The Sui Dynasty was a special existence in history. At that time, after the Jin Dynasty, China experienced more than 400 years of division, conquests were continuous, and all sides were vying for power. Later, Yang Jian stood out and established the Sui Dynasty. Yang Jian was a diligent and frugal emperor who governed the country well, and under his rule, the Sui Dynasty reached a prosperous situation at the beginning of the country, and the population was even larger than that of the Sheng Tang. However, the Sui Dynasty was replaced by the Tang Dynasty after only two generations, and after that, the Sui Dynasty was blacked out.
History is the history of the victors. The Sui Dynasty emperor Yang Guang, in the mouth of Li Shimin, the Tang king, was a negative example among the rulers of previous dynasties. Of course, this is understandable, because Sui was destroyed at the hands of Li Shimin's father and son, and only by covering up its merits as much as possible and amplifying its shortcomings as much as possible can it reflect the legitimacy of its replacement. So, what about real history?
At the beginning of the establishment of the Sui Dynasty by Emperor Yang Jian of Sui, the extravagant style that had been inherited since the Wei and Jin dynasties was rectified. Yang Jian was a frugal emperor, and he and the Dugu Empress led by example and set a good example for the people of the world. In the political field, Yang Jian reformed the bureaucratic system, strengthened the management and evaluation of officials, and investigated them openly and covertly, so that the officials were clear and clear, and the officials occupied their positions and sought their own government.
In terms of talent selection, Emperor Wen of Sui founded the imperial examination system, which lasted for thousands of years, and was an important means for the feudal dynasty to select talents, and it was also an important way of communication between the upper and lower classes at that time. At the same time, Emperor Wen of Sui sympathized with the suffering of the people who had been in the war for hundreds of years, and he cut the original heavy servitude taxes and gave the people time to rest. For a time, the people of the Great Sui Dynasty lived and worked in peace and contentment, and the officials worked hard to govern, showing a thriving scene.
However, no one expected that such a prosperous situation would last only until the second life. Many people attribute this regret to Yang Guang, saying that he played a good hand of cards. So, was Yang Guang, the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty, really as someone said, so faint?
In fact, Yang Guang was not originally a prince. In this struggle for the prince, he showed extraordinary acting skills. At first, Emperor Wen of Sui made his eldest son Yang Yong crown prince. This is a mercurial prince, he is full of literary flair, extravagant, and has countless harem beauties. These were the most annoying to her father, Emperor Wen of Sui, and her mother, the Lonely Empress.
The Lone Queen is a traditional and dedicated woman who wants her husband to treat her alone, and asks her son in this way. However, seeing her son Yang Yong left and right, the LoneLy Empress was a little unhappy in her heart. In addition, Yang Yong is a mercurial prince and has no interest in the conquest of the battlefield.
Give him clothes and armor, he will not put on the horse and gallop, but it is very likely that people will bring some paint to paint a beauty on the armor. This was really a bit of mud in the eyes of Yang Jian and the LoneLy Empress. A concubine in Yang Yong's harem was pregnant, and his mother, the LoneLy Empress, stomped her feet in anger. When the crown princess who was in the right position at that time died, the lonely empress imposed her own ideas on her daughter-in-law, believing that the princess must have died because the prince's concubine was pregnant.
Moreover, Yang Yong also has no intention of studying politics. He still went his own way, and Yang Yong never considered such things as making friends with the ministers of the DPRK and currying favor with his father and his mother, and perhaps he really did not notice these things. Over time, in this way, Yang Yong's status in the Sui Emperor and the Dugu Empress gradually decreased.
At the same time, it depends on his opponent Yang Guang. As an unattractive youngest son, Yang Guang has a crazy obsession with power. He knows he has to cater to his parents' preferences in order to get attention. Yang Guang was therefore frugal everywhere, often wearing clothes with several layers of patches. In his palace, there was only one concubine, and there was never a sound of feasting and drinking. What does he do when he has nothing to do? He went to the old ministers of the DPRK and China to ask for advice on ways to govern the country and the people. It seems that he is a person with a pure heart and a heart for the country and the Great Sui Dynasty.
At the same time, Yang Guang also fanned the flames around each Yang Yong. On the one hand, he instigated his brother not to learn no techniques and was absurd, and on the other hand, he himself behaved diligently and frugally, and he was respectful and respectful to the virtuous old courtiers. In this way, Yang Guang gradually entered the sight of the Sui Emperor and the Dugu Empress. Eventually, Yang Guang took his place as Yang Jian's heir.
People are like this, the more depressed, the more frightening the rebound. Yang Guang, who ascended to the big position, immediately changed his previous low-key style, just like a changed person. He did hedonistic things and became cruel and bloodthirsty. However, was he as useless as Li Shimin said, a negative teaching material for future emperors? In fact, Yang Guang also has its merits, and after ascending to the big position, he has also built a lot of merit.
First of all, after becoming emperor, he successfully captured Tuguhun and conquered the Khitans, Ryukyu bowed down to him under his conquest, Champa was subdued by him, and Annam did not dare to make a second attempt. At this time, Yang Guang, whose ambitions were gradually expanding, was still not satisfied, he wanted to expand wildly, he wanted to establish a prosperous hero, at this time, his eyes were on Goryeo.
If Goryeo was captured and incorporated into the territory of the Great Sui Dynasty, then the Sui Emperor Yang Guang was a monarch whose merits were even above that of the Qin Emperor Han Wu. For the Sui Emperor, who was madly obsessed with power, it was an absolute temptation for the emperor for thousands of years. So, Goryeo, he's going to settle.
However, the Sui Emperor Yang Guang was too confident. Attacking Goryeo three times, the foundation created by the Sui Dynasty was almost consumed by him, but it could not be regarded as the completion of the goal. After that, he dug the Grand Canal and built a palace to attract beautiful women from all over the world. Although the significance of the canal was great, at that time, the Sui Emperor was more concerned with showing his power and showing the people of the world that he was the one in power and the emperor of the ages.
In the end, the Sui Dynasty was killed in his hands. Perhaps, without the original extreme depression, Yang Guang might not have been so poor and extravagant later. Maybe he wasn't so condescending at the time, and he wasn't obsessed with power later. However, everything is no longer possible, and Yang Guang, who could have further created a prosperous world, eventually became a negative model in Li Shimin's mouth.