Chapter 56 Chapter 56: The Voice of Subjugation

Gao Yang, Emperor Wenxuan of the Northern Qi Dynasty, was addicted to alcohol to the point of insanity.His mother, Empress Dowager Lou, couldn't see him because he was too ugly, and once beat him with a cane. "The father is an alcoholic, and the son is also an alcoholic. It's terrible!" Empress Dowager Lou had suffered a lot in the past because of Gao Huan's love of drinking. "You old woman is so talkative! I want to marry you off!" Emperor Wenxuan said such drunken words.Hearing such drunken talk, Queen Mother Lou was so angry that she wanted to jump up.Emperor Wenxuan was probably joking, but how could Empress Dowager Lou forgive her son for uttering such arrogant words!

"Let me tell you, old woman, just smile! If you don't laugh, I'll make you laugh!" Emperor Wenxuan lifted his mother together with the chair, and then suddenly put it down.Empress Dowager Lou rolled to the ground and was injured.Only now did Emperor Wenxuan fully wake up from his drunkenness, and he was deeply ashamed of his unfilial piety.He then stripped his upper body, let his uncle Gao Guiyan hold the stick, and said: "How many times have I made mistakes, you can stick me as many times as you want! If you don't beat me to the point of bleeding, I will kill you!"

It was Queen Mother Lou who was taken aback.Holding her drunken son in her arms, she bargained with him, and finally decided to replace the rod punishment with fifty lashes to avoid serious incidents. "I'm determined to quit drinking!" Emperor Wenxuan, who was whipped, said so, but his abstinence from alcohol lasted only ten days. When an important official named Cui Xian in the Northern Qi Dynasty passed away, Emperor Wenxuan went to Cui's mansion and said to the widow Li Shi: "You miss Siam, don't you?" "Yes, I miss him day and night." "Okay! Then you go to the Western Pure Land to meet him!"

Before Wen Xuan finished speaking, he beheaded Mrs. Li. Isn't that the same as a madman?Some people say that there is only a thin line between a madman and a genius.In fact, he really had a genius-like ability-that is, the ability to predict.When he ascended the throne at the age of 21 in 550 AD, he took this year as the first year of Tianbao, and summoned a fortune teller and asked: "How long I will be in office, you can see." After divination very carefully, the soothsayer replied: "The divination came out was the number thirty..." "It can't be so long." Emperor Wenxuan smiled, "Are you adding up the numbers?"

"Your Majesty is clearly aware." The fortune-teller knelt down on the spot, with cold sweat breaking out from his forehead, "The old man is terrified." "I know this too. Thirty is the sum of years, months and days, isn't it?" Emperor Wenxuan of the Northern Qi Dynasty died on Jiawu Day in October of the tenth year of Tianbao.Jiawu is the tenth day of October. ——I became sick from alcoholism and could no longer eat. According to this record in the history books, he died of alcohol poisoning at the age of thirty-one.The imperial family of the Northern Qi Dynasty all married early, although the crown prince Yin was fifteen years old, he was still too young to be the head of the country.Emperor Wenxuan had a younger brother named Yan who was twenty-five years old and quite accomplished.Before dying, he begged this younger brother:

"You want to usurp the throne, I have nothing to say, but I hope you don't kill Yin." Soon after Prince Yin ascended the throne, he was indeed replaced by acting as Emperor Xiaozhao.However, Emperor Xiaozhao killed the deposed emperor who was downgraded to the king of Jinan despite his deceased brother's last words. This is because a qi watcher (a person who reads qi and divination) said that Ye, where Yin lived, had "the aura of the son of heaven".Because Yin refused to drink the poison given to him, the emperor ordered someone to strangle him to death.This happened in September two years after the death of Emperor Wenxuan.

In October, Emperor Xiaozhao fell from his horse and was seriously injured, because his mount was frightened by a rabbit that ran out suddenly and threw him off.When his mother, Empress Dowager Lou, came to visit, she asked him: "Where is Yin?" Yin's murder was kept secret.Emperor Xiaozhao was speechless, but Empress Dowager Lou had guessed something strange from his son's expression. "Did you kill him? People like you are dead!" Empress Dowager Lou angrily withdrew without looking back.Before his death, Emperor Xiaozhao deposed the crown prince for a hundred years, and in his last words, he wanted his younger brother Zhan to inherit the throne.Emperor Xiaozhao, who had killed his brother's son, was worried that his son would be killed by his brother who was two years younger than him.In order to prevent his son from being killed, the best way is to simply give up the throne to his younger brother-this is his idea.

Gao Zhan, who ascended the throne as Emperor Wucheng in 561 AD, killed the innocent former prince Gao Bainian three years later. At that time, a white rainbow pierced the sun, which was an ominous sign.Emperor Wu Cheng believed that the existence of the former prince was the reason for the bad luck.When he was called into the palace, Gao Bainian already knew the fate he was about to face.He took off the jade from his body and gave it to his fourteen-year-old wife Hulushi as a relic.Emperor Wu Cheng asked someone to cull his nephew for a hundred years, and then threw the body into the pond.

The young wife of a hundred years died after more than a month of hunger strike.When she died, she held tightly the jade jade that her husband had left for her, and the maids could not pull this hand away no matter how hard they tried.Finally, her father, the famous general Hu Luguang, caressed her hand and said: "Good, you can let go." Only then did the dead daughter let go of her white fingers. Emperor Wenxuan's son Yin was killed by Emperor Xiaozhao, and Emperor Xiaozhao's son Bainian was killed by Emperor Wucheng.If this continues, what will be the fate of Emperor Wucheng's son Wei?

Emperor Wu Cheng thought of a way: Since a person can no longer protect his son after death, he can only do this if he is alive.Then in the fourth year of his accession to the throne—that is, the year after the century of killing—he abdicated at the age of 29 and became the Supreme Emperor, and gave up the throne to Prince Wei.His purpose in doing this is to let his son experience the learning of emperors first-hand, so that he can become independent as soon as possible. Emperor Wucheng Gao Zhan was quite similar to his elder brother Wenxuan Emperor Gao Yang. He had many abnormal words and deeds, but he was very good at fighting.At that time, in the Northern Qi Dynasty, there were famous generals such as Hu Luguang, the father of the young wife who had abandoned the prince for a hundred years, and Gao Changgong, the king of Lanling.

Gao Changgong, the king of Lanling, was the fourth son of Gao Cheng (brother of emperors Wenxuan, Xiaozhao, and Wucheng). He once fought against the Turkic army as the governor of Bingzhou, and won a big victory with five hundred cavalry.It is said that he is a beautiful husband with a very handsome face, so he wears an iron mask every time he goes out in battle.His brave behavior was compiled into "Lanling King Entering the Battle", which was a ballad widely sung by the army and the people at that time.This piece was later adopted by dance music and became one of the Japanese Gagaku repertoire. Emperor Wu Cheng only assisted his son in training the emperor for three years.In November 568 AD, the Supreme Emperor died suddenly at the age of thirty-two.Alcoholism, falling from a horse, inexplicable sudden death... Most of the Northern Qi rulers died around the age of thirty. Gao Wei, who practiced imperial studies, did not receive a posthumous title because the country perished in his hands, but was only called "Host Master".The Empress is a mediocre gentleman, without his father's assistance, he would make mistakes again and again.In 572 AD, he listened to the slander and killed Hu Luguang, the central figure of the national army. In the second year, he even poisoned King Lanling. Upon hearing the news that Hu Luguang had been killed, Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty said happily: "This is really good news, and the military force of the Northern Qi Dynasty will be halved as a result!" He also issued a general amnesty to celebrate. Although the Northern Zhou Dynasty had a strong army, it was still unable to defeat the Northern Qi Dynasty.Probably because the economic strength is higher in the east and lower in the west, the Northern Zhou Dynasty in the west is no match for the Northern Qi Dynasty in terms of comprehensive national strength.It stands to reason that since the Northern Zhou Dynasty acquired the fertile land of Shu and made Jiangling's Houliang a vassal state, its economy should have advanced by leaps and bounds.However, every time they set out on an expedition, there were still no results. Apart from the fact that there were famous generals in the Northern Qi Dynasty, what else could explain it? ——We must get rid of them during the reign of that idiot! This was the idea of ​​Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty.The current ruler of the Northern Qi Dynasty is a mediocre monarch, and the important ministers of the Northern Qi Dynasty who are disappointed with him will sooner or later replace such a ruler.If the Northern Qi Dynasty was ruled by a capable person, wouldn't it be even more difficult to defeat it? Emperor Wu is a very patient person, he can wait for as long as he needs to wait.The Northern Zhou Dynasty was founded by the Yuwen family by the abdication of the Western Wei Dynasty. Yuwentai's sixteen-year-old son Yuwenjue was the first emperor, but it was Yuwenjue's cousin Yuwenhu who was manipulating everything behind the scenes.All the real power is in the hands of Yu Wenhu. The young emperor who refused to accept this attempted to seize power, but was killed instead.His elder brother Yu Wenyu became the second emperor Mingdi, but because he was too capable, he was also poisoned and killed by Yu Wenhu behind the scenes. After that, Emperor Wu Yu Wenyong came to the throne.He is Jue Jiyu's younger brother, and he is very clear about his position: If his intelligence and intelligence are revealed, he will be killed by Yu Wenhu, a real powerful man.Therefore, Emperor Wu pretended to be demented.For twelve years, he never participated in politics, leaving everything to Yu Wenhu to handle. After twelve years of waiting, until he discovered that his cousin Yu Wenhu was completely unsuspecting, he launched a coup by surprise and eliminated the real power faction and all his followers.It was in March 572 AD that Emperor Wu personally attacked Yu Wenhu with Wang Ting (Da Gui).In June of the same year, Hu Luguang of the Northern Qi Dynasty was killed. ——I'm starting to make a big difference! It took twelve years for him to wait for this opportunity to display his talents. It happened that Bei Qi also killed their famous general at this time. Isn't this blessing him to be liberated? Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, who was eager to attack the Northern Qi Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Yong, used troops many times.However, due to the small population in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, it was not easy to recruit strong men.Emperor Wu therefore banned Buddhism, ordered the young monks to return to secular life, and incorporated them into the army. This was the second time that Buddhism was abolished after Emperor Daowu of the Northern Wei Dynasty.The third time Buddha was abolished was when Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty, because the three emperors all had the word "Wu", historians called it "the disaster of the three martial arts"-this incident is mentioned here by the way. In 577 AD, the army of the Northern Zhou Dynasty surrounded Ye, the capital of the Northern Qi Dynasty.After the emperor Yongjun abdicated, he tried to give up the throne to a young child and escaped, but was captured and later executed.The Northern Qi Dynasty perished in Yan.After Emperor Wenxuan accepted the abdication of the Eastern Wei Dynasty, this dynasty had a total of four masters and lasted for 28 years. Half a century later, northern China, which was split into two parts, returned to the domination of one regime, the Northern Zhou Dynasty.In fact, this situation is not only seen in northern China, because Shu and Jiangling are already within the sphere of influence of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Except for the Chen Dynasty that barely survived in the southeast corner, about 80% of China can be said to have been unified. But Bei Zhou died before Ba Ye was about to complete an inch.The patient, tenacious and extremely courageous Emperor Wu died of illness at the age of thirty-six the year after he fulfilled his long-cherished wish to crusade against the Northern Qi.Prince Yun was an extremely mediocre person. In order to train this ineffective son, Emperor Wu had adopted Spartan education, but it had no effect at all. "Father, you should have raised your hair earlier!" The crown prince, who became Emperor Xuan, stroked the scar on his arm at his father's funeral and said these words aloud.Emperor Wu often imposed corporal punishment on this immature son, and the method of corporal punishment was rod punishment.Emperor Xuan took this as a hate thing, so he stroked the wounds of being beaten, and cursed his dead father like this. Emperor Xuan soon abdicated.He thought that being an emperor would allow him to play around freely, but he didn't expect that the actual situation would be a lot of constraints, so he didn't want to do it anymore.However, holding the wishful thinking of "still holding the power of the emperor, but exempting the emperor from fulfilling his obligations", he abdicated and called himself Emperor Tianyuan, and the eight-year-old prince Chan ascended the throne as Emperor Jing. Emperor Wu gave birth to Emperor Xuan when he was sixteen, and Emperor Xuan gave birth to Emperor Jing when he was fourteen.Premature contact with women and frequent intercourse are probably the reasons for short life.Emperor Tianyuan died at the age of twenty-two.The father of Empress Yang, the empress of Emperor Tianyuan, was named Yang Jian. Emperor Jing's biological mother was the Zhu family, and according to Chinese custom, the father's wife must be referred to as his mother.Although not related by blood, Yang Jian was still Emperor Jing's maternal grandfather.After Yang Jian eliminated the opposing forces one by one, he gained real power within a short period of time and was awarded the title of Sui King.Needless to say, this is a stage of abdication. In February of the year following the death of Emperor Tianyuan (581 AD), King Yang Jian of the Sui Dynasty was abdicated by Emperor Jing. The new dynasty took "Sui" as its country name.The name of the country was originally "Sui", but because the word "Zou" in the character has the meaning of "Go", which symbolizes short life, so a new character was created without the side of the word Zou. Since the Sui Dynasty was the regime that succeeded the Northern Zhou Dynasty, it meant that most of China had been placed under its rule.Yang Jian, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, was tasked with putting an end to the four hundred years of division and unifying the world.And now only the Chen Dynasty based in Jiankang (Nanjing) remains. The first thing Emperor Wen started was to consolidate the interior, that is, to wipe out the remaining forces of the Yuwen family in the Northern Zhou Dynasty.Emperor Jing, who abdicated in February, died in May when he was only nine years old.The court only announced it as "collapsed," but no one believed he died of natural causes. The abdication of the Three Kingdoms period was that Emperor Xian of the Later Han Dynasty lived longer than the Emperor Wen of Wei who had been abdicated, and enjoyed the whole life; the Southern and Northern Dynasties were not so good, usually even the young emperor was not spared, and the smell of blood was very strong.Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty was even more of a master of speculation, so the purge was particularly thorough.Distant relatives of the Yuwen family of the Northern Zhou Dynasty were also killed. After the internal purge was completed, he changed the vassal state of Jiangling Houliang into a territory directly under his jurisdiction.It was rare that there was no bloodshed. At this time, the Later Liang Dynasty was the era of Xiao Kui, the grandson of Prince Zhaoming (the eldest son of Emperor Wu of Liang), who died prematurely.Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty betrothed the daughter of Emperor Ming of Later Liang to his second son Yang Guang as his wife.Yang Guang was the later Emperor Yangdi.After the death of Emperor Ming, his son Xiao Cong succeeded to the throne. In the seventh year of Emperor Kaihuang (587 A.D.), Houliang was abolished in the Sui Dynasty and changed to a territory directly under its jurisdiction. Xiao Cong was granted the title of Shangzhu Kingdom and the title of Duke Ju. During the 50-year reign of Emperor Wu of Liang, many of the people who were taken care of did not serve in the Chen Dynasty but scattered in various places in the south of the Yangtze River and became wealthy families.Because the great-grandson of Emperor Wu became the concubine of the Sui prince, these people became pro-Sui elements and played a lot behind the times when the Sui unified the world. The year following the absorption of Liang, Sui decided to attack Chen in Jiankang. The Jiankang court had known for a long time that the Sui army was mobilizing frequently, but the lord Chen Shubao (grandson of Emperor Wudi Chen Baxian's elder brother) didn't seem to care.At this time, he was infatuated with a beautiful woman named Zhang Lihua, and intended to abolish the Shen family and establish the Zhang family.For Chen Shubao, the empress of Chen, the abolition of the empress was far more important than the Sui attack. In addition to being lustful, Empress Chen also likes to enjoy herself very much, and often holds banquets.In fact, he was even a big drinker. Since he took the throne, he seldom cared about military affairs, and focused on building palaces and pavilions.The three pavilions of Linchun Pavilion, Jieqi Pavilion and Wangxian Pavilion are all tens of feet high. The windows and railings are made of sandalwood and decorated with gold, jade and pearls.In these palaces, he chanted poems about women with sycophants all day long.The winning works of the poetry recitation competition were immediately composed into tunes, which were sung by thousands of beauties.Later historians called it the sound of subjugation.Among them, Chen Houzhu's "Jade Tree Backyard Flower" is the most famous: The enchantress's face is like a flower with dew, The stream of eucalyptus illuminates the backyard. (full text)