The Song Dynasty’s military strength was actually very strong despite hundreds of years of wheel warfare
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When it comes to Most military enthusiasts do not like the Song Dynasty because it failed to counterattack the nomads like the Han and Tang Dynasties. It lived in the shadow of the northern barbarians from beginning to end. However, if we study this period of history carefully, we will find that research The history of the Song Dynasty has great practical significance for the current development of China.
Everyone knows that the Song Dynasty failed to regain the Sixteenth Province of Youyun. Song Taizong's two personal expeditions to Youzhou ended in failure. Therefore, many netizens who do not know the truth have a low evaluation of the Song Dynasty in terms of military affairs. But how many people have thought about why the Song Dynasty could not restore the boundaries of the Han and Tang Dynasties and establish a large empire spanning the north and the south? Answering this question is not difficult. The international environment when the Song Dynasty was established was very different from that of the Han and Tang Dynasties. Nowadays, the dynasties that Chinese people are more optimistic about are the Han and Tang dynasties. I completely agree that the Han and Tang dynasties are the most proud dynasties of the Chinese nation (mainly the Han). If we look a little more carefully, we will find that the two dynasties are very similar: both dynasties were built on another unified dynasty, with the Han succeeding Qin Zuo and the Tang succeeding Sui Zuo. The Qin destroyed the six kingdoms, ending the long-term division of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States; the Sui Dynasty pacified the north and the south, ending the Five Husties' chaos in China, and the long-term division of the north and the south. Both dynasties ended in the second generation, and the problem lay in the succession of the second generation emperor.
In the late Qin and Sui Dynasties, the world once fell into great chaos, but fortunately it did not last long and the country's political structure was not seriously damaged. Although they went through several years of war, the Han and Tang Dynasties gained a relatively complete empire, and this empire was something that Qin Shihuang and Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty only earned after decades of fighting. The Han and Tang Dynasties were greatly advantaged!
In contrast, the Song Dynasty did not have such good luck. The Later Zhou Dynasty it replaced was only the largest separatist regime at the time. The process of establishing a country was not about accepting the legacy of a large empire (like the Han and Tang Dynasties). At that time, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, when the world was in chaos, local forces had been operating for a long time and had formed independent countries that were not affiliated with each other. The unification of the country is not as simple as the decisive battle between Chu and Han, and it is not as simple as the separatist forces in the late Sui Dynasty that were defeated by the Tang Dynasty before they had a stable foothold. National reunification requires long-term wars like the Qin and Sui Dynasties. More importantly, is the international environment in which the Han, Tang and Song Dynasties lived (this is an issue that most scholars and politicians ignore, but it is a decisive factor): the main enemy of the Han Dynasty was the Xiongnu; the main enemy of the Tang Dynasty was the Turks, and the main enemy of the Song Dynasty was the Turks. The main enemies are the Liao, Jin and other countries. The problem is: the Xiongnu and the Turks are not countries in the true sense. They are just a powerful tribe, a nomadic people, who live in no fixed place and rely on the sky for their food. Tribal management is still at a relatively primitive level, the organization is militarized, highly mobile, and comes and goes erratically. These two nomadic peoples are truly cosmopolitan peoples whose scope of activities covers only the means of subsistence. Generally speaking, they are not interested in the means of production. When the weather in the desert is good and the cattle and sheep are fat, they will not pose any threat to the Central Plains. When natural disasters such as drought make their lives impossible, going to the Central Plains to snatch food is their only choice to survive (except in the Central Plains) Take the initiative to send food to them). After all, agricultural society relies much less on nature than natural grazing, and the agricultural population has fixed residences and scattered residences, making it easy to plunder. If they encounter resistance, they usually fight if they can and run away if they can't. Therefore, after several relatively large wars, the Han and Tang dynasties basically solved the Huns and Turks issues (after the Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty, it became a problem again, but it is often ignored by historians). Some of them surrendered to the Central Plains Dynasty, and some migrated to Central Asia, Central Europe. On the other hand, before the founding of the Song Dynasty, the Liao Dynasty was already a major power in northern China. As early as the founding of the Later Liang Dynasty, Yelu Abaoji, the Taizu of the Liao Dynasty, had already left the Tang Dynasty. When Abaoji proclaimed himself emperor, the Uighurs of Korea and Wuyue of China paid tribute. Shi Jingtang ceded the "Sixteen Youyan Prefectures" to Khitan in 936 AD. At that time, Yelu Abaoji had died, and his son Yelu Deguang took over as the leader of Khitan. Shi Jingtang actually groveled and called Yelu Deguang, who was ten years younger than him, his father. When he presented a memorial to the Khitan, he called the Khitan leader the "Father Emperor" and himself the "Son Emperor." In addition to paying tribute of 300,000 pieces of silk to the Khitan every year, envoys were also sent to deliver gifts to the Khitan king, the queen mother, and noble ministers during festivals.
At that time, the Central Plains was still in the era of warlord separatism in the late Tang Dynasty, with frequent regime changes and constant wars. During the Five Dynasties, the longest regime in the Central Plains region was only 17 years, and the shortest was only 7 years. In fifty years, there were five dynasties and more than a dozen emperors. The Liao Kingdom took advantage of the chaos in the Central Plains to turn their hands into clouds and turn their hands into rain. To sow discord and then reap the benefits, the Liao people usually played the role of supporting the weak to resist the strong. This policy actually became the main magic weapon to divide and weaken the Central Plains dynasty (governing China with China is not an American invention, and the patent can be applied for by the Khitan) . By the time of the Later Zhou Dynasty, the Liao Kingdom had become the main enemy of the Central Plains Dynasty. And basically, the Liao Kingdom was often on the offensive side, while the Central Plains Dynasty was often on the defensive side. Although Shizong of the Later Zhou Dynasty made a Northern Expedition, he only defeated the Northern Han army, but did not conquer the Northern Han Dynasty (with the support of Khitan behind him) and regain the territory, let alone the recovery of the "Sixteen Youyan Prefectures" (some scholars now say They like to make assumptions about history, claiming that if Zhou Shizong had not passed away prematurely, with his great talents and strategies, he would have surely recovered the lost territory in the north. This kind of assumption is undesirable and unfair for historical research). When the Song Dynasty was founded, the Liao Dynasty had been officially established for 50 years and was almost a Confucian nation. First of all, they are already an empire in the true sense. Secondly, they are no longer a nomad, but an agricultural and civilized country (of course, in terms of folk customs and social organization, they still retain the strength and paramilitary nature of the nomads. This tradition makes The Liao army maintained strong combat effectiveness). Third, they monopolized the most important war resource at the time: the horse trade. Therefore, whether it was the war between Song and Liao, or the later war between Song and Jin, the war between the two countries was no longer a simple battle for food, but a competition for survival resources and living space. Once this aspect of competition is involved, every inch of land must be fought over. This nature is determined by the characteristics of agricultural civilization (in fact, we can understand it from the Goryeo War in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Goryeo is a small agricultural country, and its national strength is simply incomparable compared with that of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Proportions, but such a small country made the Sui Dynasty army and Tang Taizong's personal army in vain). Owning land means having the right to survival (and the right to development,)! Therefore, the Song-Liao War and the Song-Jin War were bound to be cruel, protracted, and difficult to determine the outcome. In the war between Song and Liao, the fate of the war could not be determined by the outcome of a single battle. What land means to an agricultural country is undoubtedly self-evident. This in turn explains why the Song Dynasty's wars against the Liao Dynasty always won first and then suffered a disastrous defeat; the Liao Dynasty and later the Jin Dynasty always continued to invade the south. In a word: competition for land resources.
It can be said that in the face of such a bad founding environment, even the most admired Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty were probably helpless. Why does this situation occur? On the one hand, it is due to the pressure of grassland on the survival of nomadic people. Since the Han Dynasty, the natural environment of the north, especially the grassland, has been deteriorating, and desertification has become more and more serious. Since the Middle Tang Dynasty, especially in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms era, the earth's climate has entered a dry and cold state. During this period, this exacerbated the existential crisis of northern peoples, especially nomadic peoples. . This is the fundamental reason that forces some nomads to change their way of survival. (For example, the Khitan, Dangxiang, etc. transformed from nomadic peoples to agricultural peoples.) On the other hand, the Central Plains Dynasty lost its horse-producing land, which also made it impossible to regain the Youyun Sixteen Prefectures or the Hetao area. Friends who are familiar with the history of ancient wars all know that before the emergence of stirrups and the maturity of gunpowder weapons, cavalry had an advantage over infantry just like tanks or fighter jets have an advantage over infantry today. Cavalry is necessary to recover the above-mentioned areas. What was the reason that caused the Central Plains Dynasty to lose its good horse-producing land? Everyone knows that the "Emperor" Shi Jingtang betrayed Youyun Sixteen Provinces and harmed the Central Plains Dynasty for hundreds of years, but many people don't know that Shi Jingtang, who was scolded as a "traitor", was actually not a Han, but a Shatuo tribe (a tribe of Western Turks). branch), and those who control the Hetao area are the Dangxiang tribe. These good horse-producing lands that were originally controlled by the Han dynasty were controlled by foreign tribes due to "lure wolves into the house". So who is the culprit of "lure the wolf into the house"? It is the Tang Dynasty that is blindly praised by many scholars. Since the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Dangxiang people have controlled the area (the fault was due to the institutional errors of the Tang Dynasty. After Taizong, the Tang border troops gradually fell into the hands of foreign vassals, and the Hu people established an army to fight for the central Tang Dynasty. The mercenaries eventually led to catastrophe. The Anshi Rebellion was caused by this, and the founder of Xixia was also a mistake of the Tang Dynasty. The Dangxiang people were sent by the Tang Dynasty to govern the Hexi Corridor because of their meritorious service in the war. From then on, the tribe had a foothold), gradually operated, and its strength continued to grow, and then Fight against the Song Dynasty.
Moreover, when the "Anshi Rebellion" and the "Huangchao Uprising" broke out and threatened the rule of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty without exception borrowed troops from other nomadic peoples to suppress it. (In contrast, when the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the Eastern Han Dynasty Borrowing troops from the country to suppress) The Shatuo people were borrowed by the Tang government to suppress the Huangchao Uprising before they were able to take over the Central Plains. Three of the dynasties of Later Liang, Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han and Houwu were founded by Shatuo people. This laid the foundation for Shi Jingtang to betray Youyun Sixteen States. China's misfortunes since the Middle Ages were actually the seeds planted by the Tang Dynasty.
It should be said that in the face of such a bad international environment, it is a miracle that the Song Dynasty could persist for hundreds of years despite the "wheel war" of four nomadic groups. Especially in the contest with the "Sword of God" Mongolian cavalry, it is rare to be able to persist for nearly half a century. Of course, it cannot be said that the military system of the Song Dynasty was not responsible for the demise of the Song Dynasty. (You can discuss the military system of the Song Dynasty by yourself)
If you compare the history of the Song Dynasty and this dynasty, you will find that the founding environments of the two countries are surprisingly similar. When the People's Republic of China was not yet established, there were already several countries on China's borders that were stronger than us: Japan, the Soviet Union, the United States, and India, which was slightly weaker but could not be ignored. Isn't this similar to the founding of the Song Dynasty? Of course, the enemies encountered by this dynasty are more powerful. (The advantage of the United States and the Soviet Union over China is almost overwhelming, unlike the Liao and Jin Dynasties, which are simply military superiors.) The starting point of its own development is worse than that of the Song Dynasty (referring to the relative starting point). Therefore, maintaining peace on the borders and focusing on nation-building is a top priority. Using barbarians to control barbarians and using the conflicts of other countries to contain and restrain major hostile countries are effective basic national policies both in the Song Dynasty and now. Will the Han Dynasty be restored to conquer Japan? Is it possible to defeat Russia? Do we have the ability to make India bow to us? Nothing is possible for us. Even though we are a small Taiwan, we still need to rely on Americans. This is the international environment we are in now. The strong and prosperous Tang Dynasty did not have such neighbors around it. The general political tradition of China's major dynasties is that all states must pay tribute, and neighboring countries have never been treated as equal political opponents. The only exception is the Song Dynasty. We are completely inspired by studying the history of the Song Dynasty, and we can better understand the Song Dynasty and its rulers from reality. Nowadays, many Chinese people are always intoxicated in the myth of the prosperous Han and Tang Dynasties. They often regard themselves as citizens of the Great Kingdom of China, and often use barbarians to belittle the citizens of other races and other countries. This is both inappropriate and alien to our neighbors. There is blood, but it is not enough to accomplish anything. Therefore, I think we should strengthen the research on the history of the Song Dynasty from the perspective of taking history as a mirror.
The Song Dynasty was the only dynasty in Chinese history that insisted on recruiting soldiers. Before and after the Song Dynasty, China still implemented a compulsory conscription policy. The military recruitment system means that the country does not force you to serve as a soldier. You must voluntarily decide whether to serve as a soldier. Of course, the country will pay you if you serve as a soldier. The soldiers of the Song Dynasty were all mercenaries recruited, and these mercenaries were paid very generous salaries. The military expenditures paid by the country for this was astonishing. The government's huge fiscal revenue sometimes has the problem of making ends meet. In 1065 AD (the second year of Zhiping), the national revenue was 116,138,405 yuan, and the expenditure was 12030 yuan. 43,170 yuan, and the fiscal deficit is 4.2 million yuan. This move was sarcastically called "redundant troops" and "poverty" by some modern scholars. "Redundant troops" and "poverty" were the result of the Song Dynasty's internal democratic and enlightened national policy, and were not caused by pressure from foreign enemies. Overly democratic policies and a long-term peaceful and prosperous life are also the reasons why the Song army's combat effectiveness is weak.
The Song Dynasty made progress in the military system. It separated military and political organs from the command system, and separated the mobilization system from the command system. These are all characteristics of modern military. The Song Dynasty persisted in making the country prosperous and the people strong for more than three hundred years despite the lack of defense facilities on the Great Wall. It cannot be said that the Song Dynasty and the Song Army were too weak. It's not that Song Dynasty is incapable of attacking, it's just a matter of national policy. The total military strength of Song Dynasty far exceeded that of Liao, Jin, Mongolia and other countries. However, Song's mobile military strength and front-line military strength were not comparable to those of other countries. The cost of war in Song Dynasty was much higher than that of backward countries. The Song army dispersed. Because the Song army had a large territory, a large number of people, and a large amount of wealth to defend. These are the burdens of the Song Army. The invading army has no burden and can attack wherever it wants. Once captured, there will be a lot of wealth and beautiful women. The best defense is to attack. The long-term national policy of peace made the Song army lose the ability to attack.
In the age of cold weapons, the more barbaric, the more powerful, and the more backward, the more vicious. If you are backward and poor, you have the incentive to rob those who are richer than you. The Liao Kingdom was more barbaric than the Song Dynasty, so the Song Dynasty gave money and silk to the Liao Dynasty. Jin was more barbaric than Liao, so Jin destroyed Liao. The Mongols were more barbaric than the Jin people, so the Mongols destroyed the Jin people. The Mongols were much more barbaric than the Song people, so of course the Song Dynasty could not defeat the Mongols. Throughout the history of the world, ancient civilized countries were wiped out by nations that were more backward and barbaric than them. Qi was destroyed by Qin, not because it was not as wealthy as Qin, but because it was not as barbaric as Qin. Chu was destroyed by Qin, not because it did not have the culture of Qin, but because it did not have the military strength of Qin.
The richer a person is, the more afraid of death he is; the happier a person is, the more he loves life. The poorer a person is, the less afraid of death he is. A hungry person is more ruthless than a full person. A person who worries about food and clothing will fight bravely than a person who has no worries about food and clothing. A robber will be more powerful than a scholar. Song people were too civilized and used to living a comfortable and wealthy life. Song soldiers are very weak. There is a poem from the Song Dynasty that says: "When my parents gave birth to me, they taught me to cultivate mulberry trees; I didn't know the strictness of the government, but I was able to serve in the army! I can't stab with a spear, and I can't shoot with a bow; what can I do if I unite? It's futile and useless." Song people are Born for production, creation, and peace. The Mongols were born to ride horses, plunder, and fight. Most people in the Song Dynasty have good nature, while most Mongolian people have evil nature. How could it be possible to defeat the Mongolian iron hooves, which were primitively ferocious and rushed out in the bloody wind?
What is terrifying about the Mongols is that they not only possess the brutal fighting power of primitive nomads, but also possess the advanced and superb technology of civilized nations. When the Mongols attacked the next city, the only kind of people left behind were not young and beautiful women, nor innocent children, nor old people, but the craftsmen and craftsmen of the city. In ancient times, the Mongols were just like in modern times. They not only possessed the fearless spirit of the Afghan Taliban, but also possessed high-tech armed technologies such as American atomic bombs.
The war between the Song and Yuan Dynasties was the most disparate ethnic war in Chinese history. Because one is the peak feudal civilization that is developing toward capitalism, and the other is the civilization of a newly formed nation that is in its primitive period.
Although the military force of the late Song Dynasty was relatively weak, it used its powerful comprehensive power, economy and culture to influence neighboring countries such as the Liao Kingdom and the Jin Kingdom. Promoted their Chineseization. Promoted the development and progress of the world. The Liao Kingdom gradually abolished slavery and the policy of discriminating against the Han people, and the Jin Kingdom was an out-and-out admirer of Song civilization. The imperial palace of the Jin Kingdom in Beijing was built exactly like the imperial palace in Bianliang of the Song Dynasty. The emperor of the Jin Dynasty wore Song-style imperial clothes, and the rank of civil servants was the same as that of the Song Dynasty. The Jin Dynasty implemented imperial examinations to select scholars, and the forty-ninth generation grandson of Confucius was also named a Duke by the gold owner, who personally performed rituals and sacrifices to Confucius. From astronomical predictions to the compilation of calendars and court music, the Jin people imitated and applied the Song system. The Jin State also imitated the Song State in printing banknotes. Su Dongpo's new book just published in Song Dynasty today may be hawked and popular on the streets of Jin Kingdom tomorrow. From the copper coins left over from the Jin Dynasty, we can see that money is a typical Chinese copper coin with only Chinese characters. Judging from the architectural style and technology of Marco Polo Bridge that have survived to this day, the Jin people have completely become "Chinese" people. In just a few decades, the Jin State plundered, absorbed and learned a large amount of Song's wealth and culture. It evolved from backward primitive civilization to feudal civilization. By the early stage of the fall of the Jin Kingdom, there was actually little difference between the Jin Kingdom and the Southern Song Dynasty. The Kingdom of Jin became the second most powerful country in the world after the Song Dynasty. But the Kingdom of Jin also lost its once brutal fighting power in the prosperous life.
A large number of intellectuals like Zhu Xi were determined to resist the war at first, supporting the government in attacking and regaining the country. But later I saw a peaceful situation between the two countries. Increasingly, conservatives do not advocate using force to solve problems. We do not want the two countries to go to war and destroy the stable and peaceful lives of people in the two countries. Not engaging in war is not just a matter of a few people "living in peace". It is the aspiration of the people and is in the interest of the whole people.
The demise of a country or dynasty is not necessarily due to its own decadence and internal chaos, the monarch’s incompetence, or the people’s hardship. A prosperous country may be faced with external barbaric forces, and may be caused by a momentary strategic decision-making error or a war failure. The emperors and rulers of the Song Dynasty were relatively enlightened and meritorious compared to the rulers of other dynasties.
The demise of the Song Dynasty was not inevitable but accidental. There are many reasons for the demise of the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty was not defeated by one nation and one dynasty at once, but by the combined efforts of multiple nations and dynasties many times. Mongolia launched its attack on the Song Dynasty, the most prosperous and powerful country in the world, after annihilating the Western Liao, Xixia, Huacizm and other countries, pacifying the Middle East, conquering most of Europe, ruling most of the world, and subsuming all the surrounding countries of the Song Dynasty. . The Song people were too civilized, but they used advanced technology, gunpowder and warships to suppress the powerful Mongolian coalition for decades. The Song Dynasty was the country that lasted the longest under the brutal Mongolian iron heel. Song Dynasty was the creator of civilization, while Mongolia was the plunderer of civilization. The failure of the Song Dynasty was because the Song people were too civilized, and the demise of the Song Dynasty was because the Song Dynasty developed too fast and was incompatible with the barbaric world at that time...
There is nothing to be ashamed of when a civilization is wiped out. Although Greece and Rome were both wiped out by barbarism, their civilization is still the pride of Westerners! People around the world still admire the height of civilization they created. No one in the West will slander Greece and Rome, and no one will revere the Turks and Turks. No country or nation will admire an uneducated, rude and powerful robber. But some of us Chinese people are a little strange now. We slander and criticize the dynasty that represents the pinnacle of Chinese civilization, and praise and beautify the barbarians who massacred our ancestors who created an outstanding, advanced and superb civilization in human history. We don't seem to know who our ancestors are. It is hard to imagine that today's Jews would worship Hitler and insult and belittle their Jewish ancestors who were massacred by Hitler. And this is exactly the case in China... We are used to beautifying the cold-blooded bandits who massacred our ancestors butchers into great heroes! We are used to slandering and scolding the great Song Dynasty, which brought so much honor and pride to China in the world. Only the Chinese in the world are passionate about reviling their ancestors. It is difficult to see Westerners reviling Aristotle in the West. In China, we not only criticize Zhu Xi, but also Confucius, who has been hailed as a saint by our ancestors for thousands of years and is revered as a great thinker in various countries around the world. As a Chinese, if he can even criticize Confucius and Zhu Xi, what else can he not do? Is he still Chinese? The ancient Greek Olympic civilization continues to flourish in the world and in China! However, Neo-Confucianism of the Song and Ming dynasties, which represents the essence of Chinese traditional cultural thought, has been criticized by the Chinese themselves as being useless. Most Chinese people today do not know how good, superior and rare their ancestors were. We were cut off from the inheritance and continuity of Chinese civilization by barbaric massacres. Do we still deserve to be called descendants of the Song people?
Here we only talk about how good Song Dynasty is, not what is bad about Song Dynasty. Because Song's shortcomings are well known to everyone and have been exaggerated by education and propaganda. However, Song's good qualities were ignored or regarded as bad. The Song Dynasty was destroyed, and the good things of the Song Dynasty were regarded as bad and the reasons for its demise. We people today have an unfair evaluation of the Song Dynasty, we are unfair to the Song people, and we are unfair to our ancestors. Even Westerners who despise the arrogance of Eastern civilization can't help but admire the height of civilization created by the Song Dynasty. Why do we despise the civilization that was the pinnacle of our ancient society? But after all, only a very small number of Westerners were able to come into contact with and study Song Dynasty civilization. Does our civilization have to be discovered by others? If we don’t speak up for our ancestors, then do we have to rely on a very small number of Western experts and scholars who study Chinese history to speak out fairly? We should be proud of the Song Dynasty's contribution to world civilization. We should be proud that we are descendants of the Song people.