Why did Song Gaozong deprive Yue Fei of his military power and execute him?

Why did Song Gaozong remove the military power of generals? Upon closer inspection, there are three main reasons.

First of all, since the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty, the national policies of "using culture to control military power" and "defending the internal and external forces" have had a great influence. Military generals with greater military power will inevitably be jealous of Emperor Gaozong and are considered to have imperial power. The threat was the fundamental reason for his release of military power.

The Song Dynasty was established after the Five Dynasties in which military generals abolished their establishments on their own and vassal towns were arbitrarily segregated. In addition, Song Taizu himself came to power through the Chenqiao mutiny, so he was extremely suspicious of military generals. Taizu of the Song Dynasty released his military power with a glass of wine and established a system in which civil servants controlled military generals. In his later years, Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty once said: "If a country has no external worries, it will surely have internal ones. External worries are no more than side issues, and they can all be prevented. However, treachery and evil are invisible, and if they are internal troubles, they are deeply to be feared. Emperors must always keep this in mind when they are careful. "[15] (p.277) As the successor of the Song Dynasty, Song Gaozong firmly followed the family law of his ancestors and tried his best to "guess and guard against the generals without showing their bravery" [3] (p.227), so he could not pose a threat to yourself. In the eleventh year of Shaoxing (1141), when the military situation on the front line was excellent, Emperor Gaozong ordered the withdrawal of the troops and said: "In the battle of Chanyuan, after Talan died, Zhenzong ordered the generals to stay with the Qidan and not invite him to return. , this is my family law. "[16] (p.1077) In fact, he was worried that the generals would be too powerful to control.

The idea of ??using culture to control military power also had a great influence on the general ministers of the Southern Song Dynasty. In the first year of Shaoxing (1131), Wang Zao, a Hanlin scholar, wrote: "Since ancient times, military power has belonged to people. It has been a long time since we have not been patient. It is easy to give it, but it is difficult to take it. If you don't take advantage of it early, you will regret it. The country has taken advantage of it." The three yamen are in charge of the army. Every time a soldier is sent out, he must wait for the order of the Privy Council. Our ancestors had deep intentions here. Now the Privy Council can no longer control the arrogance of the generals. I am afraid that after the thieves are defeated, I will have to worry about it. "[17] (p. .591) and "Three Essays on Controlling Generals". In the fifth year of Shaoxing (1135), Zhang Shou, a scholar at the Zizheng Palace, wrote a letter saying: "Today's generals all hold heavy troops and are extremely wealthy. They have no hope of salary and benefit in advance, and no fear of punishment when they retreat. Therefore, the power of the imperial court is increasing." "[18] (p.11615) advocated the decomposition of the military power of generals. In the sixth year of Shaoxing (1136), Li Gang, who had always taken the lead in fighting, also wrote a letter, pointing out that "all the troops of the imperial court and all the roads were put to use, focusing on the outside and neglecting the inside" [5] (p. 373), expressing concern. These admonitions further strengthened Gaozong's idea of ??withdrawing military power. He realized that only by controlling military power with culture could he achieve success once and for all.

At this time, due to the frequent wars in the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty, the status of generals was significantly improved compared to that in the Northern Song Dynasty. For example, since the founding of the Song Dynasty, the Shaanxi, Hedong, and Hebei roads "all had civil servants as strategic envoys, leading the troops, and military officials as general managers, with the title of general, and under control." By the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty, "all the troops along the border were returned to the generals." "[5] (p.526) Generals such as Han Shizhong, Zhang Jun, and Yue Fei all had large numbers of troops they recruited. Gao Zong regarded this as a serious problem. This phenomenon was contrary to the ancestral family law. , Gaozong couldn't tolerate it, and he would release military power whenever he had the opportunity. As Wang Euzhi said: "The people of the Song Dynasty were very cautious about their ministers. Take a look at Chen Qiao's own affairs and punish the chariots before the Five Dynasties. Those who have merit must suppress them, and those who have power must seize them. Even the Supreme Emperor, who is extremely weak, is still afraid of his ministers." "[3] (p.250) In Sichuan, the civil servants Wang Si and Lu Fayuan who were in charge of Sichuan and Shaanxi did not have a high reputation, and the general Wu Jie did not respect them enough. Gao Zong sent a seal saying: "Sheep. Although Hu lives in a powerful palace, he must appoint Wang Jun to carry out special expeditions; although Li Su has established special honors, he must respect Pei Du and distinguish between superior and inferior. "[5] (p. 31) Use allusions to warn military officers not to be arrogant. When Wu Jie died in the ninth year of Shaoxing (1139), Emperor Gaozong immediately appointed General Hu Shi, a bachelor of Baowen Pavilion, to propagate Sichuan and Shaanxi. After Hu's death, he appointed Zheng Gangzhong to take over. "Gangzhong governs Shu with a good strategy" and controls Sichuan and Shaanxi. The army was divided into three groups: Wu Lin, Yang Zheng, and Guo Hao. They all established the Commander-in-Chief Festival [19] (p.11512-11513). This successfully ended the exclusive power of military generals in Sichuan and Shaanxi, restored the control of civil servants over generals, and gave full military and political power to Emperor Gaozong. This is also the reason why Wu Lin, Yang Zheng, and Guo Hao were not relieved of military power when the military power was released in the eleventh year of Shaoxing (1141).

It should also be pointed out that the "Miao-Liu Incident" in the third year of Jianyan (1129) had a lot to do with Gaozong's suspicion of military generals. At that time, the generals Miao Fu and Liu Zhengyan took advantage of people's resentment. Emotional, he launched a mutiny and killed Gaozong's favorites Wang Yuan, Kang Lu and others, forcing Gaozong to give up the throne to his three-year-old son Zhao Min. Empress Dowager Meng listened behind the curtain, and Miao and Liu held actual power. Soon Lu Yihao, Zhang Jun, Han Shizhong and others who supported Gaozong's restoration launched an army to attack them. The two had no choice but to agree to Gaozong's restoration. Gaozong pretended to forgive them, and when he was safe again, he immediately "challenged Shizhong and Liu Guangshi to pursue him" [ 20] (p.670), Miao and Liu were killed. This incident greatly shocked Gaozong. He realized that a general holding troops could protect him or subvert him. The best way to ensure his absolute safety was to firmly hold military power in his own hands, and this could only be achieved through dismissal. Military power can only be achieved by using civil society to control military power. Therefore, after deposing the three generals, Gaozong finally felt relieved and said proudly: "Now that the military power belongs to the imperial court, I want to change the generals and obey the orders, which is no different from sending civil servants." [13] (p. 63) < /p>

Second, creating conditions for peace with Jin was an important reason for Gaozong to release his military power.

Song Gaozong served as a hostage in the Jin camp and experienced firsthand the power of the Jin army, so he always advocated compromise and peace with the Jin.

After the Miao and Liu Dynasties, he sent Hong Hao, who was waiting for the rule in Huiyou Pavilion, to be envoy to the Kingdom of Jin, saying, "I am willing to demote myself. Please use Zhengshuo to compare with the vassals." [17] (p.443) Jin The soldiers ignored him and continued to invade south. He even sent Cui Cong, Du Shiliang and others to beg for peace. In the seventh year of Shaoxing (1137), the puppet Qi Liu Yu who had been a puppet for eight years was deposed by the Jin Dynasty. Gaozong thought that the Jin people would recognize his dominance in the south. In March of the eighth year of Shaoxing (1138), Gaozong used Qin Hui As prime minister, he was responsible for negotiating peace with Jin, and sent Wang Lun to envoy Jin. He first thanked Liu Yu for deposing him, and then negotiated peace. Gaozong and Qin Hui's proposal for peace was opposed by many ministers. The Academy of Academic Affairs once refused to write a letter of credence for peace. Hu Quan, the editor of the Privy Council, advocated the execution of Wang Lun and Qin Hui. Wu Shigu, a Jinshi in Yixing, circulated Hu Quan's memorials in a stereotyped manner. . However, Emperor Gaozong "wanted to make peace very strongly", so Qin Hui adopted the suggestion of Gou Long Ruyuan, a member of the Zhongshu family, to "choose people to admonish and attack them with all their strength" [21] (p. 11718), and drove those who opposed the peace proposal out of the court one after another. . At that time, many generals were more opposed to the peace proposal than the civil servants. When Yue Fei heard about the peace talks, he wrote in Ezhou, saying: "The Jin people cannot be trusted, and peace cannot be relied upon." He said, "Let Yan Yun take revenge and serve the country." [22] (p.11388) Han Shizhong wrote four times to oppose the peace talks, saying "I would like to lead the troops in a decisive battle. I would like to take charge of the most powerful position." "Please tell me in front of Chi Yi, but I won't allow it. Now that I am ambushing Hongze Town, I will kill the Jin envoy, but I can't." [4] (p. 11366) ) Gaozong was very jealous of this and believed that the generals were a huge obstacle to his peacemaking. He only relied on the generals to temporarily resist the Jin army, so he did not take action to release his military power. In the eleventh year of Shaoxing (1141), Wu Shu was defeated. The Kingdom of Jin formally agreed to the peace treaty, and Gaozong removed the military power of the generals who opposed the peace treaty.

Thirdly, the fear that the generals would succeed in the Northern Expedition to welcome back the two emperors of Huiqin and thus endanger their own throne was another reason why Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty released his military power.

Gaozong was originally King Kang and was the ninth son of Huizong. He had no chance to inherit the throne. In the second year of Jingkang (1127), the Jin soldiers kidnapped the two emperors Huiqin and more than 470 members of their royal family. At that time, Emperor Gaozong survived and was able to succeed to the throne. Obviously, as long as one of the two emperors Huiqin returned south, Gaozong's throne would not be secure. Historically speaking, when the Jin army launched a large-scale southern invasion, Huizong had no choice but to position the inner Zen emperor in Qinzong due to the insistence of Li Gang and others. However, he tried to rely on Cai Jing, Tong Guan and others to control real power. In order to stabilize the throne, Qinzong put his attempts to Tong Guan and other five people who supported Huizong's restoration were killed, Cai Jing was exiled, and Huizong was completely isolated. Therefore, in order to keep the throne, Gaozong could ignore his family ties and try every means to prevent Emperor Huiqin from returning to the Southern Song Dynasty alive. In fact, Gaozong repeatedly claimed that he would welcome back the second emperor, but he had no specific and effective measures. In the fifth year of Shaoxing (1135), Huizong died. Emperor Gaozong sent envoys to repeatedly negotiate with the Jin Dynasty to welcome back Huizong, the two empresses Xiansu and Yijie, Zi Gong, and his biological mother, Empress Wei. Zong, don’t mention it at all. Qinzong was still imprisoned in Five Kingdoms City until his miserable death in the twenty-sixth year of Shaoxing (1156).

Based on this mentality, Gaozong was extremely worried that the Jin people would let Emperor Huiqin return south to compete with him for the throne. In a conversation with Qin Hui, he said: "When the enemy negotiates for peace, he should think carefully and respond accordingly. If the strength of our forces is equal, and we make peace in this way, he has the intention to stop fighting. I am strong and the other is weak, which is enough to control his life. Those who make peace in this way are afraid of me. "[5] (p.897) The implication is that the strong army of the Southern Song Dynasty will scare the Jin people and change their strategy to let the two emperors return south. Therefore, Gaozong curried favor with the Jin people. After being able to ensure the safety of the southeast, he cracked down and restricted the anti-Jin forces. He hoped that the Jin people would understand his good intentions and not release the second emperor.

However, when the anti-Jin generals Yue Fei, Han Shizhong and others were victorious against the Jin and the situation was excellent, they wanted to be loyal to the Song Dynasty rather than to any emperor. Yue Fei, in particular, shouted the slogan of going straight to Huanglong Mansion to welcome back the Second Emperor, which undoubtedly touched Gaozong's pain. Although "in the Song Dynasty, Liu Qi had the victory of Shunchang, and Han Shizhong besieged Huaiyang, and had the victory of Jakou Town, Tancheng, and Qianqiu Lake. He also said: 'I will take charge of the most important military position.' Yue Fei had the victory of Yancheng. Jie, Yingchang Zhijie, has marched to Zhuxian Town, sent generals to pass through Jingdong, West, Ru, Ying, Chen, and Cai counties, and said: "Go straight to Huanglong Mansion and have a drink with you!" Wu Lin! In Shu, there were also victories at Shibi Village, Baitongfang, Tanjiawan, and Lajia City. "[23] (p.553-554) However, the more favorable the Song army's frontline situation was, the more unfavorable it was for Gaozong himself, so he Twelve gold medals were issued in one day to order Yue Fei to lead his troops, ruining the good situation. He quickly relieved the generals from their military power, and killed Yue Fei, who had vowed to welcome the second emperor. In this way, the use of force to welcome Qinzong back was in vain, and Gaozong could finally sit back and relax. .