Zhao Kuangyin is an extraordinary politician. This atmosphere is based on his profound understanding of the world, his profound insights into macro trends and the micro psychology of the people, thus showing an imperial style with great humanistic charm, which is extremely rare among emperors of the past dynasties.

First of all, chivalry and simple personality

Born in an official family, his father Zhao was a general under Li in the late Tang Dynasty. As the saying goes, like father, like son, like person, Zhao Kuangyin learned to ride horses and shoot at a very young age, showing great perseverance and perseverance. Once, he practiced riding a horse. I specifically found an untamed ferocious horse, but I just sat on it. However, the horse lost his temper and ran straight towards the gate. Zhao Kuangyin was caught off guard and fell from the tower. Everyone present was stunned and thought he would be seriously injured. But Zhao Kuangyin jumped up from the ground, quickly caught up with the fierce horse, jumped up and tamed the fierce horse. This incident showed the brave and unyielding personality of young Zhao Kuangyin. Due to the change of dynasties, he retired from his youth, his father Zhao Yue was increasingly ignored, and the Zhao family gradually declined, so that after a few years, life became very difficult. In 1947, when Zhao Kuangyin was 21 years old, he discovered that his future could not depend on his father. In his prime, he said goodbye to his parents and wife, whom he had been married to for three years, and began to flex his muscles in Kyushu. In the following two years of traveling around the world, he experienced changes in the world, read all over the world, and experienced hardships, but it also tempered Zhao Kuangyin's will and broadened his horizons.

While traveling around the world, he still maintained his chivalry. The most typical story is the story of bravely sending off Jing Niang thousands of miles, which has been widely circulated in later generations. Once, Zhao Kuangyin temporarily lived in a secluded place in Taiyuan. During the visit, he discovered a girl who had been kidnapped by robbers. Out of the moral obligation to help the weak and the poor, she walked thousands of miles and was taken home. On the way, Jing Niang admired Zhao Kuangyin's heroic spirit and expressed her love for him. However, Zhao Kuangyin did not respond because she was only out of chivalry and not for personal gain, and insisted on the courtesy of her brothers and sisters. But Jingniang's father suspected that they had been on the road for so long and was afraid of having an affair, so he suggested getting married. Zhao Kuangyin thought this was an insult to her character, and she left angrily. Jing Niang committed suicide at home because she was too ambitious. Although this incident ended in tragedy, it also reflected Zhao Kuangyin's chivalrous qualities, that is, the courage to help others without asking for anything in return.

Zhao Kuangyin's simplicity has not changed since he became emperor, and he still maintains the habit of rushing into Kyushu. In the past, he liked to drink and chat at the house of his old friends. There was no pomp and circumstance when he went there. Prime Minister Zhao Pu’s family went the most. Zhao Pu's wife is a good cook, and her special taste is moxibustion meat. Every time she comes to Zhao Pu's house, she calls out, "Sister-in-law, please cook the meat for me." She is very friendly and easy-going. Get along with the king and his ministers as friends. Compared with the founding monarchs and ministers of other dynasties, there was less anger and bloodshed.

In 950 AD, after two years of wandering, Zhao Kuangyin came to Yedu and joined Guo Wei's army of the Tang Dynasty and became an ordinary soldier. Because Zhao Kuangyin was tall, energetic, skilled in riding and shooting, and not afraid of death, he was quickly promoted to an officer. The next year, Guo Wei launched an armed coup. The Later Han Dynasty became the Later Zhou Dynasty, and Mao became the Mao of the Later Zhou Dynasty. Later, he was promoted to the leader of the Eastern and Western Empires. Later, Guo Wei died of illness, his adopted son Chai Rong inherited the throne, and Zhao Kuangyin was promoted. At this time, the Northern Han regime took advantage of Guo Weigang's death and sent troops to attack the Later Zhou Dynasty. Zhao Kuangyin sent someone to pick up Chai Rong, and the two armies fought fiercely in Gaoping. Shortly after the battle began, the Northern Han army briefly gained the upper hand, but two generals fled the situation the following week. There was a chaos in the army, and Chai Rong was surrounded by Zhao Kuangyin and four thousand Qin Bing. At the critical moment, Zhao Kuangyin shouted before the battle: "Now is the time for the most dangerous minister to die!" and led his cavalry straight into the enemy's position. The Union army could not bear the impact of this hard work and lost control. In the final week, the army overturned the defeat and achieved a great victory. In the subsequent wars, Zhao Kuangyin always took the lead, marched forward bravely, was resourceful, and performed outstandingly. He was continuously promoted and became one of the most important generals in Chai Rong's army.

In June 959 AD, Chai Rong died of illness, and the 7-year-old prince Chai Zongxun succeeded to the throne. At this time, Zhao Kuangyin had become the chief inspector. Because Chai Zongxun was young, he panicked. In this atmosphere, Zhao Kuangyin began his preparations. In the following six months, the central organs of the Central Army and the generals at all levels of the Central Imperial Army were gradually replaced by Zhao Kuangyin's sworn brothers and confidants. On New Year's Day in 960 AD, Zhou Junchen was celebrating the New Year when he suddenly received an urgent report that the Northern Liaoning Allied Forces had invaded.

When the enemy invades, soldiers will naturally come out. The young emperor and Prime Minister Fan Ju immediately ordered Zhao Kuangyin to lead his army to meet them. But I don't know if this attack is fake. This grand report was designed by Zhao Kuangyin's advisers to find opportunities for the coalition forces to launch a coup while people were celebrating the festival and relaxing.

The next day, the army set out to station at Chenqiaoyi, 40 miles northeast of Kaifeng. That night, Zhao Kuangyin got drunk and asked his brother Zhao Guangyi and his confidant Zhao Pu to hold a night meeting with all the generals. Because after all, seizing power is a big deal and you might lose your mind. Although the military is basically one's sworn brothers and confidants, it's hard to know what the attitude of others will be.

Therefore, it is the best choice for my brother and Zhao Pu to come forward instead of coming forward myself. If everyone can support it, it will naturally show wisdom. If something fails and everyone is against it, we can also blame our brothers and Zhao Pu for the mistake. There is room to turn the situation around so that you will not fall into a passive situation.

Under the temptation and encouragement of Zhao Guangyi and Zhao Pu, this topic was raised, and the military generals expressed their support. Early the next morning, all the troops tied their men at Zhao Kuangyin's door and shouted loudly. Zhao Guangyi and Zhao Pu walked into Zhao Kuangyin's room, helped him out, put the prepared yellow robe on Zhao Kuangyin, and knelt on the ground with everyone. Therefore, Zhao Kuangyin no longer has to pretend. He said to everyone: "I am very grateful to you for making me the emperor." However, you cannot be a square circle without rules. If you accept my conditions, I can become the emperor; otherwise, I would rather let you kill me. After everyone heard this, they quickly said: "Please do what you want to do." We will do whatever you want. " Zhao Kuangyin said, "The little emperor and the Queen Mother are my masters, and they will also be my masters in the future. We must treat them well, and we must not let people think that we bully orphans and widows; the ministers of the court are all my former colleagues, and you cannot insult them; in the past imperial rebellions, soldiers burned, killed, and looted as soon as they entered the city. You can't do this. After the matter is settled, I will naturally reward everyone; anyone who burns, kills, and loots is innocent! "Thousands of soldiers listened and kowtowed together to show their obedience. So, the army returned to the capital, Kaifeng, and completed a bloodless regime change.

Third, tolerance means great tolerance.

< p>Zhao Kuangyin once had a pretty bad experience. Prime Minister Zhao Pu suggested that he punish those who treated him badly when he was poor, but Zhao Kuang did not do so. Instead, he recalled the past grudges and defected to his father. His friend Dong Zongben, Dong Zongben's son, Dong Zunhui, often bullied him, which made him very depressed. After Zhao Kuangyin became emperor, Dong Zunhui happened to be a middle-level official in the Song Army. His mother was brought back from Liao and sent to his defense area, which moved him. From then on, he tried his best to be loyal to Zhao Kuang and became a famous general at that time. Wang Yanchao, a general of Zhao Kuangyin in the early Northern Song Dynasty, was a colleague of Zhao Kuangyin. After his father was left out, he still occupied a prominent position, and Zhao Kuangyin also found a job under him. But Wang Yanchao saw that Zhao Kuangyin was in poverty and looked like a beggar, so he gave him a few dollars and drove him away. But after Zhao Kuangyin became emperor, his high regard for Wang Yanchao was not affected by these old grudges.

Once, Zhao Kuangyin was playing sparrows in the back garden of the Forbidden City. A courtier said that he had something urgent to see him. But the courtiers said it was not urgent. Zhao Kuangyin was very unhappy and asked him why he lied about his urgent request. The man said: "At least it is more important than your Majesty's sparrow. "Zhao Kuangyin was furious, grabbed the ax next to him, smashed it head on, and knocked out two of his teeth. This courtier was also very interesting. He was not afraid to see the emperor angry. On the contrary, he quietly picked up the two teeth and put them in his pocket. Inside. Zhao Kuangyin asked angrily: "What, you still want to sue me? The courtier replied: "Of course I can't sue Your Majesty, but this matter will always be recorded by historians." "Zhao Kuangyin was stunned, then woke up, apologized sincerely, and gave many gold and silver jewelry to the courtiers. It is human nature to like to play, but it is also a man's character to make mistakes and not fake.

Prime Minister Zhao Pu wrote He wrote an article recommending a person to the emperor. Zhao Kuangyin was dissatisfied and did not appoint him. The next day, Zhao Pu handed over the throne again, but Zhao Kuangyin still refused. On the third day, Zhao Pu came again, and Zhao Kuangyin was angry. He broke his throne, threw it on the ground, and left. Under the gaze of the ministers, Zhao Pu knelt down and slowly picked up the fragments of the memorial. On the morning of the fourth day, when Zhao Pu went to court, he presented the paper. Zhao Kuangyin lost his temper and silently agreed to Zhao Pu's request. Later, the people recommended by Zhao Pu were very capable and became famous ministers. The reason why Zhao Pu dared to insist on this had a lot to do with Zhao Kuangyin's consistent style. If you are arbitrary, there will be no such good stories passed down.

Kong Shouzheng and Wang Rong were drinking with Zhao Kuangyin. Kong Shouzheng was drunk and discussed the benefits of guarding the border. The other waitresses asked Zhao Kuangyin to send them to the relevant departments to discuss their crimes, but Zhao Kuangyin did not agree. Beat the drum to confess to Zhao Kuangyin. Zhao Kuangyin said lightly: "I was too drunk at the time and remembered a lot of things vaguely. "For subordinates, although they must pay attention to dignity in most cases, there is no need to make a fuss over small mistakes or unintentional offenses. Zhao Kuangyin's success has a lot to do with this magnanimity.

Four. Kindness and kindness Mercy

After Zhao Kuangyin changed the Later Zhou Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, he always treated the Later Zhou royal family more favorably without any harm. For a group of ministers last week, not much changed. They did what they should do. . For those heroes who supported him as emperor, although he was also worried that they would be loyal to himself or his successor, he took the most honest countermeasures of all Chinese emperors.

July 9, 961. , that is, a year and a half later, Zhao Kuang abdicated as emperor, held a banquet, and invited heroes with more troops to drink.

When the wine approached, Zhao Kuangyin told all his servants to avoid it, sighing: "If it weren't for you, it would be today." However, I often think in my heart that I want to be happy and comfortable when I live. Why should I fight for the Emperor? The emperor's business is really difficult to do, and it's not as comfortable as when I did our job before. I can't sleep every night now. "Everyone was confused and didn't know what to say. Shi Shouxin, the closest sworn brother, asked carefully: "Your Majesty, please explain, did you do anything wrong? "Zhao Kuangyin patted the chair under his butt. "Who doesn't want to sit on the emperor's throne? "At this time, the hero is afraid. The rabbit is dead and the dog is inevitable, but it is common to kill the hero after the situation is stable. Shi Shouxin quickly led everyone to kneel down and said: "Why does the emperor think so? Now that fate has been decided, who dares to have a second thought? If there really is such a criminal and thief, we are all willing to raise our three-foot sword and kill him for Your Majesty. Zhao Kuangyin continued, "I know you won't do this, but if some of your subordinates are greedy for money, can you not do this once you put on the yellow robe?" "After hearing these words, these heroes were sweating profusely and burst into tears. Shi Shouxin turned his head and said: "We are all rough people, we can't think about this. Your Majesty, please have mercy on us and give us a clear path. Therefore, Zhao Kuangyin clearly said to everyone, "Life is short, just like the blink of an eye." "While pursuing wealth, I also hope that I can live a comfortable and happy life and that my children and grandchildren will be rich. In this case, why not hand over military power, become an official in a wealthy place, buy more fertile land, mansions, and beautiful women[/s2/] Gege, how about enjoying life happily? There is no need for the king and his ministers to be suspicious of each other. How wonderful that everyone has their own place and is happy for the United States!" Listen to this. Kowtow in praise. The next day, they all submitted their resignations. Zhao Kuangyin arranged for them to become senior officials in some wealthy places, and married one of his sisters and three daughters to these heroes. In this way, Zhao Kuangyin avoided the recurrence of the tragedy of heroes being killed in history.

Whenever a new emperor succeeds to the throne after Zhao Kuangyin, after visiting the ancestral hall, he will open the closed compartment of the ancestral hall, salute a stone tablet with an oath engraved on it, and then kneel down to recite the oath silently. At that time, only an illiterate eunuch would follow, and the others would just wait for him. Therefore, no one except the emperors of the past generations knew the content of the oath. In 1127 AD, after the Jin people occupied Kaifeng, in order to collect money, all the gates of the Song Palace were opened, and people could see the true content of the oath. According to records, this stone tablet is about seven or eight feet high and more than four feet wide. Written on it are the rules for future generations: "First, save the descendants of Chai and do not impose crimes; second, do not kill literati and talkers; third, do not increase the amount of cultivated land."

In In the 5,000-year history of Chinese civilization, this is the only oath of glorious humanity from an emperor. Therefore, Zhao Kuangyin became the most benevolent emperor in Chinese history.