Looking at it this way, the problem is serious, these two people are both relatives and military power, with high merit and strong ability, what should they rely on to restrain them?

For this problem, Chai Rong already had a very clear understanding of this problem long before he got sick, especially for Li Chongjin, who was older than him, which made Chai Rong feel uneasy. Therefore, since Chai Rong ascended the throne, he has been suppressing him intentionally or unintentionally, and by supporting the palace army, Li Chongjin, who is the commander of the guards and pro-army, has been checked and balanced. After Chai Rong seized the fourteen states of the Southern Tang River and the Northern Mountains, he left Li Chongjin in Yangzhou, keeping him away from the political center at that time, which seemed to have played a certain role, but this caused a new problem, that is, Zhang Yongde's status in the country rose sharply because of this.

Zhang Yongde inspected the palace before Chai Rong's death, and this official name was derived from the inspection of the inner capital in the later Tang Dynasty. After the battle of Gaoping, Chai Rong selected the world's warriors and arranged them as all the classes in front of the palace, all of which had the meaning of inspection and review, which seemed to be more appropriate in this name, so after Chai Rong returned to Beijing from the second southern expedition, Zhang Yongde was appointed as the commander of the palace, and Zhao Kuangyin was promoted to the commander of the palace. But this is just a name change, in fact, the status of the two people in the front of the palace army has not changed.

Zhang Yongde is a few years younger than Chai Rong, so Chai Rong's suspicion of him is far weaker than Li Chongjin, and he even checks and balances Li Chongjin by improving Zhang Yongde's status in the army. However, when Chai Rong was seriously ill, he suddenly discovered that with Zhang Yongde's merits, ability and status in the army, once he died, no one could control him. Therefore, Zhang Yongde was hurriedly dismissed from his military position and promoted Zhao Kuangyin to be inspected in front of the palace. to take over Zhang Yongde's position.

On the way back to the Northern Expedition to the Khitan, Shi Zai Chai Rong handled official documents one day. Suddenly, a small card was turned over in the case, and the words "Spot Check" were written on it. Chai Rong was shocked after reading it, thinking that it was a warning from God, which meant that the palace was inspected to be the son of heaven, so Chai Rong hurriedly dismissed Zhang Yongde, who was inspected in front of the palace at the time, and replaced Zhao Kuangyin with this position.

Whether this record is the true situation at that time, there is no way to confirm it now, but even if there is no such thing, Chai Rong's treatment of Zhang Yongde is understandable. Because Zhang Yongde's innate resources for rebellion are too abundant, there is no way to take him out. But in this way, it added Zhao Kuangyin's final yellow robe and created a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

All kinds of signs show that as early as when Zhao Kuangyin began to serve as the palace capital, his entire spiritual outlook has undergone earth-shaking changes, and he has begun to show that he is unwilling to live under the people for a long time.

Zhao Kuangyin is a general, and he has had a natural preference for martial arts since he was a child, but he is interested in cultural knowledge. The family sent him to a private school, and he didn't go to class well, often skipping school to go out to drink, gamble, and fight, and he was a typical problem teenager.

At that time, the social atmosphere was to emphasize military force over literature. When the family saw him like this, they didn't care, and simply criticized him. And he went. This caused Zhao Kuangyin to be seriously biased in the process of growing up, and his martial arts were unfathomable. When it comes to culture, it's a mess.

Zhao Kuangyin's attitude towards learning was very representative at that time, because the study of literature in troubled times was not very useful. It's better to practice a good martial arts, and you can also find a good future for yourself in the future. Zhao Kuangyin became a big official at a young age, he is a typical successful person, and he also went up with real skills, not by pulling relationships, going through the back door, and slapping horses to get a high position, which set a good example for the children who didn't like to study all day at that time. But since Zhao Kuangyin became the former capital of the palace, he suddenly felt that his cultural knowledge was too poor, so under the influence of no external force, he began to study angrily and make up for cultural courses.

During the attack on the Southern Tang Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin carried thousands of books with him so that he could read them at any time. Chai Rong felt very strange when he knew about this, so he asked him: "Qing is a general, and he should take managing his uniform and sharpening his sword as the main thing, how can he read the book?" ”

Zhao Kuangyin replied: "The minister is a rough man, he doesn't read much, and since he took up an important position, he often feels powerless, so he has to read a few books to recharge himself, in order to better serve the country." ”

Zhao Kuangyin is a cadre who Chai Rong picked up, he is willing to be motivated, Chai Rong will only feel happy, and it is too late to praise! Of course, it is impossible to blame.

But in fact, since Zhao Kuangyin joined the work, he has been serving in the military system, although his education level is not high, but it is not comparable to ordinary illiterates, and there is no problem in being qualified for a military position. And after he served as the palace chief minister, the burden on his body became heavier and heavier, and the social interaction became more and more, so why did he take time out of his increasingly busy work to recharge himself? This is obviously a higher demand for yourself.

While Zhao Kuangyin is constantly recharging himself, he also pays attention to developing his own power. After he served as the palace capital, he took advantage of Chai Rong's opportunity to order him to reorganize the palace army, and brought Luo Yanhuan, Guo Yanbin, Tian Chongjin, Pan Mei, Mi Xin, Zhang Qiong, Wang Yansheng and other brave generals under his command. At the same time, he had extensive contacts, made friends with other middle and senior generals in the forbidden army, and worshipped Shi Shouxin, Wang Xianqi, Han Chongbin, Li Jixun, Liu Qingyi, Liu Shouzhong, Liu Tingrang, Wang Zhengzhong, and Yang Guangyi as the "Ten Brothers of the Righteous Society", forming a circle of influence with himself as the core.

Chai Rong was not unaware of Zhao Kuangyin's behavior, but he would never interfere. Because the biggest threat to Chai Rong is Li Chongjin and Zhang Yongde, not Zhao Kuangyin.

Compared with these two people, Zhao Kuangyin is Chai Rong's henchman, and Chai Rong also intends to let him develop his power so that he can fight against Li Chongjin and Zhang Yongde, so Chai Rong has never restricted Zhao Kuangyin's behavior, but let him go all the way.

In fact, Chai Rong never doubted Zhao Kuangyin's loyalty, and after Zhao Kuangyin became the emperor, Zeng Yang said proudly: "Back then, Shizong was suspicious, and when he saw anyone with big ears, he killed him, and I got along with him day and night. Nothing happened. This sentence should be Zhao Kuangyin's slander of Chai Rong, because so far. There is also no record of Chai Rong killing people because of his looks. But it can also be seen from this sentence that Chai Rong has always trusted Zhao Kuangyin very much.

The reason why Chai Rong trusts Zhao Kuangyin so much. In addition to the fact that Zhao Kuangyin is Chai Rong's hand-picked up, there is another important reason, that is, Zhao Kuangyin is not the kind of big man who is one of the best in the forbidden army, and there are Li Chongjin and Zhang Yongde above, even if someone rebels, it will not be his turn. Chai Rong's consideration cannot be said to be unreasonable, but this situation changed immediately after his death.

Before Chai Rong died, Zhang Yongde was removed from the position of inspection in front of the palace and replaced by Zhao Kuangyin, which made Zhao Kuangyin suddenly the number one person in the forbidden army.

The two giants in the previous forbidden army. The guards and the pro-army all commanded Li Chongjin, who was sent to Yangzhou by Chai Rong, and was already far away from the capital.

The military in front of the palace inspected Zhang Yongde, and was "dismissed from the military post by Chai Rong, and the captain of the school was inspected with Ping Zhangshi", which was actually standing aside. In the two major systems of the forbidden army, the front division of the palace was headed by Zhao Kuangyin, and the previously vacant deputy inspector was succeeded by Murong Yanzhao.

Murong Yanzhao, like Zhao Kuangyin, is a child from the Jiama camp. has been familiar with Zhao Kuangyin since he was a child, and because he is a few years older, Zhao Kuangyin has always treated him with brotherly courtesy, which shows that the relationship is close.

Replacing Zhao Kuangyin's former commander was Shi Shouxin and Wang Xianqi, who was promoted to the former capital of the palace. They are all buddies in the "Ten Brothers of the Righteous Society", and they are the core figures in Zhao Kuangyin's circle of influence. In other words, the entire palace front division has been firmly controlled by Zhao Kuangyin.

Let's take a look at the Guards system. The commander of the guards and pro-army made Li Chongjin. Far away in Yangzhou, he is unable to meddle in the affairs of the capital. Du Yu waited for Han Lingkun. is also a child who came out of the Jiama camp, and has been skipping school, skipping school, drinking, gambling, and fighting with Zhao Kuangyin since he was a child. is Zhao Kuangyin's sworn friend, so there is no need to talk about him.

The guards Ma Jun commanded Gao Huaide and the guards and the guards Zhang Lingduo were both friends of Zhao Kuangyin, and they both formed a family with him a year later, which shows that the relationship is close, and it can also be regarded as Zhao Kuangyin's person.

There is only one deputy commander of the guards, Han Tong, who has nothing to do with Zhao Kuangyin, but among the nine giants of the forbidden army in the capital, eight have already been hugged together, and he is the only one who is alone, how much of a role can he play?

In this case, Zhao Kuangyin's hardware conditions for seizing the throne are all in place, but it just depends on whether he has the subjective will in this regard. There doesn't seem to be any need to dwell too much on this issue. The Five Dynasties was originally an era of chaos, and there were many coups d'état, and the warlord An Chongrong of the Later Jin Dynasty once pointed out sharply: "In this world, the Son of Heaven is the ear of the strong soldiers and horses!" This was the mainstream view at that time, representing the voice of the vast majority of people, and Zhao Kuangyin was not an alternative, since he had such favorable conditions, how could he be indifferent to the throne at his fingertips?

After about half a year of deployment, Zhao Kuangyin felt that all the conditions were in place, and it was the most favorable time to launch a coup d'état, so he officially launched the operation. On the first day of the first month of the seventh year of Zhou Xiande (960), the seven-year-old little emperor Chai Zongxun, like a little adult, sat on the Jinluan Treasure Hall to accept the congratulations of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty. It was at this time that he suddenly received an urgent military intelligence report from Zhenzhou and Ding'er Prefecture at the same time, saying that the Liao army and the Northern Han Dynasty had jointly invaded, and the current situation in Hebei was urgent, and the imperial court was requested to send reinforcements as soon as possible.

At this time, Chai Zongxun had just turned seven years old, and the power of the court was in the hands of Prime Minister Fan Zhen, Wang Pu and privy envoy Wei Renpu. These three people didn't know that this was a strategy conspired by Zhao Kuangyin, Zhao Pu and others, and seeing that the military situation was urgent, they naturally ordered Zhao Kuangyin to lead the army to fight against the enemy, which directly led to the destruction of Hou Zhou. At this time, it was well known that Zhao Kuangyin was in charge of the army in the DPRK, and Guo Wei went out under the guise of "having police" on the border, and then staged a coup d'état on the way to seize the throne. Therefore, after the news that the imperial court ordered Zhao Kuangyin to lead the army to go on the expedition, rumors suddenly spread inside and outside the capital, and rumors spread one after another that "on the day of the expedition, he should be the Son of Heaven." For a while, people were panicked, and many people took their families to hide outside the city.

This panic even spread to Zhao Kuangyin, because although before this incident, he and several key elements under his command had already come to the conclusion that the coup would definitely succeed after some careful analysis and repeated arguments. But after all, this matter is too big, if it becomes a country, it will reign in the world from now on, if it fails, it will inevitably end up being wiped out, and it will be left stinking for thousands of years. It can be said that half of it is seawater, and the other half is flames, and the difference between them is really a world of difference.

That night, Zhao Kuangyin returned home with this uneasy mood, and happened to see his sister cooking in the kitchen. When people are under great mental stress, they always want to find someone to talk to. So although Zhao Kuangyin knew that it was useless to talk about such military affairs with his sister, he couldn't help but walk over and said: "The court ordered me to lead the army to the battle, but the people have rumored that I want to be the Son of Heaven, and I really don't know what to do." ”

How did he know that his sister had already heard such rumors, so after listening to Zhao Kuangyin's words, he immediately picked up a rolling pin and blocked the door, and said loudly to him with a blue face: "A man does great things, if he wants to do it, do it well, go home and say it to scare women?" ”

Zhao Kuangyin was robbed of everything like this, and suddenly came to his senses, thinking that he was also a big man with heavy troops and power in the world, how could things come to an end, he was not even as good as a woman, so he no longer hesitated, calmed down, and waited for further changes in things.

On the second day of the first month, Murong Yanzhao, the deputy inspector in front of the palace, took the lead in sending troops from the capital. On the third day of the first lunar month, Zhao Kuangyin also personally led the army to the expedition, and as soon as he walked out of the city, the people of the capital gathered in groups of three or five, and they talked about his departure, and he must come back to be the Son of Heaven.

Zhao Kuangyin walked with the army for a day and arrived at Chenqiaoyi, forty miles northeast of Kaifeng. At this moment, Miao Xun, a military academy in the army that specializes in observing the stars, grabbed Zhao Kuangyin's attendant Chu Zhaofu, pointed to the sky and shouted: "Look, there are two suns in the sky." ”

Chu Zhaofu also nodded after reading it, and said in a matter-of-fact manner: "Well, not only is there been, but there is also a fight!" The two of them immediately attracted a group of onlookers, and these people also coaxed and said: "One day at a time, this is arranged by God a long time ago." At this time, the news quickly spread among the army, and everyone already knew that there was a very strange natural phenomenon that day, which also indicated that something unusual was about to happen. (To be continued.) )