In the winter of 479, the city of Jiankang, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, was noisy, and Song soldiers rushed into the palace to search for the 13-year-old child emperor, Liu Zhun of Song Shun. Liu Zhun stood there in thin clothes, and he didn't think to resist in the face of the murderous soldiers, but just whispered: "May all generations not be born in the emperor's family." ”
This heartfelt sentence expresses the bitterness and helplessness of the Song emperors of the Southern Dynasty for 59 years. From the beginning of Liu Yu's usurpation of the throne in 420 to establish the Song Dynasty, in the 59 years of Guozuo, a total of 10 emperors of the Song Dynasty ascended the throne, except for Liu Yu, Liu Jun and Liu Yu, who had a better ending, the other 7 people did not die well, and died in the power of the ministers or clan battles.
In the face of successive changes of imperial power and court infighting, every emperor of the Song Dynasty lived in a deep shadow. Many of them have been carefully cultivated puppets by other powerful ministers and lords since childhood, and once they ascend to the throne, they have to guard against various forces, even the young Emperor Song Shun could not escape this fate. So, how did this tragic situation caused by infighting and power change come about?
In 420, Liu Yu killed Emperor An of the Eastern Jin Dynasty in a coup d'état and established the Liu Song dynasty. He seized the throne by slaughtering the Eastern Jin Dynasty clans and clans, but he also laid hidden dangers for the Southern Song Dynasty.
After Liu Yu's death, his son Liu Yifu ascended the throne as a puppet emperor, and was killed by the powerful minister Xu Xianzhi in less than two years. After the powerful ministers supported Emperor Wen of the Song Dynasty, Liu Yilong, Emperor Wen used the power of his relatives to get rid of the auxiliary ministers, and then faced challenges from local feudal towns. After the death of Emperor Wen, a conflict broke out between his son Zang Zhen and his younger brother Liu Yixuan, which eventually ended with Liu Yixuan seizing the throne.
Such power changes were constantly staged in the 59 years of the Southern Song Dynasty, and almost every emperor had to be wary of the threat of powerful ministers and clans after ascending the throne. The competition between Liu Yu and Liu Zixun for the "Yijia Rebellion" caused the Song family to be almost wiped out. And behind Xiao Daocheng's eventual replacement of the Southern Song Dynasty and the establishment of the Southern Dynasty Qi, it was also the result of the failure of national strength caused by the internal struggle of the Song Dynasty.
Growing up in such an environment where imperial power alternates frequently and killingly, even as the heir of the royal family, there is nothing to look forward to. Many of them are either puppets at the mercy of the powerful or destined to fall victim to the next palace coup.
In 618, Li Yuan seized the throne in a coup d'état and established the Tang Dynasty, marking the end of centuries-long chaos between the Northern and Southern Dynasties. However, the fate of the imperial family suffering since the Northern Wei Dynasty has not been interrupted.
Taizong Li Shimin's Xuanwumen Rebellion ended with the killing of his half-brothers Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji. In the last years of Xuanzong's Kaiyuan, he deposed the crown prince Li Heng in order to favor his concubine Yang Guifei, which led to the rebellion of An Lushan and the tragedy of the almost extinction of the Tang family.
The tragedy of the imperial family of the Tang Dynasty was followed in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. Zhu Youqi, the late emperor of the Later Liang Dynasty, killed the heroes under the control of his mother, causing Zhu Wen to seize the throne; Later, Tang Mingzong Li Siyuan was killed to show his loyalty, and his son became a monk and finally took revenge and seized the throne. The emperors of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms had almost no good deaths, and were eventually replaced by Guo Wei.
In 960, Zhao Kuangyin established the Song Dynasty and implemented the strategy of governing the country with the most weak branches. He vigorously weakened the power of the feudal towns and clans, and recruited scholars and doctors to participate in politics through the imperial examination, so that the imperial power was unprecedentedly strengthened. This allowed the imperial family to live a more stable life, and no longer suffered brutal palace coups as often as previous generations.
However, the tragedy of the Jingkang Revolution also shows that the Song dynasty was ultimately unable to completely avoid the mistakes of the previous dynasty. When the Jin soldiers took advantage of the situation and captured the two Song emperors, they also had to face this cruel reality.
So, growing up in such an environment where power changes are frequent and life and death are unpredictable, what will the inner world of these royal heirs be like? Perhaps, when they were children, they also harbored idealistic fantasies. The son of the emperor is destined to have a noble status, and he must have a smooth life, and he must undertake a glorious and great historical mission. However, as these children grow up and witness the cruel political reality before them, the bubble of idealism is bursting little by little.
Some of them have become playthings in the hands of powerful ministers, and the purpose of education from childhood is to cultivate an obedient puppet; Some experienced the tragedy of the murder of their parents and brothers in their early years; More people, after ascending to the throne, lived a life of fear, always guarding against threats from powerful ministers and clans.
In the face of these cruel political realities, these royal heirs may secretly complain to the sky in their hearts: I should not have been born in such a family, and I should not have undertaken such a historical mission; I could have lived a simple and happy life like an ordinary person.
And when the 13-year-old Emperor Liu Zhun of Song Shun faced the soldiers who came to arrest him, he only whispered: "May all generations not be born in the emperor's family." This heartfelt sentence is the best portrayal of this cruel era.
The tragic history of the fate of the imperial family, which began during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, continued until the middle of the Tang Dynasty. Growing up in such an environment of frequent power changes and endless palace coups is destined to be the fate of the princes and heirs of the emperors of the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
Many of them burst the bubble of idealism since childhood, either in their own hands or in fear. Faced with such a reality, it is not surprising that Emperor Song Shun had such an ending. It was not until the advent of the Song Dynasty that this doom was partially alleviated. But for the descendants of the emperor who have already suffered misfortune, the tragic fate is also a foregone conclusion.