History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 1013 "Support Gate" Incident

【“Support Gate”】

The Battle of Gaoliang River had a profound impact on the Song Dynasty.

First of all, this battle was a showdown in the relationship between Song and Liao.

Before this, the Song Dynasty was in a strong position, which was fully demonstrated in the process of recovering the Northern Han Dynasty. The Song Dynasty was aggressive, while the Liao Dynasty was tolerant and hoped to resolve international disputes through negotiation and dialogue. The Battle of Gaoliang River marked the official falling out between the Song and Liao countries. The Song Dynasty showed its true colors and tore off its disguise, making the Liao Dynasty see the reality and no longer have any illusions. The two sides officially entered a state of full-scale war.

The second is the impact on the Song Dynasty. After returning to Bianzhou, Taizu's son Zhao Dezhao committed suicide, followed by Zhao Guangyi's purge of the military and political systems.

Zhao Dezhao went with the army to the war. It is said that "the soldiers were frightened at night, not knowing where the emperor was." The emperor had lost contact, and the army could not be without a commander, and the country could not be without a monarch. So the generals discussed to nominate Comrade Zhao Dezhao as the new emperor. But before the plan was implemented, they received news that Zhao Guangyi had been found and was alive and well. So the plan of supporting him was dropped. However, Zhao Guangyi still heard about this and was very unhappy.

After returning to Bianzhou, Zhao Guangyi made a new round of military deployment to prevent the Liao Kingdom from taking advantage of the victory, but he was also angry about the defeat, so he did not reward the soldiers who participated in the Taiyuan expedition. However, Zhao Dezhao was not careful and openly requested to reward the soldiers who participated in the Taiyuan expedition.

Zhao Guangyi was immediately furious and said viciously: "Wait until you do it yourself, it's not too late to reward you!" It will not be too late to reward you after you become emperor in two days.

Zhao Dezhao retreated in panic. After returning to the palace, he asked his attendants, "Do you have swords? Lend them to me."

The attendants all said that weapons were not allowed in the palace and that I would not be able to pass the security check, so I did not bring any.

Zhao Dezhao walked into the tea and wine pavilion alone, closed the doors and windows, and then committed suicide with a fruit knife (fruit cutting knife).

Zhao Guangyi was shocked to hear the bad news. He rushed to the scene, hugged Zhao Dezhao's body and cried loudly. He then posthumously conferred the title of King of Wei on him and gave him the posthumous name "Yi".

The "failed attempt to support Zhao Dezhao" was also mentioned vaguely in history books. In fact, it was a major political earthquake in the reign of Emperor Taizong. Some clues to it were hidden in the Battle of Gaoliang River. When we analyze them together, the truth about the "God of Cars" is about to be revealed:
On the day of Guiwei, Zhao Guangyi made the mistake of underestimating the enemy and advancing rashly. While pursuing the Liao army, he suddenly encountered Liao reinforcements and suffered a small defeat. He was also hit by a stray arrow in the thigh. This made Zhao Guangyi sober up a lot and realized that our army had been fighting for a long time, the soldiers were tired, and the logistical supplies had been in deficit. What's more important, Youzhou City could not be taken in a short time, so the two sides would soon enter a stalemate stage, and this situation was extremely unfavorable to the Song Dynasty. Therefore, Zhao Guangyi decided to retreat that night.

Before the retreat, Zhao Guangyi arranged for the army to cover the rear, while he himself went ahead. After all, he had to let the leader go first, not to mention that the leader was injured.

The next day (Jiashen), the two sides fought fiercely at Gaoliang River. The Song army was defeated and the retreat gradually turned into a rout. During this period, rumors spread among the Song army, saying that Zhao Guangyi had been captured by the Liao army, and some said that Zhao Guangyi died of an arrow wound... In short, the emperor was gone. The generals hurriedly held a meeting to discuss, and everyone agreed that Zhao Dezhao, the son of Taizu, should inherit the throne.

When they heard that Zhao Dezhao was going to become emperor, the terrified and collapsed army gradually restored order and stabilized their position.

Before the retreat, Zhao Guangyi had already issued an order for the army to withdraw to Zhuozhou in an orderly manner. However, when Zhao Guangyi arrived in Zhuozhou, he did not see the army report, so he bypassed Zhuozhou and came to Jintaitun. After waiting for two days, there was still no sign of the army. If the battle went well, the army would be seen coming slowly. If it was defeated, there would be stragglers who fled back. This situation made Zhao Guangyi suspicious, so he sent his trusted eunuch Yan Chenghan to check.

Soon, Yan Chenghan reported: Our army has suffered a defeat, rumors are spreading, and the morale of the army is shaken. What is even more explosive is that the generals are discussing the establishment of Zhao Dezhao!

At that time, although the Song army suffered a defeat at Gaoliang River, it could still fight the Liao army after stabilizing its position. If it fought with all its strength, it was still unknown who would win with its numerical advantage. However, when Zhao Guangyi heard that the armies were going to support Zhao Dezhao, he was shocked and angry. He hurriedly sent Cui Han, the Du Yuhou of the Palace, to lead more than a thousand elite imperial guards to the front line to announce: I am still alive, you get back here immediately! Except for trusted generals such as Cui Han and others stationed in Dingzhou, Zhenzhou, and Guannan, and Pan Mei stationed in the three intersections of Hedong, the rest of the generals all returned to Bianzhou. Zhao Dezhao's "support gate" incident made Zhao Guangyi sleepless. He didn't expect that the stinky boy who had lived in the deep palace for a long time had such a high reputation in the army. What's going on? Does this stinky boy want to learn from his father and give me a "Zhuozhou mutiny" and wear a yellow robe?

After the army returned to Bianzhou, it was hit by a wave of purge: Shi Shouxin, Liu Yu, Shi Gui and others were demoted for "violating discipline during the expedition."

Shi Shouxin, a founding hero, ranked first among the six "supporting heroes" and was described in detail in the "Chenqiao Mutiny"; Liu Yu, was originally a subordinate of Guo Wei, and joined the imperial guards during the Later Zhou Dynasty. He became a senior general of the imperial guards in the early Song Dynasty and made great contributions in the destruction of the Southern Tang Dynasty. When Zhao Kuangyin went to Luoyang to offer sacrifices, Liu Yu was responsible for Zhao Kuangyin's personal guard; Shi Gui, who had defected to Zhao Kuangyin a long time ago, was Zhao Kuangyin's direct subordinate and trusted minion. He had served as Zhao Kuangyin's spy at the beginning of the founding of the country and was responsible for intelligence work. He was introduced in the previous article "The Liang Mengsheng Case".

The common point of these three people is obvious: they were all Zhao Kuangyin's direct confidants, or "Taizu Party". As for the specific details of their downfall, historical records do not give answers, only vague statements such as "they failed to discipline the front army" and "the soldiers under their command failed to discipline". Even the historian added a note: "I am afraid that the national history may be taboo."

As the founding heroes of the "Taizu Party" were demoted, the generals were in a state of panic. After all, there was the defeat at Gaoliang River. If they wanted to nitpick the generals' faults, who would not have been shot? So the generals placed their hopes on Zhao Dezhao. They complained to him that although the expedition to Youzhou failed, the merits of conquering Taiyuan and recovering Northern Han had not yet been discussed. One thing for another, why did the emperor not reward meritorious deeds and punish faults?

Under the instigation of the generals, the inexperienced Zhao Dezhao was finally used as a pawn. During a court meeting one day, Zhao Dezhao dared to speak for the generals, saying that Your Majesty had not yet rewarded the meritorious officials of Taiyuan.

Zhao Dezhao once again touched Zhao Guangyi's sore spot.

After the defeat at Gaoliang River, the generals had already begun to think about establishing Zhao Dezhao, and it was Zhao Dezhao who came forward to ask for a reward on their behalf. Great, this brat has become close friends with the civil and military officials.

Zhao Guangyi flew into a rage and roared, "Wait for you to do it yourself, it's not too late to reward you!" These words carried a lot of weight. Zhao Dezhao retreated in panic and then committed suicide.

After sorting out these details, it is not difficult to understand the statements of both sides in the "Battle of Gaoliang River". In fact, the Song army's defeat was not so miserable.

Zhao Guangyi's early departure was probably due to an arrow wound. A donkey cart could not have traveled from Youzhou to Zhuozhou overnight. The Liao people's claim that he fled by donkey cart after arriving in Zhuozhou was not because of the Liao people's pursuit, but more likely because of the internal threat from the "Taizu Party". After the defeat at Gaoliang River, the Song army still had the ability to continue the battle, but Zhao Guangyi issued an edict to return to the army due to the threat from the "Taizu Party", which led to the subsequent defeat.

Under the appearance of foreign wars, there were internal political struggles, and many things were highly confidential and could not be disclosed. Therefore, in the limited and vague words, later generations made up the legend of "Gaoliang River Chariot God" by catching wind and spreading rumors.

Zhao Guangyi demoted Shi Shouxin and other "Taizu Party" members, and appointed 15 people including Wei Dan as judges of various towns to supervise the local vassal states.

Deposing the founding fathers, forcing Taizu's son to death, and planting spies in the local area... This was just the beginning of the political drama of clearing up the "Taizu Party". A year and a half later, Taizu's last son Zhao Defang also died at the age of 22. The history books only said that he died of illness (die in bed), and there was no more description.

Half a year later, someone reported that the emperor's younger brother Zhao Tingmei was arrogant and lawless, and had evil intentions, so Zhao Tingmei was first exiled to Luoyang, and then demoted to the Duke of Fuling County and settled in Fangzhou. More than a year later, Zhao Tingmei "became ill due to worry" and left us prematurely.

At this point, except for Zhao Guangyi, all of Zhao Kuangyin's sons and brothers had died. From then on, whether it was the younger brother who succeeded the elder brother or the son who succeeded the father, the throne would be passed down through Taizong's lineage and would be unshakable.

(End of this chapter)