When Zhao Kuangyin launched the "Chen Qiao Mutiny", everything seemed calm, except for the deputy commander of the bodyguard Ma Bu, who commanded the envoy Wai Hantong, and there was no bloodshed.
You know, the Later Zhou dynasty was also a dynasty. And in the entire history of the five dynasties, the Later Zhou dynasty was actually the most powerful and the closest to unifying the whole country.
Since this dynasty has such a powerful force, its growth is naturally quite strong and it is difficult to be destroyed. For example, the Tang Dynasty, after experiencing the Anshi Rebellion, the imperial court did not collapse, but still stubbornly survived, and continued for a century and a half. It can be seen from this that it is not easy for a court to be easily destroyed.
There are two main reasons why it is not easy for a dynasty to disappear. First, in ancient times, power was highly centralized, and power was in the center, so it was actually difficult to overthrow the opposing forces. Second, people are emotionally defending the old court, if someone wants to overthrow the old court, everyone will oppose it.??
(Chen Qiao Mutiny)
Then, after the originally very powerful Zhou, why did Zhao Kuangyin not stand up to oppose it when he launched the "Chen Qiao Mutiny"?
Of course, it cannot be said that absolutely no one objected. Han Tong is an opponent. When Zhao Kuangyin withdrew with a large army and entered the palace to prepare for the seizure of power, Han Tong rushed out of his home with some soldiers around him, hoping to mobilize the army against Zhao Kuangyin.
However, Zhao Kuangyin's army had already rushed to Han Tong's door and was stationed there. As soon as Han Tong rushed out, Zhao Kuangyin's army arrested him squarely, took the knife in his hand, cut off Han Tong's head, and rushed in, killing Han Tong's three sons.
In addition to Han Tong's opposition, Fan Qian, the chancellor among the civil servants, was also opposed. When Zhao Kuangyin entered the imperial court, all the courtiers knelt down, but the prime minister Fan Qian did not kneel, but questioned Zhao Kuangyin, saying, Emperor Xian treated you not thinly, why did you betray him? Zhao Kuangyin cried and said, it wasn't that I wanted to betray him, it was the soldiers who forced me, and I couldn't help it. The soldier next to him, Luo Yanhuan, also cooperatively pulled out his sword and shouted at Fan Qian, "I have no master in my generation, today I must have a son of heaven who knows us, and if anyone does not follow, let my sword speak!" Fan Qian had no choice but to kneel down.
(Fan Quality Portrait)
From this point of view, it is not completely without resistance. There is resistance, but the degree of resistance is obviously very limited. So, why didn't the expected fierce resistance appear?
I think there are several main reasons.
First, the royal talent withered.
The reason why Zhao Kuangyin was able to easily launch the "Chen Qiao Mutiny" and the decline of the later Zhou imperial family was an important reason. Why did the Later Zhou Royal Family have talent withering? Mainly because the family of Guo Wei, the founding emperor of Later Zhou, was almost killed by Emperor Yin of later Han.
The reason why the Emperor of the Later Han Dynasty, Emperor Han Yin, wanted to kill Guo Wei's family was because Guo Wei controlled the power of the army, and Emperor Han Yin was jealous of him, so he would kill him. If you can't kill him, you can kill his family.
Because Guo Wei's family was killed, he had almost no brothers and sisters and no descendants. Finally, when the throne is passed on, it will be passed on to the adopted son Chai Rong.
Since the imperial family basically had no talent, when Zhao Kuangyin launched a mutiny, no one stood up to defend Hou Zhou.
(Portrait of Chai Rong)
Second, Chai Rong cut off his arm.
Although Chai Rong did not have any royal family members, he still had two important people who controlled the power. One is Guo Wei's son-in-law Zhang Yongde, and the other is Guo Wei's nephew Li Chongjin.
When Chai Rong was alive, he was not afraid of these two people, because they did not dare to resist at all. However, when he became seriously ill, he was a little worried. Therefore, these two people were transferred out of the center and transferred to the localities.
It was precisely these two people who were transferred out, so zhao Kuangyin was given the opportunity to control the power alone. And Zhao Kuangyin also took advantage of this opportunity to falsely claim that the Khitan invaded and deceived the army into his hands. As a result, in the entire imperial court, he was dominant, and others simply could not help him.
Third, Zhao Kuangyin secretly gathered strength.
In fact, the reason why few people at all levels of the imperial court stood up to defend the Later Zhou Jiangshan was because before the Chen Qiao Mutiny, Zhao Kuangyin had quietly recruited a large number of talents. Up and down the hall, the talents had basically arrived at Zhao Kuangyin's side long ago.
Chai Rong had never discovered this. When he still thought that Zhang Yongde and Li Chongjin were too powerful and would take him of Jiangshan, so he threw them out of the imperial court, in fact, Zhao Kuangyin, who was the easiest to seize his Jiangshan, had already absorbed all the civilian and military generals in the imperial court into his side.
The reason why Zhao Kuangyin wanted to do this was because the Five Dynasties themselves had a tradition of seizing the country at that time. It has been half a century since generations have seized the country, and Zhao Kuangyin must certainly learn from them. On the other hand, Zhao Kuangyin was also the one who saw Chai Rong's side and did not have any dead heart to defend him. So he had been premeditated for a long time. And Chai Rong's death just gave him the opportunity, and he seized the country, which was simply a matter of course.
(References: History of the Old Five Dynasties, History of the New Five Dynasties)