In 580, Emperor Xuan of Zhou died of illness.
The Northern Zhou Dynasty before Yuwen Yun's death was very similar to the Qin Dynasty before qin shi huang's death. The first was the weakening of the imperial family, and the second was the gradual transfer of power from the empire to the inner court.
In this context, the powerful factions that control the inner court join forces with the powerful ministers and can quickly control the situation.
After the death of Qin Shi Huang, Zhao Gao joined forces with the powerful minister Li Si to draw up a testament favorable to them and quickly took control of the central government.
Against the background of the overall situation, Zhao Gao and Li Si immediately launched a bloody massacre of the descendants of Qin Shi Huang. But as time went on, Chen Sheng wu guangzhen exhaled, and the entire Kanto region was soon out of control.
After Yuwen Yun's death, the powerful factions of the Inner Court, Zheng Yi and Liu Fang, joined forces with the powerful minister Yang Jian to draw up a testament in favor of them and quickly took control of the central government.
Fang and Jiaozhi were always aware of Chinese and foreign soldiers and horses. - Zizhi Tongjian, Chen Jiba
Against the backdrop of the overall situation being decided, Zheng Yi, Liu Fang, and the powerful minister Yang Jian immediately began to weaken the strength of the Yuwen clan. However, as time went on, Wei Chi shook his arms, and the entire Kanto region was soon out of control.
Zhou Wei knew that Cheng Xiangjian would be unfavorable to the imperial family and plotted to raise troops to seek revenge. He claimed to be the Grand Master and undertook the lawsuit. When King Zhao was recruited into the dynasty, he left his son in the kingdom and gave orders. - Zizhi Tongjian, Chen Jiba
From this point of view, the Northern Zhou Dynasty and the last year of the Qin Dynasty are not only similar in shape, but also similar in god, but the similarity between the two sides also ends here.
The Kwantung at the end of the Qin Dynasty was out of control, mainly because the Qin Dynasty failed to appease the forces outside the system, so that it suffered a reaction; the Kwantung in the Northern Zhou Dynasty was out of control, mainly because Yang Jian failed to appease the forces within the system, and the other side rebelled under the banner of defending imperial power.
It is precisely because of the difference in the strength of the insurgency that the results of the counter-insurgency between the two have been different.
The alliance between Zhao Gao and Li Si soon broke down, and eventually ended with Zhao Gaohuo and Li Si. The Kwantung Rebellion intensified, and the Qin Dynasty collapsed.
Since the time when Zheng Yi, Liu Fang and Yang Jian were in alliance, They had already recognized Yang Jian's dominance, so this alliance has remained stable. They quickly put down the Kwantung rebellion, and Yang Jian directly usurped the imperial power.
There are two main reasons why Yang Jian was able to quickly quell the Kwantung rebellion.
First, the magnate clan is generally weak and unable to recreate a pattern in which two-headed politics go hand in hand;
Emperor Yuwen Yong of Zhou wu not only killed the powerful minister Yuwen Hu, but also concentrated power by destroying the Buddha. In this context, the Voice of Opposition to Yuwen Yong could not be heard in northern Zhou.
By the time of Emperor Yuwen Yun of Zhou, he could still monopolize power, easily killing three powerful royals, and consolidating the power of the court through the juxtaposition and abdication of the five queens. If it were not for his early death, northern Zhou would still be as stable as Mount Tai.
With the palace forces represented by Zheng Yi and Liu Fang joining forces with Yang Jian, there was no longer any force in the entire Northern Zhou Dynasty that could compete with them.
This is not an isolated case, you can look at the experience of Liu Yilong and Xiao Daocheng and others, after their successful ascension to the throne, the chaotic courtiers and thieves usually have only one way to die, and the rich and powerful clans are cold-eyed. Those in power do not dare to disrespect the rich and powerful people, but the rich people do not dare to openly support the opposition.
Second, the rebellion is mainly concentrated in the conquered areas, where the old forces have long since weakened.
The reason why the Qin Dynasty was overthrown so quickly was entirely because the power of the nobles of the Six Kingdoms was too great, and when the Qin Dynasty showed a hint of decadence, they restored the country as quickly as possible.
However, during the Northern Zhou Dynasty, this situation did not exist. After Emperor Yuwen of Zhou wu destroyed Northern Qi, he carried out an exterminating massacre of the Northern Qi imperial family.
If there were no old forces to stir up trouble, then the Kwantung Rebellion would be a game between the upper echelons of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Against this backdrop, it was difficult for the Kwantung rebels to draw enough strength from the region.
For the people in these places, they were still Northern Qi subjects a few years ago, and they didn't want to return so quickly. Now that the upper echelons of the Northern Zhou Dynasty are fighting for power and profit, what is the matter with them?
Based on the above two reasons, this huge Kwantung rebellion lasted only four months before it was put down by Yang Jian.
After quelling the Kwantung Rebellion, Yang Jian began to eradicate the Yuwen clan. It was not until 581 AD that Yang Jian was proclaimed emperor by Zen. At this time, it was only nine months before the death of Emperor Wenyun of Zhou, and only three years after the death of Emperor Yuwen of Zhou.
Winter, October, Jiayin, eclipse of the sun. Zhou Chengxiangjian killed Chen Qiwang Chun and his son. Xin Wei killed Wang Da, Tengwen Wang, and his son. - Zizhi Tongjian, Chen Jiba
The Sui Lord's Crown travels far away; receives the book and seal, changes to a gauze hat and yellow robe; enters the Imperial Linguang Hall and wears a crown, such as the ceremony of the Yuanhui. Amnesty, change to Yuan Kai Emperor. - Zizhi Tongjian, Chen Jijiu
It is no wonder that when readers in later generations talk about Yang Jian, they always shake their heads and say: "Since ancient times, it is easier to gain the country than Yang Jianye." ”
In the traditional Chinese history books, the evaluation of Yang Jian is somewhat low, that is, an ordinary emperor. If you only look at the Chinese history books and select the most influential emperors, Yang Jian will definitely not be able to enter the top five, and even if he wants to enter the top ten, he is a bit choked. In terms of personal charm and legend, Yang Jian is also far inferior to Shi Le, Jian Jian, Murong Chui and Liu Yu and other chaotic tyrants.
The reason is simple: the emperors of the Two Jin Dynasties and the Southern and Northern Dynasties generally scored low, because the history of this period was quite chaotic, and many readers did not even know whether Yang Jian was a Han chinese or a Xianbei person, and knew that he had a Xianbei name.
In addition, Yang Jian also rose to power by bullying orphans and widows, which is somewhat disgraceful. The Sui Dynasty was also too short-lived, and the second died, and Yang Guang was also an emperor with a very low evaluation, and even Yang Jian's evaluation was not high.
It was not until modern times, when foreigners (mainly from European and American countries) began to study Chinese history, and they raised Yang Jian's status to a very high level. I have seen several versions of the World's Top 100 Greats list, and usually have Yang Jian's name. In line with the principle that "foreign monks chant the scriptures", China's evaluation of Yang Jian has gradually improved.
The reason why foreigners have so high yang jian's historical status is mainly because yang jian has ended China's nearly three hundred years of division. And chinese people who think they are great (such as Zhuge Liang and Yue Fei) are also like this in the eyes of foreigners. It is not a question of who is right and who is wrong, simply because Chinese and foreigners see things differently.
For example, foreigners also have a high opinion of Cai Lun and Bi Sheng, but if you go through Chinese history books, there are very few records of these two people. If it weren't for foreigners flipping the names of these two people out of the cracks, most Chinese probably wouldn't have paid attention to these two small people in the history books.
In fact, in my opinion, Chinese have always underestimated Yang Jian, while foreigners have always overestimated Yang Jian.
First of all, why Yang Jian is overrated by foreigners.
The formation and trend of each period of history is jointly promoted by many subjective and objective factors, and the direction of historical progress is bound to be the direction of the joint action of multiple forces.
If a person wants to be a great person, he must be born in the right year and the right place, otherwise even if he has the ability, it is usually useless.
If there was no chaotic era at the end of Qin, Liu Bang would have lived to the age of forty-eight, and he would still have to shrink into the small Pei County as a county bully.
Everyone says that Qin Shi Huang is an emperor of all ages, and his great achievements are unmatched. But if he was born into a civilian family, the unification of the six countries would certainly have nothing to do with him.
Looking at Liu Bang and Qin Shi Huang, we should understand a truth: Yang Jian was born and raised at the right time and in the right place, and through a series of coincidences, he became the person who ended the chaotic world. We cannot deny Yang Jian's personal efforts, but compared with the current situation, Yang Jian's personal efforts are insignificant.
Without the efforts of predecessors, no one can be in place in one step. If a person must eat ten buns to be full, then he must eat ten buns, and eating the tenth bun in advance has no effect.
Yang Jian was very much like Sima Yan who ended the chaotic world, when they became emperors, unifying the whole country was already within reach. Because from the perspective of the pattern at that time, only the southeast corner of the whole world had not yet been included in the empire map.
In this context, after Sima Yan declared himself emperor, he destroyed Eastern Wu by taking the process; Yang insisted that after claiming to be emperor, the process destroyed Southern Chen. Is it possible for Eastern Wu and Southern Chen to counterattack? Judging by the productivity of the time, it was absolutely impossible.
Comparing the strength, population and territory of the two sides, it is easy to conclude that they are not opponents of the same magnitude at all, and it is difficult to say that Sima Yan or Yang Jian are outstanding in conquering opponents in this context.
The reason why Sima Yan was praised by the history books was entirely because he was able to deal with the law after reunification, and well suppressed the actions of the rich and powerful clan in their vain attempt to split the country. However, it is a pity that the descendants did not argue and stubbornly rectified a "rebellion of the eight kings", and the Western Jin Dynasty still failed to stop the torrent of history.
The reason why Yang Jian underestimated the history books was entirely because his son Yang Guang was not angry and stubbornly tossed the great Sui Dynasty to death. But there is one thing that the history books do not say, that is, the examination system.
As an iconic figure of a historical era, Yang Jian's influence on China's thousand-year-old imperial examination system began to be popularized in his hands, which is indispensable.
The emergence of the imperial examination system has given the rich warrior clan a blow. Although they can still proudly and complacently praise how great their "five surnames and seven hopes" are, they cannot hide the fact that they no longer have the power to turn over.
Recommended reading of related articles in previous periods:
Yuwen Clan usurped the throne as king, and Yu Jinyong was the first to make a contribution
The Northern Zhou Dynasty hall suddenly changed drastically, and the famous courtier Yu Was as steady as Mount Tai
Yuwen Yunquan plotted against the old and spicy, and Yang Jian took advantage of the situation