"The thieves in the drama are called the middle fortress, and they drive the armored elite. In the past, they only rode suddenly, but now they also teach how to attack the city. Many dangers invite attacks, and they drive away the weak and play with the soldiers. They arrest the prisoners and ask them about their affairs. All silent."
The above poem describing and scolding "theater thieves" was written by Fan Yong, an important minister of the Northern Song Dynasty.
Fan Yongnai was a prime minister of the Northern Song Dynasty and a famous minister. The object of his poem was Dang Xiang. The name of this poem is "Ji Xixia Incident".
Why did Fan Yong scold Dangxiang? What kind of entanglements does Dangxiang’s history have with the Song Dynasty? Today we will talk about this topic.
Dangxiang is a branch of the nomadic tribe in the west. They moved inland during the Tang Dynasty and became vassals of the Central Plains Dynasty. They have lived in the Hetao area for a long time.
In the early Northern Song Dynasty, during the Song Taizu era, the Dangxiang tribe was still a vassal of the Song Dynasty. However, in the Song Taizong era, due to operational errors, Li Jiqian rebelled, and the Dangxiang people began to fight "guerrilla warfare" with the Song army in the northwest region.
Due to the military weakness of the Northern Song Dynasty and the threat from the Khitan Liao Kingdom in the north at that time, the Song Dynasty's control over party items became increasingly weaker.
In the era of Song Renzong, Li Yuanhao, a party hero, rose up and established the Xixia Kingdom, openly competing with the Song Dynasty.
During this period, Fan Yong served as a military envoy and governor in the west, responsible for the encirclement, suppression and defense of Xixia. The opening poem was written at this time.
In the eyes of the Song Dynasty, Li Yuanhao's founding of the country was tantamount to treason, so Fan Yong called him a "drama thief" in his poems.
In fact, this poem comes from a series. Fan Yong also wrote two poems about Xixia.
"Seven hundred miles of mountain boundary, flying sand and chaotic clouds. The captives and cavalry arrive in vain, and the garrison troops are often afraid of being separated. The whistling birds gather together, and they run and defeat like frightened swans. It is difficult to guard the border and respond to the enemy. Ruosi Fen."
"Peace has been abandoned, and the soldiers have been prepared for a long time. They have no idea of ????fighting, and both cities are called clowns. They regard the land as a wasteland, and from then on. Repair the border defenses."
We can see that this poem also calls Xixia "captive", "rebellious" and "ugly" without exception.
The Xixia people also respected Fan Yong and called him "the great Fan Laozi". As for "Little Fan Laozi", he is Fan Yong's successor Fan Zhongyan.
Fan Yong was later transferred to the central government and was succeeded by Fan Zhongyan in the encirclement and suppression of Xixia.
During the Song Renzong era, a group of reformers headed by Fan Zhongyan and others tried to enrich the country and strengthen the army. Among them, the training of the western frontier army was part of the reform. Fan Zhongyan and others organized a very powerful army in the west. A combat-effective force, this is the "Western Army" of the Song Dynasty.
However, due to the limitations of the Northern Song Dynasty system and the power struggle between the DPRK and China, cronies fought against each other, resulting in the failure of the reform and the failure of Xixia to be wiped out.
The Xixia Kingdom lasted one hundred and ninety years before and after its founding, which outlived the Northern Song Dynasty. However, it was later destroyed by the Mongols, its people were massacred, and most of the records about it were lost.
On the contrary, the poems left by Fan Yong, who originally scolded Xixia, became strong evidence of the existence of this ethnic group in this dynasty and became known to everyone.