The following content is reprinted from Mr. Zhao Jinbin, part of an article sent by the public account,

On the 29th day of the third lunar month in 1063 AD, the 54-year-old Zhao Zhen of Song Renzong died. "History of the Song Dynasty" recorded: "The Jingshi boycotted the city and cried for several days, although the beggars and children all burned paper money and cried before the Ouchi." When the news of Renzong's death reached Luoyang, the citizens also automatically closed the city to mourn, and the smoke of burning paper money filled the sky over Luoyang City, so that "there was no light in the day". His death even affected the remote mountainous areas, when an official went to Sichuan on a business trip, passing by the Sword Pavilion, he saw that the women in the ravine were also wearing papier-mâché filial piety hats mourning the death of the emperor, and the people of the entire Northern Song Dynasty were extremely sad!

Not only in China, after the obituary of Song Renzong Zhao Zhen's death was sent to the Liao State, "the people of Yan Realm cried from far and near", and the emperor of the Liao State was also taken aback, rushed up and grabbed the hand of the Song State envoy and cried bitterly, saying: "I have not known the military revolution for many years." And he said, "I will build him a mound of clothes and mourning." The history records the emperor of the Liao State, "Bow down again, and say: 'If I am born in China, but I will hold it with the whip, I will cover all the ears of Yu Hou'!" Since then, the emperors of the Liao State have "worshiped their royal appearance like their ancestors".

It is not uncommon for the emperor of a country to die, and the people of the country cry tears, but it makes the people of neighboring and enemy countries and the emperor cry bitterly, and express heartfelt respect and condolences. Such monarchs are rare, if not unique, in history. In fact, Zhao Zhen did not have the eloquence of Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, nor was he as versatile as Song Huizong, who was the fourth emperor of the Song Dynasty, and in terms of ability, he was not as talented as Song Taizu, and in terms of learning, he was not as versatile as Song Huizong; but in terms of reputation before and after his death, he was the best emperor among the eighteen emperors of the Song Dynasty.

Zhao Zhenmiao's name is "Renzong", and "Ren" is the conclusion of his coffin. The so-called "being a king, stopping at benevolence" is the highest evaluation of the monarch. Song Renzong's outstanding feature is "benevolence". After Song Renzong came into power, he was more tolerant and lenient to his ministers and the people, and there are many accounts of the official history and the notes of the Song people. Renzong reigned for 41 years, making him the longest-reigning emperor of the Song and Song dynasties. During his reign of several decades, he knew how to make good use of people, so during his reign, there were many famous ministers, the country was stable and peaceful, the economy was prosperous, and science and technology and culture were greatly developed and prosperous. He was generous to his subordinates, allowing the people to recuperate and recuperate, so that the Song Dynasty reached a peak of scientific and cultural civilization development.

It should be said that Zhao Zhen is not a promising hero, and even among the kings of the previous dynasties, he is not a well-known Ming monarch. But he ended the war between Song and Liao that lasted for more than 40 years, after which the Song-Liao border was relatively peaceful for a long time. The Northern Song Dynasty "gave birth and multiplied, cattle and sheep were wild, and the people who wore white (white-haired elders) did not know Yu Ge" (weapons), so that the Song Dynasty saved huge war expenses, and the expenditure of the annual currency (300,000) was less than one percent of the cost of using soldiers (30 million), avoiding the excessive conscription and tax pressure caused by heavy soldiers fighting on the border for many years, and the effect that was difficult to obtain in war was obtained at a very small price. During his reign, although there was a war with the Western Xia Kingdom, but because the strategic response was roughly appropriate, the two sides won and lost each other, the Western Xia was difficult to support the national strength due to the successive years of conquest, and finally the two countries negotiated peace, Xia called Song a minister, and the Song gave the Western Xia 130,000 horses of silk, 50,000 taels of silver, and 20,000 catties of tea every year, which was known as the "Qingli Peace Conference" in history. As a result, the Great Song Dynasty achieved peace for nearly half a century. Despite all kinds of external and internal political problems, the reign of Renzong was still the rule of the Song Dynasty anyway, and in addition to the military, it was quite prosperous politically, economically, and culturally.

The Song Dynasty was the second relatively open and tolerant period in Chinese history since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Its root lies in Emperor Taizu Zhao Kuangyin's emphasis on literature and military restraint and magnanimity. After Zhao Kuangyin unified China, he released his military power through a glass of wine, realized the transformation to civilian governance, and did not kill meritorious ministers. What is particularly commendable is that Zhao Kuangyin formulated a law stipulating that ministers cannot be whipped in the court, and it is not allowed to insult the ministers. The Song Dynasty did not promote literary prisons and was more tolerant of scholars. When Zhao Zhen succeeded to the throne of Song Renzong, he carried this tradition forward to the maximum. Zhao Zhen loves to learn and worships Confucian classics. For the first time, he took out the Analects, Mencius, the University, and the Mean together for students to study, opening a precedent for the "Four Books".