Emperor Guangzong of Song was the third son of Emperor Xiaozong of Song, and originally the crown prince was Zhao Yu, the eldest son of Emperor Xiaozong, but unfortunately Zhao Yu died of illness when he was twenty-three years old, and it was not until five years later that Emperor Xiaozong gradually came out of the grief of losing his son and established the third prince Zhao Huan, who was in the limelight at that time. Zhao Xiaozong was only 24 years old when he was first made crown prince, and his father Song Xiaozong was already over 40 years old, according to the average life expectancy of ancient emperors, it was already old age, but who knew that this Song Xiaozong was a long-lived emperor, making Zhao Xiaozong stay in the position of crown prince for 18 years.
During this long 18 years, Zhao Huan lived in great trepidation every day, afraid that if something was wrong, he would miss the position of crown prince, so after the year of confusion, he decided to do something and force Song Xiaozong to pass the throne to himself in advance. So Zhao Huan entered the palace to meet Song Xiaozong, and said to his long-lived old father in a laughing tone: "A few days ago, the minister of the DPRK sent me hair dye to my son, and I found that my beard and sideburns were already white, and for this gift, I wanted to use it but did not dare to use it!" And how could the old fritter Song Xiaozong understand Zhao Xiaozong's implications, but he was not yet the emperor enough, so he jokingly told Zhao Huan that the beard was white because the prince was too busy with political affairs and worked hard for the country, but he must not dye black, which was a symbol of the prince's hard work in supervising the country.
After listening to Emperor Xiaozong's answer, he raised Zhao Huan to death, he understood that his father had understood what he wanted to express, but he just refused to abdicate, and Zhao Huan was also very helpless about it. But in fact, this Song Xiaozong was also very bitter, because when he was the crown prince, the reigning emperor was also a famous longevity emperor in history- Song Gaozong Zhao Shuo. Fortunately, after Song Xiaozong learned of that taste, after his happy birthday of 162, he passed the throne to Zhao Huan.
It was just that although Zhao Huan finally ascended the throne smoothly, he did not understand Song Xiaozong's painstaking heart, and even did not express a little filial piety to his father, knowing that Xiaozong died of illness, and Zhao Huan only visited Xiaozong twice. It can be said that Zhao Huan is not satisfied at all, after all, many princes in history have not survived their fathers. I don't know what everyone thinks about this? Welcome to leave a message to participate in the discussion.