In the third year (556) of Emperor Gong of Western Wei, Yuwen Tai died, and yuwen Jue, the eldest son of Yuwen Jue, was succeeded as the Duke of Anding Commandery, Taishi, and ŌtsukaZai. The sons were young, and Yuwen Hu was in charge of the country's major politics. Yuwen Hu is a native of Wuchuan, Inner Mongolia and the nephew of Yuwen Tai. Yuwen Hu was an important figure in the history of Western Wei and Northern Zhou, and was a crucial part of the transition of Yuwen's regime from Western Wei to Northern Zhou. Yuwen Hu, with the support of the general Jin who used to stand shoulder to shoulder with Yuwen Tai, presided over the affairs of the military state, and was made the Grand Sima and the Duke of Jin.
In the fourth year of The Western Wei Gong Emperor (557), Yuwen Hu, who held the power of Western Wei, plotted to carry out the Zen Dynasty, forcing the Western Wei Gong Emperor Yuankuo to cede the throne to Yuwen Jue. Emperor Gong of Western Wei personally came to the court and sent the Minbu Zhongfu and Jibei Gongdi to present the emperor's seal. Yuwen Jueli was not affected. The Hundred Officials of the Gongqing Went to persuade him to advance, so Yuwen Jue agreed to take the throne. On the same day, Emperor Gong of Western Wei abdicated at Sima Fu. On the first day of the first lunar month of the first year of the reign of Emperor Xiaomin of Zhou (February 15, 557), with the support of Yuwen Hu, Yuwen Jue was enthroned by Zen and proclaimed himself the Heavenly King, with the national name "Zhou" and the historical name "Northern Zhou", which was the beginning of northern Zhou. Soon, Yuwen Hu killed Yuan Kuo.
After Yuwen Jue became the Heavenly King, Yuwen Goku was inaugurated as Ōtsuka Zai (Ōtsuka Shōgun), and the military and political power was actually all in his hands. Yuwen Hu was tyrannical, and some of the elder ministers were dissatisfied with him. Taifu Zhao Gui plotted to assassinate Yuwen Hu and consulted with Taibao Duguxin, who stopped him but did not report him. Later, someone reported this incident, Yuwen Hu killed Zhao Gui on the charge of treason, dugu Xin was also deposed, and was soon given death.
Although Yuwen Jue was not yet an adult, he also wanted to rule himself. The ministers who were dissatisfied with Yuwen Jue, Li Zhi, Sima Sun Heng, Gong Bo Yifufeng, and He Batti, who were dissatisfied with Yuwen Jue, saw Yuwen Jue's heart and plotted to ask Yu Wen jue to get rid of Yu WenJue. Yuwen Jue agreed in his heart, but did not dare to act hastily. Therefore, a group of samurai were recruited to teach martial arts in the royal garden and practice the art of grappling and binding. In August of that year, this group of people was afraid of being weak, and Li Zhi went to pull Zhang Guangluo to join the company. Zhang Guangluo secretly informed Yuwen Hu, who knew that these people could not become a climate, did not kill them, and only demoted Li Zhi to Liang Prefecture Assassin History and Sun Heng to Tong Prefecture Thorn History.
Yuwen Jue did not give up, always wanting to recall Li Zhi and Sun Heng. Yuwen Hu patiently "cried" to Yuwen Jue, saying, "The world's closest relatives are like brothers, if brothers are suspicious of each other, then are there still credible people in the world?" My uncle asked me to help His Majesty govern the country, and if His Majesty could independently manage the affairs of the dynasty and become famous in the world, he would die for his brother without regrets. But Your Majesty is still young, and I am worried that after I am killed, the power will fall into the hands of the traitors, and at that time, not only will it be unfavorable to Your Majesty, but even the country will perish, so I will have what face to see my uncle underground! I am both the eldest brother of His Majesty and the Prime Minister of the DPRK, what more can I think! Look forward to Your Majesty's thoughts, do not listen to rumors, alienate flesh and bones. This remark was earnest and touching, and Yuwen Jue stopped recalling Li and Sun.
Yuwen Jue's side of Yi Fufeng was afraid that after a long time, the idea of getting rid of Yuwen Hu would become a failure, so he stepped up his planning and prepared for Yuwen Jue to set up a royal banquet to entertain the courtiers and take the opportunity to get rid of Yuwen Hu. The matter was again reported by Zhang Guangluo. Yuwen Hu immediately summoned The Pillar State He Lanxiang and the leading lieutenant Chi Gang to discuss countermeasures. He Lanxiang and others persuaded Yuwen Hu to abolish Yuwen Jue and kill his cohorts. At that time, Wei Chi Gang was in charge of the Forbidden Army, and it was easy to do so. Yuwen Hu then sent Wei Chi Gang into the palace and informed Yi Fufeng and others to discuss state affairs, and as soon as they arrived, they were captured alive one by one. Then ordered the removal of the palace guards, Yuwen Jue found that the situation was not good, and busily ordered the palace eunuchs to use weapons to defend themselves, and Yuwen Hu sent HelanXiang to force Yu Wenjue to abdicate and depose him as the Duke of Luoyang. Yi Fufeng, Sun Heng, and others were killed first, and a month later Yuwen Jue was also killed, at the age of sixteen.
Yuwen Hu supported Yuwen Tai's other son, Yuwen Yu, who was emperor of Zhou Ming. Yuwen Hu seemed to be gentle and elegant, so he made him emperor. However, Yuwen Yu was not as cowardly and incompetent as Yuwen Yu imagined, and he gradually revealed his wisdom and ability in handling affairs. A group of old ministers and elders gradually gathered around him. He was committed to the development of the economy and his prestige among the people was growing. In order to test it, Yuwen Hu falsely engaged in a move of "returning to the emperor", returning all power except military power to the emperor. Who knew that Yuwen Yu unceremoniously accepted all the orders and officially changed his name to Emperor (before that, the supreme ruler of Northern Zhou was not called Emperor but Heavenly King). All this caused Yu Wenhu to be suspicious and uneasy. Therefore, in 560 AD, he instructed an imperial cook to poison Emperor Ming's food and poison emperor Ming to death.
Subsequently, Yuwen Tai's fourth son, Yuwen Yong, was made emperor for Emperor Wu of Zhou, and the actual power was still in his hands. Yuwen Yong knew that Yuwen Hu's power had grown, so he adopted the strategy of Taoguang and obscurity. At the beginning of his reign, he did not dare to expose his dissatisfaction with Yuwen Hu and tried his best to please Yuwen Hu every day. Mo Chenchong, the Marquis of Zhouliang, went with Yuwen Yong to Wonju, and at night, he insisted on returning to Chang'an. Everyone thought it was strange. Hou Mochen Chong, believing himself to be smart, threatened those close to him that Yuwen Hu had been killed. Someone passed on Hou Mochen Chong's words. When Yuwen Yong heard about it, he immediately summoned the princes to the Great Virtue Hall and scolded Hou Mo Chen Chong, who was afraid to apologize for his sins. On this night, Yuwen Hu sent troops to rush into Hou Mochen Chong's residence and forced him to commit suicide. Through practical actions, Yuwen Yong showed that he had no second thoughts about Yuwen Hu.
Yuwen Hu's mother was captured by Northern Qi, and the mother and son were separated for thirty-five years, and later Northern Qi released her back, and Yuwen Yong tried his best to flatter her, and everything that rewarded her must be extremely luxurious. Every four o'clock in the evening, Yuwen Yong led his royal relatives to perform family gifts to Yuwen Hu's mother, known as "Shangshou". Use this to win yuwen hu's favor. Due to Yuwen Yong's apparent respect and obedience, Yuwen Hu did not treat him like Yuwen Jue and Yuwen Yu. However, in secret, Yuwen Hu still threatened Yuwen Yong from time to time, and always wanted to replace him.
Yuwen Yong learned the lessons of the two brothers, ostensibly reconciled with his cousin and allowed him to monopolize power. Secretly, he is slowly accumulating strength and looking for opportunities to protect him. In the first year of Jiande (572), Yuwen Yong was determined to eliminate Yuwen Hu. When Yuwen Hu returned to Chang'an from Tongzhou, Yuwen Yong came with him to see the empress, and As Yuwen Yong walked, he said to Yu Wenhu, "The empress dowager is old, but she is quite good at drinking. Although we repeatedly advised, the Empress dowager never adopted it. Now that the elder brother has entered the dynasty, please go and advise the empress dowager. Saying that, he took out a piece of "Wine Curse" from his arms and handed it to Yuwen Hu, asking him to persuade the empress dowager.
Yuwen Hu entered the empress dowager's residence, and sure enough, he listened to Yuwen Yong's words and read the "Wine Curse" to the empress. As he was reading, Yuwen Yong lifted the jade wat and slammed it on his head. Yuwen Hu fell to the ground, and Yuwen Yong hurriedly ordered the eunuch He Quan to slash and kill Yu Wen Hu with a knife, and He Quan was so flustered that he did not even hit the key point with a few slashes. At this time, Yuwen Yong and his mother and brother Wei Gongyu, who were hiding nearby, ran straight out and helped kill Yuwen Hu.