Emperor Gao Yang of northern Qi has always been known in Chinese history for "obscene violence", and the term "obscene violence" began with the Tang Dynasty historian Li Baiyao. Although the comments of later generations of historians on Gao Yang are always different, most of them inherit Li Baiyao's "obscene violence" theory.
However, the Northern Qi Book, volume IV, Wen Xuanji, does not completely negate his evaluation:
The emperor has little generosity, is wise and sensitive, is soft on the outside and strong on the inside, and is bold and decisive. Ya good officials, test the beginning and know the end, the drama is complicated, and the day is tireless. At the beginning of practicing the great position, pay attention to political skills, take the law to control, and justice first. Or if they violate the charter, although they are secretly related to the old xun, they will have no room for shelter, and they will be quiet inside and outside. As for the several policies of the military and the state, they are embraced by the sole decision, the scale is grand, and some people are ambitious. He also used the three-sided DingZhi, Zhuyi Weibin, repaired the armored soldiers, concisely trained the soldiers, and placed the hundred guards on the left and right. Every time they are on the verge of marching, they are personally struck by arrows and blades, lest there be few enemies in front of them, and they will repeatedly commit hardships and dangers, and often lead to Kejie. ......
After six or seven years of conquest, Wei Zhenrongxia, with his own self-esteem, stayed behind and committed adultery. ...... In the last years, he could not eat, drank only alcohol, and the tillers became plagued, thus causing death.
These two passages are the evaluation of Gao Yang by the Tang Dynasty historian Li Baiyao, and through the analysis of Gao Yang's character, instrumental knowledge, talent, and political and military activities, the previous paragraph holds that Gao Yang was a promising master with outstanding political and military talents and "a grand scale and a great plan" in the early period of his reign six or seven years before Tianbao.
The latter passage writes about Gao Yang's absurd actions after the sixth or seventh year of Tianbao, believing that Gao Yang gradually became a "lingering and procrastinating and wanton adulterous" in the later period of his reign.
Let's first take a look at Gao Yang, who "stays in a hurry and commits wanton adultery."
In the seventh year of Wuding (549), Gao Cheng, who was only twenty-nine years old, was assassinated to death, and chaos was suddenly in chaos. At this time, the nineteen-year-old Gao Yang stepped forward, on the one hand, personally commanding the guards and hunting down assassins; on the other hand, he personally managed the government and the affairs of the military, large and small, and orderly. The chaotic political situation was immediately brought under control. In May of the following year, Gao Yang ascended the throne as emperor, with the era name Tianbao and the national name Qi.
The Northern Qi Dynasty established by the Gao family lasted for twenty-eight years (550-577), and the style of the six emperors was quite similar--tyranny and fierceness, known as the "Beast Dynasty".
Gao Huan called himself empress, empress and princess of the previous dynasty, and so on, not only did he dare to accept them all according to the order, but also within the Gao family's royal family, there were many things of stealing ashes for wife and adultery. When Gao Yang was not yet emperor, he had an affair with his father's wife's own little mother, Zheng Dache; soon after becoming emperor, he raped his brother's wife Empress Yuanshi, because his brother had raped Gao Yang's wife many times. After Gao Yang's younger brother Gao Zhan succeeded to the throne, he threatened to kill his nephew and forced Gao Yang's wife Li Shi to obey, and then Li Shi became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter...
In ancient China, although polygamous, the distinction between people and generations was still very exquisite. That is to say, during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, when the Wuhu Chaohua and han unification did not exist, all kinds of animals and beasts in the Gao court could be produced.
Gao Yang ascended the throne to the sixth year of Tianbao (555), with the stability of the four neighbors and the domination of power, Gao Yang's will began to relax, from diligence to absurdity and tyranny. Gao Yang often smeared grease and powder, and wore women's clothes to flaunt the market on the street. Or recruit a large number of women into the palace for themselves and their cronies to indulge day and night.
He once had a very favored Concubine Xue, with a beautiful appearance and a thousand postures, and she was like glue and paint, staying together all day. One day, Gao Yang was very drunk, and suddenly remembered that Xue Concubine had an ambiguous relationship with Gao Yue, the King of Zhaowu, and was jealous for a while, so he drew a dagger and killed Xue Concubine, then took the body in his arms, and drunkenly went to find someone to drink.
After three rounds of drinking, he suddenly took out the corpse from his arms, and then casually dismantled the corpse one by one, made Xue Concubine's hip bone into a serra, played and sang by himself, and everyone present was creepy and trembling.
Once, Gao Yang drank too much, drunk madly, walked around the palace, passed by his father's concubine Erzhu's mansion, rushed in, repelled left and right, and hugged Erzhu's courtship. Erzhu did not comply, covering his clothes and body with his hands, and begging him bitterly not to do such incest.
Gao Yang laughed and agreed to Erzhu Shi, but took advantage of his letting down his guard and stabbed into Erzhu Shi's lower body with a knife at once, gaining pleasure in the painful wailing and fierce struggle before she died.
Another time, when he drank too much, he actually called all the women in his own clan room to gather in the palace, forced them to take off their clothes, and then let his ministers and subordinates go to the group to rape and have promiscuous sex, while he himself drank a little wine and watched.
The right servant Cui Xian was actually a rare famous courtier since the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and the elder of the Three Dynasties of Eastern Wei was Gao Yang's father Gao Huan's confidant, and also a minister that Gao Yang valued very much, and a rare loyal person who dared to bitterly advise Gao Yang to abstain from alcohol.
After Cui Xian died, Gao Yang went to mourn, and suddenly saw Cui Xian's concubine Li Shi among the crowd kneeling to take over. This Li Clan was only seventeen or eighteen years old, just in time for Miao Ling Fanghua, the fat powder was not applied, wearing a musu, but it showed the original amazing style, which attracted Gao Yang to the seven souls and lost six of them, and his heart was shaking and he could not sustain himself, and he actually ignored that it was the solemn place of the Spiritual Hall, and Lao Cui's uninkned corpse was displayed on that side, and he went up to hug Li Shi and kiss him, and then teased and molested.
Li Shi was carrying heavy filial piety, and the incident happened suddenly, and he was resolute in not obeying. This inspired Gao Yang's violent tendencies beyond bestiality. He simply tore Li Shi in front of everyone and tore him half naked, and Li Shi screamed and fled, but still did not follow. After a few tosses and turns, Gao Yang must have lost his sexual desire and the emperor's dignity was challenged, so his killing heart suddenly rose.
He brought a chair and sat on it, causing Lee to kneel in front of him and interrogate, "Do you miss your dead husband now?" Li Shi replied with trepidation: "Back to Your Majesty, a day husband and wife are blessed for a hundred days, and the grace and righteousness are naturally deep, how can I not miss it?" Gao Yang sneered, "Well, Na Shuo knows." If you are willing to fulfill you, then send you to Hades to visit your husband! Then, Gao Yang personally decapitated Li's head and threw it into the gutter outside the wall.
Gao Yang's mother, Empress Lou, was very angry when she saw Gao Yang indulging in wine all day. Once, she raised her cane and hit Gao Yang and scolded, "What kind of father gives birth to what kind of son!" ”
Gao Yang was full of wine and did not show weakness: "You old woman still dares to scold me, tomorrow I will marry you to hu people to be a wife." Empress Lou fainted angrily.
Gao Yang was still not willing to rest, until at night a person secretly went under the empress's bed, and when the empress dowager got into bed, Gao Yang lifted the bed board with both hands, and Empress Lou panicked and rolled off the bed.
In the tenth year of Tianbao (559), Gao Yang suddenly asked the chancellor Yuan Shao: "Why was emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty able to achieve the great cause of Zhongxing?" Yuan Shao replied, "This is because the surname Liu was not killed at that time." ”
Gao Yang was deeply impressed, remembering that although he established Northern Qi on behalf of Wei, the Imperial Yuan Clan of Northern Wei still existed in large numbers, and he felt that this was a hidden danger, so he ordered that all the former imperial clans be killed. Killing 721 people, even babies, indulgent soldiers picked up babies with spears and threw them into the air for fun.
Yuan's corpses were all thrown into the Zhanghe River, and as a result, when people fishing on both sides of the Zhanghe River dissected fish, they often found that the fingernails of people in the belly of the fish were left, so that the residents on both sides of the Zhanghe River did not dare to eat fish for a long time.
Why did Gao Yang become the most brutal emperor? The root cause is actually one! This is closely related to Gao Yang's growth environment.
The Gao family produces handsome men, but Gao Yang is different - his appearance is very ugly. The half-brother Gao Jun, the third brother, completely regarded Gao Yang as a mentally handicapped child, and often made fun of him, "Why don't you wipe your nose for the second brother!" Even the half-mother's eldest brother Gao Cheng often insulted him in public, "This person is also rich, and the reason for the law is also understandable." What is even more excessive is that he often "bullied" his wife in front of Gao Yang.
Brothers are like this, and Gao Yang is not welcomed by his parents.
The history books say that Gao Huan still attaches great importance to this ugly son, perhaps when Gao Yang was emperor, he let the historian embellish it. Because Gao Huan only carefully cultivated the eldest son, Gao Cheng, Gao Cheng was able to succeed smoothly thanks to having a good father.
In addition to Gao Cheng, Gao Cheng's favorite is the fifth son Gao Xun, who was almost deposed when Gao Cheng made a mistake, and the candidate was Gao Xun, not gao Yang, the eldest son of the second son. In addition, Gao Cheng also had high hopes for Gao Jun and Gao Zhuo.
The same is true for Gao Yang's mother. When Gao Yang wanted to sit on the throne, his mother said, "Ru father is like a dragon, brother is like a tiger, just as the heavenly throne cannot be presumptuous, and he will live in the north for life." Whoever is alone in Ru wants to do the things of Shun and Yu!" It can be seen that in the eyes of this old lady, Gao Yang is not as good as his father and brother no matter what he does. After Gao Yang's death, she immediately helped her son Gao Yan to seize the throne from her own grandson.
At this point, everything Gao Yang did after becoming emperor may just want to prove his existence and prove that his ability is no worse than his brothers.
In fact, Gao Yang was an emperor in Chinese history who was very successful in politics and military affairs, and Li Baiyao's "obscene" theory was unfair.
In May 550, after Gao Yang was zen and established Northern Qi, he immediately "sent ambassadors to travel around the four directions, observe customs, ask the people about their sufferings, strictly restrain the elders, be honest and peaceful, promote profits and eliminate harms, and keep quiet." If the law is inconvenient, and the government has not done everything, it is necessary to have a rule of gain and loss, and it is still heard. (Book of Northern Qi) This is also a bit of a routine affair for the founding of the new dynasty.
From June to August, Gao Yang issued several edicts in succession, covering all aspects of education, people's livelihood, social atmosphere, and political life, that is, rectifying customs and advocating frugality; worshipping Confucianism and rewarding Confucianism; paying attention to people's livelihood, persuading nongsang; and encouraging advice and amending the law.
As for these edicts issued by Gao Yang after receiving Zen, we believe that they cannot be regarded as just a piece of paper. According to the historical records, during Gao Yang's reign, especially before Tianbao's six years, it can be said that he was "a good official, measured the beginning and the end, the drama was complicated, and the whole day was tireless", which was not a praise.
In addition, Gao Yang not only had outstanding political ability, but also had considerable military talent, and Li Baiyao gave a high evaluation to Gao Yang's military ability. Mr. Lu Simian has always not promised people with words, and also said: "Wenxuan is also thin and has a martial strategy."
In his later years, Gao Yang was physically deficient due to too good wine, so he died violently in October of the tenth year of Tianbao (559), when he was Chinese New Year's Eve one year old, and was buried in Wuning Mausoleum.