Tang Dynasty At the end of the year, the vassal states separatist , and the power of the central dynasty plummeted. In 907 AD, Emperor Ai of Tang abdicated the throne to Zhu Wen , and the dynasty that ruled my country for 289 years was destroyed. Since then, a 53-year-old chaotic era has begun.
Fortunately, in 960 AD, the wise and powerful Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin established Song . The Central Plains ushered in a period of peace, but did not usher in the true unified era.
During the period when the Song Dynasty ruled the Central Plains, there was also a strong enemy in the north Liao Kingdom , and there was a dynasty called Xixia in the northwest. The Western Xia is a less eye-catching character in these three dynasties. There are only a few records about it in Song History , as if this is a non-existent country.
However, in real history, the story of Xixia is also very exciting, especially the founding emperor Li Yuanhao . Today, let’s talk about this king.
Founding Emperor Li Yuanhao
In 1038 AD, the founding Emperor Li Yuanhao of the Western Xia, under the support of the ministers such as Ye Renrong and Yang Shousu, established himself as king in Xingqing Prefecture and officially established the Great Xia Dynasty. A regime composed of the Dangxiang tribes was established in the northwest corner of the land of China.
Compared with the founding emperors of other dynasties, many people are probably not familiar with Li Yuanhao's name, but how could anyone who can establish a country in such an era be a general person?
1003 AD Li Yuanhao was born among a Dangxiang nobles in Lingzhou . When he was young, he showed a talent far beyond ordinary people. There was a story about him in historical materials:
Li Yuanhao's father was in trade with Song Dynasty , because he was not satisfied with the items sent by the Song Dynasty, his father decided to behead the envoy of the Song Dynasty. After learning the news, Li Yuanhao hurried to his father and advised:
"The most important thing for us now is to establish friendly trade relations with the Song Dynasty. Whether the gift is important or not is secondary. If his father destroyed the cooperation between the two countries because of these secondary things, it would be too unwise."
Li Deming, who calmed down, naturally wanted to understand the truth. Later, he not only did not kill the envoy of the Song Dynasty, but instead gave him a lot of gold, silver and jewelry. Since then, the trade between the Li family and the Song Dynasty has reached a peak.
The increasingly prosperous trade relationship with the Song Dynasty certainly made Li Deming happy, but what made him even happier was that he saw the outstanding talent of his son Li Yuanhao from this small thing. From then on, he slowly let go of many affairs in the clan to Li Yuanhao to do.
It is worth mentioning that Li Yuanhao is not only talented, but he is also willing to work hard to study hard. He has mastered both "Wild Battle Song" and "Taiyi Golden Mirror". In addition to military books, Buddhism and poetry also have good attainments. Such a versatile talent is destined to shine brightly in history.
Time came in 1032 AD. Li Deming died of illness, and the power of the entire race was completely controlled by Li Yuanhao. Unlike his father who only wanted to be in peace with his own heart, Li Yuanhao's dream was to build an empire that belonged entirely to him.
In order to achieve this goal, in the same year he took power, he personally led his troops to launch an attack on Hehuang Tubo. He has been familiar with military strategy since he was a child and was well prepared. The army of Tubo was soon defeated by Li Yuanhao. In the years after
, he continued to lead troops to fight in the east and west, gradually turning the entire Hexi Corridor into his own territory. In addition to martial arts, Li Yuanhao was also very outstanding in civil affairs. After becoming the head of the family, he directly announced the abolition of the Song Dynasty's surname and changed his name to Puxiao.
Under his vigorous promotion, the first time the Western Xia appeared in text. Relying on step by step precipitation and accumulation, Li Yuanhao established Xixia in 1038 AD. Through the above description, it can be seen that he undoubtedly thought he was a very excellent founding emperor.
However, Li Yuanhao's life was not entirely brilliant. When you look at the historical materials, it is not difficult to find that even the historical books of Xixia have mixed reputations and complaints about the founding emperor. The main reason is that Li Yuanhao's temperament changed drastically after establishing Xixia.
From a heroic talent to a brutal
According to historical records, Li Yuanhao had just taken charge of the family's fashion and was young, and could only rely on the power of his mother, the Wei Mu clan. It was with the strong help of the Wei Mu clan that he settled his position in the family step by step and established the Xixia.
It can be said that Wei Mu's family has the merits of following the dragon, and has made achievements and is a follower of the new emperor. The power of the Wei Mu family in Xixia has become increasingly greater. Li Yuanhao has been familiar with the history of Han people since childhood and is well aware of the dangers of the autocracy of foreign relatives.
Under such circumstances, he took advantage of the fact that the Wei Mu clan was immersed in joy and suddenly ordered the entire Wei Mu clan to be killed. There were many emperors in history who killed meritorious officials, but there were not many emperors like Li Yuanhao who were killed.
Seeing that the relatives were killed by their son, Li Yuanhao's mother cried in tears every day in the palace. No matter what, she would not have thought that in her son's eyes, her mother's actions were to rebel. Soon a cup of poison given by the emperor was sent to her.
After the news spread, the entire Xixia Kingdom was infuriated. There has been no such emperor who killed his mother since ancient times, but what is the use of the anger of the people? Li Yuanhao ordered the troops to kill all those who caused trouble on the spot.
Under the bloody massacre, no one dared to stand up and oppose his resolution. Although the people did not dare to talk too much about this matter, their hatred for Li Yuanhao became stronger and stronger, which also led to his bad reputation.
Killing heroes and killing mother is just one of the microcosms of Li Yuanhao's cruelty. If you say that his even more absurd behavior is necessary, we have to mention another story recorded in the historical materials of Xixia is not inferior to the behavior of Li Longji "marrying a daughter-in-law" and Li Zhi "marrying a little mother".
Starting today, she will be your mother.
Li Yuanhao's eldest son Li Xueli died in childhood, and the position of prince was passed to his second son Li Ningling. In 1042 AD, Prince Li Ningling ushered in his wedding. His wife was the eldest daughter of the Dangxiang clan of Xixia at that time.
One is the prince of Xixia and the other is the daughter of a big family. No matter how you look at it, this is a marriage made by heaven and earth. Naturally, the prince’s wedding cannot be shabby. Countless princes, nobles and ministers in Xixia were invited to the wedding scene.
Since it is a wedding, both parents must be present, Li Yuanhao also arrived at the wedding early this day. What’s interesting is that no one present expected that they would witness an extremely ridiculous thing at the wedding.
Chapter 8 The wedding has just begun. As a father, Li Yuanhao fell in love with this girl from the unmoved family at a glance. He slowly walked from his role to his son Li Ningling in full view.
Such behaviors are very common in weddings. Many guests think that it is a father's intention to give in or wish the child a few words. This behavior is not considered a big deal, but Li Yuanhao's next operation shocked everyone present.
He walked to Li Ningling and looked at Wuyishi and said, "This girl looks really good. From today on, she will be your mother. Your wedding will be cancelled." After saying this, Li Ningling and the guests and friends present, Li Yuanhao took Wuyishi and left the scene.
At that time, in order to favor, Li Yuanhao did not move his family, so he ordered people to build a palace that stretched for dozens of miles in Tiandushan . The two of them searched for fun in the palace all day long. Later, Wuyi gave birth to a child for Li Yuanhao, because of the birth of this child, she was also named the queen.
As the child progressed, the child gradually grew up, Li Yuanhao gradually handed over all the political affairs in the court to him, and he was in the palace with the Weiyi clan to have fun all day long. On the other hand, the prince Li Ning made the side extremely sad.
The mother was deposed and his wife was taken away. Even the throne that originally belonged to him seemed to be handed over. One after another, the incidents that followed made Li Ning, the crown prince, extremely angry, and he chose to resist in oppression.
On the Lantern Festival in 1048 AD, the palace was filled with harmonious scenes of singing and dancing. Emperor Li Yuanhao and his favorite queen and prince were all drunk, not realizing that a bloody massacre was about to begin.
Not long after, Prince Li Ningling came to the palace on the grounds of celebrating his father. He walked to Li Yuanhao and took out a dagger and stabbed him. After all, he was a general who had been fighting for many years. The natural alertness of the soldiers saved Li Yuanhao at this moment.
As Han Guang came towards him, he turned sideways and snatched him. Although this knife did not cut Li Yuanhao's head, it cut off his entire nose.
In desperation, Li Yuanhao shouted loudly, and the guards outside the door rushed in after hearing the sound. Li Ningling's assassination plan failed like this. Although this knife did not kill Li Yuanhao, due to the limited medical level in ancient times, he died shortly after the trauma could not be cured.
The emperor died and the prince was killed. The small country of Xixia suddenly became a mess. Finally, with the support of Wu Zang Epang, Li Liangzuo, ascended the throne.
Such a young child knows what to do about governing the country? The authority of the Xixia Kingdom actually fell completely in the hands of Wuzang Epang. Li Yuanhao spent half his life to build a wedding dress for others. It was a pity.
Generally speaking, Li Yuanhao was a qualified founding emperor, bringing a safe external environment to the people of Xixia. However, as a father, he is naturally unqualified. How could he have the truth that a father robs his child’s wife? As a son, he is also unqualified. The crime of killing his mother will never be cleared in his life.
All kinds of unkind, unfaithful, unfaithful and unfilial things made him perform to the extreme. No wonder the people of Xixia commented on Li Yuanhao, the founding emperor, when compiling history. The reason is that the difference between the emperor was too big before and after the founding of the country.
What do you think about this?
