Northern Qi Emperor Wenxuan Gao Yang was the second son of Emperor Shenwu Gao Huan, the founder of the Northern Qi Dynasty. In 550 AD, he succeeded his father (Gao Huan) and brother (Gao Cheng) to the power of the Eastern Wei Dynasty. In that year, Emperor Xiaojing of the Eastern Wei Dynasty was deposed. And independent, established Northern Qi.
Gao Yang liked calligraphy and was good at boxing and martial arts, but the ministers stopped him because they thought it would be detrimental to state affairs. It should be said that this Duke still had some real abilities. When he first came to power, he selected talents and appointed them, worked hard to govern, and conquered the south and the north, so that "Emperor Wen of Zhou (Yu Wentai) saw the military appearance of the Northern Qi Dynasty and sighed: 'Gao I'm so happy that I didn't dare to fight against Gao Yang, so I took the class." (According to Li Yanshou's record in "Northern History. Qi Benji Zhong No. 7", the same below)
It's a pity that the good times did not last long." After conquering four grams, he became powerful in Rongxia. After six or seven years, he was proud of his achievements." His cruel and lustful nature began to be exposed.
At first, Gao Yang was just looking for fun like crazy, dancing and singing every day, drinking and reveling day and night; soon, the emperor had "development" again, sometimes naked, sometimes painted with makeup, sometimes wearing Hufu, sometimes Dressed like a clown, holding a machete in his hand, he often walked around drunkenly in the streets. Gradually, Gao Yang kept going in and out of the houses of noble ministers in the capital, and saw beautiful women, regardless of high or low, regardless of whether they were married. When he was unmarried, he immediately became the overlord; later on, Gao Yang loved to ride naked on sika deer, white elephants, camels, cows, donkeys and other animals, singing while walking around. Regardless of the scorching heat of winter, the starry night or the day, Gao Yang would not avoid rain or snow, and he loved to run naked on the street. "It is unbearable to follow, but the emperor (Gao Yang) is at ease."
As his alcohol addiction increased, Gao Yang became drunk almost every day. Others fall asleep when they are drunk, but Gao Yang kills people when he is drunk. Killing is not just about killing people, dismembering them, burning them, or throwing them into rivers, just to torture people to death for the ultimate pleasure.
When Gao Yang was drunk, he often climbed onto the back of the palace and walked as fast as he could. "The three wooden structures are twenty-seven feet high, and they are more than two hundred feet apart." Usually when craftsmen go to the house, they always wear safety ropes and move forward slowly step by step. Whenever Gao Yang gets excited, he often takes advantage of his drunkenness to run fast at the top of the palace, never losing his footing.
Gao Yang also took pleasure in killing civil servants, generals and their families. Minister Gao Longzhi was an old friend of Gao Huan. Gao Yang remembered that the old man had previously advised him not to proclaim himself emperor, so he asked his guards to punch the old man more than a hundred times and beat him to death. When something happened to the great minister, Mu Zirong, angered Gao Yang, the tyrant asked the old minister to He stripped naked and lay down in the court, drew his own bow and shot at him, and missed three times. Gao Yang actually pulled out a horse prong, thrust it into the old man's anus, and stabbed the noble minister to death; At Pushe Cui Xian's house, Gao Yang asked Cui Xian's wife: "Do you miss Cui Xian?" Cui Xian's wife Li replied: "We are deeply in love, of course I miss you." Gao Yang smiled evilly and said: "If you miss me, you can go by yourself. See him in the underworld, and I will send you all the way." He took out his knife, chopped off Li's head with one blow, and "threw it outside the wall." Erzhu cursed loudly: "Do you still remember how you didn't want to see my mother when you were favored?" After saying this, he cut the princess in half with a knife. Gradually, Gao Yang turned to killing people as a game, and had to kill a few people with his own hands every day to practice his skills.
Gao Yang had a very beloved concubine named Xue Guibin, a beauty he got from his cousin Gao Yue. One day, when he saw Xue Guibin smiling and combing her hair on the bed, Gao Yang suddenly became angry: This girl was used by Gao Yue before! The emperor never left his hand with the sword, so he stood up and chopped off the head of Xue Meiren, who was still unconscious, and put it in his arms. Then, he drove to Dongshan to have a banquet with the officials. Just as everyone was toasting, Gao Yang suddenly took out the beauty's head from his arms and threw it on the food table. While the ministers held their breath in horror, Gao Yang called for the headless body of Mei Xue and placed it on the table in front of him. He dismembered it himself, removing the flesh and bones, cutting the tendons and removing the internal organs, and chopped off the beauty's thighs to make a meat pipa. , put on the pillars and strings and played and sang, "Everyone will be frightened if a house is frightening." After drinking several glasses of wine, Gao Yang played and sang a few songs. Suddenly, he burst into tears and sighed, "It's so rare to find a beautiful woman again. What a pity! What a pity!" He ordered people to put the "parts" of the beauty in the coffin, and he walked around by himself, crying loudly at the funeral.
Fortunately, although the emperor was oblivious to his superiors, his ministers were wise to the subordinates. Minister Yang Min and others were diligent in government affairs and worked diligently, so the state affairs of Northern Qi did not deteriorate beyond control. Therefore, Gao Yang Nor did he end up with the shameful end of his country and death like Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty. Yang Min was loyal to Gao Yang and was Gao Yang's brother-in-law (Gao Yang's sister first married Emperor Xiaojing of the Eastern Wei Dynasty and then remarried Yang Min), but Gao Yang was still cruel and unkind to him. Not only did Gao Yang often ask Yang Min to wipe his butt in the toilet when he had a bowel movement, Gao Yang also liked to whip Yang Min with a riding crop, causing his robe to bleed. The most shocking time was when Gao Yang was drunk and cut Yang Min's big belly with a knife to play with. Tired of playing, he prepared a big coffin, threw Yang Min in, pulled him out and buried him alive...
In the eighth year of Tianbao (557 AD), Gao Yang summoned hundreds of women from the Gao family clan to gather together. Together, take them to Dongshan for fun. He selected hundreds of strong guards and let these soldiers take turns killing his female relatives for fun. Gao Yang's half-brother Gao Jun, King of Yong'an, came to remonstrate with him. Gao Yang was furious and sent people to arrest Gao Jun and imprison him in a dungeon. Gao Yang's other younger brother, Shangdang Wang Gao Huan, was ranked seventh because of his "natural appearance, majestic appearance, and suave uniqueness". Because there was a ridicule at that time that "those who die high are dressed in black", Gao Yang asked his surroundings: "What is the blackest thing?" Someone answered: "Nothing is more than lacquer." Lacquer and "qi" are the same pronunciation, so Gao Yang imprisoned his seventh brother. He and his third brother Gao Jun were imprisoned in an iron cage and "were fed and filthy in the same place." Soon, Gao Yang came to the prison in person and sang songs on both sides. Gao Yang ordered his two younger brothers to sing in harmony. The two of them were fighting in fear, their voices trembling. After all, the love between flesh and blood made Gao Yang feel soft-hearted for a moment. He cried and wet his clothes, wanting to forgive his second brother. However, Gao Yang, who was accompanying him, was at odds with his mother and brother, Prince Gao Zhan of Changguang, and Gao Jun, and persuaded him: "The beast can come out of its den safely!" When Gao Yang heard this, he felt justified and ordered the guards to stab his two brothers with spears. The bloody holes were burned with fire and then filled with rocks and earth. After the murder, he ordered the concubines of the two princes to be rewarded to the guards.
In the tenth year of Tianbao (559), Gao Yang, who was deeply poisoned by alcohol, could not eat for many days and relied on wine every day. One day in June, he suddenly asked Wang Yuanshao, the son-in-law of the Gao family and Wang Yuanshao of Pengcheng, a clan member of the Eastern Wei Dynasty: "Why did Han Guangwu and Liu Xiu revive?" Yuan Shao was frightened and could only answer honestly: "Because Wang Mang did not kill all the people with the surname Liu. ." Gao Yang nodded with a ferocious smile, and immediately ordered the execution of twenty-five members of the Eastern Wei royal family, including Yuan Shizhe. In August, Gao Yang ordered that all the remaining dozens of Yuan clans, regardless of gender, old or weak, be killed. "Maybe his father was a king, or he was always noble, or his brothers were strong, so they all killed him in the east city. The baby was thrown into the air and held in his arms. Seven hundred and twenty-one people died before and after them, and all of them were thrown into the water. There were so many fish cut open that they had claws and claws, so they all stopped eating fish for a long time." As for Yuan Shao, he was also imprisoned in a dungeon. In the end, he was so hungry that he chewed his sleeves and choked to death.
In November of the same year, Gao Yang, who was full of evil deeds, also died of excessive drinking at the age of thirty-one. He was given the posthumous title of Emperor Wenxuan and the temple name Weizong. Wu Pingping (Gao Zhan) changed the temple name to Xianzu.