Who they were
A palace-army commander of the Later Zhou who became the founder of the Song dynasty. In the Chenqiao mutiny of 960, his own troops enthroned him — the yellow imperial robe thrown over his shoulders.
What they did
He ended the era’s coup cycle deliberately. At a famous banquet in 961 he persuaded his senior generals to retire on generous pensions — “dissolving military power over a cup of wine” — subordinated the armies to civilian control, and expanded the examination system, creating the civil-official state that defined the Song. His armies absorbed most of the southern kingdoms. He died in 976 and was succeeded by his younger brother; the later “axe-shadow” murder story is legend, not established fact.
Legacy
The Song civil-bureaucratic model — and the military-weakness trade-off that came with it.