Anecdote of the Fifth Queen Mother

Chapter 10 Queen Mother Hu (4)
The next day, Song Wei reported Han Wenshu's conspiracy.How could the court remain indifferent to such a usurper, so he ordered Yuan Yi to be imprisoned.But Empress Dowager Hu always felt that something was wrong, so she wanted to investigate it in detail, but the result was: poor governance has no substance.So Yuan Yi was saved from disaster.

Yuan You's well-designed plan to get rid of Yi was exposed by Queen Mother Hu, making it difficult for him to end in front of all the officials.Now he not only hates Yuan Yi, but also hates Queen Mother Hu who supports Yuan Yi.After the plot was exposed, he really had lingering fears, fearing that Yuan Yi would retaliate against him.I am even more afraid that under Yuan Yi's instigation, Queen Mother Hu will suddenly attack him: dismissal, confinement, and death.In order to protect himself and defeat political opponents, it is better to strike first, Yuan Cha is thinking about bigger actions.For this reason, he is actively looking for a capable assistant, and this person is far away and close at hand, he is the eunuch Liu Teng.So why did you choose Liu Teng?
Liu Teng was originally an eunuch in the palace, and a eunuch with a low status. The reason why he became prominent was because he leaked the news that Empress Gao had conspired to remove the Empress Dowager Hu, who was a concubine at the time, and later participated in the secret security work.After the Empress Dowager Hu came to the court to listen to the government, she granted Liu Teng many times, which also made him a prominent power supervisor for a while.Under such circumstances, some people who wanted to become officials and be promoted to ranks and titles fell at Liu Teng's feet and asked for his recommendation.Even some officials from the Ministry of Officials flattered Liu Teng. They suggested to the court that Liu Teng's younger brother should be promoted.At that time, no one objected, only Qinghe Wang Yuanyi, who was assisted by a pro-virtuous person, thought that this person could be ordinary and did not need to be promoted.In this way, the proposal of the Ministry of Officials was rejected by Yuan Yi.Liu Teng was delighted when he first heard the proposal from the Ministry of Officials, but he was indignant when he heard Yuan Yi's veto.He has a grudge against Yuan Yi.

After Yuancha learned of this situation, he immediately decided to take this opportunity to make Liu Teng form an alliance with him.Therefore, he took the initiative to approach Liu Teng, sent him the warmth of concern for Liu Teng, and spread his dissatisfaction with Yuan Yi. The two became closer and closer, and the more they talked, the more speculative they became, and finally formed an ally against Yuan Yi.Then the two of them plotted a plan of action.

In July of the first year of Zhengguang (520 A.D.), Liu Teng showed great concern for Hu Xuandu and Hu Ding of Huangmen, and often condescended to come to ask about their health.and help them solve some problems.The two brothers were really sorry to receive this favor, so whenever Liu Teng came, they always expressed regret that they could not serve them.At this time, Liu Teng and their "chat" injected new content: to vent their dissatisfaction with Qinghe Wang Yuanyi.Under Liu Teng's influence, the two brothers agreed at first, but later they really hated each other.Not missing the opportunity, Liu Teng immediately gave the Hu brothers a chance to serve.

"Now in order to defeat Yuan Yi, you must do the following: go to the emperor and say that Yuan Yi has conspired against him. I have given you a lot of gold and silk, and asked you to put poison in the imperial food to harm the emperor, so that Yuan Yi proclaimed himself emperor. And the condition after agreeing to your success is prosperity and wealth."

The Hu brothers, who are now in the same boat as Liu Teng, refused without saying a word, so they nodded and said:
"We must follow the instructions of adults."

After Liu Teng finished his deployment, he immediately went ahead and reported Yuan Yi's treasonous behavior to Emperor Xiaoming.Seeing Liu Teng's tense expression and listening to the detailed report, Emperor Xiaoming was surprised, but he didn't seem to believe it completely. At this moment, the Hu brothers came to make the same report again, and this time Emperor Xiaoming really believed it.So he rushed to Xianyang Hall to arrange for the elimination of the evil.

In fact, there was no need for Emperor Xiaoming's deployment. At the same time that Liu Teng and the Hu brothers reported, Yuan Cha, the leading general, had already made careful arrangements.They first imprisoned the Empress Dowager Hu who was in the Jiafu Hall of the North Palace, closed the Yongxiang Gate connected to the front palace, and then searched around for Yuan Yi.

Yuan Yi didn't know anything about this, when Yuan Cha led the army to search and arrest, he was sent to the door, after entering the palace, he passed by Hanzhang Palace and wanted to meet Badge Dongyan.

"Stop!" Just as Yuan Yi was about to run towards Badge Dongyan, someone shouted from behind.He looked back and saw that it was Yuan Cha, so he ignored it and walked straight forward.

"Stop!" Yuan Cha yelled again.

"Are you going to rebel?" Yuan Yi heard Yuan Cha's hoarse cry, and replied coldly but with weight.

"Yuan will not rebel, but now he is ordered to arrest those who rebel." Yuan Cha replied bluntly.

Yuan Yi heard the words and knew it was not good, did Yuan Cha go into slander again?Before Yuan Yi could think about it, Yuan Cha waved his hand, and more than a dozen Imperial Guards surrounded Yuan Yi, arresting Yuan Yi with all their might.

Then Liu Teng issued an edict to summon the princes and ministers to discuss major affairs.When all the officials came to the court, Yuan Cha first announced Yuan Yi's crimes, and then he put forward his suggestion: discuss a big rebellion.Seeing this, all the ministers were afraid of Yuancha's momentum, and except for the objection expressed by Pushe Youzhao, the rest agreed with Yuanyou.

Yuan Cha reported the results of the courtiers' agreement to Emperor Xiaoming. At this time, the emperor was gnashing his teeth for this, so he immediately stated: But that night, Yuan Cha executed Yuan Yi to relieve his hatred.

When the coup took place in the palace, Empress Dowager Hu was lying quietly to enjoy the cool.When she heard the noise in the front hall wave after wave, she was immediately sensitive to the seriousness of the matter.She immediately got up and went to the front hall, but when she reached the gate of Yongxiang, she realized that she had been locked up.At this time, she didn't know who launched the coup, but she knew very well: the big thing is over!
The next day, Yuancha and Liu Teng issued an edict to the whole country in the name of Empress Dowager Hu.Imperial date:
Wei has the world, Yi Ye Chongguang.Emperor Gao Zu, Emperor Xiaowen, ruled the sky with a heroic sage, and moved to Beijing to Dingding.Emperor Sejong Xuanwu, who inherited his career with Rui Ming, went to Xia in Kuoning District, and Hongxun was not half-way, and he had already ascended to the throne.It is the same as the car book, but the whale bandit is still hot.The young master is immature and weak, and compiled the treasure calendar long ago. He used to be Zong Zhe, and Mo Ke only served it; so I respect and obey the group's invitation, and I will be in charge of the court.As the emperor grows up, he has long thought of retreating, so in the past, he has been diligent and expresses his feelings, and all officials inside and outside have taken this into consideration.And everyone agrees, sees hard work and wins hard, and works hard, so as to hereby.Since spring, congenital diseases have occurred repeatedly, medicine and stone therapy, but nothing can be good at curing them. From the beginning of summer to today, the number of dramas has increased, and the daily tasks are overwhelming, and the details are both small and small.Emperor Zhou Xingji, knowledge and learning surpassed the ranks, the sun is on the moon, the man is a monarch, and he is powerful enough to apprehend all nations and conquer hundreds of people.I should lead the previous ambition, respect the other palaces, and far away from the righteousness of Fuzi Mingpi, so as to support myself, and I really hope that the public will be arrested by Li Shu, and I will learn from it.If this is the case, then the upper and lower levels will be fine, the heaven and the earth will be clear, the Wei Dao will be prosperous, and the gods will be happy, isn't it good? "("Wei Shu" Volume Nine "Su Zong Ji")
As soon as the edict was issued, it announced the resignation of Queen Mother Hu.Since then, she was imprisoned in the North Palace, and she was really "cool".

[-]. Comeback

Yuan Cha and Liu Teng launched a palace coup in a sudden attack, easily killed Yuan Yi and imprisoned the Queen Mother Hu, but this did not mark their complete victory, because the Queen Mother Hu still had certain influence, and an imperial edict , can only deceive the common people, and it is difficult to hide the eyes of the courtiers and the Queen Mother Hu's cronies.After learning the news that Queen Mother Hu was under house arrest, the buddies complained for Queen Mother Hu, and then launched a rescue operation.

Hu Sengjing, the nephew of the Empress Dowager Hu, ran around to vent his dissatisfaction after the Empress Dowager Hu was imprisoned. Welcome the Queen Mother Hu and return to court.Regrettably, their secrets were leaked, and before they could do anything, they had already become Yuancha's prisoners, Che Qu died, and Seng Jing was exiled.

In August of the first year of Zhengguang (520 A.D.), that is, only half a month after Queen Mother Hu was imprisoned, Zhongshan Wang Yuanxi, the governor of Xiangzhou, sent troops to attack Yuancha.On the day of the raising of troops, the imperial court stated its intention.

Since Huangji Mianmao, Jiuye Chengguang, Gaozu and Sejong Huiming inherited each other.The empress dowager respects heaven, and her virtue is the same as that of Ma and Deng;The four seas are like Yanru, and the eight appearances are naturalized.But the leading general, Yuan Cha, dotes on his foreign relatives, swears at his left and right, has a wolf's heart, and bites back when he is full.Then the second palace was blocked, the ceremony was warmed up, and Taifu Qinghe Wangheng was slaughtered, causing loyal ministers and martyrs to be discouraged and quell the court; ... The minister lives in the branch calyx, thinking about his life, breaking his head and slaughtering his liver, as sweet as a shepherd's chest.Now there are [-] rebels in the uprising, and the big disciples have advanced, fighting for the first in civil and military affairs. They will all go out on the [-]th of this month with the governor of Bingzhou, Chengyang Wanghui, the governor of Hengzhou, Guangyang Wangyuan, the governor of Xuzhou, Qi Wang Xiao Baokui, etc. …

However, due to Yuanxi's lack of preparation and improper command, Yuanxi raised his army hastily, and within ten days of his formation, he captured Yuancha's army for his long history Liu Yuanzhang, Biejia Youjing, and Weijun prefect Li Xiaoyi, and the soldiers were defeated.

After Yuanxi was captured, he was imprisoned in Ye. He knew that his fate would be difficult, so he wrote a letter to his friends as a farewell word. "My brother and I were met by the empress dowager. The elder brother was in Dazhou, and the younger was served as a servant. He was courteous and kind, and kind to his mother. Now the empress dowager sees the abolition of the North Palace, and the Taifu King Qinghe was brutally slaughtered. The lord was young and alone. In the front hall. The monarchs and relatives are like this, and there is no way to be safe, so they lead the army and the people to build righteousness in the world. But the intelligence is short, and when you see the prisoners, you will be ashamed of the court and know each other below."

On the occasion of his execution, Yuanxi was not conquered by death, but swaggered, and left two five-character poems (poems: ("Wei Shu" Volume [-] "Rencheng Wang Fuyuan Shun Biography").

One is to show his bureaucrats:

Righteousness really moves the gentleman, and the Lord humiliates loyal ministers to death.

How to make it clear that it is the festival, and the seven-foot body will be untied.

A farewell to friends:
A square inch of heart in life, diligence is a bosom friend.

From now on, it will be sold out, and the sadness will never end.

("Wei Shu" Volume [-] "Nan'an King Fu Yuanxi Biography")
After Yuanxi was suppressed, Yuancha and Liu Teng really controlled the situation. When Yuancha was in power in the history of the Northern Wei Dynasty, there was a situation where Yuancha monopolized power, "the power is extremely strong, and anyone who has a transfer will make a visit" ( "Wei Shu" Volume [-] "Ren Cheng Wang Fu Yuan Shun Biography").We can see the situation at that time from the following example.

Yuan Shun is the son of Yuan Cheng, the king of Rencheng.When Emperor Xuanwu of Emperor Sejong worshiped Zhongshu Shilang, he was promoted to Taichang Shaoqing.In the second year of Shengui (519 A.D.), his father lost his job.After Yuancha came to power, the official worshiped him as the minister of Huangmen.At that time, all those who removed their officials and increased their ranks must go to the Yuancha mansion to pay their respects, but Yuanshun only paid respects to his cousin.Yuan Cha was dissatisfied with this, so he questioned Yuan Shun.

"Why didn't you see me besides serving as the servant of Huangmen, Qing?" Yuancha asked when he saw Yuanshun.

"The son of heaven is rich in the spring and Autumn period. He appoints the government and the Zongfu. Uncle should regard the public as his heart and serve the country. How can he show his kindness and thank others privately? How can he be convinced by everyone like this!"

What Yuan Shun said made Yuan Cha speechless, making Yuan Cha feel no sense of awe towards Yuan Shun.How could such a person stay by his side, so shortly thereafter, Yuan Shun was granted the title of General of Pingbei and Governor of Hengzhou.Before Yuan Shun left, he put forward a new request to Yuan Cha.

"The Northern Wei Dynasty is divided, and Fang is the stalk of the country. The old capital of Sanggan is the root of the situation. The governor is on leave to defend the country."

Yuan Cha was very dissatisfied with Yuan Shun at first, but he was awarded the title of General Pingbei just to squeeze him out of the capital.Unexpectedly, Yuan Shun's appetite is not small, and he wants to be the commander of the army. How can this be done?Seeing Yuan Cha throwing his hands away, he made a helpless look and said:

"This is a matter for the court, not for me!"

"Alas, this statement is wrong! Since my uncle holds the power of the country, he can live and kill himself. Since he said that the calendar of the sky should be in my hands, how can there be a court again!"

Yuan Cha left after listening to Yuan Shun's words.Soon, Yuan transferred General An Dong and governor of Qizhou by the way, and Yuan just let him rest here.Yuan Shun's blunt speech was suppressed, how could he overwhelm Yuan Cha, so there was only "every time he was depressed and expressed in words, he indulged in drinking and entertaining, and was not close to political affairs" ("Wei Shu" Volume [-], "Ren Cheng Wang Fu "Yuan Shun Biography").

Yuancha's domineering aroused internal and external dissatisfaction, and even the emperor expressed it.Under the coaxing of Liu Teng, Yuan Cha and others, Emperor Xiaoming supported their coup d'etat, and it turned out to be an imperial tool.When he gradually stabilized and thought calmly, he felt that he had gone too far with his mother, Queen Mother Hu.Moreover, Yuancha's domineering and authoritarian power made him feel threatened and uneasy from another aspect, so he decided to open the gate of this palace to see his mother.Although Yuan Cha and the others didn't want Emperor Xiaoming to visit his mother from the bottom of their hearts, they were their own flesh and blood after all!Dissuasion is okay, but I am afraid that the opinions will not be accepted and cause some commotion.Besides, if the stubborn emperor was really annoyed, I'm afraid it would be difficult to deal with things in the future. Under the last resort, Yuan Yi agreed to Emperor Xiaoming's request.

On the Jiawu day in March of the second year of Zhengguang (521 A.D.), Emperor Xiaoming led civil and military officials to meet Empress Dowager Hu in Xilin Garden.The mother and son who haven't seen each other for half a year, the affection is beyond words.The mother and son held a feast together, and all civil and military officials sat around laughing and laughing, creating a harmonious atmosphere.When the wine is full, some people dance to help the wine, and everyone is even more excited to drink.However, the wrestling dance of a person broke through the harmony on the surface and brought tension. This person was Xi Kangsheng, the general of Fuyuan who had participated in Yuan You's conspiracy to dethrone the Queen Mother Hu.

Xi Kangsheng, who was originally a capable general of Yuancha, was like a brother. He made great contributions to Yuancha in abolishing the Empress Dowager Hu. Therefore, General Youwei jumped into General Fuyuan and Henan Yin, and he still led General Youwei. .But after several months of dating, he couldn't understand Yuancha's domineering and domineering, and couldn't bear it to persecute dissidents, so he was looking for a way to get rid of it.Today, he followed Emperor Xiaoming to pay homage to Queen Mother Hu, and was about to take the opportunity to accomplish his plan.Therefore, when he was drunk, he danced a wrestling dance to cheer up the wine.What is puzzling is that when he was dancing the Lishi dance, he turned around from time to time to look at the Queen Mother Hu, and showed his killing and restraining momentum by raising his hands, dancing his feet, staring, and nodding his head.At first, Empress Dowager Hu didn't pay attention to Xi Kangsheng's wrestling dance, but when she saw him looking at her from time to time and making a series of movements, she finally understood what Xi Kangsheng meant, and felt happy inside, but kept his appearance on the outside.She was thinking about her course of action.

Evening is approaching, and the banquet is coming to an end.Empress Dowager Hu decided to hold on to the emperor first, and then make plans.So, when people got up and went back to the palace, they saw Empress Dowager Hu pulling up the emperor and saying loudly:

"Son, we mother and son haven't seen each other for a long time, we have a meeting today, we should have a good talk, let's go, accompany mother to Xuanguang Hall!"

"Back to the Empress Dowager, the Supreme Court has finished the audience, and the imperial concubine is in the south, why bother to stay with the Empress Dowager?" As soon as the Empress Dowager Hu finished speaking, Hou Gang immediately stepped forward to stop her.

"Your Majesty, you are the son of His Majesty the Empress Dowager, you can go anywhere with Your Majesty at will, why bother you so much?" Xi Kangsheng interjected from behind.

Xi Kangsheng's words are reasonable, and there is enough time, yes, mother and son haven't seen each other for a long time, so can't they share a room and talk freely?Hou Gang was speechless, and none of the ministers stopped him.Seeing this, Empress Dowager Hu took Emperor Xiaoming by one arm and left the hall.I don't know if it was a feat of emotion, or a well-prepared plan, but Xi Kangsheng shouted behind Empress Dowager Hu;
"Long live Long live Long live!"

"Long live! Long live! Long live!" The servants followed in Xi Kangsheng's footsteps and shouted.

Empress Dowager Hu and Emperor Xiaoming entered the hall with the sound of "Long Live", and Wu Kangsheng followed behind with a thousand-ox sword in hand. He wanted to protect Empress Dowager Hu and Emperor Xiaoming when they entered Xuanguang Hall.

In fact, Yuancha and others have already made preparations.While agreeing to Emperor Xiaoming's request, they anticipated the development of the situation and took corresponding emergency measures.When the first step was failed by Hou Gang's opposition, they entered the second step-to rob the emperor secretly.Around the Xuanguang Hall, the guards were waiting in ambush. When Empress Dowager Hu, Emperor Xiaoming and Xi Kangsheng stepped onto the hall, they jumped up. Gu was caught and locked under the door.Empress Dowager Hu's mother and son were very surprised to see that Xi Kangsheng was captured and dozens of guards blocked their way.Just when he was at a loss, Guang Luxun Jia Can came in a hurry, only to hear him say to the Queen Mother:
"The courtiers are all terrified, and it is difficult to calm down unless His Majesty comes in person. Please, Your Majesty, please work hard."

Empress Dowager Hu didn't know what it was, she turned around and left the emperor.Taking advantage of this opportunity, Jia Can helped Emperor Xiaoming walk out from the east sequence of Xuanguang Hall and went straight to Xianyang Hall.When Empress Dowager Hu heard the movement, she seemed to feel deceitful, and when she looked back, she could no longer see the shadow of Emperor Xiaoming, and she suddenly realized that the door of the North Palace was tightly closed again.

Yuan Cha and Hou Gang turned the corner again, and under their careful arrangements, they finally imprisoned the Queen Mother again. However, what made it difficult for them to understand was that Xi Kangsheng, who was in the same boat, betrayed them.That being the case, don't blame your subordinates for being ruthless.The next day, they interrogated Xi Kangsheng and his son Nan.As a result, Xi Kangsheng was sentenced to be beheaded and executed immediately.At the time of execution, his son could not weep and bid farewell. Xi Kangsheng made a generous statement:
"I didn't die because of conspiracy, why are you crying?!"

After finishing speaking, he raised his head, took big strides, and rushed to the city, becoming Yuan Cha's sword ghost.

Empress Dowager Hu lost a good opportunity to open the pylorus, she was really angry and hated.After the incident, she meditated quietly and seriously summed up the lessons of failure.She knew very well that Yuancha was in full control of the power at this time, and Hou Gang was helping the tyrant to abuse him, so he was already very powerful.Emperor Xiaoming was completely controlled by them, and all civil and military officials looked up to him.Seng Jing and Yuan Xi planned to seize power by force, but were quickly wiped out by Yuan Cha. Xi Kangsheng went to the meeting alone and became Yuan Cha's ghost.I wanted to control the emperor to fight again, but I didn't expect Yuancha to use a small plan and he was defeated. Now it seems that it is difficult to be impatient, and a long-term strategy must be devised.If you can't be hard, then I'll be soft, and I must break out of the pylorus!

After Yuan Cha and Hou Gang executed Xi Kangsheng, they sat down to discuss in detail. From this incident, they saw Queen Mother Hu's eagerness to restore herself, and saw that her power had not been eliminated.Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen precautions, especially to pay attention to the movements in the North Palace, and never allow Hu Taihou to contact courtiers and emperors again.Since then, when Yuancha entered and exited the forbidden area, there must be guards at the front and rear, with swords in their hands, just in case of accidents.However, after a while, Yuancha's tension slowly relaxed.Why is that?
It turned out that the confidantes who were sent to the Beigong to spy on Queen Mother Hu's movements strictly followed Yuancha's orders, and never let go of Queen Mother Hu's every move.After analyzing these reports, Yuan Cha came to the conclusion that Empress Dowager Hu no longer cares about political affairs as much as before.Recently, confidantes have reported one after another: Empress Dowager Hu is traveling eastward and westward, and has nothing else to do.Could it be that she is really tired of political affairs and has given up her desire for restoration?Yuan Cha also had some scheming, he secretly asked his confidants to talk to the queen mother about government affairs with her intentionally, and see how she reacted.The confidantes gave Yuancha a satisfactory answer. When talking about trivial matters in life, eating, drinking and having fun, Queen Mother Hu talked eloquently. in color.These signs indicate that the Empress Dowager Hu is no longer interested in political affairs.

(End of this chapter)