Heroes of Northern History

Let's say that Yuanyu, king of Jingzhao, rebelled in Jizhou. He started his army in March, but the neighboring counties refused to obey.Gathering the mob, failed repeatedly.Occupying only one city in Xindu, the soldiers have different ideas.Suddenly someone came to report that Li Ping, the governor of the imperial court, led an army of tens of thousands to encircle and suppress. Everyone was frightened and no one dared to fight.

As soon as the army arrived, they surrounded the four gates, set up artillery, and attacked day and night.When Li Ping saw that his power was gone, he recruited him to surrender, and if he surrendered, he would be saved from death.At this time, Yuan Yu had no good generals inside and no reinforcements outside. Sooner or later, the city would be broken, and it was too late to regret, so he could only surrender and let the court deal with it.Li Ping's soldiers were bloodless, so they conquered Jizhou.When the good news arrived in the capital, the emperor was very happy and ordered Li Ping to withdraw his troops and Xie Yuanyu to go to Beijing. "

The emperor summoned the court ministers to discuss Yuan Yu's crime.Gao Zhao said: "The crime of rebel Yuan Yu is better than Yuan Xi, and he should be executed." The emperor couldn't bear to kill him, so he said: "I think the former emperor loved Yuan Yu, so he should not die.

"When the officials heard this, they praised the sage. Only Gao Zhao was very unhappy. When he returned to the mansion, he sent his warrior Gao Long to order: "You take him away overnight, and as soon as you arrive in the army, kill Yuan Yu quickly." die. "Tell Li Ping not to leak it, and only say that the emperor will not be blamed for the death of resentment. Gao Long took the order and galloped away. When he walked to the border of Yewang County, facing the army, he told Li Ping about Gao Zhao's intention to kill Yuan Yu. Ping said.

Li Ping said: "I'm afraid this is not the emperor's intention. I don't agree to kill him."

Gao Long smiled and said: "Pengcheng was harmed by Duke Gao, not to mention Yuan Yu. If the general disobeys the order of Duke Gao, the credit will be paid for!" Li Ping obeyed.Gao Long entered the tent to meet the king, who asked, "Who are you?"

"Gao Long said: "I am from Gao Linggong's mansion.According to the master's order, King Jingzhao was asked to commit suicide with a bottle of royal wine. "King Jingzhao cried: "I am determined to destroy Gao Zhao, but now I am killed by Gao Zhao's old thief.If I am underground, I must curse the high thief for not dying well.After speaking, he drank medicine and died at the age of 22.Li Ping reported that he died of illness.The emperor knew who killed him, but he didn't care, and ordered King Jingzhao to be buried with commoner etiquette. "

Yuan Yu had a son and a daughter: his son Baoju, who later became Emperor Wen of the Western Wei Dynasty; his daughter was Princess Mingyue.Yao Ji was ordered to die because of her mistake.The left servant shot Cui Guangshang and said that she was pregnant and could not be killed, and she was sent to the cold palace.Later, Queen Hu gave birth to a prince and was released. "

Emperor Xuanwu believed that Li Ping had meritorious service, so he was promoted to minister of the Ministry of Industry.Gao Zhao was jealous, so he sent his generals to spread rumors, saying that Li Ping had stolen the treasures of the palace in Jizhou, falsely reported the leader's meritorious service, and had done many illegal things.The emperor became angry and demoted Li Ping to a commoner.This year, the amnesty was changed to the first year of Yongping.Besides, Hu Chonghua has been in the palace for three years, and Empress Yu helped her several times at that time.

Since Empress Gao took charge of Chaoyang, the emperor's wishes were blocked, and the favor of concubines became less and less.The emperor hadn't been to Chonghua's residence for three months. "One day, the court ladies suddenly reported the arrival of the Holy Majesty. When Chonghua heard this, she hurriedly got up to greet her. She saw the emperor in plain clothes and a cap, and only two servants followed him, and came quietly."

Emperor Xuanwu stroked Chonghua's hand and said, "You were recommended by the empress. I missed the empress, so I thought of my concubine. However, the current empress is jealous of my favoring other concubines. She is not as gentle as before, so tonight I want to see you quietly. Don't let the queen know.

"Chonghua expressed his gratitude. That night, the emperor was in Chonghua's residence and pampered her for one night. At five o'clock, the emperor left."

At that time, it was the Mid-Autumn Festival in August, and the funeral concubines and wives all went to the main palace for pilgrimage to celebrate.After the court, all the concubines dispersed first, and Chonghua walked alone.At that time, the moonlight was bright and clear, and the blue sky was like washing. Chonghua was eager to see the moonlight, and returned slowly.Walking to a place, there is a high pavilion and painting pavilion inside, and a woman's laughter is faintly heard.He ordered the maids to go and have a look. After seeing it, the ladies were burning incense and wishing heaven on the pavilion.Chonghua went outside the pavilion and listened to her quietly.They all said: I hope to have kings and princesses, but I don't want to have a prince.

Chonghua Shangting met the concubines and said, "My sisters are here to burn incense and pray. Can you bring my little sister with you?"

"All the concubines said with a smile: "This is the emperor's wish, let us pray to the heavens, so that the emperor can be a successor.You came just in time, don't disappoint the emperor.

"Chonghua said with a smile: "In this way, the emperor wants the prince.But why do sisters want to have kings and princesses? "

"The concubines said: "You don't know the court's laws yet.Once the prince of the old regime was established, he must kill his mother to prevent future political chaos.In order to save his life, would a fool be willing to give birth to a prince?

Chonghua knelt down and prayed to God, saying: "If my son becomes the prince, the concubine will die without regret. All the concubines said: Sister, you are stupid! You don't want to die."

Chonghua said: "Sisters, for the sake of the emperor and the country, my sister doesn't care about personal body. "

The concubines said: Forget it, we can't beat you, but sooner or later you will regret it. " "Chonghua said: My sister will not regret it." "All the concubines said: Is that so? My sister really has backbone!"

The emperor had been lucky enough to visit Chonghua for a long time, but as expected, Chonghua was pregnant with Liujia. "

All the ladies heard this and came to persuade them: "Recently, I heard that the queen is also pregnant. I advise you to have a baby and wait for the prince to be born in the main palace, and then it is not too late to think about having a baby. If the younger sister gives birth to a child, her life may be in danger.

"Chonghua said: "The queen is virtuous, and she will definitely give birth to a prince.I've had unlucky dreams lately, and I'm sure to give birth to a daughter.Ladies, there is no need to worry about me. "

A few months later, the queen gave birth to a daughter, named Princess Jiande.On the fourth day of the seventh month of Yongping, the palace people reported to the emperor that Chonghua would give birth. The emperor worried that there would be malpractice in the palace, so he ordered Chonghua to move to Xuanguang Hall.That night, Chonghua gave birth to Emperor Suzong Xiaoming, named Yuanxu.When it was born, the room was filled with red light, and the nose was filled with a strange fragrance.

The emperor was very happy, went in to have a look and said: "This is really the emperor of later generations." Sternly reprimanded the palace nurse for careful protection and kept it in another palace.Concubines and concubines under the emperor are not allowed to enter and inspect without permission, even Chonghua is not allowed.Register Hu Chonghua as your concubine.

All the six officials came to congratulate, only Queen Gao was not happy.One day, Empress Gao came to Xuanguang Hall in person and said to Hu Guibin, "Do you know what will happen to you when the prince grows up?" See.

The queen said: "I want to go and see, why don't you go with me." Hu Guipin said: "The emperor has an order, so I dare not go." Seeing that she would not go, Empress Gao herself did not intend to go.

Soon, the prince was four years old, the emperor went to the residence of Concubine Hu, drank half a glass of wine, and said to Concubine Hu: I want to establish a prince, does my concubine know? "

Concubine Hu said: The concubine didn't know about it today, she knew about it when the prince was born. "

The emperor said: "The reason why I postponed the establishment of the East Palace is that I can't bear to kill my concubine. However, the situation cannot be delayed, and I will bid farewell to my concubine forever."

The princess said: "The crown prince is the root cause of the country. I hope that your majesty will establish a crown prince as soon as possible to consolidate the foundation of the country. Your majesty does not need to regret the life of one concubine and leave the reserve position empty for a long time." The emperor was very sad when he heard this, and sighed: "Love Since the concubine is sincerely for the country, I don't have the heart to kill you."

The princess kowtowed in thanks.The emperor Li Yuanxuan as the prince, pardoned the world, changed the old system, and pardoned the death of Concubine Hu.However, since King Pengcheng died in vain in Wei, and Gao Zhao took the position of grand master, there have been severe droughts in successive years, and many people have starved to death.Gao Zhao killed the prisoner without authorization, arrogant and unreasonable.The emperor's younger brother Qinghe Wang Yuanhan felt aggrieved.

One day, in front of the emperor, King Qinghe said to Gao Zhao: "Wang Mang overthrew the Han Dynasty in the past, what is the difference between you and Wang Mang now? You are a bastard. If you want to be here, you will pay the price sooner or later. Answering him, the ministers were all surprised, and the emperor didn't care.

At that time, Li Miao, a general of Liang who surrendered, went up to the emperor and said: "On the Sichuan side, Liang did not lead troops to guard, so it is advisable to take advantage of the emptiness." The emperor was very happy and discussed with Gao Zhao.Send 33 troops.Gao Zhao was the Generalissimo of the Conquest of Shu and led the generals away.Unexpectedly, after Gao Zhao led the army to leave, the emperor suddenly became unwell, and within a few months, he died in Shiqian Hall at the age of [-].The posthumous decree established the crown prince, the two kings of Gaoyang and Qinghe, and the grand master Gao Zhao was in power. This was the sixth day of the first month of the fourth year of Yanchang.At that time, Gao Zhao had not returned, and the affairs of the country depended on the two kings.

Discussing to help establish a new king, the lieutenant king wanted to ask the empress to order, Fang called the prince, the left servant shot Cui Guangjin and said: "The emperor died, the prince ascended the throne, the state system is not up to the empress to advocate?" The two kings agreed, so they went to Shu Palace with Cui Guang in person , Ask the servant Hou Gang to invite the prince to drive to Shigan hall to cry for funerals.

The two kings wanted to wait for dawn to call civil and military affairs, and then ascended the throne.Cui Guang said: No.The son of heaven is young, so he should ascend the throne immediately to calm people's hearts, and there is no need to wait until the next day.The two kings agreed and asked the prince to ascend the throne immediately in Xianyang Hall. "

Taiwei Cui Guang presented the crown and robe, and Yuanzhao, the servant, knelt and presented the jade seal ribbon, and enthroned the prince on the throne.The nickname is Emperor Xiaoming, and Empress Zungao is the Empress Dowager.All the kings and officials, big and small, faced the north and congratulated.After the mountain call was over, the emperor left the Dragon Pavilion, changed into mourning clothes, and went to the mourning hall to mourn.The ministers cried with him.

When the bell rang at five o'clock, all the civil and military officials from the Manchu Dynasty arrived. Knowing that the emperor had passed away and that the new emperor was ascending the throne, they all paid homage to the new emperor first, and then held the funeral.

On this day, all the concubines came to mourn.The new emperor met the queen mother at the place where the funeral was stopped.Seeing that the new king had been established later, Mrs. Gao thought to herself: Before he knew that he was born to Concubine Hu, it would be better to kill Concubine Hu, and she would naturally take me as his mother in the future.

Empress Dowager Gao then sent eunuch Liu Teng to give him a sharp knife and said, "Go to Xuanguang Hall and execute Concubine Hu to death, and you will be rewarded heavily when you come back.

Liu Teng took the order and flew to Xuanguang hall.Empress Hu went to mourn before returning, when suddenly her servant Liu Teng came to the palace with a sharp knife in his hand and said: "Your Majesty has a decree, the late emperor was buried without anyone, and I want to take my wife's life."

Concubine Hu was shocked and said, "You came to kill me just to help Empress Gao. Don't you know that the emperor was born to me. If you kill the emperor's mother, the emperor will know in the future. I'm afraid your whole family will be wiped out."

After hearing this, Liu Teng was silent for a while, knelt down and said, "I really have no choice but to be sent by the Lord. It is not my wish. But after the minister left, Gao Niangniang sent someone else, the lady will inevitably be in trouble, what should I do?"

Concubine Hu said: You can save this palace without incident, and you will be rewarded heavily in the future. "Liu Teng said: "Madam, first close the palace door tightly, don't come in and out casually, and wait for the minister to think of a way." So I found the envoy Hou Gang and explained the reason. Hou Gang said: "I will go with you to see the leader Yu Zhong, so that we can save her."

The two went to see Yu Zhong and reported the reason.He said: "The empress is too powerful, you should discuss it with Cui Taifu." The general went to see Cui Guang and said that Empress Gao wanted to kill Empress Hu, and how to save her.

Cui Guang said: "You can't live in the palace. The leader of the army can lead thirty cavalry from the Imperial Army to Xuanguang Hall to escort the East Palace, so Empress Gao can't harm her." Yu Zhong listened to his plan, so he asked Concubine Hu to hide in Shu Palace.After Liu Teng went back to report to Gao, he only said that he couldn't find it.Empress Gao said: "Are you hiding? Forget it! Let's discuss it after the Grand Master returns to court."

It is said that the two kings served the imperial edict to assist the government. I am afraid that Gao Zhao will still occupy power as before when he returns to the court.

The second king falsely decreed the queen's order: the emperor is young, and all matters under the sect will be handled by the second king. The two asked Cui Guang about his strategy for removing Gao Zhao. Cui Guang said, "call him back, cut off his military power, and let him go home."

The two kings handed over the mourning edict to Gao Zhao, ordering Gao Zhao to teach immediately.When Gao Zhao arrived in Mianzhu, dozens of cities in Shu had been conquered.Suddenly received the imperial decree, knowing that the emperor had passed away and the crown prince ascended the throne, he was shocked and cried for a long time.Gao Zhao left a small group of generals to guard Mianzhu, and the squad returned to the court. "

When the second king heard that Gao Zhao was coming, he wanted to kill him, so Fuwu King Xing Bao and more than 20 people waited in the east chamber of the Daxing Hall, sharpening their swords.When Gao Zhao came to Zhongcheng, Princess Gao Ping sent someone to meet him.

Gao Zhao said: "I haven't gone to the funeral yet. I can't go back home, so I changed into sackcloth and cried on the ground in front of the coffin to show my loyalty. After crying, I got up, and suddenly saw several servants saying: "The second king is here. "Introduce them to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs one by one."

Gao Zhao was surprised: "How did I get here?"

"Xing Baodao: King Pengcheng died here. King Pengcheng is waiting for the grand master underground. Now, please die." Gao Zhao said: "You villain, what right do you have to kill this old man?" Xing Bao said: Mr. Better than you traitor. "Gao Zhao said: You." "Xing Bao ordered the warriors to do it, so he put a two-zhang white silk around Gao Zhao's neck and hanged him to death."

Erwang said: "The old thief Gao Zhao is finally dead. Let Xing Bao take his body to the princess with a small car."

When Princess Gao Ping saw that Gao Zhao was dead, she burst into tears and said to Xing Bao, "Why did the two kings kill my husband?"

"Xing Bao said: "It was too hasty to kill Pengcheng at that time. "The princess is silent." On this day, Empress Dowager Gao heard that Gao Zhao had returned, but she did not enter the palace at night, so she summoned the guards at the gate and asked, "Did the Grand Master see the coffin?"The servant replied: "I have seen you." "The Empress Dowager Gao asked again: "Where are you now? "

The waiter said: "I must be discussing business matters."Empress Dowager Gao thought to herself, and said: "Although the emperor is dead, the power is still in the hands of Gao Zhao, and the kings dare not have any opinions. When he comes to see him, set up a good policy to help me to listen to the government, so that I can do whatever I want, and I am not afraid of Concubine Hu deprivation of power in the future.

"Empress Gao was delusional, holding a candle and waiting for Gao Zhao to arrive. After waiting for a long time, before Gao Zhao arrived, Empress Dowager Gao became impatient, and ordered her servants: "Come to the court, Grand Master Xuan enters the palace to meet you.Not long after the servant had left, he hurried back and told her, "Your Majesty is not good! The Grand Master has been given to death."

Empress Dowager Gao said: Who killed him? "

The servant said: "The kings killed him."

The Empress Dowager Gao was terrified and said angrily, "I am the mother of the emperor, and I am the only one in the palace. Even if Gao Zhao committed a crime, he should be ordered to execute the death penalty. Not long after the late emperor died, the kings killed the ministers without permission. Is there an empress dowager like me? This empress will go to the coffin and cry to the late emperor, asking the kings what crimes they committed, and then put him to death. The empress dowager hurriedly brought a few maids with her, and walked out of the palace angrily without taking a car.

At this time, Liu Teng, the servant, was outside the gate of the palace. Seeing that Empress Gao was about to go to the main hall, she knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, please go back to the palace first, and listen to the servant girl."