The Later Shu emperor Meng Chang is generally regarded in the history books as a faint, extravagant and corrupt monarch. In fact, during his thirty years on the throne, the people were generally rich and lived in peace and contentment. Therefore, it can be said that Meng Chang was wronged. Moreover, Meng Chang was not only wronged when he was born, but also died inexplicably. In the history books, it is simply recorded in the three words of "Meng Changpao", and even a reason is not said. So, how did Meng Chang die?
Let's first look at Meng Chang's death process. After the surrender of Later Shu, Meng Chang arrived in Kaifeng, and Zhao Kuangyin, like seeing his own son who had not been seen for a long time, threw a large banquet, named Meng Chang as Zhongshu Ling, the Duke of Qin, and sent a villa mansion, and the favors continued, and Meng Chang was a little flattered. However, before he could enjoy all this, only seven days later, Meng Chang died suddenly in Fuzhong.
(Zhao Kuangyin and Meng Chang)
We know that there are no more than two kinds of death in which a person dies: the first is a natural death of old age, which is called natural death; the second is a fall to death or murder, which is called an abnormal death. Which kind of Meng Chang belongs to?
Is it sick? Meng Chang's journey from Chengdu to Kaifeng was indeed bumpy. After arriving at Kaifeng, the water and soil are not satisfied, and it is possible to get sick. However, one, Meng Chang was still alive and jumping the day before, not like a sick person; second, there is no record in the history books that Meng Chang was ill before his death. Besides, if you die of illness, you must have a process of asking a doctor, how can you say that death is death?
Is it old death? You know, the year Meng Chang died, he was only 47 years old. Although the ancients did not have the longevity of modern people, it is still no problem to live to be 60 years old, and Meng Chang used to be a variety of supplements to serve, there is no reason to be so short-lived.
Excluding normal death, only unnatural death remains. If it is not a fall to death, it can only be murder. So, who killed him and what was the motive for the killing?
Most likely it is Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin.
However, Zhao Kuangyin had no reason to kill him, because after Meng Chang surrendered, he had always been obedient and had not said any complaints. Unlike Li Yu, he also had to write some words like "forty years of home country, three thousand miles of mountains and rivers".
Some people say that Zhao Kuangyin has taken a fancy to the famous Lady Huarui and wants to be a concubine. Yes, Zhao Kuangyin did eventually accept Lady Huarui as a concubine. However, Zhao Kuangyin is not a lustful person. In the Ming Dynasty Feng Menglong's "Three Words", there is a novel "Zhao Taizu Sends Jing Niang thousands of miles", which writes that Zhao Kuangyin, when he was young, faced the beautiful Jing Niang, sent thousands of miles to send each other, treated brothers and sisters all the way, and sat in peace. Although this is a novel, it is taken from the folk, and there should be a shadow. In short, Zhao Kuangyin was young and strong and fashionable and not good-looking, not to mention that he became emperor and had three palaces and six courtyards. Besides, he was arrogant and arrogant, and he would never engage in such vicious things as killing his husband and taking his wife.
(Lady Flower)
Is it that the land of Shu is uneven, and the common people are eager to move, and want to use Meng Chang to restore the soul and make Zhao Kuangyin worried?
This is also possible, because after the fall of Later Shu, the Land of Shu has indeed been very uneven. The fundamental reason, in addition to the Shu people's love for foreign countries, lies in the plundering of the Shu people by the Song army. When attacking Houshu, In order to motivate the 60,000 troops who went out on the expedition, Zhao Kuangyin set a rule, and under the premise of not harming the people, all the captured resources were used as rewards for soldiers. Therefore, the Song army in Shu land has always been able to rob property. Although Later Shu perished, they still grabbed it. This provoked great indignation among the Shu people, and riots continued.
However, this reason also did not stand up, because most of the riots in Shudi were after Meng Chang's death and had nothing to do with Meng Chang, so what reason did Zhao Kuangyin have to kill Meng Chang?
As I took a closer look at history, I discovered some details. Even in the early Song Dynasty, there were several cases of unnatural deaths. One is Li Yu, the second is Zhao Kuangyin, and the third is Zhao Kuangyin's fourth son, Zhao Defang. The sudden deaths of these three people were all related to one person, Zhao Guangyi, Emperor Taizong of Song.
So, is it possible that Meng Chang's sudden death is also related to Zhao Guangyi? If so, what was the purpose of Zhao Guangyi killing Meng Chang?
We know that after Zhao Kuangyin died suddenly, Zhao Guangyi became emperor. After Zhao Defang's death, Zhao Guangyi eliminated the people who were most likely to compete with his son for the throne. Before Li Yu died, Zhao Guangyi raped Xiao Zhouhou. Therefore, Li Yu wrote "Forty years of home country, three thousand miles of mountains and rivers", Zhao Guangyi killed Li Yu, and the tool of the crime was also very clear, that is, a poison called "lead machine medicine".
(Zhao Guangyi)
Is there a reason for Zhao Guangyi to kill Meng Chang? some. Because Zhao Guangyi not only coveted Xiao Zhouhou, but actually coveted Madame Huarui, which is also recorded in the historical data. Therefore, it is also possible that he killed Meng Chang and possessed Lady Huarui.
It's just a pity that his calculations are still empty. Because shortly after Meng Chang's death, Before Zhao Guangyi could tell his brother Zhao Kuangyin, Zhao Kuangyin announced that he would take Lady Huarui as a concubine. All of Zhao Guangyi's plans were in vain.
Perhaps it was this that made him resentful, and during a later hunt he pretended to have lost his hand and shot Lady Huarui to death. "It's not mine, and no one else can imagine it!" I'm afraid that's what he thought... (Zhang Yisu, Zhang Shengquan)