Chapter 11 Chapter 11 The Legendary "Latent" Cui Hao

In the process of "Sinicization" in the early Northern Wei Dynasty, the most famous figure was Cui Hao, a Han scholar-bureaucrat who served in the three dynasties of Northern Wei Emperor Daowu, Northern Wei Mingyuan Emperor, and Northern Wei Taiwu Emperor. Like the emperors, he finally became a tragic martyr. Regarding his identity, there is still a debate: lurking!Quite a number of historians swear that this learned and noble minister was actually a spy sent by the Han regime in the Southern Dynasty to the Northern Wei Dynasty.For a famous official who was loyal to the Northern Wei Dynasty, such an evaluation is obviously ironic.But looking closely at this person's life, this kind of evaluation also seems to have some "reasonable".

Cui Hao, courtesy name Boyuan, was born in Qinghe, Hebei. Although whether he was an undercover agent is often debated, his other identity is indisputable: the top military strategist in the Northern and Southern Dynasties.Regardless of whether he was an undercover agent or not, as the elder of the three dynasties, he could be said to have contributed the most to the development and growth of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Cui Hao was born in a very noble family. His family was the Cui family in Hebei Province. They were high-ranking officials and dignitaries for generations. They were famous gentry families at that time.His ancestor Cui Lin was a high-ranking official for Cao Cao during the Three Kingdoms period; his great-grandfather Cui Yue was a Sikong in the Hou Zhao regime of the Jie family; his grandfather Cui Qian was a servant in Houyan; During the Northern Wei Dynasty, he was granted the title of White Horse Duke.In the era of the Five Hu and Sixteen Kingdoms when the aristocratic families were in power, and in northern China where the banners of the kings were changing, families like Cui Hao had always been politically minded regimes. .

In Cui Hao's generation, it is even more youthful than blue.Cui Hao's father, Cui Hong, was known for his knowledge. When he was young, he was known as the child prodigy of Jizhou. Cui Hao was even more powerful. Deep, recognized generalist from a young age. At the age of 20, Cui Hao became Zhuo Lang, the private secretary of the Northern Wei Emperor.It was during the reign of Tuobagui, Daowu Emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Cui Hao was appreciated by Tuobagui with his beautiful calligraphy. At that time, most of Tuobagui's edicts were written by Cui Hao, the emperor's personal secretary, It seems to be an enviable job today, but in Tuoba Gui's era, it is a job that everyone should avoid.When Cui Hao served as Tuobagui's secretary, it happened to be in the late period of Tuobagui's life. At that time, noble rebellions occurred continuously. Three cousins ​​who had been brothers and sisters since childhood all died because of their rebellion. All this stimulated Tuobagui. very huge.This hero, who was commendable in martial arts and martial arts all his life, became schizophrenic in his later years. Not only was he moody, but he also liked to "take medicine" and took a drug called "Hanshisan".Every time he took drugs, he often killed people with excuses. At that time, the officials and even eunuchs and maids around him were often killed by him inexplicably, so whenever Tuoba Gui took drugs, others would hide when they could. Only Cui Hao didn't hide, not only didn't hide, but also took the initiative to serve Tuoba Gui, and he was very attentive.But not hiding does not mean not caring about one's own life. In 409 AD, Tuoba Gui's son Tuoba Shao launched a coup, killed Tuoba Gui, and forced the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty to be loyal to him. Cui Hao neither objected nor Cooperating, pretending to be sick at home with his father Cui Hong, the coup d'état didn't last long, but it failed because of Prince Tuoba Si's counterattack.Afterwards, Tuoba heir came to the throne, that is, Emperor Mingyuan of the Northern Wei Dynasty in history.Although Cui Hao was speechless in this coup, but because of his loyalty and filial piety when he served his father, and because Tuoba Si himself was also a relatively Chinese emperor, he respected Cui Hao very much. Offering wine to the "doctor", the emperor's private tutor.Tuoba Si often used various opportunities to ask Cui Hao to give lectures for him. Although Tuoba Si was very interested in Han culture, he could not read many words, so Cui Hao, who was knowledgeable, had a place to use his skills.Taking advantage of the opportunity to give Tuoba Si a lecture, Cui Hao suggested that Tuoba Si adjust his internal and external policies, implement a policy of recuperation, cherish the power of the people as much as possible, and not rashly start a war. Under his persuasion, Tuoba Si began to change Tuoba Gui The policy of expanding everywhere in the era, and extending the land equalization system of the Northern Wei Dynasty to the whole country.The political situation in the area ruled by the Northern Wei Dynasty was stabilized because of this. The past few years were very important for the Northern Wei Dynasty.Because although Tuoba Gui made a lot of achievements in his life, the long-term battle inevitably led to the country's economic poverty. Tuoba Si also thought about taking advantage of the victory and continuing to expand his territory in the early days of his accession to the throne. If this continues, the Northern Wei Dynasty is likely to die. In the era of the Five Hus and Sixteen Kingdoms, many regimes were subjugated due to militarism.

At this time, the Northern Wei Dynasty faced far more problems than imagined. The most important problem was the weak economy, which could not be changed overnight.The territory of the Northern Wei Dynasty mainly included Shanxi and Hebei at that time. The long-term wars caused local poverty. Although there were various policies such as farming, they were all beneficial in the long run, and it was difficult to solve the immediate problems.But at this time, God also opposed the Northern Wei Dynasty. From 414 to 415 AD, large-scale natural disasters occurred in northern China, especially in Hebei and Shanxi regions of China, which can be said to be thousands of miles away.This situation caused panic in the court of the Northern Wei Dynasty. In the early days of the founding of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Xianbei nobles in the Northern Wei Dynasty had a lot of opposition to the issue of whether it should be transformed into farming and settlement. However, the key is how to survive the famine at this time.At that time, the famine in the Northern Wei Dynasty was so serious that even the capital of the country had very little food. At this time, the mainstream view was to move the capital to Yecheng, Hebei, where there were sufficient grain reserves.This was a good idea. Not only the Xianbei nobles who held power at the time agreed, but also many Han scholar-officials. Among the voices of approval from the Manchu Dynasty, Cui Hao was the only one who sang a different tune. The capital can be moved to Yecheng, so where can we move the capital to if there is a disaster in Yecheng next year?In one sentence, the officials of the Northern Wei Dynasty were refuted speechless, and even Emperor Mingyuan of the Northern Wei Dynasty believed it deeply.Of course, Cui Hao asked back, not for the limelight, but to solve the problem. He immediately proposed his own solution: distribute the poorest peasant households in the capital to various states and counties for food, and the state borrowed money from the wealthy aristocratic families to ask them Pay out grain and repay it with interest in the coming year. This should be regarded as an early public bond in Chinese history.Opposing the relocation of the capital may seem simple, but it is actually of great significance.At that time, the Northern Wei Dynasty, especially the upper-class Xianbei nobles, still retained the traditional concept of nomads: anyway, if there was a disaster here, they would move to other places, but they forgot that the Northern Wei Dynasty at this time was no longer a nomadic tribe, but a nomadic tribe. In a country with a feudal system, the capital is the foundation of the country, and easy relocation of the capital is bound to cause chaos in the country.If there was no Cui Hao at that time, the move of the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty must have been a matter of course. In addition to the severe natural disasters, by that time, a large-scale rebellion would probably occur in the Northern Wei Dynasty. re-existed.

After temporarily surviving the natural disaster, the Northern Wei Dynasty immediately faced a new test: Liu Yu, who had already mastered the power of the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the south, launched an attack on the post-Qin regime in the north.At that time, Hou Qin was a relatively powerful branch of the northern regimes, and it was closely related to the Northern Wei Dynasty. After Hou Qin was attacked, it immediately asked for help from the Northern Wei Dynasty. At this time, the Northern Wei Dynasty was also facing serious problems.To the north of the Northern Wei Dynasty is the famous Rouran nomadic people, who are also aggressively attacking the Northern Wei Dynasty at this time.Whether to go north to fight against Rouran, or go south to rescue the post-Qin Dynasty, the court of the Northern Wei Dynasty hesitated, and everyone was at a loss. At this time, Cui Hao put forward his own unique opinion: neither save.Cui Hao believes that if the Northern Wei Dynasty rashly attacks Liu Yu at this time, not only is it likely to fail, but the Rouran tribe in the north will take the opportunity to go south and plunder the counties of the Northern Wei Dynasty; but if they go north to fight against Rouran, Liu Yu is likely to turn around and attack the Northern Wei Dynasty .Therefore, the best way for the Northern Wei Dynasty is to lend the way to Liu Yu first, and let him enter the Guanzhong Plain to fight the decisive battle with the Later Qin Dynasty. Then, no matter whether he wins or loses, he will be seriously injured. The Northern Expeditionary Army will definitely be wiped out, and the severely injured Hou Qin will no longer be able to contend with the Northern Wei Dynasty, and the Guanzhong Plain will also be doomed to fall into the hands of the Northern Wei Dynasty.Cui Hao tried his best to persuade Emperor Ming and Yuan of the Northern Wei Dynasty to follow his proposition, and even said that this was a plan to "determine the north and south once and for all".Cui Hao's strategy is "watching the fire from the other side" in the thirty-six strategies. If his strategy is followed, Liu Yu and Hou Qin will be wiped out by the Northern Wei Dynasty one after another, and the Eastern Jin regime will also be greatly injured. The unification of China, that is, the unification of the world, is likely to be completed in the hands of Emperor Ming and Yuan of the Northern Wei Dynasty.But at this critical moment, Emperor Ming Yuan did not follow Cui Hao's suggestion. He thought Cui Hao's suggestion was too impractical, so he made his own claim, agreed to Hou Qin's call for help, and sent troops to attack Liu Yu.As expected by Cui Hao, the army of the Northern Wei Dynasty was intercepted and killed by Liu Yu, and was defeated by Liu Yu's heavy crossbows and chariots, causing more than 30,000 casualties, and Rouran also took the opportunity to go south. In the six towns, more than 50,000 people were kidnapped, and the casualties were extremely heavy.The family property accumulated over the years in the Northern Wei Dynasty was almost lost in this turmoil.Fortunately, Cui Hao suggested that the Northern Wei Dynasty should strengthen the walls and clear the country, build fortresses, and contain Liu Yu's attack, which prevented Liu Yu from taking the opportunity to fight back. Otherwise, Liu Yu would not only destroy the Hou Qin, but Annexed the whole North.

Although Cui Hao's strategy of "watching the fire from the other side" did not work, it allowed him to continue to gain the trust of Emperor Ming Yuan of the Northern Wei Dynasty.Perhaps in order to repay Cui Hao, Emperor Ming Yuan of the Northern Wei Dynasty gave Cui Hao another position: Taifu, that is, the teacher of Prince Tuoba Tao.This position is no small matter, which means that Cui Hao not only won the trust of Emperor Mingyuan of the Northern Wei Dynasty, but also may become an important minister of the next emperor in the future. In the Northern Wei court at that time, such an identity can be said to be a high position.For Tuoba Tao, Cui Hao patiently cultivated him. His greatest influence on Tuoba Tao was to teach Tuoba Tao various military arts in China. Soon he found that Tuoba Tao's military comprehension was very strong, which also made him Cui Hao felt uneasy.In the notes of Lu Dushi, another Han official in the Northern Wei Dynasty, it is said that after Cui Hao became the teacher of Tuobatao, he once worriedly told the children around him that the prince loves fighting so much, he is likely to be a tyrant in the future, and it will be a disaster for our family's descendants It is likely to happen.Facts have proved that he was right, it was just a family disaster that did not happen to his descendants, but to himself.

At this time, Cui Hao was at the most favored time in his life. In 423 AD, after the death of Tuoba Si, Tuoba Tao came to the throne, that is, the famous Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty in history.At this time, the Northern Wei Dynasty, after years of recuperation during the reign of Tuoba Si, had greatly strengthened its national strength, and at that time in northern China, the originally mighty Hou Qin had already perished, and the Xia Kingdom, which had a feud with the Northern Wei Dynasty, had also declined, and was able to unify the north. Yes, only the Northern Wei Dynasty.But on the unified road map, the Northern Wei Dynasty faced a very tangled choice.Whether to fight the Rouran Khanate in the north first, or destroy the Xia Kingdom that has been threatening the Northern Wei Dynasty first.In the eyes of most ministers, it is necessary to destroy Xia Guo, because Xia Guo has rich products, if Xia Guo is obtained, it can supplement the strength of the Northern Wei Dynasty, but Rouran lives in the grassland area, has always been poor, and they fight with cavalry Mainly, it comes and goes quickly, and it is not easy to eliminate at all. If you work hard on an expedition, it is very likely that the work will be in vain.At the critical moment, Cui Hao sang the opposite tune again. He insisted that Rouran must be eliminated first, otherwise the unification of the north would be out of the question.Because for many years, Rouran's policy towards the Northern Wei Dynasty has been to "befriend far and close." If the Northern Wei Dynasty attacked the Xia Kingdom, Rouran would definitely attack the Northern Wei Dynasty from the back. To relieve the worries of the Northern Wei Dynasty unifying the north, Tuoba Tao followed Cui Hao's decision this time.Before the army set off, the Liu Song regime in the Southern Dynasty suddenly stationed troops on the frontier, with the intention of marching north. This incident once again aroused the panic of the courtiers, but Cui Hao confidently concluded that Liu Song would never go north. He was just bluffing to guard against the Northern Wei Dynasty It's just a southern invasion.Facts have proved that Cui Hao is still right. Before attacking Rouran, Cui Hao gave Tuoba Tao the eight words "surprise, attack by surprise", which became Tuoba Tao's motto for attacking Rouran. As a result, in this battle, Rouran almost The entire army was wiped out, and for decades after that, it was unable to threaten the Northern Wei Dynasty.The regime of the Northern Wei Dynasty was thus stabilized.

Before 450 A.D., Cui Hao, the veteran of the three dynasties, repeatedly stood up at the most critical moments of the Northern Wei Dynasty, offering advice and suggestions. When the Northern Wei Dynasty was facing major choices, he could always find the most correct path with extraordinary vision.In 439 AD, with the pacification of Beiliang, the last northern separatist regime, Tuoba Tao finally completed the great cause that his ancestors had not completed-unified the north.Cui Hao, who has made great contributions, has also won his favor.For Cui Hao, Tuoba Tao once trusted him to the extreme. For example, he once said to Cui Hao: I have a bad temper, and sometimes I may not agree with you in person, but as long as you are right, I just need to calm down afterwards , will definitely obey.After he wiped out Rouran, facing Rouran's captives, he pointed to Cui Hao and said to them: "Don't look at this man as weak, but he can stand up to your thousands of troops." Hao's favor was unmatched among the Han people in the Northern Wei Dynasty at that time.

But as the old saying goes, everything goes well, and politics is no exception.Cui Hao, who is good at seeking the country, is also a person who is not good at seeking his own life. During this period, within Tuoba Xianbei, there were still loud voices against the Sinicization reform.After all, the emperors of Tuoba Xianbei in the early years all died in the hands of the old-fashioned faction. Tuoba Tao was a ruthless man, and the officials below naturally did not dare to object, but it was different for Cui Hao. Pai's thorn in his side is a thorn in his flesh, and he always wants to get rid of it quickly, not only to get rid of Cui Hao, but also to attack the entire Han power in the Northern Wei court by getting rid of Cui Hao.In such a situation, the more favored Cui Hao was, the more dangerous his situation became. In his later years, Cui Hao's reaction to such things was almost to the point of slowness.During this period, he also did several things that aroused public outrage. First, he urged Wei Taiwu Emperor to exterminate Buddhism. This was because he believed in Taoism and believed that the growing power of Buddhist temples would become a burden on the national economy. However, Buddhism was already in the It is widely spread in China. Not only are there many believers among the people, but many scholar-bureaucrats are also devout Buddhists. The result of Cui Hao’s doing this is to offend many Han officials who were originally on the same front as him, and those who were deprived of The wealthy nobles hated him even more.Another thing that offended people was Cui Hao's request to distinguish the status of scholars and common people according to the rules of the Southern Dynasty. In fact, the conservative officials did not object to this article at first, because they are nobles themselves, and the distinction of status can make them He is above the scholar-officials, but Cui Hao advocates elevating the noble families in the north to the same status as the Xianbei nobles. This is tantamount to offending most of the Xianbei nobles. In this way, Cui Hao's disaster will not be far away.

The direct trigger of Cui Hao's misfortune was the famous "Xiu Shi" incident.Beginning in AD 439, Cui Hao was ordered to revise the national history of the Northern Wei Dynasty. He accomplished this job very well. Cui Hao agreed without hesitation to engrave the works on the stone tablet to show his achievements.But the result of doing so was to arouse fury within the entire Xianbei regime.Because Tuoba Xianbei was a nomadic people in the early days and was very backward, that period of history was unbearable for the Xianbei nobles, and being exposed in broad daylight made them even more ashamed.Cui Hao himself suggested using poor families and noble families to distinguish identities. After compiling the history and exposing it again, the originally orthodox Northern Wei Dynasty suddenly became a barbaric nation in the eyes of the world.This incident aroused the anger of the nobles of Xianbei, and they all denounced Cui Hao for his crimes.As a result, Wei Taiwu Emperor Tuoba Tao, who had always been obedient to Cui Hao's words, turned his face and immediately sent Cui Hao to prison. The relatives and friends, all will not let go.This "national history case" caused a strong shock in northern China at that time. Cui Hao's family, namely the famous Cui family in Hebei Province, was killed by the entire family. The Lu family and other families related to the Cui family were also killed one after another. There are also many intellectuals sitting together.Wei Taiwu Emperor Tuoba Tao himself said that if the prince hadn't dissuaded him, he would have killed thousands of people.Even so, the entire northern gentry suffered an unprecedented heavy blow in this turmoil.

Cui Hao's death was very humiliating. It was the midsummer of 450 AD. He was taken to the execution ground by a prison cart. Xianbei soldiers kept urinating on him along the way.Regarding his death, of course it was not a simple "historical revision", but was caused by the conflict between the northern aristocratic family and the Xianbei nobles at that time.Emperor Wei Taiwu also made balance afterwards and pardoned many intellectuals of the Han nationality who participated in this matter, mainly intellectuals from poor families.40 years after Cui Hao's death, Emperor Xiaowen Tuobahong of Wei, who carried out Sinicization reforms, used "national surname" and "county surname" to distinguish identities and divide ranks. Cui Hao dreamed of elevating the northern aristocratic families and making them The dream of having equal power with the Xianbei nobles was realized in this way. As for the widely circulated statement that Cui Hao was an undercover agent, many people based the argument that every time Emperor Wei Taiwu wanted to attack the Southern Dynasties, Cui Hao tried his best to stop him. So some people think that Cui Hao is really thinking about the Southern Dynasty.In fact, judging from the situation at the time, it was a far-sighted choice to go north first and then south. The loyal Cui Hao finally wanted to help the Northern Wei Dynasty complete the great cause of unification. As for the so-called lurking, it can only be said to be a legend.