The long river of history is running endlessly, there are calm waves, there are also waves, let Xiaobian take you into history and understand history.
There was an Empress Feng in northern Wei who was quite famous in history, and she was famous because her power position was similar to that of the later Empress Dowager Cixi, but her ability to govern the country was more than that of Cixi, and her personal life was more colorful.
Empress Feng was born in the Northern Yan imperial family, her name is not clear, she looked very beautiful, she became a nobleman at the age of 11, and became the empress of Tuoba Mao, the fifth emperor of Northern Wei, Wencheng Emperor, at the age of 14. Soon, the son of the emperor and another woman, Tuoba Hong, who had just been made crown prince, was entrusted to her to raise. Because the crown prince's mother died according to the bloody system of "the death of the son and the noble mother" of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Empress Feng picked up the leak and got a son out of thin air. In this way, the little husband and wife sang with great love, took a good son, and spent nearly ten years of happy time together.
Unexpectedly, emperor Wencheng, who was only 26 years old, unfortunately died young, and the 24-year-old Empress Feng became a widow. The day after Emperor Wencheng's death, the 12-year-old crown prince Tuoba Hong succeeded to the throne, that is, Emperor Xianwen, and Empress Feng became Empress Feng.
As soon as this title was upgraded, the empress dowager and the emperor and his wife immediately faced a crisis. The King of Taiyuan and the great general Yi Hun of the Che Riders were uneasy, bullying this orphan and widow, and wanting to seek power and usurp the throne, and the situation was very critical. At this juncture, Empress Feng showed courage and wisdom that surpassed many men, and immediately made arrangements for Tuoba Pi and Niu Yi to lead the troops to capture Yihun, because of the rapid action, Yihun was arrested and killed before he had time to resist, the rebellion was quelled, and the political situation was stabilized. After this incident, Empress Feng gained prestige. At this time, the emperor was young, and Empress Feng announced that she would be in charge of the imperial government and control the power of the dynasty.
If you want to hold power, you have to use good people. Empress Feng selected and employed people, which was a balance between public and private. In the public, it is necessary to choose a talented person who can help her do her official business; In private, you have to choose a healthy and beautiful body, look at the eyes, and meet the needs of the popping. Li Yi, the superintendent of the Su Guards, was selected according to this criterion, and was a son of an official eunuch, a dignified man, versatile, and sympathetic, and had great prestige in the court, so he was deeply favored by Empress Feng and often let him accompany him to the palace. This Li Yi also really had the ability, serving Empress Feng comfortably inside and doing official affairs properly outside, and was Empress Feng's good assistant.
Less than two years after this time, Empress Feng had a white, fat and fat grandson, and as soon as she was happy, she let her son Emperor Xianwen kiss the government and concentrate on holding her grandson. Unexpectedly, as soon as Emperor Xianwen was pro-government, he was not accustomed to his mother's debauchery, and thought that it was insulting to the royal court. Therefore, he always wanted to find an opportunity to clean up Empress Feng's lover Li Yi. At this time, it happened that Li Yi's brother Li Shi had committed an incident and was reported, and Emperor Xianwen got the opportunity to immediately order the two brothers to be put on death row together, and despite Empress Feng's intercession, they were executed for unforgivable reasons, and Empress Feng was sad and angry. Emperor Wen did not look at his eyes, and promoted Li Xin, who had harmed the empress dowager's lover, to Shangshu and handled government affairs. At this point, Empress Feng could not bear it, so she used her prestige to force Emperor Xianwen to hand over the throne, and the throne was given to the less than 5-year-old crown prince Tuoba Hong, who was later the reformer Emperor Xiaowen. Emperor Xianwen himself became Emperor Taishang, and this year, he was only 18 years old, probably the youngest Emperor Taishang in Chinese history.
Although he did the work of Emperor Taishang, Emperor Xianwen was still not honest, as usual, he did the emperor's business, and he had to intervene in the affairs of the imperial court, and the key was to personally lead his troops out to fight many times, often returning triumphantly. In the winter of 475, Emperor Xianwen of Taishang held a military parade on the northern outskirts of Pingcheng, causing the world to shake. At this moment, Empress Feng could not sit still, thinking that emperor Taishang, who was not his son, would be unfavorable to her, so she decisively intervened and launched a coup d'état in 476 AD, and captured Emperor Xianwen of Taishang and put him under house arrest. Then, for some unknown reason, Emperor Xianwen died soon after, and the cause of death is not stated in the history books, but everyone believes that Empress Feng poisoned her.
As soon as Emperor Xianwen died, Empress Feng was promoted again, becoming the empress dowager, and once again came to the court to listen to the government and became the political core of the Northern Wei Dynasty. At this time, Empress Feng was only in her early 30s, but her strategic ability and political experience were more mature. As soon as she took power, Empress Feng first settled the old account and killed Li Xin, who had killed her lover Li Yi, who was also a corrupt villain. In this way, Empress Feng not only avenged her sweetheart, but also established a good image of the imperial court rectifying the rule of officials. Immediately afterward, Empress Feng cleaned up a number of corrupt officials and corrupt officials such as Luo Hou of Qin Prefecture and Chen Ti, the general of Chang'an Town, rectified the official field, and won the hearts and minds of the people. In order to monopolize power, she also murdered the family of Li Hui, the son-in-law of Emperor Xianwen's father-in-law Nanjun Wang, along with relatives and friends, and killed more than a dozen people, killing hundreds of people, and eliminating the hidden dangers of the regime with iron blood.
On the one hand, it was to eliminate dissidents, and on the other hand, Empress Feng also paid close attention to cultivating her own ruling team, especially the selection of men who were both talented and colorful, and formed a circle of loyalty to her. In this circle, there were nobles of the Tuoba clan, there were also Han celebrities, there were court ministers, and there were eunuchs in the inner court. Among them, many of the Famous Han celebrities have become her favorite courtiers, and Empress Feng's private life is still rich and colorful.
Among them, Wang Rui of Taiyuan and Li Chong of Longxi were the favorites of Empress Feng, both of whom were handsome men with extraordinary demeanor and were very talented. Empress Feng took care of them in many ways and entrusted them with heavy responsibilities. In turn, these two handsome men were also full of love and respect for the empress dowager, loyal and loyal, and participated in many reform plans of the Northern Wei during the Taihe period. The most rare thing is that after Empress Feng's death, Li Chong also tried his best to assist Emperor Xiaowen, loyal and loyal, and was deeply relied on by Emperor Xiaowen, known in history as "between kings and subjects, love and righteousness are mo two". It seems that Emperor Xiaowen is really a generous person, and he is tolerant of his grandmother's lover!
Of course, in addition to these lovers who were happy with each other, Empress Feng also reused tuoba pi, You Minggen, Gao Lu and many other famous scholars, and carried out fruitful reforms to the politics, economy, and customs of the Northern Wei. Although the "Taihe reform" of the Northern Wei Dynasty was mostly called the "Xiaowen Emperor Reform" in later generations, most of the time Empress Feng was the actual ruler of the Northern Wei at that time, and the great cause of reform was soaked with the hard work of Empress Feng. The great results of this reform and its far-reaching historical impact show that Empress Feng was a successful politician and a good person who had both feelings and careers.
Well, today's sharing ends here, and we'll see you next time