.
Death
In 979, 3 years after his father's death, Zhao Dezhao was leading an army in Emperor Taizong's first campaign against the Khitans, when rumors spread in the army that Emperor Taizong had disappeared, and that Zhao Dezhao should be the new emperor. The rumors died when Emperor Taizong was found, however, and Emperor Taizong was very unhappy about the results of his campaign and refused to award the troops sparking complaints from them. On August 26, Zhao Dezhao went to inquire the emperor, who either barked "You do that when you become the new emperor!" or "You may do it yourself after you have ascended the throne! There's still time for that!" Zhao Dezhao immediately went to his palace and asked his guards for a sabre. The guards told him that blades were not allowed in the palace, so Zhao Dezhao fetched a knife for cutting fruits, went to his room and then proceeded to slice his throat killing him. Upon hearing about the suicide, Emperor Taizong was very saddened and hugged the corpse crying while saying "Silly boy, how did you come to this depravity?」
However, as official history may not be trusted in events like this, some historians suspect that Zhao Dezhao was either murdered or forced to commit suicide by his uncle, who possibly was also involved in the deaths of Zhao Dezhao's father and younger brother. Zhao Defang, the last surviving son of Emperor Taizu, died 2 years after Zhao Dezhao. He was also in his 20s.
He was the ancestor of Zhao Yun and Zhao Qi who later became emperors. They were posthumously known as Emperor Lizong and Emperor Duzong respectively.
Family
• Parents:
• Zhao Kuangyin, Taizu (太祖 赵匡胤; 21 March 927 – 14 November 976)
• Empress Xiaohui, of the He clan (孝惠皇后 贺氏; 929–958)
• Consorts and Issue:
• Lady Wang (王氏)
• Lady He (贺氏)
• Lady Chen (陈氏)
• Lady Zhu (朱氏)
• Unknown
• Zhao Weizheng, Prince Jing (靖王 赵惟正; d. 1032)
• Zhao Weiji, Prince Ji (冀王 赵惟吉; 966–1010)
• Zhao Weigu, Prince Wei (魏王 赵惟固; d. 983)
• Zhao Weizhong, Duke Shu (舒国公 赵惟忠)
• Zhao Weihe (赵惟和)
赵德昭（951年 - 979年），字日新，宋朝开国皇帝宋太祖次子，母亲贺夫人，赵德芳兄，封武功郡王。被叔父宋太宗赵光义所迫，自杀。死后先后被追封为魏王、吴王、越王（宋太宗时）、燕王（宋徽宗时），谥号「懿」。其九世孙为宋理宗，十世孙为宋度宗，十一世孙为宋末三幼主。