from the Jingkang Incident, whereby most of Emperor Taizong's descendants were abducted by the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty, forcing Emperor Gaozong to seek a successor among Taizu's descendants, as Gaozong's only son had died young. Early life Emperor Taizong was born in 939 in Kaifeng. After his brother Emperor Taizu took the throne, he was appointed prefect of Kaifeng. He was the Prince of Jin in his brother's reign. Succeeding the throne and suspected fratricide Emperor Taizong succeeded the throne in 976 after the death of his elder brother, Emperor Taizu, who was 49 and had no recorded illness. It is rather unusual in Chinese history for a brother rather than the son to succeed the throne, so the event fueled popular belief that foul play was involved. According to official history, Empress Dowager Du before her death in 961 asked the 34-year-old Emperor Taizu to promise that his brother will succeed him so as to ensure the continuation of the Song dynasty. She reportedly asked Emperor Taizu, "Do you know why you came to power? It was because Later Zhou had a seven-year-old emperor!" The so-called "Golden Shelf Promise" () was also allegedly recorded and sealed, by secretary Zhao Pu and reopened after Emperor Taizong's succession to prove the latter's legitimacy. Emperor Taizu's eldest son, Zhao Dezhao, was already 25 years old in 976, certainly old enough to handle an emperor's duties. Also suspicious is that Zhao Pu, banished in 973 by Emperor Taizu for allegations of corruption, returned to the capital in 976 and was made the chancellor in 977. Wen Ying, a Buddhist monk who lived in the era of Emperor Taizong's grandson, Emperor Renzong, wrote an account about the last night of Emperor Taizu. According to this account, he was dining and drinking with Emperor Taizong, then still the "Prince of Kaifeng", beside some candles. Palace eunuchs and maids standing in a distance saw that Emperor Taizong's shadow on the window moved a lot and appeared antsy. It was getting late and several inches of snow have fallen on the inside of the hall. Then they heard an axe chopping the snow, with Emperor Taizu saying, "Do it right! Do it right!" Soon enough Emperor Taizu was heard snoring. Several hours later, he was pronounced dead by his brother, who spent the night in his palace. This legend has been referred to as "sound of the axe