In the long history, the Liao State is significantly different from the previous Xiongnu and Turkic. Both the Xiongnu and the Turks were purely nomadic peoples;Although the Liao State was also a nomadic people, it was engaged in agricultural production at the same time, forming a mixed ethnic group of semi-nomadic and semi-agrarian. This made the Liao state not only have the combat effectiveness of the nomadic people, but also have the stable grain income of the farming people. It is worth mentioning that the rulers of the Liao State proclaimed themselves emperors, rather than the previous khans, Shan Yu, etc., and also established a system modeled on the Central Plains Dynasty, which was far stronger than the previous nomads.
Of course, compared to the Tang and Han dynasties before it, the Song dynasty was relatively weak. One country becomes relatively stronger, while the other is relatively weakened. From an objective point of view, the Tang Dynasty's open-door policy provided an opportunity for ethnic minorities to learn the techniques Xi of the Central Plains Dynasty, which indirectly caused the strength of these ethnic minorities and also led to the difficulty of the Song Dynasty's founding to a large extent. At the time of the establishment of the Song Dynasty, the Liao State had already undergone four generations of monarchs.
In the long history from Liu Bang to Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty has been recovering its national strength because it was built on the ruins of the Qin Dynasty and needed to face a situation of ruins waiting to be rebuilt. In contrast, the Song Dynasty established by Zhao Kuangyin was not built on complete ruins, nor did there be a large-scale rebellion during the Chan throne, and inherited a relatively internally stable state as a whole.
The Song Dynasty's own military capabilities were indeed relatively weak, and compared with feudal regimes such as the Liaojin, the Liao State was indeed stronger than the Xiongnu, Turkic and other tribes. In the face of tribal alliances such as the Xiongnu and Turks, the Han and Tang were able to rely on the Great Wall and other defensive lines, while the Liao State, with a population of nine million, also had a strong Great Wall defensive line. There are almost no expeditions in history that can defeat a dozen or two hundred thousand elite cavalry in a field battle while besieging a city. The strong military strength of the Liao State made it impossible for the Song Dynasty to conquer the north.
Zhao Kuangyin was the easiest of all the founding emperors to build a country, he went on his first expedition and ascended the throne as emperor after returning five times, and basically did not experience wars and bloody killings, except for the special exception of the Han Tong family. In contrast, even Guo Wei, the idol of Zhao Kuangyin, who usurped the throne, only usurped the throne after leading the army back to the capital. Yang Jian usurped the throne only after he had seized the power of the ministers and the military. And Zhao Kuangyin's usurpation of the throne was too easy for him to lack sufficient authority, so he had to strengthen the imperial power, reduce military power, and carry out military reforms. However, the lack of strong generals led to a discount in the combat effectiveness of the Song Dynasty's army.
Zhao Kuangyin once took refuge in Guo Wei and was quite familiar with Guo Wei's series of political methods. However, Guo Wei performed even better, and among the young generals who followed Guo Wei to cut the yellow flag at that time, there may be a young Zhao Kuangyin who was also in the fun. Zhao Kuangyin's later actions were even more extreme, and he directly put on a yellow robe. The first task of the usurping leadership is to clean up internal affairs and consolidate their position. As a result of Zhao Kuangyin's wandering, he was blocked abroad, and was finally forced to reinstate Chai Zongxun. Li Yuan has his own Taiyuan team, and he is not afraid of the backyard**, so that Li Shimin can win on various battlefields, and finally have the confidence to capture the two kings in one battle.
The Song Dynasty was never a unified regime, and the Liao State was the most powerful and self-proclaimed orthodox state in China compared to the situation at the time. When Zhao Kuangyin put on the yellow robe, the Liao State had been established for more than 50 years, and the Song Dynasty was still one of the second-level secession regimes, and the balance of military power between the two countries was barely achieved until the Liao and Song dynasties were established. The reason why the Song dynasty was unable to capture the Northern Han was mainly due to the inability to defeat the Liao state. The reason why Zhao Guangyi was finally able to capture the Northern Han was because he successfully repelled the Liao reinforcements and blockaded Taiyuan. Zhao Kuangyin's political design was basically reasonable, he pursued both civil and military skills, and had enough prestige to suppress the military (as evidenced by the release of military power with a glass of wine). However, the unexpected death caused Zhao Guangyi to lack sufficient military prestige in foreign wars to suppress the army, which eventually led to the result of extremism.
For the headquarters of the Liao lord, the threat of the Song people was still quite large. Once the Song Dynasty was lucky and defeated the Liao people once, the Liao lord would not be able to bear the consequences of defeat, because this would lead to an imbalance of power within the Liao state, which would be absolutely unfavorable to the Liao lord. Therefore, the Liao people continued to promote peace with small-scale wars until the signing of the Lanyuan Alliance. This pact was made possible because neither the monarchs of the Song and Liao countries (the empress dowager) could afford the consequences of defeat and had to seek a peaceful solution.
Epilogue. The difference between the Liao State and the previous generations of nomads, as well as the difficult process of the founding of the Song and Liao dynasties, constitute a bright chapter in Chinese history. During this period of history, regime change, civil and military disputes, and diplomatic disputes were intertwined, planting many seeds for later evolution. In this period of history, we have seen the contests between different peoples and dynasties, as well as the political wisdom and military courage they showed in different eras.
This article profoundly explores the differences between the Liao State and the previous generations of nomads, as well as the historical background of the founding of the Song and Liao States. First of all, the paper compares the Liao State with the Xiongnu, the Turkic and other pure nomadic peoples in bright language, highlighting the unique mixed characteristics of the Liao State of semi-nomadism and semi-farming. Such characteristics not only brought the fighting power of the nomads to the Liao State, but also endowed the farming people with a stable grain income, making their strength far greater than that of the previous nomads.
The author's analysis of the difficulties of the founding of the Song and Liao countries is also quite insightful. In the article, the relative ease of restoring national strength in the Tang and Han dynasties is compared with that of Zhao Kuangyin, highlighting the differences in the development of productive forces in different eras. Through this comparison, readers can better understand the complex situation faced by the Song Dynasty when it was founded, as well as the historical context behind it.
In discussing Zhao Kuangyin's usurpation of the throne and the subsequent political turmoil, the article emphasizes the negative impact of the lack of authority on the stability of the regime. The article makes a powerful argument for the idea that Zhao Kuangyin usurped the throne easily, thus leading readers to think deeply about the fragility of the political system at that time. In addition, the comparison of the strength of the Song and Liao dynasties, as well as the interpretation of the weak military capabilities of the Song Dynasty, also provide readers with a profound historical understanding.
However, in the analysis of the Lanyuan Alliance, the description of specific historical events in this article is relatively brief, and it may be further expanded in this part to enable readers to more fully understand the impact of the Lanyuan Alliance on Song-Liao relations. In addition, the article believes that Zhao Kuangyin's evaluation of political design is basically reasonable, but it also mentions the issue of his authority. Perhaps it is possible to analyze Zhao Kuangyin's political philosophy in more depth, as well as his challenges and efforts in building authority.
Overall, the article is precise and logical in its discussion of history. Through the comparison between the Liao State and the previous generations of nomads, as well as the in-depth analysis of the difficult process of the Song and Liao nations, readers can better understand the political and military environment at that time. The article's interpretation of historical events has depth, which provokes thinking about the complexity behind history.
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