Yang Yong (about 567-604), whose nickname was Difa (xiàn), was born in Huayin (now Huayin City, Shaanxi Province), Hongnong, Sui Dynasty; the eldest son of Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty Yang Jian. During the Northern Zhou Dynasty, he was named Bopinghou because of his grandfather Yang Zhong's military exploits. In the second year of the Elephant Period of the Northern Zhou Dynasty (580), Yang Jian was appointed as the auxiliary minister, and Yang Yong was made the eldest son: the eldest son born to the first wives of emperors and princes. , served as general, Zuo Siwei, and was granted the title of Duke of Changning County. He served as the general manager of Luozhou (governing the area of ????Luoyang, Henan Province today) and the governor of Tokyo Xiaozuka, managing the territory of the former Northern Qi Dynasty. Later, he was returned to the capital and promoted to Shangzhuguo and Dasima. He also served as internal history and imperial official. He was an important assistant around Yang Jian in managing government affairs. All the imperial guards (the army that defended the palace) were commanded by him. In the first year of Emperor Kaihuang's reign (581), Yang Jian ascended the throne and made Yang Yong the crown prince. Yang Yong was involved in handling military and state affairs and cases involving capital crimes or less reported by the ministers.
When Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty came to the throne, the people in Shandong lived in unrest and fled a lot. Emperor Wen sent officials to inspect and planned to move Shandong people to the north to enrich the frontier fortress. Yang Yong wrote a letter admonishing: "We must gradually introduce customs, and we must not change them suddenly. It is the people's true feelings to love the country and nostalgia... Use (borrow) a few years to bathe in the royal style. Those who run away will naturally return to their roots." ( See Volume 45 of "Book of Sui") After Emperor Wen read it, he praised Yang Yong's idea and canceled the original plan. After that, Yang Yong made many suggestions on the inappropriateness of the imperial policies, and Emperor Wen adopted them all. He once said to the ministers with a proud look: "Emperors in previous lives had many concubines. The sons born to concubines and The sons born to the first wife fought for the throne, and they even went so far as to abandon the crown prince and make the son of the favorite concubine the crown prince. This is the way to ruin the country. I have no concubine, and I have five sons from the same mother. They are true brothers, and there will never be any bloodshed fighting for the position of prince."
Yang Yong likes to read and can write poems. He grew up in an imperial family, and as a prince, his living conditions were superior. Although his father, Emperor Wen, advocated frugality, Yang Yong, like his four younger brothers, pursued luxury in life. Once, he decorated his Shu armor with jewels, gorgeous and beautiful. Emperor Wen was unhappy when he saw it, fearing that he would develop into luxury, and warned him: "I have heard people often say that God does not have personal feelings for anyone, but only supports virtuous people. Looking at the past emperors, the future There is luxury and longevity. If you don't obey the will of heaven and the will of the people, how can you inherit the great cause and be the leader of the people? I will leave you a piece of my old clothes. Look at them often. , to warn yourself. Now I give you my knife, you have to understand my mind. "Yang Jian regards whether he can maintain frugality as a major issue. He taught Yang Yong, gave him old clothes, and finally gave him a knife. He made it clear and solemnly: If you don't listen to the instructions and continue to be extravagant, don't blame my subordinates for being ruthless. If you continue to be extravagant, you won't be able to keep your country, which is a shame!
However, Yang Yong was relatively simple at heart and lacked political acumen. He did not understand his father's intentions and did not foresee the danger of his younger brother competing for the position of prince. He still went his own way and did not change. On the day of the winter solstice, he invited hundreds of officials to his East Palace to celebrate the festival (the ancients also celebrated the winter solstice as a festival), held a big banquet, music, singing and dancing, making it a joyful and lively event. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty was very unhappy when he learned about it. He felt that this was not only a luxury, but also went beyond etiquette. He said: "When it comes to festivals, the East Palace celebrates, and there can be thirty or dozens of people. Everyone goes voluntarily. How can the officials in charge Where are the officials from all over the dynasty gathered when they were called? The prince wore a formal dress and set up music to receive them. This really violated the etiquette!" So he issued an edict: "The etiquette should be equal, and the ministers should not be mixed... Even though the prince is the heir, As for the ministers and ministers of the dynasty, all the Yue Mu (officials) came to pay tribute in the middle of the winter, and if they did not go to the East Palace, it was appropriate to put an end to this incident." (See Volume 45 of Sui Shu) It's a big deal and it's serious in nature. The edict was issued, which was different from ordinary oral instructions, and immediately shocked the entire court. From then on, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty gradually became alienated from Yang Yong, and ordered that all the strong and powerful military guards in the East Palace be transferred to his side. Minister Gao Jin advised that the guard strength of the East Palace should not be too bad, but Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty refused to accept it. Since Gao and Yang Yong were related to each other (Gao's daughter-in-law was Yang Yong's daughter), Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty suspected that Gao was protecting Yang Yong because of his personal affair.
Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty ordered Xue Daoheng, the internal history minister, to read out the edict: "(Yong) is foolish by nature, benevolent and filial, is unknown, is close to villains, appoints traitors, and makes mistakes before and after (wèn, crack, refers to mistakes). It is difficult to follow the rules. But the people are governed by nature. The common people, I respect the destiny of heaven and should be educated in peace. Although I want to love my son, I am really afraid of the gods. How dare I disturb the world with an unworthy son? Those who are brave and their sons and daughters can be deposed as common people." (See Volume 45 of "Book of Sui") Immediately, Xue Daoheng was ordered to say to Yang Yong: "Your sins have been abandoned by humans and gods. How can you get it without giving up your desire?" (See Volume 40 of "Book of Sui") 5) After Yang Yong heard this, he bowed again and said: "My sins should be discarded in the city as a warning for future generations. Fortunately, I was pitied and saved my life." After saying this, he cried bitterly, wet his clothes with tears, kowtowed and bowed, and then Leave. When the courtiers saw this situation, they felt miserable and sympathized with him. Immediately afterwards, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty gathered hundreds of officials outside Guangyang Gate and beheaded all seven of Yang Yong's trusted officials, including Yuan, Tang Lingze, Zou Wenteng, and Yuan Yan. His wives, concubines, and descendants were all confiscated by the government. Yan Bi and others who were related to Yang Yong were also punished with a hundred sticks, and all their property, property, land and house, including his own and his wife's, were confiscated by the government. After that, Yang Yong was moved out of the East Palace and placed in the Ministry of Internal History.
One month later, in November, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty made Yang Guang, the king of Jin, the crown prince. Yang Yong was moved to the East Palace and managed by Prince Yang Guang. Yang Yong felt that he had been wronged and wanted to appeal to Emperor Wen, but he was imprisoned and could not be free. So he went up to a tall tree and shouted every day, hoping that Emperor Wen would hear him and summon him. Yang Su told Emperor Wen that Yang Yong was confused and no longer a normal person, but Emperor Wen ignored him. Because Yang Yong shouted his grievances on the tree, later generations called him the "Tree Prince".
In July of the fourth year of Renshou (604), Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty was ill in Renshou Palace. He discovered that the prince Yang Guang wanted to seize his power and rape his concubine Chen. He regretted deposing Yang Yong and said, "I was in vain." Son!" "Dugu misled me!" He summoned Yang Yong to restore his status as prince. Yang Guang immediately sent troops to control Renshou Palace, and Emperor Wen died immediately. Yang Guang used a fake edict to grant Yang Yong death. He was posthumously named "King Fangling". Yang Yong's son Yang Yan was poisoned to death by Yang Guang. The other sons Yang Jun, Yang Yi, Yang Ke, Yang Gai, Yang Shao, Yang, Xiaoshi and Xiaofan were all demoted to distant places by Yang Guang, and then ordered to be killed in their respective places.