For a dynasty, the clan power is always a force that cannot be ignored inside and outside the court, and the natural blood kinship has always been the only magic weapon for the emperor to balance the civil and military generals, so the reigning emperors are working hard to give birth, one is to inherit the throne, and the other is to defend the royal family.
Song Huizong
It can be said that except for some short-lived or secessed dynasties, most of the dynasties that have lasted for two or three hundred years will always reproduce a large number of clans, such as the Ming Dynasty, in just three hundred years, the descendants of the Zhu family have multiplied 200,000 people, which can be said to be very huge.
But there is an exception to one dynasty, this is the Song Dynasty, two Song Dynasty three hundred years out of a total of eighteen emperors, it stands to reason that the size of the clan should be quite large, but history has made a joke, only four of the eighteen emperors have a queen, and the rest are all extinct, which also makes people wonder if the Song Dynasty royal family is a cursed royal family.
The premature death rate of the prince
Let's look at the Northern Song Dynasty first, although the founding emperor Zhao Kuangyin only gave birth to four princes, and two died young, but relying on Zhao Dezhao, the king of Yan, and Zhao Defang, the king of Qin, Zhao Kuangyin's vein flourished in the two Song Dynasty, and even sat on the throne in the Southern Song Dynasty, and he was also one of the four emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty.
Zhao Defang, King of Qin, is the prototype of the Eight Sages King
The second is Zhao Guangyi, Taizong of the Song Dynasty, compared to his elder brother Zhao Kuangyin, Zhao Guangyi is very fertile, giving birth to nine princes before and after, eight of whom lived to adulthood, becoming the main source of power of the Northern Song Dynasty.
Perhaps the first two emperors experienced the battlefield and had a passable physical fitness, so they gave birth to many heirs and could live to adulthood, but from Song Zhenzong, the Northern Song Dynasty royal family began to enter a strange circle of untimely death.
Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng, there were six sons left, and there were five who died early, leaving Song Renzong, the only seedling, and the three sons born to Song Renzong all died young, and the throne was passed to the Song Taizong Puwang line, and Song Zhenzong's branch was extinct.
Compared with Song Renzong, although Song Yingzong has few heirs, three of the four princes live to adulthood, including Song Shenzong, to Song Shenzong, the Northern Song Dynasty royal family ushered in the stage of frequent birth of princes for the first time, and fourteen princes were born before and after, but the premature death rate is also very high, only six princes live to adulthood, including the future Song Zhezong and Song Huizong.
It can be said that the power of the two Song Dynasty clans was left by the four emperors of Song Taizu, Song Taizong, Song Yingzong, and Song Shenzong, and they were also the only emperors of the two Song Dynasty who did not have an heir, and the emperors after Song Shenzong were basically heirs.
Song Shenzong and Wang Anshi
The first is Song Zhezong, Song Zhezong gave birth to a prince, but unfortunately died early and his short life, Song Zhezong's lineage is extinct.
Compared with Song Zhezong, Song Huizong was the fertility champion of the two Song Dynasty, and gave birth to thirty-two princes before he was captured, except for a few who died early, most of them lived to adulthood, but unfortunately Jingkang's change, except for Zhao Gou's escape, the rest of the heirs were all packed and taken away by the Jin State, and even gave birth to six sons in the Jin Kingdom.
Song Qinzong was also the same as Song Huizong, his three sons were also captured to the Jin State, and in addition to the two descendants of Song Huizong and Song Qinzong, the clans of the four emperors such as Song Taizu were also arrested a lot during the Jingkang period.
Jingkang's change, and other clan forces have also been captured a lot
The Northern Song Dynasty could still have princes who lived to adulthood, but the Southern Song Dynasty was even more miserable, and all the emperors were extinct.
The first is Song Gaozong Zhao Gou, he has only one son, Zhao Yang, who was scared to death when he was two years old and Song Gaozong was also scared that he couldn't have children, Song Gaozong was in a lineage, and the throne was still looking for Zhao Hao, the seventh grandson of Song Taizu, that is, Song Xiaozong.
Song Xiaozong's situation is not much better than that of Song Gaozong, Song Xiaozong gave birth to four princes, the eldest son Zhao Wei died at the age of 24, leaving his only son Zhao Ting, Zhao Ting died in the ninth year of the main road, no heirs; the second son was Zhao Kai, the king of Wei, who gave birth to two sons, the eldest son died young, the second son Zhao Lu had only one son, Zhao Yuan, who died at the age of three; the fourth son was Zhao Ke, who did not live to adulthood, and only survived the third son, Song Guangzong.
Song Guangzong gave birth to two sons, the eldest son Zhao Zhen died young, and the second son was Song Ningzong.
To Song Ningzong, the Southern Song Dynasty royal family ushered in a short period of frequent birth of princes, giving birth to nine sons, but all died early, so far Song Xiaozong, Song Guangzong, Song Ningzong were all extinct, and the throne was passed to the folk clan Song Lizong Zhao Yun.
Song Xiaozong is the heir
Obviously, Song Lizong also failed to continue the Southern Song Dynasty royal family, before and after giving birth to three sons all died early, Song Lizong also died in the same lineage, the throne passed to Song Taizu's eleventh grandson Song Duzong Zhao Yu, Song Duzong's seven sons and four died early, and the three little emperors in the late Southern Song Dynasty Song Gong Emperor Zhao Yu, Song Duanzong Zhao Yu and the late Song Emperor Zhao Yu were born.
Emperor Gong of Song was sent to be a monk by Yuan Shizu after the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty, and was later given death by Yuan Yingzong.
Song Duanzong Zhao Yu and the late Song Emperor Zhao Yu, one died at the age of nine and the other died at the age of seven, and it is obvious that they are all extinct, in other words, all the emperors of the Southern Song Dynasty are all extinct.
Wen Tianxiang carried the last banner of the Southern Song Dynasty
The Northern Song Dynasty is a little better than the Southern Song Dynasty, and there are at least four emperors who have left descendants, and it is really unimaginable that so many emperors have no heirs in more than 300 years.
Some people say that it is the reason why Song Taizu and Song Taizu bullied orphans and widows to be cursed, and there is also the poison of the Great Song Palace, it is said that the Song Dynasty used a lot of mercury, dansha and lead paint when building the palace, although it can make the palace bright and prevent insects, but it is obvious that so many toxic materials are bound to affect the growth of the prince, perhaps the reason why the death rate of the two Song Dynasty princes is so high.
Of course, Song Huizong was an exception, obviously the only emperor of the two Song dynasties who had any hope of breaking the curse, but he met Jingkang, and he knew that the providence was so.