Song Huizong defined himself as an immortal like Taishang Laojun, who is an emperor-like existence even among immortals, isn't Song Huizong crazy?

In history, because of the emperor's pursuit of immortality, it turned out to be a shocking case, and it was none other than the Red Pill case.

The Red Pill case was one of the three major cases of the Ming Dynasty. In the first year of Taichang (1620), Guangzong was seriously ill, and Li Kezhuo offered red pills and called himself an elixir. Guangzong died after taking it. Some people suspected that it was Concubine Zheng Guifei of Shenzong who instigated the poisoning, and immediately launched a series of actions to track down the culprit. During this period, party strife and personal enmity were mixed in, and there were many people who died in a row.

The Red Pill case was one of the three major cases in the late Ming Dynasty. The three cases are the palace removal case, the red pill case and the striage case. On July 21, the 48th year of Wanli (1620), Emperor Wanli died of illness. The crown prince Zhu Changluo succeeded to the throne and changed his name to Taichang, so it was customary to call him Emperor Taichang. On the first day of the first month of August, Emperor Taichang was at the enthronement ceremony, "Jade Shoes Anhe", "Chong Cui has no sick appearance", that is, walking, normal demeanor, and no symptoms of disease. On July 22 and 24, the 48th year of Wanli, Emperor Taichang issued 1 million taels of silver to reward the border guards in Liaodong and other places, dismissed the mining tax and the tax, withdrew the mining tax envoy, added the cabinet ministers, and operated the center, "the government and the opposition were moved". I thought that the new monarch would succeed to the throne and there would be something to do, but I didn't want to be only ten days after the enthronement ceremony, that is, on the 10th day of the first month of August, Emperor Taichang couldn't afford to be ill. The next day, the celebration was also canceled. "Guoyi" records: Zheng Guifei "entered the eight concubines, and she was tired of illness". "The Record of Sins" also recorded: "And ascended to the pole, and the concubine entered the beautiful woman to serve the emperor." Not ten days. Emperor disease. "On August 14, Emperor Taichang was seriously ill and summoned Cui Wensheng, an internal official, for treatment. After taking the medicine prescribed by Cui Wensheng, he began to have diarrhea, which may have been acute gastroenteritis in today's words. There are many times a day and night, and some say that they have diarrhea thirty or forty times a day and night. On August 29, Emperor Taichang summoned the cabinet ministers and asked, "Where is the medicine of the officials of the Honglu Temple?" Here is a slight explanation: Honglu Temple is in charge of the court, guests, etiquette and other affairs of an institution; the head of Honglu Temple is called Honglu Temple, Sipin, and his deputy is Honglu Temple Shaoqing. Five products; Honglu Temple is one level lower. Liupin, roughly equivalent to the current department-level cadres. Emperor Taichang ordered the eunuchs around him to summon Li Kezhuo into the palace quickly. Li Kezhuo's diagnosis was completed, and Emperor Taichang ordered him to take medicine quickly. The ministers repeatedly instructed Li Kezhuo to use medicine carefully, and Emperor Taichang kept urging him to hurry up and take medicine. By noon. Li Ke burned a red pill. Emperor Taichang drank the soup first. Breathless. Wait for the medicine to be added. i.e. no gasp. So he praised Li Kezhuo as a "loyal minister". The ministers were all uneasy and waited outside the palace gate. A eunuch happily came out to spread the word: After the emperor took the red pill, "it is warm and comfortable." Thinking about eating and drinking". ("History of the Ming Dynasty, Han Yi Biography") Ri 晡 (bū) (Shen Shi, 3~5 o'clock in the afternoon), Li Kezhuo took another pill. The next day (the first day of September), Emperor Taichang died. At this time, he inherited the throne for a whole month. On the same day, the first assistant party rewarded Li Kezhuo, who offered the red pill from Zhe's will. This court case caused by the "Red Pill" is known as the "Red Pill Case" in history.

The new emperor died within a month of taking the throne, and the fierce partisan disputes in the court made the discussion about this case very loud, and it somewhat carried the meaning that the Donglin Party took the opportunity to disagree. These discussions revolved around the cause of Guangzong's death, and Fang Congzhe, Li Kezhuo, Cui Wensheng, etc. all became the target of public criticism.

Zhang Wenda, the secretary of the Ministry of Officials, Wang Yingjiao, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, Sun Shenxing, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, Zou Yuanbiao, the imperial history of Zuodu, and many officials impeached Cui and Li for the crime of using drugs and taking medicine incorrectly. Among them, the imperial history Wang Anshun believed: "The veins of the first emperor are majestic and floating, these three scorched fires, the lips are purple and red, the face is full of fire, and the porridge is irritable." This belly is full of fire knots, and it is advisable to clear and not to help Ming. Red lead is the woman's water, the yang in the yin, and the essence of pure fire, and in order to cast into the rash of the void fire and heat, the geometry will not die quickly!"[2]

Because Taichang died after taking the red pill, and the first assistant Fang Congzhe rewarded Li Kezhuo who offered the red pill on the day of Taichang's death, which aroused the suspicion of some people. Yushi Guo Ruchu impeached Fang Congzhe and should not reward Li Kezhuo for medicine. Under the attack of everyone, Fang Congzhe drafted the prince's decree and punished Fenglu, who could be burned for a year. In October, Sun Shenxing, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and Zou Yuan, the imperial historian of the Zuodu, marked two remarkable notes, Sun Shenxing pointed out: "Congzhe has no intention of killing the king, but he has the crime of killing the king." If you want to resign the name of killing, it is inevitable to kill the truth. Fang Congzhe excused himself and resigned, leaving Beijing in early November.

Zheng Zongzhou, the imperial historian, and Cao Zhen, the Shaoqing of the Taichang Temple in Nanjing, pointed out that this incident was due to the same "treacherous conspiracy" as the "attack case" many years ago, that is, someone would put Guangzong and others to death; Wang Zhicai, the head of the Criminal Department, even directly pointed out that Guangzong's death was related to the conspiracy of Zheng and Guangzong's favorite concubine Li to seize power.

After Fang Congzhe left Beijing, he still couldn't get rid of his involvement, and demanded that the Red Pill case be strictly investigated. One day, Emperor Tianqi received a note from Fang Congzhe from his hometown, and he said: He was old and ignorant, and he failed to prevent the mediocre officials from taking medicine, and his crime was not punishable. In order to express his apologies, he is willing to beg to cut off his official ranks, and to go to the frontier as an old man, so as to appease the grievances of the courtiers. Sure enough, many ministers exonerated him, and the Emperor of the Apocalypse was also moved by Fang Congzhe's sincerity, but because the truth was not clear, it was difficult to make a decision for a while. At this time, Han Yi, the cabinet minister who had been silent, finally stood up and spoke. He gave a detailed account of all the facts he had witnessed. In particular, the dilemma of Fang Congzhe at that time was depicted very concretely. In the end, Han Yi proposed that the "Red Pill" case had been entangled for more than a year, but Cui Wensheng and Li Kezhuo, who really put the emperor to death, have not been dealt with until now. Han Yi was a well-known old minister in the Wanli period, he was a fair official for more than ten years, and he was very admired by the ministers, and after entering the cabinet, he has been accompanying Fang Congzhe to enter the red pill, and his words are credible. So after his recital was reported, a storm quickly calmed down. Soon, the Emperor of the Apocalypse issued an order to ask Cui and Li for their crimes. In 1622 (the second year of the Apocalypse), the Ming court sent Cui Wensheng to Nanjing, and Li Kezhuo sent to the frontier. The "Red Pill" case was finally hastily understood due to the struggle between various factions, but the doubts in it were not clarified. Later generations have conducted a series of research and debates for this reason, but there is no result in the end. Whether or not Kwangjong's death was related to the red pill remains a mystery for the ages.

During the Apocalypse, the eunuch Wei Zhongxian was in power, and he wanted to overturn the "Red Pill Case". As a result, Sun Shenxing, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites who denounced Fang Congzhe, was expelled from his official status, stripped of all official titles and titles, and condemned him to exile. The Donglin Party who criticized Cui Wensheng was also punished, and Gao Panlong threw himself into the pool and died. During the Chongzhen period, Wei Zhongxian was punished and the case was turned back. After Chongzhen's death, the Southern Ming Dynasty once again used this as the theme to provoke party disputes, until the Ming Dynasty completely collapsed. The party dispute caused by the little red pill is simply a disaster for the country and the people, and future generations cannot but take it as a warning.

As for the cause of death of Zhu Changluo of Mingguangzong, one theory is that he died of overwork and serious illness; one theory is that Zheng Guifei deliberately caused harm; one theory is that the medication was wrong; and the other theory (mainly Wei Zhongxian's party) is the result of Guangzong's long-term worry about state affairs and the Donglin Party's indiscriminate discussion about intervening in treatment and delaying his illness. What exactly is the red pill is is also a controversial issue. Some people believe that Li Kezhuo's "red pill" is a red lead pill, an ordinary aphrodisiac. Aphrodisiacs belong to hot medicines, and the emperor is cold and cold, and he uses fire to make water, which is the right medicine. Li Kezhuo used aphrodisiacs as tonics, just to follow in Tao Zhongwen's footsteps, but he had bad luck...... Some people believe that the red pill is the alchemy pill of Taoism. Use life-saving golden pills to deal with dying patients, if you are cured, you will gain fame and fortune, and if you die, you will be seriously ill and difficult to cure, Li Kezhuo is likely to want to do this. For more than 300 years, despite the opinions of historians and the assumption of various answers, none of them were convincing, so the Red Pill case has become a mystery for the ages.

Relevant historical materials. 1. "Ming Ji Beiluo" (Volume 1): "On August 29, Li Kezhuo took medicine, and tomorrow Guangzong collapsed. On the third day of the first month of September, Ding Chou Yushi Wang Anshun, Shen Li Kezhuo was charged with red pills. Yanchen received the report from the palace and was ordered to reward fifty taels of silver. Fu Kezhuo dared to use the medicine without a prescription and no system, drove the golden pill, and sang the words of Jingzhi Ziping five-star, and did not escape before he died, which was just an excuse to stop the discussion of the outer court. When Li Kezhuo was ordered to be sick and reformed by the first emperor, he had no effect on the medicine, and he was very disrespectful, but he also loved the king. He was given a light penalty for one year. 2. The method of red lead recorded in the history of the wild: "Doctors have a method of taking red lead. Thirteen or fourteen-year-old virgins are chosen to be beautiful and dignified, and all those who are disabled, have a rough voice, and are not allowed to be real women. Carefully protect the living, as soon as its day is coming, to Luo Bao Shengzhi, or to gold and silver as a vessel, into the porcelain basin such as cinnabar color, with black plum water and well water river water stirring seven degrees, drying, milk powder, cinnabar, frankincense, autumn stone and other medicines for the end, or with a chicken hold, or with fire refining, the name of 'red lead pill'. Specializing in the treatment of five labors and seven injuries, fatigue and weakness ...... "cloud." 3. "Ming Ji Beiluo" (Volume 1): "Yang Lian on the mistake of the internal official Cui Wensheng's medication, saying that the emperor's disease should be cleared and supplemented, and Wensheng counter-invested with the opposite medicine Yunyun. This August 24 is sparse. On September 3, the imperial history Zheng Zongzhou asked the following to be promoted to the law secretary Yan Yan, saying that the changes in the past years of Zhang Cha were unpredictable, and Zhang Cha was promoted because of the Wen Sheng, so that once the emperor collapsed, he should be cut off by inch. In the end, Hui Shiyang played Cui Wensheng lightly used the medicine of stripping and damaged the first emperor. Kechen Taichen discussed it, and the auxiliary ministers were philosophers, and what was the intention to get rid of it. Cao Zhenshu, the young secretary of Nanjing Taichang Temple, please investigate the conspiracy of the medical traitorous party, saying that it should be the same treacherous conspiracy as the previous year's attack on the Qinggong. Nantai Yushi Fu Zonggao on Cui Wensheng's mistake in medication. Yu Shi Ma Fenggao and Southern Yu Shi Li Xikong Jiaozhang impeached Wensheng for the use of drugs, and it was appropriate to be punished. Wang Zhicai, the director of the Criminal Department, asked for revenge on the first emperor's hatred, and discussed Li Xuanshi, Zheng Guifei, Cui Wensheng, and Li Kezhuo. Sun Shenxing, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, participated in the crime of taking medicine from Zhe and Li Kezhuo. Zhang Wenda, the secretary of the Ministry of Officials, together with Wang Yingjiao, the secretary of the Ministry of Households, and others said: Li Kezhuo is not a medical official, once he advances lightly with the red pill and the dragon soars, the crime will prevail and the punishment will prevail? Cui Wensheng has been promoted to the rank of Admiral, when the red pill can be burned, why not investigate in detail, the crime can be burned again. The superior instructed Li Kezhuo to investigate the guilt of the law department. Cui Wensheng was sent to Nanjing for three years. It can be burned. Yushi Guo Ruchu, on Li Kezhuo's crime. (To be continued......)