In 528, the thirty-five-year-old Erzhu Rong led an army into Luoyang, killing Empress Dowager Hu Ling and the young emperor Yuan Zhao, while massacring more than 2,000 luoyang dignitaries.
In 530, the thirty-seven-year-old Erzhu Rong did not listen to advice and insisted on entering the pilgrimage to meet Emperor Xiaozhuang Yuanziyou, who was hacked to death by Yuan Ziyou with his cronies.
In Chinese history, there were not many powerful ministers who "blackmailed the Son of Heaven to order the princes", but the only people who could be really attacked and fired by the emperor and were out of the game seemed to be only a few people such as Zhu Rong of northern Wei and Manchu Qing Aobai.
On the surface, Erzhu Rong was still quite good to Yuan Ziyou.
After he ascended the throne as emperor, Erzhu Rong repeatedly expressed remorse for his massacre of dignitaries and dignitaries, repeatedly apologized for his attempts to forcibly move the capital, and repeatedly expressed his closeness and respect for Yuan Ziyou.
Rong Nai wrote in a letter, saying: "The communication of large soldiers, the difficulty of Qi Yi, the nobles of the dynasties, the multitude of the dead, the lack of followers and the present body, begging for the gift of the dead, and micro-declaring private responsibility." The Supreme King asked to be posthumously honored as the Supreme Emperor, and the one who died in Heyin, the kings gave three divisions, three gifts to orders, servants, five products to the history of thorns, seven products have been lowered and baimin to give counties and towns; the deceased has no successor, that is, he is knighted. He also sent an emissary to the city to ask. ------------------ "Zizhi Tongjian", Liang Jiba
A few days later, the emperor and The Glory ascended to the heights, and when they saw the magnificence of the palace, the trees were lined up, and they sighed: "The subject was foolish yesterday, and he had the intention of moving north, and now he sees the grandeur of the imperial residence, and he is familiar with the yuan shang shu and the words, which are deep and incapable." ------------------ "Zizhi Tongjian", Liang Jiba
It is said that Erzhu Rong was drunk at a banquet at the palace, and Yuan Ziyou wanted to kill him with a knife at that time, but was persuaded by the people around him. Although Erzhu Rong did not know about this, he also felt afraid after he woke up drunk, and he did not dare to stay overnight in the palace from then on.
Rongxi, because he asked for wine and drank, was drunk; the emperor wanted to curse, left and right bitter advice, nai stop, that is, to serve the province with the bed. In the middle of the night, Sui Da Dan did not sleep, and since then he has not been forbidden to stay in the middle of the house. - Zizhi Tongjian, Liang Jiba
It is said that during the assembly to shoot arrows, whenever Yuan Ziyou hit the target, Erzhu Rong would take the lead and stand up and cheer loudly. Everyone saw Erzhu Rong taking the lead in applauding, and naturally did not dare to fall behind. So when Motoko hits the target, the whole scene will look very spectacular, and even a little funny.
Rong behaved lightly, and he was happy to shoot, and every time he entered the court, he did nothing, but only got on the horse; at the feast in the Xilin Garden, Heng invited the empress to come out, and summoned the prince and the concubine to be together. Every time he saw the Heavenly Son shoot, he danced and shouted, and the Xiangqing shi was circling, and even the concubine lord could not help but raise his arms. - Zizhi Tongjian, Liang Jiba
Through the above two events, we can conclude that Erzhu Rong is doing his best to have a good relationship with Yuan Ziyou, hoping to reach a tacit understanding with Yuan Ziyou and harmoniously plan a great cause with the monarch and his subjects.
To be more specific: Erzhu Rong once wantonly slaughtered the dignitaries and dignitaries of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and the two sides were already in an endless situation. However, Erzhu Rong hoped that in this way, he would shake hands with the old forces of Northern Wei and make peace.
The reason for this is that the Northern Wei Dynasty is too large. Although Erzhu Rong could slaughter all the dignitaries and dignitaries in Luoyang City, there were countless old Northern Wei forces scattered over a territory of more than two million square kilometers in Northern Wei. They have a large number of military, political and economic resources and remain interest groups that cannot be ignored.
Erzhu Rong's entry into Luoyang, and even the defeat of Ge Rong, this only means that the battle for the deer world has entered a new stage, and it does not mean that Erzhu Rong has captured this deer, he is only temporarily ahead in the first round of competition.
In this context, if Erzhu Rong could not successfully take over or absorb the old forces of Northern Wei, then Erzhu Rong would gradually lose the lead he had gained in the first round.
However, Erzhu Rong's act of honoring the emperor could only alleviate the contradictions between him and the old forces of Northern Wei, but it was impossible to resolve them. Because Erzhu Rong's savagery, which is deep in the marrow, will not be changed, and naturally no one will sincerely cooperate with him.
Although Erzhu Rong was the first warlord of the Empire at that time, there were too many military and political leaders who could stand alone, so Erzhu Rong could only use the way of respecting Yuan Ziyou to maintain his own leading edge as much as possible.
But Erzhu Rong's respect for Yuan Ziyou was only superficial. When Yuan Ziyou and Erzhu Rong have a conflict, the arbitrariness and barbarism in Erzhu Rong's bones will erupt, which is an important reason why Yuan Ziyou hates him deeply.
Once, Erzhu Rong planned to promote a person to be the commander of Quyang County, but Yuan Ziyou thought that this person was inappropriate, so he appointed someone else. Erzhu Rong immediately sent a part of the army to the people he planned to promote, and drove away the people appointed by Yuan Ziyou.
The emperor also discussed with the official Shangshu Li Shenjun the Qingzhi Selection Department, Rong Taste Guan supplemented the Quyang County Order, and Shenjun hung in the order, did not play, and did not make more anthropomorphic. Rong was furious and sent those who had made up for it to take his place. - Zizhi Tongjian, Liang Jishi
On the surface, Erzhu Rong had the upper hand in the confrontation with Yuan Ziyou. But in fact, Erzhu Rong was clearly at a disadvantage in the struggle for the deer world. As a courtier, who dared to openly ignore the authority of the emperor, who would believe the various performances he had done before? How can such a person unite the majority?
A successful courtier, his daily contact with the emperor should be like this: the courtier repeatedly showed respect to the emperor, but the emperor was very aware of the current affairs and never disobeyed the intentions of the courtiers.
As a result, the courtiers repeatedly respected the emperor, the emperor repeatedly trusted the courtiers, the two sides were intimate, and all the actions of the courtiers were approved by the emperor.
On the other hand, Erzhu Rong, Yuan Ziyou and him have never been the same heart. Even if Erzhu Rong could force Yuan Ziyou to obey himself in some matter, in the eyes of outsiders, Erzhu Rong, a powerful minister, was also a failure.
When the emperor and the courtiers quarreled over the appointment of personnel, the actions of the appointees often objectively reflected the situation at that time: if no one dared to accept the emperor's appointment, the courtiers naturally did not have to compete with the emperor for power; if there were many people who dared to accept the emperor's appointment, the courtiers obstructed it, and they would only establish more and more enemies for themselves.
In later personnel appointments, Emperor Xiaozhuang still insisted on his opinion. Erzhu Rong, however, could do nothing. In the end, Erzhu Rong could only say with hatred: "He forgot how he became an emperor?" He refuses to listen to me now. "We can imagine that if Cao Cao had this virtue in the face of Emperor Xian of Han, would Cao Cao still be Cao Cao?
Rong Wenzhi, greatly hateful, said: "Who will establish the Son of Heaven?" I don't need to speak today! ---Zizhi Tongjian, Liang Jishi
Militarily, Erzhu Rong became the most powerful warlord in Northern Wei after defeating Ge Rong. However, the military and political clique represented by Erzhu Rong is only slightly more stable than the military and political clique represented by Ge Rong.
A stable military and political clique must have many intertwined interests and will never collapse in an instant because of the death of a certain person.
These entangled links of interests will give the main members of the military and political bloc a sense of security, believing that maintaining the unity of this military and political bloc is beneficial to everyone.
In this context, even if the old chief dies, the members within the group will do everything in their power to maintain the unity, unity and stability of the group.
For example, He Bayue, the military and political group he represents, is one of the largest military and political groups after Erzhu Rong. For example, Yuwen Tai, the military and political group he represented, was the predecessor of the later Northern Zhou Dynasty, and also the predecessor of the Sui Empire and the Tang Empire.
The military and political clique represented by He Bayue was not very stable at the beginning. Because there are many factions within this military and political group, no one has suppressed the strength of others.
However, the military and political clique represented by He Bayue obviously wants the military and political clique represented by Bill ZhuRong to be stable, because there are entangled interest ties within the military and political clique of He Bayue. After The death of He Bayue, although there were also differences within this military and political group, there was no infighting, and finally unity was achieved through a similar alliance.
The military and political clique represented by Yuwen Tai is also not stable. Because Yuwentai's strength and influence are insufficient. This military and political group only came together in order not to be annexed by others.
After Yuwen Tai's death, his successor Yuwen Yu was killed by Yuwen Hu. However, just when everyone thought that Yuwentai Group was about to have infighting, the group finally achieved unity and stability.
On the other hand, after Erzhu Rong's death, the military and political clique he represented was really married by his father and mother, and everyone took care of each other, and it fell apart in just a few months.
In the past, the Ge Rong first line was beaten to pieces by thousands of people in Erzhu Rong at the time of the sun in the sky; the current Erzhu Rong first line was also in the middle of the day, because Erzhu Rong's death instantly collapsed.
The main reason is that there are too many unstable elements in Erzhu Rong's team.
I casually reported a few names: Gao Huan, Yuwen Tai, He Bayue, Hou Jing, Murong Shaozong... Anyone who knows a little about the history of the last years of the Northern Wei Dynasty should know that these are all chaotic tyrants with long horns on their heads and scales on their bodies, and none of them are good stubble. They had long wanted to break away from Erzhu Rong's self-reliance portal, but they had not seized the opportunity. As soon as Erzhu Rong died, they justifiably began to split up.
In fact, as long as you look at the mode of getting along between Erzhu Rong and Yuan Ziyou, it is not difficult to understand the actions of Gao Huan and He Bayue and others.
Yuan Ziyou ascended the throne with the support of Erzhu Rong, but Yuan Ziyou was always unconvinced in front of Erzhu Rong. Erzhu Rong faced yuan ziyou who was rolling around, but he could only hate in his heart, but he did not dare to do anything to him.
Emperor Zheng serenity said, "If the Pillar of Heaven is not a subject, it must also be replaced; if it is still a subject, there is no reason to replace the hundred officials of the world!" ---Zizhi Tongjian, Liang Jishi
Seeing Wei Wei, Erzhu Rong was still so powerless in the face of a stunned Qingyuanzi, so what did he do when he faced Gao Huan and He Bayue and others? I don't think there will be any clever means to control it.
Many people believe that Erzhu Rong's death was just an accident, and if Erzhu Rong lived, the north would soon be reunited. But it seems to me that if Erzhu Rong is really so great, then he does not need to die.
Erzhu Rong would still capsize the ship when he was in control of Yuan Ziyou, and who dared to guarantee that he would not capsize in the process of controlling Gao Huan and He Bayue and others? Erzhu Rong couldn't even swing Yuan Ziyou, saying that he would definitely be able to balance Gao Huan and He Bayue and others, I'm afraid he would also look up to Erzhu Rong too much.
Yuan Ziyou was naturally wrong to risk killing Erzhu Rong, because even if he could kill Erzhu Rong, he would not be able to control the situation. Therefore, Yuan Ziyou paid for his mistake and paid for Erzhu Rong's life.
But yuan ziyou was not mistaken, he must have believed that as long as Erzhu Rong died, the military and political clique established by Erzhu Rong would fall apart. As long as the Erzhu Rong clique fell, the entire Northern Wei Dynasty would completely enter a situation of chasing deer, and Yuan Ziyou, as emperor, would have enough opportunities to cross the border.
Judging from the results, Yuan Ziyou's view is not wrong, but Yuan Ziyou's mistake is that he underestimated the sinister nature of the human heart, and even more underestimated his own importance.
The reason is also very simple: the world is about to be in chaos, and everyone wants to be the final winner. And a qualified puppet emperor is undoubtedly an excellent cooperative partner. But Yuan Ziyou dared to risk killing Erzhu Rong, so he gave a wake-up call to all the chaotic tyrants: I Yuanziyou will never be willing to be a puppet emperor.
In this context, when erzhu led an army to besiege Luoyang, almost all the chaotic tyrants were consciously or unconsciously watching: it was better for the emperor who was not suitable to be a puppet than to die quickly.
During the days when he was besieged by the Erzhu clan, Yuan Ziyou remembered Erzhu Rong, the military man who superficially respected himself but was actually barbaric and rude. When Erzhu Dulu (Erzhu Rong's cousin) wept bitterly under the city and remembered Erzhu Rong, Yuan Ziyou also shed tears.
Because of the sobs, the mourning could not overcome themselves, and the crowd wept and the sound vibrated the city. The emperor was also embarrassed by this, and sent the iron coupons to Shilong. - Zizhi Tongjian, Liang Jishi
Is Yuan Ziyou shedding tears for Erzhu Rong, or is he crying for his own unfortunate fate?
If Yuan Ziyou could endure a little longer, would he be able to gain more power? At that time, if you have a showdown with Erzhu Rong, you may have more chances of winning.
If Yuan Ziyou can have a deeper entanglement of interests with Erzhu Rong, can the two sides form a new military and political group to spend this difficult time together?
Unfortunately, time could not be turned back, and Yuan Ziyou was eventually captured by Erzhu Zhao and imprisoned in the Yongning Temple east of Luoyang City. Erzhu Zhao hated him to the bone, and it was winter, and Yuan Ziyou begged for a turban for warmth, but Erzhu Zhao flatly refused.
In desperation, Yuan Ziyou could only wrap his arms around a cold iron chain and survive in despair. Subsequently, Erzhu Zhao sent Yuan Ziyou to Jinyang and strangled him to death in a Buddhist temple. At this time, only three months had passed since Erzhu Rong was killed, and Yuan Ziyou was only twenty-four years old at the time of his death, reigning for three years.
The departure of both Yuan Ziyou and Erzhu Rong has opened the curtain for the chaotic world, and it is still a little too early to say who will be the final victor.
Recommended reading of related articles in previous periods:
Northern Wei died because of the Shi clan, and Empress Hu Ling was cursed
Erzhu Rong took advantage of the situation and defeated 300,000 with 7,000
Erzhu Rong was in a dilemma and his proposal to move was rejected