Today, the editor of History Encyclopedia brings you a cup of wine to release military power. How did you respond to the civil servant Zhao Kuangyin? Interested readers can follow the editor to take a look together.
In 960 AD, Zhao Kuangyin donned the yellow robe of the “Chenqiao Mutiny” and became the founding monarch of the Northern Song Dynasty. However, at the beginning of the establishment of the country, how to reverse the historical problem of the dynasty’s short lifespan since the end of the Tang Dynasty became the top priority for Emperor Taizu of Song. Emperor Taizu issued an order to the army that “I, the young emperor and empress dowager, will serve in the north, and all officials and ministers will be on equal footing with me. You will not be subjected to frequent bullying. In modern times, when emperors first entered the capital, they launched large-scale raids and plundered the treasury without authorization. You will not be restored, and the matter will be settled. You will be rewarded generously. Otherwise, you will be executed by the clan. The rampant plundering by the army, the rectification of military discipline, and the deprivation of military power by” drinking wine to release military power “deprived Shi Shouxin, Gao Huaide, Wang Shenqi and others of their military power, basically solving the current situation of” too heavy fiefdoms and weak monarchs and strong ministers “since the Five Dynasties.
After Zhao Kuangyin gained control of the country, he also changed the situation of “domineering warriors” and “sweeping literati” since the Five Dynasties. He highly valued civil servants and scholars, and even made an iron oath of “not killing ministers and those who speak out, and those who violate it will be unlucky”. Not only did it reuse the old ministers of the previous dynasty, but it also promoted the old ministers of the Southern Tang, Xu Xuan and Zhang Hui. In addition, it opened up new fields of study and selected talented individuals through local elections. The Northern Song Dynasty changed the decadent atmosphere of the Five Dynasties and promoted the style of cultural governance. However, with the rise of literati, it was inevitable that there was a potential for officials to form factions. Faced with the military general Zhao Kuangyin’s use of the “cup of wine to release military power” policy, how did it respond to the literati Zhao Kuangyin?
In terms of the selection of officials and assistants, Taizu did not appoint his trusted aides as the main officials of the central government and hold the power of the central government like other new emperors who ascended to the throne. Taizu continued to appoint Fan Zhi as prime minister and added Situ, while Wang Pu and Wei Renpu retained their original positions and were assigned to the positions of Sikong, monk, and right attendant. The position of privy envoy in charge of military power also continued to be held by the former secret envoy Wu Tingzuo. As for the main planner of the Chenqiao Mutiny, Zhao Pu was only appointed as the Deputy Envoy of the Imperial Secretariat in August of the first year of Jianlong (960 AD). It was not until October of the third year of Jianlong (962 AD) that Zhao Pu was officially appointed as the Commander in Chief of the Xiongwu Army due to the retirement of the Envoy of the Imperial Secretariat, Wu Tingzuo, who was “getting older”. Finally, in the second year of Qiande (965 AD), Zhao Pu was able to become prime minister. This appointment method of the governor seems to be a way of remembering the officials of the previous dynasty, but in fact it is a clever move to control the central power. Its performance is as follows:
Firstly, the power of the prime minister is constrained, and the prestige of the imperial power is increased
The Supplement to the Annals of Song Zaifu: “Firstly, when the prime minister saw the emperor, he would order to sit down and discuss major political matters in person, and then retreat after being granted tea. The Tang and Five Dynasties did not change this system, and there was still a lingering intention of sitting down and discussing the Tao. The quality of the tea was similar to that of an old minister in the previous dynasty, with some traces of practice and a fear of the wise. As the saying goes, ‘In this way, we will adhere to the rules and avoid the loss of recklessness.’ Therefore, we will report to the imperial court for more or even to the hour of dawn. The ritual of giving tea will be abolished, and leisure time and sitting will be avoided. ‘It’s discussed
Since the Tang Dynasty, the system of “sitting and discussing the Tao” among prime ministers has been maintained. This is not only a sign of the emperor’s respect for the prime minister, but also a sign of the prime minister’s strong power. The frequent party disputes in the Tang Dynasty were also related to the prime minister’s excessive authority and the influence of party alliances on the political situation. Therefore, in order to prevent party disputes, it is necessary to first constrain the authority of the prime minister. Zhao Kuangyin’s appointment of old ministers such as Fan Zhi played a perfect role in this regard. Faced with a special environment, the three prime ministers dared not take a tough stance in reporting matters.
Zhao Kuangyin planned to personally conquer Taiyuan, but chose to inquire with the Prime Minister Wei Renpu during a banquet. As the Prime Minister, Wei Renpu only advised Zhao Kuangyin, “Haste makes waste, only Your Majesty can judge.” This was clearly a deliberate act of underestimating the Prime Minister. Compared with the later Prime Minister Zhao Pu, the three Prime Ministers Fan Zhi, Wang Pu, and Wei Renpu were far apart in their decision-making and courage. The authority of Emperor Taizu of Song was quickly established through this appointment of the Prime Minister. After the founding of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin changed the problem of the excessive authority of Prime Ministers through means.
Secondly, all candidates for the position of prime minister are appointed from senior officials
Through the appointment of Fan Zhi and three others as prime ministers, this had a significant impact on the subsequent appointment of prime ministers. In the Northern Song Dynasty, unless the elders and important ministers were all deceased, the emperor rarely assigned officials of the court to serve as assistants. After Zhao Kuangyin, the appointment of prime ministers basically adhered to the tradition of using experienced and reliable officials and conservative officials. Song Taizong, Song Zhenzong, and early Song Renzong basically maintained this tradition well.
Of course, during the reign of the emperor, there were still special circumstances, such as the appointment of Lu Mengzheng as prime minister in the fourth year of Chunhua by Emperor Taizong of Song. Lu Mengzheng himself was a newly appointed official in the imperial examination system in the second year of Taiping Xingguo. However, Lv Meng was the top scholar and the first top scholar to become a prime minister in the Northern Song Dynasty. He was mature and dignified, and had always been clean and had never participated in party struggles or formed cliques. The History of the Song Dynasty praised him for being “tainted by Zhang gentry without distinguishing” and for “beautifying Shunde, improving common governance, and achieving the rule of peace. It can be said that both the ruler and the minister have done their own way”.
Lv Mengzheng, with his excellent character and remarkable abilities, fully proved himself to be a special case of being a prime minister in the early Northern Song Dynasty. During the Qingli New Policy period of Emperor Renzong’s reign, he did not change his ancestral system and only appointed Fan Zhongyan and Fu Bi, who were in charge of the new policy, as officials in charge of political affairs and deputy envoys to the Imperial Secretariat. Since Fan Zhongyan and Fu Bi took office in the third year of the Qingli reign (1043 AD) and implemented the New Policies, until they were relieved of their duties in the fifth year of the Qingli reign (1045 AD), Du Yan himself had a good relationship with Fan Zhongyan, so he supported his New Policies more. Other prime ministers basically belonged to the Lao Cheng faction and did not support the New Policies. Here, we will not say much about the pros and cons of the Qingli New Policies.
From the early period of Emperor Taizu of Song, Emperor Taizong of Song, and Emperor Zhenzong of Song, there were basically no similar party disputes, and even overly intense court disputes rarely occurred. The true beginning of party disputes in the Song Dynasty should have been the “Kou Ding Conflict” in the later period of Emperor Zhenzong of Song. Although the scale of party disputes increased during the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, it was not until the abolition and retention of Empress Guo in the second year of Mingdao (1033) that the first court dispute between the Taijian and the prime minister was triggered. It can be seen that appointing old officials can play a certain role in stabilizing the political situation of the court and preventing party disputes from happening.
Thirdly, giving trust adds more pressure
During the reign of Emperor Taizu of Song, the three prime ministers, as former ministers of the previous dynasty, tried their best to avoid being perceived as having colluded with others to form factions and conspire in their social interactions. This situation was mainly reflected in Wang Pu, with two representative events.
1. It was Wang Yansheng who solicited bribes.
After Wang Yansheng was appointed as an inspector of the capital city, he visited Wang Pudi in the middle of the night. Pu was frightened and left, sitting down and saying, ‘The police officers are very tired, and when we chat, we get drunk.’ Yan Sheng was asking for a bribe, but Pu pretended not to understand and gave up several drinks. The next day, Pu secretly reported the matter and was appointed as the governor of Tangzhou
Wang Pu did not give Wang Yansheng any gifts of gold or silk, but he was still deeply afraid that this would be seen as evidence of his efforts to win over and befriend other officials. Therefore, he ultimately chose this method of secretly reporting to Emperor Taizu, to ensure that there was nothing wrong. Although he did not personally bribe officials, he still did so. This was not only Wang Pu’s own style of action, but also reflected Emperor Taizu’s relatively strict monitoring of his courtiers at that time.
2. Persuade the old father to resign
Wang Pu’s father was a defender of Suzhou. Wang Pu advised his father to retire and return home due to his old age, but Zhao Kuangyin did not approve of his resignation and appointed Wang Zuo as the General of the Left Army Guard. Wang Zuo cursed Wang Pu, saying, “My strength is not weakened, but you want to establish your own name and position and imprison me.” The reason why Wang Pu advised his father to resign was also related to the political characteristics of the early Northern Song Dynasty. Zhao Kuangyin paid great attention to the relationship between military generals and assistants, in order to prevent the possibility of military power and central power from uniting, because there had been examples before.
In the fifth year of Kaibao (972 AD), the Minister of State, Li Chongju, was dismissed from his post. The main reason was that Li Chongju was married to the then prime minister, Zhao Pu. Therefore, Wang Pu was not only an old minister of the previous dynasty, but also a military commander controlled by his father. In this situation, he was inevitably suspected and suspected by Zhao Kuangyin. When Zhao Kuangyin seized the throne, Wang Pu was the most proactive one. “When the officials did not know what they were doing, Pu was demoted to a lower rank first, and he had no choice but to comply, so he called him ‘Long live!’ It was Wang Pu’s first statement that made all the court officials comply with Zhao Kuangyin. Zhao Kuangyin could trust Wang Pu, but Wang Pu was always cautious and careful in handling things. It can be seen that while Emperor Taizu trusted him, he also put great pressure on him to not use his power recklessly and to act in a low-key manner. Even if the prime minister was so careful in dealing with people, it was even more difficult to dare to form a party and monopolize power.
So, it is not difficult to see that Zhao Kuangyin hoped to establish his own country above the court, without the decline of the status of military generals and the rise of the status of civil servants due to “drinking wine to release military power”, which led to the concealment of privacy and hidden party alliances. At the same time, he was able to distinguish between primary and secondary positions and avoid overstepping his authority. The various envoys of the Imperial Secretariat and other officials of the Privy Council basically governed according to the desired effect of Emperor Taizu Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty. Throughout the early and middle periods of the Northern Song Dynasty, the phenomenon of political alliances between civil and military officials was also rare. Even during the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, the famous general Di Qing, who was promoted by Fan Zhongyan, was dismissed from his position as a secret envoy by the new political faction on the grounds of “not appointing a general as a private envoy in this court” in order to prevent collusion between civil and military forces. Fan Zhongyan did not say a word more, which shows that the various measures taken by Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, were not in vain and established mutual restraint between civil and military forces in the court. As for the later matters, Zhao Kuangyin was powerless over time.
