Why did Emperor Gaozong of Song Dynasty take the initiative to abdicate? For a feudal emperor who lived in his eighties, fifty years old happened to be his prime and the golden period of his rule. Furthermore, no feudal emperor is not greedy for power, and no one is willing to hand over the imperial power, even if the successor is his own biological flesh and blood. Under this rule, the feat of Emperor Gaozong of Song Dynasty taking the initiative to give the throne to his adopted son Zhao Shen is unique in Chinese history. It has also triggered many speculations.

Some people believe that although Emperor Gaozong of Song was greedy for power, he was also worried about national affairs, so he was willing to continue to enjoy the honor of the emperor as the emperor, but he could also avoid the trouble of state affairs. But in fact, after Emperor Gaozong of Song abdicated, he did not hide in the deep palace and lived his old age, and did not care about the government affairs. Instead, at a critical moment, he would interfere, restrain himself from all sides and not give in, which means that he was still willing to worry about national affairs and still kept his power firmly, which was not what he said, "I want to retreat for a long time."

Some people think that Zhao Gou was always greedy for life and fear of death. After the establishment of the Southern Song Dynasty, facing the Jin people's repeated plunder, they ran from Nanjing to Hangzhou, from land to sea. The repeated escape experiences made Emperor Gaozong realize that although the emperor was prominent, he was also a target for the Jin people's pursuit. Once in danger, it was eye-catching and inconvenient to escape as an emperor. If he became the Supreme Emperor, the attention would be greatly reduced, and it would be much easier to escape and safer. Therefore, the convenience of escape was also an important reason for Emperor Gaozong's abdication in his prime.

Zhao Gou's previous image has always been a negative example in Zhao Bing's previous life. He paid tribute to Jin and was willing to be the son emperor. For this reason, he killed Yue Fei and appointed the treacherous minister Qin Hui, which caused complaints from the world. However, when he became emperor and came into contact with more secrets, he changed his disgust towards Zhao Gou, but not to overturn the case for him, but to make a more objective evaluation.

Looking at the emperors of the Southern Song Dynasty, their lives were actually relatively frugal. Of course, this relative was not compared with ordinary people, but monarchs of all dynasties. As for the founding king of the country, Emperor Gaozong, his life in his early days was still quite frugal. He issued several edicts to prohibit the use of gold jewelry inside and outside the palace. His biological mother, Empress Dowager Wei, returned from the Jin Dynasty to the south. Some of the utensils prepared by Prime Minister Qin Hui were made of pure gold. Emperor Gaozong immediately ordered people to replace them with gold-plated ones.

When the generals came to visit, they mostly contributed BMWs and treasures. Gaozong believed that horses were available for military use, so he accepted them, but did not take any treasures because he was worried that the generals would use them to defeat the people and would harm the military and political affairs. In addition, Gaozong also ate very ordinary, even pork and tofu, which was not available every day. Zhao Bing thought it was still credible. Didn’t he often have dried fish and rice to fill his hunger on his way to escape? There were also a group of people who wanted to eat and drink, but everything was difficult during the founding period. Although it was not a bite of meat, he had to do this whether it was a show or sincere.

Zhao Gou was not a narrow-minded person and could not tolerate others. At that time, a scholar wrote a poem called "The Poem of Pigeons" to sarcastically advise him to raise geese, which could convey the news about his father and brother captured from the north. After Emperor Gaozong found out, he stopped raising pigeons and rewarded the scholar who dared to speak out. As an emperor, raising a flock of pigeons was not too much. Didn’t Emperor Taizong, known as a generation of heroes, often play with birds? But later generations were dissatisfied with Gaozong’s killing of Yue Fei and made peace talks, so he used this to make a statement, which was in line with the national temperament of a habit of beating a dog in the water.

It is often said that Zhao Gou and the insidious prime minister Qin Hui can be called a pair of heaven and earth. In fact, from the surface, they have a close relationship. In fact, they are in the same bed, different dreams, each with their own ulterior motives, and use each other. The reason is that Qin Hui has the support of the Jin people, and he was the prime minister for decades. He was deeply rooted in the Song Dynasty, with a deep-rooted confidant and countless followers. Even the guards and imperial physicians around Zhao Gou were Qin Hui's people, so Zhao Gou was also guarding every day, so that every time he went to court, he would hide a dagger in his boots to prevent accidents. It was not until Qin Hui was plagued by old age and was about to enter the underworld that Zhao Gou breathed a sigh of relief.

Before Qin Hui died, he told Zhao Gou that he wanted his son to take over his shift. When Zhao Gou heard this, he smiled and kept comforting Qin Hui's illness in order to show his concern. Qin Hui could no longer speak on the sickbed. He took out his red handkerchief and wiped Qin Hui's tears with his own hands. But the night he left the Qin Mansion, he asked someone to draft an edict, which relieved Qin Hui and his descendants of all positions. The next morning, he issued the edict in the court, which was so thunderous. Hearing this news.

That night, Qin Hui died. Zhao Gou let out a long sigh and said, "I will never hide a knife in my boots anymore." Then, Zhao Gou drove all Qin Hui's confidant members out of Lin'an. In order to prevent Qin Hui's assassination, he hid a short knife in his boots every time he went to court to serve as a defense, which was unique among the ancient Chinese emperors. Although Zhao Bing was in front of him, he still did not dare to be careless. He did not go to meet guests without Ni Liang, which was also due to the same vigilance.

Speaking of Zhao Gou's sudden abdication, it was not entirely because of fear of the enemy and enjoyment, leaving a way out for himself. In this seemingly abnormal behavior, Zhao Bing felt that he had great wisdom, at least he made positive contributions to the inheritance of the Zhao family's throne and the continuation of the national lineage. As we all know, for a feudal emperor who lived in his eighties, fifty years old happened to be his prime and the golden period of rule. Furthermore, no feudal emperor was not greedy for power, and no one would be willing to hand over the imperial power, even if the successor was his own flesh and blood.

Thinking about his resistance to the throne at the beginning to having to accept it, but now he doesn't want to let go if he beat him to death. Under this rule, the feat of Emperor Gaozong of Song taking the initiative to give the throne to his adopted son Zhao Shen was unique in Chinese history. When he suddenly proposed to abdicate, the prime minister and ministers around him were extremely accused of thinking that this would cause chaos in the government, and the Jin soldiers took the opportunity to enter. However, Emperor Gaozong of Song ignored it. However, he still issued an edict to pass the throne on the grounds that he was "old and sick, and wanted to retreat for a long time" to pass on the throne to the crown prince Zhao Shen, proclaiming himself the Supreme Emperor, and moved to Deshou Palace.

But in fact, after Song Gaozong abdicated, he did not hide in the deep palace and lived his old age, not caring about the government affairs, which was not what he said, "I want to retreat for a long time." Instead, when the critical moment, he would interfere, restrain himself from many parties and refuse to give in, which means that he still insisted on power. Therefore, some people think that he was greedy for power, but was also troubled by national affairs, so he was willing to continue to enjoy the honor of the emperor as the emperor, but he could be spared from the troubles of state affairs.

There was something strange about Zhao Bing. Emperors of all generations often chose a person who was grateful to him as their successor when they passed the throne. Emperor Gaozong of Song had only one son in his life, named Zhao Qing, but his son died of fright when he was three years old. Since then, Emperor Gaozong of Song never gave birth to another son, and the calls for establishing the "fundamentality" were getting higher and higher.

As we all know, Zhao Gou belonged to the branch of Emperor Taizong of Song. After his biological son Zhao Yan died, he should pass the throne to other descendants of Emperor Taizong of Song according to his blood relationship. After all, many people meet the conditions. However, after repeated consideration, Emperor Gaozong of Song took Zhao Shen, the descendant of Emperor Taizu, as his adopted son in the second year of Shaoxing, and cultivated him as his own crown prince. Finally, he chose the descendant of Emperor Taizu as his successor.

Zhao Gou's "great and ruthless" behavior broke the throne-passing routine that lasted for a hundred years. Although he realized the "commitment" of Emperor Taizong Zhao Guangyi, he adapted to the wishes of most scholars and officials, and won himself the reputation of returning the throne of Taizu's descendants. But he also knew that he would inevitably be opposed by the royal family and even cause changes during the handover.

Therefore, only by abdicating during his lifetime and then using the status of the Supreme Emperor to ensure the smooth implementation of the throne plan, preventing the descendants of Emperor Taizong of Song from ascending the throne and ensuring the political stability of the Southern Song Dynasty. In addition, in the 32nd year of Shaoxing, Zhao Shen had lived in the palace for thirty years. If he was to pass the throne at the end of his life, he would probably be over fifty or even over sixty years old. This would not only not be grateful to Emperor Gaozong of Song, but would instead develop resentment. Emperor Gaozong also had the intention of showing kindness in his prime.

Facts have proved that Emperor Gaozong of Song used his identity as the emperor of Zhao Shen as his backstage to shock the government. Zhao Shen ascended the throne as the eldest son, and the court and the country were calm and quiet, and no one dared to have any objection. This was extremely rare among the emperors of the Song Dynasty. After Zhao Shen's death, he was posthumously named Xiaozong, but he did not come in vain. He took good care of Zhao Gou's life in his later years and almost met every request. He never stopped every five days.

However, Zhao Bing also knew that Zhao Gou had selfish intentions to choose to abdicate in his grandfather. Thinking about how hard he worked for decades and finally stabilized his defense line, he should relax. It is actually normal for human beings to live a free and happy life. In addition, it can also cover up the palace scandal of his biological mother marrying her husband and having children in Jin Kingdom. Then, as the Supreme Emperor, he can continue to maintain the compromise and surrender route to Jin and maintain his reputation after his death.

There was another thing that Zhao Gou had indescribable, that is, the failure of the Song and Jin peace talks at that time was related to the national anti-Jin situation. In order to promote peace talks and to settle down in a corner, he killed the anti-Jin hero Yue Fei on the charge of "false", causing pain to his relatives and the enemy to be happy, and also caused a passive situation in the war against the Jin Dynasty in the future. The Jin soldiers' military attack on the Southern Song Dynasty was still...

Zhao Gou thought of what Yue Fei said during his lifetime, "The Jin people cannot be trustworthy, and reconciliation should not be relied upon." Thinking of Yue Fei's foresight, thinking of the Jin people's rebellion, insatiable, tore up peace treaties, frequent plunders, and insisted on the surrender route. It should be said that when he was in power, he might have been determined to rehabilitate Yue Fei, but he could not let go of the emperor's airs, so he abdicated as soon as possible, so he abdicated as soon as possible, so he made Zhao Shen, who was in urgent need of popularity, prestige, and support from the government and the opposition, be this good person!

In fact, after Zhao Shen ascended the throne, he was the last of the same year. You should know that such politically sensitive incident involving Song Gaozong's reputation would not dare to act rashly if it were not for Song Gaozong's tacit approval, Zhao Shen, who had always been known for his filial piety, would not dare to act rashly. Therefore, in the edict, Zhao Shen repeatedly emphasized that it was "the emperor who remembered it and never forget it", and he was just "relying to inherit the sage's will"...

Zhao Bing stood up and looked at the ministers in front of him, and then looked at the palaces and pavilions. Everything here not only witnessed Zhao Gou's luxurious life and indulge indulgence in his retirement. At the same time, he also witnessed the ups and downs of the political arena of the Song Dynasty, the struggles within the palace and the changes in the world. Now he inherited this palace, inherited a more complex situation than before and faced a more powerful enemy. What he did and what he did was judged by his descendants, but it was not what had happened in this palace.

"Zhou Xiang, the general and supervisor of Xuandu Academy, came here to see me!" Seeing Yao Liangchen and Wei Tianzhong singing and preventing him from entering Zongyang Palace, and finally making excuses for his long construction period, Zhao Bing suddenly turned around and said to Chen Dun.

The ministers did not know what the little emperor wanted to summon several irrelevant little people to do, but they also felt something was wrong. The place had not been renovated yet and there was no need to drink even a cup of tea. The king and minister just stared at it with big eyes. Lu Xiufu opened his mouth several times to break the embarrassing situation, but he didn't know what to say, so he simply kept silent and became the clay sculpture gods in this view.

"I am paying homage to Your Majesty!" After waiting for about two quarters of an hour, Zhou Xiang led the hurried master to arrive and entered the backyard to leave several masters waiting. He went to the Sifang Pavilion alone. He didn't have time to wipe off the sweat from his forehead and said breathlessly, not seeing a few important officials.

"Master Zhou, I want to restore Zongyang Palace to its former North Palace as the residence of the court and the empress dowager. You can see how long it takes to complete the renovation, how many people will be required, and how much money will be spent!" Zhao Bing raised his hand and asked him to get up, and then assigned the task.

"Yes, I will go immediately. Please wait for your Majesty!" Zhou Xiang didn't say anything, and didn't even ask why, and immediately turned around and left.

Zhao Bing waved his hand and let him go, turned around and lay on the railing, watching the goldfish floating on the water in the lake in the lake in a daze; Jiang Qing watched Zhou Xiang twist his fat body and jogging, with a faint smile on his lips. Lu Xiufu sighed lightly, shook his head with a wry smile. Chen Zhongwei and Xu Zongren stood up and walked to look at the couplets on the pavilion pillar, whispering softly, Deng Wenyuan quickly joined in. Yao Liangchen and Wei Tianzhong were sweating on their foreheads. The two looked at each other and exchanged their eyes, and they also saw the fear flashing in each other's eyes.

"Report to Your Majesty, I will work with several masters to conduct preliminary investigations and think that if a thousand craftsmen are mobilized, it will take one month to complete the renovation of the main hall and the back garden. If the decorations and furniture in the palace are not included, it will cost 200,000 yuan!" After waiting for about half an hour, Zhou Xiang returned to the pavilion to report to the little emperor.

"Well, how many people can be dispatched in your hands?" Zhao Bing nodded and asked.

"Report to Your Majesty, the people in the city are now rushing to build military weapons and resume production. However, the subordinates know that more than 2,000 enemy craftsmen captured after entering the city are still imprisoned in the camp, and they can select people from them to repair the palace!" Zhou Xiang replied.

"Okay, I will allocate 200,000 guan from the inner government to you, and grant you the right to mobilize craftsmen in various places, and you will settle here one month from tomorrow." Zhao Bing said to Zhou Xiang.
Chapter completed!