The Song Dynasty lasted for more than 300 years and was a prosperous time. However, in this long time, there was an emperor who had a unique path to the throne. He wasn't originally the crown prince, and he wasn't even considered by the eldest son. But in a palace battle, with an unexpected help, he finally wore the crown. This legendary experience is as bizarre and strange as the emperor casually falling from the sky. What's going on?
1. The eldest son of Shenzong died one after another, and the position of the crown prince was in trouble
Since the founding of Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, the Great Song Dynasty has continued the tradition of inheriting the throne by the eldest son. During the reign of Zhao Zhuo of Song Shenzong, there were a total of 14 princes, and he wanted to train his eldest son as a prince to ensure the longevity of the dynasty. However, fate was ruthless, and the princes of Shenzong had a bad fate, and eight princes died one after another. These eight candidates for the crown prince who were originally expected to inherit the throne all died when they were teenagers, causing Shenzong to lose his eldest son to succeed him.
Faced with the dilemma of having few candidates left, Shenzong had to set his sights on the six surviving sons. The sixth son, Zhao Xu, had good conduct and qualifications, so he was appointed as the crown prince by Shenzong and became a candidate for the crown prince. Zhao Xu also did not live up to the expectations of Shenzong, and at the age of seven, Song Zhezong died, and Zhao Xu succeeded to the throne and became the seventh emperor of the Song Dynasty. It can be said that the position of the crown prince is as certain as the sky.
Who would have thought that fate would play tricks on people, Song Zhezong reigned for only ten years, and he died unexpectedly, and he was not able to establish a prince. As the seventh emperor of the Song Dynasty, Zhezong should decide who will succeed the eighth emperor, but he has neither an eldest son, nor a prince in the harem. This undoubtedly left a great hidden danger to the future foundation of the Song Dynasty.
Song Shenzong gave birth to fourteen princes in his lifetime, but only six sons relied on Zhezong's designated heirs. Now that Zhezong has no heirs, the position of the prince has fallen into emptiness. To whom do you entrust this heavy burden to the orphans? Faced with the dilemma of vacancy of the prince, the ambition of the dynasty is panicked, among the six sons of the Song Dynasty, who will succeed him? A great court struggle related to the foundation of the dynasty began.
2. The battle for the heir led to infighting in the palace, and it was difficult for ordinary people to make decisions
Song Zhezong died without an heir, and the government and the opposition suddenly entered a power vacuum. As the widow of Song Shenzong, Empress Dowager Xiang naturally shouldered the important task of selecting the prince. Who can inherit the mantle and inherit the throne is a major issue related to the future of the dynasty, which is bound to cause great changes in the court.
The Empress Dowager Xiang then summoned hundreds of civil and military officials and opened up her views on the issue of the succession of the prince. The first to speak was Prime Minister Zhang Dun, an old friend who used to study at the same time as Song Zhezong, and now has power in the government and the opposition. Zhang Dian got straight to the point: "Mother is more precious than son, and it should be established as the younger brother of Emperor Jian." It means that Zhao Tong, the thirteenth son of Shenzong, should be established as the prince, because he and Zhezong are born in the womb of the same mother, Concubine Zhu.
As soon as Zhang's proposal came out, it immediately set off an uproar between the government and the opposition. Empress Dowager Xiang is the main family of Song Shenzong, and her power to give birth to grandchildren is unparalleled. Now Zhang Dian actually wants to give way to the Queen Mother and recommend King Jian to succeed to the throne, which is undoubtedly a blatant provocation to the authority of the Queen Mother. The Empress Dowager Xiang was furious and immediately reprimanded Zhang Dian: "What did the prime minister say? What do you mean by half-brothers, aren't these six princes my sons? ＂
In the words, it was obvious that the Queen Mother was extremely dissatisfied with Zhang Dian's proposal. As the orthodox queen, Empress Dowager Xiang naturally hopes to be able to control the initiative on the issue of the succession of the prince. If Zhang Dian insists on going his own way and insists on recommending King Jian to succeed to the throne, then Concubine Zhu's power will be raised in the harem, and the status of the Empress Dowager will be seriously weakened.
Zhang Dan's proposal naturally offended the Empress Dowager Xiang. But after all, the prime minister is a powerful figure in the government and the opposition, and it is difficult to ignore it completely. So Zhang Dian put forward another plan, he said: "According to the order of the eldest and youngest, the ninth son Shen Wang should be established." "This ninth son, King Shen Zhao, seems to be higher than King Jian's Zhao Yan, and he is also the grandson of Song Shenzong. It's a pity that King Shen suffers from a severe eye disease and is completely blind in one eye.
3. Huizong relied on three unexpected weapons to unexpectedly sit on the throne of God
When Zhang Dian and Empress Dowager Xiang were at a standout with King Jian and King Shen, Huizong Zhao Ji, a candidate who was originally completely out of the prince's consideration, unexpectedly got the opportunity to ascend the throne. There are three unexpected weapons hidden in this, which made a key paving for Huizong to finally ascend the throne.
The first is the prophecy of "auspicious celestial phenomena". It is said that when Huizong was born, the government and the opposition found that the Big Dipper was unusually bright, and some masters divined and said: "This son is not trivial, and it will be ten thousand years of peace." It was an astonishing word, and it was predicted that this child would be in power in the future. Although no one cared about it at the time, this prophecy was seen as a kind of proof of "providence" after Huizong's unexpected succession.
The second is the new hall named "Yingduan" by Huizong, which also hides the metaphor of the crown prince's welcome. This hall was originally built to enshrine the tablet on the ancestors of Hui, and was named Yingduan Hall, which means to welcome the ancestors of the previous generation back to take place. Xu is fate, this name of the end turned out to be a harbinger of Huizong's welcome to the crown prince.
In the end, it was the government and the opposition that created momentum against Huizong. Huizong Zhao Jiya is good at calligraphy and painting, indulgent and debauched by nature, and is known as the title of "the son of a gentleman". However, when there was a vacuum in the throne of the prince, there were voices of public opinion calling for "Duanwat Keli", which pushed Huizong into the field of vision of the government and the opposition. The word "Duanhu" is similar to Huizong's "Duanwang", and there is a hint that "Duanwa" means the throne, making Huizong a candidate for the prince who has attracted much attention.
Although the three sharp weapons seem to be accidental, they allude to the general trend that Huizong is about to become the prince. In addition, the dispute between Zhang Dian and Empress Dowager Xiang over King Jian and King Shen was difficult to solve, and the hearts of the people in the government and the opposition began to waver and turmoil. As a result, Huizong Zhao Ji, who was originally not considered at all, unexpectedly became the object of recommendation by virtue of the chance of the right time and place.
Fourth, the pig teammate Zhang Dan's unintentional insertion of willows made Huizong's unexpected crown prince
When Huizong Zhao Ji unexpectedly entered the field of vision of the prince's candidate, Zhang Dan, the real power figure in the court, became a decisive promoter, although he did not intend to do so.
As the prime minister, Zhang Dian naturally hoped to be able to control the issue of succession to the prince. At that time, he had clearly nominated King Jian and King Shen as candidates for the crown prince, and tried to promote his own ideas. But the Empress Dowager Xiang ignored Zhang's suggestion at all, and instead became angry about Zhang's behavior.
The reason is that Zhang Dian has always had a secret grudge against Huizong. Huizong Zhao Ji was good at words when he was young, and was once reprimanded by Zhang Dian as a "gentleman". After that, Zhang Dian hated Huizong's debauchery and thought that Huizong was not worthy of being the prince at all. Therefore, when Huizong was unexpectedly elected as a candidate for the prince by the people, Zhang Dian was even more disgusted by this.
So Zhang Dian unceremoniously denounced Huizong for being "immoral and incompetent" and "demented and debauched" in front of the Queen Mother. He believes that Huizong is "decadent by nature, and in his bones he is a scum who does not learn and has no skills", and he is never worthy of being a prince. In his words, Zhang Dian completely denied and belittled Huizong's character and cultivation.
In the face of the prime minister's wanton pouting, the Empress Dowager Xiang was furious and scolded Zhang Dian for "messing up the morale of the army". She believes that Zhang Dian so openly humiliated the candidate for the crown prince is tantamount to announcing between the government and the opposition that the royal family has no one to inherit, which is tantamount to causing great shake to the dynasty.
In the end, the Empress Dowager completely turned her face and denied Zhang Dun, and made up her mind to appoint another new person as the prince. And Huizong Zhao Ji, on the contrary, because of Zhang Dan's unintentional slander, became the best choice to retaliate against the prime minister to the queen mother. So Huizong was chosen as the heir of the prince under unexpected circumstances.
The strings of fate in history are often repeated and twisted, and in order to prevent Huizong from ascending the throne, Zhang Dian eventually became the biggest promoter of Huizong's unexpected accession to the throne. Fate is unforgiving, but it's also so interesting.
5. The prodigal son of Huizong was the king, and the Song Dynasty turned from prosperity to decline
After some twists and turns, Huizong Zhao Ji finally officially inherited the throne in 1101 and ascended the throne as emperor. As an unexpected crown prince, whether Huizong could start well and inherit the peaceful and prosperous era of the Song Dynasty became the focus of attention of the government and the opposition at that time.
However, soon, Huizong proved with his words and deeds that he was not qualified to sit on the throne of God at all. At the beginning of his ascension to the throne, he did not humbly accept advice, but neglected his duties and indulged in extravagance. He lived a profligate life of drunkenness and indulgence every day, never paying attention to the government and politics, and had no consciousness of being the master of the people.
The imperial examination system, which had been followed for a long time in the Song Dynasty, also had serious problems under the rule of Huizong. At that time, it was popular to say that "this year's Tokyo, next year's Yuepi, the exam is all based on money", and the level of officialdom and corruption was staggering. As the emperor, Huizong turned a blind eye to this and never rectified it. It can be seen that Huizong was not a qualified national leader.
Under the mediocre tyranny of Huizong, the eunuchs of the Quan Sect gradually became ready to move. At that time, Wang Song, the son of the minister Wang Hao, was given a green jacket and granted the power of the Taishi. This new favorite minister who is "dressed in green clothes and shoulders and carrying the pearl cui" began to monopolize power and did not ask for it. Then, Mao Xuan, who was the prime minister at the time, controlled the gate valve again. The eunuch valve parties, large and small, between the government and the opposition, began to come and go in the government and politics, and the party fought endlessly.
A chaotic scene can be described as two people from the peaceful and prosperous era of the Song Dynasty in the past. After Huizong ascended the throne, the various failures undoubtedly made the Song Dynasty move towards the first step of decline. Since then, the evaluation of Huizong by successive dynasties has also been extremely demeaning, believing that he "can't find three points of talent in his body" and is a generation of faint monarchs. The prosperity of the Song Dynasty went from decline to decline, and it was from the beginning of Huizong, the prodigal son, that it went into decline step by step.