Zhao Guangyi's reputation in history is not very good. Many of the doubtful cases in the early Song Dynasty were related to Zhao Guangyi. Many of the policy directions of the early Song Dynasty that adversely affected future generations were also related to Zhao Guangyi.
For example, the cause of Zhao Kuangyin's death, Zhao Guangyi is inseparable, and it is generally believed in history that the possibility of Zhao Guangyi murdering his brother Zhao Kuangyin is very large.
For example, the deaths of Zhao Kuangyin's two sons and one younger brother are all related to Zhao Guangyi, and it seems that Zhao Guangyi killed his two sons and a younger brother in order to ensure the stability of the throne.
For example, the Song Dynasty's failure to reclaim Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures and achieve china's great unification had a lot to do with Zhao Guangyi's strategic and tactical choices. If Zhao Guangyi did not guess the military generals and did not rashly advance, the Song Dynasty might have become a unified country like the Tang Dynasty and the Han Dynasty.
For example, the policy of emphasizing force and suppressing literature implemented by the Song Dynasty was the root cause of the poverty and weakness of the Song Dynasty.
(Portrait of Zhao Guangyi)
In short, in the historical evaluation, Zhao Guangyi is a figure who has been denied a lot. So, as an emperor, does Zhao Guangyi really have such a bad feeling?
In my opinion, this assessment is relatively one-sided. Zhao Guangyi, as a famous politician in the early Song Dynasty, was not only not too bad, but a Ming Jun. Why?
Let's first look at the few things that negated Zhao Guangyi in history to see if Zhao Guangyi should be responsible.
About the death of Zhao Kuangyin. Whether Zhao Kuangyin was killed by Zhao Guangyi, or whether Zhao Kuangyin drank too much and died of cardiovascular disease, it is now unclear. But in any case, so far, all the claims that Zhao Guangyi killed Zhao Kuangyin are speculations and there is no clear evidence. According to the inference of innocence, without evidence, it cannot be said that Zhao Guangyi did this.
About the deaths of Zhao Kuangyin's two sons and a younger brother. This matter was indeed related to Zhao Guangyi, but Zhao Guangyi did not come down to kill them, nor did he poison them. Zhao Kuangyin's second son Zhao Dezhao committed suicide, Zhao Kuangyin's younger brother Zhao Tingmei was depressed, Zhao Kuangyin's fourth son Zhao Defang died in his sleep, and Zhao Guangyi did not give him any food, nor did he send killers to deal with him. In short, the death of these few people cannot be blamed on Zhao Guangyi.
About Yanyun Sixteen States. Zhao Guangyi did lose the battle, and his strategic and tactical choices were indeed problematic. But subjectively speaking, Zhao Guangyi wanted to reclaim these states, and advocated reunification, not Gou An.
In this regard, he is even greater than Zhao Kuangyin's historical contribution. Because Zhao Kuangyin had never dared to fight Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures. Originally, Chai Rong initially fought here, but after Zhao Kuangyin came to power, he changed his strategy and attacked the south first. After fighting the South, he did not continue to fight the North. Whether he felt that the time was not right, or did not dare to fight, this is difficult to say.
(Portrait of Zhao Kuangyin)
About heavy text and suppressing martial arts. Zhao Guangyi did implement the policy of emphasizing literature and suppressing military force, but Zhao Guangyi was also meant to maintain centralized power, but it was only a matter of different policies and policies. Moreover, it cannot be said that the military of the Song Dynasty was not good. If not, why was the Song Dynasty able to last for three hundred years? Even if the Southern Song Dynasty was located in the south, it still persisted for a century and a half. Such a situation is unique in history.
Therefore, from these aspects, the crimes condemned against Zhao Guangyi in history are all debatable.
In fact, as a second-generation king, Zhao Guangyi's merits are not small, and he is also a Mingjun in all aspects. Why?
First, Zhao Guangyi ensured the stability of the imperial court.
Whether Zhao Guangyi seized power or legitimately inherited the throne, in short, this is just a matter of political means. The Xuanwumen coup adopted by Li Shimin was also a political tactic, obviously more brutal than Zhao Guangyi's.
The most crucial thing is that after Zhao Guangyi seized power and became emperor, he did not cause any political turmoil, and no one had any excessive political actions. This obviously shows that Zhao Guangyi's political means are quite clever.
Isn't it the highest state of political means to be able to level all sides, to keep the country at peace, and to keep the people at peace and stability?
(Portrait of Wang Anshi)
Second, Zhao Guangyi brought happiness to the people.
Zhao Guangyi's policy of emphasizing literature and suppressing military force seems to have caused poverty and weakness to future generations. But in fact, according to historical records, the Song Dynasty was actually relatively rich, and the lives of ordinary people were relatively rich. Why did Wang Anshi change the law? In fact, it is not the poverty of the country, but the poverty of the government. Wang Anshi wants to change the law and increase the government's fiscal revenue. Why wang Anshi's change of law was attacked by conservative intellectuals like Sima Guang was that Wang Anshi did this to "compete with the people for profits." This "struggle for profit with the people" has always been criticized and written down by intellectuals.
Zhao Guangyi's policy of emphasizing literature and suppressing military force is actually to invest as little money as possible in army building. Then, although the country may be in danger of being beaten, the burden on the people becomes very light.
Another point is that Zhao Guangyi advocated cultural construction, which turned the Song Dynasty into the peak of ancient social culture, which is a rather remarkable achievement.
Third, Zhao Guangyi has found a good way to handle international relations.
Zhao Guangyi did not take Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures, and then he adjusted his policy, did not continue to fight, but sought reconciliation with the north. This practice of not exhausting oneself is a good way to handle international relations. The damage caused by this to both the North and the South is minimal.
This policy of Zhao Guangyi continued in the hands of his son, and also made the Song Dynasty "unknown soldiers for a hundred years" after that, and the formation of such a peaceful and prosperous world is of course worthy of affirmation.
Therefore, the evaluation of Zhao Guangyi as a Mingjun is actually not an exaggeration.
(References: History of the Song Dynasty, Records of the Song Dynasty, etc.)