Before Chai Rong died, he looked at the orphans and widows in front of his sick bed, and he was really relieved. So he specially dismissed the general he did not trust, Zhang Yongde, and pushed Zhao Kuangyin, who was deeply trusted by him, to a high position. Who knows that his seven-year-old son has only been emperor for half a year, and on the first day of the first lunar month in 960 AD, news came from the front. After the Northern Han Dynasty colluded with the Liao soldiers to plan to invade, Zhao Kuangyin hurriedly led his troops on the expedition, and history repeated itself. When his army came to the place of Chen Qiaoyi, everyone stayed here that night, and Zhao Kuangyin was very drunk. The next morning, he was awakened by the shouts from outside, and no sooner had his feet stepped out of the door than a soldier stepped forward and draped his yellow robes on his body. Then, before he could react, the soldiers in front of him had all fallen to their knees, and everyone shouted in unison. History called this the Chen Qiao Mutiny.
Later Zhou's founding emperor Guo Wei probably did not expect that someone would copy his path to the throne one-to-one and then usurp the throne of his old Guo family. However, compared with other mutinous warlords during the Five Dynasties period, Zhao Kuangyin's next behavior was much more benevolent. He led a large army back to Kaifeng and forced the seven-year-old Chai Zong to train zen. But he issued several death orders, not to harm the court ministers, still less to hurt the orphans and widows of the Chai Rong family, and not to loot the national treasury. Don't underestimate these simple orders, Zhao Kuangyin's pattern has been fully opened here, throughout the history of usurpation five generations ago, every emperor who took the throne did not carry out an extremely cruel policy of slaughter against the court of the former dynasty. As the saying goes, "the upper beam is not right and the lower beam is crooked". You, the emperor, have obtained the throne by killing your superiors, so you will not be allowed to be allowed to commit rebellion. However, although Zhao Kuangyin's pattern was indeed completely opened, he did not have a bottom in his own heart, and when he returned to the capital with his army, the yellow-robed emperor was about to face the most embarrassing moment of his life.
How did Zhao Kuangyin, the grandfather of the Song Dynasty, end the chaotic world of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms? Why did he, who was born a military general, eventually embark on the road of emphasizing literature and light martial arts? Later Zhou looked at Zhao Kuangyin, who was wearing a yellow robe and leading a large army to the capital. With his toes, he knew he was going to mutiny, but he never expected that this man would not play his cards according to the routine. While he wanted to be emperor, he was pretending to be a grandson. After the ministers found that they did not have to worry about their lives, they all spoke a lot harder, and zhao Kuangyin's head could not be lifted when you scolded me, and he could only cry while helping himself to defend himself. The scene was once very embarrassing, will this throne be usurped in the end? Fortunately, at this moment, Zhao Kuangyin's personal bodyguard Luo Yangui took the initiative to stand up and alleviate the embarrassment of his boss. He raised his sword in his hand and shouted at the ministers, "I have no lord in my lifetime, and today I will have the Son of Heaven." Only then did the ministers remain silent and allow Zhao Kuangyin to ascend to the throne as Song Taizu.
Although the history of the five generations has ended here, what remains in zhao Kuangyin's hands at this time is still a mess. The world has not yet been reunified The dispute is far from over, but before that, Zhao Kuangyin has another big thing to do. He conspired with Zhao Pu, the prime minister, and finally in 961 AD, Zhao Kuangyin set up a banquet to entertain everyone and established an excellent military general with great military achievements. After three rounds of drinking, Zhao Kuangyin looked sad, and the military generals under him drank some wine and asked him in a loud voice if anything had happened. Zhao Kuangyin sighed and said, It is too difficult to be an emperor, I don't know how many people are worried about this throne. These words woke up the warriors, who knelt on the ground and said that we would never be able to do such a thing as rebellion. Zhao Kuangyin did not spare you, even if you did not want to rebel, if your men put the yellow robe on your body one day, what would you do then? The warriors could only cry and beg Taizu to show us the way. Zhao Kuangyin then said, all day long to fight and kill tired individuals, otherwise I will give you money and land, how about you go home and become a landlord and retire with peace of mind. The next day, all the military generals took the initiative to resign and returned the military power to Zhao Kuangyin, and Shi called this matter a cup of wine to release the military power.
Why Song Taizu, who conquered the world's wise and divine martial arts, died suddenly at the age of 50, leaving only the age-old mystery of the sound of candle shadows and axes for posterity. After seizing the military power of the military general and stabilizing the internal problems, Zhao Kuangyin's vision should then be put back on the external troubles. When the Song Dynasty first established the country, it seized the territory of the former Later Zhou, which was only a little large, about 152 square kilometers. At that time, on the vast territory of China, the Khitan people were looking at the tiger as a dominant side, and the ten kingdoms were divided into separate regimes. Although the five generations are over, the lords of the Ten Kingdoms are still proud of the spring breeze, and in order to complete the historical mission of unification, Zhao Kuangyin has led the army to go out several times. From 963 onwards, he eliminated Jingnan, Hunan, Houshu, Southern Han, and Southern Tang. In thirteen years, the division of the five generations period was basically ended. Except for Wu Yue, the strongest nail household, and the Northern Han Dynasty, which had the support of the Khitan in the rear, the other ten kingdoms were all incorporated into the territory of the Song Dynasty. However, in 976 AD, Song Taizu, who was still preparing for the Northern Expedition, died suddenly on October 19, at the age of fifty. According to the historical records, that night it was snowing heavily, and the sick Zhao Kuangyin was in a good mood, and specially called his brother Zhao Guangyi to drink together, and when the two brothers drank for three rounds and drank to the fullest, Zhao Kuangyin did not know why, and all the palace eunuchs who were waiting around were taken away, and no one knew what the brothers said. The palace maid outside the door only saw the shadow of the candle in the palace shaking, Zhao Guangyi left the table several times, as a retreat, and a moment later, he heard the sound of the axe falling on the ground. It was not until the middle of the night that the night wine was drunk, and on the same night, Zhao Kuangyin suddenly died, and his brother Zhao Guangyi succeeded to the throne as Song Taizong
In 979, Zhao Guangyi personally conquered Taiyuan and destroyed the Northern Han Dynasty, and the history of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms came to an end completely. But the impact of that chaotic world was deeply rooted in the hearts of the rulers of the Song Dynasty. Therefore, from the time of Zhao Kuangyin, he vigorously suppressed the military generals and reused the wenchen, and it was precisely because of this that the Song Dynasty created a new peak of Chinese culture.