Feng Taihou was a famous politician and reformer in the Northern Wei Dynasty. Her reform accelerated the integration of northern minorities and Han nationality. Some of her reform measures have had a far-reaching impact on later generations, but she is also a jealous, sensitive and ferocious banshee.
The Northern Wei Dynasty was a political power established by the Tuoba Department of Xianbei nationality in China. In 386 AD, Tuoba GUI, Emperor Daowu, established the Daiguo, made its capital, and changed its name to Wei, which was called the Northern Wei in history. In the first year of Tianxing, Tuoba GUI moved the capital to Pingcheng. In the fifth year of Taiyan, Emperor Taizu Tuoba Dao unified the north and fought against the Southern Dynasties. In the second year of Pinger, Emperor Sejong of Zhongchang mourned and killed Tuoba Tao, made Tuoba Yu the king of Nan 'an, and killed Tuoba Yu. Yuan He, Li and others in the main hall killed Nan Zongai and made Tuoba Tao's grandson emperor. Tuoba GUI was Feng Taihou's later husband. He was only 13 years old when he acceded to the throne, assisted by Lu Li and others.
As the saying goes: since ancient times, beauty has been unlucky. Why can Feng be invincible in the complicated and chaotic struggle? How is it true and heavy in the colorful music of a lifetime? I'm afraid it has something to do with her guessing personality. According to Shu Wei's Biography of the Empress of Thirteen Civilizations, "The Empress Dowager is resourceful, patient, able to achieve great things, rewarding and punishing life and death, and there are many people who have nothing to do with their ancestors. It is a combination of weavers and internal shaking and external shaking. " Patience is a very complicated personality, which is characterized by intelligence, tenacity, persistence, perseverance and sensitivity, as well as cruelty, cunning, suspicion, selfishness and conceit. It can be seen that she is a resourceful political talented woman.
Feng, a newcomer to Changle, is a family of Han bureaucrats in Chang 'an. Father Feng Langguan went to the Northern Wei, Qin, Yong, Er and other countries to make a secretariat, and served as a county magistrate in the west. Feng was smart, lively, innocent, smart and lovely in his childhood, and was deeply influenced and educated by the feudal culture of the Han nationality, so he was knowledgeable, polite and handsome. In the bureaucratic and aristocratic environment, she spent an innocent childhood with a scholarly and calligraphy atmosphere. Before Tuoba GUI succeeded to the throne, Lang Feng's younger brother Feng Miao led the army to conquer the northern minorities and was defeated and surrendered. According to the laws of the Northern Wei Dynasty at that time, if one person defected to the enemy, the whole family would be implicated. So, Lang Feng was killed, and his children entered the Peace Palace as handmaids. Feng suffered the first change in her life, and this lively and cheerful little girl became panicked and at a loss. Fortunately, her aunt was the left phase of Soochow, and Feng Cai was spared from being a handmaiden, and was well taken care of after entering the palace. Feng is clever and studious. Under the guidance of his aunt, he devoted himself to studying Confucian classics. He is not only familiar with the etiquette and folk stories of past dynasties, but also knows all the rules and regulations of past dynasties, and his knowledge is extremely profound. Tuoba _ soon after he ascended the throne, he began to choose concubines to enrich the harem. Feng was commended for his outstanding talent at the age of 14. Feng is clever and resourceful. He served Tuoba GUI's wet nurse and Empress Dowager wholeheartedly, winning her favor and trust. At the same time, she tried her best to be a eunuch in the harem and strengthen her own strength. Wei stipulates that concubines who can cast gold should become queens. This is a highly technical and practical work. Four years later, with the support of the long queen and the help of a group of trusted eunuchs, Feng was cast as a gold man. In the second year of Taian, he became a queen. In the same year, 17-year-old TaBaHong decided to make his eldest son TaBaHong a prince. "Wei story, the harem will give birth to two sons, and both their mothers will die", which means to prevent their mothers from monopolizing politics. When Li died, TaBaHong was less than two years old, and TaBaHong ordered Queen Feng to raise TaBaHong. After marriage, Feng and Tuoba _ have a very good relationship, and there has never been any contradiction or friction. She not only diligently presided over the harem affairs, carefully raised Prince Tuoba Hong, but also cared about the government affairs of the court, and the concubines and courtiers respected her very much.
Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. Feng Taihou experienced the second major change in her life. In the six years of peace, Tuoba GUI, a 26-year-old Wencheng Emperor, died of illness. According to the system at that time, "three days after the national mourning, the royal clothes were burned." All the officials and concubines in the palace, wearing white hats and plain clothes, went to the memorial ceremony and cried loudly. Feng Taihou cried her eyes out. Maybe she saw something and thought of some people. When she saw her husband's relics thrown into the fire one by one, she recalled the dribs and drabs of her love with her husband in 10 years. Feng Taihou let out a cry and jumped into the fire for double suicide. Eunuchs and maids rushed to save her from the fire. It took Feng Taihou a long time to wake up. Her noble behavior made courtiers and concubines respect her more.
After TaBaHong's death, his eldest son, TaBaHong, who was only 12 years old, succeeded to the throne and offered advice to Wendi. Feng was honored as the Empress Dowager. The power of the government is in the hands of the Prime Minister. Yi soul sees orphans and widows above the imperial court and is malicious and overbearing. He often killed dissidents with imperial edicts, and plotted to revolt and usurp the throne. Feng has more than ten years of experience in court political life, and he is keenly aware of the loyalty and treacherous plot. On the one hand, she made friends with Korean civil and military officials and won their support; On the other hand, weakness anywhere will paralyze the enemy. After everything was ready, in 466, she launched a palace coup to trick Emperor Xianwen into pretending to be ill, and her life was easy to mix into the palace. General Yuan Yu ambushed in the palace and led his troops to capture Ihun and kill him.
In August of the third year of Xing Dynasty, Tuoba Hong, the only two-year-old son of Emperor Xianwen, was made a prince and his mother was killed. As Feng Taihou's grandmother, she raised the young prince herself, claiming that she would stop asking about political affairs and return to Emperor Tuoba Hong. After Emperor Wen offered his personal leadership, he wanted to make great contributions. He is diligent in political affairs, with clear rewards and punishments, and has his own opinions on handling political affairs. Feng Taihou, a 24-year-old energetic widowed woman, is a controlling and rich woman. She often intervened and restrained Emperor Wen, which made him feel very depressed. Many political affairs cannot be independent and they don't want to be puppets. With the stigma of unfilial, they gradually became disheartened. They don't want to ask politics, but their ambitions turn to learn from Huang Lao's inaction, which shows that they are quite disillusioned with the world of mortals. Under the pressure of Feng Taihou, Emperor Xianwen, who was only 18 years old, passed the throne to Prince TaBaHong, who was under 5 years old, claiming to be the emperor's father. However, the contradiction between Emperor Xian Wen and Feng did not end, but intensified. The resolute Emperor Xianwen killed Li Yi, one of the many Toy Boy cities in Feng Taihou, and Feng Taihou was deeply resentful on the surface. The contradiction between mother and child finally broke out in the sixth year of Yan Xing. Feng Taihou poisoned Emperor Xianwen, called Empress Dowager Tai, and became a wise man. He went to court for the second time. This incident exposed Feng Taihou's suspicious, suspicious, cruel and selfish qualities, and it can be seen that her extreme personality is serious neuroticism. From then on, he monopolized the power and did everything himself, and was able to manipulate the next emperor, Emperor Xiaowen, until he died in September of the fourteenth year of Taihe.
Feng Taihou was very strict with Emperor Xiaowen. She asked the chamberlain to report Emperor Xiaowen's performance every ten days, telling the Queen Mother everything, and punishing her if she didn't behave well. The humble Emperor Xiaowen lived in awe all day long, and lived in melancholy and fear every day. "I don't know where Gao Zu died." Feng Taihou also used eunuchs and minions to strengthen his centralized rule, and severely punished those who might shake their position until they were put to death. The killings caused by Feng Taihou's suspicion are also shocking. "There are more than a dozen suspects who have been eliminated, and hundreds of people have died. Excessive rate, the world is wronged. "
Feng Taihou's royal officials have skills. Although she often gives her minions great power and generous rewards, some ministers get rich because of rewards, but they will never tolerate it. So these people are more disciplined and have no big mistakes. As the supreme ruler of a political power, Feng Taihou's personal life is relatively simple. According to historical records, she is "not good at decoration, often wears coarse cloth and plain clothes, and the food is simple, which is 8/ 10 less than that of the previous dynasty, and the dining table is only one foot long". Her clothes and bedding are only plain cotton and silk, and the dining table is only one foot wide. Before she died, she made arrangements for her funeral: everything was simple, the tomb was only thirty paces away, the inner room was ten feet square, the coffin was ordinary, and no funerary objects were allowed.