Chapter 10 God of Destiny's Shocking Imagination

At the end of the Kaiyuan period, the government of the Tang Dynasty conducted a comprehensive census. The statistical results showed that by the end of the 28th year of Kaiyuan (AD 740), the total number of households in the country had reached 8,412,871, and the total population had reached 4,814,3609. What do these two numbers mean? Let us find a few more data to compare, and maybe we can understand its significance. At the beginning of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, there were only more than 2 million registered households. In the early years of Zhenguan, it was still less than three million. In the early years of Yonghui, it increased to 3.8 million. By the time of Zhongzong and Ruizong, the total number of households in the country had increased to six More than one million.That is to say, in the one hundred years from the beginning of Tang Dynasty to the beginning of Kaiyuan, there was only an increase of 4 million households; and in less than 30 years during the Kaiyuan period, the total number of households increased by about 2.4 million. It is the fastest growing stage since the founding of the country.

In the ancient agricultural society, the number of population was definitely a year-on-year increase with GDP, and it was also the most important factor to promote the growth of national fiscal revenue.It can be seen that the rapid growth of registered household Qimin during the Kaiyuan period is undoubtedly a sign of the Tang Dynasty's overall prosperity and an important sign of the coming of a peaceful and prosperous age. It is said that in the last years of Kaiyuan, "Xijing and Dongdu's rice dendrobium direct money is less than two hundred, and silk horses are the same. In Fu'an, travelers do not hold an inch of soldiers even though they travel thousands of miles." "Old Tang Book·Benji of Xuanzong" said: There is a world, rectification is based on punishment, enlightenment is based on rites and music, love is based on kindness and thrift, and law is based on etiquette....The wind of chastity is revived in one day....After three epochs, it can be called peace."

Wang Fuzhi, a famous thinker during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, spoke highly of this era in eight words: "The prosperity of Kaiyuan is beyond the reach of Han and Song!" On the first day of the first lunar month in 742 A.D., Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, personally received the congratulations from all officials in the Qinzheng Building. At the same time, he announced the amnesty of the world and changed the name to "Tianbao". The Kaiyuan era came to an end. Since then, the Tang Empire has entered a heyday that is more prosperous than any previous period.

In the imperial edict to change the Yuan Dynasty, Xuanzong declared: "Since my heir has guarded Piye for 30 years, the real Lai Zongshe descended from the spirit, the Haoqiongfu blessed, all things are safe, the world is as peaceful as it is, and the common people are rational." ("" Quan Tang Wen "Volume 39) From these few words, it is not difficult to see his complacency. This year, Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji was fifty-eight years old, and he had been in the world for thirty years. As the ancients often said: "There is no beginning in the waste, and there is an end in the savagery!" At this time, Li Longji had long lost his past The spirit of forging ahead, self-denial and self-discipline was replaced by day-to-day extravagance and indulgence.

Especially since the death of Concubine Wu Hui in the 25th year of Kaiyuan, Xuanzong's love life had two extreme tendencies. Fendai and Sanqian beauties have lost their appeal to him. He became more and more lustful and licentious.According to the "Kaiyuan Tianbao Legacy", Xuanzong and his concubines used different methods to have fun all day long. For example, in spring, he put a flower on each beauty's head, and then let a butterfly fly to watch the butterfly stop. He will be lucky on whoever's head; when he got tired of this kind of trick, Xuanzong opened an altar to set up a bet, set up the bank himself, and ordered all the concubines to come to gamble, and whoever won would spend the night with him.

This absurd life of messing around and messing around lasted for several years, until a woman suddenly broke into his heart and filled the huge emotional void left by Concubine Wu Hui, and all this came to an abrupt end. As we all know, this woman who suddenly broke into Xuanzong's heart, this woman who is about to perform the eternal love story with Xuanzong, is Concubine Yang Gui. Concubine Yang Gui, nicknamed Yuhuan, is a descendant of the Hongnong Yang family.As far back as the Han Dynasty, the Yang family of Hongnong was one of the famous surnames of the six major counties in Guanzhong, and there have been many celebrities in the past.In the Sui and Tang dynasties, this family produced a large number of outstanding people, such as Yang Jian, Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty, Yang Su, Yang Xiong, Yang Da, the prime ministers of Sui Dynasty, and Yang Shi, the mother of Empress Wuzhao, Yang Gongren, the prime minister of Wude period, Zhenguan The prime minister of the period, Yang Shidao, etc., all came from this family.

Many historical books say that Yang Yuhuan is a "Hongnong Huayin native", the purpose is to emphasize her noble origin.However, this statement is not quite accurate.Because her ancestors moved to Yongle, Puzhou (now Yongji City, Shanxi) before the Sui Dynasty, "Hongnong Huayin" is just Yang Yuhuan's distant ancestor county, and has nothing to do with her. Because he was of the same clan as Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Yuhuan's great-grandfather, Yang Wang, was highly regarded in the Sui Dynasty.It's a pity that during the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Wang took refuge in Wang Shichong. Later, the Eastern Capital was conquered by Qin Wang Li Shimin, and Yang Wang was killed. Since then, his descendants have gradually declined.

By the generation of Yang Yuhuan's father, Yang Xuanyan, his family has long since declined, and he is completely different from his ancestors.Around the early years of Kaiyuan, Yang Xuanyan entered Sichuan from Puzhou, and went to Shuzhou (now Chongzhou City, Sichuan Province) as a household secretary.The so-called Sihu is just a junior official in charge of household registration, bookkeeping, marriage land and other matters.Yang Xuanyan has two younger brothers, one is Yang Xuangui and the other is Yang Xuanzhen. The latter serves as a Henan official Cao Canjun in Luoyang. Like Yang Xuanyan, he is also a sesame official from the seventh rank.

In the seventh year of Kaiyuan (719 AD), Yang Yuhuan was born in Shuzhou.She is the youngest in the family, with an older brother and three older sisters.Around the age of ten, both of Yang Yuhuan's parents died.This was originally a great misfortune in life, but for Yang Yuhuan, this unexpected turn of events turned out to be a turning point in her life—because she left Shuzhou, where Emperor Shangao was far away, and was taken to Luoyang by her uncle Yang Xuanjue upbringing. As we all know, Luoyang, the eastern capital, was the second political center of the Tang Dynasty, a famous gathering place for humanities, and also an important hub of water and land transportation. Its prosperity and prosperity are far from that of the remote Shuzhou.When Yang Yuhuan came to this fashionable metropolis, he could not only broaden his horizons and increase his knowledge, but also get better cultural education and artistic edification.

Later facts proved that it was precisely because of this opportunity to grow up in Dongdu that Yang Yuhuan was able to become a peerless beauty with both beauty and beauty.It is said in history that she is "beautiful in appearance and quality, good at singing and dancing, good at rhythm, and excellent in intelligence". ("Old Book of Tang·The Biography of Concubine Yang Guifei") Among these advantages, apart from the natural appearance, other qualities are of course benefited from the acquired training and the influence of the environment.And all these are the important conditions for her to be selected into the palace in the future, and also the main reason why Xuanzong is deeply fascinated by her in the future.

During the Kaiyuan period, Xuanzong visited the Eastern Capital five times successively. Every time he visited the Eastern Capital, civil and military officials, royal families, and harem concubines must accompany him; each time he stayed in the Eastern Capital, the shortest time was several months, and the longest time was two or three. year.In this sense, Yang Yuhuan was brought up by his uncle in Luoyang, which means that he came to the feet of the emperor, and entered the vision of the emperor and the court, so he had the opportunity to stand out from the crowd. All in all, for Yang Yuhuan, the experience of both parents dying when she was young is not only a kind of misfortune, but it can be said to be a favor of the God of Destiny.If it hadn't been for this kind of accident, she would of course have only been able to grow up in Shuzhou, and she would become an ordinary housewife in the future. She would neither be favored by the six palaces and become famous all over the world, nor would she be able to enter the annals of history and be praised by posterity through the ages. In the autumn of the twenty-first year of Kaiyuan (733 A.D.), Xuanzong moved from Chang'an in Xijing to Luoyang in the east for the last time.This time, he lived in Dongdu for nearly three years, and did not return to Chang'an until October of the twenty-fourth year of Kaiyuan.During this period, Xuanzong made arrangements for two major events. To be precise, these are two happy events. In July of the 23rd year of Kaiyuan (735 A.D.) and the first month of the following year, Xuanzong held two grand weddings for his favorite pair of children—Princess Xianyi and Shouwang Li Mao (both born to Concubine Wu Hui) . Coincidentally, the son-in-law and daughter-in-law selected this time are both surnamed Yang, and both come from the aristocratic Hongnong Yang family. This son-in-law was Yang Hui who later helped Concubine Wu Hui create the "Three Shuren Case" and killed Prince Li Ying. And this daughter-in-law is Yang Yuhuan, the adopted daughter of Cao Canjun Yang Xuanjuan, a Henan official. At this time, Li Longji certainly would not have imagined that in just four short years, the daughter-in-law he personally selected would become his favorite woman, and would perform a vigorous, poignant and moving love with him in the days to come. story. At that time, among the thirty princes of Xuanzong, Li Mao, the longevity king, was favored "the most among all kings", far more favored than the prince. The top priority seems to be more prudent than choosing a crown princess. After arriving in Luoyang in the first month of the 22nd year of Kaiyuan (734 A.D.), Xuanzong and Concubine Wu Hui began to work together to choose a concubine for King Shou.This contest for the selection of princesses has been going on for nearly two years. After layers of selection and evaluation of various indicators, the seventeen-year-old Yang Yuhuan finally stood out from the crowd of young girls and became the champion of the audition. The reason why Yang Yuhuan won, first of all, was of course because of her gold-lettered signboard of "Hongnong Yang Family". "Crown Generation" and her all-powerful appearance really make everyone who has seen her feel bright and unforgettable; finally, it is because of her artistic cultivation and attainments that other contestants can't match. On December 24th, the 23rd year of Kaiyuan, Yang Xuanzhen, the seventh-rank sesame official, ushered in the most glorious moment in his life. Because on this day, a mighty entrusted delegation came from the palace to his small house where few distinguished guests visited, and solemnly announced that the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty would marry him as a son and daughter. For Yang Xuanzhen, is there anything more to be thankful and proud of than this? Moreover, the standard of this canonization ceremony is also very high.The official envoy representing the emperor was Li Linfu, the dignified prime minister and Minister of Rites, and the deputy envoy was Chen Xilie, the servant of Huangmen.In the concubine's imperial edict, Xuanzong highly praised Yang Yuhuan: "The eldest daughter of Cao Canjun, a scholar in Henan Province, Yang Xuanzhen (considering the dignity of the royal family, of course Yang Yuhuan's identity as an adopted daughter must be concealed), a family of public servants, innocent and beautiful, and her birth bell is beautiful. , Contains Zhang Xiu. Solid energy symbolizes Fan Sucheng, softness is far away; Xiu Ming is inner and wise, and Shu asks outer Zhao. Therefore, the selection of extremely famous scholars is for the vassal state." ("Tang Dazhao Collection" Volume 40) From this moment on, Yang Yuhuan's personal fate, as well as the fate of the entire family, were completely rewritten. One month later, that is, the first month of the twenty-fourth year of Kaiyuan, eighteen-year-old Yang Yuhuan was married into the palace and officially became the Princess of Shou. Shou Wang Li Mao and Yang Yuhuan are about the same age. According to relevant records, several children of Concubine Wu Hui are quite beautiful, and Shou Wang Li Mao should also be a good-looking and handsome young man.It is conceivable that in the eyes of the world at that time, these two young couples were definitely a pair of talented and beautiful couples, a match made in heaven. However, who could have imagined that in just a few years, this couple that everyone envied would be torn apart?Who would have thought that the person who broke them up and took away their love was actually Yang Yuhuan's father-in-law, Li Longji, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty? When Yang Yuhuan married into the emperor's family, it was the time when the dispute over the position directed by Concubine Wu Hui intensified.Although the history books do not record Yang Yuhuan's specific words and deeds in this dispute, as a stakeholder, she certainly cannot stand on the sidelines.Because once she succeeds in seizing the heir, she will become the crown princess and the future queen, so at least in terms of mood, Yang Yuhuan, who has just entered the palace, will definitely be stirred up by this political vortex. Later, the "Three Commons Case" broke out, and three brothers including Prince Li Ying were killed on the same day. Concubine Wu Hui died of an illness due to uneasy conscience, and the loyal king Li Yu then entered the East Palace.Originally, so far, all the disturbances have passed. Although Li Mao cannot be the crown prince and Yang Yuhuan cannot become the crown princess, this has no effect on their lives.At least Li Mao is still the king of longevity, and Yang Yuhuan is still the princess. They can still enjoy a peaceful and rich life, and they can still be like all couples in the world. However, the god of fate played a cruel joke with them at this time. Yang Yuhuan would never have expected that the emotional trauma caused by her mother-in-law's death would be comforted by her daughter-in-law in the end; and of course the longevity king Li Mao would never have expected that he had just lost his mother and would soon be about to die. Lost his wife, and this wife turned into his father's "mother" in the blink of an eye, and thus became his "stepmother" unbelievably... Life is so absurd. Things are so impermanent. God of Destiny's imagination can be so outrageous and shocking! It makes a joke casually, and sometimes it is enough to make the parties want to cry, leave the onlookers dumbfounded, and make more than half of the novelists in the world feel ashamed. So, how did this unethical love between Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan happen? When Li Longji lamented that the entire harem was "pink like dirt" and messed around in an almost obscene manner, who pushed Yang Yuhuan solemnly in front of him? The answer is actually not difficult to guess. This other kind of old man who is a matchmaker between father-in-law and daughter-in-law is Xuanzong's most caring "old slave" - ​​Gao Lishi.