Tracing China: Through history, dialogue between ancient and modern

Chapter 241 Song Renzong is a Qualified Emperor
In the face of Taizu's Thunder, he was furious.

Poor Song Weizong continued to tremble, knelt down and kowtowed, repenting again and again, saying what he said he was ashamed of his ancestors, what he said he was ashamed of the common people, etc. In the end, his head was swollen, and half of his face oozes blood.

The shame of Jingkang.

It was a stain that he could never wash off in his life.

It is also a thousand-year shame of the Song Dynasty.

"As an emperor, one should care about the country, be sympathetic to the people, and then walk with the courtiers with one heart."

"Could it be that when you were studying at a young age, the prince and Taifu didn't teach you?"

"You, you are sorry to your ancestors, and you are ashamed to the common people."

"Old Zhao's family, how could such a stupid thing like you come out?"

……

Zhao Kuangyin was so angry that his liver hurt, he reprimanded and cursed angrily, and the scene was as silent as a cicada.

None of the other dozen or so emperors dared to refute anything.

Facing Taizu's lecture, they could only listen silently.

Zhao Kuangyin himself really couldn't figure it out, he was a heroic warrior in his life, he fought in the south and the north, he was not an emperor through the ages, but he was also an excellent feudal emperor Mingjun, why?The descendants of the Zhao family in my later generations are more weird than the other, and more unprofessional than the other?
Even a few generations later, the shame of Jingkang came, and the two emperors of the Song Dynasty were directly taken away by the Jin people of the foreign race.

shame!What a shame!
At this moment, he wished he could overturn the table and chairs, and then took out a Taizu long stick, and knocked out these unworthy descendants one by one.

I don't know how long ago.

Zhao Kuangyin, who was still angry, looked at Lin Feng, the host from later generations, and asked:
"Mr. Lin, the Great Song Dynasty, in the eyes of future generations, isn't it extremely weird and funny?"

There came out Song Zhenzong who shamelessly went to Mount Tai to enshrine Zen.

Later, two Song Weizong and Song Qinzong, who were ashamed of Jingkang, came.

This is only the emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty.

What about the Southern Song Dynasty?
It is estimated that it is good or not.

As a leader among the emperors, Zhao Kuangyin didn't need to care about his own reputation, but he couldn't turn a blind eye to the reputation of the old Zhao family, could he?

"The emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, isn't he wonderful?"

As a later generation, what can Lin Feng say?
But Zhao Kuangyin asked again.

There was no way, Lin Feng could only give a half-way answer, choosing a point of view that both praised and criticized.

Do not belittle to death.

nor praise to heaven.

It is said that in the 310-nine-year history of the Song Dynasty, there were indeed many interesting and wonderful scenes. As a unified country with the smallest territory, which is rare in Chinese history, even in its heyday, it only had a territory of more than 300 million square kilometers. Surrounded by enemies, Liao, Jin, Xixia, Mongolia, Tubo, Dali, etc., absolutely none of them is good.

If it is inferred according to this logic, the entire Song Dynasty should be poor and poor, the people are in dire straits, the country is dilapidated, poor and weak.

But the truth is exactly the opposite.

Compared with the barbarians in the west and north, the entire Song Dynasty was like a pearl in the east. It was so rich that capitalism even sprouted.

According to statistics, the per capita GDP of the entire Song Dynasty was the highest in all dynasties. At its peak, the entire Song Dynasty accounted for 65% of the world's GDP. Even the most powerful periods of the Ming and Qing dynasties could not catch up.

In addition to economic wealth, the entire Song Dynasty is outstanding culturally. We have always praised the poetry of the Tang Dynasty, but the Ci of the Song Dynasty is still a wonderful flower in Chinese history and culture, which has profoundly influenced future generations.

The great poets are as bright as stars, Su Shi, Li Qingzhao, Li Yu, Xin Qiji, Liu Yong... these countless names connect the historical trajectory of the entire Song Dynasty.

More importantly, the six most famous masters in cultural history appeared in the Song Dynasty, namely Ouyang Xiu, Su Xun, Su Shi, Su Zhe, Zeng Gong, and Wang Anshi, not including rising stars like Sima Guang. In modern times, any one is also an existence with tens of millions of fans.

In terms of science and technology, three of the four great inventions of our ancient times all appeared in the Song Dynasty.

They are movable type printing, compass and gunpowder. These three things later changed the history of the whole world and are the propellers of world historical civilization.

The emergence of movable type printing has changed the way humans record and pass on their own experience, greatly improving efficiency.

The compass has become a sharp weapon for human beings to conquer the world. Humans began to set out to the vast sea, discovered new continents, and connected all human beings together.

Gunpowder changed the course of human warfare and promoted the dominance of advanced civilizations. Barbarian culture was gradually eliminated, and human history has truly entered a situation where the strong are stronger and the weak are weaker.

However, despite the rich Song Dynasty, there were not many ways to deal with the invasion of barbarians.

This is determined by the innate nature of the Song Dynasty. After five dynasties and ten kingdoms, the Huaxia nation has lost its most precious place, that is, the Sixteen States of Youyun. This caused the entire Song Dynasty to face the nomads from the north. Can only be in a passive situation.

But even so, the entire Song Dynasty had the highest winning rate when fighting abroad, but why is the Song Dynasty always the weakest one in the eyes of the world?

This is probably only obtained by comparing with the Han and Tang dynasties!As mentioned earlier, due to the absence of Youyun Sixteen States, the Song Dynasty lost the most precious land for raising horses, and horses were the most important strategic material in ancient times, so they could only fortify everywhere, but could not take the initiative to attack. This is also the most helpless place in the Song Dynasty, and it eventually led to its own demise for this reason!
……

"Sixteen states of Yanyun?"

"Big brother."

"This responsibility seems to be on your head!" Zhao Guangyi shouted out of time.

"You, shut up for me..." Zhao Kuangyin was so angry that he shouted at his younger brother, "I have already saved enough money, food and grass before I was alive. In the Northern Expedition, I can obviously crush the barbarians in the north. But what did you do? All the military expenses and food and grass were exhausted, and the result was a complete defeat, so you still have face?"

At this moment, Zhao Guangyi must be muttering in his heart.

Brother, you can’t say that. Didn’t your first Northern Expedition also fail?

We brothers are equally divided, don't make fun of each other...

The pot of Yanyun Sixteen States was not taken back.

Who carries it?

Anyway, several emperors in the Northern Song Dynasty were responsible.

At this time, Zhao Kuangyin looked at a man who was as rich as jade and had an extraordinary temperament:

"Who are you from Old Zhao's family?"

The handsome man with an appearance not inferior to Pan An quickly saluted, "Back to Taizu, I am Zhao Zhen, the fourth emperor of the Song Dynasty."

Zhao Kuangyin said with a meaningful expression, "Zhao Zhen, what have you been doing for more than forty years?"

Such a general question.

Even if he threw it to Lin Feng, he didn't know how to answer it.

Song Renzong also seemed to be hesitant, half-clear, and summed up his life.

Lin Feng felt that among the 18 emperors in the Song Dynasty, Song Renzong had the best reputation.

This is an emperor worthy of the word "benevolence" in history. He is much more real than those of the Liu family. He keeps talking about convincing people with virtue, but there are few good things.

Good temper - let the saliva of the ministers spray on the face, and never change his face.The courtiers who have been promoted by themselves have to sit and listen to him when they are sprayed as drowned chickens.

Able to endure what ordinary people can't bear - let the sweaty courtier dangle in front of him, and still don't change his face.The ministers who were promoted by themselves were so smoked that their brains were hypoxic and had to sit and listen to him.

I can put myself in the shoes of the servants—I was thirsty when I went out for a stroll, but after watching it a few times, no one poured tea in a sensible way, so I didn’t say a word, and continued to keep my expression unchanged. After returning to the palace, I became thirsty.Just because he didn't want the person in charge of making tea and pouring water to be punished.

Thrift——When I ate fresh clams in the palace, I asked the purchasing department how much I bought them for. I heard that they were very expensive, so I threw away the chopsticks.

Good popularity - when the news came out when he died, the whole world cried, from princes to beggars, and the news spread to allies in the Northern Dynasties. It is said that the Khitan emperor also cried, and even set up a tomb in his own country for people to pay tribute to.

Such "benevolence and righteousness" incidents are absolutely countless on Song Renzong.

Not a thousand, but hundreds.

There were not many wars in his era, and he may not be willing to fight, but this does not mean that he can be slaughtered. In fact, he has also kept raising millions of soldiers, and he has truly deterred one side.Although the Tang Dynasty had the prosperity of Zhenguan Kaiyuan, the people during the reign of Song Renzong also lived and worked in peace and contentment.Especially the literati lived a very nourishing life at that time. Zhao Kuangyin's ancestors taught him to treat the literati kindly, and Song Renzong also played to the extreme.

of course.

There are also doubts.

It is said that Song Renzong is a chicken soup type emperor.

"Song Renzong has a good reputation, why? It's just that he treated the literati of that era kindly. The so-called soft-handedness and short-mouthed cannibalism, how can we not give Song Renzong a good opinion?"

"It makes sense, those in power who don't like the literati will inevitably be hacked."

"Isn't it? Isn't Wu Zetian, the empress who left the inscribed stele, discredited?"

"The large-scale expansion of the Forbidden Army in the Song Dynasty began in the Renzong era. As a result, more than half of the annual fiscal revenue was invested in the army. At the same time, the elite was diluted, and the combat effectiveness of the army declined instead."

"I feel that the great counselor has basically been in a pissed state since Zhao Kuangyin passed, and even more so after Nandu. It seems that life is not too hard...Da counselor as a whole gives me a feeling of being sick all the time. In the end, blowing Renzong still It’s really better to brag about Shenzong.”

"No one is perfect in history. If Song Renzong is not good, how many wise emperors can there be in 5000 years?"

"I think he is a conservative monarch who has done his duty but does nothing."

"The emperor is the best if he doesn't make a fuss."

"Hey, refer to Yang Guang, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty. The king bombed in the opening game, but in the end he insisted on making troubles, which made the thief miserable."

"It depends on when it is not tossed. There are a bunch of problems that are not tossed, and they will become more and more serious."

"Everyone knows that Song Renzong has nothing outstanding in military affairs. It is too difficult for him to rely on it to put down the threat from the north. During his reign, he was able to govern the country well and let the people live and work in peace and contentment. He was already very successful. gone."

……

Modern audiences have mixed reviews of this ancient "Emperor Renzong"!

For Song Renzong's self-evaluation.

Zhao Kuangyin was not too angry, but said coldly, "Barely defend the country, have the heart of a benevolent man, but no ambition to strengthen the emperor, and do not mess around in power. You can barely be considered a qualified emperor!"

to be honest.

Compared to those two who were ashamed of Jingkang.

Song Renzong is considered a successful example.

At this time, Song Renzong, facing the power of his own Taizu, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Finally, pass the test!
(End of this chapter)