In the Eastern Wei Dynasty, there was a man who sent out horses for his father at the age of 10 to recruit subordinates, who was a special envoy at the age of 11 and twice entered the Hajj to meet the emperor, at the age of 15 became a general of Gyeonggi, and was killed before ascending the throne at the age of 29. Yes, this person is Gao Cheng, Gao Huan's first legal heir.
Gao Cheng was the eldest son of Gao Huan and Lou Zhaojun, and was raised as Gao Huan's heir from an early age. Gao Cheng, on the other hand, also showed a very high political skill at a very young age.
Gao Huan came from a humble background, and in order to gain the support of the great clan, he recognized Gao Qian of the Bohai Gao clan as his uncle. But Gao Gao, another important figure of the Bohai Gao clan and one of the leaders of the Hebei Shi clan, did not buy Gao Huan's account. At this time, 10-year-old Gao Cheng visited Gao Gao as a small child. He coaxed Gao Gao with sweet words, and then put on a very humble and respectful appearance to perform a courtesy to Gao Gao. Gao Cai then surrendered to Gao Huan's tent.
When Gao Cheng was 11 years old, he twice served as Gao Huan's envoy to the capital to meet the Northern Wei Emperor Yuan Xiu. Although Yuan Xiu was Gao Huan's puppet, he had the identity of an emperor after all. From this incident, it is enough to see Gao Huan's cultivation and trust in Gao Cheng.
At the age of 15, Gao Cheng was appointed as a general of Gyeonggi and entered the imperial government, officially beginning his political career. At this time, Gao Huan controlled military power in Jinyang, concentrating on dealing with Yuwen Tai in Kansai, and the affairs of the government were entrusted to Gao Cheng.
Before Gao Cheng assisted the government, the capital was assisted by four ministers, Sun Teng, Gao Longzhi, Sima Ziru, and Gao Yue, who were known as the "Four Nobles". At this time, corruption was prevalent among the humble nobles, and the four nobles were certainly no exception, not only were they corrupt, but they also gained power, and the atmosphere of the officialdom was made into a miasma.
After Gao Cheng came to power, he decided to rectify the rule of officials, starting with Si gui. In addition to his close relative Gao Yue, Sun Teng, Gao Longzhi and others were either deposed by Gao Cheng or imprisoned by Gao Cheng. They ran to Gao Huan to cry and complain, but Gao Huan said instead, "Father, you should pay attention to yourself." The double reeds of these two fathers and sons made these humble nobles dumb eat yellow lian, have words of suffering, and had to obediently be honest.
In addition to fighting corruption against the humble aristocracy, Gao Cheng also focused on cultivating his own bureaucratic clique. These people were mainly Han Chinese, and they helped Gao Cheng punish the officials and fight against the power of the powerful. It can be said that during Gao Cheng's reign, the atmosphere in the official arena has greatly improved, and the people's hearts and minds have been invigorated.
After rectifying the rule of officials, Gao Cheng promulgated the law "Lin Toe Grid". This is a big move that has affected history. The Lin Toe Grid is the blueprint for the Northern Qi Law, which is the direct source of the Sui and Tang Laws. Therefore, Gao Cheng's influence on future generations is very far-reaching.
Money is also an aspect of Gao Cheng's governance. In the last years of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the war led to the devaluation of the currency, and a large number of private counterfeit money made the currency very chaotic. In response to this situation, Gao Cheng sent people all over the country to collect the raw material copper and coins for minting money together and re-mint them. In 548 A.D., a new monetary reform was carried out, which stabilized the market and calmed the people's hearts.
Hukou and land were also a focus of Gao Cheng's reforms. As a result of the war, the people fled, the land was controlled by the mighty, and the population became the slaves of the mighty. Gao Cheng ordered the expansion of households and the return of the people to the land, which on the one hand solved the problems of the people and increased the financial revenue of the state on the other hand. In the expansion of households, the property of powerful landlords provided military funds for the imperial court, and the slaves who were found provided soldiers for the state.
After this rectification by Gao Cheng, Eastern Wei was on the right track, and Gao Cheng's position as heir was completely stable. After that, he took military action, annexing the Lianghuai region and recovering Yingchuan, so that people could see his military talents and let those who followed Gao Huan completely recognize him.
After making preparations, Gao Cheng began his enthronement activities. Unfortunately, he was killed by his own cook before he ascended the throne, otherwise, there would have been no part of the famous intermittent mentally ill emperor Gao Yang.
The man who killed Gao Cheng was named Lan Jing, the son of Shi Lanqin of Xuzhou in Southern Liang, who was captured by Gao Cheng in a war and became his slave and worked in the kitchen. Lan Jing's father, Lan Qin, sent people to redeem his son several times, and Gao Cheng rejected Lan Qin because he liked Lan Jing. Later, Lan Qin died, southern Liang encountered Hou Jing's rebellion, Lan Jing asked Gao Cheng several times to go back, Gao Cheng not only did not agree, but also threatened Lan Jing, and then mentioned this matter and killed him. Lan Jing was killed in this way.
One day in 549, Gao Cheng and his close ministers plotted to usurp the throne in the inner hall. Lan Jing conspires with the other slaves in the kitchen to assassinate Gao Cheng. When Lan Jing entered the room with the opportunity to deliver food, Gao Cheng said that I dreamed last night that this slave had cut me with a knife, and it seemed that I had to execute him.
In order not to let himself die in front of Gao Cheng, Lan Jing decided to strike first. He hid the knife at the bottom of the plate and entered the house pretending to be delivering food. He began to act, and six of his comrades immediately arrived. In the end, Gao Cheng was killed at the age of twenty-nine, just one step away from the emperor.
After Gao Cheng's death, his younger brother Gao Yang inherited his father's inheritance and established Northern Qi. However, most of the policies of Northern Qi were left over from the Gao Cheng period, so later generations compared Gao Cheng to a figure comparable to Zhu Yuanzhang. The reason why he is not as famous as Lao Zhu is because his father Gao Huan and younger brother Gao Yang are too famous, covering up his brilliance.