There were many large and small courts in feudal society, but the number of unified dynasties was exactly the same as one pair of hands. Let’s briefly review how these countries were founded.
It was so difficult for the Qin Dynasty to unify the world with the "Fen Sixth Generation". Liu Bang in the Western Han Dynasty was chased and beaten by Xiang Yu for many years. If he hadn't been desperate, he would have died long ago. Liu Xiu of the Eastern Han Dynasty was called the Chosen Son, and it took him three years of fierce fighting to conquer the country.
Next is the Western Jin Dynasty. This dynasty has a very low sense of existence, and founding the country seems to be easy, but it is not. The Western Jin Dynasty was founded by Sima Zhao. Before him, Sima Yi and Sima Shi laid the foundation for him. And he himself only sat on the dragon throne openly and openly after successfully destroying Shu. Along the way, Sima has worked hard for decades.
Then came the Sui Dynasty. It was very simple for Yang Jian to found the country. He used his status as prime minister and a relative to force the young emperor to abdicate. In the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan and his son established the Tang Dynasty in Chang'an the second year after they raised troops in Jinyang. It seems that the time was faster than Liu Xiu, but the establishment of the Tang Dynasty was definitely not easy. Not counting the armies from various parts of the Sui Dynasty, the separatist forces such as Wagangzhai, Liu Wuzhou, Dou Jiande, Wang Shichong, and Liu Heita should not be underestimated. The Turks in the north have always been a stumbling block. If Li Yuan and his son had not been able to stand, I am afraid that the one who proclaimed the emperor would be Someone else.
The queen of the Tang Dynasty is the Song Dynasty. Everyone knows the story of the yellow robe. It is also very easy for Zhao Kuangyin to successfully turn from a wage earner to a master after a mutiny. Next, everyone in the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties said that they were defeated with one knife and one shot. From the struggle to the founding of the country, it took several years.
After counting the unified dynasties, only the Sui Dynasty and the Song Dynasty came to the throne too easily, and they all grabbed the kingdom of Zhou. And a few years before seizing the throne, I believe the founding kings of these two dynasties had never thought about wearing dragon robes.
Let’s talk about the Sui Dynasty first. Its founding emperor Yang Jian never dared to think about the throne when Emperor Wu of Zhou Dynasty Yuwen Yong was alive.
Yu Wenyong was a Sinicized Xianbei and the third emperor of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. He reigned for 18 years. During these 18 years, he killed the powerful ministers and took charge of the government, implemented the land equalization system, developed and reformed the military system, and sent troops to destroy the Northern Qi Dynasty. If he hadn't suddenly fallen ill, the Turks would have been hit hard. What's even more rare is that he is by no means a war madman. Many military giants do not know how to govern a country. In order to obtain huge military expenditures, they would rather let the people under their rule tighten their belts and live a life, but Yu Wenyong is not. During his reign, the politics of the Northern Zhou Dynasty were clear and the people lived a prosperous life, and the country exuded vitality from the inside out. The steelyard that had struggled to maintain balance between the Northern and Southern Dynasties for more than a hundred years had tilted toward the north. With such an emperor sitting in charge, Yang Jian would not dare to think anything wrong.
People often say that they are not afraid of not having money, but they are afraid of not having good descendants. This sentence is a wise saying. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's series of military actions dragged the Han Dynasty into a swamp, but his descendants steadily picked up the mess he caused and created the Zhaoxuan Rule. Yu Wenyong did not have this blessing. His prince Yu Wenyun had all the faults of a subjugated king, including cruelty and absurdity, arrogance and lewdness, cruelty to loyal people, large-scale construction projects, etc. He still gave up the throne to his 6-year-old son in his early twenties. , just so that I can eat, drink and have fun happily. In his extravagant spending, the national power of the Northern Zhou Dynasty declined rapidly, and his body was also emptied of wine and sex, and he died at the age of 22.
After the death of Yuwen Yun, the little emperor Zhou Jing and Emperor Yuwen Chan officially came to power. What can a seven-year-old child do? The power of the government was all in the hands of Yang Jian. At this time, Yang Jian was the prime minister of the Northern Zhou Dynasty and a relative. These two identities allowed him to easily eradicate dissidents and even killed the five princes of the Northern Zhou clan. After a series of political maneuvers, Emperor Zhou Jing Yuwen Chan ascended the throne, and Yang Jian became the emperor, thus establishing the Great Sui Dynasty. Compared with those who conquered the country in bloody storms, Yang Jian's throne came too easily.
The same was true in the Northern Song Dynasty. It is well known that Zhao Kuangyin wore the yellow robe, and he was trying to seize the kingdom of the Later Zhou Dynasty. Chai Rong, Shizong of the Later Zhou Dynasty, was recognized as a good emperor. After taking over the foundation laid by Guo Wei at the age of 33, Chai Rong's achievements were obvious. Politically, he eliminated redundancy and reduced taxes. In his hands, the country was politically clear and the people were prosperous. Militaryly, he organized the army to train soldiers and recruited exiles. Within five years, he defeated Khitan in the north and conquered two states and three passes. After three expeditions to the Southern Tang Dynasty, 14 states in Jiangbei and Huainan were merged into the territory of the Later Zhou Dynasty. After the Western Expedition to Later Shu, the four states of Qin, Feng, Cheng, and Jie were included in the scope of the Later Zhou Dynasty. After a series of military operations, the entire north was conquered in the following week. At this time, Chai Rong set his sights on Youzhou again. Unfortunately, he died suddenly at the age of 39.
Chai Rong once said that he could use ten years to develop the world, ten years to support the people, and ten years to bring peace. As long as God gives him thirty years as an emperor, he will definitely create a peaceful world for Hai Qing and He Yan. Unfortunately, God only gave him five and a half years. Half a year after his death, Zhao Kuangyin, who had always seemed to be honest, began to cause trouble.
On the first day of the first lunar month after Chai Rong's death, we received news that the Khitan and the Northern Han Dynasty were jointly going south, and then Zhao Kuangyin led his army to the north. On the second day of the first lunar month, Zhao Kuangyin led the army to Chenqiaoyi, which was only 20 miles away from Kaifeng. Then rumors appeared in the army. The general meaning of the rumor is that the emperor is too young to defend himself against the enemy. We should make Zhao Kuangyin the emperor so that we can resist the Khitan army. On the third day of the first lunar month, the famous Chenqiao Mutiny took place. Zhao Pu and others put a yellow robe on Zhao Kuangyin, and then a group of people shouted long live the sky.
Zhao Kuangyin rubbed his hazy sleepy eyes and said: "You are greedy for wealth and honor and make me the emperor. Just obey my orders. If you don't, I won't do such hard work." The people around him said they would obey orders, so Zhao Kuangyin agreed to the plan. To usurp the throne. This serious crime of confiscating a family and exterminating a clan and leaving a legacy of infamy for thousands of years has become as simple as what to eat tonight. After agreeing to become the emperor, Zhao Kuangyin looked at the dragon robe he was forced to wear. Well, it fit very well.
When a new emperor is born, the orphans and widows in the capital are in danger. Even though Song Shi tried his best to beautify this incident, some things cannot be hidden. For example, during the abdication ceremony, Chai Zongxun did not write an abdication edict at all. The critical moment was when Tao Gu, the Hanlin Emperor, took out a copy from his sleeve, and Zhao Kuangyin used it directly. Another example is that Zhao Kuangyin's confidant Wang Yansheng killed the Later Zhou general Han Tong and his family who were protecting Chai Zongxun. This incident stained the peaceful evolution that Zhao Kuangyin expected with the blood of Later Zhou loyal ministers. This drop of blood will stay in the history books forever. Can't be washed off.
In any case, Zhao Kuangyin used an almost perfect coup to change the dynasty. Chai Rong's orphan was placed in Fangzhou. This place was regarded as a place of exile for emperors and generals in the Tang Dynasty. Tang Zhongzong Li Xian and Li Zhi were Li Zhong, the eldest son of the concubine, Fang Yiai, the son of Prime Minister Fang Xuanling, and others were exiled here successively. This shows what kind of place Zhao Kuangyin arranged for Chai Rong's son. The huge gap from emperor to prisoner caused Chai Zongxun to die at the age of 20. However, Zhao Kuangyin, who replaced him as emperor, used a yellow robe to create a world for more than 300 years in the two Song Dynasties. It is said that politics is the shortcoming of military commanders. Zhao Kuangyin is a military commander, but his political skills are probably not matched by many civil servants.
The Sui Dynasty and the Song Dynasty were established easily in this way. Even though the two founding kings were both great people, the countries they established in this way each had their own sorrows. The Sui Dynasty was destroyed in two generations, and the Song Dynasty had a long-lasting empire. However, the emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty had a difficult time with ordinary heirs, and there was a circle of evil neighbors around him. Throughout the past five thousand years, there has never been a unified dynasty more aggrieved than it. Whether the Northern Song Dynasty can even be considered a unified state remains to be debated. It can be seen that if you come out to fool around, you will always have to pay back.