I know that readers are very interested in Zhao Zhen's story. Today, I have brought you relevant content to share with you.

In the history of the Song Dynasty, disputes with neighboring countries have always been a headache for rulers. Whether it is the northwest coming out from time to time to pound a chaotic Tangut or the northern menace of the Khitan, it is a problem that the Song Dynasty tried to solve but failed to solve. Zhao Kuangyin's tough ruling methods and Zhao Guangyi's successive Northern Expeditions all ended in failure, which resulted in a loss. Song Zhenzong, seemingly weak and conservative, succeeded in reaching a peace agreement with the Khitan and the Tangut, so that no large-scale war broke out in the Northern Song Dynasty for more than a hundred years, thus creating the only prosperous time in the Song Dynasty.

Song Renzong, his successor, has always adhered to the attitude of "Buddhism" in governing the country. He has been in office for 42 years. Unexpectedly, his death triggered a shock in the capital, merchants went on strike, students * * *, even beggars and children cried for him, and the people in Kaifeng spontaneously wore white linen and crowded into the palace to burn paper money for Song Renzong. Even the fierce Khitan monarch learned the news of Song Renzong's death, and seized the hand of the messenger of the Song Dynasty and cried bitterly, and also set up a dress for Song Renzong in the territory of Khitan.

What did Song Zhenzong do to bring a century of peace to the Song Dynasty? And what's remarkable about Song Renzong? He became the most popular emperor in the Song Dynasty. Today's article will help you solve these mysteries.

first, Song Zhenzong and Zhao Heng's two compromises.

Zhao Guangyi lost nearly 3, elite troops in the Song Dynasty in the battle between the Northern Expedition in Yongxi and Lingwu City. Countless people died in the war, and the domestic economy was depressed, almost returning to the level at the beginning of the founding of the Song Dynasty. At this moment, Zhao Guangyi died suddenly, and Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng succeeded to the throne.

When the new king ascended the throne, there were countless problems to be solved, but the troubles still appeared one after another. First, there was a rebellion in Sichuan, and it took nearly a year to successfully suppress it. Then the Yellow River broke its mouth and flooded the whole Jiangbei Plain. Is the court of choose and employ persons, the prime minister Lv Duan and general Zhang Yongde died one after another, the pillars of a broken, the court chaos became a pot of porridge. Counter-insurgency, river governance, while selecting people, but also always beware of the northern Khitan, which is the mess that Song Zhenzong and Zhao Heng have to face.

While Zhao Heng was having a headache, the Tangut in the northwest sent a peace document to the Song Dynasty, but there were different opinions in the court. The "main battle" and the "main peace" factions disagreed and quarreled. When you hear this, you may feel strange. It is obvious that the Tangut has come to make peace. Why don't you agree to it? Mainly because at that time, only an equal regime was qualified to make peace. At that time, the Tangut was nominally a vassal state of the Song Dynasty, and it was not qualified to make peace with the Song Dynasty. There was only surrender and surrender between the suzerain and the vassal state. You know, in the Zhao Guangyi era not long ago, no matter what the war situation was, the Tangut only had to plead guilty, and it had to take the initiative to change its name to show its recognition of the status of the sovereign state of the Song Dynasty. For example, Li Jiqian, the leader of the Tangut at that time, had a Chinese named Zhao Baoji. However, after Zhao Heng ascended the throne, the Tangut actually sent people directly to make peace, which was tantamount to denying the status of the sovereign state of the Song Dynasty and even more challenging Zhao Heng.

However, Zhao Heng's reaction was very calm. He not only agreed to the Tangut's peace, but also offered extremely generous conditions. He not only admitted the legitimacy of the Tangut's occupation of Xiazhou and Yinzhou, but also gave the remaining three states in the five states of Dingnan to the Tangut, and officially appointed Li Jiqian as our envoy for Dingnan. This means that all the efforts made by Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Guangyi dynasties have been nullified, and the Tangut has restored the ownership of the five states in Dingnan in the ancestral period.

When you see this, you may think that Zhao Heng is either stupid or timid. He gave up the territory won by the monarchs of the two dynasties so easily. Doesn't he know that as an emperor, he must fight for every inch of land in order to keep the territory inspiring?

Don't worry. Before calling him weak and incompetent, let's see why Zhao Heng made such a decision. Dingnan Wuzhou is located in the middle of Hetao Plain, and it is still a certain distance from the northwest border of Song Dynasty. From the border of Song Dynasty to Dingnan Wuzhou, there are all deserts in the middle, and it is also the active site of Tangut cavalry. Although Dingnan Wuzhou was the birthplace of the Tangut, it was a chicken rib for the Song Dynasty. Even if Dingnan Wuzhou was captured, it was useless. Not only did it have to be harassed by Tangut cavalry from time to time, but it was also necessary to hoard heavy troops at the border for a rainy day. As the saying goes, it is easy to defend the city and occupy Dingnan Wuzhou, but it is just a few cities. However, it is a bottomless pit to keep the expenses it needs. Zhao Guangyi's crushing defeat in the Tangut has already lost two of the five cities and made the remaining three cities even more difficult to defend. What's more, in the Song Dynasty, there was still the Yellow River to be ruled, the Sichuan rebellion to be flattened, and the only remaining troops to recuperate against the Khitan. Therefore, Zhao Heng is not stupid, nor incompetent. It is only the most cost-effective choice he had to make under the national conditions at that time.

This was the first compromise made by Zhao Heng, and it was hard to settle the Tangut. The Khitan in the north began to station troops on the border again, and the Song Dynasty responded quickly. It also arranged a whole 15, troops in Dingzhou in the north to fight against the Khitan. In 14, Emperor Qidan and the Empress Dowager made a personal expedition, bypassing the heavy troops of the Song Dynasty in Dingzhou, and directly killing them at the gate of Jizhou on the north bank of the Yellow River. What is the concept? There is only a Yellow River between Zhaozhou and Kaifeng, and the war situation opened at their own door. The ministers even quarreled. The hawk faction asked Zhao Heng to personally expedition to boost morale, and the hawk faction had already started the idea of fleeing to the south. Finally, the hawk faction headed by Kou Zhun won, and Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng personally marched to Zhaozhou, which greatly boosted Song Jun's morale and blocked the impact of the Qidan army's siege for many times.

Let's take a look at the strength comparison between Song Dynasty and Qidan in this war. The main force of the Khitan is about 3, people, the main force of the Song Dynasty is about 1, people, and there are 1, border guards on the northern border who are coming to support. In the Song Dynasty, veteran Li Jilong and Shi Baoji were sent to be in charge of arranging troops, while LiLin Xiao, the backbone of the Khitan army, was killed by an arrow. The Khitan went deep into the territory of the Song Dynasty, and the logistics supply was a huge expense. Relying on the natural barrier of the Yellow River and the solid Zhoucheng, the Khitan cavalry could not go any further, and the army of the Song Dynasty could not defeat the Khitan cavalry, and the two armies were once deadlocked.

At this time, the Khitan proposed peace talks to the Song Dynasty, and Zhao Heng sent Minister Cao Liyong to the Khitan Camp for negotiations. After repeated bargaining, a peace talk was finally reached in 15, and the two countries agreed to become brothers. Zhao Heng, Song Zhenzong, became his brother when he was older, and Emperor Yelulongxu of the Khitan became his brother. Secondly, the Song Dynasty also provided the Khitan with a "military sponsorship fee" of 12, silver and 2, silks every year. When the two countries set up a trade fair on the border, the Khitans could not rob it, nor could the Song Dynasty cheat it, so as to achieve fair trade. These three agreements are called "the alliance of the Yuan Dynasty" in history.

When you see the content of this peace negotiation, you may immediately think of a series of treaties that humiliated the country and the country signed by the imperial court in the late Qing Dynasty. They are also reparations and open trade, and they seem to be no different from those treaties except for land cession. But in fact, the Song Dynasty did not suffer in the peace talks. Why do you say that? In the Song Dynasty, when fighting the Khitan, the annual military expenditure was fifty-two million, not including casualties. However, one hundred and two thousand pieces of silver and two hundred thousand pieces of silk in the "Aiyuan Alliance" were nothing at all for the Song Dynasty, but only the profit at the trade fair, which was more than twice this figure. Secondly, the Song Dynasty and the Khitan ended the war, which can also avoid the huge financial pressure brought by years of heavy garrison. Without financial pressure, we can reduce taxes and rest with the people.

This is the second compromise of Song Zhenzong and Zhao Heng. At this point, he finally coaxed away the Tangut and became a brotherly country with Qidan, and there was no war in the northern front line for nearly a hundred years. This peaceful situation is crucial to the development of the Song Dynasty. In just over 2 years, the registered permanent residence of the whole country in the Song Dynasty has increased by 4.17 million, and the wealth has increased by nearly 68 times, which is equivalent to four times the total amount in the twenty-three years of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty and even three times that in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, Zhao Heng created the only prosperous time in the Northern Song Dynasty in 167, which was called "the rule of Xianping" in history.

Second, Song Renzong Zhao Zhen's inaction

In 122, Zhao Zhenzong died in Zhao Heng, and his son Zhao Zhen succeeded to the throne, which was called Song Renzong in history. Compared with the first three emperors of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin opened up its territory and Zhao Guangyi expanded its territory. Although Zhao Heng's fighting ability was weak, his achievements were also remarkable. However, Zhao Zhen of Song Renzong was very mediocre, with neither talent nor strategy, nor military service. The reason why his evaluation in history was so high was actually mainly because of the word "benevolence" in the temple number, that is, his good temper.

how good is Zhao Zhen's temper in Song Renzong? At that time, Bao Zheng served as the supervisor of the empire. When he was in power, he repeatedly made a face-to-face suggestion, even his breath splashed on Zhao Zhen's face, but Zhao Zhen didn't blame him. Instead, he wiped his face with his sleeves and listened carefully to Bao Zheng's advice. On one occasion, Bao Zheng wanted to take off Zhang Yaozuo, the third secretary, but Zhang Yaozuo was Zhao Zhen's favorite concubine's uncle, and there was no big fault in his achievements, so Zhao Zhen had to reduce him to our time. But that's it, Bao Zheng is still not satisfied. He broke into the court with seven famous officials and Zhao Zhen's theory, and put it in other dynasties, but it was a crime of decapitation. Even in the Song Dynasty with loose speech, he could not escape the fate of being demoted as an official, but Zhao Zhen not only did not punish them, but also listened to Bao Zheng's opinion and withdrew his resignation to Zhang Yaozuo.

There is another thing. Zhao Zhen was only thirteen years old when he ascended the throne, so he couldn't be in charge of politics. The Queen Mother Liu E listened to politics. At that time, in order to curry favor with Empress Liu, a courtier named Cheng Lin presented her with a picture of Wu Hou Lin Chao, suggesting that she should follow the example of Wu Zetian in the Tang Dynasty and abolish the young son of heaven. Instead, Empress Liu thought that this was a negative ancestor, and refused it sternly. After Zhao Zhen took office, someone impeached Cheng Lin with this matter, but Zhao Zhen just laughed it off. He thought that Cheng Lin was talented and could do great things. Instead of holding a grudge against Cheng Lin, he promoted him repeatedly, which made Cheng Lin achieve three secretaries, assistant minister of the official department and political affairs all the way, and was prominent for a while.

Song Renzong Zhao Zhen's "benevolence" was not only given to ministers, but also blessed the scholars and people in the Song Dynasty. He stipulated that if candidates have doubts about the test questions or are not sure about their own knowledge, they can go to the teacher's examiner to change the formality that candidates can only answer questions in a small room before.

For the people, he actively supported business development, completely abolished the curfew that existed since the Tang Dynasty, and made the night market in the Song Dynasty prosperous for a while. There were not only local merchants in Kaifeng, but also vendors from neighboring countries such as Qidan, Tubo and Uighur, which was as lively as today's international food festival. In addition, in other feudal dynasties, the buildings in the whole country were very low, and they were not allowed to exceed the height of the imperial palace. However, there was no such regulation in Song Renzong. There was a restaurant called "Fan Lou" in Kaifeng City, which was five stories high and more eye-catching than the imperial city. It had no official background, but it had the right to make wine chartered by the state. It was very lively every night and became a famous landscape in Kaifeng House at that time.

Because of Song Renzong's tolerance, during his 42 years in office, numerous famous ministers and generals appeared in the court of the Northern Song Dynasty, including Fan Zhongyan, Bao Zheng and Zhong Shiheng, who are familiar to us. There are also many flowers in literature, including Liu Yong, Yan Shu, Ouyang Xiu, Huang Tingjian and Cheng Hao. Even in science and technology, which has always been neglected, there are talented people such as Bi Sheng, Shen Kuo and Wang Weiyi. Many famous ministers, such as Wang Anshi, Sima Guang and Lv Gongzhu, who were active in Song Shenzong, Song Zhezong and early Song Huizong, were also nurtured by Injong. Therefore, there is a saying in history, which is called: "Three generations of Renzong scholars have benefited".

When you see this, you may have doubts. If the emperor really doesn't care about anything, and there are so many big V's in the court, everyone will express their opinions. Wouldn't it be a big fight? In fact, Zhao Zhen, a Song Renzong, is always relaxed but not out of control with his courtiers. He respects the suggestions and opinions of every courtier, but once the trend of cliques appears in the DPRK, which affects the national affairs, he will immediately make moves. For example, in the process of Fan Zhongyan's implementation of the New Deal, he just waited and saw at first, and he was divided into two groups, the supporters and opponents, who quarreled every day. But once the problems in the New Deal were confirmed, he acquiesced in the opposition in the DPRK to impeach Fan Zhongyan and others, and he hid himself behind the scenes from beginning to end, never making clear his attitude.

During the reign of Emperor Renzong, Zhao Zhen never publicly praised or denounced any courtiers in court. This seems unremarkable, but it is the key to avoid party strife and maintain stability. As an emperor, what you like, what you hate, who you support, and who you oppose should not be discovered by the courtiers. Once they know it, someone will cater to it, be opportunistic in politics, use the emperor's hand to suppress political opponents, and search for people to please the emperor in materials. If the emperor's attitude is impartial, the courtiers will naturally have no intention of fighting for power and profit, and the remaining disputes will only be a collision of views and will not harm the national interests.

This is Song Renzong's way of controlling the situation. He treats people with kindness, but at the same time firmly controls the brake switch. Therefore, during the reign of Renzong, there were four truths: Fu Bi was the true prime minister, Ouyang Xiu was the true bachelor, Bao Zheng was the true suggestion, and Hu Ai was the true gentleman. The prime minister has the right without abusing it. As a staff officer, the Hanlin bachelor is conscientious, and the suggestion is clean and capable. Hu Ai's original Hu Xue, which integrates Confucian classics and practice, has been designated as the "Imperial College Law" to promote the whole country. Officials gain if they don't seek personal gain. Therefore, Renzong once really rested with the people, which is also the reason why people mourned spontaneously after Zhao Zhen's death in Song Renzong. He gave the people a most prosperous time and really satisfied their wishes: not tossing.

Third, civilian military commanders have made concerted efforts.

The prosperity of any dynasty can't be separated from the efforts of civil servants and military commanders. Here, I select the three most representative ministers during the period of Zhenzong and Renzong to see what they have done.

First of all, let's look at Kou Zhun in the period of Shin Sect.

In 14, at the beginning of the war between the Northern Song Dynasty and the Khitan, most courtiers were very pessimistic. The shadow of Zhao Guangyi's defeat of 3, soldiers made them afraid of the Khitan fighters from the bottom of their hearts. When the Khitan went south, the Song Dynasty was almost defeated by repeated wars. The main peace faction headed by Wang Qinruo advocated that Zhenzong should move south to avoid the invasion of Liao country, while Zhao Heng had no military experience, and he was even more frightened to see the Qidan cavalry menacing. At this time, Kou Zhun was the only one who stood up, not only lambasted the ministers who advocated moving the capital in the imperial court, but also put forward one solution after another in view of the bad situation at that time: on the one hand, the soldiers and soldiers were dispatched so that all the military forces sent by the court could meet each other; On the other hand, the militia was recruited to go deep behind enemy lines, and attacked the Khitan military camp and the grain route, disrupting the military deployment of the Khitan and delaying the pace of the Khitan cavalry going south.

When the Khitan arrived at the gate of Song Zhenzong, he urged Zhao Heng to make a personal expedition. After arriving at the gate of, Zhenzong dared not cross the river, but only wanted to be stationed in a small town on the south bank, which was resolutely opposed by Kou Zhun. In order to make Zhenzong completely give up the idea of escape, Kou Zhun ordered the imperial guards to make Gao Qiong and his men directly lift Zhenzong's imperial chariot and go straight to the north shore battlefield. The soldiers at the front line saw the morale of the true Sect and successfully resisted the siege of the Qidan cavalry many times.

Without Kou Zhun's persistence and his military talents, Song Zhenzong would have moved the capital to the south long ago, and his military morale would have collapsed with the emperor's escape, and there was no peace with the Khitan.