The Northern Song Dynasty Sanya has always enjoyed higher treatment in terms of Yulu, Enyin, and etiquette, but its political status is bounded by the "Qingli New Deal" of the Renzong Dynasty, and has gone through a process of change from low to high, and has reached its peak in the three dynasties of Yingzong, Shenzong, and Zhezong, and the Huizong Dynasty. However, because the Northern Song Dynasty took "emphasizing literature over military force" as its national policy, and strictly forbade military personnel to interfere in politics, its role was strictly limited to the military field, and political participation and deliberation were basically deprived. However, due to the special position of the Sanya in commanding the Gyeonggi Forbidden Army, it inevitably played an important role in the change of imperial power. Especially after the reign of Emperor Injong, he often worked with the same heart as Zai, and played a good role in stabilizing the political situation at that time in a favorable and restrained manner, and played a good role in stabilizing the political situation at that time. This is one of the important manifestations of the tendency of the political operation of the Northern Song Dynasty to be civilized and rationalized.

The three yas of the Northern Song Dynasty refer to the front division of the palace, the guard horse army division, and the guard infantry army division of the forbidden army. On the whole, the rulers of the Northern Song Dynasty, in view of the historical lessons of the five dynasties of the late Tang Dynasty where the martial arts were rampant and the spear and sword commanded politics, paid attention to establishing the authority of the prime minister, the privy envoy and other civil ministers, and consciously guided the social values to change to the emphasis on literature and light on military force, so that the status of the military commander compared with the five dynasties has declined significantly, the so-called: "When the ancestors, the military ministers Mo Zun Sanya, seeing that the ministers must be in charge of the court, solemn and retreat, non-stationery, thinking that the prestige is not as strict as it is, not enough to control." [1] (Vol. 1 "Acting in Yuezhou")

However, in the Northern Song Dynasty, although the status of the Sanya was not as good as that of the Fifth Dynasty, it should not be underestimated. Because the Northern Song Dynasty founded the country and Kaifeng in the land of the four wars, "the country was established by the soldiers"[2] (volume 24 "On the National Strategy") and the Liao and Western Xia had continuous wars, and it was inevitable to attach importance to the generals. Sanya, as the "commander-in-chief of the Chinese and foreign divisions and brigades, suppresses the tiger with bullets inside, and subdues Yixia with authority outside, and has the most important duties"[3] (volume 45 "Begging for the Military Ministers"),[4] (32-7 of the officials) The importance of its status is self-evident. In this regard, the Southern Song Dynasty scholar Zhang Ruyu accurately summarized in volume 44 of the sequel to "Qunshu Kaosuo": "It is because of this that I see Zai and say goodbye, and I am courteous." After that, there is only a horizontal rod; Seeing the two systems, they even rode under the same name, and then they parted ways. As for Xining, the gift of treatment is inherited from the second government, and it is not available to those who are called by the temple supervisor. Sigh! How important. ”

A more obvious example is that Sanya enjoyed considerable treatment in the Northern Song Dynasty, "if his appointment is also heavy, his treatment is not light",[5] (sequel volume 44) is the consensus of the Northern Song Dynasty at that time, such as the Song Taizu Dynasty: "Feng father and ancestor, shade wife; Honor the name and respect the product, and all of them will be with it". [6] (Volume 8) Shenzong also criticized: "The three marshals in front of the palace, the horse, and the infantry army, the treatment of the imperial court, and the courtesy of the second government, the matter is of great importance." [7] (Vol. 274) The so-called "treatment is not light" and "the matter is extremely serious", in addition to the three ya, which was the "military minister of the Northern Song Dynasty" and ranked first among the military generals, specifically speaking, there are also roughly the following names:

1. Generous. The thickness of the military ministers is the characteristic of the Northern Song Dynasty system, such as the people of the time: "The Song Dynasty treated the military ministers well, and they were generous and courteous." [5] (Later Collection Volume 21) As a "military minister", of course, the three yas are more prominent, such as the Cheng Jia Chang Dynasty in the imperial history of the Renzong Dynasty when analyzing the reasons why the "sons of Enqi" such as foreign relatives coveted the position of the three yas: "His ambition is not to benefit the speed of transfer, and he is generous to his ears." [7] (Vol. 138) This is exactly what happened. To illustrate this more visually, take a look at the table below.

Table 1 Comparison table between the three yas (the three yas are basically issued according to the official ranks of the festival envoy, the retainer, the observation, the defense, the regimental training envoy, and the assassin history) and the zai zhi yulu

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Position: money, clothing, (year, two) Lusu

Yueguan (thousand) silk silk Luo moonstone

Prime Minister and Privy Envoy 30040601001100

Counsellor and Counselor

The secret deputy envoy 2002030501100

Governor of the hospital, the same knowledge

The 2002030501100 of the hospital

Signing of the Privy Council 150203050170

The three festivals are 4004020050010150

Segmentation observation is left 20020100100

Observation makes 20020100100

Defend 20020100100

The regimental training 1502010070

Thorn history 502010050

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It is not difficult to see from this that the overall level of the three Ya Yulu is on the same level as that of the Zaizhi, and the deputy commander of the palace, horse, and infantry army of the Jiedu envoy is even above the prime minister. (Note: This table is mainly based on Wang Shengduo: "The Financial History of the Two Song Dynasty", (Zhonghua Book Company, 1995 edition, pages 780-784 of the second volume) "Table of the Amount of Money and Clothing of Civil and Military Officials before the Reform of Yuanfeng in the Northern Song Dynasty"; See also Zhuge Yibing, "A Study on the System of Zaifu in the Song Dynasty", China Social Sciences Press, 2000, p. 158. ）

2. Grace wife and son. Enyin, also known as "Renzi", "Menyin", and "Shihui", refers to the system in which the imperial court confers official titles or assignments on their descendants or relatives according to their rank and rank. The indiscriminate grace of the Northern Song Dynasty was unprecedented, and the names alone were divided into five categories: suburban rituals, holy festivals (emperor's birthdays), official notices, official declaration forms, and temporary graces. Since the Zhenzong Dynasty, the Northern Song Dynasty's grace and shadow system tended to be fixed, stipulating: civil officials who served the imperial history and knew miscellaneous affairs above the level, and made up one person every year; From the staff to the outside Lang above, every three years to make up for one person; The military ministers are above the rampant, and one person is made up every year; From the deputy envoys of the departments and above, one person shall be made every three years[8](p640)

In addition to enjoying the above-mentioned treatment according to the regulations, the Sanya also has the so-called "initial removal of the military favors". Taking the palace capital and deputy commander of the envoy to the festival as an example, the first is to seal the mother and wife, "the mother is the lady of the county, and the wife is the lady of the county". [9] (in the volume) the second is to make up for the parent-child or grandson as a grandson. For example, on October 4 of the first year of Shenzong Yuanfeng, Jia Yu was forbidden by the left servant to wait for the gate, "first, Jia Kui was drawn by the scriptures" Yanbian Shidezi You's door was only waited, and then the deputy commander of the palace was removed, and Yu was removed from his post as an example, and the edict was stopped from moving an official. So far, Kui is begging again. The last batch: 'Yue Yuen and the office, in order to send Kui Jing to draw side affairs, special encouragement, today Kui begs, is in addition to the palace marshal's grace, can be played according to the example. [4] (Official 32-5) On October 22 of the first year of Gaozong Shaoxing, "the Privy Council said that Guo Zhongxun was removed from the official army at the beginning, and the officials planned to apply for the post." The job was a beautiful job that was easy to promote at that time, and people at the time had the so-called "pet in the job". Therefore, after Song Gaozong approved Guo's example of removing the three yas, he sighed that "the ancestors treated the three yas like this" [4] (the ninth of the three officials). The grace of other military management of the three yas is slightly lower than that of the palace capital and the deputy commander, but it is also quite generous, so Feng Shouxin of the Zhenzong Dynasty is the three ya, "his younger brother wants to be his son as a trustworthy son, in order to take the high shade." [7] (Vol. 95) In addition, because of his proximity to his position, the Sanya often had the convenience of asking for the favor of his relatives in front of the emperor, and Renzong had to issue an edict demanding that "the officials and military ministers shall not be the favors of their relatives unless they are the Qianyuan Festival and the great gifts." [7] (Volume 136)

3. Perform in the upper hall. The Renzong Dynasty stipulated: "In front of the palace, horses, and infantry troops, in the future, in addition to the routine routine performance, if there is a non-pan plan, rapid business, in the apse, it will be ordered to be free of rods, narrow clothes to go to the temple; If it is not the official business of the company, do not see it, that is, close the door, go to the temple according to the rules, and do not take the order. [7] (Vol. 156)

4. Return to the court. Since the beginning of the Zhenzong Dynasty, the three Ya Hui Dynasty to see the emperor to give a banquet, according to the "Long Edition" volume 84 records: "Calm the road is deployed, the infantry army is the deputy commander, and the Zhenwu Festival makes the king able to come to the court." Story, His Majesty will give a banquet when he sees it, but the person in charge of the army is not as good as him. As a result, the special order is used as an example of vassals. There is a Si Yan who can sit at the same time, and in front of the palace, Ma Junshuai Cao Can, etc., should all be served, and the rank is not convenient. Nai Zhaocan waited for the rest of the day, and he was the one in charge of the army, taking it as an example. ”

5. Meet the Prime Minister. The prime minister of the Northern Song Dynasty is high and powerful, the ritual system Xuanhe, the three yashi see the prime minister, and they must be very respectful, and the "Literature General Examination" volume 58 "Career Official Twelve" quotes Shen Kuo's "Pen Talk" and says: "The three yamen see the ruler in the middle, all of them are horizontal sticks behind the Wende Palace, and they sing under the steps of the corridor; The prime minister came out and stood up. Affair with the official in the thoroughfare, all avoided. This ritual has been abandoned for a long time, but the gift of the horizontal rod in the inner part has not been abolished so far. "But the prime minister also has to return the courtesy, such as the king of the Renzong Dynasty was the prime minister, "the deputy commander of the palace, Zhenwu Jie Du made Yang Chongxun taste the white things in the book, it is a light rain Xinji, Chongxun wears a mud harl and climbs the stairs, Zeng Zhizhi, does not sit with regular etiquette." [7] (Vol. 103) Although Yang Chongxun was not allowed to sit in advance, it can be seen from this incident that in the "regular ceremony", that is, under normal circumstances, the prime minister would set up a seat for the three ya.

6. Borrow official horses. The three officials can all borrow official horses, and they can continue to be used after resignation. The previous system of Renzong Qingli was "the old system: all the troops borrowed five horses, and they still borrowed and stayed", and in the eighth year of Qingli, they were: "Zhao Qun Pastoral Division, from now in front of the palace, the horse infantry army has commanded the army, and each gave three borrowed horses, and the front of the palace and the horse infantry army are waiting." Holding the sun, the martial dragon, the four compartments of the divine guard, all command two horses; The military capital commanded a horse. [7] (Vol. 165)

7. Detached soldiers. In the fourth year of Song Taizu's reign, he began to strictly order the front of the palace, the commanders of the guards and the border guardian envoys not to choose the brave ones in the army as their own tooth team. After the outbreak of the Song-Xia War, this policy was loosened, and the Shenzong Dynasty specified that the official to the Sanya, the imperial court could select soldiers as pro-soldiers. For example, in the fourth year of Yuanfeng, when Li Xian, the eunuch who commanded the army in Xihe, asked for "begging for Xuanwu, Shenyong, and the tiger wing in front of the palace to be a commander, and being a subordinate soldier", Song Shenzong personally approved it and rejected it, and explained: "The begging pro-soldier tooth team is in charge of the military Xu, and it can be known to Li Xianling." [7] (Volume 313)

8. Posthumously seal three generations. After the suburbs, the envoys of the three Ya Fan to the festival can posthumously seal the three generations of ancestors as officials like the current prime minister and the privy councillor. For example, Liu Tinghan of the Taizong Dynasty was the commander of the palace, "Taste the favor of the suburbs, when the third generation is posthumously sealed, Tinghan is less lonely, and his eldest father is not caught in trouble, forgetting his family, and he is given a letter to the author." [10] ("The Biography of Liu Tinghan") In the early years of Shenzong Yuanfeng, Jia Kui worshiped the envoy of the Jianwu Army and commanded the envoy in front of the palace, "Please don't pardon the third official in the suburbs, Shenzong said: 'Kui Wuren, can have the ambition to remember his relatives, and he listens to it'." [10] ("The Biography of Jia Kui")

9. Funeral. The Northern Song Dynasty's system of funeral ceremonies for the three generals includes: the emperor drops out of the dynasty for one day, such as the Renzong Dynasty, "the palace is commanded in front of the envoy, and the Baojing Festival makes Wei Zhaomin die, and the service is presented." The story is that one day is a strike, and two days are a special strike". [7] (Vol. 102) The emperor also often came to pay respects in person, such as the Shenzong Dynasty, "the deputy (capital) commander in front of the palace, and Lu Zhengshu, the envoy of Wutai Jiedu." Drop out of the court, lay it, and give the opening of the house with the three divisions". [7] (Vol. 315) Posthumously gifted official positions, and the high-ranking ones could often be given to the service, such as Hao Zhen and Jia Kui; After the Shenzong Dynasty, the front of the palace and the deputy commander gave many gifts to the three divisions of the palace, Liu Changzuo, Miao Zhu, Yao Lin, etc. The envoy of the Jiedu can also get nicknames, such as "the deputy commander of the Ma Army, the envoy of the Wuchang Jiedu, Peng Rui...... The law deserves it". [7] (Vol. 106) Yin Bu's children are officials, such as: "Long Shenwei Sixiang commanded the envoy, Qin Feng and other deputy chiefs of the road to Bao Shu, and Tui En and allowed his family Chen Qi to send them." [7] (Vol. 299) If the deputy commander of the infantry army dies, his family can also use the official residence to organize the funeral, such as the Shenzong Dynasty stipulated: "If the deputy commander of the army and the infantry army is appointed to make the above death, he is allowed to borrow the idle official residence to live, and he will return to the official after serving for more than 30 years." [7] (Vol. 261).

The changes in the status of the three ya

It should be emphasized that the political status of the Northern Song Dynasty Sanya experienced a dynamic change process from low to high, as recorded in volume 1 of Ouyang Xiu's "Returning to the Fields": "Between Baoyuan and Kangding, Yu Zidepreciation returned to Beijing, and saw Wang Junzhen as a priest at the beginning, and returned from the Khitan. Yu Shi was here, and saw that Du Zhi, Zhu Ban, and the horse infantry army in front of the palace rode outside the door, and presented a list saying that he didn't dare to ask to see, and sent people to thank him. In the third year of the Qing calendar, the rest of the people who gave up the house, this ceremony has been abolished. However, the ministers of the three yaguan army met on the road, and when they saw the people, the one who led them was stationed on horse, and the one who was in front of them spread the voice of 'Taiwei immediately', and hurriedly sent people to thank him, and then dared to do it. After more than ten years of official return, he entered Hanlin as a bachelor, and saw that the three yas were very strong, and they were no longer as at that time. When I met with the bachelor, I parted ways, and there was no way to avoid it, and the two systems were getting lighter and the three were getting heavier. Zhu Xi, a scholar at the Southern Song Dynasty, explained this matter, "It is also accumulating." It is he who weighs it, and it is naturally so"[11] (vol. 128) can be called a broken sentence.

Roughly speaking, after the Chenqiao Mutiny and before Song Taizu released the military power, the status of the Sanya was prominent, and Shi Shouxin, Wang Xianqi and others were "officials and knights and honors from the super, and they were rewarded with the honor of Yi Dai",[7] (Volume 1) were beyond the reach of all civil servants. However, since the "cup of wine released military power" and the two dynasties of Taizong and Zhenzong, the status of the three yas has shown a sharp downward trend. In the early period of the Renzong Dynasty, that is, the "between Baoyuan and Kangding" mentioned by Ouyang Xiu, on the one hand, the policy of "emphasizing literature over military force" reached its peak, the so-called "the country has been peaceful for a long time, and the literary affairs are too prosperous, and the scholars are ashamed of the martial arts, and the scholars are ashamed of talking about the army." [12] On the other hand, the quality of the Sanya itself has also fallen to the bottom, as scholars have pointed out: "The long-term suppression and discrimination caused a further decline in the quality of the military generals in the Song Renzong Dynasty, and a group of cowardly, incompetent and inferior generals were produced." [13] Under the combined effect of the two, its status basically fell to the lowest point of the Northern Song Dynasty. However, starting from the "Qingli New Deal" in the third year of Qingli, that is, when Ouyang Xiu "Yu Zuo Sheren", in view of the serious problems exposed in the Song-Xia War, the national policy of "emphasizing literature over military force" in the Northern Song Dynasty gradually changed to "emphasizing literature but not light on martial arts", and with Di Qing and a large number of heroes who resisted the Western Xia entering the Sanya, the quality of the Sanya also improved slightly, and its status showed an upward trend. More than ten years later, at the end of Renzong and the beginning of Yingzong, that is, when Ouyang Xiu was appointed as a scholar of Hanlin and re-entered the government, he had already shown obvious improvement, that is, the so-called "three yas gradually became heavier".

Since then, except for a few periods when the old party of Yuanyou was in power, the emperors of Shenzong, Zhezong, and Huizong were all interested in using troops abroad, and it was inevitable to respect the generals, so the political status of the three yas continued to rise. For example, in April of the ninth year of Xining, the palace commanded Hao Zhen and others: go to the military weapons supervisor and the power judge Liu Fengshi and other military weapons. Upper batch: "The three marshals of the palace, the horse, and the infantry army, the treatment of the imperial court, the courtesy of the second house, the matter is of the utmost importance." How can the petty officials of the temple be summoned to the meeting? Respect and humility are reversed, the situation is not smooth, and the order will be moved from now on. [7] (Vol. 274) The Song people commented on this matter: "As for Xining, the gift of treatment was inherited from the second government, and it was not available to those who were summoned by the temple superintendent. Sigh! How important. By the time of the Huizong Dynasty, the Sanya had reached the pinnacle of "being the best official"[14] (vol. 192). In June of the fourth year of Zhenghe, Chen Bangguang, a member of the Zhongshu House, said: "The management of the army is the extreme responsibility of the military ministers, and now it is not in the order of the product, and the official is secondary. "Then the edict of the gift system," this bureau to take the rank of the ministers of the army, the front of the palace are commanded to make the envoy on the festival, the deputy commander in front of the palace is above the main observation and stay, the horse army is in command, the deputy commander of the horse army is in the main observation of the envoy, the front of the palace is Yu Hou, the horse army is Yu Hou, the infantry army is Yu Hou is in the main defense of the envoy, and the four compartments of the sun and Tianwu are commanded to be in the main regimental training envoy. from it". [4] (32-7)

The political role of the Sanya

As Mr. Zhu Ruixi pointed out: "The three generals cannot participate in politics. [8] (p552) Restricting the participation of military generals, especially high-ranking military generals mainly in the Sanya, was a consistent basic national policy of the Northern Song Dynasty. For example, in the Song Taizu Dynasty, "one day, Taizu (stone) will be trustworthy and will be palmed by Zhou Han." Trustworthy and slightly revealed, Zhou Han thanked him. Taizu was angry and died at his death." [10] ("The Biography of Liang Zhouhan") Song Taizong even clearly declared that Yun: "Since Liang and Jin have descended, the weak lord of the faint monarch, the party that has lost control of the party, the court is small, and the generals are listed as colonels, all of whom have to sit and senate in advance, and their appeasement of the military ministers is the same." I am the king of the four seas, and even the prince, not only this generation, if Li Guang is resurrected, there is no reason to appease. [7] (Vol. 37) Therefore, on the whole, the role of the Sanya in the political life of the Northern Song Dynasty was not very large.

Of course, restricting the participation of generals in political power cannot be understood as absolutely not allowing them to participate in politics. In fact, it was not a minority of the three ya's personal opinions on the government in the Northern Song Dynasty, such as Renzong's time that the three ya's official affairs were not to be "Chen Lijian, that is, to close the door and go to the palace according to the rules". [7] (Vol. 156) Zhang Qi of the Zhenzong Dynasty was appointed in front of the palace, "when the Yuqing Palace was built, the Qi Song was said to be the financial resources of the country, not so the will of heaven"; [10] ("The Biography of Zhang Qi") Yang Chongxun, "He has been in the military for a long time, and when he is a true sect, every pair of people talk about foreign and foreign affairs, like and hurt people, and people think they are afraid of it"; [10] ("The Biography of Yang Chongxun") Guo Chengyou of the Renzong Dynasty, "Good words and deeds, referring to the mistakes of people, when called the military admonition official cloud"; [15] ("The Biography of Guo Chengyou") and so on.

More importantly, in the process of many changes of the throne in the Northern Song Dynasty, the Sanya was often more active and played an important role that could not be ignored. Typical examples are as follows:

First, Yingzong was established, and Prime Minister Han Qi was the "Father of Decision", but Li Zhang, the former deputy commander of the palace, assisted Prime Minister Han Qi, which also contributed to stabilizing the political fluctuations at the beginning of Yingzong's accession.

Li Zhang, is the son of Renzong's uncle Li Yonghe, Renzong took it as the deputy commander of the palace, which is a deep meaning of the orphan, "The Biography of Li Zhang in the History of the Song Dynasty" recorded: "Renzong's book 'loyalty and filial piety Li Zhang' word and the secretary gave it." Banquet near the Jade Hall of the Ministers, half a wine, two orders for Dazhan, drink Han Qi and Zhang, if you belong. Yingzong ascended the throne, the situation was uneasy, a Yingzong foreign domain succession, there was no shortage of pretenders within the royal family, such as Renzong Empress Cao said: "It's just the clan, set him up, and no one will fight after that?" [7] (Volume 198 quoted in "Straight Writing") Zhao Yunbi, the king of Beihai County, thought that he was "the most respectful and uneven", and publicly threatened: "How can there be a group training envoy (referring to Yingzong) as the Son of Heaven, why not establish respect?" He is a generation higher than Yingzong, and the so-called "respect" refers to himself. The second is that the soldiers are greedy for money and want to be rewarded, "when the guards or tell each other, the story of Qianxing (Renzong's accession to the throne), there is gold in the food." Even if the fruit in the palace gives food, everyone sees that there is nothing in the food, and they all think that it is said",[7] (Vol. 198) The military heart fluctuates.

In this politically sensitive period, Li Zhang did not live up to Renzong's expectations, and his role was manifested in the following three aspects: First, when "the palace was summoned, the deputy commander of the Ma Bu army, the capital Yu Hou and the clan assassin history were above the edict in front of the palace", the status of Yingzong was further established. 'Quality (actually Li Zhang) deducted the palace rank and the white prime minister: "I want to go to the palace to see the official's house." 'After Qi, after the promise. Shi Yingzong distributed a quilt and covered it with a hat. Quality (Zhang) Xu Jinwat whisked development, judged it, descended to the temple mountain to worship, and the front of the temple also worshipped the mountain. (Note: In April 198, the eighth year of Jiayou, Li Tao's "Long Edition" quoted Cai's "Straight Pen", and researched: "At this time, the palace marshal was Li Zhang, and Hao Zhen was really Ma Junshuai, and the "Straight Pen" was wrong. Therefore, it was changed to Li Zhang's matter. Second, he rejected the proposal of the ruling to increase the defense of the capital, and the history said: "The emperor (Renzong) collapsed, and the ruling wanted to increase the number of soldiers in the capital. [10] ("The Biography of Li Zhang") The third is to reprimand the arrogant soldiers and stabilize the morale of the army in a timely manner, "Li Zhang, the deputy commander of the palace, called his chief, and said: 'Er Cao Pingju is a county official, and the lord has been rewarded before he is in power, and he will be rewarded for his achievements, and those who dare to make noise will be killed!'" 'All are determined'. In this regard, people at that time spoke highly of it alongside Han Qi, "The dynasty said that there is such a prime minister and a palace marshal, and the world will not be disgraced." [7] (Vol. 198, quoted in "Straight Brush")

Second, the former deputy commander of the palace, Yan Da, cooperated with the prime minister Cai Qu and others, and played an important role in ensuring the smooth succession of Zhezong to the throne.

On the occasion of Shenzong and Zhezong, there were so-called political doubts about Empress Dowager Gao's "plan to abolish the establishment" (that is, to replace Zhezong with Yongwang Zhao Hao) and Cai Qu and others who supported Zhezong's "Yuanfeng was bequeathed". In the future struggles between Yuan You, Shao Shengxin, and the old party, the new party all said this, and the old party tried its best to distinguish its falsehoods, until there were works such as "Xinlu Confession" and Shao Bowen's "Confession". Since the "National History" and "Actual Records" of the two dynasties of Shenzong and Zhezong have been repeatedly tampered with by both sides, and none of them are believed in history, it is very difficult to completely clarify the historical truth. However, it is certain that there was indeed a fierce struggle between the political forces of the different political factions at that time around the accession of Zhezong, and the result was that Zhezong came to power but the Empress Dowager Gao was regent, and the two sides temporarily compromised and came to an end. In this regard, Mr. Deng Guangming and Mr. Qi Xia have preliminarily elaborated in the famous works of "Wang Anshi, a political reformer in the Northern Song Dynasty" and "Wang Anshi's Reform", and the author intends to study in detail on the basis of another article, here is only an overview of the conclusions, and focuses on the analysis of the role of Yanda, the former deputy commander of the palace.

To put it simply, Empress Dowager Gao has been opposed to Shenzong, Wang Anshi and others for a long time, and Zhao Hao, the king of Yong, is not only her beloved son, but the two are more completely consistent in opposing the new law, and have joined forces to challenge Shenzong and force him to depose Wang Anshi. According to the record of volume 3 of "Shaw Brothers' Wenjianlu": "Shenzong retired Sima Wengong, and all the righteous people were led away for a while, and Wang Jinggong was used alone, and the law of the ancestors was changed as much as possible, and the army was used to prosper the world. The emperor served the Empress Dowager for one day, and went to the Empress Dowager's Palace (i.e., Empress Dowager Gao) with King Qi (i.e. Zhao Hao). …… The Empress Dowager said: 'I have heard that the people are very bitter about the seedlings and the money for the service, and it is advisable to give them amnesty. The emperor was not embarrassed, and said: "To benefit the people, not to suffer." The Empress Dowager said: "Wang Anshi is talented and learned, but there are many people who complain. The emperor wants to cherish and preserve, if he is temporarily out of the house, he can be recalled after the year. The emperor said: "Among the ministers, only An Shi can be the ear of the country." King Qi said: "The words of the Empress Dowager are also true." Your Majesty must not be left alone. The emperor was angry and said, 'Am I the one who has ruined the world?' Thou shalt do it for thyself. King Qi wept and said, "What is it." They were all not happy. Shenzong's statement that "you do it yourself" is a quote from Taizong's words of forcing Taizu's son Zhao Dezhao to commit suicide, which shows that he has deep suspicions. When Shenzong was dying, Zhao Hao first advocated the regent of the Empress Dowager Gao, "In February, Shenzong was very ill, Xin Mao, and the auxiliary ministers asked, and when they went to the Zichen Palace, Hao was invited to the corridor and said: 'The situation is urgent, and the military and state affairs should ask the Empress Dowager to hang the curtain. 'The auxiliary minister was stunned that it was not right"; Later, with the acquiescence of the Empress Dowager Gao, the heart of seeking the throne became increasingly inflated, like "The prince has not been built, and China and foreign countries are turbulent." The emperor's younger brother Yongwang asked about the disease, and went through the tent to the queen mother's words, seeing that the palace concubine did not avoid it, the gods looked at it angrily, and there was no fear of it", "and played the begging to stop the illness, the queen strived, and the king of Jing also stopped, and he couldn't stay." Even though they were written by the New Party, they were generally in line with the facts.

In this situation, whether Zhezong can succeed his father has become a question, Song Shenzong in view of this, so there is a lonely Cai Qu, Yan Da two moves, history said: "The more urgent the matter, will be sure that the mother can enter the forbidden, the queen made the edict confirmed, so that the external trust of the main military officer Yan Da and other auxiliaries, and because of the internal servant Yan Shouqin's edict to work together to make a decision." Cai Qu, the prime minister at the time, Shenzong's evaluation of him was: "The ministers are all the remnants of the emperor, if they are indeed small officials, I will live up to them if I am promoted here." However, if the qi is weak, it is possible to be supplemented by others. [7] (Vol. 352 Li Tao's note) Therefore, he specially appointed Yan Da, the deputy commander of the palace, as his assistant, with the intention of hoping to use military strength as Cai Qu's backing.

Yan Da, who was the former deputy commander of the palace, was a trusted general raised by Song Shenzong himself, "Shenzong is loyal to him, and every Yan sees it, he is not uneasy",[10] ("Yan Da Biography") He is also loyal to Shenzong. On the eve of the establishment of the prince, after Cai Qu sent his brother Cai Shuo to convey the meaning of Shenzong and Cai Qu, he immediately said: "I am willing to do my best to help the prime minister (referring to the prime minister Cai Qu)." [7] (Note to Vol. 352) Cai and Yan combined their civil and military forces to exert greater pressure on Empress Dowager Gao and Zhao Hao, forcing them to dare not act rashly, so they accepted the compromise plan of establishing Zhezong as the crown prince and Empress Dowager Gao as regent. Being able to achieve this result was already a better choice for the Fa Reform Sect led by the Divine Sect under the unfavorable conditions at that time.

Yan Da not only assisted the prime minister Cai Qu by force when Zhezong was the crown prince, but before and after Zhezong's accession to the throne, in order to prevent accidents, he also disregarded taboos, and asked him to personally lead sixty heavily armed middle and lower-level officers to guard outside the east gate of the palace. The history books recorded: "Catch the gods and ascend to the top, and stay at the inner east gate." Hundreds of officials are coming, entering from the vertical arch hall, and the prince of the royal family enters from the inner east gate. (Yan) Da Wei said: 'The Son of Heaven has newly ascended the throne, and I sit here in preparation for the extraordinary, if there is a traitor who enters with the royal family, then things will happen, and how can everyone distinguish it.' When it comes to the music, the people may stop saying: 'The affairs of the royal family are not to be said, and they are afraid of being sinned.' "Da said: 'I have received the great grace of the first emperor, and I am always in front of the people, and I am worthy of my words, although I am sorry to die!' Then it was played. The minister sighed. [7] (Note to Vol. 353) At Yan Da's request, the Song court broke the usual practice and allowed Yan Da to lead the army to "sit and guard" at the inner east gate day and night. (Note: For example, in March of the eighth year of Yuanfeng, volume 353 of the "Long Edition", Li Tao quoted the "Secret Record": "On March 5, Yan Da played, and sent the front of the palace to command 60 people to go to the inner east gate to sit at the east gate and guard the family, and follow the order. And researched and said: "But Yanda begs to stay outside the east gate, and there is no such thing before." …… It should be that Dachuang has a request, not the old case. It can be seen that the move is indeed from Yanda's own opinion. Yanda is a move, which is intended to prevent those in the imperial family who may be unfavorable to Zhezong from entering and exiting from the inner east gate, and it is obviously of great significance to Zhezong's smooth accession to the throne. From this point of view, Shenzong believed that he was "faithful and responsible" and that he was indeed a good man.

Third, the infantry army is Yu Hou (Note: Wang Mingqing: "Waving Yu Words" volume 1 said that He Guan was the palace marshal, but the "History of the Song Dynasty" did not contain the biography, and there was Wang Zongchu in front of the palace deputy commander at that time, see "The Year of the Establishment of Yan" volume 1, He's position at this time according to the "History of the Song Dynasty" is actually the infantry army is Yu Hou, and he is in charge of the Gou Bu Army. The deputy commander of the Xunqian Infantry Army. On the occasion of Hui and Qinnezen, He Guan used force as the backing to deter the attempt of Zhao Kai, the king of Yun, to seize the throne. He Guan, a native of Kaifeng, is known for his good shooting, and accumulates military merits in the last years of Huizong as the capital of the infantry army and the director of the Goubu army. On the occasion of Hui and Qinnezen, he led his troops into the guard. At that time, it was the Jin army that went south to the Northern Song Dynasty and the country was difficult, and the Northern Song Dynasty royal family should have worked together to go to the national disaster, but because Huizong and Qinzong father and son had always been suspicious, as early as the end of Xuanhe, Song Huizong favored the third son Yun Wang Zhao Kai, and had the intention of abolishing it, according to Hu Yin of the time: "Emperor Yuansheng is in the East Palace, when Xuanhe is in the year of the season, Wang Huang wants to shake it repeatedly. (Geng) Nanzhong is the official of the East Palace, and if he has nothing to do, he will return to Li Bangyan, the right man. Bang Yan was favored at that time, and he was in charge of his plan, and every time he was slandered by Wang Huang, he had resolved disputes. [16] (Volume 27) When Huizong was anxious to escape from the Jin soldiers and take the throne, Zhao Kai ignored the overall situation and still tried to seize the throne at the instigation of the eunuchs. When King Yun went to the door to enter, he said: 'The great event has been decided, why did the king come by the order?' The guide retreated in fear. There is a more detailed description of this matter in the notes of the Song people, such as Wang Mingqing's "Wave of Yu Words" volume 1: "At the end of Xuanhe, Youling wanted to be in Zen, called the disease, and ordered the East Palace. First of all, Qinzong was in the Zhu Mansion, and every time he was unhappy with the arrogance of the fortunate ministers, there were dozens of servants, supporting Wang Kai to the palace gate. Shi He Guan guarded the guards with the palace marshal, and refused with a sword. King Yun stepped forward and said, 'Don't the Taiwei know Kaiye? He pointed to the sword and said, "Although he knows the king, he doesn't know the ear of this thing." 'They were all afraid of retreating, and they began to rush to the establishment of the Qin Sect. He Guan's blocking became a key factor in smashing Zhao Kai and others' attempts to seize the position.

To sum up, the Sanya did play a relatively important role in the process of the change of the throne in the Northern Song Dynasty, which is not surprising, because under the ancient absolutist regime, the change of the old and new thrones is often a politically sensitive period when various forces compete for each other.

However, the change of the throne of the Northern Song Dynasty also showed distinctive characteristics of the times, that is, it was temperate and advantageous. There are sections, which means that they often play a role under the control of the civil ministers headed by the prime minister, and no longer appear as a separate group like the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, and often show that they can actively cooperate closely with the prime minister and other civil and ruling ministers. More importantly, although force is the backing of the three generals, the real use of force to solve the problem almost did not happen once in the Northern Song Dynasty, and they were mainly used as a military deterrent to assist the prime minister; Favorable, referring to the appropriate intervention of the three generals in the succession to the throne, in most cases played an irreplaceable positive role in stabilizing the political situation. Like the aforementioned Li Zhang when Yingzong ascended the throne, Yanda when Zhezong ascended the throne, He Guan when Qinzong ascended the throne, and so on. In recent years, an expert on Song history has written an article pointing out: "In the political life of the Song Dynasty, the color of barbarism and ignorance was fading, the color of civilization and rationality was increasing, and the degree of civilization and rationalization of political operations was greatly improved. [17] As a military general with heavy troops, Sanya was able to play the above good role in the change of the throne, which should be said to be one of the important manifestations of the political operation of the Northern Song Dynasty tending to be civilized and physical.