In 960, Zhao Kuangyin launched the Chen Qiao Mutiny, the yellow robe was added, and the Song Dynasty was established, and he also became the first emperor of the Song Dynasty, known as Song Taizu. Zhao Kuangyin reigned for sixteen years, and in 976, Zhao Kuangyin died mysteriously, and the throne passed to his brother Zhao Guangyi. Zhao Guangyi changed his name to Zhao Jiong after succeeding to the throne, and Zhao Jiong was also known as Emperor Taizong of Song, who was the second emperor of the Song Dynasty.
Feudal society belongs to the "family world", the imperial throne is generally passed on between father and son, most emperors will pass the throne to their sons, like the Song Dynasty, such as the brothers and brothers and very few. The most crucial thing is that after Zhao Guangyi inherited the throne, he did not take out a posthumous photo of the succession, and even did not make up for it afterwards, so many people suspected that Zhao Guangyi's throne was not coming from the right path.
The reason for this suspicion is also related to Zhao Kuangyin's sudden death. On the night of the nineteenth day of the tenth lunar month in 976 AD, Zhao Kuangyin was as usual, but after sleeping this night, Zhao Kuangyin never got up again. On October 20, Zhao Guangyi entered the palace and inherited the throne, becoming the second emperor of the Song Dynasty.
There are several theories about Zhao Guangyi's succession to the throne: the first is that Zhao Guangyi murdered his brother and robbed Zhao Kuangyin of the throne, and later generations even deduced the allusion of "candle shadow axe sound", saying that Zhao Guangyi killed his brother. In fact, this statement is the most likely to be fabricated, the palace is heavily guarded, needless to say that the emperor's brother, that is, the emperor's son, when he grows up, he will also leave the palace, only the prince is an exception, and he is not allowed to enter the palace if he is not summoned. In addition, when Zhao Kuangyin died, Zhao Guangyi was not around, but in Kaifeng Province, so it was impossible to murder his brother.
Second, Zhao Kuangyin died suddenly, so he did not leave a will. It is said that after Zhao Kuangyin's empress discovered that Zhao Kuangyin had died, she was looking for someone to summon Zhao Defang, the king of Qin, into the palace, but Zhao Guangyi preemptively entered the palace, because there was no will, and Zhao Guangyi of the near water tower inherited the throne and became the second emperor of the Song Dynasty.
It may also be that he felt that he did not have a will to pass on the throne, so the throne came a little unclear, so Zhao Guangyi and Zhao Pu, the prime minister, made up a "golden alliance" after succeeding to the throne. The Golden Alliance is talking about the agreement between Zhao Kuangyin, Zhao Guangyi, and their birth mother, Empress Du. At that time, Empress Dowager Du asked Zhao Kuangyin why he had lost Jiangshan in later Zhou. Zhao Kuangyin answered several reasons, and Empress Du said that it was not right. Empress Dowager Du told Zhao Kuangyin: "The reason why Hou Zhou lost Jiangshan was mainly because the young lord was on the throne." After Zhao Kuangyin listened, she did not speak, and Empress Dowager Du agreed with her two sons that Zhao Kuangyin would pass the throne to Zhao Guangyi, zhao Guangyi to Zhao Guangmei (Zhao Guangyi's brother), and Zhao Guangmei to her nephew. Because the suicide note is hidden in the Golden Dagger, it is called the "Alliance of the Golden Dagger".
In fact, the "Alliance of the Golden Dagger" was most likely made up by Zhao Guangyi and Zhao Pu privately, and the purpose was to find a basis for their own succession. However, after becoming emperor, Zhao Guangyi was reluctant to come down, and he was even more reluctant to pass the throne back to his nephew, worrying all day. As the saying goes, the ringer must also be tied to the bell, so Zhao Guangyi found Zhao Pu again and told Zhao Pu about this problem.
After all, Zhao Pu was a person who ruled the world by relying on half of the Analects, and his heart was like a mirror, so he told Zhao Guangyi: "Emperor Taizu was already wrong once, did His Majesty still want to be wrong again and again?" Zhao Pu means that Zhao Kuangyin should not have been "brother and brother", he was already wrong once, Zhao Guangyi should not be wrong again, but should return to the right track and pass the throne to his son (zhao Guangmei had died at that time).
With Zhao Pu's words, Zhao Guangyi made up his mind and made his son the crown prince, and the throne has been passed down in Zhao Guangyi's vein until the Southern Song Dynasty, when the throne of the Song Dynasty returned to the Taizu lineage.