In the Wei Jin North and South Dynasties, there were few excellent monarchs, but many excellent warlords appeared.
It can be said that Gao Changgong introduced this time is one of the excellent military commanders.
Let's take a look at the life of the famous general who was sung by the Japanese gagaku "Prince of Lanling" and was the origin of Yukio Mishima's last short story "Prince of Lanling"!
* Unfortunately, Gao Changgong does not appear in Yukio Mishima's novel.
Northern Qi's imperial family Gao Changgong
Gao Changgong's grandfather was Gao Huan, a senior vassal of Northern Wei, and his father, Gao Cheng, was a senior vassal of Eastern Wei, the split dynasty of Northern Wei.
In Chinese culture, the status of a child is largely influenced by the mother, and Gao Changgong seems to have not been given much preferential treatment because of the low status of the mother.
Wei Jin's North and South Dynasties were an era in which assassinations occurred frequently, and Gao Changgong's father, Gao Cheng, was assassinated.
Angry at that, his uncle, Takayo, urged the emperor of Eastern Wei to do Shan Rang (to transfer the position of the emperor) and founded a country called Northern Qi himself.
Due to this influence, Gao Changgong took the position of Prince of Lanling, and responded to the invasion from the north lap and the west.
Gao Changgong, who brilliantly repelled Göktürk, continues to be involved in the battle with the Northern Zhou.
When the Northern Zhou surrounds Luoyang, the capital of Northern Qi, with 100,000 soldiers, Gao Changgong immediately rushes to the rescue.
Even though he was disturbed on the way, he skillfully cooperated with other military commanders and succeeded in repelling him, and he attacked Luoyang at once.
Upon arriving near Luoyang, Gao Changgong began to take off his helmet.
There is an anecdote like a gag that the soldiers of Northern Qi who were in Luoyang because their appearance was so handsome that they found out that Gao Changgong had arrived and their morale rose and succeeded in driving out the army corps of the Northern Zhou as it was.
I wonder if that is the case, but it is true that Northern Qi repelled the Northern Zhou in this battle of Luoyang.
This story has more and more tail fins, and Gao Changgong is wearing an iron mask because he doesn't want to hurt his face, or he wears a mask to hide his appearance like a woman. It will become. In the Tang dynasty, it became a story that soldiers had to hide their faces because Gao Changgong's beauty was so distracting that he was treated like a legend.
In 571, Gao Changgong, who became a captain, has succeeded in defeating the forces of the Northern Zhou that have invaded again and repelling the general, Gao Changgong.
The tragic end of Gao Changgong
Some were worried about Gao Changgong's popularity.
The enemy's Northern Zhou ... not.
It was the height of the emperor of Northern Qi who was an ally.
He was one of the worst-class emperors of all time in China, believing in the praises of his vassals, dismissing his vassals, and purging influential warlords one after another.
Gao Wei was afraid that Gao Changgong would rob him of his position.
Gao Changgong realized such an atmosphere and was reluctant at his home.
Nevertheless, Gao Wei gave Gao Changgong a cup of poison.
Gao Changgong, who realized that he had been up to now, became a person who never drank poison himself.
At this time he is only 32 years old.
Northern Qi, who lost Gao Changgong, declined at once and disappeared only four years later.
Say to history books.
If Prince of Lanling was alive, Northern Qi might not have perished.
Personal evaluation of Gao Changgong
Gao Changgong is blessed with good looks and beautiful voice so that he can be described as mellow and beautiful, and when he is given a fruit, he gives it to his subordinates even a little, and even if it is a small matter, he did it himself, and there are many episodes that are good in terms of personality. Has been done.
- A subordinate who was dismissed for theft in the past gave a small punishment to reassure him that he was later frightened by Gao Changgong's anger in the army.
- We didn't wait for the return from the imperial court, and we didn't punish even if we returned alone.
- When he received 20 beauties in honor of his military service, he chose only one and declined.
Gao Changgong, who is handsome, thoughtful of his subordinates, fair and brave, had no luck.
If Gao Changgong had taken power and became an emperor, Northern Qi would continue, and Sui would not unify China, and China's history might have changed significantly.
Unfortunately, Gao Changgong may have been too decent to survive the turbulent world.
Or I wish I could play an active part under a more decent monarch.
In any case, it can be said that it is a famous general representing Wei Jin North and South Korea.