Chairman Mao, the greatest military strategist, politician and writer in New China, wrote the famous "Qinyuan Spring Snow" in February 1936. In the lyrics, Chairman Mao listed the five greatest emperors in Chinese history: Emperor Qin ruled the six kingdoms, and for the first time used the term emperor who had influenced China for more than 2,000 years; Liu Che of the Han Dynasty counterattacked the Xiongnu and shouted the slogan of "If you commit a strong man, you will be punished even if you are far away"; Tang Sect Li Shimin is a genius who went up to level the world and ruled the world, and Tian Khan became the proud memory of all the Chinese who called themselves Tang people in the future; Genghis Khan, a generation of Tianjiao, was a military genius who brought the cavalry tactics of the human cold weapon era to the extreme. The Mongol Iron Cavalry he created single-handedly made Eurasia tremble, and the world was subjugated, and perhaps only the sea and typhoon were its only limits. However, what puzzles future generations is why Song Zu Zhao Kuangyin can occupy one of the five in this poem and become a generation of emperors who are also admired by Chairman Mao?

I think: When Chairman Mao wrote this poem, he may have thought of the old man who burned incense and made a wish to the moon 1010 years ago, right? It was strange that the old man was sixty years old that year. What did he wish? He is not the sister of Minchan, so naturally he will not allow us to live in peace in the Han Dynasty, and his father-in-law Wang Yun will live a long life. He is not Li Longji's brother and Yang Yuhuan's sister, and naturally he will not be forever and forever. So who is this old man? What did he wish? All right! Our story begins with this old man's wish -

In February of the 4th year of Tongguang in the Later Tang Dynasty (926 AD) (the dates used in this book are all lunar calendars, you can refer to Chen Yuan's "Twenty Historical Shuo Leap Tables" to calculate the month and day of the Gregorian calendar), the Weizhou mutiny. Li Siyuan, who was sent by Tang Zhuang Sect to quell the rebellion, was threatened by the rebels, and on April 20, he ascended the throne as Tang Mingzong in front of Zhuang Zong, and changed to Yuan Tiancheng on the 28th. However, there is reason to believe that the sixty-year-old man has no intention of taking the throne. Because on the night of his accession to the throne, he burned incense and prayed to heaven: "A certain person is not blessed in the world." In case of chaos, it is pushed by the public. May the heavens give birth to saints as soon as possible, and be the lord of the people" Legend has it that the Jade Emperor was also touched by the old emperor's benevolence, and ordered the heavenly immortal Red Whisker Fire Dragon to rule the world on his behalf. And that same night, in the Jiama camp not far from his Luoyang palace, an old lady surnamed Du claimed that the sun had set in her stomach that night (hehe!). Whether the legend is true or not, this book is only a bibliograph, and I don't care to discern it)

Ten months later, on February 16, 927, Mrs. Du gave birth to her second son with her husband Zhao Hongyin. Legend has it that on the day of birth, the red light surrounds the room, and the strange fragrance in the camp does not disperse for months. So Zhao Hongyin named the child Zhao Kuangyin, but the old couple often affectionately called this son 'Xiang Child' in private.

The year 927 was indeed a troubled time. Tang Mingzong's eyes looked north, and Yelu Abaoji, the founder of the Khitan country, had died of illness on July 27 last year. The middle son Yelu Deguang became the second generation of the lord with the support of the Empress Dowager Shulu. is waiting for the filial sons and grandsons of the Central Plains to open the door and steal. Looking at the northwest, Li Renfu is also in a big trouble, in order to prevent him from colluding with the Khitan, sooner or later he should exchange his Xiazhou with An Congjin's Yanzhou. Although Wang Jianqian Shu in the southwest had been destroyed 2 years ago, Meng Zhixiang, the envoy of the Xichuan Jiedu and Dong Zhang, the envoy of the Dongchuan Jiedu, did not reassure Mingzong. Looking south, Gao Jichang, the king of Nanping, and Ma Yin, the king of Chu, were temporarily encircled by the Later Tang Dynasty, but how long can such loyalty be maintained? Just like Yang Yu in the southeast, the powerful minister Xu Wen is dead, and his heart to be the emperor may not be suppressed anymore, right? Qian Miao, another giant in the southeast, has occupied that piece of land for 30 years, so how could he ever pay a penny of taxes to the central government? The Wang brothers were killing each other, Wang Yanjun had just killed his brother Yanhan, and he had taken the position of the heir to the throne of Min with blood on both hands. The farthest piece of the Southern Han Dynasty is high in the sky, the emperor is far away, the flying dragon is in the sky, and the arrogant Liu will let him fool around.

In this way, Li Siyuan really doesn't want to be this unconscious emperor. But in all fairness, his job as emperor is not bad. The seven years he has been emperor have been a rare well-off year in the five generations of troubled times. Zhao Kuangyin's childhood was spent happily and plainly. During this period, the only thing recorded as a miracle by later historians is only two events: first, he rode on a fierce horse and used his small head to compare the strength of the city wall; The second is that he went out to play a game of birds, and at the moment he left the room, a small earthquake collapsed the earthen house where he had rested before. And both times, Xiao Zhao was miraculously unscathed. It's just that compared with Liu Bang, the son of the Han Dynasty, the kid can only sigh: The major writers of the Song Dynasty! Your imagination is a little too poor!

But for Zhao Kuangyin himself and all the officials and people of the Great Song Dynasty in the future, such a childhood may not be a good thing. Think about it: If a child is growing up, he has witnessed his relatives die in war, die of cold and starvation, or even be displaced and bullied. What kind of character will he develop? Once in power, what kind of revenge will be given to others? Thinking about Zhu Yuanzhang, the son of a peasant who will suffer and have a lot of hatred in the future, the people of the Song Dynasty should really be glad that there is such a small prosperous era in the five generations of troubled times.

In the blink of an eye, Zhao Kuangyin is 10 years old. At this time, he would never have imagined that an upcoming event would become the biggest trouble of his life, and a task that his successors would not be able to handle for generations. Just 1,000 years before Mao wrote the famous poem "Qinyuan Spring and Snow", Sha Tuo, a man named Shi Jingjiao, decided to sell his soul to the devil for his life and throne. He cut off a large piece of China's great rivers and mountains described in the words ("Zizhi Tongjian" and "New Five Dynasties History": You, Zhuo, Ji, Tan, Shun, Ying, Mo, Wei, Shuo, Yun, Ying, Xin, Fei, Confucian, Wu, Huan. Collectively known as the 16 states of Youyun. "Liao History and Geography" has no Yingmo but Yingping. The 2 states were actually cut by Liu Rengong, and they were already Khitan before. Qian Daxin thought that Liao had Yingmo and recovered it for Chai Rong. Therefore, the land of 16 states was supplemented with camping. It is about 600 kilometers from east to west and 200 kilometers from north to south. equivalent to an area of 120,000 square kilometers in Jiangsu Province and Shanghai) to the then Khitan lord Yelu Deguang in exchange for his support for his own army against Tang Jianjin. After the success, Shi Jingjiao fully fulfilled his promise. Not only did they cede 16 states to the Khitan (Zizhi Tongjian recorded this in 936, and Liao Shi Benji in 938). may have promised to cede the land and the time difference between the official cession of the land), and he also worshipped the 35-year-old Khitan lord of the Khitan state as his father with the 45-year-old old emperor of the Central Plains, and became the son emperor who had been stinking for 10,000 years. At the same time, it also deeply planted the bane of the country's demise for Zhao Kuangyin's Great Song Dynasty.

When Zhao Kuangyin was 16 years old, Jin Gaozu, who betrayed the country to seek glory, finally died of depression. He was succeeded by his nephew Shi Chonggui. The first performance of Emperor Jin as soon as he came to power made Yelu Deguang cry and laugh. He even sent a messenger to tell Deguang: From now on, I will still be your grandson. But in the working relationship, we are equal, and I will never be a subservient to you! All right! We don't care about the title. However, the words of Jing Yanguang, an important minister of the Later Jin Dynasty brought back by a man named Qiao Rong, made Yelu Deguang furious, and decided to tear his face with his grandson surnamed Shi, so that he could clearly understand: Your Shi Jin was established by me, and it can be abolished by me!

Sure enough, four years later, on the first day of the first month of the 12th year of Tianfu (947), after three repeated tug-of-wars, Yelu Deguang entered Daliang City, the capital of the Later Jin Dynasty, with a majestic and high-spirited horse. At this time, General Zhao Hongyin was temporarily unemployed. In the past 20 years, there have been 3 dynasties of each other's succession, from the original Zhao Wang Rong's subordinates, to become a small officer in the Tang Zhuangzong forbidden army, General Zhao has served 7 masters, and is actually an officer in the forbidden army. Even today, the Khitans have visited here, and none of the Zhao family has been unharmed. Even 2 years ago, Zhao Hongyin married 19-year-old Zhao Kuangyin and 17-year-old Miss He Jinchan. It's a miracle. Moreover, our old general Zhao will not be unemployed for too long, and will return to work again soon, or be a small officer in the forbidden army. This employment resume is really comparable to five generations of living fossils, human old fritters Feng Dao Feng Lao Xian!

At this time, there is a legend that has been passed down to future generations: the Khitan army entered Kaifeng City to fight the grass valley, Zhao Hongyin could only move his family to avoid chaos, and one shoulder picked the second son Zhao Kuangyin, and one shoulder picked the third son Zhao Guangyi. The road met the old fairy Chen Tuan of Huashan. Chen Shenxian Da Lang smiled and pointed out, "There is no Son of Heaven in the world, and the Son of Heaven is a burden today." But a closer look reveals that this legend is by no means true. Zhao Guangyi, Taizong of the Song Dynasty, was born on October 7, the 4th year of Tianfu (939), at the age of 9. And Taizu Zhao Kuangyin is 12 years older than him, and he is 21 years old at this time. Can such a flat arm maintain balance? What's more, can such a child sit still in a basket?

But any legend has a factual background. The fact hidden behind this legend is that in this year, 21-year-old Zhao Kuangyin did run away from home alone. However, 'it is good to be at home for a hundred days, but it is difficult to go out', and most of the military towns of the Later Jin Dynasty have been attached to the Khitan. Yelu Deguang ascended the throne of the Central Plains on the first day of February, and changed the name of his motherland to Liao and Yuan Datong. It is ready to realize the great harmony of the Han, Shatuo, Khitan and other ethnic groups in the traditional way of the Khitan people. Where can I go? Looking at the vastness, it is estimated that only the Hedong Festival in Taiyuan now makes Liu Zhiyuan have the determination and strength to dare to say no to Yelu Deguang! All right! To the northwest, go to Taiyuan!

However, when he just walked to Luoyang, his birthplace, he heard the news: Liu Zhiyuan had ascended the throne as emperor on February 15, raised troops to the south, and officially raised the banner of resisting Liao and standing on his own. The young Zhao Kuangyin did not catch up with this exciting scene, and he was extremely disappointed in his heart, so he could only continue to go west and continue his journey to the throne.

On March 17, Yelu Deguang gave up the chaotic Central Plains, set off from Daliang City and returned north, leaving his brother-in-law Xiao Han as the envoy of the Xuanwu Army and staying in Bianzhou. However, Yelu Deguang did not expect that his trip to the Central Plains would be a one-way trip with no return. On April 21, he killed Hu Lin. Perhaps what he didn't expect was that his body would become a unique legend in Chinese history. In order to prevent his corpse from decomposing in early summer, the Han people came up with an idea, and the Khitan people operated on it, disemboweling it, stuffing several buckets of salt into his abdomen, making a dried corpse mummy, and carrying it north, which the Jin people called 'Emperor Qi'. Of course, Yelu Deguang didn't expect one more thing: when his mother, the old Empress Dowager Shulu, saw the mummy made of her son, not only did not cry, but also said a cruel sentence "Treat the Zhubu Ning as before, then bury you", after leaving this cruel sentence, the tradition of the Khitan people was staged again: every emperor of the Liao State would be rebelled by his relatives when he ascended the throne, and he ascended the throne in a bloody massacre. This time, the protagonists of one side are the Empress Dowager Shulu and her youngest son Yelu Lihu, and the other side is the protagonist of Yelu Ruan, the son of the loser Yelu Bei in the previous scene. Just when the two sides were tense and about to break the net, a master named Yelu stood up. With his mediation, a great war was eliminated. Li Hu temporarily abdicated his ambitions for the throne. The Empress Dowager Shulu was imprisoned next to the tomb of her husband Yelu Abaoji. Yelu Ruan successfully ascended the throne and became Liao Shizong. And Yelu Wu was the highest reward of the ministers - the official worshiped Yu Yue.

Come back and look at the chaos in the Central Plains. On May 12, Liu Zhiyuan set out from Taiyuan and ordered his younger brother Liu Chong to stay in Taiyuan. The army was pacified all the way. Xiao Han sent Gao Mohan to pick up Li Congyi, the fourth son of Tang Mingzong, from Luoyang and enshrined him as emperor. And he also returned north on the 18th. What do you like, I don't care! As soon as Li Congyi saw that the Khitans no longer supported him, he knew that he couldn't stand as an emperor, so he immediately demoted himself, saying that King Liang knew the military and state affairs, and welcomed Liu Zhiyuan. On June 11, Liu Zhiyuan entered Daliang City, and the towns of the Later Jin Dynasty came and surrendered one after another. The Later Han Dynasty officially opened for business!

All this, 21-year-old Zhao Kuangyin still can't fully understand. At this time, the important thing for him is to get a place to settle down and meet a Bole who appreciates him. However, at this time, he still had no food and clothing, and he could only continue to wander westward. This day came to the foot of Huashan. As a result, the legend of the famous Zhao Taizu gambling on chess and losing to Huashan came out. Legend has it that there is a reclusive master on Huashan, surnamed Chen Ming, named Xiyi, who has played three games in a row with Zhao Kuangyin. As a result, Zhao Kuangyin lost all three games, and he had no way to repay his debts, so he had to write down the note that Huashan was sold to Chen Lu.

In addition to the above legend, there is also a legend of Zhao Taizu sending Jingniang thousands of miles. This incident was first seen in the "Three Words" compiled by the Ming man Feng Menglong. The legend does not tell whether it is true or false, but the route of Zhao Kuangyin's wandering was indeed changed from westward to southward. Maybe he went south to see off his slender and graceful sister Zhao Jingniang.

After going south, Zhao Kuangyin's first stop came to Suizhou. Suizhou Jiedu made Dong Zongben treat him well, but his son Dong Zunzhi didn't know why, he despised Zhao Kuangyin in every way and made things difficult in every way. Thinking that Song Taizu is also a generation of heroes, how can he stand this pickled atmosphere? So he had to leave Suizhou and come to Fuzhou, where he joined his father's former subordinate colleagues, and is now the envoy of Fuzhou Festival, Wang Yanchao. Wang Yan generously invited Zhao Kuangyin to have a meal, and a dish came up at the back, which was not a dish, but ten taels of silver. Looking at Wang Yanchao's sinister smile, Zhao Kuangyin understood. He didn't take the 10 taels of silver, and left Fuzhou without looking back.

During the wandering period, Zhao Kuangyin left the only poem and a half that he handed down in the future: the sun is shining brightly, and thousands of mountains are like fire. A round of ascending to the heavens in an instant, driving away the stars and the waning moon ("Song of the Sun"); Before leaving the bottom of the sea, the mountains are black, and only then did he arrive at Zhongtian Wan Guoming ("Yongyue"). From the poem, it is not difficult for us to see the heroic spirit of the future Song Taizu who reorganized the rivers and mountains and recreated the sun and the moon. But how do you take that first step now? Legend has it that under the guidance of an old monk in Xiangyang, he finally started his own road to take-off. The old monk left Zhao Kuangyin with a 16-word verse: 'When you meet Guo Nai'an, you will be shown in the past few weeks. At the end of the day, he told him not to go south, but to go north, and gave him a great deal of gold and silver and a donkey. But how can there be a donkey in the monk's temple? The bald donkey was originally a contemptuous term for monks. Only Taoist priests can ride donkeys, how have you ever seen a monk riding a donkey? So I think the person who gave Zhao Kuangyin an important start in life should be a Taoist priest, and it is very likely to be Chen Jun!

Zhao Kuangyin went north to Guide Mansion in Songzhou, and he entered a Gaoxin temple to divinate his fate. So from the small school to the jurisdiction, level by level up to the festival, the hexagram always shows bad luck. Zhao Kuangyin, who was almost deflated, threw it hard again, and said loudly, "Can I be the son of heaven?"

In March of the first year of Qianyou (948), Liu Zhiyuan had died after being emperor for one year, and he left Su Fengji, Shi Hongzhao, Yang Wei, and Guo Wei as important ministers to his son, Liu Chengyou, Emperor Yin of Han. At the same time, Fengxiang Jiedu made Wang Jingchong, Yongxing Jiedu made Zhao Siwan, and Hezhong Jiedu made Li Shouzhen rebel together. The privy envoy Guo Wei recruited troops in Yedu and prepared to quell the rebellion. And Zhao Kuangyin also happened to go north to Yedu at this time, and saw Guo Zi's military flag waving in the wind, and Chen Kuangyin's first sentence of 'meeting Guo Nai'an' echoed in Zhao Kuangyin's mind. So an unprecedented scene in Chinese history appeared: the two founding emperors met when they were not emperors, and Song Taizu's life took off from then on......