The Northern Zhou Dynasty, arguably the most chaotic dynasty in history, was unimaginably frequent in succession, and in just twenty-four years, five emperors were changed.
Although the northern Zhou throne changed frequently and was full of blood, there was one person who changed this pattern and brought northern Zhou to the peak, and this person was the Northern Zhou Emperor Wu: Yuwen Yong.
Yuwen Yong
Emperor Wu of Zhou, Yuwen Yong (宇文邕), courtesy name Youluotu, was the fourth son of Emperor Wentai of Zhou, the half-brother of Emperor Yuwen Jue of Zhou, emperor of Zhou Ming, and the third emperor of Northern Zhou during the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
Since childhood, Yuwen Yong has been intelligent and far-sighted, decisive, resourceful, and able to judge big things. At the age of twelve, he was given the title of Duke of Fucheng County of Western Wei. When Emperor Xiaomin of Zhou succeeded to the throne, yuwen jue was a general. In the first year of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, wucheng was appointed as the Grand Sikong and the Duke of Lu.
It was precisely because of his ingenuity that he stood out among the many Yuwen family royal families; in April of the second year of Wucheng, under the support of Yuwen Hu, he took the throne. However, Yuwen Yong was not willing to be a puppet, nor was he willing to take his life into the hands of others; therefore, he secretly accumulated power, and in the first year of Jiande, he finally killed The Right Minister Yuwen Hu and took sole control of the imperial government.
After taking control of the imperial government, Yuwen Yong, combined with the national conditions of Northern Zhou at that time, worked hard to govern; first continued to implement the Juntian system, then improved and developed the prefectural soldier system, took the command of the prefectural soldiers from the Chinese and foreign capitals to the military palaces and was controlled by the emperor, and began to recruit the peasants of the Juntian households as prefectural soldiers, expand the source of troops, enrich the military strength, and prepare for the annexation of Northern Qi.
Under the administration of Emperor Yuwen Yong of Zhou, Northern Zhou's strength increased steadily, and in October of the fifth year of Jiande, fu led the army to attack Qi qi in seven ways. In the first month of the sixth year of Jiande, he led his army to take advantage of the victory and siege of Yi, and in one fell swoop, captured northern Qi's father and son, and destroyed northern Qi.
Even after the destruction of Northern Qi, the Zhou Wu Emperor Yuwen Yong did not stop his progress; he changed and got rid of the old customs of xianbei. Rectify the administration of officials, so that the politics of northern Zhou are clear, the people's lives are stable, and the country is strong. Yuwen Yong lived frugally and was able to care about the sufferings of the people in a timely manner.
Unfortunately, the Zhou Wu Emperor Yuwen Yong led his armies to cut down the Turks in May of the first year of Xuanzheng, and the five provinces advanced, but due to illness, they stopped marching. In June, he was very ill and returned to Chang'an, and died of illness that month at the age of 36. Emperor Wu, Gaozu, buried Xiaoling, and passed on the throne to his eldest son Yuwen Yun.
If it were not for the early death of Emperor Yuwen Yongcai of Zhou, then it would not be the Northern Zhou Dynasty that unified the Central Plains, not the Great Sui Dynasty.