Why are the descendants of Emperor Zhao Guangyi of the Northern Song Dynasty so rare? Below, the History Encyclopedia editor will provide a detailed introduction to the relevant content.
Let’s first talk about Zhao Guangyi, originally named Zhao Kuangyi. Because his brother Zhao Kuangyin ascended the throne and declared himself emperor, he changed his name from “Kuangyi” to “Guangyi” to avoid taboo. Once, Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, promised his mother that after his death, he would pass the throne to his younger brother Zhao Guangyi. The old mother was more concerned about Zhao Kuangyin’s promise, so she recorded and saved this conversation. But what he didn’t expect was that Zhao Kuangyin, who was seriously ill, summoned Zhao Guangyi into the palace. As soon as Zhao Guangyi came out, his own brother passed away. In history, many people speculated that it was Zhao Guangyi who made the move, and there are even stories of the sound of candles and axes later on.
Zhao Guangyi, as a generation of heroes and wise rulers, still has some tricks, but no one knows the specific real situation. To be ruthless, Zhao Guangyi is quite famous. The former Southern Tang empress died at the hands of Zhao Guangyi, and even Zhao Kuangyin’s favorite concubine was shot by Zhao Guangyi in front of his own brother. It can be inferred that Zhao Guangyi may resort to extreme measures in order to ascend to the throne, but the imperial family has always been ruthless, and there have been many cases in history. After Zhao Guangyi ascended to the throne, he also made many achievements. Unfortunately, a hundred years later, his descendants were particularly “incompetent”, from the initial decline of personnel to the later succession of no one, and only went through eight emperors. In the Southern Song Dynasty, after Emperor Gaozong of Song, the Zhao Guangyi lineage was completely eliminated, and finally the Song Taizu lineage succeeded to the Grand Commandery again.
Let’s first take a look at the story behind it. Zhao Guangyi’s own proudest son went crazy because he was dissatisfied with Zhao Guangyi’s treatment of the imperial family. Zhao Guangyi had no choice but to raise his second son, but little did he know that his second son would fall into a family dispute and be mistakenly killed by his own concubine. In the end, Zhao Guangyi had no choice but to appoint his third and final son as the crown prince, who later became Emperor Zhenzong of Song. During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, not to mention the fact that the emperor’s offspring only had one single seedling, there was also a wonderful anecdote of “tanuki for crown prince”. Next up is Emperor Renzong of Song, who is even more bizarre and the queen. In order to maintain the rule of Zhao Guangyi and his followers, Emperor Renzong of Song adopted a son. But the good times didn’t last long. By the time of Emperor Zhezong of Song, they had passed away again, so he adopted another son, Emperor Huizong of Song. As a result of the Jingkang Incident, Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qinzong of Song were captured by the Jin Dynasty and sent to Northeast China.
After finally establishing the Southern Song Dynasty, Emperor Gaozong did not expect his subordinates to launch a mutiny. This mutiny came suddenly, not only causing the death of Song Gaozong’s only child, but also causing Song Gaozong himself to be frightened and completely lose his own abilities. From Emperor Taizong to Emperor Zhenzong to Emperor Renzong, there were only three generations, while Emperor Yingzong, Emperor Shenzong, and Emperor Zhezong were also passed down for three generations, and Emperor Huizong, Emperor Qinzong, and Emperor Gaozong were the last three generations. Zhao Guangyi probably did not expect his descendants to inherit such a “tragic” throne. The throne he obtained through strategy back then eventually returned to the lineage of Emperor Taizu of Song.
