Sky Curtain: The Overlord Charges into Battle, Shocking Emperors of All Dynasties

"There's really something special about Emperor Taizong's position,"

Liu Che couldn't help but sigh.

He genuinely felt that the later dynasties were truly full of ingenious ideas and innovations.

Before him, Liu Che only knew of Emperor Taizong of Shang (Tai Jia) and his grandfather, Emperor Taizong of Han (Liu Heng).

These two emperors, Taijia and Taizong, were once exiled to Tonggong by the regent Yi Yin.

His grandfather's succession to the throne was decided by the ministers.

He never imagined that the succession to the throne for later emperors like Taizong would also be so complicated.

And it seems like it's become a custom-made product.

If you want to become Emperor Taizong, you must first seize it from others.

It's just unknown whether later emperors like Emperor Taizong of Tang and Emperor Taizong of Song obtained the throne through illegitimate means.

The conversation between the two on the sky continued.

"And I can fight!!"

Zhao Guangyi puffed out his chest, quite proud.

Li Shimin's eyes lit up. "It's the second son, Emperor Taizong, and he's in line for the throne. Most importantly, he's good at fighting!"

"Isn't this just a carbon copy of myself?"

"You should have said so earlier! Otherwise, I wouldn't even bother with Zhu Di. Who wants to associate with someone who's trying to steal their nephew's throne?"

"I've long disapproved of him bullying the weak!"

"By the way, how many kings did you capture in that battle?"

Zhao Guangyi looked somewhat embarrassed. "Ah, well, I lost."

"roll!!"

Huh? Did they lose?

The crowd in front of the celestial screen was dumbfounded. The previous two emperors recorded on the screen had already raised their expectations. Li Shimin had destroyed the Turks, and Zhu Di had fought against the Oirats. They had never lost a war against foreign tribes. Therefore, they naturally assumed that the emperors recorded on the celestial screen must have been outstanding in both civil administration and military affairs.

Now they're telling us that you lost the war against foreign powers, so how dare you call yourself Emperor Taizong, let alone be ranked alongside Emperor Taizong of Tang!

In the comments section,

[Zhao Guangyi and Liu Heng, two emperors who were both scholars, could sit together. Why did you insist on squeezing into the circle of Emperor Taizong of Tang?]

Follow-up comment: Although Zhao Guangyi was lacking in military prowess, he was quite capable in civil administration; the administrative model of the Northern and Southern Song dynasties was basically established under his leadership.

[The sound of the axe and the shadow of the candle: Zhao Guangyi's ascension to the throne was indeed illegi

Follow-up comment: At that time, Zhao Kuangyin was only fifty years old and in good health. How could he have died so mysteriously?

[Historical records state only one sentence: "The emperor died in the Wansui Palace," without mentioning the cause of death, not even a mention of dying suddenly from an illness. Isn't that strange?]

Commentary: According to unofficial historical records, Zhao Kuangyin summoned Zhao Guangyi to the palace, dismissed his attendants, and had a private conversation with him. Outsiders could only see the shadows of the two men moving about under the candlelight, with the sound of a jade axe striking the ground interspersed among them.

Zhao Kuangyin shouted, "Good job, good job!" which likely meant, "What a wonderful thing you've done!!"

That night, Zhao Guangyi stayed overnight in the palace. At dawn, Zhao Kuangyin died, and Zhao Guangyi received the imperial edict and ascended the throne before the coffin.

Follow-up comment: This can be considered unofficial history. The key is that Sima Guang's "Sushui Jiwen" during the reign of Emperor Shenzong provided a lot of additional evidence. When Zhao Kuangyin died, Zhao Guangyi was not in the palace at all. Empress Song sent a eunuch to summon the prince to the palace, but she did not expect that the eunuch had already been bribed and went straight to Zhao Guangyi's residence. Zhao Guangyi rushed into the palace and directly inherited the throne.

Follow-up comment: Perhaps the story of the Axe and the Candle Shadow is a fabricated historical account, but Zhao Guangyi's plot to usurp the throne and even kill Zhao Kuangyin are true!

Follow-up comment: Moreover, there are many suspicious points. He changed the era name in the same year he ascended the throne, and the official history books have also made many deletions. Furthermore, all of Zhao Kuangyin's sons died in the end. It is hard not to suspect that he was guilty.

To exonerate himself and justify his claim to the throne, Zhao Guangyi claimed that his mother left a will hidden in a golden cabinet before her death, stating that the throne would be passed down from brother to brother. After Zhao Kuangyin's death, the throne passed to Zhao Guangyi, then to Zhao Tingmei, and finally to the eldest son, Zhao Dezhao, with the throne rotating among the three brothers.

Follow-up comment: The timing of the announcement is also strange. It just so happens that it was announced right after Zhao Kuangyin had killed two of his sons and was about to take action against his third brother.

Follow-up comment: Yes, Zhao Guangyi himself did not implement the Golden Chest Covenant.

Follow-up comment: When their mother died, Zhao Kuangyin's eldest son was already eleven years old. By the time Zhao Kuangyin died, his eldest son was twenty-five and his second son was seventeen. They were fully capable of governing the country!

During the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty,

Li Shimin originally thought that Emperor Taizong of Song was worthy of the temple name "Taizong," but now...

He was ashamed to be associated with Zhao Guangyi!

He has the nerve to say he's the same as me? At least I truly inherited it from my father, the emperor.

He defeated his elder brother squarely in the Xuanwu Gate Incident to become the crown prince. He was vying for the throne, not usurping it!

Zhao Guangyi, hurry up and sit at the same table as Zhu Di. There's no room for you at my table.

Qin Dynasty

"I feel guilty, so guilty."

Ying Zheng shook his head. "Purely a cover-up."

"They usurped the throne, and then they even came up with this 'brother succeeds brother' will from their mother's side."

"Who would care about such things if they could be an emperor, especially a founding emperor?"

Ying Zheng did not believe that a founding emperor would pass on the empire he had worked so hard to build to his brother instead of his own son.

There is only one situation where this would be the case: when the heir is young, the young ruler is in power, the country is unstable, and it is not difficult to understand why a successor would be chosen from among the brothers.

However, according to Tianmu, Zhao Kuangyin's sons at that time were all adults, making it completely unnecessary for him to pass the throne to his brothers.

They're all emperors; everyone knows each other.

"Your Majesty is right," Liu Bang said with a smile, "and Zhao Guangyi even killed all of his elder brother's sons. With such blatant methods, does he really think he can cover it up?"

"I am somewhat curious about something: both Emperor Taizong of Tang and Emperor Taizong of Ming had illegitimate access to the throne, yet later generations have been quite lenient towards them."

"Could it be that the sarcastic and belittling remarks made towards Emperor Taizong of Song were related to the battle mentioned in the celestial canopy?"

Liu Bang also looked curious, "It must be that battle. I'm quite curious, how exactly did Zhao Guangyi manage to win that battle?"

During the reign of Emperor Taizu of Song,

Zhao Kuangyin felt refreshed and let out a long sigh of relief, releasing the stale air that had accumulated in his chest from the strenuous exercise.

Behind him, Zhao Guangyi, bound by hemp rope, lay sprawled on the ground, his body twitching, his face bruised and bleeding profusely, and his right calf bent at an odd angle, clearly broken.

Zhao Kuangyin handed the dragon-patterned staff to a nearby attendant, then picked at his ear.

Zhao Guangyi's desperate pleas for mercy just now almost deafened him.

He didn't kill Zhao Guangyi; he had fought his way up from the chaos of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, a time when it was common for brothers to succeed each other and for ministers to usurp the throne.

At this time, he was still young, and Zhao Guangyi had not yet done what would happen in later generations, breaking a leg to vent his anger.

However, he was still somewhat displeased, as he only had two sons, both of whom were killed by Zhao Guangyi.

Could it be that Zhu Di later learned to deal with his nephew from Zhao Guangyi?