Author: Qi Yunke
Emperor Renzong of Song, Zhao Zhen, was a tragic emperor in history. Before his death, he failed to recognize his birth mother, his son died early, and the throne passed to others; behind him, Empress Cao, his wife, wanted to depose his successor who had been appointed by him, so that his death would not be blind.
I. The hidden pain in Song Renzong's heart: Sons have died early one after another, to whom does the throne pass?
In the lifetime of Emperor Renzong of Song, although the concubines of the harem were not few, there were not many heirs, and there were only three sons: the eldest son Zhao Fang, the second son Zhao Xin, and the third son Zhao Xi.
The eldest son, Zhao Fang, was born to Concubine Yu De, whom Zhao Zhen had been serving by his side since he was a teenager. On the ninth day of the first month of May in the fourth year of Jingyou (1037), Zhao Fang died on the day of his birth. Before the poor child could open his eyes to see what the world was like, he came and went in a hurry.
This year, Song Renzong was twenty-eight years old. The birth of the eldest son made him quite sad.
Fortunately, the emperor was young and came to Japan for a long time.
The second son, Zhao Xin, was born to the noble concubine Miao. Baoyuan was born on August 15, 1039, and died two years later, on February 19, the first year of the Qing calendar (1041). The second son, Zhao Xin, came to this world two years after the death of his eldest son, which brought great joy to Song Renzong in the year of his establishment, and this son was born on the Mid-Autumn Festival, a rare good day! However, this son only lived for more than a year in the world, and he was less than two years old when he died.
The third son, Zhao Xi, was born on the fifth day of the first month of August in the first year of the Qing calendar (1041), and his birth mother was Zhu Cairen. At this time, it had only been five or six months since the death of Zhao Xin, the second son of Emperor Renzong of Song. Zhao Xi's birth enabled Song Renzong to walk out of the pain of losing his son, bringing him infinite joy and hope.
On the first day of the first lunar month in the third year of the Qing calendar (1043), Zhao Xi died prematurely. This year's Spring Festival is destined to be the saddest festival spent by Song Renzong in his life. When the old is said and the new is welcomed, the lights of the ten thousand families are infinitely warm, the people congratulate the New Year, the world is full of joy, but the funeral is being done in the palace.
Losing his third son in a row, the thirty-four-year-old Song Renzong drank helplessly, helplessly, and sadly this Spring Festival, facing the future, many overwhelmed and unknown uneasiness filled his heart. The hidden pain in his heart made him want to find a corner and cry secretly.
Second, nephew Zhao Zongshi: Spare tires are born with life
In feudal dynasties, the throne was an important and sensitive political word. If the emperor had given birth to a son early, it would have been best if he had been the eldest son and made crown prince. If the emperor did not have a son, even if the emperor was still young and the throne was uncertain, it would cause uneasiness, and the courtiers would ask the emperor to set the throne early.
Song Renzong Zhao Zhen set the reserve position early.
As early as the second year of Jingyou (1035), Emperor Renzong of Song sent Zhao Yun, the Prince of Pu, to the palace with his thirteenth son Zhao Zongshi (赵宗實) and entrust it to Empress Cao to raise. This is an explanation to the courtiers and the people of the world: This time, you should not be afraid of the uncertain position, this prince is the future prince, because he is only three or four years old, he is young, and he will be named when he grows up.
This year, Song Renzong was only twenty-six years old. Taking his nephew into the palace to raise him is also to prepare for unexpected needs and to eat a reassuring pill for the people of the world, including the helplessness of his childlessness.
In May of the fourth year of Jingyou (1037), The eldest son of Emperor Renzong of Song was born. Zhao Zongshi had no choice but to continue to stay in the palace as a spare tire.
In the second year of Baoyuan (1039), after the birth of Zhao Xin, the second son of Emperor Renzong of Song, Zhao Zongshi lost the need to continue to be a spare tire, and the emperor had to send Zhao Zongshi home.
Later, Song Renzong's second son and third son died one after another, and the matter of the spare tire storage was once again put on the agenda, and the Qunchen asked the emperor to take Zhao Zongshi back to the palace. However, At this time, Emperor Renzong of Song was pampering Concubine Zhang Guifei, hoping that they would give birth to a son who would be made crown prince and inherit the throne, so he refused the kindness of his courtiers.
In this way, it dragged on for years and years, until August of the seventh year of Jiayou (1062), when Zhao Zongshi was made crown prince and changed his name to Zhao Shu.
In March of the eighth year of Jiayou (1063), Emperor Renzong of Song died. On the first day of April, Zhao Shu succeeded to the throne for Emperor Yingzong of Song. Zhao Shu, who had been a spare tire for nearly thirty years, finally survived to the end and became an emperor.
In fact, Song Yingzong's father, Zhao Yunrang, the Prince of Pu, was also a spare tire for the throne. Zhao Yunrang was the son of Zhao Yuanfen, the fourth son of Emperor Taizong of Song, and a nephew of Emperor Zhenzong of Song. Before Song Renzong Zhao Zhen was born, Zhao Yunrang also entered the palace as a spare tire. Later, the crown prince Zhao Zhen was born, and Zhao Yunrang had to go home.
Zhao Shu, luckier than his father, turned from spare tire to rectification and became emperor.
Both father and son have had the experience of spare tire crown prince, Zhao Yunrang and son Zhao Shu, in history can be described as a masterpiece, it is really rare.
3. The mother-son relationship between Empress Cao and Song Yingzong
It is reasonable to say that as soon as Zhao Zongshi entered the palace, he was handed over to Empress Cao by the emperor to raise, and the relationship between mother and son should be good, but why did the two finally quarrel until Empress Cao wanted to depose Emperor Yingzong of Song?
Song Yingzong learned from his father and his own experience that the spare tire crown prince was not a good thing. Especially himself, he was cautious everywhere in the palace, did not dare to speak indiscriminately, and his grievances and pain could only be swallowed into his stomach. When he first entered the palace, he was still a three- or four-year-old child, and his childhood was so miserable. Empress Cao's mood was not much better because she had never had children and her relationship with the emperor was not harmonious. He should not be very enthusiastic about raising a nephew who is not related to him by blood.
Without the love of his father and the love of his mother, Zhao Zongshi's heart was bitter, and he missed his parents at home even more. I want to go home, but I can't go back, and I say to whom? Empress Cao understood that Zhao Zongshi was just a spare tire, and once the emperor gave birth to a son, he would have to go home at any time. So, he's not a potential stock, and she doesn't care about him.
The rift between mother and child grows longer and bigger as the years go by.
It was Zhao Zongshi, who grew up in this incomparably depressed environment, that there were psychological abnormalities and mental problems. After the official succession, Song Yingzong suddenly fell ill, shouted that someone was going to kill him, and even jumped three feet high in front of Song Renzong's coffin, roaring and running, resulting in the funeral unable to proceed normally. Chancellor Han Qi had no choice but to let a few eunuchs hold the emperor and not allow him to move. He also took advantage of the onset of illness to ridicule Empress Cao and constantly ridiculed her, seemingly to fight back and retaliate against her for abusing him.
When Empress Cao saw this, she also had pain and could not say it. If he were a normal person, she could come out and reprimand him as a mother, but he was still a patient and a mental patient. Despite this disease, no one can say how sick it is. When he was buried for Song Renzong, Song Yingzong actually said that he could not get sick, and for a time the world was in an uproar. After four days of delay, Song Yingzong had to come out to send a funeral, but not a single tear flowed out.
At the beginning of Song Yingzong's reign, because he was ill and could not handle government affairs, Empress Cao bowed to the government. With the tension in the relationship between mother and son, Empress Cao summoned Han Qi and asked Liu He, the king of Changyi in the Western Han Dynasty, about the story, apparently with the intention of deposing Emperor Yingzong of Song.
Frightened, Han Qi hurriedly joined hands with Ouyang Xiu, Sima Guang, and others to persuade Empress Cao to dispel the idea of abolishing the throne, while advising the emperor to abide by filial piety and bow to the empress dowager and admit his mistakes.
In the end, with the efforts of the courtiers, Empress Cao and Song Yingzong's mother and son were "reconciled as before". In May of the first year of Zhiping (1064), under strong internal and external pressure, Empress Cao was forced to withdraw her curtain, retire to the harem, and return the government to the emperor, and Song Yingzong declared pro-government more than a year after succeeding to the throne.
Later, in dealing with the title of Song Yingzong's biological father, Empress Cao also fulfilled Song Yingzong's wish and agreed to call his biological father "Huang Kao", which made Song Yingzong very moved. After that, the relationship between mother and son eased a lot, but unfortunately, Song Yingzong was not in good health, and he died on the eighth day of the first month of the fourth year of Zhiping (1067).
【About the author】Qi Yunke, male, educator. In recent years, he has published more than 900,000 words in media at all levels. Signed author of The Reading Platform. He is a member of the Henan Provincial Writers Association.
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