The grandfathers of Tang Emperor Li Yuan and Sui Yang Emperor Yang Guang were the same person, Dugu Xin. Duguxin was from Xianbei and had eight sons and seven daughters. Among them, the fourth daughter married Li Yuan's father Li\, and the seventh daughter married Yang Guang's father Yang Jian. Li Yuan is three years older than Yang Guangda. Speaking of which, the two are cousins.
Li Yuan attacked the Duke of Tang Dynasty when he was seven years old. Relying on Yang Jian's relationship with Queen Dugu as his aunt, he became "especially dear to him and became the governor of Qiao, Long and Qi Prefectures". Later, a master of physiognomy named Shi Shiliang said to Li Yuan: "Gong Gu's skills are very good and he must be the master of others. He is willing to love himself and don't forget his contemptuous words." He said that Li Yuan had extraordinary horoscopes and would be an emperor in the future. After hearing this, Li Yuan was "quite conceited" ("Old Tang Book? Gaozu Ji") and was very satisfied with his appearance and very proud.
In terms of appearance, Li Yuan's cousin, Yang Guang, is a handsome man. "Book of Sui Dynasty" records that Yang Guang has "beautiful appearance, young intelligence and intelligence", and "the double bones on his eyebrows are raised, which is beyond words", and he has the taste of a male god. After Yang Guang became emperor, he was arrogant, extravagant and militaristic, and was very suspicious of his ministers. In February of the eleventh year of Daye (615), an alchemist named Anjiatuo said that "Li should be the emperor" and advised Yang Guang to "execute everyone with the surname of Li in the country" ("Zi Zhi Tong Jian") . Yang Guang attached great importance to it, and immediately focused on Li Hun and Li Yuan, two people who were quite powerful in the court.
Li Hun was granted the title of Duke J. "His family is powerful", and Yang Guang was originally suspicious of him. At that time, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Jian, "dreamed of a flood that destroyed the capital, and had evil intentions." Li Hun happened to have a nephew named Li Min, nicknamed Hong'er, who served as a prisoner when he was a general. After listening to the alchemist's words, Yang Guang suspected that Li Min "his name should be a prophecy and often told him in the hope that he would lead to a decision" and asked him to commit suicide. Seeing that the emperor had murderous intentions, Li Min was greatly frightened. "Shu Yu Hun and Shan Heng screened people whispering", and now he was caught. The memorial that falsely accused Li Hun of treason was like a snowflake, playing right into Yang Guang's hands. Soon, Yang Guang "killed Hun, Min, Shanheng and thirty-two members of his clan, and all of them moved to the border from the third concubine and above" ("Zi Zhi Tong Jian").
After solving Li Hun, next is Li Yuan. Li Yuan was a very well-educated man. He had seen Yang Guang "killing ministers out of suspicion" before, and he was unable to attend the Hajj on time due to illness. He was once suspected by Yang Guang, so in recent years he "indulged in wine and accepted bribes to conceal himself" ( "Old Tang Book? Gaozu Ji"). Now that Li Hun was killed, Li Yuan became more cautious, drinking and eating all day long, keeping a low profile. After all, Li Yuan was his cousin, and Yang Guang couldn't take action for a while. Furthermore, because Yang Guang saw that Li Yuan had an ordinary appearance and no heroic spirit, he felt relieved about him and even invited him to drink.
While drinking, Yang Guang carefully observed Li Yuan's appearance. "Tang Yu Lin Xianyuan" records, "The great ancestor was a friend of Emperor Yang. Emperor Yang used pictures and prophecies to say many words about his surname, General Li, and everyone rejected him. Later, because of the general meeting, Emperor Yang looked at him and called him Grandma Mian." "Jiahua of the Sui and Tang Dynasties" According to the book, "Yang Emperor Yan and his officials all called Emperor Gaozu "Grandma" because of his wrinkled face. Li Yuan's wrinkled face meant that he had many wrinkles on his face and looked like an old lady, so Yang Guang called her "Grandma's face". In Yang Guang's eyes, Li Yuan looks wretched and has no aristocratic appearance. At first glance, he looks like a guy who will never succeed.
Yang Guang was relieved, but Li Yuan was furious. Do you think, if Yang Guang mocks Li Yuan in public like an old lady, how can Li Yuan not be angry? After returning home, he saw Li Yuan looking arrogant. After his wife, Mrs. Dou, asked about the reason, she quickly congratulated her and said: "You are the Duke of the Tang Dynasty, 'Tang' means 'Tang', and 'Grandma Mian' means 'Tang Master'. You will become the master of the world in the future!" After hearing Dou's words, Li Yuan became energetic and had the idea of ??replacing Yang Guang. After that, Li Yuan continued to pay tribute and gifts to Yang Guang to win his favor; on the other hand, he actively planned a rebellion and recruited party members, and finally seized the power of the Sui Dynasty, proclaimed himself the emperor and founded the country, and was known as Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty in history. Unfortunately, Mr. Dou passed away without seeing this scene.
What does Li Yuan look like? "Old Book of Tang Dynasty? Gaozu Ji" said that Li Yuan was "long-lived, suave and open-minded, willful and sincere, tolerant and tolerant of everyone, and he was favored by both noble and humble people." "New Tang Book? Gaozu Ji" said that Li Yuan had "three breasts in his body and a tolerant and benevolent nature". "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" said that Li Yuan's appearance was "strange". The three authoritative historical materials did not mention Li Yuan's appearance. They only said that he had a unique appearance, had three sisters, was open-minded and frank, had a tolerant temperament, and was very popular. According to "Taiping Guangji", Li Yuan has a "high face and wrinkled face", which means he has a high forehead and soft face. Comparing the "grandma's face" mentioned by Yang Guang, it can be seen that Li Yuan's appearance is very general, he should be lower than average, and there is nothing praiseworthy, otherwise the official history would not mention it at all.
However, Li Yuan has great abilities!