Chapter 45 5. Choice: The battle between the emperor's younger brother and the prince

At the beginning of Zhao Kuangyin's ascension to the throne, whether it was because of learning the lessons of the five generations of emperors who changed their surnames or following the legacy of his mother, Queen Mother Du, he supported his younger brother Zhao Guangyi wholeheartedly, and even broke up with Zhao Pu, who had assisted him for many years, for him. Relegate him to Mengzhou.As Zhao Guangyi's power continued to grow, Zhao Kuangyin gradually began to feel threatened.When he realized that Zhao Guangyi's power had grown to the point where it was almost out of control, his relationship with Zhao Guangyi was no longer that of brothers and friends, but gradually became a power struggle.Zhao Kuangyin, who was less than fifty years old at the time, and his eldest son, Zhao Dezhao, were already twenty-six years old. Even if he changed positions at this time and handed over the imperial power to his son, there would be no doubts about the domination of the young country.Therefore, Zhao Kuangyin began to re-examine his decision to choose a reliable successor for Da Song.

Empress Song was very dissatisfied with Zhao Kuangyin's support for Guangyi while neglecting her son. Therefore, when Guangyi became stronger and the conflict with Zhao Kuangyin became more and more intense, she lost no time in saying to Zhao Kuangyin: "Since ancient times, The throne is inherited from father to son. His Majesty made the Golden Chamber Covenant in order to let the Queen Mother rest in peace, and promised to pass the throne to his younger brother. But now King Jin has become more and more lawless, and began to despise His Majesty. If If this continues, one day His Majesty will be gone, and he will be the emperor, how can my mother and son have a good life?"

Looking at the weeping Empress Song, and thinking about her increasingly domineering younger brother, Zhao Kuangyin felt mixed feelings.He said to Empress Song: "Guangyi is my younger brother no matter what. I have such a plan for the stability of the Song Dynasty. He will be the emperor, and he will definitely treat you well." Empress Song said: "Everyone in the world knows that His Majesty's throne should be passed on to Dezhao, but he took it from Dezhao's hands. Naturally, some people will comment on such things. How dare you expect him to treat us well? I have followed His Majesty for many years, and I am quite old. If I can follow Your Majesty to the bottom of the Nine Springs, I will have no regrets. It's just that my two emperors are still in their prime, how can you bear it, Your Majesty? How can you put your own son in this situation?"

These words hit Zhao Kuangyin's chest hard. He knew that he could not protect their mother and son all the time, but he would not bear to let his son be slaughtered after a hundred years.Although he had always thought that Guangyi would not be that kind of person before, but now he felt more and more that there was such a possibility. When Zhao Kuangyin couldn't sleep at night because of this incident, in February of the ninth year of Kaibao, King Qian Chu of Wuyue sent an envoy to send a letter of worship, and planned to come to Kaifeng to worship in accordance with Zhao Kuangyin's request.Zhao Kuangyin said to the left and right ministers: "Qian Chu's visit this time must be received seriously, so that he can feel the majesty of the Song Dynasty. Who do you think is more appropriate to be in charge of this matter?"

Jia Wei, Chen Congxin and others all said: "Receiving the King of Wu and Yue is a major matter, and it is necessary to choose an experienced person to carry it out. Jin Wang Zhao Guangyi has always been in charge of the arrangement of such major events, and it is most appropriate for him to be in charge of the reception." Zhao Kuangyin said: "King Jin has indeed been in charge of many such things before, and he is very experienced. But this time, I want the prince Zhao Dezhao to carry it out." Seeing that everyone looked at him suspiciously, Zhao Kuangyin continued: "Receiving Qian Chu requires formal etiquette, and the prince has been receiving this kind of training in the palace, and is very familiar with these things. Now, he is not young, so he should After a while of tempering, I will take this opportunity to let him understand the real etiquette of diplomatic relations, and let all the ministers come to understand Dezhao's ability."

What Zhao Kuangyin said clearly meant that Zhao Dezhao had already decided to carry out this task, and everyone did not dare to speak again, and could only obey the sacred order.In Prince Jin's mansion, Zhao Guangyi was very displeased when he heard this. He said to Chen Congxin: "Don't you know that the person who is in charge of such a big event is usually the prince of the country?" Chen Congxin hurriedly replied: "This subordinate knows, but His Majesty insists on letting De Zhao go, and this subordinate has no choice." Zhao Guangyi said: "Zhao Dezhao has never done such a thing before, and His Majesty has never made such a request. Now that an unknown prince suddenly takes on such a big task, His Majesty deliberately wants to refute me."

Chen Congxin said: "In the past, King Jin presided over such activities, and the ministers also thought so. This time, it may be a special situation. Your Majesty may want to let the prince Dezhao learn a lot." Zhao Guangyi sneered and said, "I'm afraid His Majesty wants Dezhao to replace me! Now it's just a ceremony, and next time it might be the crown prince's seat!" At Zhao Kuangyin's insistence, Zhao Dezhao appeared at the ceremony to welcome King Wuyue. For the first time, the world began to understand this prince who had never shown his face before.His presence made the courtiers feel a sense of uneasiness, because it was usually the prince who presided over such matters.In the absence of a prince in the Great Song Dynasty, Zhao Guangyi, the prince by default, was in charge.Now, the emperor suddenly handed over this important task to the prince Zhao Dezhao. Does it mean that Dezhao will soon become the prince?

The ceremony ended amidst the undercurrent, and everything returned to calm.It seems that Zhao Kuangyin's goal of using this as a warning to Zhao Guangyi has been achieved. Zhao Guangyi has become more docile and no longer argues with Zhao Kuangyin face to face.He thought that as long as he did this, he could satisfy Zhao Kuangyin and let everything go back to the original.But then another thing happened that made Zhao Guangyi understand that the emperor did not let his guard down. After King Wuyue came to the court, Zhao Kuangyin said to the officials: "Now that the spring is warm and the flowers are blooming, I plan to go to Luoyang to worship the tomb of the Zhao family ancestor."

In the past, when the emperor visited Luoyang, all affairs in the court would be handed over to Jin Wang Zhao Guangyi to stay in Beijing to handle.So this time, everyone thought it was going to be the same.Unexpectedly, Zhao Kuangyin went on to say, "Did King Jin not return to Luoyang to worship his ancestors for many years?" Zhao Guangyi hurriedly replied: "Your Majesty, my brother stays in Beijing every year so that His Majesty can go to Luoyang with peace of mind, so he can't go home to worship the ancestors. But as long as the government is stable and the ancestors have spirits in the sky, they should not blame me. "

Zhao Kuangyin said: "Although the ancestors are not to blame, as a descendant, you should also have the heart to pay homage. It is my fault that I let you stay in Kaifeng every year, so that you can't fulfill your filial piety. This year, you will go back to Luoyang with me, right? " Zhao Guangyi was surprised in his heart, but he said: "My brother has gone to Luoyang, and there will be no one to stay in Kaifeng. If there is any accident, there is no way to deal with it in time." Zhao Kuangyin said with a smile: "You can rest assured about this. Now that Dezhao has grown up, he is a few years older than when you were the governor of Kaifeng. He can handle these things well."

Zhao Guangyi asked: "Your Majesty, you want Dezhao to stay in Beijing to handle government affairs?" Zhao Kuangyin said: "Yes, do you have any opinions?" Zhao Guangyi hurriedly bowed down and said, "I dare not. It's just that Dezhao never stayed in Beijing alone to handle government affairs, and the affairs of the court are cumbersome. I'm afraid he won't be able to take care of it." Zhao Kuangyin insisted: "Everything has to be learned. If he can't handle it well now, then let him study hard, and he will naturally in the future." Then, Zhao Kuangyin turned to his son and said: "Dezhao, in the past, your uncle stayed in Kaifeng to handle government affairs. I asked you to stay this year. Do you think you can handle the job?" Zhao Dezhao hurriedly knelt down and thanked, "Your Majesty entrusted such an important matter to my son, I will definitely do my best. If there is anything difficult to decide, I will definitely order someone to go to Luoyang to ask for instructions before making a decision." Zhao Kuangyin said to Zhao Guangyi: "Look, Dezhao is very confident about this, so you can go back to Luoyang with me at ease." Under Zhao Kuangyin's insistence, it was finally determined that Dezhao would stay in Beijing.When the emperor is on tour, he is in charge of the affairs of the capital, just like a temporary monarch, and it is undoubtedly an internship assessment for the future heir.Zhao Guangyi used to be in charge of the matter, but now it was suddenly handed over to Zhao Dezhao. Not only Zhao Guangyi himself was full of doubts, but also the officials couldn't figure out what Zhao Kuangyin was thinking.The situation that used to be very clear now suddenly becomes cloudy. Who is the best successor in the emperor's mind?To whom will the throne pass?Who will be the next to sit on the dragon chair, the emperor's younger brother or the prince?Everything is full of possibilities, and everyone doesn't know which side to cater to. After these two incidents, Zhao Kuangyin's attitude towards the heir became unpredictable, which made Zhao Guangyi, who was originally full of confidence, also become confused.And his doubts quickly turned into uneasiness. What he thought was a sure thing in the past has now become unpredictable. He is unwilling to lose such an opportunity. How can the emperor's dragon chair, which is full of temptations, give up so easily?Although Zhao Kuangyin has repeatedly supported the prince Zhao Dezhao, the seasoned Zhao Guangyi is undoubtedly very competitive compared to Dezhao's youthfulness.The only obstacle now is Zhao Kuangyin's attitude. The conflict between brothers is no longer concealed, but gradually becomes obvious.The change of Zhao Kuangyin's attitude towards the prince and the emperor's younger brother shows that this contradiction has reached the point of irreconcilability, and Zhao Kuangyin is also actively looking for a solution.Obviously, his solution is to let his son be the prince and hand over the world of the Zhao family to him.This result was something Zhao Guangyi didn't want to see, and it also indicated that the conflict between them was about to break out.