郭威建國(guó)
郭威年輕時(shí)不愿從事生產(chǎn)，只喜歡舞槍弄棒，十八歲應(yīng)募從軍。曾經(jīng)負(fù)氣殺人，被關(guān)入監(jiān)獄。潞州留后李繼韜因他有勇力，遂秘密縱他逃走，待事情平息后又召置麾下。郭威少年時(shí)曾在其頸上黥有一飛雀，故人稱郭雀兒。李繼韜被唐莊宗殺死后，其軍隊(duì)被編入從馬直，郭威因能書會(huì)算而被任為軍吏。劉知遠(yuǎn)任侍衛(wèi)親軍都虞候時(shí)，特別器重郭威；后調(diào)任河?xùn)|節(jié)度使，也將郭威帶到任上。劉知遠(yuǎn)稱帝建立后漢后，任命他為樞密副使，隱帝時(shí)升任樞密使。郭威多次統(tǒng)兵征伐，皆有功勛。他在軍中穿幅巾短衣，與軍士無異，皇帝所賜錢財(cái)，多分與諸將與軍士，因此在軍中威信很高，士卒樂為其用。
劉知遠(yuǎn)稱帝僅一年便病死，其子劉承祐繼位，史稱后漢隱帝。漢隱帝時(shí)，蘇逢吉為宰相，樞密使楊邠管機(jī)政，郭威掌征伐，侍衛(wèi)親軍都指揮使史弘肇統(tǒng)率禁兵，三司使王章專掌財(cái)政。這些掌權(quán)者大部分都是武斷專橫，各行其是，使朝政混亂。
這群武夫中，只有郭威留心搜羅有才能的文士，得到文官們的好感。乾祐元年（948年），李守貞據(jù)河中，趙思綰據(jù)長(zhǎng)安，王景崇據(jù)鳳翔，同時(shí)反叛。漢隱帝令郭威督諸軍討伐三叛鎮(zhèn)。次年，郭威滅河中、永興（長(zhǎng)安）兩鎮(zhèn)，殺李守貞、趙思綰，別將趙暉滅鳳翔鎮(zhèn)，殺王景崇。郭威得勝還朝，不肯獨(dú)受重賞，推功給在朝諸大臣和將士，漢隱帝因此遍賞諸大臣及諸藩鎮(zhèn)。
乾祐三年（950年），遼軍橫行河北，諸藩鎮(zhèn)各守本境，不相援救。朝議任郭威為天雄節(jié)度使，出鎮(zhèn)魏州，仍兼樞密使，節(jié)制河北諸鎮(zhèn)，得便宜行事。他被授與這樣大的權(quán)力，就是因?yàn)槿〉昧藘?nèi)外諸大臣的好感。不久后，一向厭惡掌權(quán)諸重臣的漢隱帝找借口殺死了楊邠、史弘肇與王章，又遣使者到魏州殺郭威。郭威被迫起兵。他留義子柴榮守魏州，自率大軍出發(fā)，沿路無阻，只走七天，就到開封城外。漢隱帝被部下潰兵殺死。郭威入開封城，縱諸軍大掠，到第三天午后方才停止。
當(dāng)時(shí)，漢高祖弟河?xùn)|節(jié)度使劉崇在太原，以備遼為名，擁有強(qiáng)兵；忠武節(jié)度使劉信在許州，劉崇子劉赟為武寧節(jié)度使，在徐州。郭威鑒于三鎮(zhèn)威脅，先聲稱迎劉赟為漢帝，使劉崇滿意，等到劉赟離徐已遠(yuǎn)，去京稍近，然后連劉信一起消除，劉崇一鎮(zhèn)就無能為力。定計(jì)以后，郭威請(qǐng)?zhí)罄钍希▍⒁娫~條李三娘）下令立劉贊為帝，使太師馮道等大臣到徐州奉迎。乾祐四年（951年），遼兵入寇，攻破內(nèi)邱、饒陽兩城。李太后令郭威率大軍渡河擊遼兵，又令國(guó)事暫委王峻等人，軍事暫委王殷。自然，二王是郭威的心腹。郭威到澶州，將士數(shù)千人忽大噪，對(duì)郭威說，皇帝該你自己做，將士搶掠京城，與劉家結(jié)了仇，不能再讓劉家人做皇帝。裂黃旗披郭威身上，擁立為帝。郭威擁眾回來。澶州兵變時(shí)，劉赟已到宋州，王峻、王殷派人帶兵去宋、許二州，劉赟被拘，以李太后名義，廢為湘陰公。劉信自殺。隨后，郭威正式登上帝位，改元廣順，國(guó)號(hào)周，史稱后周，郭威即后周太祖。
太祖改革
郭威即位之后，能夠躬行節(jié)儉，下詔禁止各地進(jìn)貢珍巧纖奇、山珍海味，又將宮中原有的金銀玉器、鏤寶床幾、飲食之具，砸碎于殿廷，表示自己厲行節(jié)儉的決心。面對(duì)晉漢以來殘破的社會(huì)經(jīng)濟(jì)，他又下詔獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)耕殖，招撫流亡，平均賦役，恢復(fù)農(nóng)業(yè)生產(chǎn)，發(fā)展經(jīng)濟(jì)，使得北方的社會(huì)經(jīng)濟(jì)在其統(tǒng)治的數(shù)年中有了一定程度的恢復(fù)和發(fā)展。
此外，他還針對(duì)當(dāng)時(shí)輕視發(fā)展文化，輕視文士的現(xiàn)象，采取了一些較積極的措施，力圖改變當(dāng)時(shí)的不良風(fēng)氣。比如郭威曾親至曲阜拜祭孔子，以表示對(duì)儒學(xué)的重視；他還重用文士，重視科舉選士，表現(xiàn)出了與五代其他各帝不同的一些風(fēng)范。
面對(duì)當(dāng)時(shí)的驕兵悍將和敗壞的吏風(fēng)，郭威首先從中央做起。樞密使王峻專橫跋扈，居功驕矜，排斥異己，就連柴榮請(qǐng)求入覲，由于擔(dān)心會(huì)被留下而予以拒絕。王峻要求兼任青州節(jié)度使，得逞后又要求罷免宰相李谷、范質(zhì)，另行起用自己推薦的人選，郭威婉言推卻，王峻馬上出言不遜。郭威忍無可忍，遂下令拘押王峻，將他貶死。對(duì)于敢于反叛的藩鎮(zhèn)則采取堅(jiān)決鎮(zhèn)壓的措施，限制藩鎮(zhèn)對(duì)州縣的權(quán)力，實(shí)行民政、軍事分工管理。為了改變吏風(fēng)，郭威對(duì)貪濁的官吏實(shí)行嚴(yán)厲懲治的政策，處死了一批貪贓枉法、殘酷暴虐的地方官員，在一定程度上扭轉(zhuǎn)了當(dāng)時(shí)的吏風(fēng)。
世宗時(shí)期
顯德元年（954年）正月，在位四年的郭威逝世。郭威諸子早在其起兵鄴都時(shí)，就被后漢殺害于汴梁，所以只能由養(yǎng)子柴榮繼位，即后周世宗。柴榮是郭威妻柴氏之兄柴守禮的兒子，出生于邢州龍崗縣（今河北省邢臺(tái)市）之別墅中，幼年隨其姑母成長(zhǎng)于郭威家，與郭威夫妻關(guān)系融洽，遂被收為養(yǎng)子。
柴榮即位后，遇到的頭等大事，便是如何抵御北漢的進(jìn)攻。北漢皇帝劉旻利用郭威新喪，柴榮剛剛即位，人心不穩(wěn)之際，聯(lián)合遼朝發(fā)兵南下潞州、澤州（今山西晉城）二州，妄圖一舉滅亡后周。當(dāng)時(shí)朝中許多人反對(duì)用兵，只有宰相王溥一人支持世宗，世宗力排各種干擾，決定親率禁軍出征。雙方在澤州高平縣南（今山西晉城市高平南）相遇，劉旻見周軍兵少，遂不等契丹軍到便發(fā)動(dòng)了進(jìn)攻。兩軍交鋒，后周禁軍大將樊愛能、何徽率右軍潰退，一路殺掠百姓，并造謠言說：“官軍大敗，馀眾已降?！边@一情況的突然出現(xiàn)，使得周軍的形勢(shì)變得非常嚴(yán)峻，柴榮屹然不動(dòng)，率領(lǐng)親兵，臨陣督戰(zhàn)。禁軍主將張永德等率偏將趙匡胤沖鋒陷陣，拼死奮戰(zhàn)，雙方血戰(zhàn)至傍晚，北漢軍支持不住，開始后退，一萬馀人被趕至山澗邊，死傷慘重，死尸棄甲，填滿山澗。劉旻僅率親騎百馀狼狽逃走。此戰(zhàn)史稱高平之戰(zhàn)，此后，北漢再不敢輕言伐周。
高平之戰(zhàn)中，柴榮雖然取得了勝利，但也暴露出驕兵悍將難以駕御的狀況。為了解決這一問題，柴榮決意改變五代諸朝對(duì)驕兵悍將縱容姑息的政策，他召集諸將，當(dāng)眾宣布樊愛能等將校七十多人罪狀，并立即斬首。此舉使驕兵悍將有所畏懼，初步整頓了敗壞的軍紀(jì)。柴榮深知僅靠殺若干個(gè)人是不能從根本上解決問題的，要想改變五代軍隊(duì)長(zhǎng)期遺留下來的積習(xí)，提高戰(zhàn)斗力，必須從整頓禁軍入手。返回汴梁后，柴榮任用年輕將領(lǐng)，裁汰禁軍中的老弱病殘，召募天下豪杰，精選驍勇，將藩鎮(zhèn)軍隊(duì)中的善戰(zhàn)之士，選入禁軍。柴榮甚至親自試閱武藝，選拔人才。經(jīng)過此次整頓后，舊史記載說：“諸軍士伍無不精當(dāng)，由是兵甲之盛，近代無比，且減冗食之費(fèi)焉?！庇辛艘恢ЬJ的軍隊(duì)，只能說為日后的統(tǒng)一戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)奠定了一定的基礎(chǔ)，并不等于完全具備了統(tǒng)一的條件。于是柴榮又從平均賦稅，發(fā)展生產(chǎn)，整頓吏風(fēng)等方面入手，進(jìn)行了比較徹底的改革。
959年，柴榮死后，七歲的幼子柴宗訓(xùn)繼位。像這么一個(gè)幼年的皇帝，無法繼續(xù)完成統(tǒng)一的事業(yè)的。
五代時(shí)期，由于封建割據(jù)勢(shì)力的互相斗爭(zhēng)，各統(tǒng)治集團(tuán)在動(dòng)蕩的潮流中，經(jīng)常發(fā)生掌握兵權(quán)的軍事將領(lǐng)篡奪政權(quán)的事件。趙匡胤本來是柴榮手下一名有軍事才能的高級(jí)軍事將領(lǐng)，他控制了后周的兵權(quán)。柴榮在臨死前，提拔他為軍事統(tǒng)帥---殿前都點(diǎn)檢。
趙匡胤為了奪取后周七歲皇帝的政權(quán)，布置了一幕“陳橋兵變”。
960年的正月，正當(dāng)后周君臣?xì)g慶新春佳節(jié)的熱鬧時(shí)刻，突然接到北方邊境的緊急戰(zhàn)報(bào)，說北漢和契丹貴族聯(lián)合入寇。后周的執(zhí)政大臣不辨真假，倉卒決定派趙匡胤出兵抵御。
趙匡胤率領(lǐng)大軍北上，到了陳橋驛。趙匡義、趙普等人及隨征將領(lǐng)，就翅早已準(zhǔn)備好的，皇帝穿的黃袍披在了趙匡胤的身上。于是就立即回軍，輕而易舉地奪取了后周的政權(quán)。由于趙匡胤原任宋州歸德軍節(jié)度使，因些他把國(guó)號(hào)改為“宋”，都城仍在汴京，這就是北宋王朝的建立。
Guo wei jianguo
Guo Wei did not want to engage inproduction when young, only like to dance gun stick, 18 years old enlisted. Hekilled a man in anger and was put in prison. Luzhou left after Li Jitao becauseof his strength, then secret longitudinal he fled, to be called after thingscalm down. Guo Wei had Tsingy flying birds on his neck when he was young, whichpeople call Guo Qier. After Li Jitao was killed by Tang Zhuangzong, his armywas organized into Congmazhi, and Guo Wei was appointed as a military officialbecause he could read and calculate. Liu Zhiyuan as bodyguard pro-army Yu hou,especially valued Guo Wei; After the transfer to the east of the mission, willalso take Guo Wei to the office. After the establishment of the Later HanDynasty by declaring himself Emperor, Liu Zhiyuan appointed him as a key andsecret deputy envoy, and was promoted to privy envoy when Emperor Yin wasemperor. Guo Wei led the army for many times, all with meritoriousachievements. In the army, he wore a scarf and short clothes, just like thesoldiers. The emperor gave him money, and he shared it with the generals andsoldiers. Therefore, he had a high prestige in the army, and he was happy touse it.
Only a year after Liu Zhiyuan becameemperor, he died of illness and was succeeded by his son Liu Chengyou, known inhistory as Emperor Yin of the Later Han Dynasty. During the reign of EmperorYin of the Han Dynasty, Su Fengji was prefect, while the privy appointed YangWei to oversee the collection of military personnel, Guo Wei commanded ShiHongzhao to control the collection of soldiers, and Wang Zhang to oversee thefinancial affairs. Most of these rulers were arbitrary and went their own way,making the government chaotic.
In this group of martial arts, only Guo Weicarefully searched for talented scholars and got the good opinion of civilofficials. In the first year of Qianyou (948), Li Shouzhen claimed Hezhong,Zhao Siwan claimed Chang 'an, and Wang Jingchong claimed Fengxiang, and theyrebelled at the same time. Emperor Yin of the Han Dynasty ordered Guo Wei tosupervise his armies against the three rebel towns. In the following year, GuoWei destroyed Hezhong and Yongxing (Chang 'an) towns, and killed Li Shouzhenand Zhao Siwan. Don't destroy Zhao Hui in Fengxiang Town, and kill WangJingchong. Guo Wei won the victory and returned to the court, but refused toreceive the heavy reward alone. So he gave the honors to the officials andsoldiers in the court.
In the third year of Qianyou (950), theLiao army ran rampant in Hebei, and Zhufang towns defended their own bordersand did not help each other. Guo Wei for the day of the emperor, out of thetown of Wei, still and privy minister, control of the towns in Hebei, gotcheap. He was granted such great power because he had won the good will of theministers inside and outside. Not long after, Emperor Yin, who hated thecontrol of all the important officials, found a pretext for killing Yang, ShiHongzhao and Wang Zhang, as well as sending messengers to Wei to kill Guo Wei.Guo Wei was forced to raise troops. He left his adopted son Chai Rong to defendthe state of Wei. He set out with his army, and after only seven days' journey,he reached the city of Kaifeng. Emperor Yin of Han was killed by a rout of hissubordinates. Guo Wei entered Kaifeng and his armies raided the city until theafternoon of the third day.
At that time, the brother of Emperor Gaozuof the Han Dynasty, Liu Chong, was stationed in Taiyuan in order to prepare forthe name of Liao and had a strong army. Liu Xin, the commander of Zhongwu, wasin Xuzhou, and Liu Yun, the commander of Liu Chongzi, was in Xuzhou. In view ofthe threat of the three towns, Guo Wei first claimed to meet Liu Yun as theemperor of Han Dynasty, so that Liu Chong was satisfied. When Liu Yun was faraway from Xu and a little closer to Beijing, he even eliminated Liu Xintogether, and Liu Chong was unable to do anything about it.
