The Tanuki Cat For Prince is a story from the Northern Song Dynasty, which involves the mystery of the life of Zhao Zhen of the Song Dynasty.
It is said that in the early days of the Northern Song Dynasty, the country was strong and the people were rich, the seas rose to peace, the grain was abundant, and people lived and worked in peace and contentment, a prosperous scene. Unfortunately, Emperor Zhenzong was nearly fifty years old, but there were still only princesses and no princes.
This was a piece of Zhenzong's heart disease, and Manchu Wenwu was also terrified and uneasy because of it. Seeing that the emperor is getting older and older, there is no prince, once the emperor suddenly has a three long and two short, let everyone do what? Therefore, it is very important that the prince is the foundation of the country. During the Ming Dynasty's Wanli Dynasty, the dispute over the foundation of the country lasted for nearly twenty years, and countless ministers killed their heads and went to prison, setting off bloody storms and rains again and again. Everyone knows this, and I will not repeat it today.
Early in the morning, the chancellor Wen Yanbo said:
"The subject looks at the heavens at night, and the Tengu star violates the que, which is afraid that it will be detrimental to the kings."
Zhenzong was quite dissatisfied with this, and he felt that he did not have any kings yet, and there were still any disadvantages. However, since the ministers have said that it is not good for the crown prince, they should take precautions and make corresponding arrangements and preparations to deal with possible emergencies.
After Zhenzong returned to the palace, he had two pieces of jade carved, engraved with the marks of Li Guifei and Liu Guifei respectively, and gave them to them. At the same time, Emperor Zhenzong promised to his face that any of them who had a son would be made crown prince, and she herself would be made empress.
So Li Guifei and Liu Guifei (Liu E) scrambled, and they all tried to have a son.
As a result, in the near future, Li Guifei was pregnant, but Liu E's stomach was calm and calm, and there was no movement. Seeing that the empress's seat was about to fall on Li Guifei's head, Liu E, unwilling to be a female, plotted to assassinate Li Guifei. Liu E, together with guo Huai, the chief eunuch, bought the midwife who was responsible for delivering li guifei. They colluded, found a big tanuki cat to kill, and then skinned it, and decided that if Li Guifei gave birth to a boy, they would use the tanuki cat to impersonate the crown prince, and then kill the prince; if it was a princess, stop and ignore it.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the breeze is cool and there is a depression. One night of thunderstorms, Li Guifei gave birth, and the birth was a prince. Liu E asked the midwife to exchange the skinned tanuki cat for the prince, and then ordered the palace maid Kou Zhu to find a secret place to strangle the little prince. Kou Zhu was kind in heart and could not bear to harm the prince, so he found a loyal bodyguard, Chen Lin, to discuss how to deal with the little prince.
Chen Lin took advantage of the birthday of the Eight Sages King and the emperor to give eight thousand years old food, put the little prince in the food box, evaded the interrogation of the guards, and brought the little prince, zhao Zhen, to the Southern Qing Palace of the Eight Kings. Hachio Chitose adopted this nephew.
Li Guifei was beaten into the cold palace because she gave birth to a "youkai". Liu E later gave birth to a crown prince and was made crown prince, and Liu E herself became empress as she wished.
Unfortunately, the good times did not last long, and five or six years later, Liu E's son Xue died. Zhenzong was also in despair, because at this time he was afraid that he could no longer have children. At this time, the Eighth Prince saw that the time was ripe and handed over Zhao Zhen. When Emperor Zhenzong saw that Zhao Zhen had the jade pendant of Li Guifei at that time, plus Zhao Zhen's appearance resembled his own, he was convinced of Zhao Zhen's identity, so he made Zhao Zhen the crown prince. Zhao Zhen was in his infancy at the time, and Li Guifei was beaten into the cold palace, so Liu E raised Zhao Zhen. Liu E also regarded Zhao Zhen as her own and was very affectionate, but Zhao Zhen never knew that her birth mother was Li Guifei.
Soon after, Emperor Zhenzong died, and the crown prince Zhao Zhen succeeded to the throne, that is, Song Renzong of the Hundred Dynasties. Emperor Renzong was not yet an adult, and Empress Dowager Liu'e was under the supervision of the government. Liu E's handling of state affairs was still orderly and fair, and the ministers were also convinced.
In the above story, the matter of the tanuki cat changing for the prince is fabricated. However, it is a historical fact that Zhao Zhen was raised by Liu E. Zhao Zhen's mother was a palace maid in Liu E's palace, and because Liu E could not have children, she gave birth to Zhao Zhen with the help of a palace maid, and then took it for herself.
Liu E's ability to govern the country is also extraordinary, and the Haiyan River of the country's governance is clear and prosperous. Later, When Princess Li Guifei died, Liu E accepted the advice of the chancellor Lü Yijian and was buried in the manners of empress.
After the death of Empress Dowager Liu E, Song Renzong learned of the mystery of his own lineage, believing that Liu E had abused his mother, hated Liu E very much, and prepared to liquidate the Liu family. Song Renzong first wanted to rebury his mother Li Guifei, and after opening Li Guifei's mausoleum, he found that Li Guifei's funeral was of high specifications and the funeral was also very rich, which immediately dispelled his hatred for Liu E. In this way, the Liu family was saved, which shows Liu E's far-sightedness.
As an ordinary people's daughter, Liu E was able to serve as empress and empress dowager, and once ascended to the peak of power, which was extremely valuable. Because of this, the people are full of speculations and fantasies about her process of gaining supreme power, always believing that her status is not from the right source. As a result, various versions of the Northern Song Court Struggle Drama are dazzling and wonderful, adding a lot of color to our lives. In particular, "Tanuki Cat for Prince", coupled with the participation of Bao Gong, portrays the cruelty of the court struggle to the fullest; the empress dowager Liu E's interpretation of the ruthlessness and heinousness.
In the 1980s and 1990s, every Spring Festival, the opera team in our village had to stage this Peking Opera, plus "The Case of Beauty" and so on, and still want to come, warm as yesterday, making people cry and feel nostalgic!