Chen Qiao mutiny, Zhao Kuangyin from a military commander on the throne of the emperor. The founding of the Northern Song Dynasty seems to be no different from the previous Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. The reason why the Northern Song Dynasty didn't fall into the short-lived trap of five dynasties and ten countries that dominated the country in three to five years was precisely because of the thrift of the ruling group.
Years of wandering in rivers and lakes and long-term military career have made Song Taizu and Zhao Kuangyin develop a frugal style. When he became emperor, he didn't squander his easily acquired wealth, and he was always frugal. The curtains hanging in the palace are all coarse cloth; Old clothes that have been washed many times are still on you.
The emperor's car was called Yutian, and Song Taizu took a "second-hand car" used by the emperor before. Once, the queen asked him, "The emperor has been on the throne for a long time, why not decorate the sedan chair with gold?" It's more stylish to go out like this. "
Song Taizu said with a smile, "It's not difficult to decorate sedan chairs with gold, even palaces are decorated with gold. But when I became the emperor, I kept money for the people of the world, and I can't use it indiscriminately! As the old saying goes, rule the world with one person, not serve one person with the world. If an emperor only wants to feed himself well, how can people all over the world live? Don't say any more. "
Song Taizu is not only proud of simplicity, but also strict with his children. Once, his eldest daughter, Princess Wei, entered the palace to visit her parents, wearing a dress decorated with jade feathers. When Song Taizu saw this, her face fell at once and told her not to wear it again. Princess Wei is very wronged. Song Taizu enlightened her: Don't underestimate a dress. Good things in the world will be bad in the afterlife. As soon as you put it on, people around you will feel very fashionable and follow suit, which will not only form a luxury wind, but also kill birds and hurt people. Song Taizu also said earnestly: "Members of the royal family, don't forget your identity in every move. You grew up in a rich family, and you have enjoyed it, but don't forget to cherish it! "
"Enjoy happiness", enjoy happiness; "Cherish happiness" and cherish happiness. Only by cherishing happiness, not squandering happiness and not overdrawing happiness can we enjoy happiness better.
Song Taizu's theory of "cherishing happiness" has a far-reaching influence on later generations. Qiao Zhiyong, the third-generation head of the Qiao Family Courtyard, personally drafted couplets and engraved them at the entrance of the inner room, warning the whole family: "Seek fame and fortune, others, yourself, clothes and food, and wealth."
The founding king had a hard time starting a business and knew how to build the country through diligence and thrift. How can future generations who grew up in a rich land "cherish their blessings"? The Song Dynasty established a whole set of systems. On one occasion, Song Taizu ordered Wen Siyuan's craftsman to make a steamer, but it was not delivered for a long time. He asked the reason, and the attendants explained: According to the regulations, this matter must first go through Shangshu Province, Shangshu Province to the Ministry of Industry, and then the Ministry of Industry will go to the so-and-so bureau, and the so-and-so bureau will go to Siwen Academy, and Siwen Academy will come up with the production budget, and then it will be officially manufactured in a few days. Song Taizu was very unhappy: "When I was in the folk, I could buy a steamer for tens of dollars. How did you become an emperor? Do you still need this batch and that batch? " Zhao Pu, the Prime Minister, explained: "This regulation is not for limiting Your Majesty, but for your descendants. If future generations grow up in wealth and don't know the hardships of starting a business, they are likely to want this today and that tomorrow, which is extravagant and wasteful. If there are more approval links, their desires will be restricted, and some people will write books against them. " Song Taizu repeatedly praised this as a good rule.
However, how to protect the subject of exhortation from retaliation? Song Taizu set up a stone tablet in the ancestral temple, and asked the emperors of the Song Dynasty after him to kneel in front of the stone tablet and recite the inscription silently after he acceded to the throne and at the end of the festival. This stone tablet was later called the "Taizu oath tablet", which listed several rules, one of which was "Don't kill the scholar-officials and those who wrote letters and said things"; "If children and grandchildren have this oath, the sky will be destroyed." This kind of rule is actually to play the role of mass supervision and public opinion pressure.
The Northern Song Dynasty was founded in 167, with nine emperors, which was called "the simple world" in the history of China. Except for a few emperors such as Song Huizong, other emperors were relatively simple, which was directly related to Song Taizu's leading role as the founding king, especially a series of institutional guarantees.
Extravagance and national subjugation
If we say that the prosperity of the Northern Song Dynasty depends on the rules of thrift and housekeeping; Then, the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty was based on the iron law of luxury.
After Song Huizong, the eighth emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty, came to power, he made great efforts in the first few years and soon showed his arrogance and extravagance.
As soon as the emperor moved the idea of having fun, a group of sycophants greeted him at once. The first is Cai Jing and Cai You. Cai Jing first started with theory and put forward the slogan of "Prosperity" in view of the extravagant wind in Song Huizong.
"Feng" and "Yu" are both divinatory names in the Book of Changes. "Feng" means wealth, and "Jade" means happiness. The ancients often used it to describe the prosperous scene. Song Zhenzong, the third emperor, was flattered by some people, but rejected by Song Zhenzong. Song Shenzong, the sixth emperor, was asked to use it as a title, but Song Shenzong changed it to Yuanfeng and dared not use it. Cai Jing, on the other hand, thinks that satiety is not enough, and according to the sayings in the Book of Changes, such as "satiety is the king's festival" and "if you are big, you can be modest, but if you are big, you must be generous", he pieced together a new adjective, which means that the emperor should enjoy himself in time when he is prosperous, and should not follow the example of the previous dynasty, scrimping and saving, advocating frugality and abstinence.
Once, at a big banquet in Song Huizong, ministers took out expensive wine vessels such as jade lamps and bowls and said, "I want to eat wine with this, lest people say it is too extravagant." . Cai Jingdao: I was sent to Qidan that year. They boasted to me that there was no such thing as a jade plate and a jade lamp in the Southern Dynasties. There is no doubt that today is used to celebrate your majesty's birthday. Song Huizong said: "When the first emperor built a small platform, it was only a few feet high, and many people couldn't say anything. I deeply felt how awesome people's words are. " . These wine containers have been stored for a long time. If people talk about revival, it's hard for me to defend them. Cai Jing plausibly said: "If things are reasonable, it is not enough." . Your majesty should enjoy the service of the world, but jade, how can he plan! "Cai Jing also moved out of the Book of Rites, claiming that since ancient times, the king's expenditure has not been restricted by any budget or audit. During Wang Anshi's political reform, he once put forward the theory that "if the righteousness is meritocratic, the words are not enough", which expressed his firm belief in overcoming resistance and persisting in reform. However, Cai Jing turned to it and provided a theoretical basis for Song Huizong's extravagance and corruption. This is really ridiculous!
Cai You, the eldest son of Cai Jing, although not as educated as Cai Jing, shines on you in advocating hedonism. He often preached to Song Huizong: "The so-called emperor should take the four seas as his home and enjoy peace. Years can become geometry, not just hard work! " This decadent outlook on life, Song Huizong listened to every voice, convinced, more and more wanton debauchery.
Song Huizong's most valued and reused ministers are masters who amass private wealth and spend money like water. Cai Jing was hospitable and gluttonous by nature, and often gave big banquets. Once he invited his family to dinner, and the crab yellow steamed bread alone cost more than 1300 yuan. His concubines are in groups, including dozens and hundreds of cooks alone. The internal division of labor is very fine. Many people specialize in making steamed buns, and the maids are not responsible for anything else. He has two mansions in Kaifeng, the capital, called East Garden and West Garden. The West Garden was built by forcibly demolishing hundreds of houses. Some people commented that these two mansions are "the East Garden is like a cloud, and the West Garden is like rain", which means that the East Garden is lush and looks like a cloud, and the West Garden has forced people to be displaced and burst into tears. Cai Jing also built a more magnificent villa at the foot of Fengshan in Hangzhou. There are almost as many concubines in the Wangfu family as in the harem. Tong Guan never lights at night, but hangs dozens of luminous pearls for lighting. Nobody knows how much money he has.
All the burdens eventually fell on the people, and the social economy was seriously damaged. The people chanted "broken barrels (Tong Guan) throwing vegetables (Cai Jing) is a good place on earth" and strongly demanded to overthrow the rule of corrupt groups in Song Huizong. Finally, Fang La and Sung River Uprising broke out in Zhejiang, Huanghuai and other places. The people's resistance seriously shook the ruling foundation of the Northern Song Dynasty, making the regime of the Northern Song Dynasty vulnerable and falling apart when the Nomads invaded.
-excerpted from the network.