Preface
Once upon a time, they were all high-spirited and glamorous princesses of the Tang Dynasty. But the road is long, behind the cold tombstones, what kind of stories have they left behind in their lives? In the long river of history, which princesses have been remembered and praised by future generations for various reasons?
1. The female god of war in Pingyang was born and enlisted in the army
When Li Yuan raised the army, Liu E, the princess of Pingyang, who was less than 20 years old, had been with the army for many years. However, since she can remember, Liu E has been exposed to the life of the military camp, and she was born in a military family. Her father, Li Yuan, was originally the Taishou of Hedong County in the Sui Dynasty, and later rebelled against the Zheng State established by Li Mi. Liu E has been accustomed to hearing the sound of horse leather leggings and swords and guns colliding since she was a child, and she is used to seeing her father's heavy sword hanging from his waist and his eyes like lightning. Perhaps it is such a majestic father that makes the girl who has not yet left the cabinet yearn for a military career in her heart.
At the age of fifteen, Li Yuan was determined to betray Li Mi and return to the Tang Army. In case of leakage of the plan, he did not take Liu E with him. Until the night of the army in Hedong, Li Yuan ordered his henchmen to quietly pick up his daughter who had been away from home for a long time and rushed to the rebel camp together. Liu E, who was excited to reunite with her father, insisted on going with the army. Li Yuan knew that his daughter had a strong personality, so he ordered her to form a female soldier unit composed of the female relatives of the clan and the family members in the army. For a time, this women's army was huge, which made the enemy frightened.
It was in the autumn of the collapse of the Sui Dynasty. The heroes are competing and embattled. Liu E followed in the footsteps of her father's conquest and traveled to various battlefields. She trained female soldiers to be good at mounted archery, and learned to strategize and advise her father. At the age of seventeen, she married the famous general Chai Shao, so that the Women's Army could be reorganized into a formal army, known as the "Chai Pingyang Army". This well-known women's elite team at home and abroad once made Sui general Yang Guang frightened.
In the battle in which the father and brother went hand in hand and attacked from all sides, the women's army also made many miraculous feats. In the end, they took advantage of the victory to invade Chang'an and capture Emperor Gong of Sui. Under the banner of victory flying in the sky, Princess Pingyang rode through the soldiers, hunting in cheongsam, and fluttering in the crown. Sweat and tears streamed down her face as she laughed and bowed down to her father.
After the official establishment of the Tang Dynasty, his father Li Yuan personally gave Princess Pingyang a nickname and posthumously presented military merits. And the female soldiers who followed her from birth to death also told the deeds of the year with a smile in the imperial city. They said proudly and happily: "We are following the ladies to fight the world!"
Second, Princess Gaoyang is taboo for monarchs and ministers
Tang Taizong ascended the throne as emperor at the age of only 30. During his wise reign, he supported the development of monastic Buddhism and established a system of imperial examinations to select officials. He has been in the horse for a long time, and he also fantasized that he could live a life of idle clouds and wild cranes after he abdicated in old age. When his second daughter Lingxiu was born, he was overjoyed and hoped that she would live a stable and peaceful life in the future.
But the world is unpredictable, and Lingxiu's fate is destined to be magnificent. She was named Princess Gaoyang, and she has the reputation of being both talented and beautiful. At the age of eighteen, she was promised to be married to Fang Xuanling, the son of the founding hero Fang Xuanling. However, Princess Gaoyang's heart had already flown to another person, a young and handsome monk. On a rainy night, the machine braved the rain to attack the princess's boudoir. The two have fallen in love with each other since then and have become a secret to the attention of the government and the opposition.
During the Zhide period, Taizong was furious when he learned that his daughter had an affair with a monk. He ordered the minister to torture the two. Although Princess Gaoyang stubbornly pleaded, she failed to save her lover's life after all. In front of her, Zhu Ji was executed by Ling Chi. The grief-stricken princess fainted in the palace for a long time, and the sickbed lingered for nearly a year.
During the Gaozong period, Princess Gaoyang married Fang Yiai and gave birth to a son. Later, she colluded with a group of traitorous Xiushi and conspired to cause chaos, intending to follow Wu Zetian's mother and son in power. But soon the matter was revealed, and Princess Gaoyang was found to have forced her son Fang Anxian to death with demonic words, intending to provoke all Fang Xuanling's descendants to rebel. She was finally given death by Gaozong. And the government and the opposition also sighed at the fate of their beloved daughter. The love story between her and the monk has been more widely circulated and has been interpreted by later generations as a swan song for the ages.
3. Princess Wan Ting, Wen Cheng and his relatives
In the middle of winter, the wind and snow are combined. In the first year of Xianheng, Tang Jingyun, a Tibetan horse, traveled all the way north from Chang'an and escorted his wife to Tubo Keerzong (present-day Lhasa). This bride named Wencheng is the daughter of the Tang Dynasty clan, who was named Princess Huayang at the beginning, and Princess Wencheng was later named Princess Wencheng.
Tang Taizong attached great importance to the relationship with all ethnic groups in the Western Regions and hoped to strengthen communication through harmony. He agreed with the Tibetan leader Songtsen Gampo to marry Princess Wencheng to his son. Although marrying away from home is like returning home on a snowy night for the princess, Princess Wencheng is well aware of her mission. For the benefit of the Tang Dynasty, she resolutely embarked on the road to the west.
Along the way, the princess bumps on horseback in a fur. She looked at Tang Jingyun's gentle and caring gaze beside her, and couldn't help but redden. Ahead is a long wasteland, and the sun is setting endlessly, where their new life is about to begin. She had to tighten her leather jacket to dispel the sourness and reluctance in her heart.
After arriving in Tibet, Princess Wencheng witnessed the courtesy and flattery that Songtsen Gampo treated her. She gradually Xi accustomed to life on the plateau and worked hard to learn Xi Tibetan. Four years later, Songtsen Gampo died of illness. Princess Wencheng and her husband Tang Jingyun governed the political affairs of Tubo together and assisted the young Zampu. She persuaded Zampu to maintain friendship with the Central Plains, so that the relationship between Tang and Tibet became more and more friendly. Until her death, she never forgot her mission.
Fourth, Princess Anle plays peacefully
In the depths of the Lin Palace, the maid whispered about the disappearance of the first beauty of the Tang Dynasty. The princess An Le, who was just twenty years old, had not appeared in the palace for five years. Or that she is getting thin and aging, and that she is afraid that her face will no longer be there, or that she has escaped into the empty door and her temples are gray, or that she has long since married away from home...... All kinds of rumors and fireworks appeared, and they scattered in all directions.
When the princess first married Wu Chongxun, the son of Wu Sansi, she lived a happy life. Five years later, Wu Chongxun died young, and in the gloom, Princess Anle remarried Wu Yanxiu, the nephew of her father Wu Zetian. Since then, the strong and wise queen mother Wu Zetian has favored her squeamish and willful daughter even more, leading her straight into the depths of the court. The two have teamed up to control the government for many years and have power over the world.
Until the father Zhongzong was reinstated, the mother and daughter were dissatisfied. Princess Anle, as a concubine of Shangguan, won the hearts of the harem. Zhongzong often said that what he loved the most was Princess Anle, a well-behaved and intelligent daughter. This made the crown prince Li Chongjun and the civilized princess extremely jealous.
One day, the princess of civilization pretended to invite the princess to a banquet and poisoned her. When the news reached the palace, Zhongzong was grief-stricken and unconscious. The ministers wept and mourned for three days, and the blood stained the red Zhumen. Wu Zetian and Wu Yanxiu entered the palace with troops and killed the crown prince and the concubine Wenming. Soon after, Zhongzong died. Princess Anle staggered forward at the funeral, crying silently. The mourning vanished, but no one ever mentioned her name again.
Fifth, Princess Taiping has the same end
"Long live Your Majesty Xuanzong, long live, long live!" Princess Taiping, dressed in red, held the imperial wine and personally toasted her brother Li Longji. The civil and military officials on both sides also shouted long live, celebrating his accession to the throne and becoming emperor. Princess Taiping's long-standing boulder finally fell to the ground, and her brother, the emperor she supported, was finally going to take power with her.
Back then, Princess Taiping was born as a weak and sickly premature baby. Her parents were not worried about her body, and they were even more pampered and cherished. Elder brothers Li Xian and Li Dan also took special care of this younger sister, who was more than ten years younger than them. Perhaps growing up under such influence, Princess Taiping gradually developed an arrogant and domineering temperament. She was deeply favored by Wu Zetian's mother, and with the full support of her imperial brother Wen Jieyi, her power became more and more inflated.
Princess Taiping was involved in a number of court coups. She once forced Wen Jieyi to commit suicide, and killed the brother of Prime Minister Zhang Yizhi, who was at odds with her. She was the culprit of Empress Wu Zetian's persecution of the crown prince and the deposition of Zhongzong. At that time, there was a lot of discussion among the ministers, and some people even bluntly said, "The power is inclined to the royal family." Princess Taiping's power is second only to Wu Zetian.
It wasn't until her brother Li Longji ascended the throne as Tang Xuanzong that her good days finally ended. Xuanzong couldn't bear it anymore and launched a mutiny to arrest Princess Taiping and put her in prison. Soon after, she was given to die in her home. Her henchmen, who had followed her for many years, were also purged. Before she died, Princess Taiping still had tears in the corners of her eyes. In this way, she was buried under her brother's new foundation, and she leaned into power during her lifetime, but she was ruined after her death.
epilogue
Time flies, and those legendary flashes will eventually be lost in the long river of history. We have to sigh, how they are all beautiful in the world, and how they have a bad fate. But their stories have remained in this land forever and have been told from generation to generation. Because under their proud and flamboyant appearance, they also had sincere and burning hearts. After all, the country is easy to change, and the nature is difficult to change, isn't it? So, which side of their life would you choose to believe?