In May 465, when Tuoba Mao, the fifth emperor of northern Wei, died of illness, the crown prince Tuoba Hong was only twelve years old. The country was mourned, the prince was young, and there was great chaos in the DPRK. Empress Feng, who had always been gentle, virtuous, and kind, with her cleverness and wit, turned the tide, eliminated the rebels, supported Tuoba Hong's ascension to the throne, and enabled the Northern Wei regime to survive a difficult time.
Northern Wei Cheng Xiang and Taiyuan Wang Yihun was an ambitionist, who had long harbored the heart of disobedience, secretly cultivated forces, held military power, took charge of the government, was arbitrary, and bullied the king and oppressed the subjects. He often broke into the palace with his sword, threatened the emperor, and coveted the beautiful Empress Feng, sometimes with bad words and deeds. When Emperor Wencheng Tuoba Mao fell ill and died, Yihun thought that the time had come to usurp the throne and claim honor, so he deceived the mother and widow of the imperial family, sent elite soldiers to surround the palace, and brazenly and publicly threatened: "The throne of Great Wei is none other than me!" ”
On the day that Tuoba Li's coffin was laid, Empress Feng was devastated and prepared to set herself on fire, but was fortunately rescued by Li Yi, the brother of Shangshu Li Shi and the harem zhan shi. Li Yi was loyal to the imperial family, and when he saw that Empress Feng had lost her mind due to the death of her husband, she snapped admonition: "The empress dowager is only concerned with finding death and life, and is sad and lost her mind, so why don't you ignore the young prince?" A sentence made Empress Feng suddenly sober, and she asked urgently, "What is Xiang Yihun doing?" Li Yiyu said, "According to the words of the minister's brother, Xiang Yihun has made arrangements in all aspects of his son, and he is scheduled to declare himself emperor early tomorrow morning!" When Empress Feng heard this, she was stunned and said, "You should first step back and let me sit quietly for a moment." ”
Empress Feng sat on the bed, quietly meditating, and her heart was unusually calm. After a moment, Empress Feng suddenly shouted, "Come! Li Yi entered in response and listened to the command. Empress Feng said to Li Yi word by word: "Instead of sitting still, it is better to take risks!" You go to Xuan Cheng Xiang Yihun tonight to the Taihua Hall, and then send your cronies to protect the young lord! ”
That night, Yi Hun hung his sword from his waist and walked to the Taihua Hall with a tiger stride, and when he looked up, he saw Empress Feng dressed in a beautiful dress, sitting in front of a bronze mirror with her back, and a slightly smiling face reflected in the mirror. Yi Hun was suddenly salivating, so he took a step forward and hugged Empress Feng's willow waist with both hands. Empress Feng struggled to get up, and pretended to be angry: "As a minister, Wang Ye is so frivolous, aren't you afraid of the ridicule of the palace people?" Yi Hun became more and more anxious, and reached out to do indecent acts. Empress Feng stopped her with both hands and asked, "Does Wang Ye know what happened to me calling you into the palace tonight?" Yi Hun smiled obscenely, "Is the Empress Dowager going to reward me with a blessing?" Feng Tai's face turned red, and then he said, "I have something to discuss with Wang Ye, Wang Ye please sit down!" ”
After Yihun sat down, Empress Feng asked, "Your Majesty's coffin has just been buried, and Wang Ye is a minister, and His Majesty's Yu Sacrifice (the ancient sacrifice name is the sacrifice after burial), how do you arrange it?" YiHun replied casually, "Your Majesty has died, and Yu Sacrifice has to be done three times, the first time when the coffin is buried." The second time is held on the first soft day after the beginning of the day. The third time was held on the first day after the re-birth. Everything was arranged by the courtiers, and the empress dowager was relieved. Empress Feng smiled and said, "Looking at what Wang Ye just looked like, I still think you forgot?" Everything is decided by the prince, and I don't have to worry about it. Yi Hun smiled when he saw the back of the tai, and unconsciously wanted to move his hands and feet again. Empress Feng used her hand to block it, and suddenly pulled up her face and asked: "Lord Xiangxiang, listening to the discussion outside the palace that Wang Ye wants to abolish the young lord and establish himself as emperor, are you sure?" YiHun was suddenly asked by Empress Feng, and his mouth was unable to answer.
Empress Feng looked at his embarrassed face, so she approached him, lowered her voice, and said affectionately: "Instead of seizing the throne and standing on their own, it would be better for me to persuade the young lord to take the throne and the prince, and to be justified, wouldn't it be more appropriate?" YiHun listened, hugged Empress Feng's shoulders and said, "Is this true?" Empress Feng smiled and nodded, and then said, "I only ask that after Wang Ye ascends the throne, he will treat my mother and son kindly." Yi Hun was overjoyed, hurriedly knelt down, and swore to the sky: "Oath to share wealth with Empress Feng!" If you break this oath tonight, you will die under the sword. ”
When Empress Feng saw Yihun kneeling down and swearing an oath, she also bowed down to thank you: "All the princes take care of them." So he ordered the maid to put on a banquet, let Yihun sit on the head, and drink with him. Empress Feng smiled, poured wine in a pot, and said with laughter: "Wang Ye is so gracious and generous, my mother and son have no worries in this life, first toast Wang Ye a cup to show gratitude!" Yi Hun had a pair of colored eyes, confused, took a cup and drank it, and wanted to hug her again, Empress Feng got up and dodged, and laughed: "Why is Wang Ye so anxious, after making three Yu sacrifices to His Majesty, everything about me still doesn't belong to Wang Ye?" Saying that, he filled the cup with a smile on his face, and Yihun drank it all again. In an instant, Yi Hun fell to the ground, the seven tricks bled, and his life returned to heaven. It turned out that Empress Feng had been poisoned in her wine and poisoned Yihun to death. When Empress Feng saw that Yihun was dead, she summoned Li Yi into the palace and arranged for the next morning's affairs.
The next morning, the drum sounded, and the civil and military officials entered the hall of deliberation. There was a solemn atmosphere in the main hall, and the courtiers had a premonition that the terrible thing of Yihun's ascension to the throne might be in the present dynasty, and they all waited in horror and anxiety.
For a moment, he only listened to the back of the palace drinking: "Your Majesty the Emperor has arrived!" As the sound fell, I saw the twelve-year-old emperor Tuoba Hong, dressed in a yellow dragon robe and wearing a crown on his head, and walked up with great energy. Behind her was Empress Feng, dressed in plain clothes, cold as frost. She helped Tuoba Hiroshi to sit on the throne. Then he calmly glanced at the Wu Qunchen below the steps, and unhurriedly passed on the order: "Summoning Xiang Yihun into the temple." As soon as the words fell out, Li Yi led four imperial palace forbidden soldiers to carry Yihun's body into the main hall with a door panel. When the group of ministers saw YiHun's body, they were stunned for a moment. Empress Feng sat down in a chair, pointed to Yihun's corpse, and said sharply: "Listen, this is the fate of those who plot to usurp the throne!" Now that the society is in danger, the new monarch is young, and he will listen to the government from the back of the dynasty, and may the secretaries of state and the young lords be with the protectors of the country, and those who dare to resist the will will not be forgiven! ”
The ministers of culture and military affairs knelt on the ground in unison and shouted loudly: "Long live my emperor, long live, long live." ”
A struggle between usurpation and anti-usurpation was resolved by Empress Feng's joke. Tuoba Hong passed on the throne to Yuan Hong, and Empress Feng assisted the government for decades, and promoted Sinicization, which made northern Wei prosperous and stable for a long period.
Empress Feng's poisoning of Yihun was obviously a "beauty plan", and from the analysis of the contest process of the efforts of the two sides, it was a strategy to "capture the thief and capture the king first" by poisoning the leader of the usurper forces to kill Yihun and make him leaderless.