Zhu Chao accompanied me to watch short videos

【The historical knowledge of the counterattack from the security captain to the emperor - Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty. 】

What is it like to wake up and become an emperor? He was originally a security captain, and his subordinates put on a dragon robe. He stood out in the chicken-eating competition of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms and opened the 300-year-long Song Dynasty.

From the Chenqiao Mutiny to the release of military power over a cup of wine, the beginning of the Song Dynasty was both thrilling and exciting. So why is the Song Dynasty called "Candle Shadow Axe Sound" and what kind of story is behind it?

In this video, let us walk into the life of Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, in chronological order.

Zhao Kuangyin was born in Luoyang, Nanhe Province. His father was a mercenary in the Five Dynasties period. He served in the Later Tang, Later Jin and Later Han dynasties. It was not until he participated in the establishment of the Later Zhou Dynasty that he became a formal employee, responsible for the company's security and commanding the imperial guards.

Because of his father, he and his boss's godson Chai Rong became close friends. After his father's death, he naturally inherited his father's position, became the number one figure in the imperial army, and won the trust of Chai Rong.

After Chai Rong ascended the throne, he followed Chai Rong to expand the territory, and successively took over the four states of Hou Shu, the fourteen states of Southern Tang, and the three passes and three states of Liao, laying the foundation for the country's market monopoly.

Later generations also called Chai Rong the first general of the Five Dynasties. However, with Chai Rong's untimely death, the future of the country was handed over to a 7-year-old child, and everything returned to the starting point. Can a 7-year-old child defend the country?

——'Bullying an orphan and a widow, and even planning to put on a yellow robe just to save face, it's really disgusting, it's better to just say it directly.'

——"Zhao Da is a decent man. Throughout his life, you will find that he has done many things like taking off his pants and farting."

When he was 34 years old, the company's headquarters in Kaifeng suddenly received an urgent report that the Northern Han and Liao Kingdoms began to march southward to seize the market. As a veteran of the company, he had no choice but to lead the expedition himself.

When the troops just reached Chenqiao Post outside the city, his soldiers put a yellow robe on him, wanting him to become the new emperor. This also created the historical story of the Chenqiao Mutiny and the Yellow Robe.

But this kind of scene was nothing new during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. If the emperor was no longer powerful, the generals would revolt; if the new emperor was no longer powerful, another would be replaced, and the cycle would repeat, with the emperor taking turns, and next year it would be my turn.

After learning that the entire country's security had been replaced, the 29-year-old Queen Mother of Later Zhou and the 8-year-old emperor also wisely gave up the management rights. He naturally ascended the throne and opened a new dynasty - the Song Dynasty.

Like many founding emperors, the first problem facing him was what name to give his country. All the first emperors before him named their dynasties after their titles, or at least after their fiefdoms.

However, not only did he not have a title, he didn't even have a fiefdom, so he had to choose the name of the place where he once served as an official - Song. Thus, the Song Dynasty came into being.

At that time, there were still separatist regimes in the south, such as the Later Shu, Southern Tang, and Southern Han, as well as many warlords who nominally submitted but were actually independent. The imperial court was unable to issue orders.

Under such circumstances, he followed the strategy of first conquering the south and then the north, and first the easy and then the difficult, and successively pacified Jinghu, Hou Shu, Southern Tang, and Southern Han. Except for the lingering Northern Han and the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, he completed the unification of most of the country.

At the same time, the work of reducing the military power of the vassal states was also in full swing. He first won over the vassal states materially by giving them money, and then sent officials appointed by the imperial court to each vassal state to be in charge of local administration and finance, thus changing the status quo of the military and political affairs of the Jiedushi since the end of the Tang Dynasty.

Then he took another step to remove the firewood from the pot, and ordered the elite troops of the vassal states to be transferred to the capital. This three-pronged approach of both soft and hard tactics completely eliminated the arrogance of the generals. The emperor took turns to be in power, and this kind of thing would not happen again in the next few hundred years.

However, the aftereffects of suppressing the power of military commanders were also very obvious. Later generations had many criticisms of the Song Dynasty's emphasis on civil officials over military officials. The national policy that was initially intended to survive eventually became the root cause of the Song Dynasty's weakness in foreign wars.

However, it was his younger brother Zhao Guangyi who truly turned the Song Dynasty into an emperor powerless against foreign wars.

If we talk about the most mysterious case in the history of Song Dynasty, it must be "Golden Casket Alliance" and "Candle Shadow and Axe Sound". Although the two seem to have nothing to do with each other, they actually point to the same question.

How did Emperor Taizong of Song, Zhao Guangyi, ascend the throne? Since the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Central Plains dynasties had never appointed a crown prince. When the emperor died, who would take over was either a matter of convention or competition. Zhao Kuangyin also did not appoint a crown prince, but he always promoted his younger brother, Zhao Guangyi.

In the second year of the establishment of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Guangyi formed his own team and competed with Prime Minister Zhao Pu. The two sides fought openly and secretly, and tripped each other up. As Zhao Guangyi's elder brother, he was more inclined to his brother after all.

At the age of 47, he dismissed Zhao Pu, who had been the prime minister for 10 years, and expelled him from the capital. From then on, his younger brother Zhao Guangyi was ranked above the prime minister and his power reached its peak.

On the night of October 976, 10, the two brothers drank in the palace. The next morning, Zhao Kuangyin was found dead in the Wansui Hall at the age of 19. The death of Zhao Kuangyin is an unsolved mystery in the history of the Song Dynasty, and has been controversial for hundreds of years.

Some people say that Zhao Kuangyin was killed by Zhao Guangyi, while others say that Zhao Kuangyin died suddenly. So, what do you think is the truth behind Zhao Kuangyin's death?

——"Giving up military power over a cup of wine was the biggest mistake Zhao Kuangyin made, and it was also the biggest source of the weakness of the Song Dynasty."

——"At that time, the emperors of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms took turns to rule. If he hadn't done this, how could the Song Dynasty have lasted for 300 years?"

——"Is there any need to think about this? Bao was killed by Zhao Guangyi. Zhao Da is in great health. He is a martial artist. He can beat anyone in the world with a water and fire stick."

——"Zhao Da just suffered a loss because he didn't completely unify the team. Otherwise, he would definitely be in the top five. Now, I think his ability is that of a top five player, but many people probably won't admit it."

[The emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty was very romantic, he loved beauties more than the country. Understand the life of Li Yu, the last emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty, in one breath. History of the Southern Tang Dynasty]

"How much sorrow can you have? It is like a river of spring water flowing eastward." He was the emperor who was best at writing poetry, but also the poet who least wanted to be an emperor. He was praised by later generations as the emperor of poetry through the ages.

——"Qianlong: I don't agree. I write much better than him. I must be the emperor who is best at writing poetry."

——"You're right. After all, they write lyrics."

For more than 600 years, no one dared to imitate the poem "Longing". As the last ruler of the Southern Tang Dynasty, Li Yu experienced the pain of a life of drunkenness and dreamlessness to the loss of his country, and witnessed his beloved beauty being summoned by the enemy. It is this experience that ordinary people cannot experience that has created countless classic poems.

In this video, let us walk into the misplaced life of this literary young man in chronological order.

Li Yu's original name was Li Congjia. He was born in NJ City, JS Province. He was the sixth son of Li Jing, the emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty. According to historical records, Li Yu had a rather strange appearance, with a broad forehead, overlapping teeth, and two pupils in one eye, hence his courtesy name Chongguang.

——"Having double pupils is the way to invincibility, why do you need to borrow someone else's bones?"

——"People with double pupils are generally quite capable."

According to ancient tradition, although Li Yu was the legitimate son born to Empress Zhong, he had an older brother, Li Hongji, who had the same mother as the emperor.

In order to avoid suspicion from his elder brother, the crown prince, Li Yu had to stay away from politics and indulge in calligraphy, painting, poetry and prose, while the crown prince and his uncle Li Jingsui fought to the death for the throne.

At the age of 18, Li Yu married Zhou Ehuang, the eldest daughter of the Southern Tang Situ. Zhou Ehuang was not only well-educated, but also proficient in music, good at singing and dancing, and especially played the pipa well.

She and Li Yu had similar interests and a harmonious relationship. If nothing unexpected happened, Li Yu would have become a rich and noble prince and married Zhou Ehuang to each other. However, the one who wanted to be the emperor the most could not become one, while the one who did not want to be the emperor was pushed onto the throne.

When Li Yu was 22 years old, the crown prince murdered his uncle Li Jingsui and was demoted to a commoner. Li Yu was made the crown prince by mistake, and his name was changed from Li Congjia to Li Yu.

But at this time, the Southern Tang was already in decline. Facing the advance of Chai Rong of the Later Zhou, Li Jing could only retreat step by step, give up the title of emperor, cede land, pledge his loyalty, and pay tribute to the Central Plains.

Not long after, Li Jing died of depression. Li Yu, who was 25 years old at the time, ascended the throne and became emperor. Zhou Ehuang was naturally made queen, known in history as Queen Zhou.

Just one year before Li Yu ascended the throne, the Central Plains saw another change of dynasty. Zhao Kuangyin launched a military coup at Chenqiao, put on the yellow robe and proclaimed himself emperor. He used the Song Dynasty to defeat all the heroes and unify the world, and the Southern Tang was the stepping stone for the Song Dynasty's great cause of unification.

Li Yu was servile to the Song Dynasty, hoping to keep his country safe by submitting to it. However, how could the ambitious Zhao Kuangyin allow the Southern Tang to secede? In this case, how long could Li Yu remain the ruler of Jiangnan?

When Li Yu was 28, his son died of an accidental shock. Empress Zhou was so sad that she fell ill. Her sister came to the palace to visit her, but she had an affair with her brother-in-law Li Yu.

After learning about this, Empress Zhou became sicker and refused to look at her sister again until her death. Li Yu was filled with remorse and wrote many poems to mourn her death. Among the 18 poems handed down by Li Yu, a large part of them were written to mourn Empress Zhou and her son.

In his "Elegy for Empress Zhaohui Zhou", Li Yu expressed his deepest sorrow, using 14 "Alas" to express his grief. These mourning poems by Li Yu are full of literary talent and sincere emotions, which make people sad and cry.

But this did not affect Li Yu's decision to make Da Zhou Hou's younger sister the queen in the future. She was called Xiao Zhou Hou. Xiao Zhou Hou was 13 years younger than Li Yu. She was not only beautiful, but also proficient in music like her sister. Li Yu's favor for her was even greater than that for Da Zhou Hou.

At this time, the Song Dynasty in the north was on the rise. Zhao Kuangyin used the strategy of first conquering the south and then the north, and first the easy and then the difficult, to successively eliminate Jinghu, Hou Shu, and Southern Han, and the Southern Tang was in danger.

However, Li Yu, the emperor of Southern Tang, hid in the gentleness of the harem and was unwilling to worry about state affairs. In order to protect himself, he gave up his title of emperor and changed his title to Lord of Jiangnan. He also devalued the rituals and institutions, which showed his submission to the Song Dynasty.

However, Zhao Kuangyin was determined to conquer Southern Tang, so he would not allow others to sleep soundly on his bed. Zhao Kuangyin issued an edict to Jinling for the second time, asking Li Yu to come to Kaifeng, the capital of the Song Dynasty, to pay tribute.

Li Yu knew that if he went there he would never be able to come back, so he made all kinds of excuses and claimed that he was willing to accept the title of king from the Song Dynasty, but was firmly rejected by Zhao Kuangyin.

In 973 AD, Zhao Kuangyin sent 10 troops to attack Southern Tang on the pretext that Li Yu refused to pay tribute. Due to the huge disparity in strength, the Southern Tang army was powerless to fight back against the Song army.

The following spring, the Song army surrounded Jinling, but the city was strong and was not conquered until winter. The city's food and grass were exhausted, and countless residents were killed and injured. The commander Cao Bin sent an envoy to Li Yu with an ultimatum, asking him to surrender before November 11. Li Yu refused to listen and vowed to live and die with the Southern Tang. He also piled firewood in the palace and would set himself on fire when the city was broken.

However, at the last moment, Li Yu chose to survive and opened the city to surrender, thus marking the demise of the Southern Tang Dynasty.

Nan Tang was sent to Kaifeng, and Zhao Kuangyin issued an edict to confer Li Yu the title of Weiming Hou. Soon after Zhao Kuangyin died, his brother Zhao Guangyi ascended the throne. He had to return the flowers to him and changed Li Yu's title to Longxi County Duke.

It is widely rumored in unofficial history that Zhao Guangyi once raped Concubine Xiao Zhou. However, this is only unofficial history from the Yuan and Ming dynasties. There is no record of Zhao Guangyi having an affair with Concubine Xiao Zhou during the Song Dynasty.

——"Even if this thing existed, there would be no record left. It's not something glorious, it must have been done secretly."

——"Didn't you say you drew a portrait of the first generation X-Sight ancestor? (covering face)"

However, Li Yu's life after entering the Song Dynasty was still very difficult. Although the Song Dynasty conferred him the title of a county duke, his material treatment was certainly not comparable to that when he was the emperor in Jiangnan.

It is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Li Yu once told Zhao Guangyi that his family was already very poor. Zhao Guangyi gave Li Yu 300 million yuan with a stroke of his pen, and soon increased his salary.

But this does not mean that Zhao Guangyi would believe that Li Yu would behave himself. Zhao Guangyi was far more suspicious than his brother Zhao Kuangyin.

In 978 AD, Li Yu wrote the last poem of his life, "Yu Meiren", in a depressed mood: "When will the spring flowers and autumn moon end? How much do I know about the past. The east wind blew again in the small building last night, and I can't bear to look back at my homeland in the moonlight. The carved railings and jade bricks should still be there, but the red face has changed. I ask you how much sorrow you can have, just like a river of spring water flowing eastward."

This poem immediately angered Zhao Guangyi, who sent someone to give Li Yu a cup of poisoned wine, and killed Li Yu on the Qixi Festival. Li Yu died at the age of 42, and was posthumously named King of Wu. Xiao Zhouhou died for love.

——"Li Yu: Good writing, the kingdom is the price I paid for it."

——"What a scumbag. I was so sad that I made my sister Xiao Zhouhou. (Laughing to death)"

——"Who can resist beautiful sisters? There were Zhao Feiyan and Zhao Hede in the past."

——"I can only say that being an emperor is rubbish, but being a scholar is awesome. I think that's OK."

——"I think he is already very good. He has not received any imperial education. Besides, his fame is no less than any top emperor. Some people may not know Zhao Guangyi, but they must know who Li Yu is."