I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 45: "On the Loyalty and Courage of Military Generals" and "On the Fighting of Military Generals to the Death"

Another day.

Yushitai, Chaoyuan.

The writer Lao Hong came to Su Liang and Zhou Yuan's house with a document and said loudly: "You two, something big has happened. Shi Yuansun is alive, Shi Yuansun is alive!"

Zhou Yuan was taken aback.

"Shi Yuansun? The grandson of the founding general Shi Shouxin, the former deputy commander of Yanyan. He...didn't he die for his country in the Battle of Sanchuankou five years ago?"

Lao Hong shook his head slightly and placed the document in front of Zhou Yuan.

Su Liang was also impressed by this general who fought against Xixia, and immediately stood up and walked to Zhou Yuan's side.

within the document.

There is a list of hostages released by Xixia.

Among them was Shi Yuansun, the deputy general manager of Fuyan.

There is another person, Liu Ping, deputy general manager of the deployment of Fuyan and Huanqing deputy capitals.

He did not die for his country, but became a prisoner, but he died of illness in Xixia two years ago.

Zhou Yuan murmured: "This is not a joke, the imperial court has already chased me!"

Liu Ping and Shi Yuansun also have another identity.

One is the commander-in-chief of the Battle of Mikawakou, and the other is the deputy commander-in-chief of the Battle of Mikawakou.

The Battle of Sanchuankou took place in the first year of Kangding (1040).

It was the founding battle of Xixia.

It was also a particularly shameful battle for the Song Dynasty.

More than 1 soldiers of the Song Dynasty were wiped out at Sanchuankou.

At that time, in addition to Liu Ping and Shi Yuansun, the main generals involved in the battle were Huang Dehe, the superintendent stationed at Fuyan Road.

Huang Dehe's escape before the battle was the main reason for the annihilation of the Song army.

After he escaped, he also framed Liu Ping and Shi Yuansun for rebellion.

Shi Wenyanbo, the imperial censor at the time, personally tried the case and eventually vindicated Liu Ping and Shi Yuansun.

Zhao Zhen was furious and executed the rare punishment of beheading Huang Dehe in half.

then.

Zhao Zhen named Liu Ping the military envoy of Shuofang, with the posthumous title "Zhuangwu".

Shi Yuansun was granted the title of Zhongzheng Army Jiedushi and Taifu, and his descendants were granted official status.

At that time, many people shed tears on the streets, mourning these two heroic generals who sacrificed their lives for the country.

But now, there is a sudden reversal.

The two great heroes who died for their country actually became prisoners of Xixia.

Liu Ping is dead and there is no need to deal with it, but when Shi Yuansun returns, it will be embarrassing.

How to deal with him has become a big problem.

……

The next day, the meeting.

Because of Shi Yuansun's "resurrection from the dead", there was an explosion of noise in the court.

There were three different opinions among the courtiers.

one.

Deputy Prime Minister Chen Zhizhong, Deputy Privy Councilor Ding Du, Imperial Censor Liu Shi, and You Zhengyan Qian Mingyi believed:
When a general is defeated and captured, he should die for his country.

Shi Yuansun was greedy for life and feared death. He became a prisoner of Xixia and survived for five years. This was a disgrace to the court. He should be beheaded at the border and stripped of all imperial titles. His family should also be punished.

Second.

Prime Minister Du Yan, Third Secretary Zhang Fangping, Hanlin scholar Ouyang Xiu, Zhijian Yuan Bao Zheng, and Supervisory Yushi Li Ding believed:
Shi Yuansun defeated the enemy and failed the imperial court. However, if the crime did not lead to death, he could be deprived of the imperial title and no longer be allowed to hold military positions.If executed, it would easily hurt the hearts of the generals in the world.

Third.

Privy Councilor Jia Changchao, Deputy Prime Minister Wu Yu, and Deputy Privy Councilor Pang Ji believed:
Shi Yuansun was defeated and captured, rather than surrendered. He was not primarily responsible for the failure of the battle and should not be punished.

Jia Changchao also took out a copy of "Book of Wei·Yu Jinzhuan" and said that since ancient times, generals at the front who came back after the whole army was wiped out in battle should not be punished.

Moreover, after Shi Yuansun became a famous general, he had outstanding military abilities and was deeply loved by border soldiers. He should be restored to his position, otherwise it would chill the hearts of many border soldiers.

As the privy envoy, Jia Changchao still preferred military generals in his heart.

……

Zhao Zhen's head was about to explode when he heard it.

The court was dismissed immediately, saying it would be discussed another day.

It can be seen from the supporters of these three opinions that the ministers of the Song Dynasty were relatively insistent on themselves.For example, Privy Councilor Jia Changchao and Deputy Prime Minister Wu Yu.

Back then, they were political enemies who quarreled when they met, but now they are on the same page.

Qian Mingyi, the right person in the admonishment court, and Li Ding, the supervisory censor, are so close that they almost wear a pair of trousers.

Their opinions are completely different.

This is also the main reason why Zhao Zhen cannot distinguish the loyal and the traitor in the court.

After Su Liang thought for a while, he also submitted a memorial.

Support the opinions of Du Yan, Ouyang Xiu, Bao Zheng and others.

Shi Yuansun fought bloody battles, but was defeated and captured, rather than surrendered and captured. He was guilty of defeat, but the main cause was not his, and his guilt definitely did not lead to death.

At this moment, none of the generals in the three imperial offices spoke.

The status of generals is low.

If you say anything right or wrong, you will easily get criticized, so no one dares to speak out.

But...that doesn't mean they don't have ideas in their minds.

……

at the same time.

The news that Shi Yuansun was captured instead of dying for his country also spread to the people.

The reaction of the people is also very different, with different opinions.

Some people advocate beheading in public, while others believe that the honor of the imperial conferment should be withdrawn but should not be punished...

It was so noisy that the streets and alleys of Bianjing City were discussing this matter.

Meeting the next day.

This matter still has not been discussed and an answer has been reached.

same day.

Ouyang Xiu, who had a strong desire to create, wrote an article.

It's called: "On the Loyalty and Courage of Military Generals".

The core of this article's discussion is: Military generals who are loyal to the country and have the courage to serve in the army, and if they are defeated and captured, the court should give them a light crime. "

Ouyang Xiu believed that as long as a general was loyal to the emperor, patriotic and brave in killing the enemy, even if he was captured and defeated, the court should give him a light punishment.

Soon, this article spread among the people.

Most people in Bianjing think it makes sense.

Zhao Zhen also agrees.

However, despite the vigorous refutations of Liu Shi, the imperial censor, and Qian Mingyi, You Zhengyan, no conclusion could be reached.

……

Late at night, in the study room of a house.

Liu Shi wrote hard while Qian Mingyi polished his ink.

After a while.

With an excited look on his face, Liu Shi dried the ink marks on a piece of rice paper and said, "Brother Qian, let's take a quick look at my article. Can it compare to Ouyang Xiu's "On the Loyalty and Bravery of Military Commanders"?"

The article written by Liu Shi is called "On Generals Fighting to the Death".

The core discussion of this article is:

"Generals have fought to the death since ancient times. If you are defeated and bound, how can you be greedy for life? If you lose, you should commit suicide to apologize. If you don't die, you will be a traitor, but if you die, you will be loyal and brave!"

Liu Shi has great literary talent, and his words are like swords.

Shi Yuansun is described as a subjugated general who is greedy for life and afraid of death.

There is also a very classic saying in the article.

"If our soldiers of the Song Dynasty die in battle, they will die well. If they survive because of defeat, they are no better than dogs and pigs."

After reading by the light, Qian Mingyi couldn't help but exclaimed: "What a great article, what a great article!"

"Brother Liu's article contains subtle words of justice and feelings of family and country. Civil servants give advice to the death, and military generals fight to the death. This is how it should be."

"Once this article is published, it will definitely convince all the officials and make Ouyang Xiu's rebuttal useless!"

Liu Shi stroked his beard and was very excited.

He is quite confident in his literary talent.

If he can beat Ouyang Xiu this time, maybe this article will be passed down through the ages, and he will be able to rise to the top, step by step.

　There is one more chapter, I’ll post it before midnight

　　
　
(End of this chapter)