Although there is a person in the romance of "Yang Jiajiang" and "Three Heroes and Five Righteousness" and operas, there is a person who holds a golden mace and can do it"Beat the unconscious king at the top and beat the traitorous ministers at the bottom"The embodiment of justice"The Eight Wise Kings", but historically,"The Eight Wise Kings"is not a real character, he is actually a fusion of two archetypal characters, Zhao Defang, the son of Zhao Kuangyin, and Zhao Yuanyan, the son of Song Taizong.
Zhao Defang, the fourth son of Song Taizu, died young at the age of 23 and had few significant achievements during his lifetime. And Zhao Yuanyan, the eighth son of Song Taizong, died at the age of 60 and was respected as the "Eight Kings", although it is consistent with the title of "Eight Sage Kings", he does not have the talent to "stun the king and beat the traitorous ministers", and even has been suppressed by the Queen Mother for many years, and has survived in the court by pretending to be crazy and stupid.
Qingping Le" was recently on the air, and the "Eight Kings" Zhao Yuanyan appeared in the first episode, and called the Queen Mother Liu E "widowed sister-in-law", showing disrespect for the Queen Mother, which aroused the disgust of Prime Minister Lu Yijian.
So, why did Zhao Yuanyan in history become hostile to his sister-in-law, the Empress Dowager Liu E? Let's take a look at the whole story.
In ancient Chinese history, Zhao Kuangyin, the Taizu of the Song Dynasty, founded the Song Dynasty, but he died at the age of 50, leaving two successors, Zhao Dezhao, who was only 25 years old, and Zhao Defang, who was 17 years old.
Although they both had the strength to take over the throne, in the end, Zhao Kuangyin's younger brother Zhao Guangyi became the second emperor of the Song Dynasty, that is, Song Taizong. This method of succession from brother to brother has left many mysteries in history, such as the "sound of candle shadow axe".
After Song Taizong ascended the throne, the eldest son Zhao Yuanzuo went insane due to the death of his uncle Zhao Tingmei, and the second son Zhao Yuanxi died inexplicably at home.
Zhao Guangyi had a total of nine sons, except for Zhao Heng of Song Zhenzong, his favorite was the eighth son Zhao Yuanyan. According to the "History of the Song Dynasty", Zhao Yuanyan was a young and intelligent man, and was deeply loved by Zhao Guangyi.
After ascending the throne, Song Zhenzong also cared for this eighth brother, and gave him many times to become an official and knight, and Zhao Yuanyan's treatment even exceeded that of other princes.
According to historical records, when Song Zhenzong was seriously ill, his ministers asked him about his condition at his bedside. However, he was unable to speak due to his severe condition.
However, he uses a unique way to convey what he means. He held out 5 fingers and then 3 fingers and tapped his chest at the same time. This action was interpreted as his hope that Prime Minister Ding Wei and others would understand what he meant.
Despite the severity of his condition, he managed to express his wishes through this simple action.
When Song Zhenzong established Zhao Zhen as the crown prince, Zhao Zhen was only 13 years old, and everyone had a guess about Song Zhenzong's 8 fingers, whether it meant that his eighth brother Zhao Yuanyan assisted Zhao Zhen or passed on the throne to him, because there were in the Song Dynasty"Brother to brother"traditions.
But these are just speculations, and the ministers did not dare to speak lightly in the presence of the crown prince. The clever queen Liu E solved everyone's doubts.
Xu Zizhi Tongjian Factory Ed. records: Zhang Xian's Empress Liu E cleverly covered up the emperor's illness. When Song Zhenzong stretched out 8 fingers, Liu E was waiting behind the curtain for the minister to retreat.
She immediately sent someone to chase back the ministers, and lied that Song Zhenzong had just spoken, saying that she stretched out 8 fingers to mean that the condition would be cured in three or five days. Liu E's ingenuity was fully demonstrated in this incident.
Ding Wei and other ministers saw the subtleties and understood what Song Zhenzong's change in attitude meant. Empress Liu E has always been ambitious, and originally planned to take power alone after Song Zhenzong's death, but Song Zhenzong's performance made her realize the threat of the eighth prince, Zhao Yuanyan, so she became deeply suspicious of Zhao Yuanyan.
Why is Liu E suspicious of Zhao Yuanyan? On the surface, it is because of Song Zhenzong's 8 fingers, but the truth is far more than that. During Song Zhenzong's illness, Zhao Yuanyan stayed in the palace in the name of visiting the sick and did not leave.
Li Di, a famous minister of the Song Dynasty, expressed concern about this, thinking that it was inappropriate for Zhao Yuanyan, as a younger brother, to stay in the palace and be suspected of imitating the "sound of candle shadow axe". Therefore, when Zhao Yuanyan washed his face, Li Di stirred in the basin with a brush to make the water black.
Zhao Yuanyan mistakenly thought that someone was going to poison him, and immediately fled the palace on horseback.
The author is skeptical of the statement in "Think Tank (Selection)" that Zhao Yuanyan sought to take the throne. Zhao Yuanyan has been loved by the imperial brother since he was a child, and when the imperial brother was seriously ill, he stayed by Song Zhenzong's side, which was reasonable, and at that time the Song Dynasty already had a clear candidate for the crown prince, which was very different from the situation when Zhao Kuangyin, the Taizu of the Song Dynasty, was seriously ill.
Therefore, it is not credible to say that Zhao Yuanyan had the idea of seeking the throne. However, it was precisely because of this incident that Zhao Yuanyan was suspicious of the Queen Mother and was suppressed since then, which filled his heart with pain.
In that year, Song Zhenzong died and left an edict: "Respect the queen as the queen mother, and have the right to dispose of military and state affairs." Liu E won because of this. Zhao Yuanyan was worried that the Queen Mother would retaliate against him, so he closed his door, falsely claiming that he was suffering from impotence and no longer went to the court to discuss politics.
It is recorded in the History of the Song Dynasty: Zhao Yuanyan was afraid of being jealous of the Queen Mother, and he was deeply obscure, so he closed the door but was desperate, so he was crazy and did not make a pilgrimage. And the Queen Mother Liu E is also happy to see Zhao Yuanyan like this.
Therefore, on the surface, the two live in harmony with each other, but in fact, Liu E's cronies are very wary of Zhao Yuanyan.
In 1033 AD, when the Empress Dowager Liu Exian died, Zhao Yuanyan had the opportunity to inform Renzong himself of Song Renzong's true life. At this time, Song Renzong suddenly realized that he was not Liu E's biological son, but was born to Concubine Chen, who had been deceased for a year.
Zhao Yuanyan's move is obviously a catharsis for the suppression he has been suppressed by Liu E for many years.
After Renzong came to power, Zhao Yuanyan, as Song Renzong's adviser, made many contributions to him in military and economic aspects. In the winter of the third year of Qingli, Zhao Yuanyan was seriously ill, and Song Renzong personally visited him and personally mixed medicine to feed him.
The two talked privately for a long time, and the record describes: "The two talked privately for a long time, and most of what Song Renzong said was advice. The following year, Zhao Yuanyan unfortunately died of illness, and Song Renzong was so grief-stricken that he even arrived at the scene three times in person during the burial.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, Empress Dowager Liu E and the Eight Kings Zhao Yuanyan each made outstanding contributions. Empress Dowager Liu E has been in power for many years, maintained the stability of the imperial court, assisted Renzong, and achieved many political achievements, and Zhao Yuanyan's political influence naturally cannot be compared.
However, without the restraint and supervision of Zhao Yuanyan and others, Empress Dowager Liu E would have faced greater difficulties in achieving these achievements. Therefore, in the specific historical context, we should fairly evaluate Zhao Yuanyan's contributions.