Empress Wende Guo Shi (April 8, 184 – March 14, 235), the queen of characters, was a native of Guangzong County, Anping (now Guangzong County, Xingtai City, Hebei Province). At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the daughter of Guo Yong, the Taishou of Nanjun, and the empress of Cao Pi, the founding emperor of Cao Wei of the Three Kingdoms. When Emperor Wu was the Duke of Wei, he entered the East Palace of Emperor Wen.

In the twenty-fifth year of Jian'an (220 years), Emperor Wen was on the throne and was named his wife (second queen), and in the same year, Wei Shouchan was promoted to a noble concubine (second queen). In the third year of the early Huang dynasty (222), she was canonized as the empress.

In the seventh year of the early Huang dynasty (226), Emperor Wen died, and Cao Rong, the king of the plains, succeeded him and was honored as the empress dowager. In the spring of the third year of Qinglong (235), he died in Xuchang and was buried in the Shouyang Mausoleum in Luoyang, nicknamed "Empress Wende".

Empress Wende Guo's ancestors were county officials for generations, her father Guo Yongguan was the Taishou of Nanjun, and her eldest brother Guo Fu was the commander of Gaotang County. [1]

Guo was born on the tenth day of March in the first year of Hanzhongping (184), which coincided with the cold food festival of the Han Dynasty, and he was born with abnormal phenomena. She was young and beautiful and wise, and her father Guo Yong was surprised by it, and praised her: "This is the king of my family." So she took "Queen" as her word. However, she lost her parents early, wandered away in the war, and later lived in the home of the Marquis of Tongba.

During the reign of Emperor Cao Cao of Wei (213-216), the Guo family was accepted by Cao Pi as a side chamber and was unusually favored. Mrs. Guo was clever and strategic, and often offered strategies when Cao Pi and his brother Cao Zhi were competing for succession. Cao Pi was able to become the son of the world, and she had the merit of planning. [4-5]

Favored concubine

In the twenty-second year of Jian'an (217), Cao Pi was the son, and Mrs. Guo's younger brother served as a county official in Quzhou, embezzled the cloth of the official mansion, and should be executed according to the law. At that time, Cao Cao had not returned from Qian County, and the person in charge of the case was Bao Xun, the governor of the western part of Wei County, and Cao Pi, who stayed in Yecheng, wrote letters many times, asking him to pardon his brother-in-law in private. But Bao Xun did not dare to condone it, and still submitted all the evidence of the crime to the imperial court. Cao Pi was therefore very resentful of Bao Xun and ordered the lieutenant to depose him. [6]

In the twenty-fifth year of Jian'an (220), Cao Pi succeeded to the throne and named Guo as his wife. In the same year, Cao Pi ascended the throne as Emperor Wen of Wei. Started with a noble concubine, promoted to the Guo family, and made her the first of the six palaces.

In the second year of the early Huang Dynasty (221), Mrs. Zhen, the mother of Cao Rong, the king of the plains, was left in the Ye Palace after Emperor Wen moved the palace to Luoyang, revealing hatred. Emperor Wen sent an envoy to give him death, which was caused by Guo Guifei's favor.

Subsequently, Emperor Wen rewarded the nine clans of the Cao family, and because Guo Guifei had relatives, he rewarded him with the nine clans. Guo Guifei's nephew Meng Kang was therefore promoted to a free horseman. At that time, only knowledgeable Confucian scholars could be selected, but Meng Kang was appointed because of the concubine clan, because the officials at that time despised him, because he was worshiped by the nine relatives, so he privately called him "Ah Jiu". Meng Kang was quick-witted, read the scriptures and classics when he was an official, and later impeached the officials to refute the decree, and his words were elegant and accurate, so that everyone paid more attention to him.

In the third year of the early Huang dynasty (222), the imperial court proposed the matter of the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty, and Emperor Wen wanted it

Queen Guo (184-235) made Guo Guifei her queen. Zhonglang Zhan dived into the opposition and said in the book: "The ancient emperors ruled the world, not only without the loyal assistance of civil and military officials, but also without the help of virtuous concubines. Whether the relationship between the two can be handled well can be said to determine the rise and fall of a dynasty. Therefore, in ancient times, the Yellow Emperor married the daughter of the Xiling clan, and the second daughter of Emperor Yao, Empress E, and the female Yingxia married Yu Shun, all of which were known for their wisdom and virtue, and became a beautiful talk that has been passed down through the ages. And Xia Wei fled to Nanchao in embarrassment, and the root cause of it was to favor his sister and not repair the government; The Shang king's torture of his subordinates with cannon branding and dissecting his heart was only to please Daji's heart. Therefore, the wise monarchs have always been particularly cautious about the major event of the establishment of the Yuan and the queen, and always chose the ladies who were well-read and courteous in the families of the wealthy families to rule the six palaces, worship the temple reverently, and secretly cultivate the merits of education. In the Book of Changes, it is said that "the family is right and the world is determined", which is the principle from small to large, from the inside to the outside, which is exactly the code prescribed by the kings of the past! When Duke Qi Huan accepted the title in Kwai Qiu, he also specifically stated that he could not let his concubine become his wife.

But now this favorite concubine in the palace often takes advantage of the emperor's kindness and encroaches, and her etiquette is second only to that of the Son of Heaven. If Your Majesty makes her queen out of greed for love, and makes a person of humble status suddenly become noble, then I am afraid that there will be a situation of disorder and discipline in the future generations. If the founding of the country does not follow the law, won't turmoil arise from above? ”[12]

Emperor Wen did not comply, so on September 9 (Chongyang) of this year, Guo was appointed as the queen.

Empress Guo's brother died early, so that her cousin Guo Biao succeeded her father Guo Yong as her son, and worshiped him as the captain of Fengche. When Liu Fei, the cousin of Empress Guo, wanted to intermarry with a woman from another country (or Wu or Shu), she heard about it, so she warned: "All relatives should marry with the opposite person in the township, and they should not use their power to marry with other people's families." Her nephew Meng Wu asked to marry a concubine after returning to his hometown, but she stopped him. Therefore, Empress Guo issued an edict: "Due to the war today, there are not many women, and they should be married to the soldiers at the front as much as possible." Powerful families are not allowed to take concubines. All relatives should be cautious in this matter and not take the blame and suffer punishment. [14] And often admonished Guo Biao, Meng Wu and others: "The family of the empress of the Han Dynasty rarely has preservation, because of arrogance and luxury, you can't be careless!" ”

Guo Hou married Cao Pi when he was cold, and now he is in the extreme pepper room, although he is favored, his heart is more and more gentle and quiet, and he supports the Queen Mother Bian, who is famous for his filial piety. At that time, a noble person in the palace (the title of the Eastern Han Dynasty concubine) Chai was also favored, and Empress Guo admonished and persuaded him. These nobles sometimes have negligence and mistakes, Guo Hou often covers them up, if Emperor Wen blames these nobles, she will explain the details to Emperor Wen, Emperor Wen sometimes loses his temper for this, she even asks Emperor Wen for the nobles to ask for forgiveness, so there is no grudge in the six palaces. Guo Hou was frugal by nature, did not like extravagant and wasteful music and dance banquets, and often admired the personality of Empress Mingde of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

In the fifth year of the early Huang dynasty (224), Emperor Wen led his army to the east, and Empress Guo stayed in Yongshitai in Xuchang. At that time, the heavy rain fell for more than 100 days, and many of the city towers collapsed and damaged. The relevant officials asked the queen to move elsewhere, but she refused, saying: "In the past, King Chu Zhao traveled, and Queen Zhenjiang stayed in Jiantai. When the Yangtze River was surging, the envoy took the queen and transferred, but in his eagerness he forgot to bring the letter of King Chu Zhao, and Zhenjiang insisted on not leaving, so that he did not hesitate to die in the flood. Now that the emperor is on an expedition, I have not encountered a critical situation like Zhenjiang in the rear, so why do I need to transfer? When the ministers heard this, they had nothing to say, and they never asked the queen to move again.

In the sixth year of the early Huang dynasty (225), Emperor Wen once again supervised the eastward expedition, and the army went to Guangling County, and Empress Guo stayed in the palace of Cao's hometown in Qian County. At that time, Guo Biao stayed in the palace to be in charge of the security work, and wanted to block the water to catch fish, but the queen stopped it and said: "This river water is through the river channel for transporting military rations, and you need timber to build a dam to intercept the water, and your own slaves are not in front of you, so you have to embezzle the bamboo and wood of the public house to build the dam." Is what you, the captain of the Bongche, lack now just fish? ”

In the first month of the seventh year of the early Huang dynasty (226), the disciples of the hussar general Cao Hong broke the law, and Cao Hong was imprisoned for this. In the past, Cao Hong's family was rich but stingy by nature, and Emperor Wen borrowed money from him when he was young, but was refused, so he had a grudge and planned to use this matter to put Cao Hong to death. The ministers went to intercede, but to no avail. Empress Dowager Bian said to Empress Guo: "If Cao Hong dies today, I will make the emperor depose the empress tomorrow." So Empress Guo repeatedly cried and begged Emperor Wen to pardon Cao Hong, so that Cao Hong could avoid death by stripping him of his official position.

Honored as the Queen Mother

In May of the seventh year of the Huang dynasty (226), Emperor Wen died of illness. Earlier, because Empress Guo did not give birth, Emperor Wen succeeded Cao Ei, the king of the plains, to her to raise, but Cao Ei was unhappy because his biological mother Zhen was killed, and then he had no choice but to serve Empress Guo carefully, and went to greet Empress Guo every morning and evening. Empress Guo also loved him very much because he had no children. Later, Cao Rong succeeded to the throne, respected Guo as the queen mother, lived in Yong'an Palace, and took the palace name as honorific title.

In the fourth year of Taihe (230 years), Emperor Cao Rong of the Ming Dynasty enshrined Guo Biao as the Marquis of Anyang Pavilion, and soon became the Marquis of the Township, with 500 households in the city, and was promoted to the general of the middle base. Feng his son Guo Shen as a cavalry captain. In the same year, the queen mother's father Guo Yong was the marquis of Anyang Township, and his mother Dong was the prince of the capital. Guo Biao was promoted to General Zhaode, with a gold medal and purple ribbon, and a special position, and Guo Biao's second son, Guo Xun, was appointed as a cavalry captain. Later, the Empress Dowager's sister died, and Emperor Ming wanted to give her a thick burial and build an ancestral hall for her to worship, but the Empress Dowager Guo stopped: "Since the chaos in the world at the end of the Han Dynasty, the tombs of princes and princes have all been stolen and excavated, all because of thick burials. Today, it is best to bury the deceased with the thin burial of Emperor Wen's Shouyang Mausoleum. (Emperor Wen of Wei advocated thin burial, and his Shouyang Mausoleum was very simple and frugal.) ）

In the sixth year of Taihe (232), Emperor Ming wanted to migrate to seek peace because of the death of his young daughter Cao Shu, and the emperor and the empress dowager all traveled east to Xuchang.

Shouyang buries bones

On the eighth day of the second month of the third year of Qinglong (235), Guo Hou died in Xuchang at the age of 50.

In the winter of the third year of the early Huang Dynasty, Emperor Wei Wen made the "Final System" to list the first Yangshan Mountain as the Shou Tomb, marked in the west of his burial place across the river, as the burial place of the concubine, when he died, the concubine had a son with his son to go to the feudal country, and the childless was buried here. When Emperor Houwen was dying, he ordered the harem to be dismissed, so that the concubines below Shuyuan and Zhaoyi would all return to their homes to marry, and no longer accompany him to the funeral. When Empress Guo died, the imperial court built the queen's mausoleum in the west of the river according to the final system of Emperor Wen that year, and moved the funeral from Xuchang, and was buried in Shouyang on March 11 (April 16), and was called the Empress of De.

Due to the death of the Queen Mother, Emperor Ming Jin named Guo Biao as the Marquis of Guanjin, and he had thousands of households. Promoted Guo Xiang to lieutenant of the horse.

In the fourth year of Qinglong (236 years), Emperor Ming changed the title of Guohou's father Guo Yong as the Marquis of Guanjin, and his mother Dong as Tangyangjun. Posthumously crowned Guo Hou's brother Guo Fu as the Marquis of Liangli Pavilion, Guo Du as the Marquis of Wucheng Pavilion Xiao, and Guo became the Marquis of Xinle Pavilion, all of whom sent envoys to hold the book of policy and sacrifice with the gift of the Tai Prison.

Later, Guo Biaoxue, the eldest son Guo Shen's heir, was divided into Guo Biao's lords, and his third son Guo Shu was named a liege. Guo Xiangxue, his son Guo Zhao's heir.