For example, in addition to Liangshan's 108 heroes, there are also several "800,000 imperial guard coaches": Wang Jin , Lin Chong , Zhou Ang , Qiu Yue , Xu Ning , Wang Wenbin . The
Imperial Army is an army directly under the jurisdiction of the emperor in ancient China. Its main responsibility is to protect the emperor and the palace, and to undertake the security task of the capital. The background of
"Water Margin" is the Song Dynasty.
When Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the country, served as a checkpoint in front of the palace of Zhou after (the supreme commander of the forbidden army), he was proclaimed emperor in " Chenqiao Mutiny " and established Song Dynasty .
Therefore, since the founding of the country, Zhao Kuangyin has attached great importance to the banned army, and has firmly controlled it in his own hands.
"Song History·Bingzhi" records:
"Song's military system, there are about three: the emperor's guards, to guard the capital, prepare for expedition and garrison, called the forbidden army; Choose from household registration or recruitment, so that they can unite and train, and think that they are defending, they are called xiang soldiers."
That is, there are three main types of army in the Song Dynasty: the forbidden army, the boxer army, and the xiang army. The
Imperial Army, from the former emperor Guards , became the main force of the country, and elite soldiers from all over the country were brought under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Guard. The Xiang Army, which means "stationed in the city", is a local armed force. Township soldiers are regiment training and militia organizations.
later added "fan soldiers", which are non-Han troops guarding the border.
As a result, in the army of the Song Dynasty, the forbidden army had the highest status, the largest number and the largest scale, and its main responsibility was to guard the palace and the capital, and to be dispatched to fight at any time. It was the central army and the elite army of the Song Dynasty.
At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, the number of the banned army was about 200,000, and it gradually increased, reaching more than 800,000 in the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty.
For example, it is recorded in "Continuing the Capital and Zhitongjian·Song Renzong's Eighth Year of Qingli":
"There are more than 420,000 people in the forbidden army, and there are 800,000 to 900,000 old soldiers in the three dynasties. This is not the case for the Junxiang Army, the small remnants of the various armies, etc."
This is the saying of the "800,000 forbidden troops" in the Song Dynasty.
Then, what is the official position and status of the "800,000 Imperial Guard Instructor"?
In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhao Kuangyin strengthened the centralization of power and weakened the rights of military generals based on his profound experience of starting his own life as an emperor.
For example, abolish the position of the supreme commander of the Imperial Guards, "Checkpoints in front of the Palace", and change the leadership of the Imperial Guards to the Department of the Palace and the Guards, with three commanders (the commander of the front of the palace, the commander of the infantry , , the Magistrate). The military commander), respectively commanding the forbidden army. The Privy Council was established in the central government, which was in charge of the national military and was directly responsible to the emperor.
The three commanders do not have the power to mobilize troops, and the Privy Council cannot directly command the army, thus forming the separation of the power to command and mobilize troops, and to check and balance each other. The emperor is taking his own advantage.
The Northern Song Dynasty Imperial Army's arms are roughly divided into three types: horse army, infantry army, and bow army. Of course, the Imperial Guard has a head coach.
Let's take a look at some of the "800,000 forbidden army coaches" in "Water Margin".
1. Lin Chong
The most famous "instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards" in "Water Margin" is naturally Lin Chongliao, nicknamed " Leopard Head ", who is the 800,000 Guards gun and stick coach. The resounding name of
has added a halo to Lin Chong, who is taller than .
Lin Chongsheng's "Leopard's head with eyes, Yan's chin and tiger's beard" has the courage of a thousand husbands.
After he was forced to go to Liangshan, he made many military exploits. When Liangshan gathered together, he ranked sixth, ranked among the five tiger generals of the horse army, and became a famous character in "Water Margin".
2. Xu Ning
Xu Ning's family passed down the golden spear technique and hooking sickle technique, and he is unparalleled in the world, so he was nicknamed " golden gunman " and became the coach of the golden gun class of the forbidden army.
"Song History·Bingzhi" records that the forbidden army "the closest squires are called Zhubanzhi", and they are divided into fifteen grades according to Zhubanzhi., the Golden Gun Class is at ninth.
and according to the "General Examination of Documents and Official Examination", the forbidden army under the jurisdiction of , the front division of the palace, , has "the cavalry army has the front of the palace commander, the inner hall direct scattered staff, the scattered commander, the scattered capital head, the scattered waiting room, the golden army. Gun Squad".
The Golden Spear Squad, the Long Spear Team, was one of the emperor's bodyguards. Xu Ning is the instructor. A person like
with stunts will naturally have a place in Liangshan. Liangshan ranked 18th at the Great Gathering.
3. Wang Wenbin
In the forbidden army, Wang Wenbin and Lin Chong are both gun and stick instructors, that is, individual instructors who teach gun and stick martial arts.
But Wang Wenbin has one more official position than Lin Chong--Zhengzhou regimental trainer.
The full name of the regimental training envoy is "Tuan Lian Shou Cha Shi", In the Tang Dynasty, was a military officer responsible for a party's regimental training (similar to a militia), or even a military and political chief of a state.
But in the Song Dynasty, the regimental training team had no fixed number of members and no specific duties to handle affairs, and it became a false title.
For example, the Northern Song writer Su Dongpo was once demoted to the deputy envoy of the Huangzhou regiment training, and his affairs were leisurely, such as writing poems, reclaiming sloping land and growing vegetables, and traveling around.
However, the official rank of the regiment trainer is not very low, which is equivalent to the of the civil servants too often /Zong Zheng Shaoqing, secretary Shaojian, etc.
Therefore, "Water Margin" wrote that Wang Wenbin "is both civil and military, respected by the whole dynasty, and will bring more than 10,000 people from the capital, dispatch civilian vehicles, escort 500,000 coats, and go to the Song Pioneer Army to deliver."
That is, Wang Wenbin's status can serve as a minister of imperial envoy.
4. Wang Jin
In the second episode of "Water Margin", " Instructor Wang smuggled Yan'an Mansion, Nine-patterned Dragon made a scene in Shijia Village", Wang Jin made a grand appearance.
Wang Jin is the son of the famous martial artist Wang Sheng. He has a family tradition of martial arts, especially stick martial arts. He is also the master of "Nine Pattern Dragon" Shi Jin in "Water Margin".
Wang Jin is the chief instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Army, the leader of Lin Chong and Wang Wenbin.
According to historical records, there was indeed Wang Jin, also known as Wang Qing, who was a general of the forbidden army in the Northern Song Dynasty.
5. Zhou Ang
is the deputy coach of the 800,000 Imperial Army.
He also has other official positions: Commander of the Righteous Guards, General of Chariots and Cavalry.
6. Qiu Yue
is the coach of the 800,000 Imperial Army.
He also has other official positions: Zuo Yiwei's pro-army commander and escort general.
Zhou Ang and Qiu Yue are the assistants of Wang Jin, the head coach of the 800,000-strong army.
But compared with Wang Jin, both of them have official positions, both of which are military and fourth-rank officials. The rank of
is the same as the rank of the civil servants, such as the left and right counseling doctor, Tianzhang/ Longtuge waiting for the system, etc.
, for example, Bao Zheng, a famous official in the Northern Song Dynasty, once served as Tianzhangge to be made, Longtuge straight bachelor, so the world is called " Baotou ", " Baolongtu ".
The highest rank of military attachés in the Northern Song Dynasty was Taiwei, the second rank, such as Gao Qi in "Water Margin". Because the Imperial Guard was highly valued, the rank of the supreme commander of the Imperial Guard was second-rank, the same as that of the Six Books.
Therefore, Zhou Ang and Qiu Yue of the fourth-rank official rank are not low in official positions.
and Zhou Ang and Qiu Yue are equally famous, and they are also said to be "deeply knowledgeable in martial arts, have built extraordinary skills, and have a powerful and powerful capital." It can be seen that to hold important military positions requires excellent martial arts and military merit. In
"Water Margin", when Gao Taiwei expedition to Liangshan, Zhou Ang and Qiu Yue both went out with the army, and Zhou Ang was still the commander-in-chief of the two battalions of Zongri and Zhongyi. The book also spends a lot of ink on Zhou Ang, to show that he is strong in martial arts, difficult to meet an opponent in the world, and a strong enemy of Liangshan heroes.
Based on the above analysis, it can be seen that in the "800,000 Imperial Army" system, coaches have a lot of places and are divided into different levels.
total coach Wang Jin has the highest position, then Zhou Ang and Qiu Yue, then Wang Wenbin and Lin Chong, and finally Xu Ning.
Obviously, Lin Chong, the most famous "instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards" in "Water Margin", is actually just a general role in the Guards. There are days outside the sky, there are people outside the people, and the strong are even more powerful.
Moreover, in terms of martial arts, that is, the combat capability of a single soldier, according to the scene description in "Water Margin", Zhou Ang, Qiu Yue, and Wang Jin are above Wang Wenbin, Lin Chong, and Xu Ning.
In addition, in the military system of the Song Dynasty, there was no official position of "teacher". That is to say, it is not an establishment within the system, it belongs to the employed technical staff, or even temporary workers.
Therefore, Zhou Ang and Qiu Yue, who have other official positions at the same time, and even Wang Wenbin who has a false title, is a standard "eating imperial food". The status and status of these three people in the imperial court is much higher than that of the three " non-staff members" Wang Jin, Lin Chong and Xu Ning.
This is also one of the reasons why Wang Jin and Lin Chong are easily attacked and retaliated by senior officials, and Lin Chong and Xu Ning later resolutely chose Liangshan.
