Chapter 6 Chapter Two

After Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi came to the throne, he ambitiously planned to recover the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun, surpassing his elder brother Zhao Kuangyin with his outstanding military achievements, so he led the army to conquer the Liao Kingdom, but was defeated.Not to mention that the Song army was almost wiped out, even the emperor himself was hit by two arrows from the Liao army in the ass.After that, Song Taizong was tortured by arrow wounds for many years, and his health deteriorated.Although there were many twists and turns on the issue of succession to the throne, in Song Taizong's later years, he still made Zhao Heng the prince.Especially with the recurrence of arrow sores and aggravation of the disease, Song Taizong began to try to consolidate the position of the prince. It was against this background that the famous minister Lu Duan was pushed to the forefront, thus staged a wonderful show of helping the prince to ascend the throne.

Lu Duan was sixty-one years old when he became prime minister. Before that, he had served as an official in the local and central courts and had rich experience.However, Lu Duan believed in Huang Lao's thoughts, pursued a quiet and inactive political strategy, and did not have any significant political achievements.Therefore, many people once opposed Song Taizong's appointment of Lu Duan as prime minister, saying that he was confused.Song Taizong immediately retorted: "Lu Duan is confused about small things, but not about big things." The antecedents of this sentence have already been described in "The Sound of the Ax and the Shadow of Candle", so I won't repeat them here.

It is said that before reusing Lu Duan, Song Taizong also wrote a special "Fishing Poem", two of which are: "If you want to bait the golden hook, you have to ask the fisherman." Song Taizong boasted that Zhou Wenwang, Comparing Lu Duan to Jiang Taigong obviously placed high expectations on him.Later, Lu Duan really lived up to Song Taizong's entrustment, and quietly eliminated a court coup against Prince Zhao Heng. In March of the third year of Zhidao (997), Song Taizong, who had been in power for 22 years, died of an arrow injury.Before, Song Taizong had appointed Zhao Heng as the crown prince, so it was logical that the crown prince Zhao Heng should ascend the throne as the emperor, without any doubt.However, there were many affairs in the harem, and the eunuchs colluded with the queen, causing a storm to bring down the prince, which also involved Zhao Yuanzuo, the eldest son of Song Taizong who had long been deposed as a commoner.

Empress Li of Song Taizong had no son herself, but she preferred Song Taizong's eldest son Zhao Yuanzuo.Before, Zhao Yuanzuo was the most hopeful to be established as the crown prince, but he sympathized with Zhao Tingmei, who was persecuted to death by Song Taizong, and used his madness to vent his dissatisfaction with his father, so he was deposed as a commoner.Later Zhao Yuanzuo's position was replaced by his younger brother Chen Wang Zhao Yuanxi, but Zhao Yuanxi died inexplicably, and the candidate for the crown prince was once again vacant.The death of Zhao Yuanxi is naturally a new opportunity for Zhao Yuanzuo.Empress Li said a lot of good things for Zhao Yuanzuo in front of Song Taizong, hoping to make Zhao Yuanzuo the crown prince, and there were not a few ministers in the court who supported Zhao Yuanzuo.

However, Song Taizong had his own thoughts.It's not that he doesn't love Zhao Yuanzuo, the reason is that although Zhao Yuanzuo is his son, he is still a political opponent.Zhao Yuanzuo sympathizes with Zhao Tingmei, who knows what he will do when he becomes emperor, maybe he will vindicate Zhao Tingmei.Not to mention that Zhao Yuanzuo went crazy and gave up the throne to the descendants of Zhao Dezhao, Defang or Tingmei.This is naturally what Song Taizong didn't want to see.Therefore, after repeated weighing, Song Taizong decided to consider Zhao Yuanzuo's brother Zhao Yuankan (later Zhao Heng). Zhao Yuankan had a weak personality and was not as rebellious as his elder brother Zhao Yuanzuo.But Song Taizong couldn't make up his mind for a while, so he wanted to ask Kou Zhun for advice.

Kou Zhun is Kou Laoxier in folklore.He is a native of Xiagui (sound gui, Tonggui, present-day Weinan County, Shaanxi Province), Huazhou.When he climbed Huashan Mountain with his father at the age of seven, he left a poem "Only the sky is above, and there is no mountain like it. Raise your head red and the sun is near, bow your head and the white clouds are low".In the fifth year of Taiping Xingguo (980), the 19-year-old Kou Zhun passed the Jinshi Jia Ke examination and was qualified to participate in the Song Taizong Palace Examination.At that time, because Song Taizong liked to recruit middle-aged people, someone advised Kou Zhun to report a few more years of age during the palace examination to increase the chance of admission.But Kou Zhun said seriously: "I'm thinking about making progress, how can I deceive you!" He still reported truthfully, but Kou Zhun, relying on his full knowledge, won the first try and was appointed as a judge of Dali Temple (false title). He served as magistrate of Cheng'an County, Daming Prefecture (now Cheng'an, Hebei Province).In the same list as Kou Zhun, Li Hang, Wang Dan and Zhang Yong were among the Scholars. These four later became famous officials in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Kou Zhun was successful at a young age, and was famous among courtiers for his uprightness and wisdom.In the second year of Duangong (989), Kou Zhun played a role in the main hall, talking about interests and criticizing some policies of the imperial court.Song Taizong couldn't listen, and stood up angrily and wanted to go back to the inner palace.But Kou Zhun stepped forward and grabbed Song Taizong's clothes, insisting that the emperor listen to him before he could leave.The ministers next to him broke into a cold sweat for Kou Zhun.Afterwards, Song Taizong figured it out, but he admired Kou Zhun's persistence very much, and said happily: "I got Kou Zhun, just like Tang Taizong got Wei Zheng."

Having said that, Song Taizong could never be as close and trusting to Kou Zhun as Tang Taizong was to Wei Zheng. The important reason was that Kou Zhun's wife Song was the younger sister of Song Taizu and Empress Song.Song Taizong never forgot that Song Empress called Zhao Defang into the palace to ascend the throne. This is why after Song Empress's death, Song Taizong willingly braved the world's furious comments and ordered that the empress's ceremony not be allowed to be buried.Song Taizong's broad-mindedness can also be seen from this. When Kou Zhun was in charge of the Privy Council, he had a disagreement with Zhang Xun, who was the Zhi Yuan. Zhang Xun had been looking for an opportunity to overthrow Kou Zhun.It happened that one day Kou Zhun was out on errands, and he met a lunatic on the road. The lunatic bowed in front of Kou Zhun's horse and shouted "Long live".Zhang Xun used this incident to impeach Kou Zhun, and Kou Zhun was demoted to Qingzhou.After Kou Zhun left the capital, Song Taizong's ears were much clearer, but he was not used to it. He often asked about Kou Zhun's situation in Qingzhou.This time involving the establishment of the prince, Song Taizong simply recalled Kou Zhun to the capital and worshiped him as a political adviser.

When Kou Zhun rushed back to the capital from Qingzhou, Song Taizong's wounds had worsened and he was in great pain. When he saw Kou Zhun, he immediately said emotionally, "Why did Mr. Xiang come so slowly? I miss you all the time." Kou Zhun was at that time Tears welled up in their eyes, and the monarch and his ministers were sentimental for a moment, and they booed endlessly. Foreign ministers were not allowed to interfere in internal affairs. Although Song Taizong personally consulted on the candidate for the crown prince, Kou Zhun was still very cautious and did not make a clear statement, but only advised Song Taizong to make up his mind as soon as possible.So Song Taizong proposed to establish the third son Zhao Heng (that is, Zhao Yuankan), and Kou Zhun tactfully expressed his support with the sentence "Knowing a son is like a father", and the matter of Prince Zhao Hengli was decided accordingly.However, Kou Zhun has experienced ups and downs in the officialdom, and the ending is not good.In the two dynasties of Song Taizu and Song Taizong, there was a party struggle between Zhao Pu and Lu Duoxun, and in Song Zhenzong's dynasty, there was a dispute between Kou Zhun and Ding Wei.This section will be elaborated later when we talk about the Chanyuan Alliance.

Back to the topic of Song Taizong's critical illness.Before Song Taizong died, Empress Li of Song Taizong and eunuch Wang Jien joined forces and decided to abolish Prince Zhao Heng and replace Song Taizong's eldest son Zhao Yuanzuo. Wang Jien is the eunuch who once played a key role in the sound of the ax and the shadow of the candle. It can be said that he played a very key role in the issue of Song Taizong's accession to the throne.After Song Taizong was firmly seated on the throne of the emperor, he also knew how to repay his kindness. He sent Wang Jien to inspect on behalf of the emperor.After Wang Jien took office, he didn't know about military affairs, but acted arbitrarily.The vanguard officer Ma Zhijie refused to obey him, so he collected all his troops, and only gave Ma Zhijie 300 old and weak soldiers to guard Pengzhou.Ma Zhijie repeatedly asked for the dispatch of elite soldiers, but Wang Jien refused.Later, a peasant army of 100,000 people attacked the city. From morning to dusk, many of Ma Zhijie's soldiers died in battle.Ma Zhijie broke out from the siege, recruited reinforcements, shouted and attacked the city again, and the peasant army was defeated.After Song Taizong learned about it, he did not pursue Wang Jien.After the failure of the Peasant Army Uprising, Song Taizong specially set up the post of Xuanzheng Envoy and awarded it to Wang Jien.This is the first precedent of reusing eunuchs since the founding of the Song Dynasty.As an eunuch in Song Taizu's first dynasty, Wang Jien was favored and powerful in Song Taizong's first dynasty. The reason can only be found in the snowy night with the sound of axes and candle shadows.

Why did it happen that this much-loved Wang Jien participated in the abolition and establishment of the crown prince again when Song Taizong was critically ill? Let's first look at the background of Queen Li.Empress Li is the second daughter of Li Chuyun, the governor of Zizhou. She entered the palace only after Song Taizong ascended the throne, so she had no chance to participate in many complicated and subtle power struggles before.Li was first named a noble concubine, and six years later she was made a queen.Li himself had a son, but he died young, and has been childless ever since.According to historical records, Empress Li was "respectful and respectful in nature, and very generous in raising her sons and concubines."How could such a rare and benevolent queen suddenly collude with the eunuch Wang Jien to abolish the prince Zhao Heng and replace Zhao Yuanzuo, who was always considered by the royal family to be insane? Obviously, Zhao Yuanzuo did not really suffer from madness, and everyone at that time knew this.Empress Li herself is quite partial to Zhao Yuanzuo, but she has been in the deep palace for many years, and she has no ability to influence the political situation. The root cause should still be Wang Jien. According to the official history, long before Zhao Heng was made the crown prince, Pan Lang, his confidant, persuaded Wang Ji'en, saying: "Shou Wang (Zhao Heng named Shou Wang at the time) thought that he would definitely be made the crown prince. It has nothing to do with it, and King Shou will not be grateful to us; if we recommend an unsuitable prince to be the crown prince, the new king will definitely appreciate our support after succeeding to the throne, and this will be beneficial to us." Wang Jien deeply agreed.Even though it was Zhao Heng who was established as the prince later, Wang Jien also relied on Song Taizong's favor to frame him in many ways. Pan Lang, courtesy name Xiaoyao, also known as Xiaoyaozi, was born in Daming (now Hebei Daming).He is wild and arrogant, disdains to take the imperial examination, and initially makes a living selling medicine.Wang Yucheng's "Send to Pan Lang Chushi" describes him: "Drunk and wild songs come out of Shangdu, and the autumn wind season recalls perch. Jiangcheng sells medicine and grows cranes, and ancient temples can't see donkeys. A cloud of ambition comes out of Xiu, and a few stalks sing hair and snow invades combs. Even if you sneer at the writers, you ask people to recommend "Zixu" every year." In the first year of Dao (995), after being recommended by Wang Jien, Emperor Taizong of Song Dynasty was quite satisfied with Pan Lang. .Pan Lang was recommended by Wang Jien, so he was naturally grateful and became Wang Jien's confidant. However, Wang Jien was already the veteran of the two dynasties, and his power reached its peak in Song Taizong's first dynasty, and his limelight was unmatched.As a eunuch, what else is he not satisfied with?He is already in his twilight years, why should he put himself in danger again, and be involved in a court struggle where the slightest carelessness can kill him?Obviously, it's not just the merit of support that Pan Lang said. Apart from Song Taizong himself, Wang Jien should be the person who knows the truth about the sound of the ax and the shadow of the candle.At a critical moment, he violated Song Taizu's Queen Song's will, which directly led to the change of the heir to the throne.Later, Zhao Dezhao, Zhao Defang, and Zhao Tingmei died one after another, and Empress Song was also treated coldly. She was first moved to the West Palace, and then to the East Palace. After dying in loneliness, she was not buried with the queen's etiquette.Wang Jien has seen all the twists and turns and turmoil in it, and no one understands the inside story and meaning better than him.As a result, his heart obviously cannot be peaceful, nor can he sit and enjoy the glory and wealth in peace.Only in this way can he explain why he is on the side of Zhao Yuanzuo who sympathizes with Zhao Tingmei.Perhaps he thought that only when Zhao Yuanzuo came to power would he be most likely to make compensation to Song Taizu's descendants.At this time, Wang Jien was already in his sixtieth year and had reached the peak that others could not reach. Therefore, his willingness to risk his life to participate in the action of abolishing the prince can only fully prove that he has regret for some past actions.And his two completely different attitudes in participating in the succession of the emperor further proved that Song Taizong's access to the throne was not right. Wang Jien dared to participate in the abolition of the establishment as an eunuch. On the other hand, it also proved that the power of the prince Zhao Heng was quite weak.This is also the main reason why Song Taizong hurriedly helped Lu Duan to become prime minister when he felt that his health was about to fail.Facts have indeed proved that Lu Duan is confused about small things, but not at all about big things. When Song Taizong was critically ill, Lu Duan went to the palace to visit his condition, and found that the prince Zhao Heng was not serving beside Song Taizong, and immediately became suspicious, worrying about changes in the palace.So, he wrote two big characters "Dajian" on the wat board with a brush, which means that the emperor was critically ill, and sent his cronies to send the prince to Zhao Heng urgently, so that the prince could enter the palace to serve Song Taizong.However, not long after, Song Taizong died, ending his all-powerful life.At this time, Wang Jien came in and said to Lu Duan: "Queen Li summoned the prime minister, please come to Zhongshu as soon as possible to discuss who should succeed." Lu Duan immediately heard that there was something in these words. It was clear that Zhao Heng had already been established as the crown prince, and the crown prince was the heir to the throne. What else should we discuss?Obviously, Queen Li intended to abolish the prince.Lu Duan was very nervous, and deliberately said to Wang Jien: "The first emperor has written the will in advance, and it is hidden in the Book Pavilion. Please also trouble the Xuanzheng Envoy (Wang Jien's official position) to search it out with me, and you will know at a glance. Who will inherit the great rule?" Wang Jien was very nervous when he heard that Song Taizong left the will, and wanted to get it first, and if the name written on it was not Zhao Yuanzuo, he could still destroy it. Lu Duan and Wang Jien came to the Book Pavilion together, and Wang Jien couldn't wait to go in first.As a result, as soon as he entered, Lu Duan closed and locked the door.Wang Jien, who had seen countless turmoil and waves, finally came to his senses. He was foolishly caught by Lu Duan, who has always been known for being "confused". After Lu Duan designed to lock Wang Jien in the Book Pavilion, he hurried to Zhongshu Zhengshitang.Empress Li was waiting there, and she was very surprised to see Lu Duan coming alone, so she said: "The palace chariot is driving. Since ancient times, it is only logical that Li Heir is old. What should we do now?" The words clearly hinted that we should Zhao Yuanzuo, the eldest son of Song Taizong, came to the throne.Lu Duan immediately said loudly: "The first emperor made Zhao Heng the crown prince just for today! How can there be any other objections!" Without Wang Jien's military support, Empress Li was at a loss and had to keep silent. Therefore, Prince Zhao Heng successfully entered the palace, ascended the throne at Funing Hall, and introduced the officials under the curtain.Lu Duan was afraid that someone would pretend to be the prince, so he stood in his highness and refused to worship, so he asked to roll up the curtain, and when he went to the hall to confirm that the real prince Zhao Heng was behind the curtain, he returned to his highness and led all the officials to bow down.In this way, fortunately, Lu Duan handled it properly, and a court coup that was about to start was eliminated, and the prince Zhao Heng was able to successfully ascend the throne as emperor, for Song Zhenzong. After Song Zhenzong came to the throne, Li Shi, the empress of Song Taizong who sought to establish Zhao Yuanzuo, was honored as empress dowager and moved to Jiaqing Palace in the West Palace.But Wang Ji'en didn't get such good treatment. Not to mention he fell out of favor, he was arrested and imprisoned, and all his hard-earned property over the years was confiscated.Later, he was demoted as the general of the right prison gate guard, and was placed in Junzhou, where he died not long after. After Wang Jien fell from power, his confidant Pan Lang was afraid of being implicated, so he fled to the rivers and lakes and fled to Zhongtiao Mountain on the north bank of the Yellow River in the south of Shanxi.Later, he was arrested and interrogated by Song Zhenzong, but because there was no serious crime, he was released soon and joined the army in Chuzhou (now Chuzhou, Anhui).After his comeback, Pan Lang seldom participated in political affairs. He let go of lakes and mountains, traveled all over the country, made friends with Kou Zhun, Wang Yucheng, Lin Bu and other celebrities, and became a famous poet in the Song Dynasty. As for the other person involved, Zhao Yuanzuo, because he didn't know about it in advance and he was Song Zhenzong's brother, he was not implicated and nothing happened.Not only that, Song Zhenzong also restored Zhao Yuanzuo's title of king of Chu, and he was very friendly to his brother with many rewards.But what is surprising is that Zhao Yuanzuo never saw his brother again until his death.This also shows Zhao Yuanzuo's true temperament. He may not be able to choose his origin, but he expresses his dislike for the richest and most ruthless royal family in his own unique way.Because he had nothing to do with the world, Zhao Yuan Zuo'an enjoyed wealth and honor for thirty years, and did not die of illness until the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song Dynasty. Zhao Yuanzuo also has a younger brother named Zhao Yuanyan, ranked eighth, who is the prototype of the famous Eight Wise Kings in opera.Zhao Yuanyan was inevitably involved in court battles before and after Song Renzong's accession to the throne. This section will be mentioned later when Liu E's monopoly is discussed. Lu Duan made great contributions to Song Zhenzong's accession to the throne, and has been trusted since then.Every time Song Zhenzong summoned ministers, he bowed respectfully to Lu Duan and never called him by name directly.Lu Duan is tall and tall, and it is even more inconvenient to move because of his old age.The stone steps in front of the hall were slightly higher, so Song Zhenzong asked the carpenter to add small wooden steps, and specially invited him to discuss military and state affairs in the side hall.After Lu Duan fell ill, Song Zhenzong not only exempted him from the etiquette of meeting him in the palace, but also visited him at home in person.In the third year of Xianping (1000), Lu Duan died of illness at the age of sixty-six. He was given to Sikong and posthumously named Zhenghui. In particular, it should be mentioned that shortly after Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng came to the throne, he decreed to restore the title of King Qin of his uncle Zhao Tingmei, who had been demoted to death by Song Taizong, and bestowed his cousin Zhao Dezhao who committed suicide as his grand tutor, and bestowed on his cousin Zhao Tingmei who died inexplicably. Cousin Zhao Defang is the Taibao. Generally speaking, sons seldom overturn Lao Tzu's verdict.Song Zhenzong's personality is far more benevolent than Song Taizong's, but he dared to recover Zhao Tingmei's title, which more or less shows that he, like his elder brother Zhao Yuanzuo, did not agree with the fact that his father persecuted his own flesh and blood, so out of guilt, he treated Zhao Tingmei as soon as he came to power. Uncle and cousin make amends.This also indirectly proves that even Song Taizong's son believed that Zhao Tingmei's death was wronged, Zhao Dezhao and Zhao Defang's death was suspicious.When Song Taizong was in power, perhaps no one dared to discuss these things openly, but his selfishness was clearly revealed, and everyone knew that even his own sons would not agree with him.