The change of the throne in Chinese history mainly continues the system of primogeniture, that is, the eldest son has the right of priority, of course, except for some special cases, such as Tang Taizong Li Shimin, who launched the Xuanwu coup to become emperor, and then such as the Northern Qi Xiaozhao Emperor who deposed his nephew and ascended the throne, and Emperor Xiaozhao was not only relished by posterity, but also the seemingly simple but unbelievable problem of who Emperor Xiaozhao passed the throne to.
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Gao Yan has a son Gao Bainian, so gao Bainian inherited the throne is natural, but at this time Gao Yan thought that his nephew Gao Yin had no one to support him to ascend the throne when he was young, that Gao Yan was not the same situation, in order to avoid a recurrence of the tragedy, Gao Yan took the initiative to pass the throne to Gao Zhan, the imperial brother of the power and opposition, and wrote a letter hoping that Gao Zhan would treat Gao Zhan kindly. In 561, Gao Zhan ascended the throne and changed his name to Yuan Taining (元太宁), as Emperor Wucheng; In 564, Gao Zhan tortured his nephew Gao Bainian to avoid any trouble.
At this point, the question of who Emperor Xiaozhao passed the throne to no longer needs to be debated, even if Emperor Xiaozhao is well-intentioned, he cannot avoid the fainting Gao Zhan repeating the same mistakes, and the history of the reign between brothers is so similar that it is lamentable. When Emperor Xiaozhao was young, he was brilliant and intelligent, and he had the ability to become a great instrument at a very young age, and his birth mother Empress Wuming was very fond of him. Emperor Xiaozhao was eight feet long, his appearance was very beautiful, his appearance was outstanding, he was good at politics, and he was good at understanding the details of things.
In the first year of the Eastern Wei Dynasty, Gao Yan was awarded the title of Duke of Changshan Commandery. In the early years of Tianyou (550), he was the King of Changshan. In the fifth year of Tianyou (554), in addition to the provincial Shangshu Ling, he was decisive in doing things and was good at literary and rhetorical etiquette, which made the people of the province afraid and subjugated to him. In the seventh year of Tianyou (556), Gao Yan returned to Yicheng with Emperor Wenxuan and began to govern, good at political affairs, with reasonable judgments, and Emperor Wenxuan valued him very much. Later, he saw his second brother Emperor Wenxuan indulging in wine, acting worriedly, and seeing him bluntly. Emperor Wenxuan replied, "But Ling Ru is here, why shouldN't I indulge in pleasure?" Gao Yan fell to the ground crying and praying, never speaking.
Gao Yan's princess was originally a member of the Wei Dynasty, and Emperor Wenxuan chose a beautiful woman for gao yan to leave his wife, but Gao Yan accepted but deepened his feelings with his wife. His personality was very severe, and when Shang Shulangzhong made a mistake in judgment, he was flogged and punished for doing illegal things. Those who have been punished by the high performance have nothing to say.
In 560, Gao Yan joined forces with his mother and younger brother Gao Zhan to launch a coup d'état and take control of the military state, and soon after deposed his nephew Gao Yin and ascended the throne, changing his name to Yuan Huangjian at the age of twenty-six. During the reign of Emperor Xiaozhao, Wenzhi was both a martial artist and a master, paying close attention to political affairs, appointing talents and political clarity. In order to save the life of his son, the then crown prince Gao Bainian, he passed the throne to his half-brother Gao Zhan. A handwritten letter to Gao Zhan: "It is advisable to put my wife in a favor, and not to learn from her predecessors." "I hope that the lives of my wife and son will be saved." He was known as "Emperor Xiaozhao", the temple name Suzong, and was buried in Wenjing Mausoleum.