Fan Zhongyan asked Song Renzong to eat grass and let the Xixia Lord eat dust. What was the reason behind this?

The reason why Fan Zhongyan dared to "feed Song Renzong with grass and let the Xixia King eat soil" was due to Fan Zhongyan's personality on the one hand, and the political environment of the Northern Song Dynasty on the other.

Fan Zhongyan was a famous politician, strategist and writer in the Northern Song Dynasty. He was also one of the few uncontroversial figures in Chinese history. Zhu Xi of the Southern Song Dynasty called him "the most romantic man in the world."

Fan Zhongyan's political ambition is to "worry about the world first, and rejoice after the world's happiness." He takes the rise and fall of the world as his own responsibility, regardless of personal gains and losses. Therefore, he had the courage to admonish, "I would rather die in silence than live in silence."

Once Fan Zhongyan returned from disaster relief, he brought a handful of weeds back to Beijing. He asked Song Renzong to taste the taste of these grasses in the court hall, saying that this was what the people in the disaster area ate at that time. Moreover, Fan Zhongyan also asked Song Renzong to take back the harem and invite the emperor's concubines to have a taste, so that everyone could experience the suffering of the people's livelihood.

Song Renzong was embarrassed by Fan Zhongyan, but he was good-tempered and did not get angry.

The reason why Fan Zhongyan acted like this is also related to the relaxed political environment at that time. There was the Song Dynasty, which valued literature over martial arts and "did not kill scholars". It had the most relaxed political atmosphere in all dynasties.

Song Renzong was even more famous as a benevolent king. He was good at accepting advice and followed it readily, but he also followed advice from villains.

It was in this relatively relaxed and clear political environment, coupled with Song Renzong's generosity and kindness, that Fan Zhongyan had many "defying dragon scales" and provoked "thunder's wrath". It was just that he was demoted. If it were other emperors, Fan Zhongyan would have died many times.

Fan Zhongyan was appointed as the deputy envoy of Shaanxi Economic Strategy to appease the state of Yanzhou when the Song army suffered repeated defeats and there were no generals available in the Song Dynasty. He was 52 years old at this time.

Although Fan Zhongyan was born as a scholar, he showed outstanding military talents on the northwest front.

Fan Zhongyan formulated a border defense strategy of "active defense and using defense as offense" by analyzing the situation between the enemy and ourselves. To this end, he selected good generals and trained soldiers to manage the army; built cities and towns to strengthen defense; soldiers and civilians stationed fields to enrich the borders; he appeased the Qiang people and fought against the enemy.

These measures by Fan Zhongyan enhanced the combat effectiveness of the Song Army and reversed the passive situation. After the army was reorganized, Fan Zhongyan asked the Song army to take the initiative to attack from Yanzhou, allowing Li Yuanhao's Xixia soldiers, who were arrogant and victorious in many battles, to taste defeat. People in Xixia say that "little Fan has tens of thousands of soldiers in his belly", which shows the reverence of Xixia people for Fan Zhongyan.