History can't bear to look at the complete collection

Chapter 39 Death of the Emperor 4
Behind Zhao Kuangyin's sudden death
Zhao Kuangyin was a smug emperor. When he ascended the throne and established the Northern Song Dynasty, China had not yet been fully unified. After destroying the Southern Tang Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin hoped to take advantage of the opportunity of the Northern Expedition to destroy the Northern Han Dynasty and realize his desire for national unification.In August 976 AD, with Dang Jin, Pan Mei, and Yang Guangyi as the vanguard generals, he divided his troops into three routes and marched northward. By the end of October, Zhao Kuangyin's troops had already reached the north of Taiyuan, the capital of the Northern Han Dynasty.

Seeing that the Northern Han Dynasty was about to be destroyed and the unification of China was about to be completed, Zhao Kuangyin died suddenly. There are not many records about the cause of his death in the annals of history, but it is said that he died at the age of 50 and passed away in the Long Live Hall.As the founding emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty, he died in such an unknown way, which cannot but be said to be a major mystery in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Therefore, there have been many theories about the version of Zhao Kuangyin's death, among which the most popular and reliable one is the legend of "the sound of the ax and the shadow of the candle".There are, however, several variations on this version.

It is said that the weather was fine that night, and the sky was full of stars, so Zhao Kuangyin asked his younger brother Zhao Guangyi to drink and talk.Unexpectedly, halfway through drinking, there was a sudden gust of wind and hail. Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Guangyi moved the banquet into the house and continued.

At that time, the attendants were waiting outside the door, and the room was always lit with candlelight. Later, the attendants saw figures flickering under the candlelight, and there was the sound of an ax hitting the floor.After a while, I heard Zhao Kuangyin's snoring again, and when it was five o'clock, there was no sound. Zhao Guangyi walked out and suddenly announced that Zhao Kuangyin had passed away.

Another theory is that Zhao Guangyi coveted Zhao Kuangyin's concubine Mrs. Huarui for a long time. One day, Zhao Kuangyin was seriously ill. When Zhao Guangyi went to visit at night, Zhao Kuangyin was falling asleep. Zhao Kuangyin was awakened, and in a rage, he took an ax to kill Zhao Guangyi, but he couldn't do what he wanted, so he was killed by Zhao Guangyi and took the country.

The closest to the truth is that Zhao Kuangyin was poisoned and killed by Zhao Guangyi.The two brothers have been helping each other from the beginning of the Chenqiao Mutiny to the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty. As Zhao Kuangyin's right-hand man, Zhao Guangyi has always hoped to inherit the throne after Zhao Kuangyin's death.But Zhao Kuangyin didn't mean to pass on the throne to him, but wanted to pass it on to his son Defang, so Zhao Guangyi took advantage of the opportunity when Zhao Kuangyin sent troops to the Northern Han Dynasty, poisoned and killed him, and seized the throne.

Another theory is that Zhao Guangyi was rehabilitated. When Zhao Kuangyin was alive, he had already decided to pass the throne to Zhao Guangyi according to his mother's instructions, and he also put the imperial edict in the secret room. This is the so-called "golden chamber alliance".If this is the case, then there is no need for Zhao Guangyi to kill Zhao Kuangyin. Zhao Kuangyin should have died suddenly due to illness.

This kind of statement is obviously biased. It is very likely that the official historian filled in according to Zhao Guangyi's meaning. In fact, from a rational point of view, it is more likely that Zhao Kuangyin was killed.When Zhao Kuangyin passed away, he already had children and grandchildren. According to the traditional Chinese tradition of succession to the throne, there is no reason to pass on his sons to his sons.

Even though Zhao Guangyi worked hard and made great achievements, he was far more than the only one in the Zhao clan. Moreover, Zhao Kuangyin was only 50 years old when he died, and he was still directing the Northern Expedition to the Northern Han Dynasty before his death. There is no official historical record of the situation, so it is difficult to convincingly say sudden death.

The story of "The Sound of the Ax and the Shadow of the Candle" has many doubts. Although Zhao Guangyi is Zhao Kuangyin's younger brother, there have been differences between emperors and ministers since ancient times. Whether Zhao Kuangyin is willing to keep him in the palace for the night is worth deliberating.The sound of the ax mentioned in the story is actually the sound of a golden scepter with a jade piece on the head. This thing is difficult to kill. The most likely reason is that Zhao Kuangyin was poisoned to death by Zhao Guangyi, who was planning to usurp the throne.

(End of this chapter)