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Chapter 283 The Wonderful Princess

At this time, Erzhu Rong looked somewhat like Cao Cao, but it was this action that led to his death at the hands of this puppet emperor in the future.

After a series of drastic reforms, Erzhu Rong took control of the Northern Wei regime. After the situation stabilized, he returned to Jinyang and remotely controlled the Northern Wei government. It must be said that Erzhu Rong was a great military talent.

The soldiers and civilians who had revolted in the six prefectures earlier were gradually integrated, but their living conditions did not change, so the flames of the uprising grew stronger and stronger. The new uprising forces were integrated and unified, forming a prairie fire, claiming to have a million people, and approached Luoyang.

At this time, the only one who could clean up the mess was Erzhu Rong. He led 7000 elite troops from Fukou and defeated Ge Rong's rebels, annihilating most of them. The Six Garrisons Uprising gradually subsided.

After the Heyin Incident, Beihai King Yuan Hao surrendered to the Southern Liang Kingdom. Later, Yuan Hao asked Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, to help him become the emperor of Northern Wei. Emperor Wu of Liang then appointed Chen Qingzhi as General Diao Yong and led 7000 people to escort Yuan Hao north to Luoyang.

As a famous general of the Southern Liang Dynasty, Chen Qianzhi lived up to expectations and created one miracle after another with his team of less than 10,000 people.

The Northern Expedition defeated the Wei army with a small force, defeated the Wei army in 47 battles, captured 32 cities, and once captured the Northern Wei capital Luoyang, which shocked both sides of the Yellow River. Upon hearing the news, Erzhu Rong hurriedly led his troops to Luoyang and confronted Yuan Hao and Chen Qingzhi on both sides of the Yellow River.

The two sides fought 11 rounds in three days, but failed to win. Erzhu Rong immediately changed his strategy and directly attacked Yuan Hao's retreat. The stupid teammate Yuan Hao was defeated and Luoyang fell.

In desperation, Chen Qingzhi could only withdraw from the battlefield and cross the river to retreat south. Under Erzhu Rong's pursuit, Chen Qingzhi's army was almost wiped out. Chen Qingzhi disguised himself as a monk and fled back to Liang Dynasty alone.

After that, as Erzhu Rong wiped out various rebel forces, his military achievements and prestige reached their peak. However, he had the energy and strength to challenge the throne, so he began to prepare to usurp the throne.

However, since the Erzhu family came to power, most of the subordinates and nephews promoted by Erzhu Rong were cruel and inhumane, causing trouble to the people, causing people all over the world to deeply resent the Erzhu family.

Erzhu Rong's son-in-law, Emperor Xiaozhuang, was unwilling to sit idly by when faced with his father-in-law's well-known ambition to usurp the throne. This puppet emperor was actually a very capable and principled monarch.

During his reign, Emperor Xiaozhuang was suppressed and closely monitored by the powerful minister Erzhu Rong, but he was still diligent in government affairs and worked tirelessly. Facing Erzhu Rong's relentless pressure, he had the spirit of an emperor.

Emperor Xiaozhuang said to his ministers: "You know the dangerous situation I am in now. Even if I am about to die, I must take some actions before I die. I would rather die for the Duke of Gaogui than live for the Duke of Changdao."

After learning from Cao Mao's failure, Emperor Xiaozhuang made a careful plan and summoned Erzhu Rong to the palace on the pretext that the empress had given birth to a child. As a grandfather, Erzhu Rong was excited and unprepared.

As Erzhu Rong went to the palace to meet the emperor, ambushes suddenly appeared. Erzhu Rong was quick-witted and immediately pounced on Emperor Xiaozhuang for a last-ditch effort. Emperor Xiaozhuang, who had been prepared, drew out his hidden knife and stabbed his father-in-law to death.

This was the first and only bloody incident in Chinese history in which an emperor killed a powerful official. Erzhu Rong's eldest son Erzhu Bodhi and 30 others who followed him into the palace were also killed in an ambush.

The Northern History only has a short sentence describing this coup: "On the day of Wuxu, Erzhu Rong and his son Bodhi were killed." The great hero Erzhu Rong died at the age of 38.

However, although Emperor Xiaozhuang did what Cao Mao failed to do and killed the powerful ministers, the power of the Erzhu clan was deeply rooted. In the end, with the counterattack of the Erzhu clan, Emperor Xiaozhuang was also killed.

This also teaches us a profound lesson: It is often not that easy to eliminate powerful officials. The success was due to Empress Xiaozhuang, and the failure was due to Erzhu Rong.

Looking back on the life of the great hero Erzhu Rong, he certainly had a cruel side, but his military talents and political contributions cannot be erased.

Not only did he eliminate the Empress Dowager Hu group that was causing harm to the country, he also led the suppression of uprisings in various parts of North China, making great contributions to maintaining the rule of the Northern Wei Dynasty in the late period.

However, almost all later generations characterized Erzhu Rong as a traitor who brought disaster to the country. Even Gao Huan, Yuwen Tai and others who relied on Erzhu Rong's group hurried to distance themselves from him.

It is not difficult to find that Erzhu Rong's bloody political massacre made him lose the support of the people, and he turned from a hero who protected the country into a culprit who was wanted by everyone. Therefore, the later generations' evaluation of him as "more meritorious than Cao Cao, or even better than Dong Zhuo" is very accurate.

[Read all the legendary princesses of the Tang Dynasty who were as brave as men in one go. Historical knowledge of the Tang Dynasty]

She was a legendary princess of the Tang Dynasty, whose abilities and achievements were buried, but whose talent and courage were no less than that of her brother Li Shimin. She was also a heroine who was as brave as any man, disguising herself as a man to lead her female army and fight on the battlefield.

She lived a legendary life and shone in history, becoming the only legendary woman in history to be buried with military honors. She was the first heroine of the Tang Dynasty - Princess Pingyang.

Princess Pingyang was the third daughter of Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan. She was a sibling of Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin, Li Xuanba, and Li Yuanji. Looking at the emperors of all dynasties, perhaps no one could surpass Li Yuan in educating their children.

Li Yuan had four sons and one daughter, all of whom were outstanding. His daughter, Princess Pingyang, made great contributions to the founding of the Tang Dynasty.

There is no record of her name and date of birth in history books. Before she was officially named a princess, she was called "Li Sanniang". Because of her posthumous title of "Zhao" after her death, she is also called "Princess Pingyang Zhao" in history.

In her early years, Princess Pingyang married Chai Shao, the son of a general, and the two settled in Chang'an. In May 617 AD, Li Yuan was about to start a rebellion in Taiyuan. Fearing for his daughter's safety, Li Yuan sent a message to Chang'an, asking Chai Shao and his wife to leave quickly.

After learning that Li Yuan was preparing to start a rebellion, Chai Shao and Princess Pingyang realized that if they left together, they would be too conspicuous and easily arouse suspicion. So Princess Pingyang said to her husband: "Don't worry, just leave quickly. It's easy for me, a woman, to hide. I have my own way."

As we all know, rebellion has always been a very risky thing since ancient times, and it is easy to implicate the entire clan. The same is true for Li Tang's entrepreneurial journey. In May 617 AD, Li Yuan raised an army in Jinyang, and the news quickly spread to Chang'an.

At that time, Yin Kaishan, a general of the Sui Dynasty who stayed in Chang'an, hunted down Li Yuan's relatives. Li Yuan's 14-year-old son Li Zhiyun (Princess Pingyang's brother) was captured in Hedong and sent to Chang'an for execution. Even the Li family's ancestral graves were dug up. This shows how dangerous it was for Li's relatives to stay in Chang'an.

In this life-and-death situation, Princess Pingyang showed extraordinary courage and masculinity.

After her husband Chai Shao left safely, she did not sit and wait for death or hide, but quietly returned to Li's manor in Huxian County, disguised herself as a man, called herself "Mr. Li", spent all her family wealth, recruited soldiers, and soon established a team of several hundred people.

Soon, news arrived that her father Li Yuan had launched an uprising. In order to lend a helping hand to her father, Princess Pingyang began to recruit troops from all sides.

Among them, Hu Shan and Pan Ren were the most powerful, with tens of thousands of troops under their command. At that time, Princess Pingyang had a servant named Ma Sanbao, who was very brave.

Therefore, Princess Pingyang sent Ma Sanbao to persuade Hu Shan and Pan Ren, who were actually persuaded to obey Princess Pingyang's command. After that, Princess Pingyang recruited the already considerable rebel army in the arena, greatly increasing its strength.

During this period, the imperial court continuously sent troops to attack Princess Pingyang, but the rebel army she led not only defeated every attack, but also swept through Guanzhong with great momentum. It was Princess Pingyang's dealings with the Sui army in Guanzhong that relieved her father Li Yuan of much pressure in his march into Guanzhong.

Although the army was led by a woman, the military discipline was very strict. Princess Pingyang always obeyed her orders and the whole army respected her. In those years when the army was in chaos, the army was widely supported.

The common people called Princess Pingyang "Madam Li" and her army "the Madam Army". The Madam Army was famous and many people came from thousands of miles away to join them.

Soon, Princess Pingyang's women's army exceeded 7, while her father Li Yuan had only 3 when Jinyang started the rebellion. Princess Pingyang's intuition and insight in military affairs were genius, and even the Sui general Qu Tutong suffered several major defeats under her.

In September 617 AD, Li Yuan's main force crossed the Yellow River and entered Guanzhong. At this time, Princess Pingyang had already established a base in Guanzhong.

Next, Princess Pingyang selected more than 1 elite soldiers and joined her brother Li Shimin on the north bank of the Wei River to attack Chang'an together. Her husband Chai Shao was a subordinate of Li Shimin, and the couple led an army each and fought together, and soon conquered Chang'an.

After Guanzhong was pacified, Li Yuan named this talented and wise daughter Princess Pingyang. Because of her military merits, she was treated differently from other princesses.

After conquering Chang'an, Princess Pingyang once again made contributions to the Tang Dynasty. At that time, although Li Yuan had taken Chang'an, he only roughly controlled half of Guanzhong, and was surrounded by enemies.

After stabilizing Chang'an, Li Yuan immediately turned to deal with Xue Ju in Longxi and Li Gui in Liangzhou, and ordered Li Shimin to fight against them. Princess Pingyang's main task was to defend the Li family's base camp in Shanxi, where she was stationed at the famous Niangzi Pass.

Niangzi Pass is located on Mianshan Mountain in the northeast of Pingding County, Shanxi Province. It is the throat of Shanxi Province. It was originally named Weize Pass. It was renamed Niangzi Pass because Princess Pingyang led tens of thousands of Niangzi troops to garrison here.

Shanxi is a barrier between the Central Plains and Guanzhong regions. If Shanxi is unstable, the Central Plains and Guanzhong regions will also be difficult to be at peace.

Princess Pingyang led the army to garrison Niangzi Pass in order to prevent the enemy from entering Shanxi and threatening the security of Guanzhong. It was she who stabilized Shanxi and provided rear support for Li Shimin to pacify Longyou and Hexi.

Unfortunately, after the Battle of Chang'an, Princess Pingyang's deeds were no longer recorded in history books. It was not until six years later, in the sixth year of Emperor Gaozu's Wude reign, that her death was recorded in history books.

The reason for this record is mainly because her funeral was different from others - she was buried with military honors.

At that time, Li Gang reported that it was against ancient rituals to bury a woman with drums and music. Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan retorted: "Drums and music are military music. The princess always goes to the battlefield in person, leading the troops, beating drums and sounding gongs, and assisting in military affairs. From ancient times to the present, has there ever been such a woman? Why can't we bury the princess with military rites?"

Therefore, an exception was made to bury Princess Pingyang with military honors. This is also the origin of her being called "Princess Pingyang Zhao" in later generations. Therefore, Princess Pingyang was the first princess in the Tang Dynasty to be given a posthumous title after her death, and the only woman in Chinese feudal history to be buried with military honors.

Princess Pingyang's life was legendary. Although she was a woman, she rode on the battlefield and made outstanding military achievements, making her a heroine. In an era when most women were bound and oppressed by etiquette, women like Princess Pingyang were rare.

The courage she showed when in danger is worthy of admiration from many people.

[Hello, Li Chengqian, the case of treason almost led to the decline of the Tang Dynasty. Historical trivia]

This was a coup that almost brought the Tang Dynasty into a crisis of extinction, and could be considered an upgraded version of the Xuanwu Gate Incident. This coup not only caused Li Shimin to become mentally ill in his later years and nearly commit suicide, but also directly changed the history of the Tang Dynasty, leading to the massacre of all members of the Li Tang royal family in the future.

So, what kind of entanglements and historical impacts were behind this coup initiated by the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty? In this video, let's talk about the rebellion of Crown Prince Li Chengqian.

The rebellion of Crown Prince Li Chengqian broke out in the 17th year of the Zhenguan reign, which was already the later years of Emperor Taizong of Tang. This rebellion was the "Xuanwu Gate Incident" staged by Li Shimin's two sons - Crown Prince Li Chengqian and Prince of Wei Li Tai - due to their struggle for succession.

Among them, one of the protagonists, Li Chengqian, is the eldest son of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin. He was named Crown Prince at the age of 8 and was deeply loved by his father Li Shimin and his mother Empress Zhangsun.

However, although Li Chengqian was made crown prince at an early age, his situation after adulthood was just like that of his uncle Li Jiancheng. At the same time, his younger brother, Li Tai, the Prince of Wei, was as talented and intelligent as Li Shimin, the Prince of Qin.

Thus, the tragedy of brothers killing each other was staged again.

However, the first person to take action this time was the crown prince Li Chengqian. Li Chengqian was appointed as the crown prince too early. While enjoying supreme glory and power, he also suffered tremendous pressure. Li Shimin had high hopes for the crown prince and selected a group of outspoken teachers for him, like Wei Zheng.

Once Li Chengqian made a mistake, they would severely reprimand him, or even scold him. As a result, Li Chengqian, who was in his rebellious period, became self-destructive and his behavior became more and more extreme.

In addition, Emperor Taizong of Tang favored Li Tai far more than ordinary people. He even rewarded Li Tai with a title that exceeded the standard for a crown prince, and the history books said that "Li Tai was favored more than any other king."

Even the historians had to sigh that Li Shimin doted on Li Tai so deeply. It was for this reason that Li Tai began to aspire to seize the throne and secretly used various strategies to seize the position of crown prince.

Although Li Shimin won the final victory in the Xuanwu Gate Incident, it also laid the groundwork for the fratricide of the Li Tang royal family in later generations. It was under the stimulation of Wei Wang Li Tai that Li Chengqian was unwilling to sit and wait for death.

So, he first tried to assassinate Li Tai, but failed, so he simply prepared to raise an army to force the emperor to abdicate. However, compared with Li Shimin at that time, Li Chengqian was still a little naive. The level of his team was far inferior to that of Li Shimin's Tiance Mansion team.