«——[·Preface·] ——»
The deposed crown prince Yang Yong by Emperor Yang Jian of Sui was the first deposed prince operation after the establishment of the Sui Dynasty. Since Emperor Wen of Sui, the abolition of the crown prince is not new.
The relationship between Emperor Wen of Sui and Yang Guang, the king of Jin, was a problem that the Tang Dynasty monarchs could not avoid in the process of discussing Yang Guang, the emperor of Sui. The Sui Emperor Yang Jian deposed the crown prince Yang Yong in order to stabilize the issue of the heir to the throne, while the Jin king Yang Guang adopted the policy line of "using culture to control martial arts" in order to achieve the goal of combining culture and martial arts.
Based on relevant historical materials and historical facts, this paper examines the policy line of Yang Yong, the deposed crown prince of Emperor Wen of Sui, and Yang Guang, the king of Jin, and strives to further explore the role of the policy line of "using culture to control force" in the historical process of the Sui and Tang dynasties.
Before discussing the main historical issues covered in this article, we first need to discuss the background and reasons for the "civil-military division" at the beginning of the Sui Dynasty.
1. Yang Yong: The tragedy of the deposed prince
Yang Yong was the eldest son of the Sui Dynasty, the seventh of the sons of Emperor Wen of Sui, and among the many sons, he was the luckier one. Emperor Wen had high hopes for him, and before he was crown prince, he involved him in state affairs and exposed him to politics.
Emperor Wen did not relax his training of Yang Yong either. During Emperor Wen's reign, Yang Yong was often summoned to the palace to discuss political affairs with his ministers.
However, it was this position of prince who was loved by thousands of people that became an insurmountable hurdle in Yang Yong's life. Shortly after Emperor Wen's death, Yang Yong was deposed as crown prince.
The Sui Shu Yang Yong Biography recorded: "Shang (Emperor Wen) collapsed, and he did not sleep for six days, and he took his own imperial clothes and obeyed. Bravely advised: 'Your Majesty is collapsed, China and abroad are unstable, it is advisable to decide the storage position early. He said, "If the prince hears the world with filial piety, how can he not inherit the righteousness of the temple and the heir?" Bravely said: "Your Majesty is like an elephant in the sky, and the sea is uneasy, so he wants to set the storage position early." 'And let the council of ministers.' ’”
The funeral began on the sixth day after Emperor Wen's death. At that time, Yang Yong was serving the crown prince in the East Palace. According to convention, after the emperor died, he had to be buried separately according to the concubine: the nicknames of concubine and concubine were different.
Yang Yong was also a relatively talented man, and he wrote an article advising Emperor Wen not to make a crown prince early.
"From ancient times to the present, the way of the Father, there is no one who is not honored by the honor of kings... Now His Majesty is the Son of Heaven, and wants to change the crown prince, so it is not a gift to be a concubine! ”
Emperor Wen was very angry after reading this article, thinking that Yang Yong was mocking his "imperial father", so he deposed him as a commoner. Why is that?
Emperor Wen had already given Yang Yong the task before his death, and he hoped that his son would inherit his throne and establish himself crown prince as soon as possible. However, Yang Yong thought that he had the status of "imperial father" and did not want to be made crown prince so soon. However, after Emperor Wen's death, Yang Yong was still made crown prince. This is because Yang Yong still wants to change some things through his own efforts, and he has not given up his ideas.
The Book of Sui recorded: "When Emperor Wen collapsed, Yang Yong was in the East Palace, and he took his own imperial clothes and obeyed, and bravely advised: 'Your Majesty is like an elephant in the sky, and the sea is restless, so I want to appoint the crown prince early.'" 'And let the council of ministers.' 'And let the council of ministers.' ’”
Although Emperor Wen had died, the courtiers still had to discuss the prince's affairs according to the rules. At that time, Yang Yong did not know that Emperor Wen had died, and he thought that he had been made crown prince. So he went to the palace to discuss his affairs with the ministers, but he was still opposed by the ministers. In the end, he had to go to Emperor Wen's daughter Yang Lihua to discuss how to continue to be crown prince.
Yang Yong still had feelings for Emperor Wen, and he went to Emperor Wen's daughter Xuanhua's wife Yang Shi to help. Yang Shi is a more politically minded woman, and she knows that if Yang Yong continues to be crown prince, she will cause herself trouble. So she persuaded Yang Yong to establish the position of crown prince as soon as possible.
The Book of Sui recorded: "Shang: 'The prince Fang hears the world with filial piety, how can he not inherit the righteousness of the temple and the heir?'" Brave said: "Your Majesty is like an elephant in the sky, and the sea is restless, so he wants to determine the storage position early." 'And let the council of ministers.' ’”
2. Yang Guang: The dispute between the emperor and the crown prince
After Yang Yong was deposed, Yang Guang naturally ascended to the position of crown prince. As mentioned earlier, Yang Yong did not have good political support due to his deposition. But Yang Guang's father was emperor and had considerable political advantages. So after Yang Guang took the throne, he did a lot of work in order to consolidate his position.
Soon after Yang Guang ascended the throne, he began to design a new political line for himself. In this process, he took a series of measures to establish himself as a "righteous inside and outside" Ming Jun.
The first is to package yourself as a wise king. In order to prove his ability and qualifications to be emperor, Yang Guang carried out a series of "packaging" work. First, he claimed to be the "son of Emperor Xiaode" and proclaimed himself emperor in a different way than his father Yang Jian. Second, he emphasized himself as a "virtuous prince" to show that he was virtuous to the people. Again, he used the two forces of "Wen" and "Wu" to divide the distance between himself and his father Yang Jian.
According to the historical records: "Hiroshi does not do his brother wrong, but is more than his brother's son, and every great thing will be conspired with the minister... Seeing the emperor in facts: 'Ministers are now appointed to a great position, and those who have no talent should not be entrusted with a great position, and it is advisable to ask for orders first'... He also gave people to sit and listen to the service after the pilgrimage. The emperor thinks of a sage'"
The meaning of this passage is that Yang Guang believed that he was appointed emperor because he was virtuous to the people. However, he could not rely only on his brother to become emperor, but should first obtain the emperor's approval before he could officially take office. The purpose of this is to demonstrate that you are virtuous to the people.
Politically, Yang Guang has also been very active in action. During his administration, a great deal of work was done to divide the country into 36 prefectures and counties, conduct unified management, and evaluate the performance of local officials.
Third, the dispute between the deposed prince and the king of Jin
At the end of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Yong's position as crown prince was in jeopardy. Yang Yong has repeatedly "counted illegally and disrespectfully", and Yang Guang thought so at the beginning. However, the Sui Emperor soon discovered that he was not "disrespectful" as Yang Guang claimed, and that he was not only a capable founding hero, but also extremely cautious in choosing an heir to the throne. In the "deposed prince" incident, Yang Yong's performance was far inferior to Yang Guang.
In June of the twelfth year of the emperor's reign (592), "Wei Xiaokuan, the emperor of the Tai Chang Dynasty, said: 'The prince has five mistakes as seen by the ministers... Your Majesty should decide early. This was the first time that Emperor Wen of Sui had publicly criticized the crown prince after Yang Jian's death, and it was also the first time that Emperor Wen of Sui had directly criticized his son in his later years. Although "everything must be advised", compared with his son Yang Guang, its advice effect is very different. Emperor Sui's performance in the "deposition" incident also greatly dissatisfied Emperor Wen of Sui.
In May, "Emperor Wen established the crown prince in Renshou Palace and will rule in Renshou Palace."
On May 28, Emperor Sui and Yang Guang jointly toured Luoyang. "The above Yuwen said: 'There are many things under the world, and I am not worried, but I am afraid that the sons will not be able to do their best for Xuan. I and Qing and others toured the eastern lands of Shandong, Henan, Hebei and Jiangnan, observing their reasons and seeing their ends. ’”[49]
From Yang Guang's point of view, this tour is undoubtedly a political trial.
On May 27, his attendants, led by Yang Guang, went to Renshou Palace to pay respects to Emperor Zhao. Emperor Sui did not tell them in advance that he was coming to Luoyang, nor did he announce his decision to visit Luoyang. "The Lord knows that there is something fortunate to do, and he is shocked."
Yang Guang regarded his visit as "a desire to observe the government of the world", indicating that he hoped to gain the "hope of the four directions" (that is, to gain the support of the people) to consolidate his dominance.
Emperor Wen of Sui was very disappointed and dissatisfied with both Yang Yong and Yang Guang. First, Emperor Wen of Sui believed that Yang Guang's time as crown prince was too short, and Yang Guang lacked political assertiveness, and could even be controlled by ministers.
Secondly, during his reign, Yang Guang did not know convergence, was arrogant and lascivious, and even built civil engineering when he was building Luoyang City. Therefore, Emperor Wen of Sui believed that Yang Guang was "not the lord of benevolence and filial piety" and that his behavior was "not very long".
Therefore, Emperor Wen of Sui finally decided to cede the position of crown prince to his eldest son Yang Yong.
After Yang Yong was deposed, the power struggle within the Sui Dynasty also began to manifest. First of all, politically. Shortly after Yang Yong was deposed, Emperor Wen of Sui appointed Pei Cheng as Zhongshu Ling to replace Yang Guang.
Then in the military field, "the emperor will attack Goryeo and send envoys to discuss with Yuwen Shu and Gao Ying." Wang Daoqian and Pei Cheng thought it was impossible; The emperor said: 'Although Goryeo is weak, but there are many dangers, if the generals work together to fight south, my division will be poor.' 'With Gao Ying as the commander-in-chief of the Liaodong Province march, he set out from Linzi to the south".[53] It can be said that the political struggle within the Sui Dynasty had intensified at this time.
The second is socio-economic. Emperor Wen of Sui believed: "The country of Goryeo ... The people and the poor country shall not be kept for a long time"; Emperor Wen of Sui, on the other hand, said: "Although the land of Goryeo is vast and the people are insufficient, if China is omitted... make the people prosperous and the nation prosperous". again in the economic aspect: "Emperor Wen ordered that there be a division to discuss the opening of the prefecture and the three divisions of the prefecture and county population, household registration, soil fields, and financial endowments"; And in the military aspect: "(Sui) Emperor Wen wanted to use the talents of the Han generals... So everyone in the world is happy to see it. ”
It can be seen that Emperor Wen of Sui's desire to strengthen his ruling base by increasing the social productivity has gradually failed. Finally, in terms of ideology and culture: "The emperor wants to pass on the throne"; Emperor Wen of Sui, on the other hand, "intended to pass on the throne to Guang'er".[59] It can be seen that the demise of the Sui Dynasty is inevitable.
The political consequences of Emperor Wen of Sui deposing his eldest son and establishing him as a concubine were very obvious. The main purpose of Emperor Wen of Sui's deposition of crown prince Yang Yong was to prevent the position of crown prince from falling into the hands of concubines, thus triggering a "contest for reserves" between princes.
But in fact, after the deposed prince Yang Yong was deposed, it did not trigger a "competition for reserves" between the princes. Moreover, shortly after the deposition of the crown prince Yang Yong, Emperor Wen of Sui had already transferred the crown prince Yang Guang back to Chang'an, so that he could continue to play a political role. This also shows that there is nothing wrong with the means and methods adopted by Emperor Wen of Sui in dealing with the issue of the crown prince.
Author's point of view
The author believes that the reason why Emperor Wen of Sui did not make Yang Yong crown prince in his edict on the 10th day of August in the ninth year of the emperor's reign (583) was because Yang Yong was not commensurate with his status as crown prince and did not receive Emperor Wen of Sui's "favor".
In the early tenth day of September in the ninth year of the emperor's reign (583), Emperor Wen of Sui immediately pulled Yang Yong from the crown prince's throne, installed him as the crown prince, and demoted Yang Yong to the king of Shu, stripping him of his political power.
Emperor Wen of Sui's edict of "abolishing the eldest son and establishing a son" is undoubtedly a denial of his political and social status. Therefore, it can be said that Yang Yong was deposed because his status as a prince was unqualified, and Yang Guang was made crown prince because his status as a Jin king was better. This also reflects the political wisdom of Emperor Wen of Sui from another aspect.
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