Anecdote of the Fifth Queen Mother

Chapter 12 Queen Mother Hu (6)
Since the murder of the three cronies, Emperor Xiaoming became even more resentful, how could he be willing to go on like this?So he pinned his hopes on the leading generals outside the palace, and finally performed the tragedy of drinking doves to quench thirst like Milian Erzhu Rong.This is a later story, so I won't show it for the time being.

What Empress Dowager Hu did led to the opposition of the royal family and the renunciation of Emperor Xiaoming, so the government was unstable and turmoil arose everywhere. Lost popular support.

The social influence of the Northern Wei Dynasty and the edification of the family made the Empress Dowager Hu also believe in Buddhism. During her two visits to the court, she adored Buddhism and built temples.

In the first year of Xiping (516 A.D.), when the Empress Dowager Hu was in court for the first time, she ordered the construction of Yongning Temple. As a grand gesture, the Empress Dowager Hu personally led all civil and military officials to attend the foundation ceremony.The 32 golden statues unearthed after the founding of the foundation made Empress Dowager Hu feel the spirit of Buddha.So it went beyond the original planned scale and expanded it wantonly.Insufficient funds were collected from the common people, monks and nuns, and all civil and military officials were asked to pay donations.Yongning Temple was finally built.

Yongning Temple is very spectacular.The tallest building is the pagoda, which has nine levels and is ninety feet high, all of which are made of selected hard wood.There are pillars on the tower, and the height of the pillars is ten feet.There are gold vases on the pillars of the pagoda, under the vases are eleven gold plates bearing dew, golden bells hang around, and four iron reels the size of a stone jar are hung, leading each pillar to the four corners of the stupa There are three doors and windows on each side of the pagoda. The doors are painted red and each holds a five-element golden bell. There is a Buddhist hall in the north of the pagoda, which is comparable in size to the Taiji Hall in the palace.In the hall is a golden statue as high as ten feet and eight feet, and beside it stand ten small golden statues as tall as people, and two jade statues; there are many monks in the temple, and there are as many as a thousand rooms.The walls around the temple are built with short rafters, and the top of the wall is covered with tiles.There are arches on all sides of the wall, and the three-storey building of the main entrance in the south is twenty feet high.There are two stone guards and stone lions next to the four arches.These guards and lions are all decorated with gold, silver, pearls and jade, which can be described as magnificent.

It is strange to say that Yongning Temple was built in the second year of Empress Dowager Hu's reign, and the damage was done in the year after Queen Mother Hu's second reign.In the summer of the second year of Xiaochang (526 A.D.), she did not expect that the Buddha she respected did not bless her. Instead, she became furious.In order to repair the pagoda, Empress Dowager Hu searched for people's fat and people's anointing.

The construction of Yongning Temple is just a microcosm. Under the advocacy and support of Empress Dowager Hu, temple towers can be seen everywhere in the country. Especially since Song Yun and Huisheng went west to learn Buddhist scriptures and returned to Luoyang, there has been a craze for worshiping Buddha in the country, so grottoes have been dug repeatedly. There are many pagodas, and taxes and taxes are collected for the construction of temples and pagodas.Where is their way out of life?
The worship of Buddhism and the construction of temples have brought disasters to the people, and the endless plundering and plundering and the exploitation of corrupt officials have aggravated this disaster.Empress Dowager Hu received the support of many people when she came to the court to listen to the government twice. After she took the stage, she rewarded these meritorious officials, either as "county princes" or "county princes". Receive rewards and continue to expand the land of food.The people in the rewarded areas are miserable, and their hard work can't meet the needs of the foodies.Regarding this, Empress Dowager Hu didn't ask, and the court didn't care.People are just wandering.For example, Yuanchen, the son of Hejian Wang Yuanruo, took bribes and extorted bribes as governor of Dingzhou. When he returned to Luoyang, the capital, he was full of gold and silver treasures.Empress Dowager Hu said humorously: "Chen is in Dingzhou, but he doesn't bring Zhongshan Palace with him, so he will do everything he can." ("Wei Shu" Volume [-] "Hejian Wang Biography")
It is in this situation that the people are cornered and they rise up.The Six Towns were the first to attack, breaking Liuhan Baling and Heliansi first, followed by Du Luozhou, Xianyu Xiuli, and Wanrong. The wave of uprisings hit the decadent Northern Wei regime, which was in turmoil in the wind and rain.

Eight, death by fire and water

When the Northern Wei Dynasty was in a precarious and turbulent situation, the leading generals were also watching the opportunity and ready to move, and Er Zhurong was one of the representatives.

Er Zhurong, courtesy name Tianbao, was born in Bei Xiurong.He first attacked his father as a straight sleeper and guerrilla general.During the reign of Emperor Xiaoming, peasant uprisings spread all over the world. He distributed his wealth and recruited volunteers to form a strong force. General Bei, Governor of Beidao, and Third Division of Yitong.Er Zhurong, who is powerful and powerful, sees that the imperial court is getting more and more corrupt, and has the intention of doing something wrong. Gao Huan, his subordinate, is aware of it, and he uses excuses to encourage Er Zhurong to make good plans early.

"Now the Son of Heaven is young and cowardly, the Empress Dowager indulges in adultery, treacherous officials are domineering, and the government is in turmoil. With the general's talent and prestige, I take this opportunity to go straight to the capital in the name of crusade against Zheng Yan and Xu Heqing, and the hegemony can be achieved with a whip. .”

Gao Huan's words were right in his arms.In order to be cautious, Er Zhurong asked Ji Yu Bingzhou Inspector Yuan Tianmu and his tent governor He Bayue and others. Frustration was used as an excuse, and he requested to lead [-] cavalry to help Xiangzhou.Empress Dowager Hu believed that Guanlong had been pacified, and Wang Yuanhao of Beihai had commanded [-] troops out of the town of Xiangzhou, so Er Zhurong remained where he was.How could Er Zhurong be patient, before the Queen Mother could reply, he sent troops to control Mayi, occupied Jingxing, and prepared to go south to Luoyang.But what makes Er Zhurong a little worried is that the teacher is unknown.At this time, Emperor Xiaoming, who wanted to use Er Zhurong's power to get rid of Zheng Yan, Xu He and Queen Mother Hu, sent a secret edict to Er Zhurong:
"Quickly command your soldiers, go straight to Luoyang, kill Zheng Yan and Xu He, and force the Queen Mother to return to power."

This edict issued by Emperor Xiaoming reenacted the farce of He Jin summoning Dong Zhuo to Beijing at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty in the Northern Wei Dynasty.So Er Zhurong was overjoyed, and he sent out the army according to the order, and the name was justified, so he led the army to march towards Luoyang.But on the way, another bad news came: the 19-year-old Emperor Xiaoming collapsed in the Xianyang Palace.

It turned out that Pan Chonghua, the favorite concubine of Emperor Xiaoming, gave birth to a daughter in the first month of the first year of Wutai (528 A.D.). Zheng Yan, Queen Mother Hu and others, out of self-interest and long-term considerations, announced that Pan Chonghua gave birth to a prince and amnesty to change Yuan. .When Er Zhurong went south, Empress Dowager Hu had already noticed the clues of Emperor Xiaoming's activities.So they decided to poison Emperor Xiaoming to get rid of internal troubles first, so the young emperor died suddenly in February Guichou.Then Empress Dowager Hu announced that Pan's son would ascend the throne.However, a fake is a fake after all, and many people in the palace know the details and publicize them everywhere. At this time of turmoil, if there is a palace coup due to this, the situation will be even worse.A few days later, Empress Dowager Hu reissued an edict to make Yuan Zhao, the three-year-old son of King Lintao, emperor.

"Since Pan Chonghua had the Pregnant Pepper Palace, he was born and stored two, and there was no sign of the two bears, and Wei Zong then showed up. So he always thought that the country's progress was not healthy, falsely called Tongyin, and wanted to determine the situation with the bottom, and it was Yang Chenji. He Once the picture is drawn, the bow and sword cannot be pursued, the national road is medium and small, and there are great sacrifices. The emperor's great-grandson is Lintao Wang Baohui and Shi Zizhao...Allow to be a great treasure, and practice it today." ("Wei Shu" Volume [-] "Su Zong Ji")
When Queen Mother Hu issued the edict of self-deception, the whole world was stunned. Er Zhurong thought that the time was more ripe, so he put on a protest form, which not only disclosed the conspiracy, but also declared the intention of crusade.

"Nowadays, there is a lot of nonsense in the world, and it is said that the emperor is a great king, and the poison is causing disaster... The girl who returned to the empress, called Chu Er, doubts the government and the public, celebrates forgiveness with false deeds, the spirit of the ancestral temple sees deception, and the hope of Zhaomin has been lost. , so that the seven hundred are in danger of laying eggs, and the country falls into one dynasty. Fang chooses the king and baby, and sends them to the breasts to hold the day. He makes the traitor stand up for the dynasty, and the thieves and ministers violate the discipline. , This is to cover your eyes to catch birds, plug your ears to steal bells... Now, according to the plan of the courtiers, following the talk of relatives, the daughter of Pan Mao was used to deceive the people, and she came to the world with her unspoken son. I have never heard of it. I would like to keep the kindness of the saints and benevolent, answer the worries of the moment, respect the loyalty of the ministers, record the ministers to the money, listen to the ministers to go to the palace, participate in the big conference in advance, ask the courtiers about the reason for the emperor's death, and visit the forbidden brigade. The disciples of Xu and Zheng paid for the defeat of the division, the shame of Xue Tongtian, and the resentment of far and near." ("Wei Shu" Volume 74 "Er Zhu Rong Biography")
After Er Zhurong went up to fight against the Biao, he sent his troops south and sent his confidantes to Luoyang to ask Yuan Ziyou, the king of Changle, to join his army in order to be established as the new emperor.

After Empress Dowager Hu received the form, Zhi Er Zhu Rong was determined to fight against her, so she immediately held an imperial meeting to discuss countermeasures.Empress Dowager Hu, who has lost the hearts of all officials, received a silent silence in the imperial meeting, and no one offered advice for her.Reluctantly, the favorite minister Xu He came out to make things right.

"Er Zhurong is only a chieftain of Qihu, what can he do? The palace guards are enough to resist, and the capital has an army of tens of thousands. Moreover, Er Zhurong is exhausted from traveling thousands of miles away.

A word from Xu He is better than a thousand doses of medicine.Empress Dowager Hu's hanging heart suddenly fell, so she deployed troops to defend the key points.Empress Dowager Hu accepted Xu He's wrong strategy—passive defense, so that Er Zhurong went south smoothly. On the way, he welcomed Yuanzi You Dengji and proclaimed himself emperor.Empress Dowager Hu was at a loss when she heard that there were frequent reports of defeats ahead, and that Er Zhurong had established a new emperor.When Er Zhurong approached the city, she hurriedly ordered all concubines to become nuns. After the order was passed down, she wanted to cut her own hair and become nuns.It's a pity that she failed to fulfill her wish this time, because she had become Er Zhurong's prisoner and was sent to Heyin. At this time, Empress Dowager Hu no longer had the prestige of the past. Honorable forgiveness.How could Er Zhurong repeat the same mistakes of Yuancha, he decisively ordered the Queen Mother Hu and the little emperor to be sunk into the Yellow River together.At the same time, more than [-] people from the clan, princes, and civil and military officials who came to meet the new emperor were killed in Heyin, and they were sent to follow the Queen Mother Hu and the little emperor.This is the famous "Heyin Change" in history.

During the six years from the first year of Wutai (528 A.D.) to the third year of Yongxi (534 A.D.), the Northern Wei Dynasty declined amidst disputes and separatism.When Emperor Xiaozhuang Yuan Ziyou ruled, Er Zhurong was domineering and monopolized the power. Emperor Xiaozhuang planned to kill him in Mingguang Palace. Er Zhuzhao raised troops from Bingzhou to force Luoyang to avenge his uncle, conquered Luoyang, captured the emperor and returned to Jin Yang, and soon killed him in the third-level Buddhist temple in Jinyang City, and established Yuan Gong as Emperor Jiemin.Soon after, the emperor Yuen Long was abolished.Later, Gao Huan led his troops to kill Luoyang, and established Guaixiu as Emperor Xiaowu.In the third year of Yongxi (AD 534), the Northern Wei Dynasty split into the Eastern Wei and the Western Wei, and withdrew from the stage of history.

It was in February of the third year of Yongxi (534 A.D.), when the Northern Wei Dynasty was about to split, Yongning Temple was suddenly hit by a skyfire. The fire was raging and smoke billowed. Feeling helpless, they had no choice but to leave with a sigh, and just let the fire continue to burn for three months until Yongning Temple was completely burned down.

Doesn't Yongning Temple reflect the history of the Northern Wei Dynasty from prosperity to decline like a mirror?It was built when the Northern Wei Dynasty was strong and magnificent. The towering nine-level pagoda showed the strength of the country, and the silver bells fluttering in the wind played harmonious and cheerful music; The stupa was damaged, although it has been repaired, it is difficult to heal after all.Isn't the Northern Wei Dynasty going downhill at this time?All kinds of contradictions are becoming more and more acute, and the patchy measures of Empress Dowager Hu can only bring about temporary peace on the surface; after Empress Dowager Hu sank into the river, the Northern Wei Dynasty became more turbulent, and its demise was inevitable. The full-scale outbreak of peasant uprisings was like the fire in Yongning Temple. The same, so that the ruling class can only sigh.The burning of Yongning Temple was the harbinger of the demise of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)