In 976, Zhao Kuangyin, the founding father of the Song Dynasty, died suddenly and violently overnight, and he never made a prince before his death, and there was no will to determine who was the heir.
There is no record of the cause of Zhao Kuangyin's death in the main history, and the Song Shi Taizu Benji has only a few words:
"The emperor collapsed in the Hall of Ten Thousand Years, at the age of fifty." "Appointed Empress Dowager Du to pass on the throne to Emperor Taizong."
Subsequently, his brother Zhao Guangyi (Emperor Taizong of Song) hastily succeeded to the throne, and two months later he could not wait to change his era name.
The son inherits the father's business, has been the traditional inheritance system inherited by the monarchs of successive dynasties, the person who inherits the throne should be Zhao Kuangyin's adult son Zhao Dezhao or Zhao Defang, what is surprising is that Zhao Guangyi's younger brother inherited the throne, plus two years later, Zhao Dezhao died, and then two years later Zhao Defang also died, which gradually smelled the taste of conspiracy.
The death of Zhao Kuangyin, the grandfather of the Song Dynasty, became a historical mystery, and Zhao Guangyi, the Emperor of Song Taizong, was also accused of "killing his brother and usurping the throne"!
Some people say that this is not obvious, Zhao Kuangyin was killed, and several emperors passed the throne to their brothers instead of sons, which is clearly killing their brothers and usurping the throne.
However, it should be known that Zhao Guangyi was appointed as "Kaifeng Fu Yin" in the second year of the establishment of the Great Song Dynasty, and at that time, this position was equivalent to the "Prince Internship Post", but it was not just an official position, and it should be known that chai Rong, the lord of the Zhou Dynasty, was trained from this position.
Zhao Kuangyin had four sons, Namely Zhao Dexiu (eldest son, early death), Zhao Dezhao, Zhao Delin (third son, early death), and Zhao Defang, who reigned for 17 years, never reused his sons, nor did he crown them kings.
In other words, Zhao Kuangyin never made a prince in his lifetime, and he had always had the idea of passing the throne to his younger brother Zhao Guangyi.
What's more, Zhao Kuangyin also repeatedly created a platform for his younger brother Zhao Guangyi in public: "The Dragon of Jin has taken tiger steps, and he will be the Son of Taiping in the future." ”
That is to say, Zhao Guangyi may also be a righteous successor to the throne.
So, what happened on the night of Zhao Kuangyin's death?
Death of Zhao Kuangyin
Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, after the "Chen Qiao Mutiny" established the Great Song Dynasty, ended the chaotic world of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, reunified most of the country, he reigned for seventeen years, outstanding merits, good reputation, but the only puzzling thing is that he did not make a prince until his death, nor did he crown his own son as king, but instead used his younger brother Zhao Guangyi, until a hail night in 976 AD, Zhao Kuangyin died suddenly.
Zhao Kuangyin's death came suddenly, and somehow. It is said that he died of illness, but there is no record of his illness in the history books; let him be accidental, there is no unified statement in the wild history, and Zhao Guangyi later revised the historical records three times, which made Zhao Kuangyin's death a bizarre veil.
There are two theories about the cause of Zhao Kuangyin's death:
First, the theory of unnatural death that is widely spread in the folk;
Second, some scholars believe that he died a normal death, not a murder by others.
First, those who hold the view of unnatural death believe that Zhao Kuangyin was killed by his younger brother Zhao Guangyi, because on the night zhao Kuangyin died, Zhao Guangyi was also present, which is the mystery of the so-called "candle shadow axe sound".
In fact, this passage is also innuendo when commenting on Zhao Guangyi of Song Taizong in the "History of The Emperors of Song":
"And if taizu's collapse does not exceed the year and changes to yuan, Fuling County's duke's debasement, the suicide of the king of Wugong, and the song queen's failure to mourn, then future generations cannot be without discussion." Or the collapse of Taizu, the usurpation of Liang by Emperor Taizong, the so-called candle shadow axe sound, is not empty. Who does not want to gain the supreme position? Although fathers and sons and brothers are relatives, they cannot help but kill each other, sad! "
According to the Northern Song Dynasty's "Continuation of Xiangshan Haolu And Taizong's Ascension to the Throne" and the monk Wen Wenying's "Xiangshan Wild Record", this story occurred that night:
On this night, Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin was in a very good mood, so he called his brother Zhao Guangyi to drink, and after three rounds of drinking, he was a little dizzy, suspected of playing drunkard, which frightened Zhao Guangyi, Zhao Kuangyin saw that his brother was in a better mood, and when he saw that the snow in front of the palace was a few inches thicker, he took the jade axe and stabbed the snow, and from time to time said to him Zhao Guangyi: "It's too easy, it's really too easy." Moreover, Zhao Guangyi did not leave the palace that night. Taizu undressed and went to bed, snoring like thunder. On this night, the five more drums passed, the imperial guard on duty at night was silent, and Taizu died suddenly.
The so-called "candlelight axe shadow" in history refers to this matter.
According to the "Embers", there is another version of the story of the "Candlelight Axe Shadow":
Originally, Zhao Guangyi had a crush on Lady Huarui, the concubine of the Later Shu lord Meng Chang, but unexpectedly she was accepted as a concubine by Zhao Kuangyin. That night, Zhao Guangyi took advantage of Zhao Kuangyin's deep sleep and took the opportunity to flirt with Lady Huarui, but he did not expect to wake Zhao Kuangyin up, but he was sick and weak, and his physical strength was insufficient, so Zhao Guangyi hacked Zhao Kuangyin to death with a jade axe without doing anything.
In short, Zhao Guangyi could not get rid of the suspicion of killing his brother. Both the Popular Interpretation of the History of the Song Dynasty and the Eighteenth Dynasty Of the Song Palace follow the above statements and are rendered, adding many details of Song Taizong's "brother killing".
Second, people who hold the view of normal death believe that the above-mentioned so-called "shadow axe sound" is purely fabricated, and Zhao Kuangyin died of a sudden illness similar to cerebral hemorrhage or myocardial infarction, which may be a family genetic disease, which has nothing to do with Zhao Guangyi, and Zhao Guangyi was not in the palace at that time.
Sima Guang's "Chronicle of Shuishui" records:
When Zhao Kuangyin died suddenly, Empress Xiaozhang sent the internal servant Wang Ji'en to summon Zhao Defang (the "Eight Sages King" in folklore) into the palace to inherit the throne. However, Wang Ji'en, believing that Zhao Kuangyin originally intended to pass the throne to his younger brother Zhao Guangyi, took it upon himself to go to the Jin Dynasty to cover Zhao Guangyi's palace. Zhao Guangyi was shocked at that time, and hesitated to enter the palace, and finally at the urging of Wang Ji'en, he hurried into the palace.
The empress was very surprised when she saw that it was the King of Jin, but at this point, she had to say, "The fate of my mother and son is entrusted to the official family." ’
Zhao Guangyi saw the situation and also cried and said, 'Co-protect the rich and noble, no worries also.' ’
In this way, Zhao Kuangyi was not in the palace when Zhao Kuangyin died, and he did not know it in advance, so it was impossible to kill his brother.
Bi Yuan's "General Guide to the Continuation of Zizhi" also supports this statement.
In addition to these, there is also a legend in folklore:
At the beginning of the overall stability of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin went to the folk micro-service private visit, passed through a Taoist temple, and asked a Taoist priest to help him calculate how long he could live. Taoist priest said: If the weather is not clear and the moon is not perfect when it comes to the Mid-Autumn Festival, prepare for the aftermath.
That night, the sky was originally starry, but suddenly the wind blew and hail fell, Zhao Kuangyin remembered the words of the Taoist, so he called his brother Zhao Guangyi and explained the aftermath.
And Emperor Taizong of Song Zhao Guangyi succeeded to the throne by Zhengda Guangming, and moreover, he also led the ministers to take turns to visit Zhao Kuangyin's body, with a peaceful face.
However, after Zhao Guangyi succeeded to the throne, Zhao Kuangyin's second son Zhao Dezhao was forced to commit suicide in 979 AD, and the fourth son Zhao Defang died suddenly for no reason in 981 AD, and Zhao Guangyi still did not get rid of the suspicion of "candlelight axe shadow" and "killing brother to seize the throne".
The two princes died suddenly one after another, and what horse feet did Zhao Guangyi reveal?
Zhao Guangyi succeeded to the throne as Emperor Taizong.
Two months later, that is, in the month of La, it was changed to "the ninth year of Kaibao" to "the first year of Taiping Xingguo", although in 8 days it would be the New Year, originally according to the custom, the new emperor was changed in the second year, but the brother's bones were not cold, and Zhao Guangyi, as his brother, did not wait for these days.
Although some people agreed that Zhao Guangyi had a reasonable succession to the throne, because Zhao Kuangyin did not leave a suicide note and could not suppress the gossip, Zhao Guangyi, in order to prove the reasonable legitimacy of his succession, made another explanation six years later, which is the famous "Alliance of the Golden Plateau".
According to historical records, in 961, before Empress Dowager Du died, Zhao Kuangyin was summoned to her side, and Zhao Pu (the founding father of the Great Song Dynasty, and the Zhao brothers were cloth friends. Entering the palace to record the last words, explaining the future succession to the throne, and persuading Zhao Kuangyin to pass the throne to his younger brother after his death, this suicide note was hidden in the Golden Kuai, so it was named "The Alliance of the Golden Kuai".
According to the Biography of Empress Dowager Du of Song:
In the second year of Jianlong, the empress dowager did not hesitate, and Taizu served medicine without leaving the left and right. Urgently ill, zhao Pu was summoned to be ordained.
The empress dowager asked Taizu, "Ru zhi so the world cares?" Taizu can't be right. The Empress Dowager gu asked, and Taizu said: "Those who have won the world are all Zu Kao and Empress Dowager Ji Qingye." ’
The Empress Dowager said, "Otherwise, it is Zhou Shizong who will make the young child's master's ear." If the Zhou clan has a long king, will the world be Ru you? After the age of 100, the legend was located in Rudi. The four seas are wide, the multitudes are the multitudes, the elders can be established, and the blessings of the society are also. ’
Taizu Dun first wept: 'Dare is better than to teach.' Empress Dowager Gu said to Zhao Puyue: "Er Tong remembers my words, and must not violate them." Zhao Pu was present to write down the Empress Dowager's will and hide it in The Golden Temple.
However, since the Alliance of the Golden Plateau was first made public in the sixth year after Zhao Guangyi succeeded to the throne, no one knows whether the Alliance of the Golden Plateau is true or not.
Zhao Kuangyin's two adult sons were also under the oppression of Zhao Guangyi, one committed suicide and the other died violently, which had to make people wonder whether Zhao Guangyi had killed his brother and seized the throne.
Death of Zhao Dezhao
In 979, Zhao Dezhao entered the palace to ask for rewards for the soldiers of the Northern Expedition, but he did not expect Zhao Guangyi to be furious and said: "Wait for Ru to do it for yourself, and the reward is not too late." (When you become emperor, it is not too late to reward them!) ）
According to the "Continuation of the Zhizhi Tongjian Long Edition", this person who once had a great succession to the throne, that night, Zhao Dezhao mysteriously killed himself!
Some people suspected that Zhao Dezhao was suspected by Emperor Taizong and forced to kill himself.
Death of Zhao Defang
The archetypal character of the role of "Eight Sages" in the film and television drama.
In 981, Zhao Defang died of illness at the age of 23, with the posthumous title of Kang Hui and was posthumously honored as the King of Chu.
According to folklore, Zhao Defang was actually killed by Emperor Taizong.
After all, the cause of Zhao Kuangyin's death in 976 is unknown, in 979, because of a small matter, Zhao Dezhao's embarrassing suicide sounded incredible, and in 981, Zhao Defang, who had a very good reputation, died inexplicably.
Looking at Zhao Kuangyin's empress ending, after her death, Zhao Guangyi did not let the Wenwu Hundred Officials pay tribute, did not let her be buried with Zhao Kuangyin, and did not treat her as an empress at all... What Zhao Guangyi did to his brother, his brother's son, and the empress, the source of Zhao Guangyi's throne is intriguing.
In fact, in the end, in the Southern Song Dynasty, the throne returned to zhao kuangyin's descendants.
Zhao Guangyi's son Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng had only one son, namely Song Renzong, and no son!