On March 23, the third year of the Northern Zhou Dynasty (568), Yu Jin, one of the great uncles, Taifu and three elders of the dynasty, died of illness in office.
Upon learning of his death, Emperor Wu of Zhou personally went to mourn, not only posthumously giving a top nickname such as "Wen", but also ordering that at the funeral, all officials below the prince level were buried in the suburbs, which can be described as mourning after death.
Of course, you thought that was the end of it? No, in addition to giving high-standard treatment at the funeral, Emperor Wu of Zhou also asked him to sacrifice to the temple court of Taizu Yuwentai, reaching the highest honor of a courtier before and after his death.
Yu Jin
And Yu Jin is one of the sixty-four famous generals sacrificed in the Tang Dynasty and the seventy-two famous generals sacrificed in the Song Dynasty.
It can be said that Yu Jin's status at that time was comparable to Zhuge Liang and Wang Meng.
However, many people have said, how come I haven't heard of such a powerful character?
This is because Yu Jin is relatively low-key, even if he is in a high position, he always acts with a modest attitude, and the history of the Northern and Southern Dynasties is chaotic, so naturally he will not be angry in later generations.
But at that time, it was the mighty Northern and Southern Dynasties, not only with great military achievements, but also with outstanding strategy, in other words, if it weren't for him, the Western Wei Dynasty might not have been established, let alone the Northern Zhou Dynasty in the future.
The Northern and Southern Dynasties were in turmoil
01
Yu Jin is a member of the Xianbei clan, his surname is Wan Yu clan, and his ancestors are responsible for guarding the six towns in the Northern Wei Frontier, but in his generation, the background of the six towns is incompatible with the Northern Wei court, and he is outside the core class of the Northern Wei Dynasty, such as his father served as a civilian.
If it is not unexpected, Yu Jin will also become an official in the future.
But unlike others, Yu Jin is not keen on his career, not that he looks down on it, but he is ashamed of his state and county officials, and if he wants to be an official, he has to be a third duke.
In the eyes of ordinary people, the official position of the state and county is already very high, but the arrogant Yu Jin is regarded as vulgar, so his words have been ridiculed by many people.
But no matter how Yu Jincai looked at him, he continued to choose to live in seclusion, holding the history book and "The Art of War" every day, and completely hibernated.
It can also be seen from here that Yu Jin's ambition in this life is to be in the army, not to be an ordinary civilian official.
In the fourth year of Zhengguang of the Northern Wei Dynasty (523), the Six Towns Uprising that swept through the northern part of the Northern Wei Dynasty broke out.
The Great Revolt of the Six Towns
In the Six Towns Uprising, in order to strengthen the momentum, the six Han Baling actually attracted the old opponent of the Northern Wei Dynasty to invade Rouran, and for a time the war continued in various parts of the north.
For Yu Jin, fighting on the battlefield can make a quick meritorious service, after getting the order of Yuan Su, he immediately led 2,000 cavalry to the north for more than 3,000 miles to fight with Rouran, and won a complete victory on the first expedition, which also made Yu Jin famous.
In addition to Po Rouran, Yu Jin also pacified Tiele, Po Liuhan Baling, Ge Rong, Xing Gao, Nanliang, Kesu Qinmingda, Xia Kou, etc., almost won many battles and became the new military star of the Northern Wei Dynasty.
However, unlike other generals, Yu Jin fought for many years, but he did not have his own subordinates, which made his position at the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty a little embarrassing.
On the one hand, at the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty, there was already a phenomenon of civil and military separation, that is, the gap between the identity of military generals and the civil officials who started secretly gradually widened.
Although the generals had the opportunity to make meritorious contributions, after Er Zhurong broke through Luoyang, Yu Jin's personal situation was not improved because of his outstanding military exploits, but instead became a tool of various forces.
After Erzhurong settled in Luoyang, the court was controlled by the Erzhu clan, and Yu Jin became a member of the Erzhu clan's camp.
Yu Jin
In the first year of the Northern Wei Putai (531), Yu Jin was appointed as the general of the expedition to the north, followed Erzhu Tianguang to conquer Gao Huan, the two sides fought in Hanling Mountain, defeated by the hands of Hu Sichun, Erzhu Tianguang died in battle, Yu Jin fled to Guanzhong, this battle is a rare defeat in Yu Jin's military career, and it is also a big setback in Yu Jin's career.
I have struggled for most of my life, and suddenly found that the Northern Wei court I worked for has now become Gao Huan's overlord, obviously wanting to serve the court, but inexplicably became the remnants of the Erzhu clan who were requisitioned, although the Luoyang court can still issue edicts, but it is just a puppet.
The battle of Hanling was the battle of Gao Huan's rise
Therefore, Yu Jin defected to He Bayue, although he still wore the hat of General Wei and Doctor Jin Ziguanglu, but these were all false, and the real official position was the county guard of Xianyang.
At this time, Yu Jin was thirty-nine years old, fought for ten years, and finally became a state and county official who he despised when he was young, so you can imagine Yu Jin's depression and depression now.
And here in He Batyue, Yu Jin met the most important partner in this life - Yu Wentai.
At this time, Yuwentai belonged to He Bayue's advisers, with grace and courage, although the difference between the two was twelve years (Yuwentai was far smaller than him), but Yu Jin and he hit it off at first sight, thinking that he was the hero who seized the world.
Yuwentai
So far, Yu Jin has become Yuwentai's right-hand man, and Yuwentai knows people well, so that Yu Jin's life has completely entered the peak because of him.
02
In the third year of Yongxi of the Northern Wei Dynasty (534), He Bayue was killed by Hou Mo Chen Yue, and with the help of Yu Jin, Yu Wentai was elected as the new head and took over the He Bayue department.
Compared to the rest of Hebayue's subordinates, Yu Wentai obviously trusted Yu Jin more, not only trusting him, but also giving him real power, which also made Yu Jin decide to be completely loyal to the young leader who had been kind to him.
And during this time period, in addition to continuing to fight on the battlefield, he brought two surprises to Yuwentai, namely the Xiazhou Dingce and the Battle of Jiangling.
The forces of Hebatak
The first is the Xiazhou policy.
When Yuwentai took over the old department of He Bayue and crusaded against Hou Mo Chen Yue, Yu Jin presented the "Xiazhou pair" to Yuwentai:
Guanyou, the old capital of the Qin and Han dynasties, known as Tianfu in ancient times, the soldiers are brave, the soil is anointed, there is the Rao of Bashu in the west, and there is the benefit of sheep and horses in the north. Now, if you recruit heroes according to its key points, raise soldiers and persuade farmers, and watch the changes of the times. And the Son of Heaven is in Luo, persecuting the crowd, if Chen Minggong's sincerity is counted, counting the interests of current affairs, please close the right, the emperor will move westward, and then coerce the Son of Heaven and order the princes, according to the king's order to fight for riots, Huan, Wen's industry, a thousand years also.
The meaning of this countermeasure is that Yu Jin let Yuwentai build a stronghold in Chang'an, and take the Northern Wei Emperor Xiaowu Emperor in Luoyang into the pass, using Chang'an as a base, coercing the Son of Heaven and ordering the princes to plot hegemony.
To tell the truth, Gao Huan was already in power in Luoyang at this time, and he already had the power to hold Emperor Wei hostage to order the princes.
However, Yu Jin and Yu Wentai did not admit defeat, but took a proactive approach, allowing Yu Jin to "offer" a plan and "persuade" Emperor Xiaowu to move the capital to Chang'an.
At this time, Emperor Xiaowu was already overwhelmed by Gao Huan's pressure, thinking that this was an opportunity to get rid of Gao Huan's control, and immediately obeyed Yu Jin's suggestion to move the capital.
After Gao Huan learned about it, he immediately sent troops to recover Emperor Xiaowu, but unfortunately he couldn't catch up.
It's a pity that Emperor Xiaowu thought he had escaped from the wolf's den, but he didn't expect to enter the tiger's den again and be completely controlled by Yuwentai.
Western Wei and Eastern Wei
As for Gao Huan's side, he set up the imperial family Yuan Shanjian as the emperor, and thus the Northern Wei Dynasty was divided into the Eastern Wei and Western Wei.
Since Emperor Xiaowu moved the capital hostage, the Yuwen regime gathered heroes from all walks of life according to Yu Jin's suggestion, and then seized the rich land of Bashu, and successfully destroyed the Northern Qi, and then Yang Jian dominated the world on this basis.
It can be said that Yu Jin's Xiazhou pair is comparable to Zhuge Liang's Longzhong pair.
In fact, Yuwentai also suggested that He Bayue should use Guanzhong as a base, but Yu Jin added the westward relocation of Emperor Wei to this basis, which can be regarded as a stroke of genius for the legitimacy of this new regime.
Of course, the significance of Xiazhou is not only this, in addition to giving the Yuwen regime legitimacy, but also the integration of the three forces, that is, the original Yuwentai force in Beizhen, the Guanzhong Longxi force, and the scholar clan force that followed Emperor Xiaowu to move westward, and finally formed the future Guanlong aristocratic group, which influenced future generations for hundreds of years.
Based on this alone, Yu Jin's strategic capability direction can be ranked first in the North and South Dynasties.
And after this, Yu Jin made the most prominent achievement of his career - the destruction of Nanliang.
03
Just when the Northern Wei Dynasty was torn apart, the Southern Liang was not much better, Hou Jing from the north turned the Southern Liang upside down, and a group of Southern Liang royal families sat and watched Emperor Wu of Liang starve to death in Taicheng and were indifferent, and then fought with each other in order to compete for the throne.
And the most powerful for the time being is Emperor Xiao Yi of Liang Yuan, who occupies Jiangling.
And Yuwentai and Gao Yang took advantage of the chaos in Nanliang to take a bite, among which Yuwentai fell in love with the land of Bashu, and it was Xiao Ji who occupied Bashu at this time.
For Yuwentai, Xiao Ji is not worried, Xiao Ji is the Western Wei Dynasty in the north, Xiao Yi is the enemy of his life in the east, and the mountains and mountains are in the south, and there is no place to escape, which is really a turtle in the urn.
What really makes Yuwentai more important is Xiao Yi, Xiao Yi is different from Xiao Ji, Xiao Yi is now the nominal Emperor of Liang, and he can call on all kinds of soldiers and horses, such as Ren Yue, Wang Lin, Jiankang and Wang Seng who use troops in the west and south. In addition, in Jiangling, you can also contact the Northern Qi.
Xiao Ji forces
In addition to the assistance of the Quartet, Gangneung has been an important military town in the south since ancient times, among which in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Southern Dynasties, Gangneung's position is particularly important, and it is the place where the Southern Liang Dragon is prosperous.
And don't look at Xiao Yi as a weak scholar, but this regime's conquest of other Xiao family children is as smooth as the autumn wind sweeping the leaves.
Because under the circumstances of the right time, place and people, it is not so simple to fight a war to destroy the country.
Therefore, Yuwentai sent his strongest lineup, with Yu Jin as the commander, Wei Xiaokuan as the main general, Yang Zhong and Yuwenhu as the vanguard, leading 50,000 elite soldiers to conquer Jiangling, these people were almost all the government soldiers of the Western Wei Dynasty.
The reason why so many are sent is that on the one hand, it attaches importance to Nanliang, and on the other hand, it is to deter Wang Sheng.
On November 4, the third year of the abolition of the emperor of the Western Wei Dynasty (554), Yu Jin's army was assembled, and the troops were officially dispatched on November 21, and the next day after the Western Wei army was dispatched, the news was transmitted to Xiao Yi's side, but Xiao Yi did not believe in the Western Wei army's conquest and did not make arrangements.
In order to destroy Nanliang as soon as possible and prevent others from rescuing, Yu Jin ordered a rapid march, and arrived at Fan Deng in only four days, that is, on November 25, and it was only at this time that Xiao Yi knew that he hurriedly ordered to resist.
After all, Chang'an is 800 miles away from Fan Deng, and the four-day rapid march is equivalent to 200 miles a day.
Straight to Gangneung
However, Xiao Yi was afraid that Wang Seng would come to empty himself, and he was also afraid that this was the bluff of the Western Wei Dynasty, so he always hesitated to rescue, and it was not until November 30 that he began to send people to Wang Seng to ask for help, but it was too late.
On December 12, Yu Jin crossed the Han River, and then ordered Yang Zhong and Yu Wenhu to lead 2,000 cavalry to Jiangjin south of Jiangling to cut off the Liang Emperor's back road.
On December 13, Yuwen Hu conquered Wuling, and Xiao Yi ordered the siege of Muzha to refuse to be cautious, and then on December 17, he recruited King Linqin, the assassin of Guangzhou.
But everything was too late, on December 28, Yu Jin's army surrounded Jiangling heavily, cutting off all internal and external contacts, and Qinwang's troops could only look at Jiang and sigh.
In this way, Jiangling was besieged for 16 days, and with the Liang general Hu Shengyou being shot to death, Xiao Yi had no intention of resisting and was forced to open the door and surrender to Yu Jin.
From the dispatch of troops to the destruction of Nanliang, there was only one and a half months before and after, including the march, for Xiao Yi, it was simply a divine soldier descending from heaven, and the slightest hesitation would delay the fighter, and Xiao Yi hesitated more than once, until Yuwen Hu conquered Wuling, he began to deploy defenses, but it was too late.
Under Yu Jin's rapid march, Wang Sengbi, Wang Lin, and Ren Yue did not have time to rescue, and as for the Northern Qi side, Duan Shao had just sent troops, and Jiangling fell.
After making such a great achievement, Yuwentai gave Yu Jin the highest level of reward, in addition to crowning him as the prince of Xinye County and 2,000 households in Shiyi, he also ordered the music official to compose ten "Changshan Fair Liang Song".
The destruction of Southern Liang and the subsequent destruction of Shu not only rapidly increased the strength of the Western Wei Dynasty, but also enhanced the status of the Yuwen family in the Guanlong Group, laying the foundation for "changing Wei to Zhou" in the future.
The power of the Western Wei Dynasty expanded, and the south was shattered
04
At the time of the destruction of Liang, Yu Jin was already sixty-four years old, which was considered the age of half of his body into the earth, and he had made immortal contributions, so he began to consider the issue of Zhishi's pension and resigned to Yuwentai.
However, Yu Jinwen can govern the country, and Wu can be safe, how can he easily return to the field? Yu Wentai insisted on not allowing it, and Yu Jin had no choice but to continue to serve and serve as the chief secretary.
In October of the third year of Emperor Gong of the Western Wei Dynasty (556), Yuwentai died, due to the hurry of Yuwentai, he failed to complete the change of dynasty, but Yu Zhen comprehended the spirit and planned to repay Yuwentai's reinvention in the cause of changing the dynasty.
Previously, because Yuwentai's son Yuwenjue was still young, Yuwentai handed over the foundation to Yuwenhu, but Yuwenhu's reputation and status in the Guanlong Group were not as good as others, and others were not satisfied with Yuwenhu's power.
Therefore, Yuwen Hu can only seek Yu Jin's help, and under the support of Jin, Yuwen Hu can be superior:
And Taizu collapsed, Emperor Xiaomin was still young, although the public protector of Zhongshan was taken care of, and the name was subordinate, the princes of the group wanted to govern, and Mo Xiang was obedient. Protect the deep worries, and visit the secret
Why does Yu Jin insist on supporting Yuwen Hu?
The first reason is naturally to repay Yuwentai's kindness, when he was frustrated in his career, he was promoted to a close minister by Yuwentai and entrusted with important tasks, and his relationship with Yuwen's family is far closer than that of other pillar countries.
Another reason is the problem of identity and status, although Yu Jin is a pillar country, but seriously lacks political roots, the Yu family is only a small sect of the Yu family in Henan, not a descendant of Xianbei nobles, and there is no deep foundation in Luoyang.
After following Emperor Xiaowu to move west, his position was also very embarrassing, neither the civil and military bureaucrats around Emperor Xiaowu, nor the experience of working with He Basheng, let alone the surnames of Guanzhong County such as Wei Xiaokuan, Yang Fu, and Su Sui.
can only rely on the Yuwen family to realize their ambitions and values, and Yuwentai also sees that he is very capable but does not have too many relationships, and has the talent to set the world, but there is no rebellion.
Therefore, this embarrassing background made him deeply trusted by Yuwentai, and he was also one of the few people who led the group army alone to fight with a different surname during the Yuwentai period.
Now that Yuwentai is gone, he naturally has to continue to rely on the Yuwen family, so from the perspective of emotional and practical interests, Yu Jin naturally wants to support Yuwenhu's superiority.
After Yuwen Hu ascended the throne, he immediately began to change the dynasty.
Early Northern Zhou Dynasty
In the first year of Emperor Xiaomin of the Northern Zhou Dynasty (557), Yuwen Hu supported Yuwenjue as the emperor, changed Wei to Zhou, and Yu Jin was named the Duke of Yanguo, with 10,000 households, and at the same time served as the Taifu and the Great Uncle, completely completing the dream of the three princes when he was a child.
With the stability of the power of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Yu Jin planned to return to the field for retirement, but whether it was Yuwen Hu or Emperor Wu of Zhou Yu Wenyong, they all kept Yu Jin, and gave him a staff to prolong his life, and he was given a younger gift, it can be said that Yu Jin has reached the peak of the glory of a courtier, and has never been suspicious.
In the Eight Pillars of the Western Wei Dynasty, in addition to Yuwentai and Yuan Xin, who played soy sauce, Yu Jin ranked fifth in the other Six Pillars, but from the perspective of ability, Yu Jin should be ranked first in the Six Pillars.
Although it was not given its due status in the history books during the Northern Zhou Dynasty, it was constantly respected in later generations.
For example, in the period of Tang Xuanzong, Tang Xuanzong built temples for famous monarchs and ministers of various generations, among which Yu Wentai was given to Yu Jin and Su Sui, Su Sui was a reformer, and Yu Jin was Yu Wentai's right-hand man, this arrangement was appropriate.
Later, Yu Jin was selected into the martial temples of the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty, which was equivalent to recognizing its military status.
In other words, from the perspective of cultural governance and martial arts, Yu Jin is not inferior to Zhuge Liang at all, but unfortunately in the troubled times of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there are too many celebrities, and Yu Jin is not known in later generations.