On April 30, 1063, Song Renzong, known for his generosity, died at the age of 53. On May 1, 1063, Emperor Renzong of Song's adopted son Zhao Shu (赵曙) succeeded to the throne, and he was Emperor Yingzong of Song, who played an important transitional role in the history of the Song Dynasty. Then, there were many members of the clan left by Emperor Taizong of Song and Zhao Guangyi, so why did Emperor Renzong of Song choose Zhao Yunrang's 13th son, Zhao Zongshi (later renamed Zhao Shu), to inherit the throne?
If we want to answer this question, we must first find the answer from Song Renzong's father, Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng.
Above_ The Alliance of the Abyss
The embarrassment of Prince Zhenzong of Song
Song Zhenzong was a very accomplished emperor in the history of the Northern Song Dynasty, who relied on his own efforts to create the famous xianping rule, and also signed the "Alliance of Yuanyuan" for the Northern Song Dynasty to win peace and stability, laying a solid foundation for The prosperity of Emperor Renzong. However, with the prolongation of his reign, Song Zhenzong himself also faced a very headache - who will do the prince, and who will inherit the throne?
So, why did Song Zhenzong encounter the problem of establishing a prince? This is because on May 31, 1003, Zhao You, the second son of Emperor Zhenzong of Song and the second son of the 10-year-old, died tragically. Zhao You was the oldest of Song Zhenzong's 5 sons before Emperor Renzong of Song was born, and if Zhao You continued to live, he was likely to be made crown prince by Emperor Zhenzong of Song. With the death of Zhao You, all five sons of Emperor Zhenzong of Song unfortunately died.
Although Song Zhenzong was only in his 30s at the time of Zhao You's death, Song Zhenzong could no longer bear the grief of losing his son. In order to protect the foundation of the country, the ministers wrote letters one after another, asking Song Zhenzong to choose someone from the descendants of the clan to inherit the throne, and Song Zhenzong agreed to the minister's request.
- Song Zhenzong, Zhao Heng (968–1022)
After much deliberation, Emperor Zhenzong of Song brought his younger brother Zhao Yuanfen's third son, Zhao Yun, into the imperial palace. As a result, the 8-year-old Zhao Yunrang was sent to the palace by his own father in a carriage, and Zhao Yunrang soon became the candidate for the crown prince of Song Zhenzong.
However, Song Zhenzong considered that he was still young and fertile, and wouldn't it be better if he let his own son inherit the throne?! Therefore, during the 7 years that Zhao Yunrang was a candidate for the crown prince, Song Zhenzong, while cultivating Zhao Yunrang, tried everything to get another biological son. Finally, 7 years after Zhao Yunrang entered the palace, Heaven sent a biological prince to Song Zhenzong, which was the ming emperor Song Renzong, who was known for his generosity and calmness in history. Due to the birth of Zhao Zhen, Zhao Yunrang and the position of prince passed by.
As compensation for Zhao Yunrang, Song Zhenzong made Zhao Yunrang the Assassin of Weizhou. At this time, Zhao Yunrang began his own happy life. He and his wife and concubine gave birth to 22 sons in one go, and Zhao Shu was Zhao Yunrang's thirteenth son.
Zhao Zhen (赵祯, 30 May 1010 – 30 April 1063), courtesy name Zhao, was the fourth emperor of the Song Dynasty
Where there is a Father, there must be a Son
In 1021, Emperor Zhenzong of Song died and Emperor Renzong of Song ascended the throne. Compared with Zhao Yunrang's happy life, Song Renzong unfortunately inherited his father's shortcomings - fewer heirs. To this end, Song Renzong worked very hard with his wives and concubines to carry out the "cause of creating people", according to the historical records, Song Renzong and his wives and concubines gave birth to a total of 3 sons and 13 daughters, except for 4 daughters who lived to adulthood, all the other children died prematurely.
Because Song Renzong continued the tragic fate of Song Zhenzong's young heirs, in order to continue the "thousands of generations" of the Great Song Empire, Song Renzong embarked on the path of "choosing a prince in the clan room" that his father had walked. Perhaps as a further compensation for Zhao Yunrang, the King of Pu'an Yi, and his descendants, Song Renzong selected 3-year-old Zhao Shu from the descendants of King Yi of Pu'an to raise in the palace.
Above_ Map of the Northern Song Dynasty
Zhao Yun rang sent his son to the carriage. At this time, Zhao Yunrang lamented that his father had sent himself into the palace in a carriage, but he still had no chance of the throne. Now, his thirteenth son Zhao Shu was brought into the palace by Emperor Renzong of Song, and he wondered if Zhao Shu could be associated with the emperor's throne, which was envied by thousands of people.
Like his father, Emperor Zhenzong of Song, emperor Renzong of Song trained Zhao Shu as a candidate for crown prince. To tell the truth, Zhao Shu was born with the wisdom to be an emperor. According to the historical records, Zhao Shu was born very filial, he liked to read when he was a child, and dressed like a Confucian. Zhao Shu often wore court clothes to meet his teacher, and he personally said to the teacher, "You are my teacher, and I dare not meet him without courtesy." At that time, an official named Wu Chongjin gave Song Renzong a book called "Zongmu Liuzhen", and Song Renzong gave the "Zongmu Liuzhen" to Zhao Shu, who wrote the content on the screen and often demanded his words and deeds, which was very in line with the needs of Song Renzong's successors, after all, Song Renzong was also a very restrained and very generous emperor.
Above: Empress Dowager Cao (1016–1079), the second empress of Emperor Renzong of the Northern Song Dynasty
However, by 1039, Emperor Renzong of Song's fourth son, Zhao Xin, was born. With his own crown prince, Emperor Renzong of Song returned Zhao Shu to his father.
But God continued to joke with Song Renzong. Zhao Xin, the fourth son of Emperor Renzong of Song, died at the age of 4. For the next 15 years, Song Renzong still "struggled" for the crown prince, but unfortunately, God did not give Song Renzong any crown prince, until 1058, when the 49-year-old Song Renzong learned of the pregnancy of a concubine, and the emperor who "had a son in middle age" was very happy. However, after ten months of pregnancy, the concubine left behind a daughter. Song Renzong's mood can be imagined.
Time passed day by day, and in August 1062, Emperor Renzong of Song finally decided to make Zhao Shu crown prince. Then, there were many members of the clan left by Emperor Taizong of Song, so why did Emperor Renzong of Song have to choose Zhao Shu as crown prince?
Zhao Shu (16 February 1032 – 25 January 1067), originally known as Zhao Zongshi and later renamed Zhao Shu
Combined with the above analysis, Emperor Renzong of Song made Zhao Shu crown prince for the following reasons:
First, out of emotional considerations, Emperor Renzong of Song made Zhao Shu crown prince as a compensation for Zhao Yunrang's failure to become emperor.
Something similar happened during the Han Dynasty. At that time, Emperor Wu of Han forced the death of the popular crown prince Liu Zhao, and Liu Zhao's family was completely exterminated, and even Liu Zhao's grandson Liu Yi was already imprisoned. Later, the throne, which should have been inherited by Liu Zhaoyi, was inherited by Emperor Wu of Han's youngest son, Emperor Liu Fuling of Han Zhao.
However, Liu Fuling died young after 13 years of reign, and Liu He, who had been erected after that, was a man of abnormal behavior, and was deposed after only 27 days as emperor. After Liu He left the throne, the great general Huo Guang, who was in charge of the power of the Western Han Dynasty, after discussion among his ministers, decided to establish a descendant of the former crown prince Liu Zhiyi, who was supposed to inherit the throne, and Liu Zhao's grandson Liu Yi had already ascended the throne. Liu's unfulfilled wish to inherit the throne was fulfilled in his grandson. Liu Yi's succession to the throne was a kind of compensation for Liu Zhao.
Liu Fuling (94 BC – 74 BC), also known as Emperor Zhao of Han, was the eighth emperor of the Western Han Dynasty
Similarly, Emperor Zhenzong of Song was childless in his early years and trained Zhao Zongshi's father, Zhao Yunrang, as the heir to the throne. However, due to the birth of Zhao Zhen, the sixth son of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, Zhao Yunrang could only leave the palace and leave the throne that originally belonged to him. After Emperor Renzong of Song ascended the throne, Emperor Renzong of Song may have felt in his heart that his father, Emperor Zhenzong of Song, owed something to Zhao Yun, the elder of the clan.
Since Zhao Yunrang could not inherit the throne, Zhao Yunrang's son was also excusable in human feelings when Song Renzong did not have his own children to inherit the throne.
No, Song Renzong's prediction finally came true. Emperor Zhenzong of Song "owed" Zhao Yunrang the throne and was compensated for by his son Emperor Yingzong of Song. With the ascension of Emperor Yingzong of Song to the throne on 1 May 1063, the throne of the Northern Song Dynasty passed from emperor Zhenzong of Song to the line of Zhao Yunrang.
The Zizhi Tongjian (often simplified as Tongjian) is a multi-volume chronicle of the Northern Song Dynasty edited by Sima Guang
Second, Zhao Shu's performance made Song Renzong very satisfied.
We also mentioned this earlier, Zhao Shu is a very filial and intelligent child. He is also very polite and able to restrain his desires, which is too similar to Song Renzong.
Facts have proved that Song Renzong chose the right successor, and after Zhao Shu ascended the throne, he reformed many of the social problems left by Emperor Renzong in his later years; he boldly appointed Han Qi, Ouyang Xiu, Fu Bi, and others; he boldly sought solutions to the problem from Han Qi and others, trying to solve the problem of redundant officials and redundant soldiers in the Northern Song Dynasty; he also issued an edict to extend the transfer period of officials of various grades to alleviate the financial pressure of the state. Although these solutions did not fundamentally solve the problem, Song Yingzong's bold use of reformers laid the foundation for Wang Anshi's future transformation.
Song Yingzong also supported Sima Guang's compilation of the Zizhi Tongjian, which made a major contribution to Chinese history and culture.
All in all, Song Yingzong did not reign for a long time, but he played a role in the history of the Song Dynasty. To be precise, he inherited the model of governance of Emperor Renzong of Song and reformed the shortcomings of Emperor Renzong in his later years. His reforms were not completed due to his short reign, but some of his reforms were integrated into the "Wang Anshi Transformation Law" of the Song Dynasty.
Text: Military handsome guy
Reference: History of the Song Dynasty
The text was created by the History University Hall team, and the picture originated from the Internet and the copyright belongs to the original author