Di Qing, a famous general in the Northern Song Dynasty, had great military achievements, but he was more wronged than Yue Fei
Why are military generals often despised for killing the enemy and making meritorious contributions? Di Qing, a famous general in the Northern Song Dynasty, didn't want to be a pawn, but he was inevitably excluded by civilian officials.
He seems strong, but his heart is full of fear. Despite his great achievements in the war, why could he not avoid tragedy when the civilian officials calculated him? Let's explore this tragic and touching history together.
Victory. In 959 AD, the Zhou emperor Chai Rong died, and his seven-year-old son Chai Zongxun ascended the throne. Chai Zongxun is a general who leads the army, and it is a good time to take power. However, Zhao Kuangyin, who was in charge of guarding at that time, did not want to seize the throne as people imagined. It was not until Zhao Kuangyin's younger brother Zhao Pu organized an uprising and forced Zhao Kuangyin to ascend the throne that the Song Dynasty began to be established.
After Zhao Kuangyin ascended the throne, he was very worried about the danger of the generals. In order to prevent trouble, he took a series of measures to weaken the power of the generals. One of the most important measures was the appointment of a large number of civilian officials to check and balance the generals. As a result, the status of civil officials in the Song Dynasty continued to improve, while the status of military generals gradually weakened. In this context, Di Qing's life can be described as ups and downs, but in the end, he could not escape the tragic fate of being captured by civilian officials.
Di Qing was born in an ordinary military family, and due to his poor family, he was forced to give up the road of the imperial examination and embarked on the road of a wealthy family. When his brother made a mistake and was punished, Di Qing stepped forward, had the courage to take responsibility, and put pen to paper to protect his family and defend the country. When Li Yuanhao rebelled in Western Xia, Di Qing immediately put pen to paper, took the lead, and made many military exploits. He was not afraid of a strong enemy, and he was hit by eight arrows, but he still insisted on fighting, and finally won a great victory.
On the battlefield, Di Qing always takes the lead. In every battle, he was the first to enter the enemy line, fighting alongside many others. Even if he was wounded by an arrow, he did not flinch and continued to fight bravely. His bravery instilled great courage in the soldiers, causing them to rush to fight after him. Di Qing's leadership led to the victory of the Song army.
The wise minister promoted him to the rank of special adviser.
After the Western Xia rebellion was quelled, Di Qing returned to the capital. Yin Su, the magistrate at the time, admired Di Qing's military talents and recommended him to the powerful ministers Han Qi and Fan Zhongyan. Han Qi was impressed by Di Qing's talent, and Fan Zhongyan personally taught him to read, calling him"Prodigy"。With the assistance of the two virtuous ministers, Di Qing gradually rose through the ranks, and eventually became the privy envoy and the supreme commander of the forbidden army.
During the reign of Emperor Yu, there was a barbarian rebellion in Guangyuan Mansion. After receiving the order to quell the rebellion, Di Qing immediately led his troops out and quickly put down the rebellion. After his triumphant return, Song Renzong valued Di Qing very much and rewarded him with the most luxurious mansion in the capital. Di Qing seems to have become a generation of famous generals.
Yin Su was a good friend of the advisor Song Renzong. He saw that Di Qing had outstanding military talents, so he recommended them to Han Qi and Fan Zhongyan, two important ministers. Han Qi is an honest person and is good at discovering talents, and he also praised Di Qing after the meeting.
Fan Zhongyan personally taught Di Qing, broadening his intellectual horizons and enabling him to gain profound knowledge beyond the military realm. Under the careful teaching of the two virtuous ministers, Di Qing gradually rose step by step, and finally became the highest level of the forbidden army's **-privy envoy.
Civilian ** organizations are transferred to the outside world and cut off ties with each other.
But the good times didn't last long, and Di Qing caused *** dissatisfaction. Wen Yanbo, the head of the Wen Dynasty, feared that Di Qing's military exploits and the support of the army would make him a contender for power in the imperial court. Therefore, Wen Yanbo planned to slander Di Qing in front of Song Renzong and make Song Renzong question his loyalty.
Wen Yanbo first suggested to Renzong that Di Qing be transferred to the feudal town on the grounds that the soldiers supported Di Qing. Subsequently, he used Zhao Kuangyin's coveting the throne because of his military exploits to further attack Renzong's confidence in Di Qing. As a result, Di Qing was forced to leave the capital and was transferred to the border domain.
The reason why Di Qing caused Wen Yanbo's fear was because he not only had outstanding military achievements, but also had the support of his soldiers. Wen Yanbo feared that he would threaten the emperor's power and seize the government. Therefore, he planned to order Di Qing to guard the border pass first, so that the emperor would not trust him.
He also studied the history of Taizu, who feared that Di Qing would follow Taizu's example and covet the throne because of his service in the foreign army. This made the emperor suspicious of Di Qing, and he had to follow Wen Yanbo's advice and move Di Qing out of the capital.
Di Qing tried to persuade him to retract his fate.
When Di Qing learned of the emperor's decision, his heart was full of injustice. He wrote a letter to the emperor, saying that he was not proud of his achievements, but only wanted to serve the emperor with all his heart. He felt that his transfer to the border tribe seemed to be far away, which made him very sad. He begged the emperor to retract his mandate and give him a clear explanation.
However, Wen Yanbo had already prepared to slander Di Qing in front of the emperor again. He euphemistically said that Taizu was also a courtier of Zhou Shizong, and later Zhou Shizong rebelled and usurped the throne. Hearing these extremely touching words, the emperor deepened his suspicions about Di Qing and insisted on transferring him away. Di Qing had no choice but to leave the capital in tears and go to the border pass.
He died of fear and despair.
After Di Qing left the capital, Wen Yanbo once again aroused suspicion between Di Qing and the emperor. He suggested that the emperor send people to comfort her every month, which was actually a form of control. As a result, Di Qing was restricted everywhere and lived in fear.
A famous general with great military achievements, but he became the object of suspicion and fear of the emperor day and night. Under this psychological pressure, Di Qing's body deteriorated, and finally ended in failure in less than half a year.
Wen Yanbo finally achieved his goal, but he was not a victim of such calculations, but only a slave to power.
The practice of civil officials in the Northern Song Dynasty suppressing military generals made strong neighbors unable to stand on their own feet, which eventually led to chaos in the world. However, we must respect the memory of Di Qing and other loyal ministers and good generals, and we must not negate their dedication because of their end. The torrent of history will always wash away**, and justice and light will eventually prevail**.
After Di Qing became a border vassal, Wen Yanbo took the opportunity to further slander him in front of the emperor. He offered to send messengers every month"Comfort"Di Qing, but in fact he was monitoring Di Qing's every move. As a result, the envoy sent by the emperor became Di Qing's overseer. Every time they visited, Di Qing feared that they would bring orders to purge him.
Di Qing knew that Wen Yanbo was the mastermind behind the scenes, but he couldn't do anything about it. The only thing he could do was to treat each envoy carefully, for fear of offending them, exposing himself, and dying with no place to bury. However, due to Di Qing's long-term life in panic, his mood gradually decreased, and his whole person became weak and powerless. Finally, under long-term mental pressure, her body collapsed and ended in failure.
He was a loyal and patriotic general, but an insidious conspiracy took his life. Before his death, Di Qing must have remembered the fierceness of the battle, the support of the soldiers and his fierce loyalty to the country. He must have thought that he had died a decent death, and he only hated that he could no longer serve the imperial court. Although his end was tragic, history will never forget his loyalty.
The practice of civil officials in the Northern Song Dynasty suppressing military generals made it impossible for strong neighbors to stand on their own feet, which eventually led to chaos in the world. However, we must respect the memory of Di Qing and other loyal ministers and good generals, and we must not negate their dedication because of their end. The torrent of history will always wash away**, and justice and light will eventually prevail**.
The Northern Song Dynasty's policy of emphasizing civil affairs over military force led to a decline in the status of military generals, and civilian officials manipulated the government. This leads to an inefficient use of external forces and a lack of vigilance against the enemy. When a powerful enemy approached from the north, the civilian officials were powerless and plunged into a crisis.
The contribution of Di Qing and other generals to the country is undeniable, because their end was tragic. It was because of their bravery and loyalty that the Northern Song Dynasty was able to enjoy a precious period of peace. Although they were eventually punished by the law, the actions of these civil and military generals could not escape the judgment of history. No matter how it changes, historical justice will be served.