The videos I watched became popular in ancient times

Since ancient times, the actual ruling power of a country has often been in the hands of men, and the status of women has not been high.

Of course, there was once a female emperor in our country, Wu Zetian, who broke this convention.

However, no woman has ever been able to ascend the throne of emperor again in later generations.

However, it is worth noting that no woman has ever become emperor since Wu Zetian.

However, there were many women who were able to control the government and grasp the fate of the country. Empress Dowager Feng of the Northern Wei Dynasty was one of them.

The most famous emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty was Emperor Xiaowen, who vigorously implemented the policy of sinicization during his reign.

The Northern Wei capital was moved from Pingcheng to Luoyang, and a series of Sinicization policies were implemented, including changing Han surnames, stopping Hu languages, and changing the official system.

The second great ethnic integration in Chinese history reached its climax, and Emperor Xiaowen became the most respected among the Hu emperors.

The reason why Emperor Xiaowen, who came from the Xianbei tribe, was able to go so far on the road of sinicization was that the most important contributor behind him was his grandmother, Empress Dowager Feng.

"In 441 AD, Feng was born in Hengshui, Hebei."

"His grandfather, Emperor Zhaocheng Feng Hong, was the ruler of Northern Yan during the Sixteen Kingdoms period."

"After my father Feng Langyan died, he surrendered to the Northern Wei Dynasty and was granted the title of Duke of Liaoxi County."

"Later, my father Feng Lang was convicted of a crime and was ordered to be executed by Emperor Taiwu Tuoba Tao."

"The young Feng was taken into the palace as per custom and became a maid of Tuoba clan."

"In the palace, Feng was raised and educated by her aunt."

"In 452, Emperor Wencheng Tuoba Jun ascended the throne, and the thirteen-year-old Feng was chosen to become a noble lady."

"Four years later, Feng cast a golden man and was made empress by Emperor Wencheng, presiding over the imperial palace."

"In February, Tuoba Hong was named Crown Prince."

"To prevent the mother from taking advantage of her son's status and monopolizing government affairs."

"Emperor Wencheng followed the old example of Emperor Daowu and sentenced Tuoba Hong's mother, Li, to death."

"In 465, Emperor Wencheng died young in the Taihua Hall of the Pingcheng Imperial Palace."

"Three days later, follow the old customs of the Northern Wei Dynasty."

"The emperor's imperial robes and utensils were burned, and all the officials and concubines in the harem came to the scene and cried."

"When the fire started, Empress Feng suddenly screamed and rushed towards the fire. She did not wake up until people around her rescued her."

"In May, after Emperor Wencheng died, the 12-year-old Crown Prince Tuoba Hong ascended the throne and became Emperor Xianwen, and Empress Feng was honored as the Empress Dowager."

"After Emperor Xianwen ascended the throne, Taiwei Yihun became prime minister. He made all decisions, no matter how big or small. He forged an imperial edict to execute the Duke of Pingyang and the Duke of Nanyang."

"Everything that Yu Hun did was illegal. Situ Pingyuan Wang Lu Li argued with him and was later killed by him."

"In 466, Yuhun plotted a coup d'état."

"Empress Dowager Feng made secret arrangements and made a grand plan."

"Order Tuoba Pi and others to lead troops to capture Yuhun and suppress the rebellion."

"Yulhun was captured and killed, and his three clans were exterminated."

"Empress Dowager Feng announced that she would take over the government and take control of the government."

"In 467, Emperor Xianwen's concubine Lady Li gave birth to a son, Tuoba Hong."

"Empress Dowager Feng no longer governs the country, but handed over the government to Emperor Xianwen, and raised her grandson Tuoba Hong herself."

"After Emperor Wencheng died, Empress Dowager Feng began to favor handsome men."

"Li Yi, the son of an official, is a man of great talent and aspirations to be a government official."

"As a result, he was favored by Empress Dowager Feng and often served in the palace."

"The harem was promiscuous, and people at the time often talked about it, which made Emperor Xianwen very unhappy."

Zhao Kuangyin: The emergence of Empress Dowager Feng not only brought about a positive change in the family style of the Northern Wei royal family, but also promoted positive changes in the national politics.

Empress Dowager Feng was a virtuous queen who actually ruled the Northern Wei Dynasty for a long time and had outstanding achievements in governance.

Looking at all the empress dowagers in the Northern Wei Dynasty, it seems not an exaggeration to describe Empress Dowager Feng as the most outstanding one in terms of achievements.

After the Xianbei Tuoba tribe established the Northern Wei Empire, they established an inhumane system where the son was noble and the mother was killed.

The Northern Wei emperors had a historical grudge against the interference of the descendants in politics. As early as the tribal period, there had been cases where a powerful descendant of the Tuoba tribe had interfered with the order of succession of power among the Tuoba tribe, and the leader of the Tuoba tribe was resentful about this.

They were also worried that once a young emperor ascended the throne, the young empress dowager would inevitably take over the imperial power, which would be a huge threat to the royal family.

Out of the instinct to maintain power, Emperor Daowu, the founding emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty, first created this system.

They claim that they learned from the historical experience of the Western Han Dynasty when Emperor Wu of Han established Emperor Zhao and killed Lady Gouyi first. In essence, this was out of concern and fear for the power of the later clans.

From the killing of the first empress of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Empress Liu, to Emperor Taiwu, Emperor Gong, Emperor Wencheng, and Emperor Xianwen, the mothers of five consecutive emperors were executed by this cruel system.

All the concubines in the harem considered giving birth to a boy as a way to death, and many even deliberately starved their children to death after giving birth.

Feng was made empress by Emperor Wencheng. Fortunately, she did not give birth to any children, so after the death of Emperor Wencheng, she became the empress dowager of Emperor Xianwen's reign.

The empress dowagers of the Northern Wei Dynasty were either protected empress dowagers or had no blood relationship with the prince and were only nominal mothers.

In order to maintain their own status, they did not hesitate to personally execute the prince's mother.

On the other hand, in order to prevent retaliation, the prince's mother's family must be killed. Every succession to the throne is accompanied by a massacre.

If things went on like this, the Northern Wei harem would be unable to fulfill its due responsibility of assisting the emperor, and would become a battlefield even more cruel and sinister than the outer court.

As soon as Empress Dowager Feng came to power, she consciously tried to change this inhumane palace fighting situation.

Before Emperor Xianwen ascended the throne, his mother, Li, had been executed by Empress Dowager Chang.

Feng did not encounter any challenges when she became the empress dowager, and the brutal palace fighting was temporarily stopped.

There was no routine killing and demotion in the harem, and the Li family members were not persecuted. Li Hui, the father of Li, was able to serve as an official in peace.

When will the cycle of revenge end? Ending the palace fighting will benefit both ourselves and others.

Feng's insight is mainly due to her background.

The Feng family was the royal family of the small country Northern Yan during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. Northern Yan originated from the Murong family's Later Yan.

Among the Five Barbarians, the Murong clan was the first to be sinicized and to a greater degree, and the Feng clan of Northern Yan was also a small country that had basically achieved sinicization.

Feng was influenced by the Han-style regime since childhood and had a relatively high level of thinking vision.

Although the struggle in the harem was still unavoidable, she was able to accurately grasp the main contradictions and focus more on the struggle for control of the outer court.

This undoubtedly greatly reduced the intensity of court struggles and eased sharp internal conflicts.

From a general perspective, the change in political atmosphere depends on the evolution trend of the entire ruling group.

However, the outstanding contributions of individual outstanding people will greatly accelerate the change of trends.

"In the autumn of 470, Li Yin, the governor of Xiangzhou, was accused of a crime. He was a good friend of Li Yi's elder brother Li Fu."

"In order to protect himself, the governor accused Li Fu of 20 to 30 hidden crimes. Emperor Xianwen took the opportunity to order Li Fu and his brothers to be thrown into death row."

"In the winter of 470, Li Yi was killed along with his brother Li Fu, cousin Li Xiande and others."

"Because Li Shimin's report was meritorious, Emperor Xianwen later promoted Li Shimin to be the Minister of State and participated in the decision-making of state affairs."

"After Li Yi's death, Empress Dowager Feng was not happy about this matter."

"In August 471, Emperor Xianwen was forced by the Empress Dowager to abdicate the throne to the less than five-year-old Crown Prince Tuoba Hong."

"Crown Prince Tuoba Hong ascended the throne and became Emperor Xiaowen, and Emperor Xianwen became the Supreme Emperor at the age of 18."

"The Emperor moved to Chongguang Palace and personally led troops to the south to attack the Rouran many times and won great victories."

"In October of the winter of 475, the Emperor held a grand review ceremony in the northern suburbs of Pingcheng."

"In June 476, Emperor Taishang Tuoba Hong died in Yong'an Palace in Pingcheng at the age of only ."

"Empress Dowager Feng is resourceful, suspicious and cruel. She makes decisions in an instant and uses both kindness and force on her subordinates."

"After Emperor Xianwen died, Empress Dowager Feng took over the government again."

"Empress Dowager Feng first executed Li Yi, who had falsely accused him of murder, and then sentenced those who were corrupt and committed crimes to death."

"As for those who were honest and incorruptible officials, Empress Dowager Feng praised and rewarded them, and also appeased and won over those who had no obvious political ambitions."

"Lou Ti, a close friend of Emperor Xianwen and a member of Ren Nei Sanlang, once tried to commit suicide by slashing his sword but failed because Emperor Xianwen was murdered."

"Empress Dowager Feng did not blame him, but instead issued an edict to commend him for his integrity and righteousness, so that the dissatisfied ministers were convinced by her actions."

"In order to eliminate the hidden danger, Empress Dowager Feng executed Emperor Xiaowen's grandfather, Prince of Nanjun Li Hui, for treason."

"Empress Dowager Feng was afraid that her mistakes would be discussed by others, so she killed anyone who was suspicious of her. Hundreds of people died."

"Empress Dowager Feng also paid attention to cultivating and supporting some virtuous people as her confidants, and many of the famous Han people among them were her favorite ministers."

"Li Chong, who proposed the Three-Chief System, was favored by Empress Dowager Feng and was promoted to Duke of Longxi."

"The reward from Empress Dowager Feng was sometimes as much as tens of millions in a month."

Su Shi: Empress Dowager Feng was a talented and capable queen who was unique in history. Her talents and achievements were comparable to those of the empress Wu Zetian.

When Emperor Xianwen Tuoba Hong ascended the throne, he was only eleven years old and had no ability to rule the country.

Empress Dowager Feng was only 24 years old, but she was actually responsible for making decisions on major issues.

As Emperor Xianwen grew up, he had a lot of complaints about his stepmother, who was only his mother in name only and not his bloodline, and at the instigation of his ministers, he wanted to get rid of Empress Dowager Feng's control. However, Empress Dowager Feng took the overall situation into consideration and did not engage in fierce resistance.

Instead, she retired to the harem on the pretext of personally raising the young orphaned Crown Prince Tuoba Hong, and returned power to Emperor Xianwen.

However, Emperor Xianwen was too young after all, and several of his trusted ministers advised him day and night to sow discord between the emperor and the empress.

Emperor Xianwen always felt that Empress Dowager Feng was controlling the government from behind, which made him feel like a thorn in his side and extremely painful.

He then launched aggressive counterattacks one after another, and even threatened Empress Dowager Feng to pass the throne to his uncle.

This move was intended to completely remove Empress Dowager Feng's qualifications to rule from a legal perspective by means of a fight to the death.

His determination was great, but his proposal was too shocking and aroused strong opposition from officials in the court and the public.

Emperor Xianwen still refused to give up. To show his resistance, he passed the throne to Crown Prince Tuoba Hong and became the emperor emeritus.

At that time, Emperor Xianwen was only seventeen years old, setting a record for the youngest emperor retired.

The originally harmonious family relationships and political relations between the emperor and empress in the palace finally became tragically intensified due to Emperor Xianwen's reckless actions.

Empress Dowager Feng had to take action to regain power, and Emperor Xianwen later died at the age of 22.

When Emperor Xianwen died, Emperor Xiaowen Tuoba Hong was only nine years old and unable to govern, so Empress Dowager Feng once again took charge of the government.

Empress Dowager Feng did not become mentally unbalanced because of Emperor Xianwen's constant mischief over the years. She did not engage in political revenge or massacre, but continued to focus her main energy on governing the country.

During her reign, Empress Dowager Feng promoted two far-reaching political reforms, the three-chief system and the equal-field system.

Establishing the new means destroying the old, and the old system corresponding to the three-chief system is the clan leader supervision system.

The clan leader supervision system is a grassroots household registration management system, in which the grassroots society is managed by the so-called clan leader.

Some clan leaders are patriarchs of large clans bound by blood ties, while others are powerful people in a particular village or area.

The biggest problem for powerful people in managing villages is hiding household registration, intercepting taxes, and competing with the state for profits.

The general idea of ​​the Three-Chief System is to establish three leaders, namely the leader of the party, the leader of the village, and the leader of the neighborhood, to replace the old leader.

The three heads were responsible for checking and verifying household registration and organizing the taxation, corvée and military conscription work at the grassroots level in the villages and towns.

The benefits of the new system are obvious. The tentacles of the powerful groups that suck the blood of the people will be cut off, national income will increase, and the burden on the people will be reduced.

The nature of the equal-field system reform was similar to the three-chief system.

In essence, they were all about reforming the ills of the Hu people's tribal regime and emulating the system model of the Han people's dynasty in the Central Plains. From the perspective of historical trends, this was undoubtedly progressive.

But any in-depth reform will encounter two major obstacles.

First, it will trigger opposition from old interest groups and even trigger political resistance.

Second, reform is not something that can be accomplished overnight. The promoters may not even see the results in their lifetime, and there is a possibility that reform will be subject to long-term questioning and criticism.

Empress Dowager Feng's achievements in carrying out reforms are far less dazzling and eye-catching than her expansion of territorial territory, and they will not even leave any trace in the public's impression.

Empress Dowager Feng, a woman, was able to persist for more than ten years.

His strong determination, courage, and political foresight are no less than those of an emperor with great military achievements.

It was such a powerful empress dowager who could cultivate an equally outstanding emperor.

"In addition, Empress Dowager Feng also made many appointments to the eunuchs."

"Eunuchs originally served in the palace, but after Empress Dowager Feng took over the government, she also trusted those who were talented among them."

"Bao Yi is careful and meticulous, so he is granted the title of Duke of Anding."

"He is responsible for expressing different opinions on the memorials."

"The Queen Mother favored him very much and promoted him to the position of Grand Minister of Autumn."

"Fu Chengzu was granted the title of Duke of Lueyang and appointed General of Annan. He was a close confidant of Empress Dowager Feng and was granted a golden seal and iron certificate granting him immunity from death."

"There are also Li Feng, Wang Zhi, Li Jian, and Meng Luan. Queen Mother Feng gave them rewards ranging from small things like precious jewels and toys to large things like farmland, slaves, and mansions."

"Empress Dowager Feng used them to enter and leave the imperial palace, and learned about the secrets in advance, thus creating a situation where the imperial palace had the final say."

"Empress Dowager Feng ruled the country dictatorially, and Emperor Xiaowen was filial and cautious, and had to report everything to Empress Dowager Feng, no matter how big or small it was."

"Emperor Xiaowen was too smart, and Empress Dowager Feng was worried that he would be disadvantageous to her in the future, so she planned to depose him and establish Prince Xi of Xianyang as the heir."

"In the cold winter, Empress Dowager Feng locked Emperor Xiaowen in a small room wearing only thin clothes and did not give him any food for three days."

"She changed her mind only after being persuaded by important court officials such as Mu Tai and Li Chong."

"Later, another eunuch slandered Emperor Xiaowen to Empress Dowager Feng, who was furious and whipped him."

"Emperor Xiaowen accepted it silently and did not make any defense."

"Emperor Xiaowen was respectful and filial to Empress Dowager Feng, who personally educated and supervised him."

"He personally wrote more than 300 chapters of "Admonition Songs" and 18 chapters of "Imperial Edicts" as a guide for his study and a code of conduct, instilling in him the principles of governing the world."

"Empress Dowager Feng also paid special attention to teaching by example and often went out on inspection tours."

"Bring Emperor Xiaowen with you so that he can be tempered anytime and anywhere."

"On the first day of the first lunar month in 486, Emperor Xiaowen ascended the throne and entered officialdom. Empress Dowager Feng instructed Emperor Xiaowen to draft most of the imperial edicts and imperial decrees."

"In her later years, Empress Dowager Feng lived a frugal life and did not wear anything ornate or gorgeous."

"After she came to power, she ate at a table only a few feet wide, which reduced the original menu by eight or nine tenths and put an end to extravagance and waste."

"Under the example of Empress Dowager Feng, Emperor Xiaowen was frugal and often wore washed clothes."

"In September 490, the 49-year-old Empress Dowager Feng died in the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Pingcheng Imperial Palace. She was posthumously named Empress Dowager Wenming."

Li Shimin: The biggest contributor to Emperor Xiaowen's ability to go so far on the road of sinicization was Empress Dowager Feng.

When Emperor Xiaowen was two years old, Empress Dowager Feng raised him personally.

The two are only 26 years apart in age. Although they are grandparents and grandchildren, they are actually like mother and son.

Empress Dowager Feng had no children in her life, and devoted all her energy to the education and upbringing of Emperor Xiaowen.

Like most strong women, Empress Dowager Feng was very self-disciplined. She strictly followed etiquette and laws in her actions in the palace and strictly prohibited any casual behavior.

When her husband Emperor Wencheng died, according to custom, the late emperor's belongings had to be burned.

Empress Dowager Feng cried in front of the coffin and pretended to jump into the fire to be buried with the late emperor.

Although she was a bit hypocritical, she did it in a serious and rigorous manner and no one could say anything.

Empress Dowager Feng did this herself and also asked Emperor Xiaowen to do so.

When Emperor Xianwen was seriously ill, Emperor Xiaowen, who was only four years old, took the initiative to suck the carbuncle for his father.

It is definitely not instinctive for a four-year-old child to behave in such a filial manner; it must have been trained by Empress Dowager Feng.

As for other habits, such as relatively frugal living habits, great interest in Han culture, and paying more attention to state affairs than palace life, Emperor Xiaowen's various habits seemed to be carved from the same mold as Empress Dowager Feng.

Of course, the most important training is reflected in cultural thoughts and political ideas.

Empress Dowager Feng was very concerned about the education of the Tuoba royal family, and she directly trained Emperor Xiaowen.

Empress Dowager Feng's cultural level could not be said to be very high, but what was valuable was that she was able to digest and understand traditional Confucian culture with her experience in governing, and she chewed and processed the most practical and easy-to-understand things in it and passed them directly to Emperor Xiaowen.

Under the tireless teaching of Empress Dowager Feng, Emperor Xiaowen developed excellent reading habits and cultivated a profound Chinese cultural accomplishment.

Emperor Xiaowen often quoted from books and had unique insights into Confucian traditions, which laid a solid foundation for his full shift to sinicization in the future.

The influence on political ideas was even more far-reaching. The three-chief system and equal-field system promoted by Empress Dowager Feng laid the foundation for sinicization in the economic field.

Emperor Xiaowen learned and watched, and clearly saw the huge benefits brought by the Sinicization reform.

During her lifetime, Empress Dowager Feng did not repeatedly urge Emperor Xiaowen to continue the reforms, but the achievements of the reforms were already known to everyone in the world.

Emperor Xiaowen saw it clearly and no one needed to urge him. No one could shake his deep-seated approval of the Sinicization reform.

After Empress Dowager Feng died, Emperor Xiaowen decided to move the capital to Luoyang, ban the use of foreign languages, change to Chinese surnames, and implement a system of salary distribution for officials.

The reform was unprecedentedly forceful, and the interest groups affected were much larger than those during the time of Empress Dowager Feng.

This led to massive opposition from court officials, and Emperor Xiaowen was forced to resort to deception to move the capital.

In the face of such great resistance, Emperor Xiaowen was still able to insist on reform. There is no doubt that his political confidence came from Empress Dowager Feng, who had been in charge of government for more than ten years and had accumulated it for him bit by bit.

The three heroes who promoted sinicization during the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Northern Dynasties were Fu Jian, the Emperor of Former Qin, Yuan Hong, the Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei, and Yuwen Tai, the Emperor Wen of Northern Zhou.

Among these three, Emperor Xiaowen's reforms were the most comprehensive and forceful, and can be said to be epoch-making.

Objectively speaking, the Sinicization reform of the Northern Wei Dynasty was actually accomplished jointly by Empress Dowager Feng and Emperor Xiaowen.

It was only because of the basic, profound and difficult-to-observe work done by Empress Dowager Feng that Emperor Xiaowen was able to shine with the light of Sinicization reform.

Emperor Xiaowen had a very deep affection for Empress Dowager Feng. When Empress Dowager Feng died, Emperor Xiaowen was so sad that he refused to eat or drink.

He also had to follow the ancient Han customs and mourn for Empress Dowager Feng for three years, but he gave up after the ministers strongly persuaded him.

Whether this was done for show to the world, just like Empress Dowager Feng jumping over fire in front of her coffin, there is no way to know Emperor Xiaowen’s inner thoughts.

But from a practical point of view, Emperor Xiaowen's throne was stable at that time, no one could threaten him, and there was no need for him to put on an act in front of the world.

It is said that the grace of giving birth is not as good as the grace of raising.

Emperor Xiaowen was able to grow up smoothly and fully enjoy the maternal love of Empress Dowager Feng. Compared with previous emperors, he was much happier.

Even from the most basic emotional logic, Emperor Xiaowen's admiration and gratitude for Empress Dowager Feng came from the bottom of his heart. (End of this chapter)