Emperor Yang Jian of sui had three major achievements, which made him known as the "Emperor of the Ages":
The first was to seize the power of Northern Zhou in the most relaxed way in history, and leisurely enjoy the imperial power of Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou;
The second was to establish the Sui Dynasty after ending the war in 169 of the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-589), unifying the world and opening up the great unification of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and the Sui Dynasty laid a certain foundation for the "rule of Zhenguan" in the early Tang Dynasty;
The third is to abolish the outdated Northern Saturday official (heaven, earth, spring, autumn, winter, summer) system, restore the system of the Han and Wei dynasties, initially establish a three-province and six-ministerial system, and set up three divisions, three gongs, and five provinces in the central government, consisting of "five provinces" (Neishi Province, Secretary Province, Menxia Province, Neishi Province, and Shangshu Province).
So, why is it that Yang Jiande is the most relaxed in history?
First, Yang Jian was born in the Hao clan and was one of the important representatives of the Guanlong warlords.
Both the Yang family and the Yuwen family belonged to the warlord clan in the Guanlong region.
The town of Wuchuan, which was located in the Guanlong region, was originally one of the six towns (Woye, Huaishuo, Wuchuan, Fuxuan, Rouxuan, and Huaihuang) set up in the early Northern Wei Dynasty north of the capital Pingcheng to prevent The invasion of Ruoran, because the Northern Wei had always taken Pingcheng as the capital, in order to defend the north of The Ruoran south, the third emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Tuoba Tao, set up these six towns to defend the capital, and the generals of the six towns at that time and even the general soldiers were relatively noble, and it was a very honorable thing to be a general in the six towns. Later, after the Northern Wei Dynasty moved the capital to Luoyang, Pingcheng was no longer the capital of the state, so the six towns used to defend Rouran also lost their military significance, and the status of the generals guarding here plummeted. The soldiers of the Six Towns were dissatisfied with the unfair treatment of the Northern Wei rulers, and the Six Towns Rebellion broke out. The late Northern Wei general and tribal nobleman Erzhu Rong led troops to quell the rebellion, but this caused the warlords to divide the territory, and the Erzhu family became the hegemon of the six towns.
Later, after the fall of the Erzhu Rong family, Gao Huan controlled the imperial government as a chancellor, and Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei could not allow Gao Huan to monopolize power, so he secretly ordered He Bayue to join forces with him to oppose Gao Huan. However, He Bayue was killed, and after that, He Bayue's old department supported Yuwen Tai as the leader of the department, and continued to base himself on Guan Long, fighting against Gao Huan.
As a result, Gao Huan, who was from Huaishuo Town, and Yuwen Tai, who was from Wuchuan Town, each supported the establishment of a new emperor, and Northern Wei split into Eastern Wei and Western Wei. Yuwen Tai organized the Wuchuan people into an army, and restored the Wuchuan people to lead this army, so that the Western Wei regime was firmly in the hands of the Wuchuan soldiers. Most of the military generals of this group came from the areas of Guanzhong (present-day Shaanxi Province) and Longxi (present-day southeastern Gansu Province) under the control of Western Wei, thus forming the so-called "Guanlong Clique". In order to oppose the Eastern Wei, Yuwen Tai created a military system of the imperial army, with the Eight Pillars and the Twelve Great Generals as his generals. Yuwen Tai became the leader of the Guanlong clique, and not only did he rank first in the Eight Pillar States (Yuwen Tai, Zhao Gui, Yuanxin, Li Hu, Li Bi, Yu Jin, Hou Mochen Chong, dugu Xin), but he was also a powerful vassal of Western Wei. Yang Jian's father, The Sui Taizu Yang Zhong (507-568), was a native of Hongnonghuayin, Shaanxi, one of the twelve generals of the Western Wei Dynasty, and a powerful warlord leader at the time.
According to historical records, Yang Jian was from the Yang clan of Hongnong in Guanzhong, however, Yang Jian once claimed to be the fourteenth grandson of Yang Zhen, the eastern Han Dynasty's eunuch, and his fourth ancestor Yang Yuanshou was appointed sima of Wuchuan town by the Northern Wei court, and his father Yang Zhong followed the Northern Zhou Emperor Yuwen Tai in rebellion in Guanxi, and because of his meritorious service, he was given the surname Of liuru , and the official to the pillar state , the great sikong , and the duke of Suiguo. After Yang Zhong's death, he was posthumously given the title of Taibao (太保) and was given the title huan (桓). However, some historians believe that it is a pseudo-trust to think that the Yang family claims to be born from the Yang clan of Hongnong, for example, Mr. Chen Yinke and others believe that the Yang Jian family may be the Hanmen family of Shandong, and it is the Yuwen family that makes the Yang family claim to be from the Yang clan of Hongnong in order to win them over. However, Yang Yuanshou stayed in wuchuan, and could be regarded as a member of the Yuwen Tai Wuchuan warlord faction. In any case, Yang Yuanshou was one of the twelve generals of Western Wei and a close general of Yuwen Tai, while Yang Zhong rebelled with Yuwen Tai and made great contributions, and later served as the Grand Sikong and was enfeoffed as the Duke of Suiguo. It can be seen that the political achievements of Yang Jian's grandfather and father later became a very important political resource for Yang Jian's rise.
Emperor Wen of Sui in Yan Liben's "Map of The Emperors of Past Dynasties"
Second, the marriage of the Yang family to the Yuwen royal family was another important factor in the rise of Yang Jian.
In the third year of Emperor Gong of Western Wei (556), when Yang Jian was fifteen years old, he was awarded the title of Commander of the Scattered Horse, a Grand General of the Horse Riding, and a Third Division of Yi Tong, and was made the Duke of Ji County. In the fourth year of The Western Wei Emperor Gong (557), Yang Jian was made a general of the Hun Horse, Jia Kai Fu. In the first year of the Northern Zhou Dynasty (559), Emperor Ming of Northern Zhou ascended the throne, and Yang Jian was awarded the title of Right Xiaogong Bo (右小宫伯) and was enfeoffed as the Duke of Daxing Commandery (大兴郡公). In the second year of Wucheng (560), when Emperor Yuwen Yong of Zhou ascended the throne, he valued Yang Jian's talents and made him a minor palace uncle, making him a general in Suizhou (present-day Suizhou, Hubei Province). Obviously, Yang Jian's succession in the official arena was obtained because of his close relationship with the Yuwen family, and Yang Jian had been an important general trusted by the Yuwen royal family for most of the Western Wei Dynasty.
However, there was a period (557), that is, Yuwen Tai died of illness, and Yuwen Hu, who was in charge of state affairs, forced Emperor Gong of Western Wei to be located in Yuwen Jue, and Yuwen Hu, who was in charge of the imperial government, was jealous of the general Yang Jian, and he felt that Yang Jian was a dangerous person who threatened The Yuwen imperial family, so Yuwen Hu repeatedly wanted to murder Yang Jian, but fortunately, the generals Hou Fu and Hou Shou and others protected Yang Jian, and Yang Jian was spared.
In the third year of Tianhe (568), Yang Jian's father Yang Zhong died, and Yang Jian inherited the title of Duke of Suiguo. In April of the second year of Wucheng (560), Yuwen Yong succeeded to the throne with Yuwen Hu's support, and Yuwen Yong could not allow Yuwen Hu to monopolize power, and killed Yuwen Hu in the first year of Jiande (572) and seized the power of the imperial government. After Yuwen Yong took power, he developed the Juntian system, promoted the reform of the prefectural military system, and focused on recovering the command of the prefectural soldiers from the military palaces of the governors to the emperor, so that the imperial power was consolidated.
Yuwen Yong (stills)
Yuwen Yong was very trusting of Yang Jian, which may also be because Yuwen Yong had great talent and great talent, and he already had a firm control over the imperial power, so he was not worried about Yang Jian's misdeeds. In order to make the Yang family a supporter of his imperial power, Yuwen Yong hired Yang Jian's eldest daughter Yang Lihua as crown princess (Yang Lihua later became the empress of Yuwen Yun, the Emperor of Zhou), and yuwen and Yang had an in-law relationship, and Yuwen Yong was more courteous to Yang Jian. At that time, some people in the Yuwen royal family were also jealous of Yang Jian, for example, Yuwen Xian, the king of Qi, advised Yuwen Yong to kill Yang Jian (Pu Liu Ru Jian), and the King of Qi thought that Yang Jian was "very good-looking" and was not an ordinary person who lived under people for a long time. However, Emperor Wu of Zhou told the king that Yang Jian could only serve as a general and did not have to worry. In addition, Neishi Wang Ji also reminded Emperor Wu of Zhou to beware of Yang Jian, and he said to Emperor Wu of Zhou: "Crown Prince Yun will not be the lord of the society in the future, and Puliu Rujian (Yang Jian) looks the opposite." However, Emperor Wu of Zhou was very unhappy and said to Wang Lu, "The emperor has his own destiny, what can others do?!" "The King of Qi and Wang Lu were all people close to Emperor Wu of Zhou, and their vigilance and desire to kill Yang Jian were later known to Yang Jian, and after Yang Jian knew about it, he was very careful, very cautious in his handling of affairs, tried his best to keep a low profile when discussing politics, and began to carry out his Taoguang and obscure strategies.
Yang Jian's caution and obscure tactics enabled Yang Jian to smoothly rely on the gradual rise of Yuwen's imperial family, and he was not only not killed, but also not ostracized by the Zhou Wu Emperor Yuwen Yong, who had always been a great general with military power after Yuwen Yong succeeded to the throne; moreover, Yang Jian became a military talent that Yuwen Yong thought was most suitable to be a military general; and yang Jian's daughter also married Yuwen Yong's son and became a princess. Yang Jian's in-law relationship with Yuwen Yong and his special status as a heavy soldier were extremely favorable conditions for him to take power in the future.
Third, Yang Jian assisted the Northern Zhou Dynasty and took the opportunity to monopolize the government.
In June of the first year of Xuanzheng (578), emperor Yuwen Yong of Zhou died and the crown prince Yuwen Yun took the throne, and Yang Jian ushered in his favorable opportunity to take charge of the imperial government.
Yuwen Yun ascended the throne, Yang Jian's eldest daughter Yang Lihua was crowned empress, for Yang Jian, good luck came. First, Yang Jian became Yuwen Yun's father-in-law and became the most prominent foreign relative at that time. Although it is said that before Yuwen Yun ascended the throne, he was severely restrained and disciplined by his father Yuwen Yun, when he ascended the throne after Yuwen Yong's death, no one disciplined him, so he indulged in indulgence, intensified his efforts, indulged in alcohol, tyrannical and absurd, overhauled the palace, indiscriminately punished him, and even killed the emperor's uncle Yuwen Xian, the king of Qi, and Yang Jian used this opportunity to gradually buy people's hearts and accumulate strength. First, because he was the father of the empress, Yang Jian was promoted to the position of Grand General of the Pillar State and Grand Sima and became the most powerful minister in the dynasty, and in the early years of the Elephant, Yang Jian served as the Great Empress and right Siwu, and soon became the Great Former Doubt. This "former doubt" was originally the head of the four auxiliaries of the ancient Tianzi, and there were also Hou Cheng, Left Auxiliary, and Right Bow, and during the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the Zhou Xuan Emperor imitated the ancient system, with the "Great Former Doubt" as one of the "Four Auxiliaries" to assist the monarch. Yang Jian became a prominent courtier, which was only one step away from the throne.
Yuwen Yun (stills)
For some time after Emperor Wen of Zhou succeeded to the throne, he had great trust in Yang Jian, and every time he went out on a tour, he asked Yang Jian to stay in the court and handle the affairs of the dynasty on his behalf. Later, however, a gap arose between monarchs and courtiers due to divergent views on governance. Emperor Xuan of Zhou was a man of few abilities who was delusional about being able to accomplish great things. He formulated the "Holy System of Punishment", and its decrees were extremely harsh, and their implementation would make the people's resentment boil. Yang Jian felt that it was not a good idea to restrain his subjects with such a harsh decree, so he strongly advised Emperor Xuan of Zhou to remove the harsh decree, but Emperor Xuan of Zhou resolutely refused to listen. As a result, Emperor Xuan of Zhou became increasingly unpopular, and his courtiers were dissatisfied with him, while Yang Jian's status and prestige increased day by day. Emperor Xuan of Zhou began to be jealous of Yang Jian because of his jealousy, and his feelings were exposed in front of the concubines. Yuwen Yun, the emperor, was very strange, and he made the four concubines he favored as empresses together with Yang Lihua, but in this way, the concubines were not afraid of anyone, and often competed for favors and denigrated each other. Once, when the concubines were quarreling, Emperor Xuan of Zhou was angry at Empress Yang Lihua and reprimanded: "Shuo Ding will destroy your family!" Emperor Xuan of Zhou was still angry, and immediately summoned Yang Jian to the palace, and he said to the guards on the left and right: "If Yang Jian's face changes slightly, he will behead him." Unexpectedly, after Yang Jian entered the palace, he always looked at ease and did not have any abnormal expression, so Emperor Xuan of Zhou failed to kill him.
However, this kind of thing made Yang Jian feel that he was already in great danger of continuing to stay in the DPRK, and Yuwen Yun was also more and more jealous of him. The gap between monarchs and courtiers seems to have become difficult to bridge. At this time, Yang Jian came up with a brilliant plan to leave Yuwen Yun. He revealed the news to Yuwen Yun through zheng yi, the master of internal history, saying that he himself had long been out of the domain.
Yang Jian actually guessed Yuwen Yun's mind, he knew that Yuwen Yun was jealous of his growing dictatorship in the middle of the dynasty, and he had the idea of driving him out of the capital. Therefore, Yang Jianyi revealed such a heart, and yuwen Yun immediately appointed Yang Jian as the governor of Bozhou, allowing Yang Jian to leave the capital early. In this way, yuwen yun and Yang Jian were both relieved of each other, and Yuwen Yun no longer had to worry about Yang Jian's seizure of power in the DPRK, and Yang Jian was also at ease and no longer worried about being killed in the DPRK.
In fact, this was Yuwen Yun's biggest mistake, because he was no longer wary of Yang Jian. Yang Jian wanted to be the governor of Bozhou, which gave him the opportunity to stay away from Emperor Xuan of Zhou and accumulate his own strength to prepare for great things. In this regard, the son of the hussar general Pang Qiu and changshan Taishou Pang Huang had already seen this, and he advised Yang Jian to raise an army to establish the cause of the emperor. Yang Jian shook Pang Huang's hand and said, "The time is not yet ripe!" In fact, at this time, Yang Jian's ambition to replace Northern Zhou and establish himself as emperor was no longer concealed.
Among the emperors of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Yuwen Yun was the most incompetent emperor, and he did not abide by moral principles. After the death of Emperor Wu of Zhou, according to the custom, the new emperor must be filial piety for one month, and Yuwen Yun ascended the throne the day after emperor Wu of Zhou's death, and ten days later he took off his filial piety and celebrated his own ascension to the throne. It seems that Yuwen Yun was doubly restrained when he was crown prince, and as soon as his father died, he was anxious to release himself.
After Yuwen Yun ascended the throne, the big things he did were either absurd or self-destructive. First, he indulged in wine and was extremely possessive of women, and he decreed that women of the same officials as above were not allowed to marry, so that he could choose to serve in the palace. Second, he favored the empress dowager to a very unreliable extent, and he let the five concubines he favored be juxtaposed as empresses, breaking the record of the previous Zhao Emperor Liu Cong's "three queens standing side by side". Third, he ordered a large number of construction projects, expanded the palace, and then lived in the harem, was extremely poor, indiscriminately punished, important eunuchs, sent cronies to monitor the behavior of the ministers, and for the ministers who wrote, if they wrote a wrong word, they were punished. Fourth, for the members of the imperial family whom he considered a threat, for example, he killed his uncle Yuwen Xian of Qi; in Order to prevent other members of the imperial family from seizing the throne, he ordered Yuwen Zhao the Prince of Zhao, Yuwen Chun the King of Chen, Yuwen Sheng the King of Yue, Yuwen Da the DaiWang, and Yuwen Yu of Teng to leave Chang'an and go to their respective fiefdoms. In fact, this was counterproductive, he folded his wings, weakening the power of the imperial family and creating favorable conditions for Yang Jian's seizure of power. Fifth, he could not allow his ministers to disobey him. The counselor Leyun could not tolerate Yuwen Yun's chaotic government, carried the coffin to the court, presented Yuwen Yun's eight faults, and was almost beheaded by Yuwen Yun, but fortunately, with the strong advice of Nei Shi Yuanyan, he was able to retrieve a life.
Yuwen Yun sat on the throne, feeling that he was not too much fun to have fun, and on February 19, 579, in the first year of Dacheng (579), he took the throne of Yuwen Yan, the crown prince.
Yuwen Yunxia was passed down after his eldest son Yuwen Yan, who called himself Emperor Tianyuan, called Yang Lihua Empress Tianyuan, and renamed his residence "Tiantai", he wore twenty-four crowns, and his costumes were all in units of twenty-four, and the orders of Emperor Tianyuan were called "Tianzhi", "Tianzhao" or "Tianzhao". Yuwen Yun called himself "Heaven" to his subordinates, and when the chancellor wanted to see Emperor Tianyuan, he had to fast for three days and purify himself for one day. On the surface, Yuwen Yun seemed to be very religious, but in fact, his absurd behavior became more and more outrageous.
Yuwen Yan (stills)
Yuwen Yun was not limited to selecting beautiful women in the homes of high-ranking officials this time, but was electing beautiful women in the national election to enrich the harem. Of course, Chen Yueyi, the eighth daughter of the great general Chen Shanti, and Yuan Leshang, the second daughter of Yi Tongyuansheng, were the most favored after they were elected to the palace. Inappropriate emperor, specializing in sexual pleasure, and because of his excessive indulgence, Yuwen Yun's body gradually collapsed.
On May 18, 580, the second year of the Elephant (580), Yuwen Yun ordered Yang Jian to lead an army to the south, and at this time Yang Jian suddenly suffered a foot attack, making it inconvenient for him to go out immediately. On May 24, Yuwen Yun's body could not bear it, and he suddenly fell critically ill, so he hurriedly summoned Xiao Yuzheng Liu Fang, Yu Zhengzhong's doctor Yan Zhiyi, and other instructions for the aftermath, but Yuwen Yun, who was lying on the sick bed, could no longer speak clearly. Liu Fang and Zheng Yi planned to let Yang Jian assist the government, so they corrected the will. On this day, Yuwen Yun died of illness at the Tiande Hall at the age of twenty-two.
After Yuwen Yun's death, the Zhou Jing Emperor Yuwen Yan entered Jutiantai and abolished the Zhengyang Palace, where he pardoned the world and stopped building the Luoyang Palace. On May 26, Emperor Jing of Zhou honored Empress Dowager Tianyuan as Empress Dowager Ashina, Empress Dowager Li Ezi as Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager Yang Lihua as Empress Dowager, and Empress Dowager Zhu Manyue as Empress Dowager. At the same time, Yuwen ordered The Great Empress Chen Yueyi of Tianzhong, the Grand Empress yuan leshang of the Heavenly Right, and the Grand Empress of Tianzuo, Wei Chifan, to become nuns. That's also a difference.
In addition, Yuwen Yan appointed Zhu Guo and Yu Wenzan the King of Han as Shangzhu Guo and Right Da Xiang Xiang; Yang Jian, the governor of Shangzhu Guo, Yangzhou, and Suiguo Gong, as fake Huang Yu and Zuo Da Xiang; and Zhu Guo and Qin Wang Yuwen Zhen as Shangzhu Guo. From the time of Emperor Jing of Zhou's mourning, hundreds of officials of the Northern Zhou Dynasty all obeyed the orders of Yang Jian, the Grand Chancellor of the Left Dynasty. Yang Jian became a false Huang Yu and Zuo Da Xiang, under one person and above a hundred officials, controlling the highest power of the dynasty, in fact, the Northern Zhou Dynasty had already existed in name only.
Yang Jian (stills)
Fourth, in the end, how did Yang Jian smoothly and easily obtain the supreme power of the Northern Zhou Dynasty?
First of all, from the fourth year of Jiande (575), Yang Jian began to get involved in military power, and he actively followed the Zhou Wu Emperor Yuwen Yong on expeditions, leading troops to fight, that is, winning military merit, and then began to cultivate his own military strength. In that year, Yang Jian led the Northern Zhou water army of 30,000 to defeat Northern Qi's army at heqiao, which allowed him to win a major battle achievement. In the fifth year of Jiande (576), Yuwen Yong took advantage of Southern Chen's attack on Northern Qi's southern lands and sent troops to attack Northern Qi, Yang Jian followed Yuwen Yong on his expedition, and later, in the Battle of Heyin, the Battle of Pingyang, and the Battle of Yicheng, Yang Jian also participated in the battle, closely following Emperor Wu of Zhou, who was promoted to the position of Pillar State because of his military achievements. After that, Yang Jian, together with Yuwen Xian the Prince of Qi, broke the Northern Qi rencheng king Gao Xiang in Jizhou and was made the governor of Dingzhou (定州, in modern Dingzhou, Hebei), and soon he was transferred to the post of governor of Bozhou (bozhou, anhui). These expeditions created favorable conditions for Yang Jian's later promotion to shangzhu state, and at the same time, it also enabled him to later master the army.
Second, Yang Jian used his position as chancellor to gradually implement plans to usurp the power of Northern Zhou.
After Yuwen Yan succeeded to the throne, Yang Jian served as the left chancellor and took charge of the imperial power, and he began to plan to usurp the power of Northern Zhou. At that time, the Yuwen imperial family had several clan kings who were not weak, and Yang Jian was a foreigner who held the power of the imperial government, of course, he was worried about the changes in the clan kings. Therefore, Yang Jian summoned several princes of the Yuwen imperial family to Chang'an, the capital of the capital, on the grounds that Yuwen Zhao, the brother of Emperor Wu of Zhou, was about to marry a daughter of the Turks. In June of the second year of the Elephant (580), the powerful Zhao kings Yuwen Zhao, Chen Wang Yuwen Chun, Yue Wang Yuwensheng, Dai Wang Yuwenda, and Teng Wang Yuwen Kui all arrived in Chang'an, and Yang Jian succeeded in bringing several feudal lords under his control to prevent them from rebelling.
Then, Yang Jian struck a blow against the rebellion. The governor of Xiangzhou, Chi Yi, thought that he was a heavy general of Northern Zhou, and was very dissatisfied when he saw that Yang Jian was in charge of power, so he raised an army in Eastern Xia to challenge Yang Jian. Sima Quenan, the governor of Yun Prefecture, and Wang Qian, the governor of Yizhou, also responded with troops one after another. In January, 100,000 soldiers and horses were gathered; moreover, Yuwen Ji was in Xingzhou, Shi Yi was in Jianzhou, Xi Bi was in Pei County, and Bidi Chaluo was in Yanzhou, all responding to the rebellion of The Governor of Xiangzhou, Wei Chi, and a chaotic situation was formed for a while.
Yang Guoguo broke off his hand and ordered Wei Xiaokuan, the Duke of Shangzhu and the Duke of Yun, to send troops to defeat Wei Chiyi and first kill the xiangzhou governor who led the rebellion, eliminating the greatest threat; while Sima Quenan fled south to the Chen dynasty after being defeated by the official army; And Wang Qian, the governor of Yizhou, was subsequently killed by the official army. When the echoers from other places saw that the leading ones were either beheaded or fled to other countries, most of them did not dare to make any more disturbances. Yang Jian's victory was of great significance, first, it steadily stabilized the basic situation after Yuwen Yan succeeded to the throne and maintained Yang Jian's stable position as Zuo Chengxiang; second, he used the defeat of Xiangzhou's governor Chi Yi to boost his prestige, and when Yongzhou Mubi Wang Yuwenxian and others tried to continue the rebellion, Yang Jian captured Yuwen Xian and beheaded him, and then, to cure the crimes of King Zhao and others, his prestige increased greatly.
Subsequently, Yang Jian collected evidence, fabricated reasons, and on the charge of treason, successively killed Yuwen Zhao the King of Zhao, Yuwen Sheng of Yue, Yuwen Chun of Chen Wang, Yuwen Da of Dai Wang, yuwen Kui of TengWang, and others, and eliminated the opposition forces in the Xianbei clan, and then co-opted some Xianbei nobles such as Yuan Huan, Yuan Huan, and Yu Wenxin, making the Xianbei clan an important force supporting him.
In addition, after Yang Jian was appointed as Zuo Cheng Xiang,he made Zhengyang Palace the Governor's Mansion, Zheng Yi as Changshi, Liu Fang as Sima (司馬), and set up a bureaucrat in the Chancellor's Mansion to assist him in planning the political situation and handling the government.
In addition, Yang Jian also changed the harsh laws of the Zhou Xuan Emperor, corresponding to the leniency of the administration, and streamlined the strict laws in order to win the hearts and minds of the people.
After the implementation of this series of measures, Yang Jian no longer had any power in the court, the state capitals, and the Xianbei nobles to prevent him from usurping the throne.
Portrait of Yang Jian
Finally, the Northern Zhou Dynasty Emperor Yuwen Xian had to give up the emperor to Yang Jian.
On February 13, 581, Yuwen Xian saw that the power of the imperial government was completely controlled by Yang Jian, yuwen had no one to support him, most of the ministers in the court only obeyed Yang Jian, and Yuwen Xian's cronies were worried that his life would be in danger, so he urged Yuwen Yan to give up the throne, so Yuwen Xian was forced to give up the emperor to Yang Jian, and he himself moved to another palace.
After Yang Jian pretended to refuse, he finally accepted Chan Rang and officially ascended the throne as emperor, the Sui Dynasty was established, and the Northern Zhou Dynasty was destroyed. Yang Jian demoted Yuwen Ton to the title of Duke of Jieguo, with 10,000 households, and the car costume ceremony was still in accordance with the old northern Zhou system, and allowed Yuwen to explain that the emperor was not called a table, and the emperor replied that he did not call the edict, on the surface, Yang Jian was not bad for Yuwen. However, in the first year of Emperor Wen of Sui's reign (581), on the day of May's reign (the Book of Sui as May Xin Wei Day), Yang Jian still did not spare Yuwen Xian, and he secretly sent someone to kill Yuwen Xian, who was only nine years old when he died. After Yuwen Yan's death, Yang Jian pretended to be shocked, issued the news of his death, and solemnly mourned, and was buried in Gongling as Emperor Jing.
Yang Jian's usurpation of power and seizure of the throne with almost no resistance is the easiest move to seize power in history.
Zhao Yi, a famous scholar of the Qing Dynasty, commented:
In ancient times, it was easy to get the world, and there was no one like Emperor Wen of Sui, who was the relative of a woman, on the occasion of the early death of Emperor Xuan of Zhou, and Zheng Yi and other corrections into the auxiliary government, so he sat down and took the throne. At that time, although Wei Chiyi, Yuwen Xuan, Shi Yi, Xi Bi, Wang Qian, and Sima Quenan rebelled against Kuangfu, Sui Wenyu's national strength of the false Zhou was not destroyed in half a year. So the power was in hand, and the descendants of the Yuwen clan were killed by the second time, and there was no remnant... The kingdom of thieves, and the slaughter of their descendants to the point of exhaustion, is cruel and vicious, and it is not a little more popular. (Zhao Yi: Notes on the Twenty-Second History)