At the left of the bookcase, there is a precious bronze mirror. Whenever he was tired of reading, Yang Guang would pick it up and look at the person in the mirror. An irrepressible heroic spirit broke through the mirror and illuminated his eyes: from the handsome eyebrows to the straight nose bridge, from the smooth skin to the fresh lips, every line was carefully considered, and every detail could stand up to scrutiny. Obviously, this is not a casual pinch but a well-designed face. He never gets tired of watching it. (The Book of Sui?) Emperor Yang Ji": "On the beautiful posture, less sensitive and wise." ”）

Deep down, Yang Guang has always felt that he has two fathers: one is Yang Jian on earth, and the other is God in heaven.

The heavenly Father gave him almost a qiē what he wanted:

He was arranged to be born with a golden spoon and reincarnated in the mansion of Yang Jian, the Duke of Sui, a major minister of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Before he was born, the government had already selected dozens of wet nurses and servants for him, and prepared hundreds of toys, children's clothes and accessories. From the time he was sensible, he was accompanied by a large army of minions, ready to meet his every little need. His smile and smile are the center of countless people's concerns.

In addition to his handsome appearance, God also blessed him with intelligence beyond ordinary people. At the age of seven, he wrote his first poem, singing about the beautiful scenery on both sides of the Bahe River in Chang'an. This poem spread from the hands of the teacher to the circle of literati and scholars, and immediately earned him the reputation of a "prodigy". Later, he became the most erudite and talented emperor of all dynasties up to his end, and many of his beautiful poems were left in the literary history of the Sui Dynasty.

Of course, his father on earth loved him even more. The bright smile on the little pink face in the nanny's arms seemed to have a natural magic that "deviated" at the first moment of his father Yang Jian's heart.

The more he grows up, the more this child is smart, sensible, and cute, the more he feels his father's pride. As a person who rarely admits his mistakes, Yang Jian cannot deny that he is "very fond of this child".

When he was the Duke of Sui, Yang Jian hired the most knowledgeable teacher in China for this child, and after becoming the emperor, he simply appointed Wang Shao, who was originally intended to be used as the prime minister, as Yang Guang's master. From the series of appointments Yang Guang has received since he was a teenager, we can read at a glance that Yang Jian has attached great importance to him and cultivated him painstakingly.

On February 26, the first year of the emperor's reign (581), only twelve days after Yang Jian was proclaimed emperor, Yang Guang, who was only thirteen years old, was named the king of Jin, and was appointed as the governor of the state and awarded the title of general of Wuwei. Bingzhou was a strategic place to guard against the most dangerous enemy of the empire, the Turks, and Feng Yang Guangyu was of course a key point in order to make him grow into a vassal of the empire.

At the age of eighteen, the Jin king's talent in Bingzhou was recognized by the emperor, so the emperor summoned him back to the court to intern as prime minister. From then on, almost all of the most important or critical positions in the empire belonged to this son.

When the Turks wanted to go south, Yang Guang was immediately transferred back to the state and continued to block the Turks. Due to the rebellion in the south, Yang Guang was quickly transferred from the governor of Bingzhou to the governor of Yangzhou. Although the appointment of the prince to an important position was the overall political plan of Emperor Wen of Sui, although most of these positions were practiced, among the five sons, Yang Guang's repeated appointments were undoubtedly the most beautiful.

From the beginning of his sensibility, Yang Guang considered himself to be the darling of the unique God. In his eyes, the world was almost created just for him. He came to the world to play a happy game called "life", to gain the worship of all people like his father, and to enjoy every bit of beauty in life. He had good reason to think so, because few overtures to the music of life could be so brilliant.

However, Tianxin can never be completely understood by mortals, and the arrangement of fate is often incomprehensible, which gives Yang Guang a qiē, but forgets the most crucial thing: the proper birth order. On the road of his glorious destiny, there is a huge shadow: his brother Yang Yong.

Since the Western Zhou Dynasty, the transmission of political power in China has always followed a clear principle: "Establish a successor to grow up". The future protagonist of the Great Sui World should be played by his eldest brother Yang Yong.

& "Long system" is the most effective way to ensure the orderly continuation of power within the royal family and put an end to the competition between the royal family, so it is called "the system of a hundred kings" by the sage.

However, the rationality of this system is so unscrupulous. Everyone knows that there is no logical connection between birth order and statecraft. It was this system that led to the rise of young children, idiots, and mediocre people throughout history. Why imprison the future of the empire in such a mentally retarded regulation?

I believe that 1,400 years ago, Yang Guang and his other brothers thought so.

The Yang Guang brothers, who were born in the whirlpool of politics, were almost born with an interest in politics. For the past few thousand years, politics has been almost the only way for a Chinese man to achieve self-realization.

In their field of vision, only politics can reflect the value of a person's life; Only power can give men extraordinary strength and dignity. The men of the Yang family, who are mixed with the blood of the Xianbei and Han people, are very strong, and the lyrics of "heroic and heroic, son-lang tiger and leopard" are very appropriate in Yang Jian's family.

The other four sons of Yang Jian were all like hungry wolves longing for fresh meat, coveting the throne. Although his writing is excellent, Yang Guang never thought of becoming a writer. Such a future is almost a shame for a prince.

After Yang insisted that the emperor and the five brothers were crowned kings on the same day, Yang Guang felt that the relationship between the brothers had undergone subtle changes, and these brothers who had grown up playing together since childhood looked at each other with a hint of coldness and vigilance. The political period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties was one of the most intrigue and bloody periods in Chinese history.

In order to compete for the throne, the upper echelons of the government have been intriguing and killing each other, and the fratricidal cannibalism between the royal families is one of the most frequently staged plays in the high-level government. From this moment on, the Yang brothers suddenly realized: to be born in the emperor's family is to live among wolves, and maybe one day, either they will kill other brothers or other brothers will kill themselves.

Since living in the midst of wolves, being strong, agile, and cunning are the capital of competition. Yang Guang firmly believes that he has such a talent. Although each of them was ambitious, the other brothers were all busybodies, and only Yang Guang inherited from Yang Jian the basic qualities necessary for a political family: city government, astuteness, and understanding.

Generally speaking, the children of wealthy families are inevitably subject to some common problems: arrogance, low eyesight, and lack of self-control. But Yang Guang seems to be an outlier.

Perhaps because of the success of the education of the masters, or perhaps because of his extraordinary understanding, he has shown extraordinary self-control since he was a child, and his demeanor is dignified, "deep and strict". The other brothers are mostly typical gentlemen, and for the sake of momentary desires, they go against the will of their parents: the eldest brother Yang Yong lacks scheming and acts indulgently, and the third brother Yang Jun has a weak personality and is extravagant; The fourth Yang Xiu has a violent temperament, and even "lives and dissects death row prisoners, taking courage for fun" ("Northern History? Biography 63). He is the only one who obeys his parents' orders. His father advocated frugality, and he dressed modestly and sparingly. 's mother is jealous, and she looks down on men the most, but he is in love with Concubine Xiao. [

From a very early age, he had learned to design himself, and although he came from a noble background, he was kind to his subordinates and never arrogant. "Ministers and ministers are all devoted to and friends", "Respect the courtiers, the courtesy is extremely humble, and the reputation is very famous, and the crown is crowned by the kings". Father Yang Jian was most impressed by such a detail: Shi Wansui was a famous general of the country, and when he went on an expedition to Yunnan to return to the dynasty in the seventeenth year of the emperor, he passed by Chengdu where Yang Jun, the king of Qin, was located, and Jiangdu, where Yang Guang, the king of Jin, was located. The two princes attached great importance to Shi Wansui's arrival and met him personally. However, the king of Qin was concerned about asking Shi Wansui for the treasures captured in the battle, while the king of Jin "paid false respect to him and treated him as a gift of friendship" and discussed military affairs with him. Yang Jian saw that the two had a good relationship, so he ordered Shi Wansui to simply stay by the side of the King of Jin and supervise the military of the Jin Palace. (The Book of Sui?) Emperor Yang)

In the ninth year of the emperor's reign (589), in the most important war of the Sui Empire -- the Pingchen War to unify the south, Yang Guang, who was only 20 years old, was appointed as the supreme commander of the 500,000-strong army, which attracted the attention of the whole country. This war was his official appearance on the stage of imperial politics, and Yang Guang knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to establish his image. In fact, it was at this point that his national reputation was built. ** The Southern Dynasty was vulnerable, and the Pingchen War was won easily and happily. After the defeat of the Southern Dynasty, Yang Guang first ordered his subordinates to collect the archives and cultural relics of the Chen Dynasty, "seal the treasury, and take nothing of gold and silver materials", "Autumn did not commit any crimes, and it was called innocent". As a result, "the world is widely regarded as a virtuous", and "among the Kundi, the reputation is unique". (The Book of Sui?) Emperor Yang)

In his early twenties, he became the most powerful political star in the Sui Empire, and the virtuous ability of this prince is really rare in all dynasties. Behind Yang Guang's deliberate expression of himself, there is a motive that everyone can understand: although the principle of the elder system lies in front of him, Yang Guang, who is familiar with history, knows that such a "big disapproval" as "changing the prince" has not happened in history.

From a certain point of view, Chinese history is not a history of people, but a history of gods or ghosts. The former series is composed of Wenwu Zhou Zhao, Confucius, Mengcheng, Zhu, Zhuge Liang, and Wen Tianxiang, who are sacred, like gods, standing up to the sky, and flawless; The latter series is composed of Xia Wei Shangxuan, Qin Shi Huang, Cao Mengde, Qin Hui, these characters who are extremely vicious, do all kinds of evil, and have sores on their heads and pus on the soles of their feet. In Chinese history, people are often full of "divinity" or "animal nature", but lack "human nature". Among these "ghosts", Yang Guang, Emperor Yang of Sui, is the ugliest one.