In 959, Chai Rong died, and Chai Zongxun, a seven-year-old emperor, ascended the throne. At this time, Zhao Kuangyin was appointed as the chief inspector of the Guards, and Song Zhou was appointed as a German soldier.
Zhou Zhen (now Zhengding, Hebei Province) and Dingzhou (now Dingxian, Hebei Province) reported that the armies of the Northern Han and Liao countries had jointly attacked the Zhou Dynasty in the second day of the first month of Xiande (960), which was huge and requested to send troops for assistance. Empress Fu, prime ministers Fan Ju, Wang Pu and other ruling ministers could not distinguish between true and false, and quickly ordered our minister in the named state, Murong Zhaoyan, to lead the troops to resist. He also ordered Zhao Kuangyin to lead troops to the north to defend the enemy, and gave him hundreds of thousands of gold belts, silverware, pommel horses, armor and weapons. On the third day (February 3), Zhao Kuangyin led the crowd out of the King's Gate of the Capital of Song Dynasty, and Xuanhui South Courtyard ordered Zanjurun to arrange a banquet, which was sent to the suburbs by court ministers. In the evening, the army arrived in Chen Qiaoyi (now Chenqiao Town, southeast of Fengqiu, Henan). Under the planning of his elder brothers Zhao Guangyi, Zhao Pu, Shi Shouxin and Wang Shenqi, Zhao Kuangyin encouraged the soldiers to launch a mutiny, encouraged him to become a yellow robe, rebelled against the Zhou Dynasty, and changed Zhao Kuangyin to the emperor. Then, Zhao Kuangyin led the troops to Li Kaifeng to restrain the soldiers from burning, killing and looting. "The change of Joe, and the oath not disturbing; On the day of entering the city, the city will not change. " Zhao Kuangyin Chen Qiao mutinied and returned to Beijing, only to find that the inspector of the capital made Han Tong resist hastily, but he was immediately killed by Wang. Wang pu, Wei Renpu and other prime ministers all criticized Zhao Kuangyin. Before the account, Luo Yangui drew his sword and said sharply, "The three armies have no owners, and the people discuss setting up checkpoints in the name of the son of heaven. Those who don't follow will be beheaded!" . Wang Pu looked forward and bowed down to Fan Ju. Song Yin personally helped him up and treated him politely.
There was little resistance. In the fourth day, the Duke of Zhou was in Zen, and Zhao took over. "MAO will accept zen, no zen. Academician Hanlin promised to come out of Tao's arms and said,' It's done.' "。
Zhao Kuangyin once returned to Germany as our special envoy and was stationed in Songzhou. Songzhou was the hometown of the Spring and Autumn Period (now Shangqiu, Henan Province), hence the name "Song". Shi Shouxin, Gao Huaide, Zhang Lingduo, Wang Shenqi, Zhang Guanghan and Zhao were all awarded the title of our time, which was called "Chen Qiao mutiny" in history. See: release the rights of soldiers with a glass of wine.
Song Taizu and Zhao Kuangyin, in order to strengthen centralization and prevent the imperial army from wearing yellow robes, repeated historical dramas similar to the national disaster and the mutiny in Chen Qiao and usurped their own political power. Therefore, Zhao Kuangyin expressed his views at a banquet, threatening and conniving at both sides, and suggested that senior officers hand over military power. Compared with Emperor Gaozu and Ming Taizu, Zhao Kuangyin is regarded as a model of leniency.
One day, Song Taizu called Zhao Pu and asked, "In the decades since the end of the Tang Dynasty, the emperor changed eight families, wars were frequent, and the people lived in dire straits. What is the reason? " I want the world to stop the war and the country to maintain long-term stability. What should I do? Zhao Pu replied, "Your Majesty is really lucky to tell this story. The chaos in the world is caused by the fact that the buffer region is too powerful and the monarch is weak and the minister is strong. To solve this situation today, we can only weaken the power of buffer towns, limit their finances and confiscate their elite troops, and the world will be peaceful. "
In the spring of the first year of Jiande (963), Shi Shouxin, Gao Huaide, Wang Shenqi, Zhang Lingduo, Zhao, Luo Yangui and other senior generals left Korea to drink after withdrawing troops. Half drunk, Song Taizu said to the generals, "I can't be emperor without you. Although I am the son of heaven, I might as well try my best to be happy. After becoming an emperor, I didn't sleep well all day. " This made Shi Shouxin and others dumbfounded: "Why did your Majesty say that? Since the destiny has been decided, who dares to be unfaithful again? " Zhao Kuangyin said, "Who doesn't want wealth? One day, someone will dress you in a yellow robe and support you as an emperor. Even if you don't want to rebel, is it your call? "
Shouxin and other generals knelt down and kowtowed, crying and saying, "I am ignorant and don't know how to deal with this matter." Please have mercy on us and give us a way out. " Song Taizu took this opportunity to express the idea of letting them give up military power. He put forward that "life is short, just like the blink of an eye." It is better to accumulate more money, buy some real estate and pass it on to future generations. There are many singing and dancing at home, and we will drink together day and night. There is no suspicion between the monarch and the minister. Is this not good? " Ministers thanked them and said, "Your Majesty can think of us, which is good for us to come back to life!" The next day, all the troops will plead guilty and ask to resign, and Song Taizu will agree to them one by one.
After the appointment and dismissal, Song Taizu's sworn brothers in charge of the relieving were all relieved of their official duties, and he was no longer educated. Although Shi Shouxin retains the title of "Commander of the Guards", he has no real power. Li Shou Guannan, Ma Shou Yingzhou, Han Shou Changshan, He Weizhong Shou Yizhou, He Shou Dizhou, Wu Shou Xishan, Wu Shou Jinyang, Qiao Zhou, Li Jixun Shou Zhaoyi, Zhao Zan Shou Yanzhou, Yao Neibin Shou Gyeongju and Dong Zunhui Shou Huangzhou. Therefore, border officials are all rich in money, raising the dead, keeping spies, the enemy's situation, mountains and rivers, and everyone knows. So there has been no west or north for more than ten years. "
Before and after Song Taizu's "returning to the field with a glass of wine", he deprived the heavily armed generals and local officials of their military power and entrusted them with a virtual post. The army was led by a civilian, and the general power and financial power were all concentrated in the central government. Therefore, the Song Dynasty survived the separatist regime of the Tang Dynasty. However, it also led to the scarcity of local resources, which eventually led to repeated wars and defeats in foreign wars in the Song Dynasty. See: Northern Song Dynasty Joint War, Yongxi Northern Expedition, Battle of Gaoliang River, Alliance of Golden Chamber, Candle Shadow and Axe Sound.
Another cause facing Song Taizu is to unify the whole country. After consulting with Zhao Pu in Hakodate, Zhao Kuangyin decided to go south first and then north to unify the whole country. Zhao Kuangyin was the first to kill Nanping and Chu. Later, it perished in Houshu, Nanhan and Nantang. Mao was bent on unifying the whole country, and he also set up a stock company to save money and grain, hoping to redeem sixteen States from the Liao Dynasty in the future. In August, 976, Taizu went north again. However, on1October 19, Mao died suddenly, and his brother was busy taking the throne, so the cause of national reunification was temporarily suspended. Song Taizu's brother Zhao Guangyi acceded to the throne, and the temple was named Taizong. After the reign of Emperor Taizong was stable, he continued the cause of national reunification. First, Chen Heqian, who was separated from Zhangzhou and Quanfu in Fujian, surrendered, and then he perished in the Northern Han Dynasty, ending the separatist situation in the provinces since the Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty, and finally basically completing the national reunification. In May, 979, in the fourth year of Taiping and rejuvenating the country, Emperor Taizong ignored the opposition of his ministers and took advantage of the defeat of the Northern Han Dynasty to set off from Taiyuan for the Northern Expedition. At first, Yizhou and Zhuozhou were recovered. Emperor Taizong was full of ambition and ordered an attack on Yanjing. The result was a fiasco in the Gaoliang River. After this campaign, the strategy of Song Dynasty was passive. In 986, in the third year of Yongzheng, Emperor Taizong once again made a northern expedition and suffered another crushing defeat. Yang Ye, a famous soldier, was also killed in this battle. Later, the Song Dynasty also failed in the war against the Tangut, and a popular uprising broke out in Sichuan. Emperor Taizong's administration had to focus on the internal deficiency and external reality.
Tang Taizong himself was arty and liked poetry and songs, so the government paid special attention to cultural undertakings, and the Song Dynasty paid attention to the opening of education. Tang Taizong also likes calligraphy, and is good at cursive script, official script, running script, seal script, stereotyped writing, flying white, especially flying white. Even the words on Chunhua Yuanbao, the currency of the Song Dynasty, are too patriarchal. Emperor Taizong's accession to the throne is quite doubtful, because folklore has always said that Zhao Kuangyin was killed by Zhao Guangyi. In order to ensure the legitimacy of the regime, Zhao Guangyi put forward the death theory of his mother Du Tai, that is, the "Golden Chamber Alliance". The alliance of the golden chamber originated from Du Taihou calling Zhao Pu into the palace to record his last life. Queen Mother Du said that after Zhao Kuangyin's death, she would preach Guangyi, Guang Mei (later renamed Mei Ting) and Dezhao (the eldest son of Zhao Kuangyin). This suicide note is hidden in the synopsis of the golden chamber, so it is called the alliance of the golden chamber. Although there is a saying of the golden chamber alliance, Emperor Taizong forced Mao's sons Zhao Dezhao and Zhao to death and demoted them. Two years later, Mei Ting died in the palace. Zhao Yuanzuo, the eldest son of Emperor Taizong, was also abolished for sympathizing with Mei Ting, and another son, Zhao Yuanxuan, died suddenly. Finally, Wang Yuankan was made a prince and renamed Heng. In 997, the third year of Daoism, Emperor Taizong died, and Li and eunuchs attempted to establish themselves as emperors. Due to the proper disposal of Prime Minister Lv Duan, Zhao Caiheng ascended the throne smoothly, and the temple name was Zhenzong. Song dynasty also began to enter its heyday.