Why did Taizu offer powerful commanders pensions and honorary titles?

Taizu, the founder of the Song dynasty, offered powerful commanders pensions, honorary titles, and sinecure offices primarily to neutralize the threat they posed to the stability of his new regime.12

Unlike many previous founding rulers who destroyed their rivals, Taizu employed masterful political maneuvering to persuade these generals to relinquish their military commands. By doing so, he effectively ended the cycle of militarism and usurpation that had characterized the preceding Five Dynasties period. This strategy allowed him to consolidate power at the central court and shift the administration of the empire from unruly military governors to civil officials, thereby strengthening the state's integrity and preventing the military from challenging imperial authority.21