Sima Guang, who spent 19 years compiling the monumental work "Zizhi Tongjian", was a scholar at the university, but he was not a political scholar. Although Wang Anshi's reforms, which began in the Song Dynasty, had his historical limitations, later scholars believed that Wang Anshi's reforms had achieved the goal of enriching the country and strengthening the army to a certain extent. Wang Shao led his troops to win the great victory of the Xihe River, and the result of the battle was a rare victory in foreign wars since Taizong of the Song Dynasty, and the recovery of five states and the expansion of land by 2,000 miles are evident.
Wang Anshi's theory of "the sky is not enough to be afraid, the ancestors are not enough to be afraid, and the words of people are not compassionate" represented the advanced thinking at that time. However, this idea was resolutely opposed by Sima Guang, who was conservative and stubborn. Sima Guang spent his whole life opposing Wang Anshi's changed law, and for his stubborn approach, as a literary master and politician of the same era, Su Shi has always held opposing opinions, believing that Wang Anshi's law is not useless, but the stubborn Sima Guang believes that Su Shi is Wang Anshi's new party, and Su Shi is to blame for being exiled Sima Guang for the second time.
In the second year of the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty (1069 AD), the successor emperor Zhao Ji had reached the time when it was necessary to reform in view of the severe situation of the empire, so he decided to appoint Wang Anshi, the prefect of Jiangning, who had been advocating reform since Renzong, as the governor of the government, and appointed Wang Anshi as the prime minister in the second year.
The main purpose of Wang Anshi's reform is to enrich the country and strengthen the army, and to restrain the powerful and powerful. The content of its changes involves various aspects, such as the Law of Equal Loss, the Law of Green Seedlings, the Law of Exemption from Servitude, as well as the Law of Placing Generals, and the Law of Protecting the Armor, all of which are reforms of the accumulated disadvantages of the Great Song Empire one by one.
Wang Anshi's reforms were out of public interest, but because of his paranoid character, there were many people he used, so many of his reforms became harmful to the people. Zheng Xia's painting of "Wandering People" for Emperor Shenzong is a true reflection of the tragic experience of the people after the reform of the law at that time. This painting made Emperor Shenzong sideways, and thus stopped Wang Anshi's somewhat radical reforms.
Sima Guang had been opposed to any of Wang Anshi's reforms since his reforms. Under the opposition of the old guards represented by him, Wang Anshi's reforms were partially suspended after only five years. With the death of Emperor Shenzong, Emperor Zhezong was young and temporarily regented by Empress Dowager Xuanrengao. Empress Dowager Gao has always admired Sima Guang, so she appointed him as prime minister.
After Sima Guang became prime minister, everything was against Wang Anshi's way, regardless of the rights and wrongs of Wang Anshi's reform, and Wang Anshi's law was abolished.
Sima Guang thought that he knew people and knew people, and Cai Jing, who was the prime minister of Huizong at the time, was super promoted because of his appreciation, which laid the root of the Northern Song Dynasty's demise.
Since ancient times, China's ** has always been either/or, throughout more than 2,000 years of feudal history, only King Qin Huiwen killed Shang Yang has not changed its law, and there are few people who do not change the policies of the previous dynasty, and most of these changes are suspected of overkill.