Son of Song Dynasty

Chapter 28 The Son Wants to Be the Emperor
Zhao Kuangyin bowed his head and meditated, and immediately felt that these seven words were very well spoken. Compared with the famous saying of the warlords in the Five Dynasties period: "The son of heaven, he who has strong soldiers and horses does it", it is similar in purpose, but it is much more essential and profound.

Seeing the emperor's father thinking about his words, Zhao Dezhao's forehead was sweating, because he realized that he had just said something wrong and accidentally exposed his political ambitions in front of the emperor's father. What would be the consequences? It's hard to predict.

"That's a good word!" Zhao Kuangyin patted the table lightly, and praised sincerely. He knew that his son could not think of this, so he asked, "Which book did you read this from?"

"An idle book on wild history, I forgot the title."

Zhao Dezhao mentioned it vaguely, he just wanted to skip this sensitive topic as soon as possible, so that the emperor's father would not think that he had evil intentions, and wanted to learn from Li Er of the Tang Dynasty who led troops to remove his father.

Zhao Kuangyin no longer pursued the details, he put down his chopsticks, got up and walked back and forth quickly around the table, then suddenly stopped and turned his head to look over, and suddenly asked a question:
"Xue Juzheng played on his deathbed, begging me to make you the crown prince, you have also read the posthumous seal. Erlang, daddy is asking you now: Do you want to be the crown prince?"

Facing the piercing gaze of the emperor's father and this question of the soul, Zhao Dezhao's heart jumped from his chest to his neck, and then to his throat.

In just a moment, Zhao Dezhao's mind flashed through several answers.

Make a gesture of filial piety, and reply: "The son only wants to be a good son of his father for the rest of his life, and he only wants his father to be emperor for thousands of years"?This is too hypocritical. It's okay to fool that kind of unconscious and fatuous king. How could you fool a founding hero like Dad?Such hypocrisy will only attract the contempt of the old man.

Make a gesture of panic, and reply: "My son has little virtue, so I dare not have such delusions"?This is too cowardly, and it will also make the old man who is ambitious and courageous and always strong and confident look down upon him.

Since there are risks in any answer, it is better to answer according to the heart and take a gamble.

"No, my son doesn't want to be the prince!" Zhao Dezhao replied loudly.

The corners of Zhao Kuangyin's mouth turned up, and there was mockery and contempt in his eyes.

"My son wants to be the emperor!"

Zhao Dezhao's tone was firm and calm, since it's all a gamble, it's better to simply gamble bigger!
The son wants to be the emperor.

These six words are too bold and straightforward, and even contain a dangerous meaning that the prince is ambitious and wants to replace his father.If it was changed to the Tang Dynasty, when the relationship between the emperor and the prince was relatively tense, if any prince or even the crown prince himself dared to say this sentence in front of the emperor's father, he would basically live to the end. With a little suspicion, he did the cruel thing of "killing three sons in one day".

Zhao Kuangyin was quite shocked when he heard the words, his face showed a look of astonishment, but he immediately raised his head and laughed loudly, and the loud laughter echoed in the palace of Funing.

"Okay, okay, well said, he is indeed my son of Zhao Da! If your father didn't have the courage and confidence back then, he wouldn't be able to get to where he is today, and he wouldn't be able to sit in this seat." Zhao Kuangyin pointed The chair covered with a five-dragon brocade forging cushion.

"Father, are you implying that I will follow suit, and imitate your "Chenqiao Mutiny" and come to the "Fu Ning Palace Mutiny" to force the palace and take your seat?"

Zhao Dezhao complained secretly in his heart, but no matter how daring he was, he didn't dare to say such a deadly joke.

"But, Erlang, you have to know that this seat is not so easy to sit in."

Zhao Kuangyin held back his smile, his tone gradually turned low, and he said slowly:
"Since the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, feudal vassals and towns have been separated, Kyushu has disintegrated, various places have been fighting endlessly, blood and flesh are donated to the grass and fields, the people of the people are suffering upside down, and the Chinese culture is in danger of being interrupted!"

"Since being the father of the Zhou Dynasty, he has first quelled rebellions in various places, and then pacified Wuyue, Southern Tang and other places. The little rations left were forcibly confiscated for military use and starved to death... Culture and education are also gradually recovering, and in time we will be able to continue the Chinese culture.”

"Such a situation, although it is not a prosperous age, has not happened since the middle Tang Dynasty, and it has not happened for more than a hundred years. It is really not easy!"

"What Daddy said is absolutely true!"

Zhao Dezhao agreed from the bottom of his heart. The words of the emperor's father are true, and at the same time, as the "Song Taizu", he made a great historical contribution recognized by later generations.

Zhao Kuangyin sat back on the chair after expressing his emotions, and asked Zhao Dezhao with a smile: "Erlang, since you want to be the emperor, you have to afford it. First of all, you must have good knowledge. Dad will come to test you. In your opinion Come on, what happened to the separatism of feudal towns after the middle and late Tang Dynasty?"

The separatism of feudal clans was a major issue in Chinese history before the Song Dynasty.

Zhao Dezhao could understand why the emperor's father chose this topic to test himself.

This is because the feudal separatist rule in the middle and late Tang Dynasty was the source of the chaotic times in China for more than a hundred years!The so-called "Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms" is nothing but a substantial continuation of the "Separatist regimes".

Therefore, the thinking of the emperor's father and his prime ministers and ministers in formulating national policies and system design is based on the review, reflection and prevention of the "disaster of the vassal towns" in the Tang Dynasty, and strives to avoid repeating the previous generation. mistakes.

The Tang Dynasty was suspected of expanding too fast and too much, so the Song Dynasty contracted appropriately. Zhao Kuangyin went to the Dadu River in person and drew a boundary on the river with a jade axe: "I don't own anything else!"

In order to facilitate outward expansion, the Tang Dynasty delegated a lot of power to the border generals, and even allowed Jiedu Envoys to collect taxes and manage the people themselves. Anshan with [-] soldiers; then the Song Dynasty must strengthen the control and prevention of the generals of the army, and will not delegate power easily.

In the Tang Dynasty, the frontier armies in the northwest and northeast were the most able to fight. The central army was the weakest, so that Tongguan was not defended and Chang'an fell; then the Song Dynasty was reversed, and all the elites who could fight were enriched by Lao Tzu to the central In the forbidden army, only weak troops are left to maintain law and order in the local area. Let's see what separatists you use to rebel!

These national policies of the Song Dynasty are all linked together. They are the product of the environment and the current situation, and they are a summary of the experience and lessons of the predecessors.

In Zhao Dezhao's view, although these national policies have major flaws, they cannot be said arbitrarily wrong.

Most importantly, they are the embodiment of the emperor's father's idea of ​​​​governing the country of "doing the opposite, and overcorrecting must be overcorrected".

Therefore, facing the emperor's father's school examination questions at this time, Zhao Dezhao decided to touch the donkey:

Only talk about the problems of the previous generation, and less mention the current countermeasures of the Song Dynasty, let alone criticize!

(End of this chapter)