"5,000 Years of China"
Chapter Seven: The Five Dynasties of the Sui and Tang Dynasties
Chapter Two: The Sui Dynasty Emperor You Jiangdu
Yang Jian was the founding emperor of the Sui Dynasty and was known for his frugality. However, he did not expect that the foundation he had created would be squandered by his son Yang Guang, until he finally destroyed the entire Sui Dynasty.
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"The Conspirator Yang Guang"
In Chinese history, the Sui Emperor Yang Jian was a good emperor. Through conquest, he ended the division since the Eastern Han Dynasty and achieved unity in the true sense. Soon, Emperor Wen of Sui was also old, and the question before him was who should be his heir? Originally, the crown prince of Emperor Wen of Sui was Yang Yong. But his second son, Yang Guang, had selfish intentions and also wanted to be emperor. Yang Guangyi was an idle man, he co-opted some ministers, waiting for the opportunity to frame the crown prince Yang Yong, coupled with Yang Yong's luxurious life, gradually let his father lose confidence in him. In 600, with the help of the empress and the imperial chancellor Yang Su, Yang Guang was officially made crown prince.
When Emperor Yang Jian of Sui was seriously ill and bedridden, he learned that Yang Guang had used conspiracy means to deceive himself and do a lot of bad things. Emperor Wen of Sui was furious and wanted to depose the crown prince Yang Guang. Unfortunately, it was too late, Yang Guang got the news, quickly sent people to surround the palace, blocked the news, until his father died.
After the death of Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Guang succeeded to the throne, and he was the famous Sui Emperor in history.
"Digging the Grand Canal"
After the Sui Dynasty Emperor ascended the throne, in order to strengthen his control over the whole country, he did two things: he built the eastern capital in Luoyang; and the second was to dig the Grand Canal connecting the north and south.
In 605, the Sui Emperor sent Yu Wenkai, the minister in charge of construction projects, to build the capital, and 2 million coolies were requisitioned every month to work day and night.
At the same time, the Sui Emperor also ordered the requisition of 1 million people from Henan and Huaibei to open a canal from Luoyang Xiyuan to Shanyang (present-day Huai'an, Jiangsu) on the south bank of Huaishui, called "Tongji Canal"; and also requisitioned more than 100,000 people from Huainan to the capital (present-day Yangzhou, Jiangsu), to open a "Hangou" sent by Wu Wangfu during the Spring and Autumn Period. In this way, the waterway transportation from Luoyang to Jiangnan is much more convenient.
In the following 5 years, the Sui Emperor twice requisitioned migrant workers and opened the "Yongji Canal" and "Jiangnan River". In the end, the four canals were connected to form a 4,000-mile Grand Canal that ran from north to south. With it, grain and goods from the south and north can be continuously transported to the capital, which is the main artery of the country's north-south transportation. Despite this, in order to build this project, the people suffered countless deaths and injuries, making the people unhappy.
《Three Tours of Jiangdu》
The Sui Dynasty Emperor loves to play, and now that he has a convenient canal, he can't miss it, just cruise the river 3 times, and also build tens of thousands of dragon boats and various ships. In short, during his reign, the days spent in the capital Chang'an added up to less than a year.
Every time he goes out to play, he likes to talk about pomp and circumstance, and pose in front of the people. When the Sui Emperor first visited Jiangdu, the boat he rode on towered a 4-story pavilion with 120 rooms, and was decorated with gold and splendor inside and out, like a Sui Palace floating on the water. At the same time, in order to decorate an honor guard used when he went out on tour, the Sui Emperor spent more than 100,000 labor.
What if such a luxurious ship, and so heavy, could not row in the water at all? He sent more than 80,000 haulers to pull the boat slowly on the shore, lining up on both sides of the majestic cavalry convoy. Along the way, the gongs and drums are noisy, and the flags are like a forest, which is like a grand water carnival.
The Sui Dynasty Emperor built the eastern capital, opened canals, built the Great Wall, and added years of large-scale parades, which brought endless labor and increasingly heavy taxes, and the people were overwhelmed. In 611, the Sui Emperor launched a war against Goryeo. This year, he took a dragon boat from Jiangdu and traveled along the Grand Canal to Zhuo County, personally commanding the war. He ordered the whole army, near or far, to concentrate on Zhuo County, and sent men to supervise the construction of 300 warships at Haikou in Donglai (東莱, in present-day Ye County, Shandong). Under the eyes of the officials, the shipbuilders worked day and night on the seashore, and their lower bodies soaked in the seawater for a long time, and many people could not bear such torture and died of exhaustion in the seawater. Then the Sui Emperor ordered the governors of Henan, Huainan, and Jiangnan to build 50,000 large carts and send them to Yang to transport armor and tents to the soldiers; he also requisitioned the people and ships south of Jianghuai to transport grain from Yang (southeast of present-day Xun County, Henan) and Luokoucang to Zhuo County.
The perverse actions of the Sui Emperor finally overwhelmed the common people, and a large-scale peasant uprising broke out, and even the Royal Guards around the Sui Emperor could not bear it and launched a mutiny. Unexpectedly, such an emperor who talked about pomp and circumstance was finally strangled to death by a silk stick around his neck. Since then, the foundation that Emperor Wen of Sui has worked so hard to build has been destroyed in just 37 years.
Historical Archives
The emperor who loves vanity
The Sui Dynasty Emperor Yang Guang liked to talk about pomp and circumstance, and did not hesitate to waste.
Once, the Sui Emperor invited the leaders of the Western Regions to come to Luoyang to watch a play. The leaders of the various tribes asked for permission for merchants from the Western Regions to do business in Luoyang, and the Sui Emperor agreed and ordered them to decorate the city of Luoyang. It is said that the trees inside and outside the city are wrapped in silk draperies, and businessmen must wear gorgeous costumes, and even those who sell vegetables must use exquisite straw mats to pave the floor. Western merchants passed by restaurants, and the shopkeepers were very enthusiastic and did not receive any money. This was all arranged by the Sui Emperor in order to show his wealth, but this did not blind the eyes of these merchants from other places.