Which eight literati during the Song Dynasty were more powerful than military generals?
The Song Dynasty is an extremely critical node in Chinese history. Before the Song Dynasty, martial arts was very popular, and even literati and scholars had six arts by their side, and there was no problem in traveling to the ends of the world; the Tang Dynasty was the most famous Li Bai, the famous poet, is the famous "Sword Immortal" in history; during the Han Dynasty, there were even more literati who took up writing and served in the army. However, after the Song Dynasty, there began to be a "everything is low-grade but good at studying", and the status of military generals was gradually marginalized. Even the generals in charge of the army were mostly held by literati who had obtained meritorious titles, especially in the Ming Dynasty.
But what about the Song Dynasty as a key node? The literati of the Song Dynasty had not been completely "corrupted" by "Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism". Although the status of military generals was weaker than that of civilian officials, it was still much better than that of the Ming Dynasty. Many people say that the literati of the Song Dynasty were cowardly and incompetent, but were the literati of the Song Dynasty really cowardly and incompetent? In fact, this is only a very small part. Especially during the Northern Song Dynasty, literati were quite good. Now here is a list of eight literati who were more powerful than military generals on the battlefield. Most of them were literati from the Northern Song Dynasty.
TOP, 8 Xin Qiji
Xin Qiji was a poet and general of the Bold and Bold School in the Southern Song Dynasty. He was known as the "Dragon of Ci". Together with Su Shi, he is called "Su Xin", and together with Li Qingzhao, he is called "Jinan Er'an". But who knew that Xin Qiji was a "monster" with infinite strength and superb martial arts? In 1162 AD, Xin Qiji was ordered to go south to contact the Southern Song Dynasty court. On the way back from completing his mission, he heard the news that Geng Jing had been killed by the traitor Zhang Anguo and the rebel army was defeated. He led more than fifty people to attack the enemy camp with tens of thousands of people, captured the traitor, took him back to Jiankang, and handed him over to the Southern Song Dynasty court. execution. And later Xin Qiji also created the elite "Flying Tiger Army"; unfortunately, Xin Qiji's great ambition was difficult to realize, so he came up with "Wang Shibei fixed the day of the Central Plains, and he never forgot to tell Nai Weng during family sacrifices."
TOP , 7 Zhang Qixian
Zhang Qixian was a famous official in the Northern Song Dynasty. Although most people have never heard of this person's name, it does not hinder his reputation. After Yang Ye died in battle, Zhang Qixian and Pan Mei commanded the border army together. At that time, the Liao soldiers attacked from the Hu Valley and approached the city. When all the troops could not stop them, Zhang Qixian selected 2,000 Xiang troops to set out from the right of Ma Zheng and generously swore an oath. With one against a hundred, the Liao soldiers retreated. Later, he fought with Liao soldiers many times and achieved great results. He served as prime minister for twenty-one years and made great contributions to the politics, military, and diplomacy of the early Northern Song Dynasty. History said that he had "four practices, two mansions, nine residences and eight residences. In his later years, he took the throne of the three princes. He enjoyed good health, good fortune and a long life, which is rare in his time."
TOP, 6 Zhang Kai
Zhang Kai was a poet in the Northern Song Dynasty. He entered the officialdom as the number one scholar and later served as the envoy of the Huanqing Road Economic Strategy. He proposed that Xixia was greedy for profit and feared power. Without punishment, there will be no truce at the border. We should gradually occupy the territory of Xixia, use the ancient method of cutting off the territory of the princes to weaken the opponent and strengthen our own border defense, then send troops to guard its key points, and lead the army to attack Xixia. Xixia invaded many times, but Zhang Kai defeated them all, effectively curbing Xixia's eastward invasion.
In 1094 AD, troops were sent to Xixia to build fortifications according to the terrain and consolidate border defenses. Conquering a large area of Xixia gave the Song Dynasty the strategic initiative to fight against Xixia. The Xixia army attacked Pingxia City. Zhang Kai defeated his army in three battles at the Hulu River. He made a surprise attack on Tiandu Mountain and captured Weiming Amian, the leader of the Xixia army. The Xixia king was shocked. After accumulating merit, he was promoted to the rank of bachelor of Privy Council, bachelor of Duanming Palace in Longtuge, and advanced to the rank of dazhong dafu.
TOP, 5 Yu Yunwen
Yu Yunwen was a famous minister in the Southern Song Dynasty. He was a scholar in the official department and a scholar in the academy; but it was the quarrying battle that really made Yu Yunwen famous in history. In 1161 AD, Emperor Wanyan Liang of the Jin Dynasty led the main force of the Jin army to cross the Huaihe River and march towards the Yangtze River. The Song army was defeated on the Huaihei front, and the Jin army seemed to be in a deserted territory. As a result, when Yu Yunwen was serving as a military officer to reward his troops for quarrying, he commanded the three armies to defeat Jin Emperor Wanyan Liang. After the quarrying battle, Yu Yunwen gained a high reputation in the Southern Song Dynasty. In the second year after the Battle of Quarry, Yu Yunwen served as the envoy of Sichuan and Shaanxi, and he and General Wu Lin* planned to make progress and recover several prefectures and counties in Shaanxi.
TOP, 4 Jia Sidao
In history, Jia Sidao was a treacherous minister, but who knew that Jia Sidao was extremely popular because of his military exploits? Jia Sidao's famous battle is the unknown battle of Ezhou in history. At that time, Kublai Khan led more than 200,000 Mongolian Eastern Route Army to attack Ezhou, and the situation was critical; but Jia Sidao, as a civil servant, entered the critical Ezhou city to supervise the division. , personally commanded the Ezhou defense battle. Under Jia Sidao's fearless command, Kublai Khan failed to capture Ezhou in the end. Even Kublai Khan had to admit Jia Sidao's military talent and said with emotion: "I am as safe as Sidao." Use it." It is unclear whether Jia Sidao was a loyal minister or a traitor, because he offended too many dignitaries during his reign.
TOP, 3 Fan Zhongyan
Fan Zhongyan is not only a famous writer in history, but also an outstanding thinker, politician, and military strategist. When Fan Zhongyan was guarding the northwest, he changed the old army system, trained in divisions, and took turns to defend against the enemy. At the same time, he built Qingjian City and Pucheng City as military bases to save border expenses, and conquered the Qiang people with kindness and power. Later, they defeated the Xixia army many times and turned defeat into victory. While Fan Zhongyan was guarding the northwest, Xixia King Yuanhao was forced to surrender to the Northern Song Dynasty, and the Xixia army did not dare to easily invade the area under Fan Zhongyan's jurisdiction. Unfortunately, Fan Zhongyan was demoted from Beijing after presiding over the Qingli New Deal, and thus began his career as a scholar.
TOP, 2 Li Gang
Li Gang was a famous official in the late Northern Song Dynasty. He served as Taichang Shaoqing. During the reign of Emperor Qinzong of the Song Dynasty, he was awarded the rank of Minister of the Ministry of War and Minister Youcheng. When the Jin soldiers invaded Bianjing, he served as the guardian of the four walls of the capital and was responsible for the defense of Bianjing. Li Gang led Kaifeng's army and civilians to complete the defensive deployment in time, went to the city in person to supervise the battle, and defeated the Jin soldiers. Jin Shuai Wanyanzong saw that it was difficult to attack Kaifeng, so he resorted to a trick to induce surrender. The Song court was filled with an atmosphere of humiliating surrender. Li Gang was dismissed from office by Emperor Qinzong of the Song Dynasty because he firmly opposed the request for peace from the Jin Dynasty. If Li Gang had not been dismissed from office, there might not have been the subsequent "Jingkang Disaster", which was a pity.
TOP, 1 Zongze
Zongze was a famous minister in the late Northern Song Dynasty, but some people say that he was a famous general in the Northern Song Dynasty. When Zong Zeguan came to Cizhou to know the state, the Jin soldiers went south to attack the Song Dynasty. Zong Ze was upright and forthright, and Shen Yi knew the military. After taking office, he actively repaired the city walls, rectified weapons, recruited volunteers, and collected food and wages. Soon, he was granted the title of General Manager of the Hebei Volunteer Army and led his army to repel the invading Jin soldiers. In 1126 AD, Jin soldiers surrounded Kaifeng again, and Emperor Qinzong appointed Kang Wang Zhao Gou as the general marshal of the army and Zongze as his deputy division. Zongze led his army towards Ligudu, encountered an enemy on the way and defeated them greatly.
In 1127 AD, Zongze led his army to Kaide and won all thirteen battles with the enemy. Later, he stayed in Tokyo and learned about Kaifeng Mansion. He recruited Wang Shan, Yang Jin and other rebels to assist in the defense. He also contacted Lianghe "Eight Character Army" and other departments to coordinate the fight against the Jin Dynasty. He also used Yue Fei as his general and repeatedly defeated the Jin army. The Jin people were afraid of Zongze and called him "Grandpa Zong". During his stay in Tokyo, Zongze wrote to Emperor Gaozong and Zhaogou more than 20 times, urging the return of the capital to Tokyo and formulating a strategy to recover the Central Plains, but none of them were adopted. He shouted "cross the river" three times before his death and died.
I really admire the literati in the Northern Song Dynasty, especially those between the Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty. Their fearless spirit of serving the country and the people is really admirable.
When the country was in crisis, they stepped forward and did better than the military generals at that time. This is the true character of scholars; but in fact, because the emperor at that time was too weak and incompetent, these people could only be full of enthusiasm. All in vain, alas...