dong Zunzhi's mother. Dong Zunzhi was grateful to Shu Zero, and repeatedly said that even if he died for Song Taizu, he had no regrets.
Song Taizu said that when he was in Suizhou in the past years, he had personally seen Dong Zunzhi's talents. As long as Dong Zunzhi manages the army with his heart and serves the country, he can naturally enjoy wealth forever.
Other founding fathers often killed heroes indiscriminately, especially those who had surpassed themselves in the past, and they were even more intolerant.
Before Zhao Kuangyin became emperor, he was the commander of the Later Zhou Forbidden Army Hall, and his immediate superior, zhang Yongde, served as the inspector of the former palace, and this person was originally the son-in-law of Guo Wei, the grandfather of later Zhou, and had a high prestige in the military and in the dynasty.
If it were not for Zhou Shizong Chai Rong's jealousy of Zhang Yongde's prestige, when he was dying, he deliberately dismissed Zhang Yongde from the capital and expelled him from the capital, Zhao Kuangyin would not have had the opportunity to be promoted to the capital inspection point, launched the Chen Qiao Mutiny, and founded the country as emperor.
For a senior in the army like Zhang Yongde, any emperor must be jealous, and if it is Zhu Yuanzhang, the ancestor of Han Gaozu Liu Bangming, he will inevitably find ways to get rid of it.
Song Taizu had a lot of affection for this former leader. After being proclaimed emperor, he still cared about the old righteousness, not only allowing Zhang Yongde to enjoy the supreme high position in the army, but also letting him take charge of military power and serving as an envoy to Dengzhou.
A sergeant in Dengzhou was punished by Zhang Yongde, and this person had hatred in his heart and rushed to the capital overnight to accuse Zhang Yongde of rebellion, and Song Taizu could have taken the opportunity to take Zhang Yongde down, but Song Taizu grabbed this sergeant and sent him to Dengzhou to be handed over to Zhang Yongde for full handling.
When Zhang Yongde saw this sergeant, he just beat him ten times and let him go.
Song Taizu was a military general by birth, but he did things with foresight. He did not reward the sergeant who filed the complaint, did not kill the sergeant, but sent it to Zhang Yongde for processing. On the one hand, he can tell Zhang Yongde: I have a lot of trust in you; on the other hand, he also warns Zhang Yongde that you should be cautious in doing things.
Song Taizu said many things in his life, including a sentence that was widely circulated, called: "On the side of the bed, will you allow others to sleep soundly?" When he said this, Song Taizu was only surrounded by zhao pu, his most trusted adviser, so there was no concealment between the words, breaking the true intentions of the emperors of all generations.
In fact, Song Taizu also has a sentence, which is also very powerful, called "Those who violate my law, only the sword ear!" ”
Everyone knows that Song Taizu was very kind to military generals, and often gave them high-ranking officials Houlu to let them enjoy wealth. In fact, there is a premise for enjoying wealth, that is, there must be no illegal things, especially no covetousness for the Great Song Dynasty. Once corruption is involved, conspiracy is involved, even if this person is a high-ranking and powerful person, and then has a close relationship with Zhao Kuangyin, he will not hesitate to kill him.
It was precisely because Zhao Kuangyin, the ancestor of the Song Dynasty, had kindness, righteousness, and law to the princes of the world that he was able to subdue all the feudal towns that originally belonged to Later Zhou in just one year.