Recently, I brushed up on a paragraph of **, talking about the national hero General Yue Fei, mentioning the past when Yue Fei was recalled by Song Gaozong's twelve gold medals, and believed that if it weren't for Zhao Gou's blind peace, Yue Fei's Northern Expedition would have been successful. So this begs the question, if Song Gaozong really supported Yue Fei at the beginning, would Yue Fei really be able to succeed in the Northern Expedition? If you want to analyze this problem, then you might as well analyze it from multiple angles.
First of all, from the perspective of people, it was impossible for Song Gaozong to support Yue Fei to continue the Northern Expedition. In itself, Zhao Gou's ascension to the throne is unjustifiable. When the Jin army came to attack, Zhao Ji of Song Huizong hurriedly passed the throne to Zhao Heng of Song Qinzong, which was completely a move to throw the pot. However, nominally, Zhao Heng is the emperor of the Eight Classics, which is recognized by the Manchu Dynasty in civil and military affairs, there is no doubt! So how did Zhao Gou become the emperor? It was because of the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty that the emperor's father and the emperor's brother were captured by the Jin army, and the Northern Song Dynasty was leaderless, so they were put on the throne by the ministers, and they were not recognized by the father and brother, and there was no holy decree. If Yue Fei's Northern Expedition is successful, will he welcome back the Second Emperor? When the time comes, will it be Zhao Gou or Zhao Heng who will be the emperor? The matter of Zhu Qizhen and Zhu Qiyu brothers in the Ming Dynasty is the best example! So Song Gaozong has no reason to support Yue Fei, otherwise the emperor doesn't want to do it!
Secondly, how did Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin become the emperor in the first place? Zhao Kuangyin was a martial artist and was carried to the throne of the emperor by his brothers, so he was afraid that this matter would happen again, so he came to a glass of wine to release his military power. Since the Song Dynasty, it has always been to suppress military generals and elevate civil officials, so the Song Dynasty has done its best to produce literati, and most of the well-known military generals have a tragic ending! For example, Di Qing and Yue Fei. At that time, Yue Fei's prestige was extremely high, so even if Yue Fei did not have the heart of disobedience, Zhao Conception thought of the story of his ancestor Zhao Kuangyin, and he had to take precautions! And the emperor gave 12 gold medals before recalling Yue Fei, what does this mean? Why do you want Yue Fei to support the army and stand on your own? I can't command you?
In terms of strength comparison, the Jin State is also far stronger than the Southern Song Dynasty. If we look at the territory map of the Southern Song Dynasty, we can see that the territory of the Northern Song Dynasty itself is not large, and the Western Regions that the Tang Dynasty worked hard to conquer were lost, and the sixteen states of Yanyun were also lost. When it came to the Southern Song Dynasty, it was even lost in Henan, Hebei, Shandong and other regions! These areas are all granaries, but the Southern Song Dynasty gave them all to the enemy! In terms of population, army size and combat effectiveness, the Jin Kingdom far surpassed the Southern Song Dynasty! It is said that it is Yue Fei's Northern Expedition, but in fact, it is not the Northern Expedition to be precise, it should be called resistance, at most it is called counterattack. At that time, the Jin State and the Southern Song Dynasty had signed a peace agreement, but the main battle of the Jin State sent Wan Yan Zongbi, which was the Jin Wushu in the **, killed the Lord and sent Wan Yan Chang, and led the four-way army to the south.
These four Jin troops, the west road was blocked by Wu Lan and others in Guanzhong, the east road was blocked by Han Shizhong in Huaiyang, the east and west roads were slow at the same time, Zong Bi and Li Cheng's attack in Henan was not smooth, Liu Qi won a great victory in Shunchang, and then Yue Fei defeated the Jin army in Yuncheng, and Wang Gui and others also defeated Li Cheng who attacked Luoyang and captured Luoyang. Why is the Jin State Fourth Route Army not progressing well, because the Jin State is in a hurry to attack and is not fully prepared. In addition, at that time, the Southern Song Dynasty was in power by the main battle faction, and not only Yue Fei could fight, but other generals were also very good at fighting. However, among these generals, only Yue Fei's Northern Expedition was the most determined, which was his ambition since childhood. However, when the ambitions of the courtiers are not consistent with the emperor, it is like you are leading your subordinates and you are not of the same mind, how can there be good results? Either the subordinates overturn the leader, or the leader deals with the subordinates.
At that time, the economy of the Southern Song Dynasty was indeed on the verge of collapse under the war, and many places were empty and desolate. In ancient times, agriculture was the foundation, and when wars began, most of the people fled, and when there were no people, no one planted the land, and many people could only starve to death. On the one hand, Song Gaozong considered the aforementioned issue of the throne, and on the other hand, he also considered economic issues. Yue Fei only cares about fighting, but fighting is about money and logistical support, how to solve the problem of grain and grass? In the face of winning the war in which he could not get any benefits and he was still responsible for losing the war, what reason did Song Gaozong have to support Yue Fei? won the battle, Yue Fei became a hero of the Great Song Dynasty, and welcomed back the second emperor, so should he be the emperor? If you lose the battle, you will pay compensation for the land, and everyone will have to scold this emperor for being incompetent!
We have seen in many historical materials that at the beginning, Zhao Gou actually took Yue Fei very seriously, and the wording in the letter to Yue Fei was also quite sincere, but Yue Fei's ability is indeed strong, but his political consciousness is not high, he always likes to work against the leader, and he has also made trouble about the dismissal of officials. Think about it from another perspective, you are a leader, your prestige is not too high, and there is a highly capable subordinate who always calls you out, how should you deal with yourself? Therefore, the Northern Expedition to regain lost territory has always been Yue Fei's ideal, but it has never been Zhao Gou's ideal. Zhao Gou's ideal is to be his emperor in peace, as for the captured father and brother, they can't control it at all! Even if he grovels and humiliates the country every year, as long as he can maintain peace with the Jin country, he is extremely satisfied. But Yue Fei didn't let him be comfortable, in order to realize his ideals, he wanted to kidnap his will, how could he support it?
Yue Fei is patriotic, but if the Northern Expedition is successful, he will also be the master of high merit when the time comes. Zhao Kuangyin's unfulfilled wishes, you Yue Fei can realize them? This is neither realistic nor allowed to be a reality! So when Jin Guo proposed that Yue Fei would be killed if he negotiated peace, Yue Fei's end was doomed! Looking at the entire history of the Song Dynasty, the northern nomads were always on the defensive, which was a natural disadvantage of agricultural civilization. When the Liao State was in the north, it showed weakness to the Liao, and the Jin State replaced the Liao State, and then showed weakness to the Jin State and called the Vassal, and when the Mongols rose, the master changed the Mongols. Chinese people always talk about the Tang and Song dynasties when they talk about history, but in fact, what qualifications does the Song Dynasty have to compare with the Tang Dynasty? Could it be that if there are a few literati who can write poetry, can they not have dignity and national character? People who admire the Song Dynasty are most likely literati, because of the Song Dynasty, the status of literati is unprecedentedly high, and it has been sought after to the point of no return! But in the event of war, do you have to write articles to defend against the enemy?
Therefore, the institutional design of the entire Song Dynasty and the atmosphere of the entire country were destined to make it impossible for Yue Fei to succeed. Song Taizu designed this system, and the starting point was to keep the way. We all know that the expansion of the territory depends on the military generals, and the stability of the country depends on the civil ministers. As soon as the founding of the People's Republic of China, the generals were served, how could Zhao Kuangyin ever have the ambition to expand the territory? Song Taizu is not good, can you expect his descendants to be able to do it? Not to mention that the emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty is not a descendant of Zhao Kuangyin, but a descendant of Zhao Kuangyi! If you want to achieve great things, you must have the right time, place and people. Yue Fei's Northern Expedition had no advantage in time, because the Song Dynasty had always been at a disadvantage and on the defensive, and many Northern Expeditions were defeated. In addition, because Henan, Hebei, Shaanxi and other places have been fighting for many years, it is not realistic to solve the problem of grain and grass on the spot, and it is difficult to expect long-distance transportation in the rear.
The most important thing is that Yue Fei has no one to do! Although Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, and Liu Qi are all on the main station, Yue Fei is different from others. Other people are in the main battle, if Gaozong does not agree, then it is not good to insist anymore, and he still obeys the emperor's orders, but Yue Fei can resist the emperor, and the 12 gold medals are proof! It stands to reason that Yue Fei, the first gold medal, should be the class teacher, so he will not fall behind the later words. If the Lord does not have the support of the boss, no matter what he does, he will not succeed! Although the army has high morale, it will fail in minutes without logistical support! Song Gaozong commanded Yue Fei not to move, and he had already moved his murderous intent at this time! Coupled with the instigation of Jin Guo in the back, Qin Hui and the others below fought and cooperated, wouldn't this have caused a strange injustice through the ages?
Didn't Zhao Gou know that Yue Fei was wronged? Otherwise, why is the charge unwarranted? It's just that because of Yue Fei's prestige, he must be charged with a crime. When Han Shizhong questioned Qin Hui, Qin Hui also said that this was the intention. Yue Fei has been dead for so many years, the world scolds Qin Hui, and he also set up a kneeling statue, why no one scolds Zhao Gou, why not set up a kneeling statue of Zhao Gou? Isn't the truth obvious? There are ministers, but there are no faint kings. Even if the Song Dynasty has been destroyed for hundreds of years, not many people dare to scold Zhao Gou, or completely convict Zhao Gou, why? Confucianism pays attention to the monarch as a minister, and the courtiers can only advise, but they cannot kill the monarch, nor can they blame the monarch! Therefore, Yue Fei could be rehabilitated in the Southern Song Dynasty later, but Zhao Gou's descendants would not dig up Zhao Gou and whip the corpse, isn't this a great rebellion?
Therefore, Zhao Gou would never be able to support Yue Fei's Northern Expedition. From another point of view, if Zhao Gouzhen was blinded by lard and supported Yue Fei's Northern Expedition, according to the comparison of the strength of the Southern Song Dynasty and the Jin State, considering the elongation of the battle line and the change of the battle situation, it would be inevitable to repeat the mistakes of Zhao Kuangyi in the end. In the entire history of China, the realization of great unification has always been from the north to the south, but the first is from the south to the north and has succeeded halfway. In the era of cold weapons, if the Northern Expedition wanted to succeed, it was basically a fool's dream. When Yue Fei went on the Northern Expedition, most of his soldiers were northerners, and they still had the strength to fight. Later, the Song Dynasty basically relied on the southerners as the main force, and its combat effectiveness plummeted. First of all, there is the problem of the system design of the Song Dynasty, emphasizing literature over military force, and then in the era of cold weapons, you look at the difference between the physical conditions of northerners and southerners, how can you win? In terms of weight, height, fighting with cold weapons, cavalry vs. infantry, who do you think can win?