webnovelfull Chapter 636: Later Life Extra 1
Chapter 636: Later Life Extra 1
Department of Archaeology, School of Archaeology and Museology, Jingcheng University.
"Ring--" As soon as the bell rang, the large classroom of the Archaeology Department was already full of people. A closer look revealed that many people from other departments had also arrived.
"It seems everyone has watched the news and is interested in the most glorious dynasty in our history~"
The old professor with sparse white hair walked up to the podium, pushed his glasses on the bridge of his nose, and said with a smile while looking at the packed classroom.
His name is Hang Ke. He is not only a professor in the Department of Archaeology at Peking University, but also a famous historian and archaeologist in China. If he had not been particularly interested in the most powerful dynasties in history, his achievements might have been even greater.
He has devoted most of his life to studying the past dynasties. He even used his own connections to get sponsorship to set up a dynasty research room, and worked with a group of like-minded people to conduct archaeological research on the culture and unearthed cultural relics of the past dynasties.
The lesson he was going to talk about today was the tomb of King Tuojiang, which they had just excavated. This man was the founder and executor of the unification of the Dali Dynasty, and was also one of the most legendary figures in all dynasties.
There are four legendary figures in history. The first one is Empress Dowager Xiao, the mother of Emperor Changsheng who completed the unification of all dynasties.
This woman is the most famous in the history of Sheng State, not only because she gave birth to an emperor who will be remembered forever, but also because of her unpredictable abilities and tortuous experiences.
When the third emperor in history, her father-in-law, was assassinated at her son's full-moon banquet, the empress dowager at the time and the newly enthroned Emperor Yongkang both had grudges against her and her son. According to historical records, they were arranged to live in the remote Liuyun Palace, and their daily expenses were of the lowest quality.
Everyone understands this. After all, their husband/father died at Emperor Changsheng's full moon banquet, so it's understandable that they feel a little uncomfortable with the mother and son.
In addition, it is said that Emperor Yongkang was deeply in love with his queen Qiao Wan and was originally very cold towards her. It is not surprising that the people in the harem would treat her differently based on her status.
If the queen had given birth to a legitimate son, perhaps both mother and daughter would have died, but the subsequent developments were very unexpected.
It was not known whether the Yongkang Emperor's lineage was cursed, but less than a year after the previous emperor was assassinated, Empress Qiao Wan and Yongkang Emperor's biological mother, Queen Mother Wang, also died one after another.
With funerals happening one after another, Emperor Yongkang probably had no time to deal with state affairs.
As a result, not long after the funeral was over, the second prince Chu Mingli suddenly forced the emperor to abdicate and directly killed Emperor Yongkang. The next day, he even brought the imperial guards to the court meeting.
He thought he had a sure victory and was going to become the 35th emperor, but he didn't expect that Empress Dowager Xiao would lead her men directly to the court and use her superb martial arts to capture all the imperial guards present, including Chu Mingli, and control the situation in an instant.
He also produced evidence to prove that Chu Mingli was not actually the biological son of the late emperor, but the son of the remnants of the previous dynasty. Concubine Hui gave birth to a daughter, and later let the fake son marry the real daughter. It was a good plan.
Moreover, her maternal family was a loyal servant of the previous royal family. All of this was planned.
These can be said to be confidential, and no one knows how Empress Dowager Xiao found out.
However, it can also be seen from this point that Empress Dowager Xiao definitely did not rise to power suddenly. Not only are her secret guards all top-notch masters, but the eunuchs and palace maids are also good fighters, and the imperial guards are no match for them.
But she was the daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo. Who was the Duke of Zhenguo? He was the grandson of a founding father who had helped the founding emperor conquer the country. Three generations of his family had made great military achievements. How could his children be ordinary people?
Although Empress Dowager Xiao was known as a well-educated lady who was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting when she was young, it was probably just for show. After all, the status of women was relatively low at that time, and it would have been better for women to have such a reputation.
But everyone has overlooked that, while it is said that a general's son is a tiger, there may also be a general's daughter. Usually, they keep a low profile, but at the critical moment, they unexpectedly take charge of the situation.
Afterwards, the princes of various fiefdoms came to the capital to attend the funeral. Everyone thought that there would be another bloody storm. After all, the eldest prince was still a baby and the Duke of Zhenguo was far away in the north fighting against the two countries of Man and Lie. Two fists could not fight four hands, and distant water could not quench immediate thirst.
Unexpectedly, those princes did nothing. Even the third prince, who was the most popular at the time, another legendary figure and later the King of Tuojiang, was willing to submit.
Later, he asked for the title of Regent. Hearing this title, everyone might think that he wanted to use the emperor to control the princes. Unexpectedly, he was really just a regent. He assisted his nephew wholeheartedly, even carried him to attend government meetings, and taught him seriously and patiently since he was a child.
It was not until the little emperor was three years old that Xiao Hou, the nephew of Empress Dowager Xiao, appeared. This was the third legendary figure.
Xiaoyao Hou left home at a young age to travel around the world. In that era when transportation was underdeveloped, it was almost like measuring the land with his feet.
Later, he took a boat directly from Dongyuan to the other side of the sea, explored all the Western countries which were still very backward at that time, and brought back many seeds and things unique to that place.
After returning, he improved the seeds himself. Those seeds, which were already high-yielding, had even more amazing yields when grown on land that was more fertile than that in Western countries, and their taste and texture were also better.
After obtaining the results, he went to Beijing to present them to the court. Since he was the nephew of the empress dowager and the cousin of the young emperor, family members could not be stingy, so he was directly named Marquis Xiao and was directly assigned by Empress Dowager Xiao to be the enlightenment teacher of the young emperor.
Unexpectedly, he not only had experience, but also had extraordinary literary talent. He understood the ways of being a king and taught the young emperor exceptionally well, and all the civil and military officials were sincerely convinced.
However, he was not obsessed with power and refused the position of Grand Tutor. As soon as Emperor Changsheng took power, he left the capital and traveled around the country with his aunt, Empress Dowager Xiao.
Yes, she took Empress Dowager Xiao with her. Although the historians initially recorded that the Empress Dowager went to the temporary palace to spend her remaining years, everyone actually knew that she was traveling around.
Because there are many unofficial stories about her later, such as which corrupt official she beheaded, which village she saved, which bandit den she wiped out, etc. After a long time, her whereabouts can no longer be hidden.
What's more, she didn't hide it much, and from time to time she would send local specialties to her emperor son.
The fourth legendary figure is Princess Dong Yan of Prince Xin. If King Tuojiang expanded the territory of Dali, then she helped Dali develop rapidly.
Not only did he create glass, soap, cement, etc., but he also proposed many policies to benefit the people through the mouth of Prince Xin, such as the establishment of schools, hospitals, and post offices in various counties and towns, and encouraged women to learn some skills to support themselves...