The most controversial scene at the beginning of "The Year of Peace" is the young man Guo Rong beheading the refugees. At that time, at the city gate of Bianliang, a refugee caused a riot because he was hungry and thirsty, grabbing food. The gentle and elegant man immediately drew his sword and beheaded him. Faced with Qian Hongchu's angry rebuke, he said without changing his face that "order is more important than mercy."
But late at night, the future emperor, young Guo Rong, ran outside the city alone and whispered confession to the corpses of the refugees, his eyes full of sadness. This plot reflects the aggressive and tough character of Guo Rong, Shizong of the Later Zhou Dynasty in history, which ultimately made him the most embarrassing and tragic emperor.
A famous scene of killing a refugee: half iron-blooded, half tragic
The background of Guo Rong's killing of the refugees in "The Year of Peace" was that Zhang Yanze's rebels were suppressing the border, the army of the Later Jin Dynasty failed on the front line, the Khitan army came, and tens of thousands of refugees, supporting the elderly and the young, rushed to the gate of Bianliang City to survive. In the court hall of the Later Jin Dynasty, civil and military officials were discussing how to resettle the refugees. The young man Guo Rong stepped forward and rejected the proposal of Zhao Hongyin and other generals to "close the city to reject the refugees". He insisted on opening the city to accept the refugees and promised to appease the refugees, provide for their families, and even integrate the refugees into the city defense, trying to kill two birds with one stone – saving the common people from floods and fires, and making up for the deficiencies in city defense.
At the same time, Guo Rong took the initiative to ask for help and allocated a small army to him, who was responsible for recruiting the refugees. At this time, countless viewers were moved by Guo Rong's benevolence for the people, and marveled at Guo Rong's vision and shrewdness as a politician.
However, the plot shifted to a team of refugees receiving food relief supplies. One refugee grabbed more food because he was too hungry, causing a commotion. At this time, the young man Guo Rong did not reason, and immediately drew his sword. With a flash of cold light, the refugee fell to the ground.
In this way, Guo Rong shocked the audience with lightning strikes and suppressed a riot caused by refugees snatching food. Qian Hongchu on the other side angrily accused him of disregarding human life.
Guo Rong said to Qian Hongchu:
"In troubled times, order is more important than mercy. If he is allowed to rob food today, millions of people will follow suit tomorrow. By then, the city will be destroyed and people will die, and all the refugees will die."
Guo Rong's logic may appear to be cruel and cold-blooded, but it is his own profound understanding of troubled times. He knew that in chaotic and chaotic times, it was necessary to "establish authority," that is, to stabilize the situation with strong means and to restore social order and order.
Late at night, Guo Rong felt guilty and went alone outside the city to burn incense on the remains of the beheaded refugees and express his repentance. His eyes were full of sadness that no one could understand.
Afterwards, Guo Rong said these profound and philosophical words to Qian Hongchu who was passing by: "What is wrong in this world is also wrong. Just because the world is turbid, it does not mean that everything that follows the trend is right."
Guo Rong's words are not only a reflection on his own behavior, but also a warning to Qian Hongchu. Because he knows very well that in order to maintain order and stability in troubled times, sometimes extreme measures have to be taken. This method is not absolutely correct, but it is a helpless move in the dark world. But he also reminded Qian Hongchu not to follow the trend just because of the darkness of the world and think that doing some extreme things is reasonable and correct.
Two plot prototypes
The plot of "The Year of Peace" does have its prototype in history. According to the "Old History of the Five Dynasties", when Chai Rong was guarding Yedu, he encountered a dangerous situation where "hungry people gathered together to become bandits". He "ordered the sergeants to arrest them separately and killed more than a thousand people." In the play, this historical fact is embodied in the bloody suppression at the head of Bianliang City, which also truly reflects the iron-fisted character of Chai Rong (Guo Rong, hereinafter referred to as Chai Rong), Shizong of the Later Zhou Dynasty in history, who "brought chaos with killing" in troubled times. In troubled times, when the system collapses and humanity is lost, iron fist becomes the only option to rebuild order.
Guo Rong was originally named Chai Rong. When he was young, in order to supplement his family income, he traveled around the country selling tea, cloth and porcelain. He traveled far and wide and witnessed the hardships and sufferings of the refugees. This experience gave him the original intention of "saving the people and bringing peace to the world". At the same time, he also realized that only iron-blooded determination can accomplish great things.
Therefore, it is this kind of background in life that makes Guo Rong have the ideal of putting the people first, restoring social order, and realizing world peace throughout his life, and has a bottom-level sobriety. However, in order to realize his political ideals, he had to adopt radical, extreme and tough measures, which doomed his tragic emperor's ending.
Three iron blood leaves no regrets
Chai Rong, Shizong of the Later Zhou Dynasty in history, was more aggressive and tough than the character shown in "The Year of Peace". Although he only reigned for six years, his tough style remained throughout, mainly reflected in various aspects such as military reorganization, government reform, and foreign campaigns.
Because of Chai Rong's tough style, he has a strong style of doing things that "can't get rid of the dirt in his eyes". This kind of strength is conducive to the pros and cons of reform and the prosperity of the country.
For example, not long after Chai Rong ascended the throne, the Northern Han Dynasty saw that the new emperor's accession to the throne was unstable, so he united with the Khitans to launch a large-scale invasion. For the sake of stability, the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty persuaded him to stick to Bianliang City. But Chai Rong has a tough and impatient character. He wants to show his country's prestige in one battle, so he will naturally defy everyone's opinions and go for the conquest himself.
In the early days of the Battle of Gaoping, the following week was indeed in a disadvantageous situation. In the later Zhou Dynasty, the leading generals of the Right Army, Fan Aineng and He Hui, escaped before the battle, causing the defense line to collapse. It was also expected that the attack of the powerful enemy would fail. At that time, Chai Rong was trapped in a heavy siege, but he showed no fear. He resolutely abandoned his car and put on his armor himself, charged into the battle with determination, and stabilized the situation. Later, with the brave help of Zhao Kuangyin, he won the battle of founding the country, reversing the situation in which the Central Plains dynasty had been passively beaten for five generations.
After the war, he ignored the pleas of his ministers and beheaded more than 70 generals who fled the battle. In one fell swoop, he reversed the chaos in military discipline that had existed for five generations since "arrogant generals and lazy soldiers knew nothing to fear" and established military prestige.
The battle of Gaoping was narrowly won the following week, but Chai Rong's tough style spread from there. For example, in "The Year of Peace", when Chai Rong wanted to disarm, he was opposed by the die-hards. He did not want to compromise, and he also suppressed the reactionary coup in the military. He used this to streamline the army and streamline administration, cut military expenditures, reduce national expenditures, and combat the power of military generals in the troubled years of the Five Dynasties.
Four rapid advances consume all the confidence
Chai Rong's rapid progress is reflected in his efforts to end the chaos of the Five Dynasties and restore order, that is, establish normal order. For example, when he first came to the throne, he told Wang Pu, the Zuo Jianyi doctor, the oath that has been passed down through the ages: "I will use ten years to open up the world, ten years to support the people, and ten years to bring peace!"
This vision of peace is Chai Rong's plan for his thirty-year rule. His rapid progress is reflected in his urgent pursuit of "peace". In order to prevent other generals like Du Chongwei from colluding with the Khitan and causing a major defeat, he personally conducted every expedition.
Therefore, in the short five and six months of his reign, Chai Rong led the army of the Later Zhou Dynasty non-stop. First, he conquered Hou Shu in the west and recovered the four prefectures of Qin, Feng, Jie, and Cheng;
Chai Rong's internal affairs were also in turmoil. In order to solve the problem of people's livelihood, he measured the land and promulgated the "Equal Land Plan" to allow the refugees to have land to cultivate; he severely punished corruption, even the close associates of meritorious officials.
Each of Chai Rong's measures directly addressed the pain points of people's lives during the troubled times of the Five Dynasties. Each of them benefited the people and strengthened the country's strength, but each of them revealed Guo Rong's toughness and aggressiveness.
He was eager to end the troubled times and achieve peace, so he ignored the balance of interests of all parties and promoted reforms with "one size fits all" tough methods. Even if he offended powerful nobles and touched the interests of Buddhism, he would never compromise. Just like killing the refugees in "The Year of Peace", everything he did was motivated by "serving the world", but his methods were too cold and too eager, leaving an impression in history of being tough, aggressive, and even bad-tempered.
Five Tragedies Caused by Aggressive Characters
Chai Rong's toughness and aggressiveness may be because he wanted to complete the great cause of unification in his lifetime, realize the emperor's vision of creating a prosperous age, and perform great imperial achievements that will be praised in the history books of later generations. But he was so tough and aggressive, but he did too much and too fast, causing two negative effects.
1. Physical and mental overdraft.
According to the "Old History of the Five Dynasties", Chai Rong was "serious in nature and diligent in political affairs." It can be seen that he was a workaholic. He was busy reviewing memorials from court ministers and various places every day, working until late at night, and even insisted on handling military affairs during the Northern Expedition. With such diligence and hard work, Chai Rong expanded the territory, reformed bad government, restored production and normal social order in just five and a half years, and established a good team for the Song Dynasty. .
2 Make too many enemies
Chai Rong did not understand compromise and moderation when it came to reforms to eliminate bad government, which led to him making too many enemies. For example, he rectified military discipline with an iron fist and killed more than 70 deserted generals, which made the old forces in the military resentful. He severely cracked down on powerful people hiding their land, but it offended vested interest groups. Another example is his rectification of more than 30,000 Buddhist temples and the destruction of them, which offended religious forces.
Because he was too hasty, in the end, at the height of the Northern Expedition, Chai Rong was only one step away from completing his great cause. However, due to overwork, his body was overdrawn and he suddenly fell ill. In the end, he returned to the court and died of illness.
The Enlightenment of Liu Chai Rong’s Tragedy
In the film and television drama "The Year of Peace", although Chai Rong is the ideal feudal emperor, his toughness and coldness in the face of interests are truly portrayed, and his contradictory psychology is truly restored: he has experienced the suffering of the refugees, has a benevolent heart, and is willing to take on the work of appeasing the refugees; but in troubled times, he has to put away his compassion for those who disrupt order and endanger the majority of interests, and maintain order with iron-blooded means.
But in the end, Chai Rong was eager for quick success and too tough, which offended the powerful, and ignored Zhao Kuangyin's too much power, leading to the tragic ending of dying young and changing hands.
It can be concluded that the real Chai Rong in history is not a perfect person, but he is the most real hero in troubled times. Chai Rong's tragedy gives us a kind of inspiration in life. Real success is never eager for success, but it is knowing how to restrain eagerness and learn to compromise, so that we can move forward steadily without perseverance in our hearts.
