Gu Hongyi (Professor of Ancient Books at East China Normal University)
The familiar story of " Deciding on a Snowy Night" in the history of the early Song Dynasty refers to the paragraph between Song Taizu and his confidant Zhao Pu about the "strategy for the world" Famous dialogue:
Taizu was lucky enough to see Pu Di (Zhao) at night. He stood in the wind and snow, and Emperor Pu was afraid to come out to greet him. Taizu and Pu drank in the hall, where they sat on the ground covered with grass, burned meat over hot charcoal, and Pu's wife and his wife drank wine. Taizu called her sister-in-law.
Pu Calmly asked: "The night has been cold for a long time. Why did your Majesty come out?"
Taizu said: "I can't sleep. There are other people's homes besides the couch."
Pu said: "Your Majesty, Xiaotian The expedition to the south and the north are now underway. I wish you could achieve your goal."
Taizu said, "I want to take Taiyuan."
Pu was silent for a long time and said, "I don't know about it."
Taizu said. When asked why, Pu said: "Taiyuan is on the northwest and northwest sides. If we move it down in one fell swoop, I will be the only one responsible for the troubles on both sides. Why not just keep it until the countries are flattened? Then there will be nothing left in the land of Taiyuan. Escape."
Taizu smiled and said, "That's what I meant. "This is a special test for you."
This "Snowy Night Decision" was determined by the Southern Song Dynasty historian Li Tao to have occurred in the third year of Jianlong (962). However, the above dialogue did not mention the specific steps of the unification strategy, but a passage recorded by Song Taizu to Zhao Guangyi in Volume 1 of Wei Tai's "Dongxuan Records" of the Northern Song Dynasty just answered this question. A question: "Since the Five Dynasties , China has suffered from wars and disasters, and the country has been exhausted. It must first take Xichuan (referring to Hou Shu), then Jing (referring to Gaobao Xu in Jingnan, Zhou Xingfeng in Hunan), Guang ( refer to In the Southern Han Dynasty (Southern Han Dynasty) and Jiangnan (referring to the Tang Dynasty), the country is rich in resources. Today's fierce enemy is in Khitan. Since the beginning of fortune, Hedong (referring to the Northern Han Dynasty) has been strangling both Tibet and Tibet. Taking the east of the river, we will be connected with the two Tibetans. Jiyuan, guard Han for me, and wait until it is too late for me to seize the kingdoms. "The order in which Taizu of the Song Dynasty envisioned conquering the kingdoms was to take Shu first, then go down the river, and capture and surrender Jinghu, Southern Han . , Southern Tang Dynasty, and then reorganized the army for the Northern Expedition. There are also records in Volumes 2 and 3 of " Eastern Capital History ", but it is determined that Song Taizu's words to Song Taizong were after "Ji Ping Huxiang", so " Huxiang" was not mentioned again. This strategy of "first south and then north" and "first easy and then difficult" is roughly a replica of the strategy of unifying the world agreed upon by Shizong and Wang Pu of the Later Zhou Dynasty.
Song Taizu
First from the south to the north, first easy and then difficult
History records that Zhou Shizong lamented that since the end of the Tang Dynasty, "China has been declining day by day, and Gaoping has become very successful, and it is full of ambitions to flatten the world." Therefore, he specially issued an edict to ask his officials to "Kaibian" "Strategy", in which Wang Pu's strategy for unifying the world was unique and highly praised by Zhou Shizong. Wang Pu aimed at the various separatist regimes in the south at that time. The Southern Tang Dynasty in the south of the Yangtze River was the strongest, followed by the Hou Shu in Sichuan. The Lianghuai region in the Southern Tang Dynasty not only had an important geographical location, it was bordered by the Yangtze River in the south and the territory of the Later Zhou Dynasty in the north. Connected to each other and not far from Bianjing, it has a large population and a developed economy. Therefore, if the Later Zhou Dynasty can control the two Huaihe Rivers, it can strangle the throat of Jiangnan. "Jiangnan is also easy to capture. If you get Jiangnan, Lingnan (Southern Han) and Bashu (Latter Shu) can be decided. If the south is established, then the land of Yan (referring to the time) The Yanjing area belonging to the Khitan must be surrounded by the wind; if it does not come, move your troops to attack it and sweep it away. However, the bandits in the east of the river are bound to die, so you cannot trust them. To lure them, we should use strong troops to control them... Once the world is at peace, then we can capture them in one fell swoop." To put it simply, the war process that Wang Pu envisaged to conquer the countries and unify the world was to capture the Southern Tang Dynasty first. Huainan area, and then take advantage of the situation to capture the Jiangnan area of the Southern Tang Dynasty, then spread the message to Lingnan and Bashu, sweep across the Yan area, and finally capture the "dead bandit in the east of the river".
Song Taizu became "yellow robed" through the carefully planned Chenqiao mutiny, but the territory he inherited from the Later Zhou Dynasty did not go beyond the Central Plains Yellow River , Huaihe basin and Guanzhong and other places. Looking around, everything belonged to others. is a country , so there is a feeling that "everything outside the bed is someone else's home".For this reason, Song Taizu, who had great ambitions to unify the world, had already considered how to end the chaos of the world being fragmented since the late Tang Dynasty when his regime was first stabilized, and thus came up with this unification strategy agreed with the monarchs and ministers of the later Zhou Dynasty. "Snowy Night Decision" has a direct relationship.
But whether this unified strategy can be carried out smoothly, the biggest variable lies in the north of "first south and then north". After the Five Dynasties Later Jin Dynasty Shi Jingtang ceded Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures to the Khitan, the northern gate of the Central Plains area was opened. The Khitan cavalry relied on its geographical advantages to attack southward almost at will. However, the Central Plains regime was unable to Hebei Plain thousands of miles of plains. There was no danger to defend, so it was in a very unfavorable passive situation in the war with the Khitan. Therefore, for the Later Zhou Dynasty and even the Northern Song Dynasty thereafter, the war threats they faced mainly came from the Khitan and Northern Han regimes in the north. According to Volume 5 of "Khitan Chronicles", "The Central Plains was troubled at that time, and the feudal vassals and towns were vying for power, so they all sought help from Khitan to survive."
Therefore, after Zhou Shizong captured the fourteen states of Huainan in the Southern Tang Dynasty, in view of the fact that the Southern Tang Dynasty was severely damaged and declined, he was afraid of surrendering to the Later Zhou Dynasty. At that time, the Khitan Emperor Liao Muzong "played a good game and was not pro-national affairs. He drinks heartily every night and sleeps until midnight. The Chinese people call him the 'Sleeping King' when he wakes up in the middle of the day." He also said, "I like to travel, and in the cold winter and midsummer, I don't waste time galloping. All the things are complicated, and all the officials of the Bo and Han Dynasties are here. The emperor is here. "Not with disdain", the government was in chaos, people's hearts were floating, and the national power was greatly weakened. Therefore, Zhou Shizong adjusted the strategy of "first south and then north", redirected his troops, and launched a heavy Northern Expedition in the sixth year of Xiande (959), hoping to take advantage of this favorable opportunity to regain the Youzhou area and close the northern gate. As a result, the army of the Later Zhou Dynasty regained three passes in one battle: Yijinguan(today's Bazhou, Hebei), Waqiaoguan(today's Jiannanguan, Xiongxian County, Hebei) and Yukouguan(today's Dongxin'an Town, Bazhou, Hebei) ). However, a few days later, Zhou Shizong suddenly fell ill and could not support himself. After arranging the defense in the north, he led his army back to the capital south. Soon, Zhou Shizong died of illness and his youngest son succeeded him. Only half a year later, Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin launched the "Chenqiao Mutiny" and usurped the Later Zhou Dynasty.
When Taizu of the Song Dynasty ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, Luzhou Jiedushi Li Jun united with the Northern Han Dynasty to rebel against the Song Dynasty. Wu Shengjiedushi Zhang Yongde comments. Zhang Yongde believes: "Taiyuan's soldiers are small but powerful, and they are supported by Khitans, so they cannot be taken hastily. I foolishly thought that more guerrillas were set up every year to disturb their fields, so I still sent spies to Khitans to eliminate their reinforcements first, and then they could Picture." Mrs. Song Zu Ye knew that the country's strength was insufficient, so he approved Zhang Yongde's suggestion and said: "It's good." It happened that Li Chongjin, the governor of Yangzhou, moved to the city and raised troops. Taizu of Song Dynasty was busy mobilizing troops for his own expedition, so the plan to conquer the Northern Han Dynasty was shelved. In the third year of Jianlong in , Song Taizu's rule gradually became stable. However, seeing that the time for the Northern Expedition to the Northern Han Dynasty and the Khitan was still immature, he turned his attention to the south, and the "Snowy Night Strategy" came into being.
However, Song Taizu did not implement this unified strategy mechanically, but applied it flexibly according to changes in actual conditions. Just before and after the "Snowy Night Strategy", Zhou Xingfeng, the commander of the Wuping Jiedu who controlled the fourteen prefectures in Hunan, died of illness. His youngest son Zhou Baoquan succeeded him. The army was not convinced. Zhang Wenbiao, the governor of Hengzhou, took the opportunity to launch a mutiny. Zhou Baoquan wanted to seek his own freedom. Bao, urgently sent envoys to ask for help from the Gao family regime in Jingnan and the Song Dynasty. In the first month of the first year of Qiande (963), Song Taizu took advantage of the situation and planned a false plan to destroy Guo. He sent his army south to take over Hunan and destroyed the Gao family in Jingnan on the way.
In the second year of Qiande (964), the monarchs of Later Shu sent envoys to contact the Northern Han Dynasty and arranged for the north and south to send troops to attack the Song Dynasty at the same time. Song Taizu thus got a good opportunity to make a name for himself, and immediately sent out his army to conquer Chengdu in only 66 days, and later Shu was destroyed.
In September of the third year of Kaibao (970), Song Taizu ordered generals to go to the Southern Han Dynasty. In February of the following year, the Song army captured Guangzhou City and the Southern Han Dynasty fell.
In September of the seventh year of Kaibao (974), Song Taizu once again ordered the five armies to advance in parallel and march southward to the Southern Tang Dynasty. By the end of November of the eighth year, Jinling City was captured by the Song army, and the Southern Tang Dynasty was destroyed.
In October of the ninth year of Kaibao, Song Taizu died and his younger brother Song Taizong succeeded to the throne.In the third year of Taiping and Xingguo (978), Song Taizong, who had initially stabilized his rule, forced Qingyuan Commander Chen Hongjin and Wuyue King Qian Chu to "accept soil." After all the separatist regimes in the south were pacified, he sent four armies. Attack the Northern Han Dynasty. In April of the following year, Song Taizong personally went to Taiyuan City to supervise the battle. In May, the isolated and helpless Lord Liu Jiyuan of the Northern Han Dynasty ran out of ideas and surrendered to Kaicheng. At this point, the history of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms that featured warlords' melee, political turmoil, devastation, and people's poverty came to an end.
Zhao Pu
Criticisms of later generations
For Song Taizu's strategy of "first south and then north", "first easy and then difficult" and finally using troops to conquer the Yan Dynasty, later generations praised him for being correct and wise, but some people think that this was Song The main reason why the DPRK could not regain the Yanyun area from the Khitan in the end was criticized heavily: because when the Song army successively wiped out the southern countries according to the original plan, and then tried to use force to regain the lost territory of Yanyun, the faint king of the Liao Kingdom, Liao Muzong, had already After his death, Liao Jingzong succeeded to the throne and his administration was relatively clear, and the current situation gradually became stable. After more than ten years of recuperation, the national strength has increased. That is to say, Song Taizu failed to continue Zhou Shizong's good momentum of quickly closing the three passes. Instead, he went to manage the south first, and finally lost the best opportunity to regain the lost land of Yanyun. This statement seems to be reasonable, but in fact, it is just that one only knows one and does not know the other.
According to available historical data, it was Song Zhenzong who initially criticized Song Taizu's strategy. Previously, after Song Taizong destroyed the Northern Han Dynasty in the fourth year of Taiping and Xingguo, he immediately sent troops to attack Yanjing. A few years later, he again launched a large-scale attack on the Liao Kingdom in the second year of Yongxi , but was defeated at the foot of Yanjing City. Returned, and according to Wang Zhi's " silent record " volume, "Taizong's army collapsed from Yanjing City, and the northern captives chased him, but he had to escape. ... Two arrows were hit in the buttocks, and they will be fired every year. He abandoned the world and actually used Arrow sores appear in the clouds." That is, Song Taizong himself was injured by an arrow in his leg during the battle of Gaoliang River, and eventually died of a recurrence of the injury. After that, the Song and Liao wars continued for years, and Song Zhenzong was finally forced to enter into an alliance under the city with the " Yi Di " - the " Chanyuan Alliance ", thus officially announcing to the world that he would give up the strategy of regaining Yanyun's lost land. For this reason, Song Zhenzong, who felt quite embarrassed in historical records, once said to his courtiers: "(Zhou Shizong) was wise and powerful. At that time, he personally conquered Ying and Mo. If he had not encountered illness, he would have conquered You and Ji." Ouyang Xiu The "New History of the Five Dynasties·Siyi Appendix" also commented: "In the art of war, the decisive opportunity depends on the situation, and there is a time that cannot be missed." Zhou Shizong's northern expedition to Khitan, "taking advantage of its victory, knocked it unconscious, and the world's disciples saw Zhou Shi's How fast it came out, but I don’t know how to describe it There are opportunities to take the law. At this time, it is not necessary to take into account the places taken by the Zhou Dynasty. However, the old places of the fourteen states can all be taken by the subordinates. Unfortunately, Shizong suffered an illness. Unfulfilled ambition. …Isn’t it a pity that he has such ambitions, and his achievements are not great!” However, they did not dare to explicitly criticize Song Taizu, the founder of the country, and could only use the incident of Zhou Shizong to express their feelings and imply that “first the south and then the other.” North” strategy mistake.
At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Jin people went south from the Yanyun area and attacked Kaifeng, Tokyo, and the Northern Song Dynasty fell. Therefore, the people of the Southern Song Dynasty clearly stated that Song Taizu was wrong for "making a policy on a snowy night". Among them, the great poet of the early Southern Song Dynasty Lu You said in "Shu Tongjian Hou" as a typical example: "However, Shizong's plan is indeed a strange one. Gai Xian took Huainan. , to get rid of the inner and outer worries; if you don’t take advantage of the victory to capture Wu, Shu, Chu, and Guangdong, but raise the victorious troops to capture Youzhou and make Youzhou peaceful, how can the four directions be settled? Ye. Later, China (referring to the Song Dynasty) first took over Shu, Nanyue, Jiangnan, Wu Yue and Taiyuan finally captured Youzhou, but their troops were already at a disadvantage in all directions, and the success of Youzhou was not achieved. Therefore, although they won all the countries, China's power was ultimately weak, and then it was known that Shizong's original plan was good."
From then on to the Qing Dynasty. early, The Manchu Eight Banners soldiers once again marched south from Yanji and swept across the world. Therefore, scholars at that time, such as Wang Fuzhi, learned from the painful experience and criticized the unification strategy of "first south and then north" decided by Song Taizu and Zhao Pu. The Qing Dynasty poet Cha Shenxing also criticized it in his poem "Jiamaying":
The horse is frightened and neighs, and the red light rises in the middle of the night.
A man is called a hero when he falls to the ground, and he returns to the court as an emperor after inspecting the school.
Chen Qiao was hastily dismissed, and his book was not listed in the Sixteenth Prefecture.
But he used the jade ax to draw the crossing, and was willing to send the golden sword across the white ditch?
Across the river is the Liao family land, and the township community is located on the border.
At that time, there was little Qing Dynasty, so don’t blame Sun Yat-sen for negotiating peace.
If you don’t see it, the snake will divide and the deer will die. Xijing , Yan Daiping will return in abundance.
So far, the sky is bright and cloudy, unlike the Xiaoxiao horse camp.
The "river" in the poem refers to the river Baigou on the boundary between the Song and Liao Dynasties; "Tongyu" is the name of Lishe, the hometown of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, which refers to Zhuozhou, the hometown of Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty ; "山孙" refers to the "Chanyuan Alliance" signed with the Liao people Zhenzong of Song Dynasty; "Snake Fen" refers to the Han Emperor's uprising by beheading snakes, "Deer Death" refers to the demise of the Qin Dynasty, "Pi Xijing" refers to the establishment of the Han Dynasty, and "Mangdang" refers to the place where Han Emperor killed snakes and raised his army. Zha Shenxing compared Han Gaozu and Liu Bang and severely criticized Song Taizu for not being enterprising and unintentional to expand territory, so that Yan Yun's lost land could not be recovered. Although this kind of statement is widely spread and talked about by the world, if we look deeply into the truth, it is still the opinion of scholars who are not familiar with historical events, or they are just using the past to satirize the present behind the comments of the ancients, just to pour out the pain in their chests. Because they only saw Zhou Shizong's overwhelming power in regaining the Three Passes, Liao Muzong's debauchery and immorality, and the Khitan's national power declining, but they did not have a deep understanding of the lack of national power in the early Song Dynasty.
Khitan people "Hunting Pictures"
Can Song Taizu easily conquer the sixteen states of Yanyun?
Although Khitan, whose main industry is fishing, hunting and nomadic, is vast and sparsely populated, and its economic development level is quite insufficient compared with that of the Central Plains, its military and civilian characteristics have made its combat capabilities superior to those of its neighbors, and it has occupied Yan ever since. After the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yun, the national power increased greatly, and the Khitan "also used Yan people to govern the country" and governed it based on its customs, so its rule in the Yanyun area was relatively stable. In comparison, the Song Dynasty was newly established, and there were still many internal unstable factors. The Central Plains region had been in a state of war for a long time since the middle Tang Dynasty . Social production was severely damaged and the economy was in decline. Although the later Zhou government made a lot of efforts to restore the Central Plains economy. Great efforts, but Zhou Shizong was in power In five or six years, troops were sent out five times for personal conquest, and other small-scale wars continued. The national finances were under heavy pressure, and the Song Dynasty that usurped the Zhou Dynasty did not leave much wealth. In addition, the southern countries were not attached, and their military and financial resources were basically unavailable. It was not enough to support Song Taizu's decisive battle with the powerful enemy Khitan in the north to regain Yanyun.
People from the Song Dynasty Tao Yue Volume 5 of "Supplement to the History of the Five Dynasties" contains: "In the last years of Emperor Shizong's reign, he made a large-scale effort to seize Youzhou. When the Khitan heard about his personal expedition, the monarchs and ministers were frightened, and all the fortresses along the border looked down. All the Tibetan tribesmen in Youzhou also He ran away all night long." This is also an important basis for later generations to believe that not taking Yanjing in time was a missed opportunity. However, based on historical records, this theory is difficult to believe. Because although Zhou Shizong almost won the three passes without any blood, it does not mean that the later Zhou army can easily obtain Youzhou.
First, the Liao court did not pay much attention to the Three Passes. According to historical records, when Emperor Muzong of the Liao Dynasty learned of the fall of the Three Passes, he easily expressed his position: "This land of the Han is now returned to the Han, so why bother?" But the important town in the south is In Youzhou City, Liao Ting will not give up easily. At that time, Mu Zong of the Liao Dynasty sent envoys to urge the Northern Han Dynasty to send troops to assist him. At the same time, he moved the camp from to Shangjing (near today's Balinzuo Banner in Inner Mongolia) south to the grassland near Youzhou City, so that he could direct the soldiers nearby to counterattack the Zhou army. attack. Second, corresponding to the above-mentioned attitude of not paying much attention to the three passes, most of the generals used by the Liao Dynasty to guard the three passes were Han people, while the elite Khitan cavalry was stationed in the north of Yanjing City and was not attacked by the Later Zhou Army. of blow. Therefore, the statement that "all Tibetan people in Youzhou also fled at night" is probably just an exaggerated imagination of the Central Plains people, and there is no similar record in Liao documents. According to " Zi Zhi Tong Jian ", after Zhou Shizong regained the three passes, he originally planned to take advantage of the momentum to conquer Youzhou northward, but the generals accompanying him thought it was not feasible, thinking that "it is not appropriate for the captives and cavalry to gather in the north of Youzhou now." Go deep”. Zhao Kuangyin, as the imperial general of Zhou Shizong, should also be one of the generals at that time. This is not because Zhou Shizong was angry because of the generals' "cowardice in fighting" mentality, but rather a wise choice made by these veteran generals who are experienced in battles and understand the strengths and weaknesses of both the enemy and ourselves.After entering the Song Dynasty, the strength of the Song Army was indeed improved after Taizu of the Song Dynasty reorganized it. However, compared with the Zhou Shizong period, there was no substantial improvement. In terms of military strength, the Song Army had no advantage over the Liao Army. There is no certainty of victory. This is also proved by the history of Song Taizong's two northern attacks on Yanjing City, which were defeated miserably.
Compared with the north, the southern countries are relatively weak in strength, but their economy is far richer than that of the Central Plains, and the countries are independent in their own affairs, which is convenient for the Song Dynasty to divide and rule. If the Song Dynasty can concentrate its superior forces and occupy the southern countries, it can greatly enhance its national power, send troops to conquer the Northern Han Dynasty, and then divide its troops from Hebei and Hedong to attack the Liao Kingdom from the east and west, and it will be more certain to regain the Yanyun area. for increase. Therefore, in order to avoid the worry of visiting the north, Song Taizu went on the defensive against the Khitan and tried to live in harmony with the Khitan. In the seventh year of Kaibao (the sixth year of Baoning, Liao Dynasty, 974), Song and Liao sent envoys to each other to make peace. Regarding this "peace" incident, the Song people insisted that it was the Liao Dynasty who first proposed it: For example, "History of the Song Dynasty Taizu Ji" records that in November of the seventh year of Kaibao's reign, "Xin Chou ordered Sun Quanxing to reply to Zhuozhou".Xiongzhou Fix the book”. "A Brief History of the Eastern Capital - Appendix 1" says that the Khitan "Yelucong, the governor of Zhuozhou, left a letter to Sun Quanxing of Xiongzhou to beg for repairs... Quanxing heard about it, and Taizu ordered him to reply with a letter." However, it was the Song court who took the initiative to record the records of the Liao people: "History of Liao Jingzong Ji I" records that in March of that year, "Song sent envoys to ask for peace, and appointed Yelv Changshu, the governor of Zhuozhou, as an assistant to negotiate peace with Song." Yelv Changshu is what is called Yelv Cong in Song Dynasty literature. A review of records from both sides shows that in mid-March of that year, Sun Quanxing, the magistrate of Xiong Prefecture in the Song Dynasty, was ordered to send advance personnel into Khitan to contact Yelv Changshu, the defender of Zhuo Prefecture in the Liao Dynasty, to explore the possibility of peace. The monarchs and ministers of the Liao State were well aware of the Song Dynasty's unification strategy of "first south and then north". If they took advantage of the Song army's management of the south and sent troops southward, it would obviously cause the Song people to be attacked from both sides. However, at that time, Emperor Jingzong of Liao Dynasty had no intention of competing with the Song Dynasty in view of the internal troubles caused by the powerful powerful people in the country who wanted to seize power. Therefore, after receiving the side report, out of the principle of reciprocity, he ordered Yelv Changshu, the governor of Zhuozhou, to be responsible for "negotiating peace with the Song Dynasty" . In mid-November, Sun Quanxing reported Yelv Changshu's letter to the imperial court. Song Taizu formally ordered Sun Quanxing to "answer it in writing" and "fix it together."
In addition, an incident recorded in the Song Dynasty's "Wang Wenzhenggong's Records" is also related to this: Song Taizu "crushed the puppet countries, collected their treasures of gold and silk, returned them to the capital, and stored them in a separate treasury, named Fengzhuang Library At the end of the year, all the money that the country will use to win will be put into Yan." He also informed his close officials of the intention of doing so: "Shi Jin wanted to benefit himself and cut off the Youyan prefectures and bribed Khitan, so that the people of one side could only be restricted to the outside world. I am very Pity him. I want to wait until the library has accumulated three to five million. It is proposed to send envoys to that country, and if the people of the land are willing to return it to me, all the gold and silk will be given as redemption. If not, I will disperse the stagnant wealth and recruit warriors to capture it. "Determining victory or defeat" means that Song Taizu took into account the military strength of both sides. In contrast, he also thought about using money and property to redeem the lost land of Yanyun without going through war. If this failed, "I will buy a Qidan head with twenty bolts of silk, and its elite soldiers will only be one hundred thousand, and it will not cost me more than two million bolts." Silk, the Khitan will be exhausted." However, Song Taizu's statement was mainly to prove to his ministers that if he went to war with the Khitan at this time, there would be no problem in terms of financial support.
But unlike the Khitan, the Northern Han Dynasty, which was located in a corner of Hedong, did not want to sit still and wait for death. It followed the practice of Shi Jingtang, the later Jin Dynasty emperor in the Five Dynasties, who surrendered to the Liao Dynasty and called the Liao Dynasty "Emperor Son" and "Emperor Nephew" in exchange for the Khitan cavalry. To support, they often adopt the method of attacking instead of defending to compete with the Central Plains regime, and then threaten the heartland areas of Henan and Guanzhong in the Song Dynasty. For this reason, Song Taizu sent troops to attack Taiyuan three times in an attempt to remove this thorn in his side, but failed because the Liao army came to help. In July of the first year of Kaibao (968), civil strife broke out in the Northern Han Dynasty due to the issue of succession to the throne. Song Taizu then mobilized his troops north to attack Taiyuan City in August. At this time, the Liao Kingdom did not want to sit back and watch the Northern Han Dynasty be destroyed by the Song Dynasty, so it sent troops to help. In November, the Song army, which had been unable to attack Taiyuan City for a long time, learned that the Liao army was coming for reinforcements. Worried about being attacked from both sides, it retreated.
Taizu of the Song Dynasty was unwilling to accept that the northern expedition was in vain, and planned to personally conquer the Northern Han Dynasty. He specifically sought the opinions of his old prime minister Wei Renpu first.Wei Renpu believed that "haste leads to waste, but your majesty should be cautious." However, Song Taizu was determined. In February of the second year of Kaibao, he ordered the imperial commander to personally conquer and sent troops to defend Shiling Pass (today's northeast of Yangqu, Shanxi) to block the Khitan reinforcements. At the end of March, Song Taizu arrived at Taiyuan City, attacked the city from all sides, and diverted Fen water to flood Taiyuan City. As a result, the Khitan reinforcements were repulsed, but the Northern Han Dynasty refused to surrender, leaving the Song army stationed in the fortified city for several months under continuous rain, dysentery was prevalent among the army, and morale was low. At the same time, news came that the Liao army was once again sending troops to come for reinforcements. Song Taizu, who was unable to survive, led his troops to retreat.
Taizu of the Song Dynasty failed in his personal expedition to Taiyuan, so he returned to the established strategy of "first south and then north" and defended the north. He sent strong generals to garrison the northern states and occasionally sent soldiers to attack the territory of the Northern Han Dynasty to further weaken its national power. Until the Song army conquered Jinling, destroyed the Southern Tang Dynasty, and the southern front was basically pacified, Song Taizu once again turned his attention back to Taiyuan City. In August of the ninth year of Kaibao (976), Song Taizu divided his troops into five groups and began the third Northern Expedition, which would attack the Northern Han Dynasty. The various Song armies were progressing smoothly. The Northern Han Dynasty hurriedly sent envoys to Khitan for help, and Liao Jingzong immediately ordered troops to send troops to the south for reinforcements. But before the Liao army left the country, news came that Song Taizu had died suddenly and the Song army had withdrawn. The Song army attacked Taiyuan for the third time, but again failed.
The unification strategy of "first south and then north" formulated by Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty and his ministers "decided on a snowy night". Considering the situation of all parties in the south at that time and the comparison of military power between Song and Khitan, it should be said that it was a wise decision that knew the enemy and the enemy. , the Song Dynasty also followed this strategy and achieved its wish to flatten the separatist regimes in the north and south, so it enjoyed a high reputation. However, with the failure of Song Taizong's two Northern Expeditions and the subsequent establishment of the "Chanyuan Alliance" between Song Zhenzong and the Liao people, the hope of seizing Yanyun's sixteen states was shattered. As a result, there were murmurs that regretted that Zhou Shizong died suddenly and his "great success" was not achieved. It implicitly questioned Song Taizu's unification strategy of "first south and then north". By the beginning of the Southern Song Dynasty, the scholar-bureaucrats were saddened by the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty, so they directly accused Song Taizu of this strategy. Later, because the Great Wall was not defended, the Manchu Eight Banners soldiers went south from there and swept the world. Therefore, in the early Qing Dynasty, the scholars opposed Song Taizu and finally regained Yan. The heavy criticism of the unification strategy in the Jizhou area is just a way to pour out the bottom of one's heart. It is not a real discussion of the gains and losses of this "first south and then north" strategy.
editor in charge: Zhong Yuan
proofreader: Zhang Liangliang
