Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin (21 March 927 – 14 November 976, courtesy name Xiang Bao'er). A native of Zhuo County, he was born in Jiamaying, Luoyang (present-day Dongguan, Yinghe District, Luoyang, Henan). A military, politician, and strategist from the fifth dynasty to the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, he was the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty (reigned from February 4, 960 to November 14, 976). Later Zhou served as the second son of Zhao Hongyin (Song Xuanzu) and his mother was Du Shi (Empress Zhaoxian).
Zhao Kuangyin defected to the Privy Counsellor Guo Wei during the Later Han Dynasty, and during the reign of Emperor Chai Rong of later Zhou, he accompanied the Northern Han and Southern Tang Dynasties, and achieved outstanding military achievements. When Chai Rong was seriously ill, he was promoted to the rank of inspector in front of the palace and became the supreme commander of the Forbidden Army. In the seventh year of Xiande (960), he was ordered to resist the combined forces of the Northern Han and Khitans. He was immediately proclaimed emperor in the "Chen Qiao Mutiny" and returned to Beijing to force Emperor Gong of Later Zhou to take the throne. In the same year, Zhao Kuangyin ascended the throne as emperor, changed his name to Yuan Jianlong, and the national name was "Song", which was called Song Dynasty or Northern Song Dynasty in history.
During Zhao Kuangyin's reign, in accordance with the strategy of Zhao Pu, the chancellor, "first the south and then the north, first easy and then difficult", he successively destroyed the jingnan, Wuping, Later Shu, southern Han, and southern Tang dynasties, and completed the unification of most of the country. Through the two "cups of wine to release military power", the military power of the generals of the forbidden army and the local feudal towns was removed, the centralization of power was strengthened, and the situation of local moderation since the middle of the Tang Dynasty was solved.
In the ninth year of Kaibao (976), Zhao Kuangyin died at the age of fifty. During his reign of sixteen years, He was buried in Yongchang Mausoleum for Emperor Daxiao of the Ming Dynasty. Today, there is a poem "The First Day of Wing" passed down.
Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, Later Zhou General, Chen Qiao Mutiny, Zhou You Lord Zen Rang, the establishment of the Great Song Dynasty, with its talents to unify China, end the century of turmoil since the Tang Dynasty, a glass of wine to release military power, weaken the power of the clan town, strengthen the centralization of power, the south of the barbarians, the north and Liaoxia, so that the people can rest and recuperate, so that the Northern Song Dynasty for a hundred years without war, it can be said that the Northern Song Dynasty regardless of the people's livelihood, speech, culture, and other aspects are the best period, so Zhao Kuangyin can be said to be a generation of Ming Emperors.
The yellow robe plus the body, but also the obedience of the courtiers, opened the window of the prosperous Song Dynasty, can be described as a contribution! Although the Song Dynasty was heavy on literature and light on military force, its military strength was weak, and it was humiliating to even claim subjection to the Liao, it is undeniable that the Song Dynasty was also the most prosperous dynasty in Chinese history. All this is inseparable from the founding emperor Zhao Kuangyin.
Moreover, because he was afraid of the division of feudal towns in the late Tang Dynasty, he weakened local military strength, strengthened the centralization of power, weakened the strength of military attaches, vigorously appointed civilian officials, and increased the number of civilian officials, so that the Song Dynasty later redundant officials, redundant soldiers, and weak accumulation, is Zhao Kuangyin's fault.
Meritorious service, usurped the throne after the death of Emperor Later Zhou! However, he was also the most suitable candidate for the emperor, that is, after taking the throne, he unified most of the traditional territories of China! However, since then, it has lost control of the western region and the northeast, actively developed the economy, and the relationship between the monarch and the subject is relatively harmonious! Ended the situation of the five generations at the end of the Tang Dynasty falling apart, and created the great Song Dynasty!