Friends who have watched the popular aerial historical drama "Langya List" must be very impressed by the suspicious and cunning, cold-blooded and thin Liang Emperor Xiaoxuan in the play. Putting aside the plot of "Langya List", here we talk about the tragic and happy life of his prototype Liangwu Emperor Xiao Yan.
Stills from "Langya List"
Emperor Xiao Yan of Liangwu (464–549), founder of the Southern Liang Dynasty of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, reigned for 48 years, ranking sixth in history as an emperor, longer than Liu Chan , the lord of the Shu Han Dynasty of the Three Kingdoms ( 41 years of reigning ) . He was the founding prince of Southern Liang, and at the age of 38 he established the state of Liang and became emperor. In the early days of his reign, he was diligent in political affairs, defeated the Northern Wei invasion at the Battle of Zhongli, treated the clan for leniency, promoted socio-economic and cultural development and prosperity, and appeared a Peaceful scene called "the rule of the Heavenly Prison" by historians. In the later period of his reign, he gradually fainted, slacked off the government, indulged in Buddhism, and lured wolves into the house, resulting in the rebellion of Hou Jing, being starved to death, resulting in the demise of Southern Liang in name only, laughing generously.
First, born into a famous family, young talents
Xiao Yan was born in the Lanling Xiao clan, was the twenty-fifth grandson of Xiao He, the Western Han Dynasty minister, and the son of Yin Xiaoshun of Danyang in Southern Qi. Xiao Shunzhi was the younger brother of Xiao Daocheng, the High Emperor of Southern Qi, and was called a relative of the emperor. Xiao Daocheng established the Southern Qi Dynasty, and Xiao Shunzhi was the founding hero of the country and held important positions. In the Southern and Northern Dynasties, which paid attention to the Door Valve Clan, the proper second generation of officials was tantamount to being born with a golden key. Xiao Yan was intelligent and well educated at an early age, he loved to read, was erudite, and literature was also his specialty. He was one of the "Eight Friends of Jingling" under Xiao Ziliang, the King of Jingling of Southern Qi, and was very famous when he was young. He was evaluated by Wang Rong, who was "a discerning person" at that time: "In the future, the world will be ruled by this person." ”
Second, En yin entered the army and threw himself into political struggle
With his family background, Xiao Yan entered his career at the age of 20 (he certainly did not graduate from college and did not have to take the civil service exam). He first served as the Fa Cao Xing of Xiao Zilun the Prince of Baling, and then joined the army as the general Wang Jiandongge of Qianwei, and later threw himself under xiao Ziliang, the king of Jinling County, as a priest of Situ Xige, and later joined the army with the counselor of Wang Xiao Zilong. After the death of Emperor Xiao Zhao of Qiwu, Xiao Zhaoye succeeded to the throne and was assisted by Xiao Luan, the Marquis of Xichang (later Emperor Ming of Qi). Xiao Yan helped Xiao Luan usurp the throne. After Xiao Luan ascended the throne, Xiao Yan was awarded the title of Jianyang County Man (建阳县男), with 300 households, and an official to Yongzhou (雍州) and became a feudal official. He also defeated the invading Northern Wei in the Battle of Yiyang, and exercised his military talents.
The Qi Ming Emperor Xiao Luan brutally slaughtered the clan
Third, there is no way to eliminate the road, and the generation of Qi to build a beam
Emperor Xiao Luan of Qiming was a cruel man, engaged in conspiracies and tricks to obtain the throne, fearing that others would follow suit, slaughtering the descendants of the previous two generations of emperors, and praying falsely to the gods before each killing, asking for forgiveness (if the gods have a spirit, they should be punished!). ）。 Before his death, he warned his son Xiao Baojuan (i.e., the Marquis of Dongxia) to "kill people after people". After Xiao Baojuan succeeded to the throne, he was tyrannical and killed many ministers, and Xiao Yan and his brother Shangshu Ling Xiao Yi were also wrongfully killed, which made the courtiers panic and scatter people's hearts. Xiao Yan supported Xiao Baorong, the king of Southern Kang, as emperor, and attacked the city of Jiankang, and Xiao Baojuan was killed by his men (his brother Xiao Baohuan fled to Northern Wei and kept looking for trouble with Southern Liang, but was later killed for rebellion, and during the rebellion, he killed the author of the Notes on the Water Classics and the geographer Li Daoyuan), Xiao Yan served as the Grand Sima and held the military and political power. In 502, Xiao Baorong was deposed, Dai Qi was proclaimed emperor, and the State of Liang was established.
Fourth, the early sages, the rule of the Heavenly Prison
In the early days of his reign, Xiao Yan was diligent in political affairs, was able to perform meritorious duties, was good at receiving advice, and lived a very simple life, and was not a good woman, did not enter the harem for decades, and attached great importance to Confucianism. Southern Liang has achieved a stable political situation for more than 40 years, and its social economy has been restored and developed, which is known in history as the "rule of the Heavenly Prison": "Thirty or forty years, Si Wei is prosperous." Since the Wei and Jin dynasties descended, there was no or no Yan" (Book of Liang). Xiao Yan borrowed from the Southern Qi imperial family's cannibalism, causing "the root to be shelterless, the young lord to be isolated", allowing him to easily usurp the throne. When the emperor was later, he was entrusted with important positions by many imperial families. Even if some clans violated the law, Xiao Yan also turned a blind eye and did not pursue it. It caused many clans to corrupt the law and covet the throne, laying the groundwork for their starvation to death in Taicheng.
Fifth, do not die, and lead the wolf into the house
In the late reign of Emperor Wu of Liang, he was intoxicated with the prosperous world, obsessed with Buddhism, neglected government affairs, and chaotic government. Spending huge sums of money to build temples, "four hundred and eighty temples in the south, how many buildings are in the smoke and rain." "It's about him. What is even more absurd is that he went to the Healthy Tongtai Temple four times to "become a monk", and each time it was the group of ministers who paid hundreds of millions of dollars to redeem it. Become a famous "Emperor Bodhisattva". Not at home, not even more so externally. Disobeying advice, he accepted the Eastern Wei general Hou Jing the Jackal. Na Zhi did not believe it, and vainly attempted to escort Hou Jing back to Eastern Wei as a condition of peace. After Hou Jing heard this, he rebelled with 8,000 people and besieged Emperor Liangwu outside Taicheng, Jiankang City, and all the Qin King's armies were pregnant with ghost fetuses, did not move, adopted a "sit-in station", sat and watched Hou Jing besiege Taicheng (Jiankang Inner City), and the internal thief Xiao Zhengde (who was immediately killed by Hou Jingli as a puppet emperor after the fall of the city) opened the city gates, and Taicheng fell. On June 12, 549, Xiao Yankou begged for honey and died of hunger and thirst at the age of eighty-six.
Hou Jing stills
The "Hou Jing Rebellion" brought a devastating blow to the Liang state, a large number of people died in the war, which caused a huge blow to the economy and culture of Jiangnan, and also caused the southern dynasty to collapse, aggravating the situation of the weak in the south and the strong in the north, and a large number of territories were occupied by the Eastern and Western Wei. Chen Baxian rose in the Queller War, and 5 years later established Southern Chen, and the Liang state collapsed. And Xiao Yan, who lured the wolf into the house, had an unshirkable responsibility. He was also the culprit of Liang Guo's transformation from great rule to great chaos, seeing him rise up a tall building, seeing him feast on guests, and seeing his building collapse! The rise and fall of historical figures is truly emotional!