In the year 550 AD, Emperor Gao Huan of Eastern Wei served as prime minister and personally led the army to attack the garrison of Western Wei in Yubi. In November of that year, Gao Huan became unwell and ordered the troops to withdraw. The soldiers were scared and said, "Wei Xiaokuan of Western Wei used a specially made strong crossbow to shoot the prime minister." Western Wei also issued a nationwide announcement stating, "With one arrow from the strong crossbow, Gao Huan brought destruction upon himself." Gao Huan became furious upon hearing this, and his condition worsened as he believed it was the work of evil spirits. The "Hongfan Five Elements Biography" states, "Shooting is a sign of military disaster; when the energy goes against the heavens, disaster will arise." Gao Huan continued to march, but General Cao Weizu in the palace advised him, "Right now, the negative energy is overpowering the living energy, which is not good for the enemy, but it is good for you." Gao Huan did not listen, stayed in place for fifty days, and suffered repeated defeats in battle. He also followed dubious advice, diverting the Fen River to the north of the city and attempting to build earthen mounds. The terrain was steep, over a thousand feet tall, and the project was never completed, which led to the deaths of seventy thousand people. All of this was due to going against the will of heaven. That year, Gao Huan died. The following year, Wang Sizheng came to disturb Henan again.
After Gao Huan's death, his son Gao Yang proclaimed himself emperor, known as Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi. During the Wuping period, the final ruler of Northern Qi, Gao Wei, returned from Bingzhou to Ye City. While passing through Bagong Ridge at night, he was singing while walking. Suddenly, a person went mad, and the last ruler thought he was bewitched by a fox spirit, so he hid in the bushes and shot him with a bow. Several people were injured, and the last ruler was almost hit. The last ruler caught the person and killed him. At that time, the person had no idea what he had done. Fox spirits bewitching people are acts of evil and demonic beings. At that time, Gao Wei did not care about state affairs, only indulging in singing and revelry with women and eunuchs in the palace, even dressing in rags to beg for amusement on the streets. All of this was a sign of evil, and someone shooting at him was also an omen of military disaster. Not long after, Northern Qi perished.
In the year 502 AD, during the second year of the Tianjian era of the Liang Dynasty, there was a dragon fighting in the waters of Beiliang Prefecture, with mist covering several miles. This was a sign of the mischief of dragons. The "Hongfan Wuxing Zhuan" states: "Dragons are fierce beasts that are difficult to deal with. They are of celestial nature, symbols of rulers. If the heavens are harmed, the ruler's righteousness is harmed, and the dragon will also be harmed. Dragon fighting is a sign of impending war." Jing Fang's "Yi Feihou" also states: "When people's hearts are unsettled, strange phenomena like dragon fighting will appear." At that time, Emperor Wu of Liang had just ascended the throne, and rebellions led by Chen Bozhi and Liu Jilian broke out, leading to widespread anxiety and unrest in the nation.
In the sixth month of the fifth year of the Putong era, the dragon was fighting at Qu'a Wang Pond, then headed west to Jianling City. Wherever it passed, trees were uprooted, with fallen trees lying for dozens of zhang. This was similar to the phenomenon that occurred in the Tianjian era. The uprooting of trees in Jianling signified that war was imminent and that the imperial tomb would be destroyed. At that time, the emperor was solely focused on academic discussions, neglecting agriculture and military affairs, resulting in a frivolous and lazy state for the country. The righteousness of the ruler was compromised, hence the occurrence of such strange behavior from the dragon. However, the emperor did not understand this at all. In the first year of Taiqing, dragons were fighting in the waters of Lizhou again. The waves were rolling, the clouds were thick, and people saw a white dragon running south with a black dragon chasing after it. That year, Hou Jing brought his troops to surrender, and the emperor accepted his surrender without taking any precautions, instilling fear across the nation. Soon after, war erupted, and the emperor died from overwhelming anxiety.
In the summer of the tenth year of Da Tong, a dragon struck by lightning fell into a well in the Yanling people's home. The next morning, when people went to see it, the dragon was very big, as large as a donkey. People wanted to stab it with a spear, but suddenly they saw large snakes appearing in the courtyard and inside the house, as large as several hundred dou boats, and the family fled in terror. The "Hong Fan Five Elements Biography" says: "The dragon is masculine and is a symbol of nobility. It should be in the sky or on the ground, not appearing in the towns and houses of ordinary people. The well is a deep place, which indicates that the princes will be imprisoned and suffer disaster. This is the emperor's moral failings." Later, Hou Jing rebelled and indeed imprisoned and killed Emperor Jianwen in the wine cellar, and the royal princes and nobles were all tragically imprisoned and died.
In the eleventh year of Taijian in Chen, a dragon appeared in a pond in Nanyanzhou, which was similar to the phenomenon that appeared in the tenth year of Da Tong in the Liang Dynasty. Not long after, the new emperor ascended to the throne; he was arrogant and indulgent, lavish and hedonistic, and acted without moderation. Later, the country was finally destroyed, and he was imprisoned.
In the first year of Wuding in Eastern Wei, a large snake appeared in Wulao City. At that time, Li, the wife of Gao Zhongmi, the governor of Beiyu Prefecture, was both intelligent and beautiful. The crown prince Gao Cheng liked her, which made Gao Zhongmi uneasy, so he rebelled with Wulao as a stronghold, secretly colluded with Western Wei, and fought a major battle in Heyang. Gao Huan (Emperor Shenwu) found himself in a desperate situation due to the Western Wei army, and finally escaped after losing thousands of men.
In the ninth year of Tianbao in Later Qi, a dragon seven or eight zhang long appeared in the main hall of Qizhou, which was similar to the phenomenon that appeared in the tenth year of Da Tong. At that time, the Kings of Changshan and Guangling wielded significant power, yet the emperor failed to curtail their influence. The next year, the emperor died, and Crown Prince Yin ascended to the throne. King Xiao Yan of Changshan indeed deposed the emperor, imprisoned him, and killed him.
In the first year of Heqing, a dragon appeared in the bathhouse in Jizhou. This foreshadowed the events that would occur in the ninth year of the Tianbao era. Prior to this, King Guiyan of Ping Qin accepted the posthumous edict of Emperor Zhao to appoint Prince Bai Nian as the heir. However, Guiyan appointed Prince Zhang, who became Emperor Wucheng. Prince Bai Nian was then deposed as the Prince of Leling and eventually died in despair.
In the fourth year of Tiantong, someone in Guixiang felled a dead tree and discovered a yellow dragon with its feet broken, dead in a tree hole. The people of Qi believed this was a sign of Wood Virtue. The dragon represents the monarch, and a dead dragon in a dead tree is a very ominous sign. That year, Emperor Wucheng died.
In the third year of Wuping, a dragon appeared in a well in Handan, with colorful dragon energy soaring into the sky. In a Buddhist temple in Jijun, a dragon also appeared in a dry well. This was akin to the dragon that had appeared in the first year of Heqing. Later, the last ruler of Qi surrendered to the Zhou Dynasty and was ultimately executed.
In the seventh year of Wuping, at Zhaoyuan Tower in Bingzhou, a red snake and a black snake appeared and fought for several days until the red snake was defeated. Red is the symbolic color of Qi, while black is the symbolic color of Zhou. The two snakes fighting to death is a sign of destruction! Later, the last ruler of Qi heavily relied on treacherous individuals and engaged in battle with the Zhou army in Jinzhou. He handed over the army to the treacherous Gao Anagong, who ended up surrendering to the enemy. This disaster stemmed from the emperor's poor judgment in choosing his officials! Eventually, the last ruler of Qi was captured by the Zhou army.
Prince Yan of Langye demolished a white pagoda shaped like a horse in the Northern Palace, built by Cheng Gong during the Stone Zhao period. When the pagoda was demolished, a white snake several feet long appeared, coiling and swiftly disappearing. At that time, Prince Yan of Langye was tyrannical and reckless, without regard for the consequences of his actions. He ignored the warnings of these omens, which ultimately led to disaster.
In the fifth year of the Later Zhou, a black dragon fell dead in Bozhou. "The dragon represents the ruler. Black is the color favored by the Zhou Dynasty. Falling and dying is extremely ominous." The dragon is the symbol of the monarch, black is the symbolic color of the Zhou Dynasty, and the dragon falling to the ground dead is an extremely ominous omen. At that time, the crown prince of the Zhou was incompetent, causing great concern to the emperor. Honest ministers such as Wang Gui and Yuwen Xiaobo repeatedly requested the removal of the crown prince and the installation of another, but the emperor did not agree. Two years later, the emperor passed away, the crown prince took the throne, and he cruelly killed the Qi prince, Wang Gui, Yuwen Xiaobo, and others, ultimately leading to the downfall of the country.
In the fourth year of the Renshou era, a dragon appeared in a well in the Daizhou Governor's Office. The dragon would sometimes transform into armored cavalry, and at other times would bend a bow and shoot arrows, mimicking the act of shooting arrows. Transforming into armored cavalry foretells chaos brought by warhorses; bending the bow and shooting arrows, suggesting the hunting of monsters, foretells wars between vassals and ultimately imprisonment. At that time, Prince Liang of Han was secretly plotting a rebellion, hence these ominous signs of warfare appeared. Liang ignored the advice, eventually rebelled, was deposed to a commoner, and died after being imprisoned for several years.
That fellow Hou Jing declared himself king and emperor in Jiangnan, and every time he went to battle, if his white horse held its head high and neighed while prancing around, he would surely win; if it looked dejected, he would surely lose. Once in Xizhou, his white horse lay down and refused to get up, despite Hou Jing's pleading and urging. Eventually, Hou Jing fell from power, probably due to the bad luck brought by the horse. "The horse is a symbol of the military, signaling that war is imminent, hence the strange behavior of the horse." Hou Jing's defeat in this battle was related to this white horse.
In the fifth year of the Chen Dynasty, the horse named Ma Changjiao in Hengzhou grew horns. The Hongfan Five Elements says: "Ma Changjiao is a sign of war, foretelling failure and destruction." At that time, Emperor Chen Xuan dispatched Wu Mingche to lead troops against the Zhou army in Lüliang. After many years of fighting, the army sustained heavy losses, and in the end, Wu Mingche was captured by the Zhou army.
During the Tianbao period of the Northern Qi Dynasty, there was a horse in Guangzong County with a horn growing between its ears, shaped like a sheep's tail. The Jing Fang Yi Zhuan says: "When the emperor personally goes to war, the horse will grow horns." Four years later, the Khitan people invaded the border, and Emperor Wenxuan personally led the army to fight.
In the fourth year of the Sui Dynasty Daye, many horses died in the Taiyuan stable, angering the emperor, who sent people to investigate. The stable manager explained, "Every night, the horses in the stable inexplicably panicked, which is why they died." The emperor then had a shaman look into it. The shaman, knowing that the emperor was preparing to march to Liaodong, aligned with the emperor's intentions and said, "The late emperor sent Yang Su and Shi Wansui to attack Liaodong with ghost soldiers." The emperor was pleased to hear this and released the stable manager. The Hongfan Five Elements says: "Going against the will of heaven, that's why the horses died in large numbers." At that time, the emperor went on annual tours, running to the northern reaches of the Great Wall and the western frontier of Qumul, causing immense suffering among the people. It was as if heaven was warning him: all the horses in the stable have died, and you still continue to roam around! The emperor did not heed the warning, eventually leading to chaos in the world.
In the eleventh year of Daye, horses in Henan, Fufeng, and three other counties grew horns, some of which were several inches long. This was similar to the earlier events during the Tianbao period. In the first year of Yining, in the Longma stable at Jiangdu Palace, many horses inexplicably died within ten days, hundreds in total. This was similar to what happened in the fourth year of Daye.
