Chapter 31 Conspiracy to snatch his brother's throne

In the ninth year of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty (589), the smug commander of the Sui army, the 20-year-old Jin Wang Yang Guang invaded Jiankang City and captured Chen Houzhu, the last small court of the Southern Dynasty.The whole country is unified. Young King Jin must be proud of such a success.Although the small imperial court was barely able to survive under such a foolish emperor as Empress Chen, the Sui army was in full swing and did not encounter any resistance.But after all, this is a war to unify the country, and it has great symbolic significance.And all the way to the south, Jin Wang was able to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the south of the Yangtze River, which surprised him who was used to the northern scenery.Perhaps Jin Wang himself has not realized that this desire for great achievements and attachment to the scenery of the south of the Yangtze River will have a huge impact on his future life and even the fate of the Sui Dynasty.

Of course he wouldn't think so much, because there was something very unpleasant to him right in front of him.Chen Houzhu's favorite concubine Zhang Lihua, a woman he had known for a long time, when the city was broken, he specifically asked Chief Shi Gaojiong to keep her.But Gao Jiong killed Empress Chen as soon as he captured her, and said: "The former Taigong Sui Yang Emperor Yang Guang masked his face to kill Concubine Da. How can we keep Zhang Lihua now?" So the King of Jin said angrily: "I must have To repay Duke Gao." In fact, it was good for Gao Jiong to do so.If Yang Guang can get Zhang Lihua as he wished, then all his efforts to win the crown prince will be in vain.

Yang Guang was originally the second son of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, and the crown prince was his elder brother Yang Yong.Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty had five sons, all born to him and Empress Dugu.Therefore, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty once thought that they had the same father and mother, and there would never be "brothers fighting against each other" in the future.But in all dynasties, brothers and sons did not care about each other in order to compete for the throne of the emperor.Even though they have the same mother, they have to be competitive.Although Yang Guang is the second son of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, he is quite talented and has won the trust of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty.In contrast, Prince Yang Yong seemed much mediocre.In this way, Yang Guang gradually coveted the position of prince.

Yang Guang is a man with a deep family background. He knows that if he wants to replace his elder brother as the prince, he must first win the favor of his parents.Perhaps it is more important to have the support of her mother, Empress Dugu.Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty was a "strict wife". He loved and feared his wife Queen Dugu. He once promised her on the wedding night that he would never look at other women in the future.At that time, he had not yet become emperor, and it was not difficult to keep such a promise.Later, when he ascended the throne as emperor and established the Sui Dynasty, Empress Dugu still kept a close eye on him.Go with him every day when he goes to court, and wait for him to come back together when he retreats, so that he will not have the opportunity to contact the concubines in the harem.Once, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty fell in love with a court lady by chance, and had a fling with her. Unexpectedly, the queen found out about this and beat the court lady to death in front of the emperor.The emperor was furious, but there was nothing he could do, so he rode his horse and ran around in the deep mountains to vent his anger.And this Empress Dugu not only can't see her husband doting on a vixen, but also can't see other men doting on her concubine.Minister Gao Jiong's concubine gave birth to a son for him. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty congratulated him happily, but Empress Dugu was very dissatisfied and spoke ill of him to the emperor every day. Finally, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty had no choice but to dismiss Gao Jiong.Since Empress Dugu is such a huge vinegar vat, Crown Prince Yang Yong has violated her big taboo in this respect.

Yang Yong's concubine, the Yuan family, does not please him, but his favorite is the Zhaoxun Yun family.He spends every day with Yun Shi, and rarely goes to Crown Princess Yuan Shi.Empress Dugu despises her concubine the most. Now that the prince is fascinated by this vixen, she is naturally very unhappy.Later, when Yuanshi died of a sudden illness, the queen suspected that the crown prince and Yunshi were the ones who killed her, and became even more dissatisfied with him.And Zhaoxunyun gave birth to a son for the prince. It was a good thing to have many sons and grandchildren at that time, but this child was born to the concubine who the Queen Dugu hated the most, so the queen didn't like him no matter what. He hated Yun Zhaoxun even more.

Prince Yang Yong offended his mother on one side, and offended his father on the other side.Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty was a frugal person and didn't like others' extravagance and waste.But Yang Yong prefers luxury.Yang Yong had a set of armor made by Shu people, which was very exquisite, but he still didn't think it was gorgeous enough, so he asked craftsmen to decorate it with beautiful patterns.Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty was naturally very unhappy when he saw it, so he reprimanded him.On the day of the winter solstice, Yang Yong was congratulated by all the officials with great fanfare, and Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty felt that the relationship between the minister and the prince was too close, which affected his imperial power.As a result, the gap between father and son gradually grew.Since Yang Yong lost his love with his parents, his status as prince began to waver.

Yang Guang, who is always ambitious, will naturally not let go of such an opportunity.The prince fell out of favor because he favored concubines and luxury, so he had to do the opposite, and he had to work hard.He is very good at disguising.Although secretly there are many concubines, but in order to cater to Empress Dugu, they only appear together with the concubine Xiao every time. In case any concubine gives birth to a child, they will be killed and buried in the backyard.He was usually very extravagant, but when he heard that his parents were coming, he stopped Sizhu, hid his concubine, and went to the door to greet him with his concubine Xiao.When Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty came in, he saw that the courtyard was deserted and there was no sound of music.Looking at the surrounding layout, it is also very simple, there are no treasures and toys, only some books are placed.The people who come and go to serve are also plainly dressed old and ugly women.There is a piano on the table, which is covered with dust. When I went to see it, only four of the twenty-five strings were left.The emperor was very happy and felt that this son was not sensual.Every time the emperor and empress sent people to his son, Yang Yong only treated them as servants, while Yang Guang treated them as honored guests. When they go back, they will naturally say good things about Yang Guang.When Yang Guang left the town of Yangzhou, every time he entered the court to bid farewell, he always acted sad and nostalgic, crying like rain, reluctant to part.Moreover, he secretly provoked in front of Empress Dugu: "The prince has a dissenting heart towards his son, and has repeatedly sent people to assassinate him, which frightens him." Empress Dugu had already had a deep prejudice against Yang Yong, so she was aggrieved Said: "Yong'er is too incompetent, he put aside the main room, and only favors the goblin Ayun. Now that I am here, he still dares to bully your brothers. If he becomes the emperor and the prince is a concubine, you brothers have to ask Ayun That lowly maid bowed her head and declared herself a minister, how can this be possible." He listened to Yang Guang's words without thinking.Seeing that his mother had intended to abolish the prince, Yang Guang was secretly happy, but on the surface he still pretended to be terrified.In this way, Yang Jian and his wife liked the second son Yang Guang more and more, and they looked down on the prince even more.

Yang Guang not only performed well in front of his parents, but also took care to win over important officials in the court.Yang Su was very trusted by Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty. In order to persuade Yang Su to help him and propose to Emperor Wen to abolish the prince, Yang Guang asked Yu Wenshu to find Yang Su's younger brother Yang Yue first, because Yang Yue and his elder brother Yang Su had a very close relationship.Yu Wenshu often gambled with Yang Yue, and deliberately lost a lot of money to him, so he took the opportunity to tell him Yang Guang's intentions: "You brothers have deep conflicts with the crown prince. If he inherits the throne in the future, then you brothers There is no escape." Yang Yue hurriedly asked what to do, and Yu Wenshu asked him to persuade his elder brother Yang Su to comply with the emperor's intention to abolish the crown prince and recommend Yang Guang to succeed him.

The Yang Su brothers finally agreed to Yang Guang's request.With Yang Su's efforts, the ministers who supported Yang Yong were eliminated, and finally Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty made up his mind to abolish Yang Yong as a commoner, and Yang Guang finally became the prince as he wished.But his intrigue cannot be concealed after all, especially among his brothers.Yang Xiu, the king of Shu, was dissatisfied, so Yang Guang designed to frame Yang Xiu and depose him as a commoner.And he has already become a prince, so he is naturally eager to become an emperor next step.This feeling was so urgent that he couldn't even care about his disguise.

In the fourth year of Renshou (604), Emperor Wen was ill in bed, and Yang Guang, minister servant She Yang Su, military minister Liu Shu and others entered the palace to serve the sick.He couldn't wait, and wrote to ask Yang Su how to deal with the funeral.Yang Su's reply was read by Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty by mistake, and Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty was furious.At this time, Yang Guang molested Mrs. Chen, Mrs. Xuanhua, who was favored by Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, and Chen told the emperor in tears.Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty was furious when he learned about it, and even scolded the animals.Said to Liu Shu and others: "Call my son quickly." Liu Shu thought it was Yang Guang, and Emperor Wen repeatedly called: "You are brave." Liu Shu then went out to summon Yang Yong.But Yang Guang's confidantes were all over the palace, and he knew the news immediately.

Yang Guang had planned so hard in order to ascend the throne, so why was he willing to fall short.He immediately replaced the guards of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, and drove away all the concubines and maidservants who served Emperor Wen in the harem, and then let his cronies Zhang Heng enter Emperor Wen's bedroom.Soon, news came out that Emperor Wen died.At the same time, he imprisoned Liu Shu and others, and sent someone to kill Yang Yong.In this way, Yang Guang, who killed his father and brother, ascended to the throne and changed his title to Daye. After Yang Guang came to the throne, his youngest brother Yang Liang immediately raised his troops to rebel, but was quickly put down by Yang Su. Yang Liang was captured to Chang'an, where he died in prison.In the same year, the captured Empress Chen of the Southern Dynasty also died.Yang Guang thought that he had been licentious all his life, so he gave him the bad posthumous title of "Yang".Ironically, fifteen years later, the posthumous title that Yang Guang had drawn up for Empress Chen actually returned to his own head, leaving the name of Emperor "Yang" of the Sui Dynasty in history.