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When it comes to the fallen monarchs, the actions of some people are staggering, and their tyranny and extravagance have led to the loss of the people's morale and ultimately the collapse of the country. Others, on the other hand, are indifferent to political affairs, and the turmoil of the country has nothing to do with them, and this attitude ultimately leads to the decline of the country.
However, of all the fallen monarchs, there was one who was the luckiest, and he was treated the best. After his death, he also sang "Backyard Flowers" for 15 years.
This king of the dead country is the queen of Chen. After the Sui Dynasty destroyed the Chen Dynasty, he made a request to Yang Jian, Emperor Wen of Sui, to be crowned an official, hoping to retain some dignity and status. Emperor Wen of Sui replied to Empress Chen's request in four words.
So, what exactly are these four words? Today, we're going to talk about the story.
Chen Shubao ascended the throne as emperor
Chen Shubao, born in Jiangling in the second year of Liang Chengsheng (553) of the Southern Dynasty, he was the eldest son of Emperor Chen Xuan, and his mother was Empress Liu Jingyan. In the years following his birth, his life experience was full of twists and turns and challenges.
In the third year of Cheongga (562), he was made the prince of Anseong and began his career as a prince. In the first year of Tiankang (566), he was awarded the position of general of Ningyuan and began his military career. In the first year of Guangda (567), he served as the crown prince's concubine, and soon after he was promoted to the rank of servant, marking his gradual rise in status in the court.
In the first month of the first year of Taijian (569), he was made crown prince, which was an important milestone for him. However, despite his status as crown prince, his throne was not obtained easily. His second brother Chen Shuling has always had the intention of usurping the throne, and even plotted to assassinate him.
When Chen Ji died, he wept bitterly in front of Emperor Xuan's coffin, and Chen Shuling took the opportunity to attack him with a knife, although the knife wounded his neck, but did not cause fatal injuries. Under the escort of the left and right, he escaped and sent the general Xiao Maha to crusade against Chen Shuling, and finally Chen Shuling was killed.
After ascending the throne, he became the queen of Chen, and canonized Shen Wuhua as the queen, Zhang Lihua as the concubine, and Kong as the concubine. When he recalls the rebellion of his younger brother Chen Shuling, the scars on his neck are still vivid. After that incident, he recuperated in the Chengxiang Palace, abandoning the other concubines, leaving only Concubine Zhang by his side. When he recovered, his love for Zhang Lihua deepened.
Since Chen Baxian opened the country, the furnishings in the palace are very simple. However, Chan felt that these residences could not meet his heart's expectations, and he wanted a place where he could treasure his beauties. So, he built three pavilions of Linchun, Jieqi and Wangxian in front of the Linguang Palace.
These buildings are dozens of feet high and stretch dozens of rooms, and they are extremely ingenious in civil engineering. The window and wall sills are made of sunken sandalwood and inlaid with gold and jade beads. There is a pearl curtain hanging at the door, and there is a treasure bed and treasure tent inside. The costumes are rare and the utensils are magnificent, all of which have never been seen in ancient times. His Excellency piled up a hill made of stones, diverted water into a pool, and planted strange trees and flowers. Whenever the breeze blows, the fragrance of flowers can drift for dozens of miles.
He himself lives in Linchun Pavilion, Zhang Guifei lives in Jieqi Pavilion, and Gong and Kong Ergui live in Wangxian Pavilion, which are connected by a compound road. In addition, there are seven people, including Wang, Ji Ermei, Zhang, Xue Ershuyuan, Yuan Zhaoyi, He Jieyu, Jiang Xiurong, etc., all of whom were favored by him with their talents, and were called in turn to be lucky to be able to walk in these attics.
Zhang Lihua used to dress up in the pavilion, sometimes sitting alone by the window, sometimes leaning on the railing and looking from afar. When people see her, they will think that she is a fairy who has come to the world, and she seems to be in the ethereal sky, which is unattainable.
Arayo Asahi
During the reign of Chen Shubao, Emperor Wen of Sui had just established the state, and he had the ambition to flatten the four seas. As a result, the Sui courtiers vied with each other to persuade Emperor Wen to launch an attack on Chen.
In the eighth year of the emperor's reign, that is, in the second year of Chen Zhenming, that is, in 588, Emperor Wen issued an edict, listing the 20 major sins of the queen, and distributed 200,000 copies of the edict, all over the south of the Yangtze River.
Someone persuaded Emperor Wen that he should keep it secret in his actions and not have to make such a big fanfare. But Emperor Wen replied: "If he changes his mistake out of fear, what do I want? I just want to carry out the will of Heaven in a manifest manner and destroy his crimes, so why keep it a secret?"
Therefore, he ordered the construction of many warships, appointed Yang Guang, the king of Jin, Yang Jun, the king of Qin, and Yang Su, the prince of Qinghe, as the marshals of the march, and the commanders Han Baohu and He Ruobi led an army of 510,000 to take Jiangnan directly. Their army stretched thousands of miles from Canghai in the east to Bashu in the west, and the soldiers were all motivated to destroy the Chen Dynasty.
However, Chen Shubao lived in the palace, indulging in wine all day long, indifferent to everything in the outside world. He ordered the construction of the Dahuang Temple, and the temple was built with a seven-level floating map, but before the work was completed, it was destroyed by a fire.
The states and counties along the border kept transmitting news of the Sui invasion back to the imperial court. The court didn't care about this, only Yuan Xian proposed that he should send troops to resist, but the queen still went his own way.
When the Sui army penetrated deep into the interior and the prefectures and counties were in an emergency, the queen lord Shubao still played the qin and wine, wrote poems, and even said to the attendants with a smile: "The Qi soldiers attacked three times, and the Zhou army attacked again, they were all defeated and left, why are they so nervous this time?" Kong Fan said: "The Yangtze River is a natural boundary, separating the north and the south. How can today's Sui army fly across this river? The frontier generals tried in vain to establish meritorious deeds, so they said that the situation was urgent. ”
Rumors were spread that the horses of the Northern Army were dying in large numbers on the road. Kong Fan said again: "These horses are my horses, how can they die?" After hearing these words, the queen laughed and thought deeply. As a result, the monarchs and ministers still sang and danced, drank and had fun, and wrote poems, as if the threat of the death of the country did not exist.
In the last years of the Chen Dynasty, Empress Chen abandoned the insensitivity of the government and ministers to the national crisis and the drunken attitude to life. and their indulgence in pleasure, their disregard for the survival of the nation, hastened the collapse of the nation.
Twice to kneel down to the concubine
During the reign of Empress Chen, he lived an extremely luxurious life and did not care about political affairs. He especially likes glamorous words, and found a beautiful woman named Zhang Lihua. According to historical records, her hair was seven feet long and shiny.
Her face is like the morning glow reflecting snow, her eyes are like autumn water, and her eyebrows are more beautiful than the distant mountains. Her every look is dazzling and eye-catching. Empress Chen liked her very much, and in order to please her, he even gave her a golden hairpin, and even deigned to kneel, just for a kneel.
After Zhang Lihua was favored by Empress Chen, she was named a concubine. At first, she was only responsible for the internal affairs of the palace, but later she began to interfere in political affairs and acted in a domineering manner. However, Empress Chen ignored this and let her do whatever she wanted in the palace. In addition, he also favored some traitorous ministers, such as Shang Shu Gu Zong and Shanyin native Kong Fan, which hastened the demise of Nan Chen.
Empress Chen lived in a high pavilion, immersed in wine day and night, and did not care about the affairs of the outside world. He ordered the construction of the Great Emperor Temple, and built an unfinished seventh-level floating temple inside the temple.
Zhang Lihua has hated monks since she was a child, so she is very disgusted with building a temple. Empress Chen tried her best to ask Concubine Zhang to agree to the matter, but Concubine Zhang resolutely refused. Later, Empress Chen deigned to kneel again, and the helpless Concubine Zhang had no choice but to agree. Unfortunately, before the work was completed, the temple was destroyed by fire. Empress Chen was heartbroken by this.
In November 588, the frontier prefectures reported to the imperial court the news of the invasion of the Sui soldiers. However, the court did not care about this, and only Yuan Xian proposed to send troops to resist, but Empress Chen did not accept it. When the Sui army penetrated deep into the territory and the prefectures and counties were in frequent emergencies, Chen Houzhu still drank and had fun and wrote poems non-stop. The whole palace also continued to indulge in wine and poetry, as if the threat of the death of the country did not exist.
In the first month of 589 (the third year of Zhenming), the Sui soldiers successfully crossed the Yangtze River from Guangling. The experienced He Ruobi defeated Chen Jun with a trick. The Sui army entered the city one after another and captured Empress Chen, Zhang Guifei, Kong Guifei and others. Empress Chen was forced to write an edict of surrender, and Nan Chen was declared extinct. Emperor Wen of Sui finally unified the whole country.
Ask Emperor Wen of Sui for officials
After Empress Chen was captured, he was uneasy in his heart, not knowing what Emperor Wen of Sui would do with him. He was so frightened that he peed his pants in the car, and after hearing the amnesty decree, he hurriedly shouted long live, thanking Emperor Wen of Sui for his grace not to kill, and even recited poems to praise the wisdom of the Sui Dynasty.
In order to appease the monarchs and ministers of the previous dynasty, Emperor Wen of Sui showed the style of benevolent government, not only did not kill the queen of Chen, but also specially built a mansion for him, so that he and his ministers could live and work in peace and contentment. Emperor Wen of Sui even went to comfort them in person for three days and two ends, and feasted with them from time to time. In order to take care of Empress Chen's emotions, Emperor Wen of Sui ordered that Wu Di's music should not be played, so as not to evoke his memories of the past.
Empress Chen likes to drink, and after drinking, he often writes poems and praises the merits of Emperor Wen of Sui. Emperor Wen of Sui sighed: "If he had focused his efforts on writing poetry on governing the government, he would not have lost the country." However, although Empress Chen was absurd, he did not pose a substantial threat to the Sui Dynasty. Emperor Wen of Sui's supervision of him was also gradually relaxed, allowing him to live a relatively free life.
However, Chen Houzhu did not cherish such a life. He still sings every day, drinks every day, and lives an extremely luxurious life. Emperor Wen of Sui advocated frugality in the early years of his reign, and he himself was frugal, but he was dissatisfied with the extravagant behavior of Empress Chen.
So, he sent his ministers to exhort Empress Chen to drink less. However, Empress Chen did not accept such an exhortation and continued to do his own thing. Emperor Wen of Sui sighed helplessly: "Let him go, what else can he do now besides drinking?"
originally thought that Empress Chen could enjoy the rest of his life like this, but his heart was full of bitterness. He was depressed and often sighed. When asked about the reason, Empress Chen said that it was because he could not go to court with his ministers, and he hoped to seek an official position.
After hearing this, Emperor Wen of Sui commented that he was "completely heartless", thinking that he not only had no backbone, but also had no heart and liver. Despite this, Emperor Wen of Sui still gave him a third-grade official position, allowing him to continue to be an official.
In this way, after the exile and capture, Empress Chen lived for another 15 years. His end is tied to his lifestyle. He died in November of 604 at the age of 52 due to chronic excessive drinking.
Coincidentally, Emperor Wen of Sui died in August of the same year. This means that Empress Chen watched Emperor Wen of Sui die. I don't know how he felt about his past and future at the end of his life.
Although Empress Chen was a faint gentleman and an alcoholic, he was undoubtedly lucky. There are not many kings in history who have been treated so favorably. He should be grateful to Emperor Wen of Sui for his grace not to kill. Perhaps in his heart, it is the attitude of "no heart and liver" that has led to his 15 years of freedom and wealth.
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