Preface
The history of the Sui Dynasty was marked by a thrilling power struggle. From Yang Jian to Yang Guang, the intrigues and betrayals within this family have turned the fate of the entire Sui Dynasty upside down. What kind of ambition and desire make the relatives within a family turn against each other, and what kind of means allow a prince to usurp the throne?
Yang Jian's regret and Yang Guang's ambition
In 604, Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, was already over sixty years old, and his health was getting weaker and weaker. As a heroic figure who defeated the Northern Zhou Dynasty and established the Sui Dynasty, Yang Jian was a good emperor who was diligent and loved the people during his reign, although there were some controversies and mistakes. However, at this time, Yang Jian's second son, Yang Guang, began his conspiracy.
Although Yang Guang is Yang Jian's second son, he has been full of ambitions to ascend the throne and become emperor since he was a child. He watched his brother Yang Yong being made the crown prince, and he was naturally very unwilling. So, he began to plan how to abolish Yang Yong and ascend to the throne himself.
In order to achieve his goal, Yang Guang began a series of disguises and conspiracies. He deliberately created an image of thrift, benevolence and filial piety, hoping to win the love of his parents. For example, he would deliberately let ugly women greet his father's visits, and he would put a broken string in a prominent place to show that he didn't like singing and dancing.
On the other hand, Yang Guang often snubbed his concubine, but stayed with his mother Queen Dugu all day long to please his mother. And the crown prince Yang Yong is the opposite, he pampered many beauties, and let his crown princess die suddenly, which is naturally very inappropriate in the eyes of his parents.
Yang Guang skillfully exploited these discrepancies, constantly falsely accused Yang Yong, and also found some evidence of Yang Yong's crimes. With the help of Queen Dugu and Yang Su, Yang Jian finally decided to abolish Yang Yong and establish Yang Guang as the crown prince.
This is undoubtedly a huge regret for Yang Jian. He had hoped that Yang Yong would inherit his career, but was eventually replaced by his second son. This kind of betrayal and disappointment must have filled Yang Jian's heart with pain and anger.
And for Yang Guang, this is undoubtedly a huge victory. He finally realized his ambition and became the crown prince of the Sui Dynasty. However, he did not rest on his laurels and began to act even more insanely.
What happened to Mrs. Xuanhua and Yang Guang's brutality
After Yang Jian's death, Yang Guang immediately ascended the throne and became the second emperor of the Sui Dynasty. It stands to reason that at this time, he should be busy dealing with Yang Jian's funeral and preparing for the throne. However, his mind was completely occupied by something else.
That was his indecent behavior towards his stepmother, Mrs. Xuanhua. When Yang Jian had just died, Yang Guang sent someone to send a gold box to Mrs. Xuanhua. Mrs. Xuanhua thought that it contained poison and was too frightened to open it. In the end, under the persecution of the palace people, she had to open the box and found that there were several concentric knots inside.
This is undoubtedly a clear show of love by Yang Guang to Mrs. Xuanhua. That night, Mrs. Xuanhua was with Yang Guang. Such behavior is undoubtedly very immoral, because Mrs. Xuanhua is Yang Jian's stepmother after all, and Yang Guang is her stepson.
However, Yang Guang obviously doesn't care about this. He just wants to satisfy his own desires, regardless of the feelings of others. After getting Mrs. Xuanhua, he was not satisfied, but continued to immerse himself in beauty and wine banquets, completely ignoring the major affairs of the country.
This behavior eventually led to the tragic end of Mrs. Xuanhua. She only enjoyed Yang Guang's favor for one year, and died at the age of 29. And Yang Guang was killed by Yu Wenhua because of his extravagance and brutality.
Such an ending is undoubtedly a punishment for Yang Guang. In order to satisfy his desires, he did not hesitate to hurt his relatives, and in the end, he was also punished. This desire for power and moral decay will eventually lead to a tragic end.
Yang Yong's experience and Queen Dugu's misleading
Under Yang Guang's conspiracy, the crown prince Yang Yong was also severely hit. Yang Yong was originally the eldest son of Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, and he was also the person he trusted the most. At the critical moment of establishing the Sui Dynasty, Yang Yong was Yang Jian's right-hand man and made great contributions.
Therefore, after Yang Jian ascended the throne, he made Yang Yong the crown prince, hoping that he could inherit his career. However, Yang Yong's performance made Yang Jian feel very disappointed. He decorated his Shu armor with patterns, which Yang Jian thought would lead to an atmosphere of luxury. In addition, Yang Yong also pampered many beauties, and even his own crown princess passed away.
In Yang Jian's view, these behaviors are all insulting to the identity of the prince. Yang Guang, on the other hand, skillfully exploited these differences, constantly falsely accusing Yang Yong, and also found some evidence of Yang Yong's crimes. With the help of Queen Dugu, Yang Jian finally decided to abolish Yang Yong and make Yang Guang the crown prince.
This is undoubtedly a huge blow to Yang Yong. He was originally Yang Jian's most trusted person, but he was replaced by his younger brother. This kind of betrayal and disappointment must have filled Yang Yong's heart with pain and anger.
And for Queen Dugu, she is also to blame. As Yang Jian's wife, she was supposed to stand on the side of her husband and eldest son, but she was confused by Yang Guang's disguise and finally helped Yang Guang depose Yang Yong. This kind of misdirection is undoubtedly also a betrayal.
Yang Jian's deathbed anger
Under Yang Guang's conspiracy, Yang Jian could not escape death in the end. When Yang Jian was seriously ill, Yang Guang sent someone to send a gold box to Mrs. Xuanhua, and it turned out that Yang Guang's behavior of disrespecting Mrs. Xuanhua was discovered.
After Yang Jian learned about this, he was so angry that he pounded the bed and said, "How can this bastard afford to take on the great responsibility of the country! Dugu mistook me and ruined my country!" It can be seen that he is very angry and disappointed with Yang Guang's behavior.
In order to stop Yang Guang's conspiracy, Yang Jian even prepared to abolish Yang Guang and replace his eldest son Yang Yong as the crown prince. However, Yang Guang sent people to lock up all the credible people around Yang Jian, which eventually led to Yang Jian's isolation and death.
This is undoubtedly a huge regret for Yang Jian. He had hoped that Yang Yong would inherit his career, but was eventually replaced by his second son. And Queen Dugu's misdirection also made him feel very angry and disappointed.
Before dying, Yang Jian scolded Queen Dugu and accused her of "mistaking me and ruining my country". This pain and anger is undoubtedly the biggest regret in Yang Jian's life. He was originally a good emperor who was diligent and loved the people, but he was finally betrayed by his relatives, and this ending is really heart-wrenching.
epilogue
From Yang Jian to Yang Guang, the power struggle within this family is undoubtedly a shocking historical event. In order to realize his ambitions, Yang Guang did not hesitate to hurt his relatives, and finally suffered retribution. And Yang Yong and Mrs. Xuanhua became victims of Yang Guang's conspiracy.
This desire for power and moral decay will eventually lead to a tragic end. History tends to repeat itself, but we should also learn from it, cherish what is in front of us, and not be blinded by power and desire. Only in this way will we be able to avoid the recurrence of such tragedies.