The era that Helian Bobo lived in was an era of war and chaos. Especially in the vast area north of the Yangtze River, there were many big countries. The most powerful forces were the Later Qin in the west and the Northern Wei in the east. These two big countries were constantly at war with each other. In the east, there were the Southern Yan and Northern Yan. In the northwest, there were the Western Liang, Northern Liang and Southern Liang. In the northernmost grasslands, there were many nomadic tribes like the Rouran.
In this chaotic world where war was everywhere, trust and kindness were extremely rare and precious. Betrayal and plundering were the mainstream of this era. People who grew up in this era were born with courage and ruthlessness. They could even be described as cruel. This was because if you were too kind and trusted someone too much, you might fall into an irrecoverable situation.
It was not like there were no such examples. The former Qin Heavenly King, Fu Jian, was such a person. Whether it was the ambitious Murong Chui, the ruthless Yao Chang, or the ambitious and ruthless people who were forced to submit to him, he accepted them all. He trusted these people very much and was not on guard against them. But in the end, because of the defeat at the Fei River, he died at the hands of Yao Chang, and the people who submitted to him all rebelled.
It was precisely because there were too many examples like this that Helian Bobo, who was born in this era, became very ruthless. As long as he found someone who was unfavorable to him, he would immediately kill that person to prevent future troubles. Even his former benefactors were no exception. For example, his father-in-law, Wu Gan, was brutally killed by him. The purpose of killing his benefactor's father-in-law was actually to annex his father-in-law's tens of thousands of troops. It could be said that it was very cruel, so cruel that it was incomprehensible.
Of course, perhaps Helian Bobo had his own difficulties. After all, his father-in-law was a general of Later Qin, and the soldiers under his command were not weak. If he suddenly established the Huxia regime, the Later Qin Empire would definitely launch a crusade against him. As a general of Later Qin, Wu Yi Gan would naturally have to participate in the crusade. In this way, Helian Bobo would face a lot of pressure. If he suddenly killed Wu Yi Gan and annexed the soldiers under his command, not only would Wu Yi Gan's crusade army be destroyed, but it would also increase the strength of Helian Bobo's subordinates.
Persuading Wuyi Gan to join him and rebel against the Later Qin seemed to be an idea. However, it was a pity that this idea didn't work at all. At that time, Helian Bogang's capital was only twenty to thirty thousand soldiers and horses. Later Qin's strength far exceeded this. Wuyi Gan wasn't a fool. How could he follow the weak Helian Bogang and rebel against the Later Qin? Moreover, Helian Bobo wanted to prioritize himself. As Wu Gan's father-in-law, how would his future position be arranged? Would the father-in-law be the son-in-law's subordinate? Who would be able to accept such a change in status?
In short, no matter how one looked at it, there was no reason for Wuyi Gan to support Helian Bobo and rebel against Later Qin. Therefore, for the sake of his great cause, Helian Bobo could only choose to kill his benefactor, Wuyi Gan. From the perspective of his great cause, it seemed to make sense.
However, from the perspective of morality, Helian Bobo's actions were simply ungrateful animals. After all, if it were not for his father-in-law, Wu Gan, he would not have had the chance to become an emperor. It was Wu Gan's recommendation that allowed him to meet Yao Xing and gain Yao Xing's favor and trust. In the end, he rebelled against Yao Xing and became the founding emperor of the Huxia Empire.
Wu Gan and Yao Xing would never have dreamed that they had raised an ingrate. In particular, Wu Gan died in the hands of this ingrate of a son-in-law. It was really pitiful and lamentable.
The Huxia Empire had only existed for 25 years before it was destroyed by the Northern Wei Empire. Now, the only thing left in the Huxia Empire was Helian Bobo's shabby graveyard, a graveyard that had been visited by a large number of grave robbers.
Although there was nothing to see here, and in the eyes of many, this was a very ordinary small mound of dirt, Ang Lee was not looking at this small mound of dirt. Instead, he was looking at the emperor buried under this small mound of dirt. From the appearance of the emperor's tomb, one could feel the cruelty of the dynasty's changes. If the Huxia Empire had always existed, Helian Bobo's tomb would not have fallen to such a state.
Sometimes, when traveling and visiting, what one looked at was not the scenery and trees, but the cultural story behind the scenic spot. Only when one understood the cultural story behind the scenic spot would the scenic spot look meaningful. Otherwise, it would be meaningless. For example, Helian Bobo's tomb looked like a small mound of dirt. However, as long as one understood this period of history, one would know that Helian Bobo was a very powerful person. As such, when one looked at the scenic spot again, one would have a different feeling.
"Helian Bobo has been dead for a hundred years, right?"
Li Hanlu walked around the small mound of dirt and said.
"A hundred years? More than that! It's at least three hundred years! Yes, more than three hundred years. "
Ang Lee replied.
It had been more than three hundred years since Helian Bobo's death. Li Hanlu did not know much about history, so she made a guess that it had been a hundred years. If Yan Ruyu was here, she would definitely not make such a low-level mistake. In Ang Lee's residence, Yan Ruyu was the only one who was literate. The rest of the women were all illiterate or semi-illiterate. They could not recognize many words, so how could they have any knowledge of ancient history?
"He's been dead for more than three hundred years. No wonder the tomb has become like this."
Li Hanlu said. Then, she asked Ang Lee, "I heard that this Helian Bobo killed his own father-in-law. He was an ungrateful villain. Moreover, he killed the innocent as he pleased. As long as he did not like the sight of someone, he would kill them. What about his empress? Was she also killed by him? "
This question stumped Ang Lee. It was not because this question was difficult, but because there were not many detailed records in the history books. For example, after Helian Bobo's daughter married Helian Bobo, there were almost no records. After Helian Bobo killed Helian Bobo, there was no news at all. Later generations could only guess that Helian Bobo killed Helian Bobo, or at least crippled her.
According to the history books, Helian Bobo had a second wife named Lady Liang, who was the nominal empress of the Huxia Kingdom. It seemed that Helian Bobo treated this empress quite well. However, the records of Lady Liang were also very brief in the history books. There were almost no decent records. Even the date of her birth and death were not recorded. After all, in ancient times, the status of women was very low. It was good enough to have a title, especially for women who did not have any significant achievements. Even if they married the emperor, it was difficult for them to get the attention of the historians.
"This guy, Helian Bobo, killed his benefactor, Helian Bobo. As for his first wife, who was also Helian Bobo's daughter, it's easy to imagine what happened to her. She was probably killed as well! Even if she was still alive, she was crippled. She must be living a life worse than death! "
Although he did not know what the real situation was, Ang Lee's guess should not be too far off. Since Helian Bobo had already killed Helian Bobo, how could he let Helian Bobo's daughter go? Wasn't it a very risky thing to keep such a dangerous person by his side?
"Helian Bobo's heart is so evil. It's no wonder that he ended up with his mausoleum being destroyed by someone. He deserved it. It's retribution. But such a vicious person can actually sit on the throne. It's really unfair!"
Li Hanlu said very angrily.
Upon hearing this, Ang Lee nodded. This was not false at all. Since ancient times, many evil people could sit on the throne of the emperor. Even those who could sit on the throne were not absolutely good people, especially the founding emperors. Almost all of them used force to kill their way to the throne. Even Tang Taizong Li Shimin, who was praised by later generations, relied on killing his brothers to get to the throne. The rest of the emperors could be imagined.
Of course, even if the means used to conquer the world and get to the throne were a little cruel, as long as they treated the people better, they could still be regarded as wise emperors. However, there were always some emperors who were very perverted. Not only were their means of conquering the world cruel, but they were also equally cruel to the people in the country. There were even some super perverts who killed people at the slightest provocation, such as Helian Bobo. They killed whoever they did not like. It was really too terrifying.
And a large number of cruel and perverted emperors seemed to be concentrated in the era of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, such as the Later Zhao Emperor Shi Hu, the Former Qin Emperor Fu Sheng, the Huxia Emperor Helian Bobo, and so on. These emperors were more perverted than the other. They killed whoever they did not like. In their eyes, there was no difference between killing a person and crushing an ant. They never treated ordinary people as human beings. They were extremely cruel.
As for why these emperors could still sit on the throne despite being so cruel, it was probably related to the social atmosphere at that time. At that time, it was an extremely chaotic society. In order to gain a foothold in this chaotic society, it was very important to have a strong force. They used force to protect their rights and interests and to deter those who wanted to harm them. Shi Hu, Fu Sheng, and Helian Bobo were all extremely brave people. They all had force that ordinary people did not have and used force to deter the world, thus ensuring their own status.
In addition, in the era of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the lives of ordinary people at the bottom were worthless. Many people would die in a random war. Human lives were as cheap as grass. Under such circumstances, very few people would respect the lives of ordinary people. They felt that the lives of ordinary people were the same as the lives of chickens, ducks, pigs, and dogs. They could be taken away wantonly.
There was also a conflict between ethnic groups. In the era of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the various ethnic groups in the north were constantly fighting and integrating. There were very deep conflicts between the various ethnic groups, and some of these conflicts were difficult to resolve. From time to time, there would be massacres between different ethnic groups. Many of the victims were very ordinary people. This further lowered the social status of ordinary people, so the kind people had no choice but to build Wu Castle to protect themselves.
Of course, Helian Bobo was able to sit on the throne of the Emperor not only because of his cruelty, but also because he did have some skills. He was a very scheming person who had strong strategic and tactical abilities. This was the foundation for him to become the Emperor.
He was said to be scheming because when he pledged his allegiance to Yao Xing, he did not receive any real power. He was only a favored official who was favored by the Emperor. Moreover, this favored official was viewed with hostility by many of the Later Qin officials. Almost no one thought highly of him. In fact, when Yao Xing wanted to give him military power, the officials stood out to oppose, pointing out that Helian Bobo was a cruel and tyrannical person. Appointing such a person was very risky and would eventually become a scourge on the border. This made Yao Xing withdraw the idea.
However, Helian Bobo did not give up, nor did he complain. He had always been waiting for an opportunity. In the end, his hard work paid off. He had waited for a very good opportunity, which was a position with real power in the northern border of the Later Qin. Other than the fact that the Later Qin had been fighting with Northern Wei for a long time, which greatly weakened their strength and made them unable to control the northern border, another reason was Helian Bobo's continuous persuasion. He told the Emperor that as long as he was allowed to manage the northern border, he would definitely be able to govern the northern border in an orderly manner. This would allow the Later Qin to have more power to resist the rising Northern Wei.
In the end, Yao Xing believed Helian Bobo's words and appointed Helian Bobo as the Anbei General. He assigned more than twenty thousand tribes to him and had him guard the northern border. If not for his constant persuasion, Yao Xing might not have made such an arrangement, and he would not have had the chance to rise.
One could say that he was scheming, but another point was that he had put a lot of effort into expanding his strength. Once he made a decision, he would do it without hesitation. When the eight thousand high-quality warhorses that the Rouran Jin had offered to Yao Xing passed through his territory, he very decisively detained them. This was because so many high-quality warhorses could greatly increase the strength of his army. How could he miss such a rare opportunity?
The consequences of privately detaining Yao Xing's warhorses were very serious. For a subject to detain the Emperor's warhorses, this was a crime of great disrespect. Therefore, after detaining these eight thousand warhorses, Helian Bobo knew that he had to decisively rebel. Otherwise, once Yao Xing took the initiative to launch an attack, the consequences would be severe.
However, even if he obtained eight thousand high-quality warhorses, the difference in strength was still very large when compared to the Later Qin Empire. This was especially so when Weiyi Gan, who was close at hand, was the troops under his father-in-law's command. They would be the vanguard of the crusade against him. Persuading his father-in-law to pledge allegiance to him was obviously very risky. The chances of success were too small. Therefore, after detaining the warhorses, Helian Bobo decisively made a decision. He had to kill his father-in-law as fast as lightning and swallow up the troops under his command. This way, not only would he be able to weaken the first wave of the crusade army, he would also be able to increase the strength of the army under his command and make his troops more robust. The losses from a frontal assault would be too great. In case both sides suffered heavy losses, he would lose his capital. Therefore, he very shrewdly used a scheme, which was to trick his father-in-law into coming over under the guise of hunting. Then, he would easily kill him. This way, he could avoid the situation where both sides suffered heavy losses from a battle.
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