The Chanyuan Alliance is a very famous covenant in the history of our country. However, the evaluation of this covenant has been mixed from ancient times to the present. Some people say it is a shame for the city, and some people think it is a great cause of saintliness, especially the signing of the covenant. A few years later, Kou Zhun, the representative of the main war faction, was deposed by Song Zhenzong , which made the right and wrong of the matter even more confusing. After a thousand years, let us look back at the thrilling battle of that year. What kind of revelation will the war bring? Today we will share the story behind Chanyuan Alliance.
Let's start with the grievances between Song and Liao. The grievances between them did not originate from Song and Liao, but from the " son emperor " of the later Jin Shi Jingtang . Shi Jingtang was originally of the Later Tang A general who guarded the border, he was jealous of the emperor.
People are unhappy when they are suspected, but when Shi Jingtang was unhappy, he wanted to kill the emperor.
But I don’t have enough power to kill the emperor, what should I do? He asked the northern grassland empire the Liao Kingdom for help. The price was twofold. One was that he would be the son of Emperor Ye Qian Deguang of the Liao Kingdom and was called the "son emperor". The other was that after the matter was completed, a piece of land would be given to him. To the Liao Kingdom, which place? —— Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures , this place is so important.
For the Liao Kingdom, with it, the Liao Kingdom could not only cross the Great Wall north and south, but also have stable taxation. For the Central Plains Dynasty, if it lost it, it would be equivalent to the Great Wall becoming a decoration. The land to the north and east of the Yellow River is almost undefendable, and there is a lack of war horses. That place is a good place to raise horses.
So since Shi Jingtang sold the Sixteenth State of Yanyun to Song and Liao, what does it have to do with Song and Liao?
We know that the Song Dynasty was established by Zhao Kuangyin on the basis of the Later Zhou Dynasty. The emperor of the Later Zhou Dynasty Zhou Shizong Chai Rong once recaptured part of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun from the Liao Kingdom. Later, the Zhou Dynasty changed hands, and the territory was transferred to the Song Dynasty, becoming the inherited ancestral property of the Song Dynasty. Of course, the Liao Kingdom settled this account on the Song Dynasty.
Therefore, after the founding of the Song Dynasty, the war between Song and Liao never stopped. In 1004 AD, which was also the year when the Chanyuan Alliance was signed, Empress Dowager Xiao of Liao Kingdom and Liao Shengzong led 200,000 soldiers and horses, and A trip south to attack the Song Dynasty was the background of the Chanyuan Alliance.
So how did the Song Dynasty react to the menacing Liao army?
The emperor at that time was Song Zhenzong, named Zhao Heng. He was panicked when he heard that the Khitan people were invading the south!
Why? First, Song Zhenzong himself was the first emperor of the Song Dynasty who grew up in the peaceful era. He had no experience in leading troops in war and was not proficient in business. Second, in the past confrontation between Song and Liao, the Song army was actually very weak. Without the upper hand, even Song Taizu, who had experienced many battles before, was no match for Daliao, let alone Song Zhenzong, who had no war experience at all.
When Song Zhenzong was in a panic, he hurriedly asked his ministers to discuss countermeasures. Many people suggested running south because they were afraid of being taken away as prisoners by the Liao army. What to do with
? Did he really just walk away like this? Just when escapism was taking over, one person stood up and spoke. Who? Prime Minister Kou Zhun, his behavior is that of an upright man who is not afraid of heaven and earth. The last thing he hears is the word "move the capital". Kou Zhun thinks: "Not only can't the capital be moved, but the emperor also wants to lead a military expedition. Where are you going? Chanzhou , because after losing the Yanyun Sixteenth Prefecture, the Song Dynasty capital Kaifeng was north of Kaifeng, except for the Yellow River, there was no geographical barrier to protect it, but Chanzhou happened to be on the edge of the Yellow River, so no matter what, the Song Army We must defend Chanzhou City and prevent the Liao army from crossing the river. "
He talks about fighting and fleeing at the same time, but which way should he go? Although Song Zhenzong was not a timid person, his courage and decisiveness were relatively weak. After hearing Kou Zhun's words, he hesitated and did not make an immediate decision, but immediately withdrew from the court.
However, at this moment, Kou Zhun made a very amazing move. What? He grabbed the emperor and said: "You can't go in. This matter must be solved today, and you absolutely cannot escape. Not only can't you run, you must move forward and you must conquer it yourself!"
That's it, maybe it's Forced by Kou Zhun's intimidation and the accusation of abandoning the clan, Song Zhenzong thought about it at the time: He really couldn't afford it, so in the end, he gritted his teeth, stamped his feet and was cruel, and agreed to the imperial conquest in person.
However, although Song Zhenzong promised, his feet were not in control and he could not walk fast. According to the riding speed at that time, he could have reached Chanzhou in 3 to 4 days, but Song Zhenzong took 7 days. Why? Because Song Zhenzong came to a place called Weicheng, he changed his mind and was unwilling to go north.
When he heard that the emperor was not leaving, Kou Zhun was very anxious and hurried to do ideological work. No matter what Kou Zhun said this time, Song Zhenzong was unwilling to go because he was afraid.
Kou Zhun can’t persuade him anymore, so who else can persuade him? Just when Kou Zhun was frowning, he happened to meet a person, the general who accompanied the emperor on the expedition and was also the supreme commander of the Forbidden Army at that time, named Gao Qiong. Although this man could not read a word, he was well versed in military affairs. Kou Zhun thought at that time, could he ask General Gao to persuade the emperor?
So he immediately asked: "Lieutenant is deeply favored by the country, are you willing to repay your service today?" Gao Qiong was a soldier, and of course he advocated going to the front line, so Gao Qiong, under Kou Zhun's arrangement, told Song Zhenzong Some words: "The soldiers in the army you lead are all from the north, and their wives, children, old and young are all in Kaifeng. If you flee south, will they be willing to flee south with you? So you can't escape from Nanjing. , your entire team will collapse, which is more dangerous than going to the front line. "
Did this trick work? Song Zhenzong wanted to run away, but there was no one to protect him. He had no choice but to give up the idea of escape south again.
In this way, after a week of arduous journey, Song Zhenzong and his party finally arrived at Chanzhou City, and facts also proved that the emperor's personal expedition was useful. When Song Zhenzong climbed up the tower to review the troops, the morale of the Song army instantly dropped. I was boosted several times. Of course, the morale of the Song army was high, and the Liao army was also ready to attack.
The leaders on both sides have arrived, and the fight is about to begin. There is no room for retreat.
No one expected that at this critical moment, an unexpected event would change the war situation and even the direction of history.
Just before the war, the commander of the Liao army, Xiao Talan, capsized in a ditch because he went out to survey the terrain. He was killed by the Song army with an arrow. Xiao Talan was a pillar of the Liao Kingdom, and even the famous Song Dynasty general Yang Ye asked him to He was captured. He was an extraordinary person, but he died like this.
After Xiao Talan died, Empress Dowager Xiao burst into tears and resigned from court for five days because of him. Naturally, the morale of the Liao army was greatly dampened.
At this time, Song Zhenzong unexpectedly received a letter, a letter from the Liao Kingdom asking for peace. The Liao Kingdom wanted to negotiate peace. What was going on?
In fact, in launching the war this time, the top officials of the Liao Kingdom not only wanted to take back the ten counties of Guannan , but also had another idea, which was to use war to promote peace. Empress Dowager Xiao really wanted to resolve the Song-Liao border issue in her later years.
It’s not as good as God. I never expected that Xiao Talan died before the battle of Chanzhou started. In addition to the death of the coach, which shook the morale of the army, the Liao army’s chances of winning were not as good as the Song army imagined. Big, they set out from home all the way to Chanzhou, but they didn't capture a decent city.
The morale of the army was already unstable, and the chance of winning the war was not great. Empress Dowager Xiao was very anxious at the time. Forced to do so, Empress Dowager Xiao could only negotiate for peace in advance. However, it would be detrimental to the Liao Kingdom to propose peace when the war situation was unfavorable. So what happened? What should be done to show the Song Dynasty's intention to negotiate peace while ensuring that the Liao Kingdom would not lose the initiative at the negotiating table?
Empress Dowager Xiao thought about it and thought of a person with a special status, the Song Dynasty surrendered general Wang Jizhong. Wang Jizhong had an unusual relationship with Song Zhenzong. He was adopted by Song Zhenzong since he was a child, and was later promoted to a general of the Forbidden Army of the Song Dynasty. Unfortunately, Wang Jizhong was captured in a battle between Song and Liao and became a minister of the Liao Kingdom. Although he became a prisoner, the trust between him and Song Zhenzong had not disappeared. So under the instruction of Empress Dowager Xiao, Wang Jizhong wrote a letter to Song Zhenzong in the tone of a minister reporting military conditions, cleverly conveying the signal that the Liao Kingdom wanted to negotiate peace.
What was Song Zhenzong’s reaction after receiving the letter? As expected by Empress Dowager Xiao, he responded positively and agreed to negotiate peace! But the main war faction doesn't think so. Since we have the advantage militarily, shouldn't we seize the opportunity to fight first? Even if peace is to be negotiated, it must be negotiated after the battle is won.
So Kou Zhun immediately launched a policy discussion and strongly opposed negotiating peace at this stage. In addition to Kou Zhun, Yang Yanzhao who had been guarding the border for a long time also urged Song Zhenzong to fight. He even thought of a combat strategy, but Yang Yanzhao Song Zhenzong didn't even read the memorial. As for Kou Zhun, Song Zhenzong only gave a high-sounding excuse: "In a few decades, there will definitely be elite soldiers and generals to deal with the Liao army. Now I can't bear to let the people suffer and suffer, so just Let’s negotiate peace!”
When things have developed to this point, peace negotiation has become a foregone conclusion. How to negotiate this peace? What leverage does Song Fang have at the negotiating table?
The negotiator sent by the Song Dynasty was Cao used . Before he left, Song Zhenzong gave him two instructions. First, no matter how the territorial issue was discussed, he could not make concessions. The land of the ten counties in Guannan must not be given away. Second, If the other party wants money, you can give it to him, even if he wants 1 million.
What Song Zhenzong didn't expect was that Kou Zhun changed the bottom line of 1 million. Although Kou Zhun did not persuade Emperor Zhenzong to change his mind, he was not opposed to peace talks. He wanted to promote peace through war, but 1 million year coins was too high, and he could not persuade the emperor. After thinking again, he thought He came up with a way. Before Cao Liang set off, he said to Cao Liang, "If the money you give exceeds 300,000, come and see me."
After some negotiations, Song Zhenzong finally waited until Cao Liang returned from the peace negotiation. According to the news, when Cao Liang came back, it was said that Song Zhenzong was having a meal and it was not convenient to see people. However, he was anxious to know the result, so he sent his servant to ask. Cao Lili "pressed his cheeks with three fingers," which is what Kou Zhun said Three hundred thousand. In addition to giving the Liao 300,000 live coins every year, the Chanyuan Alliance also agreed that both sides would withdraw their troops with the Baigou River as the national boundary, and the Liao would abandon Yingzhou and other places. From then on, any thieves and fugitives who crossed the border would not be allowed to stay with each other. Song The Liao agreed that the two countries were brotherly countries. Shengzong of the Liao was young and called Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty his brother. The two sides also set up forays on the border to carry out mutual trade. This is the story behind Chanyuan Alliance.
If we look at the treaties after 1840, this is indeed a reparation content, which is a shame, but if it is placed in the specific environment at that time, the Song Dynasty did not accept the peace negotiation, was it really capable of solving the border issue? ?
Every autumn, the Liao army would routinely rob and invade. This 300,000 yuan accounted for 1.53% of the Song government's annual income. It was an acceptable price.
After the two parties signed the contract, routine robberies disappeared, and the people on the border could live a good life. This kind of life cannot be measured by money.
