Ever since the closing years of the Tang dynasty, weak monarchs had been unable to prevent their own generals from breaking away and founding independent states, so Zhao, as the Emperor Taizu, orchestrated an arrangement by which his commanders agreed to relinquish authority over their armies and retire peacefully to the countryside.
有鑑於唐末以來君弱臣強、藩鎮割據，宋太祖先是導演了一齣「杯酒釋兵權」的好戲，讓開國元老自動告老還鄉，去買田置屋、飲酒歡樂的安養天年。