The Central Figure of the Treaty of Chanyuan, the Man Who Ended the Fengshan Sacrifices at Mount Tai

[The central figure of the Treaty of Chanyuan, the man who ended the fengshan sacrifices at Mount Tai #history #Emperor Zhenzong of Song]

"Another story about the Song Dynasty!"

"The man who ended the fengshan sacrifices at Mount Tai? Could it be that no emperor after Emperor Zhenzong of Song ever went to Mount Tai to perform them again?"

"Which emperor of the Song Dynasty was Emperor Zhenzong of Song?"

"What kind of laughingstock will this Song emperor make of himself?"

["Emperor Zhenzong of Song Zhao Heng, the third emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty and the third son of Emperor Taizong of Song Zhao Guangyi, became crown prince despite being neither the empress's son nor the eldest. He later ascended the throne."]

["In the year 1004, urgent reports came one after another from the Northern Song Dynasty's northern border. Empress Dowager Xiao of the Liao State personally led a great army south, and the Song army suffered defeat after defeat. When Emperor Zhenzong of Song learned of this, he wanted to flee south. Only after the chancellor Kou Zhun urged him repeatedly did he go to Chanzhou to oversee the fighting. But the Song army's morale had long since sunk after its successive defeats, and the emperor's arrival did nothing to change that. The Song army could only huddle inside the city."]

["Then, several days later, the Liao commander Xiao Talin wandered into the range of a triple-bow bed crossbow while scouting the terrain. The Song army seized the opportunity and killed him with a single shot."]

["After that, the Song army's morale soared, while the Liao army lost its will to fight."]

["After Xiao Talin's death, the chancellor Kou Zhun urged Emperor Zhenzong of Song to press the advantage and retake Yan and Yun in one stroke. But Emperor Zhenzong of Song had no desire to continue fighting and wanted nothing but peace talks. In the end, although Northern Song won the war, it still offered to pay the Liao State an indemnity. The two states then signed the Treaty of Chanyuan, and there was no war between Song and Liao for the next 120 years."]

["During this period of peace, the Northern Song Dynasty reached its peak. Its economy flourished as never before, its culture developed, and its people lived in prosperity. It was one of the few golden ages in China's history. But although this move secured peace, it also set the Song Dynasty on a road of no return, trading money for peace."]

["Afterward, Northern Song's military grew ever weaker, and it became a lamb at the mercy of the butcher."]

["After the Treaty of Chanyuan, Emperor Zhenzong of Song considered his achievements and merits complete and held a fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai."]

["In doing so, he also cut off the path to fengshan for later emperors, single-handedly dragging down the prestige of the Mount Tai ceremony."]

"Mount Tai, oh, Mount Tai!"

"Zhao Heng! How dare he?! Even I didn't dare go to Mount Tai for the fengshan sacrifices, yet he dared to..."

"What did the heavenly screen say? Emperor Zhenzong of Song beat the Liao State, then offered to pay it an indemnity! How did a stroke of luck that good never come our Xiongnu's way?"

"The Central Plains dynasties of later ages were so weak! If only the Han Dynasty had been that weak too!"

The people of the northern grasslands did not know that later generations had a word for it: "charity."

"Does Emperor Zhenzong of Song's idea of complete achievements and merits mean the same thing as mine? How did he manage to pay an enemy state an indemnity, then turn around and go to Mount Tai for the fengshan sacrifices?"

"No wonder later emperors never went to Mount Tai for the fengshan sacrifices again. It must have been because he brought it bad luck!"

"After seeing the father and son, Emperor Taizong of Song and Emperor Zhenzong of Song, I'm more and more convinced that those people in later ages were right. Liu Shan, the last ruler of Later Han, wasn't bad! At least he didn't give reckless orders during major battles at the front, and he didn't pay Cao Wei an indemnity."

At that moment, even Adou's stock was rising!

[I only know of this one case of someone winning a war and still paying an indemnity. I've never heard of a second.]

[If your army is no good, being rich won't help. No matter how much money you have, you're just holding it for someone else!]

"This..."

Emperor Zhenzong of Song's father, Zhao Guangyi, was dumbfounded!

If not for the Humiliation of Jingkang, spending a little money each year to buy safety and get 120 years of peace would have been a deal sure to turn a profit.

But even if you could satisfy the Liao State, you couldn't satisfy the Jin State that came after it. Without a powerful army, no matter how much money you had, it could only be snatched away.

Those people in later ages were right: no matter how much money you had, you were just holding it for someone else.

Most importantly, how did he have the nerve to go to Mount Tai? Even his father hadn't gone!

[He knew he wasn't qualified to go to Mount Tai for the fengshan sacrifices. To fulfill his wish, he actually bribed his own chancellor! An emperor bribing his own subject—I'm truly speechless!]

"Bribing his own subject? What a miserable excuse for an emperor! Great Song really was a model of favoring civil affairs over military matters and ruling the realm through civil governance!"

"The emperors of the Song Dynasty always managed to do something unexpected!"

[Zhu Yuanzhang rebuilt Huaxia, and his achievements were more than enough to qualify him for the fengshan sacrifices at Mount Tai. But he didn't go. Instead, he offered sacrifices to Heaven and proclaimed himself emperor on Purple Mountain in Nanjing. Know why? It was all because of Emperor Zhenzong of Song Zhao Heng. He made Mount Tai worthless!]

Zhu Yuanzhang: I think Mount Tai's worthless too! Anyone can go there.

[Sima Yi sullied the Luo River with his Oath of the Luo River, and Zhao Heng cheapened Mount Tai with his fengshan sacrifices.]

The First Emperor of Qin, Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Wen of Sui, and Emperor Gaozong of Tang Li Zhi, who presented himself as a thoroughly nice man, all heartily agreed with that comment.

Sima Yi: Talk about Zhao Heng all you want, but leave me out of it.

[Zhao Heng wasn't always called Zhao Heng. He changed his name later, probably because he wanted to emulate Emperor Wen of Han Liu Heng!]

[He'd have been better off not changing it. What league was he in? Was he worthy of comparing himself to Emperor Wen of Han?]

[Once Zhao Heng used the character "Heng," its value plummeted.]

[You can't put all the blame on Zhao Heng. His father Zhao Guangyi was the original master of micromanagement and crippled Northern Song's army through his meddling. Growing up under those circumstances, Zhao Heng was soft to the bone. He brought Northern Song more than a hundred years of peace, which was pretty good. He was much better than his descendants Emperor Huizong of Song and Emperor Qinzong of Song! If you want to blame someone, blame his uncle Zhao Kuangyin. He wasn't destined to unify the realm, yet he still usurped the Chai Household's throne. Or blame his father Zhao Guangyi, who lacked the ability but usurped the throne anyway. Not only did he fail to unify the realm, he also destroyed the Song Dynasty's hope of recovering the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.]

Seeing that someone had finally said a few mildly kind words for him, Emperor Zhenzong of Song was so moved he nearly cried.

[Why not say it was all Shi Jingtang's fault that the Song Dynasty couldn't stand on its own feet?]

All the Song emperors: It really was Shi Jingtang's fault.

No matter what short video it was or which historical figure it discussed, as long as enough people commented, there were bound to be differing opinions.

In a certain urban plane.

"So many people are dunking on Great Song!"

As he read through the comments, Gao Shengyang found reading them more interesting than writing his own.

He had scrolled through so many short videos: some about Han Dynasty emperors, some about Song Dynasty emperors, some about the First Emperor of Qin, some about Zhu Di, and others praising Emperor Taizong of Tang.

In the comments, some people spoke well of these emperors, while others spoke ill of them.

Those who liked Zhu Di but disliked Ying Zheng called the other side "Qin fanboys."

Conversely, those who liked Ying Zheng but disliked Zhu Di called the other side "Ming fanboys."

Short videos online these days would say anything to attract traffic. There were videos that praised the Song Dynasty to the skies; he just hadn't scrolled across them yet.

If the Song emperors saw those videos, wouldn't they be so moved that their eyes filled with tears?

Gao Shengyang himself wasn't a fan of any emperor.

He didn't care what short videos the system showed the people of the historical worlds, as long as he could gain as many Emotion Points as possible.

And the best way to gain Emotion Points was through a complete reversal of extremes.

Certain anime and television dramas portrayed certain emperors in a very favorable light, perfectly showcasing and even exaggerating their achievements while concealing or overlooking their "faults."