Chapter 86 squandered empire

As the saying goes: A tiger father has no dogs. However, when people read more history books and look at the dynasties of the past dynasties, they will find a very strange phenomenon: the father is a hero of the world, and the son is a scoundrel, which seems to have become a common phenomenon.Since the Han Dynasty, after Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, passed away, his son Huidi Liu Ying only knew to look up to Empress Lu, licentious all day long, and ignored government affairs; behind Liu Bei, the Shu Han of the Three Kingdoms, there was Liu Chan, the "unable to support him", who reigned for four years. Twelve years, even with the help of a virtuous minister like Zhuge Liang, he would eventually lose his country, and after being captured, he would "happily miss Shu"; Sima Yan, Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty, had Sima Zhong, the stupid and foolish Emperor Hui; His son, Yang Emperor Yang Guang, traveled so much that he strangled him with the respect of the emperor; Tang Taizong Li Shimin had the cowardly and benevolent Gaozong Li Zhi, who was terrified of his wife, and Empress Wu finally changed Tang to Zhou; Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang was benevolent The weak prince died early and left the country to the hesitant and fearful grandson Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunqi. The great rivers and mountains have been ruined beyond recognition, and in the end they even handed over their family and country to others. If the dead know about it, they will surely make their famous fathers and fathers so angry that they cannot rest in their graves!

The Northern Dynasties came to the era of Yu Wenyong, Emperor Wudi of the Northern Zhou Dynasty.At the same time, this brave emperor also advocated frugality. He usually wore cloth robes and bed quilts, and was not decorated with gold, silver, or jade all over his body.The palace of the former dynasty had magnificent and gorgeous decorations, but he strictly ordered it to be demolished and changed to a few feet of earth steps for the sake of simplicity.During the nineteen years of being the emperor, he first kept a low profile and wiped out the power minister Yu Wenhu.Then he took all the opportunities in his own hands and wiped out the Gao family of the Northern Qi Dynasty.According to historical records, this Emperor Wu of Zhou, Lao Qian, took over and continued to strive for self-improvement. During the war, he walked in dangerous valleys and went through hard work, which ordinary people could not bear, but Emperor Wu of Zhou himself enjoyed it.Seeing some soldiers walking barefoot during the march, Emperor Wu of Zhou even took off his boots and put them on for the soldiers.Against the enemy, all of them took the lead and almost fell into the death battle with the emperor's honor many times.After breaking Qi, he surrendered the Turks and attacked the Southern Dynasty. Judging from the momentum of the Zhou Dynasty at that time, within a year or two, the unification of the world will soon become a reality.

However, the heavens are jealous of talents, and without giving a year, Yu Wenyong suddenly suffered a sudden illness on the way to the Northern Expedition, and died on a military chariot. He was only thirty-six years old.In the posthumous edict, Prince Yu Wenyun succeeded Tong Dabao. It is precisely this son who is less than twenty years old, the "Zhou Tianyuan" Emperor Xuan of Zhou, who is called "Zhou Tianyuan" in the history books, took over the throne for more than two years, and tossed the great rivers and mountains that Emperor Wu had worked so hard to bring down. Unspeakable!

Speaking of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, I would like to briefly describe the history of the Western Wei Dynasty. Emperor Xiaowu of the Northern Wei Dynasty was forced by Gao Huan to flee to Yuwentai, also known as Wei. At this point, the Northern Wei Dynasty split into two Weis, the Eastern and the Western. The Wei controlled by Yuwentai was called the Western Wei in history. Soon after Emperor Xiaowu arrived in Chang'an, he had a quarrel with Yu Wentai, a power minister, and was poisoned to death by poisoned wine at the age of twenty-five. After Yu Wentai poisoned Emperor Xiaowu to death, he made Yuan Baoju, the grandson of Emperor Xiaowen, the emperor, who was Emperor Wen of the Western Wei Dynasty.Emperor Wen reigned for seventeen years, and An died in the palace at the age of forty-five.Although he is the emperor, Yuan Baoju is completely a cover, and the power is in Yu Wentai's hands.Just because he is obedient, let him stay on the throne all the time.

When Emperor Wen died, Yuwentai made Prince Yuanqin the emperor, who was the abolished emperor of the Western Wei Dynasty.Yuan Qin only served as emperor for three years before he was abolished by Yu Wentai, and Yuan Guo, the fourth son of Emperor Li Wen, was transferred to be Emperor Gong of the Western Wei Dynasty.Emperor Gong only served as a decoration for three years. In 556 AD, after Yuwentai died of illness, his nephew Yuwen supported Yuwentai's third son Yuwenjue to establish the Zhou Dynasty, which was called the Northern Zhou Dynasty in history.Emperor Gong of the Western Wei Dynasty was poisoned to death soon.For more than thirty years, although the emperor of the Western Wei Dynasty was surnamed Yuan, the real emperor was Yu Wentai.

Yu Wentai not only greatly expanded the territory of the Western Wei Dynasty, but his most important contribution was that he established the Fubing system in 535 AD, and imitated the old system of Xianbei, dividing the troops and horses under his command into eight divisions, each with a "Pillar General" , known as the "Eight Pillar Kingdom", the Fubing is a professional soldier, specially incorporated into the military, only for military purposes, not engaged in reclamation and production (During the reign of Emperor Wu of Zhou, the Fubing system moved towards "combination of soldiers and farmers").

Yu Wentai is a Xianbei Hun, and he was born in a family of soldiers from the Six Towns.Because he had to fight against the Eastern Wei (Northern Qi) all the time, although he was in Chang'an and believed in Confucianism, in order to maintain the combat effectiveness of the army, he had to "Huhua" the Han soldiers.At the beginning, Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty changed Hu's surname to Han's surname, but Yu Wentai did the opposite, conferring the Hu surname to the meritorious Han soldiers, imitating the military tribal organization of Xianbei, not only reverting the surname of Wei Emperor to the original "Tuoba" ", "Those who changed the ninety-nine surnames to single will restore their old ones... (Yuwen) Tainai used the thirty-six surnames of the generals with the highest merit, and the ninety-nine surnames for the second, and all the soldiers also changed their surnames. ".At the same time, Yu Wentai decorated the court with the official rituals of the Zhou Dynasty.Different from the Northern Qi Dynasty, the relationship between Hu and Han within Yuwentai and the Western Wei Dynasty was not as incompatible as in the Northern Qi Dynasty (Xianbei people bullied the Han people), but they got along more harmoniously with each other.

When Emperor Wu of Zhou was alive, he was very strict with his sons, especially the prince Yu Wenyun. He would beat him up with a big stick every now and then, and warned: "There are many princes who have been deposed since ancient times. Is my son unbearable to be the successor?" At the same time, he ordered the prince's East Palace officials to write a detailed report every month, detailing what the prince had done for a month.In this way, the crown prince, who is so good at wine and lust, tried his best to suppress his hobbies, and stood outside the palace gate in the severe cold at five or six o'clock in the northern winter like many other officials, waiting for the morning court. The play was very devoted, after all, I was afraid from the heart, I was really afraid that my father would depose him in a fit of anger and make another brother the crown prince.

It is said in history: "When Emperor Xuan first stood up, he showed his desire for extravagance." The huge coffin of Emperor Wu of Zhou was still placed in the palace, and before it could be restrained, Yu Wenyun not only did not have the slightest sorrow of his dead father on his face, but also caressed his feet The staff mark on the body, and shouted loudly at Emperor Wu's coffin: "It's too late to die!" As soon as he turned around, the new emperor immediately called Emperor Wu's concubines and maids in front of him, lined up to look at them, and accepted all the handsome ones as his harem.In the feudal era, ethics were very strict. Even though the concubines of Emperor Wu of Zhou were younger than Yu Wenyun's, they were still mothers and concubines in terms of seniority. The new emperor completely ignored these imperial etiquette and embraced those young stepmothers. We entered the flower chamber together, and the spring breeze was everywhere.

In addition, the first administrative order he gave after becoming the emperor was to break the rules and promote Zheng Yi, a subordinate official who had been advising him when he was the prince, to General Kaifu Yitong and a doctor in the internal history, and entrusted him with government affairs. (It was this Zheng Yi who took refuge in Yang Jian when Yu Wenyun died two years later. He ordered Yang Jian to enter the court to assist the government, and helped Yang Jian usurp Zhou Li for the first time.) As soon as Yu Wenyun sat firmly on the throne, he immediately executed his uncle, the highly accomplished King Yu Wenxian of Qi.

When Yu Wenyong became emperor, he was controlled by Yu Wenhu, a powerful minister, and kept silent all day long.At that time, Yu Wenxian had a very good relationship with Yu Wenhu. He often led the army to fight against the Qi army, and defeated the famous generals Hulu Mingyue and Gao Changgong of the Northern Qi Dynasty, and his power gradually grew.When Yu Wenhu played the book, he often asked Yu Wenxian to play on his behalf. Yu Wenxian was in awe of his half-brother emperor and often mediated the subtle tension between the powerful ministers and the emperor. After Yu Wenhu was destroyed, not only did he not kill Yu Wenxian, but he often let this brother who was good at fighting lead the front army to attack all directions.When conquering the Northern Qi Dynasty, Yu Wenxian led the army to beat Gao Wei, the empress of the Northern Qi Dynasty, and captured the most capable clans in the Northern Qi Dynasty, Gao Yanzong, King Ande, Gao Huang, King Rencheng, and Gao Xiaoheng, King Guangning. It can be said that the Northern Zhou Dynasty destroyed the Northern Qi Dynasty. First class hero.At the same time, this benevolent and mature prince is also a wise man who knows how to retreat bravely. He knows that the elder brother who is the emperor is not only heroic and fortitude, but also the master of talents.After defeating the Northern Qi Dynasty, Yu Wenxian felt that his reputation was too great, so he deliberately claimed that he would not be sick from time to time, and stopped following Emperor Wu of Zhou to attack the foreigners in the north. As soon as Emperor Wu of Zhou died, Yu Wenyun, who had just succeeded to the throne, immediately thought of his uncle with great achievements.One night, he issued an imperial edict to all the kings of the clan to have an audience. When everyone gathered at the gate of the palace, he alone summoned Qi Wang Yuwenxian to have an audience.Just after entering the door, the palace door was suddenly closed, and a group of strong men rushed forward and held down the emperor's uncle.Yu Wenxian's speech was unremarkable, and Chen said that he had no crime. The civil official who recorded the testimony next to him advised him: "Given your situation today, my lord, do you still need to say so much?" This difficulty is also a matter of life and death, I don't want to continue to live,... I just miss my old mother in the hall, no one to take care of me..." As soon as the words fell, the strong men rushed up and hanged the King of Qi to death in the hall.At the age of 35, he had six sons. Except for the eldest son Yu Wengui who died of illness earlier, the other five sons were executed together.The feudal era paid attention to cutting the weeds and eradicating the roots, and this fate is not surprising.On the basis of reasoning, if Yu Wenyun is the young master succeeding to the throne, the master is less suspicious, and the respected ministers set out for the country's great plan, it is not a bad thing to kill a respected emperor like Yu Wenxian. This approach can maintain the feudal imperial order legitimate continuation.But Yu Wenyun was twenty years old at the time, in the prime of his youth, Gan Gang was in charge, and he killed this benevolent and combative uncle for an unknown crime, and the world was immediately disappointed. When Yu Wenyun was the prince, he was surrounded by masters and scholars, and he read a lot, and he had a lot of research on Han classics.It stands to reason that the young emperor's talent is not low, but he only knows how to make sense of the text, and only cares about superficial things.Soon after he came to power, he held a meeting of ministers, stipulating that everyone should wear Han and Wei clothes according to the ancient system, with a crown and a cloud belt, and a large collar with big sleeves. The narrow and tight Hu clothing is practical.During the Warring States period, Zhao Wuling Wang Hufu rode and shot, which took a lot of opportunities in the troubled times. Yu Wenyun went the other way and adopted Han and Wei Chaoyi, which was flashy and unreal.Of course, after his death, the father-in-law Yang Jian established the Sui Dynasty, and he himself completed most of the process of changing from "Hu" to "Han". When he first succeeded to the throne, Yu Wenyun thought that the punishment in Emperor Zhou Wu's "Primary Book of Criminal Justice" was too cruel, so he decreed to abolish it.In order to buy people's hearts and amnesty the prisoners, the thieves ran out of the prison one after another, causing trouble in the village.Seeing that the country's sentencing was reduced, people around them also "defied the law" one after another, and the society was in chaos.During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Southern and Northern Dynasties were divided, and there were many heroes standing around. The so-called "heavy codes for troubled times", the criminal law of Emperor Wu of Zhou should be necessary.The young man Yu Wenyun is ignorant, governs the country according to the book, does not know how to adapt, and is not familiar with current affairs, which made him unable to step down for a while.In addition, he himself was "extravagant and promiscuous with many faults". In order to frighten his subjects, he promulgated a new law "Sacred System of Punishment" and staged a trick of sacrificing heaven and proclaiming the new law. The punishment was heavier than that of Emperor Wu of Zhou. will be beheaded and exterminated. A few months later, Yu Wenyun suddenly remembered the old incident of being beaten by his father's stick again. He asked his favorite minister Zheng Yi as if chatting, "Who is to blame for the stick marks on my feet?" Blame Wang Gui and Yuwen Xiaobo!" Originally, these two important ministers were selfless, but when Emperor Wu of Zhou was alive, they all advised him with kind words, hoping that the crown prince Yu Wenyun would be self-reliant.At that time, Wang Gui pretended to be drunk, stroked Emperor Wu's beard and said, "It's a pity that such a good father doesn't have a good son!" , the other sons were children, and in the end they did not adopt Wang Gui's words.At this point, Yu Wenyun recalled the "old evil", coupled with Zheng Yi's instigation, Wang Gui was killed in Xuzhou, and Yuwen Xiaobo died at home.Before Wang Gui was killed, he was mentally prepared, knowing that disaster was imminent, and said to his cronies: "Xuzhou is close to Chen State, if I want to protect myself, it is easy (meaning surrender to Chen State), but the festival of loyalty must not be violated." , besides, the late Emperor (Emperor Wu of Zhou) treated me with great kindness, and I will never forget it. I will wait here to die, and I hope that after thousands of years, I will still know my loyalty..." After the death of parents in ancient times, they had to live in mourning for at least three years. They were not allowed to listen to music or laugh, and they had to wear plain and unadorned clothes.Yu Wenyun completely ignored these funeral ceremonies.He watched singing and dancing performances in front of the hall every day, and his favorite minister Zheng Yi reorganized the singing and dancing troupe of Gaowei, the last emperor of the Northern Qi Dynasty, which was wiped out by the state of Zhou, and brought it to the front of the hall. The dwarves are funny, talking about cross talk, fighting with roller coasters, giant elephant parades, tug-of-war performances, killing horses, skinning donkeys and other weird and weird things. They are busy day and night.Countless beauties were gathered in the harem, and thousands of strange concubines were added. Even the historians of Zhou Guo who wrote daily notes could not record so many names; Everything is handled by the eunuch, in a mess. Less than a year after succeeding to the throne, Yu Wenyun, who was only 21 years old, passed on the throne to his seven-year-old son Yu Wenyan in order to get over the addiction of being the "emperor". He called himself "Emperor Tianyuan", and the palace he lived in was called "Tiantai". .He also wore a crown with twenty-four yues, and his car clothes and drums were twice as large as those of the ancient emperors. He changed the old rites and rituals at will, and he didn't call himself "Zhen" when he spoke to his ministers. He called himself "Heaven", arrogantly, When eating, use the weird things recorded in the ancient books such as Zun, Yi, Gui, and Zan to load food and drink.He himself also wears a tall "Tongtian Crown", with ornaments made of golden cicadas, and an exaggerated large belt obliquely. It can be said that he is the best among ancient emperors who like fancy clothes.Before the ministers saw him, they were required to fast for three days and cleanse themselves for one day. Only when they were clean inside and out could they go to the palace. Emperor Wu of Zhou used to destroy Buddha and statues on the grounds of being unfavorable to the country and extravagance and waste. Yu Wenyun, contrary to what his father did, made a large Buddha statue and a statue of Tianzun. He himself sat in the middle of the two statues, facing south, He also sent people to perform a variety of performances in the square in front of him, so that the scholars and people in Chang'an could take a look, and they really had the demeanor of a "superstar". Zhou Tianyuan and Yu Wenyun also like to beat his subjects, and there is also a "custom" for beating people, with a rate of 120 sticks, called "Tianzhang", and later doubled to 240, even if the favored queen, Concubines, concubines and many other beauties are not immune, and they are moody, and they can beat whoever they want. Although the little emperor is absurd, the national strength and combat effectiveness of the Zhou Dynasty are not weak.All the ministers worked together to capture Shouyang, Huangcheng, Guangling and other places in the Chen Kingdom of the southern dynasty of the enemy, and all the lands in the north of the Yangtze River were included in the Zhou Dynasty.In order to celebrate the victory, Yu Wenyun gathered all the officials in the magnificent Zhengwu Hall, and let the palace people and wives from inside and outside participate in the ceremony collectively, making a lot of fun.In order to be funny and happy, another group of "barbarians" wandered around the courtyard shirtless in winter, pretending to be beggars and begging for cold clothes. The emperor himself and all the ministers and palace people fucked the guys together and poured cold water on them. , Seeing those "barbarians" jumping and shouting wildly under the icy cold water, everyone laughed in unison. After playing these, he suddenly visited Luoyang again.Moreover, the emperor himself drove the stage horse, traveling three hundred miles a day, at full speed. (The speed at that time was probably equivalent to today's driving speed of 300 kilometers per hour.) Unfortunately, his four queens were all ordered to keep pace with him, and the civil and military guards were frightened. Will bear the emperor's self-determined "Tianzhu" with a rate of one hundred and twenty.Along the way, people and horses were in a hurry, and the banners were scattered, which looked like a scene of fleeing in a hurry after a big defeat. It is estimated that due to excessive gaming, excessive drinking, and discomfort due to cold and heat, Yu Wenyun became seriously ill shortly after returning to the palace, and returned home a few days later. He died at the age of 22. When the palace was in chaos, the orphans and widows were in a state of panic.Yu Wenyan, the eldest son of the emperor, who was only eight years old, was made emperor.Zheng Yi, the favorite minister of Emperor Tianyuan, made Yang Jian enter the court to assist the government.At this time, Empress Yang of Tianyuan was also happy that her father was in power, so as to prevent him from usurping the throne by powerful officials or ambitious people in the royal family.Unexpectedly, this Yang Jian was relentless when he seized the position of his grandson (Yu Wenyan's biological mother's surname was Zhu, and Yang Jian's daughter was the mother and son in name). Twenty-five descendants, six descendants of Emperor Jiemin, six descendants of Emperor Wu, and twelve descendants of Emperor Wu. Yu Wenyan, the son of the absurd emperor Yu Wenyun, was killed after he took the throne and was less than nine years old.Yu Wenyun's other two young sons were still in his arms, and they were also killed by Yang Jian in order to eradicate the grass.In addition, the remaining members of the Yuwen clan were almost exhausted by Yang Jian, and tens of thousands of phoenix sons and dragon grandchildren were slaughtered in more than a year. Zhao Yi, a historian of the Qing Dynasty, lamented: "In ancient times, there was no change in the world like Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, who ascended to the throne with the relatives of a wife and husband... Stealing the country of others, and killing his descendants to the last, this is cruel. It’s almost poisonous, how can there be more people’s hearts!” However, the way of heaven is clear, the five sons of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty who boasted as “true brothers” (that is, the five sons are the same father and the same mother, and they were all born to Yang Jian and Queen Dugu), the eldest son Yang Yong was given death after being deposed.The second son, Emperor Yangdi, was strangled to death by his officials.Second Qin Wang Jun, died early.The second Yue Wang Xiu, abolished the prison, and died in the disaster of Jiangdu.Yang Liang, king of the Han Dynasty, was punished for treason.And Yang Yong's ten sons were all demoted to Lingnan stick by Emperor Yang to die.Yang Jun, Yang Liang, and Yang Xiu's sons all died in the disaster of Jiangdu.The three sons of Emperor Yangdi were also killed in Jiangdu, and all descendants of the Yang family were exhausted.Most coincidentally, the person who destroyed the Sui Dynasty and killed Emperor Yang happened to have the surname Yuwen (Yu Wenhua has the same surname as the royal family of the Zhou Dynasty, but is not of the same clan). For the true words. When Wang Fuzhi, a thinker in the Qing Dynasty, reviewed this period of historical facts, he believed that although Yu Wenyong's political achievements in the Zhou Dynasty were well-known in the annals of history, his military arrogance had already turned people's hearts against him.In addition, Emperor Tianyuan had been extravagant and lustful for more than two years, and the two generations of kings forgot to rule the country with virtue, so the bones of the old and young emperors were not cold, and the clans had been moved.Thinking about it carefully, the results seem to be reasonable.