We may have a misunderstanding, that is, in fact, Zhao Kuangyin did not explicitly say that he would pass on the throne to his younger brother until he died. Of course, he did not explicitly state that he would pass on the throne to his son. In fact, Zhao Kuangyin did not establish a prince.

Why didn't Zhao Kuangyin pass on the position to his sons, and what was the end of his sons?

Zhao Kuangyin has two sons, the eldest son Zhao Dezhao and the second son Zhao Defang. So why did Zhao Kuangyin not pass the throne to his son, there are probably two reasons.

Reason 1:

It is to learn the lesson of the Hou Zhou, because the son is too young to be crowned king too early, and after experience in the future, he will gradually become the king.

In this way, the country can be kept, otherwise, just like Chai Zongxun, the king of Hou Zhou Gong, he can't keep the throne if he gives it.

Cause 2:

Zhao Kuangyin followed the legacy of his mother Empress Dowager Du "Jingui Alliance", and in the summer of 961 A.D., Zhao Kuangyin's mother Empress Dowager Du died. He demanded that the throne be passed on to his brother Zhao Guangyi, and established an alliance.

Empress Dowager Du believed that the young age of the king was an important reason for the troubled times of the five generations. In order to avoid the Great Song Dynasty from embarking on the old path of five dynasties and ten kingdoms, there was a tragedy of a short life of the dynasty. Therefore, Empress Dowager Du hoped that Zhao Kuangyin would pass on the throne to her younger brother Zhao Guangyi. In this way, there will be no situation where the king is young, and the tragedy of the fall of the Great Song Dynasty will naturally be avoided.

Therefore, it can be said very directly that the reasons for deciding whether Zhao Kuangyin will pass on his younger brother or not are the environment, strength, and whether his son can inherit the unification. And Zhao Kuangyin, who died suddenly, brought a lot of mysteries to the succession to the throne behind him, what is the truth of history, with time, has been lost in the long river of memory, everyone has their own ideas about the history of Shen Feng.

Is this statement true or not? History has been discussing it for more than 1,000 years, but there has not been a clear conclusion. thinks it's right because Empress Dowager Du has some truth. thinks it is wrong because it violates the tradition of "primogeniture", and it is very similar to the purpose of Zhao Pu and Zhao Guangyi's conspiracy to prove the correctness of Zhao Guangyi's position.

So what was the end of Zhao Kuangyin's sons after his death?

On October 20, 976 A.D., Zhao Kuangyin passed away, and Zhao Guangyi inherited the emperor's throne, opening another era of the Song Dynasty, that is, the era of Song Taizong.

In the second year of Qiande in 964 A.D., Zhao Kuangyin's eldest son, Zhao Dezhao, was newly opened, not crowned king, awarded the official Dezhao as the defense envoy of Guizhou, Kaibao six years, in 973 A.D., Ren Dezhao was Xingyuan Yin, Shannan West Road Jie Du Envoy, Inspector Taifu, Tongzhong Shumen under the Ping Zhang, Zhao Kuangyin has not given him the title of king in the world.

Zhao Defang in film and television dramas

After Zhao Guangyi ascended the throne, in 976 A.D., the first year of Taiping Xingguo, he was reappointed as Jing Zhaoyin, moved to Yongxing and served as a servant, and only then began to be crowned the king of martial arts. Taizong's edict made him and Qi Wang Tingmei sit above the prime minister when they meet from now on.

Zhao Guangyi in film and television dramas

In the third year of Taiping Xingguo, in 978 AD, Dezhao married the daughter of the crown prince and Fu Wang Pu as his wife, and the court named him the Korean lady. In the winter of this year, when he was worshipped in the suburbs, he was crowned as the captain of the school.

In 979 AD, Zhao Dezhao followed Zhao Guangyi to seize Taiyuan, conquered the Khitan to fight for Youzhou, during this period, Zhao Guangyi and the army once lost contact, during the war in the army can not be without a master, so someone conspired to establish Dezhao as the emperor, and later, Zhao Guangyi and the army got in touch again. returned to the barracks, but Zhao Guangyi knew about it.

Drama Zhao Dezhao

This time the conquest of Youzhou failed, Zhao Guangyi led the army back to Beijing, although the conquest of Youzhou failed.

And the soldiers captured Taiyuan, there is still merit, but Zhao Guangyi led the army back to Beijing has not rewarded the meritorious ministers who attacked Taiyuan, Dezhao and Zhao Guangyi talked about this matter, Taizong was furious and said: "When you become the emperor yourself, it is not too late to reward." ”

After Dezhao retreated, he was angry, so he drew his sword and killed himself. Zhao Guangyi was very remorseful when he heard this, ran to hug Dezhao's body, and cried loudly: "Why should an idiot do this?" Posthumously presented Dezhao as the Zhongshu Order, posthumously named the King of Wei, and given the nickname, and later changed the title to King Wu, and then changed the title to King Yue.

After Zhenzong ascended the throne, he posthumously presented Dezhao as the Taifu. At the beginning of Qianxing, he gave Dezhao as a teacher.

Dezhao has five sons: Weizheng, Weiji, Weigu, Weizhong, and Weihe

Zhao Defang

Zhao Kuangyin's second son, Zhao Defang, opened the cabinet in nine years, and was awarded the Guizhou defense envoy, after Zhao Guangyi ascended the throne, the first year of Taiping Xingguo was awarded in 976 A.D. Yuan Yin, Shannan West Road Jie Du Envoy, Tongping Zhangshi. Taiping Xingguo was inspected for three years, and Taiping Xingguo was six years old, and died of illness at the age of 23.

Later, he posthumously presented Zhongshu Ling, King Qi and the nickname, and later added the Taishi and changed to the King of Chu. He had three sons, Weixu, Weican, and Weixian.

It can be seen from this that after Zhao Kuangyin's death, his sons died very early. Zhao Guangyi can also sit on his throne with peace of mind.

Historically, the two brothers Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Guangyi inherited the throne, whether they were passed down from father to son, or brother to brother, there are many controversies, and there are not too many records in the official history, which can be said to be a strange case through the ages.