The Beautiful Woman Whom the Rogue Emperor Could Not Bear to Violate

There are many rogue emperors in history, such as Emperor Yang of Sui, Emperor Wu of Ming, etc. However, there is such an emperor in history who makes these rogue emperors feel ashamed. So who is this emperor? The following editor will tell you about this most rogue emperor in history!

The most rogue emperor in history

Saying that Zhu Wen was a gangster is completely understood from the perspective of human nature. As the founding emperor of the Later Liang Dynasty during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Zhu Wen was a very complicated figure. Let us not discuss his merits and demerits in history, nor explore his tactics and schemes, but just talk about Zhu Wen in life and his relationship with women.

There are countless licentious emperors in ancient China, but no matter how they are ranked, Zhu Wen can be regarded as the best and the epitome of them. We can get a glimpse of this just by looking at the brief records in "Zizhi Tongjian". Once Zhu Wen went to the residence of Wei Wang Zhang Zongshi to escape the summer heat. He saw the maids and servants with exquisite curves and thin spring clothes, so his bestial nature was aroused. He was so hungry that he ate anything and "raped almost all the women." He did not spare any woman in the Zhang family. Such physical strength, such physique, and such kung fu skills.

In fact, the emperor's debauchery does not make him a hooligan. The emperor is the Son of Heaven, and he manages all matters in the world on behalf of heaven. Everything in the world belongs to the emperor, and he is free to govern or destroy it, including women. However, it is truly shocking that someone like Zhu Wen was so arrogant and willful that he acted recklessly regardless of time and place. What's even more ridiculous is that he did not even spare his own daughters-in-law. "Although his sons were away, he often summoned their wives to serve him, and the emperor often had affairs with them." While his sons were away fighting in the war, the old man called his daughter-in-law to sleep with him. This was an outrageous act that was condemned by both humans and gods. Calling him a hooligan would be an exaggeration.

However, such a brutal and bestial emperor who did not treat women as human beings, had lost all ethics and morals, and had completely extinguished his humanity, always treated his first wife Zhang with great respect and courtesy, and did not dare to disrespect her in the slightest. According to the Old History of the Five Dynasties, "although Wen had a heart of a tiger and a wolf, he was still subdued by Zhang" (Old History of the Five Dynasties). Zhu Wen, who had a heart as cruel as a jackal, was respectful and submissive in front of Zhang. This piece of hard clay was completely softened by Zhang's water. This also allows us to see another side of Zhu Wen. Why was Zhu Wen so respectful to Zhang alone? We can analyze it from the following aspects.

First of all, Zhu Wen liked Zhang very much. This is very important. In Lu Weibing's opinion, only when men and women truly like each other will they respect each other and even fear each other. Unlike the women who entered the harem later, Zhang was the woman Zhu Wen fell in love with at first sight. In other words, there was an emotional foundation between them, at least as far as Zhu Wen was concerned. Zhang's real name was Zhang Hui. He and Zhu Wen were fellow villagers, both from Dangshan (now northern Anhui Province). Zhang Huiren was very beautiful. Zhu Wen had long "privately admired her" and "sighed for her like Lihua" (Old History of the Five Dynasties), which shows how much he liked her.

Lihua's Sigh refers to Yin Lihua, the wife of Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu. At that time, Liu Xiu was just like Zhu Wen now, still a poor and down-and-out man, not well-off, while Yin Lihua was a well-known rich girl, very beautiful. Liu Xiu had two life goals planned for himself at that time: "When I get married, I should marry Yin Lihua" (Book of the Later Han). Zhu Wen also uttered the "Lihua Sigh", and his satisfaction with Zhang Hui must have been 100%.

Because I like it, I pay special attention to it. When Zhu Wen married Zhang Hui, he was still leading troops in wars. The conditions did not allow for this and it should have been handled specially. However, Zhu Wen "married her as a woman with etiquette" (Old History of the Five Dynasties) and solemnly married Zhang Hui with gongs and drums. Everyone has a good side and cannot bear to destroy beautiful things, even if that person is an unforgivable bastard. Faced with such a beloved wife, Zhu Wen had no reason not to respect her.

Another thing is that Zhang Hui had a temperament that impressed Zhu Wen. Zhang Hui was born into a family of officials. Her father was the governor of Songzhou. Her wealthy family, influenced by poetry, books and etiquette, made it easy for her to cultivate a beautiful woman with temperament. The Old History of the Five Dynasties says that she was "wise and polite", virtuous and knowledgeable of etiquette. This is an external manifestation of a woman's quality and accomplishment. It is not something that can be achieved overnight, nor can it be learned by anyone who wants to.

Zhu Wen actually had certain qualities. He was born into a family of poetry and literature. His father, Zhu Cheng, "taught the Five Classics to the people in his hometown" (New History of the Five Dynasties). At the very least, he was a private teacher, so he had some basic family education. This makes Zhang Hui's temperament more prominent, and because Zhu Wen knows how to appreciate it, there will be no embarrassing situation of being like a cow chewing a peony. Moreover, Zhu Wen's marriage to Zhang Hui was considered as an attempt to curry favor with others at the time, after all, Zhu Wen had not yet become successful. Starting from a low point, the momentum is also lower than before.

More importantly, liking someone can sometimes lead to dependence, and this dependence will deepen the degree of liking. Zhu Wen married a beautiful wife and was willing to discuss everything with Zhang Hui. "Every time the army planned national affairs, he would first consult with Zhang Hui" (Old History of the Five Dynasties). He would first seek the opinion of Comrade Zhang Hui on major military and national affairs. Even "when the army had already set out and encountered problems halfway, Zhang Hui would ask to return and arrive as scheduled" (Old History of the Five Dynasties). Sometimes the army had already set out, but Zhang Hui suddenly felt that something was wrong and asked Zhu Wen to come back. Zhu Wen would immediately withdraw his troops without saying a word and stop fighting. In this way, Zhang Hui became Zhu Wen's virtuous wife, and Zhu Wen became even more dependent on her.

Last but not least, Zhang Huiren is very smart and flexible in handling matters. As his career flourished, Zhu Wen no longer cared about Zhang Hui's family background. As time passed, Zhu Wen no longer cared about Zhang Hui's beauty. It's like going from love to marriage. Without the initial passionate bond, it needs to be maintained through management. Although history books do not specifically record how Zhang Hui managed his relationship and marriage with Zhu Wen, we can learn about Zhang Hui's style of doing things from two small things.

Zhang Hui and Zhu Wen had a son, who later became King of Chen, Zhu Youyu. When attacking Zhu Jin, the governor of Taining Army, Zhu Youyu did not pursue the victory, so Zhu Wen suspected that he had an affair with Zhu Jin. He stripped him of his military power and wanted to punish him. Zhu Youyu was so frightened that he ran away and hid in the mountains. Zhang Hui missed her son, so she secretly asked someone to find Zhu Youyu and asked him to come back and apologize to his father.

As a result, Zhu Wen was still angry and wanted to kill him. Zhang Hui was so anxious that he didn't even bother to put on his shoes. He ran to the main hall and said to Zhu Youyu, "You come back to plead guilty, don't you want to tell your father that you have no intention of rebelling?" ("New History of the Five Dynasties"), you come back to plead guilty, don't you want to tell your father that you have no intention of rebelling at all? He said this to Zhu Wen, and Zhu Wen thought it made sense, so Zhu Youyu was spared from death.

After defeating Zhu Jin, Zhu Wen wanted to take Zhu Jin's wife as his concubine. Looking at Zhu Jin's helpless wife, Zhang Hui couldn't bear it, but she didn't say it directly. Instead, she sighed sadly, "If we were the ones who failed, my fate would be the same as yours today." After hearing this, Zhu Wen's evil thoughts disappeared and he sent Zhu Jin's wife to the temple to become a nun.

From this point of view, Zhu Wen was not as inhumane as he later became. And a smart woman who is so decisive and skillful in handling things is undoubtedly also a master in managing emotions and marriage. This should be a very important reason why Zhu Wen always respects her.

Unfortunately, Zhang Hui died of illness before Zhu Wen became emperor. After Zhu Wen usurped the Tang Dynasty and established the Liang Dynasty, he posthumously canonized Zhang Hui as the virtuous concubine. After the last emperor Zhu Youzhen ascended the throne, he posthumously named her Empress Dowager Yuanzhen. After becoming emperor, Zhu Wen was no longer the good husband who was respectful to his wife, but "indulged in adultery... and was obscene" (Old History of the Five Dynasties). The change was so great that it was shocking.

It is impossible to verify whether Zhu Wen gave up on himself and became dissolute because of the loss of Zhang. But what is certain is that despite Zhu Wen's brutal temperament and vicious methods, and his dictionary is full of betrayal, debauchery, harsh rule and cunning, he also had tenderness, warmth, and women he respected and loved.