Ancient Chinese society began the historical tradition of inheriting the father's business and serving as kings for generations since Xia Yu began to inherit his father's business. However, Emperor Taizu of Song Zhao Kuangyin clearly had a son, why did the throne pass to his younger brother Zhao Guangyi? Is it the younger brother who kills his brother to seize the throne or is he ordered by his brother?
Emperor Taizu of Song seized power in Later Zhou and established the state as Song
Emperor Taizu of Song Zhao Kuangyin was initially a Later Zhou military general, and he followed Emperor Shizong of Zhou to fight in the east and west, with great achievements and was widely supported by the generals. In the sixth year of Later Zhou Xiande (959), during Emperor Shizong's northern expedition to Yanyun, he contracted a serious illness and died shortly after retiring from the army. Before he died, he changed and transferred the top military and political figures, and promoted Zhao Kuangyin to the point before the spot inspection. On the fourth day of the first lunar month in the seventh year of Xiande (960), Zhao Kuangyin, who controlled the forbidden army, took the opportunity of "doubting the Lord Shaoguo", and with the support of his brother Zhao Kuangyi (later changed to Zhao Guangyi to avoid it) and several generals, put on a dragon robe and launched the "Chen Qiao Mutiny" to seize the power of Later Zhou. Jianguo Song, changed Yuan Jianlong, historically called Song Taizu!
Portrait of Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin
Chen Qiao mutinied
In the spring of the first year of Later Zhou Jianlong (960), the general Zhao Kuangyin was ordered to march to Chen Qiaoyi northeast of Bianliang (Kaifeng), and his troops staged a mutiny and draped him in a yellow robe. The next day, Zhao Kuangyin returned to Bianliang and ascended the throne of the emperor, which is the famous Song Taizu in Chinese history. Since then, the chaotic situation of 200 years since the Anshi Rebellion has ended, and the divided China has been reunified.
After Zhao Kuangyin easily seized power, the old history books attributed it to "the people's hopes have been fixed, and when the lord was in turmoil, there was always a sense of promotion at home and abroad", and the monarchs of the Song Dynasty also called it "this dynasty to give way to the world". However, the cause of the Chen Qiao mutiny has still been doubted for thousands of years, as Yue Mengquan said: "The yellow robe is not an ordinary thing, who believes in the occasional thing in the army", and Cha Baichu also said: "Chen Qiaoyi who is suspicious of the case of Qianqiu, he will quit the army as soon as he wears a yellow robe."
The Chen Qiao Mutiny is well documented, and it was this mutiny that led to Zhao Kuangyin's proclamation as emperor. But is this Zhao Kuangyin premeditated and operated with one hand, or is it following the five generations of generals to support the title of commander and emperor?
Chen Qiao mutinied, and Zhao Kuangyin added his dragon robe
After the death of Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, why did his younger brother become emperor, was he ordered by his brother or killed his brother to seize the throne?
Statue of Emperor Taizong of Song Zhao Guangyi, the second emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty
Regarding why Emperor Taizong of Song was able to inherit the imperial throne, the historian of the Xiaozong Dynasty of the Southern Song Dynasty only briefly recorded the death of Taizu in the national history "Continuing the Zhi Tong Jian Long Edition", and the statement was very simple and vague, and future generations could not understand it and could not withstand scrutiny.
This also led to Zhao Kuangyin's passing on the throne to his younger brother Zhao Guangyi becoming a bizarre unsolved case in history. Because Song Taizu had 4 sons, but he never chose a prince, according to the tradition, Song Taizu should inherit the imperial inheritance by his son after his death, and then the fact is that his younger brother became the second emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty!
There are two versions of the story that describe the reason why his younger brother Zhao Guangyi inherited the imperial inheritance
One was that Zhao Guangyi was appointed by his brother to succeed him as emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty, later known as Emperor Taizong of Song. After Zhao Kuangyin became emperor, he wrote a suicide note and hid it in Jin Kui, the content of which read: "He first passed on the throne of Guangyi, and then Guangyi passed on Tingmei, and Tingmei passed on to Dezhao, so that the country has a long king, which is the luck of the society." "This matter is called the "Golden Alliance"!
Another version is that Zhao Guangyi's brother took the throne, and Xu Dazhuo in the late Song and early Yuan Dynasties said in "Ember Yulu" that Zhao Guangyi had coveted Zhao Kuangyin's concubine Lady Hua Rui for a long time, and when Zhao Kuangyin fell asleep in illness, Zhao Guangyi got up and teased Mrs. Hua Rui, but he did not expect to wake up Zhao Kuangyin. Zhao Kuangyin slashed him with a jade axe, but he had no strength and only slashed to the ground. So Zhao Guangyi did not do anything or not, simply killed Zhao Kuangyin and fled back to the house.
History has finally passed, Zhao Kuangyin's death and Zhao Guangyi's rise to power, there are too many coincidences and bizarres between the two, historians can only reason based on existing records, and there is no conclusive historical evidence to prove the reason!