? So, what are the unique places from Sui and Tang Dynasties to Song Dynasty? What problems occurred when governing the country? And what are their ups and downs related to? If I had to connect several people, which people would I choose?
? Let's talk about the Sui Dynasty first. First, Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty, the founding emperor of Sui Dynasty. But in fact, he used to be a general in the Northern Zhou Dynasty. When he was in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, he was very good. Many people in the court supported him. He is very resourceful and a relative of the current emperor. Later, a coup took control of the Northern Zhou Dynasty and unified the whole North. But this is not his ultimate goal. His ultimate goal is to unify all China. This goal was soon achieved, because Chen Houzhu was in the hands of Chen Chao at that time, but he only cared about luxury and had no sense of crisis. So Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty defeated Chen with a clever trick and unified the world.
? After Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty unified the world, he began to govern the country, and he took a series of measures to make the country embark on a prosperous time.
? First of all, he is very frugal and loves the people. Most emperors in China lived a luxurious life. However, Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty was very frugal in his requirements for food and clothing. He basically did not eat meat, gave up splendid jade and silk, and wore simple cloth. In this regard, he even burned gorgeous cloth on the court to warn the world. Secondly, in order to increase income, Emperor Wendi of Sui ordered people to go hunting and fishing in the mountains. People over 50 years old can also be exempted from labor, which is called loving the people.
? At the same time, he also adopted the policy of "enriching Qiang Bing". First of all, he adopted the "land equalization system", which can develop the economy towards prosperity; In addition, the land equalization system also allows farmers to own their own fields. With the land equalization system, he also greatly reduced the people's taxes and lightened the people's burden. The economy will develop faster. Moreover, Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty unified coins and measurement, which promoted the development of trade. Because of this policy, this emerging Wang Chaocai has quickly stabilized. Rich countries rely on the "land equalization system"; On the other hand, Qiang Bing relies on the perfection and development of the "government soldier system". The "officer-and-soldier system" is actually the unification of military posts and civilian posts. Being a soldier can also be exempted from certain taxes and have a stable source of income, thus expanding the source of troops.
? Then, it was time for Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty to start political reform.
? First, he formulated a new criminal law to alleviate people's suffering; Secondly, the official system was reformed, and the six official systems in the Northern Zhou Dynasty were abolished and changed to "three provinces and six departments"; Then, local government agencies were laid off and merged. Emperor Wen improved the administrative efficiency and strengthened the central government's control and management of the localities by "stopping all counties in the world" and drawing lessons from the old system of the Northern Dynasties. Finally, reforming the talent selection system, transforming the "Nine Grades System" into the "Imperial Examination System", weakened the power of aristocratic families, gave the children of poor families a promotion channel, broke the solidification of the class, and was more conducive to the consolidation of unified politics and state governance.
? The above can be said to be the advantages of Emperor Wendi, but Emperor Wendi still has many shortcomings. For example: first, ignorance of details, ignorance of the general idea. He always haggles over details, but he can't control important decisions well. For another example, his frugality is limited to daily life, which has caused great burden and pain to the people in the matter of building large-scale buildings. Second, disobedience to the law is impulsive. In fact, his legal consciousness is very weak. Not only did he sometimes interfere in judicial work, but he also often abused punishment for a while. Third, sex is taboo and unruly. Although it is not a big problem to do it alone, he is the head of a country, and his suspicion makes the ministers around him less and less trustworthy. What's more, he doesn't listen to harsh words and is not good at teaching, so when he makes wrong judgments and decisions, it is difficult to avoid a bigger tragedy.
? But this is not the most serious problem. The most serious problem is that we have to contact another historical figure, namely Emperor Yang Di Yang Guang. Speaking of Yang Guang, we should start with his successor.
? At first, Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty did not intend to make Yang Guang a prince. At first, the prince was Yong Yang. In fact, Yong Yang is also very talented, but his personality is straightforward and he doesn't know how to be cautious, so Yong Yang gradually lost the favor of Wendi. Yang Guang wanted to be a prince, so he came up with the first step, which was to please his mother, Dugu Galo. Because Emperor Wendi of Sui always loved Dugu Jialuo and listened to her. However, she was jealous by nature and did not allow Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty to approach women. Therefore, as long as Yang Guang wins the favor of Dugu Jialuo, he will also be greatly favored by Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty. So, he used various methods to win the favor of Dugu Jialuo, then pretended not to be close to women, and did not entertain himself, making Wendi think that he was a wise army, creating all kinds of coincidences, so that Wendi abolished Yong Yang. Finally, he succeeded in getting the position of prince. However, when Wendi died, Yang Guang immediately exposed his true colors.
? He is such an extravagant man that he almost lost all the money accumulated by Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty. So, what did Yang Guang do to make so much money disappear? Next, I'll explain them to you one by one.
? The first is construction. Emperor Yang Di's passion and engineering construction, in addition to building the East Capital, digging canals, building the Great Wall and building roads, countless people left the palace just for his visit. Moreover, the construction of these palaces is not a work cost, and the furnishings are extremely luxurious. It takes a lot of manpower and material resources. The second is debauchery. Bad debauchery is an important factor for Emperor Wen and Queen Dugu to love Yang-ti, but that's just his trick to seize power. After he succeeded to the throne, Yang-ti, who had lived in other places for a long time, had a special liking for women in the south of the Yangtze River, so he secretly took photos to let Jiang and Huainan counties collect beautiful virgins in a folk manner every year and pay tribute to the capital. Therefore, for the sake of Emperor Yang's personal hobby, the court kept asking for it from the people. And these things that waste people and money are nothing but feeding and enjoying the land. Finally, there is no limit to sex. Yang-ti has been in power for more than ten years, living in the capital Chang 'an for less than one year, and spending the rest of his time on the road. So, in general, it will not stop every year. He is just fooling around alone, but every time he goes out, he travels with a huge team. But all supply and demand depend on local supply, which brings a huge burden to the local area. In a word, Yang-ti can be said to have integrated all the elements of the king of subjugation. Let's see how he pushed the Sui Dynasty to collapse.
? The first important thing after Emperor Yang succeeded to the throne was to build Luoyang, the eastern capital. In order to complete the project as soon as possible, there are as many as two million craftsmen every month, and the project cost is countless. Therefore, it is really hard for us to imagine the manpower and material resources spent. The second is to dig canals. Behind the canal, countless people hurt their limbs in order to escape the heavy burden of labor and military service. This is the so-called huge project of "blessing hands and feet". Due to the recruitment of a large number of manpower, it has caused serious impact, affected agricultural production and economic development, and caused great burden to the people. Then, when the people were in dire straits, resistance to tyranny began. Then the Sui Dynasty died.
? This is the short-lived Sui Dynasty, which perished after two generations of emperors. Next, we entered another dynasty-the Tang Dynasty.
? In the Tang Dynasty, the two figures that impressed me the most were Li Shimin and Wu Zetian. One of them brought the Tang Dynasty to its peak, and the other was a generation of queens. Let's talk about Li Shimin first.
? Speaking of Li Shimin, we should start with a battle for the throne, which is called "the change of Xuanwu Gate" in history. The "Xuanwu Gate Rebellion" was actually a war between three sons, the eldest son Li, the second son and the third son Li Yuanji. He also has a son, but this son is basically not involved. The main reason is that Li Jian became a prince after Tang gaozu ascended the throne. But Li Shimin was unconvinced. His war with his father made a great contribution, and he also felt that he was qualified to be a prince. So, he wants to compete for the position of the prince. Because of his great prestige and power in North Korea, Lee felt that his status as a prince was threatened, and he made Li Yuanji his own party. Although ambitious, he also intends to develop slowly first, and Li takes the lead in trying to kill him. Because his men advised him to send troops at once, after repeated urging, he decided to launch a coup, so he launched a coup in Xuanwu Gate, knocking down Li and Li Yuanji, and became a prince himself.
? After Li Shimin took office, he carried out many correct reforms.
? Influenced by Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty, Emperor Taizong paid special attention to fame and agricultural production, and did not levy corvees easily. Even if he wants to recruit people to work, he is careful not to miss the busy farming season. In order to restore the social production destroyed by the long-term war, on the one hand, Emperor Taizong conscientiously implemented the "Land Equalization Order" and rewarded the people for reclaiming cultivated land; On the other hand, it attaches importance to population growth and encourages people to get married and have children. Under the policy of attaching importance to agriculture and loving the people, the social productive forces have gradually recovered, the population has also increased rapidly, and the people have lived a long-lost and stable life.
? But he can't manage such a huge empire by himself. Therefore, he pays special attention to the selection of talents and talents, so as to make the best use of them. Moreover, he has always advocated "taking people as tools and taking what they need". He doesn't criticize the perfection of the sink, but pays attention to discovering and using his own strengths. So this also led to a very clear atmosphere in the court. Many officials dare to speak out and express their views on various things. Besides, Li Shimin can accept this issue with an open mind. This is a very good point.
? Later, Emperor Taizong reduced the harsh laws of the Sui Dynasty by one third. Under the rule of Li Shimin, the Tang Dynasty reached a peaceful and prosperous time, which was called "Zhenguan rule" in history. This also left a good foundation for the later emperors.
? What makes Emperor Taizong regret most is that he personally led to a new round of storage disputes between Tang and Wang. Taizong has fourteen sons, but with the eldest grandson, the queen has always given birth to three sons, and the eldest son became the legal heir early. Li Shimin also devoted himself to training his eldest son and invited many good teachers to teach him. Although Emperor Taizong had the heart to cultivate, his eldest son was not the material to help the wall. He has been crippled by illness, and his life is even more extravagant. He likes music, beauty and hunting. Many officials kept telling him to turn over a new leaf, but he not only refused to listen, but also took very violent measures. Finally, all kinds of heinous acts are gradually known to Li Shimin, but Li Shimin doesn't want to change the prince. At this time, Emperor Taizong was very partial to his second son, Lee Tae. Because he loves literature, is good at calligraphy and has many talents. Therefore, Emperor Taizong has rewarded him far more than the prince. As a result, Lee Tae moved the warehouse, which also made the eldest son feel pressure. The contradiction between the two became deeper and deeper, and finally broke out in the form of a coup. However, it was exposed before the coup. Taizong was frightened and abandoned the prince. Lee Tae thought that the prince must be a prince after he was abolished, which was true at first, but was opposed by Sun Chang Wuji later. Wuji's suggestion is to make Li a prince, because Li Zhi is weak, and when he ascended the throne, he may be able to save his eldest son and his life. However, if Lee Tae is in the upper position, it may not be able to save the lives of the other two, so Li Zhi eventually became a prince. Soon, Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong, died of illness, and Li Zhi became emperor and became Tang Gaozong, which turned a new page in the history of the Tang Dynasty.
? But later, there was a woman who caused a great crisis to the Tang Dynasty. This woman is Wu Zetian. Wu Zetian used to be the concubine of Li Shimin of Emperor Taizong. When she first entered the palace, she was not favored, just a little wit. Once, Emperor Taizong got a fierce horse, which could not be tamed. So Emperor Taizong asked who could tame the horse, and Wu Zetian said that he could tame it, using a very violent method, which shocked all the ministers under the stage. But under the rule of Emperor Taizong, a capable emperor, there is no future. However, an accidental opportunity appeared. Li Zhi of Tang Gaozong met Wu Zetian and was deeply moved by his beauty. Later, I found an opportunity to bring her into the harem, and Wu Zetian started her own way to the top and took power.
? First of all, at first, her status was not very high. Later, with her step-by-step efforts, she was promoted to the position of princess, but her ambition did not stop there. Her ambition is to become a queen. At first, she pretended to be good with the queen and let her guard down. Then something we all know happened. Wu Zetian gave birth to a daughter and strangled her before the queen came to see her. After the queen read it, she slandered the queen. Wu Zetian became queen in this way. Later, Tang Gaozong's health became worse and worse, suffering from illness and hearing problems, and she was basically unable to appear in court. So Wu Zetian took over the state affairs for her, took advantage of this opportunity to form factions in the court, reused her relatives named Wu, and formed a great force for herself. With the development of the situation, Tang Gaozong's health is getting worse and worse. At this time, Wu Zetian's road to power was blocked. Many senior officials in the DPRK realized the problem of Wu Zetian's power and tried to stop it, but Wu Zetian was ruthless and either took these people out of the court or directly convicted and executed them. Tang Gaozong began to doubt, so he decided to let the prince start to deal with state affairs. Seeing the prince's wings growing, Wu Zetian poisoned him. Later, Wu Zetian's desire for power expanded infinitely, and she would never give up until she became emperor. So, she wants to clear all the obstacles on the road. Finally, Wu Zetian ascended the throne and became the only female emperor in China.
? Empress Wu Zetian called herself the emperor with women, which broke through the limitations of traditional Confucian etiquette. However, during the reign of Wu Zetian, it was in line with the historical process and had certain merits. The first is to develop the economy with agriculture as the center. Under her rule, the society was stable, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, agricultural production continued to develop, and handicrafts and commerce gradually prospered. Secondly, the imperial examination reform. This broke the class solidification and formed a upstart completely different from the previous nobles. Finally, promote talents and rectify official management.
? But Wu Zetian made a mistake very similar to Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty. He chose Xuanzong to inherit the throne. Xuanzong, who created the splendid Kaiyuan flourishing age, also made the Tang Dynasty embark on the road of no return from prosperity to decline.
? Let's talk about the Song Dynasty. Speaking of the Song Dynasty, the two emperors who impressed me the most were Song Taizu and Song Huizong. Let's talk about Song Taizu and Zhao Kuangyin first.
? Zhao Kuangyin was originally a military commander. He was originally a general of the Zhou Dynasty, and the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty appreciated him very much. But when the emperor died, a very small emperor came to power, and at this time, Zhao Kuangyin's power in the dynasty also accumulated. According to historical records, when Zhao Kuangyin slept at night, his subordinates dressed him in a yellow robe. He had to rebel and forced the current emperor to give up his position to him, thus establishing the Song Dynasty. This period of history is called "yellow robe plus body"
? After the establishment of the Song Dynasty, the first thing Zhao Kuangyin did was to "release the soldiers with a glass of wine"; Secondly, he valued literature over martial arts, because he was a military commander himself, and it was through his status as a military commander that he succeeded in usurping power and then established the Song Dynasty. However, he was afraid that the military commanders would be too powerful and usurp power like him. The Song Dynasty was very unsafe. So he gave civil servants greater rights. Civil servants commanded military commanders and directed wars, while military attaché s could not control the overall situation, so they could only be staff officers. It was unfair at first, but because civil servants are also very capable and don't fight much, they can control the situation. But in the late Song Dynasty, its disadvantage would be obvious, because in the war, it was not clear whether to listen to the command of the civilian or the command of the military attache in charge here, and the orders issued by the army would be inconsistent.
? Zhao Kuangyin didn't allow the ministers and eunuchs around him to take power, and he used their rights. But the only thing he didn't notice was his son Zhao Guangyi, and Zhao Kuangyin also cultivated great influence in the shadow of the black light.
? At that time, the economic and cultural development of Song Dynasty was very good, and Zhao Kuangyin revised the law again, which reduced a lot of torture. But also re-implemented the system of benefiting farmers and the people. But also wiped out the armed independent forces in various places, so that they had no troops to rebel. He also reorganized the bureaucratic system and cut off all those bureaucrats who didn't really work to receive salaries there, greatly reducing the pressure on the people. Moreover, he is magnanimous, tolerant of small mistakes, and knows how to use people better. Because of this, he is quite popular.
? Because of the strategy of valuing literature over martial arts, the Song Dynasty has always been indifferent to foreign wars. At the beginning, he couldn't beat the Liao people, a foreign tribe. So in order to make the Song Dynasty develop better, he promised the Liao people to pay them broken coins and silk every year, which temporarily eased the relationship, but also gave the emperor behind the Song Dynasty an excuse that he could exchange money for peace.
? This is basically Zhao Kuangyin's contribution to the Song Dynasty, so let's talk about Song Huizong.
? Speaking of Song Huizong, we all know that he is the famous Emperor Wanku in the history of China. Why do you say that? First of all, Hui Zong is an artistic genius. He is very good at calligraphy and painting. For calligraphy, there is his original "thin gold body". If you are interested, check the pictures online and you will find that the "thin golden body" is very thin, like an arrow; He is very interested in painting flowers and birds, and he paints very well, such as Ruihe Tu, which has been handed down to this day. Secondly, he has a strong interest in literature, music, epigraphy, flowers and plants, and even horseback riding and archery. It can be seen that Hui Zong is an accomplished artist, not a genius of governing the country.
? However, fate arranged for him to become emperor. With unlimited power, he didn't do his job well and became a heavy burden for the people. Let's talk about some extravagant behaviors in Song Huizong. First, be curious. That is, whoever has exquisite flowers, trees and stones refers to them as tributes and asks their owners to take good care of them. A little carelessness will lead to a fine, and so many people will be ruined. Second, build a big house. Repairing palaces and lakes everywhere consumes a lot of manpower, material resources and financial resources. The third is superstition and worship of Taoism. This almost reversed the tradition of ruling the country with Confucianism in the feudal kingdom since the end of Han Dynasty. Fourth, romantic and lewd. Hui Zong's romantic desire is the least harmful than the first three moves. Because the palace restricted Hui Zong's freedom, he was full of interest in things outside the palace. He used to dress up as a beggar and beg in the market. Later, he began to get tired of the concubines and beauties in the palace, so he went out of the palace incognito and asked for flowers in the brothel.
? With such an emperor, there are naturally traitors around. Because of the treacherous court official, the domestic civil strife is constant and the national strength is declining. Later, Liao declined and Jin rose, so Song Lianjin destroyed Liao. After Lian Jin destroyed Liao, Hui Zong made an amazing move, that is, after destroying Liao, Jin Jun came to conquer the Song Dynasty, but Song Jun could not compete with Jin Jun at this time, so Jin Jun continued to go south, and when he saw the crisis, he could only pretend that he had committed a crime. But he didn't want to clean up this mess, so he left the pot in the crisis and announced that he would give the throne to Prince Zhao Heng for Song Qinzong. But this can't be used to solve the problem in the end. 8 jin j withdrawing troops back to the north, qin zong forgot the pain in his heart. Soon 8 jin j south again. This time, Huizong and Qinzong were arrested, exiled to Shu Ren and taken to Heilongjiang, where they died.
? This is the representative figure of three generations of Song San in Sui, Tang and Tang Dynasties in my heart. In addition, these three dynasties also taught me a truth: when a dynasty reaches its peak, it will inevitably decline.