Chapter 48 8. Long-cherished wish fulfilled, anxious

The night of October 19, 976 A.D. was destined to be mysterious, not only because it suddenly became cloudy from a clear sky, and it fell the first heavy snow of the year.It was also because Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty, died suddenly after drinking with his younger brother that night. In the early morning of the 20th, the servant heard Zhao Kuangyin's snoring suddenly stopped, so he stepped forward to check and found that Zhao Kuangyin was dead.In a panic, everyone hurriedly reported to Queen Song.When the queen heard the news, she fell on the chair and didn't recover for a long time.She hurriedly asked: "Who was serving the emperor last night?"

Zhao Kuangyin's confidant eunuch Wang Ji'en hurriedly ordered people to call over all the people who were serving outside the palace last night. The servants Li Jiyuan and Zhang Yongde knelt down on the ground and replied: "We were serving His Majesty and King Jin to drink last night, but Your Majesty asked me to drink." We are all waiting outside the gate of the palace, only drinking wine with King Jin in the palace." Empress Song asked: "What have you heard and seen, quickly report them one by one." Zhang Yongde said: "I was waiting outside the hall, and I only saw His Majesty and the King of Jin drinking and talking happily, but I couldn't hear what they were talking about."

Li Jiyuan said: "At that time, the concubines serving in the palace were also dismissed by His Majesty, and we stood in the snow outside the palace and waited to obey orders. Later, in the middle of the night, the snow was half a foot thick, and we heard His Majesty's drunken voice calling Saying 'Good wine! Good wine!', it seemed that he wanted King Jin to drink too. But King Jin stood up and kept shaking his hands, as if he was refusing." Zhang Yongde said: "Your Majesty has always carried a white jade pillar ax with him, and later he heard the sound of him beating the table with the pillar axe. It seems that he was drinking happily."

The two of you talked to each other, and reported everything they saw and heard to the queen, but there was no doubt in all the process.Could it be that King Jin harmed the emperor?When Empress Song thought of this question, she was so frightened that she trembled all over.She asked again: "Then when did King Jin leave the palace?" Zhang Yongde said: "After your Majesty was drunk, the King of Jin asked me to go in and serve him, and he carried him to the bed and put him on the bed. The King of Jin went back by himself. At that time, Your Majesty was sleeping very deeply and was still snoring..."

Empress Song was already at a loss, and Wang Jien scolded the eunuchs: "You guys who serve His Majesty don't even know what happened. Do you know what the crime is? Even the Nine Clans are minor... ..." Seeing that he was chattering and blaming several servants, Empress Song suddenly thought that the crown prince has not been confirmed yet, since the matter has come to this point, she should let Zhao Dezhao enter the palace as soon as possible, as the first person to take over this matter.Thinking of this, Empress Song stopped Wang Ji'en and said, "Director Wang, stop blaming them, go and summon Dezhao to the palace."

Wang Jien was taken aback, he had been in the palace for a long time, so he naturally knew the purpose of Queen Song calling Zhao Dezhao to enter the palace, so he hurriedly obeyed the order. Seeing Wang Jien hurried to call Zhao Dezhao, Empress Song still felt a little uneasy.However, Wang Jien, who left the imperial confinement, did not go towards Zhao Dezhao's mansion, but came straight to Jin Wang's mansion. Wang Jien came to the Jin Palace in a hurry, but met his aide Cheng Dexuan at the door, he seemed to know what happened, and asked calmly: "Boss Wang, what made you rush here so early in the morning?"

Wang Jien said anxiously: "I have something urgent! Is King Jin in the mansion?" When the two came to Zhao Guangyi's room, they saw him sitting upright with a serious expression on his face.Wang Jien hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty passed away in the early hours of this morning! Last night when I drank with King Jin, I was fine, but in the morning, the servants found that I had passed away. The news has not yet spread, and Empress Song asked me to call Zhao Dezhao into the palace. Inner Palace. King Jin should make plans early!" Zhao Guangyi didn't seem very shocked by the news. He just listened to him quietly, thought about it silently, raised his head and said, "Make an early plan? What should I plan?"

Cheng Dexuan said: "Empress Song wants to let Zhao Dezhao enter the palace now, just to let him take charge of the overall situation. Until now, His Majesty has never said who will be appointed as the crown prince. In this chaotic situation, whoever controls the overall situation, who It's the successor." Zhao Guangyi said: "I'm going into the palace now, isn't it to give someone a handle? Besides, I'm not the one the queen is looking for." No matter how the two people persuaded him, Zhao Guangyi still remained steadfast.On the one hand, he was very afraid of being suspected, because he was the one who had a drink with the emperor last night, and he was the one who got the news of his death first; Do.Zhao Guangyi said to Cheng Dexuan: "This matter can't be rushed, let me discuss with someone first!"

Cheng Dexuan knelt down on the ground and said: "King Jin, isn't this day what you have been asking for all this time? Although it came suddenly, this is our opportunity. Nothing will happen until we are ready. Since it It has already happened, you must seize the initiative as soon as possible! If you are not the first to enter the palace to grasp the situation today, then it will be difficult to seize the initiative in the future!" These words deeply moved Zhao Guangyi. He has been the king of Kaifeng for more than ten years, and he is looking forward to today's arrival every day.Now that it has come, why avoid this long-awaited opportunity because of fear of public opinion?Thinking of the unremitting efforts he had put in for this, Zhao Guangyi felt that the strength returned to him, and he cheered up and said to Cheng Dexuan and Wang Jien: "Okay! Then we will enter the palace immediately."

A luxurious carriage drove Zhao Guangyi straight to the gate of the palace, and the streets in the early morning looked so quiet.Zhao Guangyi said to himself: "When I walk this road again, I will no longer be King Jin, but the Son of Heaven!" Empress Song waited anxiously for Wang Jien in the harem. She ordered Zhao Kuangyin's body to be restrained and put on her hat.I only hope that Zhao Dezhao can enter the palace quickly, so I will release this news, and let the world know by the way: Your Majesty will grant the throne to Dezhao!Then let his son board the dragon chair as soon as possible, and everything will be safe.

When Zhao Guangyi came to the gate of the palace, Wang Jien said, "Wait a moment, let me go in and report." But Cheng Dexuan grabbed his sleeve and said sharply: "Now that the emperor is with us, who do you want to inform?" Then he dragged Zhao Guangyi straight into Zhao Kuangyin's bedroom. Empress Song heard the commotion outside the door, and the little eunuch came to report: "Wang Jien is back!" She hurriedly stood up, staggered over and asked Wang Jien, "Has Dezhao arrived? Where is he?" But Wang Jien saluted calmly and said, "The king of Jin has arrived." A few simple words, but it was like thunder exploding on the top of Queen Song's head, and her mind went blank for an instant.She knew that Wang Jien didn't go to find Dezhao, but Zhao Guangyi entered the palace immediately, everything was premeditated, and she was helpless in this storm. Zhao Guangyi followed Wang Jien into the bedroom. Empress Song saw him striding in, and the images of Dezhao and Defang suddenly flashed in her mind. She knew that the lives of her mother and child were in Zhao Guangyi's hands. Knowing what he should do, he fell down at Zhao Guangyi's feet with a plop, and cried, "Your Majesty!" Zhao Guangyi was also a little surprised by Queen Song's move. He thought that Queen Song would definitely scold him, and he was already prepared in his heart.Unexpectedly, she was so responsive to current affairs. This woman from the general's family didn't look stupid.She can be so obedient, so she naturally saves herself from going through all the trouble. Zhao Guangyi hurriedly stepped forward to help Empress Song, and Empress Song said with tears in her eyes, "The lives of concubines, mothers and children are at the disposal of Your Majesty!" Zhao Guangyi said calmly, "Don't worry, I will share wealth with everyone." The news of the emperor's death came from the palace, and the whole country was shocked!The ministers rushed straight to the court in a panic, while Zhao Pu and other veterans who were far away in Mengzhou could only look at the capital and weep secretly.Although Zhao Pu was relegated by Zhao Kuangyin, he has been following Zhao Kuangyin to conquer the world. The friendship between monarch and ministers has been very deep for many years. After the founding of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin also loved him a lot and served as prime minister for many years.After failing in the fight with Zhao Guangyi, Zhao Pu left the capital for three years, during which time he seriously reflected on himself: If His Majesty really passed on the throne to Zhao Guangyi, and the two brothers could achieve a peaceful transition of power, then it would be considered a great success in the Song Dynasty. Blessed.If that's the case, he didn't waste his time in vain.But now, Zhao Kuangyin passed away suddenly, and the matter seemed too strange, which instead made Zhao Pu suspicious.With his extraordinary strategic wisdom and his previous understanding of Zhao Guangyi, he quickly concluded that the mastermind of this matter must be Zhao Guangyi, because the next day, October 21, Zhao Guangyi succeeded Zhao Kuangyin's spirit, and the whole The only beneficiary of the matter is him alone.I just don't know if Zhao Kuangyin remembered the words that Zhao Pu once advised him to beware of Guangyi before he passed away. The ministers have long been accustomed to seeing King Jin come and go as the prince. Now that he has ascended the throne, although Zhao Kuangyin's death is very strange, they can't allow everyone to speculate. They can only bow down in the court and say long live. The second emperor of the Song Dynasty ascended to the throne in this atmosphere. In the ancestral temple, Zhao Kuangyin's tablet was worshiped by his descendants, but the one sitting on the dragon chair at this moment was no longer his blood, and very Maybe all the next emperors have nothing to do with Kuangyin's lineage. The founding emperor of the Song Dynasty was fond of wine all his life. When he put on the yellow robe, he was drunk; favorite in hand.When he picked up the wine glass, a political power was established in troubled times and moved towards prosperity; when he put down the wine glass, before he had time to explain what happened behind him, he suddenly left all those who relied on him, And the achievements I have made with my painstaking efforts remain in the world, and let those ambitious people occupy and enjoy them. A generation of kings just left, with helplessness and regret, and left all their troubles to future generations.