Preface
In the long history of ancient China, there is a remarkable emperor, he is the founding emperor of the Liang Dynasty of the Southern Dynasty, Xiao Yan. This Emperor Wu of Liang left a strong mark with his outstanding political talents and far-reaching political achievements. However, his life is full of many bizarre and thought-provoking legends.
In order to live a long life, Xiao Yan, Emperor Wu of Liang, did not touch a woman for 40 years, and this extraordinary way of life makes people wonder what kind of persistence and belief he had? However, when he was 86 years old, he was starved to death, and such an ending makes people feel incredible.
Descendant of a royal family with a prominent family
In 464 AD, a descendant of a royal family was born in Jiankang, the capital of the Southern Qi Dynasty. He is Xiao Yan, the 25th generation descendant of the Xiao family in Lanling, and his ancestor is Xiao He, a famous minister who assisted Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, to pacify the world.
At that time, the North and South Koreas were in a state of long-term division. The Southern Dynasty Qi belonged to one of the southern dynasties during the Six Dynasties period, and its founding emperor, Emperor Qi Gao, Xiao Daocheng, was Xiao Yan's distant uncle. Due to the prosperity of generations, the Lanling Xiao clan gate lord is extremely powerful, and many of the clan's children are high-ranking officials and hold heavy power.
Xiao is derived from the royal family and is half a "prince". He was brilliant since he was a child, and under the careful guidance of his father, he had an in-depth understanding of court affairs. He witnessed the brutal court struggle between the younger brothers of Emperor Qi Gao, and also witnessed the complex wrestling between the ministers.
This made Xiao Yan, who was still young, accumulate extraordinary political skills and profundity. By the age of 30, he had already held the position of a servant and was appreciated by Emperor Qi Wu. Many ministers were privately prophesying that he would come to rule the world and unify the north and the south.
A new emperor ascends the throne, and the country is in danger
In the winter of 493, Emperor Wu of Qi died, and his son Xiao Zhaoye, who was favored by the harem, succeeded him. However, this gentleman has been playing life since he was a child, and after succeeding to the throne, he is even more lustful, and he has sex with his favorite concubine day and night). He did not care about political affairs, and entrusted the power of the government to his relatives excessively, which led to the collapse of the dynasty and the decline of the national strength.
Xiao Yan, as an important minister, saw it in his eyes, but it was difficult to directly blame this lawless monarch. Under the instruction of his brother-in-law Xiao Luan, Xiao Yan decided to unite with his henchmen to help him try to reduce the power of his relatives and stabilize the political situation. Eventually, they managed to clear the potential threat of power seizure through careful planning.
However, the good times were short-lived. Five years later, Auxiliary Minister Xiao Luan died. His absurd only son, Xiao Baojuan, ascended the throne. This stubborn and self-serving "monarch" went so far as to kill and commit tyrannical things against loyal civil and military officials.
In order to protect himself, Xiao Yan had to act secretly again, unite with other forces, and plot to support the puppet - Xiao Baorong, the youngest son of King Nankang, as the new emperor. After some open and dark arrows, Xiao Baojuan finally failed to step down.
During the period of diligent government, the country and the people were safe
In the spring of 502, the 36-year-old Xiao Yan officially accepted the "plea" of everyone and received the edict of Chan Rang from the hands of Emperor Baorong. He personally went to the Temple of Heaven in the southern suburbs to worship heaven and earth, and accepted the congratulations of 10,000 people. Since then, the country that has unified the Liang Empire of the Southern Dynasty has really come into his hands.
In order to consolidate his rule, Xiao Yan first quickly cleared the hidden dangers left over from the previous dynasty. He designed Baorong to die violently, blamed for a sudden strange illness, and whitewashed the peace. He then went on a killing spree, killing all potential threats and dissident forces.
After stabilizing the regime, the new emperor showed extraordinary statecraft. He opened his mind widely, employed people without doubt, and promoted and appointed a group of virtuous ministers to assist the government; He personally listened to the people's sufferings, humbly accepted advice, and was shrewd and decisive in the decision-making strategies of major national affairs.
At this time, Xiao Yan governed the country diligently and won the hearts of the people. He abolished some harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes to reduce the burden on the people; He attached great importance to agricultural production, so that the state's fiscal revenue continued to increase, and the military strength became stronger day by day. Under his careful deployment, the country of Nanliang is strong, the society is stable, and the people live and work happily and contentmently.
By chance, life is different
However, the good times were short-lived. When he was 50 years old, Xiao Yanwei met a senior monk when he went on patrol. This Toutuo monk was the famous Venerable Xiu Ming at that time. He told the emperor, who was worried about aging, that by meditating more and chanting the Buddha, he could increase his lifespan.
This sentence deeply touched Xiao Yan, who was full of long-cherished wishes for immortality. He already believed in Buddhism, but now he is even more superstitious about spiritual practice. From then on, this Ming Jun became more and more pedantic and began the second period of his life.
In order to live a long life, three monks became monks
Since then, Xiao Yan has devoted almost all of his time to Buddhist affairs. He no longer listens carefully to political affairs, but meditates and recites scriptures all day long, indulges in Buddhism, and travels to temples.
In 527, he first became a monk and became a monk. Three days later, the ministers hurriedly invited him back to the palace and became "emperor" again.
Two years later, he shaved again, and this time he actually "redeemed" himself in the temple for 12 days. In 546 and 547, the emperor, who was already in his twilight years, repeated the mistakes of the past twice, leaving political affairs in a window period.
Gold built temples, and the treasury was empty
What's even more ironic is that Xiao Yan also ordered the construction of Buddhist temples across the country to accumulate merit and prolong life. This is tantamount to allowing the eminent monks to squander gold and silver, build temples and carve scripture statues. The construction of temples and the burning of incense, the transportation of money and grain, soon emptied the treasury and consumed a lot of people's power.
The initiator himself meditated and practiced with peace of mind, leaving all the government affairs to his confidant minister. Some people advised that the state affairs were urgent, and the people were not able to make a living, but he also turned a deaf ear and proclaimed himself the reincarnation of a living Buddha.
In order to evade taxes, the people are becoming monks
Under the double pressure of heavy taxes and donations for the repair of monasteries, the common people are living in dire straits. Many people choose to become monks, or even pretend to be monks, in order to escape natural and man-made taxes and forced labor.
As a result, agricultural production is even more insufficient, and the national economy and people's livelihood have fallen into a vicious circle. Social contradictions are intensifying day by day, and popular unrest is inevitable. And the emperor himself completely surrendered power, at the mercy of the ministers, and lived a free life.
The deep palace was old and starved to death
In 549 A.D., karma finally appeared. The national calamities that the Liang Dynasty had accumulated and were difficult to return to finally broke out in the late period of Xiao Yan's reign. The Hou Jing Rebellion broke out, and the war spread. The Liang army was defeated and retreated, and in less than half a year, Hou Jing's army was killed under the capital Jiangling City. The old, the young, the sick and the disabled, fled in a hurry with the royal family. And the initiator, Emperor Wu of Liang, who was lost in the Buddha Kingdom, was also taken out of the capital by the minister's guards and captured on the way to the west.
In this way, the old emperor, who was suffering from a hip disease, was imprisoned in a remote mountain temple. In the midst of the chaos of the war, food and grass were cut off, and in the desperate life of a prisoner, he was starved to death at the age of 86.
epilogue
Such a life ending was caused by him after all. At that time, he regarded government affairs as dung and indulged in Buddhism, but he never imagined that one day he would end up in such a desolate end—he died unexpectedly, and his bones were gone.
86 years of life ended in misery. Once upon a time, he was also the founder of the wise and martial arts, and the virtuous monarch of the country and the people. When he gave up being a woman for 40 years, he only got such a tragic ending. Later generations can't help but sigh for it - immortality is invincible after all, and vanity will not be able to defeat fate!