The "Chen Qiao Mutiny" was a famous mutiny and seizure of power in Chinese history. Zhao Kuangyin, the former commander of the Later Zhou Dynasty (commander of the Later Zhou Forbidden Army and the number one in the military circles), with the support of all the generals of the army, successfully seized the power of Later Zhou and established the Great Song Dynasty. Historical mutinies and seizures of power have basically been accompanied by fierce bloodshed, but the "Chen Qiao Mutiny" has become a model of peaceful seizure of power, and the whole process took only 4 days, during which only a very small-scale bloodshed occurred. Today we will talk about what really happened in just 4 days.
On the first day of the first lunar month in 960, when everyone was still immersed in the joyful atmosphere of the New Year, the Later Zhou court suddenly received an urgent message: the invasion of the Liao state. After some deliberation among the courtiers, it was finally decided by Fan Qian, Wang Pu, and Wei Renpu, the three current prime ministers, and sent Zhao Kuangyin to lead the army to meet the fierce enemy.
Regarding the invasion of the Liao State, everyone naturally knew that it was a good play directed by Zhao Kuangyin. At that time, there were only two people in the Later Zhou Jing Division who had the ability to lead a large army, namely Zhao Kuangyin and Han Tong, the deputy commander of the Guards' Army Ma Bujun. Han Tong was a veteran with rich qualifications who was highly trusted by Emperor Chai Rong. In the past, when Chai Rong was personally marching, he would often stay in Hantong Town to guard the Beijing Division and defend the rear. Therefore, for the people of Kaifeng, as long as Han Tong is there, everyone will not panic, and Kaifeng is inseparable from Han Tong. Zhao Kuangyin had anticipated this, so he knew that he was the only one who could be granted the power to lead the troops out on the expedition.
On the third day of the first lunar month in 960, Zhao Kuangyin led a large army north to meet the Liao army that did not exist. On the way to the march, the first actor under Director Zhao appeared, he was Miao Xun of the Dianqian Division Military Academy.
As the army marched northward, Miao Xun, who was proficient in astronomical divination, suddenly stopped moving. Only to see him look up at the sky, staring in the direction of the sun, as if there were some astronomical visions there. Miao Xun's strange behavior immediately attracted the attention of many people, and everyone also looked up to see what strange things were in the sky. At this time, Zhao Kuangyin's senior aide Chu Zhaofu suddenly shouted: "There are two suns in the sky, and the sun below is expelling the sun above. Hearing that the knowledgeable Chu Zhaofu had behaved so stunned, these soldiers in the army were even more wide-eyed to see what was going on. Soon, some people patted their chests and said they also saw two suns, and described them. Others didn't see anything famous, but they were embarrassed to admit that they were clumsy, so they followed suit. As a result, the saying of "one day and one day" quickly spread in the military. However, at this time, everyone did not think that the "astronomical vision" of this scene was actually director Zhao laying the atmosphere for the "big drama" at night.
That night, Zhao Kuangyin led a large army to leave Chen Qiaoyi, which was about forty miles away, and ordered the whole army to camp and rest. Zhao Kuangyin had "drunk" himself early on, and then went into the big tent of the Chinese army to sleep, and he said that he did not know anything about all the plots that happened next.
Soon, a group of high-ranking generals in the army broke into the tent of Zhao Pu, the first strategist beside Zhao Kuangyin. As soon as everyone saw Zhao Pu, they immediately shouted in unison: "The armies have no masters, and I wish that The Commander will be the Son of Heaven." As the assistant director of this mutinous drama, Zhao Pu knew in his heart that there was a drama in this matter. However, among these generals, some are "actors" that Zhao Pu has already arranged, and some are completely "melon-eating masses" with rhythms. The "actors" are all their own people, naturally there is no problem, but the "melon-eating masses" are fickle, so they have to be careful. Therefore, Zhao Pu immediately rebuked and sent the crowd out.
However, the generals knew in their hearts that such a thing as a mutiny should either be said or done. Otherwise, in the future, after the autumn, there will be no good fruit to eat. Therefore, these generals soon came to Zhao Pu's military tent again, this time everyone was not so civilized, each holding a white blade, it seemed that as long as Zhao Pu dared to oppose, he would first take him to sacrifice the flag. As soon as Zhao Pu saw that things had come to fruition, he had to "reluctantly" agree to the people's request.
That night, Zhao Pu sent people back to Kaifeng overnight to inform Zhao Kuangyin's close associates Shi Shouxin and Wang Zhenqi, who had "assisted" Han Tong in defending the city, so that the two of them could be prepared to respond to the return of the army to the division. The generals, on the other hand, went back to their camps and explained to their subordinates what the vision of "one day and one day" they had seen in the morning meant. At that time, the soldiers were both superstitious and uncultured, so they naturally believed in the commander's statement, and soon everyone understood one thing: it was going to change the sky!
The next morning, on the fourth day of the first lunar month in 960, Zhao Kuangyin, who had "slept" all night, walked out of the Chinese army tent. However, the sight in front of him made him "very shocked". Only to see the generals holding white blades on both sides of the big tent, after seeing Zhao Kuangyin, everyone shouted in unison: "The armies have no master, may the lieutenant be the son of heaven." Zhao Kuangyin's brain circuit had not yet turned, Zhao Pu came to Zhao Kuangyin with a yellow robe, and he did not talk nonsense with Zhao Kuangyin, and directly put the yellow robe on Zhao Kuangyin. As a result, Zhao Kuangyin was proclaimed emperor by everyone under the "inexplicable" situation.
However, there is a very obvious flaw in this plot, which has become the only hard wound in the whole "Chen Qiao Mutiny" drama, that is, where did the yellow robe come from? You know, yellow was the exclusive color of the emperor in ancient times, and no one else was allowed to use it. According to the script of Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Pu, neither of them knew in advance that the crowd would force Zhao Kuangyin to become emperor. However, at this time, Zhao Pu did not know where to find a carefully prepared yellow robe, you said that you did not premeditate? Will ghosts believe? Of course, at this time, the arrow had to be sent on the string, and everyone was already tied to a rope with the two Directors Zhao, so they would not be nitpicking on these details.
Therefore, after a day of leaving the Beijing Division, Zhao Kuangyin returned with the original team of Ma Hao. At this time, the city of Kaifeng was completely controlled by Zhao Kuangyin's cronies, so Zhao Kuangyin's army occupied Kaifeng without any resistance. When Zhao Kuangyin's men "invited" The prime ministers Fan Qian, Wang Pu, and Wei Renpu to Zhao Kuangyin, Zhao Kuangyin quickly exerted a basic quality of "drama essence". He whimpered and said to the crowd, "I have been forced by the Six Armies by sejong's favor, and once I have come to this point, I am ashamed of heaven and earth, what will I do?" Several prime ministers looked at the large knife clenched in the hands of the generals around Zhao Kuangyin, "There is no way out of the plan, but it is a demotion."
On the same day, Empress Fu, the widow of Later Zhou Shizong Chai Rong, took the seven-year-old young emperor Chai Zongxun into the Tianqing Temple, and they left Zhao Kuangyin a document, which was a Zen edict covering the seal of the Later Zhou Emperor. As a result, Chinese history began to enter the era of the rule of the Great Song Dynasty.
Reference: History of the Song Dynasty