"Happy Chess Game" explains the Sui Dynasty Emperor Yang Guang, the poorest and tragic emperor in Chinese history

Poor Emperor Yang Di Yang Guang: Historically, Emperor Yang Di Yang Guang unified the entire country. During his reign, he built the Grand Canal, established the capital in Luoyang, opened the Silk Road, initiated imperial examinations, and made three expeditions to Korea. He played an important role in history and ended 300-400 years of war in China. Since then, China has entered an era of peace and prosperity. An emperor with outstanding military exploits did not even have a decent coffin after his death, and his living space was less than half an acre. Sometimes history is really unfair. There is only one reason. The Sui Dynasty perished here. The conquered king talks about his good name, not to mention the funeral. Yang Guang is so pitiful.

In fact, there are many poor emperors in history, such as Zhou Taizu, Han Xiandi, Song Huizong, Song Qinzong and Chongzhen. Chongzhen, Li Yu, Guangxu, Puyi and others were also poor. Although they were diligent and loved the people, they were born in an inappropriate era. The emperor who died the most tragically was Song Huizong Xu Huixin. He destroyed the Song Dynasty and committed suicide. The gorgeous Queen Zhu was often harassed by Chinese nomads. He failed to hang himself and died of a serious illness. The body was burned in a stone pit. When it was half burnt, the fire was doused with water and the body was thrown into the pit. During the Spring and Autumn Period, the king of Jin died in the toilet. It is estimated that she suffers from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. King Wu Tai of Qin was a rich, young and promising king. He likes to compare with his neighbors. As a result, he died as soon as he compared Luoyang. Wu Xiao Emperor Sima Yao died at the hands of his imperial concubine. This is a joke! Looking back at the poor emperors above, compared with the worst emperors who died, no one can surpass Yang Di in terms of achievements during his lifetime. However, the place where you live after death is small and pitiful. The coffin was made from a servant's bed plank. Yang Di Yang Guang is undoubtedly the most pitiful emperor in Chinese history.

We might as well turn to history and take a look at Yang Guang’s outstanding contributions throughout his life. In 589 AD, Yang Guang, who was only 20 years old, was regarded as the general marshal of the Sui Dynasty and led an army of 510,000 to attack the Chen Dynasty and complete the unification of China. During the Yellow decade, large-scale rebellions broke out in some parts of the Old South. Yang Guang was appointed as the admiral of Jiangnan and stationed in Jiangdu to suppress the rebellion. He served for ten years. He truly deserves to be called a good general. Whether he is a civilian or a military official, his army has high prestige among the people! For twenty years he was commander-in-chief of any expedition against the Turks.

The canal was built to connect the Qiantang River, Yangtze River, Huaihe River, Yellow River and Haihe River. The scale of this project is huge, Yang Guang is far-sighted, and it has brought huge benefits to future generations of China. The Western Expedition to Zhangye not only expanded the territory, but also opened up the Silk Road. This was a feat only accomplished by emperors of all ages! Sending troops to fight not only prevented and delayed the rise of Khitan. Traveling west to Zhangye County in the Hexi Corridor, you are not afraid of snowstorms and subzero temperatures. What kind of spirit is this! It’s really admirable! The footprints are all over Xihai, Heyuan, Shanshan, Qiemo and other counties, which further proves that northwest regions such as Gansu, Qinghai, and Xinjiang have become an integral part of China. After Emperor Yang Di arrived in Zhangye, the monarchs and Mitchells of 27 countries in the Western Regions appeared in front of him, and merchants from all over the world gathered in Zhangye for trade. In the history of Chinese feudalism, no emperor has ever traveled so far to the West and gained great fame. Yang Di’s Emperor Yang Guang is the first!

The official birth of China’s imperial examination system was also a major initiative of Yang Guang. After Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty came to the throne, he abolished the nine-rank Zhongzheng system and began to select officials by subject. During Yang Di's reign, Jinshi Branch was officially established. The postgraduate courses at that time were mainly about political papers, and the selection of talents with outstanding literary talents was of far-reaching significance. It not only greatly strengthened the centralization of power, but also contributed to the stability of the political situation. After the political stability, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty established the Celestial Dynasty system.

Yang Guang was conquered because of his ecstatic success and vanity. During the great development and operation of the Western Regions, money was used to lure Western merchants to trade with North Korea, and local counties and counties were ordered to entertain Western merchants in the Hangzhou section of the Grand Canal passing through. This is not equal trade at all, but showing off their martial arts in the name of trade. In fact, it is a loss-making industry that wastes the country's huge wealth. In addition, Yang Di attacked North Korea three times, which greatly weakened the Sui Dynasty's national power. The demise of Emperor Yang Di had a lot to do with the conquest of North Korea. The first conquest failed, with more than 300,000 troops, but only two or three thousand returned in the end. The second invasion forced the withdrawal of the army. At that time, the world would be in chaos and the dynasty showed signs of collapse. However, Emperor Yang Di launched the third anti-Korean War. This time, near Korea, the Sui Dynasty's navy defeated the Korean army, and the Korean King Gaoyuan sent troops to surrender.

In 613, Emperor Yang Di sent his army back to Korea. Yang Guang's purpose was to pacify the border and complete the great cause of reunification, but the war was costly and aroused people's resistance. In 616 AD, Wagang's army defeated Zhang Xutuo in Xingyang. In 617 AD, Li Yuan began his official career in Jinyang, and soon occupied Chang'an and established Emperor Xuan. In 618, there was a mutiny in Jiangdu, led by Li Li, who established himself as the emperor of Qin and Wei, and led many people back to Guanzhong. In May, Li Yuan deposed the emperor and called himself emperor, with titles of Tang and Sui.

Yang Di’s Emperor Yang Guang didn’t even have a decent coffin in the end. The people from Palace Xiao dismantled the bed planks, made a small coffin, and secretly buried it under the Grand Palace of Jiangdu Palace. Yang Guang was great and smart before his death! It was even more miserable after death, so pitiful! Poverty is like a handful of loess or a grain of sand, lost in the long river of history.

We only remember his achievements, sometimes recall, appreciate and taste them.