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[This dynasty was a paradise for civil officials and a hell for military commanders. Little knowledge about the history of the Northern Song Dynasty]

This was a paradise for civil officials and a hell for military officials. The emphasis on civil officials over military officials created a brilliant culture and a prosperous economy, but also made the military the eternal pain of this dynasty.

In this video, let us go into the Northern Song Dynasty of "The Two Song Dynasties".

In 960 AD, the seventh year of the Later Zhou Xiande reign, the two states of Zhending in the north reported that the Khitan invaded. The eight-year-old Emperor Chai Zongxun immediately sent Zhao Kuangyin, the chief inspector of the imperial court, to lead the troops to fight.

When they reached Chenqiaoyi, the soldiers put the yellow robe on Zhao Kuangyin, and Zhao Kuangyin led his troops back to Kaifeng. The Queen Mother of Later Zhou had no choice but to abdicate, and Zhao Kuangyin ascended the throne and changed the country's name to Song.

From this moment on, the Zhao Song Dynasty, which lasted for 320 years, was born.

Before the birth of the Song Dynasty, China was in a period of great division, that is, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. In 50 years, 56 emperors appeared one after another, the rate of wise rulers was very low, and the abnormal death rate was very high.

"The emperor shall be the one with the strongest army and the most powerful horses" was the most resounding slogan at that time. For Zhao Kuangyin, who was born as a professional soldier, how to prevent the newly born Song Dynasty from becoming the sixth dynasty was the most pressing issue at that time.

At that time, in addition to the Song Dynasty, there were many separatist regimes such as Northern Han, Wuyue, Southern Tang, Southern Han, and Later Shu. In addition, there was the Liao Kingdom established by the Khitans, which dominated the north.

Zhao Kuangyin adopted a defensive strategy against the powerful Liao Kingdom in the north in accordance with the strategy of first south and then north, and first weak and then strong. He then successively wiped out Nanping, Hou Shu, Southern Han, and Southern Tang, unifying most of China.

At the same time, Zhao Kuangyin learned the lessons of the separatist regimes of previous dynasties. He took away the military power of meritorious officials and generals, trained soldiers and money and food, and strengthened central power to avoid the recurrence of the situation of numerous separatist regimes and generals seizing power.

However, Zhao Kuangyin did not complete his great cause of unification. After his mysterious death, Emperor Taizong of Song, Zhao Guangyi, ascended the throne. Zhao Guangyi eliminated the remaining separatist forces on the basis of his brother Zhao Kuangyin, ordered Qian Chu of Wuyue to surrender, and sent troops to attack and destroy the last of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Northern Han.

However, after destroying the Northern Han, Zhao Guangyi decided to take advantage of the victory to attack Youzhou, hoping to recapture the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun from the Liao Kingdom. Unexpectedly, in the Battle of Gaoliang River, the Song army was defeated, and Zhao Guangyi, as the emperor, fled in a donkey cart. Zhao Guangyi's first northern expedition failed.

In 986 AD, Zhao Guangyi launched the second Northern Expedition, with 30 troops divided into three routes to march into the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun. But in the end, he still suffered heavy casualties and returned without success.

The Song Dynasty also turned from attack to defense against the Liao Dynasty, and retreated step by step under the pressure of the Liao Dynasty's Empress Dowager Xiao Chuo. At the same time, Li Jiqian in the northwest was also rising, and the pattern of the Song Dynasty emphasizing culture over military gradually took shape.

After Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng ascended the throne, he vigorously advocated culture and education, and personally wrote a poem to encourage learning: "Books contain golden houses and beautiful women." However, rote learning would not change the increasingly corrupt situation in the north.

In 1005, Empress Xiao Chuo led the Liao army all the way to the Yellow River. Emperor Zhenzong of Song was horrified and wanted to flee overnight. In the end, he was driven to the front by Prime Minister Kou Zhun.

The Liao army came from afar, was short of food and grass, and the Song army killed its generals, which damaged their morale. Emperor Zhenzong of Song was also eager to withdraw. Finally, the two sides reached an agreement, and the Song State paid 30 yuan in tribute to the Liao State, calling each other brothers. This was the Treaty of Chanyuan.

In the first night of the Song Dynasty, Emperor Zhenzong launched the Tianshu Movement, offered sacrifices to the gods on Mount Tai, built many mansions, and whitewashed the peace. He also found a god-like ancestor, Zhao Xuanlang, for his family. While wasting money and manpower, it also deepened social contradictions.

In the later years of Emperor Zhenzong's reign, Empress Liu E came to the front court from the harem, using the golden image to locate Kou Zhun in order to clear the way for her to take the throne. Because Crown Prince Zhao Zhen was young, Emperor Zhenzong ordered him to listen to the Empress Dowager's instructions before handling military and national affairs.

Liu E became the first empress dowager to rule the country in the Song Dynasty. In fact, Liu E had the talents of Lu and Wu, but also the evils of Lu and Wu. After taking office, she demoted Kou Zhun, established the Tianshu of the Holy See, built water conservancy projects, established the Jianyuan, and issued the world's first paper currency, Jiaozi.

However, Song Renzong Zhao Zhen was not Liu E's biological son, but was born to a maid named Li in Liu E's palace. After Liu E's death, Zhao Zhen learned about his life experience, which led to the story of the cat replacing the prince in later generations.

Song Renzong Zhao Zhen was famous for his generosity and was very tolerant towards his ministers. The civil service politics of the Northern Song Dynasty reached its peak during the Renzong period, and many famous ministers emerged, such as Lü Yijian, Han Qi, Wen Yanbo, Fan Zhongyan, Bao Zheng, Di Qing and so on.

Six of the Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties appeared on the historical stage during the reign of Emperor Renzong, when society was prosperous and the economy was booming.

However, the pressure on border defense was increasing. In 1038 AD, Li Yuanhao formally established the Western Xia Dynasty to compete with the Song and Liao dynasties. The Song army suffered heavy losses in the war with the Western Xia, and the Western Xia was short of supplies and could not fight the Song army for a long time.

Finally, the two sides reached a consensus. Xixia became a vassal of the Northern Song Dynasty, and the Northern Song Dynasty paid an annual tribute of 10 pieces of silk, 5 taels of silver, and 2 kilograms of tea. This is known in history as the Qingli Agreement.

However, the effect of the Qingli Coordination was not as long-lasting as the Chanyuan Alliance. The two sides still clashed from time to time, and the Song army still had to spend a lot of troops and money in the northwest. The problems of poverty, weakness, redundant officials, redundant soldiers, and redundant expenses in the Song Dynasty became increasingly serious.

In 1043 AD, Fan Zhongyan wrote a letter to the emperor to present practical issues, advocating strict promotion and demotion of officials, restricting the arbitrary advancement of bureaucrats, improving the imperial examination system, selecting local officials, paying attention to agriculture and sericulture, appointing Yao Yi to improve military preparations, and strictly enforcing the rule of law, in order to solve the problems of redundant officials, redundant soldiers, and redundant expenses in the Song Dynasty.

The enrichment of the country and the strengthening of the military gave the Northern Song Dynasty new vitality. However, the new policies advocated by Fan Zhongyan touched the interests of the bureaucratic landlord group and were stopped by Song Renzong amid overwhelming opposition. The Qingli New Deal failed and the Northern Song Dynasty lost an opportunity for reform.

The literati of the Northern Song Dynasty believed that the Song Dynasty did not have the external relatives' meddling in politics and eunuchs' monopoly of power as in the Han and Tang dynasties, nor the internal strife among the royal family. The brothers were strict and strong, and the emperor truly ruled the world together with the literati.

But ideals are just ideals. Since Emperor Zhenzong, the Northern Song Dynasty had a tradition of mutual discussion. The emperor appointed ministers with different political views at the same time to let them check and balance each other and prevent the emperor from being sidelined by civil officials.

Although this ensured the emperor's authority, it made it impossible for the central government to implement its orders. Anyone who wanted to change the status quo had to deal with overwhelming opposition. Sometimes even the emperor personally got involved in quarrels with civil officials.

After the death of Emperor Renzong of Song, Emperor Yingzong of Song, Zhao Shu, succeeded to the throne. He argued with the ministers about the status of his biological father. The argument lasted for more than a year. Yingzong won and died of illness soon after, and the matter was left unresolved.

At this time, the financial deficit of the Song Dynasty was already very serious. The newly succeeded Song Shenzong Zhao Xu had no interest in having anyone as his grandfather. He was eager to accomplish something big and change the poor and weak situation of the Song Dynasty.

But he needed to find a like-minded person to carry out reforms together, and that person was Wang Anshi. One of the most controversial reforms in history began.

Wang Anshi served as an official in the local area for several years. He understood the people's sentiments and cared about the common people, and had a certain understanding of the social ills that existed in the Song Dynasty.

Although Wang Anshi achieved some success in the early stage of the reform, his new policies still aroused opposition from conservatives, who attacked him for not following the laws of his ancestors. In anger, Wang Anshi said the famous saying "I don't need to fear natural disasters, I don't need to follow the laws of my ancestors, and I don't need to care about what people say".

Wang Anshi was firm in his convictions, but Emperor Shenzong was hesitant. When the new law was implemented among the people, a lot of problems arose. Officials took the opportunity to oppress the people, which was used by the opposition to attack the new law. Shenzong gradually lost his trust in Wang Anshi, and Wang Anshi had no choice but to resign.

However, after Wang Anshi left, a split occurred within the New Law. In order to please Emperor Shenzong, Deputy Prime Minister Lu Huiqing added layers of restrictions to the New Law, causing the New Law that was intended to enrich the country and strengthen the military to become an evil law that oppressed the people. Emperor Shenzong then invited Wang Anshi back.

However, most of Wang Anshi's suggestions were not followed, which made Wang Anshi very disappointed. Soon after, Wang Anshi resigned again due to the death of his son and returned home. Shenzong personally led the reform.

Taking advantage of the civil unrest in Western Xia, he sent troops to attack it, hoping to test the effectiveness of the new law. In 1082 AD, the Song army was completely annihilated in Yongle City. Shenzong was hit hard and died in grief.

He left behind his 8-year-old son Zhao Xu, who became Emperor Zhezong. The Empress Dowager Gao Tao ruled the country from behind the curtain, replacing the mother with the son, recruited ministers of the Old Party such as Sima Guang, demoted the New Party, and abolished the New Laws.

The four villages occupied during the reign of Emperor Shenzong were returned to Western Xia. After Emperor Zhezong took power, everything turned upside down. He demoted the old party, promoted the new party, implemented new laws, and used military force against Western Xia again, forcing it to seek peace and surrender.

However, during the struggle between the old and new parties, the conflict between the two sides became increasingly intense, and some even proposed to depose the Grand Empress Dowager Gao Taotao. In the end, it was not successful due to the obstruction of Empress Dowager Xiang, the mother of Emperor Zhezong.

In 1100 AD, Song Zhezong died of illness at the age of 24. Because he had no children, with the support of Empress Dowager Xiang, Zhezong's younger brother, Prince Duan Zhao Ji, ascended the throne and became Song Huizong.

Song Huizong Zhao Ji was a famous artist emperor in history. He was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, eating, drinking and having fun, but he was not proficient in being an emperor. He used treacherous ministers such as Cai Jing and Huang Guan, who were only interested in amassing wealth and enjoying themselves, and made the court a mess.

The Liao Kingdom, the former enemy of the Northern Song Dynasty, had declined, and the Jin Kingdom rose, inviting the Northern Song Dynasty to attack the Liao Kingdom. Song Huizong thought he could fulfill the wishes of his ancestors and recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, but he did not expect that he would push the Northern Song Dynasty to a dead end.

In 1118 AD, the Song and Jin Dynasties signed a maritime alliance to jointly destroy the Liao Dynasty. Unexpectedly, the Northern Song Dynasty army could not even defeat the remnants of the Liao Dynasty. In the end, they had to spend money to redeem the six states of Yanyun from the Jin Dynasty. The Northern Song Dynasty's territory reached its maximum, but its demise was imminent.

The Jin Dynasty had already seen that the Song Dynasty seemed strong but was actually vulnerable. In 1125 AD, the Jin army marched south to attack the Song Dynasty. Huizong quickly ordered the throne to be given to the crown prince Zhao Huan, who became Emperor Qinzong of Song.

Qinzong tried to cede territory in exchange for peace, but the Jin Kingdom was not satisfied with this. Soon the Jin Kingdom broke through Bianjing, looted the city, abducted the two emperors Huizong and Qinzong, royal family nobles, civil and military officials and more than 3000 people, and took them north. This incident is known in history as the Jingkang Incident, and the Northern Song Dynasty perished.

[Understand the history of the Southern Song Dynasty in one breath. Small knowledge of the Southern Song Dynasty]

"The shame of Jin Kang has not yet been avenged, when will the hatred of the ministers be eliminated?" After the Jingkang Incident, the Northern Song Dynasty fell. Emperor Gaozong Zhao Gou of the Song Dynasty lived in comfort while guarding half of the country, but the seemingly weak Southern Song Dynasty was able to resist the Mongolian cavalry for half a century in the midst of storms and winds, interrupting the whip of God again.

From the founding of the Southern Song Dynasty by Emperor Gaozong of Song in 1127 to the Battle of Yashan in 1279, when Lu Xiufu fled to Hainan with the last emperor Zhao Bing, the Southern Song Dynasty had a total history of 152 years. In this video, let's walk into the Southern Song Dynasty in "The Storm of the Two Song Dynasties".

In 1127, Emperor Gaozong Zhao Gou ascended the throne in Shangqiu, Henan, and established the Southern Song Dynasty, changing the era name to Jianyan. Like the Chenqiao Mutiny 170 years ago, the founding of the Southern Song Dynasty was also a hasty move, and the situation faced by the Southern Song Dynasty was even more severe.

The Jin army pursued Zhao Gou relentlessly, intending to destroy the remnants of the Zhao Song Dynasty. The newly born Southern Song regime was exhausted and fled everywhere. However, in such a pressing environment, Zhao Gou, as the emperor, still coveted pleasure.

They looted the people wherever they went, and fled in a hurry when they saw the Jin army chasing them. Once, Zhao Gou was enjoying the tenderness of a beautiful woman, but suddenly heard that the Jin army was coming, and he was so frightened that he lost his fertility.

While fleeing, Zhao Gou sent envoys to negotiate peace with the Jin Kingdom, trying to replicate the Treaty of Chanyuan, so that the Southern Song Dynasty could retain half of its territory and survive. At that time, the Jin Kingdom had already supported a puppet regime in the north and did not take the Southern Song Dynasty seriously at all.

To the war-loving nobles of the Jin Dynasty, the Song army was vulnerable and had no qualifications to negotiate with the Jin Dynasty. However, a new generation of generals such as Yue Fei and Han Shizhong emerged, successively recovered lost territory, and frustrated the Jin army's spirit.

The peace faction within the Jin Dynasty gained the upper hand, abolished its regime and signed the first Shaoxing Peace Agreement with the Southern Song Dynasty.

Not long after, another coup d'état took place in the Jin Kingdom. Jin Wushu tore up the peace agreement and sent troops to invade the south. Zhao Gou quickly asked Yue Fei to save the situation. Yue Fei fought all the way to the hinterland of Henan and defeated the Jin army in Zhuxian Town, causing Jin Wushu to sigh, "Han Mountain is easy to shake, but Yue's army is difficult."

However, Zhao Gou was worried that Yue Fei's achievements would overshadow his own, so he issued 12 golden orders to force Yue Fei to return to the court. From then on, the Southern Song Dynasty had no hope of regaining its homeland. In 1141 AD, the Southern Song Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty reached the Shaoxing Peace Agreement, and the Southern Song Dynasty paid tribute to the Jin Dynasty and declared itself a vassal.

He ceded Tangzhou, Dengzhou and Shangzhou recovered by Yue Fei. Soon Zhao Gou killed Yue Fei on trumped-up charges and proudly proclaimed himself as a wise ruler who revived the Song Dynasty.

However, the Second Shaoxing Peace Agreement only brought 20 years of peace to the Southern Song Dynasty. In 1161, the Jin Dynasty Emperor Wanyan Liang led an army of 60 troops to attack the Southern Song Dynasty in four directions, and made a bold statement: "Bring a million troops to the West Lake and immediately attack the first peak of Wushan Mountain."

Although three of the four armies were defeated by the Song army, the eastern army led by Wanyan Liang himself rushed all the way to the Yangtze River.

Yu Yunwen, who was only a secretary at the time, defeated the Jin army at Caishiji, and a mutiny broke out inside the Jin army. Wanyan Liang was killed and the Jin army retreated. Zhao Gou abdicated the throne to his adopted son Zhao Shen, who became Emperor Xiaozong of Song, and abdicated to become the emperor.

At this time, Zhao Gou was only 56 years old and in good health. After his abdication, he still interfered in state affairs from time to time, which made Xiaozong feel very helpless.

Song Xiaozong was determined to recover the lost territory. When he first ascended the throne, he rehabilitated Yue Fei and appointed Zhang Jun, the leader of the pro-war faction, to prepare for the Northern Expedition. Zhao Gou was very dissatisfied and thought that Zhang Jun was just a name and could not be used. He said that he would discuss the Northern Expedition after he was 100 years old.

Although Emperor Xiaozong eventually appointed Zhang Jun as prime minister, the Northern Expedition ended in failure. During the negotiation process, the emperor intervened forcefully and forced the Southern Song to give up the lost territory and maintain the borders at the time of the Shaoxing Peace Agreement.

The Song and Jin countries changed from a country of monarch and subject to a country of uncle and nephew, with Jin becoming the uncle country and Song becoming the nephew country.