"Six thieves of the Northern Song Dynasty" is the common name of the six traitorous ministers in the Northern Song Dynasty, these six people are Cai Jing, Wang Hao, Tong Guan, Liang Shicheng, Zhu Mian, Li Bangyan, basically all important ministers in the Song Dynasty Huizong, these six people are corrupt and domineering, making the people miserable, and they are the main culprits that led to the Jiangnan La uprising and the invasion of the Central Plains by the Jin State. The head of the six thieves of the Northern Song Dynasty was Cai Jing.
The name of "Six Thieves" first came from the book of Chen Dong, a student of Tai, in the seventh year of Xuanhe (1125), Chen Dong said: "Today's events, Cai Jing is in chaos, Liang Shicheng is in the conspiracy, Li Yan is resentful in the northwest, Zhu Mian is in the southeast, Wang Huang and Tong Guan are in Liao and Jin, and they are open to the border. It is advisable to punish the six thieves and pass on the first four directions to thank the world. Cai Jing and Tong Guan were the leaders of the "Six Thieves" in the late Northern Song Dynasty, and they were so corrupt that they didn't care at all if they used part of the looted money to run an office for high-ranking officials of the imperial family. The six people colluded with each other to exclude dissidents, and the folk called it "three thousand ropes, straight secret pavilion; 500 runs, and the verdict will be passed".
The "six thieves" have turned the country into a miasma. He sent Zhu Mian to loot rare treasures, famous flowers and ancient trees in the south of the Yangtze River, and Zhu Mian and his minions relied on the power of the emperor to run rampant in the south of the Yangtze River, they demolished walls and houses, extorted money, and made the people's livelihood miserable. The beautiful mountains and rivers and abundant products in Shezhou and Muzhou have also become the main areas for harassment and looting by Zhu Mian and others. The people of Shezhou and Muzhou hated the government and staged an uprising under the leadership of the poor peasant Fang La.
In the seventh year of Emperor Xuanhe of Song Hui (1125), Li Yan was given to death. In the first year of Emperor Jingkang of the Song Dynasty (1126), the remaining five people were ambushed one after another: Wang Hao placed Yongzhou (now Lingling, Hunan), and was secretly executed on the way; Cai Jing was relegated to Danzhou (now Danxian County, Hainan) and died of illness on the way; Liang Shicheng was demoted to the deputy envoy of the Changhua Army, and died on the way; Tong Guan was relegated to the Jiyang Army (now Ya County, Hainan) and died on the way; Zhu Mian was demoted to Xunzhou (present-day Longchuan, Guangdong) and soon beheaded and executed. The Six Thieves caused the Northern Song Dynasty to gradually decline, and soon the Jingkang Revolution occurred.
[1, Cai Jing]
Cai Jing (1047-1126), the character Yuanchang, a powerful minister and calligrapher of the Northern Song Dynasty, is the cousin of the famous calligrapher Cai Xiang, born in the Northern Song Dynasty Xinghua Jun Xianyou County Cixiaoli Chiling (now Dongzhai Village, Fengting Town, Xianyou County, Putian City, Fujian). In the third year of Xining, he served as a magistrate, a scholar in the middle school, a longtu pavilion to be systematic, and the prefect of Kaifeng. In the first year of Chongning (1102), he was promoted to the right servant and the servant of the door (right minister), and later moved to the position of Taishi, a total of four times as the prime minister, which lasted 17 years, and the career was up and down, rare in ancient and modern times. Cai Jing implemented the Huashi Gang, reformed the salt tea method, and minted the top ten coins. At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, Chen Dong, a student of Tai, wrote a book referring to him as "the head of the six thieves". After Song Qinzong ascended the throne, Cai Jing was demoted to Lingnan and died of illness in Tanzhou (now Changsha, Hunan) on the way. There are biographies of his biography in volume 101 of the Eastern Capital and volume 472 of the History of the Song Dynasty.
[2, Wang Huang]
Wang Huang (1079-1126), formerly known as Wang Fu, the word Jiangming, a native of Kaifeng Xiangfu (now Kaifeng, Henan), was an important minister in the late Northern Song Dynasty, and the prime minister of Huizong of the Song Dynasty. Wang Hao is eloquent, with outstanding intelligence but shallow knowledge, and is good at flattery. During the Chongning period, he was promoted because of He Zhizhong's recommendation, and later helped Cai Jing to restore the throne and quickly rose to the middle of the imperial history. In the first year of Xuanhe (1119), the special entry Shaozai (right prime minister), this promotion speed is unprecedented since the founding of the Great Song Dynasty. Jin soldiers entered Bianjing, he fled with his family without an edict, and was later demoted by Song Qinzong to the deputy envoy of the Chongxin Army and raided his home. Wu Min and Li Gang requested that Wang Hao be executed, and Yin Nieshan, Kaifeng, who had a vendetta with him, sent people to kill him.
[3, Tong Guan]
Tong Guan (1054-1126), the word Daofu (or Daofu), a native of Kaifeng, a powerful eunuch of the Northern Song Dynasty, ranked among the "six thieves". Clever and charming, at the beginning of the worship of the official, because of the help Huizong to collect calligraphy and painting and help Cai Jing for the phase and reused, after leading the Privy Council, in charge of military power for 20 years, the power is monstrous, the people of the time called "the prime minister". Xuanhe failed to attack Liao in the fourth year, and turned to Jin Bing to take Yanjing on his behalf and redeem the empty city with a huge amount of money. In the seventh year of Xuanhe, the Jin soldiers went south, Tong Guan fled from Taiyuan to Kaifeng, fled south with Huizong, and then Qinzong ascended the throne and executed him.
[4, Liang Shicheng]
Liang Shicheng (?) -1126), a eunuch in the late Northern Song Dynasty, his place of origin is unknown, and he is one of the "six thieves". During the Zhenghe period, he won the favor of Huizong, and the official went to the palace of the school, took charge of the imperial order, and forged the holy decree to increase power, corruption, and did all kinds of evil, even Cai Jing's father and son also attached to it, and the people of the time called it "hidden phase". After Qinzong ascended the throne, Liang Shicheng was demoted to the deputy envoy of the Changhua Army, and was hanged on the way.
[5, Zhu Mian]
Zhu Mian (1075-1126), a native of Suzhou (now Jiangsu), was a minister of the Northern Song Dynasty and also belonged to the "Six Thieves". Because of his father Zhu Chong's flattery of Cai Jing and Tong Guan, he became official. Song Huizong was curious about the flowers and stones, Zhu Mian voted for his favor, collected rare flowers and stones in Zhejiang, and set up a bureau in Suzhou during the Zhenghe period, spent a huge amount of money, forcibly seized and transported to the capital, called "Huashi Gang", this move made the people miserable, and the middle-class family went bankrupt. Because of this, Zhu Mian lived a luxurious life and ran rampant. After Qinzong ascended the throne, Zhu Mian was exiled and finally executed.
[6, Lee Kunihiko]
Li Bangyan (?) -1130), a native of Huaizhou (now Qinyang, Henan) in the Northern Song Dynasty, was born in Taixue. The representative of the surrender faction in the last years of the Northern Song Dynasty directly led to the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty. In the fifth year of Xuanhe (1123), the official Zhishang Shu Zuocheng, when Qinzong, faced with the pressure of the Jin soldiers, advocated cutting the land and seeking peace. Tai student Chen Dong and others wrote against his surrender. After Gaozong ascended the throne, Li Bangyan was demoted and eventually died in Guizhou (present-day Guilin, Guangxi). Li Bangyan is good at singing, especially loves to bow, and has superb skills, calling himself "Li Langzi", known as "the prodigal prime minister".