In China's 5,000-year history, there are eight titles of Princess Pingyang in official records.
Princess Pingyang is mostly unknown, and only two can be called heroines. One lives in Dahan, and the other lives in Datang.
Today I want to introduce Princess Pingyang of Datang.
She is the third daughter of Tang Gaozu Tang Gaozu, the director of the Queen's Office, and the sister of Li Shimin, and her status is very noble.
She was the first princess in China to lead thousands of troops, and founded the first female soldier army in the history of China.
She has thousands of mercenaries, and she is as famous as her brother Li Shimin.
Princess Pingyang did not leave her birth date and name in the official history, but she was the first princess in posthumous title in the Tang Dynasty and the only woman in China history who was mourned by the army after her death.
When Princess Pingyang was born, Li Yuan only attacked Tang Guogong and stayed in Taiyuan, not fighting Sui.
In troubled times, Princess Pingyang did not keep embroidery in the boudoir like the daughter's home of an ordinary official, but followed her father and brother to learn martial arts.
Princess Pingyang was very romantic when she was young and didn't like being bound. In order to collect her precious daughter's wild son, and also for her career, Tang Gaozu married her to the military commander Chai Shao. The two married and settled in Chang 'an, and their love was smooth.
One is lord protector's daughter, and the other is a son of a bitch. A perfect couple for a woman. I thought life would be so boring, but I didn't expect my father Tang Gaozu to fight back.
02
Before Tang Gaozu rose up against the Sui Dynasty, he quietly sent an emissary into Chang 'an to take back his daughter and son-in-law.
At that time, Chai Shao said to Princess Pingyang, "Your father will destroy the troubled times, and I intend to greet the banner of righteousness. But at present, I am in Chang 'an, and I have a lot of eyes around me. If we leave together, I'm afraid it's too attractive But isn't it too dangerous for me to go alone and leave you alone in Chang 'an, a land of tigers and wolves, surrounded by heirs? "
Hearing her husband's worries, Princess Pingyang said without hesitation, "Let's go. I'm just a woman's family. People won't be too wary of me. I can easily hide in danger. I have my own security measures. Don't worry. "
Chai Shao reluctantly went, and Princess Pingyang took care of many affairs in the rear alone.
The situation is critical. Princess Pingyang didn't just cry like an ordinary lady. On the contrary, she immediately set off for Lijia Manor in Hubei County, and sold her own industry to help the victims. Soon, she formed a small team of four or five hundred people.
In ancient times, men and women were different. For convenience, Princess Pingyang took off her blouse and skirt with big sleeves and put on a vest. She disguised herself as a man and called herself Li Gongzi.
Princess Pingyang led this small team and contacted the anti-Sui rebels everywhere. There was chaos and refugees everywhere. Although Chang 'an is still firmly in the hands of Emperor Yangdi, the surrounding towns and villages have long been controlled by rebels. Princess Pingyang, with her extraordinary political and military talents, incorporated the rebel armies of He Panren, Xiang, Qiu Shili, etc., and her power increased greatly, echoing the rebel army of her father Li Yuan.
Princess Pingyang is famous. It attracted the attention of the court, and the court sent troops to attack. Princess Pingyang, with her superhuman courage and talent, resolved the crisis again and again, sweeping the country, and successively captured Huxian, Zhouzhi, Kung Fu and Shengping. The more battles she fought, the bigger her team grew, to tens of thousands of people.
After full-fledged, in response to her father's army, Princess Pingyang finally took off her men's clothes, revealing her daughter's identity and telling all the soldiers that she was the daughter of Tang Guogong and Li Yuan.
When the soldiers saw that their loyal coach turned out to be a charming woman, they all stirred up. Their coach, as a woman, is brave and invincible; Ever victorious, sharing weal and woe with the soldiers, all the soldiers are completely convinced and show more heroism than men.
People immediately stood in awe of Princess Pingyang, and everyone shouted loyalty to the Li family.
03
Because of strict military discipline and never disturbing people, Princess Pingyang's army has received extensive support. People call Princess Pingyang "Li Niangzi" and her army "female soldier".
Female soldiers are well-known, and many people defected thousands of miles away. Soon, the number of female soldiers of Princess Pingyang exceeded 70,000.
Princess Pingyang is a genius because she has military intuition and insight. When Qu Tutong, the general of Sui Dynasty, was ordered to suppress the rebels, he fought against female soldiers many times and suffered several great defeats under Princess Pingyang.
Tang Gaozu crossed the Yellow River in September 6 17. Qu Tutong fought against Tang Gaozu as a defender, but she was once again defeated by Princess Pingyang's female soldiers on the battlefield behind enemy lines. Finally, Qu Tutong was forced to land in the Tang Dynasty, and eventually became one of the twenty-four outstanding figures in Lingyange, and Princess Pingyang contributed a lot.
When Li Yuan finally entered Guanzhong, he was delighted to find that his third daughter Princess Pingyang had laid a large piece of land for him in Guanzhong.
Chai Shao couldn't wait to meet his wife with hundreds of cavalry. Since Chai Shao defected to Tang Gaozu, she worked under Li Shimin, and made outstanding achievements, but she didn't want her beautiful wife to become a female general of the same level as herself. After being separated for half a year, the couple finally got together.
Princess Pingyang left a large number of military forces stationed in the conquered city, and selected more than 10,000 elite soldiers to join Li Yuan's team on the north bank of Weihe River, ready to attack Chang 'an together.
Pingyang and Chai Shao each led an army, each with a shogunate, and divided their forces to attack Chang 'an. 1 1 In June, they merged with soldiers and soon conquered Chang 'an.
After pacifying Guanzhong, Li Yuan named his daughter "Princess Pingyang". Because of her military achievements, her natural status was different from other princesses.
At that time, Tang Gaozu only controlled most of Guanzhong, surrounded by powerful enemies and unstable foundations. Princess Pingyang's brother, Li, is still conquering all over the country, while her husband, Chai Shao, successively leveled Xue Ju and his son, defeated him, defeated Wang and beat Dou Jiande.
04
Li Yuan couldn't bear her daughter to charge again as before. Unfortunately, her daughter has a talent for martial arts and ordered her to guard Shanxi.
Shanxi is the lair of Li Yuan, regarded as "the land of Longxing" and a barrier to enter Guanzhong. "Without Shanxi, the Central Plains and Guanzhong will be unstable", and its important position is self-evident. Giving Princess Pingyang such an important task to defend the base camp also shows that she is really capable.
Princess Pingyang was stationed on Mianshan Mountain in the northeast of Pingding County, Shanxi Province today. Originally, it was a place to enter and exit the throat of Shanxi, named Weizeguan. Princess Pingyang led her female soldiers to stay here, which was later called "Niangziguan", which is the ninth pass of the Great Wall of Wan Li today.
When Princess Pingyang was stationed in Niangziguan, she built fortifications with natural hazards and made strict protection, so as not to give the enemy an opportunity.
On one occasion, Liu Heita, the king of the Eastern Han Dynasty, launched a massive attack. Princess Pingyang saw the ferocity of the enemy and was ordered to defend herself.
However, the troops inside Shanhaiguan pass were insufficient, and Liu Heita was menacing, and the whole army advanced. In the face of his own army, Niangziguan couldn't hold on any longer. Princess Pingyang hurried and paced anxiously on the tower.
At this time, the spies came to report that the reinforcements would not arrive for two days at the earliest, but the current situation in Niangziguan could not be maintained for one day. Princess Pingyang was worried and meditated on the tower for a long time.
She looked around, waiting for reinforcements to arrive. Suddenly, she happened to see the millet with a promising harvest in the distant field, and suddenly she used her quick wits and made a plan.
She immediately ordered the soldiers and civilians in the city to harvest wheat, set up boilers and cook rice soup with new rice. After the rice soup was cooked, Princess Pingyang let all the people sneak out of the city by night and pour them into the ravine before the pass.
Men don't understand its meaning. They all think that your highness is crazy, but she has been taken in by the "iron lady" who has always been steady. She dare not speak and can only do it silently, sighing at the food in her heart-after all, there is not enough food in the city, how can she waste life-saving food like this?
The next day, rice soup overflowed in the ravine in front of Niangziguan. When the enemy sentry found it, he thought it was horse urine and quickly reported it to the commander. When the Commander-in-Chief went out to watch, he saw flags flying on the rostrum, soldiers and civilians shouting loudly and drums ringing. He misjudged that reinforcements had arrived, and the horses filled the ditches, showing that there were many reinforcements in the city.
Liu Heita thought he was ambushed and ordered to retreat.
The princess sang this "empty city plan", which repelled tens of thousands of enemy troops without a single soldier. The soldiers and civilians in the city rejoiced and celebrated the victory.
When Liu Heita learned that this was the opportunity for Princess Pingyang to suspect soldiers, Taiyuan reinforcements had arrived, and he could only sigh.
05
After Niangziguan, Princess Pingyang's deeds can't be seen in the history books, and we don't know how wonderful her later life is.
It was not until the beginning of February in the sixth year of Wude that the history books suddenly recorded her death.
The cause of death is unknown, maybe it is a normal physical illness, maybe it is a heroic sacrifice in the battle with the remnants of Liu Heita, or it may be that years of hard work have shortened life expectancy.
In the history books, there is only one simple sentence about her death: "(martial arts) for six years."
Only one sentence recorded the life of the legendary female general.
Princess Pingyang was buried with a military salute, and the whole army mourned. "The front and back of the princess were passed on by Yu Bao, with 40 people in the building, 40 swords in the class and one warrior."
The ceremony officer suggested that since ancient times, women have never been given a military salute when they were buried, and Princess Pingyang is expensive as a princess, so it is not suitable to salute.
Li Yuan retorted, "Drum music is military music. The princess once went to the battlefield to give advice, personally beat drums and sounded gold, and took the lead in stabilizing the country. Throughout the ages, is there any woman like her? What other woman can compete with her? Can there be no drums at her funeral? "
According to the so-called "Ming De made meritorious service, called Zhao", Princess Pingyang was called Zhao, and she was also the first princess with her own posthumous title in the Tang Dynasty.
Such a legendary female general did not record her date of birth and death in the history books, and even her name could not be verified.
It is speculated that Princess Zhao of Pingyang died at the age of 22 to 32. Although the life span of ancient women was not long, as a pampered princess of Tang Dynasty, her life span was shortened and she died.
Considering that she was buried with military salute and the soldiers mourned, it is reasonable to speculate that she died in the battlefield filled with smoke.
In 622 AD, 165438+ October, Li Yuan sent Li to crusade against Liu Heita. Both sides won and lost, and it was not until 65438+February 25th that they were completely defeated. The Niangziguan where Princess Pingyang is stationed is on the front line. Of course, she will lead her army to the war. So there is a great possibility of death in this battle.
How miserable Princess Pingyang's life is when she lives and makes contributions to her country and dies and dies!
Tang Gaozu Li Yuan commented on his daughter: "The princess's contribution to life is beyond the reach of women!"
06
But it is this "unusual woman's horse", your highness, but it is widely rumored in unofficial history that she once became an outlaw and became a prostitute!
In the old and new Tang books, the disappearance of Princess Pingyang is clearly recorded, but her specific whereabouts are not explained. Only recorded the scene that she fled back to her hometown with the troupe:
That was when Tang Gaozu was a satrap, and Princess Pingyang was still a young girl. She was playful since she was a child and often slipped out of the house. Go out for a day and never come back.
The family was anxious, and people looked for her everywhere, but Princess Pingyang vanished like air.
After that, the peasant uprising, like a single spark, can burn all over the Central Plains, and refugees are everywhere, and Taiyuan City is not peaceful.
A few months later, Princess Pingyang miraculously returned to China and brought back a troupe.
It turned out that during her disappearance, she was taken out of the city by refugees, kidnapped by gangsters and sold to brothels in Chang 'an.
Poor Tang Guogong's daughter finally died in Yanhua Lane. She suffered inhuman torture in a brothel. Alas, she is determined, strong-willed, and unwilling to endure such great humiliation. She resisted and fled several times, and was arrested and beaten.
According to folklore, the story of Princess Pingyang escaping from a brothel is full of legend. She happened to know an acrobatic monitor who was singing in a brothel and told him what had happened to her. The monitor was brave enough to help her dress up and get out of the brothel.
Princess Pingyang went incognito all the way, pretending to be the daughter of the monitor, raising money by playing tricks and returning to her hometown in Taiyuan. This is the story of "Yincui gorge takes the troupe to recognize relatives".
Princess Pingyang mastered martial arts in the troupe, mastered all kinds of knives, guns and clubs, and learned the skills of traveling around the rivers and lakes to pull people, which played an inestimable role in recruiting soldiers and carrying guns to command the rebels in the future.
Perhaps it was this tortuous experience that tempered her mind and her tenacious will. After marching and fighting, she can often endure what ordinary people can't. She can March long distances day and night, and lie in the grass for a day and a night to ambush the enemy.
This story of becoming a prostitute may be that the royal family in Li Tang cares about the royal family's face and intends to erase it from the history books, or it may just be a gossip in unofficial history on the street. Don't believe it.
Princess Zhao of Pingyang took her daughter as her father and became the founding general of the Tang Dynasty. Although she was not allowed to be on the 24 Heroes List of Lingyange, her achievements were no less than that of her husband Chai Shao, who was on the Heroes List.
07
There were many strong women in the Tang Dynasty, especially princesses. Princess Pingyang started this fashion.
Later Princess Taiping, Princess Anle, etc. Stir up a political storm. But in terms of talent and merit, it can't compare with Princess Pingyang who has the founding merit. On the pattern, on the verve, how can they compare with those female generals who work hard on the battlefield?
There are many women in the history of China. The women recorded in the official history include Fu Hao, Qin Liangyu, Xian Fu, Pan Shi, the wife of Liang Hongyu and Yang Dayan, and Shi Mao, the wife of Fu Deng. After a brief summary, it is easy to find their similarities.
Most of them were born or married.
Most of them were born in a chaotic world, with social unrest, the collapse of discipline and civilization, and less strict constraints on women's ethics, so they had the opportunity to go into battle in armor.
Historical records are biased and biased. They were honored as Princess Zhao of Pingyang, who made great achievements on the battlefield, but they couldn't keep the history books, and even the cause of death was unknown.
Future generations want to remember Princess Pingyang's charm, but they can only invent the name "Li Xiuning" to praise this woman.