What kind of person is Zhao Kuangyin?

Zhao Kuangyin lived in Zhao Kuangyin, Song Taizu (927-976) and was the first emperor of the Song Dynasty in China (960-976). In the development of China's history, the Song Dynasty was a turning point towards the late feudal society, which was manifested in the strengthening of centralization and imperial power, the secular landlords replaced the gentry as the backbone of the ruling class, and the social atmosphere was conservative. The personal role of Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty, also contributed to these changes. Zhao Kuangyin was born in a military commander's family, and was born in Jiamaying, Luoyang in 927. He also loved martial arts since he was a child. In the troubled times of the Five Dynasties, which advocated force, his background and specialty helped him climb to the peak of power. At the age of 22, it is said that he was instructed by a monk who defected to Guo Wei's army and appreciated by Guo Wei's adopted son Chai Rong. In 95 1 year, Guo Wei abolished the Emperor of the Later Han Dynasty and established the Later Zhou Dynasty. Three years later, Chai Rong succeeded Zhou Shizong. After Chai Rong acceded to the throne, he launched a key battle in Gaoping, and Zhao Kuangyin saved Chai Rong as Suwei, making great contributions. Since then, Zhao Kuangyin has made great achievements in attacking the Southern Tang Dynasty and other battles. He has worshipped the generals in front of the temple and became a confidant general of Chai Rong. In 959, before Chai Rong's death, Zhao Kuangyin was appointed as the inspector in front of the temple, and actually mastered the military power. In the first month of 960, Zhao Kuangyin was ordered to lead the troops to resist the invasion of Liao. When the army marched to Chen Qiaoyi, it was said that Zhao Kuangyin was unwittingly installed as emperor by mutinous soldiers, which was called "Chen Qiao mutiny" in history, and since then, Zhao and Song Dynasties have ruled for 320 years. In the same year, Zhao Kuangyin quickly pacified Li Junhe, Li Zhongjin, our time and settled down under the banner of revenge for the later Zhou Dynasty. After Zhao Kuangyin ascended the throne, he faced two urgent problems: ending the separatist situation formed since the end of the Tang Dynasty, unifying the whole country, eliminating the hidden dangers of military commanders' riots and coups, and maintaining political stability. During the reign of 16, solving these two problems has always been the core of all his policies. Based on the analysis of the objective situation, Zhao Kuangyin adopted Zhao Pu's suggestion and unified the whole country in the order of "South first and then North". In 963, the two separatist regimes of Jingnan and Hunan were wiped out in one fell swoop. In 964, General Wang Quanbin was sent to the west to share land and water equally, and the rich Houshu was destroyed in just 66 days. In 97 1 year, Nanhan was destroyed. In 975, General Cao Bin was sent to cross the river with a pontoon bridge. By the time Zhao Kuangyin died, only wuyue in the south and Northern Han in the north were still alive, and the unification of the whole country (traditional Han areas) was a foregone conclusion. In 19961year, Zhao Kuangyin peacefully relieved Shi Shouxin and other generals by the famous method of "relieving soldiers with a glass of wine". But this is only the beginning of military reform. Zhao Kuangyin's general power is divided into three parts. Imperial generals only have military power, and the Privy Council has the power to mobilize troops. The "three divisions" were responsible for logistics supply, and the emperor was in the middle of dispatching, becoming the only person who mastered all military power. Through military reform, the hidden danger of military coup was eliminated, and Zhao Kuangyin was fortunate to be the last founding emperor in China history to seize power through military coup. At the same time, in order to prevent local military separatism, Zhao Kuangyin concentrated the world's heavy and elite soldiers near the capital, leaving only weak soldiers for local use. And gradually changed the local governor from a military commander to a civilian, and sent judges to the States to limit the year number. All decrees must be signed by the judge and the year before they can take effect. At the same time, Zhao Kuangyin sent it to the state finance, and the local fiscal revenue was turned over to the central government except for necessary expenditures. In this way, the financial power was taken back. In terms of political power, Zhao Kuangyin adopted the "separation of four powers", in which Zhongshu Province and Privy Council were divided into two powers: civil and military, three departments were in charge of finance, and Yushitai and Jianyuan were in charge of supervision and public opinion respectively, directly responsible to the emperor, weakening the power and etiquette of the prime minister (with the head of Zhongshu Province). And shorten the term of office of officials, separate positions from power, and prevent officials from cultivating personal power in a certain position. Zhao Kuangyin, who was born in the troubled times of the Five Dynasties, knew the harm of military commanders' autocratic power, which may be the root of his policy of "suppressing military power with power". In addition to widely appointing literati as officials instead of military commanders, he also set an oath tablet including "Don't kill ministers and writers". What has far-reaching influence on history is his reform of the imperial examination system. He banned the pre-examination recommendation system such as "public recommendation" and "public examination paper" which prevailed since the Tang and Five Dynasties, making the examination paper the only criterion for evaluating admission, greatly increasing the fairness of the examination and giving the poor people without any background the opportunity to be China people. He also established a second interview and palace examination system, which is also conducive to the selection of real talents. The developed culture and the high status of literati in Song Dynasty were related to Zhao Kuangyin's pioneering spirit. During the reign, there was no heir, but he appointed his younger brothers as King Jin, Kai Fengyin and Tong Pingzhang, and did not give his son any power. The intention to spread to Zhao Guangyi is very obvious. In 976, Zhao Guangyi ascended the throne in a cloud of doubt. Zhao Guangyi inherited Zhao Kuangyin's career well, unified the whole country (traditional Han nationality areas) except sixteen states in Youyun, and continued to consolidate centralization, so that the Northern Song regime passed the bottleneck of development. Zhao Kuangyin's greatness lies in that he grew up in the cruel and bloody Five Dynasties troubled times, but he created a relaxed political environment, and in that he grew up in a military and hectic official career, but he created an atmosphere conducive to the vigorous development of literati culture. However, he concentrated power on the central government, which weakened local power and was not enough to defend the central government; His military reform made "the soldiers don't know the generals, and the soldiers don't know the generals", which reduced the combat capability of the army, so that it was always at a disadvantage in the war with the northern minorities. The bureaucratic system he created by himself made all levels and departments contain each other, which also reduced work efficiency, resulting in more officials and more politics. All these made him criticized by later generations. I don't think it is necessary to ask too much of historical figures. According to the disadvantages at that time and adapting to the situation at that time, Zhao Kuangyin reformed this system. However, his successors failed to continue to improve and reform according to the changes in current politics, leading to poverty and weakness. This cannot be blamed on Zhao Kuangyin. Zhao Kuangyin's role in the history of China was not only to create a dynasty, but also to realize a phased transformation. He ranks 58th on the list of emperors who have influenced the world. Regarding the cause of death of Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty, died suddenly in 976 AD. There is no record of his illness in the official history, and there are different accounts in unofficial history. The cause of his death has become a bizarre unsolved case in history. According to Hunan Shan Ye, on a snowy night in the ninth year of Kaibao 10, Zhao Kuangyin called his younger brother Zhao Guangyi into the palace, and the two brothers were drinking in their bedrooms. After drinking, it was already late at night. Zhao Kuangyin and Yufu stabbed him in the snow and said, "Work hard." Zhao stayed in the bedroom that night, and died inexplicably at first light the next day. Zhao Guangyi received a testamentary edict, which preceded Ling's succession. "Ember Record" said that Zhao Guangyi coveted Mrs. Huarui, the concubine of Zhao Kuangyin, for a long time. When Zhao Kuangyin was in a coma, she molested Mrs. Huarui in the middle of the night, woke Zhao Kuangyin up and cut him with a jade axe. He was unable to do so and cut the floor. So Zhao Guangyi, as a lamb, killed Zhao Kuangyin and fled back to his home. Sushui said: When Mao died, it was already four drums. The Empress of the Song Dynasty asked Wang Jien, the chamberlain, to call Prince Fang. Considering that Mao had long planned to run wild with Wang Guangyi of Jin Dynasty, Wang Jien found Zhao Guangyi. After entering the palace, Queen Song asked, "Is Fang here?" Wang Jien replied, "The King of Jin is here." Empress Song was shocked, then suddenly woke up and cried and said, "My mother and son's life is entrusted to you, butler." In addition, it is said that as a younger brother, he inherited his brother's throne, which is the opinion of his mother, Empress Dowager Du. On his deathbed, Du Taihou said to Zhao Kuangyin, "If the Zhou Dynasty was succeeded by an elderly emperor, how could you be today?" ? You and Guangyi are both my sons. You will pass the throne to him in the future, and the country is the long monarch. This is the outline of the country! "Zhao Kuangyin agreed, so he asked Prime Minister Zhao Pu to write an oath in the synopsis of the Golden Chamber and seal it in the synopsis of the Golden Chamber. This is the so-called "Golden Chamber Alliance". This is the legal basis of Zhao Guangyi's "brother's death". All this has caused many questions. One is the "Candlelight Axe Shadow" when Zhao Kuangyin died. Supposedly, according to court etiquette, Zhao Guangyi was not allowed to sleep in the palace, but he did. Eunuchs and maids were not supposed to leave the emperor, but they all did. The hectic figures, the strange sound of axes and Zhao Kuangyin's cry of "Let's do it right" all tell people that this is a bloody murder planned in advance. Second, Wang Jien forged the imperial edict. How dare Wang Jien go against the will of the Empress Dowager Song? It was supposed to be for Zhao, but it came. If things fail, isn't it fatal? This statement only adds the crime of usurping the throne to a eunuch, and at the same time covers up the crime of killing his brother. III. Authenticity of The Synopsis of the Golden Chamber When Du Taihou died, Zhao Kuangyin was only 34 years old, in the prime of his life, and his son Dezhao 14 years old. Even if Zhao Kuangyin died a few years later, there would be no situation in which the seven-year-old orphans left by Chai Shizong in the later Zhou Dynasty were leaderless. Du Taihou was wise all his life. How can he make this decision? In addition, The Synopsis of the Golden Chamber was published five years after Zhao Guangyi ascended the throne. Why not announce it publicly when Zhao Kuangyin died? There are still some doubts, which also makes people criticize Zhao Guangyi. Zhao Guangyi didn't wait until the next year, so it changed its title. -the new king acceded to the throne, and it is customary to change the calendar year to the New Year's Day the following year. However, Zhao Guangyi changed the nine-year treasure to the first year of rejuvenating the country, with only two months left. This can't wait to break the routine. There is only one explanation: first, "clear your name". Is there a ghost in his heart? Forced to kill Zhao Kuangyin's eldest son Dezhao (then 30 years old), Zhao Kuangyin's youngest son Fang De (only 26 years old) also died of a mysterious disease. After Zhao Kuangyin's widow died, Zhao Guangyi broke the queen's etiquette. All this is accidental? The most puzzling thing is that Zhao Guangyi's descendants believed his ancestor's statement of "killing his brother to usurp the throne" and passed the throne to Zhao Kuangyin's descendants. This is about the succession of Song Gaozong Zhao Gou. It is said that Zhao Gou has no son. Who will inherit the throne? Ministers are talking about it. There is a strong view that Zhao Kuangyin is the founding king and should choose his successor from his descendants. At first, Zhao Gou severely criticized this argument. Suddenly one day, he changed his mind and said that he had a dream that Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin took him to the "Long Live Hall" and saw all the surprises of the "Candlelight Sword Shadow" that day, and said, "Only by passing the throne to my descendants can the national situation have a chance." So Zhao Gou finally found Zhao Shen, the seventh sun in Zhao Kuangyin, and passed the throne to him. At this time, the bloody night of terror has passed 187 years. This just shows that Zhao Gou admitted the sins of his ancestors and gave a basic answer to Zhao Kuangyin's death. Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin's death related information Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin launched a mutiny in Chen Qiao in 960, proclaimed himself emperor in 17, and died in 976. There is no clear record of his cause of death in the official history. There are only two simple sentences in the history of the Song Dynasty: "The emperor collapsed in the Hall of Long Live and was fifty years old." "Ordered by Du Taihou, to emperor taizong. "Therefore, his death has always been a mystery, leaving another unsolved case for history. According to Sima Guang's Shan Ye, it was extremely cold in October of the ninth year of Kaibao. Zhao Kuangyin and Wang eagerly called his younger brother Jin into the bedroom, but refused the others, leaving them alone to drink. It's already late at night after three rounds of wine. When he saw Zhao Guangyi, the king of Jin, always hiding behind, he was very scared and a little proud. Seeing that the snow in front of the temple was several inches thick, he and Yufu poked at the snow together and said to his brother from time to time, "It's too easy, it's really too easy. "That night, Zhao Guangyi stayed in the Forbidden Palace. At dawn the next day, news came from the Forbidden Palace that Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin had passed away. According to the testamentary edict, Zhao Guangyi became emperor before the coffin. The mystery of the so-called "candlelight axe shadow" in history refers to this matter. Some people think that "candlelight axe shadow" may not be a mystery, but an excuse for Zhao Guangyi, the king of Jin, to seize the throne. Song Taizu's funeral arrangement was a national event in the Song Dynasty. It was impossible to call his brother into the palace alone, and Zhao Guangyi retreated while drinking. With thorn snow, it was a state at war, and the king of Jin brutally killed it. If you don't write like this, this historical material may be banned. However, there is another story about brother Guangyi's death in the history books. " "Ember Record" said that Zhao Guangyi likes time-consuming, Huarui's wife, Meng Changjun's wife. After Meng Chang's death, Mrs. Hua Rui was accepted as a concubine by Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, and she was particularly fond of her. Being in bed because of illness, he was bold in the middle of the night, thinking that he was asleep, so he took the opportunity to flirt with Mrs. Hua Rui, but Mao woke up and wanted to cut him with a jade axe. When the Queen and Prince arrived, Zhao Kuangyin was already dying. Zhao Guangyi fled back to his palace and ascended to heaven the next day. So, Zhao Guangyi took advantage of Zhao Kuangyin's coma to molest his coveted Mrs. Huarui. Who knows Zhao Kuangyin suddenly woke up and found out, maybe he wanted to cut Zhao Guangyi in a rage, but he didn't cut Zhao Guangyi because of his weak body and exhaustion. Zhao Guangyi felt that he had only a dead end, and he could not get his brother's forgiveness and forgiveness anyway. He expected that he would die miserably, so he killed his brother mercilessly and then fled back to the house in a hurry. No one knows whether Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin died of illness and anger or whether his brother killed him. But obviously, Zhao Kuangyin's death was related to his brother Zhao Guangyi's behavior in the inner court of the palace that night. For this mystery, there are also some people who exonerate Zhao Guangyi. Sima Guang's Water and Water Moon Hee records: "At the beginning of Mao's driving, he had four drums. After Xiao Zhang and Song Dynasty, the chamberlain learned that Wang Jilong was called Qin Wangfang. After Long Yitai's ancestor was determined to be the King of Jin, he did not call Fang De, but went to Kaifeng to call the King of Jin. I saw the medical officer Jia Dexuan sitting at the door of the mansion ... I told him so, knocking at the door to see the king and calling him. Wang hesitated in fear and said, "I should discuss it with my family." I can't get out for a long time. After being promoted, Long said,' If something is old, it will belong to someone else.' Then he and Wang Xuexia went to the door of the palace and roared in ... Both of them went to the bedroom. After the Song Dynasty, Wen Jilong arrived and said,' Is Fang here?' Ji Long said,' The King of Jin has arrived.' Later, Wang was shocked and told the official to say,' My mother and son's lives depend on that official. Wang Qi said,' * * * Keep your wealth and be carefree. "According to this record, when Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin died, his brother Zhao Guangyi didn't know about it, and he didn't stay in the palace. It seems that he can wash away the suspicion of "the sound of candles and axes" However, since Zhao Guangyi succeeded to the throne, Dezhao, the eldest son of Zhao Kuangyin, was forced to commit suicide in 979 AD, and his second son died without cause in 98 1 AD. However, Zhao Guangyi, Song Taizong, still could not get rid of the suspicion of "candle flame and axe shadow" and "succession by his younger brother".