In history, there was a man named Wang Mang who became emperor by usurping the throne. He usurped the mountains and rivers of the Western Han Dynasty and changed his name to the New Dynasty. However, only after 15 years, the world was in chaos. As far as reputation is concerned, Wang Mang's reputation in the Western Han Dynasty is actually very good. Without usurping the throne, Wang Mang was simply a saint. Follwed was severely reprimanded by later generations, resulting in the following fundamental reasons for its poor reputation:
Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty
The second usurper was Cao Pi, who usurped the land of the Great Man for more than 400 years. However, Cao Pi's reputation can only be considered quite satisfactory, neither good nor bad. It can only be said that Cao Pi followed the trend of the times and the death of a great man was a fait accompli. Cao Pi has just started a new dynasty. Although Cao Wei was short-lived and the country was only 46 years old, it maintained the stability and prosperity of the north as a whole. war
The third usurper was Sima Yan, who ended the brief Cao Wei regime and established a unified Jin Dynasty. However, Sima Yan, the pioneer of the Jin Dynasty, was scolded badly enough by later generations, and his reputation was extremely poor. The fundamental reason is that the Jin Dynasty brought the Eight Kings Rebellion and Five Rebellions, which brought endless sufferings to the people of China in the Central Plains, and even faced the dangerous moment of national subjugation and extinction. This is all caused by the improper policies of the rulers, forget it.
Sima usurped Wei
Through the above examples, we can see some clues. The emperor who usurped the throne to establish a new dynasty has a good reputation in later generations. The fundamental reason lies not in his superior way, but in whether he can bring stability and prosperity to the country and the nation. If so, his reputation will be good. If not, his reputation will be bad.
For example, Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty was originally a powerful minister in the Northern Zhou Dynasty. He became emperor by usurping the throne, established a unified Sui Dynasty, eliminated the separatist forces in various places, unified the whole China, and most importantly, ended the troubled times in China for hundreds of years, so that people all over the world could live a stable and prosperous life. Therefore, although Emperor Wendi usurped the throne and became emperor, his reputation was good.
Li Shimin was a usurper. He killed the then Prince Li and his younger brother Li Yuanji, became emperor, and initiated the rule of Zhenguan, which was a famous prosperous time in the history of China, brought prosperity and stability to the whole world and created a brand-new glory. Therefore, although Emperor Taizong Li Shimin usurped the throne and became emperor, his reputation has always been very good.
zhao kuang yin
So, what was the reputation of Zhao Kuangyin, who founded the Northern Song Dynasty?
Zhao Kuangyin's background is not high. Through his own efforts and meritorious military service, he gradually became a powerful minister of the Later Zhou Dynasty established by Guo Wei, a powerful minister of the Later Han Dynasty. I used to take refuge in Guo and fought in the north. After Guo Wei successfully established the post-Zhou regime, Zhao Kuangyin sprouted. Guo Wei, who had no son, passed his position to his nephew's adopted son Chai Rong before he died. Chai Rong was originally a monarch, but he died too early. When Chai Rong died,
At this time, Zhao Kuangyin was already the prime minister of the Zhou Dynasty. Through the Chen Qiao mutiny, Zhao Kuangyin usurped the Jiangshan of the later Zhou Dynasty and established the regime of the Northern Song Dynasty. Zhao Kuangyin's Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period was a turbulent period, and emperors were often replaced by powerful ministers. There was such a social atmosphere at that time. For example, Guo Wei, the pioneer of the later Zhou Dynasty, became the emperor's powerful minister through mutiny. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, it was common to kill the emperor. For example, the founding emperor of Houliang was killed by his son Zhu, and after Zhu proclaimed himself emperor, he was killed by his half-brother, Zhu Youzhen, and staged a coup. However, Zhao Kuangyin is obviously an exception and has a good reputation in history.
The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms are in troubled times.
From Fan Zhongyan's evaluation of Zhao Kuangyin, we can see how famous Zhao Kuangyin is. Fan Zhongyan was a famous politician and writer in the Northern Song Dynasty. He said of Zhao Kuangyin:
Since my ancestors, I haven't killed a vassal lightly. This is a question of virtue. At the behest of heaven, my great-grandfather meditated in Zhou, Guangnan, Jiangnan, Jinghu, Xichuan and other places, and put aside the soldiers of governors in one fell swoop, revolutionizing the violence of the Five Dynasties for 80 years, and there was no disaster in the world.
Fan Zhongyan's evaluation is very representative, which also shows that although Zhao Kuangyin usurped the throne, he still gained a lot of fame. The reasons are summarized as follows:
1, be kind to the back room.
After Zhao Kuangyin proclaimed himself emperor, he did not kill members of the Zhou royal family. Compared with other emperors in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, he was much kinder. Zhao Kuangyin gave preferential treatment to Chai Rong's orphans and widows, and gave him a gold medal to save him from death for life, which won him a reputation for Zhao Kuangyin.
zhao kuang yin
2. Be kind to the ministers of the later Zhou Dynasty and don't kill the ministers.
In the whole Chen Qiao mutiny, only the commander Han Tong was killed, and he was killed by the military school king because of his resistance. Besides, no other ministers were killed all last week. Chen Qiao mutiny is bloodless. After the success of the mutiny, Zhao Kuangyin did not kill the ministers. He was kind to the royal family and ministers in the last week, which won him a reputation.
Even the generals who held the relieving power in their own camp, such as Shi Shouxin and Gao Huaide, were not killed by Zhao Kuangyin. Because Zhao Kuangyin himself became emperor by mutiny, he was wary of the generals who held the relieving power, but he did not use the method of killing, but let the generals hand over the relieving power peacefully through a glass of wine, which also won Zhao Kuangyin a reputation.
Northern Song Dynasty
3. Unify the whole South and establish a unified dynasty.
Finally, Zhao Kuangyin successfully unified the whole south, ended the chaotic regime since the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, stabilized the south of China, and established a stable and prosperous Northern Song Dynasty, which is what Fan Zhongyan said. The soldier of the vassal, the change of the Five Dynasties? Rarely did a special unified dynasty, the Northern Song Dynasty, be established. It maintained the stability and prosperity of 100 years, which also won Zhao Kuangyin a reputation.