The candle shadow axe sound, also known as the axe sound candle shadow, refers to the midnight of October in the ninth year of Song Kaibao (976 AD), Taizu Zhao Kuangyin was seriously ill, summoned the Jin king Zhao Guangyi to discuss, left and right. During the banquet, some people saw that the light and righteousness under the candlelight sometimes left the table, and they were avoided, and they heard Taizu lead the pillar and poke the ground with an axe, and said loudly: "Good for it." Later Jin King Zhao Guangyi succeeded to the throne, and was known as Emperor Taizong.
Zhao Kuangyin died in the incident of the axe and candle shadow, and Song Taizong was accused by some of being the murderer. However, Sima Guang's alibi is described in detail in the Zizhi Tongjian, arguing that Emperor Taizong of Song was not the murderer of Zhao Kuangyin's death, which will be discussed in this article.
First, according to Sima Guang, Emperor Taizong of Song was not at Zhao Kuangyin's residence at that time. He mentioned in the article: "Emperor Taizong was not in the palace, but elsewhere. There were no eunuchs guarding the palace, and they did not know about the incident. This shows that it is impossible for Emperor Taizong of Song to personally kill Zhao Kuangyin, let alone deliberately arrange this matter.
Secondly, when Emperor Taizong of Song learned of Zhao Kuangyin's death, he showed an attitude of shock and grief. Sima Guang wrote in the Zizhi Tongjian: "When Emperor Taizong heard this, he was shocked and indignant, and he mourned endlessly. Raising the face of grief, like bereavement. This shows that Emperor Taizong of Song was very sad about Zhao Kuangyin's death and showed emotions that could not be concealed.
Finally, after Zhao Kuangyin's death, Emperor Taizong of Song actively took measures to strengthen the security measures of the imperial court to avoid the recurrence of similar incidents. Sima Guang wrote in the article: "Emperor Taizong was afraid that the imperial court would be uneasy, so he strengthened the palace ban and gave hundreds of officials gold to comfort him. "This shows that Emperor Taizong of Song not only did not kill Zhao Kuangyin, but also took active measures after the incident to maintain the stability and security of the imperial court."