Whether it was Zhao Pu or Zhao Guangyi, both were veterans of human affairs.
They were the kind of people who had spent their entire lives dealing with people, reading faces, weighing words, and sniffing out danger.
For Zhao Guangyi, the moment he realized he had truly ascended the imperial throne, his ecstasy lasted only for an instant.
After that came overwhelming panic and helplessness.
Because whether it was the criticism of later generations or these strange historical records now being revealed, all of it pointed to the same conclusion.
His imperial brother's death was not simple.
It was hidden. Obscured. Full of secrets.
Zhao Guangyi had of course thought about this countless times. He had made many guesses. But among all of them, there was one possibility he absolutely did not want to face.
Assassination.
Inside the palace, his imperial brother was right there. Outside, the imperial guards surrounded everything.
In that situation, who could kill whom?
With the feeling of needles on his back, Zhao Guangyi let out a bitter laugh and tried his best to steady his emotions.
"I have served elder brother for over thirty years. My temperament and character, elder brother knows them well. How could I possibly become someone worse than pigs and dogs?"
"If elder brother wishes to remove hidden danger, you may strike now. I will not resist."
Zhao Pu lifted his head, his face expressionless, but his ears were stretched to their limit. He did not want to miss a single word in the hall.
Hearing Zhao Guangyi's words, Zhao Pu immediately shook his head inwardly.
What a perfect move.
Advancing by retreating.
For a ruler, the greatest taboo was executing someone without clear cause. And the Prince of Jin had emphasized brotherly blood ties.
With that, how could the Emperor not hesitate?
With this, the Prince of Jin was temporarily safe.
Sure enough, Zhao Kuangyin, who had quietly stood up at some unknown moment, weighed the new jade axe in his hand.
For a brief moment, the atmosphere tightened.
In the end, he shook his head and sat back down.
Zhao Guangyi, standing in front, had no idea how close he had just come to disaster. He still wore that righteous, fearless expression, like a man ready to die for justice.
Naturally, no one dared to remind him.
The eunuchs nearby were already terrified stiff. They only dared to lower their heads and copy things down, not daring to utter a single extra word.
Even so, Zhao Kuangyin still gave himself a mental warning.
These religions that later generations kept mentioning might truly need official supervision. They could not be allowed to run wild and stick their hands into everything.
But then again…
If that monk Wen Ying had not dragged out some so called immortal, perhaps later generations would not be so obsessed with investigating his death.
In a strange way, it even seemed to help him.
That thought left Zhao Kuangyin feeling extremely conflicted.
And then there was another matter.
According to later calculations, he only had two years of life left.
Two years.
The weight of that number made it hard for him to breathe.
What he wanted to accomplish could never be finished in just two years.
That was why, as he faced the light screen, his mood was just as urgent.
He wanted to know.
How exactly would he die?
And more importantly, was there a way to avoid it?
…
At the General's Residence in Han Chang'an, the word "assassination" displayed clearly on the light screen made the atmosphere anything but calm.
A son killing his father, a minister killing his ruler. Those below killing those above. This was called regicide.
And now, looking at the situation, Song Taizu Zhao Er was both a minister and a younger brother to the Son of Heaven.
Could he really dare to do such a thing?
Liu Bei, Kongming, and the others all wore different expressions as they fell into deep thought. Some were trying to reconstruct what the Song Dynasty might have been like based on current information. Others were thinking about how a ruler might change fate to avoid such an end.
For a time, the hall instead became quiet.
This made Zhang Fei feel extremely uncomfortable.
He twisted his neck left and right. Seeing that Ma Chao also looked bored, he simply leaned over and started chatting.
"Mengqi, tell me. Those who get the temple name Taizong later on, do they all have to kill something first?"
A question mark slowly rose above Ma Chao's head.
"?"
Zhang Fei continued excitedly.
"Look, Tang Taizong killed his brothers. Song Taizong also kills his brothers. Later on, Yuan, Ming, Qing, probably can't escape it either."
What kind of logic was that?
Ma Chao laughed.
"Third General's words are rather groundless. If later generations truly say such things…"
Before he could finish, Zhang Fei had already flashed over and asked straight to his face.
"Then when you head east through Tong Pass, how about you respect me as the vanguard commander?"
Ma Chao was caught completely off guard and subconsciously shouted.
"So be it. Do you think I'm afraid of you?"
Only after seeing Zhang Fei grin and sit back down did Ma Chao slap his thigh.
Damn it.
He forgot to say what would happen if it turned out false. He had fallen right into that black brute's trap.
But then Ma Chao quickly felt he was overthinking.
Later generations were really that bored, going through every Taizong one by one?
…
The light screen continued.
[Lightscreen]
[It clearly stated that Zhao Kuangyin truly died in October of 976, and that it was not a natural death.
According to official history, Zhao Da's schedule that year was extremely packed. Inspecting the imperial guards, touring workshops, receiving envoys, meeting close ministers.
In March, Zhao Da even leisurely went to Luoyang and stayed there for a full month, showing no signs of being a terminally ill patient.
Even in September, records still showed him inspecting the brocade workshop, visiting scenic pavilions south of the city, and stopping by Lixian Residence.
Lixian Residence itself was one of Zhao Da's more interesting projects. He had approved land in Bianjing to build several luxury residences to sell to defeated rulers who submitted to him.
Qian Chu, ruler of Wuyue, in order to gain residency rights there, not only helped Zhao Da destroy Southern Tang, but also presented over twenty ships of gold, silver, and jewels.
It was arguably the most successful real estate deal of the early Song Dynasty.
Unfortunately, Zhao Da died too early. Otherwise, Lixian Residence might have become the Song version of a famous merit estate.
In short, Zhao Da was still lively and energetic in September.
Even on October 6, just half a month before his death, official history still recorded:
"He went to the Western Drill Grounds to watch soldiers launch stone projectiles."
Some speculated he drank himself to death. But distilled liquor only appeared in the Southern Song. Early Northern Song alcohol was low proof. It was very difficult to drink oneself to death.
Zhao Da himself had once said, "If one indulges in wine, how can one be a proper man," showing restraint.
So death by drinking was unlikely.
As for cause of death, during Ming and Qing times, some proposed he died from poison wine given by Zhao Er.
Because too many people in early Northern Song died inexplicably.
Meng Chang of Later Shu died seven days after surrender. Qian Chu of Wuyue suddenly collapsed and died. Ming dynasty writers recorded that both died on their birthdays, likely from "poisoned birthday wine to remove lingering imperial suspicion."
Li Yu of Southern Tang also died on his birthday in Bianjing, with later records bluntly stating he died from poison in wine bestowed by Zhao Jiong.
Because of these suspicious birthday deaths, later historians even hesitated to completely dismiss the Candle Shadow and Axe Sound incident.
In other words, Zhao Er's suspicion was simply too heavy.]
…
Zhao Kuangyin watched as later generations tried to piece together the truth of his death, and felt a strange sense of surrealism.
But when poison wine was mentioned, he pondered for a moment and then directly asked.
"In the Prince of Jin's residence, does Cheng Dexuan understand poisons?"
Zhao Guangyi's body swayed slightly.
"Cheng Dexuan came to me on his own, claiming to be skilled in medicine and able to cure many illnesses. In the past, I worried elder brother drank too much, so I kept him in my residence…"
The more he spoke, the worse it sounded. Zhao Guangyi simply stopped.
Zhao Kuangyin had already lost patience.
"Send someone to the Prince of Jin's residence. Ask the physician Cheng Dexuan whether he knows about Qianji poison."
The eunuchs looked at each other.
One of them carefully asked, "Your Majesty, if he knows about Qianji poison?"
Zhao Kuangyin said impatiently, "Hand him over to the imperial guards. Temporarily imprison him. Do I need to teach you this?"
The eunuch hurriedly agreed and scrambled to leave.
But Zhao Kuangyin thought for a moment and added.
"If he does not know Qianji poison, still detain him outside the Prince of Jin's residence."
The eunuch hurried back to bow again, then exited through the side hall to give the order.
Zhao Guangyi's heart sank into an ice cave.
He almost laughed from anger.
If he was to be detained either way, why even ask?
But he did not dare to argue. At this moment, even his own safety was uncertain. He had no room to care about others.
A mere physician should not dare to randomly accuse him.
After that, Zhao Kuangyin instead felt a trace of regret over Lixian Residence.
It was clear that he had always wanted to reunify the realm. For that, he even used such methods to raise state funds.
But in the end…
He stared hard at his younger brother's back, then silently made a decision.
Whether Candle Shadow and Axe Sound was true or false, the Prince of Jin needed a good long rest.
…
"Poison wine. Heh."
Li Shimin shook his head, disappointment written plainly on his face.
Sun Simiao, on the other hand, was interested in Qianji poison. He knew that to understand poison, one must first understand medicine. If such a poison formula truly existed, it might even be reverse engineered into life saving prescriptions.
Seeing Li Shimin's bored expression, Sun Simiao smiled.
"What does Your Majesty hope Candle Shadow and Axe Sound to be?"
Li Shimin answered without thinking.
"Of course, splitting the head open with an axe…"
He immediately felt that was inappropriate and coughed.
"Of course, the truth is still uncertain. I naturally hope Zhao Da and Zhao Er were truly harmonious brothers."
Then Li Shimin sighed inwardly.
Since when did one have to add the word "truly" when talking about brotherly harmony?
Later generations really harmed people.
Du Ruhui shook his head.
"If these poison wines are real, then the Song was already crooked from the very beginning."
The ministers in Ganlu Hall nodded almost in unison.
After all, those rulers were already prisoners. What was there to fear? If they rebelled again, could they not simply be defeated again?
"If one uses poison wine out of suspicion, that is the act of a mediocre man, not a ruler!"
Wei Zheng cursed with a frown.
Li Shimin smiled and shook his head.
"Let us wait and see. We will see whether it is true or false."
The light screen continued.
[Lightscreen]
[On the night of Zhao Kuangyin's sudden death, official history recorded three highly suspicious movements.
First were two close confidants of Zhao Guangyi: the physician Cheng Dexuan and the spirit medium Ma Shao.]
Zhao Guangyi felt his heart almost stop.
In a daze, he heard his brother calmly give orders behind him.
"Send additional instructions to the imperial guards. No need to ask Cheng Dexuan about Qianji poison. Arrest him directly."
"And that Ma Shao. Search the Prince of Jin's residence and find him. Keep him under strict watch."
"And have the imperial guards temporarily surround the Prince of Jin's residence. No one is allowed to enter or leave."
Zhao Pu glanced at Zhao Guangyi with concern, then at the Emperor, who was clearly no longer listening to any advice.
He sighed softly.
He had advised weakening the Prince of Jin's power many times. He had not expected such matters to force action so suddenly.
He only hoped everything would go smoothly.
…
[Lightscreen]
[Generally speaking, people later on liked to bundle the early Northern Song into three big unsolved cases.
Chen Bridge Mutiny, Candle Shadow and Axe Sound, and the so called Golden Casket Alliance.
The Golden Casket Alliance would be talked about later. As for Chen Bridge Mutiny, it was already in history textbooks, so there was no need to waste time repeating it here.
The key point was this. Zhao Kuangyin himself knew very well that his own rise to the throne was not exactly clean. Because of that, after he took power, he directly banned people from privately jumping around as spirit shamans.
It explained how Zhao Kuangyin feared religious figures stirring up trouble and banned private spirit mediums.
In this context, Ma Shao becoming Zhao Guangyi's confidant itself spoke volumes about Zhao Guangyi's attitude toward the throne.
On the night before Zhao Kuangyin's death, Ma Shao suddenly visited Cheng Dexuan and said bluntly that the next day would be the Prince of Jin's auspicious day to ascend.
This terrified Cheng Dexuan, who immediately locked Ma Shao up and went to report to Zhao Guangyi.
Zhao Guangyi praised him and told him to keep Ma Shao locked up, saying he would report it to his brother the next day.
Cheng Dexuan only then returned to rest.
But that night, Cheng Dexuan was summoned to the palace, then instead waited outside the Prince of Jin's residence in the early hours.
Soon, the eunuch Wang Jien came out from the palace to summon Zhao Guangyi, claiming the Emperor had passed and requesting the Prince of Jin to enter the palace to receive the final mandate.
This violated standard procedure and was highly suspicious.
Later records even stated that the Empress wanted to enthrone Zhao Defang, but Wang Jien secretly brought Zhao Guangyi into the palace instead, allowing Zhao Er to successfully ascend.
All of this made the entire matter even more murky.]