Ever since Chai Rong took over the throne of Later Zhou from his righteous father Guo Wei, he had ambitions to make Later Zhou the end of this chaotic world. For this reason, chai Rongshang, as an emperor, did not covet pleasure, so he embarked on the flames of the southern conquest and the northern war. Feeling the strife of the chaotic world, he made a thirty-year vision of peace in the world and worked hard towards this goal. Unexpectedly, God joked with him, and the thirty-year plan only left him five years.
In 959, Chai Rong died of illness in Kaifeng, and before his death, he issued a government decree relieving his brother-in-law Zhang Yongde of the military affairs of the pre-palace inspection, and transferring the position of commander of the forbidden army to Zhao Kuangyin. Who would have thought that chai rong of the wise emperor, in his deathbed, issued this decree in this way, so that the hard-fought Houzhou Jiangshan would be handed over to others.
Zhao Kuangyin
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" > the counterattack path of Zhao Kuangyin, the grandfather of the Song Dynasty</h1>
Born in a chaotic world, Zhao Kuangyin had been doing nothing in his early years, and this later Song Taizu was completely disregarding the general trend of the world, and was keen to travel in the mountains and rivers, and even lived happily in a temple. An old monk in the temple really couldn't bear to look at it, and after many exhortations to him, he finally woke up.
In 948, the lonely Zhao Kuangyin defected to the account of the Later Han general Guo Wei and followed him to suppress the rebellion. In the career since then, Zhao Kuangyin is like opening a hanging, starting from a nobody, mixing with that is called a wind and water.
With Guo Wei's self-proclaimed status as emperor and the establishment of Later Zhou, Zhao Kuangyin's position also rose and he became the commander of Huazhou; and after Chai Rong took the throne, this Later Zhou meritorious man was once again promoted and became a general in the forbidden army. In the great war with the Northern Han Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin bravely took the lead and was once again promoted to the deputy commander of the palace front division, and at this time, Zhao Kuangyin can be said to have completely become Chai Rong's cronies.
Later, Zhao Kuangyin, along with Chai Rong's southern expedition to the north, gained more and more trust and appreciation from the Later Zhou Emperor, and his power also expanded. Until the time of Chai Rong's death, he was officially appointed as the inspector of the temple. It should be known that the palace was the supreme commander of the Forbidden Army, and the Forbidden Army was the Emperor's Guard Army, which had been the most effective elite unit in the later Zhou Dynasty.
Later, as we know the Chen Qiao Mutiny, at the instigation and momentum of Zhao Guangyi and others, Zhao Kuangyin added his yellow robes and forced Chai Zong to train the Zen throne, turning into the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty.
Yellow robe plus body
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="9" > the outcome of the Chai family's descendants</h1>
As Chai Rong's former confidant, how did Zhao Kuangyin, the grandfather of the Song Dynasty, treat the old master's heir after seizing power in Later Zhou?
The history books record that Chai Rong had a total of seven sons, and the first three sons were all killed by emperor Yin of the Later Han Dynasty when they were young, so there was no intersection with Zhao Kuangyin, so let's first look at the outcome of Chai Zongxun in the Zen position.
After being ousted from the throne, Chai Zongxun was demoted to king Zheng by Zhao Kuangyin, who still enjoyed the treatment of a royal son and gave him danshu iron coupons. His mother, Empress Fu, also retained the title of Empress Dowager, but in order to avoid her name, she changed from Empress Fu to Empress Dowager Zhou. After that, the mother and son moved to Fangzhou to live, but it is not known whether it was because of the shock of the coup or how, Chai Zongxun died at the age of 20. When the news of Chai Zongxun's death reached Zhao Kuangyin, the Zhao official's family still wept bitterly and wept over it, and gave him the title of Emperor Gong of Later Zhou.
Among the other three sons, Chai Xi Rang suddenly disappeared after Zhao Kuangyin ascended the throne, and is rumored to have hidden in seclusion for fear of being killed. Chai Xijin was adopted as a righteous son by the Song Dynasty general Pan Mei, but unfortunately he only stayed in the Song Dynasty for four years before he died. The last Chai Xijie, after being adopted as a righteous son by Lu Yan, lived with him in seclusion in the Zhejiang region. It was not until after Lu Yan's death that Chai Xijie, who changed his name to Lu Xuan, took up an official position and was highly valued, and was even made the Marquis of Wulie of the Great Song by Emperor Zhenzong of Song.
Descendants of the Chai clan
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" Data-track="16" > move is impressive</h1>
Feeling the kindness of Chai Rong's father and son, and the love and righteousness of being regarded as a close confidant, Zhao Kuangyin, after being forced to add a yellow robe, felt ashamed of Chai Rong's trust, so he left a piece of ancestral training on the stone tablet, which only the kings of previous dynasties could see. And this stone stele was also able to come out when the Northern Song Dynasty was overthrown by Jin.
The stone tablet records that the descendants of the Chai clan are guilty and must not be punished, and if they commit rebellion, they will end up in prison, and they will not be punished by cao, nor may they sit on their subordinates.
That is to say, as long as the Song Dynasty survives, chai descendants will not be punished even if they commit crimes. They can only be given to death when they rebel. Moreover, the death penalty could not be executed in public, and they could only be invited to prison to let them cut themselves off. And after they die, their sins disappear and they cannot be linked to their families.
Think of Zhao Dezhao, who chose to commit suicide after being reprimanded by Song Taizong, you can imagine how much gold content this privilege really is. And in order to let future generations abide by it, Zhao Kuangyin, the grandfather of the Song Dynasty, also added a sentence: "Those who have this oath of yu in their descendants will be destroyed by heaven."
Statue of Chai Rong
Whether the yellow robe was coerced by the situation or deliberately, we have no way of knowing. From Song Taizu's attitude toward Chai Rong's descendants, we seem to be able to glimpse the benevolence of this controversial emperor.