"To resist foreign countries, we must first stabilize the country"

The year number of money issued by Emperor Taizong of Song Dynasty "Zhi Dao Yuan Bao"

Those who understand the modern history of China should be familiar with a saying: "To resist foreign countries, we must first stabilize the country." For a long time, academic circles have almost recognized that this sentence is the evidence of Chiang Kai-shek's use of it to "encircle and encircle" the Red Army while allowing the Japanese army to invade. However, the origin of this sentence has nothing to do with Chiang Kai-shek. It originated from Zhao Pu, the prime minister of the Song Dynasty, who "half of the Analects governs the world."

After Emperor Taizong of Song Dynasty inherited the throne of Emperor Taizu of Song Dynasty, he made less optimistic judgments about the political environment at home and abroad. He believed that domestic society was full of contradictions, and the ethnic minority regimes in the border areas always had the ambition to challenge the Central Plains. However, his troops were very limited. Whether it was "external" or "internal" became a difficult problem that troubled Emperor Taizong of Song Dynasty.

Shortly after Emperor Taizong of Song Dynasty ascended the throne, Zhao Pu submitted a memorial to address Emperor Taizong's doubts, which contained the following sentence: "Now that China is safe, the barbarians surrender themselves. Therefore, if you want to conquer the outside world, you must first settle down inside." The general idea is that now that the Central Plains region has been pacified and the minority regimes in the surrounding areas have submitted to us, the urgent task now is not to find ways to deal with them, but to maintain stability in the Central Plains region.

This memorial is actually similar to the last words of Emperor Taizu of Song Dynasty. Before his death, Emperor Taizu himself said to Emperor Taizong: "If the country has no external worries, it must have internal troubles." External worries are nothing more than border incidents, and we can take precautions against them. Only evil people have no form. If they are internal troubles, they can be deeply feared." The rulers of both dynasties ignored the possibility of the minority regimes in the border areas becoming stronger, but blindly pinned their hopes on the castle in the air of "Annei". In the late period of Emperor Taizong's rule, peace and rejuvenation of the country became a dream, and the country became increasingly struggling.

Zhi Dao was the last year when Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty was in power. It lasted only three years, but during these three years, the Northern Song Dynasty buried itself with a deep hidden danger of subjugation. The first was the expansion of military forces. Compared with the early days of the establishment of the government, the military forces in the Zhidao period were three times that of that year. This figure was enough to cause the Song Dynasty government to fall into a serious financial deficit. The central government began to minte copper coins on a large scale in three fonts."Zhidao Yuanbao". Of course, this is not enough. The more important thing is that during these three years, the Northern Song Dynasty encountered a powerful enemy that was difficult to restrain: Li Jiqian.

Li Jiqian is a descendant of the Xianbei ethnic group and an outstanding ethnic minority politician. Since the Tang Dynasty, Li Jiqian's family has ruled Xiongzhou, Qinzhou and other places (today's Ningxia and Gansu regions) for generations. Historical records show that Li Jiqian was "born with teeth" and served as a local administrative official at the age of 12. During the Zhidao years, he attacked the Qingyuan Army of the Song Dynasty once and attacked Lingzhou once. Both of them were victorious and established his sphere of influence in the north.

I am afraid many people will doubt that Li Jiqian is an outstanding politician, but when it comes to Li Jiqian's grandson Li Yuanhao, everyone will not be unfamiliar. One of the most important reasons why the founding monarch of the Xixia State was able to expand his territory and become one of the most powerful opponents in the northern part of the Song Dynasty was the foundation laid by his grandfather Li Jiqian. During the three years of the handover of power between Emperor Taizong and Emperor Zhenzong of Song Dynasty, Li Jiqian repeatedly harassed the border areas of the Northern Song Dynasty and achieved phased results, laying a solid material foundation for Li Yuanhao to declare himself emperor.

But for the rulers of the Song Dynasty, the Zhidao period was like three years that passed quickly. The rulers all ignored Li Yuanhao, a "border matter" that was enough to make their descendants uneasy. On the contrary, they all devoted too much energy to suppressing the uprising of Wang Xiaobo and Li Shun in the Central Plains. The peasant uprising was quickly suppressed, but the war in the border burned bit by bit.

"Resisting foreign countries must first stabilize the country" was Zhao Pu's idea, but it was rooted in Song Taizu's strategy of governing the country. When Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty promulgated and used the year title "Zhi Dao", Zhao Pu had passed away three years. However, what we can see is that in the last few years of Emperor Taizong's rule, the Western Xia Dynasty began to rise and showed strong stamina, enough to make the Song Dynasty, which regarded itself as the "Central Plains Heavenly Dynasty", uneasy.

Later generations have included Zhao Pu in the list of famous prime ministers, but the author cannot agree, because Zhao Pu is indeed a good player in terms of power. The "glass of wine releases military power" at that time is still a classic case in China's political history. However, as the prime minister of a country, it is not enough to have political tactics. Not only must we have the ability to coordinate internal affairs, but we must also have a clear understanding of the overall situation. Unfortunately, Zhao Pu does not seem to have this vision. In his view, the top priority is to eradicate the peasant uprising and appease officials in the DPRK. However, the "barbarians" in his eyes are just "convinced" sooner or later. History has long proved that this arrogant view with ethnic discrimination and blind self-confidence will pay the price in blood sooner or later. However, Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty, who was immersed in "Annei", had no idea that even the four words on "Zhi Dao Yuan Bao" came from his calligraphy treasures.

Some historians believe that "Song Fei died in the Khitan Jurchen and his advisers. From Zhao Pu to Cai Jing, everything has caused disaster to the country." I personally believe that although this statement is incomplete, it is generally reliable and can at least be used for reference by future rulers.