In 960, Zhao Kuangyin launched the Chen Qiao Mutiny, and the yellow robe was added to the body, establishing the Song Dynasty. After this, Zhao Kuangyin became the first emperor of the Song Dynasty, and he was also known as "Song Taizu". Unlike most of the emperors who passed the throne to their sons, Zhao Kuangyin passed the throne to his younger brother Zhao Guangyi. There are many theories about Zhao Guangyi's succession to the throne, some people say that he murdered his brother, and some people say that he conspired with Zhao Pu to bully his nephew young and snatch the throne, but no matter what, in the "History of Song", Zhao Guangyi's succession to the throne is justified, and it is Zhao Kuangyin's biography located in him.
Zhao Guangyi changed his name to Zhao Jiong after inheriting the throne, and he was the second emperor of the Song Dynasty, also known as "Song Taizong". After Zhao Jiong's death, the throne passed to his third son, Zhao Heng of Song Zhenzong. The minister we are going to talk about today is the prime minister during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Song, who assisted Zhao Heng, who was still the crown prince, to succeed to the throne, and this person is Lü Duan, who has "big things are not confused".
Lü Duan was born into a family of official eunuchs, his father had been an official in the Later Jin Dynasty, Lü Duan grew up in a chaotic world, but he was intelligent and studious, and when he grew up, he entered the Later Zhou imperial court, held official positions such as ZuoLang, and once served as an official in the same dynasty as Zhao Kuangyin, the grandfather of the Song Dynasty. With the death of Zhao Kuangyin and the succession of Zhao Jiong, Lü Duan's official position became higher and higher. In the first year of the Dao Dynasty (995 AD), Lü Duan officially worshipped the chancellor and became the prime minister during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Song.
There is also a story about Lü Duan's being prime minister. Lü Duan is a person with a wide body and a fat body, usually does not say anything, belongs to the people of Neixiu, especially when the government is deliberating, Lü Duan often does not say a word, sometimes let him speak, he will echo others. According to the thinking of ordinary people, this kind of moment should be performed well in front of the emperor, leave a good impression on the emperor, and can also do something in the future. And Lü Duan is often silent, which gives people the impression that they are incompetent.
However, Emperor Taizong of Song was a man who was good at discovering talents, he had long noticed Lü Duan's ability, and he also knew that he was an unobtrusive person, and after Zhang Qixian stepped down as prime minister, Zhao Jiong intended to promote Lü Duan to be prime minister. At that time, the prime minister was under one person, and it was very prudent to appoint such an official, so Zhao Jiong consulted with others in advance. When Zhao Jiong proposed to make Lü Duan the prime minister, some people put forward different opinions, saying: "Lü Duan is confused."
The "confusion" here refers to Lü Duan's inability, but Zhao Jiong does not think so, he said: "Lü Duan is confused about small things, and big things are not confused." In this way, at the insistence of Zhao Jiong, Lü Duan became the prime minister and became the last prime minister during the reign of Emperor Taizong. In the third year of the Dao, Emperor Taizong of Song died. According to the customization at that time, it should be succeeded by the crown prince Zhao Heng, that is, the future Song Zhenzong. However, there was an internal servant named Wang Ji'en, who had a bad relationship with the prince and was worried that the prince would be unfavorable to him after he succeeded to the throne, so he united with other forces to support others to ascend to the throne.
After Zhao Jiong's death, the empress ordered Wang Ji'en to summon Lü Duan, and after Wang Ji'en went to Lü Duan's home, Lü Duan noticed that things had changed, so he ordered someone to lock Wang Ji'en up and go to the palace himself. After arriving at the palace, Lü Duan met with Empress Taizong and advised the empress to let the crown prince ascend to the throne according to the ancestral legal system. Eventually, with the help of Lü Duan, the crown prince Zhao Heng successfully succeeded to the throne and became emperor, and the power of Wang Ji'en's faction was also eradicated by Lü Duan. This point alone confirms the words of Emperor Taizong Zhao Jiong: Lü Duan is not confused at all in terms of major right and wrong.
It is worth mentioning that when Zhao Heng succeeded to the throne, during the period of accepting the worship of hundreds of officials, a curtain hung in front of him, which made the minister behind the curtain unable to see Zhao Heng's face. As the head of the hundred officials, Lü Duan insisted on not worshiping, and said that unless the curtain was removed, let us see clearly before worshiping. After Lü Duan saw clearly that he was the real prince, he led the hundred officials to shout long live, and Zhao Heng also succeeded to the throne smoothly, becoming the later Song Zhenzong.