One night in October 976, in Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, a bloody murder of his brother in order to seize the throne was staged. That night, Zhao Kuangyin, the grandfather of the Song Dynasty, was very bored, so he sent a eunuch to summon Zhao Guangyi, the king of Jin, to come and drink together. During this period, the two brothers set up a banquet and staggered. After drinking, the palace people saw the shadow of the candle in the palace shaking, as if Zhao Guangyi left his seat and retreated, and after a few moments, he heard the sound of an axe poking at the ground. The news of Zhao Kuangyin's death came that night, and the next day Zhao Guangyi quickly announced that he had ascended the throne.
In one night's time, such a major change occurred that posterity had to suspect that Zhao Guangyi had seized the throne by killing his brother. So is the historical axe candle shadow really a conspiracy? Or is it the groundless speculation of posterity?
Before discussing this issue, it is advisable to look at a piece of historical data. According to the "Records of the Continuing Xiang Mountains" written by the monk Wen Wenying, "The key to the palace was passed on to the beginning of the gate, and the king was consecrated, that is, Emperor Taizong. Extend into the big bed, drink wine and drink. Eunuchs and palace concubines were screened, but in the shadow of the candles, Emperor Taizong or avoided the table, there was an invincible situation. Drinking, forbidding leakage of three drums, the temple snow has been several inches, the emperor yingzhu axe poking snow, Gu Taizong Day: 'Good to do, easy to do'! So he went to bed with his belt untied, and his nose was like thunder. On the eve of the night, Emperor Taizong stayed in the forbidden place, and the five drums, the Zhou Lu people were silent, and the emperor had collapsed. Emperor Taizong was given the throne in front of the Shu. Arrest Xiao Dengming Hall, proclaim the will, and lead the courtiers to the jade robes to see the Eucharist, and the jade color is warm and bright like a soup mu." This monk Wen Ying was more than 100 years away from the reign of Zhao Kuangyin. The key is that he often went to the homes of dignitaries and nobles, many of whom were important courtiers, and obtained many very valuable historical materials from the mouths of these ministers, so the credibility of the "Records of the Continuing Xiang Mountains" written by him was still very high.
From his historical records, there are three doubts that can prove that Zhao Kuangyin died a bit strangely. The first is that Zhao Kuangyin was not ill before his death, so he could invite Zhao Guangyi to drink wine, indicating that Zhao Kuangyin's death was sudden; the second was that before Zhao Kuangyin died, only Zhao Guangyi was present. Zhao Kuangyin died in sleep, when Zhao Guangyi "stayed in the forbidden place", only he had the possibility of committing the crime, there was the time and conditions for the crime; the third was to ask the close minister to see the body after dawn, "jade-colored Wenying like Out of Tang Mu", in order to prove that it was a normal death, not murder, but "like out of Tang Mu", it seems to prove that the body was washed. If this is the case, from the death of the five drums to the dawn, the time is very short, why is it so hasty to wash the body? Isn't that a deliberate attempt to erase traces of murder?
In addition to this account, the reaction of others in the palace that night was also extremely abnormal. There is a saying that before Zhao Kuangyin died that night, his empress sent the eunuch Wang Ji'en to summon Zhao Defang, the King of Qin. However, Wang Ji'en did not go to zhao defang, but instead went to call Zhao Guangyi, the king of Jin, into the palace. And explained to Zhao Guangyi that Zhao Kuangyin's health was almost out of shape, and asked him to hurry into the palace and fight for the throne. In the end, Empress Song waited not for Zhao Defang, but for Zhao Guangyi, and the astonished Empress Song begged Guangyi: "The fate of my mother and son is entrusted to the official family." Zhao Guangyi cried and replied, "Protect the rich and noble together, don't worry." According to this statement, it can be clearly seen that Zhao Guangyi was prepared for it long ago, and as a eunuch in the palace, Wang Ji'en had long been bribed by him, and his desire to seize the throne could not be described as obvious.
Look again at the so-called "Alliance of The Golden Daggers". At that time, when Zhao Guangyi ascended the throne, he did not receive any wills. In the sixth year after Zhao Kuangyin's death, Zhao Pu, the minister of state, came up with the so-called "Alliance of The Golden Plateau". According to the "Alliance of the Golden Lords", Empress Zhao feared that after Zhao Kuangyin's death, her son had not yet grown up, and the monarchy was once again controlled by the courtiers. Therefore, it was stipulated that after Zhao Kuangyin's death, Zhao Guangyi would take the throne, and after Zhao Guangyi's death, Zhao Guangmei would take the throne, and then let Guangmei pass the throne to Dezhao, so that the Great Song Dynasty could be forever solid. However, this "Alliance of The Golden Plateau" had a fatal loophole, that is, at that time, Empress Zhao was already sixty years old, Zhao Kuangyin was thirty-nine years old, Zhao Guangyi was twenty-seven years old, and Zhao Dezhao was ten years old, and if Taizu was critically ill at that time, the two of them discussed the will, it was entirely possible, but the truth was just the opposite, Taizu was in good health, and he repeatedly sent troops to conscript, how could the empress dowager foresee that Zhao Kuangyin would inevitably have a short life? If the short-lived Dezhao had grown up, there would have been no danger of Zhou Shizong passing on the throne to his younger son, so why write such a testament?
As for why Zhao Pu had such a testament? Mainly he was a person of Zhao Kuangyin, and after Zhao Guangyi took the throne, his status plummeted, and he was also ostracized by political enemies. As a "Li Sishi" minister, he was naturally unwilling. For this reason, he turned to Zhao Guangyi, knowing that what Zhao Guangyi needed most at present was the legal inheritance right. Relying on his identity as Zhao Kuangyin, he took out the so-called "Alliance of the Golden Dagger", so that the world thought that Zhao Guangyi was justified when he took the throne. Sure enough, after the "Alliance of Golden Daggers" was taken out, Zhao Pu was reused by Zhao Guangyi. At the same time, in order to let the throne pass on in his own vein, Zhao Guangyi used the excuse to force the death of his younger brother Zhao Guangmei and Zhao Kuangyin's two sons.