1. People who don’t want to be emperors become emperors

There are countless people in the world who want to be emperors but cannot be emperors. There should be some who do not want to be emperors but have become emperors. Li Yu, the later master of the Southern Tang Dynasty, was one of them.

Li Yu was born on the Chinese Valentine's Day in 937 AD and died on the Chinese Valentine's Day in 978 AD. He lived forty-two years.

Li Yu's original name was Congjia. Li Yu's name was changed when he ascended the throne. He was the last emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty and was known as Empress Li in the world. It is said that Li Yusheng had a strange appearance, with a wide forehead, plump cheeks, side teeth, and one eye with heavy pupils. Parallel teeth means that his two front teeth are connected together, and double pupils means that he has two pupils in one eye, so Li Yu's nickname is "Chongguang". Famous figures with double pupils in history include Xiang Yu and Shun. "A Dream of Red Mansions" says that "Yu Ji hates Chongtong." The Chongtong here refers to Xiang Yu.

Li Yu doesn’t want to be an emperor, he just wants to be a romantic talent.

Li Yu is an absolutely romantic talent. He is good at calligraphy, good at painting, and proficient in music. The melody of "Meeting Happily" was first created by the late master. His calligraphy is about 80-90% after that of Liu Gongquan. He has certain attainments in poetry and prose, especially his achievements in ci. high.

He doesn’t want to be the emperor, and he shouldn’t be the emperor at all. He is the sixth son of Li Jing, the central lord of the Southern Tang Dynasty. Logically speaking, it would not be his turn if he had to. His first brother wanted to be the emperor the most, but because he wanted it too much, he used some tricks to get himself killed. The other brothers seemed to have the foresight and did not want to be the king of the country's subjugation, so they all killed themselves early. With his five brothers gone, Li Yu had no choice but to bite the bullet and become emperor. People all say that Li Yu is a talented man, but he does not know how to be an emperor and does not have the talent to be an emperor. In fact, it's not that he has no talent, it's that he doesn't want to work hard to be a good emperor. He just doesn't want to be tired. "Sneering at Emperor Qin's long-term strategy, Jing Lingji patrols when he is full of hardships." He doesn't want to be like Qin Shihuang and Zhou Mu, who look down on the world but are so ambitious. Mentally and physically exhausted. What's more, the Southern Tang Dynasty was already in turmoil at that time. Even if it was placed in the hands of Emperor Qin and Han Wu, it would be hopeless!

When Li Yu came to the throne, the Southern Tang Dynasty was already a vassal state of the Song Dynasty. In order to show his loyalty, he cut off his country title and called himself the "Lord of Jiangnan". The treasury was empty, and he also collected a large amount of property to pay tribute to the Song Dynasty every year. Faced with the pressure from the Song Dynasty, he resigned himself to it, trying to live in peace, and his delusion dragged on day by day.

Li Yu is not a heartless person like Adou. He also feels suffering, pain, and humiliation. What can he do? So he indulged in the sounds and colors, and sought spiritual comfort among the warm and fragrant soft jade. During this period, his poems mainly wrote about palace life and love between men and women, or about parting and missing each other, using scenes to express his emotions. For example, "Qingpingle":

Don't come in the middle of spring, it will touch your eyes and break your heart. The fallen plum blossoms are like snow, and they are still full after being brushed.

There is no proof of the arrival of wild geese, and it is difficult to realize the dream of returning home after a long journey. Leaving hatred is like grass in spring, we can travel farther and still be alive.

During this period, he was immersed in love with the Queen of Zhou, and he was probably very happy.

2. The love between Li Yu and the queen of the Zhou Dynasty

Li Yu’s queens are divided into big and small. The queen of the Zhou Dynasty is named Qiang, the queen of the Zhou Dynasty is named Ehuang, and the queen of the small Zhou Dynasty is named Wei. The daughter of Situ Zhouzong. Both sisters are Qiantang beauties. Zhou Zong was an important minister of the Southern Tang Dynasty. Ehuang often went to and from the court with her father. She was beautiful, good at music, good at singing and dancing, well versed in history, and was excellent at playing games and chess. She was a talented woman in the Five Dynasties period. The protagonist Li Jing liked her very much, so he decided to let her marry Li Yu. Emperor E married Li Yu at the age of nineteen. After Li Yu ascended the throne, she was established as queen.

Ehuang has outstanding musical talent, especially good at playing the pipa. Just because she restored the famous "Song of Colorful Feather Clothes", she can really be called a great musician. "Nancy Dress and Feather Clothes Song" was originally a French tune introduced from Xiliang. After being polished by Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, it became a large-scale and majestic large-scale dance music. The reason why Concubine Yang was favored by Xuanzong's three thousand people was not only because of her natural beauty, but also because she was best at dancing "The Song of Colorful Clothes and Feather Clothes". It was only after the Anshi Rebellion that "Nice Shang Yuyi Song" was lost. By the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, only the incomplete score was preserved. At that time, some court musicians and folk musicians tried to restore it, but failed. After Li Yu obtained the fragmentary score, Ehuang worked with him to "change the errors, remove the complexities and fix the shortcomings, so that the music becomes clearer and more listenable." After restoring the music score, the two choreographed the dance according to the music and created the colorful and feathery costume dance group. They also mobilized the maids from the Jiaofang Palace to be taught by Emperor E personally.

After that, Emperor E often held large-scale dances, songs and dances in colorful clothes and feathers in the palace.

Li Yu's "Spring in the Jade House" records this incident:

The snow on the skin has just begun to appear in the evening makeup, and the concubines and concubines in the Spring Palace are lined up. The silk curtain blows through the water and clouds, and the neon clothes sing loudly.

Who is more fragrant in the wind? Drunk and charming. When I return home, I will stop lighting up the red candles and wait for the horseshoes to clear the night moon.

The upper part of this poem describes the grand scene of singing and dancing in colorful clothes and feathers in the Spring Palace, and the lower part describes the unfinished entertainment scene after the singing and dancing. The couple is intoxicated in the paradise of art.

Ehuang's nature is innocent and naughty, lively and delicate. In Li Yu's "Yi Hu Zhu", he wrote:

After putting on the evening makeup, Shen Tan lightly paid attention to a few. Showing the cloves to others, singing a clear song, temporarily causing the cherries to burst.

The sleeves of the sleeves are still beautiful, and the cup is filled with fragrant mash. The embroidered bed is leaning on the embroidered bed, and she is chewing the red velvet, laughing and spitting at Tan Lang.

"Chewing red antler to pieces, smiling at Tanlang and spitting", "Hongrong" is the red velvet thread blanket, and "Tanlang" should be Li Yu himself. Pan An, the most famous handsome man in ancient China, was nicknamed "Tan Nu", so later generations called the man a woman loved "Tan Lang". Ehuang pulled out some red velvet threads on the blanket, put it in her mouth and chewed it. After chewing it, she spit it out to Li Yu with a smile. She was really naughty and cute!

Li Yu and Ehuang also had an arranged marriage, but it was a very successful arranged marriage. This was because Li Jing had a good vision. If Li Yu hadn't become the emperor, just imagine how happy and happy it would be for such a pair of talented men and handsome men to live together.

Li Yu and Ehuang's happiness together may have diluted the pain and humiliation, but their happiness did not last long.

In the fourth year of Li Yu's reign, Emperor E became seriously ill and was bedridden. Their four-year-old son was very filial. When his mother was sick, he followed the example of adults and went to pray in front of the Buddhist temple to wish his mother a speedy recovery. However, due to carelessness at a young age, he fell from a high chair and died. The death of his beloved son made Ehuang extremely sad and his condition became more serious.

It was during the period when Emperor E was ill. Li Yu and her sister Zhou Wei fell in love. The love between Li Yu and Zhou Wei has always been criticized by future generations, but we may not be able to look at ancient people from the perspective of modern people, and we may not be able to speculate on an ancient person with the mentality of ordinary people. Emperor's love. We don't know what happened at that time to promote their love. But what is certain is that his love for Ehuang is true, and his love for Zhou Wei is also true, and his greatest love should be his sister Ehuang.

At that time, Ehuang was seriously ill and could not bear the slightest stimulation. The love between Li Yu and Xiao Zhouhou could only proceed secretly. Li Yu's poem "The Bodhisattva Man" describes his romantic and difficult tryst with Xiao Zhouhou:

The bright moon and the bright flowers cover the mist, and the sky is now heading towards Langbian! Wear shorts and stockings while walking up the fragrant steps, and carry gold-leafed shoes.

See you on the south bank of the painting hall, I always tremble when I lean against someone. It is difficult for a slave to come out, so teach him to show mercy to you.

But later Ehuang still found out about it. Lu You's "Book of the Southern Tang Dynasty" "Hou Ji Zhuan" said: "It may be said that Hou was sick because Xiao Zhou Hou had already entered the palace. Later, when I saw him, he was surprised and asked: "When will you come?" Xiao Zhouhou was still young and was not suspected, so she said to him, "It's been a few days." ’ Later, he will suffer from anger, and his face will not be extroverted until death. After he was released, the Lord was overly mournful to cover up his traces. "Probably, Ehuang was lying in bed sick. Suddenly he saw his sister in front of the bed from behind the tent, and asked in surprise: "When did my sister come? The naive Zhou Wei replied without thinking carefully: "I've been here for a few days." "Ehuang E immediately understood everything. She turned inward and stopped talking. She never turned around again until her death.

When E Huang died, Li Yu was very sad. There may be an element of guilt in the grief. He was emaciated and needed a cane to walk. He wrote a long eulogy in memory of Emperor E, and called himself "the widower Yu." The matchmaker has no excuses for his work, and there is no illegal reward for the matchmaker. The invitation to return to my sister is a sign of good fortune. He believes in one heart and is prepared for the right way. Hold your hand and grow old together. No matter what happens now, I won’t tell you in the end. Alas! "Hold your hand and grow old together with me." "This sentence comes from here. It's a pity that the person who wrote this sentence can't grow old with the one he loves.

Li Yu wrote many poems to commemorate Ehuang. Even after many years after Ehuang's death, Li Yu was still feeling sad and could not control himself.

In the third year after Emperor E's death, Li Yu made Zhou Wei his queen, known in history as the Xiao Zhou Queen. On the contrary to his lively personality, Xiao Zhouhou is quiet and dignified.

Interestingly, Shun was born with double pupils, and he married two sisters, Ehuang and Nvying, at the same time. It happened that Li Yu, who had double pupils, also married a pair of sisters, and his first wife was also named Ehuang.

The old people have gone and new people have come, but emotionally and in terms of life interest, they are no longer as grand as they were during the days of Emperor E.

3. The subjugation of the country made great poets

In 975 AD, Song and Wu Yue joined forces to defeat Jinling. Li Yu thought about setting fire to himself, but he didn't, so he led the civil and military officials and a group of relatives to surrender. In order to show his sincerity in surrender, they all surrendered naked. After Li Yu surrendered, he was captured and sent to Bianjing, where he was given a waiting period in violation of his orders.

Li Yu changed from emperor to prisoner. The humiliating life, the deep pain of the country's subjugation, and the reminiscence of the past, "wherein I only washed my face with tears day and night" (Wang □'s "Si Ji"), made the achievements of his poems greatly exceed those of the early Nong Yanxiangyu. The greatest words of his life were produced at this time.

"Broken Array":

In the past forty years, our country and our country have spread over three thousand miles of mountains and rivers. The phoenix pavilion and the dragon tower are connected to the sky, and the jade trees and their branches are used as tobacco. How many times have we known war?

Once you become a captive, you will sink your waist and wear your temples. On the most hasty day of farewell to the temple, farewell songs are still played in the church hall. Weeping to Gong E.

"Poppy Beauty":

When will the spring flowers and autumn moon come, how much do you know about the past? There was an east wind in the small building last night, and the motherland could not bear to look back at the bright moon.

The carved railings and jade inlays should still be there, but the beauty has been changed. Asking you how much sorrow you can have is like a river of spring water flowing eastward.

Part one of "Crying at Night (Joyful Meeting)":

The forest flowers faded in the spring red, it was too hasty, and the cold rain came in the morning and the wind came in the evening.

The tears of rouge will make you drunk, how long will it last? Naturally, life grows and hates water.

"Crying at Night (Happy Meeting)" Part 2:

Speechless, I went up to the west building alone, the moon was like a hook. The lonely Wutong deep courtyard locks Qingqiu.

Continuous cutting and confusion are the symptoms of divorce. Don't just have the ordinary taste in your heart.

It is really sad that a romantic and talented man who did not want to be the emperor unfortunately became the emperor. When he became an emperor, his country perished, but he left behind a swan song that left the world weeping with blood. This may be another blessing for Chinese literature. There is a saying that "the country is unlucky and the poets are lucky, but the vicissitudes of life are reflected in the work" (Qing Shenxiong's "Ancient and Modern Ci"). If the vicissitudes of life are reflected in the work, perhaps if the country was not subjugated, there would be no Li Yu later.

The last poem "Langtaosha" written by Li Yu killed him. On the Chinese Valentine's Day in 978 AD, Li Yu's forty-second birthday, Li Yu wrote this poem that has been passed down through the ages:

The rain is gurgling outside the curtain, and the mood of spring is fading. Luo quilt cannot bear the cold at midnight. In the dream, I didn't know that I was a guest, and I was greedy for pleasure for a while.

Don’t lean on the railing when you are alone. There is no limit to the world. It is easy to say goodbye but difficult to see others. The flowing water and falling flowers are gone in spring, and it is heaven and earth.

This poem was passed to Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi. The sentiments about family and country in the poem made Zhao Guangyi furious, so he was given royal wine to Li Yu, which was laced with a motivating drug. That night, Li Yu died. Shortly after Li Yu's death, Xiao Zhou committed suicide.

After his death, Li Yu was buried in Mang Mountain, Luoyang, also known as Bei Mang Mountain. In China, it has always referred to the place where people are buried after death.

Historical records record that "Li Yu was benevolent and filial." As a monarch, Empress Li loved the people like a son. During his reign, he reduced taxes and relaxed penalties, and was deeply loved by the people. Therefore, the news that Li Yu was sentenced to death spread to his hometown in the Southern Tang Dynasty, and the people cried bitterly for him, and even took the initiative to pay tribute to him. Li Yu, who originally didn't want to be the emperor, is worthy of being the emperor!