The gods began by supporting Guo Jing to become emperor

Chapter 18 Guo Jing's Transformation

"Which countries are left in the world when the Five Dynasties are being told?"

Guo Jing thought about it carefully and replied, "Later Zhou, Southern Tang, Southern Han, Wuyue, Shu, and some Jiedushi of Northern Han."

"Not bad." Su Ming looked at him approvingly. This guy remembered it quite clearly.

In fact, it was not that Guo Jing remembered it clearly, but every time Su Ming finished telling him the history, the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan would also listen, so Guo Jing had to repeat it. After repeating it over and over again, he remembered it very clearly.

The Seven Freaks of Jiangnan taught Guo Jing martial arts here. They were used to living in Jiangnan. They used to run around in the desert looking for Guo Jing, but now they settled down in Temujin's tribe and felt bored after a long time.

Teaching Guo Jing was one of their few pleasures, and the history told by Su Ming sounded like a storytelling novel to them.

"Zhao Kuangyin was the founder of the Song Dynasty. Among these countries, no monarch had the last name Zhao. So why was the Song Dynasty established? Jing'er, guess what."

Guo Jing thought for a long time and replied, "Could it be that Zhao Kuangyin was adopted as an adopted son by the monarch of some country and eventually ascended the throne to become emperor?" He was referring to the example of Chai Rong. Chai Rong was the adopted son of Guo Wei, the founding monarch of the Later Zhou Dynasty. Although he did not have the surname Guo, he inherited the throne. That's why Guo Jing said this.

He thought he was right, and after saying it he looked at Su Ming expectantly, waiting for praise.

However, Su Ming just shook his head, "Not even close, guess again!"

Guo Jing thought of the examples of Wang Mang, Cao Pi, Yang Jian and others, and felt that it was still not right. He shook his head and said, "Teacher, I can't guess."

"Zhao Kuangyin was a general of the Later Zhou Dynasty. He made many military achievements and was promoted by Chai Rong all the way to the position of Imperial Tutor and Palace Guard Commander, who was in charge of the Bianliang Imperial Guard. Later, Chai Rong died of illness at a young age, leaving only his seven-year-old son Chai Zongxun to succeed him."

"The following year, when word spread that the Khitan and Northern Han allied forces were marching south, the Prime Minister of the Later Zhou, Fan Zhi, and others, could not tell whether it was true or not, and hastily dispatched Zhao Kuangyin to lead the troops north to resist. Zhao Kuangyin led the army out of the capital and stayed overnight at Chenqiao Posthouse, not far from Kaifeng. There, Zhao Kuangyin was covered in a dragon robe by his generals and was crowned emperor."

"Just like that, the huge Later Zhou was usurped by Zhao Kuangyin, Chai Zongxun abdicated, and Zhao Kuangyin became the founding monarch of the Song Dynasty, which was exactly the same as what Guo Wei did back then."

That's right, it was Guo Wei who first wore the yellow robe, but Zhao Kuangyin carried it forward and made it famous in history. Guo Wei usurped the Later Han Dynasty, and Zhao Kuangyin usurped the Later Zhou Dynasty. History has come full circle.

Guo Jing's face flashed with realization, "So, Zhao Kuangyin also usurped the throne to become emperor."

Su Ming has told Guo Jing a lot of history in the past two years, from the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, to the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, the Spring and Autumn Period, the Warring States Period, the Qin and Han dynasties, and then to the Tang and Five Dynasties. After hearing about the deeds of so many emperors and celebrities, Guo Jing has become immune to power struggles and usurpations of the throne, and is no longer as surprised as he was at the beginning.

He is still young and has not lived in the south of the Yangtze River. He has not been influenced by the environment of the Han people. He does not respect the imperial power, nor does he think that the emperor is sacred.

In ancient feudal dynasties, the reason why imperial power was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people was not only due to the powerful strength of the court, but also to a considerable extent due to the mystery of imperial power and the sacredness of the emperor.

After all, the emperor is the son of God, the son of heaven, and his majesty cannot be offended.

Su Ming sighed, "If Chai Rong had not died young, Zhao Kuangyin would not have had the opportunity to seize power and usurp the throne. The orphans and widows of the Later Zhou Dynasty could not support the country alone. You also know that the five generations of emperors took turns to be emperors."

Guo Jing nodded in agreement, "Didn't the teacher say that the emperor should be the one with the strongest army and the most powerful cavalry?" "This is how Zhao Kuangyin established the country. After that, Zhao Kuangyin pacified the south and destroyed Shu, Southern Tang and other countries. Only Wuyue, Northern Han and the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun were left unrecovered."

"Unfortunately, God does not fulfill people's wishes. If Zhao Kuangyin could recover these two countries, he might be able to establish a unified country like Yang Jian." At this point, Su Ming shook his head and continued, "In the ninth year of Kaibao, Zhao Kuangyin summoned his brother Zhao Guangyi to drink and stay in the palace together; the next morning, Zhao Kuangyin died suddenly, and he only lived for fifty years."

"Sudden death?" Guo Jing was stunned. After hearing so much history, he also knew that sudden death always had many tricks. "Was it his brother Zhao Guangyi who killed Zhao Kuangyin?"

"I don't know. There are rumors about candlelight and axe shadow among the people, but no one knows the truth."

"After Zhao Guangyi ascended the throne, Wuyue surrendered and the separatist forces in the south completely submitted. He then conquered the Northern Han and completely unified the country. At this time, except for the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, most of the territory was controlled by the Song Dynasty."

"However, he was impatient at this time. The Northern Han was destroyed the previous year, and he wanted to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun. Although the Song Dynasty had elite soldiers at that time, they had experienced a long war, and the soldiers were tired and morale was low. Zhao Guangyi set out from Taiyuan to launch a northern expedition despite the opposition of many ministers. In the early stage of the northern expedition, Yizhou and Zhuozhou in Hebei were recovered. Zhao Guangyi ordered the siege of Yanjing, and the Song army and the Liao people fought fiercely on the banks of the Gaoliang River. Zhao Guangyi went to the battlefield in person, but was injured and shot by an arrow. He evacuated in a panic on a donkey cart, and the northern expedition failed."

The Gaoliang River Car God and the Wala overseas student, tsk, two typical negative examples.

"Your father's sworn brother is Yang Tiexin, whose ancestor is Yang Zaixing who followed Yue Wangye. Yang Zhi, the Green-faced Beast in Liangshan Lake, is a descendant of the Yang Family Generals. In the battle of Gaoliang River, the Song Dynasty suffered heavy losses. The brothers of the Yang Family Generals died one after another on the battlefield, and only one of the seven brothers was left."

Although the story of the Yang Family Generals is fictional, it is generally regarded as real in martial arts novels.

"After that, the Song Dynasty failed to recover Jiaozhi in the south, and failed again in its northern expedition. From then on, the Song Dynasty began to recuperate and did not launch another northern expedition. Until now, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun have not been recovered."

Hearing Su Ming's words, Guo Jing showed anger, "Zhao Guangyi is really abominable, just like Yang Guang. If it weren't for him, maybe the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun would have been recovered, the Jin people would not have been able to move south, and Prince Yue would not have to die."

At the beginning, Guo Jing didn't know what the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun meant. When Su Ming told him the example of Shi Jingtang, he realized the importance of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.

It can be said that Zhao Guangyi should bear a large part of the blame for the Song Dynasty's fall into this situation.

It’s good to criticize the Emperor of Song Dynasty. The teacher loves to hear it the most.

Su Ming raised his lips and praised, "Jing'er, you are right. Zhao Guangyi is indeed abominable. Although he is the second emperor of the Song Dynasty, he ruined the good situation. If it weren't for his own talents, the Song Dynasty might have been the same as the Sui Dynasty."

"After Zhao Guangyi's death, the third emperor of the Song Dynasty was Zhao Heng, who was an even more important emperor. When the Liao Dynasty invaded, Prime Minister Kou Zhun, against all odds, persuaded Zhao Heng to lead the army in person. The two sides fought at Chanyuan, 300 miles away from the capital, Dongjing."

"Before the war, the Liao general was shot dead by a Song general. The situation was favorable to the Song, but Zhao Heng was afraid of the Liao's momentum. He ignored the opposition of court officials and made peace with the Liao by paying a certain amount of gold and silver to the Liao as "annual tribute". This is known in history as the "Chanyuan Alliance."

As soon as Su Ming finished speaking, Guo Jing stood up in anger, clenched his fists, and cursed, "He was about to win, but he admitted defeat. This emperor is too cowardly! He has no backbone at all!"

　I will resume updating tomorrow, it’s finally almost done.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)