Chapter 219 Attracting World Attention

The sun and the moon reopened the Song Dynasty, which actually refers to the leader of the Red Turban Army in the late Yuan Dynasty, the Little Ming King Han Liner, who re-established the Song Dynasty.

Of course, this Han Song Dynasty had no inheritance relationship with the previous Zhao Song Dynasty. It is precisely because of this that it is called "Reopening the Great Song Dynasty", which means rebuilding the Song Dynasty and traditional Chinese civilization.

Because Han Lin'er was the Little Ming King, the sun and the moon were used to represent him, and it did not refer to the Ming Dynasty that later usurped the Song Dynasty.

The Song Dynasty regime established by the Little Ming King lasted for a very short time, but it represented the Han people's longing for their homeland at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.

Later, Zhu Baba murdered the Song emperor and usurped the throne, and the Han-Song regime died young.

To a certain extent, the existence of the Han Song regime was a banner for the people of the Central Plains to resist the tyranny of the Mongols at that time, and made an indelible contribution to expelling the Mongols and restoring the Han Dynasty.

Zhu Baba, who was a subordinate of the Han Song regime, established the Ming Dynasty by means of seizing power and usurping the throne, and his accession to the throne was not legitimate.

What’s funny is that some Ming fans don’t even understand the most basic history, yet they still mock Zhao Da for wearing the yellow robe.

But at least Zhao Da was a loyal and honest man, and treated the Chai clan with great favor. Zhu Baba's Ming Dynasty, on the other hand, was built entirely on the bloodshed of the Han and Song dynasties. Emperor Han Lin'er of Song was ruthlessly murdered.

Sima Wengong always kept the people in his heart, and the people regarded Sima Wengong as their parents! Sima Guang worked hard for the people day and night.

"Guang has been in power for over a year, and half of that time he was ill. He always wanted to devote himself to the country, and he personally handled all affairs, working day and night. When his guests saw his frail body, they said, 'Zhuge Kongming punished everyone over 20 people personally, which led to his illness. You must be careful.' Guang said, 'Life and death are fate. Work hard for it.' When he became seriously ill, he was no longer aware of his own thoughts, and his words were like those in a dream, but they were all about the affairs of the court and the world."

After Sima Guang's death, the people of the Song Dynasty were deeply saddened. Who is the true sage of China and who is the person worthy of respect? The people's attitude is the answer.

"When he died, the people of the capital all closed their shops to come and pay their respects. They painted his portrait, printed it, and sold it. Some painters became wealthy. When he was buried, tens of thousands of people came from all directions, mourning him as if he were their own family. Su Shi once discussed the reason why Guang moved people's hearts and moved heaven and earth, and he summed it up with two words: sincerity and unity."

"When the common people heard of his death, they closed their shops and went to offer their condolences, selling their clothes to pay tribute, weeping through the streets, and carriages and canopies numbered tens of thousands. The people of the capital drew his portrait, printed it, and sold it. Every family kept a copy and prayed for it whenever they ate or drank."

"Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Volume 65": Jiong Fan defeated the Western Qiang, beheaded more than 38,600 people, captured tens of thousands of people alive, and 8 million horses, cattle and sheep. More than 10,000 people surrendered, and more than 400 soldiers were killed.

The Hundred Years' War between the Han and Qiang was brought to an end by General Duan Xing, a hard-line general. Upon learning that the Qiang people in the northwest were again engaged in burning, killing, and looting, he flew into a rage and led thousands of soldiers into the northwest to commit genocide against the Qiang.

Duan Xing believed the Qiang were unyielding and could only pacify the northwest by beheading them all. So he led his troops over 2,000 miles beyond the Great Wall, reaching Jishi Mountain. He beheaded and burned the Qiang commander, He, and over 10,000 of his men. Encountering rebellious Qiang tribes along the way, he slaughtered them all and looted their horses, cattle, and sheep. Duan Xing spent several years in the northwest, beheading 60,000 Qiang soldiers and seizing over 8 million horses, cattle, and sheep. His brutal, genocidal tactics earned him the nickname "King of Killing" among the Qiang people.

1000 years later, when Sima Guang of the Song Dynasty saw this information, he was furious and almost fainted. So he criticized it in Zizhi Tongjian: He believed that although the Qiang people were barbarians, they were also human beings. As long as they were treated with kindness, the Qiang people would naturally return to him.

How could they be treated as mere animals and slaughtered? This is not what a nation of propriety would do. Duan Xing's massacre of the Qiang soldiers was unbelievable, and Duan Xing was not a gentleman. Sima Guang, it must be said, had foresight and clearly saw the contradictions underlying the Qiang rebellion. He believed that if the barbarians were educated through kindness, they would naturally return to their cause, and peace would prevail.

"Continued Zizhi Tongjian, Long Edition, Volume 20" states: "Hundreds of thousands of soldiers, armed with bows and arrows, arrayed before the imperial carriage, crouched in armor and fired at each other. Arrows rained down on the walls of Taiyuan like hedgehog hairs. Every time the emperor issued an edict, he would allocate millions of arrows to the army, but they would be consumed in an instant. He captured prisoners who claimed to have arrows shot in the market in the northern Han capital, exchanging them for ten coins each. He collected over a million arrows and stored them. The emperor laughed and said, "These arrows are stored for me!" When the city surrendered, he seized all of them.

"Song History Military Volume 1" So the emperor ordered the Secretariat and the Privy Council to discuss the matter. The Privy Council reported: The total number of troops registered in the Kaibao period was 378,000, and the imperial army had 193,000 cavalry and infantry;

Records show that Zhao Kuangyin left behind 370,000 regular troops. Later, Wuyue and Qingyuan Army surrendered to the Song Dynasty. Wuyue had a population of 550,000 households and 110,000 soldiers, and Qingyuan Army also had 20,000 soldiers. That is to say, when Song Taizong destroyed the Northern Han Dynasty, there were nearly 500,000 regular troops in the country.

When Zhao Kuangyin personally led the expedition against Northern Han, Southern Han and Southern Tang had not yet been destroyed. The combined population of the two countries was more than 800,000 households, with at least more than 100,000 soldiers and horses, or even more. That is to say, when Zhao Kuangyin personally led the expedition against Northern Han, the total military strength of the Song Dynasty was only more than 200,000, far less than when Emperor Taizong of Song destroyed Northern Han.

How could the Later Zhou Dynasty fight a protracted war with the Khitan with its national strength, material resources, and military power at the time? The Khitan could have easily worn the Later Zhou Dynasty out. Even if the Later Zhou Dynasty managed to take Youyun in a quick battle, it would have had the money to build a defense line in Youyun, to station a large number of troops there, or to confront the Khitan there.

He has nothing, and what's the point of playing M? Besides, the generals of the Later Zhou Dynasty, with the exception of Zhao Da, were basically trash. In the Battle of Xinzhou, 10,000 men were taught a lesson by 3,000 Khitan soldiers. A general was even killed in the battle. With this level of skill, how could he be expected to fight against the main force of the Khitan?

Besides, you said that the Sleeping King was incompetent, but he strengthened the defense of Youyun three times and stationed a large number of troops. What you called the civil unrest in Liao was just a very small-scale coup. The rebel leaders didn't even have military power. How could they mess up the Khitan?

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!