I am Emperor Shizu of Song

Chapter 50: Who should be the emperor? It depends on who is more suitable to destroy Liao (6,000 words)

"Brother Chen, you are wrong! I said that Taizu's passing of the throne to Taizong was extremely wise and laid the foundation for the Great Song Dynasty's difference from the Five Dynasties. How can that be considered flattery? Brother Chen, you are not well-educated and have limited insights, so don't speak nonsense after drinking."

Zhao Zi said that he was scolded by Chen Dong, but he was not angry at all, and he spoke in an orderly manner. He could see that Chen Dong was drunk, so why would he bother with a drunk troll?

Seeing how certain he was, Chen Dong was momentarily bewildered. He couldn't bring himself to make a firm judgment any further, so he just laughed. "Alright, alright! Then let me see how you come up with a concise explanation! Even if Taizu was right to pass the throne to Taizong, you can't make it sound so wise and harmless!"

Zhao Zi said he had already organized his words, then he cleared his throat and spoke eloquently:

"The chaotic late Tang Dynasty lasted only fifty years, a period of turmoil. Fifteen emperors passed through the Liang, Tang, Jin, Han, and Zhou dynasties. The state was repeatedly overthrown, lives were ravaged, and the people were left in dire straits. In the four hundred military prefectures of the land, every place was a scene of relentless slaughter, leaving the fields strewn with bones.
We, born and raised in peace and contentment, how can we understand the people's eagerness to end war and restore unity? When Taizu replaced the Zhou, eight of the ten kingdoms still existed. Only with a long-standing ruler could civil and military officials exercise their military powers with confidence and quickly quell the chaos.

If the ruler is young and the country is in doubt, the civil officials will certainly be cautious. Even if they see that the enemy country has few soldiers and weak forces and the legitimate government of the Central Plains is clearly capable of pacifying it, they will still be wary of the military generals gaining power after their achievements and will not send troops to investigate and settle the situation.

If the division of the world lasted even for five or ten more years, how many more people would die? How much of the people's wealth would be exploited by separatist warlords to finance their own military defense, and how much more suffering would the people suffer?
At this moment, ending the war as quickly as possible is the highest virtue of the world. A truly sage ruler who values ​​the world for all naturally understands this truth, knowing that even the honor and wealth of his own descendants cannot compare to this supreme virtue, and must give way to it.

Zhao Ji, Chen Dong and two other Tai students were a little confused for a moment when they heard Zhao Zicheng's passionate, righteous and empty words and brilliant speeches.

Zhao Zicheng's words, as a slogan, are of course a thousand times correct, embodying Mencius's view that the people and the country are the most important, and only then the ruler. Song Dynasty scholars and officials had actually made similar arguments long ago, but they were not exactly the same as what he just said.

Not to mention the distant past, several decades ago, Sima Guang compiled the "Zizhi Tongjian", and at the end he wrote about the Zhou and Chenqiao mutinies in the Song Dynasty, and then ended it.

According to Sima Guang's argument, the reason why the Zhao Song Dynasty was different from the Five Dynasties was that "the change of dynasty in the Chenqiao Rebellion was bloodless", so Zhao Kuangyin was more benevolent and more blessed by heaven than the monarchs of the Five Dynasties, and the Song Dynasty lasted for a long time because of this.

Sima Guang also mentioned the Later Zhou dynasty's last ruler, Shao Guoyi, but he didn't think that Shao Guoyi himself deserved the demise of the dynasty or should be replaced. He simply said, "The one who replaced him achieved a bloodless battle and a chaotic market, which was a great virtue."

Although Sima Guang's Old Party doctrine had already declined during the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song, Cai Jing was now flying the banner of the New Party and praising Wang Anshi to the sky.

However, some of Sima Guang's historical views, especially his belief that the current dynasty was more orthodox than the Five Dynasties, were generally accepted by scholars in the Song Dynasty. The court did not prohibit their teaching, and even Cai Jing acquiesced.

Because there is no better theory to explain this problem, the New Party members are indeed not as good as Sima Guang in studying history.

Chen Dong and other students of the Imperial College naturally followed Sima Guang's view on this issue. After a moment of confusion, they finally understood the obvious differences between Zhao Zicheng's view and Sima Guang's. Chen Dong then retorted:

"Brother Zhao, aren't you exaggerating too much? According to what you're saying, should the young ruler be replaced? It's not uncommon for our dynasty to have young rulers later on, and there haven't been any incidents. The late emperor was one of them..."

Chen Dong was already drunk, so he couldn't organize his words clearly. He spoke them out after discussing them with two classmates. Those two students were more clear-headed than he was, but they were not brave enough, so they didn't dare to debate such a hot-button topic in person.

Chen Dong also realized that he was too bold when he was halfway through his speech, so he stopped after saying "the late emperor", but everyone could understand the implication.

The so-called "predecessor" was, of course, Zhao Ji's elder brother, Song Zhezong. Song Zhezong ascended the throne at the age of nine, not much older than the seven-year-old Emperor Gong of Zhou, Chai Zongxun, of the late Zhou Dynasty. If Zhao Zicheng insisted on saying that the emperor's young age was a sin, he would be committing a serious taboo.

Zhao Zi said he wasn't worried about this rebuttal and immediately reminded his opponent to discuss the situation separately:
"This is one time, that is another! You are all taking my words out of context. When did I ever say that a young ruler and a state in doubt are the original sin?

What I am saying is that when the world is not yet unified and the people are caught in war, the young ruler will cause the people to suffer even more. And the honor and disgrace of a family is nothing compared to the hardship of the people.
It was precisely because of this unwavering commitment to the common good that Emperor Taizu, upon ascending the throne, established the Golden Casket Alliance, demonstrating his distinction from Emperor Shizong of Zhou. Had Emperor Taizu not been crowned emperor, would Emperor Gong of Zhou have been able to unify the country in the future? This question is beyond our ability to answer.

But I can guarantee that, even if we take a step back, Emperor Gong of Zhou would not have been able to unify the country in the first twenty years of his reign. The people would have suffered for twenty more years because of this! Because both Emperor Gong of Zhou and the then Prime Minister Fan Zhi and others had to wait until he came of age and won the support of the military and the people before they could take any action.

At that time, the Guo/Chai families had ruled the world for less than ten years. Did they have the qualifications to make the people of the world suffer for at least twenty more years just for a family that had occupied Heluo, Hebei and Huaibei for less than ten years?

Therefore, the Zhou people lost their Mandate of Heaven and their good fortune when Emperor Gongdi ascended the throne, not when Emperor Taizu ascended the throne. This point was overlooked by our dynasty's predecessors in historical studies. I myself was puzzled by this fact when I read history books as a teenager. Later, after two and a half years of diligent study at the Imperial Academy, discussing it with teachers and friends, I finally grasped this point and integrated it into my own understanding.

Zhao Zicheng's words were more detailed and insightful than the previous ones. Chen Dong and others fell into deep thought after hearing them.

Even Zhao Ji, who was watching the play nearby, changed his previous attitude and became truly relieved.

"Even Sima Guang, or other scholars and officials who were loyal to the Song Dynasty, could only say that Taizu's destiny and good fortune came from the bloodless Chenqiao Rebellion and the support of the people. In order to comply with the will of heaven, the destiny was realized at the moment of support.

If this man is to be believed, then the Mandate of Heaven for the Great Song Dynasty didn't begin when we were supported by others and ended that support without bloodshed. Instead, the Mandate of Heaven began the moment Chai Zongxun ascended the throne. Furthermore, his argument makes perfect sense. Why hadn't anyone thought of this in the past hundred years?

Zhao Ji couldn't help but fall into deep thought. After a long while, he vaguely realized that there was a hidden danger. "No! According to this boy's interpretation, the process of our Song Dynasty receiving the Mandate of Heaven, although more innocent and more unquestionable than the process discussed by Sima Guang, it also leaves some loopholes.

That is, according to this theory, the status of Mencius will be further elevated. Sima Guang had already elevated Mencius' status to a certain extent when he compiled the Comprehensive Mirror and evaluated the Confucian sages. If the Song Dynasty were to use Mencius's "How can the world be stabilized? It must be stabilized by one person. Who can unify it? Only those who do not resent killing can unify it" to expand the roots of orthodoxy, wouldn't it be necessary to fully accept Mencius's "The people are the most important, the country is second, and the ruler is the least important"?

Zhao Ji was wavering. He didn't know whether this change would bring more benefits than disadvantages or more disadvantages than benefits. This issue involved too many broad and profound issues, and he didn't dare to make a rash judgment.

He decided to discuss the matter with other trusted civil officials or academic officials after returning.

Before the Song Dynasty, or starting with the Han Confucianist Dong Zhongshu, a ruler's "Mandate of Heaven" and "Meritorious Luck" were derived from the interaction between heaven and man, from changes in heaven's will. Changes in heaven's will could be manifested through public opinion, but public opinion was ultimately only a vehicle for heaven's will.

If Mencius were to be promoted with such vigour, then the people's will would no longer be a vehicle, but rather the will of heaven and the destiny of virtue itself. The standard of "whether it aligns with the interests of the people" would be raised too high. This was not a good thing for an emperor who believed in Taoism, enjoyed prophecies, and relished auspicious signs.

Over the years, Zhao Ji had relied on worshipping Taoism and portraying himself as the Daoist Emperor, a descended god, to strengthen his legitimacy and rule. It would not be easy to suddenly change his mind and determine the legitimacy of his rule based on "whether it benefits the people."

It is not easy for Zhao Ji to express these selfish thoughts openly, so he will not come out to refute Zhao Zicheng.

Fortunately, other students of the Imperial College could more or less serve as Zhao Ji's mouthpiece. Although their questions and rebuttals were not exactly the same as what Zhao Ji thought and worried about, they were about 70% similar.

After everyone digested Zhao Zicheng's remarks, Chen Dong quickly followed up with a request for advice, "So, according to what you're saying, the Later Zhou Dynasty was doomed to fall after Emperor Shizong's death? Was it because they lived in a chaotic era with only a young ruler at the helm? This precarious situation prevented the empire from ending the war and restoring unity quickly?"

Zhao Zi said: "That's not the case. The end of the Mandate of Heaven and the Good Fortune of the Great Zhou did not end with the death of Chai Rong, but with the decision made at the time of his death. It was because he did not follow the will of Heaven. Heaven gave him the opportunity, but he did not choose to do so.

If the Zhou Dynasty had a virtuous character, Chai Rong should have taken the initiative to pass the throne to Li Chongjin. Chai Rong was only the adopted son of Guo Wei, the founder of the Later Zhou Dynasty, and had no bloodline to Guo Wei. However, he did have a small bloodline to Empress Chai, making him her nephew. Li Chongjin was Guo Wei's nephew, so the bloodline of an uncle and nephew and an aunt and nephew was similar.

If Li Chongjin had changed his surname to Guo and acknowledged his uncle Taizu Guo Wei as his father, and succeeded Chai Rong as per the story of "the younger brother succeeds the elder brother", with Li Chongjin's existing prestige in the army, he could naturally continue Chai Rong's great cause, continue to take advantage of the then foolish Liao ruler to recover the lost land of Yanyun, destroy the remnants of the Northern Han, and unify the various kingdoms, without having to make the world wait for another twenty years like Chai Zongxun did when he succeeded to the throne.

Alternatively, if Chai Rong felt that the bloodline between uncle and nephew was insufficient, he could adopt the son of Zhang Yongde and Princess Guo as his own son and pass the throne to that child. Although this would also put a young ruler in power, it would solve two problems: Zhang Yongde and Princess Guo's son would be one generation younger than Chai Rong, and could succeed the throne from father to son rather than from brother to brother.

As for the disadvantage, it is that there will still be a young ruler in power. However, there is one advantage of this kind of young ruler in power, that is, the young ruler's biological father Zhang Yongde can still control the army and take charge of the military power of the world. Since his own flesh and blood has become the emperor, Zhang Yongde, who is old, will probably not insist on rebelling against his own son.

However, whether choosing Li Chongjin's or Zhang Yongde's lineage, it was necessary to purge the other lineage before Chai Rong's death to prevent the two factions from fighting. However, Chai Rong refused to do so for the sake of his seven-year-old son's personal wealth and glory, preferring to let the people of the world suffer for another twenty years.

Therefore, the Later Zhou lost the Mandate of Heaven when he made that decision. Especially back then, when Emperor Taizu of Zhou, Guo Wei, was devoted to the principle of "the world is for all." Guo Wei, despite the extinction of his own bloodline, allowed his adopted son, the Chai family, to inherit the throne, simply to unify the country as quickly as possible and minimize suffering for the people. Why couldn't Chai Rong emulate his adoptive father's principle of "the world is for all"?

Taizu, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. He disregarded the honor or disgrace of his own bloodline, prioritizing only the swift end to the suffering of the people of the land. This is the true meaning of consistency. Perhaps by the time Taizu reached adulthood in his later years, Prince Dezhao, in his twenties, might have been able to continue Taizu's unfinished work. However, Prince Dezhao had no military experience, and his prestige within the military was unknown. Therefore, Taizu was unwilling to take such a risk for his own lineage.

More likely, Taizu felt that only by doing so could he face Zhou Shizong with dignity in his afterlife. When forced to lead the Chenqiao Rebellion, Fan questioned him, "The late emperor treated the Grand Commandant like a son, and he's still alive, why are you acting this way?" If he couldn't be more selfless than Zhou Shizong, then why didn't Zhou Shizong's rule pass down, while his did?

Taizu had to do this to repay the Mandate of Heaven, which declared, "Our dynasty should succeed the Zhou because it unified the land more quickly and brought less suffering to the people." Taizu's descendants were unable to enjoy this Mandate of Heaven's virtue and fortune, which was a debt they were paying for. This was not something Taizong achieved through power; it was truly the will of Heaven.

Of course, Zhao Zicheng's words cannot be completely equated with Zhao Kuangyin's true thoughts at that time.

No one knows what Zhao Kuangyin was thinking.

But Zhao Zicheng inherited the original owner's considerable knowledge, and with the accumulated knowledge of later generations of historical research, he was able to combine the two to create such a long and profound argument with a broad perspective and a countermeasure. Looking back, it actually made sense.

At this point, even Zhao Ji was dumbfounded. It turned out that Emperor Taizu had made such an arrangement, and it could be explained from this perspective?
During the Northern Song Dynasty, the situation was actually different from what many later viewers imagined. When Zhao Guangyi first came to power, there were very few voices questioning the "candle shadow and axe sound". At that time, everyone felt that Zhao Guangyi came to power normally and it was completely deserved.

However, in later generations, there were more and more people saying that he seized the throne from his nephew or even killed his brother, and this was actually a process.

This kind of voice first appeared in the Northern Song Dynasty after Zhao Guangyi's disastrous defeat at Gaoliang River. In particular, during the defeat at Gaoliang River, Zhao Guangyi fled secretly on a donkey cart. At first, the generals of the army did not know where the emperor had gone, nor did they know whether he had died in the battle, been carried on his back, or was missing.

At that time, some generals in the army began to think about supporting Zhao Kuangyin's eldest son Zhao Dezhao. But later, Zhao Guangyi returned alive and severely punished the generals who conspired. Zhao Dezhao also died soon after in unclear circumstances.

From then on, various rumors about "the sound of axes and the shadows of candles" gradually began to ferment.

In other words, whether it was public opinion or the attitudes of the literati and military generals, there was no doubt at the beginning about Zhao Guangyi's succession.

Everyone knows that having an older monarch can calm down ambitious people, so that the emperor and the court don't have to worry about "whether rashly expanding military forces, achieving great achievements, saving the people, and reunifying the world will lead to military generals becoming more powerful, and thus causing them to not dare to use military forces and not dare to unify the world." This is good for the whole world.

The Five Dynasties period was too tragic. The most important thing at that time was to restore the territory before the collapse of the late Tang Dynasty and take back all the scattered homelands. From then on, the world would be one family, and there would be no need to serve in the military, perform more labor service, pay more money and taxes, or treat the people harshly because of civil war.

But the problem is that after Zhao Guangyi took the throne by relying on the advantage that "I can unify the country faster than my nephew", he was incompetent and suffered a disastrous defeat at Gaoliang River. Although he had a powerful army inherited from the late Five Dynasties in the early Song Dynasty, he was beaten badly by the Liao Kingdom.

Didn't Zhao Dezhao and Zhao Defang give up the throne, and Zhao Kuangyin willingly sacrifice his own descendants, in exchange for the benefits they hoped for? So what legitimacy and necessity did you, Zhao Guangyi, have for becoming emperor?
In other words, if Emperor Taizong Zhao Guangyi could have been like Emperor Taizong Li Shimin, and had destroyed the Khitan like Li Shimin destroyed the Turks, then people in the world would never have questioned his ability to be emperor, and there would never have been rumors that "Emperor Taizu actually wanted to pass the throne to his son."

Unifying the world and saving the Han people from civil war is the greatest virtue since Qin Shihuang. The interests of one family, one surname, and one lineage must give way to all this.

……

After Zhao Ji thoroughly digested and understood the hidden meaning of his son calling his nephew a virtuous nephew, he felt extremely at ease.

Because before, he had actually felt a little guilty about why his ancestor Taizong's lineage was 100% certain to be the emperor. But after hearing these words, the last trace of his guilt was swept away.

But while clearing away his original guilty conscience, Zhao Ji also planted another worry in his heart. After all, everything has its pros and cons, and no doctrine can be completely without any disadvantages.

He quickly realized that the reason his lineage was able to ascend to the throne, but was eventually questioned by more and more voices, was because of the failure in foreign military campaigns and the poverty and weakness. Some people in the world felt that "Taizu's painstaking efforts to give the throne to his younger brother's lineage were in vain."

So, he couldn't help but ask himself, "Then, in my opinion, since Taizong failed to annex Liao and destroy Khitan and reclaim Yanyun, shouldn't his lineage have continued to rule?"

Zhao Zicheng was startled. He didn't expect Zhao Ji to be so impatient to speak in person. He thought the other party would still choose to continue watching the show and wait for Chen Dong and other students to ask questions.

It seems that Zhao Ji really listened to it and became anxious.

Zhao Zicheng did not dare to neglect it and immediately said in a resounding voice: "That's not the case. I have never thought about these things in detail. Because there is no official historical data of this dynasty that has been circulated outside, I don't know the whole story of the grievances between Song and Liao, so it is difficult for me to comment.

However, my nephew feels that these are no longer important, because the current Holy Emperor is in power, and the Liao Kingdom has become extremely corrupt and weak. In recent years, the Liao Kingdom has lost a lot of its homeland and is plagued by internal and external troubles.

The world is undergoing a major transformation unseen in a century. Perhaps the century-long task of swallowing up Liao and destroying Xia can be accomplished by Your Majesty. Only then will it be a complete reward for the painstaking efforts of Taizu in giving power to Taizong's lineage. As long as this great task is accomplished, what significance will the events of over a century ago have?

Zhao Ji was stunned for a moment, then he was ecstatic.

It’s true that in the first year of Xuanhe (1119), Zhao Ji truly felt that he was the most likely sage and wise ruler to destroy Liao in the past hundred years!

The problems of the Liao Kingdom today are indeed obvious to everyone in the world. The only difference is that some people think that the Liao Kingdom is weak and should not be attacked. The Song Dynasty should be allowed to continue to fight the Jurchens, while others think that the opportunity should be taken to recover the lost land of Yanyun.

But Zhao Zicheng's political philosophy theory today allowed Zhao Ji to see another possibility.

As long as he could recapture Yanyun, Zhao Zicheng's theory would definitely add more legitimacy to his lineage than Sima Guang's theory!
I should proudly announce my new theory of legitimacy: Taizu passed it on to our lineage because he felt it would be more conducive to destroying the Liao! Completely reclaim the former Tang territory!

Therefore, whichever branch of the Zhao family can destroy the Liao Dynasty, whichever branch of the Zhao family can do this, then this branch should become the emperor!
Which lineage the Mandate of Heaven lies with depends on which lineage can best benefit the people of the world by reducing their military burden as quickly as possible and enabling them to live and work in peace and contentment.

Thinking of this, Zhao Ji suddenly felt that Mencius's theory of "the people are more important than the king", which he had just regarded as ugly, did not seem so ugly after all.

Because this principle of "people are more important than the king" can be used by him! As long as it is beneficial to us, then it is good!
Zhao Ji was full of confidence and regarded himself as the epoch-making emperor who successfully expelled the Northern Tartars.

Any theory that is beneficial to the emperor in expelling the northern barbarians is beneficial to him, so it should be promoted now!
After returning to the palace, he summoned academic officials to discuss this theory and established it as the official ideology to refute his former colleague Sima Guang's interpretation of the dynasty's virtue, fortune and destiny.

This old guy Sima Guang is really useless!
As for whether promoting this new theory of legitimacy might benefit others, Zhao Ji had never thought about it.

Because if he wasn't the eternal sage who could swallow up Liao and destroy Xia, who else in the Zhao family could have accomplished such a feat? Who else could have accomplished such an eternal feat?
As for whether doing so might damage the prestige of his own ancestor, Emperor Taizong of Song, Zhao Ji didn't care.

Because he realized that any loss of Song Taizong's prestige today would be doubled in the future when he himself completed the great task of swallowing up Liao and destroying Xia.

The ancestor has been dead for more than a hundred years. If the ancestor loses one point of legitimacy, he himself can gain two points of legitimacy. This is a good thing that is guaranteed to make money!

How could the legitimacy and prestige of his ancestors be as important as his own legitimacy and prestige? To call him a virtuous nephew was like offering him a pillow when he was about to fall asleep.

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PS: The chapter about turning into a big troll is not easy to split up, so I wrote this long chapter of more than 6,000 words in one go, and this is the only update today.

(End of this chapter)