History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 955: Candle Shadow and Axe Sound
【Three Expeditions to Northern Han】

In the seventh year of Kaibao (974), Song and Liao made peace. Subsequently, the Song Dynasty shifted its strategic focus to the south, launched a war of unification against Southern Tang, and won a complete victory in November of the following year.

Obviously, this was a comprehensive victory for the great Song Dynasty in terms of strategy. The Liao Kingdom betrayed the interests of the Northern Han Dynasty, took out the Song-Liao peace agreement from the pocket close to its chest, and waved it to the expectant Khitans, "Children, I have brought you an era of peace!".

The Northern Han was quite dissatisfied with this and protested against the Liao Kingdom's brutal manipulation of international geopolitics. It refused to recognize the so-called reconciliation and made its attitude known through practical actions. When the Song Dynasty marched south, it brazenly sent troops to attack Jinzhou, but was repelled by the Song general Wu Shouqi.

When the Southern Tang was pacified, Zhao Kuangyin turned his attention to the restless and unwilling Northern Han.

In the first month of the ninth year of Kaibao (976), Li Yu, the last emperor of Southern Tang, arrived in the capital, and all officials came to the court to congratulate him. In February, the officials submitted petitions in succession, requesting that the four characters "一统太平" be added before Zhao Kuangyin's title, but Zhao Kuangyin rejected the request on the grounds that "how can we call it 一统太平 when Yan and Jin have not yet recovered?" The revolution has not yet succeeded, and comrades still need to work hard.

After about half a year of rest and accumulation of strength, in August 976, the Song Dynasty assembled its elite forces and launched the third military operation against the Northern Han: with the "silly" guard cavalry commander Dang Jin as the commander, and Xuanhui Northern Court envoy Pan Mei as the chief supervisor, they divided their troops into five groups with Yang Guangmei, Niu Sijin, Mi Wenyi and others, targeting Taiyuan; they also sent Guo Jin, Hao Chongxin, Wang Zhengzhong, Yan Yanjin, Qi Chao, Sun Yanxuan, An Shouzhong, Mu Yanzhang and others to attack Xin, Dai, Fen, Qin, Liao, Shi and other states in the Northern Han territory respectively.

Great powers do not value political schemes. The Song Dynasty, which had an overwhelming advantage, physically crushed the Northern Han Dynasty. With its absolute advantage in numbers, it carried out indiscriminate firepower coverage over the entire territory of the Northern Han Dynasty. The main force alone was divided into five routes. Less than a month after the war began, the main force among the main forces, the most foolish among the fools - Dang Jin, had already reached the city of Taiyuan and captured and killed more than a thousand Taiyuan defenders.

The Northern Han's opening voice prompt is: The enemy will reach the crystal in five seconds, please be prepared to surrender.

The current problems of Northern Han are not that big. There are only two places in the country that are in danger - this and that. The only thing Northern Han can do is the traditional life-saving skills: close the city gates and pretend to be a cuckold, and send envoys to Liao to call them daddy.

The Song army was coming with great force, and the Northern Han Dynasty was in danger. The Liao Dynasty attached great importance to this. Emperor Jingzong of Liao, Yelu Xian, sent out elite troops, led by Prime Minister of the Southern Palace, Yelu Sha, and Prince of Ji, Yelu Dilie.

The internal affairs of the Liao Kingdom will be presented in a special topic later, so I will not expand on them here. In short, Yelu Sha was the commander-in-chief of the Liao Kingdom's Zhengnan Front Army (in charge of southern border affairs), and Yelu Dilie was the fourth son of Liao Taizong Yelu Deguang. Although these two people are new faces in this book, their status and position are not insignificant, which shows that the Liao Kingdom attaches great importance to this military aid.

The Song army had a full plan for military intervention against the Liao. Xin, Dai and other important cities supporting the Jin Dynasty had already been planned to be within the range of the first wave of attacks. The Liao reinforcements could not reach the core battlefield - Taiyuan in time. The Song army launched an even more frantic attack, striving to capture Taiyuan before the Liao reinforcements broke through the outer defense line.

Dang Jin, the vanguard of the extermination of the Han Dynasty, was like a tiger entering a flock of sheep in the north of Taiyuan City, killing anyone who stood in his way and anyone who stood in his way; Guo Jin moved 37,000 people from the northern part of the mountain into Song territory, and also moved 9,000 people from Shouyang County into Song territory; Song general Ma Jien destroyed more than 40 Northern Han strongholds and robbed thousands of cattle and sheep; Mu Yanzhang plundered 2,000 people in Taiyuan and moved them into Song territory...

Liu Jiyuan sent Lu Jun to the Liao Kingdom to ask for help. Lu Jun was a legendary figure. He first married a princess of the Northern Han Dynasty, and this time he went to ask for help as the noble son-in-law of the Northern Han Dynasty. After the fall of the Northern Han Dynasty, he fled to the Liao Kingdom and married a princess of the Liao Kingdom (the fourth daughter of Emperor Jingzong of Liao). He became the son-in-law of the Liao Kingdom again, and he was a winner in life. However, not long after, the princess of the Liao Kingdom filed for divorce on the grounds that he was stupid and foolish (a joke), and then remarried to Xiao Shennu, and Lu Jun was also demoted and sent away. This is a later story.

Sending nephews or sons-in-law to ask for help was like an urgent letter, indicating that the Northern Han was really in danger and begging the Liao Kingdom to increase its aid to Jin.

The Northern Expedition has never been so smooth, and the conquest of Taiyuan is just around the corner. However, just as the Song army's front-line soldiers were gearing up for battle, bad news suddenly came from the rear: the emperor had passed away!

The emperor's younger brother, Prince of Jin, Zhao Guangyi, ascended the throne and subsequently recalled the troops. Taizu's "Three Expeditions to Northern Han" came to an abrupt end and failed.

This succession of the throne in the Song Dynasty left an eternal mystery in history, which has always been talked about by people. This is the "Candle Shadow and Axe Sound", also known as the "Candle Shadow Usurpation".

【Candle Shadow Axe Sound】

Regarding Zhao Kuangyin's sudden death, the official history records it clearly and explicitly, with only one sentence:

"On the evening of the 11th day of the 11th month, the emperor passed away in the Wansui Palace at the age of fifty." - "The Chronicle of Taizu" in History of the Song Dynasty

It is clear but not clear, with too few words and too much information, so the saying "candle shadow and axe sound" gradually appeared in unofficial history. People in later generations were more inclined to the theory that Taizong killed the emperor, and concluded that Zhao Guangyi must have killed his brother to seize power.

First, let’s look at the reasons why people suspected that Zhao Guangyi killed his brother and seized power.

One is that Zhao Kuangyin died too suddenly and too young, at the age of only fifty. Zhao Kuangyin came from a military background, had been a great general on the battlefield, and had a strong physique. How could he die of a sudden illness?
The second reason is that Zhao Kuangyin had two sons alive at the time, namely the second son Zhao Dezhao (25 years old) and the fourth son Zhao Defang (18 years old). They were both adults and Zhao Dezhao was almost thirty years old. Why didn't his sons inherit the throne?

The third is that those who had the right to inherit the throne died strangely one after another. Zhao Guangmei, another brother of Zhao Kuangyin, was accused of treason, demoted and exiled, and eventually died of shock at the age of 38; Zhao Dezhao was scolded to death by Zhao Guangyi at the age of 33; Zhao Defang also died suddenly of illness at the age of 22. Therefore, Zhao Guangyi could not pass the throne to his younger brother or Zhao Kuangyin's son in the future, but could only pass it to his own son in tears. These three reasons are indisputable objective facts, and are also the underlying logic of Taizong's conspiracy theory of killing his brother to seize power. On this basis, people began to catch wind and shadow, and after unremitting efforts, they finally wove the widely circulated "Candle Shadow and Axe Sound".

Secondly, it is important to emphasize that "Candle Shadow and Axe Sound" was not achieved overnight, but was the result of many evolutions and improvements over a fairly long period of time.

According to authoritative historical records, in early October 976, Zhao Kuangyin suddenly became "unwell". Then on October 10, he sent his trusted eunuch Wang Jie'en to set up the Huanglu Zhai (a Taoist ceremony) in Jianlong Temple. In the evening of the same day, he urgently summoned Zhao Guangyi to the palace to discuss matters. After nightfall, Zhao Guangyi left. At four o'clock in the morning (around 10 a.m. on October 19), Zhao Kuangyin passed away.

Queen Song urgently ordered the eunuch Wang Jie'en to summon Zhao Defang into the palace. Unexpectedly, Wang Jie'en betrayed Queen Song and her son. Instead of looking for Zhao Defang, he went straight to the Prince of Jin's mansion and summoned Zhao Guangyi into the palace. Zhao Guangyi was hesitant and did not dare to enter the palace. He reluctantly entered the palace under Wang Jie'en's repeated urging.

When she heard that Wang Jie'en had brought people into the palace, the restless Queen Song could not wait to go out and greet them, "Is Defang here?" Wang Jie'en replied, "Prince Jin is here." Before he finished speaking, Queen Song saw Zhao Guangyi behind Wang Jie'en. She was shocked and cried, "The lives of us mother and son are in the hands of the emperor." Zhao Guangyi also cried, "Let's keep our wealth and have no worries."

Note that "Guan Jia" is the name used by the concubines to address the emperor. In other words, the moment she saw Zhao Guangyi, Empress Song was certain that Zhao Guangyi would ascend the throne in front of the coffin. This is a controversial detail that will be discussed later.

After dawn, Zhao Guangyi announced his accession to the throne, and history entered the reign of Emperor Taizong.

The above is Sima Guang's version. Although it is more detailed than the History of Song Dynasty, it is still too brief on the key issue: what happened that night. So, more than a hundred years later, someone finally recalled what happened that night:
It was a snowy night without the sun. Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Guangyi were drinking and discussing in the house. They had screened out all the idle people such as the palace maids and eunuchs. There were only the two brothers in the house. No one knew what they said, but - through the shadows on the window, it seemed that the two had a fierce quarrel and suspected physical conflict. Zhao Kuangyin seemed to hit Zhao Guangyi with something, and Zhao Guangyi dodged it. Then he heard Zhao Kuangyin roaring "Rat tail juice! (Good for it)" A moment later, the sound of Zhao Kuangyin's snoring was heard in the house, and Zhao Guangyi stayed in the palace. The next morning, Zhao Kuangyin was found dead at some point. Zhao Guangyi summoned all the ministers and read out the will, which was for him to ascend the throne. Zhao Guangyi also let all the ministers pay homage to Zhao Kuangyin's body up close. It was said that it was like a lotus emerging from water (the jade color was as bright as out of the hot spring), suggesting that Zhao Kuangyin died of natural causes rather than violence.

In this statement, Zhao Guangyi had a clear motive and a clear time for committing the crime, but it also emphasized that Zhao Kuangyin died of natural causes.

The contradictory historical materials and the different opinions of historians have brought us a lot of trouble and fun. Now we will try to find the truth of history.

First of all, if we start from the background of the historical materials, many problems will be easily solved.

Sima Guang lived in the Northern Song Dynasty. His view was that "Zhao Guangyi was absolutely innocent." Zhao Guangyi was not in the palace that night and had a perfect alibi. Moreover, Zhao Guangyi was extremely surprised and frightened about Zhao Kuangyin's death and being invited into the palace. He was hesitant, wavering, and looking back and forth, which proved that Zhao Guangyi had no conspiracy in advance.

Li Tao of the Southern Song Dynasty first introduced the phrase "candle shadow and axe sound" into "Zizhi Tongjian Xubian", thus "starting a discussion that has been passed down through the ages". However, in the Ming Dynasty, Cheng Minzheng's "Song Ji Shou Zhong Kao" "criticized it particularly vigorously".

To summarize it simply: in the Northern Song Dynasty when the crime occurred, people all believed the official version of the story; it was not until the Southern Song Dynasty more than 200 years later that people began to make wild guesses and add the memories of "eyewitnesses" to prove that Zhao Guangyi had the motive and time to commit the crime; and it was not until the Ming Dynasty more than 600 years later that there was a clear accusation that Zhao Guangyi murdered his brother and seized power.

The first succession of the throne in the Song Dynasty was from the elder brother to the younger brother, and after that it was always the father-to-son succession. The sacred artifacts were always passed down in Taizong's lineage. Later, the "Jingkang Incident" caused the Northern Song Dynasty to fall, and Gaozong Zhao Gou lived in a corner of the south of the Yangtze River. At that time, Gaozong had no heirs, and Jin Taizong Wanyan Wuqimai looked like Zhao Kuangyin. So the world spread the rumor that Song Taizong killed his brother to seize power, so Zhao Kuangyin was reincarnated as Jin Taizong. The "Jingkang Incident" was Taizu's revenge against Taizong's descendants...

Emperor Gaozong Zhao Gou then held a nationwide selection of Taizu's descendants, and eventually passed the throne to Song Xiaozong (the seventh-generation grandson of Zhao Kuangyin). From then on, the sacred artifact was passed down to Taizu's lineage until it was destroyed by the Mongols.

That is to say, in the Northern Song Dynasty, the emperors were descendants of Zhao Guangyi, while in the Southern Song Dynasty, they were descendants of Zhao Kuangyin (except Emperor Gaozong Zhao Gou). It is not difficult to understand why the historians of the Northern Song Dynasty insisted that Taizu died of natural causes and Taizong was innocent, and why the historians of the Southern Song Dynasty began to suspect that there was something fishy going on.

It is easier to understand why people in the Ming Dynasty exaggerated things in order to enjoy the fun, since at least they were not bound by political red lines.

So the supporters of the conspiracy theory stood up and said that the hard evidence of regicide must have been cleaned up by the Northern Song Dynasty authorities, and the Northern Song Dynasty historians (such as Sima Guang) did not dare to "talk nonsense". Some clues that slipped through the net had to be forced to hide, and were not seen until 200 years later in the Southern Song Dynasty. Therefore, we cannot conclude that it is true because the Northern Song Dynasty was close to the time of the incident, nor can we roughly conclude that it is false because the Southern Song and Ming Dynasty were far away from the time of the incident.

Makes sense.

Since the Qing Dynasty, scholars have continuously raised various doubts and evidence, arguing that it is unlikely that Zhao Guangyi killed his brother to seize power, because this "power" did not need to be seized at all, it was originally his. The strong evidence supporting this view is the "Golden Casket Alliance".

Thanks to my old friend "江湖留白" for the monthly ticket support! Song Taizu passed away, but the history of the "Five Dynasties" did not come to an abrupt end. The Wuyue Kingdom, the Northern Han Dynasty, the Liao Dynasty, and the Xixia Dynasty... Please wait patiently for a while, and let me polish it quietly. My child is about to take the final exam, and he failed the quiz not long ago... Please wait patiently, book friends...



(End of this chapter)