Chapter 4 Four disasters in Fuling

According to the order of the original Queen Mother Du's last words, Song Taizu passed it on to Song Taizong, Song Taizong passed it on to Zhao Tingmei, Zhao Tingmei passed it on to Zhao Dezhao, and after Zhao Dezhao died, then Zhao Tingmei passed it on to Zhao Defang.Only in this way can the throne be reincorporated into the lineage of Song Taizu's descendants, can live up to the will of Empress Dowager Du, and can be worthy of Song Taizu's great virtue of passing the world on to his brothers but not to his sons.After Zhao Dezhao and Zhao Defang died successively, only Zhao Tingmei, the younger brother of Song Taizong, remained as the heir to the throne in the Golden Chamber oath.If Song Taizong passed the throne to Zhao Tingmei, Zhao Tingmei would definitely pass it on to his son, which was obviously what Song Taizong didn't want to see.It can be said that the death of Zhao Dezhao and Zhao Defang put Zhao Tingmei in an extremely dangerous situation.

At this time, if Lu Duan, who is "confused about small things but not confused about big things", is still working under Zhao Tingmei, he might persuade Zhao Tingmei to resign as soon as possible from the position of Kaifeng Yin, thereby expressing his withdrawal from the candidate for the crown prince; Song Taizong made the prince the crown prince.In this way, Zhao Tingmei will surely be able to keep her glory and wealth.However, it is a pity that Lu Duan has been transferred from the Fengfu, and most of Zhao Tingmei's staff are mediocre and incompetent, and no one can foresight and persuade Zhao Tingmei to withdraw and protect her life.

As for Zhao Tingmei himself, although he also felt the crisis, he did not take measures to avoid Song Taizong's suspicion.Instead, he began to secretly win over some close ministers, such as sending property to the then prime minister Ludoxun.Such a naive act can only give people a handle.After further analysis, the root cause of Zhao Tingmei's refusal to resign from the position of Kaifeng Yin is probably to covet the throne of the emperor.Under the uneasy situation, Zhao Tingmei inevitably complained, and even said: "Taizong has betrayed his brother." These words spread to Song Taizong's ears, which only deepened his hatred of Zhao Tingmei.

In September of the sixth year of Taiping Xingguo (981), half a year after Zhao Defang's death, the uproar against Zhao Tingmei finally began.Chai Yuxi, Zhao Rong and Yang Shouyi, Song Taizong's aides when he was the king of Jin, figured out Song Taizong's intentions, and suddenly launched an attack, exposing Zhao Tingmei's arrogance and indulgence to conspiracy.This is obvious speculation, without any real evidence, but it is in the arms of Song Taizong. Although it was a false accusation and could not be pursued, Song Taizong took the opportunity to dismiss Zhao Tingmei from his position as Kaifeng Yin and stayed behind in Xijing.The three whistleblowers all received rewards, Chai Yuxi was promoted to Deputy Privy Envoy, Yang Shouyi was promoted to Privy Council Du Chengzhi, and Zhao Rong was promoted to Dongshanghemen Envoy.This is a very bad start. Seeing that Zhao Tingmei can be promoted and made rich as long as Zhao Tingmei is exposed, those who are looking for opportunities will naturally frame Zhao Tingmei at any cost.As a result, Zhao Pu, who had been dismissed earlier, finally had a chance to make a comeback.

Zhao Pu was a founding minister and played an extremely important role in a series of major events such as the Chenqiao mutiny, the release of military power with a cup of wine, and the formulation of a unified strategy. For ten years, the reputation is very high.As mentioned earlier, Zhao Pu had an open and secret fight with Zhao Guangyi, who was still the king of Jin, especially when he opposed Song Taizu's passing on the throne to Zhao Guangyi. Easy to control.Zhao Pu's official life was ups and downs, tactful and tactful, well aware of the truth that one emperor and one courtier, although the relationship with Song Taizong was extremely delicate, he was still unwilling to sink.It's just that the prime minister in power at that time was Lu Duoxun, Zhao Pu's mortal enemy, and he was dedicated to preventing Zhao Pu from making a comeback, so that Zhao Pu was always suppressed and unable to hold his head up.

Lu Duoxun was alert, knowing that Song Taizu liked to read and often went to the history museum to pick up books, so he asked the little official to check what books Song Taizu had picked up every time, so he read this book.When the next day was called, Song Taizu asked the ministers about the things in the book, and only Lu Duoxun answered fluently, so he was appreciated by Song Taizu and worshiped as prime minister.He and Zhao Pu have always been at odds, saying that Zhao Pu is monopolistic and greedy for money in front of Song Taizu several times.After Zhao Pu was dismissed as Prime Minister, Lu Duoxun held the power alone until Song Taizong ascended the throne.

Zhao Pu's son, Zhao Chengxian, married the daughter of Princess Yan (Song Taizu's relative sister, first married to Mifford, and then Gao Huaide, the military governor of the Zhongwu Army).At that time, Zhao Chengxian was the magistrate of Zezhou and returned to the capital to get married.According to the usual practice, as long as you are married to the emperor's relatives, you can stay in Beijing to work.However, Prime Minister Lu Doxun ordered Zhao Seung-heon to return to Zezhou before he could spend his honeymoon.This is naturally aimed at Zhao Pu.Zhao Pu was so angry that he couldn't be more angry. Just at this time, Song Taizong summoned him.

The main reason why Song Taizong summoned Zhao Pu was to deal with his younger brother Zhao Tingmei.Prime Minister Lu Duoxun and Zhao Tingmei have always had a friendly relationship. Song Taizong must find someone who can compete with Lu Duoxun to plan the abolition of Zhao Tingmei. Zhao Pu and Lu Duoxun are old enemies, so they are naturally the most suitable candidates. It was during this summoning that Zhao Pu uttered the famous insidious words: "I would like to prepare pivots to detect treachery." Song Taizong was very satisfied, and Zhao Pu was also encouraged by this, and expressed his loyalty to Song Taizong. : "I have one. Use half of it to help Taizu conquer the world, and use half to help His Majesty govern the country and make it peaceful."

After the summons was over, Zhao Pu went home and wrote a memorial overnight, throwing out the so-called "Golden Chamber Alliance", saying that Empress Dowager Du had an affidavit of the Golden Chamber. In addition to the parties involved, Empress Dowager Du and Song Taizu, there were witnesses It was Zhao Pu himself.This is the first time that the Golden Chamber oath has been publicly revealed. No one has ever heard of it before (historical books were revised later, and all records are developing in a direction that favors Song Taizong), even Song Taizong himself has never heard of it.

Regarding the alliance of the golden chamber, it has been analyzed and demonstrated before, and it is impossible to exist at all, otherwise Zhao Guangyi would not have to kill his brother in a hurry to seize the throne.Five years after Song Taizong ascended the throne, Zhao Pu proposed the Golden Chamber Affidavit at this time, which is even more suspicious.If there really was an alliance of the golden chamber, why didn't Zhao Pu point it out when Song Taizong ascended the throne?Isn't this the best time for him to take the opportunity to invite favor in front of the new emperor and make a comeback?

There is no need to point out all the suspicious things one by one.At this time, Zhao Pu threw out the golden chamber oath, nothing more than to please Song Taizong and to consolidate his favor.But in any case, as soon as the Golden Chamber oath came out, it did strongly confirm the legitimacy of Song Taizong's accession to the throne.Song Taizong was very pleased, and naturally regarded Zhao Pu as a trustworthy person in his heart, so he asked Zhao Pu about the succession of Zhao Tingmei.Zhao Pu knew Song Taizong's intentions very well, so he said: "Since ancient times, the succession of emperors has been from father to son. Taizu made a mistake back then. Will Your Majesty make another mistake today?" This sentence actually has a deeper subtext: Giving it to Song Taizong was already a mistake, how could Song Taizong make the same mistake again.This further proves that Zhao Pu was indeed strongly opposed to Song Taizu's passing on to his younger brother.However, Zhao Pu's words strengthened the confidence of Song Taizong's successor.After that, Zhao Pu was re-appointed as prime minister and played an extremely important role in the process of Song Taizong's succession. After Zhao Pu gained power, what he was most anxious to deal with was not Zhao Tingmei, Song Taizong's worry, but his old enemy Lu Duoxun, and the easiest way was to involve Lu Duoxun in Zhao Tingmei's crime.Lu Duoxun himself also knew that Zhao Pu was bound to seek revenge on himself, if he could resign his position and retire on his own, perhaps this struggle could be avoided.But Lu Duoxun was greedy for power and was unwilling to let it go.A big storm is inevitable. Less than half a month after Zhao Tingmei was kicked out of the capital and left behind in Xijing, Zhao Pu complained that Zhao Tingmei and Lu Duoxun were secretly dating.Even if it is a relationship, what is abnormal?Zhao Tingmei was the Yin of Kaifeng at that time, and Lu Duoxun was the prime minister, so it is not surprising that they had contacts with each other.But Zhao Pu took advantage of the topic, saying that Lu Duoxun hoped that Song Taizong would die soon, so he would try his best to serve Zhao Tingmei. Zhao Tingmei expressed his satisfaction and gave Lu Duoxun bows and arrows.This kind of words would not be credible to a discerning person, but Song Taizong immediately arrested Lu Duoxun and put him in prison for strict interrogation.It was dark in the prison, and Lu Doxun knew that "a good man does not suffer from immediate losses", so he confessed all of them.After that, Lu Duoxun was deprived of his official rank, and he was exiled to Yazhou together with his family members, and many of his accomplices were executed.Zhao Tingmei was placed under house arrest in a private residence, and her children were no longer called princes and princesses. Zhao Pu killed two birds with one stone in the case of Lu Duoxun and Zhao Tingmei, king of Qin. He not only attacked his old enemy Lu Duoxun, but also flattered Song Taizong by pulling Zhao Tingmei off his horse.Although Zhao Tingmei has ended in this way, his tragic fate has not yet come to an end.Zhao Pu thought that Zhao Tingmei's punishment was too light, and worried that he would recover from the ashes, so he instigated Li Fu, the prefect of Kaifeng, to write a letter saying that Zhao Tingmei didn't want to change his past, but was dissatisfied, and demanded that she be moved to a remote county.As a result, Zhao Tingmei was demoted to the county magistrate of Fuling and placed in Fangzhou.Song Taizong was still worried, and ordered Yan Yanjin to be the magistrate of Fangzhou, and closely monitored Zhao Tingmei's every move.Later, Zhao Pu was afraid that Li Fu, the magistrate of Kaifeng, would leak the secret, and exiled Li Fu to Chunzhou under the pretext of improper torture.A year later, Li Fu died for no apparent reason. Zhao Tingmei was moved to Fangzhou, where she was so remote that she lost her freedom of movement.He was so angry that he died in Fangzhou two years later at the age of thirty-eight.History called Song Taizong's demotion of Zhao Tingmei as "the disaster of Fuling". What's even more chilling is that after Zhao Tingmei's death, Song Taizong publicly declared that Zhao Tingmei was the son of Mrs. Geng's family, Mrs. Chen Guo, the wet nurse, and not the Queen Mother Du's own. In this way, Zhao Tingmei and her descendants were completely excluded from the imperial succession system.At that time, few people believed this statement, but Queen Mother Du had passed away long ago, and Song Taizong was the only remaining brother and the supreme emperor. No one could refute his words. So far, all the stumbling blocks in Song Taizong's heir have been removed.Let’s review again, since Zhao Guangyi succeeded to the throne, first Zhao Dezhao, the eldest son of Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, was forced to commit suicide; Zhao Tingmei was persecuted to death.All these, on the contrary, deepened the suspicion that Song Taizong killed his brother and seized the throne in the shadow of candlelight and axe.Even the most orthodox "Taizong Benji" has to say: "If the collapse of the husband and the ancestors is not over the years, the yuan will be changed, the Fuling County Duke (Zhao Tingmei) will be demoted to death, the martial arts king (Zhao Dezhao) will commit suicide, and the empress of the Song Dynasty will not die. Then future generations will not be able to discuss it." The four points mentioned in "Taizong Benji", together with Defang's inexplicable death at a young age, these five points are always strong evidence that Song Taizong's position was not right. Let's continue talking about Zhao Pu.Zhao Pu was reappointed, but it was Song Taizong's need to deal with Zhao Tingmei. Once this task was completed, Song Taizong immediately regained his suspicion of Zhao Pu.The relationship between the monarch and his ministers has always been inseparable, separated by an invisible high wall. Finally one day, Song Taizong said to the officials: "Zhao Pu is the founding father of the country, and he is my friend in the common people. Now he is weak and should not bother with official duties. I plan to choose a good place for him to spend his old age in peace." When Zhao Pu knew about it, he couldn't help saying sadly: "What I have done is actually busy for others." So he took the initiative to write a letter requesting resignation.Song Taizong pushed the boat along the river, dismissed his position as prime minister, and took up the post of envoy of Wu Shengjun.Before Zhao Pu left the capital, Song Taizong personally gave a farewell party for Zhao Pu, in order to thank Zhao Pu for the alliance of the golden chamber and the Fuling disaster planned against Zhao Tingmei. After that, Zhao Pu spent a few years abroad and wanted to return to the capital. He finally got his wish by following the footsteps of Song Taizong's second son Zhao Yuanxi (formerly known as Zhao Yuanyou).At this time, Song Taizong wanted to appoint Lu Mengzheng as prime minister. Because Lu Mengzheng was still inexperienced, he reappointed Zhao Pu, a more famous veteran, as prime minister.This is Zhao Pu's third time as prime minister. At this time, Zhao Pu is already in his sixties. He still loves power and actively helps Song Taizong's second son Zhao Yuanxi to fight against Song Taizong's eldest son Zhao Yuanzuo's influence.However, soon after, when Song Taizong believed that Zhao Pu was no longer needed, Zhao Pu was dismissed again.Since then, he has never returned to the power center he longed for.In the third year of Chunhua (992), Zhao Pu died of illness at the age of seventy-one. After Song Taizong learned that Zhao Pu died of illness, he "felt sad and couldn't help himself."This is not pretentious, but the real expression of the emperor's feelings, but it is not entirely for Zhao Pu, it should be more of the sadness of passing away old acquaintances. As an emperor, he is also unable to resist life, old age, sickness and death. Meet in Huangquan.For this reason, Song Taizong stopped going to court for five days, and named Zhao Pu as King Zhending.