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Song Xiaozong Zhao Yan: The most accomplished emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty

Song Xiaozong Zhao Yan is the second emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty, but also the most accomplished monarch of the Southern Song Dynasty, he was unwilling to be partial to the throne, trying to restore the Central Plains, and implemented internal reforms, hoping to revive the Song Dynasty, but in the face of the obstruction of the Emperor Gaozong and the main peace faction, the main battle faction and the talent withered, and the great cause of filial piety was finally in vain.

The path to the throne of Hyojong

Song Xiaozong Zhao Yan, formerly known as Zhao Bocong, he is the seventh grandson of Zhao Kuangyin, Taizu passed the throne to his younger brother Taizong, and since then the throne of the Song Dynasty has been inherited in the Taizong line, until after Gaozong, the throne was passed back to the Taizu line.

In 1132, the 6-year-old Zhao Bocong was selected by Gaozong, given the name Zhao Ming, and raised in the palace, which was later Song Xiaozong.

Song Xiaozong Zhao Yan: The most accomplished emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty

Song Gaozong lost his fertility after the Huaiyang Change, he was only twenty-three years old at this time, after which Gaozong still had illusions, hoping to get another noble son, so he delayed the establishment of the prince, Zhao Ming's position was very embarrassing, and he could be kicked out of the palace at any time.

And there is not only one heir to the throne who was elected to the palace, Zhao Bojiu, who is also the seventh grandson of Taizu, was also selected to be raised in the palace and given the name Zhao Xuan.

In this way, nearly 30 years later, Gaozong still had no heirs, so he could only accept his fate and decided to choose one of the two people, Zhao Ying and Zhao Xuan, and make him the crown prince.

Gaozong tested the two, and Zhao Ying won, was made a prince, and changed his name to Zhao Wei, who was thirty-four years old this year.

A year after Zhao Wei was established as the prince, the Song and Jin wars broke out again, Zhao Wei was overwhelmed with grief, asked to be the forerunner, personally led the troops to a decisive battle with the Jin army, at that time it was the time to build the palace to talk about Shi Hao's leave, after learning the news, he hurriedly met Zhao Wei, Chen said that he could not lead the troops.

After all, Zhao Wei still lacked political experience, and he didn't expect that his initiative to ask for troops to attack would arouse Gaozong's suspicion and commit the taboo of plotting for the throne.

Shi Hao hurriedly drafted a recital for Zhao Wei to repent, and Gaozong was relieved when he saw Zhao Wei's self-repentance.

Song Xiaozong Zhao Yan: The most accomplished emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty

In 1162, Song Gaozong was troubled by state affairs and decided to pass on the throne to Zhao Wei, the king of Jian, and in May of this year, Gaozong issued an edict to establish Zhao Wei as the crown prince and gave him the name.

In June, Song Gaozong officially abdicated, retired to Deshou Palace, became the emperor, and Zhao Yan ascended the throne, which is Song Xiaozong.

Xiaozong led the Northern Expedition

Song Xiaozong wanted to make a difference, although he only had a one-sided relationship with a generation of famous generals Yue Fei, but he was grateful for Yue Fei's loyalty to the country, and at the beginning of his ascension, he rehabilitated Yue Fei's unjust case, which was also a signal to actively resist Jin.

In July, Xiaozong summoned Zhang Jun of Jiankang Mansion to enter the court and reused Zhang Jun, who was the most vocal main battle faction at that time.

Zhang Jun actively resisted Jin during the Gaozong period, and made a lot of military achievements, and later Qin Hui was excluded during the reign of Qin Hui and left the court.

And for such a monarch who is determined to prosper, Zhang Jun is also very happy, and he recommended a group of talents to Xiaozong who are strong in resisting Jin, and Xiaozong is appointed one by one.

In 1163, Xiaozong appointed Zhang Jun as a privy envoy to supervise the Jianghuai army and horses, and was responsible for commanding the war on the anti-Jin front.

Song Xiaozong Zhao Yan: The most accomplished emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty

Previously, the Jin Dynasty asked the Southern Song Dynasty for the territory of Haizhou, Sizhou, Tangzhou, Dengzhou and Shangzhou, but Zhang Jun refused.

As a result, the Jin people began to assemble their troops and put on a posture of imminent southern invasion, and Zhang Jun was not to be outdone, suggesting that Xiaozong preemptively carry out the Northern Expedition.

This immediately aroused strong opposition from the Lord and faction, and Xiaozong wanted to make a difference and was determined to prosper, so he ignored the opposition of the Lord and the faction, and ordered Li Xianzhong and Shao Hongyuan to take the initiative to attack and lead the Northern Expedition.

After the Northern Expedition began, the Song army made smooth progress, conquering Lingbi, Suzhou, and Hongxian successively, and the good news was transmitted back to Lin'an, and Xiaozong was very happy.

However, with the advancement of the Northern Expedition, some problems within the Song army were gradually exposed, and the discord among the generals made it impossible for the Song army to coordinate operations and unify command.

Previously, Gaozong had been pursuing a policy of curtsimism, and the Jin people did not expect that Xiaozong would take the initiative to attack, and soon the Jin army recovered from the panic and began to dispatch troops to prepare for a counterattack.

Song Xiaozong Zhao Yan: The most accomplished emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty

Xiaozong and Zhang Jun sensed the danger and felt that they could no longer continue to march, so they urgently ordered the withdrawal of the army, but the order to withdraw the army had not yet reached the army, and the Jin army had already hit the city of Suzhou.

The two generals on the front line were out of harmony and could not work together to defend, and finally could only take the initiative to give up Suzhou and retreat south, the Song army had just withdrawn to Fuli, and was caught up by the Jin army, the Song army had no power to resist, the soldiers fled in a hurry, and tens of thousands of troops were destroyed in one fell swoop.

The Northern Expedition lasted only 20 days and ended in the defeat of the Song army, which dealt a big blow to Xiaozong's ambitions, and also calmed him down, realizing that Zhongxing's plan could not be rushed.

Gaozong has always pursued the policy of bending the knee to seek peace, and even did not hesitate to remove the famous generals who resisted the Jin, and disbanded the troops to show goodwill to the Jin.

Longxing Peace Conference

Originally, the Lord and the faction did not approve of the Northern Expedition, but the failure of the Northern Expedition made the Lord and the faction active again, and they wrote letters to attack Zhang Jun, demanding peace with Jin, and Emperor Gaozong also continued to put pressure on Xiaozong.

The failure of the Northern Expedition hit Xiaozong a lot, and he felt that it was not impossible to negotiate peace for the time being, so he re-established the Lord and sent Tang Si to retreat as the prime minister, and prepared to negotiate peace with the Jin people.

Song Xiaozong Zhao Yan: The most accomplished emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty

In August 1163, the Jin people proposed peace conditions to the Southern Song Dynasty, in which the Southern Song Dynasty ceded the lands of Hai, Si, Tang, and Deng, paid tribute to the Jin Dynasty, and repatriated the people who were attached to the Central Plains.

Although Xiaozong agreed to negotiate peace, he felt that peace should be reached on the basis of equality between the two sides, rather than the Southern Song Dynasty bending his knees to sue for peace, in September, Xiaozong sent Lu Zhongxian as an envoy to the Jin Dynasty, and before the trip, Xiaozong warned him not to promise to cede the land of the four states to the Jin people.

As a result, Lu Zhongxian arrived at the Jin camp, and after seeing the Jin people, he didn't even dare to say a word, and agreed to all the Jin people's requests.

Gaozong couldn't sit still, he was afraid of losing this opportunity to be peaceful, so he urged Xiaozong to reach a peace agreement, and the Lord and faction were constantly persuading Xiaozong, and once the war broke out again, Xiaozong had no certainty of victory.

So, Xiaozong ordered the Jianghuai garrison to be withdrawn, took the initiative to abandon the land of Sizhou, and then sent people to negotiate peace with the Jin people.

Tang Siwei and others were worried that Xiaozong would repeat it, so they secretly sent people to the Jin camp, saying that the Jin people would send troops south and force Xiaozong to agree to the peace treaty by force.

As a result, the Jin people became even more arrogant and demanded that Shangzhou and Qinzhou be ceded again, otherwise they would raise troops to invade the south.

Song Xiaozong Zhao Yan: The most accomplished emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty

Soon, the Jin people launched an attack, Xiaozong ordered Tang Sihui to supervise the Jianghuai soldiers and horses, but Tang Siwei refused, the Jin army did not spend much effort to hit the north of the Yangtze River, the Southern Song Dynasty and the opposition have denounced the traitorous behavior of the Lord and the faction, and Tang Siwei was dismissed by Xiaozong.

In the face of the Jin army's offensive, Xiaozong had to compromise, and in November 1164, he sent an envoy to the Jin camp to negotiate peace, and reached peace terms with the Jin people.

The Jin and Song dynasties changed the relationship between monarchs and ministers to the relationship between uncles and nephews, changed the annual tribute to the annual coin, and the quantity was reduced from 250,000 taels of silver and 250,000 horses of silk to 200,000 taels of silver and 200,000 horses of silk.

In December, the Song and Jin Dynasty formally signed a peace treaty, known as the "Longxing Peace Conference" in history.

Determined to thrive

Although Xiaozong signed a peace agreement with the Jin Dynasty, but the original ambition to restore the Central Plains is still there, due to the previous hasty Northern Expedition led to a fiasco, Xiaozong became cautious, no longer lightly used troops, he actively carried out pre-war preparations, waiting for the opportunity.

Xiaozong began to vigorously rectify military affairs, cut the old and weak redundant personnel in the army, and replenished the elite soldiers to improve the combat effectiveness of the army. Between 1166 and 1170, Hyojong organized three large-scale military parades to boost morale.

Song Xiaozong Zhao Yan: The most accomplished emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty

Xiaozong wanted to restore the Central Plains, but also to choose a capable general, but the main battle faction that could be used by him was less and less, and finally Xiaozong chose Yu Yunwen, Yu Yunwen had defeated the Jin army in the quarrying battle, and he has always advocated the restoration of the Central Plains by force.

In 1167, Xiaozong appointed Yu Yunwen as a member of the Privy Council, served as the Sichuan Xuanfu envoy, and trained troops in Sichuan.

Although Yu Yunwen supported the Northern Expedition and was also preparing for the Northern Expedition, he still had doubts in his heart, he was worried that Xiaozong would not be as determined as he was last time, and he would make a temporary compromise and give up the Northern Expedition halfway.

Therefore, although Xiaozong urged the troops many times, he delayed the time to send troops on the grounds that he was not ready, until Yu Yunwen died of illness later, and Xiaozong had fewer officials of the main battle faction who could be used, and the former spirit gradually wore out, and the recovery plan gradually ran aground.

Diligent filial piety

In the later period of Gaozong's reign, Qin Hui abused power and monopolized the government affairs, and Xiaozong witnessed the chaos of the government at that time, so he took various measures after he came to power and firmly controlled the government in his own hands.

Xiaozong was also a very diligent emperor, he actively rectified the rule of officials, eliminated redundant government personnel, increased the assessment of officials, he attached importance to agricultural production, minimized unnecessary financial expenditures, and basically had the quality of a generation of Ming monarchs.

Song Xiaozong Zhao Yan: The most accomplished emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty

Xiaozong treats political affairs to the extent that everything must be done personally, whether it is a military affair, or the appointment of local lower-level officials, he has to personally intervene, this style is certainly conducive to strengthening the imperial power, but Xiaozong put his energy on the details, but neglected the control of the general direction, the monarch is in charge of such a fine, and the courtiers lack personal opinions.

In the later period of the reign of Xiaozong, in the face of cumbersome political affairs, he began to feel powerless and tired, so he wanted to pass on to the crown prince, but at this time Emperor Gaozong was still there, until 1187, Gaozong died of illness, Xiaozong decided to mourn for three years, and then abdicated in the name of "mourning".

In 1189, Xiaozong passed the throne to the crown prince, that is, Song Guangzong, and he retired to Chonghua Palace, and five years later, in 1194, Xiaozong fell ill and died at the age of 68.

After Xiaozong ascended the throne, he was unwilling to be peaceful, tried to restore the Central Plains, organized the Northern Expedition, changed Gaozong's policy of bending his knees to seek peace, and actively reformed internal affairs internally, determined to prosper, and in the face of the constraints of the main and faction and the withering of talents of the main battle faction, all this was in vain, but no matter what, Song Xiaozong can be called the most effective emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty.

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