On the evening of October 19, the ninth year of Kaibao (976 AD), Zhao Kuangyin, the grandfather of the Song Dynasty, and his brother Zhao Guangyi, the King of Jin, had a private gathering, and the two of them talked about wine and were not happy. However, a few hours after a burst of "axe candle shadows", Zhao Kuangyin, who had always been physically strong, suddenly died violently. Five days later, he was hastily buried, and then Emperor Taizong of Song succeeded Zhao Guangyi to the throne. And Zhao Kuangyin, who died in the "shadow of the axe candle", has also become the object of endless debate in the world for thousands of years.
The "Old Records of Taizu Shilu" records that in the year of Zhao Kuangyin's violent death, he traveled to Luoyang in March; 14 days before his death, on the sixth day of the first month of October in the ninth year of Kaibao (976), Zhao Kuangyin also "lucky west to teach the field, Guan FeiShan's sergeant hair machine stone", during this time, Zhao Kuangyin's health was very good, frequent travel, how could he suddenly "die violently"?
In this regard, the historical records rarely ask about it, and there are only nine words in the Zhengshi "Song Shi Taizu Benji": "The emperor collapsed in the Hall of Long Live, the year is fifty"; and there are also only nine in the "Song Shi Taizong Benji": "Taizu Beng, the emperor (Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi) is the emperor's throne." What is even more remarkable is that the "Old Records of Taizu Shilu", which records Zhao Kuangyin's life and living, does not mention a word about Zhao Kuangyin's before and after his death and the cause of death, and completely ignores it.
What is even more strange is that after Zhao Kuangyin's death, the succession to the throne is not Zhao Kuangyin's two adult sons, but his younger brother Zhao Guangyi.
Therefore, many people pointed the murderer of Zhao Kuangyin's death to Zhao Guangyi.
In the folk legend about the "axe sound candle shadow" prevails, so some people directly say that Zhao Kuangyin was hacked to death by Zhao Guangyi with an axe. The answer given by modern experts and scholars to this statement is that Zhao Kuangyin died of an axe that is not credible.
Experts and scholars pointed out that there were two kinds of "pillar axes" that appeared around Zhao Kuangyin at that time in the Northern Song Dynasty, one was a sharp weapon used by the samurai, and the other was a literary tool. The pillar axe used as a stationery, also known as the jade pillar axe and jade axe, is generally made of crystal or copper and iron, and the pillar axe in the "axe sound candle shadow" is the jade axe of the study room.
First, it is difficult to kill people with this thing, and second, even if this jade axe is used to kill people, the trauma is obvious and it is difficult to justify itself.
In addition, Shi Wenying recorded the scene after Zhao Kuangyin's death in the "Records of the Continuing Xiang Mountains", and Zhao Guangyi once "drew the imperial ring jade clothes to see (Zhao Kuangyin) holy body, and the jade color Wen Ying was like Tang Mu." ”
That is to say, after Empress Song and some of his important courtiers saw Zhao Kuangyin's body, his body had traces of being bathed and there was no trauma, so "Wen Ying was like a soup Mu".
Therefore, Zhao Kuangyin's hacking to death by an axe was obviously empty talk.
So, how did Zhao Kuangyin die?
Some scholars have proposed that Zhao Kuangyin may have drunk too much alcohol at that time and died of alcohol poisoning?
Of course, this claim is also denied.
The history books record that Zhao Kuangyin liked to drink, but he was still quite restrained about drinking. In the second year of Jianlong (961), Zhao Kuangyin once said to his attendants: "Why do you think of yourself as a person if you indulge in wine?" It can be seen that he has self-awareness and considerable restraint in drinking.
Some scholars have also proposed that according to the cause of death of Song Zhenzong and other Song Dynasty emperors, the Zhao family may have a hereditary of mania and depression, and Zhao Kuangyin may have died of a sudden cerebral hemorrhage at that time.
However, historians have gone through the "Old Records of Taizu Shilu", which was not touched by Zhao Guangyi and recorded Zhao Kuangyin's life and life, and have not found any records of diseases.
Therefore, the statement that Zhao Kuangyin died violently due to sudden cardiovascular disease was not recognized by historians.
All indications are that there is only one possibility left, 2 words: poisoning.
Zhao Guangyi was a master of poisoning, and according to historical records, Meng Chang, the lord of the Later Shu state, Li Yu, the lord of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and Qian Li, the ruler of the Wuyue state, were all poisoned and poisoned by Zhao Guangyi, the emperor of the Song Dynasty, after surrendering to the Northern Song Dynasty.
And Sima Guang, the northern Song Dynasty historian and editor-in-chief of the Zizhi Tongjian, in the "Records of Shuishui", which is only a few decades after Zhao Kuangyin's death, broke the mystery of this ancient and doubtful case:
After Zhao Kuangyin died in the middle of the night, it was already midnight, and Empress Song immediately asked the eunuch and internal servant Duzhi Wang Ji'en to go and inform Zhao Kuangyin's son, Zhao Defang, the King of Qin, to quickly enter the palace. However, at this time, Wang Ji'en directly went to Kaifeng Province to find Zhao Guangyi, the King of Jin, and at the gate of Kaifeng Province, Cheng Deyuan, a medical officer of the King of Jin who was good at medicine, waited here for a long time, and followed Cheng Deyuan to lead Wang Ji'en into Kaifeng Province.
At that time, Zhao Guangyi was still a little "hesitant to act", and Wang Ji'en urged: "Things will be done for others for a long time!" ”
Wang Ji'en's implication was that at that time, Zhao Kuangyin had two sons who were all adults, of whom Zhao Dezhao was 26 years old and Zhao Defang was already 18 years old, and Zhao Kuangyin, in addition to Zhao Guangyi, also had a younger brother, Zhao Tingmei, who was the legitimate heir to the throne.
After that, Zhao Guangyi immediately took the eunuch Wang Ji'en, the medical officer Cheng Deyuan and others to brave the heavy snow and quickly rushed to the gate of the palace.
Empress Song saw that it was Zhao Guangyi, who did not summon herself, and could not help but be "stunned", and later, Empress Song said a word to Zhao Guangyi: "The fate of my mother and son is entrusted to the official family!" ”
Guanjia is the title of the emperor by the Song Dynasty. Zhao Guangyi replied with 7 words: "Co-protect the rich and noble, no worries!" ”
That is to say, Cheng Deyuan, who is good at medical skills, made a series of strange moves before and after Zhao Guangyi seized power, and followed Zhao Guangyi into the palace to seize power, which is really incredible. Therefore, some experts speculate that Cheng Deyuan is likely to assist Zhao Guangyi and configure some kind of strange poison; Zhao Guangyi unconsciously poisoned the wine during the confrontation with Zhao Kuangyin; then Zhao Guangyi quickly returned home, creating the appearance that he was not at the scene, waiting for the news of Zhao Kuangyin's death; subsequently, Zhao Guangyi let Cheng Deyuan, pick up the eunuch Wang Ji'en, who had sent a message, and the three of them broke into the palace together to seize power.
Later, Zhao Guangyi entered the palace, and Empress Song surrendered, all kinds of signs showed that the entire inside and outside of the Great Song Palace was already in Zhao Guangyi's hands.
After successfully ascending the throne, Zhao Guangyi made the eunuch Wang Ji'en an envoy to Jiannan Xichuan zhao'an, and Cheng Deyuan as an assassin.
At the same time, Zhao Guangyi immediately cut off Zhao Kuangyin's remaining generals, and then attacked the imperial family.
When Zhao Kuangyin died violently, his son Zhao Dezhao was already 26 years old, and Zhao Defang was also 18 years old. In addition, Zhao Kuangyin's younger brother, Zhao Tingmei, the King of Wei, was also young.
Later, Emperor Taizong of Song forced Zhao Dezhao to commit suicide. Two years after Zhao Dezhao's death, in the sixth year of the Taiping Revival (981), the last son of Zhao Kuangyin, the grandfather of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Defang, who was only 24 years old at the time, also died suddenly and inexplicably in his sleep, and the historical records of this are:
"Sleep sick". The method of death is exactly the same as Zhao Kuangyin.
After the death of Zhao Kuangyin's two sons, Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Guangyi's two common brothers, Zhao Tingmei, "did not start to be at peace." In the end, Zhao Tingmei was deposed to Fangzhou (Fang county, Hubei), and eventually died at a young age, only 38 years old.
At this point, the people who had the threat to Zhao Guangyi's throne were finally cut off one by one.
In the third year of the Dao Dynasty (997), Zhao Guangyi, who had been emperor for 21 years, finally died, and after his death, the throne of the Northern Song Dynasty has been passed down in his line, but what he did not expect was that after the change of Jing Kang, the Northern Song imperial family was almost plundered by jin soldiers, and Zhao Guangyi's descendants were almost swept away.
In this situation, Emperor Huizong of Song's ninth son, Emperor Qinzong of Song's younger brother Zhao Zhaocang, ascended the throne for Emperor Gaozong of Song, and during the turmoil of the early Southern Song Dynasty, Emperor Gaozong of Song's 3-year-old son Zhao Xu was frightened and died after the Miao Liu Mutiny. Later, Emperor Gaozong of Song selected a seventh-generation grandson of Zhao Kuangyin, that is, the sixth-generation grandson of Zhao Defang, the king of Qin, who died inexplicably, to raise him and make him crown prince, who was the second emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty, Song Xiaozong.
That is to say, from the beginning of Song Xiaozong to the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty, the throne of the Southern Song Dynasty was inherited by the descendants of Zhao Kuangyin's family, is this the legendary cycle of cause and effect?