Zhao Defang's road to the virtuous king

"My concubine knows that Taizu's work is called "Ode to the Sun": Thousands of mountains and thousands of mountains are like fire, and they will go to the sky in a moment, chasing the remaining stars and chasing the moon." Concubine Di chanted a poem and said "Taizu's ambition is written in this poem."

"Yes, Jingniang's mother and daughter also knew Taizu's ambition, so they didn't want to keep them anymore, so Taizu left them and went southwest."

"My lord, since Jingniang already knew about Taizu's aspirations, why did she throw herself into the lake?"

"Hey... Jingniang had a deep affection for Emperor Taizu. After Taizu left, Jingniang shed tears all day long. A few days later, Jingniang left a few letters and threw herself into the lake to die."

"What did Jing Niang leave behind?"

"Because the original letter had already been burned by the Emperor Taizu in front of Jingniang's memorial tablet, so I also heard the contents of it from people in the palace who had visited Wu'an. What was written in Jingniang's letter: "Brother graciously save each other, and send my little sister thousands of miles away." Returning to my hometown with my father's ashes, I would like to entrust my body to be a slave and a concubine to repay my brother's love, but my brother's ambition is in my heart, and my younger sister can't stop each other. You can’t repay the great virtues, but you will be rewarded in the next life when you die. After Jingniang threw herself into the lake, her mother also became seriously ill because of being too sad, and she passed away not long after..."

Concubine Di sighed after hearing this, "My lord, when did the emperor Taizu know about this?"

"More than ten years later, the Taizu founded the Great Song Dynasty and sent people to Wu'an. He planned to take Jingniang and her daughter to Beijing, but he never thought that what he brought back was such news. After hearing this, the Taizu sent people to Wu'an again. After reading the letter kept by the neighbor, I couldn't help feeling sad, so I decreed that Jingniang should be named Mrs. Zhenyi, and the lake was renamed Jingniang Lake."

"Then why was it rarely mentioned later?"

"This is a sad matter for Emperor Taizu. Emperor Taizu always thought that he had killed Mrs. Zhenyi, so he was so guilty that people around him didn't dare to mention it anymore. However, the local people in Wu'an passed it on as There is an anecdote that is still being sung by the common people today: Taizu sent Jingniang thousands of miles away, the great kindness was not repaid, the royal sister threw herself into the lake to complain about Zhenyi, and the ninety-five emperors were also heartbroken."

Concubine Di listened silently, Defang saw tears in her eyes, and quickly shook her hand, "The past is over, the ancestors are gone, madam, I don't want to see you sad about this."

Concubine Di nodded, "The death of Mrs. Zhenyi is really a pity. The concubine felt it for a while, which made the prince worry."

"It's good that Ma'am is fine." Defang patted Concubine Di's hand, "No matter what, Emperor Taizu finally founded the Great Song Dynasty. I think Madam Zhenyi's spirit in heaven will be comforted."

"It will definitely." Concubine Di calmed down her emotions, "My lord, where did the emperor Taizu go after leaving Wu'an?"

"In the southwest, Emperor Taizu has decided to join the army, but all the way to the north, there is only a scene of war and chaos, and the northern tribes are in civil strife. Scattered soldiers invaded the Central Plains, burned, killed and looted thousands of people. If they go north again, they may not be able to protect themselves. So Taizu diverted his route to the southwest, and along the way he heard that the privy envoy, General Guo, was strict with his army and was stationed at Xiguan in Houhan, so he headed for his camp."

"General Guo? Is that the Taizu of the Later Zhou Dynasty?"

"Yes, that is Zhou Shizong's adoptive father. At that time, Zhou Taizu was highly valued by the court. Taizu heard that when he was young, he also committed murder by arguing against injustice, but later he got help from his benefactor. Now he is an official worship general, and he is also good friends with Xuanzu. So Emperor Taizu decided to go to him to join the army, maybe there will be some achievements."