Chapter 5: The Phoenix of Nirvana

Soon after the 13-year-old Emperor Wencheng ascended the throne, he chose an 11-year-old smart and beautiful girl surnamed Feng to be his nobleman. 3 years later, Emperor Wencheng wants to officially elect the queen, how to choose?

The royal family of the Northern Wei Dynasty chose the queen, and the concubines in the palace wanted to be promoted to the main palace level, in addition to having the posture and ability of the mother's world, they also had to pass a special skills test.

Hand-cast gold man. If it can be cast successfully, it will be regarded as auspicious wishes, if it is cast but not successful, then the concubine can not be established as the queen, which is customized in the history of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

Why the Gold Minter? For divination, if it is cast, it will be auspicious, and if it is not cast, it will be fierce. Where does the meaning of this divination come from? It should be related to the original meaning of statues in Buddhism.

Buddhism was destroyed and banned during the reign of Emperor Taiwu of Wei, but the people's belief in Buddhism, including the courts, remained undiminished. In his later years, Tuoba Tao had already relaxed the ban, and after Emperor Wencheng Tuoba Tao ascended the throne, the ministers and the people demanded that the ban on Buddhism be completely lifted, which shows the belief in Buddhism in the Northern Wei society.

At the end of 452, Emperor Wencheng issued an edict to lift the ban on Buddhism, and ordered to dig five grottoes at the southern foot of Wuzhou Mountain, about 30 miles northwest of the capital Pingcheng (now Datong, Shanxi), and carved a stone Buddha statue in each cave, the statue was as high as sixty or seventy feet, and later developed into the world-famous Yungang Grottoes.

Let's talk about Emperor Wencheng's election. All the concubines and concubines were frustrated, and only one person succeeded in casting gold, and this person was a 14-year-old nobleman surnamed Feng. Emperor Wencheng had already liked her very much, and now he naturally made her queen.

Who is this Empress Feng? That is, the granddaughter of Feng Hong, the lord of the Northern Yan state, mentioned above, the Han people, that is, the famous Empress Dowager Feng of the Northern Wei Dynasty in Chinese history.

Empress Dowager Feng's life is destined to be legendary. First of all, the gold caster became the queen, and then the second month after becoming the queen, and luckily became the crown prince's mother. But she didn't have a biological prince, but liked to be a mother.

In 453, Emperor Wencheng Tuoba was looking into the distance from the city tower, looking down on a splendid mountain and river under his rule, not only proud. Suddenly, I saw a female prisoner downstairs being escorted to the court, although the woman was in rags, but she couldn't hide the graceful figure, and when she looked at it, she had a bit of a pretty and moving color.

Power is the best aphrodisiac, Emperor Wencheng, who had just been immersed in the pride of the splendid mountains and rivers, not only ran downstairs in a hurry, but took the woman to a nearby warehouse, and was lucky.

After the inquiry, this woman's surname is Li, a native of Liang Guomeng County (now Shangqiunan, Henan), and the daughter of Uncle Li Fang, the Taishou of Song Jiyin in the Southern Dynasty. When Tuoba Tao went south to attack Shouchun, the general Tuoba Ren snatched the Li family and took it to Chang'an and took him as a concubine. A weak woman in troubled times, just a mustard under the wind and rain, the Li family is ready to spend the rest of his life in the far northwest.

No, this has become a luxury. Tuoba Ren rebelled and was suppressed by Emperor Wencheng, and all women were confiscated into the court as slaves. On the way, he was also coveted by Emperor Wencheng, although he couldn't say rape, at least he ignored the will of the women and forcibly gave him luck.

Fortunately, in just one spring breeze, the Li family became pregnant with the dragon species, which won the favor of Emperor Wencheng.

Fortunately, the harem of all dynasties can stage a legend of Zhen Huan, and the Li family is in it, how can it be avoided? Emperor Wencheng's nursing mother, Empress Dowager Chang, suspected (or deliberately suspected) that Li's child was coming from the wrong way, and wanted to execute Li, and by the way, the child was also stillborn. Emperor Wencheng begged bitterly, and the eunuch testified that Emperor Wencheng and the Li family had a spring breeze, and the Empress Dowager Chang gave up.

This is only temporary. Li gave birth to a baby boy and named him Tuoba Hong. Seeing that Li's mother was favored by Emperor Wencheng by virtue of her son, Empress Dowager Chang was secretly annoyed. In her eyes, this lowly Southern Dynasty man did not deserve such grace. She clenched her fists and clenched her back teeth, squeezing out a clever (poisonous) plan that Li had to die.

In January 456, Takubahiro was two years old. Empress Dowager Chang ordered Emperor Wencheng to canonize Feng as empress. In the second month, Emperor Wencheng made Tuoba Hong the crown prince.

Empress Dowager Chang's conscience discovered? Wrong, it's the fermentation of conscience. As soon as Tuoba Hong was made the crown prince, the Empress Dowager Chang moved out of an ancestral system.

Lizi kills his mother.

The woman whose son was made the crown prince was a very tragic thing in the Northern Wei Empire, because it meant that the person's life would be forcibly ended. This rule was established in the founding emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Daowu Emperor Tuoba Jue, and learned from the practice of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty to set up Liu Fuling as the crown prince and give the death of Mrs. Gouyi.

Empress Dowager Chang moved out of this ancestral system, and Emperor Wencheng woke up like a dream, and he was tricked. He begged the Empress Dowager Chang to spare Li from death, but the Empress Dowager Chang was like a king who ate an iron scale, not only hard-hearted, but also proudly spit bubbles.

Emperor Wencheng pierced his heart with thousands of arrows, but he was helpless. In order to make up for the guilt of his beloved woman, the only thing he could do was to let the Li family choose someone from the Li family to be an official.

In 456, on the outskirts of Pingcheng, the north wind howled, the jackdaws wailed, and the remaining branches of the dead trees danced like whips in the wind, whipping the hearts of the Li family one by one. She was disheveled and pale, and beside her was a table with pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, on which a eunuch was listening to the order, waiting for Li to read out the names of the brothers and relatives who would be officials to record them. Every time Li pronounced the name of a relative, he cried and beat his chest until he was silent and the jade head fell to the ground.

A wisp of incense is gone.

Tuoba Hong's biological mother Li was given death, and Empress Feng was happy to be her mother and took on the responsibility of raising her. Fortunately, she regards Tuoba Hong as her own and loves her very much.

In 465, Emperor Wencheng died of illness and followed his beloved Li family, and his eldest son Tuoba Hong ascended the throne, that is, Emperor Wen of Wei. The 23-year-old Empress Feng became the Empress Dowager Feng.

Emperor Xianwen was only 11 years old when he succeeded to the throne and was regent by Empress Dowager Feng. The "mother and son" cooperated tacitly in the early days, and the government decree was smooth, and during the period, they also got rid of Prime Minister Yihun who intended to launch a palace coup.

In 467, the eldest son of Emperor Tuoba Hong of the Northern Wei Dynasty was born, and Empress Dowager Feng announced that he would return to power in Tuoba Hong, and he would concentrate on raising the "eldest grandson" Tuoba Hong.

However, Empress Dowager Feng soon regretted it.

Empress Dowager Feng's generation of heroines, during the period of regency and dedication to Emperor Wen, cultivated a large number of confidants and ministers who met the needs of their own governance. In addition, she became a widow at the age of 23, and it was difficult to bear the loneliness and coldness of the deep palace, although she was a Han Chinese, but she had lived in the Xianbei ethnic group since her ancestors, and the concept of chastity was weaker than that of the Han people.

Li Yi is the one that Empress Dowager Feng likes the most.

Li Yi, the second generation of officials, is suave and versatile, deeply favored by the Empress Dowager Feng, and often enters the palace to fight with the Empress Dowager Feng.

After Tuoba Hong became in power, as he grew older, he became more and more politically motivated to break away from the control of the Empress Dowager Feng and eliminate the influence of the Empress Dowager Feng.

In view of the fact that he had announced the return of power to Emperor Xianwen, Empress Dowager Feng could tolerate some of Emperor Xianwen's practices at first, but Emperor Xianwen did something that made Empress Dowager Feng unable to hold back anymore.

Emperor Xianwen killed Li Yi.

The killing of her favorite lover is tantamount to a stab in the heart of Empress Dowager Feng. No matter how capable a female politician is, she will be reduced to an ordinary woman in anger, just like the old woman of the Yehnara clan who declared war on the 11 countries in later generations. Empress Dowager Feng, who lost her beloved, also immediately used her influence to unite a group of ministers to force Emperor Xianwen to abdicate.

In the face of the menacing forced palace, Emperor Xianwen really abdicated.

Initially, Emperor Xianwen wanted to give up the throne to his uncle Tuoba Zitui, but was opposed by the Empress Dowager Feng and the ministers of the clan. In desperation, he had no choice but to give the throne to the 4-year-old crown prince Tuoba Hong, the famous Emperor Xiaowen of Wei in history, in July 471.

Emperor Xianwen himself became the emperor. At the age of 17, he became the emperor, and he may be the former and the ancients in history.

Regarding why Emperor Xianwen Tuoba Hong was forced to abdicate by Empress Dowager Feng, there is a saying in history that Tuoba Hong was keen on the study of Lao Zhuang and Buddha Tu, so he saw through the red dust, "elegant and thin current affairs, often have the heart of the world", and wanted to put aside the complicated government affairs and live a quiet and elegant life.

This statement is obviously nonsense, and Tuoba Hong's performance after his abdication directly negates this.

Tuoba Hong, who became the emperor at the age of 17, did not completely give up the power in his hands. Not only did he demand that important state affairs be handled to him, but he even personally led his troops to the north and the south, showing that he could still command the army.

In October 475, Emperor Xianwen, who had already served as Emperor Taishang, even held a grand parade ceremony on the northern outskirts of the capital Pingcheng to pay tribute to the Rouran envoys.

I, Tuoba Hong, am still the de facto ruler of the Northern Wei Dynasty. There is only one real reason for Emperor Xianwen's quick abdication - to exclude Empress Dowager Feng from power.

Abdicate yourself to reject Empress Dowager Feng? It sounds mysterious, but it's actually quite simple.

Tuoba Hong became the emperor, and the Empress Dowager Feng became the empress dowager, and the empress dowager had no title and qualifications to interfere in politics. This group of Xianbei people who were born on horseback and herding sheep came to the Central Plains not many years ago, and they actually collected all the tricks and tricks of the Han people, and they could catch their opponents off guard with a little bit of coldness.

Empress Dowager Feng, who was stunned, lost her mind again under the anger and transformed into an ordinary woman, she decided to kill this little emperor who calculated her.

One day in June 476, Pingcheng, the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty, was in a state of slaughter, and the palace was even more heavily guarded. Emperor Taishang Tuoba Hong was called to meet the Empress Dowager Feng, and was surrounded by ambush soldiers and took a sturdy knot. Subsequently, he was killed by Empress Dowager Feng.

After Tuoba Hong was killed, Empress Dowager Feng, who was already the empress dowager, took over the power, and a group of beautiful men were selected by her into the leadership team and the lover team. Empress Dowager Feng's taste is indeed high, these people are not only strong and fit, versatile, but also the children of famous families.

For example, Wang Rong is from the Taiyuan Wang family. Li Chong is from the Li family in Longxi. The Wang family is known to the whole world in the Jin generation, so what is the origin of this Longxi Li family? I have already talked about it before, so I will not repeat it, but only mention two names, Li Guang of the Han Dynasty and Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty.

Although Empress Dowager Feng's private life is rotten, she is worthy of a generation of heroines, and she has shown superb political wisdom and talent during her reign. She carried out fruitful reforms in the politics, economy, and customs of the Northern Wei Dynasty, especially the Sinicization reform, known as the Taihe reform.

Taihe is the name of Emperor Tuoba Hong of Wei Xiaowen, and a series of reforms during this period are called "Taihe reform" in history. However, for 20 years from 471 to 490, the Northern Wei regime was effectively controlled by Empress Dowager Feng. Therefore, the so-called Taihe reform is actually a thorough Sinicization reform carried out by the Han grandmother with a little emperor of Xianbei Hu'er under his rule. This reform also pushed the integration of the Hu and Han nationalities to a climax.