Chapter 87: Using Civility to Control Military Power
[So is the matter of pre-granting the battle formation diagram over here? Did Zhao Guangyi realize his mistake?
How can it be!

From then on, the practice of granting battle formations in advance gradually became a major feature of the Song Dynasty. After Zhao Guangyi, emperors of the Song Dynasty adopted and carried it forward, even though it often led to war failures. They did not change their will, which can be said to be their perseverance, but in the end it finally led to tragic consequences.

Zhao Guangyi obviously did not think he had done anything wrong. Although he was defeated at Gaoliang River, he did not lose confidence in his military ability and still believed in his excellence.

On the other hand, he had great distrust of the generals, especially after the generals could not contact him and wanted to support Zhao Dezhao, this distrust reached an unprecedented level. For this reason, he regarded pre-granting the battle formation and letting the army fight according to his will as a good way to contain the generals and weaken their power.

If you say that what he did was wrong, he will certainly say that this was to carry out the will of Taizu and implement the founding ideals of the Song Dynasty. 】

Song Dynasty, the first year of Kaibao.

"Bullshit!" Zhao Kuangyin's newly-organized mood was ruined again, and he cursed: "When did I let you restrain the generals like this?" He panted and sneered, "Get lost, you idiot, you still have the nerve to talk about your military level, don't you have any idea of ​​your military level?"

"My level is not good enough? Why didn't I teach the generals the battle formation in advance? Are you thinking that your level is higher than mine? And you are carrying the will of Taizu, the bullshit concept of the Song Dynasty, how can you save face like this?"

He didn't believe that this good brother would truly pass on any of his ideas. If he really did, it must be because he himself thought so and just happened to come up against his unlucky brother.

The more I think about it, the angrier I get. No, anger is harmful to my health. I am the emperor, how can I punish myself with the mistakes of others? It is better to vent my anger.

So, Zhao Kuangyin pounced on Zhao Guangyi again.

The early years of the Han Dynasty.

The faces of the founding ministers of the Han Dynasty all looked a little subtle. This level of shamelessness and thickness of face were really similar to those of Your Majesty.

Liu Bang glanced at them sideways, then immediately reacted and rolled his eyes: "How can he be compared with Nai Gong? He is so shameless, he can only be shameless and have no self-awareness! Because he is incompetent!" Incompetence is the greatest sin. Compared with Nai Gong, how can he be more than just incompetent?

The dukes and princes agreed with this. Although their majesties were a bit shameless, they were capable. Otherwise, how could their majesties have sat on this position in the chaotic world at the end of the Qin Dynasty when many heroes were fighting for supremacy? And Zhao Guangyi, it was obvious that he was incompetent and felt that he could not suppress the generals according to normal procedures, so he did this.

Otherwise, they don't believe that Emperor Taizu of Song would come up with any long-range micro-manipulation in order to suppress his military generals?

[Speaking of it, the Song Dynasty's suppression of military generals did indeed begin during the reign of Emperor Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, but the complete move toward a situation in which civil officials were valued over military officials, and civil officials were valued over military officials, was not until Zhao Guangyi.

At the founding of the Song Dynasty, Emperor Taizu Zhao Kuangyin learned from the lessons of the late Tang Dynasty and even the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, where military generals became independent and the feudal lords grew stronger. He consciously reduced the power of military generals and tried to concentrate military power in the hands of the emperor. For example, after ascending the throne, he "released military power with a cup of wine", which was an act guided by this idea.

Similarly, Zhao Kuangyin handed over the management of the imperial guards to three departments respectively; and handed over the power to dispatch troops and the power to mobilize troops to the Privy Council, so that the power to hold troops and the power to dispatch troops and mobilize troops were separated. Even the Privy Council had to issue an order from the emperor to dispatch troops. Subsequently, a system of rotating garrison of troops and generals was established, so that "the soldiers had no permanent commander, and the general had no permanent division"...

These are all methods to reduce the power of military generals and put military power in the hands of the emperor.

However, reducing the power of military generals does not mean suppressing or looking down on them. Zhao Kuangyin himself actually hopes to create a situation where "civil and military affairs are equally important."

He did not excessively elevate the status of civil officials, nor did he deliberately suppress the status of military generals.

On the contrary, he constrained the power of military commanders through the system and gave them enough trust. In particular, Zhao Kuangyin gave the military commanders stationed at the border a high degree of autonomy. The profits from the salt and iron monopoly were all handed over to the border commanders, and trade taxes were exempted. When the border commanders became wealthy, they even raised death squads to spy on the enemy.

Zhao Guangyi was watching all this, how could he not know the right thing to do?
However, due to his fear of the military generals, he did not follow this method, but instead created a battle formation method of "restraining the generals from the center". Even if it meant sacrificing the army's combat efficiency and effectiveness, he would not change it.

On the other hand, he vigorously increased the participation of civil officials in military decision-making and tried to use civil officials to directly control the army. Wang Fuzhi once said: "What Song Dynasty feared was military officials who showed their strength, not scholars who tried to gain favor by luring others to their side."

Zhao Guangyi even changed the selection criteria for generals: "When I select officers, I first select those who are prudent and able to command their subordinates, and then those who are brave and courageous."

Song Dynasty, the first year of Kaibao.

Zhao Kuangyin was still beating Zhao Guangyi, and while beating him, he cursed him: "Look at you, then look at me! What did I do? I restricted those military generals from the system, did I suspect them at will?" He punched him, "How did I treat the generals at the border? Not only did I allow them to trade, but I also tacitly allowed them to raise dead soldiers. At least I didn't give orders blindly!" He punched him again, "What are you doing with 'controlling the generals from the middle'? Are you good enough?" He charged up for another punch, "You just don't admit it even if you feel guilty, but so many emperors came to the throne improperly, why are you the only one who does this!" Someone handed him a stick, and he hit him with it, "And the literati, some of those literati do know about military affairs, but most of them know nothing!" The stick was swung vigorously...

It was his third brother Zhao Guangmei who handed him the stick, while his two sons stood by and asked someone to prepare a pot of warm tea at any time to relieve his thirst.

What a harmonious, friendly, happy and harmonious family!

Tang Dynasty, the third year of Zhenguan.

As the most recent unified dynasty before the Song Dynasty, and especially a dynasty that brought many lessons to the Song Dynasty, when talking about the military system of the Song Dynasty, people in the early Tang Dynasty could be said to have paid the most attention.

"Divide the military power and check and balance each other?" Li Shimin began to think about the system of the Song Dynasty. Doing so can indeed bring the military power back to the emperor to the greatest extent, prevent a certain general from becoming too powerful, and prevent soldiers from only knowing the generals and not the emperor.

However, wouldn’t such a method of dividing power be too divisive, leading to difficulties in coordination and constant constraints within the military, resulting in serious internal friction? In this case, how can the military maintain its combat effectiveness?

He thought so and told his ministers so.

Fang Xuanling said, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, the status of military generals began to decline since Zhao Guangyi, and there has been no improvement since then. In this case, how many of the successors can understand military affairs? I am afraid that they will all join the civil officials in worshipping civil officials and suppressing military affairs. Once such a trend is established, coupled with the military system of the Song Dynasty, the combat effectiveness of the army can be imagined."

Du Ruhui added a detail: "It is not just the status of generals that has been lowered, but the status of the entire military has been lowered. Everything related to 'military' has changed."

If all people and things related to "martial arts" became worthless, what would the Song Dynasty become? A dynasty of pure literati? A period of jubilation for scholars? A dynasty of flourishing literature, splendor and prosperity? But without martial arts.

These are all good, but under such a value orientation, without martial arts, it is like a child holding gold, or a castle in the air. Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui looked at each other and laughed: "These are not completely applicable to the Tang Dynasty. However, if the value orientation of the Song Dynasty is really like this, then the evaluation of my Tang Dynasty may not be very good." In fact, not only the Tang Dynasty, but also the previous Han Dynasty may have a reputation for warmongering.

Li Shimin also laughed: "Why should I care about these! The voice of the people is the most real." He thought carefully, "It's just that there must be someone at the center of power. If the military generals are suppressed, then the civil officials will definitely take the lead. Although it seems that there is no direct threat like the military generals, scholars can also subvert the foundation of the country!"

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

The dukes and princes of the Han Dynasty found it difficult to understand why the Song Dynasty emphasized culture over military affairs.

The Han dynasty valued military merit, and only those with military merit could be granted a title of nobility. Ministers with real military merit had to be more confident when facing those without military merit. At this time, the most respected thing was to have both civil and military skills, and even civil officials could not be completely ignorant of military affairs.

But the Song Dynasty did not advocate martial arts. So if those pure literati did not hold military positions, what motivation did they have to learn this knowledge that they considered "lowly"?

In this case, what were the army and ministers of the Song Dynasty like? How could these Han officials, who had been bathed in the halo of military exploits since childhood, understand this?

This was the case in the Han Dynasty, and it was even more difficult to understand in the Qin Dynasty. After all, since Shang Yang, the Qin Dynasty attached more and more importance to military merit, and the military merit system was born here. The common people of the Qin Dynasty were even more eager to earn military merit, so as to change their status and leap into a higher class.

Without the military merit system, the foundation of the Qin Dynasty would be shaken.

[After these sets of combined punches, the status of military men in the Song Dynasty began to decline continuously.

Especially after the idea and system of "controlling the military with civil officials" was formally formed during the reign of his son Song Zhenzong, the status of military officials dropped drastically. Civil officials gradually took full control of the Privy Council and excluded military officials from this institution that was supposed to be related to the military; at the same time, civil officials took control of the garrisons in various places and became the commanders of military officials.

"Nowadays, people are generally promoted based on their literary skills. Ministers are literati, close attendants are literati, the money and grain managers are literati, the border commanders are literati, the transport commissioners are literati, and the governors of prefectures and counties are literati. Although there are military officials, they are rare."

But literati know nothing about military affairs!

The subsequent problems of no one willing to join the army, improper military command, declining military combat effectiveness, repeated peace talks between the court and the military commanders, and the generals’ unwillingness to fight to the death were also inseparable from this.

Song Dynasty, the first year of Kaibao.

Zhao Kuangyin no longer paid attention to Zhao Guangyi's screams and wailing. The problems of the Song Dynasty's disrepair of military equipment and weak combat effectiveness in the miracle occupied his entire attention.

He has always been proud of his operation of "releasing military power with a cup of wine", believing that he has peacefully handed over the military power in the hands of all generals, and appeased the people's hearts, allowing those old generals who fought with him to conquer the world to live a life of wealth and glory and to protect their descendants - wasn't this what they wanted when they usurped the throne?

Not only did he not discourage people's hearts and minds, he also maintained his glorious image, and he also regained military power and no longer had to worry about anyone imitating his actions. Isn't this just killing two birds with one stone?
The subsequent suppression of the military commanders was just a routine operation. After all, he did not want to beat the military commanders into the mud, but he did not want them to become too arrogant. He still wanted a court that valued both civil and military officials.

However, what he did not expect was that the policies he left behind, coupled with the uneven personal abilities of his successors, would eventually lead to a situation where military generals were completely inferior to civil officials. This situation was even basically finalized during the reign of the third generation of monarchs!
It is said that when the world is at peace, weapons are put away and horses are released to the mountains. Have you seen the world at peace? Without Tianmu's explanation, he could imagine the situation at that time. There must be no peace! There is no peace! There is no peace, but you started to do this. Are the emperors who came after you all mentally disabled?
Or do you really think that civil servants are all good, or do you think that civil servants cannot cause any trouble?

In the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, it was true that military generals frequently made mistakes in their orders, but this does not mean that civil officials were incapable of causing trouble!

He could not influence future emperors, he could only modify his own policies and systems to make them more suitable for the conditions of the Song Dynasty and make it more difficult for future generations to act recklessly.

Should we increase the power of the military commanders? Or should we strike down the civil officials as well?
Song Dynasty, the third year of Dazhong Xiangfu.

Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng, who had already offered sacrifices to Mount Tai and Confucius, had been in a very happy mood in recent years, until he looked at the sky curtain and began to talk about his father, Song Taizong, and then talked about the sharp decline in the status of military generals during his reign...

The ministers in the palace were mostly civil officials. Although they were usually divided into factions, they would always stand together when dealing with military generals. This time was no exception.

They didn't say anything, but just looked at Zhao Heng, wanting to see what the emperor thought before making any arguments.

What does Zhao Heng think? Zhao Heng certainly thinks there is nothing wrong with his decision!
Since he ascended the throne and started the war against Liao, the generals have been arrogant because they think they have made great contributions and the court cannot do without them. How can he tolerate such a situation? Of course, he must suppress this bad trend.

Then he took advantage of the situation to negotiate peace - signed the Treaty of Chanyuan. In this way, without the pressure of foreign war, he could free up his hands to reorganize the army - as for those military generals who became arrogant and complacent after a short period of success, not all generals, there are many excellent generals? How can that be counted! Who knows if they will become arrogant and even threaten the emperor in the future?

Do I know that this will affect the combat effectiveness of the army? I know, but I think the impact is not big. If we can't go out to fight, can we defend the city? Besides, the Song Dynasty is prosperous and wealthy. If we can buy peace with a little money, that's enough.

So, Zhao Heng smiled and did not mention the status and power of the generals. He just said: "I think that the alliance I signed with the Liao Kingdom has won a chance for the world to rest and brought peace and prosperity to the Song Dynasty. The people have experienced years of war and have long been overwhelmed. What do you think?"

After hearing this, the civil servants immediately felt relieved that the government was still on their side and they had nothing to worry about!

So they were overjoyed and agreed: "Our great Song Dynasty has been established for many years. Since your majesty came to power, the world has been free from the suffering of war and has enjoyed a peaceful governance. ... The Khitan asked for peace and showed that they wanted to rest. ... Therefore, the government went to the imperial mausoleum, enthroned Mount Tai, worshipped Mount Fen and Mount Sui, and paid homage to the Bo Shrine. All the unprecedented ceremonies were carried out, the rituals and music were clear, the praises were overflowing, and the ancestors were honored and the merits were reported to the gods. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, isn't it a rest?"

Others praised him highly: "He was a wise man who maintained the status quo and brought prosperity to the country. He can be compared to Emperor Cheng and Kang of Zhou and Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing of Han!"

Zhao Heng was naturally overjoyed after hearing this, and felt more and more that he was a famous emperor throughout history, with achievements no less than those of Taizu and Taizong. It's possible that he might even be even stronger than Taizu and Taizong.

In a good mood, he also praised his ministers - a wise ruler and good ministers are the right way: "You are also indispensable people for me to govern the world. The miracle said that civil officials do not know military affairs, but I do not think so. You are familiar with the books of sages and saints, so you are familiar with military books. Many new military strategies and military books are written by you. How can you say that you do not know military affairs?"

The civil officials also smiled and said, "This is all thanks to the emperor's unique vision and the opportunity he gave us..."

(End of this chapter)