Song Shenzong Zhao Xu

In AD 1064 (the first year of Zhiping), he was sealed the Duke of Guangguo, and later he was sealed the King of Huaiyang County and the King of Ying. In AD 1066 (the third year of Zhiping), he was established as the crown prince, and the next year he was the emperor. He was Song Shenzong, who was 20 years old.

In 1067 AD (four years of peace), Zhao Xu ascended the throne. Due to his deep dissatisfaction with the weak politics and his long-standing admiration for Wang Anshi's talents, Zhao Xu immediately ordered Wang Anshi to implement reforms in order to revitalize the Northern Song Dynasty, known as "Wang Anshi Reformation" (also known as "Xining Reformation").

In 1085 AD (the eighth year of Yuanfeng), Zhao Xu died in Funing Hall at the age of 37. He reigned for 18 years and was named Shenzong, and his posthumous title was the English Emperor Wu Sheng Xiao. He was buried in Yongyu Mausoleum.

In 1069 AD (February of the second year of Xining), Zhao Xu appointed Wang Anshi as a member of the Council, mainly responsible for reform matters. At the same time, personnel arrangements were adjusted and a new ruling team was formed. The reform measures are roughly divided into three parts: the law to enrich the country, the law to strengthen the army, and the law to select scholars. Subsequently, the new law was gradually introduced. As soon as the new law was introduced, it attracted criticism and abuse from the government and the public. Not only was the new law criticized in terms of content and effectiveness, but it also criticized it ideologically and morally, saying that Wang Anshi had "changed the laws of his ancestors" and "used the method of enriching the country and strengthening the army to enlighten the heart. He wanted to get close to his achievements and forgot his old learning.""If he advocates laws, he calls him Shang Yang; if he talks about wealth and benefits, he will betray Meng Ke. Descending the old has become a rule, and abandoning public opinion has become a common custom." In the face of various discussions in the court, Wang Anshi was unmoved and shouted the slogan,"There is no need to be afraid of changes in heaven, no need to be comforted by people's words, and no need to abide by the laws of our ancestors." Zhao Xu expressed support for Wang Anshi and said: "A minister can speak about morality, and it will not help if he does not rely on his fame. "Advocate equal emphasis on morality and fame, and oppose the old school's empty talk about morality and inaction in politics. In the controversy between the two factions, Zhao Xu successively dismissed a group of officials who held negative opinions on the reform: For example, the censor Zhongcheng Lu Gong wrote "Leaving Yingzhou with a New Law";"Censors Liu Shu, Liu Qi, Qian Luo, Sun Changling, Wang Zishao, Cheng Hao, Zhang Jian, Chen Xiang, Chen Jian, Xie Jingwen, Yang Hui, Liu Zhi, and the remonstrants Fan Chunren, Li Chang, Sun Jue, and Yang Zongyu were all silent and went one after another";"Fan Zhensan, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, wrote about Qingmiao and resigned from his post"; Ouyang Xiu begged to retire," I listened to it";" Fu Bi used the Qing Miao to relieve the emissary"; Wen Yanbo said that the market is easy to compete with the subordinates for profit, and that he "comes out of Yanbo and protects Wei."

In 1070 AD (the third year of Xining), Wang Anshi was appointed as the official minister of Tongzhong, and he was the same prime minister, giving him greater power. Therefore, new laws such as farmland, water conservancy, green seedlings, Junshu, Baojia, exemption, city change, Baoma, and Fang Tian were promulgated successively, and the reform entered a climax. In order to formulate and implement the new law in a timely and effective manner, Zhao Xu specially ordered the establishment of the "three departments of regulations", that is, a special agency for formulating the regulations of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Duzhi, and Salt and Iron, presided over by Wang Anshi and Chen Shengzhi, the Privy Council Minister; in this agency, Zhao Xu followed Wang Anshi's recommendation and recruited a group of newcomers such as Lv Huiqing, Zhangdun, Cai Que, Zeng Bu, Lv Jiawen, Shen Kuo, and Xue Xiang.

Although the new law was strongly supported by Zhao Xu, it was difficult to implement. Because the new law violated the interests of the privileged big bureaucrats, big landlords, and big businesspeople in many ways, the reform was fiercely opposed from the beginning. This opposition force was supported by the Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager, and Empress Shenzong. At the same time, because the new law itself has many shortcomings, it was also opposed by some upright ministers, including Su Zhe, Han Qi, and Sima Guang. Shenzong's thoughts also began to hesitate. Conservative ministers opposed the new law, and Wang Anshi was mentally prepared, but the internal division of the reformers dealt a particularly heavy blow to Wang Anshi. At this time, Shenzong did not obey Wang Anshi as in previous years, and sometimes did not even pay attention to his opinions. Wang Anshi sighed at Shenzong and said, "The world is like cooking soup, the next fire, and then a spoonful of water, how can there be time to boil?"

In the spring of 1076 AD (the ninth year of Xining), Wang Anshi repeatedly asked to resign due to his illness. In June, Wang Anshi's son passed away in his prime. Wang Anshi was so distraught and mentally stimulated that he could no longer concentrate on political affairs. Shenzong had to ask Wang Anshi to resign his position and sentence the Jiangning government. The next year, Wang Anshi also resigned his official title in the Jiangning government. After that, he died in 1086. Wang Anshi never returned to Korea.

Wang Anshi's two strikes were the result of Zhao Xu's compromise with the old-fashioned forces. Zhao Xu's purpose was to maintain his throne and gain the support of ministers and descendants, but his political goal of enriching the country and strengthening the army through reform remained unchanged. While appeasing the old-fashioned ministers and using the old-fashioned figures such as Lv Gongshu, Feng Jing, and Sun Gu who had been dismissed and demoted, he insisted on reform to balance the power of the new and old factions.

In the second year after Wang Anshi's second strike, Zhao Xu changed his era name to "Yuan Feng" and went from behind the scenes to the front desk to preside over the reform himself. However, the reform was still accompanied by opposition voices. Without Wang Anshi, Zhao Xu was already very sad, and he was a little annoyed that he had to face huge pressure alone. He decided to implement tougher measures to implement the new law and severely punish officials who opposed the reform. Zhao Xu did not stop the process of reform. Through his continuous efforts, the Song Dynasty basically established a centralized system that was more conducive to the autocracy of the monarchy. The basic system was implemented until the end of the Song Dynasty without major changes.