Sima Guang hated Wang Anshi, and all the territory was sent to Western Xia
Sima Guang, a famous minister of the Northern Song Dynasty, devoted his life to the prosperity of the Song Dynasty. His "Zizhi Tongjian" has been circulated to this day, and is deeply loved by ancient literati and writers, and modern experts and scholars have highly praised it.
However, this highly respected celebrity almost became a thief. He abolished all of Wang Anshi's reforms, and even planned to return the territory that Wang Anshi had laid for the Song Dynasty to Western Xia.
So, what was the deep hatred between Sima Guang and Wang Anshi that led him to make such a decision?
Sima Guang and Wang Anshi: Different Positions, Divergent Views Sima Guang and Wang Anshi, two famous ministers of the Northern Song Dynasty, although the two had a close relationship, their political positions were very different.
Sima Guang was a representative of the conservative faction, and he advocated steady rule, while Wang Anshi advocated radical reform, and the two had diametrically opposed views, which naturally led to a contradiction. During the reign of Song Shenzong, Wang Anshi was put to great use, and he carried out a sweeping reform of the old system of the Song dynasty.
However, Sima Guang was opposed to these reforms, believing that only a steady rule could lead to a stable society. Although the two had great differences in political positions, their talents and contributions were highly praised by posterity.
Sima Guang's Zizhi Tongjian is known as a "masterpiece of historiography", and Wang Anshi's changes had a profound impact on the politics and economy of the Song Dynasty.
Sima Guang repeatedly tried his best to oppose it, but his voice never attracted enough attention from Song Shenzong, so he chose to resign from his position in the court and devote himself to local governance.
Although his heart was full of disappointment, he never gave up his political ideas, but instead focused more on the study of Wang Anshi's reforms, hoping to one day overturn this reform and lay the foundation for the long-term peace and stability of the Song Dynasty.
However, history was not what he expected, and the result of abolishing Wang Anshi's reform law plunged the Song Dynasty into an irreparable abyss. This fact deeply saddened Sima Guang, but it also strengthened his conviction and determined to take this as a lesson and continue to make his own contribution to the stability and development of the country.
In the face of the constant provocations of the Western Xia, the Song Dynasty faced serious challenges. In order to resist the invasion of the Liao State and Western Xia, the Song Dynasty would send a large number of troops to the border to fight every year.
However, the long-term war not only left the Song Dynasty's treasury empty, but also gradually weakened its defensive capabilities, lacking sufficient military pay and rations to support the army's fighting. In this dilemma, Wang Anshi proposed to solve the problem by reforming and changing the law, but his proposal was not taken seriously at first.
It was not until Song Shenzong succeeded to the throne that Wang Anshi's changes were truly implemented. Song Shenzong realized that Wang Anshi's changes could make the Song Dynasty gradually move from weakness to strength.
In the Great Song Dynasty, only a sufficient treasury could support the army's expeditions to the Liao State and Western Xia,** these foreign races, and perhaps even received tribute. After the treasury was replenished, the first task was to expand the territory.
At that time, the Liao Kingdom, Western Xia and Tubo were like three circular barriers, surrounding the Song Dynasty. The strategy proposed by Wang Shao, who followed Wang Anshi's reforms, could not only sever the connection between Western Xia and Tibet, but also put Western Xia in an isolated and helpless situation, which was undoubtedly an excellent strategy for recovering the two states of Hehuang.
Wang Anshi judged the situation, played Song Shenzong and got approval, and then Song Shenzong personally summoned and appointed Wang Shao to take charge of the plan to recover the two states of Hehuang. The two states of Hehuang were under the control of the Tibetans at that time, and recovering them required a war with the Western Xia and the Tibetans.
Conservative Sima Guang and others strongly opposed Wang's reconquest plan, believing that such a move would undermine the peaceful and prosperous Song dynasty and bring untold chaos.
Despite the strong opposition of the conservatives, due to Song Shenzong's trust in Wang Anshi, the Song army finally decided to go to Hehuang to engage in a fierce battle with the Tibetans. This battle lasted for many years, and Wang Shao lived up to expectations, successfully leading the army of the Song Dynasty to defeat Tubo, repel Western Xia, and recover five cities including Hehuang Erzhou.
This victory allowed the Song Dynasty to expand its territory by two thousand miles, and it succeeded in encircling the Western Xia under its control, and even if the Western Xia was a dragon, it could not escape the Song Dynasty's grasp.
Song Shenzong personally led hundreds of civil and military officials to welcome Wang Shao's army that had returned from the battlefield in triumph. This victory not only aroused the fighting spirit of all the soldiers of the Song Dynasty, but also taught a stern lesson to the Tibetans and Western Xia, severing their contacts.
Now, both forces are forced by the situation to dare not confront the Song Dynasty alone. The Song dynasty only had to stick to the status quo to ensure that Western Xia and Tibet could not pose a threat.
Wang Shao's victory brought Wang Anshi's reform to a climax, but the conservatives jointly played at this time, demanding that the change be stopped and Wang Anshi be dismissed. Even Sima Guang, who had been released from outside, wrote a letter to Wang Anshi, urging him to stop changing the law and not to carry out reforms.
In the letter, Sima Guang reminded Wang Anshi that his reforms exploited the common people in disguise and seriously damaged the interests of ** and the common people. In addition, he warned Wang Anshi that his changes would provoke the enemies of the Song dynasty and disrupt their peaceful life.
Despite these oppositions and warnings, Wang Anshi resolutely carried out his changes. He wrote back to Sima Guang and said that his goal was for the future generations of the Great Song Dynasty.
Unswayed by short-term difficulties, Wang Anshi believed that it was only through reforms that the Song dynasty could prosper. His determination and belief became the pillar of the reform, and it also enabled the reform to continue to move forward in the face of difficulties.
After receiving Wang Anshi's letter, Sima Guang was furious and immediately replied to a letter with the same views as the previous letter. After Wang Anshi read it, he directly burned the letter in the incense burner and said to his cronies: "If the words don't agree, there is no need to say more." ”
This time, Wang Anshi did not reply. Sima Guang did not receive a reply for a long time, and wrote to Wang Anshi again to state his worries and exhortations to the Great Song Dynasty, but Wang Anshi did not disassemble it and burned it directly.
Since then, Sima Guang has been disheartened by Wang Anshi and has never exchanged letters.
The stability of the Song Dynasty was shattered by Sima Guang, and after the death of Song Shenzong, the new emperor ascended the throne, but at the age of ten, he was unable to preside over the government himself. So Empress Dowager Gao took over power, and she was closely connected with the conservatives, so she naturally became the leader of the conservatives.
The conservatives** jointly submitted a letter to the Empress Dowager Gao, asking the court to reuse Sima Guang and remove Wang Anshi. Soon after, the new emperor issued a special decree to recall Sima Guang and named him prime minister.
After Sima Guang became prime minister, the Song Dynasty immediately underwent earth-shaking changes. He carried out a series of reforms and reforms, which brought a new atmosphere to the Song Dynasty.
Sima Guang, with the support of conservatives, abolished all of Wang Anshi's reforms, and none of them were spared, which is enough to see how much he disliked Wang Anshi's changes. Those who supported Wang's reforms were not spared, either demoted or dismissed, all frustrated by conservative repression.
Wang Anshi, who had lost the support of Song Shenzong, could only watch as the situation he had worked so hard to build was completely destroyed by Sima Guang.
Wang Anshi lost support in the capital and was forced to go to the local area to do **. His reform lasted only fifteen years before being abolished by Sima Guang, who also demanded that the Song Dynasty return the 2,000-mile territory it had opened up to Western Xia.
In the court, there was a lot of debate about the return of the territory. Sima Guang insisted that the land and cities that were snatched from the Western Xia were ill-gotten gains and belonged to the old Western Xia department. He feared that if it was not returned, it would lead to resentment in the Western Xia, triggering another war and bringing disaster to the Song Dynasty and the people.
Although his ideas were supported by conservatives, they even advocated the return of the land he had conquered during Wang Anshi's reign to Western Xia, calling his conquest of Western Xia and Tibet immoral.
The two states of Hehuang have been the old land of the Han and Tang dynasties since ancient times, and after the fall of the Han and Tang dynasties, they were occupied by Tubo and Western Xia. The soldiers of the Song Dynasty fought bloodily to recover the five cities, why did they give up now?
Is there a precedent for this in the past dynasties? Sima Guang was speechless in the face of questioning. The officials of the feudal territory knelt down to the new emperor and the empress dowager Gao to express their feelings, worried about the possible consequences of this move. In that year, the Tang Dynasty was caught off guard by the Tubo Dynasty because of the loss of Hehuang and Erzhou, and the Tubo took advantage of the loopholes to enter Guanzhong and Chang'an, and the Tang Dynasty was caught off guard.
Could it be that the Song Dynasty wanted to repeat the tragedy of the Tang Dynasty again? When the two states of Hehuang were returned, Empress Dowager Gao thought that the feudal officials were reasonable, so she issued an order not to return the lost land to Western Xia.
Despite this, Sima Guang still insisted on his political opinions, played many times, and finally persuaded the Empress Dowager Gao to return only the two states of Hehuang to Western Xia, and the remaining four cities were all returned.
After learning this news, Wang Anshi immediately went to the table to warn the Song Dynasty that the monarch of the Song Dynasty had been careful and that since ancient times, there had never been a precedent for returning territory. However, the letter failed to reach the Song monarch and was intercepted by conservative traitors.
In the end, Wang Anshi could only look at the territory that the soldiers had worked so hard to build, and was completely handed over to Western Xia by Sima Guang.
Wang Anshi could only look up to the sky and sigh: "Is this the day that wants to destroy the Great Song Dynasty?" How many soldiers have had their blood and sweat to buy the territory, and it has been returned in vain, aren't they afraid that these heroic souls who died on the battlefield will ask for their lives? ”
Today's reformers have long since been wiped out, and there are few supporters to compete with Sima Guang's conservatives. Since Sima Guang became the prime minister, he has been fighting against Wang Anshi's reforms, and as long as Wang Anshi's reforms are involved, he will order them to be abolished.
It can be seen that he hates Wang Anshi's reforms to the core. But could Sima Guang's political ideas really bring peace and prosperity to the Song Dynasty? His ideas soon began to be problematic, and the "peace" he fought for for the Song Dynasty was ruthlessly "slapped in the face" by reality.
Although the lost land was returned to the Western Xia, the Western Xia was not grateful for the return of the Song Dynasty, but thought that the Song Dynasty was nothing more than a paper tiger and was afraid of the retaliation of the Western Xia.
Since the regain of the lost territory, the Western Xia's intrusion into the Song Dynasty's borders has become more rampant, putting the Song Dynasty in an even more difficult situation. Sima Guang brought more wars to the Song Dynasty, and the annual military expenditure of the state treasury was hundreds of millions, and the Song Dynasty monarchs were worried about the war day and night.
However, Sima Guang did not realize the danger and continued to wage partisan struggles within the imperial court, not only reusing traitorous ministers, but also severely suppressing Wang Anshi's old subordinates. He no longer focused on how to save the Song Dynasty and change the fortunes of the country, but paid more attention to partisan competition and strengthening his own power.
It can be seen that Sima Guang's hatred for Wang Anshi has reached the point of no return, pushing the Song Dynasty to the abyss of destruction step by step.
At one time, many ancient celebrities regarded Sima Guang as one of the culprits that led to the fall of the Song Dynasty. He was appointed prime minister, but it was considered the greatest failure of the Song dynasty. Wang Anshi had just turned the tide of the Song Dynasty, but Sima Guang had played his good hand to the ground.
This shows that he is no longer working for the prosperity of the Song dynasty, but to consolidate his party. In order to completely disintegrate Wang Anshi's henchmen, he even did not hesitate to act as a thief and glorified it for the peace of the Song Dynasty.
However, instead of bringing peace, his actions caused more chaos. Although Sima Guang was a learned writer and historian, he was clearly unfit to be a politician, and being a politician in the Song dynasty was a disaster for the Song dynasty.