Hello, this is a journey of civilization. Welcome to travel back to 1010 AD. It was three years after Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty surrendered and Liao Shengzong was unified for twenty-eight years. In this year, the Song Dynasty had a great event. The emperor had a son, which was amazing.Yes.In fact, Song Zhenzong had five sons before, but it was a pity that he could not raise them.Regarding the medical conditions of that era, you must know that Emperor Zhenzong was no longer young at this time, he was 42 years old.According to the experience of their old sister Zhao, do you count the first two emperors of the Song Dynasty?Taizu lived for 49 years and Emperor Taizong lived for 57 years, so can Zhenzong, who is 42 years old, not be anxious?At this time, he has to find a successor. Whether he can personally train the successor and take over in the future is a question.

Come.So in the last episode, we said that one of the reasons for Song Zhenzong's great efforts to establish Yu Qing Dynasty was to ask God to bless him to have a son, and the eldest sister could not object. This is the reason.Then we have to understand some of the ancients in this regard. The ancients of China did not think about things every day like us modern people. They lived in the present and felt happy. The ancients lived in a long chain of time.Well, what about you?If you live a good life in this life, what would you call it?Called Guangzong Yaozu?Alas, this adds value to this chain of time.So you are awesome, if you don't do well in this life, the bottom line is also called passing on the family line, that is, you must continue to pass on this chain.Alas, looking at people in the future who will have another chance, Guangzong asked the emperor to be even more so. There is no heir, which is not like what we modern people think of having no sons.

This is a physiological problem, a medical problem, no. For them, this is not only related to the stability of the monarchy, but more importantly to the emperor personally, what is this called?This is called losing the battle on the battlefield of life.On May 30, 1010 AD, our Song Zhenzong won the battle and gave birth to a son, who later became Song Renzong.When I read this record in the history books, I felt happy for him recently, but also a little sad.

By the way, what was the scene like that day?The prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture is the mayor of the capital and is reporting to Emperor Zhenzong.News came from the palace that his son was born. Zhenzong immediately stood up and said, oh, do you know?I have a happy event.The Kaifeng Palace was confused, how could I have gone to Zhenzong to tell him that I had a son, haha, and then turned around and returned to the palace.After a while, I got a bag full of money.It's really the kind of money made of gold. It comes back and is stuffed into the hands of the father of Kaifeng. It comes and comes, holding happy events.Just feel it, at this moment, he is not an emperor in this state, he is just an anxious middle-aged man who is looking forward to his son. He suddenly heard the good news and was so happy that he didn't know what to do, so he rushed back.I carry a bag of candies in my house and go out, and I scatter candies when I see neighbors.You see, after more than a thousand years, I am still as happy for him as a neighbor when I see this historical material.By the way, the birth of Song Renzong later became a story in the folklore version, right?The civet cat was replaced by the prince, and in real history, this incident also foreshadowed a sinister political change more than 20 years later.

Don't worry, there will be more than 20 episodes, we will talk about it soon. So for today's civilization tour, let's put down the happy and effervescent Song Zhenzong and let him be happy for a while. Where are we going?Go to the north and see what happened in the Liao Dynasty.So what happened in the Liao Dynasty this year?They are fighting against the high mountains on the Korean Peninsula. Please pay attention to this word. In the name of this country, pear is not beautiful.This was neither the first nor the last time the two sides fought, and the result was unexpected.You think that such a powerful Shao Cao beats such a weak Gao Li, but he actually suffered a big loss.This may be a little different from your impression. Generally speaking, we think that since the alliance in 1005, you, the Liao Dynasty, have taken a big advantage.If you get 300,000 broken coins from the Song Dynasty every year, you can go back and steal Lebai.

300,000 yuan is given to you every year for free. Doesn’t it cost a lot?What are you doing?Why are we still fighting?Today we will reflect on two questions through the war between the Liao Dynasty and Gao Li. First, why did the Liao Dynasty fight such a war that seemed to have no benefit?Strange, why would you do this?Second, this is a more interesting question, why is Gao Li so dissatisfied when he looks so weak?Through these two questions, we can also see a very profound change in the entire East Asian historical stage at that time.Okay, with these questions in mind, we will travel back to 1010 AD, the twenty-eighth year of the Liao Shengzong's unification.
Let’s first briefly talk about the process of the war between Daliao and Gaoli. In fact, 17 years ago, in 993 AD, Daliao fought against Gaoli once.At that time, the Liao Dynasty's request was very simple, that is, I was dealing with conflicts with the Song Dynasty in the south.Stop fighting, you are a small country like Gaoli, what are you going to do if you become a vassal of the Song Dynasty to the south of me?Can I rest assured that you are behind me?So my request is very simple, you are not allowed to hook up with the Song Dynasty south of me.Didn’t you turn out to be a vassal to the Song Dynasty?Okay now, now do you know who you are bordering?Do you know who is the boss on this street?Come on, now change the court and become your vassal to me. Kowtow your head to the ground and hold me soft.Brother, I am magnanimous and let this matter go.This was the request of the Liao Dynasty at that time.Gao Li said at that time, OK, OK, you have thick arms, I will listen to you.But in fact, Gao Li has not changed at all. He and Song Chao are just the same ex-boyfriend. They have a relationship, and they have always been flirting with each other, and they are not connected.As the current incumbent, of course he saw it and hated it in his heart, but he couldn't make a move at the time, haha, he couldn't do anything.

Well, now in 1005, the Song and Liao Dynasties have reached an alliance of Zen. For the Liao Dynasty, the southern issue has been dealt with, and now it is finally free to deal with your Gaoli issue.And there is a background at this time. As we talked about in the last episode, the death of Queen Mother Xiao of the Liao Dynasty in 1009 last year changed the political situation of the Liao Dynasty.You must know that the mother-in-law was in charge of the family for 27 years in the Liao Dynasty. Now it is finally over. The Liao Shengzong finally went to war in person.How old is he?When he succeeded to the throne, he was a 10-year-old boy, a young man, and now he is a 37-year-old man.For Liao Shengzong, rationally, he had to find an opportunity to prove his ability and not always establish his political prestige based on his mother's meaning. This is rational.

Emotionally, if you think about a 37-year-old man throwing off his arms and making his own decisions for the first time, do you think this battle must be fought?Haha, this is human nature.Therefore, when the Chanyuan attacked the Song Dynasty fiercely, Empress Dowager Xiao and Liao Shengzong fought together, but this time it was Liao Shengzong alone.That time, the Alliance of Chuan Luck fought against the Song Dynasty, which was a large country that was evenly matched, but this time it fought against Gaoli, a small country on the Korean Peninsula.But look at the posture of the Liao Dynasty. When the Alliance of Members attacked the Song Dynasty, the Liao Dynasty mobilized 200,000 troops, and this time the Liao Dynasty mobilized double that, 400,000 troops. Can you see this posture?In Daliao's mentality, the easier it is to hit the opponent, the more one cannot take it lightly, and the more one must use the kind of vigor that would make a lion stop spitting.I am determined to win, and I must win. If I don't win a complete victory, I will never withdraw my troops.Look at this posture.

I won’t go into details about the process. The first half of the war was very similar to the time when the Long-Term Alliance fought against the Song Dynasty. The Liao Dynasty crossed the border aggressively, and both wanted to capture the cities one by one at the beginning, but it didn’t go well.ah.If everything doesn't go well, I might as well go deep into the capital to guide the opponent alone.The first half is similar to Chen Yun Zhimeng, but the script of the second half is different from that time.At that time, the capital of Gaoli was not the current Pyongyang in the north, nor the capital in the south, but Kaesong in the middle. It was called Kaesong at the time, which was the Kaesong Industrial Park that was later jointly established by North Korea and South Korea.Alas, that's where it is.

The army of the Liao Dynasty fought all the way to Kaicheng, and found that, alas, no one left the building, and all the troops of the royal ministers in Gaoli were gone. It was a shame.Just light a fire, bang.Kaicheng was burned down, and Gaoli's Ancestral Temple and Royal Palace were burned down, along with all the private houses in Kaicheng.It sounds great, but the question is what do you do after the fire goes out?Haha, this Korean is obviously going to fight with you to clear the country, that is, you can occupy the land at will.As long as you can defeat the city, you can burn it as you please, but I won't give you the chance to annihilate my victorious power.

Liao army, look, this is not a problem. They withdrew in the winter, but it is not easy to withdraw. The Liao army was constantly ambushed by the Gaoli army on its way north.They were overtaken when they crossed the Yalu River today, and a large number of Liao troops drowned in the river.Then how do you think Daliao could swallow this mouthful of gasoline?Eight years later, in 1018, the two sides fought again, and the process was almost the same.

The Liao Dynasty won first, then lost, and then withdrew. The final result was that Gao Li surrendered to the Liao Dynasty on the surface, but secretly continued to flirt with the Song Dynasty. He still did what he should, and everything returned to what it was before the war started.What a look.It really took more than twenty years, three wars, so many people died, and finally it was a lonely process.What about us?There should be a question. It sounds like you two are so noisy. There is no difference between victory and defeat.right.Look at the Liao Dynasty's war goals. From the beginning, they did not include annexing Gaoli's territory, or asking for money or goods. Gaoli was so poor, and he had no money or goods, right?So what are you planning?The victory of the Liao Dynasty was just to ask him to claim his vassal and accept the merits. If he was defeated, wouldn't this be the same result now?The only problem with him paying tribute to you is that what the Liao Dynasty wanted was a loyal and honest professing minister and paying tribute, but what he got in the end was a superficial professing and paying tribute, and he didn't even get Gao Li's good attitude.The price is too high.

So why did the Liao Dynasty fight this war?Is it just to show off his authority, to be the big brother on this street?To answer this question, we must understand the strategic dilemma of a large continental country.Land and ocean are different. In the history of the past few hundred years that our generation is familiar with, ocean hegemony has often been the mainstream.Ocean supremacy is usually resolved through wars of annihilation.Why?Because the ocean is connected, there is no danger to defend, and there is no way to push, so when two powerful forces meet, the outcome is decided by one hand.So if it is an obviously powerful country, its advantage in maritime warfare will be too great.

But land is different. Imagine that no matter how powerful an empire is, it is full of doubts about enemies outside its borders.You can imagine that you are now the emperor of an ancient empire. You will find that you have a headache whenever you think of the border, because it is on the other side of the desert, on the back of the mountain, on the other side of the river, in the depths of the jungle.How many enemies are there?How much hostility do they have towards me?How big a conspiracy are they planning?So I have no idea about these problems. Even if our territory is vast and we have military advantages, if these enemies suddenly start a preemptive attack, as a big land country, I will definitely suffer.

If I strike first, will I suffer the consequences if I strike later?If you think about it more deeply, not only do I think so, but my neighbor next door and that neighboring country also think so.This has a very scary effect. You think, I am afraid that the other party will hurt me, so I have to prepare for war. I have no intention of invading the other party. I am just preparing for war to be prepared and to enhance my deterrence.But is the other party a dead person?Across the courtyard wall, he heard that the other party was sharpening his knife at home, and when he saw me gearing up, he had no choice but to sharpen his knife and prepare for war.

You see, this is a very strange situation. Maybe neither my neighbor nor I want to fight, but there is no way. Once the suspicion between each other enters this spiral channel, both parties are often reluctant in the end.Being dragged into a battlefield.In international politics, a concept was invented specifically for this phenomenon, called the security dilemma.What is a security dilemma?Bismarck, the iron-blooded prime minister of Germany, made an analogy. He said that it was like being in the same carriage. There were strangers on the train. Everyone was staring at everyone else nervously. Don't try to harm me..Suddenly a man put his hand into his pocket, and those next to him had their revolvers ready so that they could take them out at any time.

This is the state of first firing. You see, this is a natural dilemma of a large land country. As long as you and your neighbors are not friends, you may gradually become enemies and eventually fight.Sometimes when we observe the behavior of a large continental country, it seems that it is fighting alone and fighting alone. This is only one side of the truth.In fact, there is another aspect to this fact, which is the fear in his heart. As a big country, I must require that all my neighbors are well-intentioned towards me and that they do not pose a security threat to me before I can rest assured. Otherwise, I will be in trouble.He Shengliang, I won't be happy if you don't die. I just want to conquer you or destroy you.After killing this neighbor, you will see that my territory has expanded a lot, but the bad news is that my border has also been extended a lot, and I have to border some new neighbors.Okay, the old question is here again, haha, this new neighbor I am facing now, do you pose a security threat to me?If you have, or if you are dissatisfied, come on, let's continue to make plans, and we will expand over and over again, and then new neighbors will appear, and they will become new enemies because of suspicion, and then war will break out, a negative cycle.But the problem is that as an empire, no matter how powerful you are, your expansion will always come to an end. When you reach the end of your strength and you can no longer fight, you will find it ridiculous. I will fight every day.Go, what should I call?Even if I win the battle, it's still a losing deal, right?Because at this time I must be fighting on an unexpected enemy.The actual benefits brought by war are not as high as the cost of my war, which often forces a large empire to bleed repeatedly on a barren frontier.If you are familiar with international politics and world history, there are too many such things.If you look at the security issues of large land-based countries, sometimes they are not only a matter of interests, but also mixed with factors of psychological fear.This year we talked about the relationship between the Liao Dynasty and Gao Li, and this was actually the situation.The two countries of Daliao and Gaoli originally developed separately. Yelu Abaoji, the Taizu of Liao, founded the country in 907 AD, and then attacked from all sides and grew rapidly.Almost at the same time, Wang Jian, the emperor of Gaoli on the Korean peninsula, became king, and in 936 the Korean peninsula was almost unified.These two people are from the same generation. Yelu Abaoji and Wang Jian are from the same generation. They are only 5 years apart. They are both great heroes of the generation.

But it doesn't matter. Each of you can develop your own way. Because there is a Bohai Sea country between the two sides, so there is no conflict between the two sides.But the situation changed a lot in 926 AD. In the Liao Dynasty, he destroyed the Bohai Kingdom. Then, the two families became neighbors. They leaned on the wall and looked at each other, and they both felt that the other party, well,The one who comes is not good.What was Gao Chao thinking?Yes, alas, I sent troops to destroy this Bohai country, right?Alas, you are doing well over there. You are taking over people from Bohai Country, and you are also taking over land from Bohai Country. Aren't you taking advantage?Moreover, you are also flirting with the Han regime in the south of me, which did not yet have the Song Dynasty at that time, and the Han regime in the south of me. Aren't you trying to deal with me in two ways?What do you want to do?As Gao Li, there are more psychological activities.Alas, you are so powerful in Daliao.Oh, you destroyed the Bohai Kingdom, then wouldn’t I feel like I’m dying?I have established good relations with the Han regime. Isn’t this just in case something goes wrong?You see, the spiraling security dilemma we mentioned earlier emerged between these two countries.So this solution, haha, unless Gao Li completely gives in and expresses kindness and tenderness that satisfies Daliao, Daliao will not be able to let go.

As a large land country, it is born with a strategic dilemma, and it will definitely fight this battle.The big country with land is so pitiful, that's it. Not to mention that the neighbors are not well-intentioned, even if I can't tell who my neighbors are, I feel panicked.Let me give you an example that you may be familiar with.After Qin Shihuang unified the six kingdoms, he immediately had to answer a question: What are the boundaries of the unified empire you established, the Qin Empire?Yes, you said your home has a courtyard, but where are the southeast, northwest, and northwest walls?You have to let him explain.Qin Shihuang put up a pergola with his hands. Looking at it this way, well, I can tell clearly about the north, because the opponent in the north is the Huns, so it is easy to handle. Send troops to the north to fight against the Huns. The north courtyard wall is my Huns defense line.But when he turned around and looked to the south, Qin Shihuang was also panicked, right?The problem arises because after our Qin State destroyed the Chu State, we suddenly discovered that some people in the Chu State that I took over had a vast area to the south, and the boundary was blurred.

When the Qin Dynasty was first unified, the terrain in southern China was complex and fragmented, the population was sparse, and the economy was underdeveloped. There was no clear natural geographical boundary.That won't work, I am an empire now, the world is unified, and I live as a family. How can the head of my family not know where the wall is?Therefore, the southern border of the empire must be pushed forward, as far as I can tell clearly, that is where it will be pushed.Yes, I pushed it as far as the south, to the seaside. There was no one on the seaside at that time, but I had to push it there, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to tell clearly.Yes, this is what we learned in middle school history textbooks.
After the unification of Qin Shihuang, he sent a large number of troops to the south and established Guilin Xiangjun and Sanguijun in the South China Sea on the southern coast of China.Later, there was a point of view that I would like to talk about. You see, the victory was not widespread and the uprising took place.Why didn’t the Qin Empire have the power to fight back?It's because all the troops with fighting capacity have been sent out, to the north to fight the Huns, and to the south to the South China Sea.So the country was empty. Think about the troops Qin Shihuang sent to the southern seaside. Did he have any specific combat missions?Are you facing any specific vicious enemy?Do you have any specific strategic goals, and do you want to seize any high-value land and resources?Hey, I'm sorry, not at all. They were just responsible for pushing the frontier of the empire to the endless sea, so that Qin Shihuang in Xianyang and the head of the empire could rest assured that he was good.

I just feel like, well, now I know where my southern courtyard wall is, and there is nothing outside but the sea. Now I feel relieved, that’s the psychological effect.From this example, you can understand the sensitivity of border issues for a large land country.Go back to this year, 1010 AD, the 28th year of the unification of Daliao. You will understand why Daliao, which has settled the southern border issue through the Zenyuan Alliance and has free hands, wants to expedition to Gaoli at this time regardless of the cost.reasons, but there is another strange thing about this war when you think about it.Gao Li clearly knows that he is a small country, and his strength is far from that of the big and powerful, and the cost is not high. As long as he calls out "big brother" and kowtows to admit his cowardice, he doesn't have to fight this war. No need.The country was ruined and the family was ruined.Alas, but I wonder why he refused to accept this soft price and the price is not high.You see, this is another question that needs explanation.
In this war between Daliao and Goryeo, the performance of both sides is actually a bit strange. On the Daliao side, you fought a very costly war with limited benefits. How much more did you lose the war? Why bother?Going to fight?We just explained this.Okay, let's look at Gao Li's side now. He fought a war that he could have avoided. He gave up and stopped fighting. If he won, it would be a tragic war. After all, it happened on your land.Then may I ask why Gao Li still fights?Just dissatisfied.Let’s first look at the balance of power between the two sides. Based on the available data, the population of the Liao Dynasty was 9 million, while the population of Gaoli was only about 2 million. The territory of Gaoli was even more incomparable. Gaoli only had 200,000 square kilometers., while the Liao Dynasty covered more than 4 million square kilometers, a gap of 20 times.Moreover, Goryeo was a farming country at the time, and its economic structure was very similar to that of the Song Dynasty. Therefore, Goryeo also had the military disadvantages of the Song Dynasty, such as the lack of cavalry.But the economic advantages, technological advantages, strategic depth of the Song Dynasty, all these things of a big country, are completely missing in Goryeo.But have you noticed that the performance on the battlefield was also faced with the Liao Dynasty's army. The small country Gaoli seemed to show a more stubborn spirit than the big country Song Dynasty, but they just refused to accept it.
May I ask why?What kind of spiritual phenomenon is this?We cannot use the concepts of modern people, such as national justice, national dignity, and the inviolability of sovereignty. We cannot use these concepts to look at it.Why?Because Gao Li's state at that time was not to say that he was arrogant, and I didn't obey anyone.No, he was a vassal of the Song Dynasty.So to whom do you surrender?It's not about surrendering. Aren't you always submissive?So the question is not whether he is submissive, but you can be submissive to the big brother in the south, but why can't you be submissive to the big brother next to you who is broad-shouldered and round, who is always ready to hit people?Ruo Er, the elder brother, is also unconvinced, right?You are also the eldest brother, why do you disobey me?Do you look down on me?You're right, it's because I look down on you.

Gao Li sent envoys to the Song Dynasty 17 times in the past 30 years. Some people have counted.Moreover, as soon as the Song Dynasty was established, Gao Li began to take the initiative to use the reign title of the Song Dynasty.Using your reign name in the East Asian politics at that time was a very solemn political statement, and I was completely cowardly and completely recognized you as my elder brother.Then why are there no borders between Korea and the Song Dynasty?It can only be because of cultural admiration.Well, I admire the culture of the Song Dynasty. Doesn't this turn of events turn into contempt for the Liao Dynasty?What I say is not speculation, there is evidence.

It is said that in 943 AD, Wang Jian, the ancestor of Gaoli, came to the last moment of his life. When he was dying, he summoned the ministers and dictated a political will.There are ten articles in this will, and the fourth article says this, saying that what our Eastern country admires is the culture of the Tang Dynasty, and all systems are based on the Tang Dynasty.But look at the Khitan next door, which is the Liao Dynasty. It was a country of beasts, and its customs and language are different from ours. In the future, we must not learn from their ancestral precepts in terms of dress and system.The ancestral precepts, the dying ancestral precepts of the founding monarch.Therefore, Goryeo despised this healing dynasty from the bottom of his heart.

Yes, I am a small country in the East. It is not that I cannot kneel, but I can kneel to the culture I admire, but I cannot kneel to the people I despise in my heart. So if you look at it, this will be troublesome for Daliao.Ordinarily, the only issue in the war between the two countries is the strength of their forces. It can be solved by a slap on the wrist, right?Now suddenly there is an additional factor, a cultural issue. In today's terms, the two countries are competing not only for hard power, but also for soft power.Daliao is a bit incapable of doing this.In the war between Daliao and Gaoli, Daliao had an absolute advantage, but it did not take any advantage. Of course, there are many reasons. We will not go into details about the generals' decisions about terrain and weather, but you can feel the Korean people.The strong cultural contempt for the Liao Dynasty people was also an important factor.Hey, having said that, let’s open up our horizons.Have you ever realized that a problem is that at this historical stage, the big countries, no matter whether it is the Song Dynasty or the Liao Dynasty, are a little unable to cope with the little brothers around them.In our general impression, the Song Dynasty could not defeat the Liao Dynasty. This was because the Liao Dynasty was powerful and the Song Dynasty had nothing to do with it.Now it seems that Daliao is also timid and weak. There is nothing he can do against Song's younger brother Gao Li.So I guess the Song Dynasty was secretly having fun in the south this year. No one of us should laugh at the other. We all show our timidity sometimes.

If we zoom in, you will find that at this historical stage, the two major empires on the East Asian political stage, the Song Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty, had nothing to do with the small surrounding countries.Let’s look at two examples briefly. Looking to the northwest, Xixia is so hard and squeaking. There is a Xixia problem there. We will talk about it in the future, but you can see that this small place is today’s Ningxia.There are also parts of Shaanxi and Gansu. At its peak, the total area was only about 700,000 to 800,000 square kilometers.The actual land area that can be produced is very small. Today's Yinchuan Plain and Walnut Plain are two irrigated plains that can produce some grain. The peak population was only 3 million.For such a small political power, he was in such good health that he actually lived for 189 years, which was longer than the Northern Song Dynasty.And this Xixia is a thorn in the side, and has fought with all the surrounding neighbors.So you see, when Liao was destroyed by Jin, Xixia was still there.Today, when Mongolia is beating them to death, this Xixia, hey, he is still there, haha, Mongolia is still doing well, and it is all over the Eurasian continent, and it is invincible. Hey, when it comes to finally destroying this little Xixia, it will take a long time.strength.

We will tell this story in the future. This is Xixia. If you look to the southwest, there is another country that is not consistent and is also a living theater.What?It is the Dali Kingdom in Yunnan today. The Dali Kingdom has existed for more than 300 years and is familiar with almost the entire Song Dynasty, that is, the Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty combined.Our generation's impression of Dali often comes from Jin Yong's novels, and we think that their emperor always loves to pick up girls and become a monk.I have such an impression, yes, Dali is indeed a country with a special Buddhist tradition. Please note that when I say this Buddhist tradition, it means literally, Buddhist tradition.

There were a total of 22 emperors in the Dali Kingdom, half of them were correct. 11 emperors finally became monks and were too lazy to do so, so they just became monks.In such a place, there are Buddhist temples and monks everywhere.Then you said that such a place must be very peaceful, so what kind of fighting power can it have?Sorry, you are going to be surprised again. The Central Plains regime in Yunnan has been unable to handle this area since the Tang Dynasty. At that time, this place was not called Dali, but Nanzhao.

The Tang Dynasty was in the Tianbao period, just before the Anshi Rebellion. At that time, the Tang Dynasty was at its peak. During the Kaiyuan Tianbao period, Nanzhao was attacked three times and failed to be defeated. At least 200,000 people died in the Tang army, and each time they returned with disastrous defeats.If you lose, you will lose. The king of Southern Zhao was so angry that he dug a mass grave by the Erhai Lake and buried the corpses of one hundred thousand Tang soldiers here. He also carved a special monument next to it, saying that this battle was not for me.I want to fight because the Tang Dynasty bullied people too much. I have no choice but to rebel against the Tang Dynasty. I want to engrave it on a monument so that future generations will know my grievances.So when the Song Dynasty was founded, it is said that the great ancestor Zhao Kuangyin said such arrogant words, saying how could he allow others to sleep soundly next to his bed?Then why did the Great Li State sleep carelessly here for 300 years? Why did your Taizu not touch him?Without even thinking about it, is it because his snoring sounds nice?Isn't there such a legend if you don't want to listen?It was said that the Song Dynasty's army had pacified Sichuan, so the next stop should be to go to Dali. Someone had already spread out the map of Dali in front of Zhao Kuangyin, saying, "Do you want to go?"Taizu looked at it for a long time, took the imperial uniform and a small toy he often played with, and drew a line along the Dadu River on the map. Forget it, the place beyond this line is not what we should own..

So today we are going to the Daguan Tower in Kunming, and we can also see the famous long couplet, in which there is such a sentence: Han Xing Tower Ship Tang Biao Iron Pillar, Song Hui Imperial Palace Round Span Ge Nang.Among them, this word, Song Hui Yufu refers to this allusion. Zhao Kuangyin personally took the Yufu painting and said it was no longer necessary.So why didn’t Song Taizu unify Italy?To put it bluntly, I still feel that the Tang Dynasty used force to pacify Yunnan and returned in defeat. This lesson was too painful. He was Dasong, but he was not sure of success, so he simply drew a line on the map and let him go.This is interesting. If we integrate all the information mentioned above, you will find that at this historical stage, the two major powers on the East Asian stage, the Song Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty, could not even use force to defeat the younger brothers around them..The Song Dynasty could not handle Dali and Xixia, and the Liao Dynasty could not handle Xixia and Gaoli. In the past, we always said that the Song Dynasty was weak, and the Song Dynasty was weak. It was your own reasons. Now it seems that there are also external factors. This is the case in this era.Style, the younger brothers around, people have become stronger.By the 11th century AD, the civilization level of various tribes on the East Asian continent had increased significantly. It turned out that the Han nation had comparative advantages in culture, economy, and military.I said this is a relative advantage, not that big anymore.The level of internal integration of various ethnic groups is no longer what it used to be.Once a big brother appears on the street, hey, everyone will follow him. The era of following him is over, because it will never come back.
Looking at the pre-Qin period, the sense of superiority in Central Plains China should not be too strong, because at that time, was there the concept of the so-called five blessings?What are the five blessings?It means taking Emperor Zhou as the center of the circle and drawing five concentric circles outwards. The farther inside, the more civilized it is.What about electric service, marquis service, soldier service, demon service, desolate service, the further out you go, you see it is finally called desolate service, it is an uncivilized remnant enemy, I don't even bother to manage it.Together these are called Wu Fu. I, the Emperor Zhou, are the most civilized. The farther away from me, the lower the level of civilization.You see, although this division is crude, it is basically in line with the facts of that era.

Yes, in the early days, the Chinese civilization in the Central Plains was the light of civilization on the entire East Asian continent.When the time is introduced to the 11th century AD, if you think about it again and take a look at the East Asian continent, the situation has completely changed.First of all, the people of the Central Plains are no longer satisfied with the nomads who eat their hair and drink their blood, and their economic form is not just simple animal husbandry.Many Khitan people have already turned to farming, and many ethnic groups such as the Pit people and others already have strong business traditions. At this time, the so-called literati in the Central Plains may still call them barbarians, but they are beginning to become literate., and even has its own text.

In this book called The Cambridge History of China, Liaoxi, Xia, Jin and Yuan Dynasties, which is quite thick, it is said that if you go back hundreds of years, if you were in the Sui Dynasty, there was only one thing around the Central Plains Dynasty, Gaogouli., so-so can be called a country, because at least it has a stable system.Other residents around China, if you look around the border of the Sui Dynasty, they are all tribes. They do not have any permanent large-scale government agencies, nor do they have their own writing, because the gap between the two sides is so big.

After the Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty, this situation completely changed.Let me read you an original quote from the book. He said that by 750 this situation had been completely changed.Anti-Tang China was surrounded by a number of stable states, including the highly aggressive Tibetan kingdom of Nanzhao in Yunnan along the long border of Sichuan, Gansu and present-day Xinjiang.The Dashi Dynasty in the Western Regions, the Turks and Korea on the Mongolian grasslands, and later Kuiyuan Korea, the Bohai Sea in the northeast, Silla on the Korean Peninsula, and Japan in the distance.All these countries have elites who are proficient in written languages, some using Chinese as their written language, and others using their own writing systems.This is a change in an era.At this stage, the founding monarchs seemed to have made an agreement. As long as I wanted to found the country, I had to do one thing, which was to create my own national writing system.You see, in 907 AD, Yelu Abaoqi founded the Liao Dynasty and immediately began to establish the Khitan sect.Will we talk about Li Yuanhao officially proclaiming himself emperor in Xixia in 1036?The Xixia script was created quickly. It was also a surprise move. It took three years to create such a complex writing system, even for the very backward Jurchens.The Qing Dynasty was also founded in 115 AD, and it was announced in 119 AD, and the Jurchen text was introduced.

Of course, earlier, the Nanzhao we mentioned just now, Nanzhao also created its own text called Square Baiwen. Of course, this type of text is now completely transmitted. How difficult is it to create a set of text out of nothing?ah?Creating words does not mean just making them. This character is written in this way, and that character is written in this way.You have to organize learning, you have to forcefully promote it, and you have to translate the original classic documents on a large scale. This is a living and usable writing system.

But if you think about that era, with regard to the surrounding dynasties such as the Jin Dynasty and Liao Dynasty, how high was the cost for him to do these things?How inefficient is it?All the founding monarchs seemed to understand that although this was difficult, it must be done.Why?There is only one explanation, which is the cultural awakening of the nation, and they also use their own way to complete the cultural integration within their own nation.Take Xixia for example. Since they created their own script, they immediately respected it as the national character. All important documents under their banner were changed to Xixia writing technology, and all their own history was also changed to Xixia. They are very aware of this., cultural identity within a nation is a very important source of strength.Although the number of my people is small, once I gather together, my power will be great.Yes, at this historical stage we are describing, the entire East Asian continent seems to be falling into a kind of cultural disintegration, and no one is convinced.

Chinese culture, although we must admit that the Chinese culture at that time still had huge advantages, but compared with the pre-Qin, Han and Tang Dynasties, this advantage is no longer so absolute. The surrounding ethnic groups seem to have reached adolescence, and I amI am better than the blue, but I not only want to be better than the blue, I also want to be different from the blue.When I grow up, I want to be rebellious and self-aware. The more culturally aware I am, the stronger my internal cohesion will be.Hey, hey, you are becoming more and more helpless to me.That was the situation at that time.

Geopolitics on the East Asian continent is no longer a winner-take-all politics, but has entered a new era.Hey, no one can defeat anyone in terms of hard power, and no one can be convinced in terms of soft power. After such a state, this is not a bad thing, because in this state, the next round of integration of Chinese civilization seems to be broken.ah.No, the seeds for the next round of integration of Chinese civilization have actually been laid.

Our pursuit of a better life comes from the opening of every extraordinary door.Casarte was born for love, the art of connecting homes.What we just said may have left you with the impression that during the Han and Tang dynasties, Chinese civilization was very impressive, but by the time of the Song Dynasty, Chinese civilization had become weak and dim. Compared toIn neighboring countries, the cultural advantages are not so obvious.

Hey, is this how you see it?If you look at the problem this way, then I guess the entire history of China is a thread in your mind, a thread connecting the previous dynasties of Qin and Han, Wei and Jin, Sui and Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing.Well, if you think about it that way, then it’s true, right?That is, China's Tang Dynasty perished, and then China was reborn in the Song Dynasty.Just took a look, oh why did you look like this after you woke up?The investment is a much weaker version of China, the territory is not as big as before, the military strength is not as strong as before, and all kinds of bad news comes, so we tend to look down on the previous Tang Dynasty and think less about the current one we are in.This Song Dynasty is not highly rated.But if we look at the problem this way, I must warn that this is too far from the Central Plains. This perspective is too narrow. We should jump up and see how high we jump to 10,000 meters in the air, and then look down at the land of China a thousand years ago.Then you will see another scene. What does it mean that the Tang Dynasty was destroyed?No?The Tang Dynasty was just broken into pieces. It was equivalent to a big family that used to live under the same roof. Now they have been separated and each small family has inherited a little bit of the Tang Dynasty's legacy.Everyone is alone in promoting the development of Chinese civilization.Is that so?Come on, let me show you a few simple facts.

We move forward 100 years from the year 1010 AD to 907 AD.In that year, Zhu Wen destroyed the Tang Dynasty and established the Later Liang Dynasty, right?That's what the history books say.So, did the Tang Dynasty die like this?People at the time didn't see it that way. Almost at the same time, in 907 AD, several things happened.First of all, the father and son Li Keyong and Li Cunxu who were in Hedong at that time, which is today's Shanxi area, did not recognize the back Liang at all. The Tang Dynasty was destroyed. If we continue to honor the certificate of the Tang Dynasty, wouldn't the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty be gone?I'll do it. My surname is Li too, hahaha.Was Later Tang established later?You see, he is still a Tang Dynasty. To put it bluntly, they think they are the heirs of the Tang Dynasty.The Later Tang Dynasty also fell in 936, right?Three years later, in 939, another Tang Dynasty emerged in the south. The founding emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty directly declared that my surname was Li, and that I was a direct descendant of the old Li family. Now I will inherit the foundation of the Tang Dynasty. So this case flagHe carried it away again. Don't forget that there is also Yelu Abaoji in the north. In which year did he become the khan of Khitan?Note that this was the year the Tang Dynasty fell in 907.

I won’t go into details about the specific research. You can refer to this book. You will never forget Teacher Lin Hu’s point of view. What Yelu Abaoqi wants to establish is not a grassland country, it is a country modeled after the Han people.Yes, Yelu Abaoji also vaguely wanted to inherit the status of the Tang Dynasty. If you look at the small political powers at that time, they all felt that they had inherited the legal system of the Tang Dynasty. I was born in Miaohong.So I would like to ask if they are just being sentimental?Or they are rushing to pull the banner to make tiger skins. It is not necessarily the case. There is actually a basis for what they think and do.These small political powers and ethnic minorities have a deeper relationship with the Tang Dynasty than we think.This has to go back to when the Tang Dynasty was still in its heyday.At that time, many people living on the border of the Tang Dynasty were ethnic minority tribes, so the Tang Dynasty's management method for them was called Jifan.These two words are quite difficult to write. The chicken is the horse, and the faucet fan is the reins of the ox.To put it bluntly, yes, their method is to control the road like a cow's reins and a horse's faucet.The Tang Dynasty established a Kimi state on the border and appointed local tribal leaders as the military and political governors of Kimi state.

Don't forget that the official you are serving is from the Tang Dynasty, I am your emperor, and your emperor is you.This official position is different from other counties in the Tang Dynasty. You can pass it down from father to son and it is hereditary. You make your own decisions in your internal affairs and have great autonomy.Household registration does not need to be reported to the central government. To put it bluntly, it means no taxes. And does the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty still have some rewards for you?The benefits are huge.But don't forget the price you have to pay. Just remember that the horse's head and the cow's reins are in my hands. It's not okay to run around and cause trouble. If you don't cause trouble for me, I promise not to go.Looking for trouble for you.There is such a tacit understanding between the two parties.

There are some particularly important tribes among them. There will be a few more songs in the Tang Dynasty. The most important one is that the second surname is Li. Regardless of your original ethnic minority, your internal language, your surname, now it is changed to our family's.Your surname is Li, the same as mine, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. From now on, you and the Emperor will be one family.Even though you are on the frontier, you are my distant relative and you are very close to the emperor.They are closer than those around the emperor. This is the relationship. So don’t you think the royal family of Xixia is named Li?How did Li Jiqian, Li Deming and Li Yuanhao come here?It’s not that his surname was Li.He turned out to be a native of Dangxiang. He was given by the Emperor of Tang Dynasty and his surname was Li.Yes, there are other Goryeo Mohexi, Khitan Round, and Turkic Shatuo. At that time, in the circle around the Tang Dynasty, almost all ethnic minorities were given the surname Li. Emperor Ma Tang especially loved doing this.
So why?Now that your surname is Li, we are a family.Oh, come on, come on, send me the most promising young man in your family to Chang'an or a big city in the Tang Dynasty.Don't get me wrong, you are not here to be a hostage, I am here to train the next generation for you.Some can even serve as guards in the emperor's bodyguards, and become familiar with the emperor's daily comings and goings. For example, in the fourth year of Yonghui, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, the leader of Nanzhao sent his son named Luo Shengnian.Go to Chang'an to meet Tang Gaozong and other young people.These young people grow up and return to their tribes.Is that okay?He had seen the world in Chang'an and was familiar with the emperor.Then you think, in his tribe, he must be 100% a die-hard pro-Tang faction. If there is a chance in the future that he will take over the relationship with the Tang Dynasty, this tribe will certainly become closer.Therefore, Datang’s machine fan system has a very long-term perspective.

In addition, the upper class of these tribes often have the opportunity to visit the Tang Dynasty. This has become to a certain extent the management system of China's Central Plains. In fact, they are not unfamiliar at all. Yes, they have learned those first-handKnowledge, if they have the opportunity to return to power in the future, they will be very motivated to imitate the Central Plains management model.Okay, having said this, you understand that in the past few hundred years of the Tang Dynasty, there was really no waste of time, and they were constantly sowing the seeds of Chinese civilization among the tribes on the frontier.A lot, that learning process has been completed in the hundreds of years of the Tang Dynasty. Now in 907, the big tree of the Tang Dynasty we just mentioned fell. At that time, it was these minority people who thought that I was the heir to the Tang Dynasty.I am also qualified to carry forward the culture of the Tang Dynasty.

Hehe, at least you can see that my surname is Li, and the emperor admits that he and I are the same family.Who are you asking, right?For example, in the later Tang Dynasty, Li Keyong used Li Cunxu and his son, right?You will know as soon as you hear it. His surname is Li, even though it is Li who was given the surname.Their family turned out to be Shatuo people, a branch of the Turks?You Han Zhu Wen destroyed the royal family of Li and Tang.But I killed the Tuo people, and I raised the flag of the Tang Dynasty again. We avenged the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and we continued the bloodline of the old Li family.Alas, we Shatuo people are more active than you Han people. You see, this is a very interesting historical interaction process.So to borrow a common saying often said by people of our generation, what is the Tang Dynasty?The Tang Dynasty calls it a ball of fire when gathered, and a sky full of stars when scattered.At the stage of the Song Dynasty, our various tribes and ethnic groups developed separately with a certain fragment of the cultural genes of the Tang Dynasty.So they are not some alien race, they are not some rough barbarians, they are a branch of Chinese civilization. The foreshadowing of this history was laid hundreds of years ago.
After listening to today's program, you may have questions in your mind, isn't it said that this people's culture is awakening?You see, people each have their own words, will they drift apart?Will we never live together again?No, the Mongols will come in less than 300 years.The Mongols used their unrivaled force to sweep across the Eurasian continent.They picked up the seeds sown by the Tang Dynasty civilization one by one, put them in the same pot and rebuilt them to complete the next round of reintegration of Chinese civilization.We know that in the great affairs of the world, if we are united for a long time, we will be divided, and if we are divided for a long time, we will be united.After listening to today's program, we know that culture is the same, and it has been many rounds by 1010.Do you think that when the Western Zhou Dynasty divided the world, your own sons and heroes drove carriages and carried food in various directions, sowing the seeds of civilization, and then each grew up, and after a few hundred years, they will grow into their own shapes.?Look at the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period, Qi, Chu, Yanhan, and Zhao Weiqing are all different, but it doesn't matter. The Qin and Han Empires came, and one country would undergo a great integration. Then the Han Empire soon collapsed, and then the north and the south developed separately for hundreds of years.They have their own characteristics, and they scatter a handful of seeds, and each one grows its own genes, right?Then the Sui and Tang empires came, another congress, and another great integration.

The historical stage we are talking about today is another round. We will have to wait until 300 years later for the Mongols to complete another great integration.Such stories happen repeatedly on the historical stage of East Asia. The China that our generation of Chinese people live in was finally completed through repeated melting.As contemporary Chinese, when we look back on the past, if we only stand from the perspective of the Han people, the Central Plains, farming, and the main dynasties, it is easy to miss this magnificent and exciting historical process.In fact, it is not just China. Similar logic and similar processes are occurring repeatedly in every corner of human civilization.I brought you a book today.

The World of Yesterday is his autobiography written by the Austrian writer Zweig. There is a fragment in it that I particularly want to read to you.It was the eve of the outbreak of World War I. Natszweig went on a trip to France. Once in the countryside, they found a movie theater, a very remote movie theater in the countryside, to watch a movie.As a result, this happened.As soon as Emperor William of various countries appeared on the screen, bursts of harsh whistles and stampings of feet erupted in the dim hall.He yelled and whistled so completely spontaneously that men, women, and children all jeered, as if the person in the picture had insulted them.In this small town far away from the big cities, the citizens and soldiers here have no ill intentions, but they have such a great hatred for Kaiser Wilhelm and Germany.Just a flash of a scene on the screen caused such a commotion. It was just a second, just a second, which shows how life is like being a drug addict.I was so disheartened that night that I stayed up all night, thinking that Europe was over.On June 28, 1914, a gunshot was fired in Sarajevo, and in an instant the safe and rational world in which we received education, lived and lived was shattered like an empty can.The World of Yesterday was written in 1942 as it was filled with a sense of despair for the disintegrating European civilization.On February 22 of the same year, Swiger committed suicide by taking poison in a room in a small town in Brazil.Sweig was so desperate. He felt that the lights of European civilization had gone out, the European continent was broken, and the world would never get better.But we descendants all know that Brother Mercy, old man, you are too hasty to draw conclusions.Because in a few years, after European civilization has gone through catastrophes, the First and Second World Wars will complete a new, deep, and unprecedented integration.But without Dorsweig, as long as he lives ten more years and persists until the age of 71, he will be able to witness the birth of one of the predecessors of the European Union, the European Union.As long as he waits until that time to leave this world, his heart will be much warmer and brighter.

Isn’t that what human civilization is like?Just like there is an original song later, the famous song "Call Me Farmer" says this: Grind one piece of clay and mold one of the clay. I will break the two of them together, mix them with water, throw out another one, and you can count.One, I, I have you in Ni Zhong, and you have me in Ni Zhong, haha.So after listening to this episode, if you feel that the world is collapsing, it doesn't matter. You have to know in your heart that the world is not far away from the arrival of great fusion.See you next time in AD 1011.