A Dinastia do Norte de Qi Não Será Subjugada
Qi teve muito azar; por um tempo, parecia que poderia acabar com a era de caos, mas acabou encontrando sucessivamente o imperador de Shenjin, tornando-se, por fim, o trampolim para o Norte de Zhou. Mas Bei Qi também teve sorte: no nono ano de Tianbao, Gao Yin, abalado pelos ataques, abriu os olhos novamente. O imperador Wenxuan, Gao Yang, era seu pai de sangue; quando esse “herói filho do céu”, que fazia violões com ossos humanos e era viciado em vinho e assassinatos, morresse, seus bons irmãos roubariam o trono de Gao Yin e forçariam sua mãe Li Zu'e a casar-se novamente. “O antigo Gao Yin, generoso e afável, já morreu. Agora, quem está diante de vocês é o herdeiro do herói filho do céu!” Gao Yin jamais permitiria que o tio imperial montasse sobre sua mãe, muito menos que o Norte de Zhou esmagasse o Da Qi!
A Dinastia do Norte de Qi Não Será Subjugada
What can one do at thirteen? It treads upon the rhythm of childhood, gazing toward the prologue of adulthood, as boys and girls begin to transform, shedding their childish forms for the likeness of adults. Qualified parents become a pause in the melody, shielding their children from reality and cruelty as much as possible.
But Gao Yang was no such pause; he was a brutal movement, forcing everyone into a tragic chorus of lament.
As a father, Gao Yang’s expectations for his thirteen-year-old son Gao Yin were not unusual, yet those expectations generally did not include ordering Gao Yin to decapitate a prisoner.
Still, perhaps Gao Yang’s actions could not be called wholly wrong. His other identity was Emperor of Qi, destined to walk alongside intrigue and slaughter. All his actions could be attributed to the inscrutable authority of an emperor—at least, that was how he saw it.
Thus, Gao Yang was furious, deeply disappointed in his weak crown prince.
If he could not bring himself to kill a helpless prisoner, how could he ever hold onto the blood-soaked throne of the Gao family?
That seat of power was a summit, difficult to ascend and even harder to stay upon. Even he, a heroic Son of Heaven, had to regularly offer death to the throne, wielding terror to subdue other ambitious souls.
Gao Yang had to admit, he lost his temper then, and so acted indecorously—striking Prince Gao Yin with a riding whip until the boy fainted.
The palace attendants quickly carried the prince to bed, tending to him, their busy forms making the child on
