Why was Meng Yuan killed in the Song Dynasty?

On the whole, the Song Dynasty was the heyday of social, economic and cultural development in China's history, but it was also an extremely weak period militarily. The reasons for the demise of the Song Dynasty are very complicated. To sum up, there are mainly the following reasons:

First, the lack of northern barriers. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the loss of strategic places such as Youyun Sixteen States made the Song Dynasty lose its barrier against the attack of the northern nationalities. At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China in the Song Dynasty, attempts were made to solve this problem, but they all ended in failure.

Second, the defects of the military system in Song Dynasty. In order to prevent the Tang Dynasty from dying because of local warlords, Song Taizu and Zhao Kuangyin deprived military generals of their military power by "replacing soldiers with wine" and led troops with civilian officers, resulting in the absurd situation that "soldiers don't know generals, but they don't know soldiers", which inevitably weakened the combat effectiveness of the army.

Third, the defects of the financial system in Song Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, part of the local revenue was turned over to the central government, and part of it was reserved for local self-use, while in the Song Dynasty, all the local fiscal revenue was turned over to the central government, and the local government did not accumulate it. In this way, when foreign enemies invade, there is no money and food, so it is convenient to organize resistance, and we can only wait for the central rescue.

Fourth, the decline of the gentry system. After the Tang Dynasty, the gentry system declined fundamentally and was replaced by the imperial examination. Anyone who wants to enter the officialdom must study hard for ten years first. The aristocratic system has its inherent defects, but it also has certain advantages. Before entering politics, the children of aristocratic families were influenced by their families, and most of them had some political experience. However, the imperial examination made some poor children with no political experience occupy high positions overnight, which inevitably led to short-sightedness and confusion in official management.

5. The development of new Confucianism. In traditional Confucianism, it is emphasized that "rites cannot be inferior to Shu Ren and punishments cannot be superior to doctors" (Book of Rites Quli), so most people are not bound by etiquette and advocate courage. After the rise of Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty, it emphasized the restraint of etiquette on the secular society, and required the etiquette system to start from one household, in every word and deed. Shu Ren should "be proficient in words and deeds, make every effort to cut into human relations" in order to achieve the purpose of worshipping and guiding the people. When folk life is also included in the scope of ceremony, Shang Yong spirit and chivalrous spirit will disappear, and the combat effectiveness of the army will be reduced accordingly.

Sixth, the vicious circle caused by the old currency. In Song Dynasty, foreign wars were defeated repeatedly, and a large number of ancient coins had to be exported, which undoubtedly increased the burden on the people and led to the continuous outbreak of peasant uprisings. Frequent peasant uprisings constantly consume the combat effectiveness of the army, leading to new defeats in foreign wars. Defeat-reparations-the people's burden increased-the peasant uprising broke out-the peasant uprising was suppressed-the combat effectiveness weakened-and the foreign war was defeated. In such a vicious circle, the national strength and combat effectiveness of the Song Dynasty were exhausted, which was bound to be the most extinct.

7. Diplomatic issues. This aspect is mainly manifested in the Southern Song Dynasty. Facing the increasingly powerful Mongolia, the Song Dynasty always acted as the thugs of Mongolia under the lie of "Let's destroy it together and share it equally". During the Southern Song Dynasty, Mongolia was undoubtedly the strongest of all kinds of forces. The correct choice of the Southern Song Dynasty should be to unite against Mongolia, not to form an alliance with Mongolia and Lian Heng, so as to keep the balance.

8. Lack of national defense resources. China's topographical features determine that cavalry is the main way to fight in the north. However, due to the fact that the areas in northern and northwestern Saibei producing good horses were not in the hands of the Song Dynasty, the Song Dynasty could only raise horses among the people, usually raising them and going out in wartime. As a result, there are few breeds of horses and lack of training, so it is easy to die on the battlefield.