Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
She is the most tragically maligned queen and also the most beautiful queen in history, not only coveted by six emperors but even captivating Li Shimin at over fifty years of age.
However, the real her in history was not only so beautiful that historical records struggled to describe her, but she was also astute and deeply involved in Yang Guang's quest for succession.
She is Empress Xiao, the last queen of the Sui Dynasty.
So just how beautiful was she? How did a girl abandoned by her parents become the revered queen of the Sui Dynasty?
It is unclear when it started, but online rumors circulated about Sui Yangdi's queen, the Xiao clan, having served six emperors and being mockingly referred to as "Six Flavor Rehmannia." Is this true?
In 567 AD, Empress Xiao was born in Lanling, the daughter of Xiao Kui, the Xiaoming Emperor of Western Liang, and Empress Zhang.
By all accounts, she was a princess born with a silver spoon.
However, her birth date brought misfortune; being born in February was considered unlucky at that time. Thus, she was sent to be raised by her father's younger brother, Dongping Wang Xiao Ji.
But misfortune did not stop there. The couple who adopted Empress Xiao both passed away within a year, further reinforcing her reputation as an ill-fated person. She had to be transferred to her uncle Zhang Ke for care.
Unfortunately, her uncle's family was not well-off, so the princess Empress Xiao often had to help with household chores from a young age and became diligent and capable.
Fortunately, her uncle doted on her and insisted on educating her. Despite her hardships, Empress Xiao excelled; she not only read historical texts but also learned medicine and divination.
In 582 AD, Sui Wendi and his wife began selecting a bride for their son Jin Wang Yang Guang and wanted to choose a princess from Western Liang.
However, all divination results for Western Liang princesses were unfavorable. In the end, they had to call back Empress Xiao, who had never been valued by the Western Liang royal family. Unexpectedly, her divination result was excellent, leading to Empress Xiao becoming Yang Guang's wife.
Her unique upbringing made her humble and courteous, devoid of any arrogance typical of a princess. Coupled with her extensive knowledge from studying literature, she won the favor of Sui Wendi and Dugu Empress. Yang Guang was utterly smitten by her.
Thus, this young couple enjoyed a harmonious relationship and had two sons and one daughter together—these were among Yang Guang's few children at that time.
His mother, Dugu Empress, despised favoritism towards concubines over wives. She not only forbade Sui Wendi from taking concubines but also disapproved of ministers fathering children with their mistresses.
If it was heard that a certain minister had a child with a concubine, Yang Jian would no longer reuse that person.
Unfortunately, Crown Prince Yang Yong was a natural troublemaker. His parents spent a large sum to marry him to the main wife, Crown Princess Yuan, but he ignored her and instead focused all his attention on his secondary partner, Yun Zhaoxun. As a result, Yuan could not bear the humiliation and died, leading Dugu Empress to believe that Yang Yong and Yun Zhaoxun conspired to kill Yuan.
Not only did she blame Yang Yong, but she also secretly sent people to investigate.
At this time, although Yang Guang was the second son, he possessed great talent and ambition. He wanted to seize the position of Crown Prince and become the heir.
Empress Xiao fully supported him and provided strategies.
The first person to win over was Yang Guang's mother, Dugu Qilao.
Thus, the couple both took action. Yang Guang seized the opportunity to deliberately present himself as an upstanding person in front of his mother while intentionally distancing himself from Empress Xiao, focusing on state affairs.
The wise and understanding Empress Xiao cooperated with him in this act, occasionally going to Dugu Empress to complain that Yang Guang was too focused on politics and neglected her, demanding compensation for her lost youth.
Whenever Dugu Empress sent palace maids to visit the couple, Empress Xiao would share meals and sleep with them to curry favor with Dugu Empress.
Eventually, their performance moved Dugu Empress's heart.
Moreover, with Yang Yong being useless and suspected of harming his legitimate wife, he had long been disliked by Dugu Empress. In a fit of anger, she deposed Yang Yong from his position as Crown Prince and elevated Yang Guang to the throne.
At this point, it had been seven years since Yang Guang married Empress Xiao.
In other words, this scheming couple had been performing their tragic play in front of their mother, Dugu Empress, for a full seven years.
In the year 600 AD, Sui Wendi issued an edict deposing Yang Yong to commoner status and establishing Jin Wang Yang Guang as Crown Prince. Empress Xiao was also promoted to Crown Princess.
At that time, Empress Xiao was already 34 years old, but historical records still described her as very beautiful.
Not long after, Sui Wendi passed away, and Yang Guang ascended to the throne, known in history as Sui Yangdi. Sui Yangdi brought Empress Xiao into the palace and established her as his empress.
Although at that time Yang Guang had countless beauties in his harem, whenever he went on tours, Empress Xiao always had a place by his side.
However, life often delivers a heavy blow when you least expect it.
After becoming emperor, Yang Guang revealed his true nature. He indulged in wine and pleasure all day long and refused to heed the advice of loyal ministers. He frequently traveled south, causing great suffering to the people and wasting resources, leading to increasingly severe social conflicts.
Empress Xiao was deeply worried about this. She had advised Yang Guang several times, but he turned a deaf ear and continued to lavishly squander the foundation built by Sui Wendi.
Gradually, Empress Xiao no longer dared to speak frankly and could only express her concerns indirectly through the "Expression of Aspirations."
As time passed, the fortunes of the Sui Dynasty became irretrievable; even the palace maids knew that someone was plotting a rebellion.
One maid sought help from Empress Xiao, saying that everyone outside wanted to rebel. Empress Xiao replied, "You should report this to His Majesty."
Unexpectedly, after reporting, the maid was killed by Yang Guang.
Everyone in the palace felt insecure, and from then on, no one dared to mention rebellion again.
In truth, Yang Guang was aware of everything; he had chosen to lie flat and enjoy each day without letting anyone shatter his dreams.
Ultimately, in 616 AD, a popular uprising broke out at the end of the Sui Dynasty, leading to the Jiangdu coup.
Sui Yangdi, residing in the Jiangdu palace, was killed by the rebel Yuwen Huaji. Empress Xiao, along with her young grandson and royal daughters, was captured by the chaotic army and taken to Liaocheng. Later, the rebel leader King Dou Jiande captured Liaocheng, killed Yuwen Huaji, pledged allegiance to Empress Xiao, and then settled her in Wuqiang County.
At this time, most of the male members of the Sui Dynasty royal family had been slaughtered, leaving only one infant grandson, Yang Zhengdao.
Princess Yicheng of the Sui Dynasty had married into the Turks early on. Upon hearing of her homeland's downfall, she asked her husband Chuluo Khan to send someone to escort Empress Xiao to the Turks.
At the age of 54, Empress Xiao took Yang Zhengdao and the princesses to Eastern Turkic.
Chuluo Khan appointed Yang Zhengdao as Sui King, historically known as Later Sui.
The intention was to intervene in the Central Plains conflict under the banner of supporting the Sui Dynasty, but unexpectedly, Chuluo Khan passed away, making this plan impossible to realize.
In 630 AD, the famous Tang general Li Jing defeated Eastern Turkic, killing Princess Yicheng and sending the 64-year-old Empress Xiao and Yang Zhengdao back to Chang'an, as if returning from another world. At this time, the ruling dynasty in the Central Plains was the Tang Dynasty, and the emperor was Li Shimin.
Upon returning to the capital, Li Shimin treated Empress Xiao very courteously, arranging accommodations for her and taking good care of her daily needs.
Empress Xiao lived in Chang'an for another 17 years before passing away at the age of 81.
Tang Taizong Li Shimin buried Empress Xiao at the Tomb of Emperor Yang.
Many unofficial histories and novels claim that Empress Xiao was younger than Yang Guang, born in the 20th year of the Tianbao era. They suggest that after returning from Turkic ten years later, she had an ambiguous relationship with Tang Taizong in her forties and was even titled Consort Zhao.
Some even say that Empress Xiao was called Xiao Meiniang, originally the wife of Prince Yang Yong, who was later taken by Yang Guang. There are also stories about Xiao Meiniang teasing Li Shimin and having an affair with Li Mi, which are utterly baseless.
If Empress Xiao had lived in a peaceful era, she would have undoubtedly been an excellent empress, embodying maternal virtues and assisting her husband while leaving behind an eternal legacy.
Unfortunately, she was born during the chaotic end of the Sui Dynasty. As a mere woman, she could do little to change the tide of events and could only go with the flow, even becoming an innocent scapegoat blamed by many as a source of misfortune for the fall of Sui.
Regrettably, in unofficial histories, she has been portrayed as the extraordinarily seductive Xiao Meiniang, a characterization that is likely difficult to amend.
Comment 0 Comment Count